Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Varian, Inc.

Silvio Giors

Roberto Carboneri

Vincenzo Pandolfo

Carmelo Quartarone

Luca Bonmassar

John C Helmer

Roberto Cerruti

Gianluca Buccheri

Aldo Crisi

Oriano Bottauscio

Mario Chiampi

Mauro Nebiolo

Gabriella Crotti

Fausto Fiorillo

Luca Campagna

A high-vacuum pump comprises a plurality of pumping stages, each comprising a plurality of mutually cooperating elements, including at least one rotating rotor element and one stationary stator element. At least one of the elements of at least one of the pumping stages is made of a plastic material reinforced with short fibres, dispersed in chaotic and substantially random manner inside the matrix of plastic material. Use of a plastic material reinforced with short fibres allows making the at least one element by injection molding and allows manufacturing the vacuum pump with considerably reduced production costs if compared to the conventional vacuum pumps.

High-vacuum pump

In a vibration damper of a turbomolecular vacuum pump, a vacuum tightness function and a vibration damping function are both performed by one ore more toroidal rings made of an elastic material. The elastic rings assume a resting configuration while the vacuum pump is not operating and the damper is at atmospheric pressure, and they assume a compressed configuration while the vacuum pump is operating and the damper is under vacuum conditions. In the compressed configuration, the elastic rings are deformed due to a compression force. This deformation of the elastic rings prevents metal-to-metal contact between the vacuum pump and a vacuum chamber to which the pump is connected through the damper.

Vibration damper for vacuum pumps

In a vibration damper of a turbomolecular vacuum pump, a vacuum tightness function and a vibration damping function are both performed by one or more toroidal rings made of an elastic material. The elastic rings assume a resting configuration while the vacuum pump is not operating and the damper is at atmospheric pressure, and they assume a compressed configuration while the vacuum pump is operating and the damper is under vacuum conditions. In the compressed configuration, the elastic rings are deformed due to a compression force. This deformation of the elastic rings prevents metal-to-metal contact between the vacuum pump and a vacuum chamber to which the pump is connected through the damper.

In a method for fabricating a heat exchanger, a metal body includes a bore and inlet and outlet connectors fitted to the body at respective inlet and outlet ends of the bore. The connectors each include an inner surface in which annular grooves are formed. A tube is inserted in the bore such that inlet and outlet ends of the tube are respectively located in the inlet and outlet connectors. A mandrel is operated to expand at least a portion of the tube into contact with the body, and to expand the inlet and outlet tube ends into contact with the grooves of the inlet and outlet connectors, respectively. The heat exchanger provides improved thermal exchange efficiency between the tube and the body, and fluid-tight connections between the tube and the inlet and outlet connectors.

Heat exchanger fabrication with improved thermal exchange efficiency

A contactless device for measuring at least the temperature of a rotor of a high-speed rotary machine, in particular a turbomolecular vacuum pump, comprises at least one magnetic capsule mounted on the rotor of the pump. The capsule comprises a permanent magnet and at least one pastille of ferromagnetic material having a Curie temperature slightly higher than a maximum temperature to be measured. The magnetic permeability of this material strongly depends on temperature. The pastille is intended to alter the magnetic field generated by the magnet. A detector carried by the stator of the pump generates pulses representative of the magnetic field varying with the rotor temperature, generated by the capsule, whenever the latter passes in front of the detector.

Contactless device for measuring operating parameters of rotors of high-speed rotary machines

A molecular spiral-type vacuum pumping stage comprises a rotor disk having smooth surfaces cooperating with a stator. The stator is provided with a plurality of spiral channels at least on the surface facing the rotor disk, wherein the gas to be pumped flows in centripetal direction. The cross-section area (&#x3c3;) of the channels is reduced from the center towards the outer periphery of the stator. Due to this arrangement, it is possible to avoid the reduction of the internal gas flow velocity along the pumping stage and the related risk of internal compression or re-expansions, this limiting the power losses. The present invention also refers to a vacuum pump comprising at least one pumping stage as described above.

Centripetal pumping stage and vacuum pump incorporating such pumping stage

A molecular spiral-type vacuum pumping stage comprises a smooth surfaces rotor disk cooperating with a stator body. The stator body comprises a plurality of spiral channels on at least one surface facing the rotor disk. The cross-section area (&#x3c3;) of these channels are reduced from the center to the outer periphery of the stator body so that the condition is satisfied according to which the internal channel speed, i.e. the product of the channel cross-section area and half the rotor velocity normal to the aforesaid area, is constant throughout the channels. Due to this arrangement, it is possible to avoid the risk of internal compression or re-expansions, this limiting the power losses. The present invention also refers to a vacuum pump comprising at least one pumping stage as described above.

Spiral pumping stage and vacuum pump incorporating such pumping stage

A pumping stage for a vacuum pump, has an improved geometry allowing an optimum trade-off to be achieved between the exhaust pressure and the pumping rate attained in that stage. In the pumping stage () the axial extension that is the height of the pumping channel () varies along the circumference of the channel () between the inlet port () and the outlet port ().

Pumping stage for a vacuum pump

A turbine pump has a transition chamber ( ), which separates a low-pressure section ( B) from a high-pressure section ( A) and into which an additional inlet port ( ) opens. The chamber ( ) is defined by a stator stage ( ) consisting of a disc ( ) with a peripheral edge ( ), integral with said disc ( ) and forming a spacer ring integrated into the stator stage, and with radial blades ( ) joined with the disc ( ) at both ends.

Turbine pump with a stator stage integrated with a spacer ring

The method uses electrical discharge machining to form, onto a disc ( ) belonging to a stator ( ) of a turbine pump, radial blades ( ) joined to the disc at both ends and separated by very narrow channels ( ). To form the blades, a workpiece ( ) is exposed to a tool ( ) having a circular edge ( ) whose radius corresponds with an external radius of the blades. The tool is provided along its edge with at least one tongue-shaped elongated member ( ) joined at one end to the tool plate ( ) and extending along said edge ( ) in an inclined plane. Due to a relative combined rotation and translation motion between the tool and the workpiece, at least one channel ( ) with shape, size and inclination corresponding with those of the tongue element ( ) is produced in the workpiece.

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Turin, Italy

Silvio Giors