Filing Information

Inventor(s)	Martin Lehmann ·
Assignee(s)	None listed in document.  View assignee updates
Attorney/Agent(s)	Antonelli, Terry, Stout & Kraus, LLP ·
Primary Examiner	Helen Kwok ·
Assistant Examiner	David J. Wiggins ·
Application Number	US10193914
Filing date	07/15/2002
Issue date	06/10/2003
Prior Publication Data	US20020178792 - 12/05/2002
Predicted expiration date	05/27/2017
U.S. Classifications	73/493  · 73/52  · 73/40  ·
International Classifications	--
Kind Code	B2
International Classifications	73 493 · 73 52 · 73 492 R · 73 492 T · 73 40 · 73 454 ·
Related U.S. Application Data	This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/944,407, filed Sep. 4, 2001, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,033, issued Aug. 27, 2002, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/785,261, filed Feb. 20, 2001, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,215, issued Oct. 23, 2001, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/568,288, filed May 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,477, issued Mar. 20, 2001, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/073,852, filed May 7, 1998 (claiming priority under 35 USC §119 to PCT/1B98/00309, filed Mar. 10, 1998), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,184, issued Jul. 4, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/862,993, filed May 27, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,093, issued May 25, 1999.
Foreign Priority	WO20PCTIB9800309 - 03/10/1998 ·

Patent Family

Abstract

For leak testing closed containers (9) which are filled with a filling product containing at least one liquid component the container is introduced in a test cavity (1) which is evacuated at least down to vapour pressure of that liquid component. The pressure in the surrounding of the container (9) and thus within test cavity (1) is monitored. Monitoring is performed by a vacuum pressure sensor (7), whereas lowering pressure surrounding the container (9) is performed by a vacuum pump (5). Leakage is detected by monitoring a pressure change in the surrounding of the container which is due to evaporation of liquid emerging from a leak and being evaporated in the low pressure surrounding.

Independent Claims | See all claims (40)

1. 1. A method for manufacturing closed, unleaky containers comprising: manufacturing closed containers; subjecting at least one of said containers to test conditions and thereby monitoring a signal, which is dependent on leak condition of said container; generating at least one signal derived from said signal monitored; comparing said signal derived with a dynamic threshold value for identifying leak condition of said container; enabling a further signal derived from said signal monitored to be averaged with similar further signals of other containers previously tested as unleaky, if said leak condition identifying of said container now under test reveals an unleaky container; deriving said threshold value from the result of said averaging; identifying said one container as unleaky in dependency of a result of said comparing.
2. 27. A leak testing apparatus for leak testing at least one closed container comprising at least one testing station generating an output signal at an output, which is dependent on leak condition of a container introduced therein, said output of said testing station being operationally connected to an input of an evaluation unit, said evaluation unit comprising at least one comparator unit, one comparator unit input thereof being operationally connected to said input, a second input of said comparator unit being operationally connected to a controllable dynamic threshold value unit, an averaging unit controllably operationally connected to said input of said evaluation unit, said evaluation unit generating a leak-identifying signal, said leak-identifying signal controlling said operational connection between said input of said evaluation unit and said averaging unit, the output of said averaging unit controlling said controllable threshold value unit.