Evaporative cooling device

Abstract

The invention relates to an evaporative cooling device including a stand-alone housing which is unconnected to any other structure. The housing is multi-sided and evaporative pads are placed inside the opening of each of the multi sides. An electric centrifugal blower is placed inside the housing to draw air through all of the evaporative pads and to discharge the same in a vertical direction through an opening in the top cover. The top cover has a directional spout placed over the opening to direct the air in

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] (none)

STATEMENT REGARDING FED SPONSORED R & D

[0002] (none)

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

[0003] (none)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention relates to air conditioning devices but more particularly to an evaporative cooling device having a high speed of air passing through a curtain of water to thereby cool the same.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Cooling air by means of evaporative cooling has been utilized for many years. Conventional evaporative cooling devices generally include a housing which may be square or round in which an air moving device such as a motor driven centrifugal blower is mounted in such a manner to induce a flow of ambient air into the housing through water wetted pads, the air is cooled by the evaporative effect and the air moving device delivers the cooled air to a discharge location. Evaporative coolers of the type described above have found a wide acceptance because of their low initial operational costs and their effectiveness at least during hot of relatively dry or low humidity.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] All of the known evaporative cooling devices are built into or are attached to some structure to cool an interior space. The inventive type of device is intended to stand alone to cool open areas that are not enclosed or are at least partially enclosed but are otherwise open to the ambient air.

[0007] Porches, lanais or so-called Florida rooms during hot and humid days cannot be used for any purpose because the ambient air under these conditions is very uncomfortable. The same can be said for garages if one wants to work therein. Other open spaces such as patios or terraces are equally effected by heat and humidity and therefore are less desirous to be used because of the comfort level involved.

[0008] There are completely open spaces that should be cooled to some extent at selected locations such as warehouses or workstations that are open to the ambient air. Included in this category are sport fields such as football fields, soccer fields or tennis courts. On football fields, for example, it is known to use axial air flow fans to cool the players on the bench simply by blowing air at them and a cooling effect is obtained by the evaporative effect of the perspiration on the player's clothing and or body. It is also contemplated that evaporatively cooled air is to be delivered to confined areas that should be temporarily cooled where no other cooling is available or feasible.

[0009] One such area would be an attic of a house where temporary work has to be performed but the heat prevailing in such a confined area, especially on hot summer days, would make such a task prohibitive. The inventive cooling device would have an adapter so that a flexible length of air duct could be connected to the cooling apparatus to thereby deliver the cooling air to the desired place of activity.

[0010] The above objects of the invention are accomplished by the use of a standalone unit that is not connected to any other structure for its support. The unit is a multi-sided structure through which air will be taken in by all of the sides of the structure into the interior of the structure by a centrifugal blower and then delivered upwardly upwardly to a directional spout. All of the sides of the structure have at their openings evaporative water pads for optimum evaporative air flow. The evaporative cooling devices can be made in different sizes dependent on their intended use and application. In smaller units, the blower would have a direct drive electric motor, while in larger units it would have to be a belt drive motor.

[0011] In either application, the centrifugal blower is capable of cooling much greater areas due to a much greater force of air distribution.

[0012] The air delivering spout on top of the unit be can adjusted manually to operate in many different directions of air delivery or it can be converted to an automatically oscillating spout to deliver the cooled air over a wider area. Further advantages will become apparent in the description of the invention below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,350 represents the applicant's prior patent showing all of the teachings incorporated in this application. The present application is an improvement over the present apparatus in that the manually adjustable spout on top of the cabinet has been converted to an automatically oscillating spout.

[0014] All of the prior art disclosed in this prior Patent is incorporated into the specification of this application and so is the prior art that was cited during the examination of the above noted application. However, a further search has been made with the following results:

[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 739,438 shows a cooling device including an oscillating fan assembly mounted in an upstairs room B. The fan assembly is sucking cooled from a refrigerator located in a downstairs room A. The oscillating fan does not represent an oscillating spout located on a water evaporative cooling cabinet.

[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,672 discloses a spout assembly on top of an air conditioned cabinet which oscillates to different positions whenever a human being in front of the unit moves to a different position. The unit is not a continuously moving and oscillating spout unit as is contemplated by the invention. As is explained in the specification of the above noted patent, “the blow-off duct (spout) is swung by the activation of the motor to ensure an extensive air cooling. The motor is driven or halted by means of a swing switch, thereby selecting a stationary or swing mode of the blow-off duct (spout). This operation is not contemplated by the inventive concept. The inventive concept involves a very simply lever to lever oscillating movement which is either continuous or stationary under the control of an operator. In a mechanical jargon, applicant is converting a rotary movement to an oscillating movement in very simple lever to lever movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view and an exploded view of the evaporative cooling device;

[0018] FIG. 2 shows the same as in FIG. 1 but with a different drive system;

[0019] FIG. 3 shows a more detailed view of the interior of the cooling system of the invention;

[0020] FIG. 4 shows an adapter with a flexible air duct attached thereto;

[0021] FIG. 5 shows a rotary six position switch.

[0022] FIG. 6A shows a detailed cross-section of the device of the present invention, showing the operation of the oscillating mechanism;

[0023] FIG. 6B shows the oscillating mechanism of FIG. 6A in a second position;

[0024] FIG. 7 is a cross-section of the oscillating device including the connection to an electric motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] FIG. 1, as stated above, shows a perspective and exploded view of the evaporative cooling device of the invention. As can be seen, the device consists of a four-sided structure in the form of a cabinet. The structure does not have to be four-sided but could instead consist of a triangle all the way up to the shape of a pentagon or octagon. However, a square configuration is preferred because of its simplicity of construction and its efficiency of operation. A triangular configuration, for example, would not deliver the magnitude of the air flow contemplated by this invention. On the other hand, a configuration of more than four sides would not satisfy the relative low cost contemplated by this invention. Also experiments have shown that a cabinet with more than four sides will not add anything to the efficiency of the device.

[0026] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the structure in its horizontal plane has a shape of a plane. The structure in its horizontal plane has the shape of a square and there is a sump in the bottom of the device. The sump 1 is made of an ABS plastic material to avoid any corrosion because it is in constant contact with water. Connected to the sump 1 are four uprights or vertical supports 2 which are of channel shaped configuration in the shape of a pentagon although other shapes can be used. the channels are formed into their shape by a bending process or they can be extruded. It is important that they are shape-locked or made rigid by their shape because they transfer strength to the basic structure of the cabinet because of the load they have to carry. Connected to the top ends of the vertical supports 2 are horizontal braces 3 which are channels open at their bottoms the purpose of which will be explained below. The square configuration of braces 3 will receive a top cover 4, also made of ABS plastic material to be corrosion resistant. A directional spout is attached to the cover 4 and fastened in a way to be explained below. To complete the structure of the cabinet and its sturdiness, reinforcing plates 6 are attached to all four corners of the sump 1. The plates 6 are further reinforced by upwardly extending braces 7 which are attached by welding to the plates 6 and then to the corner vertical supports 2 by either welding, by bolts or by rivets. Since the sump will contain water, the water is supplied by a coupling (not shown) through a hose 9. One of the objects indicated above, has been that the unit, structure or cabinet be free-standing and be movable. Therefore, casters 10 are provided to render the structure movable relative to a support surface.

[0027] There are corner covers 12, also made of a corrosion resistant ABS plastic material which are fastened to the channel-shaped vertical supports 2 by either rivets or bolts 34. As can be seen now, the structure of the cabinet has large openings on all of its four sides. The openings are now provided with the necessary elements to make it into an evaporative cooling device. To this end, panels are provided and removably fastened in the openings. High efficiency evaporative pads 16 are placed innermost in each of the openings and they are constantly wetted by water drip pipes placed on top of each of the panels

[0028] The water drip pipes 16 are placed within the horizontal channels 3 which are open toward the bottom, as explained above, so that the drip pipes 17 are concealed therein but at the same time can execute their function, that is, to deliver water to the top of the evaporative panels 16 so that water can thoroughly wet the same by gravity flowing downwardly.

[0029] Finally, there is an outer honeycomb plastic panel 14 closing off the opening. While this is not exactly essential, it protects the inner panels from damage and lends an aesthetic appearance to the overall structure.

[0030] Returning to the sump 1 in the bottom of the structure of the cabinet, there is water hose connection 8 for the supply of water through water hose 9. At this point it should be noted that in most devices, the water sump 1 is large enough to hold water of sufficient volume for an operation of up to eight hours so that the water supply hose 9 does not have to continuously stay connected to assure an extended cooling operation. This feature makes the device a truly stand-alone unit. In order to make the unit the unit movable relative to a supporting surface, casters 10 are provided on all lour corners which are fastened to the support plate 6. In order to finish the structure of the cabinet and to give it an attractive appearance, corner covers 12 are provided on all four corners and they are fastened to the vertical supports 2 by way of rivets or screws 34. An access door 13 is provided through the sandwich of evaporation pad 16 and the outer honeycomb cover 14 so that so that access can be had through the sandwich door 13 to the interior of the device to gain access to the drain plug 43 (FIG. 4) or to place a block of ice therein during extreme temperature conditions.

[0031] Water drip pipes 17 are placed within the open bottom channels 3 so that they are concealed therein, whereby the dripping water will wet the evaporative panels and will flow downwardly by gravity and an excess of water will return into the sump 1. Water is supplied to drip pipes 17 by vertical water delivery pipes 18, as will be explained in more below.

[0032] There is a centrifugal blower 19 which draws air into the interior of the cabinet or apparatus from all four sides. The blower is driven by an electric motor 20 including belt or belts 21. A belt drive 21 is preferred in larger that are used in wide-open areas. The centrifugal blower is contained in a housing 22 having an exit at 23. The housing 22 with its exit is supported by braces 24 and 25 at an upper end of the structure or cabinet.

[0033] The top cover 4 has a circular recess 26 which matches the lower ring 26a of the top cover 4. This enables the spout 5 to be rotatable relative to the cover 4. The exit 23 of housing 22 matches the rectangular opening 27 in the top cover 4 so as to connected thereto in an air-tight manner. Under certain circumstances it is desirable that the spout 5 be arrested in any of its rotatable positions.

[0034] To this end, there is an adjusting knob 28 at the top of the spout 5 which knob in turn is fastened to a screw threaded bolt 29. The screw threaded bolt 29 is received in a nylon lock nut which is fastened by brackets in the opening 23. In this manner, when the knob 28 is turned in a clock-wise direction, the spout with its ring 26a is arrested within the circular recess 26 of the top cover 4. This arrangement assures that the spout 5 stays in its adjusted position or direction because any vibrations cannot jar loose the clamping effect. It is desirable at any time, to quickly ascertain the water level in the sump when the apparatus is used as a stand-alone unit and is not connected to the water supply hose 9. There is a float rod 32 which has at its bottom a float ball 32a (FIG. 3) and the float rod extends into the water level indicator 33 which is mounted on top of the cover 4. The float ball 32a rides on top of the water level in sump 1 and as it rises or lowers, the float rod 32 follows the movement of the float ball 32a and such a movement is indicated at the water level indicator 33. Finally, there is a six-postion switch 35 mounted on one of the plastic corner covers 12, the function of which will be explained below with reference to FIG. 5

[0035] Reference is now being made to FIG. 2 wherein like reference characters have been applied to the same elements as shown in FIG. 1. The only difference from FIG. 1 to FIG. 2 is that the drive motor 20 driving the blower 19 is a direct motor to thereby eliminate the belt or belts 21. This kind of drive is preferred in smaller devices or cabinets that should be used in semi-enclosed structure such as porches, lanais and/or garages.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a perspective and exploded view of the evaporative cooling device which allows a more detailed view of the apparatus.

[0037] Like reference characters have been applied in this view to the same elements as can be found in FIGS. 1 and 2. There is a water connection 8 which is connected to the water hose 9. The water connection 8 leads into a water shut-off device 37. The water shut-off device 37 is intended to shut off the water supply to the sump 1 when a maximum of water is detected within the sump. This detection is accomplished by the float ball 38.

[0038] There is also shown a sump pump 39 which supplies water to the drip pipes 17 within the channels 3. The sump pump 39 has a float 40 which controls the operation of the pump 39 when a minimum of the water level in sump 1 has been detected. When the pump 39 is in operation, the pumped water from the pump exits into a divider Tee 41 which directs water to two diagonally placed vertical water supply pipes 18 and 18a by way of water hoses 41 and 42.

[0039] With reference to FIG. 1, it has been indicated that there is a six-position rotary switch 35 mounted on one of corner covers 12. In FIG. 3 it can be seen that the rotary switch 35 is connected to the switch housing interiorly of the corner cover 12. A power line 35b leads into the housing. The various positions and functions of the switch 35 are shown in FIG. 5.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a further development of the invention wherein the evaporatively cooled air can be directed to specifically enclosed areas such as when one is working in an attic, for example, or other areas on a temporary basis. This is accomplished by providing an adapter 43 which fits over the opening 31 of spout 5. As can be seen the rectangular opening 31 is converted into a round opening to accommodate a circular and flexible air duct 45. The air duct 45 is fastened to the adapter by way of the well known clamping ring 44.

[0041] The rotary switch in FIG. 5, seems to be self-explanatory. At the 12 o'clock position, the system is in an off position. The 2 o'clock position operates the pump only. This position is desirable when a pre-wetting of the evaporative pads is preferred. The pump and blower high speed position is called for under extreme high temperature and humidity conditions, while the 6 o'clock position will suffice under low humidity and/or temperature conditions. The 8 o'clock position is used to dry the evaporative pads after a shut-down of the system and when high humidity conditions are prevailing. While the 10 o'clock position is desired when the system is shut down and the drying of the pads is easily accomplished when the ambient air humidity is low. A drying of the evaporative pads, after the system has been shut down, is highly desirable because of any moisture inherently remaining in the pads will lead to undesirable formations of mold of formations formed by calcium deposits which tend to clog the open spaces within the evaporative pads.

[0042] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the spout 5 is attached to the top cover in such a manner so that the spout 5 can oscillate alternatively clockwise and then counterclockwise about an axis defined by the threaded bolt 29.

[0043] In this second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the spout 5 is attached to a cross member 40. In turn the cross member 40 is pivotally and in a rotary fashion supported by the threaded bolt 29. Threaded bolt 29 passes through the opening 41 in the cross member 40 and then threadingly engages the cross strut 42. There is a linkage 50 which is preferably attached to the circular recess 26. The linkage 50 consists of a rotating block 52 which is connected at a first end 54 to an oscillating electric motor 70 (FIG. 7) by its shaft 72. As the shaft 72 rotates, the rotating block 52 moves clockwise in the direction indicated by the small arrow in FIG. 6A.

[0044] A socket 56 is formed in the second end 57 of the rotating block 52. A ball joint 58 is loosely engaged in the socket 56 so that the ball joint may move in three axis of rotation. Connected to the ball joint 58 is the rod 60. The rod 60 is also connected to a secondary ball joint 62 at the other end of the rod 60 and the secondary ball joint 62 rotates freely in the secondary socket 64. Socket 64 is securely attached to the cross member 40 at a point which is displaced from the axis of the threaded rod 29 which is the axis of rotation of the spout 5.

[0045] As seen in FIGS. 6A and 6B, as the rotating block 52 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow, the rod 60 will freely rotate in the socket 56 and secondary socket 64, moving from the position shown in FIG. 6A to the position shown by phantom lines in FIG. 6A. As it does so, the rod 60 will cause the spout 5 to rotate about the threaded rod 29, between the positions shown in phantom lines in FIG. 6A. As the block rotating block continues to rotate, the rod 60 will cause the spout 5 to rotate back as is shown in FIG. 6B and so forth.

Claims

1. An evaporative stand-alone cooling device comprising:

a housing having a multiple of open vertical sides including wettable evaporative pads placed in each of said openings of said vertical open sides;

said open sides having at their tops horizontal support braces in the form of downwardly open channels;

means for delivering water to each top of said evaporative pads to flow downwardly through said pads by way of gravity;

said means for delivering water is located within said downwardly open channels of said support braces;

a sump is located at the bottom of said housing to collect excess water therein from said evaporative pads.

a pump is placed in said sump to deliver water to said means for delivering water located in said downwardly open channels including a float located in said sump to detect a minimum level of water in said sump to stop said pump;

said housing further includes a centrifugal blower being driven by a first electric motor, said blower being mounted in said housing so as to create a positive pressure of vertically flowing air while at the same time creating a negative pressure of laterally flowing air through said evaporate pads;

said housing further includes a cover at its top having an opening therein to accommodate said vertically flowing air;

a rotatable spout is placed over said opening in said cover including means for oscillating said spout in a multiple of substantially horizontal directions.

2. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1, wherein said means for oscillating said spout includes a second electric motor driving an eccentrically rotating block which in turn is driving a linkage connected to said spout.

3. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1, wherein said first electric motor is a direct drive motor.

4. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1, wherein said first electric motor is a belt drive motor.

5. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1 including a water connection in said sump for delivering water into said sump.

6. The evaporative cooling device of claim 5, wherein said water connection is connected to a water valve device including a float to detect a maximum of a water level in said sump to shut off said water valve.

7. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1, wherein a drainage plug is provided in the bottom of said sump.

8. The evaporative cooling device of claim 1, wherein a movable access door is provided in one of said evaporative pads to be able to gain access to the interior of said housing.