Floating ice rink

An ice rink formed from a shallow container having flotation elements on its bottom. The container is filled with water to such an extent that when frozen, the resultant ice layer will be suitable for ice skating. The bottom of the container may be provided with a refrigerant coil to freeze the water in the container. The specific gravity of the rink is less than unity to permit is use in a swimming pool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a safe ice rink for use in areas of water 
adjacent to shore in natural bodies of water or in fabricated aquatic 
bodies, such as reflecting or swimming pools. The invention consists of a 
platform which floats on the surface of such body of water, the platform 
supporting a separate shallow water containment structure which is filled 
with water. The water in the platform containment structure can be frozen 
either by natural (low ambient atmospheric temperatures) or by artificial 
means (refrigeration coils). The floating platform can include multiple 
units seasonally assembled and disassembled and stored. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the practice of this invention, swimming pools of hotels, 
marinas, health clubs and the like, as well as private homes can be 
converted, during the winter season, to safe ice skating rinks or for 
other winter sports such as curling. This is accomplished by use of a 
floating platform which supports a layer of ice. The ice may be reinforced 
with metal mesh to provide additional safety by increasing the tensile 
strength of the ice layer and further to enhance freezing of the water. It 
is generally the practice to maintain fabricated (home, motel, etc.) 
swimming pools filled with water in the winter season, to thereby provide 
lateral support to the pool walls which would otherwise be cracked due to 
lateral earth pressure and/or freezing. It is also the practice to cover 
such pools with sheets of polyethylene or similar sheet material to 
prevent leaves and dirt from entering the pools in the winter season. 
These pool covers also help prevent small children and house pets from 
injury due to falling in the pools. 
Certain embodiments of this invention function not only for the use of the 
ice for winter sports, but also provide a cover to keep out dirt and 
support the weight of adults and large house pets and provide a barrier to 
accidental immersion. 
The following elements in combination define the invention. (1) A pool or 
other aquatic body in which the floating skating rink floats. (2) Floats, 
typically made of styrofoam or similar lightweight, water tight materials, 
pneumatic tubes, spheres or buoyant bodies such as rigid or semirigid 
pontoons. (3) A platform consisting of either the top surface of the float 
elements or a material such as plywood, fiberglass, semi or rigid plastic 
supported by the float material. (4) A containment system for the water to 
be frozen, consisting of a peripheral curb and a water tight base or water 
tight blanket or sheet such as the polyethylene sheets typically used as 
linings in pools or as boat covers. (5) A system for containing the float 
elements or of fastening prefabricated float units together to provide 
uniform support to the platform underlying the ice. This system may 
consist of mechanical means such as bolting together the frames of 
adjacent float units; encirclement with rope, wire rope or cable tensioned 
to hold all units in position; floatation blocks penetrated with 
horizontal lateral and transverse holes through which tensioning strands 
of rope, wire tope, cable or rods are placed and tensioned against 
exterior frame units. Other methods such as a horizontal grillage may be 
employed to secure and hold the floatation units in the desired position. 
The above five elements are essential to this invention. The second, third 
and fourth elements may be combined into a single unit. 
Additionally, the following elements may optionally be used in the ice 
rink: (1) Ice making equipment such as is used for indoor arenas or for 
portable rinks such as is used with traveling ice shows. (2) Metal mats 
made of crossed wires or rods; in effect as safety net which has the dual 
purpose of strengthening the ice and preventing cracks, and also increases 
the rate of freezing the water on the platform, turning it into ice in 
less time and more efficiently. (3) Stiffening trusses or frames for large 
installations or where the skating rink is to be located over moving or 
tidal water. (4) A guide for positioning the ice rink a few inches from 
pool walls, or an anchoring system for when the ice rink is to be located 
over moving or tidal water. (5) An air bubbling system to prevent the 
formation of ice between the pool walls and the floats is desirable in 
climatic areas where natural freezing of ponded water frequently exceeds 
three inches. (6) A ramp or stair is provided when the floating ice 
skating rink is located over tidal or flowing water. (7) Guard rails on 
the perimeter of all ice rinks that do not fully occupy a pool to within 
four inches of all adjacent walls and for all pools over open water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawings, the ice rink of this invention is shown. A layer 
of ice 1 is bordered by a peripheral water/ice retaining curb 2 whose 
height, measured vertically from the bottom of the ice, is greater than 
the depth of the ice layer. A water impervious sheet 3 of polyethylene or 
rubber impregnated woven material rests on the top surface of a rigid 
sheet platform 4, typically of plywood, with ice layer 1 resting on sheet 
3. The platform and curb define a shallow container. A continuous 
serpentine refrigeration tube 5, mounted on wooden pad supports 13 on 
sheet 3 becomes embedded in the ice after freezing of the water. A 
plurality of flotation blocks 6 are pierced by a plurality of orthogonally 
running tension cables or tendons 7, the tendons passing through holes or 
tubes 10 in the blocks. Each block receives two or more tendons. Exterior 
frame panels 8, fashioned typically of wood, surround the rink and carry 
tendon anchorages 9 of known construction. A layer of wire reinforcement 
14 is positioned on top of refrigerant tube 5 (see FIG. 7) and functions 
to both speed up freezing and strengthen the ice. 
FIG. 2 illustrates the relation between floatation blocks 6, tendons or 
cables 7, panels 8 and tendon anchorages 9. The flotation blocks are 
illustrated as rectangular, although they may be square in plan view. 
FIG. 3 illustrates a typical block 6 having tubes 10 passing therethrough. 
Tubes 10 of any block are aligned with corresponding holes in the other 
blocks to form continuous passages for receiving respective tendons 7. 
FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-section of a typical block near the periphery of 
the rink, showing exterior frame panels 8 and tendon attachment members 9. 
The latter are defined, conventionally, by an apertured block of wood with 
a split frusto conical wedge member for frictionally engaging the 
periphery of a typical flexible tendon or cable 7. It will be understood 
that the cable anchorage 9 may assume any of a number of known forms and 
that tendons 7 may be flexible, as cable, or rigid, as with metal bars. 
Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, a modified form of the ice 
rink is illustrated. Flotation elements 6 are arcuate in form, with the 
radially innermost elements pie shaped. The outer periphery of each 
radially distinct group of flotation elements is provided with tension 
cables or tendons 7 running within associated tubes 10, as shown FIG. 6. 
Turning now to FIG. 7, a partial transverse cross-section of the ice rink 
shown at FIG. 5 is illustrated, without exterior frame panels 8 and 
tension with cables 7. Curb 2 may be of wood or plastic or a tube filled 
with sand for example, but should not be a pneumatic tube or a water 
filled tube subject to puncture by ice skates. Further, reinforcing wire 
grid 14 and refrigerant tube 5 are usually both made of aluminum to 
eliminate electrolysis. If a particular environment for the ice rink does 
not require artificial refrigeration, then the refrigerant tubes 5 may be 
omitted and reinforcing grid 14 may be of steel rods, glass fiber or other 
material with a high modulus of elasticity and will not become brittle at 
temperatures down to -20.degree. F. (-28.degree. C). The numeral 15 
denotes the maximum level of water which will form ice layer 1. Normally, 
a minimum level of 1 inch over the reinforcing wire grid 14 is required, 
but the thickness may be greater and almost up to the top of curb 2 as 
indicated. Typically, the thickness of ice layer 1 will be from 3 to 5 
inches. Referring to FIG. 8, another embodiment of a float for the ice 
rink is illustrated. The floats are fashioned from a plurality of sections 
16. Each section is generally rectangular shape but can be truncated 
triangular as shown or of any shape and includes wooden frame members 17 
which form the sides and cross frames and which divides the interior of 
each section into cells. Each cell contains flotation material 19 which 
may assume the form of blocks of styrofoam, pneumatic balls in plastic 
bags or other flotation elements. The top of each section 16 is closed by 
a rigid panel 18. The sections are provided with openings 21 which 
accommodate elongated, flat and apertured coupling brackets 22. FIG. 9 
illustrates bolts 20 passing through aligned openings in the sides of 
adjacent flotation elements 16. Brackets 22 also couple these elements 
together. 
FIG. 10 illustrates a flotation unit 23 similar to an air mattress used by 
campers and body surfers. This element consists of a series of 
longitudinal tubes 24 which can be individually inflated and deflated and 
are encased in a cover of fabric 25. The periphery of the unit includes a 
plurality of eyelets 26 for fasteners securing abutting flotation units 
together. 
FIG. 11, an ice rink as shown with flotation units 23 of FIG. 10. Several 
flotation units are secured together by means of fasteners in eyelets 26. 
Overlying flotation units 23 is a platform of plywood 4 upon which is set 
a curb 2, the plywood platform is covered with a water retention sheet 3 
of polyethylene. Wooden blocks 13 lie on top of sheet 4 and wire grid 14 
is placed on top of the wooden blocks. Water in a typical concrete 
swimming pool receives the ice rink. A bubbler tube insures an ice free 
pool periphery. The ice rink of FIG. 11 may or may not require artificial 
refrigeration, such as coil 5 of FIG. 1. One advantage of the embodiment 
of FIG. 11 is that without rigid flotation elements, storage requirements 
of the skating rink during summer months will be appreciably less. 
FIG. 12 illustrates frame or lattice 27 formed by coupled pipe trusses. 
Again, a layer of ice 1 has wire grid elements 14 embedded therein. A 
plywood sheet 4 is provided at regular intervals with apertures, with one 
end of a typical vertical pipe 30 extending through a respective aperture. 
Washers 34 are positioned on the top underside of sheet 4 and function to 
seal the annular space around pipes 30 as they pass through the plywood. 
Flotation blocks 6 are located beneath the plywood for flotation of the 
entire structure. Diagonal pipes 29 are secured to the vertically 
extending pipes by coupling elements 33, with sleeve coupling members 32 
securing horizontally running truss members 28 together. The weight of the 
truss, the ice and the other elements will determine the size and 
character of flotation blocks 6. The assembly illustrated in FIG. 12 is 
shown without refrigeration elements, although it is obvious that they may 
be employed, as with the embodiment of FIG. 1. The entire structure is 
adapted to float.