Edwards Limited

The Boc Group, Inc.

Ian David Stones

Nigel Paul Schofield

Andrew James Seeley

Alan Ernest Kinnaird Holbrook

Christopher Mark Bailey

Duncan Michael Price

Martin Nicholas Stuart

Malcolm William Gray

Miles Geoffery Hockliffe

Iain David Port

Stephen Dowdeswell

Richard Glyn Horler

Phillip North

David John Goodwin

Ian Olsen

Ingo Stephen Graham

Philip John Stephens

Ian Andrew Norton

Cainan Long

Paul David Neller

Peter David Jones

Stuart John Hobbs

Stephen J Dovey

Gerald R Shelley

Konstantinos Karoulas

Robin Hockley

Clifford George Burt

Alan Ernest Holbrook

A vacuum system non-return valve includes a baffle for extending across a flow path in the vacuum system and a valve member. The baffle has an aperture, a perimeter of the aperture has a valve seat. The valve member has a curved sealing surface configured to mate with the valve seat. The valve member and aperture are configured such that the valve member obscures the aperture and seals with the valve seat to impede a flow of fluid in a closed position and is displaceable in use to move away from the valve seat and allow a fluid flow in an open position; at least a portion of the surface of the baffle surrounding the aperture slopes towards the inlet end of the valve such that the aperture is smaller at the inlet end than it is at the outlet end.

Non-return check valve and check valve apparatus for vacuum system

A pump and method for pumping a gas are disclosed. The pump comprises a rotor and a stator. At least one of the rotor or stator comprises at least one liquid opening configured for fluid communication with a liquid source. The liquid opening is configured such that in response to a driving force exerted on liquid from the liquid source a stream of liquid is output from the opening, the stream of liquid forming a liquid blade between the rotor and the stator, gas confined by said stator, said rotor and said liquid blade being driven through said pump from a gas inlet towards a gas outlet.

Pump having liquid blades and an associated method of pumping

A vacuum pump, vacuum pump arrangement and method are disclosed. The vacuum pump includes at least one rotor; and a stator, an inlet for receiving gas during operation; and an exhaust for exhausting the gas. The vacuum pump includes a shaft extending through a centre of said pump and comprising a plate mounted on an end of the shaft towards the inlet. The vacuum pump includes control circuitry configured to control an axial position of the plate, a change in axial position of the plate providing a change in inlet conductance of gas to the vacuum pump. The plate is mounted such that it extends beyond the inlet in at least some axial positions of the rotor such that the plate is not on the same side of the inlet as the stator.

Variable inlet conductance vacuum pump, vacuum pump arrangement and method

A vacuum pumping system comprises a plurality of vacuum pumping arrangements for evacuating an enclosure and an auxiliary vacuum chamber for evacuation by at least one first vacuum pumping arrangement. The vacuum pumping system has a first state for evacuating the enclosure and a second state for conserving power consumed by the system. In a first stage of the second state the first vacuum pumping arrangement is arranged to evacuate an exhaust of at least one second vacuum pumping arrangement and in a second stage the exhaust of the first pumping arrangement is arranged to be evacuated by the auxiliary vacuum chamber.

Pumping system

An improved vacuum pump mechanism is described in which an intersecting solid or perforated element is arranged to intersect a channel member. Relative movement of the intersecting solid or perforated element and channel member causes gas molecules to be urged from inlet to an outlet of the pump. Gas molecules are constrained within the channel member and interaction of the gas molecules with the flat and smooth surfaces of the intersecting solid or perforated member influence momentum of the gas molecules so that they are directed towards the outlet. In one embodiment, the channel member is formed as a helix and the intersecting solid or perforated elements are disk-shaped. An alternative embodiment is provided having the channel member configured as a spiral and the perforated elements as cylindrical skirts. The pump provides significant improvements in pump capacity, reduced power consumption and size of pump.

Gas transfer vacuum pump

A scroll compressor may include a scroll pumping mechanism which includes an orbiting scroll having an orbiting scroll wall extending axially from an orbiting scroll plate towards a fixed scroll and a fixed scroll having a fixed scroll wall extending axially from a fixed scroll plate towards the orbiting scroll. An axial end portion of one of the scroll walls includes a first sealing arrangement and a second sealing arrangement arranged in series along the scroll wall from the inlet to the outlet for sealing between the axial end portion of the scroll wall and the scroll plate of the opposing scroll. The first sealing arrangement may have first sealing characteristics which are selected according to the sealing requirements local to the first sealing arrangement and the second sealing arrangement may have second, different sealing characteristics which are selected according to sealing requirements local to the second sealing arrangement.

Scroll pump

The present invention relates to a scroll pump () comprising two scrolls () which are co-operable for pumping fluid from an inlet () to an outlet () on relative orbiting motion of the scrolls. Each scroll comprises a scroll base () from which a spiral scroll wall () extends generally axially towards the base of the opposing scroll. The pump comprises a tip seal arrangement comprising an axial end portion of one or both of the scroll walls which locates a tip seal () for resisting the passage of pumped fluid across the or both scroll walls between the or both scroll walls and the scroll base of the opposing scroll. The tip seal arrangement limits axial movement of the tip seal towards the scroll base of the opposing scroll along a first spiral region () of the or both scrolls between the inlet and the outlet.

Scroll pump having tip seal containing engaging portions intermediate nonengaging portions that interface with a scroll base

A pump includes a plurality of pumping stages comprising a respective plurality of pumping mechanisms driven by one or more drive shafts for pumping fluid through the pumping stages from a pump inlet at a high vacuum stage to a pump outlet at a low vacuum stage; a lubrication chamber housing a bearing assembly for supporting the drive shaft for rotational movement, the drive shaft extending from the high vacuum stage to the lubrication chamber through an opening of a head plate of the lubrication chamber; an inter-stage purge port through which gas can enter the pump at an inter-stage location downstream of the high vacuum; a lubrication chamber purge port located in the lubrication chamber through which purge gas can flow from a source of purge gas; wherein the inter-stage port is connected to the lubrication chamber for controlling the pressure of purge gas in the lubrication chamber.

Pump

A scroll compressor () comprising a scroll pumping mechanism having two co-operating scrolls () mounted within a pump housing () so that on relative orbital movement of the scrolls fluid is pumped from a pump inlet () in the pump housing to a pump outlet () in the pump housing. The scroll compressor () further comprises a filter () located within the pump housing () along a fluid flow path () between the pump inlet () and the scroll pumping mechanism () for resisting the passage of particulates () upstream of the compressor.

Scroll compressor

The present invention relates to a scroll pump with two scrolls that are co-operable for pumping fluid from an inlet to an outlet on relative orbiting motion of the scrolls. Each scroll comprises a scroll base from which a scroll wall extends generally axially towards the base of the opposing scroll. A gas conduit having an inlet at a first location of the pumping channel and an outlet at a second location of the pumping channel allows over-compression at the first location of the pumping channel to be exhausted to the second location of the pumping channel. A one-way valve located in the gas conduit allows the passage of gas through the conduit from the conduit inlet to the conduit outlet when a predetermined pressure differential between the first and second locations of the pumping channel is generated during roughing when the scroll inlet is at or close to atmosphere.

Scroll pump with overpressure exhaust

A vacuum pump comprises a molecular drag pumping mechanism and a regenerative pumping mechanism. A rotor element of the molecular drag pumping mechanism surrounds rotor elements of the regenerative pumping mechanism.

Vacuum pump

The present invention relates to a vacuum pumping system () for evacuating gas from a plurality of chambers () at different pressures. The pumping system comprises a plurality of compound vacuum pumps (), wherein each compound pump comprises a plurality of pumping mechanisms () connected in series between a pump inlet () and a pump exhaust () and an interstage port () between pumping mechanisms in the series. The system is configured such that gas evacuated from one of said chambers is pumped through the interstage ports of at least two of said compound pumps.

Vacuum pumping system

A scroll compressor includes two scrollshaving respective scroll platesand respective scroll walls. The scroll walls intermesh so that on relative orbital movement of the scrolls, a volumeof gas is trapped between the scrolls and pumped from an inletto an outlet. The axial extent 'A' of the trapped volume between the scroll plates is less along a first portionof a flow pathbetween the inlet and the outlet than the axial extent 'B' of the trapped volume along a second portionof the flow path, and the first portion is closer to the inlet than the second portion along the flow path.

Growing community of inventors

Burgess Hill, United Kingdom

Ian David Stones