US3041978A

US3041978A - Evaporative cooler

Info

Publication number: US3041978A
Application number: US2755A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kranz Peter
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1960-01-15
Filing date: 1960-01-15
Publication date: 1962-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-03

Description

July 3, 1962 P. KRANZ 3,041,978

EVAPORATIVE COOLER Filed Jan. 15, 1960 f)? 1/6)? tar-.- Pete) Ar'an Z,

H/LS A c3 orwgg Ratenteci July 3, 11962 3,941,978 EVAPQRATIVE COOLER Peter Kranz, Darien, Conn, assignor to General Electric ompany, a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 2,755 7 Claims. (Cl. 103-103) This invention relates to an evaporative cooler, and more particularly, to an improved pump and strainer arrangement for an evaporative cooler.

Evaporative coolers conventionally include a pump and strainer for supplying water from a reservoir to an evaporative cooler water distribution tray. Although this pump and strainer construction may be accomplished in various ways, a simple low-cost arrangement for straining the water and pumping it to the water distribution tray is especially desirable.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved water pum and strainer arrangement which is simple in structure and capable of being manufactured and installed in an evaporative cooler at low cost.

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, an evaporative cooler is provided with a reservoir having a bottom wall and an impeller for pumping water from the reservoir. A housing is provided for the impeller and a unique flexible strainer is formed with the housing. The strainer extends downwardly from the impeller housing and is self-urged against the bottom wall of the reservoir. With this arrangement, all of the water which is sucked by the pump passes through the strainer before it reaches the impeller. Thus, an improved effective, low-cost pump and strainer arrangement is achieved.

Other objects and attendent advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view through an evaporative cooler showing my improved pump and strainer arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a bottom exploded perspective view of my improved pump and strainer arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view showing my improved pump and strainer; and

PEG. 4 is a top plan view of my improved pump housing and strainer.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a portion of an evaporative cooler comprising a water reservoir 1 having a bottom wall 2, and atpump 3 for pumping the water from the reservoir through a tube 4 to an evaporative cooler water distribution tray (not shown). An electric motor 5 is provided with an elongated vertical drive shaft 6 for rotating the pump impeller 7. The electric motor 5 also drives an evaporative cooler blower wheel (not shown) which may be positioned in casing 8. The casing 8 and the electric motor 5 may be rigidly supported in the evaporative cooler by means of an apertured tab 9 and other suitable securing means. Thus, my unique pump and strainer arrangement 3 may be supported from casing 8 by means of support brackets 10 and 11, in a manner to be more particularly described hereinafter.

A unique easily manufactured one piece member 12 which functions not only as an impeller housing but as a strainer is provided. The member is preferably formed of polyethylene or other suitable moldable material. As best shown in FIG. 4, it comprises a generally horizontal top platform 13 and downwardly extending side wall portions 14 for enclosing the centrifugal impeller 7. An enlarged opening 15 may be formed in the top platform 13 of the housing for receiving the impeller shaft 6 with considerable clearance.

Effective connecting means may be integrally formed with the pump housing 12 for supporting the housing from brackets 10 and 11. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, two pairs of guide Walls 16 and 17, and 1% and 19 are provided for receiving end portions of brackets 10 and 11, respectively, therebetween. Screw receiving apertures 20 and 21 may also be formed with the pump housing 12 for receiving

screws

22 and 23 in order to securely fix the pump housing 12 to mounting brackets 11 and 10.

My improved multi-function housing member 12 is also provided with an integrally formed Water discharge nipple 24. With this arrangement, one end 4 of the flexible tube may be readily slipped over the nipple 24 to provide a satisfactory coupling between the nipple and the flexible tube 4.

My improved strainer arrangement will now be more particularly described. As shown in FIG. 2 a flexible skirt wall 25 is integrally formed with my improved multifunction housing member 12 and extends downwardly from side wall 14 at an angle of approximately 30 with respect thereto. A plurality of vertically arranged generally parallel slots 26 are integrally formed in the skirt wall between the end of wall 12 and a lip end ortion 27 of the skirt member. Thus, a plurality of thin flexible fingers 28 are provided between the slots 26 to strain the Water as it flows through the slots 26 toward the impeller. The flexible fingers 28 extend from side wall 12 to the bottom of the skirt and their extreme ends may be integrally moulded to each other to form the lip 27. With this arrangement, when the pump housing 12 is rigidly fixed to the supporting brackets 10 and 11, the flexible skirt member 25 can defiect slightly against the bottom wall 2 of the reservoir. The fingers 28 are inclined at an angle of approximately 30 with respect to wall 14 so that they cannot buckle inwardly, but can dettlect substantially uniformly outwardly to compensate for manufacturing tolerances with respect to the distance from the end of side wall 14 to the bottom wall 2. Accordingly, the ends of fingers 28 forming the skirt wall 25 are self-urged against bottom wall 2 to provide a water-tight seal whereby all of the water which is sucked by the pump passes through the strainer slots 26. As shown in FIG. 4, greater flexibility may be achieved by forming four

slots

29, 30, 31 and 32 Which extend completely through the lip 2'7 of the skirt 25 to divide the skirt into four sections. Obviously, lip 27 may be omitted or a greater number of through slots may be provided for achieving a more flexible skirt member 25.

My improved pump housing and strainer arrangement includes a cover plate 33 for closing an enlarged opening 34 formed in the bottom of the impeller housing. As shown more particularly in FIG. 2 the cover member 33 is provided with a plurality of

preformed apertures

35, 36, and 37 for receiving screws 38 for connecting the cover 33 to the housing. A circular opening 3? is formed in the cover for functioning as a water inlet opening to the Pump chamber.

In operation when the motor 5 is energized it rotates shaft 6 and the centrifugal impeller 7. The impeller 7 sucks water from the bottom of the reservoir through the slots 26 formed in the strainer and upwardly through opening 39 formed in the cover plate into the pump chamber. Then the Water is forced centrifugally outwardly under the influence of the impeller 7 and upwardly through the nipple 24 and the tube 4 to the water distribution tray of the evaporative cooler. Thus, the water distribution tray is supplied with strained water which cannot clog the water openings which are formed in the tray.

It should be appreciated that my improved pump and strainer arrangement comprises only three parts, an integrally formed pump housing and strainer 12, a cover plate 33 and an impeller wheel 7. Thus, an exceedingly simple yet eflective evaporative cooler pump and strainer is obtained. The above described construction facilitates manufacture and assembly of the evaporative cooler. The blower wheel casing 8, brackets and 11, and the pump 3 are sub-assembled to each other. This sub-assembly is placed in the reservoir as shown in FIG. 1, and the casing 8 is connected to the evaporative cooler by suitable securing means. With my improved strainer arrangement, the strainer fingers 28 deflect just the right amount depending upon manufacturing tolerance variations to provide an effective seal with the bottom wall 2 of the evaporative cooler.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, and therefore, it is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir; a housing for said impeller; and a resilient fleixble strainer formed with said housing, said strainer extending downwardly from said housing and being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir to provide a liquid tight seal between said strainer and said bottom wall whereby to strain all of the liquid which flows between said impeller housing and said bottom wall to the impeller.

2. An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir; a housing for Said impeller; and a plurality of resilient flexible fingers integrally formed with said housing, said fingers extending from said housing and being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir for straining all of the liquid which flows between said housing and the bottom wall to the impeller.

3. An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir; a housing for said impeller; a liquid discharge nipple integrally formed with said housing; and a resilient flexible strainer formed with said housing, said resilient strainer extending downwardly from said housing and being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir to provide a liquid-tight seal between said strainer and said bottom wall whereby to strain all of the liquid which flows between said impeller housing and said bottom wall to the impeller.

4. An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir, a housing for said impeller; a liquid discharge nipple integrally formed with said housing; guide wall connecting means integrally formed with said housing; and a resilient flexible strainer formed with said housing, said resilient strainer extending downwardly from said housing and being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir to provide a liquid-tight seal between said strainer and said bottom wall whereby to strain all of the liquid which flows between said impeller housing and said bottom wall to the impeller.

5 An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir; a housing for said impeller; a side wall formed integrally with said housing; and a resilient flexible strainer skirt integrally formed with said housing, said resilient strainer skirt extending downwardly and outwardly at an angle with respect to said side wall; said strainer skirt being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir to provide a liquid-tight seal between said strainer and said bottom wall whereby to strain all of the liquid which flows between said impeller housing and said bottom wall to the impeller.

6. An evaporative cooler comprising: a liquid reservoir having a bottom wall; an impeller for pumping liquid from said reservoir; a housing for said impeller; a side wall formed integrally with said housing; and a resilient flexible strainer skirt integrally formed with said housing,

said strainer skirt extending downwardly and outwardly at an angle with respect to said side wall; a plurality of slots formed in said skirt, said strainer skirt being resiliently self-urged against the bottom wall of said reservoir to provide a liquid-tight seal between said strainer and said bottom wall whereby to strain all of the liquid which flows between said impeller housing and said bottom wall to the impeller.

7. A pump structure for cooperation with an opposed surface comprising: an impeller for pumping liquid, a housing for said impeller, a side wall integrally formed with said housing, a resilient flexible strainer skirt integrally formed with said housing, said strainer skirt ineluding a plurality of resilient flexible generally parallel fingers, said resilient strainer skirt extending outwardly at an angle with respect to said side wall, said resilient skirt including said fingers being deformable into conformity with said opposed surface to provide a liquid type seal between the bottom of said strainer skirt and said opposed surface whereby to strain all of the fluid which flows to said pump impeller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,295,982 Widman Sept. 15, 1942 2,702,147 Brown Feb. 15, 1955 2,738,787 Jacuzzi et al Mar. 20, 1956 2,744,466 Difford May 8, 1956 2,808,782 Thompson et al Oct. 8, 1957 2,918,016 Olson Dec. 22, 1959 2,942,556 Growall June 28, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 68,959 France Mar. 17, 1958 (Addition to No. 1,084,781)