US 12,066,352 B2
Method and apparatus for detecting a leakage of a vacuum assembly
Hakan Ucan, Stade (DE); Anja Haschenburger, Stade (DE); Clemens Heim, Stade (DE); and Jan Timo Hesse, Olendorf (DE)
Assigned to DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT—UND RAUMFAHRT, Cologne (DE); and AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH, Hamburg (DE)
Appl. No. 16/644,064
Filed by DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FÜR LUFT—UND RAUMFAHRT E.V., Cologne (DE); and AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH, Hamburg (DE)
PCT Filed Sep. 3, 2018, PCT No. PCT/EP2018/073626
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 11, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/043227, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 7, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2017 120 272.2 (DE), filed on Sep. 4, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0215565 A1, Jul. 15, 2021
Int. Cl. G01M 3/00 (2006.01); B29C 70/44 (2006.01); B29C 70/54 (2006.01); G01M 3/24 (2006.01)
CPC G01M 3/002 (2013.01) [B29C 70/443 (2013.01); B29C 70/54 (2013.01); G01M 3/24 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for detecting a leak in a vacuum assembly, comprising:
identifying a leak area, comprising
supplying a vacuum assembly which has a plurality of sensors for detecting a parameter,
detecting values of the parameter over time during evacuation of a cavity of the vacuum assembly,
creating, with an evaluation unit, a value-time curve for each sensor of the vacuum assembly from the values detected for the respective sensors,
comparing, with the evaluation unit, the value-time curves created with one another and identifying differences depending on the comparison, and
identifying the leak area in the vacuum assembly depending on the differences determined in the value-time curves and the respective position of the sensor in the vacuum assembly; and then
detecting the leak within the leak area, comprising
supplying a detection device designed to identify the leak in the vacuum assembly, and
detecting the leak within the leak area using the detection device.