Water saving cooler

Abstract

An evaporative cooler has a housing with evaporative media at air inlets. A blower draws air into the inlets and through the media and then out an air outlet from the housing. A water pump in a water reservoir pumps water onto the media so that evaporation of the water cools the air being output by the blower. A timer is connected to the water pump to switch between ON operation that pumps water to the media and an OFF state in which the pump is not operated. The pump is cycled during operation of the cooler.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An evaporative cooler, comprising:
 a housing defining at least one inlet opening;   an evaporative media at the at least one inlet opening;   a water reservoir in the housing;   a water pump having an inlet in fluid communication with the water reservoir and having an outlet;   a water distribution system connected to the water pump outlet and configured to provide water pumped from the water reservoir by the water pump to the evaporative media; and   a timer connected to the water pump, the timer controlling operation of the water pump to operate the pump to pump water for a first time interval and to cease operation of the pump for a second time interval.   
     
     
         2 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the water distribution system is disposed adjacent to a first end of the housing, the reservoir is disposed at a second end of the housing opposite the first end, and the evaporative media is disposed between the water distribution system and the reservoir. 
     
     
         3 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the water distribution system is configured to provide the water pumped from the water reservoir to the evaporative media such that an excess amount of the pumped water returns to the water reservoir. 
     
     
         4 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the timer is housed in the water pump. 
     
     
         5 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , further comprising: a control panel configured to selectively supply power to the water pump. 
     
     
         6 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 5 , wherein the control panel comprises the timer. 
     
     
         7 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 1 , further comprising: a blower configured to force air through or over the evaporative media. 
     
     
         8 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 7 , wherein the blower is configured to operate during the first time interval and the second time interval. 
     
     
         9 . An evaporative cooler, comprising:
 an evaporative media;   a reservoir configured to hold a liquid solution;   a pump configured to pump the liquid solution from the reservoir;   a distribution system configured to provide the liquid solution pumped by the pump to the evaporative media; and   a timer configured to control the pump to pump the liquid solution for a first time interval and to cease pumping of the liquid solution for a second time interval, wherein the pumping of the liquid solution for the first time interval followed by the cessation of pumping in the second interval is repeatedly performed.   
     
     
         10 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , wherein the reservoir is further configured to receive an excess of the pumped liquid solution from the evaporative media. 
     
     
         11 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , wherein the distribution system is configured to provide the liquid solution pumped from the reservoir to the evaporative media such that an excess amount of the pumped liquid solution returns to the reservoir. 
     
     
         12 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , wherein the timer is housed in the pump. 
     
     
         13 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , further comprising: a control panel configured to selectively supply power to the pump. 
     
     
         14 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 13 , wherein the control panel comprises the timer. 
     
     
         15 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , further comprising: a blower configured to force air through or over the evaporative media. 
     
     
         16 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 15 , wherein the blower is configured to operate during the first time interval and the second time interval. 
     
     
         17 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , further comprising: a housing, wherein the pump, the water distribution system, and the reservoir are disposed in an interior of the housing, and wherein the evaporative media is configured to allow air to enter or exit the interior of the housing. 
     
     
         18 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 9 , further comprising: a sensor configured to detect an amount of the liquid solution on the evaporative media and generate a detection signal based on the detection. 
     
     
         19 . The evaporative cooler of  claim 18 , wherein the timer is configured to control the operation of the pump based on the detection signal. 
     
     
         20 . An evaporative cooler, comprising:
 a housing having a top, bottom and a plurality of sidewalls;   an evaporative media disposed adjacent to an inlet of a first sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, the inlet configured to allow air to enter the housing and pass through or over the evaporative media;   a reservoir disposed in the bottom of the housing and configured to hold water;   a pump having an inlet in communication with the reservoir and configured to pump the water from the reservoir to an outlet of the pump;   a water distribution system disposed adjacent to the top of the housing and in communication with the outlet of the pump, the water distribution system being configured to provide the water pumped by the pump to the evaporative media;   a blower disposed in the housing and in communication with an outlet of a second sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, the blower being configured to force the air to enter the housing and pass through or over the evaporative media and to force the air having passed through or over the evaporative media to exit the housing via the outlet; and   a timer configured to control the pump to pump the water from the reservoir onto the evaporative media via the water distribution system for a first time interval and to cease pumping of the liquid solution for a second time interval, wherein the pumping of the water for the first time interval followed by the cessation of pumping in the second interval is repeatedly performed.