Apparatus and method for regulating a pressure in a chamber
First Claim
1. An apparatus for regulating a pressure in a chamber comprising:
- a first vacuum pump having a compression stage, an exhaust side, and an intake side communicating directly with the chamber for generating a first pressure in the chamber;
a controllable pressure regulator coupled to the first vacuum pump and having a control input for receiving a first signal for regulating an exhaust pressure at the exhaust side of the first vacuum pump or an internal pressure at the compression stage of the first vacuum pump, and to thereby regulate the pressure in the chamber; and
a controller having an input for receiving a second signal representing a control pressure in the apparatus, and an output connected to the control input of the controllable pressure regulator, the controller producing at the output the first signal as a function of the second signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pressure for a chamber is regulated by controlling either the exhaust pressure at the exhaust side of a first vacuum pump or the internal pressure at a compression stage of the first vacuum pump, where the first vacuum pump is directly communicating with the chamber. The pressure of the chamber can be regulated by combinations of the following: controlling the variable rotational frequency of a roots vacuum pump, a pre-vacuum pump, or a high compression pump; controlling a control valve between a pre-vacuum pump and the first vacuum pump; controlling a control valve for injecting gas into the exhaust side of the first vacuum pump or into the compression stage of the first vacuum pump; and controlling a control valve or control valves for bypassing the first vacuum pump or a compression stage or compression stages of the first vacuum pump. To regulate the pressure in the chamber, several types of control rules can be used, including: a PID control rule, a gain scheduler, and a threshold comparison control rule.
241 Citations
43 Claims
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1. An apparatus for regulating a pressure in a chamber comprising:
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a first vacuum pump having a compression stage, an exhaust side, and an intake side communicating directly with the chamber for generating a first pressure in the chamber; a controllable pressure regulator coupled to the first vacuum pump and having a control input for receiving a first signal for regulating an exhaust pressure at the exhaust side of the first vacuum pump or an internal pressure at the compression stage of the first vacuum pump, and to thereby regulate the pressure in the chamber; and a controller having an input for receiving a second signal representing a control pressure in the apparatus, and an output connected to the control input of the controllable pressure regulator, the controller producing at the output the first signal as a function of the second signal. - 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)
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24. A method for regulating a pressure in a chamber, wherein a first vacuum pump has a compression stage, an exhaust side, and an intake side communicating directly with the chamber, comprising the steps of:
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generating a first pressure in the chamber with the first vacuum pump; and controlling an exhaust pressure at the exhaust side of the first vacuum pump or an internal pressure at the compression stage of the first vacuum pump as a function of a control pressure in the apparatus to thereby regulate the pressure in the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification