A leak rate testing system for pressured containers such as inhalers includes a test chamber holding the pressurized containers and accumulating compounds leaking from the containers. A sample cell receives the compounds from the chamber and a spectroscopy system obtains spectral responses of compounds in the sample cell so that a controller can determine leak rates over time.

The invention relates to a film chamber for receiving a test object to be tested for the presence of a leak, including at least two film layers and at least two frame elements, each of which has a sealing surface so that the two frame elements lie against each other in a gas-tight manner in order to hermetically seal the film chamber. Each of the two film layers has at least one retaining profile in a wall region, and each of the two frame elements has at least one retaining groove in the frame element sealing surface in order to receive a retaining profile such that the two film layers are held between the two frame elements substantially by a formfitting connection.

A method for calibrating a test chamber, which encloses an interior volume (20), is designed as a film chamber (12) comprising at least one flexible wall region (14, 16), and is connected in a gas-conducting way to a pressure sensor (30), to a vacuum pump (26), and via a calibration valve (34) to a calibration chamber (36) enclosing a calibration volume (37), comprising the following steps: evacuating the film chamber (12); measuring the pressure difference inside of the film chamber (12); after the evacuation has been completed, connecting the calibration volume (37) in a gas-conducting manner to the interior volume (20) of the film chamber (12) while measuring the pressure change, wherein the pressure in the calibration chamber (36) is greater than the pressure in the film chamber (12) before the connection to the film chamber (12). A corresponding device is likewise disclosed.

A method for testing the sealing tightness of a specimen, containing a gas, in a film chamber made from flexible material. The film chamber is evacuated by a vacuum pump and the gas flow flowing out of the film chamber and generated by the vacuum pump is measured during the evacuation and is examined with respect to a possible leak of the specimen.

A method for leak testing includes a leak testing step and a reference leak step. In the leak testing step, a hollow work 20 as a test object is encapsulated in a work capsule 11. A test pressure is supplied to the work capsule 11 through a path 2a connected to the work capsule. A variation of pressure inside the work capsule 11 is detected in a condition in which the path 2a is shut-off, and a judgment is made whether a leakage through the work is generated based on the detected output. In the reference leak step, a reference leak device 30 having a known pinhole 31a is mounted on a work 20′ for reference leakage that is same as the work 20 as the test object. The work 20′ for reference leakage is encapsulated in the work capsule 11. The test pressure is supplied to the work capsule 11 via the path 2a, and a reference leakage is generated in the work 20′ for reference leakage via the reference leak device 30 in a condition in which the path 2a is shut-off. A variation of pressure inside the work capsule 11 accompanying the reference leakage is detected.

A method for performing a leak-tightness test on a test object (16) in a foil chamber (10) which has at least one flexible wall region (12, 14), having the steps: using a gas or gas constituent contained in the test object as test gas for the leak-tightness test, introducing the test object into the foil chamber, evacuating the foil chamber to a pressure lower than the test gas pressure within the test object and than atmospheric pressure, introducing a carrier gas into the foil chamber into the region outside the test object, and measuring the test gas concentration of the gas mixture that forms in the foil chamber in the region outside the test object.

The invention relates to a simplified method for detecting leaks on a non-rigid test specimen, comprising the steps of: introducing the test specimen into a film chamber, lowering the pressure in the film chamber outside of said test specimen, and detecting a leak in the test specimen on the basis of a spatial change in the film of said film chamber.

A film chamber for receiving a test object which is to be tested with respect to the presence of a leak, wherein the film chamber has walls enclosing a film chamber volume, said walls having at least one flexible wall region, wherein a measuring volume adjoining the flexible wall region is arranged on the side of the flexible wall region which is situated opposite the film chamber volume and is hermetically separated from the film chamber volume.

A method for performing a leak-tightness test on a test object (16) in a foil chamber (10) which has at least one flexible wall region (12, 14), having the steps: using a gas or gas constituent contained in the test object as test gas for the leak-tightness test, introducing the test object into the foil chamber, evacuating the foil chamber to a pressure lower than the test gas pressure within the test object and than atmospheric pressure, introducing a carrier gas into the foil chamber into the region outside the test object, and measuring the test gas concentration of the gas mixture that forms in the foil chamber in the region outside the test object.

A method for testing the hermetic seal of a packaged device, which includes: a package that delimits a device chamber; and a transducer device, which is arranged within the device chamber and generates an electrical signal indicating at least one physical quantity external to the package. The testing method includes the steps of: imposing a reference pressure in the device chamber; arranging the packaged device in a testing chamber in which a testing pressure is present, different from the reference pressure; and subsequently detecting possible pressure variations within the device chamber.