WO2007081077A1

WO2007081077A1 - Apparatus for fabricating artificial snow

Info

Publication number: WO2007081077A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/003568
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jaekab LEE
Original assignee: Snowart Co Ltd; Gim Jin Tae
Priority date: 2006-01-09
Filing date: 2006-09-07
Publication date: 2007-07-19
Also published as: KR100577986B1

Abstract

Provided is an apparatus capable of cooling bottle beers displayed on a display table and providing an effect of falling snow onto the display table by thinly cutting an ice layer generated at an inner periphery of a cooling tube using a one-way rotating blade and simultaneously falling the cut ice onto the display table. The apparatus includes a cylindrical cooling tube having a closed upper part and an opened lower part, a rotating device rotatably installed in the cooling tube, a plurality of cutting devices integrally installed at an outer periphery of the rotating device, a drive mechanism for rotating the rotating device, a cooling device for cooling the cooling tube, a water supply device for supplying water onto an inner periphery of the cooling tube, and a blowing device installed at a lower part of the cooling tube.

Description

Description APPARATUS FOR FABRICATING ARTIFICIAL SNOW

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow, and more particularly, to an apparatus capable of cooling bottle beers displayed on a display table and providing an effect of falling snow onto the display table by thinly cutting an ice layer generated at an inner periphery of a cooling tube using a one-way rotating blade and simultaneously falling the cut ice onto the display table.

[2]

Background Art

[3] Generally, a snow falling device for fabricating artificial snow by installing a rotating body in a cooling body is already well known.

[4] Japanese Patent Registration No. 3296795 discloses "Snow Falling Device", which includes a cooling body, a humidifying means for supplying water drops or vapor to make frost, a scraper installed to contact the cooling body, and a loop-shaped scratching member installed at a front end of the scraper. Though the snow falling device has an advantage of continuously falling feathery snowflakes even at a low temperature in outdoors, it is difficult to use the device at a high temperature in the interior, in which a beer display table is installed.

[5] In addition, Japanese Patent Paid-open Publication No.H01-234770 discloses

"Apparatus for fabricating artificial snow", which includes a cooling surface cooled to a freezing point or less, a water nozzle for injecting water to the cooling surface, and a scraper for scraping frost that the water is injected from the water nozzle to be frozen at the cooling surface. However, since the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow is also used for the outdoor such as a ski resort, it is difficult to use the device at a high temperature in the interior, in which a beer display table is installed.

[6] In order to solve the problems, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No.:

2005-26321 (Nov. 1, 2003), entitled "a small apparatus for fabricating artificial snow", which can be used in the indoor, has been filed by the applicant. As shown in FIG. 1, the artificial snow fabricating apparatus is installed on a display table 200, on which a plurality of beer bottles 230 is installed, to generate snow and supply it. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the artificial snow fabricating apparatus includes a cooling part 30 for cooling a cylindrical cooling tube, a drive part 50 for rotating a rotating tube installed in the cylindrical cooling tube, and a cutting part 90 for cutting ice formed on an inner periphery of the cylindrical cooling tube.

[7] The cooling part 30 includes a cylindrical cooling tube 31 having a predetermined diameter and height, a plurality of coolant pipes 33 installed adjacent to its upper surface and outer periphery, a coolant circulation device 35 installed on the cooling tube 31 to supply coolant into the coolant pipes 33, and an insulation material layer 36 formed on the exterior of the coolant pipes 33 to prevent loss of the cold air. Therefore, when the coolant is supplied into the coolant pipes 33 through the coolant circulation device 35, the cylindrical cooling tube 31 is cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower, and the interior of the cylindrical cooling tube 31, i.e., a space 39 in which artificial snow falls, is also cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower.

[8] The drive part 50 includes a rotating tube 51 rotatably installed at a center part of the cylindrical cooling tube 31 in a vertical direction, and a drive mechanism 55 installed on the cooling tube 31 to drive the rotating tube 51. Therefore, when the rotating tube 51 is rotated by the drive mechanism, a fixing bar 61, a nozzle 71 and a blade 81 are rotated together with the rotating tube 51.

[9] The cutting part 90 includes a plurality of nozzles 71 installed at an outer periphery of the rotating tube 51 to inject water into an inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 , a water supply device 75 installed on the cooling tube 31 to supply water to the nozzles 71, and a plurality of blades 81 installed adjacent to an inner periphery of the cooling tube and rotated together with the rotating tube 51 to cut ice formed on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31. Therefore, when the blades 81 are rotated after injecting water to the inner periphery of the cylindrical cooling tube 31 cooled to a predetermined temperature to form an ice layer, the ice layer is thinly cut to make artificial snow. Then, the artificial snow falls down like real snow.

[10] In the cooling part 30, the cylindrical cooling tube 31 is formed of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate having high thermal conductivity, anti-corrosion and anti- wearing characteristics, and has a closed upper part and an open lower part. That is, a predetermined thickness of upper plate 32 is integrally welded with an upper part of a cylindrical main body of the cylindrical cooling tube 31, and an open part 34 is formed at a lower part thereof. In addition, the cylindrical cooling tube 31 has the same diameter at its upper and lower parts. Further, the plurality of coolant pipes 33 is welded adjacent to an outer periphery of the cylindrical main body of the cylindrical cooling tube 31 and the upper plate 32 of the cylindrical cooling tube 31.

[11] The coolant pipe 33 is a predetermined diameter of copper or aluminum pipe, through which coolant flows. In addition, a predetermined thickness of insulation material layer 35 is installed on the outer periphery of the cooling tube 31, on which the cooling pipes 33 are installed, to sufficiently surround the cooling pipes 33. Further, the cooling pipes 33 are in fluid communication with the coolant circulation device 35 installed on the cooling tube 31. At this time, the coolant circulation device 35 includes a compressor 135, a condenser 136, a capillary tube 137, and so on. The condenser 136 may be a water cooling type condenser, to which a cooling water supply pipe 138 and a cooling water discharge pipe 139 are connected.

[12] In the drive part 50, the rotating tube 51 is a cylindrical metal tube having a height similar to the cylindrical cooling tube 31. The interior of the rotating tube 51 is hermetically sealed, a predetermined length of hollow shaft 52 is vertically installed at an upper surface of the rotating tube 51, and a predetermined length of support shaft 58 is vertically installed at a bottom surface of the rotating tube 51. In addition, a plurality of fixing bars 61 are horizontally installed at the outer periphery of the rotating tube 51.

[13] A bevel gear 53 for transmitting rotational force of the drive mechanism 55 is integrally engaged with a front end of the hollow shaft 52 vertically installed at the upper surface of the rotating tube 51. In addition, a bearing 154 is installed at a lower end of the hollow shaft 52 to allow the hollow shaft 52 to be horizontally rotated. Further, another bearing 158 is installed at a lower end of the support frame 58 vertically installed at the bottom surface of the rotating tube 51 to rotatably support the rotating tube 51. A support frame 66 for supporting the bearing 158 and the rotating tube 51 is horizontally installed at a lower end of the cylindrical cooling tube 31.

[14] In addition, the drive mechanism 55 for rotating the rotating tube 51 is installed at an upper surface of the cylindrical cooling tube 31. The drive mechanism 55 includes a reduction motor 56 having an appropriate capacity, and a drive gear 57 installed at the rotary shaft of the reduction motor 56 to drive the bevel gear 53 installed at the hollow shaft 52. At this time, the drive gear 57 is a bevel gear.

[15] However, since the conventional artificial snow fabricating apparatus cannot uniformly maintain the cold air in the cooling tube 31 even though the cooling tube is surrounded by the insulation material layer, it is difficult to effectively form an ice layer. In addition, since the entire surface of the blade is in contact with the ice layer formed on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 to increase load applied to the blade, the blade may be easily damaged, or excessive load may be applied to the drive mechanism.

[16] Further, since the conventional artificial snow fabricating apparatus uniformly supply water to make a thickness of the ice layer uniform, it is impossible to adjust generation of ice.

[17] Furthermore, as described above, the circular coolant pipes 33 are in line contact with the cooling tube 31 to lower heat exchange efficiency, thereby consuming much time for generating the ice layer by means of heat exchange between the coolant flowing through the coolant pipes and the water injected to the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 through the nozzles 71.

[18] In addition, in the case of the circular coolant pipes 33, the coolant pipes 33 are formed of a different copper material than the object, onto which the pipes are to be wound and welded. Therefore, when the circular coolant pipes 33 formed of copper are wound and welded to the outer periphery of the cooling tube 31, the coolant pipe 33 should be fixed using a specific welding method. However, the specific welding method is very difficult, troublesome, and time-consuming operation.

[19] Further, when the coolant pipes 33 are fixed to the outer periphery of the cooling tube 31 by a welding operation for a long time, the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 is wrinkled due to the welding heat to make the ice to be unevenly removed. Moreover, the wrinkled cooling tube 31 may be weakened by deformation of molecule structure due to the welding heat such that the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 is readily damaged by impact and vibrations when the ice layer on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 31 is repeatedly cut.

[20]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[21] In order to solve the foregoing and/or other problems, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of remarkably increasing cold strength and cold keeping performance in a cooling tube.

[22] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of dramatically reducing noise in the cooling tube.

[23] Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of adjusting distribution of water to adjust a thickness of ice, thereby finally controlling snow falling.

[24] Still yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of uniformly distributing the snow by blowing the cold air when the snow falls.

[25] Still further another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of generating snow even in hot indoor environments by remarkably increasing cooling capacity and cold keeping performance in a cooling tube.

[26] Yet further another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of improving heat exchange efficiency between coolant in a cooling pipe and water injected onto an inner periphery of a rectangular cooling tube through a surface contact of the rectangular coolant pipe.

[27] Still yet further another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow capable of simply performing a welding operation for fixing a coolant pipe wound on an outer periphery of an inner tube of the cooling tube, reducing welding time of the coolant pipe, and lowering cost consumed to perform a specific welding operation by forming the coolant pipe using the same material as the inner tube of the cooling tube.

[28]

Technical Solution

[29] The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention may be achieved by providing an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow including: a drive mechanism having a drive motor and a drive bevel gear; a cooling tube having a closed upper part and an opened lower part, having a dual-tube structure formed of inner and outer tubes to define a hollow part therebetween, a coolant pipe wound on an outer periphery of the outer tube in a spiral manner as a whole, an anti-freezing solution filled between the inner and outer tubes, and a cross-shaped support frame installed at its lower part; a cooling device constituted of a compressor, a condenser, and a capillary tube, and connected to the coolant pipe to circulate coolant; a rotating device rotatably having a rotating main body installed in the cooling tube, extending along a vertical direction of the cooling tube, and in which an anti-freezing solution is filled, an upper rotary shaft fixed to a driven bevel gear engaged with the drive bevel gear at its one side, integrally engaged with the rotating main body at the other side, and rotatably supported on the cooling tube by a bearing, and a lower rotary shaft integrally engaged with the rotating main body at its one side, and supported on the support frame of the cooing tube by a bearing; a plurality of cutting devices installed at an outer periphery of the rotating main body from its upper part to its lower part in a spiral manner, each cutting device having a fixing bar mounted on the rotating main body to extend to an inner periphery of the cooling tube and a blade part installed at an end of the fixing bar, wherein the fixing bar is installed at the rotating main body with an inclination of 10 - 15 ° in a rotational direction with respect to a normal line thereof, and the blade part is installed at the inner periphery of the cooling tube with an inclination of 10 - 15 ° in a rotational direction with respect to a normal line of the inner periphery; a water supply device having a water accommodating part installed in a hollow part of the upper rotary shaft of the rotating device, a water supply pipe connected to the water accommodating part and supported at the inner periphery of the upper rotary shaft by a bearing, a plurality of nipples installed at the outer periphery of the water accommodating part to project through the outer periphery of the upper rotary shaft, and a plurality of nozzles connected to the nipples by hoses and fixed to the fixing bars of the cutting device; a water distribution device having an electronic valve installed on the water supply pipe of the water supply device and opened/closed depending on a temperature thereof; and a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the anti-freezing solution filled between the inner and outer tubes of the cooling tube to control operation of the drive mechanism and the water distribution device.

[30] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow may further include a blowing device, and the blowing device may include a blower in fluid communication with the interior of the cooling tube through a cold air inlet port; an annular-shaped hollow body engaged with a lower part of the cooling tube and in fluid communication with the blower through a blowing pipe; a plurality of blowing discharge ports installed at an inner periphery of the annular-shaped hollow body; and a wind force adjustment switch for adjusting blowing intensity of the cold air in a stepped manner.

[31] The water distribution device may include a first electronic valve opened/closed depending on a temperature of the anti-freezing solution in the cooling tube, and a second electronic valve having a diameter larger than the first electronic valve.

[32] The temperature sensor may include a first temperature sensor connected to the first electronic valve, and a second temperature sensor connected to the second electronic valve.

[33] The cooling tube may have an insulation material layer installed at its outer part.

[34] The cooling tube may have a tapered structure, an upper part of which has a diameter smaller than a lower part.

[35] The nozzle may be installed to have a predetermined inclination with respect to the fixing bar.

[36] The blade part of the cutting device may have an urethane cover for preventing noise, and a space formed between the cover and the blade part to absorb noise.

[37] The rotating device may have a noise reduction member formed of sponge or rubber at its entire outer periphery to prevent noise. Brief Description of the Drawings

[38] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

[39] FlG. 1 is a perspective view showing that artificial snow fabricated by a conventional artificial snow fabricating apparatus falls on a beer bottle display table;

[40] FlG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FTG. 1 ;

[41] FlG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[42] FlG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3;

[43] FlG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a rotating device and a cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3; [44] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3;

[45] FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a blowing device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3;

[46] FlG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the cutting device shown in FlG. 6;

[47] FlG. 9 is a plan view of another embodiment of the cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow of the present invention;

[48] FlG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow of the present invention;

[49] FlG. 11 is a bottom view of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow of FlG. 3 ; and

[50] FlG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

[51]

[52] <Description of Major Reference Numerals>

[53] 310: Drive mechanism 320: Cooling device

[54] 330: Cooling tube 340: Rotating device

[55] 350: Cutting device 360: Water supply device

[56] 370: Water distribution device 380: Blowing device

[57]

Mode for the Invention

[58] Hereinafter, Reference will now be made in detail to an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with the present, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

[59] Major characteristics of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with the present invention, which is used for a beer or beverage bottle display table, is that snow is fabricated by freezing water in a container, a bottom surface of which is open, rather than a sealed container. Specifically, the apparatus is characterized in that the snow can be fabricated in hot indoor environments during four seasons, rather than installed in the outdoor during wintertime.

[60] FlG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, FlG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3, and FlG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a rotating device and a cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow shown in FlG. 3. [61] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with the present invention functions to cool bottle beers displayed on a display table and provide an effect of snow falling onto display table by thinly cutting an ice layer formed on an inner periphery of a cooling tube using a one-way rotating blade and simultaneously falling the cut ice layer onto the display table.

[62] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes a cylindrical cooling tube 330 having a closed upper part and an open lower part, a rotating device 340 rotatably installed in the cooling tube 330, a plurality of cutting device 350 integrally installed at an outer periphery of the rotating device 340, a drive mechanism 310 for rotating the rotating device 340, a cooling device 320 for cooling the cooling tube 330, a water supply device 360 for supplying water to an inner wall of the cooling tube 330, and a blowing device 380 installed at a lower part of the cooling tube 330. In addition, the apparatus may further include a water distribution device 370 for controlling supply of water to adjust a thickness of an ice layer generated on an inner periphery of the cooling tube 330, thereby adjusting supply of snow.

[63] The cooling tube 330 has a dual-sidewall structure formed of an inner tube 411 and an outer tube 413. A rectangular coolant pipe 415 is wound on an outer periphery of the inner tube 411 in a spiral manner as a whole to be connected to cooling device 320. A hollow part between the inner tube 411 and the outer tube 413 has an inlet port 417 through which an anti-freezing solution 420 is filled and supplemented, and a discharge port 419 through which the anti-freezing solution is discharged. A cross- shaped support frame 424 is installed at a lower part of the cooling tube 330.

[64] The anti-freezing solution 420 has a very low thermal conductivity such that the cold air transmitted from the rectangular coolant pipe 415 can be maintained at a low temperature for a long time and transmit the cold air into the inner tube 411 of the cooling tube 330 to allow the water to be readily frozen, thereby trapping the cold air in the cooing tube 330.

[65] In addition, a predetermined thickness of insulation material layer 422 is disposed on the exterior of the cooling tube 330 to effectively block the heat or cold transmitted between the interior and the exterior of the cooling tube 330.

[66] The rotating device 340 is rotatably installed in the cooling tube 330, and includes a rotating main body 441 elongated in a vertical direction of the cooling tube 330. The rotating main body 441 has a hollow structure filled with an anti-freezing solution. The rotating main body 441 has a lower rotary shaft 446 rotatably supported on a support frame 424 by a bearing 426, and an upper rotary shaft 445 passing through an upper wall and rotatably supported by a bearing 428. The upper rotary shaft 445 has a hollow structure, and includes a driven bevel gear 447 engaged with a drive bevel gear of a drive mechanism 310.

[67] That is, the rotating device 340 has a hollow structure filled with an anti-freezing solution to use low thermal conductivity characteristics thereof, thereby blocking heat transfer from the cooling tube 330 at a low temperature to maintain the interior of the cooling tube 330 at a low temperature for a long time. In addition, the rotating main body 441 filled with the anti-freezing solution 443 has a heavyweight to prevent vibration noise during the rotation, thereby making it stably rotate.

[68] Further, the rotating device 340 includes a noise reduction member 880 surrounding the entire outer periphery thereof. The noise reduction member 880 is formed of sponge or rubber having a plurality of embossments formed at its surface.

[69] The rotating main body 441 of the rotating device 340 includes a plurality of cutting devices 350 formed at its outer periphery in a zigzag or spiral manner. The cutting device 350 includes a fixing bar 471 mounted on the rotating main body 441 to extend to an inner periphery of the cooling tube 330, and a blade part 475 installed at an end of the fixing bar 471 to scrape an ice layer.

[70] At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the fixing bar 471 is installed at the outer periphery of the rotating main body 441 with inclined about 10 - 15 ° in a rotational direction with reference to a normal line of the outer periphery. Therefore, the blade part 475 is installed at an inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 with inclined about 10 ~ 15 ° in a rotational direction with reference to a normal line of the inner periphery, thereby remarkably reducing contact load generated when the blade part 475 is in contact with an ice layer to scrape the ice layer. That is, when the blade part 475 is in inclined contact with the ice layer, load applied to the blade part 475 can be remarkably reduced, in comparison with the case when the blade part 475 is in vertical contact with the ice layer.

[71] In addition, though the blade part 475 is installed to have an inclination of about 10

~ 15 °, since the cooling tube has a large diameter and therefore the inner periphery of the inner tube has a large radius of curvature, there is no influence to the scrape function of the blade part 475 due to a thickness of the ice layer formed on the inner periphery of the inner tube.

[72] Further, while not shown, a blade of the blade part 475 may have an arcuate shape corresponding to the inner tube of the cooling tube 330.

[73] The drive mechanism 310 includes a drive motor 511, and a drive bevel gear 555 connected to the drive motor 511 and engaged with the driven bevel gear 447 to transmit a driving force.

[74] The cooling device 320 includes a compressor 430, a condenser 431, and a capillary tube 433, which is well known technology as described above and will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. [75] A low temperature of coolant passing through the cooling device 320 performs heat exchange via the coolant pipe 415 to freeze water sprayed onto the inner tube 411 of the cooling tube 330.

[76] As shown in FlG. 6, the water supply device 360 includes a water accommodating part 615 for storing a small amount of water supplied through a water supply pipe 610. The water supply pipe 610 and the water accommodating part 615 are installed in a hollow part of the upper rotary shaft 445 of the rotating device 340. A bearing 492 is installed between the water supply pipe 610 and an inner periphery of the upper rotary shaft 445 so that the upper rotary shaft 445 can be rotated with respect to the water supply pipe 610.

[77] The water accommodating part 615 includes a plurality of nipples 623 installed at its outer periphery. The plurality of nipples 623 pass through the outer periphery of the upper rotary shaft 445 to be exposed to the exterior. In addition, a nozzle 620 is installed at the fixing bar 471 of the cutting device 350 with a predetermined inclination to supply water. A hose 621 is connected between the nipple 623 and the nozzle 620 to inject the water through the nozzle 620.

[78] Since the nozzle 620 is installed at a predetermined inclination with respect to the fixing bar 471, it is possible to prevent the water from being sprayed onto the blade part 475 to generate ice on the blade part 475.

[79] The water distribution device 370 may be installed on the water supply pipe 610 of the water supply device 360. The water distribution device 370 includes a first electronic valve 372 having a diameter of 2mm, and a second electronic valve 376 having a diameter of 6mm. Each of the electronic valves is connected to the water supply pipe 610 to be opened/closed depending on a temperature of an anti-freezing solution.

[80] In order to open/close the electronic valves of the water distribution device 370, first and second temperature sensors 670 and 680 are installed in the anti-freezing solution filled between the inner tube 411 and the outer tube 413 of the cooling tube 330. The first temperature sensor 670 controls opening/closing of the first electronic valve 372, and the second temperature sensor 680 controls opening/closing of the second electronic valve 376. The first and second temperature sensors 670 and 680 may be set to have a predetermined temperature by a user.

[81] When the user wants to fabricate a small amount of snow, the user can open only the first electronic valve 372, and when a large amount of snow, the user can open both the first and second electronic valves 372 and 376.

[82] In the case that the first temperature sensor 670 is set as -15 °C, when the anti- freezing solution 420 has a temperature of -15 ⁰C or less, the first electronic valve 372 is opened to supply a small amount of water only, thereby making a thickness of an ice layer formed on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 thin to generate artificial snow less.

[83] On the other hand, in the case that the second temperature sensor 680 is set as -20

⁰C, when the anti-freezing solution 420 has a temperature of -20 °C or less, the second electronic valve 376 is opened together with the first electronic valve 372 to supply a large amount of water, thereby making a thickness of an ice layer formed on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 thick to generate artificial snow much.

[84] The first temperature sensor 670 controls the drive mechanism 310 as well as the water distribution device 370. That is, when the anti-freezing solution 420 has a certain temperature, the water distribution device 370 is opened and the drive mechanism 310 is operated to rotate the cooling tube 330 and supply water through the water distribution device 370, thereby injecting the water onto the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 to cool the water.

[85] Of course, about one hour before driving the drive mechanism 310 and the water distribution device 370, the cooling device 320 can be operated to circulate coolant through the coolant pipe 415 to cool the cooling tube 330. As a result, the temperature of the anti-freezing solution is lowered by heat exchange with the coolant pipe 415, and the first temperature sensor 670 detects the low temperature to control the water distribution device 370 and the drive mechanism 310.

[86] The blowing device 380 is integrally installed at a lower part of the cooling tube

330 by welding, or fixed by another separate fixing means.

[87] As shown in FlG. 7, the blowing device 380 includes an annular-shaped hollow body 840 and a blower 820 engaged with a lower part of the cooling tube 330. The annular-shaped hollow body 840 and the blower 820 are connected to a blowing pipe 830. In order to introduce the cold air into the cooling tube 330, the blower 820 has a cold air inlet port 821 in fluid communication with the interior of the cooling tube 330. The annular-shaped hollow body 840 has a plurality of blowing discharge ports 845 formed at its inner periphery to discharge the cold air transmitted to the annular-shaped hollow body 840 toward a lower center of the cooling tube 330.

[88] At this time, the reason for positioning the cold air inlet port 821 in fluid communication with the blower 820 to be in fluid communication with the interior of the cooling tube 330, rather than the exterior, is to prevent the falling snow from being melted due to introduction of the hot external air, and allow the cold air in the cooling tube 330 to be introduced and blown.

[89] The blowing device 380 includes a wind force adjustment switch for adjusting intensity of the wind in a stepped manner.

[90] In addition, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the blade part 475 of the cutting device 350 in accordance with the present invention may include a cover 474 formed of urethane for preventing noise. The urethane cover 474 and the blade part 475 include a space S formed therebetween to absorb noise generated when the ice layer is scraped.

[91] FlG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the cutting device of the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow of the present invention.

[92] As shown in FlG. 10, a cutting device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes a blade part 1210 for scraping an ice layer, and a housing 1230 for accommodating the blade part 1210. The housing 1210 is integrally mounted on an end of a fixing bar 471. A pair of guide parts 1211 project from both sides of the blade part 1210. Each guide part has grooves at its both sides to allow a plurality of balls 1215 to be inserted into the grooves in a rolling manner so that the blade part 1210 can be smoothly slid. A pair of guide grooves 1231 are formed at both inner walls of the housing 1230 to correspond to the guide parts 1211. In addition, a plurality of resilient springs 1235 are mounted on an inner rear wall of the housing 1230. Therefore, the guide part 1211 can be slid along the guide groove 1231, and the blade part 1210 is in contact with the resilient spring 1235 to be slightly compressed and recovered.

[93] In addition, threaded holes 1237 are formed at upper and lower walls of the housing

1230, and elongated holes 1217 are formed at upper and lower walls of the blade part 1210. Bolts 1237 are threadedly engaged with the threaded holes 1237 to extend to a portion of the elongated holes 1217. Therefore, when the blade part 1210 translates to and fro by the resilient spring 1235, the blade part 121 is stopped by the elongated holes 1217 and the bolts 1250 to prevent separation of the blade part 1210 from the housing 1230.

[94] Hereinafter, the cooling tube 330 formed of the inner and outer tubes 411 and 413, and the coolant pipe 415 welded to the inner tube 411 will be described in detail.

[95] Preferably, a hollow part 414 between the inner and outer tubes 411 and 413 has a width three to four times larger than a height h of the coolant pipe 415.

[96] In this process, when the hollow part 414 between the inner and outer tubes 411 and

413 has a width less than three times of the height h of the coolant pipe 415, a space between the coolant pipe 415 and the outer tubes 413, i.e., the width of the hollow part 414, at which the coolant pipe 415 is positioned, is narrowed such that impacts and vibrations generated when the ice layer in the inner tube 411 is cut by the blade part 475 are transmitted to the outer tube 413 from the inner tube 411 via the anti-freezing solution 420 to generate noise from the cooling tube 330 and the entire apparatus. On the other hand, when hollow part 414 has a width more than four times of the height h of the coolant pipe 415, though the noise generated from the cooling tube 330 and the entire apparatus can be reduced or blocked by the anti-freezing solution filled in the hollow part 414, the cooling tube 330 may be relatively increased in size due to the hollow part 414 widened four times larger than the height h of the coolant pipe 415, and therefore, the entire apparatus may be excessively increased in size.

[97] The anti-freezing solution 420 filled in the hollow part 414 between the inner and outer tube 411 and 413 uses mixture of water and calcium chloride.

[98] In addition, the outer tube 413 of the cooling tube 330 is formed of a stainless steel plate of 2 ~ 3mm, and the inner tube 411 is formed of a stainless steel plate of 3 ~ 4mm. When the inner tube 411 uses the plate less than 3 mm, the following problems may be generated: first, when the coolant pipe 415 is welded, the inner periphery of the inner tube 411 may be wrinkled to cause ice to be irregularly fabricated; second, when the ice layer on the inner periphery of the inner tube 411 is repeatedly cut, impacts and vibrations are applied to cause distortion due to a long time use, and decrease durability and strength; and third, it is difficult to continuously fabricating an appropriate amount of artificial snow at a normal temperature.

[99] On the other hand, when the inner tube 411 has a thickness more than 4mm, the inner tube 411 has no wrinkle or distortion in its inner periphery generated due to the welding heat, thereby increasing durability and structural integrity. However, increase of the thickness of the inner tube 411 causes a winding distance of the coolant pipe 415 to be lengthened, and therefore, its welding operation and working time may also be lengthened.

[100] That is, the inner tube 411 of the cooling tube 330, on which the coolant pipe 415 is wound, preferably has a stainless steel plate of about 3 to 4 mm, most preferably a stainless steel plate of 4 mm, which can solve the problems as described above.

[101] In addition, the coolant pipe 415 is wound and welded (argon welding) to the outer periphery of the inner tube 411 in a surface contact manner, thereby increasing heat exchange efficiency between the coolant in the coolant pipe 415 wound on the outer periphery of the inner tube 411 of the cooling tube 330 and the water injected to the inner periphery of the coolant tube 330. At this time, in order to increase a contact area between the coolant pipe 415 and the outer periphery of the inner tube 411 in comparison with the line contact of the conventional circular coolant pipe, the coolant pipe 415 is formed of a rectangular shaped pipe to be in surface contact with the outer periphery of the inner tube 411. The coolant pipe 415 may have a triangular or semicircular shape to be in surface contact with the outer periphery of the inner tube 411.

[102] In addition, the rectangular shaped coolant pipe 415 is formed of the same material, for example, stainless steel, as the cooling tube 330 constituting of the inner and outer tubes 411 and 413. The coolant pipe 415 has a height h and a width b as a ratio of about 1:2.

[103] Further, the insulation material layer 422 installed at the outer periphery and the upper end of the outer tube 413 of the cooling tube 330 has a structure in which a synthetic resin absorbent material, an akron warmth keeping material, an adhesive akron warmth keeping material, and a warmth keeping tape are sequentially deposited, thereby preventing heat exchange between the coolant in the coolant pipe 415 wound and welded on the outer periphery of the inner tube and the external air as well as absorb noise generated due to impacts and vibrations when the ice layer on the inner periphery of the inner tube 411 is cut.

[104] Furthermore, preferably, the cooling tube 330 has a diameter such that an operator can enter the interior of the cooling tube 330, for example, the inner tube 411 has a diameter of about 60 ~ 90 cm. The rotating main body 441 installed in the inner tube has a diameter of about 15 ~ 30 cm in consideration of installation of the fixing bar 471 to the outer periphery of the inner tube 411.

[105] In addition, a height of the cooling tube 330 is determined by a production amount of artificial snow, preferably, about 50 ~ 100 cm, in order to sufficiently cool the interior space of the inner tube 411.

[106] Further, the blade part 475 is formed of an anti- wearing material or inorganic material, and detachably fixed to an end of the fixing bar 471. At this time, the blade 476 of the blade part 475 is bent in its rotational direction in order to more effectively scrape the ice layer.

[107] Meanwhile, the blade 476 of the blade part 475 may have a plurality of grooves to prevent concentration of load applied to the blade part 475 when the blade part 475 is rotated to cut the ice layer.

[108] In addition, the blade 476 of the blade part 475 is spaced from the inner periphery of the inner tube 411 by a distance of 1 ~ 3 mm.

[109] Hereinafter, operation of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow for use with a display table for beer or beverage bottles in accordance with the present invention will be described.

[110] First, the cooling device 320 is operated for about one hour in order to operate the artificial snow fabricating apparatus. Then, a low temperature and low pressure of coolant circulates the coolant pipe 415 to cool the cooling tube 330, thereby cooling the anti-freezing solution in contact with the coolant pipe 415 to a low temperature.

[Ill] At this time, when a temperature of the anti-freezing solution 420 is lower than a set temperature of the first temperature sensor 670, the drive mechanism 310 is driven, and the first electronic valve 372 of the water distribution device 370 is opened. Therefore, the rotating device 340 is rotated, and the water passed through the first electronic valve 372 is injected to the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 through the nozzle 620. The injected water is frozen by the cooling tube at a temperature below zero.

[112] As shown in FIG. 11, when the rotating device 340 is rotated by a cycle of 8 ~ 9 seconds, the water supply device 360 and the cutting device 350 are rotated together with the rotation of the rotating device 340. As a result, the water passed through the water supply device 360 is evenly injected onto the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 to be frozen to form an ice layer, and the blade part 475 of the cutting device 350 is rotated to scrape the ice layer, thereby generating artificial snow.

[113] At this time, since the cutting device 350 is mounted on the outer periphery of the rotating device 340 in a zigzag or spiral manner, it is possible to scrape the ice layer formed on the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 from its upper part to its lower part in a time-staggered manner.

[114] In addition, the hollow part of the rotating device 340 is filled with the anti-freezing solution 443 to maintain the cold air in the cooling tube 330 for a long time, together with preventing vibration and noise from being generated in the cooling tube 330.

[115] The rotating device 340, the water supply device 360 and the cutting device 350 are rotated together with a single drive mechanism.

[116] Further, in order to increase the supply of the artificial snow, a large amount of water should be supplied to make a thickness of an ice layer thicker. Therefore, the cooling device 320 should be strongly operated to decrease a temperature of the anti- freezing solution 420 to a predetermined temperature, and the second temperature sensor 680 detects the temperature of the anti-freezing solution 420 to operate the second electronic valve 376 of the water distribution device 370. As a result, both the first and second electronic valves 372 and 376 are opened to increase a thickness of the ice layer, thereby increasing an amount of artificial snow scraped by the blade part 475.

[117] When the blowing device 380 is operated, the blower 820 sucks the cold air from the interior of the cooling tube 330 to supply the cold air into the annular shaped hollow body 840 via the blowing pipe 830. The cold air is discharged to a lower center of the cooling tube 330 through a plurality of blowing discharge ports 845 to scatter the artificial snow to make it falls down. As a result, the artificial snow scraped by the blade part 475 can be accumulated all around the bottle beer display table including its center part, by preventing the artificial snow from being fallen along the inner periphery of the cooling tube 330 to be accumulated on an edge of the display table.

[118] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow, which is used for a beer or beverage bottle display table, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

[119] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention is similar to the apparatus for fabricating artificial snow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, except that the cooling tube has a tapered shape, an upper part of which has a diameter smaller than a lower part, and their description will be not repeated.

[120] As shown in FlG. 12, a cooling tube 930 has a tapered structure, an upper part of which has a diameter smaller than a lower part. Therefore, fixing bars 953 of a cutting device 950 have different lengths, an upper fixing bar of which has a length smaller than a lower fixing bar. A blade part 955 is formed to conform to a sloped surface of the cooling tube 930 in an inclined manner. Industrial Applicability

[121] According to an apparatus for fabricating artificial snow for use in a beer or beverage bottle display table in accordance with the present invention, the following advantages can be obtained.

[ 122] First, a cooling tube is constituted of a dual tube formed of inner and outer tubes, filled with an anti-freezing solution, and a rotating device has a hollow structure filled with an anti-freezing solution also, thereby remarkably increasing cold strength and cold keeping performance of the cooling tube to effectively generate artificial snow even when a lower part of the cooling tube is opened.

[123] Second, it is possible to fabricate artificial snow, regardless of seasons or installation places.

[124] Third, it is possible to dramatically reduce noise in a cooling tube by filling an anti- freezing solution in a space between sidewalls of the cooling tube and a rotating device.

[125] Fourth, it is possible to adjust distribution of water and therefore a thickness of an ice layer, thereby controlling snow falling of the artificial snow.

[126] Fifth, a blowing device is in fluid communication with the cooling tube through a blowing pipe to allow the cold air to be blown into the cooling tube, thereby evenly scattering artificial snow.

[127] Sixth, it is possible to generate artificial snow even in hot indoor environments by remarkably improving cooling capacity and cold keeping performance of the cooling tube.

Claims

[1] An apparatus for fabricating artificial snow comprising: a drive mechanism provided with a drive motor and a drive bevel gear; a cooling tube provided with a closed upper part and an opened lower part, provided with a dual-tube structure formed of inner and outer tubes to define a hollow part therebetween, a coolant pipe wound on an outer periphery of the outer tube in a spiral manner as a whole, an anti-freezing solution filled between the inner and outer tubes, and a cross-shaped support frame installed at its lower part; a cooling device constituted of a compressor, a condenser, and a capillary tube, and connected to the coolant pipe to circulate coolant; a rotating device rotatably having a rotating main body installed in the cooling tube, extending along a vertical direction of the cooling tube, and in which an anti-freezing solution is filled, an upper rotary shaft fixed to a driven bevel gear engaged with the drive bevel gear at its one side, integrally engaged with the rotating main body at the other side, and rotatably supported on the cooling tube by a bearing, and a lower rotary shaft integrally engaged with the rotating main body at its one side, and supported on the support frame of the cooing tube by a bearing; a plurality of cutting devices installed at an outer periphery of the rotating main body from its upper part to its lower part in a spiral manner, each cutting device provided with a fixing bar mounted on the rotating main body to extend to an inner periphery of the cooling tube and a blade part installed at an end of the fixing bar, wherein the fixing bar is installed at the rotating main body with an inclination of 10 - 15 ° in a rotational direction with respect to a normal line thereof, and the blade part is installed at the inner periphery of the cooling tube with an inclination of 10 - 15 ° in a rotational direction with respect to a normal line of the inner periphery; a water supply device having a water accommodating part installed in a hollow part of the upper rotary shaft of the rotating device, a water supply pipe connected to the water accommodating part and supported at the inner periphery of the upper rotary shaft by a bearing, a plurality of nipples installed at the outer periphery of the water accommodating part to project through the outer periphery of the upper rotary shaft, and a plurality of nozzles connected to the nipples by hoses and fixed to the fixing bars of the cutting device; a water distribution device provided with an electronic valve installed on the water supply pipe of the water supply device and opened/closed depending on a temperature thereof; and a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the anti-freezing solution filled between the inner and outer tubes of the cooling tube to control operation of the drive mechanism and the water distribution device. [2] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1, further comprising a blowing device integrally installed at a lower part of the cooling tube, the blowing device comprising: a blower in fluid communication with the interior of the cooling tube through a cold air inlet port; an annular-shaped hollow body engaged with a lower part of the cooling tube and in fluid communication with the blower through a blowing pipe; a plurality of blowing discharge ports installed at an inner periphery of the annular-shaped hollow body; and a wind force adjustment switch for adjusting blowing intensity of the cold air in a stepped manner. [3] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water distribution device comprises a first electronic valve opened/closed depending on a temperature of the anti-freezing solution in the cooling tube, and a second electronic valve having a diameter larger than the first electronic valve. [4] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 3, wherein the temperature sensor comprises a first temperature sensor connected to the first electronic valve, and a second temperature sensor connected to the second electronic valve. [5] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling tube has an insulation material layer installed at its outer part. [6] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1, wherein the cooling tube has a tapered structure, an upper part of which has a diameter smaller than a lower part. [7] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the nozzle is installed to have a predetermined inclination with respect to the fixing bar. [8] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the blade part of the cutting device has an urethane cover for preventing noise, and a space formed between the cover and the blade part to absorb noise. [9] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotating device has a noise reduction member formed of sponge or rubber at its entire outer periphery to prevent noise. [10] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coolant pipe has a rectangular shape. [11] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 10, wherein the rectangular coolant pipe is formed of the same stainless steel as the cooling tube, and has a height h and a width b as a ratio of 1 :2. [12] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 10, wherein the hollow part between the inner and outer tubes has a width three to four times larger than a height h of the coolant pipe. [13] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 11, wherein the inner tube of the cooling tube is formed on a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 3 ~ 4 mm. [14] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hollow part between the inner and outer tubes has an anti-freezing inlet port and anti-freezing outlet port installed at upper and lower parts thereof, respectively. [15] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anti-freezing solution filled in the hollow part between the inner and outer tubes is a mixture of water and calcium chloride. [16] The apparatus for fabricating artificial snow according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutting device comprising: a blade part for scraping an ice layer and having elongated holes at its upper and lower walls; a housing for accommodating the blade part, integrally installed at an end of the fixing bar, and having elongated holes formed at its upper and lower walls; a plurality of resilient springs mounted on an inner rear wall of the housing; and a bolt threadedly engaged with a threaded hole to extend to a portion of the elongated hole, wherein a plurality of guide parts project from both sides of the blade part, grooves are formed at both sides of each guide part, and a plurality of balls are installed in the grooves in a rolling manner to allow the blade part to smoothly slide, and and a pair of guide grooves are formed at both inner walls of the housing to correspond to the guide parts.