GB2158932A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooler comprises a housing 1 provided at its lower part with a reservoir 11 and at its upper part with a dissipating chamber 14, a plurality of cooling baffles 2 suspended in the dissipating chamber, a circulating pump 42 connected with the reservoir, an inlet pipe 43 having a nozzle 44 communicating with the dissipating chamber 14, a fan 3 mounted at one side of the dissipating chamber 14, a sensor 55 disposed near the inlet pipe 43 and a feed pipe 5 connecting the reservoir 1 to an external water source. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cooler The present invention relates to a cooler which attains practicality in units of small sizes.

Heretofore, the commonly used cooling device is the cooling tower which is a chamber in which outdoor atmosphere flows through a spray of entering hot water to be cooled.

With reference to Fig. 6, there is shown a cutaway view of a known cooling tower. As may be seen, the water is mixed with air which is forced in by a fan (62). The fan (62) is driven by a motor (61) disposed at the top of the cooling tower. The water is sprayed from pipes (63) into the tower where it mixes with air, heat being dissipated when some of the water evaporates. Then, the cooled water is collected in a reservoir (64).

As the cooling tower is large in volume and may generate noise, it is usual to locate it on the top of the building. Moreover, in use water may occasionally be blown out from the tower thereby wetting the surroundings.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cooler which may obviate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a cooler which will let water from external water source into its reservoir when the temperature of the circulating water is too high.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cooler which will let water from external water source into the reservoir when the water stored in the reservoir is below a predetermined level.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cooler which is simple in construction.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cooler which is easy to fabricate.

It is still another object of the present invention which is economic to produce.

It is a further object of the present invention which is easy to use.

Other objects and merits and a fuller understanding of the present invention will be obtained by those having ordinary skill in the art when the following detailed description of the best mode contemplated for practicing the invention has been read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like or similar parts and in which: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: Figure 1 is a cutaway view of a cooler in accordance with one example of the present invention; Figure 2 is a detail view of the cooler; Figure 3 is a front view of the cooler; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the cooler; Figure 5 is a left side view of the cooler; and Figure 6 is a cutaway view of a known cooling tower.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the cooler according to the present invention comprises a housing (1). The lower part of the housing (t) is a reservoir (11) (shown in Fig. 3) served for receiving cooled water. The reservoir (11) is provided with an outlet pipe (41) for letting out cooled water. The cooled water is first transmitted to the machine (not shown) which is to be cooled by means of a circulating pump (42) and then delivered to a dissipating chamber (14) at the upper part of the housing (1) via an inlet pipe (43). The inlet pipe (43) is formed at its free end with an nozzle (44).

The water flowing out of the nozzle (14) is mixed with air which is forced in by a fan (3) mounted at one side of the dissipating chamber (14). The temperature of the water is reduced in part by the warming of the air, and in greater part by evaporation of a portion of the water. The air enters at given conditions and emerges at a higher temperature and usually saturated. A plurality of cooling baffles (2) are suspended in the dissipating chamber (14) by four rods (12) fixed at one end on flanges (111) of the housing (11). The cooling baffles (2) are angularly disposed on one another, so that a recess (21) served for collecting the water cooled by the fan (3) is formed between the intersection of every two cooling baffles (2). Each of the cooling baffles (2) is formed at its front end with two openings (21) from which the cooled water may gradually drop into the reservoir (11).The fan (3) is positioned such that the water collected in the recess (21) formed by the two cooling baffles (2) located in the uppermost part of the dissipating chamber (14) can be further cooled by the fan (3). It must be noted that the nozzle (44) and the cooling baffles (2) are of particular importance to the working of the cooler.

The cooler is further provided with a sensor (55) which is disposed near the inlet pipe (43). The sensor (55) will actuate a solenoid valve (53) when the temperature of the water entering into the inlet pipe (43) is too high. A feed pipe (5) communicating with external water source (not shown) is connected to the reservoir (11). The feed pipe (5) is provided with a solenoid valve (52) controlled by a float bowl (51). A branch pipe (54) is connected at one end with the feed pipe (5) and at its other end with the solenoid valve (53). The solenoid valve (53) is connected with the reservoir (11) and will be opened to let water from the external water source into the reservoir (11) when thewater stored in the reservoir (11) is below level and/or the temperature of the water flowing out of the nozzle (44) of the inlet pipe (43) is too high.In other words, as the circulating cooled water is not enough to cool the machine, the solenoid valve (53) will be opened to let additional water into the reservoir (11) thereby increasing the cooling capacity. An overflow pipe (16) is provided on the upper part of the reservoir (11), so that the water stored in the reservoir (11) may maintain a predetermined level.

A cover (13) is mounted on the top of the housing (1) to protect the water therein from being contaminated. The outdoor atmosphere forced in by the fan (3) escapes from outlet (15). A drain valve (17) for cleaning is provided on the lower part of the reservoir (11).

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detail of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims (4)

1. A cooler comprising: a housing provided at its lower part with a reservoir and at its upper part with a dissipating chamber; a plurality of cooling baffles suspended in said dissipating chamber, said cooling baffles being angularly disposed on one another such that a recess is formed between intersection of every two of said cooling baffles, each said baffle having two openings; an outlet pipe connected with said reservoir; a circulating pump connected with said outlet pipe; an inlet pipe having nozzle communicating with said dissipating chamber; a fan mounted at one side of said dissipating chamber so that air can- be forced in by said fan to mix with water flowing out of said nozzle; a sensor disposed near said inlet pipe, said sensor being designed so that it will actuate a first solenoid valve when the temperature of water entering into said inlet pipe is too high; ; a feed pipe connecting said reservoir to an external water source; a second solenoid valve for controlling said feed pipe; a float bowl connected with and controlling said second solenoid valve; and a branch pipe connected at one end with said first solenoid valve and at the other end with said feed pipe.

2. A cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reservoir is provided with a drain valve.

3. A cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dissipating chamber is provided with an outlet which allows air forced in by said fan to escape therefrom.

4. A cooler substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.