Patents by Inventor Norbert Rolff

Norbert Rolff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • 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
  • 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
  • Publication number: 20220136997
    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: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: May 5, 2022
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • 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
  • Publication number: 20210048367
    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: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2019
    Publication date: February 18, 2021
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • 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
  • Publication number: 20200378862
    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: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2018
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Norbert Rolff, Silvio Decker
  • 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: 10309862
    Abstract: A film chamber for receiving a test object which is to be tested with respect to the presence of a leak, wherein the film chamber has walls enclosing a film chamber volume, said walls having at least one flexible wall region, wherein a measuring volume adjoining the flexible wall region is arranged on the side of the flexible wall region which is situated opposite the film chamber volume and is hermetically separated from the film chamber volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignee: INFICON GmbH
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20190120715
    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: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2017
    Publication date: April 25, 2019
    Inventors: Hjalmar Bruhns, Ernst Franke, Ralf Kilian, Jörn Liebich, Norbert Moser, Jochen Puchalla-König, Norbert Rolff, Randolf Rolff, Daniel Wetzig
  • Publication number: 20180372579
    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: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 9810597
    Abstract: A sniffer leak detector includes a mass spectrometer for analyzing hydrogen or helium, a turbomolecular pump which is connected with said mass spectrometer and whose outlet is connected with a prevacuum pump, and a sniffer probe which includes a plurality of intake lines and is connected with said inlet of said turbomolecular pump, wherein a vacuum pump includes at least three stages whose inlet stage defines said prevacuum pump and is connected with said outlet of said turbomolecular pump via a blocked throttle, wherein, between adjacent stages of said vacuum pump, an intermediate inlet each is provided, wherein each intermediate inlet is connected with a different intake line of said sniffer probe and at least one of the intake lines as a suction line is connected with said inlet of said turbomolecular pump for obtaining different gas flows.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: Inficon GmbH
    Inventors: Heike Hilgers, Hjalmar Bruhns, Daniel Wetzig, Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20170254720
    Abstract: A film chamber for receiving a test object which is to be tested with respect to the presence of a leak, wherein the film chamber has walls enclosing a film chamber volume, said walls having at least one flexible wall region, wherein a measuring volume adjoining the flexible wall region is arranged on the side of the flexible wall region which is situated opposite the film chamber volume and is hermetically separated from the film chamber volume.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2015
    Publication date: September 7, 2017
    Inventors: Silvio Decker, Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 9530634
    Abstract: A simplified device for voltage supply of the cathode of a mass spectrometer comprises a push-pull transformer, wherein, apart from the normal rectifier diodes (7, 9), a controlled rectifier (8, 10) is provided. The gate of the first transistor (8) is connected to the second output (30), and the gate of the second transistor (10) is connected to the first output (32) of the transformer. A voltage supply device, consisting of at least one voltage multiplier, is connected via capacitors (13, 14, 15) to the output of the transformer and feeds, amongst others, the emission current measurement device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Inficon GmbH
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20160223424
    Abstract: A sniffer leak detector includes a mass spectrometer for analyzing hydrogen or helium, a turbomolecular pump which is connected with said mass spectrometer and whose outlet is connected with a prevacuum pump, and a sniffer probe which includes a plurality of intake lines and is connected with said inlet of said turbomolecular pump, wherein a vacuum pump includes at least three stages whose inlet stage defines said prevacuum pump and is connected with said outlet of said turbomolecular pump via a blocked throttle, wherein, between adjacent stages of said vacuum pump, an intermediate inlet each is provided, wherein each intermediate inlet is connected with a different intake line of said sniffer probe and at least one of the intake lines as a suction line is connected with said inlet of said turbomolecular pump for obtaining different gas flows.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2014
    Publication date: August 4, 2016
    Inventors: Heike Hilgers, Hjalmar Bruhns, Daniel Wetzig, Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 9147561
    Abstract: A fast method for determining molecular mass using mass spectrometry has the following steps: specifying a first adjusting value (M1) of the mass spectrometer, recording the associated signal amplitude (A1), specifying a second adjusting value (M2) which is different to the first, measuring the associated second signal amplitude (A2), specifying a third adjusting value (M3) which is different to the first (M1) and the second (M2) adjusting value, measuring the associated third signal amplitude (A3), determining a quadratic function containing the measured amplitude values as y-values and the specified adjusting values as x-values, determining the maximum of the quadratic function, wherein the searched adjusting value is determined from the x-value of the maximum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Inficon GMBH
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20150028743
    Abstract: A simplified device for voltage supply of the cathode of a mass spectrometer comprises a push-pull transformer, wherein, apart from the normal rectifier diodes (7, 9), a controlled rectifier (8, 10) is provided. The gate of the first transistor (8) is connected to the second output (30), and the gate of the second transistor (10) is connected to the first output (32) of the transformer. A voltage supply device, consisting of at least one voltage multiplier, is connected via capacitors (13, 14, 15) to the output of the transformer and feeds, amongst others, the emission current measurement device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Publication number: 20150014523
    Abstract: A fast method for determining molecular mass using mass spectrometry has the following steps: specifying a first adjusting value (M1) of the mass spectrometer, recording the associated signal amplitude (A1), specifying a second adjusting value (M2) which is different to the first, measuring the associated second signal amplitude (A2), specifying a third adjusting value (M3) which is different to the first (M1) and the second (M2) adjusting value, measuring the associated third signal amplitude (A3), determining a quadratic function containing the measured amplitude values as y-values and the specified adjusting values as x-values, determining the maximum of the quadratic function, wherein the searched adjusting value is determined from the x-value of the maximum.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: Inficon GmbH
    Inventor: Norbert Rolff
  • Patent number: 8893543
    Abstract: A leak detection method using a specimen filled with a test gas positioned in front of a suction opening. Air is suctioned along the entire surface of the specimen and takes up test gas in the case of a leak. The test gas is recognized by a test gas detector. According to the invention, full mobility of the specimen is ensured during the testing process so that the leak detection method can be carried out while the specimens are moving past the suction opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Inficon GmbH
    Inventors: Martin Bohn, Norbert Rolff, Jochen Puchalla, Michael Dauenhauer
  • Patent number: 8752412
    Abstract: A sniffing leak detector which comprises a first suction line in a sniffing probe, the line leading to a main device, is provided with a larger second suction line through which gas is sucked in from the sniffing tip by a gas delivery pump. By connecting the second suction line, the distance sensitivity is increased. By disconnecting the second suction line, on the other hand, the sensitivity is increased. Thus, it is possible to first search for leaks by use of a high gas throughput and subsequently exactly determine the leaks under the quantitative aspect by use of a reduced flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Inficon GmbH
    Inventors: Daniel Wetzig, Stefan Mebus, Norbert Rolff