Vacuum pump and rotor thereof
10190597 ยท 2019-01-29
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F04D19/044
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D27/0292
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D19/046
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D29/32
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D29/526
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F04D29/32
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D27/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04D19/04
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
A rotor of a vacuum pump has a circular member that is driven rotatably, a cylindrical member joined to an outer circumference of the circular member, and a thread groove pump flow path formed between the cylindrical member and a stator member surrounding an outer circumference of the cylindrical member. The cylindrical member is made of a material having at least a feature of lower thermal expansivity or lower creep rate than that of a material of the circular member. A gap of a second region provided between a non-joint portion of the cylindrical member and the stator member is set to be smaller than a gap of a first region provided between a joint portion of the cylindrical member and the stator member.
Claims
1. A vacuum pump, comprising: a circular member; a drive means for driving the circular member rotatably on a center thereof; a cylindrical member joined to an outer circumference of the circular member; a stator member surrounding an outer circumference of the cylindrical member; and a thread groove pump flow path formed between the cylindrical member and the stator member, the vacuum pump exhausting gas through the thread groove pump flow path by rotating the circular member and the cylindrical member, wherein the cylindrical member is made of a material having at least a feature of lower thermal expansivity or lower creep rate than that of a material of the circular member, and a gap of a first region provided between a joint portion of the cylindrical member and a crest of a thread groove formed on an inner surface of the stator member is set to be larger than a gap of a second region provided between a non-joint portion of the cylindrical member and a crest of the thread groove formed on the inner surface of the stator member around the entire outer circumference of the cylindrical member by an amount to accommodate thermal expansion of the circular member or an amount of expansion by creep of the circular member.
2. The vacuum pump according to claim 1, wherein a gap in a boundary portion between the first region and the second region is formed as a taper shape, the size of which decreases gradually from the joint portion toward the non-joint portion.
3. The vacuum pump according to claim 2, wherein, in a case where a length along an axis line of the cylindrical member is defined as an axial length of the taper shape, the axial length of the taper shape formed by the gap in the boundary portion is at least three times of a thickness of the cylindrical member.
4. The vacuum pump according to claim 1, wherein the joint portion of the cylindrical member is provided on an upstream side of the thread groove pump flow path.
5. The vacuum pump according to claim 2, wherein the joint portion of the cylindrical member is provided on an upstream side of the thread groove pump flow path.
6. The vacuum pump according to claim 3, wherein the joint portion of the cylindrical member is provided on an upstream side of the thread groove pump flow path.
7. A rotor which has a circular member driven rotatably and a cylindrical member joined to an outer circumference of the circular member and which is used in a vacuum pump, wherein, the cylindrical member being made of a material having at least a feature of lower thermal expansivity or lower creep rate than that of a material of the circular member, a thread groove pump flow path being formed between the cylindrical member of the rotor and a stator member surrounding an outer circumference of the cylindrical member by incorporating the rotor in the vacuum pump, and a gap of a first region provided between a joint portion of the cylindrical member and a crest of a thread groove formed on an inner surface of the stator member is set larger than a gap of a second region provided between a non-joint portion of the cylindrical member and a crest of the thread groove formed on the inner surface of the stator member around the entire outer circumference of the cylindrical member by an amount to accommodate thermal expansion of the circular member or an amount of expansion by creep of the circular member.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(7) Embodiments of the present invention are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present application.
(8)
(9) The composite pump P1 shown in
(10) The composite pump P1 shown in
(11) The outer case 1 has a bottomed cylindrical shape configured by integrally coupling a cylindrical pump case 1A and a bottomed cylindrical pump base 1B to each other in a cylindrical axial direction with a bolt. An upper end portion of the pump case 1A is opened to form a gas inlet port 2, and a gas outlet port 3 is provided on a side surface of a lower end portion of the pump base 1B.
(12) The gas inlet port 2 is connected to an unshown closed chamber, such as a process chamber of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, by means of an unshown bolt provided in an upper flange 1C of the pump case 1A, the closed chamber generating high vacuum. The gas outlet port 3 is linked to an auxiliary pump, not shown.
(13) A cylindrical stator column 4 containing various electrical components is provided in a central part inside the pump case 1A. The stator column 4 is provided upright by having a lower end thereof fastened with a screw to the pump base 1B.
(14) A rotor shaft 5 is provided on the inside of the stator column 4. The rotor shaft 5 is disposed, with its upper end portion facing the gas inlet port 2 and its lower end portion facing the pump base 1B. The upper end portion of the rotor shaft 5 protrudes upward from an upper end surface of the stator column 4.
(15) The rotor shaft 5 is driven rotatably by a drive motor 12 while having its radial direction and axial direction supported rotatably by radial magnetic bearings 10 and an axial magnetic bearing 11.
(16) The drive motor 12, configured by a stator 12A and a rotator 12B, is provided in the vicinity of substantially a center of the rotor shaft 5. The stator 12A of the drive motor 12 is mounted inside the stator column 4, whereas the rotator 12B of the drive motor 12 is integrated with an outer circumferential surface of the rotor shaft 5.
(17) There is a total of two radial magnetic bearings 10 above and below the drive motor 12. There is one axial magnetic bearing 11 disposed at the lower end portion of the rotor shaft 5.
(18) Each of the two radial magnetic bearings 10 is configured by a radial electromagnetic target 10A attached to the outer circumferential surface of the rotor shaft 5, a plurality of radial electromagnets 10B installed in an inner surface of the stator column 4 in such a manner as to face the radial electromagnetic target 10A, and a radial displacement sensor 10C. The radial electromagnetic target 10A is composed of a laminated steel plate obtained by stacking highly-permeable steel plates. The radial electromagnets 10B magnetically attract the rotor shaft 5 in the radial direction through the radial electromagnetic target 10A. The radial displacement sensor 10C detects a radial displacement of the rotor shaft 5. The rotor shaft 5 is magnetically supported in a floating manner at a predetermined radial position, by controlling the exciting currents of the radial electromagnets 10B in accordance with the value detected by the radial displacement sensor 10C (the radial displacement of the rotor shaft 5).
(19) The axial magnetic bearing 11 is configured by a disk-shaped armature disk 11A attached to an outer circumference of the lower end portion of the rotor shaft 5, axial electromagnets 11B disposed above and below the armature disk 11A in such a manner as to face each other, and an axial displacement sensor 11C disposed slightly away from a lower end surface of the rotor shaft 5. The armature disk 11A is made of a highly-permeable material. The upper and lower axial electromagnets 11B magnetically attract the armature disk 11A in a vertical direction thereof. The axial displacement sensor 11C detects an axial displacement of the rotor shaft 5. The rotor shaft 5 is magnetically supported in a floating manner at a predetermined axial position, by controlling the exciting currents of the upper and lower axial electromagnets 11B in accordance with the value detected by the axial displacement sensor 11C (the axial displacement of the rotor shaft 5).
(20) A rotor 6 functioning as a rotating body of the composite pump P1 is provided on the outside of the stator column 4. The rotor 6 is formed into a cylinder to surround an outer circumference of the stator column 4 and has, around its intermediate position, a circular member 60 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. The rotor 6 is configured by connecting two cylindrical members of different diameters (a first cylindrical member 61 and a second cylindrical member 62) to each other in an axial direction thereof via the circular member 60.
(21) The first cylindrical member 61 is made of the same material as the circular member 60 (e.g., aluminum or aluminum alloy). The second cylindrical member 62, on the other hand, is made of a material that is characterized in having at least lower thermal expansivity or lower creep rate than that of the material of the first cylindrical member 61 or circular member 60. Examples of such a material include metal such as titanium alloy or precipitation-hardened stainless steel, and fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) reinforced with high-strength fibers such as aramid fiber, boron fiber, carbon fiber, glass fiber, or polyethylene fiber; however, the examples of the material are not limited thereto.
(22) The first cylindrical member 61 is obtained by machining a chunk of aluminum or aluminum alloy. In the composite pump P1 shown in
(23) An upper end of the first cylindrical member 61 is provided with end members 63. The rotor 6 and the rotor shaft 5 are integrated with each other by the end members 63. To obtain such an integrated structure, in the composite pump P1 of
(24) The rotor 6, configured by the first and second cylindrical members 61 and 62 and the circular member 60, is supported by the radial magnetic bearings 10 and the axial magnetic bearing 11 via the rotor shaft 5 rotatably on the shaft center (the rotor shaft 5). This supported rotor 6 is driven rotatably on the rotor shaft 5 as the drive motor 12 rotates the rotor shaft 5. Therefore, in the composite pump P1 shown in
(25) <<Detailed Configuration of Blade Exhaust Part Pt>>
(26) In the composite pump P1 shown in
(27) The first cylindrical member 61, the component located on the upstream side of the rotor 6 with respect to substantially the intermediate position of the rotor 6, configures a part of the rotor 6 that is rotated as a rotating body of the blade exhaust part Pt. The plurality of rotary blades 13 are provided integrally in an outer circumferential surface of the first cylindrical member 61. The plurality of rotary blades 13 are arranged in a radial manner around the rotor shaft 5 which is an axis of rotation of the rotor 6 or around a shaft center of the outer case 1 (referred to as pump shaft center, hereinafter). Further, the plurality of stator blades 14 are provided on an inner circumferential surface of the pump case 1A. These stator blades 14, too, are arranged in a radial manner around the pump shaft center. The blade exhaust part Pt is formed by alternately disposing these steps of rotary blades 13 and stator blades 14 along the pump shaft center.
(28) The rotary blades 13 are each formed into a blade-like cut workpiece by being cut along with an outer-diameter machined part of the first cylindrical member 61 and are inclined at an angle so that gas molecules are exhausted optimally. The stator blades 14, too, are inclined at an angle so that the gas molecules are exhausted optimally.
(29) <<Description of Operations of Blade Exhaust Part Pt>>
(30) In the blade exhaust part Pt with the configuration described above, the rotor shaft 5, the rotor 6, and the plurality of rotary blades 13 are integrally rotated at high speed by activating the drive motor 12, wherein the top rotary blade 13 applies momentum to the gas molecules entering from the gas inlet port 2, so that the gas molecules migrate from the gas inlet port 2 towards the gas outlet port 3. The gas molecules with this momentum for the exhaust direction are carried to the next rotary blade 13 by the stator blades 14. By repeatedly applying the momentum to the gas molecules and carrying the gas molecules through the plurality of blades, the gas molecules existing at the gas inlet port 2 gradually migrate towards the downstream side of the rotor 6 to reach the upstream side of the thread groove pump part Ps.
(31) <<Detailed Configuration of Thread Groove Pump Part Ps>>
(32) In the composite pump P1 shown in
(33) The second cylindrical member 62, the component located on the downstream side of the rotor 6 with respect to substantially the intermediate position of the rotor 6, is a part that is rotated as a rotating member of the thread groove pump part Ps. A tubular stator member 18 is provided in an outer circumference of the second cylindrical member 62 as a thread groove pump stator. This tubular stator member (thread groove pump stator) 18 is configured to surround the outer circumference of the second cylindrical member 62. Note that a lower end portion of the stator member 18 is supported by the pump base 1B.
(34) A spiral-shaped thread groove pump flow path S is provided between the stator member 18 and the second cylindrical member 62. The example shown in
(35) The thread groove 19 gradually becomes shallower towards the bottom of the illustrated configuration in such a manner that the thread groove pump part Ps forms a tapered cone. The thread groove 19 is engraved in a spiral manner from an upper end of the stator member 18 towards a lower end of the same.
(36) The thread groove pump part Ps moves the gas while compressing it, by taking advantage of a drag effect generated by the thread groove 19 and the outer circumferential surface of the second cylindrical member 62. Therefore, the thread groove 19 is the deepest in the vicinity of an upstream entrance of the thread groove pump flow path S (an opening end of the flow path in the vicinity of the gas inlet port 2) and is the shallowest in the vicinity of a downstream exit of the thread groove pump flow path S (an opening end of the flow path in the vicinity of the gas outlet port 3).
(37) As described above, the second cylindrical member 62 is fitted and connected to the outer circumference of the circular member 60, wherein a gap 1 of a first region provided between this joint portion (referred to as joint portion J of the second cylindrical member 62, hereinafter) and a crest 21 of thread groove 19 of the stator member 18 is set to be greater than gaps 2 to 5 of a second region provided between crest 21 of thread groove 19 of the stator member 18 and a section other than the joint portion J (referred to as non-joint portion N of the second cylindrical member 62, hereinafter), as shown in
(38) Although the circular member 60 creeps or thermally expands radially to some extent because the circular member 60 is made of metal such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, as described above, the second cylindrical member 62 connected to the circular member 60 thermally expands less significantly compared to the circular member 60 and is made of a material having a lower creep rate than that of the material of the circular member 60, as described above. Thus, unlike the circular member 60, radial creep or thermal expansion of the second cylindrical member 62 is unlikely to occur.
(39) Therefore, when the creep phenomenon and thermal expansion occur in the composite pump P1 of
(40) Hence, in the composite pump P1 shown in
(41) The joint portion J of the second cylindrical member 62 is located on the upstream side of the thread groove pump flow path S, as shown in
(42) As shown in
(43) The abovementioned deformation that occurs in the part near the joint portion J of the second cylindrical member (the creep phenomenon or thermal expansion. The same applies hereinafter) gradually becomes smaller from the joint portion J towards the non-joint portion N. Because the gaps 3 to 5 in the boundary between the gap 1 of the first region and the gap 2 of the second region are configured to gradually become narrower in response to the deformation of the part near the joint portion J in the composite pump P1 shown in
(44) When the length along the axis line of the second cylindrical member 62 is taken as an axial length L of the above described taper shape, as shown in
(45) The thickness t of the second cylindrical member 62 can be increased as shown in, for example,
(46) For instance, when the thickness t of the second cylindrical member 62 is great, the taper shape that is generated due to the deformation of the part near the joint portion J inclines gently as shown in
(47) <<Description of Operations of Thread Groove Pump Part Ps>>
(48) As described in <<Description of Operations of Blade Exhaust Part Pt>>, the gas molecules that have reached the upstream side of the thread groove pump part Ps further migrate to the thread groove pump flow path S. Due to the effect caused by the rotation of the second cylindrical member 62, or the drag effect caused by the outer circumferential surface of the second cylindrical member 62 and the thread groove 19, the gas molecules then further migrate towards the gas outlet port 3 while being compressed from an intermediate flow into a viscous flow. The gas molecules are eventually discharged to the outside through an auxiliary pump, not shown.
(49)
(50) As with the composite pump P1 shown in
(51) In the thread groove pump P2 of
(52) Furthermore, the thread groove pump P2 of
(53) In addition, in the thread groove pump P2 of
(54) The present invention is not limited to the embodiments previously described, and can be modified by those who have ordinary knowledge in the corresponding field within the technical idea of the present invention.
(55) Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
(56) 1 Outer case 1A Pump case 1B Pump base 1C Flange 2 Gas inlet port 3 Gas outlet port 4 Stator column 5 Rotor shaft 6 Rotor 60 Circular member 61 First cylindrical member 62 Second cylindrical member 63 End member 7 Boss hole 9 Rotor shaft shoulder portion 10 Radial magnetic bearing 10A Radial electromagnetic target 10B Radial electromagnet 10C Radial displacement sensor 11 Axial magnetic bearing 11A Armature disk 11B Axial electromagnet 11C Axial displacement sensor 12 Drive motor 12A Stator 12B Rotator 13 Rotary blade 14 Stator blade 18 Stator member 19 Thread groove L Axial length of taper shape P1 Composite pump (vacuum pump) P2 Thread groove pump (vacuum pump) Pt Blade exhaust part Ps Thread groove pump part S Thread groove pump flow path t Thickness of cylindrical member 1 Gap of first region 2 Gap of second region 3, 4, 5 Gaps in boundary between first region and second region