Edwards Limited

Ian Olsen

Martin Nicholas Stuart

David John Goodwin

Ian David Stones

Richard Glyn Horler

David Bedwell

Phillip North

Paul Milner

Andrew Cobbett

Ian Keech

Reuben Day

Stuart Martin Puttick

Stephen Williams

A multi-stage positive displacement vacuum pump and a method of differentially pumping multiple vacuum chambers using such a pump is disclosed. The pump comprises a housing for housing at least one rotor mounted for rotation on a corresponding at least one shaft and for pumping gas through the multiple stages for output through an exhaust. The housing comprises a first inlet configured to admit gas to an inlet stage of said vacuum pump, and a further inlet configured to admit gas to an intermediate stage of said vacuum pump. The pump is configured such that gas admitted through each of the first and further inlets is pumped together as a combined gas flow by at least one stage of said vacuum pump downstream of said intermediate stage.

Multi-stage vacuum pump and a method of differentially pumping multiple vacuum chambers

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 differentially pumped mass spectrometer system comprises a mass spectrometer having first and second pressure chambers through which, during use, ions are conveyed along a path. A pump assembly for differentially evacuating the chambers is attached to the mass spectrometer. The pump assembly comprises a housing attached to the mass spectrometer and a cartridge inserted into the housing. The cartridge has a plurality of inlets each for receiving fluid from a respective pressure chamber and a pumping mechanism for differentially pumping fluid from the chambers. The cartridge is inserted into the housing such that the pumping mechanism is inclined relative to the ion path, but with the cartridge protruding into the mass spectrometer to such an extent that at least one of the inlets at least partially protrudes into its respective chamber without crossing the ion path.

Vacuum pump for differentially pumping multiple chambers

Vacuum pump

A differentially pumped mass spectrometer system comprises a mass spectrometer having first and second pressure chambers through which, during use, ions are conveyed along a path. A pump assembly () for differentially evacuating the chambers () is attached to the mass spectrometer. The pump assembly comprises a housing () attached to the mass spectrometer and a cartridge () inserted into the housing. The cartridge has a plurality of inlets () each for receiving fluid from a respective pressure chamber () and a pumping mechanism () for differentially pumping fluid from the chambers. The cartridge is inserted into the housing such that the pumping mechanism () is inclined relative to the ion path (), but with the cartridge protruding into the mass spectrometer to such an extent that at least one of the inlets () at least partially protrudes into its respective chamber () without crossing the ion path.

Vacuum pump for differential pumping multiple chambers

Growing community of inventors

Crawley, United Kingdom

Ian Olsen