Bladeless Supersonic Vacuum Pump Without Seals or Multiple Stages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mechanical vacuum pumps are inefficient and require multiple stages or seals, leading to high maintenance, increased costs, and limited pressure range, especially when pumping gases from atmospheric pressure to ultra-high vacuum ranges.
Innovation Solution
A non-sealed vacuum pump with a supersonically rotatable bladeless gas impingement surface that separates high and low pressure portions without seals, using a planar rotatable surface to efficiently pump gases over a wide pressure range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional mechanical vacuum pumps use seals and interconnected rotors and stators to physically contact and push gas molecules, then the pump can effectively transfer gases and evacuate spaces, but the mechanical friction and wear increase, seals deteriorate, and the range of rotational speeds is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes seals and protruding blades from the vacuum pump system. The bladeless rotor design eliminates the need for seals between rotating and stationary components, thereby eliminating mechanical friction and wear associated with seal contact while maintaining the pump's ability to transfer gases effectively
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the conventional mechanical contact-based gas transport mechanism (blades physically pushing molecules) with a bladeless impingement surface that relies on gas molecular impingement and momentum transfer. This substitution eliminates mechanical friction and wear while maintaining pumping effectiveness
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional vacuum pumps use multiple stages and seals to achieve wide pressure range from atmospheric to ultra-high vacuum, then the pressure range is extended, but the device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bladeless vacuum pump design achieves multi-functionality by operating effectively across a wide pressure range from atmospheric to ultra-high vacuum conditions using a single stage without seals. The bladeless impingement surface design enables the pump to handle various gas types and pressure conditions that would traditionally require multiple specialized stages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent eliminates seals and intermediate stages from the pump system, achieving a simplified single-stage design that maintains the capability to operate across wide pressure ranges by relying on molecular impingement rather than mechanical contact
3Productivity
If conventional pumps use protruding or angled blades to increase intercepting cross-section and actively intercept gas molecules, then the number of molecules impacted increases, but mechanical friction increases and the rotating components experience substantial drag
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes protruding blades from the rotor design, eliminating the source of mechanical drag while maintaining gas pumping capability through the bladeless impingement surface that relies on molecular collisions rather than active blade interception
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical blade-based gas interception system with a bladeless impingement surface system that uses molecular random motion and collisions to transfer momentum. This substitution eliminates mechanical drag while maintaining the ability to pump gas molecules effectively
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The pump achieves efficient gas evacuation from atmospheric to ultra-high vacuum ranges with reduced maintenance and cost, minimizing wear and tear by eliminating seals and reducing the need for multiple stages.
Implementation Method 1
a gas impingement surface that is rotatable at supersonic tangential velocity to pump impinging gas molecules
Implementation Method 2
have the rotational momentum of the blades transferred to them
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A vacuum pump generally comprises a low pressure portion and a high pressure portion separated by a gas impermeable partition. Gas molecules exit the low pressure portion through an opening in the partition and passively impinge on a featureless rotatable surface in the high pressure portion. A drive rotates the rotatable surface with tangential velocity in the supersonic range at multiple times the most probable velocity of the impinging gas molecules. Impinging gas molecules are ejected outwardly from the periphery of the rotatable surface generating a substantial net outward flow of gas and reducing the pressure in the low pressure portion. The vacuum pump is effective to reduce the pressure in the low pressure portion to a target minimum pressure without using seals to prevent gas molecules from leaking back to the low pressure portion and without using blades or vanes to actively impact the gas molecules.