Hermetic Vacuum Pump Connector Layout for Compact Maintenance Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum pumps, particularly turbomolecular pumps, face challenges in on-site maintenance due to limited space in the axial direction, making attachment and detachment of the pump body and control device difficult, and require a more compact design for easier manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
The vacuum pump design features a horizontally long connector disposed in the side portion of the pump body with pins arranged in multiple rows circumferentially, allowing for easy attachment and detachment of the pump body and control device, and includes a multilayered wiring pattern to reduce the pump's height and radial size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the pump body and control device are integrated with each other in the axial direction, then the structure is compact, but maintenance becomes difficult due to limited workspace
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into multiple rows of pins arranged circumferentially, allowing the control device to be detached from the pump body in a radial direction rather than axially. This segmentation of the connection interface enables maintenance workers to access and service the control device in place without removing the entire integrated assembly, thus maintaining compactness while improving maintenance efficiency.
2Device complexity
If terminals are disposed in the bottom portion of the pump body in the axial direction, then the structure is simplified, but alignment becomes difficult due to small gap between components
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal connection interface is moved from the axial direction (bottom portion) to the circumferential direction (side portion). By arranging pins in multiple rows around the circumference of the pump body, the connection points are distributed in a larger radial space, making it easier for workers to visually access and align terminals during maintenance without the constraints of a small axial gap.
3Volume of moving object
If the pump body is made shorter in the axial direction and smaller in the radial direction, then the pump is more compact, but manufacturing becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of concentrating all connection functions in the axial direction (which would require a long pump body), the connector distributes connection points circumferentially around the pump body. This allows the pump body to be shorter axially while maintaining all necessary connection interfaces, and the circumferential arrangement simplifies manufacturing by using standard radial positioning methods rather than precise axial stacking.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are a vacuum pump that is designed in a way that improves the efficiency of on-site maintenance, can be configured into a smaller pump than before, and can easily be manufactured, and a connector and a control device applied to such a vacuum pump. By adopting a hermetic connector having a horizontally long structure, cables can be distributed in the horizontal direction, thereby reducing the height of a pump body. Furthermore, using a substrate, pins and terminals are connected to each other by a multilayered wiring pattern. Thus, unlike when the cables are pulled with the harnesses as in the prior art, the cables do not become bulky in the radial direction. Accordingly, the pump body can be reduced in size in the radial direction as well. In the hermetic connector and the substrate, thick pins with large allowable current are arranged on the inside and pins with small allowable current are arranged around the thick pins. Since the hard, inflexible cables are grouped together in the center, the cables can be twisted easily when bundled.