ROOF FOR ARTIFICIAL SKATING-RINKS

Abstract: Means for outdoor artifical skating-rinks, consisting of a removable roof (2) over the rink with removable walls (5) which can preferably be rolled up and 50% previous to air, extending on both sides downwards. The roof (2) is made of a material previous to heat-radiation and is thus sloping or provided with slopes the rainwater run down. It is sup­ ported by ridge-poles (8) and gutter (9) ledgers movable in the direction of skating. The invention compresses skating-­ rinks provided with such means.

Description: The invention relates to an outdoor artificial skating-rink, allowing the rink to be used under bad weather conditions _ wind and rain _ without these weather conditions being experienced as troublesome. A method for creating and maintaining an outdoor ice-surface under various weather conditions, for instance is described in the US Patent no. 3.983.713. A downward facing 'ceiling' of aluminum-foil is installed over the ice-surface. This leads to a reduction of convection-losses; solar-radiation is prevented from reaching the ice-floor and by using a material with a low coefficient of emissivity, heat-radiation to the ice-surface is substantially prevented. However: in this method no use is made of the ambient sky as a heat-sink for the heat-radiation of the ice-surface. In the US-patent no. 4.281.802 it is described how use is made of a thermal cover for the ice-floor. However also here, no use is made of the heat-sink capacity of the ambient sky. The essence of the invention lies in the recognition of the heat-sink capacity of the ambient sky and of the possibilities to use that capacity in relation to the cooling of outdoor artificial skating rinks, thus realising a considerable saving of energy. In order to make use of the said possibilities, the skating-rink according to the invention contains a removable roof over the rink, made of a material being highly pervious to heat-radiation and highly reflective for solar radiation;- removable walls, which are 50% pervious to air and extending on both sides from the roof downward. As the roof and the sidewalls are removable, the rink may be used under both good and bad weather conditions. The roof-material being pervious to heat-radiation, the heat-radiation from the skating-rink into the atmosphere, which in case of outdoor artificial rinks especially takes place with a clear sky, can normally be benefited from regarding energy needed for cooling the rink. Owing to the high reflection of solar radiation the load of the rink as a result of this radiation is reduced, which leads to a decreasing need for energy. As rain and wind are kept out, the losses of cold as a result of convection are reduced too. The side walls may extend from the roof till the ground or extend over part of the height down from the roof. As they are about 50% pervious to air, the reduction of wind is optimal and the sensation of skating 'in the open air' remains for the greater part. Preferably, white so-called radiation-selective sheets of synthetic material are used as material for the roof. By making one's choice as to the thickness of the sheet the perviousness and the reflection of the sheet can be adjusted to the need. Good results are obtained e.g. with high-density polyethylene stretched in one direction, as a result of which it turns white and obtains a high strength in the direction of stretching. Particularly if a few of such sheets of polyethylene with their directions of larger tensile strength extending perpendicularly to one another are laminated, strong thin sheets with the desired properties are obtained. It is to be noted that such radiation selective sheets can be successfully applied as roof for green-houses in warm areas; as a result of the radiation-selective properties the energy needed for cooling is reduced considerably. A further application of the selective sheets is the one as roofing for houses in hot areas: the indoor temperature is kept at a reasonable level, yet sufficient light is transmitted. To ensure a good drainage for rain-water, it is advantageous to have the roof sloped with respect to the horizontal plane: the water can flow down to one side and be drained off. A preferred embodiment is the one in which adjacent parts of the surface of the roof show different slopes with respect to the horizontal plane, as usual for e.g. green-houses. This last mentioned embodiment can be realised by fixing the ridge beam and the gutter girder of the roof at different levels in horizontal edge sections. These sections are arranged at the inside and outside of the rink, parallel to the direction of skating. When the roof is opened, the gutter girders and the ridge-beams move in the direction of skating via the edge sections and are grouped at regular distances. When the roof is closed, rain-water can flow to the sides of the rink via the gutter girders (the lowest girders). By making the inner height of the roof higher than the outer one, the rain-water is led to the outside of the rink and may be drained off there. The vertical length of the sidewalls is preferably chosen to be equal to the distance from the ground till the roof, so that the top as well as the sides of the rink are sheltered. To preserve the skater's survey over the rink, the wall corresponding to the inner edge of the rink is not completely closed, but the wall runs 1-2 metres from the roof downward. The walls are preferably removable by rolling them up. The outer wall with a perviousness of 50%, can e.g. wholly or partly, be carried out as heat-exchanger with tubes through which the refrigerant of the refrigerator flows and then acts as wind/heatbarrier. Wind is retained and heat is given off. If the inner wall does not completely run from the roof down to the ground, wind at the rink can successfully be reduced by placing a wind-screen about 1,20 m high, made of a material with a net-structure being 50% pervious to air. The invention will be explained more fully with reference to the following drawings which schematically represent an embodiment of a skating rink with roof and walls according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of the rink in a plane perpendicular to the direction of skating and Fig. 2 roof and walls according to the invention in a perspective view. In Fig. 1 the ice-floor 1 is covered with a sloping roof 2 from which an outer wall 3 and an inner wall 5 run downward. In the case drawn, the inner wall 5 runs downward over only part of the height: the wall 5 a few metres high and the wall 6 about 1,20 m high, acting as wind-screens, are 50% pervious to air and are arranged along the entire inner edge 7 of the rink 1. Sidewall 4 at the outside joining the outer wall 3 is also about 1,20 m high serving as a windscreen too and is impervious in view of advertising purposes. Outer wall 3 again is 50% pervious. Fig. 2 is indicates how the roofing sheet 2 the ridge beams 8 and the gutter girders 9 are supported by uprights 10 and 13 and the edge sections 11 provide the roof 2 with the surfaces with different slopes. The uprights 10 at the inside 7 are longer than those -13- at the outside, so that the rain-water is drained off to the outside 12 by means of the sloping gutter girders 9.

Claims: 1. An outdoor artificial skating-rink, provided with a structure, characterized in that said structure comprises a removable roof over the rink, made of a material being highly pervious to heat radiation and highly reflective for solar radiation; and removable walls 50% pervious to air and extending on both sides from the roof downward. 2. An outdoor artificial skating rink according to claim 1, characterized in that the material for the roof is synthetic material. 3. An outdoor artificial skating rink according to claim 2, characterized in that the synthetic material is white and of high-density-polyethylene. 4. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the roof surface is sloping with respect to the horizontal plane. 5. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to claim 4, characterized in that adjacent parts of the surface of the roof show different slopes with respect to the horizontal plane. 6. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to claim 5, characterized in that the roof is supported by ridge beams and gutter girders, arranged perpendicular to the direction of skating, which are arranged movably in said direction of skating by means of edge sections at the inside and outside of the rink. 7. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vertical length of the sidewalls equals the height of the roof over the rink on the spot and of which at least the sidewall corresponding with the inner edge of the rink can be rolled up. 8. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to one of the claims 1-6, characterized in that the wall corresponding with the outer edge of the rink is carried out at least partly as a heat exchanger being 50% pervious to air, by means of which the cooling heat of the refrigerator is yielded to the environment. 9. An outdoor artificial skating rink, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner edge of the rink is provided with a windscreen about 1,20 m high and with a net-structure being 50% pervious to air.

Inventors: MENNINK, BERNHARD DIEDRICH
Applicants: NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST-NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A63C19
IPC codes: E04H3, A63C19, E04H4, E04H15