Detecting and reporting the location of a leak in hermetically sealed packaging
US7571636B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 13, 2005 |
| Grant date | Aug 11, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 20, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M3/3272
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An instrument (10) for detecting and reporting the location of a leak in thin-walled hermetically sealed packaging (100) as between a seal leak and a side-wall leak. The instrument (10) includes a needle (20), a vacuum pump (40), and a means for creating at least two different steady-state differential pressure values across the packaging (100), a mass flow rate sensor (50), and at least one pressure sensor (31), a device for generating a perceptible signal (70) and a processor (60). The instrument (10) is operative for sensing the external pressure outside the packaging's (100) retention chamber, sensing the internal pressure within the retention chamber and transmitting an internal pressure signal, sensing the mass flow rate of gas pulled from the retention chamber, calculating flow rates and differential pressures thus indicating leaks.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.