US5097216A — Apparatus for inspecting the wall thickness of a …

Claim 1

Independent Claim 157 words

Apparatus for inspecting the thickness of a container wall comprising, elongated capacitive sensor means having a plurality of sensor elements disposed in relatively spaced end to end relationship, means for urging said containers into intimate rotational contact with said sensor elements, means for effecting translational movement of said containers between said sensor means and said container urging means, oscillator means operatively associated with said sensor means to receive thickness information in the form of changes in capacitance and for generating corresponding voltage signals, electronic processor means for receiving said voltage signals and comparing them with desired thickness values in determining whether the desired thickness is present, and said oscillator means having means for receiving said thickness information from at least two said sensor elements for each container inspected, whereby said apparatus can inspect a plurality of containers simultaneously while sequentially inspecting different portions of the circumference of each said container by means of different said sensor elements.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 157 words

Apparatus for inspecting the thickness of a container wall comprising, elongated capacitive sensor means having a plurality of sensor elements disposed in relatively spaced end to end relationship, means for urging said containers into intimate rotational contact with said sensor elements, means for effecting translational movement of said containers between said sensor means and said container urging means, oscillator means operatively associated with said sensor means to receive thickness information in the form of changes in capacitance and for generating corresponding voltage signals, electronic processor means for receiving said voltage signals and comparing them with desired thickness values in determining whether the desired thickness is present, and said oscillator means having means for receiving said thickness information from at least two said sensor elements for each container inspected, whereby said apparatus can inspect a plurality of containers simultaneously while sequentially inspecting different portions of the circumference of each said container by means of different said sensor elements.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 39 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 1 including, said apparatus having at least three said sensor elements, and said oscillating means having means to receive said thickness information from a plurality of said sensor elements for each said container inspected.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 26 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 2 including, said apparatus being calibrated to inspect a container selected from the group consisting of glass containers and plastic containers.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 32 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 2 including, inductor means secured to and operatively associated with said sensor means, and cable means connecting said inductor means to the remainder of said oscillator means.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 39 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 4 including, said inductor means having a plurality of inductor units each having a primary coil and a secondary coil wrapped in generally surrounding relationship to said primary coil and being inductively coupled thereto.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 30 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 5 including, said inductor units each being disposed within a housing and being disposed adjacent to a said sensor element to which it is coupled.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 40 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 2 including, said sensor elements having a capacitive sensing strip, a resiliently compressible material disposed rearwardly and secured to said sensing strip, and a substantially rigid support to which said resiliently compressible material is secured.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 48 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 2 including, said plurality of sensor elements being a first sensor array, and a second sensor array disposed in spaced generally overlying relationship with respect to said first sensor array, whereby said apparatus will inspect said container at portions disposed at different elevations.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 28 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 8 including, at least one additional sensor array disposed in spaced generally overlying relationship with respect to said first and second sensor arrays.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 33 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 9 including, at least one of said sensor arrays having sensors of a different cross-sectional shape from the sensor elements of at least one other said sensor array.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 15 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 10 including, one said array having generally concave shaped sensors.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 32 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 2 including, said means for effecting container movement having means for simultaneously establishing contact between each of a plurality of containers and a corresponding said sensor element.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 28 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 12 including, said means for effecting container movement having means for sequentially moving each said container into contact with each said sensor element.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 30 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 1 including, said processor means having means for combining the oscillator output signals for a said container from each said sensor element inspecting said container.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 19 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 14 including, said oscillator means having separate oscillator circuits for each said sensor element.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 22 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 14 including, said oscillator means including multiplexer means for sequentially receiving information from each said sensor element.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 37 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 16 including, the aggregate length of the active portion of said sensor elements in a said sensor array being at least as long as the circumference of said container to be inspected.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 20 words

The inspection apparatus of claim 1 including, the gap between adjacent said sensor elements being about 1/32" to 5/32" inch.

Claim 20

Independent Claim 160 words

A method of inspecting container wall thicknesses comprising, providing capacitive sensor means having a linear array of sensor elements for emitting a signal correspondent to changes in capacitance oscillator means for converting said signals to corresponding voltage signals and electronic processor means for comparing said voltage signals with a predetermined desired thickness, simultaneously inspecting a plurality of said containers while sequentially moving a said container into intimate contact with said sensor elements and inspecting only a portion of the circumference of each said container by a said sensor element, converting said capacitive changes from variations in said container thickness from each said sensor element into corresponding voltage signals, combining said voltage signals corresponding to a said container into a corresponding thickness value, and comparing said thickness measurements with the desired thickness, whereby said apparatus can inspect a plurality of containers simultaneously while sequentially inspecting different portions of the circumference of each said container by means of different said sensor elements.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 160 words

A method of inspecting container wall thicknesses comprising, providing capacitive sensor means having a linear array of sensor elements for emitting a signal correspondent to changes in capacitance oscillator means for converting said signals to corresponding voltage signals and electronic processor means for comparing said voltage signals with a predetermined desired thickness, simultaneously inspecting a plurality of said containers while sequentially moving a said container into intimate contact with said sensor elements and inspecting only a portion of the circumference of each said container by a said sensor element, converting said capacitive changes from variations in said container thickness from each said sensor element into corresponding voltage signals, combining said voltage signals corresponding to a said container into a corresponding thickness value, and comparing said thickness measurements with the desired thickness, whereby said apparatus can inspect a plurality of containers simultaneously while sequentially inspecting different portions of the circumference of each said container by means of different said sensor elements.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 44 words

The method of claim 19 including, simultaneously inspecting a plurality of containers each in contact with one said sensor element, and subsequently moving the containers at each said sensor element except the last sensor element to the next succeeding sensor element for further inspection.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 37 words

The method of claim 20 including, providing a plurality of generally vertically spaced sensor element arrays, and simultaneously at each said sensor element station inspecting wall thickness at two or more vertically spaced sections of the container.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 27 words

The method of claim 21 including, during inspection of a said container effecting rolling of the container over a sensor element while maintaining intimacy of contact therebetween.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 38 words

The method of claim 22 including, providing the sensor elements of such length that in the aggregate they are at least equal to the circumference of the portion of the container which the sensor elements will be inspecting.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 20 including, during said inspection maintaining a sensor element without container contact between two sensor elements having containers in contact therewith.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1995-03-17	1995-09-16	1996-03-17	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1999-03-17	1999-09-16	2000-03-17	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2003-03-17	2003-09-16	2004-03-17	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus for inspecting the wall thickness of a container and corresponding method

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