JPS6131393B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention crushes block ice into fine ice particles with a small apparent specific gravity, and scatters the ice particles to fall like snow. (referred to as artificial snow.) This relates to the method of manufacturing artificial snow.

Crushing ice blocks, natural fine ice (including snow)
Dumping and spreading artificial ice is prohibited for edible, frozen,
It is already in practical use for cooling purposes, snow removal from roads, railways, runways, etc., and cold areas at ski resorts. As a document related to industrial property rights, for example, Japanese Patent No. 25002 (1912) proposes an ice shaving machine equipped with a plurality of rotary cutting blades for use in eating and drinking.

Also, Utility Model Application Publication No. 114749/1983, Publication of Utility Model Application No. 54-
In Japanese Patent No. 124527, fine ice particles are passed through a chute provided in the tangential direction by an impeller-type ice thrower,
A fine ice particle conveying device that uses centrifugal force to throw ice is described.

However, a method for producing artificial snow that approximates natural snowfall by crushing natural or artificial ice cubes into fine ice particles and scattering them over a wide area has not yet been developed.

The inventor believes that if it is possible to create a snow-covered landscape by making artificial snow fall in the same way as natural snow at the desired time and place, even in extremely hot or extremely dry regions, it would be possible for residents to Believing that there is great spiritual joy to be given, we conducted research on artificial snow (fine artificial ice grains that are falling), and as a result of repeated research on various types, we found that it is not just thin ice falling or hail-like. They completed a method for manufacturing artificial snow that can be mistaken for natural snow, leading to the present invention.

An object of the present invention is to make artificial snow fall as needed even in seasons and regions where there is no snowfall, and even in snowy seasons and regions. Such artificial snow is extremely useful for viewing, advertising, and filming sets, and is particularly used for events, similar to fireworks at festivals.

The present invention consists of a process of crushing natural or artificial ice cubes by cutting them with a knife, and a process of dispersing the generated fine ice particles uniformly in time and place using a snow thrower. It's on. Therefore, if the capacity of the grinding process is inferior to that of the dispersion process, it is desirable to provide a storage tank between the two.

Hammer mill types, roller types, integrator types, cutter types, etc. have been known as crushers for solid substances for a long time, and as crushers for ice,
When used for edible purposes as so-called shaved ice, an ice plane or an ice shaving machine such as the one disclosed in Patent No. 25002 mentioned above is used; when a large amount of ice is required, an impact pulverizer such as a hammer mill or an ice pick is used. A brittle crusher is used. However, the ice particles made by these types of crushers are highly transparent and have a large apparent specific gravity, so when they fall through the air, they look more like hailstones than snow. The present inventor conducted tests on various types of crushers, and found that the cutter type crusher had uniformity of ice particle size, decreased apparent specific gravity due to air inclusion, and therefore had a slow falling speed, and was found to have a lower falling speed and to be deposited on the ground. They found that both were the best in giving a "fluffy" feel. In this case, the ice sheets cut with the cutter are easily crushed into cubic or spherical particles due to their brittleness, and the particle size can be easily changed by adjusting the knife blade. The temperature at the time of pulverization is an important factor, and is suitably about 5° C. or lower; if it exceeds this temperature, sleet-like lumps tend to form, which is not preferred. On the other hand, it is difficult to maintain a crusher at -20°C or lower except in cold regions, and ice tends to stick to the machine walls, which is not a good idea from a thermoeconomic standpoint.

Air-containing ice grains crushed with a cutter-type crusher are
You can spray it directly with a snow thrower, but you can also store it in a storage tank. The reason for providing a storage tank is to use a small-capacity crusher to create fine ice particles over a long period of time, and to make artificial snow fall over a wide area in a short period of time.This makes it possible to use a crusher with a small processing capacity per hour. This makes the equipment cheaper. The storage tank may be installed at a different location or may be made movable, but since transportation requires expense, it is desirable to install it directly below the crusher except in special cases. The temperature in the storage tank is preferably 0° C. or lower; if it is 5° C. or higher, it is not preferable because the ice melts and forms sleet-like lumps. Therefore, in areas other than cold regions, it is better to keep the entire tank and as much as possible, including the crusher, cold, and if necessary, cool it down. As a method of preventing lumps, it is particularly effective to blow air at a temperature of 0° C. or lower from the bottom of the tank. In addition, except for storage tanks with a small horizontal cross section, a device for moving fine ice particles such as an agitator or a surface leveling machine is generally installed in the storage tank to continuously distribute fine ice particles to the shoveling side of the snow thrower. It is desirable to charge it in the same way.

Throwing fine ice particles using centrifugal force in order to make artificial snow is similar to, for example, the crushed ice conveying device described in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 114749/1983, but the known snow throwing device While the main purpose is to transport crushed ice, snow, etc. in a specific direction (for example, when used for cooling the ground at an artificial ski resort, it is only necessary to achieve a predetermined distribution of crushed ice after a certain period of time, and the discharge end of the ice thrower When making artificial snow, it is necessary to spread it almost uniformly over the entire desired area in terms of time and location. Both methods differ in their purpose and dispersion mode, and cannot be replaced with known machines.

When snow or crushed ice is thrown (ice) by centrifugal force, the accumulated snow (in the case of a so-called snow gun) or crushed ice (in the case of the above-mentioned crushed ice conveyance device) is transferred to the casing of the snow thrower (ice) and thrown by the centrifugal force. Because they are pressed against the snow (ice) chute, even fine ice particles that have been cut and crushed may increase their apparent specific gravity, and in some cases may form into lumps. It may give a feeling of Furthermore, since the fine ice grains are thrown through the chute, their movement direction is regulated by the chute wall, so that they are oriented in a fixed direction.

In the present invention, fine ice grains to which a centrifugal force is applied by a rotating impeller are appropriately transported through a chute, and the fine ice grains are deagglomerated and dispersed at the outlet of the chute. A deagglomeration dispersing device is used for deagglomeration dispersion, and the main body of the deagglomeration dispersing device is a dispersion plate having a substantially downwardly convex surface.

Fine ice grains ejected upward (including diagonally upward) from the chute of the snow throwing (ice) machine collide with this substantially downwardly convex dispersion plate, causing parallel light rays to form a convex surface. Wide-angle dispersion similar to that caused by reflection occurs. Needless to say, at this time, the baby boom is deagglomerated. However, by moving this substantially downwardly convex dispersion plate in the same direction as the fine ice particles, preferably at a higher speed, the dispersion angle (range) of the fine ice particles increases significantly, and the degree of deagglomeration decreases. Increase further. This movement of the dispersion plate can be carried out, for example, by rotating the beer barrel-shaped cylindrical dispersion plate in the same direction around a substantially horizontal axis, and then rotating the thin ice particles on the lower surface of the cylindrical dispersion plate.
This is achieved by colliding fine ice particles ejected from the chute.

When the dispersion surface is concave, similar to how parallel light rays converge in the focal region when reflected by a concave surface, fine ice particles gather in the focal region, collide and become larger, and the substantial presence of the concave surface is not allowed.

When the dispersion surface is flat, there is no convergence effect that is observed on concave surfaces. Therefore, in the present invention, a convex surface means that even if one direction on the dispersion surface is a straight line, there is no problem (for example, a cylindrical dispersion board instead of a beer barrel shape), and does not include a concave surface. . If the shape of the scattering plate is modified, it can be quite effective with just one, but the effect will be even greater if you attach multiple plates or multiple tiers. In addition, the fixed scattering plate and the rotating cylindrical scattering plate can be adjusted according to the actual situation at the artificial snowfall site.
It is desirable to simplify the task of making artificial snow by conventional means, such as making the snow-throwing chute variable in angle and by providing a flexible section in the snow chute to change the direction of release, and the present invention does not address this. do not have.

By the way, in order for the fine ice particles to move obliquely and collide with the dispersion surface that is substantially downwardly convex, the fine ice particles discharged from the chute of the snow thrower must be
It is meant to be brought into contact with the scattering surface while still retaining its lifting force (kinetic energy that can move in the vertical direction if reduced), and to disperse the fine ice particles by this lifting force, without using the scattering surface. If snow is left to natural dispersion, which can be approximated by a parabola, there is a drawback that snowfall space must be secured up to a high position. Furthermore, when fine ice particles collide with an upwardly convex scattering surface, the snowfall space increases.

An example of implementing the present invention is shown in FIG. The block ice enters a rotary crusher 2 from a hopper 1, is cut into thin pieces by one or more rotary cutters 3 and fixed cutters 4, and is crushed almost simultaneously into thin ice particles, which become bulky by containing air. The fine ice grains are sieved by a screen 5, and the small ice particles fall and enter the storage tank 6, where the large ice particles are cut again with a cutter and converted into small ice particles. There is no change in the effect even if the ice cubes are supplied to the rotary crusher 2 from the side instead of from above, and the present invention is not limited to the direction in which the ice cubes are supplied. Furthermore, even if a sieving screen is not used, there is no significant change in the particle size distribution, so it is possible to remove the screen in some cases. The inside of the storage tank is kept at a temperature of 5°C or lower by keeping the outside surface of the storage tank cool and, if necessary, air at a temperature of 0°C or lower is blown in from the lower part 7. This smoothes the surface and prevents agglomeration. The snow thrower 10 throws fine ice particles into a chute 13 by centripetal force through the rotation of a raking device 11 and an impeller 12 having several blades. A rotary dispersion plate 14 is provided at the outlet of the chute, and a large number of rod-shaped protrusions are attached to the circumferential surface of the plate, and the axial cross section is made convex toward the outside to break up the nodules and spread them over a wide area over a period of time. Artificial snow can be made to fall uniformly and uniformly in different areas (Figure 2).
It goes without saying that a fixed type may be installed in place of the rotary type scattering plate 14, or a fixed type may be used in combination.

As described above, the present invention involves cutting and crushing natural or artificial ice cubes using a cutter-type crusher having one or more knives to create fluffy fine ice particles with a small bulk specific gravity, and rotating these fine ice particles. The present invention relates to a method for producing artificial snow in which fine ice particles are averaged over time and place to fall like natural snow using a snow thrower and a deagglomeration dispersion device installed at the outlet of the snow thrower. For the first time, it has become possible to produce and lower artificial snow beautifully and inexpensively using simple equipment, making it possible to enjoy snow in seasons and regions where there is no snowfall, and for use in advertising, spectacle events, and other purposes. They are useful for recreational purposes, as are fireworks. Therefore, not only can people enjoy the snowfall, but also the snow can transform the environment into a so-called snowy landscape, which has a great aesthetic and comforting effect on humans.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view showing a schematic structure of one example of carrying out the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, and is a partially sectional side view of the scattering plate. 1...Hopper, 2...Rotating crusher, 3...Rotating cutter, 4...Fixed cutter, 5...Net, 6
...storage tank, 10 ... snow thrower, 11 ... raking device, 12 ... impeller, 13 ... chute,
14...Scatter plate, 14a... Rod-shaped protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Cutting and pulverizing block ice with a rotary cutter crusher having one or more knives, and collecting fine ice grain aggregates produced by the cutting and pulverizing using a rotary snow thrower that utilizes centrifugal force. The snow is then pushed into the upward (including diagonally upward) chute attached to the rotary snow thrower and collides with the substantially downwardly convex spreading surface of the deagglomeration spreading device installed near the exit of the chute.・Wide-angle scattering,
A method for producing artificial snow that falls as artificial snow. 2. The fine ice particle aggregates produced by cutting and crushing are stored in a storage tank that includes a moving device for the aggregates, and the stored fine ice particle aggregates are supplied to the rotary snow thrower. Claim 1 The method for producing artificial snow described in Section 1. 3. The artificial snow manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the downwardly convex surface of the deagglomeration spreading device is fixed. 4. The artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the downwardly convex dispersion surface is the lower surface of a convex rotating body, and the rotating body rotates in the same direction as the movement of the fine ice particles. Production method. 5. The method for producing artificial snow according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of rod-like protrusions are provided on the surface of the scattering surface.