JPH11201604A - Snow maintaining apparatus for indoor skiing slope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce melting amount of snow on a skiing slope and keep snow quality good and suppress energy consumption while keeping an interior of a building at a temperature at which a skier in a comparatively light dress can enjoy skiing by a simple and inexpensive construction. SOLUTION: This snow maintaining apparatus sprinkles artificial snow 16 of a specified thickness on a heat insulated slope 15 in an interior of a building so as to form a skiing slope 17 and maintaining accumulated snow on the skiing slope 17 by feeding cooled air through a cooled air jetting nozzle N so as to cool snow surface at about 2C. The cooled air jetting nozzle N is provided in a top end part of an expandable pipe 27 capable of being expanded and retracted in a hole H formed in the slope 15. The cooled air is fed also through a plurality of cooled air holes 22 arranged along at least one side of the slope 15. The cooled air jetting hole N is provided with a cover for closing the hole H.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for maintaining the snow quality of a snow-covered slope on an indoor ski slope in which an artificial snow ski slope is provided inside a building.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the development and diversification of the leisure industry, there is a demand for skiing in a comfortable environment without being affected by the natural environment. In order to meet this demand, indoor artificial ski resorts have been constructed, and not only in cities and suburbs, but also natural ski resorts so that skiing can be performed even in bad weather.

FIG. 6 schematically shows the interior of a building as an example of a conventional indoor artificial ski resort. In this conventional indoor artificial skiing area, as shown in the figure, a slope 102 formed by slanting a predetermined thickness on a slope 102 formed inside a building 101 and inclined in a direction perpendicular to the drawing forms a slope 104. .
In the vicinity of the ceiling of the building 101, a compressed air pipe 105 is installed. An air compressor 106 provided outside the building is connected to the compressed air pipe 105 to supply compressed air. A water pipe 107 is erected along. The water supply pipe 107 is connected to a water supply device 108 provided at the outdoor part of the building. A plurality of common injection nozzles 109 are provided in the compressed air pipe 105 and the water pipe 107 which are parallel to each other. In addition, one end of a cool air supply pipe 110 that blows out cool air to the inside of the building and an air discharge pipe 111 that discharges air inside the building are provided on the side wall of the building.
Has one end penetrating and opening into the building. The other ends of the cold air supply pipe 110 and the air discharge pipe 111 are connected to an air cooling device 112.

[0004] About -10 to -15 from the air cooling device 112
° C cold air is blown into the building interior through the cold air supply pipe 110, and at the same time, the compressed air pipe 10
5 and the water is supplied from the water supply device 108 to the water supply pipe 107, and the water is supplied from each of the injection nozzles 109. Then, heat exchange is performed between the atomized water and the cooled air, and the atomized water becomes artificial snow 103 and falls on the slope 104. If such an operation is continued for a certain period of time, snow will accumulate on the slope 102 to a certain thickness, and a slope 104 will be formed. On the other hand, cool air is constantly blown out from the cool air supply pipe 110 into the building interior, and even when snow is not being caused, the entire building interior is cooled to about -5 to 0 ° C. by this cooling air. Good quality is maintained. That is, in order to keep the snow surface temperature at, for example, 2 ° C. or lower and maintain good snow quality, the air temperature in the entire interior of the building has been empirically cooled to about −5 to −10 ° C.

[0005] In such a conventional indoor ski resort, cooling air is constantly supplied from the cold air supply pipe 110 to the entire interior of the building to cool it to around -5 to -10 ° C, and the snow quality of the artificial snow 103 on the slope 104 is increased. Trying to maintain a good
The artificial snow 103 on the slope 104 receives heat from the roof and lighting or heat from skiing, and the snow quality is gradually deteriorating. Therefore, the snow on the bottom portion of the snow-covered portion is gradually melted by heating, and the reduced amount at predetermined intervals is spread on the surface of the snow-covered portion by newly forming snow as described above, and the snow on the slope 104 is sequentially updated. Was.

[0006]

However, in order to maintain the snow surface temperature at, for example, 2 ° C. or less and maintain good snow quality as described above, the air temperature of the entire interior of the building is empirically set to about −5 to −5. When it cooled to around -10 ° C, the skiers reached a temperature similar to that of midwinter, so they had to ski in warm winter clothing and could not enjoy skiing in light clothing. In addition, the air temperature of the whole inside of the building is about -5
In order to cool to around -10 ° C, there is a problem in that a large dome with a large internal space cools a large amount of air, which increases the size of the air conditioning equipment, consumes much energy, and increases running costs. Was. The cold air supply pipe 110 may be lowered close to the snow surface so as to mainly cool the snow surface. However, in the case of the wide slopes 104, the cool air does not reach the central portion and does not cool down to an appropriate temperature. The vicinity of the outlet of the pipe 110 is very cold, and there is a problem that the snow that has once melted turns into snow or ice-burn.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves such a problem, and has a simple and inexpensive structure to reduce the amount of snowmelt on a slope while keeping the temperature in a building where skiers can enjoy skiing with relatively light clothing. It is another object of the present invention to provide a snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope that can be flexibly operated so as to maintain good snow quality while maintaining low energy consumption.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for maintaining snow on an indoor ski slope, wherein artificial snow having a predetermined thickness is provided on an insulated slope in a building. In a snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope that supplies cold air from a cold air blowing nozzle to the snow on the ski slope formed by spraying and maintains the snow, the cold air blowing nozzle expands and contracts in a hole formed in the slope. It is characterized in that it is provided at the upper end of a telescopic tube that can be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope, the cold air is supplied also from a plurality of outlets arranged along the slope on at least one side of the slope. It is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope, the cold air blowing nozzle is provided with a lid for closing the hole on a top surface thereof.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope, the cold air blowing nozzle includes a snow hole opening unit capable of closing the hole at a top end thereof.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a slope structure of an indoor ski resort according to a representative embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indoor ski resort, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a slope portion of an indoor ski resort employing the same slope structure, and FIG. 4 is a contraction storage of a telescopic tube having a cold air blowing nozzle provided with a snow hole opening unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the telescopic tube with the cold air blowing nozzle is extended from the hole of the slope slope onto the snow cover.

1 to 3, an indoor type ski dome 11 of a representative embodiment has a ceiling portion 13 having a substantially semicircular shape formed on a slope 15 so that an upper room temperature space region M and a lower portion are formed. In the low-temperature space area C, the artificial snow 16 is snow-covered on the slope 15 by a predetermined thickness to form a slope 17.

In this indoor ski resort, artificial snow 16 is manufactured by a snowmaker 18, and the manufactured artificial snow 16 is temporarily stored in a snow storage 19. Then, the artificial snow 16 stored in the snow storage 19 is scattered by the snow carrier 20 on the slope 17.
Transport (air transport, etc.) to make artificial snowfall. The water generated by the melting of the artificial snow 16 on the slope 17 is collected and returned to the snowmaking machine 18, and again,
Is manufactured.

In order to maintain the snow quality of the slopes 17, the snow is gradually melted from the lower surface of the artificial snow 16 constituting the slope 17, while the artificial snow 16 is sprayed on the upper surface of the artificial snow 16 to replenish the snow. The thickness of the artificial snow 16 of the slope 17 is always constant, and the snow surface of the slope is cooled by blowing cool air from the snow surface cold air flow control device 24. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the dome floor portion 12 is made of concrete, and a concrete floor 32 is provided on the floor surface portion 12 through a urethane heat insulating material 31 as a heat insulating member.
Are formed. The artificial turf 33 is laid on the concrete floor 32, and the artificial snow 16 having a predetermined thickness is piled on the artificial turf 33. On the upper surface of the concrete floor 32 and below the artificial turf 33, a molten groove 34 for guiding the melting of snow is formed along the inclination direction of the slope 15, and the artificial turf 33 has a molten groove. A plurality of through holes 35 communicating with 34 are formed. Further, below the concrete floor 12 is a machine room 36 as a heat source of underfloor invading heat that melts the artificial snow 16 from the lower surface side.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, under the floor 12 of the slope 17 of the indoor ski area dome 11, lagging for distributing cool air from a snow surface cool air flow control device 24 equipped with an air conditioner CL is provided. A main pipe 25 is arranged, and the main pipe 2
A number of telescopic tubes 27 with cold air blow-off nozzles are branched at the central part of the slope 17 via a branch pipe 26 extending from the fifth. The telescopic tubes 27 are arranged at substantially equal intervals over the entire slope 17, and when not in use, the floor 1
2. It is stored in a contracted state inside the hole H penetrating the urethane heat insulating material 31 and the concrete floor 32. At the time of supplying cold air, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 1, the telescopic tube 27 is extended by the extension operation of the telescopic operation cylinder L, and the cold air blowing nozzle N at the top end thereof passes through the hole H of the snow-covered snow 16 on the snow surface. It protrudes close to and blows cold air from the nozzle N onto the snow surface to cover the snow surface with a thin layer of cold air, cut off radiant heat from the roof and side walls, and cool the snow surface to about 2 ° C. Nozzle N
A lid F larger than the hole H is attached to an artificial turf by sticking artificial grass. The operating rod 27A of the telescopic operation cylinder L fixed in the machine room 36 extends from below the branch pipe 26 into the telescopic pipe 27 via a seal, and is connected to the nozzle N.

On the other hand, another series of lagging sub-tubes 28 for distributing cool air from the snow surface cool air flow control device 24 are provided on the side wall along the slope 17 of the indoor ski area dome 11, and the lagging sub-tubes are provided. A large number of cold air holes 22 for blowing cold air toward the snow surface into mother pipes 29 on both side walls connected to the pipe 28.
Are provided in a long slit shape along the surface of the artificial snow 16. An exhaust hole 23 for discharging air inside the dome is formed in a side wall of the slope 17. The height position of the exhaust hole 23 is determined by the cold air blown out from the nozzle N or the cold air hole 22, which cools the surface of the artificial snow 16 as the airflow on the snow surface and cools the snow surface cold air flow control device via the return pipe 23 </ b> A. 24 so that it is slightly higher than the cold air holes 22.

The snow surface cold air flow control device 24 is a means for realizing the maintenance of snow on a ski slope, has an air conditioner (CL) with a heat exchanger (not shown) and a fan, and improves the snow quality of the artificial snow 16. A temperature that can be maintained (for example, -5 to -10
C) is cooled by the nozzle N and the cold air holes 22.
To supply. In general, the nozzle N and the cool air hole 22 are selectively used in such a manner that during operation in the daytime, strong low-temperature cold air is supplied only from the cool air hole 22, and during non-business hours such as at night, only low-temperature cool air is supplied from the nozzle N. Is kept below 2 ° C. Compared to the conventional case where the central part of the slope 17 is cooled by strong low-temperature cold air to cool the center of the slope 17 even during non-business hours, such as at night, energy consumption is significantly reduced while preventing snow and ice burns from occurring. Can be saved. In the case of a wide ski slope 17, the nozzle N may be protruded to the center of the ski slope by being surrounded by a skier protective cover and may be used during business hours during the day. When the nozzle N is arranged in the middle part and is not arranged on the side of the slope, weak cold air can be supplied from the cool air hole 22 at night and used together with the nozzle N in the middle part.

This cold air is supplied from the nozzles N and the cold air holes 22 toward the surface of the slope 17, cools the surface of the artificial snow 16, minimizes snow melting, and maintains good snow quality. The cool air supplied toward the surface of the slope 17 flows along the surface of the slope 17 as an airflow over the snow surface while cooling the surroundings (artificial snow 16 and air) and exchanging heat. Is returned to the snow surface cold air flow control device 24 outside the dome 11 through the return pipe 23A, where the heat is exchanged (cooled) and supplied again to the slope 17 from the nozzle N and the cold air hole 22 as described above. Is done. On the other hand, the upper normal-temperature space area M is temperature-controlled by a separately provided airflow control device (not shown) so as to be at normal temperature.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if necessary, the cool air blows out from the nozzle N projecting on the slope 15 toward the snow surface, and the cold air holes 22 provided on the side wall along the slope 17 also allow the snow to flow. Because cold air is blown out toward the surface, a thin cold air layer will be formed on the snow surface,
With this cold air layer, the heat input of the space heat inside the dome 11 can be cut off, so that the amount of snowmelt on the slope 17 can be reduced and the snow quality can be maintained satisfactorily. Further, since it is not necessary to cool the entire air inside the dome 11 as in the middle of winter, skiers can enjoy skiing in relatively light clothes and energy consumption can be suppressed low. Further, it is possible to supply cold air at a necessary place as needed without disturbing the skier.

In this embodiment, the supply of the cool air can be diversified, and the cool air can be supplementarily supplied from the cool air holes 22 having relatively small blowing resistance arranged along the side of the slope depending on the situation. it can.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the cold air blowing nozzle N.
As shown in FIG. 5, a cone-shaped cutter CT with a plurality of blades is fixed to the top end of the telescopic telescopic tube 27 and is rotatable via a bearing on the upper surface of the nozzle N as a snow hole opening unit. . This cutter C
Notches are formed between the blades of T to drop the shaved snow down. An operating rod 27A for extending and retracting the telescopic tube 27 is provided from below the branch pipe 26 via a seal.
The nozzle N is moved up and down by the thrust portion, and is rotated and driven by a reversible rotation motor M fixed to the machine room 36, and is simultaneously moved up and down by a spiral guide portion of the motor M in accordance with the rotation direction. You.

When the motor M is operated to change from the storage state of FIG. 4 to the use state of FIG. 5, the operating rod 27A is moved upward by the spiral guide portion, the nozzle N is moved upward, and the cutter CT is moved. Rotate to cut snow and drill holes. The cutter CT has a cut portion, but also functions as a lid for the hole H. To change from the use state to the storage state, the motor M is rotated in the reverse direction. As still another embodiment, an electric heater may be mounted on the nozzle N as a snow hole opening unit. Further, the telescopic tube 27 may be a bellows type or a bellows type instead of the telescopic type.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
It goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as using an air compressor and a water supply device for the snow making means.

[0025]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the snow maintaining apparatus for an indoor ski slope according to the first aspect of the present invention, artificial snow having a predetermined thickness is sprayed on the insulated slope in the building. In the snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope that supplies cold air from a cold air blowing nozzle to the snow on the ski slope formed in the above manner to maintain the snow, the cold air blowing nozzle is capable of expanding and contracting in a hole formed in the slope. Since it is provided at the upper end of the telescopic tube provided, the number of skiers and the snow surface condition are checked, and when necessary and where necessary, a hole is drilled in the snow part with a scoop and the snow itself. The telescopic tube is extended from the hole of the slope to near the snow surface so as to cool the air, and cool air can be blown out from the nozzle provided at the upper end toward the snow on the slope. As a result, the amount of snowmelt on the slope can be reduced and the snow quality can be maintained at a good level, but the skier can enjoy skiing in relatively light clothing because the entire air inside the building does not need to be cooled. Energy consumption can be suppressed low.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cold air is supplied from a plurality of outlets arranged along the slope on at least one side of the slope. Therefore, even if the outlet at the lower part of the snow cover is blocked, cold air can be supplementarily supplied from the outlets arranged along the side of the slope.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the cold air blowing nozzle is provided with a lid on the top surface thereof for closing the hole, it is possible to completely prevent snow from entering the hole. The expansion and contraction operation of the expansion and contraction tube can be reliably ensured.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the cold air blowing nozzle is provided with a snow hole opening unit capable of closing the hole at the top end, the cold air blowing is not performed. When the cold air is blown out, a snow hole drilling unit such as a swivel hole drilling device or a heating hole drilling device automatically inserts a hole in the snow cover without human intervention. Can be opened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a slope structure of an indoor ski resort according to a representative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the indoor ski resort.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a slope portion of an indoor ski resort employing the same slope structure.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a contracted and retracted state of a telescopic tube having a cold air blowing nozzle provided with a snow hole opening unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the telescopic tube with the cold air blow-out nozzle is extended onto snow cover from a hole of a slope slope of the telescopic tube.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a building interior of a conventional indoor ski resort.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Dome 12 Floor 15 Slope 16 Snow cover (artificial snow) 17 Slope 18 Snowmaker 19 Storage 20 Snow carrier 22 Cold air hole 23 Exhaust hole 23A Return pipe 24 Snow surface cold air flow control device 25 Main pipe 26 Branch pipe 27 Telescopic pipe 27A Operating rod 28 Secondary pipe 29 Main pipe 31 Urethane heat insulating material (heat insulating member) 32 Concrete floor 33 Artificial turf 34 Melting groove 35 Through hole 36 Machine room M Room temperature area C Low temperature area CL Air conditioner CT Cutter M Motor N Nozzle

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An indoor ski slope that maintains snow by supplying cold air from a cool air blowing nozzle to snow on a ski slope formed by spraying artificial snow of a predetermined thickness on a heat-insulated slope in a building interior. In the apparatus, the cold air blowing nozzle is provided at an upper end of a telescopic tube that is provided so as to be able to expand and contract in a hole formed in the slope. 2. The snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope according to claim 1, wherein the cool air is also supplied from a plurality of outlets arranged along the slope on at least one side of the slope. 3. The snow maintenance device for an indoor ski slope according to claim 1, wherein the cold air blowing nozzle has a lid on a top surface thereof for closing the hole. 4. The snow keeping apparatus for an indoor ski slope according to claim 1, wherein the cold air blowing nozzle has a snow hole opening unit capable of closing the hole at a top end thereof.