Friction vacuum pump
AssigneeLeybold Vakuum GmbH
InventorHeinrich Engländer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A molecular vacuum pump (1) has a stator unit (9) and a rotor unit (8) disposed within a housing (2). A narrow gap is maintained during operation between the stator unit (9) and the rotor unit (8). The stator unit (9) and the rotor unit (8) are coupled together with respect to vibration to form a rotor/stator system (3). Elastic vibration elements (4, 5) mount the rotor/stator system in the housing such that the rotor/stator system rotates as a unit relative to the housing. Because the rotor and stator units vibrate together rather than relative to each other, very small, precise tolerances are maintained between them.
Claims16
A molecular vacuum pump comprising:
- a rotor/stator system including:
- a stator unit;
- a rotor unit, the rotor and stator units interacting to pump molecules, a narrow gap being maintained between the rotor unit and the stator unit during operation, the rotor unit and the stator unit being coupled rigidly to each other relative to vibration;
- and
- a housing that contains the rotor/stator system fastened therein by vibration elements.
A molecular vacuum pump comprising:
- a stator unit that forms an interior housing that is vacuum tight;
- a rotor unit including a rotor arranged in the interior housing and a central shaft connected therewith, a narrow gap being maintained between the rotor unit and the stator unit during operation, the rotor unit and the stator unit being coupled to each other relative to vibration;
- and
- a housing equipped with air slots and in which the stator unit is mounted by vibration elements.
A molecular vacuum pump comprising:
- a rotor/stator system including:
- a rotor unit including an essentially bell-shaped rotor and a central shaft connected therewith, and
- a stator unit including a first sleeve arranged on a pressure side of the vacuum pump, a second sleeve arranged on a suction side of the vacuum pump and inside of a wall of the rotor, and a third sleeve arranged on the suction side of the vacuum pump and outside of the wall of the rotor;
- a narrow gap being maintained between the rotor unit and the stator unit during operation, the rotor unit and the stator unit being coupled to each other relative to vibration;
- and
- a housing that contains the rotor/stator system coupled therein by vibration elements.
A vacuum pump comprising:
- a vacuum tight housing having a suction port and a pressure port;
- a rotor/stator system including a rotor and a stator, rotation of the rotor relative to the stator creating a gas pumping force which pumps gas molecules from the suction port to the pressure port;
- and
- a resilient element supporting the rotor/stator system in the housing such that rotation of the rotor relative to the stator pumps gas from the suction port to the pressure port, the resilient element vibrationally isolating the rotor/stator system from the housing.
A method of pumping a vacuum comprising:
- mounting a rotor to a stator with a stiff, rotational interconnection between the rotor and the stator;
- elastically suspending the stator in a housing such that the stator is free to vibrate relative to the housing;
- rotating the rotor relative to the stator, the rotor and stator cooperatively interacting to pump gas molecules therebetween from a suction inlet to a pressure outlet, rotating of the rotor inducing vibrations, the stiff, rotational interconnection between the rotor and the stator being sufficiently stiff relative to the elastic suspending of the stator in the housing that the rotor and the stator vibrate together as a unit relative to the housing, whereby tolerances are maintained between the rotor and the stator, which tolerances are smaller than a magnitude of the vibration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.