METHOD AND DEVICE OF MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SNOW

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an artificial snow manufacturing method and a device capable of repeatedly reproducing the grain size distribution near to natural snow, by stably providing a thin ice piece having a substantially constant size and shape. SOLUTION: A projection 24 is arranged in a grating shape on a thin ice forming surface 14 cooled by a refrigerant. After forming a thin ice layer 3 on this thin ice forming surface 14, a rotary blade tool 16 having a blade 16a on a peripheral surface is contacted with the thin ice layer 3. Then, the thin ice layer 3 is divided with a part corresponding to the projection 24 as a starting point, and the thin ice piece 1 having a substantially constant size and shape is provided. Thus, a crushing degree of the thin ice piece 1 by crushed ice thereafter, becomes substantially constant, and grain ice (artificial snow) of reducing a variation in a grain size is provided, and as a result, the grain size distribution near to the natural snow can be repeatedly reproduced. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI