Frank Joseph Zamboni Jr (January 16, 1901 â July 27, 1988) was an American inventor and engineer whose most famous invention is the modern ice resurfacer, with his surname being registered as a trademark for these devices.
In 1940, the brothers, along with a cousin, Pete Zamboni, opened the Iceland rink, which proved very popular, in no small part because Frank had devised a way to eliminate rippling caused by the pipes that were laid down to keep the rink frozen. (The rink still operates and is still owned by the Zamboni family.) He obtained a patent for that innovation in 1946. Then, in 1949, he invented a machine that transformed the job of resurfacing an ice rink from a five-man, 90-minute task to a one-man, 15-minute job. The initial machine included a hydraulic cylinder from an A-20 attack plane, a chassis from an oil derrick, a Jeep engine, a wooden bin to catch the shavings, and a series of pulleys. His son, Richard, said, “It took him nine years. One of the reasons he stuck with it was that everyone told him he was crazy.” Zamboni did not expect to make more but, after seeing the machine, Sonja Henie immediately ordered two, and then the Chicago Blackhawks placed an order. Zamboni applied for a patent in 1949 â obtained in 1953 â and set up Frank J. Zamboni & Co. in Paramount to build and sell the machines.
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