Evaporative cooler

Details Evaporative cooler Evaporative cooler

1999-11-18

2001-06-19

Doerrler, William (Department: 3744)

Refrigeration

Material cooling means including gas-liquid contactor

With gas forcing or directing means

C062S310000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06247327

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to evaporative coolers, and more particularly, to a high efficiency evaporative cooler that may be readily serviced.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Evaporative coolers are frequently utilized as parts of air conditioning systems in a relatively dry environment where a substantial differential exists between the wet bulb temperature and the dry bulb temperature of the air to be cooled. In operation, the relatively dry air to be cooled is placed in contact with water which evaporates into the dry air. As the water evaporates, it takes up the latent heat of evaporation from its surroundings, including the air, thereby cooling the same.
In the usual case, an evaporative cooling media is utilized. Water is trickled across the media while air is passed therethrough to promote good contact between the air and the water to provide the desired cooling effect. The air is typically propelled through the media by means of a fan or the like which may be either upstream or downstream of the media. In either event, care must be taken so that the velocity of air through the media is not so high as to entrain water in the liquid phase and introduce it into the space to be cooled along with the cool air. At the same time, higher velocities are often desirable as they enable the use of a lesser volume of evaporative media, allowing cooler size to be reduced. In any event, as a consequence, manufacturers of evaporative cooling media, in their specifications for their product, typically specify a maximum permitted air velocity as well as an effectiveness at a given velocity. Effectiveness is defined by the temperature difference between the temperature of the air stream entering the cooler and the temperature of the air stream exiting the cooler divided by the difference between the wet and dry bulb temperatures of the entering air and multiplied by 100.
In typical, commercially available direct evaporative cooling media today, air velocities are limited to a range of 700 feet per minute or less, because the employment of higher air velocities would possibly result in undesirable carry-over of liquid water in the air stream. Consequently, there is a need for an evaporative cooler that can achieve greater air velocities without creating a carry-over problem, or without reducing the evaporative cooler's effectiveness while being more compact in size.
At the same time, those skilled in the art will recognize that evaporative cooling media must be changed from time to time. Because water is evaporating from the surface of the media, any mineral content within the water will be left as a residue on the cooling media when the water evaporates. Over the passage of time, the build-up of mineral on the media will cause increasing fouling of the media and an accompanying drop in effectiveness.
Thus, it is standard practice to, at periodic intervals, change the evaporative cooling media in evaporative coolers before mineral build-up on the media becomes so great as to bring about inefficiencies in operation. Since, in the usual case, the media is contained in a housing, access must be achieved to the housing to remove and replace the media. This is not always an easily accomplished task because the media typically will be disposed between a water collection system that collects excess water that has not been evaporated in the media and a water distribution system which distributes water to the media for evaporation thereon. As a result, there is also a real need for a readily serviceable evaporative cooler.
The present invention is directed to providing one, or the other, or both of the foregoing needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved evaporative cooler. More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide an evaporative cooler with improved efficiency at higher air throughput velocities without incurring canyover of liquid water in the air stream, and/or improved ease of servicing.
According to one facet of the invention, a highly efficient evaporative cooler is provided. The same includes a housing having an air entrance, an air exit and a substantially closed air flow path extending between the entrance and the exit. A body of evaporative cooling media is disposed within the housing and extends entirely across the air path. The body has an upper end and upstream and downstream sides in the direction of air flow between the entrance and the exit. A water distribution plate is located above the body and has an elongated edge contacting the body along the entire length of the edge at a location at or closely adjacent to the upstream side. A spring biases the edge against the body and a water distribution header overlies the water distribution plate and directs water onto the plate as a plurality of streams.
According to this facet of the invention, effectiveness may be improved by directing relatively high velocity air through the media without generating water carry-over.
A preferred embodiment contemplates that the header include a plurality of spaced water outlet ports directed toward the plate to generate the water streams. The streams merge with one another on the plate to provide a nominally uniform sheet of water on the plate at the edge in contact with the media.
Preferably, the header is mounted to the distribution plate and the spring engages the header.
In one embodiment, the distribution plate is hinged about an axis generally parallel to the edge and spaced therefrom.
Preferably, the edge is directed toward the upstream side of the media.
In one embodiment, the water distribution plate mounts the water distribution header and includes spaced, slotted, mounting elements spaced from the edge of the water distribution plate and at least one pivot pin defining a pivot axis spaced from the edge of the plate is provided to removably receive the slotted mounting elements to pivotally and removably mount the water distribution plate and the header within the housing.
This facet of the invention provides a highly efficient evaporative cooler with improved effectiveness, and/or ease of service.
According to another facet of the invention, an evaporative cooler is provided which includes a housing having an air entrance and an opposite air exit. A lower, water collecting basin extends across and within the housing between the entrance and the exit. An upper, back cover plate is located within the housing and extends toward the basin. Also included is an upper front cover plate within the housing which also extends toward the basin and which is spaced from the back cover plate in the direction of the air inlet. A media support is located within the housing just above the basin and is adapted to support a body of evaporative cooling media within the housing with an upper end of the body disposed between and engaging the cover plates. A rod or pivot pins are disposed between the cover plates and define a generally horizontal pivot axis across the interior of the housing. A water distribution plate is located between the cover plates and to an inlet side of the pivot axis. A water distribution header is secured to the water distribution plate. Mounting elements having open slots are secured to the water distribution plate and the slots removably receive the rod or the pivot pins. At least one spring is mounted on the front cover plate and engages one of the header and the water distribution plate to urge the water distribution plate into engagement with a body of evaporative cooling media on the support.
According to this facet of the invention, the water distribution plate and header are removed as a unitary structure allowing ready access to and removability of an evaporative cooling media disposed on the support therefor.
In a preferred embodiment, the water distribution plate has an edge facing the inlet and engaging the media body. The edge is closely adjacent the front cover plate and the pivot axis is between the edge of the distribution plate and the back cover plate.
Preferably

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