Improvements in and relating to Ice Rinks.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 15th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 2nd Feb., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Ice Rinks.
I, FELIX UNSÖLD, of 8, Bruderstrasse, Munich, Bavaria, in the Empire of
Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to an improved construction of real ice rinks, in which the
rink is effectively insulated from the heat of the earth, and in which the rink is
constructed in such a way as to allow for expansion and contraction of the materials
composing same without fracturing the ice, also to retain the elasticity of the ice.
My invention relates also to the formation and maintenance of a perfect sheet of
ice in the cheapest and most efficient manner.
.
I construct the rink with air spaces beneath it for the purpose of insulation.
In formning my rink floor, I may excavate below the level at which I intend the
ice surface to be, to any suitable depth from one foot downwards according to the
use to be made of such space, I may make use of such space for refrigerating
chambers, or cold or cool storages on one or more floors and in one or more
compartments. By thus combining an ice rink with subjacent refrigerating
chambers, I thoroughly isolate the heat of the earth from the rink floor, by forming
a chamber in which is still air at a very low temperature, and I obtain a space
which can be utilized for cold storage. A depth of only a few inches will serve
for insulation if the space cannot be utilized, or in the alternative, if my process is
to be used for rink purposes on upper floors or for two or more floors in one
building, then I may form a chamber or cavity of any required depth below the
whole area of each such floor, in which still air at a very low temperature derived
from the pipes or tubes used for freezing the surface above, may be stored or
retained, by this means thoroughly isolating the heat of the lower hall, or apartment
from acting on the upper rinks or ice surfaces.
In the case of rinks for ground floor purposes I build pillars of any suitable solid
materials at such distances apart as are requisite to support the weight the floor
will have to carry and span these with wrought iron joists of H or other suitable
section.
I then build my floor of planks or boards of any good sound wood or other
material laid parallel with a space between each. Each width is securely bolted
or otherwise fastened on one longitudinal side, through its thickness, and also
through the flange of the iron girder, the other longitudinal side is fastened to the
supporting girder, by means of a lug, clip or other device in such a way as to
allow for the expansion and contraction of each width of the entire floor without
risk of straining, bursting or damaging in any way either the floor itself or the
pipes and ice which it is meant to carry.
The spaces or interstices between the widths of the floor are filled in or caulked
with hemp, tow, or any substance which will allow expansion and contraction
without leakage.
Around the edges of the rink floor (whatever its shape may be) I may fix a
strong curb of wood or other material of the height proposed for the thickness of
the ice, tongued and grooved into the bed of the rink or otherwise securely fixed
thereto.
The pipes or tubes which I employ to carry the congealing fluid are by preference

page_text: of special manufacture, being thin wrought iron tubes flanged while hot at both
ends with special collars to couple same and support them at the requisite height
above the floor, which collars are put on the pipes before they are flanged.
These pipes or tubes I arrange in groups or series according to the size and
shape of the surface to be covered in parallel lines connected to each other by cast
iron semi-circular ends. Each series is connected to the supply, and discharge
mains alone, being free in every other respect to expand or contract.
The space, cavity or chamber which I construct under my rinks is an absolute
disconnection from the warmth of the earth or of any lower hall or apartment, for
as soon as the ice is in process of formation in the rink the temperature in the
lower cavity goes down below freezing point and the effect is great economy of
the power necessary to cool and circulate the fluid to effect freezing of the ice and
also in the maintaining it at the required temperature when once formed; it also
ensures a more even and reliable ice surface, besides which the space under my
rinks may when desired be constructed so as to be capable of being utilized in
many ways for the manufacture of ice, refrigerating processes, cold or cool storage
on one or more floors or in one or innumerable apartments.
A rink constructed as hereinbefore described is cheaper than any yet devised
with layers of beton, concrete, brickwork, wood, lead and iron linings or the like,
besides which it assures the elasticity of the ice surface (without cracking or flaw
.of any kind) which is so dear to all skaters, instead of the hard and solid mass
under other processes and is also adapted for several floors in one building without
unduly weighting the walls of such buildings.
Dated the 17th day of February 1894
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Ice Rinks.
I, FELIX UNSÖLD, of 8 Bruderstrasse, Munich, Bavaria, in the Empire of
Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the construction of ice-rinks for skating purposes.
In constructing and maintaining a sheet of ice for an ice rink it is necessary to
abstract an amount of heat considerably in excess of that required to counteract
the heat of the atmosphere in contact with the water or ice surface, this excess
being due, among other causes, to the necessity for absorbing the heat conducted
to the ice from the earth, by the floor or supports on which the sheet of ice is
carried. Furthermore the expansion and contraction of this floor, or of these
supports, have frequently caused difficulty, and have resulted in their fracture, or
in that of the sheet of ice.
Now the objects of my invention are to reduce the power necessary for the
formation and maintenance of the sheet of ice and of its surface by thoroughly
insulating the floor from the earth, and to lessen the risk of fracture by providing
for the ready expansion and contraction of the floor and of the sheet of ice
independently.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a plan of the floor for an ice rink constructed according to my
invention, and
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the same.

page_text: Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views at right angles to each other shewing the
means for permitting of the expansion and contraction of the floor, the said views
being drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figures 5 and 6 are a plan and vertical section respectively shewing the
arrangement of the pipes through which the freezing mixture is passed, and
Figures 7 and 8 are a longitudinal and transverse section respectively, illustrating
the construction of an elastic joint which I advantageously use for the said pipes.
a is the floor of the rink which is formed of boards (wood being a good non-
conductor of heat), the said boards being carried upon joists or girders 6 (double
channel or H-section iron girders are shewn clearly in Figure 4) supported upon
piers or pillars c, c built up from the earth, thus constituting a chamber or
chambers d, d beneath the said floor.
Plates of wood c', e¹ having upon them sheets c², c² of felt, or similar elastic
non-conducting material, are shewn as being placed on top of the piers or pillars
and under the girders in order to assist in preventing heat from being conducted
through the pillars to the girders and so to the floor.
The chamber or chambers may be of such depth that it or they can be used for
storage of perishable goods or of ice, or for other similar purposes where a low
temperature is required. The planks e, e of which my floor is composed are
preferably formed of good sound wood arranged so that the grain of the wood is
lengthways of the plank. These planks are laid with spaces between them and
the adjoining planks so as to permit of the independent expansion of all the
planks.
To retain the planks e, e in position and yet permit of any movement of
expansion or contraction, I fix them as follows, that is to say, each plank is at
one edge secured to the girders by bolts f, f, f, whilst the other edge is fastened by
means of clips 9, 9 which are bolted to the planks and engage beneath the adjacent
flanges of the girders, as shewn in Figures 1 and 4. This construction allows each
plank to expand and contract independently.
In order to retain the water before it is frozen upon the floor a it is necessary to
fill in the spaces between the planks e, e with some resilient material which will
readily yield, such, for instance, as hemp or tow or pitch melted and run in while
hot and to fix around the edges of the floor a curb h which, with the floor,
constitutes a basin for retaining the water to be frozen.
i, i are the pipes or tubes through which the freezing mixture is circulated, these
being arranged over the floor a. The lengths of pipe are advantageously provided
with flanges j, j at the ends which rest on the wood floor of the rink, these flanges
having packing-rings of elastic material placed between them and being
constructed so as to be clipped together, compressing the elastic material and thus
forming the liquid-tight joints of the said pipes; bolts m, m are provided to
connect the flanges which are advantageously made flat upon one side as shewn so
as to lessen the thickness of the sheet of ice to be originally constructed and
afterwards maintained.
The pipes i, i are not continuous over the whole surface to be frozen, but are
arranged in sections, being continuous, however, for each section. As shewn in
Figure 5, each section is connected at one end to a main flow-pipe n and at the
other end to a main return pipe o, these pipes being in communication with the
machinery, or apparatus, for producing and maintaining the low temperature of
the freezing mixture. The length of pipe in each section must be such that the
freezing mixture returning to the main return pipe o after flowing through the
length of the pipe in the section shall only have its temperature increased by a
few degrees, say, for instance, 5 degrees Fahrenheit or even less above that of the
mixture entering the section from the main flow pipe n, and I prefer that the inflow
pipe of one section should be adjacent to the outflow pipe of the adjacent section
as shewn. The object of these arrangements is to ensure as great a uniformity of
temperature throughout the ice as possible; this being an advantage, not only for

page_text: ease of maintenance of the sheet of ice, but for its formation originally. Further-
more, the construction of my rink floor gives a certain amount of elasticity to the
sheet of ice, which renders a fall upon it much less serious than a similar fall upon
a sheet of ice supported only upon a rigid floor.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An ice rink having a chamber or chambers beneath the floor which may be
used for storage purposes but which will insulate the ice from the earth and thereby
prevent the conduction of the heat of the latter to the ice, the said floor being
constructed of planks laid parallel with spaces between them and each secured to
the supporting girders or joists at one edge only and loosely fastened thereto at
the other edge so as to allow of expansion and contraction with variations of
temperature, the spaces between the said planks being filled or caulked with hemp,
tow or pitch, or other resilient material which will allow of the expansion and
contraction of the planks, all substantially as, and for the purposes, described.
2. The combination, in an ice skating rink floor, of joists, planks supported upon
the said joists and laid with spaces between them, the said planks being secured at
one edge only and a filling of resilient material in the said spaces substantially as,
and for the purposes, described.
Dated this 15th day of November 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.