Leak detection device and method for detecting leaks using the sniffer method

Abstract

An improved leak detection apparatus and method is provided. The leak detection apparatus 10 includes a gas detector and an operative sniffer probe 12 gas-conductively connected to the gas detector. The sniffer probe 12 includes a receiver 18 configured to receive first data on or transmitted from a test object 28, the first data including first information about a characteristic of the test object 28 relevant to leak detection using the gas detector.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a leak detection device and a leak detection method for performing leak detection by a sniffer method. [Background technology]

[0002] In leak detection using the sniffer method, a gas flow is sucked in by a hand-operated sniffer probe and sent to a gas detector for gas analysis. The sniffer probe sucks in gas from outside the test piece, and the presence and size of the leak can be estimated based on the gas analysis.

[0003] When calibrating a leak detector using an independent test leak device as a test specimen, the user must input the test leak parameters of the test leak device, such as the leak rate value and / or the type of test gas, into the gas detector base device in order to be able to carry out the calibration procedure, so that the resulting measurement signal is assigned to the manually entered leak rate. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, peculiarities related to the type of gas can lead to errors, confusion and erroneous inputs during calibration.In addition, when testing objects with unknown leak sizes, which may be of various types, such as in the case of cooling devices (refrigeration units, air conditioners, etc.), knowledge of the properties of the object is often important for evaluating the measurement signal of the gas detector and for obtaining meaningful measurement results from said measurement signal.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS In view of this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved leak detection apparatus and an improved method for leak detection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention is defined in the independent claims. The dependent claims define respective embodiments of the invention.

[0007] In the present invention, a manually or robotically operated sniffer probe is provided with a receiver configured to receive first data including first information about properties of the test object stored in the test object that are important for evaluating the measurement signal of the leak detector, and to take this data into account when detecting gas.

[0008] The first information may be a leak rate of a leak in the test body, or a period of use of the test body, or a temperature of the test body or a test fluid or test gas contained in the test body, or the test fluid or test gas.

[0009] The specimen may be a test leak device with a leak of known size.

[0010] The receiver may be, for example, a wireless receiver, such as an RFID reader, a Bluetooth receiver, an infrared receiver, or an optical reader, such as a barcode scanner, an optical camera, or the like.

[0011] The first data including the first information may be stored on the specimen in an electronic memory provided on the specimen. In this case, the first data is electronic data in which the first information is stored in encoded form. Alternatively or additionally, the first data may be optically encoded data such as a barcode, DataMatrix code, QR code, characters / symbols, etc., carrying the first information in encoded form and attached to the outside of the specimen.

[0012] A second memory may be provided on the detector side, in which second data including corresponding second information for various first information are stored, for example in the form of a table, a matrix, etc. In this regard, various first data or information are assigned corresponding respective second data or information, i.e. from the received first information about the properties of the test object, corresponding second information that is important for the evaluation or interpretation of the measurement signal of the gas detector depending on the received first information can be read out from the second memory.

[0013] For example, the first information may be the type of test fluid or test gas contained in the test body, and in the case of a mass spectrometry gas detector, the second memory stores molecular weights associated with various test fluids or test gases that are important when evaluating the measurement signal to detect leaks.

[0014] Alternatively or additionally, the second information may be information about possible interactions of gases in the test environment, which must be taken into account when evaluating the leak rate measurement. The second information may also be a suitable critical limit assigned to the test gas, indicating an acceptable leak rate that must not be exceeded for the test specimen. If the loaded critical limit is exceeded during the test specimen measurement, a warning indicating a "failed part" may be issued. The second information may also refer to a test leak rate and / or a test leak gas type. For example, optimal operating conditions of a mass spectrometer (mass line width, signal gain factor, etc.) may be determined and assigned to the first information.

[0015] In a leak detection system that optically detects the test gas, for example by spectroscopic measurement of wavelengths absorbed by or emitted from the test gas, the second information may be a wavelength range suitable for detecting the corresponding leak gas that must be evaluated in the leak rate measurement.

[0016] The second data may be electronic data containing the second information in encoded form and stored in an electronic memory of the gas detector, alternatively or additionally, the second data may be optically encoded data such as a bar code, letters / symbols, etc., attached to or within the gas detector containing the second information in encoded form.

[0017] Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The leak detection device 10 of the illustrated exemplary embodiment includes a hand-operated sniffer probe 12. The sniffer probe 12 includes a grip portion 14 and a sniffer probe 16 extending from the grip portion 14. In addition to the sniffer probe 16, the grip portion 14 includes a receiver 18. The receiver 18 faces the same direction as the sniffer tip 16 from the distal end 20 of the handpiece 14. A proximal end 22 opposite the distal end 20 is connected to a general gas detector 26 via a gas-conducting connection line 24. The gas detector 26 may be a partial pressure sensor in a vacuum mode equipped with a vacuum pump (not shown). The vacuum pump generates a vacuum pressure for sucking gas from the outside of the sniffer tip 16. More specifically, the gas detector 26 may be a mass spectrometer.

[0020] The test body 28 is filled with a test gas (not shown). The test body includes a leak (not shown). The test body may be a test leak device having a known test gas, and the leak may be a test leak of known magnitude for calibrating the leak detection device 10. Alternatively, the test body 28 may be a cooling device such as a refrigerator, air conditioner, etc.

[0021] The test body is provided with a memory 30. The memory 30 may be an electronic data memory or optical information, for example in the form of a sticker, an inscription, etc. on the outer surface of the test body 28. The first memory 30 stores first information in coded form about a characteristic of the test body 28. This may be information about the leak rate or the magnitude of a leak in the test body, the age or temperature of the test body or test fluid inside the test body 28, or about a test gas or test fluid in the test body 28. The first information is important for evaluating the measurement signal of the gas detector 26 and for reliably deducing from the measurement signal the presence and the magnitude of a leak.

[0022] For this purpose, when the sniffer probe 12 approaches the test specimen 28, the receiver 18 receives said first data from the first memory 30, for example by being a radio receiver and receiving said data in the form of a radio signal (RFID, Bluetooth, infrared, WIFI, etc.). As a variant, the receiver 18 may be an optical reader, for example equipped with a camera, a barcode scanner, etc. for scanning said data.

[0023] The sniffer probe 14 is brought close to the test object 28. When the distance to the test object 28 becomes less than a predetermined distance, or when the signal amplitude of the data signal containing the first data received by the receiver 18 increases or exceeds a certain signal amplitude, or when an activation button (not shown) of the sniffer probe 12 is activated, data transmission from the first memory 30 to the receiver 18 or reception of the first data by the receiver 18 is started. Then, the received first data is transmitted to an evaluation device 32 of the leak detection device 10. For this purpose, the evaluation device 32 is electronically connected to the receiver 18 by wire or wirelessly.

[0024] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, an evaluation device 32 is provided in the gas detector 26. The evaluation device 32 comprises a second data memory in which second data are stored in the form of a table matrix. In this regard, second information is stored which is respectively associated with various first information which is important for evaluating the measurement signal of the gas detector 26 in order to detect a leak in the test object 28.

[0025] The sniffer tip 16 draws gas from the outside of the test body 28 and feeds it to the gas detector 26, which analyzes the drawn gas taking into account the first information received and / or the second information. For example, if the first information is the leak rate of a test leak in the test body 28, the evaluation device 32 can calibrate the leak detector 26 by assigning the received leak rate to a measurement signal. The first information can also be the type of test gas used in the test body 28, and if the gas detector 26 is a mass spectrometer, for example, the second information indicates the respective molecular weight. If the first information indicates the type of test fluid present in the test body, such as a specific refrigerant of a cooling device, the evaluation device 32 can assign a predefined threshold value as the second information associated with the first information. If the measurement signal of the gas detector 26 exceeds the threshold value for each type of gas, it is determined that a gas leak has been detected, and the user is notified.

Claims

1. A gas detector; a sniffer probe (12) connected to the gas detector so as to be capable of conducting gas therethrough; A leak detection device (10) comprising: The leak detection device (10), characterized in that the sniffer probe (12) is provided with a receiver (18) configured to receive first data provided on or transmitted from a test object (28), the first data including first information about a characteristic of the test object (28) related to leak detection using the gas detector.

2. 2. The leak detection device (10) of claim 1, characterized in that the receiver (18) is a radio receiver or an optical receiver (18).

3. 3. The leak detection device (10) of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first data is stored as electronic data in a first digital memory (30) of the test body (28) or is attached to the test body (28) as optically readable coded data, for example data in the form of a bar code, a DataMatrix code, a QR code, etc.

4. The leak detection device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the characteristic is a leak rate or magnitude of the leak to be detected, a test fluid contained in the test body (28), a period of use or temperature of the test body (28), or a period of use or temperature of the test fluid contained in the test body (28).

5. The leak detection device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the test body (28) is a test leak device for calibrating the leak detector, the test leak device having a test leak of known magnitude.

6. The leak detection device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the test object (28) is a cooling device, for example a refrigerator, an air conditioner, or the like.

7. The leak detection device (10) of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a second memory (32) for storing corresponding second information in addition to various items of first information stored in the test piece (28) and received by the receiver (18), and the gas detector selects at least one corresponding second information from the second information in response to the transmitted first information of the test piece (28) for detecting gas by referring to the transmitted first information.

8. 8. The leak detection device (10) of claim 1, wherein the gas detector is a mass spectrometer, the first information is a test fluid, the second information is a respective molecular weight of each test fluid, and the memory (32) of the gas detector stores, for each test fluid, a respective molecular weight of the object of evaluation of the gas detector.

9. 8. The leak detection device (10) of claim 7, wherein the gas detector is an optical spectroscopic gas detector, the first information is a test fluid, the second information is a respective wavelength range for each test fluid, and the memory (32) of the gas detector stores, for each test fluid, a respective wavelength range evaluated by the gas detector.

10. The leak detection device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: an evaluation device (32) configured to retrieve the first data from the first memory (30) when the distance between the sniffer probe (12) and the test object (28) becomes less than a predetermined distance, or when the signal amplitude of the signal received by the receiver (18) increases or exceeds a certain signal amplitude, or when an activation button of the sniffer probe (12) is activated; A leak detection device (10) comprising:

11. A combination of a leak detection device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and a test body (28) having a memory (10) for storing said first information.

12. A method of leak detection using a leak detection device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and a test object (28) to be inspected, the test object (28) being provided with a first memory (30), the first memory (30) storing first data including first information about a characteristic of the test object (28), the method comprising: bringing the sniffer probe (12) into proximity with the specimen (28); Suck gas from outside the test specimen (28) with the sniffer probe (12); receiving the first data from the first memory (30) of the test subject (28) with the receiver (18) of the sniffer probe (12); analyzing the inhaled gas in the gas detector (26) taking into account the first information from the first data received; A method comprising:

13. 13. The method of claim 12, characterized in that a measurement value determined from a measurement signal of the gas detector (26) is compared with the received first information to calibrate the leak detector.

14. 14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that in response to the received first information, second data including corresponding second information are read out from a second memory (32) of the gas detector (26) and a measurement signal of the gas detector (26) is evaluated in response to the read out second information.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the receiver (18) receives the first data from the first memory (30) and transmits the data to an evaluation device (32) of the leak detection device (10) when the distance to the test object (28) becomes less than a predetermined distance, when the signal amplitude of the data signal containing the first data received by the receiver (18) increases or exceeds a certain signal amplitude, or when an activation button of the sniffer probe (12) is activated.

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