Refrigeration – Material cooling means including gas-liquid contactor – With gas forcing or directing means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-24
2001-09-04
Bennett, Henry (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Material cooling means including gas-liquid contactor
With gas forcing or directing means
C062S304000, C062S091000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282915
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to evaporative coolers, and more particularly pertains to an evaporative cooler utilizing both direct and indirect processes in a single unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Evaporative cooling (or swamp cooling) has existed for many centuries. People experience evaporative cooling when they step out of a swimming pool on a breezy day. The use of evaporative cooling for structures is thought to have begun in ancient Egypt with the use of wetted rags hanging in door and window ways. Today the technology has developed to high efficiency media types which have life expectancies of up to 5 years. Traditional swamp coolers utilize aspen wood fiber or synthetic mesh pads sprayed or soaked with water to achieve temperature reduction through evaporative cooling as air is blown across the wetted pads. The high efficiency media pads achieve higher, and more consistent, performance, which results in lower temperatures. The reduction of air temperature is the result of energy transferred from the hot air to the water as it changes from a liquid to a gas upon evaporation. As air is blown over the media, the rate of evaporation is increased dramatically. Since the air to be cooled is in direct contact with the water, this process is called direct or “wet” evaporative cooling. Evaporative coolers are very inexpensive to operate when compared to traditional air conditioning, and use less energy, and are thus more environmentally friendly.
Indirect evaporative cooling systems utilize an air exchanger to separate the evaporating water from the air stream to be cooled. Since the evaporated water is not in contact with the air stream, the air is cooled with no moisture added. This process is known as “dry” evaporative cooling.
Two-stage evaporative cooling systems employ combined indirect (dry) and direct (wet) evaporative cooling processes, resulting in an air temperature which is lower than that achieved by either of the processes independently, while producing air with a moisture content lower than that of traditional direct (wet) evaporative cooling.
Evaporative cooling has many advantages over other air cooling technologies, including: lower energy consumption, avoiding potentially environmentally harmful refrigerants used in mechanical refrigeration, improved indoor air quality through the air washing nature of evaporative cooling, and low operational costs.
The use of evaporative coolers is generally well known, and many patents have issued to various particular devices and systems employing evaporative cooling processes. Examples of such prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,148,442, 4,002,040, 4,582,126, 4,781,248, 4,913,776, 5,800,595, 5,816,318, and 5,927,097. The entire disclosures of each of the foregoing patents are hereby incorporated herein by this reference thereto.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an evaporative cooler including a cross-flow plate heat exchanger formed by a plurality of stacked, fluted plates. The evaporative cooler according to the present invention may be operated in an indirect evaporative cooling process, or in a combined direct and indirect mode. The heat exchanger operates as a cross between a cross-flow exchanger and a counter-flow exchanger because the primary and secondary air streams are not perpendicular or parallel to one another, but rather, are oriented at an oblique angle. In a preferred embodiment formed by stacked hexagonal plates, the shape of the exchanger lends itself to the application of water on a primary side to achieve two-stage (indirect plus direct) evaporative cooling. In the two-stage operation mode, all six sides of the heat exchanger have water flowing through the corrugated flutes. The inventive heat exchanger provides a single, compact design that utilizes all six sides for air inlet and outlets, providing a higher efficiency exchanger as compared to traditional compact indirect evaporative cross-flow plate heat exchangers.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3148442 (1964-09-01), Gier, Jr.
patent: 4002040 (1977-01-01), Munters et al.
patent: 4582126 (1986-04-01), Corey
patent: 4730462 (1988-03-01), Rogers
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patent: 4913776 (1990-04-01), Finnemore et al.
patent: 5042270 (1991-08-01), Sanchez
patent: 5775121 (1998-07-01), Kuma et al.
patent: 5800595 (1998-09-01), Wright
patent: 5816318 (1998-10-01), Carter
patent: 5927097 (1999-07-01), Wright
patent: 2301222 (1974-07-01), None
patent: 57-74582 A (1982-05-01), None
Bennett Henry
IndireX
Jones Melvin
Wall Marjama & Bilinski
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