JP2003130514A - Artificial snow material and method of manufacture and artificial skiing ground facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable skiing all the year round with the same sliding feeling as a skiing slope made of natural snow. SOLUTION: Calcium carbonate is included as a water retentive component in a polyurethane film 12 of a polyurethane foaming body 11 with the polyurethane foaming body 11 as a nucleus, and a surface of the polyurethane film 12 is constituted by being covered with a silicon film 14 being a lubricating component, and this is molded in a pellet granular body shape or a sheet shape. A sheet-like artificial snow material 1 is laid on a slope such as the mountain surface, and the pellet granular body-like artificial snow material 1 is accumulated on the slope to be formed as the skiing slope.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an artificial snow material capable of playing sports and playing on snow such as skis all year round, regardless of the season or region, and a method of manufacturing the artificial snow material. It also relates to an artificial ski resort facility using the artificial snow material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an artificial ski resort, there is an indoor ski resort where snow or ice particles are artificially piled up to form a slope, or polyethylene, polypropylene or vinyl chloride is used on the slopes of mountains. There is an outdoor type that uses an artificial turf made of etc. as a slope. In the case of an indoor facility, it has the advantage of being close to the feeling of gliding on snow, but on the other hand, because it is an indoor facility, the scale is small, that is, the running distance is short, there is little change in undulations, there is no sense of openness, and there is no feeling of winter. In seasons other than the above, there is a drawback that powerful cooling equipment is required and enormous amount of energy such as electric power is required. In the case of an outdoor facility, not only can the drawbacks of an indoor facility be eliminated, but by laying artificial grass on the mountain surface of the original ski resort, the ski resort can be operated even during the off season. There is an advantage.

[0003]

However, the artificial turf used in the conventional artificial ski resort facility emphasizes the slip coefficient in order to improve the ski slip, and therefore, the ski on actual snow is It has the drawback of being significantly different from the gliding sensation. Therefore, the artificial turf ski resort is only a substitute for the off-season ski resort. In other words, artificial turf is not suitable for constructing an artificial ski slope that can be outdoors outdoors all year round.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is an artificial snow material capable of skiing all year round with the same gliding feeling as a slope made of natural snow, and a method for manufacturing the same. To provide. Another object of the present invention is to provide an artificial ski resort facility capable of skiing all year round with the same gliding sensation as a slope made of natural snow.

[0005]

The artificial snow material according to claim 1 is characterized in that it is made of a resin containing a polyurethane foam as a core and a water retaining component and a lubricating component. It has the characteristics that the body becomes a core with excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience, the water retention component maintains appropriate water retention and specific gravity, and the lubrication component makes skis slippery.

The artificial snow material described in claim 2 is the same as in claim 1.
In the invention described in (1) above, the polyurethane foam of the artificial snow material forms air holes due to foaming, the water retention component is calcium carbonate, and the lubricating component is silicone oil. It has the characteristics that it becomes a core with excellent elasticity, calcium carbonate maintains an appropriate water retention and specific gravity, and silicon oil makes skis slippery.

The artificial snow material according to claim 3 is the same as claim 1.
The invention according to any one of 1 to 2 is characterized in that it is in the form of an irregular pellet having a size of approximately 3 to 5 mm, or a sheet having a thickness of approximately 5 mm or more. A good slope condition can be obtained by depositing the pellets on a slope such as a mountain surface, and these snow materials are good as a base material laid on a slope such as a mountain surface.

A method for manufacturing an artificial snow material according to a fourth aspect is the method for manufacturing an artificial snow material having a polyurethane foam as a core, wherein the polyurethane foam is a main component such as isocyanate, polyol, catalyst and silicone oil. And a raw material mixing step of mixing and stirring calcium carbonate, and a foaming step of foaming carbon dioxide by polymerizing the mixture obtained by the mixing and stirring with water or an aqueous liquid. It is characterized in that an artificial snow material made of a resin containing a polyurethane foam as a core and a water retention component and a lubricating component can be obtained.

Specifically, as described in claim 5,
As said isocyanate, non-yellowing type aliphatic isocyanate, diisocyanate or cyclized trimerized 6
Using any of the isocyanurate type of membered ring trimer structure, as the polyol, any one of polycondensation type polyester polyol, polyethylene glycol or silicon-containing polyol, as the catalyst, a curing agent,
It is characterized by using a dispersant, a thickener, and calcium carbonate and / or silicone oil of about 250 mesh or more. This is because the non-yellowing type aliphatic isocyanate has the characteristics of low toxicity and the characteristics that a polyurethane resin excellent in hardness and strength can be obtained. In addition, the isocyanurate type is characterized in that it has excellent compatibility and that a polyurethane resin having excellent heat resistance, weather resistance and elasticity can be obtained.

Further, a polycondensation type polyester polyol,
Especially, polyethylene glycol has a feature that a polyurethane resin having excellent heat resistance, weather resistance, abrasion resistance, tensile strength and oil resistance can be obtained.

Further, since the calcium carbonate powder is about 250 mesh or more, it becomes easy to mix and stir the raw materials.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the method for producing an artificial snow material according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the polyurethane foam is semi-fixed and is vibrated to have an irregular shape of about 3 to 5 mm. The method is characterized by further including a step of vibrating and foaming into a pellet shape, and a good slope condition can be obtained by depositing the obtained pellet granules on a slope such as a mountain surface.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the method of manufacturing an artificial snow material according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the polyurethane foam is kneaded into a paste form and pressure-molded by an extrusion method to obtain a thickness. Further includes a step of forming into a sheet having a size of about 5 mm or more. The obtained sheet-shaped artificial snow material has a feature that it is good as a base material to be laid on a slope such as a mountain surface.

The artificial ski resort facility described in claim 8 is:
The artificial snow material according to claim 3 is characterized in that it is deposited on the surface layer or is laid on the surface layer, and has a characteristic that a good slope condition can be obtained.

The artificial ski resort facility according to claim 9 is
An artificial snow material composed of an aggregate in which a plurality of cores obtained by granulating powders of oyster shells, shells or bones of living organisms are integrated as a sliding aid on the surface of the artificial snow material according to claim 3. It is an artificial ski resort facility that is sprinkled. Good slope condition obtained by pellet pellets deposited on sheet-like base material, good slope condition by artificial snow material such as oyster shells deposited on sheet-like base material Is obtained.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an enlarged part of the artificial snow material in order to explain the configuration of the artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the artificial snow material 1 according to the first embodiment is made of a sponge-like resin having a polyurethane foam 11 as a core. The polyurethane foam 11 has a structure in which air holes 13 due to foaming are present in the polyurethane film 12. Although not particularly shown, the polyurethane film 12 contains calcium carbonate as a water retaining component. The surface of the polyurethane film 12 has a thickness of about 0.5 mm, which is a silicon layer 14 as a lubricating component.
Is covered by.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a concrete shape and size of the artificial snow material 1. The artificial snow material 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is processed into pellet granules having a size of about 3 to 5 mm, for example, as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the artificial snow material 1 in the form of pellet particles will be referred to as foamed artificial snow 2 in pellet particles. Alternatively, the artificial snow material 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 has a thickness of approximately 5 mm or more, preferably approximately 15 to 15 mm, as shown in FIG. 3 showing another example of its specific shape and size.
It is processed into a sheet having a thickness of about 20 mm. Hereinafter, the sheet-shaped artificial snow material 1 is referred to as a sheet-shaped foamed artificial snow 3. The width (dimension in the lateral direction) and length (dimension in the longitudinal direction) of the sheet-shaped foamed artificial snow 3 are appropriately selected. In the case of the sheet-shaped artificial snow material 1, the silicon layer 1 is formed on the surface of the sheet.
4 comes out. It has been observed that the silicon layer 14 is formed into a fibrous shape by entwining a thread-like material like a whisker.

Next, the manufacturing process of the artificial snow material 1 will be described. First, isocyanate, polyol as a main raw material, calcium carbonate as a water retaining component, and silicon oil as a lubricating component are prepared. As other raw materials, a dispersant, a thickener, and a catalyst (curing agent) are also prepared. Isocyanate undergoes a polymerization reaction with a polyol to form a polyurethane resin. When the isocyanate has a structure having three isocyanate groups, the compounding ratio is, for example, about 1.5 for isocyanate and 1 for polyol.
Is the ratio of.

Calcium carbonate is added to enhance the water retention of the artificial snow material and to adjust the specific gravity of the artificial snow material. Silicone oil is added to improve ski slipperiness. The addition ratios of calcium carbonate and silicon oil are appropriately selected according to the foaming ratio of the polyurethane resin. In addition to the role of increasing the strength of the polyurethane resin, the catalyst plays a role of maintaining an appropriate reaction rate of the polymerization reaction in order to facilitate the processing of the artificial snow material 1 into pellet particles or sheets as described above. . The addition amount of the catalyst is approximately 1 to 3% with respect to the total amount of the isocyanate and the polyol, and is appropriately selected according to the foaming ratio of the polyurethane resin.

The isocyanate includes yellowing type aromatic type and non-yellowing type aliphatic type. As an aromatic type, for example, tolylene diisocyanate (T
DI) and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI)
and so on. In addition, examples of aliphatic compounds include hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI). Although any isocyanate may be used, a polyurethane resin excellent in hardness and strength can be obtained by using one having 3 or 6 isocyanate groups.

For example, aliphatic isophorone diisocyanate has low toxicity and is suitable for use as a raw material. FIG. 4 shows the structural formula of isophorone diisocyanate. As the raw material isocyanate, isocyanurate type one having a 6-membered ring trimer structure obtained by cyclizing and trimerizing isophorone diisocyanate is preferably used. The isocyanurate type has excellent compatibility. In addition, heat resistance when using isocyanurate type,
A polyurethane resin having excellent weather resistance and elasticity can be obtained.

The polyol includes polyether type, polyester type, acrylic type and the like.
Examples of polyether-based materials include polypropylene polyol (PPG) and polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTG). Polyester-based polyols are roughly classified into polycondensation-type polyester polyols and lactone-based polyester polyols.

As the polycondensation type polyester polyol,
For example, polyethylene glycol (PEG), 1,4-butanediol (PBD), neopentyl glycol (PBD)
NPG) etc. When the polycondensation type polyester polyol is used, a polyurethane resin having excellent abrasion resistance, tensile strength, heat resistance, weather resistance and oil resistance can be obtained. Examples of the lactone-based polyester polyol include polycaprotectin polyol (PCL) and the like, and a polyurethane resin excellent in water resistance, flexibility and low temperature characteristics can be obtained. Any polyol may be used, but polyethylene glycol, for example, PEG-1000 (Asahi Kasei), for example, is suitable in terms of easy handling.
If the reaction rate of the polymerization reaction is too fast, U-1000
(Nippon milactone) may be added in an appropriate amount, in which case the surface of the polyurethane resin becomes soft.

Calcium carbonate of about 250 mesh or more is suitable, but it is preferable to use fine powder of about 3 to 5 μm because mixing and stirring with other raw materials becomes easy. The silicone oil is not particularly limited, but for example, polysiloxane amide (Shin-Etsu Chemical) can be used. The dispersant and the thickener are not particularly limited, but, for example, Minex S0 and AG Viscosizer 55 (both of which are manufactured by Meisei Kagaku Co., Ltd.) can be used. The catalyst is not particularly limited, but, for example, stannas octoate is suitable.

After mixing the above-mentioned respective raw materials and stirring them sufficiently, water or an aqueous liquid is added to cause a polymerization reaction while foaming carbon dioxide gas, and artificial snow made of a polyurethane resin foam (urethane foam). Material 1 is generated. Here, the reason why the water or the water-based liquid is used for the foaming is to prevent the specific gravity of the artificial snow material from becoming too light by suppressing the generation of carbon dioxide gas. The generated polyurethane resin foam is processed into a pellet granule shown in FIG. 2 by extrusion molding or a sheet shape shown in FIG. 3 by pressure molding, and pellet granulated foam artificial snow 2 or sheet foam artificial snow, respectively. It becomes 3.

According to the first embodiment described above, the artificial snow material 1 has the polyurethane foam 11 as a core, the polyurethane film 12 of the polyurethane foam 11 contains calcium carbonate as a water retention component, and the polyurethane is made of polyurethane. Since the surface of the film 12 is covered with the silicon layer 14 which is a lubricating component, the polyurethane foam 11 serves as a nucleus having excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience, and calcium carbonate maintains appropriate water retention and specific gravity. 14 makes skis slippery. Therefore, an excellent artificial snow material can be obtained for use as a slope in an artificial ski resort, and a good slope condition can be obtained by depositing or laying this on a slope such as a mountain surface.

Instead of using the polyol and silicon oil, a silicon-containing polyol having the structure shown in FIG. 5 may be used. In that case, according to the experiments of the present inventor, a temperature range of -30 to + 40 ° C. or higher is used. Thus, a polyurethane resin having excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience can be obtained. Also, since it has the effect of making the reaction rate of the polymerization reaction relatively slow,
Lauryl titanate, tetratitanate or potassium oleate can also be used as a catalyst. Further, isocyanate, a polyol of about 1.2 times the mole thereof, an appropriate amount of calcium carbonate and an appropriate amount of silicon oil are kneaded, and about 1% of lauryl titanate is added, and the mixture is extruded before being completely solidified or is a semisolid. Even if vibration is applied in a crushed state to form a lump, the pellet-grain foamed artificial snow 2 can be obtained.

The cross sections of the individual sheet-shaped artificial snow materials when the paste after kneading is extruded and pressure-molded are shown in FIGS.
As illustrated in (a) to (d), one unit has a small number of air holes, and a uniform structure is formed. On the other hand, the individual cross section of the pellet-shaped artificial snow material that can be formed by applying the vibration process of adding vibration while maintaining the semi-solid state is shown in FIG.
As illustrated in (f) and (f), a large number of irregular air holes are formed, such as a lotus root cross section and a honeycomb cross section.
In this case, the force applied to the artificial snow material is evenly distributed, and a better snow material can be obtained. In addition, in the vibrating step of forming the lump, by polymerizing the organic silicon, the silicon layer can be attached to the entire surface of the foam. Further, when a semi-polymerization liquid of organic silicon is thinly applied on a plate, a paste-like foam is poured and heated and polymerized, a silicon layer is attached to one surface. As described above, when the raw materials are kneaded and then pressure-molded or the like, the silicon layer is floated on the surface and the sliding performance is exhibited, but by further adhering the silicon layer to the foam, the sliding performance is improved. Can be improved.

Embodiment 2. FIG. 7 is a sectional view schematically showing the schematic structure of an artificial ski resort facility according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the artificial ski resort facility has a slope 5 provided on the surface of a base 4 such as a mountain or a building.
An appropriate cushion material 6 is laid on the sheet-like foamed artificial snow 3 described in the first embodiment as a base material, and the pellet-grain foamed artificial artificial material described in the first embodiment is further laid thereon. It has a structure in which snow 2 is deposited with an appropriate thickness.

According to the second embodiment, the sheet-shaped foamed artificial snow 3 and the pellet-grain foamed artificial snow 2 have excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience, and have appropriate water retention and specific gravity due to calcium carbonate, The skis that are used to cover the skis make the skis slip better, and the skis are used to make skis, so a good skiing condition can be obtained.

The pellet-shaped foamed artificial snow 2 may be directly deposited on the cushion material 6 without laying the sheet-shaped foamed artificial snow 3. Alternatively, the pellet-grain foamed artificial snow 2 may be directly deposited on the slope 5 without laying the cushion material 6.

Embodiment 3. FIG. 8 is a sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of an artificial ski resort facility according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, in the artificial ski resort facility according to the third embodiment, an appropriate cushion material 6 and the sheet-like foam artificial snow 3 described in the first embodiment are sequentially laid on the slope 5 of the base body 4, Further, the artificial snow material 7 made of oyster shells or the like is deposited as a gliding auxiliary material in a proper thickness on it.

The artificial snow material 7 made of oyster shell or the like is manufactured as follows. FIG. 9 is a process diagram showing a manufacturing process of the artificial snow material 7 made of oyster shells or the like. First, an oyster shell, a shell or a bone of a living organism or a combination thereof is prepared as a raw material, and they are pulverized into powder 71 having a size of 5 μm or less. This powder 71, polyol 1
Polyurethane resin polymerized at a ratio of 50 to 00 is mixed as a binder and granulated to form a nucleus 72 having a size of about 0.5 mm. Furthermore, a coloring material such as a pigment or a small amount of silicone oil is added. Then, the same polyurethane resin as the above is added again as a binder and granulated, and a nuclear aggregate 73 having a size of about 3 mm is produced.
To form. Artificial snow material 7 consisting of the obtained nuclear aggregate 73
When trampled, it breaks and returns to the nucleus 72. That is, the artificial snow material 7 made of oyster shell or the like is artificial snow that can be broken.

According to the third embodiment, the sheet-shaped foamed artificial snow 3 has excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience, and has appropriate water retention and specific gravity due to calcium carbonate. And the artificial snow material 7 made of oyster shells on top of it is crushed snow,
A good slope condition can be obtained because the slope is made using these materials.

[0035]

According to the invention described in claim 1, since the artificial snow material is made of a resin having a polyurethane foam as a core and a water retention component and a lubricating component, the polyurethane foam has viscoelasticity and impact resilience. The water-retaining component maintains an appropriate water-retaining property and specific gravity, and the lubricating component provides the effect that the ski or the like becomes slippery.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the polyurethane foam serves as a core having excellent viscoelasticity and impact resilience.
Calcium carbonate maintains an appropriate water-retaining property and specific gravity, and silicone oil has the effect of making skis slippery.

According to the third aspect of the invention, a good slope condition can be obtained by depositing the pellet particles on a slope such as a mountain surface. It is also good as a base material to be laid on a slope such as a mountain surface.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the raw material mixing step of mixing and stirring the isocyanate, the polyol, the catalyst, the silicon oil and the calcium carbonate powder, and the mixture obtained by the mixing and stirring are made into water or an aqueous liquid. Since it includes a foaming step of foaming carbon dioxide while polymerizing the artificial snow, an artificial snow material made of a resin containing a polyurethane foam as a core and a water retention component and a lubricating component is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 5, a polyurethane resin having low toxicity and excellent hardness and strength can be obtained. Further, as the isocyanate, cyclized trimerized 6
Since an isocyanurate type member having a member ring trimer structure is used, a polyurethane resin having excellent compatibility, heat resistance, weather resistance and elasticity can be obtained. Further, since the polycondensation type polyester polyol is used as the polyol, a polyurethane resin having excellent heat resistance, weather resistance, abrasion resistance, tensile strength and oil resistance can be obtained.
Moreover, since polyethylene glycol is used as the polyol, a polyurethane resin having excellent heat resistance, weather resistance, abrasion resistance, tensile strength and oil resistance can be obtained. Further, since the calcium carbonate powder has a size of about 250 mesh or more, it is possible to obtain the effect of easily mixing and stirring the raw materials.

According to the invention described in claim 6, a good slope condition can be obtained by depositing the obtained pellet granules on a slope such as a mountain surface.

According to the invention described in claim 7, the obtained sheet-shaped artificial snow material is good as a base material to be laid on a slope such as a mountain surface.

According to the invention described in claim 8, a good slope condition can be obtained.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a good slope condition in which the artificial snow material such as oyster shells is deposited on the sheet-shaped base material.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an enlarged part of the artificial snow material for explaining the configuration of the artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a specific shape and size of the pellet-shaped artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the specific shape and size of the sheet-shaped artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structural formula of isophorone diisocyanate which is a raw material of the artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structural formula of an example of a silicon-containing polyol that can be used as a raw material for the artificial snow material according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 (a) to (d) are schematic views of a cross section of a sheet-shaped artificial snow material in the case where a paste after kneading is extruded and pressure-molded, and (e) and (f) are semi-solidified, Add vibration,
It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the pellet-shaped artificial snow material which can be added by the vibration process which makes a lump.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of an artificial ski resort facility according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view schematically showing a schematic structure of an artificial ski resort facility according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a process chart showing the manufacturing process of the artificial snow material used in the artificial ski resort facility according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 artificial snow material 2 Pellet granulated foam artificial snow 3 Sheet-like foam artificial snow 7 Artificial snow made of oyster shells 11 Polyurethane foam 12 Polyurethane film 13 air holes 14 Silicon layer

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) C10M 107/50 C10M 107/50 149/14 149/14 E01C 13/12 C10N 40:00 Z // C10N 40:00 E01C 13/00 D

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An artificial snow material comprising a polyurethane foam as a core and a resin containing a water retention component and a lubricating component. 2. The artificial snow material according to claim 1, wherein the polyurethane foam forms air holes due to foaming, the water retaining component is calcium carbonate, and the lubricating component is silicone oil. . 3. The polyurethane foam has an indefinite pellet shape having a size of about 3 to 5 mm, or a sheet shape having a thickness of about 5 mm or more. Artificial snow material described in. 4. A method of manufacturing an artificial snow material having a polyurethane foam as a core, wherein the polyurethane foam is a raw material mixing step of mixing and stirring the main components of isocyanate, polyol, catalyst, silicon oil and calcium carbonate, The mixture obtained by the mixing and stirring is polymerized with water or an aqueous liquid,
A method for manufacturing an artificial snow material, comprising a foaming step of foaming carbon dioxide gas. 5. The non-yellowing type aliphatic isocyanate, diisocyanate or isocyanurate type of 6-membered ring trimer structure which is cyclized and trimerized is used as the isocyanate, and the polycondensation type polyester polyol is used as the polyol. 5. A polyethylene glycol or a silicon-containing polyol is used, and as the catalyst, a curing agent, a dispersant, a thickener, and calcium carbonate and / or silicone oil of about 250 mesh or more are used. Manufacturing method of artificial snow material. 6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of vibrating and foaming the polyurethane foam in a semi-fixed state to give vibration to form an indefinite pellet shape of about 3 to 5 mm. A method for manufacturing the artificial snow material described. 7. The method, further comprising a step of forming the polyurethane foam into a sheet having a thickness of about 5 mm or more by pressure-molding the extruded method in a kneaded paste state. 4. The method for manufacturing an artificial snow material according to item 4. 8. An artificial ski resort facility, wherein the artificial snow material according to claim 3 is deposited on the surface layer or is laid on the surface layer. 9. An aggregate in which a plurality of cores formed by granulating powder of oyster shell, shell or biological bone as a gliding aid are integrated on the surface of the artificial snow material according to claim 3. An artificial ski resort facility characterized by being covered with artificial snow material.