Break-Seal Membrane Ring Assembly for Low-Profile Vacuum Cell Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum cell sealing technologies are cumbersome, add significant size and weight, and complicate optical access, making it difficult to achieve high-vacuum levels and maintain stringent shock-vibe specifications in ultra-high vacuum applications.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile break-seal system with a monolithic structure, featuring a thin membrane bridging inner and outer rings, allows for evacuation and hermetic sealing of vacuum cells with minimal protrusions, using a cap that can be bonded via various methods to ensure a hermetic seal while maintaining optical access, and is designed to be compact and robust.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional vacuum cell sealing system is used, then the vacuum cell can be sealed, but the system adds significant size and weight to the vacuum cell
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into two separate rings: an inner ring that remains with the vacuum cell and an outer ring that breaks away. This segmentation allows the vacuum cell to be sealed during evacuation while removing the external sealing components after sealing, thereby reducing the final weight of the vacuum cell assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer ring is extracted from the final vacuum cell assembly through a controlled breakaway mechanism. After the vacuum cell is sealed and evacuated, the outer ring is removed, taking with it the sealing interface that was only needed during the sealing process, thus reducing the weight of the operational vacuum cell.
2Reliability
If a traditional vacuum cell sealing system is used, then the vacuum cell can be sealed, but the system complicates optical access to the interior
Solution Approach 1:
The outer ring containing the sealing interface is extracted after sealing, removing the obstruction to optical access. This allows optical windows or laser beams to access the vacuum cell interior without passing through complex sealing mechanisms, simplifying the optical path while maintaining sealing capability during the critical sealing phase.
3Weight of stationary object
If a break-seal system is used to reduce size and weight, then the vacuum cell profile is reduced, but the assembly process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The break-seal system is pre-assembled with the inner ring attached to the vacuum cell before the sealing process. This preliminary attachment simplifies the assembly process by eliminating the need for complex fastening mechanisms during final assembly, as the inner ring is already in position to receive the sealing interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer ring is designed as a disposable component that is used only during the sealing process and then discarded through the breakaway mechanism. This approach simplifies assembly by using simple, non-reusable components rather than complex, reusable sealing mechanisms, reducing both manufacturing complexity and cost.
4Strength
If a low-profile break-seal system is used, then the vacuum cell robustness is improved, but the sealing process requires higher precision
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing interface is segmented between the inner ring (attached to vacuum cell) and outer ring (temporary sealing component). This segmentation concentrates the sealing precision requirements on the inner ring interface, which is rigidly attached to the vacuum cell, while the outer ring provides a simple temporary sealing surface that does not require high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner ring is designed with localized sealing features at its outer periphery that provide a precise sealing interface. This local quality approach concentrates the precision requirements to a specific region rather than requiring the entire sealing system to be高精度, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining robustness.
Data Source
AI summary
A monolithic break-seal includes a membrane that separates an outer ring from an inner ring. The inner ring is bonded to a vacuum cell and the outer ring is bonded to a vacuum interface. To protect against unintentional breakage of the membrane, a surface of the outer ring not bonded to the vacuum interface contacts the vacuum cell. An external vacuum system evacuates the vacuum cell through an aperture of the break-seal. Once a target vacuum level is reached for the vacuum cell, a cap is bonded to the inner ring, blocking the aperture and hermetically sealing the vacuum cell. The membrane is broken so that the hermetically sealed vacuum cell can be separated from the vacuum interface to which the outer ring remains bonded.