Radiation sensitive apparatus for inspecting the bottom wall of hollow transparent containers

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING THE BOTTOM WALL OF HOLLOW OPEN MOUTH TRANSPARENT CONTAINERS FOR DEFECTS WHICH COMPRISES MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND MOVING THE CONTAINER SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH AN INSPECTION STATION WITH THEIR AXES EXTENDING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY AND THE OPEN MOUTHS OF THE CONTAINERS EXTENDING TO ONE SIDE, MEANS AT SAID INSPECTION STATION FOR DIRECTING A BEAM THROUGH THE OPEN MOUTH OF A CONTAINER AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID INSPECTION STATION AND FOCUSING SAID BEAM IN A SPOT IN THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER, A LIGHT TRAP ADJACENT THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER INTO WHICH SAID LIGHT BEAM NORMALLY PASSES AFTER PASSING THROUGH THE BOTTOM WALL, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID SPOT ALONG A DIAMETER OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, MEANS FOR ROTATING EACH SAID CONTAINER ABOUT ITS AXIS AS IT IS MOVED THROUGH SAID INSPECTION STATION TO CAUSE SAID MOVING SPOT TO SCAN SAID BOTTOM WALL, A FIRST MASK ADJACENT THE MOUTH OF THE CONTAINER HAVING A DIAMETRICALLY EXTENDING APERTURE THROUGH WHICH SAID BEAM PASSES LIMITING THE AREA THROUGH WHICH THE LIGHT BEAM PASSES, A SECOND MASK HAVING A DIAMETRICALLY EXTENDING APERTURE ADJACENT TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER LIMITING THE AREA WHICH IS BEING VIEWED BY THE HEREINAFTER MENTIONED LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS, A PLURALITY OF LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS POSITIONED ADJACENT THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER WITH THE LINES OF VISION THEREOF PASSING THROUGH SAID APERTURES INTERSECTING THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER AND OUT OF THE NORMAL PATH OF SAID BEAM, MEANS FOR CREATING A SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO ENERGIZATION OF SAID LIGHT SENSITIVE MEANS.