US3126427A

US3126427A - Chemical feeder and bleed-off attachment

Info

Publication number: US3126427A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1964-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 1981-03-24

Description

March 24, 1964 L. w. BROUGHTON 3,126,427

' CHEMICAL FEEDER AND BLEED-OFF ATTACHMENT FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLER Filed March 28, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR L .WBPOUGHTO/V BY 6 6 u, ATTORNEY Ma 1964 w. BROUGHTON CHEMICAL FEEDER AND BLEED-OFF ATTACHMENT FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLER 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed March 28, 1962 L k z .bmm\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\m 9 m\2 6 3 m m INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,126,427 CHEMICAL FEEDER AND BLEED-OFF ATTACH- MENT FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLER Leland W. Br'onghton, 2320 Pittsburg St., El Paso, Tex. FiledMar. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 133,092 6 Claims, (Cl'. 261-2) This invention relates to an attachment adapted to be connected to the water recirculating system of an evaporative-type. air cooler to effect a continuous feeding of a predeterminedramount of a chemical into the sump water of the cooler, while the cooler is in operation, in accordance with the total mineral content of the make-up water, being supplied to the cooler, and the simultaneous bleeding off of a precise amount of the sump water in accordance with the mineral salt concentration thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment capable of effectively functioning to enable the sump water of the cooler to hold a greater amount of minerals in suspension without being precipitated out to form scale deposits, and to cause a thin protective metaphosphate film to be deposited on the exposed metal surfaces of the cooler to prevent the formation of corrosion and rust resulting from the acid gases contained in the water coming in. contact with air.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment which will maintain the mineral content of the sump water at a specified concentration well below that which the chemical being utilized is capable of holding in suspension, due to the regulated bleed-off.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly broken away, showing the attachment connected to a conventional evaporative-type a r cooler;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view, partially in vertical section, of the attachment;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a part of the attachment, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged exploded fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a part of the attachment, and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded View, partly in elevation and partly in section, of another part of the attachment.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, for the purpose of illustrating a preferred application and use of the chemical feeder and bleed-off attachment, designated generally 7 and comprising the invention, a conventional evaporative-type air cooler designated generally 8 is illustrated in FIGURE 1 and is shown mounted on top of an enclosure 9, such as a building. The air cooler 8 includes a housing 10 having a bottom portion 11 defining an upwardly opening receptacle or sump which is adapted to be supplied with water in a conventional manner, not shown, as by a domestic'source of water supply under pressure regulated by a float controlled valve, for maintaining a predetermined quantity of water within the sump 11. A conventional pump 12 mounted in the sump 11 recirculates the water upwardly from said sump through a conduit 13 to a distributor 14 from which the water is discharged onto porous pads 15, forming the side walls of the housing 11). The air drawn inwardly through the pads 15 by the blower 16 is thereby moistened and cooled. The parts 10 to 16 of the air cooler 8, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, and as briefly described, are all conventional.

The attachment 7 includes a T-fitting 17 which is interposed in the conduit 13, between the pump 12 and distributor 14 and to which an end of a conduit 18 is connected.

A container 19 is disposed beneath the other outlet end 20 of the conduit 18 and has an externally threaded open upper end 21 which is engaged by an internally threaded annular depending flange 22 of a cap 23 which is thus detachably mounted on the upper end of the container 19. The cap 23 has a central opening 24 extending-therethrough and formed in part by an externally threaded annular boss 25 which extends upwardly therefrom. The boss 25 threadedly engages in an enlarged end 26 of a tubular coupling 27 having a restricted opposite end 28 which engages in the conduit end 20 for connecting said conduit to the container 19.

The bottom 29 of the container 19 is provided with an externally threaded flanged outlet'30 which is engaged by an enlarged internally threaded end 31 of a tubular coupling 32, corresponding to the tubular coupling 27.

A regulator, designated generally 33, comprises a sleeve having an external flange 34 at its open lower end and a restricted inlet orifice 35 defining its upper end. A strainer, designated generally 36, comprises a hollow perforated body 37 having an open lower end 38 which is provided with an outturned annular flange 39'. The regulator 33 fits into the open end 38 of the strainer 36 and the flange 34 thereof abuts the underside of the flange 39. The

flanges

34 and 39 fit in the enlarged cap shaped end 31 of the coupling 32 and are clamped between a part thereof and the distal end ofthe outlet 30, so that the strainer 35 extends upwardly through said outlet 30 into the container 19, as best seen in FIGURE 2.

An upper end 40 of a conduit or hose 41 engages over and is connected to the restricted lower end 42 of the coupling 32, and the other discharge end 43 of the conduit 41 opens into the sump 11, as seen in FIGURE 1.

The cap 23 has a radial passage 44 the inner end of which communicates with the opening 24 and the outer end of which opens through the periphery of the cap above its flange 22. One end of a nipple 45 is connected to the outer end of the passage 44 and a cap 46 is threadedly connected to the other end of said nipple 45. said last mentioned nipple end has an annular cavity 47 opening outwardly thereof and disposed around and spaced from the restricted end 48 of the nipple bore 49. The cap 46 has a central opening 50- through which an end of a conduit 51 extends. Said conduit end seats in the annular cavity 47, so that the restricted bore end 48 opens into the conduit 51, as seen in FIGURE 2.

The other end of the conduit 51 is connected to a second nipple 52 by a cap 53. The nipple 52 corresponds with the nipple 45 and the cap 53 corresponds to the cap 46'. The opposite end of the nipple 52 threadedly engages centrally through a cap 54 which threadedly engages the upper' end of a cartridge 55, into which said nipple discharges. A coupling 61, corresponding to the coupling 32, has an end 62, corresponding to the coupling end 31. Said end 62 threadedly engages over the other lower end of the cartridge 55. The cartridge 55 contains a regulator 56 and a strainer 57 which correspond with the regulator 33 and stainer 36, respectively, except that the orifice 58 at the upper end of the regulator 56 would ordinarily be smaller than the orifice 35. The

flanges

59 and 60 at the open lower ends of the regulator 56 and strainer 57, respectively, are clamped between the lower end of the cartridge 55 and a part of the coupling end 62.

As seen in FIGURE 1, the conduit 51 extends outwardly from the housing 10, as though a flanged opening 63 in the bottom of the sump 11, in which a part of said conduit 51 is sealed, and the cartridge 55 is disposed externally of and below the cooler housing 10, preferably along a part of a vertical wall of the enclosure 9. One end 64 of a conduit 65 engages over and is connected to a restricted lower end 66 of the coupling 61 and the other end of the conduit 65, not shown, discharges to waste in any desired location externally of the enclosure 9.

When the cooler 8 is placed in operation, the pump 12 will circulate water from the sump 11 through the conduit 13 to the distributor 14 and a part of the Water, discharged from the distributor 14 onto the pads 15, returns by gravity to the sump 11 to be recirculated by the pump 12. With the attachment 7 interposed in the conduit 13, a part of the water passing upwardly through the conduit 13 will be returned to the sump 11 without reaching the distributor 14 by passing through the branch conduit 18, container 19 and branch conduit 41, which parts thus form a return branch conduit leading directly from the conduit 13 back to the sump 11. The container 19 is partly filled with a chemical 67. The rate of flow of the water through this branch conduit back to the sump 11 will be substantially restricted by the size of the small orifice 35 in the regulator 33, so that the remainder of the container 19 will be gradually filled, by the bypassed water from the main conduit 13. As the container 19 is being initially filled, air contained therein will escape through the lateral passage 44 and thence through the conduit 51, cartridge 55 and conduit 65 to the atmosphere, so that the container 19 can be completely filled. A part of the chemical 67 will be dissolved by and pass outwardly from the container 19 with the bypassed water through the orifice 35 of the regulator 33 and thence to the sump 11. The size of the orifice 35 of the regulator 33 is such that a proper amount of the chemical 67 is discharged into the water within the sump 11 to enable the sump water to hold a greater amount of mineral salts in suspension, than would otherwise be possible, and to prevent the minerals from being precipitated out to form scale deposits. The chemical supplied to the sump also functions to form a thin protective metaphosphate film as a deposit on the exposed metal surfaces of the cooler 8 as the sump water, containing the chemical, is recirculated by the pump 12. This film protects the metal against rust and corrosion normally caused by the acid gases in the water coming in contact with air.

The chemical 67 which is supplied to the sump water is easily capable of maintaining the mineral salts in suspension with a concentration of forty grains of hardness per gallon of the water. The chemical 67 preferably comprises a slowly soluble phosphate as disclosed by U.S. Patent No. 3,043,772. Assuming that ten gallons of make-up water having a hardness of ten grains per gallon is supplied automatically per hour to the sump from a domestic source of water supply, the regulator 56 utilized will have an orifice 58 of a size to permit two and onehalf gallons of water to be bled off therethrough per hour. Since, the bypassed water which is collected in and fills the container 19, along with the chemical 67, will have a hardness of forty grains per gallon and as two and onehalf gallons of this liquid is bled off and goes to waste per hour through the regulator 56, one hundred grains of hardness will be removed from the water system of the air cooler 8 each hour, equaling the grains of hardness entering the water cooler each hour in the replacement Water. If the rate of hardness of the water is greater than ten grains per gallon, the size of the orifice 58 of the regulator 56 would be enlarged to increase the amount of bleed-oft per hour, so that the bleed-off will always maintain the mineral content of the water in the sump 11 at a specified concentration, never permitting the total mineral content of the water to become greater than the chemical 67 is capable of maintaining in suspension, so that scale deposits, rust and corrosion will be substantially eliminated.

The

strainers

36 and 57 prevent dirt and foreign matter from passing therethrough and which might otherwise clog or impede flow through the

regulator orifices

35 and 53, respectively. The strainer 36 will not prevent the chemical 67 from passing therethrough and escaping into the coupling 32 and conduit 41 through the regulator 33.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I clam as my invention:

1. In combination with an evaporative-type air cooler including a casing having a bottom portion forming a sump containing water, porous cooling pads supported by peripheral portions of the casing above the sump, a conduit extending upwardly from below the liquid level in the sump and having an upper discharge end disposed adjacent said pads, means for recirculating the water from the sump through said conduit to the pads, and means to supply make-up water of a predetermined hardness to the sump; a chemical feeder and bleed-off attachment comprising a bypass conduit having an upper inlet end connected to and receiving water from said first mentioned conduit and a lower discharge end opening into the sump for bypassing a part of the water passing upwardly through the first mentioned conduit directly back to the sump, a container interposed in and forming a part of the bypass conduit, a water softening chemical partially filling the container, a first regulator means disposed in the lower portion of said container for regulating the amount and concentration of the water and chemical mixture discharged from said bypass conduit into the sump and for restricting the flow from said container to cause filling of the remainder of the container with the bypassed water, a bleed-off conduit communicating with and leading from an upper part of said container above the level of the chemical therein and discharging to waste externally of the cooler for bleeding off water from the sump having a hardness greater than the hardness of the make-up water, and a second regulator means interposed in said bleed-off conduit for restricting the flow therethrough whereby the quantity of the water discharged to waste is substantially less than the quantity of the make-up water supplied to the sump and constitutes only a small proportion of the liquid passing through the bypass conduit.

2. In a combination as defined by claim 1, said container having a bottom provided with an outlet, said first regulator means comprising a tubular body disposed in said outlet and having an upper end provided with a restricted orifice constituting the inlet of the regulator means, and means detachably clamping said tubular body in the container outlet.

3. In a combination as defined by claim 2, a strainer having a lower end disposed around said tubular body and secured thereto and to the container by said last mentioned means, said strainer extending upwardly into the container and terminating substantially above said orifice.

4. In a combination as defined by claim 1, said container including a detachable cap defining the upper end thereof and having a passage extending therethrough, lengthwise of the container, forming a part of the bypass conduit, said cap having a laterally extending passage communicating with said first mentioned passage and with an inlet end of the bleed-off conduit.

5. In a combination as defined by claim 1, said bleedoif conduit including a rigid section spaced from the ends said tubular body is disposed, said strainer being secured by said last mentioned means to the rigid section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,319,565 Stratton May 18, 1943 2,709,522 Osborne May 31, 1955 2,725,729 Mills Dec. 6, 1955 3,043,772 Liddell July 10, 1962

Claims

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN EVAPORATIVE-TYPE AIR COOLER INCLUDING A CASING HAVING A BOTTOM PORTION FORMING A SUMP CONTAINING WATER, POROUS COOLING PADS SUPPORTED BY PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF THE CASING ABOVE THE SUMP, A CONDUIT EXTENDING UPWADLY FROM BELOW THE LIQUID LEVEL IN THE SUMP AND HAVING AN UPPER DISCHARGE END DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID PADS, MEANS FOR RECIRCULATING THE WATER FROM THE SUMP THROUGH SAID CONDUIT TO THE PADS, AND MEANS TO SUPPLY MAKE-UP WATER OF A PREDETERMINED HARDNESS TO THE SUMP; A CHEMICAL FEEDER AND BLEED-OFF ATTACHMENT COMPRISING A BYPASS CONDUIT HAVING AN UPPER INLET END CONNECTED TO AND RECEIVING WATER FROM SAID FIRST MENTIONED CONDUIT AND A LOWER DISCHARGE END OPENING INTO THE SUMP FOR BYPASSING A PART OF THE WATER PASSING UPWARDLY THROUGH THE FIRST MENTIONED CONDUIT DIRECTY BACK TO THE SUMP, A CONTAINER INTERPOSED IN AND FORMING A PART OF THE BYPASS CONDUIT, A WATER SOFTENING CHEMICAL PARTIALLY FILLING THE CONTAINER, A FIRST REGULATOR MEANS DISPOSED IN THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID CONTAINER FOR REGULATING THE AMOUNT AND CONCENTRATION OF THE WATER AND CHEMICAL MIXTURE DISCHARGED FROM SAID BYPASS CONDUIT INTO THE SUMP AND FOR RESTRICTING THE FLOW FROM SAID CONTAINER TO CAUSE FILLING OF THE REMAINDER OF THE CONTAINER WITH THE BYPASSED WATER, A BLEED-OFF CONDUIT COMMUNICATING WITH AND LEADING FROM AN UPPER PART OF SAID CONTAINER ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE CHEMICAL THEREIN AND DISCHARGING TO WASTE EXTERNALLY OF THE COOLER FOR BLEEDING OFF WATER FROM THE SUMP HAVING A HARDNESS GREATER THAN THE HARDNESS OF THE MAKE-UP WATER, AND A SECOND REGULATOR MEANS INTERPOSED IN SAID BLEED-OFF CONDUIT FOR RESTRICTING THE FLOW THERETHROUGH WHEREBY THE QUANTITY OF THE WATER DISCHARGED TO WASTE IS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE QUANTITY OF THE MAKE-UP WATER SUPPLIED TO THE SUMP AND CONSTITUTES ONLY A SMALL PROPORTION OF THE LIQUID PASSING THROUGH THE BYPASS CONDUIT.