A flake ice machine special for snow making equipment and a method for making ice

Abstract

The application discloses a flake ice machine special for snow making equipment and an ice making method thereof, and relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment. The flake ice machine comprises an integrated water tank, an evaporator, a main shaft assembly, an ice making pump, a water spraying assembly, a water receiving assembly, a water scraping assembly and an ice flushing pipe. The evaporator, the main shaft assembly and the ice making pump are fixed to the integrated water tank. The water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly are fixed to the main shaft assembly. The water scraping assembly comprises a scraper plate attached to the evaporator. The ice flushing pipe is connected to the water spraying assembly and is provided with water outlets. The ice making method comprises water supply, water distribution, synchronous rotation, scraping of adhesions and water spraying of the ice flushing pipe. The integrated structure of the application is compact, the ice flushing pipe is free of ice accumulation without power, the water scraping assembly can be adjusted to control humidity, the problems of ice accumulation, pipe blockage, uneven dryness and wetness and complicated pipeline of the existing equipment are solved, and the flake ice machine is suitable for the long-time continuous snow making requirement of ski resorts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of refrigeration equipment technology, specifically relating to a flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment and its ice-making method. Background Technology

[0002] Flake ice machines are the core equipment for artificial snowmaking in ski resorts and are widely used in ski resort projects. The workflow is as follows: ice making, ice scraping, ice crushing, and high-pressure air delivery to the ski slope. The flake ice machine makes flake ice from water, then the ice crushing device crushes the made flake ice into powder, and then the high-pressure blower sends the powdered ice crystals out through the air delivery system to the designated snow-requiring area.

[0003] However, existing flake ice machines generally have the following drawbacks: the flake ice scraped off by the evaporator tends to accumulate in the water tray, and after the ice forms blocks, it falls into the conveying pipe, causing blockage; residual moisture on the inner wall of the evaporator cannot be effectively removed, resulting in uneven drying of the flake ice, with excessive moisture causing it to clump together and excessive dryness causing it to float, leading to internal ice accumulation; the water tank is external, resulting in a large equipment footprint, complicated external piping, and high installation and maintenance costs; and it cannot operate continuously and stably for a long time, resulting in low ice-making efficiency.

[0004] In view of this, there is a lack of flake ice machine solutions in the existing technology that are adapted to snowmaking scenarios and can operate continuously for a long time. There is an urgent need for a special equipment with a compact structure, full-chain anti-icing, and controllable flake ice dryness and wetness. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a flake ice machine specifically for snowmaking equipment and its ice-making method, solving the technical problems of existing flake ice machines such as ice accumulation and pipe blockage in the water receiving pan, uneven drying and wetting of flake ice, cumbersome external piping of the water tank, and inability to operate continuously and stably.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention proposes a flake ice machine specifically for snowmaking equipment, comprising an integrated water tank, an evaporator, a main shaft assembly, an ice-making pump, a water-spraying assembly, a water-receiving assembly, a water-scraping assembly, and an ice-flushing pipe; the evaporator, the main shaft assembly, and the ice-making pump are all fixedly installed in the integrated water tank; the water-receiving assembly and the water-spraying assembly are fixedly connected to the main shaft assembly; the water-scraping assembly is fixedly disposed on the water-receiving assembly, the water-scraping assembly includes a scraper, the scraper being fitted against the inner wall of the evaporator; the ice-flushing pipe is fixedly disposed on the water-receiving assembly, the ice-flushing pipe is connected to the water-spraying assembly, and the wall of the ice-flushing pipe has a plurality of water outlet holes.

[0007] The integrated water tank combines the evaporator, main shaft assembly, and ice pump, resulting in a compact structure, small footprint, and simplified external piping. The ice flushing pipe is connected to the water spraying assembly, allowing for flushing of the water receiving assembly without additional power. The scraper adheres to the inner wall of the evaporator, effectively removing residual moisture and deposits, reducing the causes of ice buildup at the source.

[0008] Preferably, it also includes an ice-blocking component; the ice-blocking component is fixedly installed on the main shaft assembly, and is located between the ice outlet end of the evaporator and the water receiving assembly. By blocking the ice outlet end of the evaporator from the water receiving assembly, the number of ice flakes falling directly onto the water receiving assembly is reduced, thus lowering the probability of ice accumulation in the water receiving tray.

[0009] Preferably, the wiper assembly further includes a mounting bracket; the mounting bracket is fixedly connected to the water receiving assembly, and the wiper blade is detachably mounted on the mounting bracket. The detachable mounting of the wiper blade via the mounting bracket facilitates wiper blade replacement and maintenance, adapting to different working conditions.

[0010] More preferably, the fixing bracket is an adjustable bracket with an adjustment structure. The adjustable bracket can adjust the scraper's fit to accommodate wear or dimensional differences in the evaporator's inner wall, ensuring stable scraping results.

[0011] Preferably, the water outlets are evenly distributed along the axial direction of the ice-flush pipe. This even axial distribution of the water outlets ensures comprehensive and uniform rinsing coverage, preventing localized ice accumulation on the water-receiving components.

[0012] Preferably, the ice-flush pipe is connected to the water-spraying assembly via a flexible hose. The flexible hose connects the ice-flush pipe and the water-spraying assembly, allowing for flexible installation, accommodating component rotation and displacement, and preventing pipe interference.

[0013] Preferably, the water outlet is oriented towards the surface of the water receiving component. This orientation ensures precise rinsing, eliminates water waste, and improves anti-icing efficiency.

[0014] Preferably, the main shaft assembly is connected to the water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly via a transmission connection. The main shaft assembly drives multiple components to rotate synchronously, ensuring synchronized and coordinated ice making, water scraping, and rinsing processes, resulting in stable operation and high efficiency.

[0015] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention provide an ice-making method for a flake ice machine specifically designed for snowmaking equipment, comprising the following steps: S1. The ice pump delivers water from the integrated water tank to the water spray assembly; S2, The water spraying component sprays water onto the inner wall of the evaporator; S3. The main shaft assembly drives the water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly to rotate synchronously. S4. The scraper moves along the inner wall of the evaporator to scrape off the deposits attached to the inner wall of the evaporator. S5. Part of the water flow from the water spraying component is directed into the ice flushing pipe, and the ice flushing pipe sprays water to the water receiving component through the water outlet.

[0016] Preferably, in step S4, the scraper's contact distance with the inner wall of the evaporator is adjusted by an adjustable bracket. The adjustable bracket precisely adjusts the scraper's contact distance, ensuring controllable scraping effect and adaptability to different evaporator conditions.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: (1) The modular integrated design of the integrated water tank is compact and easy to operate and maintain. The traditional external water tank structure is abandoned, and the evaporator, main shaft assembly and ice pump are integrated into an integrated water tank, which greatly reduces the equipment footprint, simplifies the external connection pipeline, reduces the difficulty of installation and the risk of leakage, and is suitable for the compact installation and rapid deployment requirements of ski resorts, and significantly reduces the operation and maintenance costs.

[0018] (2) The structure of the non-powered ice flushing pipe has zero energy consumption to prevent ice accumulation and does not affect the ice-making efficiency. The water supply branch of the water spraying component naturally draws water, without the need for additional water pumps or electric heating devices. The water supply pressure can be used to flush the water receiving component evenly, which completely solves the problem of ice accumulating in the water receiving tray and falling and blocking the delivery pipe, and avoids the defects of high energy consumption and reduced ice-making efficiency of traditional electric heating ice melting.

[0019] (3) Adjustable scraper assembly for precise humidity control and consistent flake ice. The adjustable bracket adjusts the fit between the scraper and the evaporator to accommodate wear or size differences in the evaporator, effectively removing residual moisture and thin ice from the inner wall of the evaporator. This controls the humidity of the flake ice from the source, preventing it from clumping due to excessive moisture or drifting due to excessive dryness, ensuring uniform flake ice texture, and meeting the needs of long-distance snowmaking transportation.

[0020] (4) The ice-blocking components work together to reduce the risk of ice accumulation throughout the entire process. The ice-blocking components dynamically block the ice flakes scraped off by the evaporator, reducing the direct fall of ice flakes onto the water receiving components. Together with the water scraping components and ice flushing pipes, they form a complete anti-ice accumulation system that solves the ice accumulation problem from multiple dimensions, including the source, the middle, and the end. The equipment can operate continuously and stably for a long time.

[0021] (5) Adaptable to snowmaking conditions, with high efficiency and stability. Optimized for the 24-hour continuous snowmaking needs of ski resorts, effectively solving the pain points of traditional flake ice machines such as easy clogging, ice accumulation, and inability to operate for long periods. Improved ice-making efficiency, reduced equipment failure rate, and significantly enhanced continuity and reliability of snowmaking operations at ski resorts. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Other embodiments and many anticipated advantages of the embodiments will be readily recognized as they become better understood through reference to the following detailed description. Elements in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. The same reference numerals refer to corresponding similar parts.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a top view of the structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a partial enlarged view of the ice-flush pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a partial enlarged view of the wiper assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Attached reference numerals: 1-Integrated water tank; 2-Ice flushing pipe; 2.1-Water outlet; 3-Water receiving assembly; 4-Scraper assembly; 4.1-Fixing bracket; 4.2-Pressure plate; 4.3-Scraper; 5-Ice blocking assembly; 6-Main shaft assembly; 7-Water spraying assembly; 8-Evaporator; 9-Ice pump. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0026] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0027] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention disclose a flake ice machine specifically for snowmaking equipment, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the system includes an integrated water tank 1, an evaporator 8, a main shaft assembly 6, an ice pump 9, a water spraying assembly 7, a water receiving assembly 3, a water scraper assembly 4, and an ice flushing pipe 2. The evaporator 8, main shaft assembly 6, and ice pump 9 are all fixedly installed in the integrated water tank 1; the water receiving assembly 3 and the water spraying assembly 7 are fixedly connected to the main shaft assembly 6; the water scraper assembly 4 is fixed to the water receiving assembly 3 and includes a scraper 4.3, which is fitted against the inner wall of the evaporator 8; the ice flushing pipe 2 is fixed to the water receiving assembly 3 and communicates with the water spraying assembly 7, with several water outlet holes 2.1 on its wall.

[0028] Specifically, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the integrated water tank 1 is a rectangular box made of stainless steel with a wall thickness of 5mm, serving as the equipment mounting base and water storage container; the evaporator 8 is a cylindrical vertical structure, vertically fixed in the middle of the integrated water tank 1; the main shaft assembly 6 is a hollow drive shaft that vertically passes through the center of the evaporator 8, with its lower end fixed to the bottom of the integrated water tank 1; the ice pump 9 is a centrifugal water pump, bolted to the outside of the integrated water tank 1, with its inlet connected to the inside of the water tank.

[0029] The water receiving component 3 is a ring-shaped tray, which is locked and fixed to the middle of the main shaft assembly 6 and below the evaporator 8 by a semi-circular clamp bolt; the water spraying component 7 is a ring-shaped spray plate, which is fixed to the upper end of the main shaft assembly 6 and above the evaporator 8, with spray holes evenly opened on the plate surface.

[0030] The squeegee assembly 4 is installed on the outside of the water receiving assembly 3 and includes a scraper 4.3. The scraper 4.3 is made of wear-resistant rubber material with a thickness of 8mm and a width of 50mm. The inner side of the scraper 4.3 is tightly fitted to the inner wall of the evaporator 8 with a fitting gap of ≤1mm.

[0031] The ice-flush pipe 2 is a round stainless steel pipe with a diameter of 20mm. It is horizontally welded to the upper surface of the water receiving component 3. Water outlet holes 2.1 are evenly opened along the axial direction on the pipe wall. The diameter of the water outlet holes 2.1 is 3mm and the hole spacing is 15mm. One end of the ice-flush pipe 2 is connected to the diversion port on the edge of the water spraying component 7 through a rubber hose.

[0032] In one specific embodiment, the ice-blocking component 5 is a rectangular plastic plate, which is locked and fixed to the main shaft component 6 by a semi-circular clamp bolt. Ice-blocking components 5 are provided in both the front and rear directions of the ice skate, completely blocking the water-receiving component 3, and effectively preventing the ice flakes crushed and broken off by the ice skate from falling onto the water-receiving component 3.

[0033] The mounting bracket 4.1 of the wiper assembly 4 is an L-shaped stainless steel bracket. One end is bolted to the outer wall of the water receiving assembly 3, and the other end is clamped to the scraper 4.3 by the pressure plate 4.2 and the bolt. The scraper 4.3 is detachable. The mounting bracket 4.1 is an adjustable bracket with a long strip-shaped adjustment hole in the horizontal section. The bolt can slide along the hole to adjust the front and rear position of the mounting bracket, with an adjustment stroke of 0-5mm.

[0034] The ice-flush pipe 2 has an axial length of 300mm and 12 water outlet holes 2.1 are evenly distributed on the pipe wall at 90° along the circumference of the pipe. The opening direction of the water outlet holes 2.1 is vertically downward and precisely facing the upper surface of the water receiving component 3. The ice-flush pipe 2 and the water spraying component 7 are connected by a food-grade rubber hose, and the two ends of the hose are sealed by clamps.

[0035] The upper end of the main shaft assembly 6 is connected to a drive motor, which drives the main shaft assembly 6 to rotate. The water receiving assembly 3, the water spraying assembly 7, and the ice blocking assembly 5 are all fixed to the main shaft assembly 6 by bolts and rotate synchronously.

[0036] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention also disclose an ice-making method for a flake ice machine specifically for snowmaking equipment, comprising the following steps: S10, the ice pump 9 starts, and delivers water with a temperature ≤5℃ from the integrated water tank 1 to the water spraying assembly 7 at a flow rate of 0.5m³ / h. S20, the water spraying component 7 rotates with the main shaft, and evenly sprays water onto the inner wall of the evaporator 8 through the spray holes to form a uniform water film; S30, the main shaft assembly 6 drives the water receiving assembly 3, the water spraying assembly 7, and the ice blocking assembly 5 to rotate synchronously at a speed of 30 r / min; S40, scraper 4.3 rotates with water receiving component 3 and moves along the inner wall of evaporator 8 to scrape off residual water, thin ice that has not fallen off and impurities from the inner wall; the new evaporator has a fitting gap of 0.5mm, which is adjusted to 1mm after wear; S50, the water spraying component 7 diverts 10% of the water flow, which is introduced into the ice flushing pipe 2 through the hose. The water outlet 2.1 sprays water to flush the upper surface of the water receiving component 3, and washes the residual ice flakes and water back into the integrated water tank 1, covering the entire surface of the water receiving component 3.

[0037] The equipment disclosed in this invention can operate continuously for 72 hours without ice accumulation in the water tray or pipe blockage; the flake ice is evenly dried and wetted without clumping or floating; the equipment occupies 30% less space and reduces external pipelines by 60% compared to the external water tank solution, making it suitable for 24-hour continuous snowmaking conditions in ski resorts and improving ice-making efficiency by 15%.

[0038] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and an explanation of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific combination of the above-described technical features, but also includes other technical solutions formed by arbitrary combinations of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above-described features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this invention.

Claims

1. A flake ice machine specifically designed for snowmaking equipment, characterized in that, The device includes an integrated water tank, an evaporator, a main shaft assembly, an ice pump, a water spraying assembly, a water receiving assembly, a water scraping assembly, and an ice flushing pipe. The evaporator, main shaft assembly, and ice pump are all fixedly installed in the integrated water tank. The water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly are fixedly connected to the main shaft assembly. The water scraping assembly is fixed to the water receiving assembly and includes a scraper that fits against the inner wall of the evaporator. The ice flushing pipe is fixed to the water receiving assembly and communicates with the water spraying assembly. The wall of the ice flushing pipe has several water outlet holes.

2. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an ice-blocking component; the ice-blocking component is fixedly installed on the main shaft assembly, and the ice-blocking component is located between the ice outlet end of the evaporator and the water receiving component.

3. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wiping assembly also includes a mounting bracket; the mounting bracket is fixed to the water receiving assembly, and the wiping blade is detachably mounted on the mounting bracket.

4. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The mounting bracket is an adjustable bracket, and the bracket is equipped with an adjustment structure.

5. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The water outlet holes are evenly arranged along the axial direction of the ice flushing pipe.

6. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ice-flushing pipe is connected to the water-spraying assembly via a flexible hose.

7. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The water outlet is positioned facing the surface of the water receiving assembly.

8. The flake ice machine for snowmaking equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main shaft assembly is connected to the water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly via a transmission connection.

9. A method for making ice using a flake ice machine specifically designed for snowmaking equipment, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. The ice pump delivers water from the integrated water tank to the water spray assembly; S2, The water spraying component sprays water onto the inner wall of the evaporator; S3. The main shaft assembly drives the water receiving assembly and the water spraying assembly to rotate synchronously. S4. The scraper moves along the inner wall of the evaporator to scrape off the deposits attached to the inner wall of the evaporator. S5. Part of the water flow from the water spraying component is directed into the ice flushing pipe, and the ice flushing pipe sprays water to the water receiving component through the water outlet.

10. The ice-making method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In step S4, the scraper adjusts its contact distance with the inner wall of the evaporator via an adjustable bracket.

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