Evaporative cooler

Abstract

An evaporative cooler that includes a frame, a plurality of pads attached to the frame so that the pads substantially enclose an air space to be cooled, a water delivery device positioned at or near the top of the pads to wet the pads, a plurality of drain pans positioned at or near the bottom of the pads to collect water from the pads, and a fan to draw air through the wetted pads, thereby cooling the air by evaporation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An evaporative cooler, comprising:
 a frame;   a plurality of pads attached to the frame so that the pads substantially enclose an air space to be cooled;   a water delivery device positioned at or near the top of the pads to wet the pads;   a plurality of drain pans positioned at or near the bottom of the pads to collect water from the pads; and   a fan to draw air through the wetted pads, thereby cooling the air by evaporation.   
     
     
         2 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the pads include a bottom pad and intermediate pads positioned above the bottom pad. 
     
     
         3 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 2 , wherein the drain pans associated with the intermediate pads are configured to deliver the collected water to the lower pads. 
     
     
         4 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the cooler is configured to recycle the collected water for reuse. 
     
     
         5 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the water is comprises one or more contaminates. 
     
     
         6 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 5 , wherein the one or more contaminates includes oil. 
     
     
         7 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the frame has a horizontal face, and the fan is configured to expel the cooled air through the face and out of the cooler. 
     
     
         8 . An air cooling bank comprising a plurality of evaporative coolers wherein one or more coolers is as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the evaporative coolers are connected together and configured to run simultaneously, thereby increasing the amount of air cooled. 
     
     
         9 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the water delivery device is a plurality of pipes positioned adjacent the top of the pads. 
     
     
         10 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , wherein the pipes have apertures configured to release water from the pipes onto the pads. 
     
     
         11 . A method of cooling air, comprising:
 providing a plurality of cooling pads stacked one on top of the other and substantially enclosing an air space to be cooled;   wetting the cooling pads at an upper portion thereof;   pulling ambient air through the wetted cooling pads and into the air space to be cooled.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the water applied to the cooling pads comprises one or more contaminates. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more contaminates includes oil. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising collecting excess water for reuse after it passes through the cooling pads. 
     
     
         15 . An air cooled heat exchanger, comprising:
 cooling tubes containing a fluid to be cooled; and   a supply of air that flows over the cooling tubes, the air having a lower temperature than the fluid to be cooled so that the air absorbs heat from the fluid, thereby cooling the fluid;   wherein at least a portion of the supply of air is provided by an evaporative air cooler, the evaporative air cooler comprising:
 a frame having a plurality of vertical sides, wherein each side includes two or more cooling sections; 
 a plurality of pads attached to the frame so that the pads enclose the sides of the frame, each pad corresponding to a cooling section; 
 a plurality of water pipes attached to the cooler and positioned at the top of each cooling section adjacent the top of the pads, the water pipes having apertures arranged to allow water to exit the pipes and wet the pads; 
 a plurality of drain pans positioned at the bottom of each cooling section adjacent the bottom of the pads to collect any water that drips from the pads; and 
 a fan configured to draw air through the wetted pads, thereby cooling the air by evaporation, and provide the cooled air to the heat exchanger. 
   
     
     
         16 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 15 , wherein the cooler is configured to recycle the collected water for reuse. 
     
     
         17 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 15 , wherein the water is comprises one or more contaminates. 
     
     
         18 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more contaminates includes oil. 
     
     
         19 . An air cooling bank comprising a plurality of evaporative coolers wherein one or more coolers is as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the evaporative coolers are connected together and configured to run simultaneously, thereby increasing the amount of air cooled.