Helium management control system
First Claim
1. A system of controlling supply of refrigerant to a plurality of refrigerators, the system comprising:
- a compressor bank having at least one compressor configured to supply a refrigerant, the at least one compressor including a high pressure supply line and a low pressure exhaust line;
a plurality of refrigerators, coupled to the compressor bank, configured to consume refrigerant; and
an electronic controller configured to regulate refrigerant supply to the at least one refrigerator in response to a differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A helium management control system for controlling the helium refrigerant supply from a common manifold supplies cryogenic refrigerators with an appropriate helium supply. The system employs sensors to monitor and regulate the overall refrigerant supply. An appropriate supply of helium is distributed to each cryopump. If the total refrigeration supply exceeds the demand, or consumption, excess refrigerant is directed to cryogenic refrigerators which can utilize the excess helium to complete a current cooling function more quickly. If the total refrigeration demand exceeds the total refrigeration supply, the refrigerant supply to some or all of the cryogenic refrigerators will be reduced accordingly so that detrimental or slowing effects are minimized based upon the current cooling function.
57 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system of controlling supply of refrigerant to a plurality of refrigerators, the system comprising:
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a compressor bank having at least one compressor configured to supply a refrigerant, the at least one compressor including a high pressure supply line and a low pressure exhaust line; a plurality of refrigerators, coupled to the compressor bank, configured to consume refrigerant; and an electronic controller configured to regulate refrigerant supply to the at least one refrigerator in response to a differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line. - 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)
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26. A method of controlling supply of refrigerant to a plurality of refrigerators comprising:
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monitoring a compressor bank including at least one compressor, the at least one compressor including a high pressure supply line and a low pressure exhaust line, the compressor bank capable of supplying a refrigerant to at least one refrigerator; determining a differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line; and regulating the supply of refrigerant to at least one of the refrigerators in response to the differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line.
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27. An electronic controller configured to control supply of refrigerant to at least one refrigerator, the controller including a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer readable instructions embodied thereon and configured to:
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monitor a compressor bank including at least one compressor, the compressor including a high pressure supply line and a low pressure exhaust line, the compressor bank capable of supplying a refrigerant to at least one refrigerator; determine a differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line; and regulate the supply of refrigerant to the at least one of the refrigerator in response to the differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line.
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28. A refrigeration system comprising:
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at least one compressor configured to supply a refrigerant to at least one refrigerator, the compressor including a high pressure supply line and a low pressure exhaust line; the at least one refrigerator configured to consume at least a portion of the refrigerant; and an electronic controller configured to correct refrigerant consumption at the at least one refrigerator in response to a differential pressure (DP) between the high pressure supply line and the low pressure exhaust line.
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Specification