Process and apparatus for testing bottles for the presence of contamination

US5520060A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Elpatronic AG · CH

Inventors

• Peter Gysi · Bellikon, CH
• Theo Huesser · Rudolfstetten, CH
• Martin Mueller · Heubach, DE
• Peter Robertson · Oberwil, CH
• Felix van der Schaar · Seuzach, CH
• Melchior Zumbach · Lenzburg, CH

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 7, 1993
• Grant date: May 28, 1996
• Expiry date: Jul 7, 2013

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2035/0437
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

To detect contamination in used PET returnable bottles, they are fed to a first testing station which takes a gas sample from each bottle. This first testing station tests for the presence of heavy contamination. Heavily contaminated bottles are identified as dirty. The bottles are then fed to a second testing station which takes gas samples from the clean bottles and tests them for contamination with a lower detection threshold. Bottles detected here as contaminated are removed, as are the bottles which fail the first test. The two-stage process allows testing with greater sensitivity while maintaining a high bottle throughput.