Contactless Sampling Head for Container Contamination Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for examining containers for foreign substances are inefficient, often leading to false positives due to physical damage and high costs, and fail to detect certain contaminants like garlic and trichloroanisole effectively.
Innovation Solution
A device and method utilizing a contactless sampling head with UV spectroscopy to analyze fluid samples from containers, introducing a neutral fluid to prevent contamination and allow for high-speed, cost-effective detection of foreign substances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sampling head is placed on the bottle and compressed air is blown in, then foreign substances can be detected, but physical damage in the bottle opening causes external air to enter and falsify measurement results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a neutral gas as an intermediary substance that fills the bottle before sampling. This mediator prevents external air from entering through physical damage during the sampling process, while the neutral gas itself does not interfere with the detection of foreign substances. The sampling head then extracts gas through this neutral medium, ensuring measurement reliability even when bottle openings are damaged.
2Measurement precision
If photoionization detector PID is used to ionize gas in the container, then foreign substances can be detected, but so-called good bottles are also ionized leading to false positives and economic losses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs UV spectroscopy with specific wavelength selection to achieve local quality in detection. Instead of using broad-spectrum ionization that affects all gases, the system uses targeted UV wavelengths that interact specifically with foreign substance molecules. This selective interaction allows differentiation between headspace gases and actual contaminants, reducing false positives while maintaining detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from ionization current (PID method) to UV absorption characteristics. By measuring the absorption of UV light at specific wavelengths, the system can identify foreign substances based on their unique spectral fingerprints rather than their ionization behavior. This parameter change eliminates the false positive problem inherent in ionization-based methods.
3Measurement precision
If quadrupole mass spectrometers are used to analyze gas samples, then foreign substances can be separated and analyzed, but the system requires high vacuum conditions reducing sensitivity and increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical vacuum system of mass spectrometry with a simpler optical measurement system. Instead of using electromagnetic fields and vacuum chambers to separate and analyze molecules, the system uses UV light absorption spectroscopy. This substitution eliminates the need for high vacuum conditions while maintaining the ability to identify and quantify foreign substances through their characteristic spectral absorption patterns.
4Measurement precision
If a large volume sampling head is used for detection, then foreign substances can be detected, but the sampling head can only be moved at low speed reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential function of gas sampling from the bulky sampling head structure. By using a simplified sampling approach where neutral gas is introduced and then a small sample is extracted for UV analysis, the system eliminates the need for large-volume sampling heads. This extraction of the core sampling function enables faster positioning and sampling speeds while maintaining detection sensitivity through the selective UV spectroscopy method.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and precise detection of foreign substances with high sensitivity, allowing for up to 40,000-50,000 bottles to be tested per hour while avoiding economic losses from false rejections and reducing manufacturing effort and costs.
Implementation Method 1
an analysis device which is connected to the removal device and which is designed to check the fluid sample taken from the at least one container by means of the removal device for foreign substances at least by means of UV spectroscopy analyze
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for examining containers for foreign substances, comprising an introduction device for introducing a neutral fluid into the container, a sampling device for taking a fluid sample from at least one container, wherein the sampling device has a sampling head, wherein the sampling head can be brought contactlessly to a defined sampling distance from an opening of the at least one container, and an analysis device connected to the sampling device, which is configured to analyze the fluid sample taken from the at least one container by means of the sampling device for foreign substances, at least by means of UV spectroscopy.