JPH0391671A - Snow maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize damage on a cutting blade, extend the replacement period of the cutting blade and hence improve the operation rate by connecting with a motor an inverter which can control the rotary speed of a rotation body which feeds ice blocks based on an output signal of a detection means which detects the amount of ice in a case. CONSTITUTION:This snow making machine is provided with a detection means which detects the amount of ice in a case and an inverter 11, which is connected with a motor. The inverter 11 is designed to control the rotary speed of a rotation body 6 based on an output signal of this detection means. In this manner, the rotary speed of the rotary blade 6 is controlled according to an output signal of a level sensor which detects the amount of ice installed inside a hopper 4 by way of the inverter 11. When the ice making capacity is reduced due to wear of a cutting blade 5 or its damage generated, the amount of ice is increased in the hopper 4, which is detected by the level sensor 12 so that the inverter 11 may work according to the output signal and hence raise the frequency by 5Hz. It is, therefore, possible to minimize damage on the cutting blade 5, further extend the replacement period, and hence improve the operation rate of the machine.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a snow-making device, and particularly to a snow-making device in an artificial snow-making device that scrapes ice to create simulated snow and provides it to an environment that demands snowfall. , relates to a snowmaking device suitable for reducing damage to cutting blades.

[Prior Art] As a conventional artificial snow-making device, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1986-1
As described in Japanese Patent No. 82567, there is a known technique in which a block of ice is pressed against a cutter-type crusher and cut with a blade that rotates once to produce fine ice particles, and the simulated snow is discharged from a snow-throwing chute along with an air stream. There is.

In addition, a snowmaking machine has been developed that is equipped with a case that has an ice chip supply port and a simulated snow discharge port, a rotating body that rotates the supplied ice chips to the cutting section, and a cutting blade that cuts the ice chips. There is.

In conventional snowmaking machines, the cutting blades are severely damaged by the impact of ice, and the replacement period for the cutting blades is short.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, there is a problem in that the cutting blade is damaged in a short period of time because sufficient consideration is not given to minimizing the impact force of ice on the cutting blade. The cutting blade replacement period was short.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems in the prior art described above, and is capable of reducing damage to the cutting blade as much as possible, and further extending the replacement period of the cutting blade, thereby improving the operating rate of the device. Its purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a snow making device according to the present invention has the following configuration: a case having an ice chip supply port and a simulation chamber discharge port; In a snowmaking device that includes a rotating body that rotates and sends ice pieces to a cutting position, a cutting means that cuts the ice pieces to create a simulated chamber, and an electric motor that drives the rotating body, the amount of ice in the case is detected. The electric motor is equipped with a detection means for detecting the rotation speed, and an inverter that can control the rotation speed of the rotating body according to an output signal of the detection means is connected to the electric motor.

More specifically, in order to achieve the above object, a device is provided for controlling the rotation speed of the rotating blade of the rotating body that presses ice against the cutting blade, and a device for detecting the amount of ice in the ice making machine is provided. It is equipped with a level sensor.

[Operation] The operation of the above-mentioned technical means will be explained in accordance with the idea behind the development of the present invention.

The amount of ice inside the snowmaker is detected by a level sensor.

The number of revolutions of the rotary blade that rotates the ice chips supplied in the case and presses them against the cutting blade is controlled according to the amount of ice by the signal from the level sensor.

The rotation speed of the rotary blade is variable by inverter control of the electric motor.

When the cumulative cutting amount of the cutting blade is small, operate at low rotation speed.
The inverter controls the rotation to gradually increase in accordance with the signal from the level sensor.

Generally, as a characteristic of the cutting blade, when the cumulative amount of cutting is small and the damage to the cutting blade is small, a certain level of snow-making ability can be maintained even if the rotational speed of the rotary blade is low. As the damage increases, the snowmaking capacity decreases and it is necessary to increase the rotation speed.

In order to extend the replacement period of the cutting blade, it is important to minimize the ice impact force and minimize damage to the cutting blade. It is effective to do so.

The present invention employs operation at the minimum number of revolutions necessary for heat. Initially, the rotary blades are operated at low speeds, but as the snowmaking capacity of the cutting blades becomes insufficient and the amount of snowmaking decreases, the amount of ice inside the snowmaker increases, and a level sensor detects this. I increased the rotation speed a little to see how things were going, and if the amount of snow still wasn't making enough, I raised the rotation speed again. This makes it possible to extend the replacement period for cutting blades.

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view showing the configuration of a snow making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a simulation chamber discharge port showing a state of cutting ice pieces.

In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is an ice chip supply duct, 2 is a cover that constitutes the case of the snowmaking machine, 3 is the ice flakes, and 4 is a hopper that is part of the case of the snowmaking machine. , the upper part has a larger diameter and the lower part has a smaller diameter than the upper part, forming a body corresponding to a part of a cone.

An ice piece supply port (not shown) is opened in the cover 2 and is connected to the ice piece supply duct 1.

Reference numeral 4a denotes a plurality of simulated chamber discharge ports that are opened all around the lower surface of the hopper 4, and 5 denotes a cutting blade that is attached to the outer surface of the hopper 4 along with the simulated chamber discharge port 4a and whose cutting edge protrudes toward the inner surface. This cutting blade 5 is a cutting means that cuts the ice piece 3 using the so-called plane principle.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a rotating blade provided in the hopper 4, which rotates and moves the ice pieces 3 supplied into the hopper 4 and cuts the ice chips 3 into the inner surface of the hopper with a cutting blade 5. In other words, the one-rotation blade 6 functions as a rotating body that rotates and sends the ice pieces 3 to the cutting position.

7 is a rotating shaft to which the rotary blade is fitted; 8b is a gear fitted to the rotating shaft 7; 8a is a motor pinion that meshes with the gear 8b; 9 is a frame housing the drive unit of the snowmaking machine;
9a shows a frame for mounting the motor. The rotating shaft 7 passes through the frame 9a and is supported by the frame 9a via a bearing.

10 is a motor related to an electric motor that drives the rotating blade 6;
1 is an inverter connected to the motor 1o, and 12 is a level sensor for detecting the amount of ice in the hopper 4.

The operation of such a snow making device will be explained.

Ice pieces 3 made by an ice maker (not shown) are supplied to the inside of a hopper 4 through an ice piece supply duct 1. motor 10
The rotational force of is the motor pinion 8a.

It is transmitted to the rotating shaft 7 via the gear 8b, and the rotating blade 6 performs a rotational movement. That is, the rotating blade 6 rotates the ice pieces 3 and presses them against the inner surface of the hopper 4. As shown in Fig. 2, a cutting blade 5 protrudes from the inner surface of the hopper 4, and the ice chips 3 are scraped off as if by a plane and become simulated snow, which exits the machine from the simulated snow outlet 4a as shown by the arrow. is discharged to.

The simulated snow discharged outside the machine is transported to the artificial snow demand side by a transport device such as a belt conveyor (not shown), but a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted here.

In the above operation, the cutting blade 5 protruding from the inside of the hopper
uses the principle of a plane to shave off the pressed ice piece 3,
The cutting blade 5 is subjected to impact due to ice collision. Therefore,
It is necessary to reduce the impact as much as possible to reduce wear and tear on the cutting edge. For this purpose, it is desirable to rotate the single-rotation blade 6 at the minimum necessary number of rotations to maintain the amount of snow making, and to pass the ice chips 3 toward the cutting blade 5.

In this embodiment, the rotational speed of the rotary blade 6 is controlled via an inverter 11 in accordance with an output signal from a level sensor 12 installed on the inner surface of the hopper 4 to detect the amount of ice. When the snow-making ability decreases due to wear or damage to the cutting blade 5, the amount of ice in the hopper 4 increases. Level sensor 12 detects this.

In accordance with the output signal, the inverter 11 operates to increase the frequency by about 5 Hz.

Generally, when the frequency increases by about 5 Hz and the rotational speed of the motor O increases, the snowmaking ability increases as the rotational speed of the rotary blade 6 increases, and the level of ice amount in the hopper 4 decreases. If the ice amount level does not decrease, the frequency is gradually increased until the level decreases, and the rotary blade 6 is driven to press the ice pieces 3 against the cutting blade 5 at the minimum necessary rotation speed.

According to this embodiment, since the impact force of the ice can be suppressed as much as possible, there is an effect of reducing the amount of damage to the cutting blade, and the replacement period of the cutting blade can be extended.

In addition, in the above example, we explained how to reduce damage to cutting blades in snow-making equipment, but by increasing the replacement period of cutting blades and allowing the snow-making machine to operate smoothly and continuously, the ejected simulated snow can be smoothly removed. Needless to say, when the artificial snow is transported to the demand side, snowfall tests, for example, in environmental test equipment can be carried out smoothly and continuously.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a snow making device is provided which can minimize damage to cutting blades, lengthen the replacement period of cutting blades, and improve the operating rate of the device. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view showing the configuration of a snow making device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a simulated snow discharge port showing the state of cutting ice chips.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A case having an ice chip supply port and a simulated snow discharge port; a rotating body that rotates and sends the ice chips supplied in the case to a cutting position; A snowmaking device including a cutting means for generating ice and an electric motor for driving the rotating body, further comprising a detection means for detecting the amount of ice in the case, and controlling the rotational speed of the rotating body according to an output signal of the detection means. A snowmaking device characterized in that a controllable inverter is connected to the electric motor.