Apparatus and an associated method for leak and volume inspection of containers
First Claim
1. Apparatus for testing containers comprisingvolume standard means for comparison with the container being tested and being of generally the same interior volume as the container being tested,pump means for applying a pressure pulse to the interior of the container being tested and said volume standard means,first conduit means for connecting said pump means with said test container,second conduit means for connecting said pump means with said volume standard means,acoustic impedance means for facilitating obtaining a pressure differential between said volume standard means and said container being tested interposed between said pump means and said test container and between said pump means and said volume standard means,differential pressure measuring means operatively associated with said test container and said volume standard means for monitoring the pressure differential between said test container and said volume standard means and emitting a signal corresponding to said pressure differential, andelectronic processing means for receiving said signals from said differential pressure measuring means and determining if said test container leaks.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides apparatus and an associated method for testing containers for volume and leaks by employing a pump which provides rapid pressurized pulses simultaneously to a container being tested and a standard volume which may be a container. Acoustic impedance materials are interposed between the pump and the two containers to isolate the containers from each other. A differential pressure monitor is interposed between the two containers to provide output to electronic processing apparatus which may serve to either determine (a) solely if a leak exists or (b) in the alternative if no leak exists to determine whether the desired volume is present within the container.
45 Citations
44 Claims
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1. Apparatus for testing containers comprising
volume standard means for comparison with the container being tested and being of generally the same interior volume as the container being tested, pump means for applying a pressure pulse to the interior of the container being tested and said volume standard means, first conduit means for connecting said pump means with said test container, second conduit means for connecting said pump means with said volume standard means, acoustic impedance means for facilitating obtaining a pressure differential between said volume standard means and said container being tested interposed between said pump means and said test container and between said pump means and said volume standard means, differential pressure measuring means operatively associated with said test container and said volume standard means for monitoring the pressure differential between said test container and said volume standard means and emitting a signal corresponding to said pressure differential, and electronic processing means for receiving said signals from said differential pressure measuring means and determining if said test container leaks.
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29. A method of inspecting containers comprising
providing a pump in communication with both a container to be tested and a standard container through conduit means which contain acoustical impedance means, providing a pressure pulse to both said containers, monitoring the pressure differential between two locations one of which is disposed between said standard container and said acoustical impedance means and the other of which is disposed between said test container and said acoustical impedance means, and employing said pressure differential information to determine whether said container has a leak.
Specification