Patents Assigned to Inficon GmbH
  • Patent number: 11754525
    Abstract: The disclosure provides a gas detector with an ionizing device for producing ions depending on a gas to be detected. The gas detector includes a catcher for receiving the electrical current produced by the ions, and a measuring device with an electrical measuring resistor. The electrical measuring resistor produces an electrical measuring potential from the current and is surrounded, at least in part, by an electrical shield resistor, denoted by RT. The same potentials, up to a deviation of at most 25%, are applied in the longitudinal direction of the electrical measuring resistor to mutually opposed regions of the electrical measuring resistor and the electrical shield resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20230204552
    Abstract: In a method for the detection of gas using a gas-selective membrane, a temperature device that is designed to change the temperature of the membrane, and a detector that is designed to acquire a measurement signal on the basis of the amount of gas passing through the membrane, provision is made for the following steps: changing the temperature of the membrane using the temperature device, acquiring at least one first measuring value (Hn, Hn+1, Hn+2) using the detector at a time at which the membrane temperature adopts a first temperature value, acquiring at least one second measuring value (Ln, Ln+1) using the detector at a time at which the membrane temperature adopts a second temperature value different from the first temperature value, calculating the difference between the two measuring values, and using the difference to assess whether a gas to be detected is present.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Applicant: INFICON GMBH
    Inventor: Silvio DECKER
  • Patent number: 11630024
    Abstract: A method for testing a test specimen for the presence of a leak using a film chamber for accommodating the test specimen, wherein the film chamber comprises walls enclosing a film chamber volume, which walls include at least one flexible wall area, comprising the steps of: placing the test specimen into the film chamber, and closing the film chamber, characterized in that complete closing of the film chamber is determined on the basis of the signal of a position measuring device which detects the relative position of the film chamber walls with respect to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 11441969
    Abstract: A method for determining the relative orientation of a gas leak relative to a sniffer leak detector includes a handpiece with a sniffer probe and a test gas inlet, a reference gas inlet disposed at the handpiece remote from the test gas inlet, a gas analyzer, and a switching valve. The switching valve is configured to alternately connect the test gas inlet and the reference gas inlet with the gas analyzer. Either gas is analyzed by the gas analyzer. Steps include supplying gas sucked in through the test gas inlet to the gas analyzer, determining the test gas concentration, switching the switching valve, supplying gas sucked in through the reference gas inlet to the gas analyzer, analyzing the test gas concentration, forming a differential signal, changing the spatial orientation of the handpiece, repeating the first through sixth steps, and determining whether the differential signal has changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Marcel Ruth, Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 11320337
    Abstract: Method for testing a test piece for the presence of a leak using a foil chamber, wherein the foil chamber has walls having at least one flexible wall region to which a measurement volume adjoins and is arranged on that side of the flexible wall region opposite the foil chamber volume and is hermetically separated from the foil chamber volume, having the following steps: placing the test piece in the foil chamber, closing the foil chamber, evacuating the foil chamber and monitoring the measurement volume during evacuation of the foil chamber, using the result of the monitoring to reach a conclusion regarding the magnitude of a leak, characterized in that a venting valve connecting the measurement volume to the atmosphere is closed when the pressure in the measurement volume is below a predefined threshold value, and is opened as soon as the pressure exceeds the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Norbert Rolff, Silvio Decker
  • Patent number: 11262296
    Abstract: Disclosed is a connecting device for connecting a gas sensor to a gas leak detector. The gas sensor includes an elongate sensor housing. The gas leak detector includes at least one gas connector adapted to be connected to the gas sensor. A guide rail connects to the gas leak detector, engaging with the sensor housing such that the gas connectors engage with at least one complementary second gas connector. A fastening claw includes two elastic spring legs arranged at one of the sensor housing and the gas leak detector. Each of the two spring legs includes a latching boss engaging the frontal end of the gas sensor opposite the second gas connector and a spreading element having two retaining arms. Each retaining arm includes a pulling edge, an inclined insertion portion along which the latching boss grips and pivots the spring leg, and an inclined disengagement portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Sebastian Weiss
  • Patent number: 11199468
    Abstract: A method for performing a leak-tightness test on a test object (16) in a foil chamber (10) which has at least one flexible wall region (12, 14), having the steps: using a gas or gas constituent contained in the test object as test gas for the leak-tightness test, introducing the test object into the foil chamber, evacuating the foil chamber to a pressure lower than the test gas pressure within the test object and than atmospheric pressure, introducing a carrier gas into the foil chamber into the region outside the test object, and measuring the test gas concentration of the gas mixture that forms in the foil chamber in the region outside the test object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Inficon GmbH
    Inventors: Daniel Wetzig, Silvio Decker
  • Patent number: 11199467
    Abstract: A method for distinguishing a test gas escaping from a leak in a test object (21) from an interfering gas in the environment of the test object (21) during sniffing leak detection, having the steps: suctioning gas from the environment of the test object (21) in the region of the outer surface of the test object by means of a sniffing tip, which has a suction opening (14), which is connected, for gas conduction, to a sensor (18), which is designed to determine the test gas partial pressure of the test gas in the suctioned gas flow; varying, with periodic repetition, the flow intensity of the suctioned gas flow; setting a total pressure of the suctioned gas at the sensor (18) of at least 80 percent of the total pressure of the gas in the atmosphere (23) surrounding the test object (21); avoiding fluctuations of the total pressure of the suctioned gas at the sensor (18) of more than 10 percent; measuring the test gas partial pressure of test gas contained in the suctioned gas flow by means of the sensor (18); in
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 11143571
    Abstract: The invention relates to a film chamber 10 which has a film chamber wall for testing the sealing tightness of a gas-filled test specimen 38, which film chamber wall defines a chamber volume 32 for holding the test specimen 38 and has a first vacuum connection 28 for evacuating the chamber volume 32 by means of a first vacuum pump 30 connected to the first vacuum connection 28, wherein at least a portion of the film chamber wall has a flexible film 12, 14, characterized in that the film 12, 14 has two layers 20, 22 arranged adjacent to each other which surround an evacuable film interspace 26.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 11022515
    Abstract: A sniffer leak detector is provided herein, including a sniffer probe and a vacuum pump which are connected to each other by a gas flow path, a gas analyzer arranged along the gas flow path and analyzes the gas taken in by the vacuum pump through the sniffer probe. The sniffer leak detector further includes a distance sensor that detects the distance between the sniffer probe and the test object, and a control is linked to the distance sensor. The control is designed to vary the carrier gas flow transported along the gas flow path, depending on the measured distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Silvio Decker
  • Patent number: 11009030
    Abstract: Disclosed is a mass-spectrometry leak detector including a multi-stage turbomolecular pump, a mass spectrometer connected to the suction side of the turbomolecular pump, a preliminary vacuum pump connected to the pressure side of the turbomolecular pump, and a booster pump stage. The suction side of the booster pump stage has a connection for a test object and the pressure side is connected to the pressure side of the turbomolecular pump and to the suction side of the preliminary vacuum pump by means of a gas line path. The stages of the turbomolecular pump and the booster pump stage are arranged on a common shaft and have a common drive and the gas line path is interrupted, by means of a separation, between the pressure side of the booster pump stage and the suction side of the pump stage of the turbomolecular pump connected to the mass spectrometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Werner Grosse Bley, Thomas Böhm, Hjalmar Bruhns
  • Patent number: 10935453
    Abstract: A method for detecting a leak in a test object, including inserting the test object into a test chamber; filling the test object with a test gas; and adjusting a pressure in the test chamber and a pressure in the test object such that the test chamber pressure is lower than the test object pressure. The test chamber contains air and the test object is filled exclusively with a gas containing no molecules with oxygen atoms. In order to detect a leak in the test object, an oxygen proportion of the air in the test chamber is measured with an oxygen sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventor: Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 10900862
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the gross leak measurement of an at least partially incompressible test object (18) in a film chamber (12) that comprises at least one flexible wall region and is connected, in a gas-conducting manner, to a pressure sensor (30), a vacuum pump (26) and, by way of a calibration valve (34), to a calibration chamber (36) enclosing a calibration volume (37), comprising the steps of evacuating the film chamber (12), measuring the pressure curve within the film chamber (12) after the evacuation is completed, connecting, in a gas-conducting manner, the calibration volume (37) to the inner volume of the film chamber (12) during the measurement of the pressure curve, the pressure being measured before the gas-conducting connection is established, and with the gas-conducting connection established, to the film chamber (12), and the pressure in the calibration chamber (36) prior to the connection to the film chamber (12) being higher or lower than the pressure in the film chamber (12
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 10852212
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for leakage detection on at least one flexible test piece in a film chamber, including inserting the at least one test piece into a film chamber, lowering the pressure in the film chamber outside the at least one test piece, and detecting a leakage in the at least one test piece by observing the spatial change of the film of the film chamber. The outer contour of the at least one test piece is transferred to at least one section of the film by the lowering of the pressure in the film chamber. The contour of the film is recorded with an image recording system, and the recorded images of the contour are compared with reference images of said contour in the event of a tight test piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Daniel Wetzig, Silvio Decker, Jochen Puchalla-König
  • Patent number: 10845266
    Abstract: A method for leak detection of a test specimen includes providing an evacuable film test chamber which is operatively coupled to a pressure measuring device, and at least one processor operatively coupled to the pressure measuring device; measuring a pressure within the evacuable film test chamber by the pressure measuring device at predetermined times during a measurement period of time; calculating by the processor, a first or higher order derivative of a pressure change with respect to time at a first predetermined time, and a first or higher order derivative of a pressure change with respect to time at least at a second predetermined time during the measurement period of time, to provide at least a pair of derivative values; and categorizing by the processor a leaky or tight state of the specimen under test by a pattern recognition process based on the pair of derivative values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Inficon GMBH
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Daniel Wetzig, Hjalmar Bruhns, Stefan Mebus
  • Patent number: 10844877
    Abstract: A device for evacuating a film chamber using a pump system that comprises at least two vacuum pumps, designed to evacuate the film chamber alternately. A suction capacity of the first vacuum pump is greater than that of the second vacuum pump and the final pressure achievable by the first vacuum pump is less than that of the second vacuum pump.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Michael Dauenhauer, Daniel Wetzig, Hjalmar Bruhns
  • Patent number: 10837857
    Abstract: The invention relates to a gas leakage search device including a test gas spray device for spraying a test object with a test gas, a vacuum assembly for evacuating the test object, wherein the vacuum assembly has a vacuum pump and a gas detector downstream of the test object for measuring the test gas proportion, and an analysis unit which evaluates the measurement signal of the gas detector. The invention is characterized in that a data communication connection is established between the spray device and the analysis unit; the spray device is designed to detect at least one point in time of the spraying process and to transmit same to the analysis unit, and the analysis unit is designed to output the corresponding measured test gas proportion at the transmitted point in time of the spraying process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Hjalmar Bruhns, Ernst Franke, Ralf Kilian, Jörn Liebich, Norbert Moser, Jochen Puchalla-König, Norbert Rolff, Randolf Rolff, Daniel Wetzig
  • Patent number: 10732067
    Abstract: A method for detecting fluctuations in the amount of test gas detected by a sniffer probe of a leak detector in the gas flow from around a test piece pressurized with an oxygen-free test gas containing at least an amount of CO2, wherein an amount of oxygen in the ambient air is measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Daniel Wetzig, Ludolf Gerdau
  • Patent number: D907650
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Inficon GMBH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Joensson, Lutz Gebhardt
  • Patent number: D907651
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Inficon GMBH
    Inventors: Wolfgang Joensson, Lutz Gebhardt