Permeable Pressing Member for Optical Breach Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing leak detection systems for sealed food containers, particularly those using laser technology, fail to fully utilize the high sensitivity of optical techniques, leading to undetectable breaches smaller than 1.0 mm and are inefficient in integration with faster packaging systems.
Innovation Solution
A leak detection system utilizing a permeable pressing member that applies pressure to the container, allowing gas to pass through and be detected by an optical sensor positioned behind or within the pressing member, improving sensitivity and reliability by positioning the testing path closer to the contact point with the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical testing is used to detect breaches, then the system can identify container breaches, but the testing speed is very slow and limits maximum production speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical testing systems with optical sensing technology. Optical sensors detect gas composition changes (such as carbon dioxide levels) that indicate container breaches, eliminating the need for slow mechanical squeezing operations while maintaining reliable breach detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes gas pressure differential changes within the container as a detection mechanism. When a breach occurs, gas escapes and creates detectable changes in the pneumatic environment, which optical sensors can detect without requiring mechanical contact or squeezing of the container.
2Reliability
If mechanical testing is used to detect breaches, then breaches can be identified, but breaches of 1.0 mm or less are often undetectable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical detection methods with optical sensing that measures gas composition changes. This optical approach is significantly more sensitive to small breaches than mechanical methods, capable of detecting breaches as small as 1.0 mm or less by measuring subtle changes in gas pressure and composition that occur even with minor openings.
3Measurement precision
If laser technology is integrated into in-line systems, then breach detection sensitivity is improved, but the system complexity increases and integration with packaging systems becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the optical sensing system to serve multiple functions within the packaging line. The same optical sensors used for breach detection can also monitor gas composition for quality control purposes, and the system can be integrated with existing conveyor and packaging machinery without requiring separate dedicated systems, thereby reducing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical sensing system is designed to operate autonomously within the packaging line, using the existing mechanical motion of containers passing through the detection zone. The system self-regulates by monitoring gas composition changes automatically without requiring external mechanical testing equipment or complex integration mechanisms, simplifying its incorporation into packaging systems.
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
Enhances the precision and reliability of breach detection by allowing for the detection of smaller breaches and reducing the need for system halts, thereby improving throughput and fault diagnosis in the sealing machinery.
Implementation Method 1
Such laser technology is based on a principle called tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), which measures the concentration of species in gaseous mixtures using tunable diode lasers and laser absorption spectrometry.
Implementation Method 2
a first optical sensor configured to transmit a light signal across a first testing path
Implementation Method 3
a permeable pressing member configured to, in use, apply pressure to the sealed food container
Implementation Method 4
Such a permeable pressing member allows gas to pass through the pressing surface of the pressing member
Data Source
AI summary
A leak detection system for detecting breaches in sealed food containers is disclosed. The leak detection system comprises a first optical sensor configured to transmit a light signal across a first testing path, said first optical sensor being sensitive to gas composition variations. A permeable pressing member is configured to, in use, apply pressure to the sealed food container. The first optical sensor is arranged such that at least a portion of the first testing path along which the light signal is transmitted is located behind or within the permeable pressing member.