Vibration/noise management in a scroll compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9435339-B2
Application number	US-201313800028-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2013
Priority date	Mar 13, 2013
Publication date	Sep 6, 2016
Grant date	Sep 6, 2016

Abstract

A scroll pump isolates vibrations of a pump head/motor assembly of the pump from the exterior of the pump and thus, suppresses the production of airborne noise. The pump includes a sound-muffling enclosure surrounding the pump head/motor assembly, feet supporting the enclosure, and elastic vibration isolators. The pump head/motor assembly is fixed to the tops of the vibration isolators, and the sound-muffling enclosure is fixed to the vibration isolators at the bottoms of the isolators. The scroll pump also has a locking system by which motion of the pump head/motor assembly relative to the sound-muffling enclosure can be limited or prevented, and by which the sound-muffling enclosure can be hard-mounted to a support surface independently of the feet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A scroll pump comprising:
a pump head/motor assembly including a stationary plate scroll fixed in the pump, an orbiting plate scroll, a pump motor having a rotary output, and a drive shaft coupling the pump motor to the orbiting plate scroll;
feet having bottom surfaces that constitute the bottom of the pump, whereby the bottom surfaces of the feet will rest against a support surface when the pump is set on the support surface in its operating position;
a vibration isolation system to which the pump head/motor assembly is mounted;
a sound-muffling enclosure interposed between the vibration isolation system and the feet such that the sound-muffling enclosure is also interposed between the pump head/motor assembly and the feet; and
a locking system by which the pump head/motor assembly can be locked independently of the vibration isolation system to the sound-muffling enclosure, and by which the sound-muffling enclosure can be locked to the same support surface that the feet are resting on independently of the feet and without the pump head/motor assembly being locked to the sound-muffling enclosure such that the pump head/motor assembly is supported by the support surface only via the vibration isolation system,
wherein the pump can be selectively placed using the locking system in a first mode in which the feet are resting against the support surface while the pump head/motor assembly is hard mounted to the sound-muffling enclosure such that it cannot move relative to the sound-muffling enclosure, and
a second mode in which the feet are resting against the support surface while the pump head/motor assembly is not locked to the sound-muffling enclosure and the sound-muffling enclosure is locked to the support surface independently of the feet, whereby the sound-muffling enclosure can be hard mounted to the support surface such that it cannot move relative to the support surface while the pump head/motor assembly is free mounted to the sound-muffling enclosure via the vibration isolation system such that it can vibrate relative to the sound-muffling enclosure.

2. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the feet are elastic members.

3. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the locking system comprises a set of first locking fasteners for selectively locking the pump head/motor assembly to the sound-muffling enclosure, and a set of brackets carried by the sound-muffling enclosure, each of the brackets including a horizontal leg having an opening extending vertically therethrough and through which a second fastener can be inserted to fasten the bracket to the support surface.

4. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the brackets are adjustable in the pump between a first position at which bottoms of the brackets are located above the level of the bottom surfaces of the feet in the pump and a second position at which the bottoms of the brackets are disposed level with the bottom surfaces of the feet.

5. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the sound-muffling enclosure comprises a tray, the feet support the tray at the bottom thereof, and the brackets are mounted to the tray so as to be movable relative to the tray between the first and second positions.

6. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the vibration isolation system comprises elastic vibration isolators each extending from the top of the tray to the pump head/motor assembly, and the pump head/motor assembly is disposed on and fixed to the vibration isolators at upper ends of the vibration isolators.

7. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the sound-muffling enclosure further comprises a cowling in which the pump head/motor assembly is housed, and wherein the cowling is mounted to the tray independently of the pump head/motor assembly such that the cowling is fixed to the vibration isolators at bottom ends thereof, and the pump head/motor assembly is movable in the pump by virtue of the elasticity of the vibration isolators so as to be movable relative to the cowling.

8. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the brackets also have vertical legs each with a slot elongated in the vertical direction extending therethrough, and the locking system further comprises third fasteners extending through the slots, respectively.

9. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pump head/motor assembly has a set of threaded openings therein, and
the locking system comprises brackets each including a horizontal leg having a hole extending vertically therethrough and through which a fastener can be inserted to fasten the bracket to the support surface, a vertical leg having a slot elongated in the vertical direction extending therethrough, and threaded fasteners extending freely through the slots in the vertical legs, respectively, and threaded to the sound-muffling enclosure, whereby the brackets can each be raised and lowered relative to the sound-muffling enclosure between a first position at which bottoms of the brackets are located above the level of the bottom surfaces of the feet in the pump and a second position at which the bottoms of the brackets are disposed level with the bottom surfaces of the feet,
motion arresters integral with the sound-muffling enclosure, and
set screws associated with the motion arresters, respectively, each of the set screws being threadingly engaged with the pump head/motor assembly within one of the set of the threaded openings therein, and each of the set screws being movable relative to the pump head/motor assembly between a first position at which the set screw is free of the motion arrester associated therewith and a second position at which the set screw is mated with the motion arrester associated therewith.

10. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 9 , wherein each of the motion arresters has a recess therein, and each of the set screws associated therewith has a head, a shaft having a screw thread threadingly engaged with the pump head/motor assembly, and a stopper integral with the shaft, the stopper having a shape complementary to the recess in the motion arrester, and the stopper being received within the recess of the motion arrester as mated with the motion arrester when the set screw is in the second position thereof.

11. The scroll pump as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the stopper is received in the recess as radially spaced from the motion arrester when the set screw is in the first position thereof such that the set screw allows but limits movement of the pump head/motor assembly relative to the sound-muffling enclosure via the vibration isolation system when the set screw is in the first position thereof.

12. A vibration management method for a scroll pump, the method comprising:
setting feet extending from the bottom of an enclosure of the pump, containing a pump head/motor assembly of the pump supported by a vibration isolation system, atop a support surface such that the pump head/motor assembly is supported by the support surface only via the vibration isolation system; and
either subsequently locking the pump head/motor assembly to the support surface, independently of the vibration isolation system, with a locking system so that the pump can be transported along with the support surface in a first state in which the pump head/motor assembly is prevented from moving relative to the support surface, or subsequently fastening the enclosure independently of the feet to the support surface while operating the pump in a second state in which the pump head/motor assembly is supported by the support surface only via the vibration isolation system.

13. The method of claim 12 ,

Assignees

• Agilent Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Calhoun John
• Forni Ronald J
• Galica George
• Lu Vannie (Yucong)

Classifications

• F04C2270/12

  Vibration · CPC title

• F04C18/0215

  where only one member is moving · CPC title

• F04C15/0057 Primary

  Driving elements, brakes, couplings, transmission specially adapted for machines or pumps (brakes, couplings, transmissions per se F16, B60) · CPC title

• F04C2270/125

  Controlled or regulated · CPC title

• F04C29/066 Primary

  with means to enclose the source of noise · CPC title