JP2548065B2 - Snow melting equipment for indoor artificial ski resorts - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a snow melting apparatus for a snowfall type indoor artificial ski resort.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a snowfall type indoor artificial ski resort, for example, a floor of a slope is constituted by a floor material and a heat insulating material disposed below the floor material, and snow produced by a snowmaking machine is used on the upper surface of the floor. Snow is formed to form a snow layer, and the upper surface of this snow layer is used as a running surface for skiing.

[0003] The snow on the upper part of the snow layer may become dirty due to gliding,
The runway becomes rough and coarse and the runway becomes rough. Therefore, in order to maintain a safe and comfortable gliding environment, it is necessary to remove such dirty snow and coarse snow, and as a means therefor, there is a method of melting snow sequentially from the bottom snow.

FIG. 2 shows an example thereof. The floor of the slope 1 is composed of a floor material 2 made of concrete or the like and a heat insulating material 3 under the floor. Since the outer surface of the heat insulating material 3 under the floor is in contact with the outside air, By setting the thickness, the outside air temperature is transmitted to the floor material 2, whereby the snow layer 4 is melted from below. FIG. 3 shows another conventional example, in which a heating device 11 such as a heater is embedded in the floor material 2 and the snow on the floor material 2 is melted by the heat from the heating device 11.

[0005]

The method of melting snow at the outside air temperature transmitted through the heat insulating material shown in FIG. 2 is directly affected by the value of the outside air temperature, so the amount of snow melting is determined by the outside air temperature, The amount of snowmelt is different in winter and the amount of snowmelt cannot be controlled. Further, if the heat insulation performance deteriorates due to deterioration due to aging of the heat insulating material, the amount of snow melting also changes, and a certain amount of snow melting cannot be secured. In the method of FIG. 3, the initial cost for installing the heating device and the running cost are high.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional example, and to provide a snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort which can freely control the amount of snow melting throughout the year and can be installed at a low cost.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to an indoor artificial ski resort in which a floor portion and a heat insulating material constitute a floor portion of the slope, and the floor material is provided along the slope of the slope. An air duct for circulating the outside air is provided between the heat insulating material, and an outside air intake and an exhaust port having variable opening areas are formed in the upper part, the lower part, or the middle part of the air duct, and the air duct is provided at a plurality of places in the air duct. The gist of the present invention is to provide a fan for stirring air.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, while the outside air flowing from the upper outside air intake port into the air duct flows toward the lower exhaust port along the inclination of the duct, the outside air flow is increased. The heat it has melts the snow on the floor. At this time, by appropriately changing the opening areas of the outside air intake port and the exhaust port, the amount of outside air taken in changes, and the temperature in the air duct can be set without being affected by changes in the outside air temperature, and the amount of snow melting can be controlled.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the air in the air duct is agitated by operating the agitating fan in addition to the above action, so that the air having a low temperature is generated along the inclination of the duct. Even if it flows downward in the direction of the exhaust port, the air temperature in the duct can be kept substantially uniform, and snow can be melted almost uniformly in each part of the slope.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of a snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort of the present invention, in which the same components as those of the conventional example of FIGS. 2 and 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the present invention, the floor portion of the slope 1 is constituted by the floor material 2 and the heat insulating material 3 as in the conventional case, but in the present invention, the air duct 5 is provided along the slope of the slope 1 between the floor material 2 and the heat insulating material 3. The air duct 5 is provided with an outside air intake 6 at the upper part of the slope and an exhaust port 7 at the lower part.
Are formed respectively.

Automatic opening / closing dampers 8 and 9 for adjusting the opening areas of the intake opening 6 and the exhaust opening 7 of the outside air, respectively.
, And fans 10a, 10b, 10c for air agitation in the duct 5 are arranged at a plurality of locations in the air duct 5 at appropriate intervals.

Although not shown in the drawings, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature T 1 inside the slope 1, that is, an indoor temperature T ₁ , is installed at an appropriate place inside the slope 1, a temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature T ₂ is installed outdoors, and an underfloor space temperature is set. Temperature sensors for detecting T ₃ are provided at a plurality of locations in the air duct 5, and temperature sensors for detecting a floor surface temperature T ₄ are provided on the upper surface of the floor member 2, and temperature signals from these sensors are used by a microcomputer or the like. The control signal from the control device is input to the automatic opening / closing dampers 8 and 9. Here, the temperature sensors that detect the underfloor space temperature T ₃ are installed at a plurality of locations because the temperature difference occurs in the air duct 5 due to the height difference.

Next, the operation will be described. While the outside air flowing from the intake port 6 descends along the slope in the air duct 5 and is discharged from the exhaust port 7, the heat of the outside air causes the floor material 2 to flow. It is transmitted to the lower part of the snow layer 4 through and the snow layer 4 melts from the lower part. In this case, in order to obtain a predetermined amount of snowmelt, the amount of snowmelt is preset and the floor temperature T ₄ for obtaining this set amount is calculated. This floor surface temperature T ₄ is determined by the in-piste temperature T ₁ and the under-floor space temperature T ₃ , but since the in-piste temperature T ₁ is approximately -3 to -5 ° C and is substantially constant, the under-floor space temperature T ₃ The amount of snow melt is controlled by controlling the.

Therefore, in order to control the underfloor space temperature T ₃ , the temperatures T _{1 to} T ₄ from the respective sensors are _first loaded into the control device, and then the floor surface temperature as a target value for obtaining the set snow melting amount. T ₄ ′ is newly calculated, and the temperature difference ΔT ₄ = T ₄ −T ₄ ′ between this target value T ₄ ′ and the current floor surface temperature T ₄ is calculated. Then, the underfloor space temperature T ₃ ′ is calculated as a new target value such that the temperature difference ΔT ₄ is given to the upper portion of the floor material 2. The calculation of the underfloor space temperature T ₃ ′ as the target value is a non-scheduled calculation in consideration of the change over time.

In this way, the control device outputs to the automatic opening / closing dampers 8 and 9 so that the underfloor space temperature becomes the target value T ₃ ′, the angles of the dampers 8 and 9 are adjusted, and the opening areas of the intake port 6 and the exhaust port 7 are adjusted. To change the amount of outside air that flows in. Therefore, for example, in the summer when the outside air temperature T ₂ is high, the opening area is reduced to reduce the amount of outside air to be taken in. On the contrary, in the winter when the outside air temperature T ₂ is low, the opening area is increased to take in the large amount of outside air. By doing so, the amount of snow melt is maintained constant throughout the summer and winter.

As a control method for controlling the underfloor space temperature to the target value T ₃ ′, in addition to the method of changing the opening areas of the intake port 6 and the exhaust port 7 as described above, automatic opening / closing dampers 8 and 9 are used. It is also conceivable to change the opening / closing time of, to install a plurality of automatic opening / closing dampers, to change the number of dampers to be opened, or to combine these methods.

As the temperature of the outside air flowing into the air duct 5 from the intake 6 decreases, the low temperature air moves along the inclination of the duct 5 toward the lower exhaust port 7 and enters the duct 5. An air flow is generated, which results in the duct 5
The temperature inside may not be uniform in each part. In this case, if the fans 10a, 10b, 10c for air agitation are operated, the air in the air duct 5 is agitated and the temperature of the air in each part becomes uniform. Therefore, there is no variation in the underfloor space temperature T ₃ detected at a plurality of locations, and snow melting of the snow layer 4 can be performed uniformly at each portion.

[0018]

As described above, the snow melting device of the indoor artificial ski resort of the present invention can freely control the amount of snow melting throughout the year, so that the amount of snow melting can be kept constant regardless of the outside air temperature, and it is always safe. It is possible to obtain a comfortable gliding surface, and the structure is simple and it can be installed at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of a snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a conventional snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing another example of the conventional snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Slope 2 ... Floor 3 ... Insulation 4 ... Snow layer 5 ... Air duct 6 ... Intake 7 ... Exhaust 8 ... Automatic opening / closing damper 9 ... Automatic opening / closing damper 10a, 10b, 10c ...
Fan 11 ... Heating device

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An indoor artificial ski resort in which a floor material and a heat insulating material form a slope floor portion, and an air duct for circulating outside air is provided between the floor material and the heat insulating material along the slope of the slope. A snow-melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort, characterized in that an open-air intake port and an exhaust port having variable opening areas are formed in an upper portion and a lower portion of the air duct, respectively. 2. A snow melting device for an indoor artificial ski resort according to claim 1, wherein fans for agitating air are arranged at a plurality of positions in the air duct.