# US 2014/0151909 A1 · System and method for reducing mineral buildup on drift eliminators of a cooling tower

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- Number: US 2014/0151909 A1
- Document ID: US20140151909A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/176,112
- Filed: 2014-02-09
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2010-12-23
- Assignees: Yahoo! Inc.
- Applicants: Yahoo! Inc.
- Inventors: TY SWEEN
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140151909A1

## CPC

- F28C 1/00: Direct-contact trickle coolers, e.g. cooling towers (building construction E04H5/12; enclosed spaces cooled by trickle F25; components parts of trickle coolers F28F25/00; {indirect-contact cooling towers F28B1/06})
- F28C 1/02: with counter-current only
- F28C 1/04: with cross-current only
- F28C 1/16: Arrangements for preventing condensation, precipitation or mist formation, outside the cooler (F28C1/14 takes precedence)
- Y02B 30/70: Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
- F28C: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITHOUT CHEMICAL INTERACTION (safety devices in general F16P; fluid heaters having heat generating means F24H; with an intermediate heat-transfer medium coming into direct contact with heat-exchange media F28D15/00 - F28D19/00; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general application F28F)
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

An apparatus directed to reducing mineral buildup on drift eliminators of a cooling tower, using a control unit to selectively irrigate the drift eliminators based on the fluid temperature in the basin and the temperature inside and outside of the cooling tower.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus to reduce mineral buildup on drift eliminators coupled with air inlets of a cooling tower, comprising:
an irrigator comprising one or more spray nozzles operable to irrigate the drift eliminators with fluid from a basin of the cooling tower;
one or more pumps coupled to the spray nozzles operable to draw the fluid from the basin of the cooling tower; and
a control unit operably connected to the one or more pumps and the spray nozzles and operable to control the spray nozzles and the pumps.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit is operable to selectively turn on the one or more spray nozzles and the one or more pumps.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the one or more spray nozzles and the one or more pumps when the temperature of the fluid in the basin reaches a predetermined value.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising an air temperature sensor operably connected to the control unit, wherein the control unit selectively turns on the spray nozzles and the pumps based on the air temperature outside of the cooling tower measured by the air temperature sensor.