The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 25, 1997
Filed:
Jan. 23, 1996
Romano Balordi, Millers, MD (US);
Sweetheart Cup Company Inc., Owings Mills, MD (US);
Abstract
The testing of containers for leaks is accomplished solely by means of volumetric compression of air trapped within the container interior during a stroke of a top cuff forming mandrel. Upon sensing the presence of a defective container, a container transfer chute is activated so as to remove the defective container from the container-making machinery and thereby separate it from those containers determined to be acceptable. In the event that a number of containers per predetermined unit time period (e.g., at least 10 containers per minute) have been determined to be defective, a controller will initiate a machine self-diagnostic mode. Once a first threshold number of defective containers per unit time is sensed, then a complete machine shut-down will occur if a second threshold number of defective containers is sensed in the next subsequent unit time period (e.g., greater that 10 containers during the next successive minute of operation). If, however, no containers are determined to be defective during a subsequent unit time period, then a counter associated with the controller will be reset. That is, no defective containers during a subsequent unit time period is indicative that the defective containers were simply a transient problem not associated with any inherent on-going problem associated with the container-making machine. As a result, the controller allows the container-making machine to continue to operate.