Eccentric Cold Trap for Vacuum Pump Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing in-line type cold traps face challenges in fitting a cold trap with a large pumping capability into narrow installation spaces, particularly when the vacuum pump and vacuum chamber are not aligned, leading to reduced conductance and pumping speed.
Innovation Solution
A cold trap design with a cold panel chamber having an eccentric exit and entrance, allowing for a thicker cold panel configuration that maintains high conductance and pumping speed, while accommodating the space constraints by acting as a transversal conversion flange, thus enabling a larger cold trap to be fitted between the vacuum chamber and the turbo molecular pump.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a thick cold trap is used to increase pumping speed and conductance, then the pumping capability is improved, but the installation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cold trap is nested within the conversion flange structure, with the cold panel chamber positioned concentrically inside the flange body. This allows the cold trap to be housed within the existing flange volume, eliminating the need for additional installation space while maintaining the benefits of a thick cold trap configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the conversion flange and cold trap into a single integrated component. The conversion flange simultaneously serves as the mounting interface for eccentric pump alignment and as the housing for the cold trap, combining two previously separate functions into one compact unit that provides both alignment correction and vapor pumping capability
2Adaptability or versatility
If a conversion flange is added to accommodate eccentric pump alignment, then the adaptability is improved, but the installation space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The conversion flange and cold trap are merged into a single integrated component. The conversion flange simultaneously serves as the mounting interface for eccentric pump alignment and as the housing for the cold trap, combining two previously separate functions into one compact unit that provides both alignment correction and vapor pumping capability
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated conversion flange-cold trap assembly performs multiple functions: it provides eccentric mounting for the vacuum pump, serves as a cold trap for vapor condensation, and maintains vacuum sealing. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate components, maximizing space utilization while providing adaptability for misaligned pump installations
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
This design enhances the pumping speed and conductance of the vacuum system, allowing a cold trap with a larger surface area to be effectively used in narrow spaces, maintaining high performance comparable to conventional systems with separate conversion flanges.
Implementation Method 1
the cold trap is primarily used to pump water vapor
Data Source
AI summary
In a cold trap provided between a vacuum chamber and a vacuum pump for the vacuum chamber, a cold panel is located in an exhaust passage from an exhaust port of the vacuum chamber to an intake port of the vacuum pump. A cold panel chamber includes an entrance that connects the exhaust passage to the exhaust port of the vacuum chamber, and an exit that connects the exhaust passage to the intake port of the vacuum pump. The exit is provided so as to be eccentric with respect to the entrance.