Vacuum Pump Protective Net Contact Support Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum pumps face a challenge in maintaining compactness while preventing protective nets from being caught in rotating bodies due to pressure and temperature changes, which requires a balance between net thickness and conductance.
Innovation Solution
The vacuum pump incorporates an entanglement prevention mechanism with a contact support structure that actively supports the protective net when deformed, bringing the net and rotating body closer to reduce height and prevent entanglement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the protective net is made thicker and stronger to reduce deformation, then the protective net's strength is improved, but the conductance of the vacuum pump is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The protective net is designed with different thicknesses at different locations: the peripheral portion has a larger thickness for strength, while the central portion has a smaller thickness for conductance. This local differentiation allows each region to optimize its function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective net is divided into a peripheral portion and a central portion with different thickness characteristics. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each region's properties to serve different functional requirements.
2Reliability
If a gap is provided between the protective net and the rotating body to prevent entanglement, then the risk of protective net being caught is reduced, but the height of the vacuum pump increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective net is designed to be flexible and deformable, allowing it to dynamically adapt its shape in response to pressure and temperature changes. This dynamic behavior enables the net to maintain clearance from the rotating body without requiring a fixed large gap.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective net's physical state changes in response to pressure and temperature variations. By allowing the net to deform and change its configuration dynamically, the system maintains safety clearance without requiring excessive height.
3Productivity
If the protective net is made thinner to maintain conductance, then the exhaust performance is improved, but the protective net becomes more susceptible to deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The protective net has spatially varying thickness: thinner at the center for conductance and thicker at the periphery for structural stability. This local quality differentiation allows the net to remain thin where conductance is critical while having enough strength where deformation resistance matters.
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum pump that is small in height (length) is configured to bring a rotating body and a protective net as close to each other as possible by causing the rotating body to actively support the protective net. The vacuum pump is provided with a mechanism that causes a rotating body (a shaft or a rotor) to actively support a protective net when the protective net becomes deformed (bent) toward the vacuum pump side due to a change in pressure or temperature of the vacuum pump. Specifically, instead of preventing the protective net from being caught in the rotating body by increasing the distance therebetween, the entanglement of the protective net is prevented by actively supporting the protective net by bringing the protective net and the rotating body closer to each other. Accordingly, the height (length) of the vacuum pump can be reduced more.