Thermal ice cap
AssigneeT.I.C. Enterprises, Limited
InventorWilliam G. Burley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A membranous thermal barrier and means for its placement on and removal from an ice surface, such as a rink, are provided. The barrier comprises a flexible, sheet-like covering having low moisture permeability and thermal insulation properties sufficient to substantially reduce heat transfer to the ice surface when emplaced on the ice during non-use hours. Reel means are provided to wind, transport, store and dispense the covering quickly and with minimal labor.
Claims28
A thermal cover for the exposed ice surface of a rink or the like comprising:
- a generally rectangular sheet of flexible material having a length substantially equal to the length of said ice surface;
- attachment means disposed on a surface of said sheet along a portion of a line perpendicular to the long dimension of said sheet at substantially the mid-point thereof, and
- orifice means disposed along the remaining portion of said line, said orifice means spaced so as to correspond to the spacing of said attachment means whereby said attachment means project through said orifice means when said sheet is folded lengthwise.
Thermal barrier means to reduce heat transfer to and from an exposed ice surface comprising in combination:
- reel means positionable on said ice surface;
- membranous sheet of generally rectangular flexible material having a low permeability to water vapor and having first attachment means disposed on a surface thereof along at least a portion of a line perpendicular to the long dimension of said sheet at substantially the mid-point thereof;
- second attachment means disposed on said reel, said second attachment means adapted to removably connect to said first attachment means, and
- means to rotate said reel to unwind and to take up a double layer of said sheet upon the reel.
A method for applying and removing an insulating cover for the exposed ice surface of a rink or the like comprising:
- (a) providing a reel having wound thereupon a membranous thermal barrier, a surface of said thermal barrier attached to said reel along a line remote from the barrier ends;
- (b) positioning said reel centrally on said ice surface and rotating said reel to unwind a double layer of said barrier material;
- (c) pulling the two free ends of the unwinding barrier to the respective rink ends thereby covering the ice surface;
- (d) detaching the barrier surface from said reel and removing said reel from the ice surface;
- and
- (e) reversing said steps (b), (c) and (d) to remove said cover from the ice surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.