Abstract:
A recurring natural water cooling device is provided. The recurring natural water cooling device includes a flow channel through which a natural water flow from a natural water source is circulated, a thermal exchanging device through which a thermal fluid flows and being placed in the flow channel so as to transfer a heat of the thermal fluid to the natural water flow, a power device speeding up the circulated natural water, and a plurality of diversion devices communicatively connecting the natural water source and the flow channel.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a cooling device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a recurring cooling device making use of natural water.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     With development of the current industry, thermal exchangers have been widely employed in the oil-refining industry, petrifaction industry, hi-tech electronic industry and the like, as the devices for heat removing.  
         [0003]     Since the thermal exchanger is generally used in miscellaneous environments where the conditions of capacity, pressure, temperature and the like are different from one another, the thermal exchanger has to be formed in various shapes, structures and categorizations. The shell-tube thermal exchanger can be one of the most widely used thermal exchangers. Such shell-tube thermal exchanger can be seen from  FIG. 1 . As shown, a cool liquid serves as a coolant  14  and flows into an enclosed trough body  11  having the thermal exchanger formed therein, the thermal exchanger being formed by winding a lot of slender metal tubes  12  and the thermal exchanger being surrounded by the coolant. The enclosed trough body  11  is termed as “casing”, while the metal tube is termed as “tube body”.  
         [0004]     The shell-tube thermal exchanger is operated according to the process described below. At first, a thermal fluid  16  to be cooled is poured into the thermal exchanger composed of the metal tubes  12 . Then, the heat of the thermal fluid  16  is transferred to the coolant  14  whose temperature is relatively lower than that of the thermal fluid  16 . As such, a thermal exchange occurs between the thermal fluid  16  and the coolant  14 . In the course of thermal exchanging, the thermal fluid  16  is lowered in temperature and becomes another thermal fluid  17 , while the coolant  14  is elevated in temperature and becomes another coolant  15 . As such, the cooling function is achieved.  
         [0005]     The metal tubes  12  are typically extended and fixed by welding to a tube plate  13  to form a tube group. Next, the tube group is inserted into the casing  11  to from the thermal exchanger. In the thermal exchanger, the metal tubes  12  are disposed horizontally in general. However, the metal tubes  12  may also be disposed vertically in the case that the area occupied by the metal tube is limited or the thermal exchanger is used for the purpose of distillation.  
         [0006]     The thermal exchanger may be categorized into several types according to the connection between the tube plate and the casing, such as a fixed tube plate based thermal exchanger, a floated head based thermal exchanger and a U-shape tube based thermal exchanger. However, no matter which type of the thermal exchanger is used, there exist the following issues. Firstly, Since the casing is sealed up and thus deposited articles therein are hard to be removed, a highly polluted or erosive fluid is not suitable to serve as the coolant. Secondly, there is a temperature difference between the two fluids, at the casing side and the metal tube side, which is greater than 100° C. In addition, an excessively large difference of thermal expansion coefficient is presented between the material of the casing and that of the metal tube. Accordingly, a significant expansion difference occurs between the casing and the metal tube and causes a non-uniform expansion in the thermal exchanger, leading to failure of the thermal exchanger. This is also true for the case where the temperature is low owing to the significant difference of thermal expansion coefficient. Thirdly, for the thermal exchanger, the more complicate the structure thereof is, the higher the cost therefor will be. Fourthly, the larger the pressure in the thermal exchanger is or the higher the requirement of the thermal exchange is, the thicker the metal tube will be and the larger the volume of the thermal exchanger will be, leading to a larger occupation area of the thermal exchanger. Fifthly, the thermal exchanger generates waste heat in operation into the ambient environment, adversely increasing the greenhouse effect and polluting the environment. Sixthly, the thermal exchanger generates unpleasant noises in operation. Seventhly, fluorine and chlorine carbides generally serve as the coolant, forming a menace to the ozone layer surrounding the earth. Eighthly, a huge amount of power energy is consumed during the temperature reduction process, causing a power waste for the heat exchanger.  
         [0007]     Take the air-conditioning apparatus for example, the waste heat vented therefrom will be dispersed in the air, which causes a power thermal saturation of the air nearby not long after the operation of the air-conditioning apparatus, and thus the waste heat is accumulated and needs a long time to be removed. Consequently, the air temperature is elevated and the operating efficiency of the heat exchanger is lowered.  
         [0008]     From the above description, it is known that how to develop a recurring natural water cooling device has become a major problem to be solved. In order to overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, a recurring natural water cooling device is provided. The particular design in the present invention not only solves the problems described above, but also is easy to be implemented. Thus, the invention has the utility for the industry.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a recurring natural water cooling device is provided. The recurring natural water cooling device comprises a flow channel through which a natural water flow from a natural water source is circulated, a thermal exchanging device through which a thermal fluid flows and being placed in the flow channel so as to transfer a heat of the thermal fluid to the natural water flow, a power device speeding up the circulated natural water flow, and a plurality of diversion devices communicatively connecting the natural water source and the flow channel.  
         [0010]     In an embodiment, the circulated natural water flow flows back to the natural water source.  
         [0011]     In an embodiment, the natural water source is one of a surface water source and a groundwater source.  
         [0012]     In an embodiment, each of the plurality of diversion devices is one of a diversion device formed artificially and a diversion device formed naturally.  
         [0013]     In an embodiment, the power device is placed in the flow channel.  
         [0014]     In an embodiment, the power device is placed in the plurality of diversion devices.  
         [0015]     In an embodiment, the flow channel is one of a flow channel formed artificially and a flow channel formed naturally.  
         [0016]     In an embodiment, the power device is a pump.  
         [0017]     In an embodiment, the thermal exchanging device comprises a heat transferring device through which the thermal fluid flows and surrounded by a coolant so as to transfer the heat of the thermal fluid to the coolant, wherein the coolant is the natural water flow.  
         [0018]     In an embodiment, the heat transferring device is a wound metal tube.  
         [0019]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a recurring natural water cooling device is provided. The recurring natural water cooling device comprises a flow channel through which a natural water flow from a natural water source is circulated, a thermal transferring device through which a thermal fluid flows and being placed in the flow channel so as to transfer a heat of the thermal fluid to the natural water flow, and a plurality of diversion devices communicatively connected between the natural water source and the flow channel.  
         [0020]     In an embodiment, the circulated natural water flows back to the natural water source.  
         [0021]     In an embodiment, the natural water source is one of a surface water source and a groundwater source.  
         [0022]     In an embodiment, each of the plurality of diversion devices is one of a diversion device formed artificially and a diversion device formed naturally.  
         [0023]     In an embodiment, the thermal exchanging device comprises a heat transferring device through which the thermal fluid flows, and surrounded by a coolant so as to transfer the heat of the thermal fluid to the coolant, wherein the coolant is the natural water flow.  
         [0024]     In an embodiment, the heat transferring device is a wound metal tube.  
         [0025]     In accordance with yet another embodiment, a cooling system is disclosed, which comprises a natural water source providing a natural water flow, a thermal exchanging device transferring a heat from a thermal fluid to the natural water, and a connecting device connected between the natural water source and the heat transferring device.  
         [0026]     In an embodiment, the natural water flow flows back to the natural water source after having received the heat from the thermal fluid.  
         [0027]     In an embodiment, the natural water source is one of a surface water source and a groundwater source.  
         [0028]     Other objects, advantages and efficacy of the present invention will be described in detail below taken from the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a conventional shell-tube heat exchanger;  
         [0030]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating the operating process of a recurring natural water cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the operating process of the recurring natural water cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a heat transferring device in the recurring natural water cooling device according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0033]     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purposes of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.  
         [0034]     In this invention, a natural water is used and the groundwater is taken as an example of the natural water for illustration. The ground water can be maintained around twenty degrees on average for long and is thus an excellent coolant. In general, the groundwater source may be selected from the confined aquifer zone, non-confined aquifer zone, perching groundwater zone, interflow groundwater zone, etc. Among them, the groundwater obtained from the confined aquifer zone is used for illustration herein. Certainly, the groundwater from the other groundwater sources can also be used. This embodiment is provided merely for illustration and should not be considered in a limiting sense. Referring to  FIG. 2 , a schematic diagram for illustrating how the recurring natural water cooling device operates according to a first embodiment of the present invention is depicted therein. As shown in.  FIG. 2 , a first thermal fluid  28  flows from the air-conditioning tool  27  and a second thermal fluid  29  is obtained after the first thermal fluid  28  is processed in the thermal exchanging device. In this embodiment, the recurring natural water cooling device comprises a first diversion device  21 , a flow channel  22 , a power device  23 , a thermal transferring device  24 , a second diversion device  25 , a third diversion device  26  and an air-conditioning tool  27 . The air-conditioning tool  27  drains out a first thermal fluid  28 . After being processed by the thermal exchanging device  24 , the first thermal fluid  28  is converted into a second thermal fluid  29 . A first groundwater flow  210  serves as a coolant for the thermal exchanging deice  24 . A second groundwater flow  211  is used to receive the heat of the first thermal fluid  28 . In this embodiment, a confined aquifer zone  212  is used as the natural water source. The first, second and third diversion devices  21 ,  25 ,  26  form a plurality of diversion devices for the recurring natural water device.  
         [0035]     In forming the recurring natural water cooling device, the first diversion device  21  is first formed. In this embodiment, the first diversion device  21  is a well, a tube for water guiding, or any device which can achieve the purpose of water guiding. The first diversion device  21  has to be connected to the confined aquifer zone  212  so that the flow channel  22  is connected with the confined aquifer zone  212  and the first groundwater flow  210  can be provided to the flow channel  22 . However, the first diversion device  21  may be implemented in many forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0036]     Then, the flow channel  22  is formed, in which a room sufficient for disposition of the heat transferring device  24  and the power device  23  and for the first groundwater flow  210  to flow therein has to be provided. The flow channel  22  may be a deep well, a shallow well, a casing pipe and any other devices which can achieve the same purpose. Further, the flow channel  22  may be one formed artificially or naturally. In addition, the flow channel  22  may be formed above the ground, as contrast to the above embodiment where the flow channel  22  is formed under the ground. However, the flow channel  22  may be implemented in many forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0037]     Subsequently, the second and third diversion devices  25 ,  26  are formed. The second diversion device  25  is a tube for water guiding and used to connect the power device  23  with the third diversion device  26 . The second diversion device  25  may be a metal tube, a concrete tube or any other devices which can be used for water guiding, as long as the same purpose can be achieved. In addition, the second diversion device  25  may be one formed artificially or naturally.  
         [0038]     The third diversion device  26  is a recharge well of the groundwater, which can be one formed artificially or naturally according to actual needs. The third diversion device  26  is connected to the second diversion device  25  and the confined aquifer zone  212  so as to direct the second groundwater flow  211  to flow back to the confined aquifer zone  212 . In this manner, the purpose of environment protection may be achieved since the groundwater obtained from the underground can flow back to the underground after being utilized for the cooling task.  
         [0039]     In the recurring natural water cooling device, the thermal exchanging device  24  and the power device  23  are placed in the flow channel  22 . In this embodiment, the power device  23  is a pump. The power device  23  accelerates the first groundwater flow  210  in the flow channel  22  to flow through and surround the thermal exchanging device  24 . Then, the first groundwater flow  210  is guided to the power device  23  and then the second diversion device  25 . Each of the second and third diversion devices  25 ,  26  can be presented in any form and located under or above the ground. The second and third diversion devices  25 ,  26  can be implemented in a manner other than those described above, as long as the above-mentioned function can be achieved.  
         [0040]     In operation, the first thermal fluid  28  drained from the air-conditioning tool  27  is a waste heat containing fluid in any form, which is then directed to the thermal exchanging device  24 . The coolant for the thermal exchanging device  24  is the first groundwater flow  210 . Since the first groundwater flow  210  has a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  28 , the heat of the first thermal fluid  28  is transmitted through the thermal exchanging device  24  to the first groundwater flow  210 , which is then drained from the thermal exchanging device  24  as the second thermal fluid  29 , the second thermal fluid  29  having a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  28 . Then, the second thermal fluid  29  flows back to the air-conditioning tool  27  for subsequent use in the cooling task.  
         [0041]     In addition, the first groundwater flow  210  from the confined aquifer zone  212  will, under acceleration of the power device  23 , form a slow water flowing into the flow channel  22  with the guidance of the first diversion device  21 . When flowing through the thermal exchanging device  24 , the first groundwater flow  210  becomes a coolant therefor. Since the first groundwater flow  210  has a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  28 , the first groundwater flow  210  receives the heat of the first thermal fluid  28  through the thermal exchanging device  24 . As such, the purpose of removing the heat of the first thermal fluid  28  is achieved. After passing the thermal exchanging device  24 , the first groundwater flow  211  is converted into the second groundwater flow  212 . Since the heat of the second groundwater flow  212  is received by the first thermal fluid  28 , the temperature of the second groundwater flow  212  is higher than that of the first groundwater flow  211 . Next, the second groundwater flow  212  continues to flow into the power device  23  and then the third diversion device  26 . Finally, the second ground water  212  is guided by the third diversion device  26  to the confined aquifer zone  212 .  
         [0042]     In this manner, since the first groundwater flow  210  from the natural water source flows back to the confined aquifer zone  212  in the form of the second groundwater flow  211  and the coolant is also the natural water flow, the natural water cooling device is used with benefit of the continuous natural water source.  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a schematic diagram for illustrating how the recurring natural water cooling device operates according to a second embodiment of the present invention is depicted therein. In this embodiment, the recurring natural water cooling device comprises a first diversion device  31 , a flow channel  32 , a power device  33 , a thermal exchanging device  34 , a second diversion device  35 , a third diversion device  36  and an air-conditioning tool  37 . The air-conditioning tool  37  drains out a first thermal fluid  38 . After being processed by the thermal exchanging device  34 , the first thermal fluid  38  is converted into a second thermal fluid  39 . A first groundwater flow  310  serves as a coolant for the thermal exchanging device  34 . A second groundwater flow  311  is used to receive the heat of the first thermal fluid  38 . In this embodiment, a confined aquifer zone  312  is used as the natural water source. The first, second and third diversion devices  31 ,  35 ,  36  form a plurality of diversion devices for the recurring natural water cooling device. The characteristic of  FIG. 3  lies in that the flow channel  32  and the thermal exchanging device  34  are formed on the ground.  
         [0044]     In forming the recurring natural water cooling device, the first diversion device  31  is first formed. In this embodiment, the first diversion device  31  is a well or any device which can achieve the purpose of water guiding. The first diversion device  31  has to be connected to the confined aquifer zone  312  so that the flow channel  32  is connected with the confined aquifer zone  312  and the first groundwater flow  310  can be provided to the flow channel  32 . In addition, the first diversion device  31  is used for accommodating the power device  33  and for the first groundwater flow  310  to flow therein. However, the first diversion device  31  may be implemented in many forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0045]     Then, the flow channel  32  is formed, in which a room sufficient for disposition of the thermal exchanging device  34  and for the first groundwater flow  210  to flow therein has to be provided. The flow channel  32  may be one formed artificially on the ground. However, the flow channel  32  may be implemented in many forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0046]     Subsequently, the second diversion device  35  is formed. The second diversion device  35  is a tube for water guiding and used to connect the power device  33  with the flow channel  32  and the flow channel  32  with the third diversion device  36 , respectively. The second diversion device  35  may be a metal tube, a concrete tube or any other devices which can be used for water guiding, as long as the same purpose can be achieved. In addition, the second diversion device  35  may be one formed artificially or naturally. The second diversion device  35  is used to guide the first groundwater flow  310  drained out from the power device  33  to the flow channel  32  and the second groundwater flow  311  drained out from the flow channel  32  to the third diversion device  36 .  
         [0047]     The third diversion device  36  is a recharge well of the groundwater, which can be one formed artificially or naturally according to actual needs. The third diversion device  36  is connected to the second diversion device  35  and the confined aquifer zone  312  so as to direct the second groundwater flow  311  to flow back to the confined aquifer zone  312 . In this manner, the purpose of environment protection may be achieved since the groundwater obtained from the underground can flow back to the underground after being utilized for the cooling task. In fact, the second and third diversion devices  35 ,  36  may be implemented in many forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0048]     In the recurring natural water cooling device, the thermal exchanging device  34  is placed in the flow channel  32  and the power device  33  is placed in the first diversion device  31 . In this embodiment, the power device  33  is a pump. The power device  33  accelerates the first groundwater flow  310  in the diversion device  31  to flow through the flow channel  32  and surround the thermal exchanging device  34 . Then, the first groundwater flow  310  is guided to the second diversion device  35 . Since the flow channel  32  is a water container above the ground, the power device  33  may be placed above or below the ground and differently arranged according to the form of the flow channel  32 . However, the power device  33  may have other embodiments other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0049]     In operation, the first thermal fluid  38  drained from the air-conditioning tool  37  is a waste heat containing fluid in any form, which is then directed to the thermal exchanging device  34 . The coolant for the thermal exchanging device  34  is the first groundwater flow  310 . Since the first groundwater flow  310  has a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  38 , the heat of the first thermal fluid  38  is transmitted through the thermal exchanging device  34  to the first groundwater flow  310 , which is then drained from the thermal exchanging device  34  as the second thermal fluid  39 , the second thermal fluid  39  having a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  38 . Next, the second thermal fluid  39  flows back to the air-conditioning tool  37  for subsequent use in the cooling task.  
         [0050]     In addition, the first groundwater flow  310  from the confined aquifer zone  312  will, under acceleration of the power device  33 , form a slow water flowing to the flow channel  32  with the guidance of the first and second diversion devices  31 ,  35 . When flowing through the thermal exchanging device  34 , the first groundwater flow  310  becomes a coolant therefor. Since the first groundwater flow  310  has a temperature lower than that of the first thermal fluid  38 , the first groundwater flow  310  receives the heat of the first thermal fluid  38  through the thermal exchanging device  34 . As such, the purpose of removing the heat of the first thermal fluid  28  is achieved. After passing the thermal exchanging device  34 , the first groundwater flow  311  is converted into the second groundwater flow  312 . Since the heat of the second groundwater flow  312  is received by the first thermal fluid  38 , the temperature of the second groundwater flow  312  is higher than that of the first groundwater flow  311 . Next, the second groundwater flow  312  continues to flow into the second diversion device  35  and then the third diversion device  36 . Finally, the second ground water  312  is guided by the third diversion device  36  to the confined aquifer zone  312 .  
         [0051]     In this manner, since the first groundwater flow  310  from the natural water source flows back to the confined aquifer zone  312  in the form of the second groundwater flow  311  and the coolant is also the natural water, the natural water cooling device is used with benefit of the continuous natural water source.  
         [0052]     The above embodiments may be achieved by directly replacing the casing of the conventional thermal exchanger with the flow channel and using the natural water as the coolant. As such, a simple form of the recurring natural water cooling device is obtained. Such thermal exchanger has the advantages of environment protection, energy saving, sustainable use, high efficiency, easy purge, convenient maintenance, and enhancing the efficiency which is originally lowered by the impurities choked in the thermal exchanger.  
         [0053]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the thermal exchanging device of the present invention is schematically depicted therein. The thermal exchanging device comprises a thermal conductive tube  41  and a tube plate  42 . The thermal conduction tube  41  serves as a heat transferring device. The first natural water  45  serves as a coolant. A first natural water  45  is referred to the first groundwater flow  210  in the first embodiment and the first groundwater flow  310  in the second embodiment. A second natural water  46  is referred to the second groundwater  211  in the first embodiment and the second groundwater  311  in the second embodiment.  
         [0054]     The thermal conduction tube  41  is a wound metal tube for the first thermal fluid  43  to flow therein. The thermal conduction tube  41  is supported by the tube plate  42  and totally surrounded by the coolant, i.e. the first natural water  45 . Since the metal of the thermal conduction tube  41  has an excellent thermal conduction characteristic, the heat of the first thermal fluid  43  flown through the thermal conduction tube  41  is received by the first natural water  45 . Thus, the temperature of the first thermal fluid  43  is reduced gradually and converted into the second thermal fluid  44  having a temperature higher than that of the first thermal fluid  43 . Then, the second thermal fluid  44  flows back to the air-conditioning tool as mentioned above. In fact, the thermal exchanging device may have many other forms other than the above-mentioned one.  
         [0055]     It is demonstrated in experiments that the thermal exchanging efficiency and the noise issue of the recurring natural water cooling device of the present invention are significantly improved as compared to those in the prior art, on the condition that the thermal exchanging devices in the two cases are selected the same in area. In conclusion, the recurring natural water cooling device of the present invention can achieve the water cooling function with reduced energy consumption, pollution, noises and waste heat.  
         [0056]     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.