JP2003322443A - System and method for remotely monitoring ice crashing type artificial snow maker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of monitoring each artificial snow maker in detail in ski area equipment with a plurality of the crashing type artificial snow makers. <P>SOLUTION: The system is provided on the central location at the ski area, and has a monitoring device 4 connected to each artificial snow maker to monitor an operating state of each artificial snow maker. The system is also provided at the outside monitoring station 6 established in a distant place from the ski area, and has an outside monitoring device 73 which can monitor the operating state of each artificial snow maker at each ski area by alternately connecting to the monitoring device installed at each ski area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system and a remote monitoring method for an artificial snow making machine, which monitors artificial snow making apparatuses provided at predetermined intervals along a slope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to eliminate a lack of snow in equipment such as ski resorts and snowboard resorts that use natural snow, or
An artificial snowmaking machine is used for snowmaking of an artificial snow in a facility where artificial snow is sprinkled on an artificially formed slope.

As such an artificial snowmaking machine, first of all, there is a spray type or gun type which sprays snowmaking water into an air atmosphere below freezing and freezes it in the air to cause snowfall. This type of snowmaking machine
They are arranged at regular intervals along the ski slopes.
Each snowmaking machine is provided with a nozzle to spray the snowmaking water sent at a predetermined pressure so as to cover a predetermined range on the slope.

Such an artificial snowmaking machine has a drawback that it cannot be used unless the outside temperature is below freezing. However, this type of artificial snowmaking machine has a relatively simple structure because the application conditions are narrow, and the operation time is relatively constant at a short time at midnight. Therefore, there are advantages that the control of the device is simple and there are few failures.

On the other hand, as an artificial snowmaking machine of a type that can be used when the outside air temperature is room temperature, there is an apparatus for producing artificial snow by crushing ice blocks made into ice into fine ice and snow. This type of device is called, for example, an ice crushing system (trade name) or the like, and is designed to discharge crushed artificial snow onto a slope by blowing pressure.

Since this ice crushing system has a refrigerator for producing ice, it has an advantage that artificial snow can be produced regardless of the outside temperature.

[0007]

However, when the ice crushing system is actually used outdoors, there are the following problems to be solved.

That is, when the ice crushing system is used outdoors, it is required to stably operate for a long time in various environments depending on the location of the ski resort where the system is installed. In addition, when this system is used in an artificial ski resort, it may be required to operate on the beachside in midsummer. Even if they are installed in the same place, the environment around this system may change greatly depending on the weather and time.

Under such an environment, it is difficult to stably operate the refrigerator including the compressor, and there is a possibility that a failure or an abnormal operation may occur as compared with the above-mentioned spray type snowmaking machine. It can be expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to perform inspection and adjustment and maintenance at an extremely high frequency as compared with the above-mentioned spray type artificial snow making device.

However, when a large number of ice crushing systems are installed in a vast ski resort, it is necessary to arrange a predetermined number of personnel to circulate each system steadily, which requires a great deal of labor and cost. is there. Further, when a system abnormality is found during patrol, it is conceivable that depending on the abnormality, parts are required and it is not possible to deal with it on the spot. In this case, it was necessary to return to the base once and carry the necessary parts to the system.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a system capable of finely monitoring each snow-making device in a ski resort equipped with a plurality of ice-crushing type snow-making devices. With the goal.

[0012] A further detailed object of the present invention is to provide a system which allows the installation place of each of the artificial snow making devices to be appropriately prepared before actually going to maintenance.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of remotely monitoring a ski resort provided with a plurality of artificial snow making devices as described above.

[0014]

In order to achieve such an object, according to a first main aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for monitoring an artificial snow making device located at a remote place, which is a ski resort. A plurality of artificial snow making devices arranged along the ski slopes at a distance from each other, each artificial snow making device having a refrigerator for ice making, capable of producing artificial snow independently. Provided is a system comprising a manufacturing device and a monitoring device which is provided at a central location of the ski resort and which is connected to each of the snow manufacturing devices and monitors an operating state of each of the snow manufacturing devices. .

According to such a configuration, the ice crushing type artificial snow making apparatus, which is likely to cause an abnormal operation due to the influence of the outside temperature, can be remotely monitored from the monitoring station. As a result, even if an abnormality occurs in each of the artificial snow making devices, there is an effect that this can be dealt with quickly and accurately.

Here, according to one embodiment, the monitoring device is connected to a sensor provided in each artificial snow manufacturing device, and this sensor detects at least the atmosphere in which the artificial snow manufacturing device is installed. Including an atmosphere detection sensor and a pressure sensor for detecting the refrigerant pressure of the environmental refrigerator, the monitoring device, a sensor detection value display means for displaying a detection value by each sensor provided in each snow making device, and And a driving condition display means for displaying a driving condition for displaying a driving condition of the snow-making device.

According to such a construction, in the ice crushing type artificial snow making apparatus, various parameters and operating conditions of the compressor, which are considered to have a large capability change depending on the environmental changes of the skiing area during operation, etc. Can be monitored. Thereby, the control of the artificial snow manufacturing device can be appropriately performed.

According to another embodiment, the monitoring device has a time-series display means for displaying the sensor detection value and the operating condition in time series.

According to such a configuration, changes in various parameters of the snowmaking device according to changes in the temperature of the day can be displayed in a time-series list, so that the snowmaking device can be easily controlled and adjusted. become.

According to yet another embodiment, the sensor includes a temperature detection sensor for detecting the temperature of the lubricating oil of the compressor of the refrigerator.

According to this structure, it is possible to accurately detect that the refrigerant has entered the compressor as a liquid, so that it is possible to prepare for the operation stop of the snowmaking device.

According to still another embodiment, the monitoring device includes an installation place display device for displaying a place where each snow making device on the ski slope is installed, and each snow making device. When an abnormality occurs in the operation state of, the abnormality display device that displays a sign indicating the abnormality on the installation location display device.

According to this structure, the operation abnormality of the artificial snow making device is displayed together with the arrangement information of the artificial snow making device on the slope, so that it is easy to confirm.

[0024] According to yet another embodiment, the vehicle is further provided at an external monitoring station provided apart from the ski resort and selectively connected to a monitoring device provided at each ski resort. By doing so, it has an external monitoring device that can monitor the operation status of each artificial snow manufacturing device at each ski resort.

According to this structure, since the snow-making device provided at the ski resort can be accurately monitored from the monitoring station remote from the ski resort, maintenance personnel can be provided at each ski resort. It is not always necessary to wait.

[0026] According to yet another embodiment, the system further comprises means for restarting the snowmaking device that has stopped abnormally.

According to this structure, when the cause of the abnormally stopped snow-making apparatus is found remotely and it is not necessary to actually send maintenance personnel to the snow-making apparatus, the snow-making apparatus can be operated. Can be operated again.

According to a second main aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring a remote artificial snow making device, said artificial snow making device being provided along a ski slope of a ski resort. A plurality of snow-making devices arranged separately are each provided with a refrigerator for ice making, and snow-making can be made independently, and this method is a central location of the ski resort, There is provided a method characterized in that the arrangement of each snow making device on a ski slope is displayed on a monitor, and the operating state of each snow making device is updated on the monitor at predetermined intervals. It

According to a third main aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for monitoring artificial snow making devices installed at a plurality of ski resorts, wherein the artificial snow making device is a ski at each ski resort. Plurally spaced along the slope, each artificial snow making device has a refrigerator for ice making, and can independently manufacture artificial snow. At a remote external location, selectively connect to each ski resort and display the operating status of each snow making device at each ski resort. A method is displayed which is characterized by displaying various parameters.

The other features and remarkable effects of the present invention can be more clearly understood from the following embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire slope 1 of the ski resort A. As shown in FIG. In the example of the ski resort A, ten artificial snow making devices 2a to 2j are arranged along the slope 1 at a predetermined interval. Here, these artificial snow manufacturing devices 2a to 2j are ice crushing systems (hereinafter abbreviated as "ICS") that manufacture snow by crushing ice pieces. All the ICSs 2a to 2j are connected by a wire 5, preferably an optical cable, so as to be capable of bidirectional communication with a monitoring device 4 in a monitoring station shown in FIG.
Further, the monitoring device 4 is located away from the ski resort A and is capable of centrally monitoring a plurality of ski resorts A, B, C ... Through an external monitoring station 6 and a public telephone line network 7. It is supposed to be connected.

FIG. 2 shows one of the ICSs (1a).
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing only a monitoring device 4 provided in the monitoring station 3.

First, the ICS 1a will be described.
This ICS 1a is a water storage tank 11 that stores snowmaking water 10.
And a snow production section 13 for producing artificial snow 12 by freezing the snowmaking water 10 to generate ice pieces and crushing the ice pieces.

The snow production section 13 is connected to the cooling plate 15 for cooling the water supplied from the water storage tank 11, the cooling device 16 for cooling the cooling plate 15, and the cooling plate 15 for cooling. A blower 17 for conveying the ice pieces 18 produced by the plate 15 with a predetermined blowing pressure, and a crusher 20 connected to one end of the blower 17 for finely crushing the ice pieces 18 to generate the artificial snow 12. Have.

The water storage tank 11 filters and stores snow-making water 10, for example, tap water, rainfall water, and thaw water, and the cooling plate 15 controls the flow rate of the snow-making water 10 by a flow control valve 22. Has the function of supplying to the side. This cooling plate 1
5 is, for example, a drum-shaped one, and the cooling device 16
The surface temperature is cooled to, for example, -15 ° C. Therefore, the water supplied to the cooling plate 15 adheres to the surface of the cooling plate 15 as ice.

The cooling device 16 has a refrigerant pipe 24 fixed to the cooling plate, and heat is exchanged between the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe 24 and the snowmaking water 10 to form ice pieces. 18 is generated. Then, the cooling device 16 passes through the compressor 26 that compresses the refrigerant that has passed through the cooling plate 15, a condenser 27 (heat exchanger) that condenses the refrigerant that has passed through the compressor 26, and the condenser 27. The expansion valve 28 for adiabatically expanding the above-described refrigerant constitutes a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is circulated in this order.

The compressor 26 may be of any type such as a spiral type or a scroll type, but is driven by a motor 30, for example.
The motor 30 is connected to a power source 32 via a driver 31.

A low pressure side refrigerant pressure sensor 34 and a high pressure side refrigerant pressure sensor 35 are provided on the suction side and the discharge side of the compressor 26, respectively. A lubricating oil temperature sensor 37 that detects the temperature of the lubricating oil of the compressor 26 is provided inside the compressor 26. The water tank is provided with a snowmaking water temperature sensor 38 for detecting the temperature of the snowmaking water and a supply flow rate sensor 39 for detecting the supply flow rate of the snowmaking water.

The ice adhering to the cooling plate 15 is scraped off with a knife-shaped blade or blade, or the cooling plate 1
It is peeled off by flowing a hot gas of + 70 ° C. to 80 ° C. to 5 to produce ice pieces 18 of a predetermined size. Then, the ice pieces 18 thus generated are then fed into the blower 17.

The blower 17 has a function of sending the ice pieces 18 to the crusher 20 side by the blowing pressure generated by the blower 40. This blower 17 and crusher 2
The blower discharge pressure sensor 41 detects the air pressure (blowing pressure) of the 0 connection portion.

The crusher 20 has a casing 44 having an ice piece input port 43 connected to the blower 17, and is rotatably provided in the casing 44 for finely crushing the ice pieces 18 to produce the artificial snow 12. Rotating crushing blade 45 of
It has a rotary motor 46 for rotating the crushing blade 45 at a high speed, and an artificial snow discharge port 47 for discharging the manufactured artificial snow 12 to the outside.

That is, the ice pieces 18 sent to the crusher 20 by the blower 17 are further finely crushed by the rotary crushing blades 45 rotating at high speed, and the artificial snow 12
Then, it is guided to the artificial snow discharge port 47. And
The artificial snow 12 is supplied to the slope through the snow carrying pipe 48 connected to the discharge port 47.

Further, the ICS 1a is provided with an outside air temperature sensor 50, an outside humidity sensor 51, a wind direction / speed sensor 52, and a rainfall amount sensor 53 for detecting the atmosphere outside the apparatus.

All the above-mentioned sensors and drivers for driving the respective motors are all connected to the control device 54. The control device 54 is configured to collect the detection values of the sensors and control the ICS 1a according to a command from the outside. In addition, the control device 54
An integrated power meter 55 for detecting the integrated power amount of the ICS 1a is connected to the.

The control device 54 is connected to the monitoring device 4 in the monitoring station 3 via the relay 56, and the ICS 1a
The operating status and the sensor detection value are transmitted. The monitoring device 4 will be described below with reference to FIG.

The monitoring device 4 has an ICS information database 60 for registering / managing each of the snowmaking machines 1a and an ICS information database 6 for disposing the ICS on the slope.
ICS arrangement acquisition unit 62 that acquires from 0 and processes for display on the monitor 61, ICS information acquisition unit 63 that acquires the operation status and sensor detection value data at each ICS fixed time interval, and received operation status An operation status storage unit 64, a sensor detection value storage unit 65 that stores the received sensor detection value, a warning unit 66 that displays a warning on the monitor 61 based on information received from the ICS, and a past A warning cancellation history storage unit 67 for storing a warning cancellation history of the above, a command processing unit 68 for processing a command by each of these constituent elements, and a control device 5 for each constituent element and the ICS.
4, an instruction input unit 69 for giving various instructions to 4,
It has a communication unit 71 that communicates with the external monitoring station 6 through a communication interface 70 such as a modem or TA.

The external monitoring station 6 is provided with a monitoring device 73 having substantially the same configuration as that of the monitoring device 4, and in this monitoring device 73, the monitoring device 4 of each ski resort is selected for individual communication. A ski resort database 75 and a monitoring destination ski resort selecting unit 74 for performing the training are provided.

Next, the operation of the monitoring devices 4 and 73 having the above configuration will be described.

FIG. 4 is an example of a screen display first displayed on the monitor 61 in a state where the monitoring device 4 at each ski resort is activated. That is, the ICS arrangement acquisition unit 62 accesses the ICS information database 60, acquires the position of each ICS on the slope, and displays it on the upper half frame 80 of the screen. In this embodiment, the device number (1-1) of each ICS is shown on the schematic diagram of the ski slope.
0) is displayed in an overlapping manner.

At the lower left of the same screen, a warning (alarm) 81 currently occurring at the ski resort is displayed.
The past warning occurrence history 82 is displayed in a list form at the lower right. That is, the ICS information acquisition unit 63 acquires the sensor detection value and the operating condition from each ICS, for example, every 10 minutes, and stores them in the operating condition storage unit 64 and the sensor detected value storage unit 65. In addition, the warning unit 6
6 displays a “severe warning (alarm (heavy))” in the warning display field 81 according to the operation status of the ICS when the ICS is stopped, and the parameter in the detected value data has a predetermined value. If it is out of the range, a "mild warning (alarm (light))" is displayed. In this example, as shown in the warning display column 81, the IC of device number 1
S has stopped and a serious warning has been issued.

This severe warning is canceled when the ICS starts operating again. Here, the restart of the ICS is performed by the observer who confirms that the detected values of the respective sensors have returned to normal, from the input unit 69 via the command processing unit 68
This is performed by issuing a start command to the S control device. On the other hand, the release of the slight warning is automatically executed when the detected value parameter returns to within the predetermined range. Then, such a warning cancellation history is stored in the warning cancellation history storage unit 67 and is displayed in the warning occurrence (cancellation) history display field 82 on the screen.

The warning unit 66 also gives a warning by blinking the device number of the ICS displayed on the slope in the upper half frame 80, or by changing the color to the warning color. . Specifically, for example, "green" blinks when there is no abnormality, "yellow" when the warning is mild, and "red" blinks when the warning is severe. Here, when the monitor double-clicks the device number of the corresponding ICS, as shown in FIG.
Each sensor detection value (ICS data) of the selected ICS and detailed information on the driving situation are taken out and displayed on the screen.

By taking this detailed information into consideration, the supervisor can appropriately determine whether to actually inspect the ICS and appropriately prepare for the inspection. Also,
If the sensor value returns to normal while the operation is stopped due to a serious warning, the ICS can be restarted as described above without going to the site.

Further, in this embodiment, almost the same monitoring that can be performed at the monitoring station 3 inside the ski resort can be performed at the external monitoring station 6 that is located away from the ski resort.
In this case, the ski resort selection unit 74 (see FIG. 3) provided in the surveillance device 73 of the external surveillance station 6 displays the ski resort selection screen as shown in FIG.

On this screen, a list 85 of ski resorts registered in the ski resort DB 75 is displayed, and the supervisor highlights and selects the desired ski resort and presses the dial button 86 to select the desired ski resort. Online connection is made with the monitoring device 4 of the selected ski resort via the communication interface 76 and the public line network 7. As a result, the monitoring device 73 of the external monitoring station 6 copies the data in the operation status storage unit 64 and the sensor detection value storage unit 65 to its own storage unit (not shown) in a state associated with the ski resort, It is designed to provide an environment in which the same monitoring as the monitoring station 3 on the premises can be performed.

The screen of FIG. 6 is provided with a data acquisition period designation field 87 so that the data acquisition period can be arbitrarily designated. In addition, the ski resort selection unit 74
May be configured so that, when a warning is issued at each ski resort, the ski resort is automatically selected and connected, and the monitoring device 73 is activated. On the other hand, all the data of the day may be automatically acquired once a day.

According to such a configuration, proper monitoring can be performed even if an observer is not resident at each ski resort. It is also possible to dispatch maintenance personnel from this external monitoring station to each ski resort.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be variously modified without changing the gist of the invention.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a system and a method capable of finely monitoring each artificial snow making device in a ski resort equipped with a plurality of ice crushing type artificial snow making devices.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a system and a method for permitting appropriate preparation before actually going to maintenance at the installation place of each of the artificial snow making devices.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a system and method capable of remotely monitoring a ski resort provided with a plurality of artificial snow making devices as described above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an artificial snow manufacturing device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a monitoring device.

FIG. 4 is an example of a screen display on the monitoring device.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen display on the monitoring device.

FIG. 6 is a screen display example in an external monitoring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Slope 1a ... Artificial snowmaking machine (ICS) 2a to 2j ... Artificial snow manufacturing device (ICS) 3 ... Monitoring station 4 ... Monitoring device 5 ... Wiring 6 ... External monitoring station 7. Public telephone line network 10 ... Snowmaking water 11 ... water tank 12 ... Artificial snow 13 ... Snow Manufacturing Department 15 ... Cooling plate 16 ... Cooling device 17 ... Blower 18 ... Ice pieces 20 ... Crusher 22 ... Flow control valve 24 ... Refrigerant tube 26 ... Compressor 27 ... Condenser 28 ... Expansion valve 30 ... Motor 31 ... driver 32 ... Power supply 34 ... Low pressure side refrigerant pressure sensor 35 ... High pressure side refrigerant pressure sensor 37 ... Lubricating oil temperature sensor 38 ... Water temperature sensor for snowmaking 39 ... Supply flow rate sensor 40 ... Blower 41 ... Blower discharge pressure sensor 43 ... Ice chip input port 44 ... Casing 45 ... Rotating crushing blade 46 ... Rotary motor 47 ... Artificial snow outlet 48 ... Snow-carrying pipe 50 ... Outside temperature sensor 51 ... Outside humidity sensor 52 ... Wind direction / speed sensor 53 ... Rainfall sensor 54 ... Control device 55 ... Integrating power meter 56 ... Repeater 60 ... ICS information database 61 ... Monitor 62 ... ICS placement acquisition unit 63 ... ICS information acquisition unit 64 ... Operation status storage section 65 ... Sensor detection value storage unit 66 ... Warning section 67 ... Warning release history storage section 68 ... Command processing unit 69 ... Instruction input section 70 ... Communication interface 71 ... communication section 73 ... Monitoring device 74 ... Monitoring destination ski resort selection unit 75 ... Ski area DB 76 ... Communication interface 80 ... Frame 81 ... Warning display column 82 ... Warning occurrence history display column 86 ... Dial button 87 ... designation column

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A system for monitoring artificial snow making devices located at a distance, wherein the artificial snow making devices are arranged along the ski slopes of a ski resort at a plurality of distances from each other. The equipment has a freezer for ice making, and an artificial snow making device that can independently make artificial snow, and a snowmaking device that is installed at a central location of the ski area and connected to each artificial snow making device. And a monitoring device for monitoring the operating state of the device. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is connected to a sensor provided in each snow making device, and the sensor at least detects an atmosphere in which the snow making device is installed. An atmosphere detection sensor to detect and a pressure sensor to detect the refrigerant pressure of the environmental refrigerator, the monitoring device, a sensor detection value display means for displaying a detection value by each sensor provided in each artificial snow manufacturing device, A driving condition display means for displaying a driving condition for displaying the driving condition of each of the snow-making devices. 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring device has a time-series display means for displaying the sensor detection value and the driving condition in time series. 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a temperature detection sensor that detects a temperature of lubricating oil of a compressor of the refrigerator. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is an installation place display device for displaying a place where each snow making device is installed on the ski slope, and each snow making device. If an abnormality occurs in the operating state of the above, the system further comprises an abnormality display device for displaying a sign indicating the abnormality on the installation place display device. 6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an external monitoring station provided at a place remote from the ski resort, and selectively connected to a monitoring device provided at each ski resort. And a system having an external monitoring device capable of monitoring the operation status of each snow-making device at each ski resort. 7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for restarting the artificial snow making device that has stopped abnormally. 8. A method for monitoring remote snowmaking equipment, wherein the plurality of snowmaking equipment are spaced along the ski slopes of a ski resort, each snowmaking equipment. The manufacturing device has a refrigerator for ice making and can independently manufacture artificial snow, and this method is to arrange each artificial snow manufacturing device on a ski slope at a central location of the ski resort. A method characterized by displaying on a monitor, and displaying on this monitor the operating state of each snow making device updated at predetermined time intervals. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of displaying detection values by various sensors provided in each artificial snow manufacturing device when an abnormality occurs in each artificial snow manufacturing device. How to characterize. 10. A method for monitoring artificial snow making devices installed at a plurality of ski resorts, wherein the artificial snow making devices are arranged along the ski slopes of each ski resort at a plurality of intervals. Each artificial snow making device has a refrigerator for ice making and can independently make artificial snow. This method is an external location remote from the ski resort Connected to each other to display the operating state of each snowmaking device at each ski resort, and display various parameters of the snowmaking device in which an abnormality has occurred based on the display of this operating state. . 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of restarting the artificial snow manufacturing device that has stopped abnormally based on the display of the operating state.