Rotor blade for a turbomolecular vacuum pump
AssigneeEdwards Limited
InventorsSamuel David Lodge, Declan Wilcock
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a rotor blade for a turbomolecular vacuum pump. The rotor blade has a blade angle of 0° at the root, which increases continuously along substantially the entire span of the rotor blade. The rotor blade tapers from a maximum thickness at the root to a point of minimum thickness over a portion of its span, and is made of a polymer material reinforced with short fibres. This provides a rotor blade with a more complex geometry that has reduced weight and improved performance and cost-effectiveness. The present disclosure also relates to a rotor comprising the rotor blade, a mould for injection moulding the rotor blade or rotor, and a method of injection moulding the rotor blade or rotor.
Claims17
A rotor blade for a turbomolecular vacuum pump, comprising:
- a span extending from a root to a tip;
- a chord extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge;
- and
- a blade angle defined between the chord and a radial plane parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotor blade;
- wherein the blade angle is 0° at the root and increases continuously along substantially the entire span;
- wherein the rotor blade tapers from a maximum thickness measured across the leading edge at the root to a point of minimum thickness measured across the leading edge over a portion of the span;
- and
- wherein the rotor blade is made of a polymer material reinforced with short fibres.
A rotor blade for a turbomolecular vacuum pump, comprising:
- a span extending from a root to a tip;
- a chord extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge;
- and
- a blade angle defined between the chord and a radial plane parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotor blade;
- wherein the blade angle is 0° at the root and increases continuously along substantially the entire span;
- wherein the rotor blade tapers from a maximum thickness at the root to a point of minimum thickness over a portion of the span;
- wherein a radially outer surface at the tip is radiused;
- and
- wherein the rotor blade is made of a polymer material reinforced with short fibres.
A rotor for a turbomolecular vacuum pump comprising:
- a hub;
- and
- a plurality of the rotor blades protruding from the hub, each rotor blade of the plurality of rotor blades comprising:
- a span extending from a root to a tip;
- a chord extending from a leading edge to a trailing edge;
- and
- a blade angle defined between the chord and a radial plane parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotor blade;
- wherein the blade angle is 0° at the root and increases continuously along substantially the entire span;
- wherein the rotor blade tapers from a maximum thickness at the root to a point of minimum thickness over a portion of the span;
- and
- wherein the rotor blade is made of a polymer material reinforced with short fibres;
- and
- wherein a blade separation distance between the leading edges of adjacent rotor blades in the plurality of rotor blades is at least 3.24 mm across the whole span of the rotor blades.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.