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.

Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 2002

Filed:

Sep. 26, 2000
Applicant:
Inventors:

Mark Stewart Schroder, Hendersonville, NC (US);

Donald Ernest Woodmansee, Simpsonville, SC (US);

Douglas Frank Beadie, Greenville, SC (US);

Assignee:

General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);

Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 1/14 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 1/14 ;
Abstract

A procedure and tools for quantifying surface cleanliness are described. Cleanliness of a target surface is quantified by wiping a prescribed area of the surface with a flexible, bright white cloth swatch, preferably mounted on a special tool. The cloth picks up a substantial amount of any particulate surface contamination. The amount of contamination is determined by measuring the reflectivity loss of the cloth before and after wiping on the contaminated system and comparing that loss to a previous calibration with similar contamination. In the alternative, a visual comparison of the contaminated cloth to a contamination key provides an indication of the surface cleanliness.


Find Patent Forward Citations

Loading…