US 12,228,324 B2
Method and system for managing the production of an artificial snowmaking plant
Walter Rieder, Bolzano (IT)
Assigned to TECHNOALPIN HOLDING S.P.A., Bolzano (IT)
Appl. No. 17/285,418
Filed by TECHNOALPIN HOLDING S.P.A., Bolzano (IT)
PCT Filed Oct. 11, 2019, PCT No. PCT/IB2019/058683
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 14, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/079546, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 23, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 102018000009453 (IT), filed on Oct. 15, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0049888 A1, Feb. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. F25C 3/04 (2006.01); G06Q 10/04 (2023.01)
CPC F25C 3/04 (2013.01) [G06Q 10/04 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for causing a system to manage an artificial snowmaking plant having a plurality of snowmaking apparatuses arranged along a ski slope, said method further facilitating a determination as to how much snow is to be produced by the artificial snowmaking plant and, based on that determination, optimizing an amount of snowmaking liquid that is provided to the artificial snowmaking plant in order to produce the snow, the plurality of snowmaking apparatuses comprising corresponding sensors that collect weather measurement data used to forecast weather in a geographic area of the plurality of snowmaking apparatuses, said method being performed by the system and comprising:
providing historical forecast values of a realistically measured weather parameter that was forecast before a reference moment in time by at least one weather station in relation to a predefined geographical area of said ski slope, wherein the historical forecast values are measured using the sensors that collect the weather measurement data used to forecast the weather in geographic area;
comparing said historical forecast values with respective historical values of the realistically measured weather parameter at said plurality of snowmaking apparatuses, which are arranged in said predefined geographical area;
determining a historical difference value for each of the snowmaking apparatuses for predefined moments or periods of time corresponding to moments or periods of time of said historical forecast values, wherein each said historical difference value is representative of a difference between one of the historical forecast values and a corresponding one of the historical values;
detecting one or more future forecast values of said weather parameter, the one or more future forecast values being forecast for a time that is subsequent to said reference moment of time;
correcting said one or more future forecast values of said weather parameter as a function of said historical difference values so as to determine one or more realistic future forecast parameter values at each of the snowmaking apparatuses on which a corresponding historical difference value has been determined; and
based on weather conditions detected at the snowmaking apparatuses, where the weather conditions are detected using the sensors, flowing the snowmaking liquid from one or more reservoirs through a set of conduits to the snowmaking apparatuses, resulting in supplying each of the snowmaking apparatuses with a respective amount of the snowmaking liquid suitable for producing artificial snow as a function of said one or more realistic future forecast parameter values that have been determined for each of the snowmaking apparatuses such that the respective amount of the snowmaking liquid is governed based on the function of the one or more realistic future forecast parameter values and such that each of the snowmaking apparatuses is activated, as a result of being supplied with a corresponding amount of snowmaking liquid, to produce artificial snow at a value that corresponds with a historical snow production value.