A cryogenic refrigerator includes a regenerative heat exchanger material in thermal contact with a working gas including a tin-antimony (SnSb) alloy or a tin-gallium (SnGa) alloy in at least one cooling stage. The regenerative heat exchanger material can include an SnSb-M alloy, with M including at least one element selected from the group consisting of Bi, Ag, Ge, Cu, La, Mg, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Pt, K, Rh, Sm, Se, S, Y, Fe, In, Al, Ce, Dy, Cd, Ti, Au, P, Pr, Yb and Zn. The cryogenic refrigerator can include a Gifford-McMahon refrigerator, a pulse tube refrigerator, or a Stirling refrigerator. A cryopump includes cryopanels adapted to condense or adsorb gases and a cryogenic refrigerator.

A cryogenic refrigerator includes a regenerative heat exchanger material in thermal contact with a working gas including a tin-antimony (SnSb) alloy or a tin-gallium (SnGa) alloy in at least one cooling stage. The regenerative heat exchanger material can include an SnSb-M alloy, with M including at least one element selected from the group consisting of Bi, Ag, Ge, Cu, La, Mg, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Pt, K, Rh, Sm, Se, S, Y, Fe, In, Al, Ce, Dy, Cd, Ti, Au, P, Pr, Yb and Zn. The cryogenic refrigerator can include a Gifford-McMahon refrigerator, a pulse tube refrigerator, or a Stirling refrigerator. A cryopump includes cryopanels adapted to condense or adsorb gases and a cryogenic refrigerator.

A cryogenic pump for pumping liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a cryogenic tank storing LNG includes a drive assembly and a pump assembly disposed along a pump axis. The drive assembly includes a spool housing having a plurality of spool valves arranged around the pump axis, a tappet housing having a plurality of tappet bores with slidable tappets arranged around the pump axis, and spring housing including a plurality of movably disposed pushrods urged upward by a plurality of associated pushrod springs. Hydraulic fluid received by a hydraulic fluid inlet in the drive assembly is directed by the spool valves to the tappet bores to move the tappets downward against the pushrods. To collect the hydraulic fluid, the lowermost spring housing also includes a collection cavity formed therein that can return the hydraulic fluid to a hydraulic fluid outlet.

A hydraulic actuator for a cryogenic pump is provided. The hydraulic actuator includes a piston. The hydraulic actuator also includes a base housing. The hydraulic actuator further includes a push rod assembly. The push rod assembly includes a tube guide. The push rod assembly also includes a push rod. The push rod is adapted to reciprocate within the tube guide. The hydraulic actuator also includes a sealing assembly having a hollow cylindrical configuration. The sealing assembly includes a first static seal portion. The first static seal portion being connected to the base housing. The sealing assembly also includes a second static seal portion. The second static seal portion is connected to the push rod. The sealing assembly further includes an expandable annular bellow extending between the first and second static seal portions. The sealing assembly is adapted to prevent flow of a first fluid in a first direction.

A cryogenic pump is disclosed as having a plunger housing with a plurality of barrels formed in a ring around a central axis, and a plurality of plungers. Each of the plurality of plungers may be reciprocatingly disposed within a different one of the plurality of barrels. The cryogenic pump may also include an inlet manifold connected to the plunger housing and having a plurality of bores. Each of the plurality of bores may be open to a corresponding one of the plurality of barrels. The cryogenic pump may also have at least one orifice in fluid communication with each of the plurality of bores, and an inlet check valve disposed between each of the plurality of bores and the at least one orifice. The inlet check valve may be movable to selectively allow flow between the at least one orifice and a corresponding one of the plurality of barrels.

A vacuum system includes at least one cryopump; sensors associated with the cryopump, each of the sensors being configured to sense an operating condition of the cryopump; and diagnostic circuitry configured to receive signals sampled from the sensors. The diagnostic circuitry includes a diagnostic model of the cryopump, the diagnostic model being derived from historical data of a plurality of cryopumps of a same type operating over a plurality of regeneration and servicing time periods and being configured to relate values of the sampled signals from the at least some sensors to a probability of the pump failing within a predetermined time. The diagnostic circuitry is configured to apply the sampled signals to the diagnostic model and to determine the probability of the at least one cryopump failing within a predetermined time from an output of the model.

A vacuum system includes at least one cryopump; sensors associated with the cryopump, each of the sensors being configured to sense an operating condition of the cryopump; and diagnostic circuitry configured to receive signals sampled from the sensors. The diagnostic circuitry includes a diagnostic model of the cryopump, the diagnostic model being derived from historical data of a plurality of cryopumps of a same type operating over a plurality of regeneration and servicing time periods and being configured to relate values of the sampled signals from the at least some sensors to a probability of the pump failing within a predetermined time. The diagnostic circuitry is configured to apply the sampled signals to the diagnostic model and to determine the probability of the at least one cryopump failing within a predetermined time from an output of the model.

A transport device for transporting a cryopump includes a bogie that includes a front wheel and a rear wheel, a mast that extends from a front side of the bogie in a height direction, a raising and lowering unit that is supported by the mast and that has a changeable height, a guide rail that extends forward from the raising and lowering unit, an arm that is supported by the guide rail and that is slidable in a front-rear direction, a cargo platform that is provided at a tip part of the arm and that holds the cryopump, and a counterweight that is provided on a rear side of the bogie.

The primary invention is to cool a water vapor cryopump using a Gas Balanced Brayton cycle refrigerator. The refrigerator is comprised of a compressor, a gas balanced reciprocating engine and a counterflow heat exchanger. It is connected to the cryopump through insulated transfer lines. Options include a gas storage volume with valves that can adjust system pressures, a variable speed engine, gas lines between the compressor and cryopanel that by-pass the engine, and a gas line that by-passes the heat exchanger. This system can cool down and warm up rapidly, rapidly warm and cool the cryopanel without warming the engine, and reduce power input when the cryopanel heat load is reduced.

The primary invention is to cool a water vapor cryopump using a Gas Balanced Brayton cycle refrigerator. The refrigerator is comprised of a compressor, a gas balanced reciprocating engine and a counterflow heat exchanger. It is connected to the cryopump through insulated transfer lines. Options include a gas storage volume with valves that can adjust system pressures, a variable speed engine, gas lines between the compressor and cryopanel that by-pass the engine, and a gas line that by-passes the heat exchanger. This system can cool down and warm up rapidly, rapidly warm and cool the cryopanel without warming the engine, and reduce power input when the cryopanel heat load is reduced.