Pump system with electric cooling device

Abstract

Improve the pump system to allow lower pressures to be reached. [Solution] A pump system comprising a turbomolecular vacuum pump 300, wherein the turbomolecular vacuum pump comprises a housing 302 having pump intake ports 304, 306, 308 and a pump exhaust port 310; a first pump mechanism having turbomolecular pump stages 314, 316, 318; and a second pump mechanism operating according to a different pumping principle than that of the first pump mechanism, wherein the first and second pump mechanisms are arranged along a rotor shaft and are located axially between at least one pump intake port and a pump exhaust port, and the pump system comprises at least one electrically operated cooling device 326, 332 for cooling the housing, wherein the cooling device is located axially with respect to the second pump mechanism on the side of the second pump mechanism facing the first pump mechanism.

Claims

1. A pump system comprising a turbomolecular vacuum pump (300), wherein the turbomolecular vacuum pump (300) - A housing (302) having at least one pump intake port (304, 306, 308) and a pump exhaust port (310), - A first pump mechanism, driven by a rotor shaft (322), is provided within the housing (302) and comprises at least one turbomolecular pump stage (314, 316, 318), - A second pump mechanism located downstream of the first pump mechanism within the housing (302), driven by the rotor shaft (322), and which operates according to a different pumping principle than the first pump mechanism. Includes, The first pump mechanism and the second pump mechanism are arranged along the rotor shaft (322) to jointly pump process gas from the pump intake ports (304, 306, 308) to the pump exhaust port (310), and are positioned axially between at least one of the pump intake ports (304, 306, 308) and the pump exhaust port (310). The pump system further includes at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) for cooling the housing (302), wherein the cooling device (326, 332) is located on the side of the second pump mechanism that is directed toward the first pump mechanism, with respect to the second pump mechanism in the axial direction.

2. The pump system according to claim 1, wherein the first pump mechanism includes a first turbomolecular pump stage (314) and at least one second turbomolecular pump stage (316) downstream of the first turbomolecular pump stage (314), and the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is located on the side of the at least one second turbomolecular pump stage (316) facing the first turbomolecular pump stage (314) with respect to the at least second turbomolecular pump stage (316) in the axial direction.

3. The pump system according to claim 2, wherein the housing (302) has a first pump intake port (304) and at least one second pump intake port (306) located axially between a first turbomolecular pump stage (314) and a second turbomolecular pump stage (316), and at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is located axially with respect to the second pump intake port (306) on the side of the second pump intake port (306) facing the first pump intake port (304).

4. The pump system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the first pump mechanism further includes at least one third turbomolecular pump stage (318) positioned axially between a first turbomolecular pump stage (314) and a second turbomolecular pump stage (318), and the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is positioned axially with respect to the third turbomolecular pump stage (318) on the side of the third turbomolecular pump stage (318) facing the first pump intake port (304).

5. The pump system according to claim 4, wherein the housing (302) further has at least one third pump inlet (308) located axially between a first turbomolecular pump stage (314) and a third turbomolecular pump stage (318), and the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is located axially with respect to the third pump inlet (308) on the side of the third pump inlet (308) facing the first pump inlet (304).

6. The pump system according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is located on the side of the first pump mechanism facing the first pump intake port (304) with respect to the first pump mechanism in the axial direction.

7. The at least one of the electric cooling devices (326, 332) is located in the axial direction of the turbomolecular vacuum pump (300) in a region where a final pressure in the ultra-high vacuum range is generated during operation inside the turbomolecular vacuum pump (300), and the generated final pressure is preferably 10 －８ Lower than mbar, especially 10 －９ Lower than mbar, and particularly preferably 10 －１０ A pump system according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pressure is lower than mbar.

8. All pump intake ports (304, 306, 308) open radially into the interior of the housing (302); or The pump system according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, wherein all pump intake ports (304, 306, 308) except for the first pump intake port (304) open radially into the interior of the opening (302), whereas the first pump intake port (304) opens axially into the interior of the housing (302) at the head end of the housing (302) located opposite to the second pump mechanism.

9. The pump system according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is at least one fan (326) that forms an airflow.

10. The pump system according to claim 9, wherein at least one fan (326) is directed such that the airflow formed by the fan (326) strikes the housing (302) radially or axially.

11. The pump system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein at least one fan (326) is directed such that the airflow formed by the fan (326) traces the housing radially and axially, forming a boundary laminar flow.

12. The pump system according to claim 9, 10, or 11, wherein the housing (302) has at least one cooling body (328), the cooling body (328) preferably includes a plurality of cooling ribs, and the cooling body (328) is exposed to an airflow formed by the at least one fan (326).

13. At least one fan (326) is directly attached to the housing (302), and / or At least one fan (326) is preferably indirectly attached to the housing (302) by a spacer device (330), and / or The pump system according to at least one of claims 9 to 12, wherein at least one fan (326) is attached to a support structure independent of the housing (02).

14. The pump system according to at least one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the at least one electrically operated cooling device (326, 332) is at least one Peltier element (332).

15. The pump system according to claim 14, wherein at least one Peltier element (332) is attached to the outer surface of the housing (302).

16. The pump system according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the housing (302) has at least one blind hole (336) which houses the at least one Peltier element (332), preferably the housing (302) has a plurality of blind holes (336) which extend axially into the interior of the housing wall starting from the head end (324) of the housing (302) located on the side opposite to the second pump mechanism, and each of them houses one Peltier element (332).

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