Vacuum pump

Abstract

A multistage vacuum pump comprises a stator housing a multistage rotor assembly, each stage comprising inter-meshing Roots rotor components, wherein the tip radius of the rotor components at an inlet stage of the pump is larger than the tip radius of the rotor components at an exhaust stage of the pump.

1 . A multistage vacuum pump comprising a stator housing a multistage rotor assembly, each stage comprising intermeshing Roots rotor components, wherein the tip radius of the rotor components at an inlet stage of the pump is larger than the tip radius of the rotor components at an exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       2 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 1  wherein the tip radius of the exhaust stage rotor components is at least 15% smaller than the tip radius of the inlet stage rotor components. 
   
   
       3 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 1  or  claim 2  wherein the tip radius of the exhaust stage rotor components is at least 20% smaller than the tip radius of the inlet stage rotor components. 
   
   
       4 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 3  wherein the pump comprises a first number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a first tip radius, and a second number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a second tip radius smaller than the first tip radius. 
   
   
       5 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 4  wherein each of the first and second numbers of pumping stages comprises a plurality of pumping stages. 
   
   
       6 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 5  comprising a one-way valve located between the first plurality of pumping stages and the second plurality of pumping stages for exhausting from the stator gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure. 
   
   
       7 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 6  wherein each of the rotor components comprises a plurality of lobes, and wherein the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump have the same number of lobes as the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       8 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 7  wherein each of the rotor components has between two and five lobes. 
   
   
       9 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 8  wherein each of the rotor components has three lobes. 
   
   
       10 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 9  wherein each stage comprises rotor components having different profiles. 
   
   
       11 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 10  wherein one of the rotor components of a stage comprises pockets for receiving the lobes of the other rotor component of that stage. 
   
   
       12 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 11  wherein the rotor assembly comprises two intermeshing sets of Roots rotor components, each set being mounted on a respective shaft for rotation relative to the stator. 
   
   
       13 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 12  wherein the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump is greater than the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       14 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 2  wherein the pump comprises a first number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a first tip radius, and a second number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a second tip radius smaller than the first tip radius. 
   
   
       15 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 3  wherein the pump comprises a first number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a first tip radius, and a second number of pumping stages each comprising rotor components of a second tip radius smaller than the first tip radius. 
   
   
       16 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 5  comprising a one-way valve located between the first plurality of pumping stages and the second plurality of pumping stages for exhausting from the stator gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure. 
   
   
       17 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 4  comprising a one-way valve located between the first plurality of pumping stages and the second plurality of pumping stages for exhausting from the stator gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure. 
   
   
       18 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 14  wherein each of the rotor components comprises a plurality of lobes, and wherein the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump have the same number of lobes as the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       19 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 4  wherein each of the rotor components comprises a plurality of lobes, and wherein the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump have the same number of lobes as the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       20 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 17  wherein each of the rotor components comprises a plurality of lobes, and wherein the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump have the same number of lobes as the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       21 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 20  wherein one of the rotor components of a stage comprises pockets for receiving the lobes of the other rotor component of that stage. 
   
   
       22 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 21  wherein the rotor assembly comprises two intermeshing sets of Roots rotor components, each set being mounted on a respective shaft for rotation relative to the stator. 
   
   
       23 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 22  wherein the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump is greater than the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump. 
   
   
       24 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 5  wherein the rotor assembly comprises two intermeshing sets of Roots rotor components, each set being mounted on a respective shaft for rotation relative to the stator. 
   
   
       25 . The vacuum pump according to  claim 24  wherein the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the inlet stage of the pump is greater than the meshing clearance between the rotor components at the exhaust stage of the pump.