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Cryogenic vacuum break thermal coupler

  • US 8,069,675 B2
  • Filed: 07/30/2007
  • Issued: 12/06/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A coupler for thermally coupling, to an object to be cooled, a cooling device having at least a first and a second, colder, cooling stages, which stages are rigidly coupled to each other, the coupler comprising:

  • a. an intermediate temperature station, configured to couple releasably with the first stage of the cooling device;

    b. a cold station, configured to fixedly connect to the object to be cooled and also to couple releasably with the second, colder stage of the cooling device;

    c. a fixture that rigidly connects the cold station to an actuator support;

    d. a linearly extendable actuator that couples the actuator support to the intermediate temperature station, the actuator and fixture configured such that energization of the actuator forces a movable end of the actuator in the direction toward the cold station and away from the actuator support until the movable end of the actuator meets the intermediate temperature station, which causes the intermediate temperature station to move away from the actuator support in the direction of the colder stage of the cooling device, also forcing the first stage, and the entire cooling device, including the second colder stage, in the direction of the colder stage of the cooling device, and also brings into contact;

    i. the intermediate temperature station with the first stage, of the cooling device; and

    ii. the cooling device colder stage with the cold station such that pressure increases at an interface joining the colder stage and the cold station as well as at an interface joining the intermediate temperature station and the first stage of the cooling device;

    thereby establishing a force on the first stage and the actuator support, which forces are substantially equal and opposite to each other, without any force being applied to the object to be cooled;

    e. a cooling device vacuum enclosure shaped and sized to house a cooling device vacuum around the cooling device, comprising the cold station; and

    f. a cooled object vacuum enclosure, shaped and sized to house an object to be cooled, the cooled object vacuum enclosure being hydraulically independent of the cooling device vacuum enclosure, such that a vacuum within the cooling device vacuum enclosure can be broken without breaking a vacuum within the cooled object vacuum enclosure.

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