U.S. patent application number 11/795633 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-15 for vacuum side-channel compressor.
Invention is credited to Christian Beyer, Heinrich Englander.
Application Number | 20080112790 11/795633 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36130100 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080112790 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Beyer; Christian ; et
al. |
May 15, 2008 |
Vacuum Side-Channel Compressor
Abstract
A vacuum side channel compressor (10) comprises a pump stator
(14) and a pump rotor (12), which surround a side channel
(31,32,33,34). An axial bearing (22) is provided for mounting the
pump rotor (12). A sealing gap (40) is formed next to the side
channel between the pump stator (14) and the pump rotor (12), part
of which forms a conical ring whose imaginary cone apex (50) lies
in the vicinity of the axial bearing (22).
Inventors: |
Beyer; Christian; (Koln,
DE) ; Englander; Heinrich; (Linnich, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FAY SHARPE LLP
1100 SUPERIOR AVENUE, SEVENTH FLOOR
CLEVELAND
OH
44114
US
|
Family ID: |
36130100 |
Appl. No.: |
11/795633 |
Filed: |
January 3, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
January 3, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP06/50018 |
371 Date: |
July 19, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/55.1 ;
415/55.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 23/008 20130101;
F04D 29/083 20130101; F04D 17/168 20130101; F04D 29/051
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/55.1 ;
415/55.2 |
International
Class: |
F04D 5/00 20060101
F04D005/00; F04D 23/00 20060101 F04D023/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 22, 2005 |
DE |
10 2005 003 091.2 |
Claims
1. A vacuum side channel compressor comprising a pump stator and a
pump rotor which together surround a side channel, an axial bearing
for supporting the pump rotor, and a sealing gap being formed next
to the side channel between the pump stator and the pump rotor, the
sealing gap forming a conical ring, with an imaginary cone apex
arranged on an axial line of the pump rotor in the vicinity of the
axial bearing.
2. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 1, wherein
the cone apex is spaced from the axial bearing by no more than half
of its support length.
3. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 1, wherein
the cone apex is spaced from the axial bearing by no more than half
of a length of the axial bearing.
4. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 1, wherein
at least two side channels are provided.
5. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 4, wherein
the side channels are arranged in a common radial plane.
6. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 1, wherein
a non-conical part of a gap is arranged between two side channels
in a radial plane and/or on a cylindrical surface.
7. The vacuum side channel compressor according to 1, wherein a
cross section of a respective outer side channel is larger than
that of the adjacent inner side channel.
8. A vacuum side channel compressor comprising: a stator and a
rotor which define a plurality of side channels disposed
concentrically around an axis of rotation of the rotor; the rotor
and the stator defining a plurality of sealing surfaces separated
by a sealing gap, the sealing surfaces being disposed between
adjacent side channels, the sealing surfaces being disposed along
conical surfaces which project to a common imaginary apex disposed
on the axis of rotation.
9. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 8, wherein
the rotor is supported on a rotor shaft supported by an upper
bearing and a lower bearing, the imaginary apex being disposed
adjacent the upper bearing.
10. The vacuum side channel compressor according to claim 8,
wherein the plurality of side channels decrease in cross section
from a largest outmost side channel connected with an inlet to a
smalles innermost side channel connected to an outlet.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The invention relates to a vacuum side-channel compressor
comprising a pump stator and a pump rotor which surround a side
channel.
[0002] Side-channel compressors belong to those molecular pumps
which have to rotate at high rotational speeds so as to effect a
pump action in the molecular range. For keeping the backflow losses
to and from a side channel as low as possible, very narrow sealing
gaps are required laterally of the side channels between the pump
stator and the pump rotor. However, high rotational speeds for
obtaining a high compression, on the one hand and narrow gaps on
the other hand are mutually conflicting goals. Apart from the high
centrifugal forces generated by high rotational numbers, it is
primarily the thermal expansion of the rotor, caused by heat losses
of the drive engine, frictional losses of the bearings as well as
by compression action, which will tend to reduce the sealing gap. A
larger sealing gap, however, will impair the compression
effect.
SUMMARY
[0003] It is an object of the invention to provide a vacuum
side-channel compressor wherein the operational influences on the
sealing gap are reduced.
[0004] In a vacuum side-channel compressor, the sealing gap at
least partially forms a conical ring whose imaginary cone apex is
located near the axial bearing of the rotor. The rotor of the side
channel compressor is normally supported for rotation by two
bearings, with one of two bearings axially fixing the rotor. In
case of an overhung support of the pump rotor, this bearing is the
one closest to the pump rotor. Since the sealing gap and the
mutually confronting sealing-gap surfaces of the pump stator and of
the pump rotor each form a conical ring having its imaginary cone
apex located near the axial bearing, the pump rotor during its
thermally induced expansion will in the region of the sealing gap
expand substantially in parallel with the conical ring. In this
manner, the distance between the sealing-gap surfaces of the pump
stator and the pump rotor, i.e. the gap size of the sealing gap,
will remain substantially constant at all temperatures of the pump
rotor. When choosing the gap size of the sealing gap, the
heat-induced influences can be largely neglected. In this manner,
the size of the sealing gap does not have to include a reserve
range for higher operational temperatures. The gap size can be very
small, i.e. the sealing gap can be very narrow, while the gap size
will remain equally narrow for all temperatures of the pump rotor
so that the backflow losses will be small. Thereby, the overall
pump effect of the vacuum side-channel compressor is improved.
[0005] Preferably, the cone apex is spaced by no more than half a
support length from the axial bearing. The support length is the
length between the two bearings holding the pump rotor. The cone
apex is thus arranged around the axial bearing in a range of the
length dimension of a support length.
[0006] According to a preferred embodiment, the cone apex is spaced
from the axial bearing by no more than the length of an axial
bearing. Thus, the cone apex is arranged around the center of an
axial bearing in a range of one length of three axial bearing
lengths. In the ideal case, the cone apex is located within the
axial bearing itself.
[0007] Preferably, at least two side channels are provided which
according to a preferred embodiment are arranged in a radial plane.
In this manner, the vacuum side channel compressor can in each case
be given an axially compact construction. Each of the sealing gaps
between adjacent side channels respectively forms a conical ring of
its own with respectively a different cone angle. The cone apexes
of all conical rings are located substantially at a sole point near
the axial bearing.
[0008] Preferably, the non-conical part(s) of the gaps is (are)
arranged between two side channels in a radial plane and/or on a
cylinder surface. Thereby, it is safeguarded that, with increasing
temperature of the pump rotor, i.e. increasing thermal expansion of
the pump rotor, the gaps will always be enlarged but not be
reduced. Thereby, in turn, it is safeguarded that, with increasing
heat-up of the pump rotor, the danger that the pump rotor happens
to contact the pump stator and to get jammed thereon in the region
of the gaps between the pump rotor and the pump stator is
small.
[0009] Preferably, the cross section of the respective outer side
channel is larger than that of the adjacent inner side channel.
Thus, the side channel compressor has an inner condensation which
generally results in a higher overall compression of the side
channel compressor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] An embodiment of the invention will be explained in greater
detail hereunder with reference to the drawing.
[0011] The FIGURE shows a vacuum side channel compressor according
to the invention which is configured for four pumping stages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Illustrated in the FIGURE is a vacuum side channel
compressor 10 comprising a pump rotor 12, a pump stator 14, a
housing 16, an electric drive engine 18, a shaft 20 and two
bearings 22,24 supporting the shaft 20.
[0013] The pump stator 14 and the pump rotor 12 surround four side
channels 31,32,33,34 which are substantially arranged in a radial
plane. For this purpose, pump rotor 12 is of a disk-like shape. The
cross section of the side channels 31-34 decreases from the
radially outer side toward the radially inner side so that the
respective radially outer side channel 31,32,33,34 is of a larger
cross section than the respective adjacent radially inner side
channel 32,33,34. The side channels 31-34 are serially connected to
each other so that gas which has been sucked from the outside via a
gas inlet 36 will pass through the four side channels 31,32,33,34
in a direction from the outside towards the inside and will finally
be discharged via a gas outlet 38.
[0014] The pump rotor 12 is supported in an overhung manner. The
bearing 22 arranged relatively close to pump rotor 12 is a
radial-axial bearing 22 configured as a roller bearing whereas the
bearing 24 relatively remote from pump rotor 12 is also a roller
bearing but exclusively a radial bearing.
[0015] Between pump stator 14 and pump rotor 12, the mutually
confronting surfaces 52,54 of pump stator 14 and pump rotor 12 form
a respective sealing gap 40,42,44,46. The sealing gaps 40,42,44,46
each form a respective conical ring. Each of the conical rings
forms a part of an imaginary cone 61,62,63,64; the common imaginary
cone apex 50 of these cones is located within the axial bearing 22
on the axial line of the pump rotor. The sealing gap 40 of the
outer side channel 31, forming a conical ring, is formed by a
correspondingly inclined pump rotor sealing surface 52 and a
correspondingly inclined opposite pump stator sealing surface
54.
[0016] Since the two sealing surfaces 52,54 and the sealing gap 40
created by these are arranged to form a conical ring whose
imaginary cone apex 50 is arranged within the sole axial bearing
22, a thermally induced expansion of pump rotor 12 will cause no
changes or merely slight changes of the gap size of sealing gap 40.
Thus, the gap size of sealing gap 40 will be substantially constant
across a wide range of temperatures and can be given a very small
dimension, e.g. smaller than 0.1 mm. Thereby, in turn, the backflow
losses between the four side channels 31-34 as well as between the
outer side channel 31 and the gas inlet 36 are kept small.
[0017] The other non-conical gaps between pump rotor 12 and pump
stator 14 are arranged in a radial plane or in a cylinder surface.
These non-conical gaps will become enlarged with increasing thermal
expansion of pump rotor 12.
[0018] For this purpose, the gap arranged in a cylinder plane
between pump stator 14 and pump rotor 12 is formed by a pump stator
gap surface which is oriented radially inwardly since, otherwise,
the respective gap would become smaller with increasing heat-up of
the pump rotor. Those gap surfaces of the pump rotor which are
oriented radially outwardly are all arranged on a conical ring
which has its imaginary cone apex located within the axial bearing,
as described above.
[0019] The invention has been described with reference to the
preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to
others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed
description. It is intended that the invention be constructed as
including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they
come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents
thereof.
* * * * *