The present invention generally relates to an accessory for making and coupling a flow path between a package and a leakage tester or a gas tester, or a tester that performs both leakage test and gas detection test.
Packaging material such as polymer or polymer derivatives has been widely used for packaging in many industries. These materials are manufactured in any size and shape and accordingly are advantageous to package manufacturing. Each package contains a commodity/content that has to be protected by excluding or sealing out the ambient environment about the package, or by maintaining the contents in a desired ambient within the package. The shelf-life of the commodity primarily depends on the integrity of the sealed package.
The final sealing step during the packaging process is achieved by fusing similar materials, which are used on both the lid and container. This creates a very safe seal which is nearly impossible to break. However, this creates problems for the consumer since there is great difficulty in opening such packages. In order to avoid marketing problems, seals have been made, which are easier to open but have a greater chance of being unsealed. Problems in the defective seals may be due to wrinkles in the packaging, improper temperatures, contamination of the seal with extraneous material, absence of adhesive and variability of the sealant thickness. Further, packaging made of light and flexible material are less resistant to puncturing, slicing and other problems than conventional metallic or glass material.
Conventionally, a number of detecting devices have been made to check the integrity of the package and reject the improperly sealed packages. One method involves pressurizing the package with gas other than air and then examined for escaping gas with a gas leak detector.
Another method involves creating a closed space around the test package, creating a surrogate chamber, and pressurizing (or evacuating) the closed space. Air entering the package through a leak (or in the case of a vacuum test, leaving the package through the leak) provides the measurement of leakage. Yet another method involves utilizing a hollow needle to pierce the package through a septum and checked for leakage of gas or air.
Yet another method involves inserting a hypodermic needle into the package and inflating it with air. The needle is then withdrawn and the tester places his finger over the needle hole and places the package into a container filled with fluid and escaping bubbles are observed.
Although many package testing procedures exist, many of these tests involve destructive methods that are not adaptable to in-line testing. Therefore, test packaging or off-line samples are utilized for the testing, making it difficult to ensure the in-line packages are reliable and/or requiring a reduced yield in order to provide sufficient samples for off-line testing. In addition, the current non-destructive tests are time consuming, also resulting in reduced yield or fewer packages being tested on-line.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved accessory for use with a leakage tester, a gas tester or a tester that performs both leakage test and gas detection test that overcomes the one or more above discussed drawbacks.
The present invention discloses an accessory for making and coupling a flow path between a package and a leakage tester or a gas tester, or a tester that performs both leakage test and gas detection test.
According to the present invention, the accessory comprises a hollow member, a conduit member, a piercing member, a driving member, a bellow member and a dome member. The conduit member is in fluid communication with the hollow member. The piercing member is disposed within the hollow member. The piercing member is configured to move vertically between a retracted position and an operative position. The driving member is coupled to the piercing member. The driving member is configured to move the piercing member between the retracted position and the operative position. The bellow member is disposed at a distal end of the hollow member. The dome member extends from a distal portion of the hollow member and surrounds at least a portion of length of the bellow member.
The accessory further comprises a laser assembly to identify a suitable piercing area on the package to make or form the hole. The laser assembly includes a pair of laser beam emitter. Each emitter is disposed at opposing sides of the dome member configured to emit laser beam. Further, a holder member is provided to move the accessory. The accessory further comprises one or more internal laser sensors to measure the height of the package to provide information for calculating the piercing depth.
The user places the package above a flat area of a package holder. The location for placement of the package is identified by emitting the laser beam. The user brings the accessory close to the package using the holder member until the dome member touches the package and the bellow member is retracted. The bellow member forms a tight seal around the piercing area. A differential pressure sensor in communication with a microcontroller measures the rise in pressure due to the retraction of the bellow member and signals the microprocessor. The microprocessor is configured to activate the drive member to move the piercing member between the rest position and the operating position.
The piercing member makes the tiny hole and retracts to the retracted position. The bellow member surrounding the hole creates an isolated area between the hole of the package and the flow path connecting the conduit member and tester. The accessory is configured to send a wireless signal to the tester to perform the test. In one embodiment, the tester is the gas tester. In another embodiment, the tester is the leakage tester. In yet another embodiment, the tester could perform both leakage test and gas detection test/gas test.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
A description of embodiments of the present invention will now be given with reference to the figures. It is expected that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment, the dome member 114 is an inverted cup configured to stretch the packaging film on contacting the package. Referring to
Referring to
On activation of the drive member, the piercing member 108 makes the tiny hole and retracts the piercing member 108 to the retracted position. The bellow member 112 surrounding the hole creates an isolated area between the package and the flow path connecting the conduit member 106 and tester. The accessory 100 is configured to send a wireless signal to a receiver in communication with tester to perform the test. The receiver is configured to convert the signal into a form readable by the tester, i.e., a relay that is wired to the tester input, to start and perform the test. In one embodiment, the tester is the gas tester. In another embodiment, the tester is the leakage tester. In yet another embodiment, the tester is the combined tester.
On completion of the test, the user rises the accessory 100 using the holder member 120 and removes the package. Referring to
On activation of the drive member, the piercing member 108 makes the tiny hole and retracts the piercing member 108 to the retracted position. The bellow member 112 surrounding the hole creates an isolated area between the package and the flow path connecting the conduit member 106 and tester. The accessory 100 is configured to send a wireless signal to the tester to perform the test. In one embodiment, the tester is the gas tester. In another embodiment, the tester is the leakage tester. In yet another embodiment, the tester is the combined tester. On completion of the test, the package is removed.
In one embodiment, the accessory 100, optionally, comprises the laser sensors. The accessory 100 could be incorporated with a software module, which contains instructions to pierce the package at a fixed value. In one embodiment, the driving member 110 could utilize the data from at least one of software module or laser sensors for actuating the piercing member 108.
Advantageously, the present invention provides the accessory 100 to pierce and to isolate the punched hole in a packaging's film for the purpose of connecting the inside of the packaging to a gas or leak tester for the purpose of measuring the leakage or the gas concentration present in the packaging without a needle nor a septum. The accessory 100 could be connected to any type of gas tester or leak tester, or combined tester.
The foregoing description comprise illustrative embodiments of the present invention. Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only, and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. Merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used only in generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein. While the above is a complete description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above description and the examples should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/TH2020/000008 | 2/5/2020 | WO |