Ice skating rink resurfacing apparatus

An ice resurfacing machine for use in resurfacing ice of the surface of an ice skating rink, which machine comprises

• (a) a vehicle having a motor, wheels driven by the motor, a steering mechanism for steering the wheels, and a hitch receiver;
• and
• (b) a resurfacing attachment having
• (i) a snow box support frame;
• (ii) an open-bottomed snow box attached to the frame;
• which snow box has a rear wall, side walls, and a top wall;
• (iii) a blade mounting member within the snow box;
• (iv) an ice scraping blade secured to the blade mounting member so that the blade extends across the width of and is surrounded by the snow box;
• which blade and mounting member
• (1) are spaced from rear wall and top wall, respectively, so as to be located in the forward, lower portion of the snow box
• (2) define with the top wall of the snow box, above the blade and mounting member, a snow passage;
• and
• (3) define with the rear wall of the snow box, behind the blade and mounting member, and communicating with the snow passage, a snow storage chamber constituting a major portion of the internal volume of the snow box;
• (v) a water distributor mounted at the rear of the snow box;
• and
• (vi) a removable water spreader towel mounted at the rear of the snow box;
• whereby, when the machine is driven across the surface of the ice, with the blade on the surface and with the bottom of the snow box adjacent the surface, the blade scrapes the surface of the ice to remove a thin top layer of ice and thereby produce snow;
• most of the snow so produced, as viewed relative to the snow box, passes freely upward over the blade, through the passage, and into the snow storage chamber, where that snow is collected and carried by the snow box in such a manner that the collected snow slides along the surface of the ice and is deposited into ruts in the surface of the ice;
• water is applied to the surface of the ice by the water distributor and is added to the ruts;
• and the water towel wipes the surface of the ice, spreading the water and leaving the ruts filled with water.