Cryostat radiation shield with joining conduit supplied with vented cryogen gas
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsNicholas John Clayton, Richard Gowland, Edgar Charles Malcolm Rayner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cryostat has a cryogen vessel retained within an outer vacuum container, the cryogen vessel being provided with a vent path allowing cryogen gas to escape from the cryogen vessel, the cryostat further having a thermal radiation shield interposed between the cryogen vessel and the outer vacuum container. The vent path is arranged such that escaping cryogen gas is directed through a conduit, which forms an integral part of a thermal radiation shield.
Claims23
A cryostat comprising:
- an outer vacuum container;
- a cryogen vessel contained within said outer vacuum container, said cryogen vessel operating with a cryogen gas and having a vent path that allows a portion of said cryogen gas to exit from said cryogen vessel;
- a substantially cylindrical, closed thermal radiation shield between said cryogen vessel and said outer vacuum container, said thermal radiation shield surrounding said cryogen vessel and thermally shielding said cryogen vessel from thermal radiation emanating from said outer vacuum container;
- said thermal radiation shield being comprised of a plurality of shield parts joined together to form a closed, hollow cylinder having an internal surface that faces said cryogen vessel;
- and
- said thermal radiation shield comprising a joining conduit interposed between and joining two of said shield parts, said joining conduit comprising a conduit body that proceeds along a circumference of said closed cylinder and that forms a part of said interior surface of said closed cylinder, said conduit body comprising two flanges that respectively engage said two of said shield parts to join said two of said shield parts together, and said conduit body having a bore therein that also extends along said circumference and that is in communication with said vent path to direct at least some of said portion of said cryogen gas in said vent path through said bore to augment the thermal shielding of the cryogen vessel by said thermal radiation shield.
A joining conduit for a cryostat, said cryostat comprising an outer vacuum container, a cryogen vessel contained within said outer vacuum container, said cryogen vessel operating with a cryogen gas and having a vent path that allows a portion of said cryogen gas to exit from said cryogen vessel, a substantially cylindrical, closed thermal radiation shield between said cryogen vessel and said outer vacuum container, said thermal radiation shield surrounding said cryogen vessel and thermally shielding said cryogen vessel from thermal radiation emanating from said outer vacuum container, said thermal radiation shield being comprised of a plurality of shield parts joined together to form a closed, hollow cylinder having an internal surface that faces said cryogen vessel, said joining conduit comprising:
- a conduit body configured to be interposed between and join two of said shield parts, said conduit body being configured to proceed along a circumference of said closed cylinder and to form a part of said interior surface of said closed cylinder;
- said conduit body comprising two flanges that are respectively configured to engage said two of said shield parts to join said two of said shield parts together;
- and
- said conduit body having a bore therein that extends along said circumference and that is in communication with said vent path to direct at least some of said portion of said cryogen gas in said vent path through said bore to augment the thermal shielding of the cryogen vessel by said thermal radiation shield.
A method for assembling a thermal radiation shield for a cryostat, said cryostat comprising an outer vacuum container and a cryogen vessel contained within said outer vacuum container, said cryogen vessel operating with a cryogen gas and having a vent path that allows a portion of said cryogen gas to exit from said cryogen vessel, said method comprising:
- providing a plurality of thermal radiation shield parts;
- assembling said plurality of thermal radiation shield parts to form a substantially cylindrical, closed thermal radiation shield configured to be located between said cryogen vessel and said outer vacuum container and configured to surround said cryogen vessel and thermally shield said cryogen vessel from thermal radiation emanating from said outer vacuum container, said thermal radiation shield having an interior surface configured to face said cryogen vessel;
- joining two of said plurality of shield parts together with a joining conduit located between said two of said plurality of shield parts and, with said joining conduit, forming a portion of said interior surface;
- providing said joining conduit with two flanges that respectively engage said two of said shield parts to join said two of said shield parts together;
- providing a bore in said joining conduit and placing said bore in communication with said vent path and thereby directing at least some of said portion of said cryogen gas in said vent path through said bore to augment the thermal shielding of the cryogen vessel by said thermal radiation shield.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.