Electronically controlled cryopump
First Claim
1. A cryopump comprising, as an integral assembly:
- a cryogenic refrigerator;
a gas condensing cryopanel cooled by the refrigerator;
a temperature sensor coupled to the cryopanel;
an electrically actuated valve adapted to pass gases from the cryopanel; and
a programmable electronic processor coupled to the sensor to provide a temperature indication, coupled to the valve to control opening and closing of the valve, and coupled to the refrigerator to drive the refrigerator.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cryogenic vacuum pump includes, in an integral assembly, temperature sensors and heaters associated with the first and second stages of the cryopumping array, a roughing valve and a purge valve. An electronic module removably coupled in the assembly responds to all sensors and controls all operations of the cryopump including regeneration thereof. System parameters are stored in a nonvolatile memory in the module. Included in the regeneration procedures are an auto-zero of the pressure gauge, heating of the array throughout rough pumping, and a change in pressure rate test to determine stall in rough pumping. The electronic module also restarts the system after power failure, limits use of a pressure gauge to safe conditions, provides warnings before allowing opening of the valves while the cryopump is operating and stores sensor calibration information. Control through a control pad on the pump may be limited by a password requirement. Password override is also provided.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A cryopump comprising, as an integral assembly:
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a cryogenic refrigerator; a gas condensing cryopanel cooled by the refrigerator; a temperature sensor coupled to the cryopanel; an electrically actuated valve adapted to pass gases from the cryopanel; and a programmable electronic processor coupled to the sensor to provide a temperature indication, coupled to the valve to control opening and closing of the valve, and coupled to the refrigerator to drive the refrigerator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An electronic module adapted to be removably and integrally coupled to a cryopump comprising:
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a housing enclosing electronics; a control connector adapted to couple the electronics to a motor of a cryogenic refrigerator, to a temperature sensor in the cryopump and to an electrically actuated valve coupled to the cryopump; and a power connector adapted to connect the electronics to a power supply; the electronics being adapted to provide an indication of temperature and to control the refrigerator motor and valve. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A cryopump comprising:
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a cryogenic refrigerator; a gas condensing cryopanel cooled by the refrigerator; a pressure sensor for detecting pressure about the condensing array; and a regeneration controller for controlling regeneration of the gas condensing cryopanel, the regeneration controller being programmed to zero the pressure gauge after each regeneration.
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42. A method of regenerating a cryopump comprising:
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warming the cryopump to release gases therefrom, applying a purge gas to the cryopump, rough pumping the cryopump to a vacuum and thereafter cooling the cryopump to create a high vacuum; while rough pumping the cryopump monitoring the rate of pressure drop; and if the rate of pressure drop falls below a predetermined set point, before the pressure drops to a predetermined pressure setpoint, purging the cryopump and again rough pumping the cryopump.
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43. A cryopump comprising:
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a cryogenic refrigerator; a gas condensing cryopanel cooled by the refrigerator; a roughing valve; a purge valve; and a regeneration oontroller for controlling regeneration of the gas condensing cryopanel, the regeneration controller being programmed to cause a delay of cooling of the refrigerator after rough pumping through the roughing valve, to backfill the cryopump with purge gas through the purge valve during the delay and to again open the roughing valve at the end of the delay to rough pump the cryopump before turning the refrigerator on.
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Specification