Turbomolecular pump lubricant supply systems

A turbomolecular pump comprising:

• a housing;
• a pumping mechanism disposed in said housing, said pumping mechanism comprising a rotor shaft having an axis of rotation;
• a plurality of bearings supporting said rotor shaft for rotation relative to said housing about said axis of rotation, said plurality of bearings including a rolling bearing;
• a deflector;
• a lubricant supply system;
• and
• a lubricant transfer device provided on said rotor shaft to transfer lubricant from said lubricant supply system to said rolling bearing,
• wherein said rolling bearing is disposed intermediate said lubricant transfer device and said deflector and said deflector is configured to deflect lubricant that passes through said rolling bearing outwardly with respect to said rotor shaft;
• wherein said rotor shaft extends through a bore provided in a partition disposed in said housing, and said bore is disposed between said deflector and said pumping mechanism and is defined by a bore wall;
• wherein said deflector comprises an upstream major surface that faces said rolling bearing, said upstream major surface comprising a surface that is inclined with respect to said axis of rotation;
• wherein said deflector comprises a downstream major surface that faces away from said rolling bearing and a drip former that is configured to cause lubricant to form into droplets that drip from said deflector to prevent lubricant flowing over said downstream major surface to said rotor shaft;
• wherein said drip former comprises a circumferentially extending skirt disposed on said downstream major surface;
• the turbomolecular pump further comprising an annular collection channel having an inner circumference defining an upstream end of the annular collection channel and wherein said deflector is configured to deflect said lubricant into said annular collection channel, and said drip former is positioned so that droplets drip into said annular collection channel wherein said bore wall is disposed a first radial distance from the axis of rotation, said upstream end is disposed a second radial distance from said axis of rotation, and said deflector has an outer periphery disposed a third radial distance from said axis of rotation and wherein said second radial distance is greater than said first radial distance and said third radial distance is equal to or greater than said second radial distance.