Cryopump, method of regenerating cryopump, and control device for cryopump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9415325-B2
Application number	US-201313771858-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2013
Priority date	Feb 23, 2012
Publication date	Aug 16, 2016
Grant date	Aug 16, 2016

Abstract

A cryopump includes: a first panel to be cooled by a first stage of a refrigerator; a second panel to be cooled by a second stage of the refrigerator; a panel temperature sensor provided with the first panel and/or the second panel; a stage temperature sensor provided with the first stage and/or the second stage; and a control unit that controls vacuum pumping based on the temperature measured by the stage temperature sensor. The control unit controls regeneration including a heating process of a cryopanel, and uses the temperature measured by the panel temperature sensor exclusively in the regeneration. The control unit completes the heating process based on the temperature measured by the panel temperature sensor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cryopump comprising:
a refrigerator comprising a first stage to be cooled to a first stage cryogenic temperature and a second stage to be cooled to a second stage cryogenic temperature lower than the first stage cryogenic temperature;
a cryopanel comprising a first panel to be cooled by the first stage and a second panel to be cooled by the second stage;
a panel temperature sensor provided with at least one of the first panel and the second panel, the panel temperature sensor being capable of measuring a room temperature and incapable of measuring the first and second stage cryogenic temperatures;
a first stage temperature sensor directly mounted on the first stage and being capable of measuring the first cryogenic temperature; and
a common control unit communicably connected to the panel temperature sensor and the first stage temperature sensor and configured to control a cooling process of the cryopanel for vacuum pumping based on a stage temperature measured by the first stage temperature sensor and to control a heating process of the cryopanel for a regeneration of the cryopump based at least on a panel temperature measured by the panel temperature sensor, the control unit configured to determine completion of the heating process based exclusively on the panel temperature measured by the panel temperature sensor.

2. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit controls a heating operation of the refrigerator to heat the cryopanel and monitors the temperature measured by the stage temperature sensor during the heating operation, wherein
the control unit stops the heating operation of the refrigerator when the temperature measured by the stage temperature sensor reaches a warning temperature.

3. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the panel temperature sensor has a measurable temperature range including a heating target temperature in the heating process, and the measurable temperature range is a temperature range higher than a cooling target temperature of the cryopanel in the vacuum pumping.

4. The cryopump according to claim 1 , comprising: a first panel temperature sensor provided on an end part of a heat transfer path in the first panel; and a second panel temperature sensor provided on an end part of a heat transfer path in the second panel, wherein
the control unit completes the heating process when a temperature measured by the first panel temperature sensor reaches a first panel target temperature and a temperature measured by the second panel temperature sensor reaches a second panel target temperature.

5. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the cryopanel is configured such that, during the heating process, the first panel reaches a heating target temperature after the second panel, wherein
the panel temperature sensor is provided at least with the first panel,
the control unit completes the heating process based on a measured temperature of the first panel.

6. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the cryopanel is configured such that, during the heating process, the second panel reaches a heating target temperature after the first panel, wherein
the panel temperature sensor is provided at least with the second panel,
the control unit completes the heating process based on a measured temperature of the second panel.

7. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit configured to determine completion of the cooling process based exclusively on the stage temperature measured by the stage temperature sensor.

8. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the first stage temperature sensor has a first measurable temperature range including the room temperature and the first stage cryogenic temperature, and wherein the panel temperature sensor has a second measurable temperature range including the room temperature and being narrower than the first measurable temperature range.

9. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the panel temperature sensor comprises a first panel temperature sensor mounted directly on the first panel.

10. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the first stage temperature sensor is a first type temperature sensor and the panel temperature sensor is a second different type temperature sensor.

11. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the panel temperature sensor is a general-purpose temperature sensor.

12. The cryopump according to claim 1 , wherein the panel temperature sensor is a thermocouple.

13. A method of regenerating a cryopump, the method comprising:
controlling a cooling process of a cryopanel comprising a first panel and a second panel for vacuum pumping based on a stage temperature measured by a first stage temperature sensor directly mounted on the first stage and being capable of measuring a first cryogenic temperature, wherein the first panel and the second panel are cooled to the first stage cryogenic temperature and a second stage cryogenic temperature lower than the first stage cryogenic temperature, respectively;
controlling a heating process of the cryopanel for a regeneration of the cryopump based at least on a panel temperature measured by a panel temperature sensor being capable of measuring a room temperature and incapable of measuring the first and second stage cryogenic temperatures; and
determining completion of the heating process based exclusively on the panel temperature measured by the panel temperature sensor, wherein
a common control unit communicably connects the panel temperature sensor and the first stage temperature sensor.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Heavy Industries

Inventors

• Fukuda Tsutomu

Classifications

• A47J37/0786

  Accessories · CPC title

• A47J27/002

  Construction of cooking-vessels; Methods or processes of manufacturing specially adapted for cooking-vessels · CPC title

• F04B37/08 Primary

  by condensing or freezing, e.g. cryogenic pumps · CPC title

• B01D8/00 Primary

  Cold traps; Cold baffles (pumps for evacuating by condensing or freezing F04B37/08) · CPC title

• A47J37/067 Primary

  Horizontally disposed broiling griddles · CPC title