Flexible Container Testing via Wall Tension and Fill Level Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for testing bottles or containers with flexible walls fail to accurately distinguish between excessive filling, high rigidity, insufficient filling, leaks, and insufficient rigidity, leading to incorrect discards.
Innovation Solution
A testing method that applies external force to the container's side walls, using a combination of level control and pressure measurement modules, with a compensation factor based on the fill level, to differentiate between these conditions through calibration and analysis steps, and includes configurations for various container types and materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single pressure threshold value is used to test container resistance, then the testing method is simple to implement, but it cannot distinguish between excessive filling, high rigidity, insufficient filling, leaks, and insufficient rigidity, leading to incorrect discards
Solution Approach 1:
The single pressure threshold test is segmented into multiple measurement phases: initial pressure application, pressure maintenance, and pressure release. During each phase, different parameters are monitored (pressure values, deformation amounts, time durations) to distinguish between various defect types. This segmentation transforms a simple binary pass/fail test into a multi-dimensional diagnostic system.
Solution Approach 2:
The testing method transitions from a single-dimensional pressure threshold check to a multi-dimensional assessment by incorporating time as an additional dimension. The method records pressure values and deformation amounts at multiple time points during pressure application and release phases, creating a temporal profile that enables differentiation between container conditions that would appear identical in a static single-point measurement.
2Productivity
If constant pressure threshold values are used for testing, then the testing process is quick and efficient, but it generates incorrect discards by failing to account for container rigidity variations
Solution Approach 1:
Before applying the pressure test, the system performs preliminary measurements including container volume, surface area, and initial deformation characteristics. These preliminary data are used to calculate container-specific parameters and establish dynamic threshold values tailored to each container type, ensuring that subsequent rapid testing maintains high reliability without sacrificing speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The method dynamically adjusts pressure threshold values and measurement parameters based on container characteristics such as material type, volume, and shape. Instead of using fixed constant thresholds, the system modifies testing parameters in real-time based on measured container properties, enabling both rapid testing and accurate defect identification across diverse container types.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the testing method uses experience-based threshold values, then it can be applied to various container types, but it produces incorrect discards due to inability to distinguish between different causes of threshold exceedance
Solution Approach 1:
The testing system is designed as a universal platform that automatically adapts to different container types through automated parameter calculation. Based on container volume, surface area, and geometric characteristics, the system computes appropriate pressure thresholds, deformation limits, and measurement intervals specific to each container type, eliminating the need for manual experience-based threshold setting while maintaining broad applicability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where measurement results from initial tests inform subsequent testing parameters. When containers are tested, the system analyzes the pressure-deformation-time profiles and uses this feedback to refine threshold values and measurement strategies for subsequent containers of similar types, continuously improving identification accuracy while maintaining versatility across different container designs.
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
The method reduces incorrect discards by accurately distinguishing between excessive filling, high rigidity, leaks, and insufficient filling, ensuring only defective containers are removed, while maintaining precision and repeatability in measurements.
Implementation Method 1
a module (13) for measuring the tension of the walls of the container is arranged in output from the group of belts (12)
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention has as its object a method for testing bottles or containers having flexible walls, made to be inserted in lines for filling bottles made from plastic material or aluminum containers or containers made from polyethylene-coated paperboard, containing any type of liquid. Positioned at the output of the filling system it is able to simultaneously check for the correct fill level, the presence of possible leaks in the sealing system of the container and possible constructive defects in the container. The test is carried out through the combination of two measurement systems, which are the fill level test and the measurement of the tension of the walls of the container. The results obtained from the level and wall tension measurements, suitably interpolated, provide the indicators necessary to establish whether the product being analyzed should be considered suitable or else to be discarded since it is defective.