Patent Description:
Verification of the integrity of sealed containers is important in many industrial settings. Examples include quality control of packaging of products such as food and pharmaceuticals. The integrity of sealed containers may be compromised e.g. by deficiencies in the sealing process, or in the barrier materials, or due to damage during the production process or handling. Integrity is important for several reasons, e.g., to keep the contents of the package inside the container; to keep any pre-filled gas composition inside the container at desired levels; and to keep outside atmospheric gases from entering the container. The last two points may be of great importance to prevent degradation of the contents of the container. For example, the level of oxygen or water vapour (moist) often determines the shelf life of the product. Other motivations for detecting leaks in containers are to verify the integrity of the container to substances other than gas, e.g., including but not limited to water, liquids, bacteria, viruses and other biological agents. By using gas-based leak detection, a measure of the size of a leak or a guarantee of an intact package can be obtained, which is relevant to the integrity against these other substances.

Several means to verify the integrity of containers are known in the art. For example, flexible containers may be subjected to mechanical force to check the resistance of the pressure of the gas inside. However, this method is typically not suitable for detection of small leaks, and also carries the risk of damaging the container. Some types of containers can be inspected by automated vision systems to detect anomalies, but again this may not detect small leaks, and the method is limited to certain kinds of containers. Small leaks can be detected by penetration tests using dyes or trace gases such as helium, but such tests are often destructive. Another method is to subject the container to external variations in the outside atmosphere, e.g., by placing it in a (partial) vacuum chamber, or exerting overpressure on the container with atmospheric air or other gases, or combinations of these techniques. With this method, some additional means to detect a leak of a container is required, i.e., by controlling or measuring one or more parameters that may change as consequence of the variation in outside pressure or gas composition, if a leak is present. Several such techniques are known in the art. For example, transient pressure variation in the chamber may be recorded, and its behaviour may be indicative of a leak in the sample. As another example, if the container contains a gas species that is not present in normal air at significant concentrations, a gas detector may be placed in the test chamber (or at the outlet) to detect the presence of that gas species, indicating a leak.

Non-intrusive optical detection of gases inside packages for quality control is disclosed in patent <CIT>). The principle of optical detection of the gas in the headspace of packages for the purpose of indicating leaks is known in the art. This method is based on that the gas inside the package may deviate from an assumed gas composition due to interaction with the surrounding atmosphere through the leak. However, in normal atmosphere, for small leaks, it may take a very long time before there is a detectable deviation of the gas composition inside a package, which makes the method impractical in many situations.

A faster determination of container integrity, based on optical measurements of the gas composition/pressure inside a sealed container, is covered by <CIT>. Here the container is subjected to a surrounding with a forced change in gas concentration/pressure, thereby inducing a faster change inside the container if a leak is present, compared to the natural alternations observed in <CIT>.

Another method is to use a gas detection cell to which leaked gas is extracted and detected. Drawbacks with this method is, for example, time for detection, complexity of the system, costly, the gas is diluted, and large volume of leaked gas is required to be able to detect a leakage.

There are situations where none of the methods previously described in the art are suitable for detecting a leak. One such example is for inline measurements, hence new improved apparatus and methods for detecting leaks in such containers would be advantageous.

<CIT> discloses a method and an arrangement for detecting a leak in a sealed package containing a product in the form of a foodstuff or a pharmaceutical. The arrangement comprises a continuously operated suction means arranged to draw ambient air past a seal on the packet to be tested and a gas sensor located in the flow of ambient air drawn off by the suction means and arranged to transmit a signal dependent on the test gas concentration detected in the ambient air.

<CIT> discloses a leak detection system for detecting breaches in sealed food containers. The leak detection system comprises air-sample testing equipment configured to test the composition of an air sample provided to the air-sample testing equipment. At least one pressing member is provided configured to, in use, apply pressure to the sealed food container located in an air-sampling region. At least one air-sampling port is located in the air-sampling region. An air sample conduit is provided extending between the at least one air-sampling port and the air- sample testing equipment.

<CIT> discloses method for determining a concentration of a component based on a plurality of response signals. The method includes emitting a light beam from a light source to the component in an absorption cell, wherein the light beam comprises a plurality of wavelength beams. The response signals from the plurality of wavelength beams are used to determining the concentration of the component.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure preferably seek to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more deficiencies, disadvantages or issues in the art, such as the above-identified, singly or in any combination by providing a system or method according to the appended patent claims for non-destructively determining the integrity of sealed containers by transmitting light over an outer surface of at least one side of the container.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of determining integrity of a closed container including at least one gas is described. The method includes applying a mechanical force to at least one side of the container and transmitting a light signal across at least a portion of an outside surface of at least one side of the container using an optical sensor. The optical sensor be sensitive to the least one gas inside the container. The optical sensor includes a light source, being a tunable diode laser, and a detector and the light is transmitted between the light source and the detector.

The method further include detecting a transmitted light signal, and determining, based on the transmitted light signal being detected and Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), if a level of the at least one gas inside the container has changed outside of the container.

Some examples of the method includes that the force may be applied by a deformation member, such as a roller or a glider.

In some examples of the method may the container be a MAP food package, such as a bag or a tray.

In some examples may the method include determining an integrity of the container in-line, such as at a convey belt.

Some example of the method may include flushing a surrounding of the container with a neutral gas, such as with nitrogen (N2), between or during transmittal of the light signal.

In some examples of the disclosed method may the measured gas be carbon dioxide (CO2).

Some examples of the method may include injecting a gas to create a flow around the package for transporting the leakage gas to the light signal.

A further aspect of the disclosure a system for determining integrity of a sealed container including at least one gas is described. The system includes a member, or device, for applying a mechanical force to at least one side of the container, and an optical sensor sensitive to the at least one gas. The sensor is configured for transmitting a light signal across at least a portion of an outside surface of at least one side of the container. The optical sensor includes a light source, being a tunable diode laser, and a detector and the light is transmitted between the light source and the detector.

The system further include a control unit for determining, based on the detected transmitted light signal and Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), if a level of the at least one gas inside the container has changed outside of the container.

In some examples of the disclosed system may the member be a deformation member, such as a roller or a glider.

In some examples of the disclosed system may an extractor or suction member, such as holes connected to a pump, or a fan, be arranged close to the sensor for increasing a concentration of the at least on gas adjacent the optical sensor.

In some examples of the disclosed system may a roof be arranged over the sensor for increasing a concentration of the at least on gas adjacent the optical sensor.

Some examples of the disclosed system may include more than one sensor arranged at different sides of the container.

In some examples of the disclosed system may the light be folded using optics, such as mirrors, to pass multiply times across a surface of the container.

In some examples of the disclosed system may the light be folded using optics, such as mirrors, to pass over more than one surface of the container.

In some examples of the disclosed system may the measured gas be carbon dioxide (CO2).

Some examples of the disclosed system may include a device configured for injecting a gas in order to create a flow around the package for transporting the leakage gas to the light signal.

Some advantages of the disclosed systems and methods compared to known systems and methods, may be that the disclosed systems and methods could be less complex than known systems and methods as it requires fewer parts and/or steps in the detection process. The response for detecting the leakage may be improved and the signal from the detected gas may be increased which may improve the sensitivity of the leakage detection.

The sensor arrangements described may also be used to detect where the leakage is located on the package.

The disclosed methods and systems may also be affected by ambient gases and the surrounding environment.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of which examples of the disclosure are capable of will be apparent and elucidated from the following description of examples of the present disclosure, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Specific examples of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these examples are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The following disclosure focuses on examples of the present disclosure applicable to determining the integrity of containers by performing optical measurements across an outside surface of the container for detection of gas leakage from inside the container. The measurements may include exercising a mechanical force on the container and performing optical measurements across an outside surface of the container for detection of gas leakage from inside the container. The disclosure relates to non-destructive leak testing of closed containers such as packages, bags, trays etc. For example, the disclosed systems and methods can be used to improve the detection of leaks from a closed package or container. However, it will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the description is not limited to this application but may be applied to many other systems where the integrity of closed containers needs to be determined.

A container may be a closed bag or closed tray that includes at least one species of a gas, Examples may be containers having a modified atmosphere (MAP). Modified atmosphere is commonly used in packages in order to improve the shelf life, for example in food packages, drugs, etc. gases commonly used are carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen (N2) to lower the amount of oxygen (O2). This is made in order to slow down growth of aerobic organisms and prevent oxidation reactions. Hence it is important to monitor these packages and make sure that there is no leakage, for example during packaging. Apart from carbon dioxide (CO2), and oxygen (O2), other gases can be monitored as well, depending on the container and the product.

<FIG> is illustrating a schematic example of an implementation <NUM> of an optical sensor according to any of <FIG>. In the illustration, the light source <NUM> transmits a light signal <NUM> to the detector <NUM> across over an outer surface <NUM>, such as a top surface, of the container <NUM>.

In these examples a mechanical member, or device, <NUM>, such as a deformation tool, is used to apply a force on at least one side of a container <NUM>. The applied force may deform the container <NUM> to some extent. The deformation of the container <NUM> may force gas <NUM> inside the container <NUM> to leak out through any holes or crack <NUM> that may exist. The amount of gas <NUM> that may leak out from any holes or cracks <NUM> may be larger when using a mechanical member <NUM> than what may spontaneously leak out. Thereby improving the chances of detecting or receive an indication that there is a leakage from the container <NUM> due to a hole, crack, a bad welded or glued seal or seam, breach of package seal, by contamination of a foreign body, which maybe the contents or part of contents of the package.

In the illustration, a roller <NUM> is used to apply a force on the top side <NUM> of the container <NUM>. A roller <NUM> makes it easy for the container <NUM> to pass under or for the mechanical member <NUM> to move over the container <NUM>. Alternative, the mechanical member <NUM> may be a glider, such as a beam or a plate, treated to have low friction against the container <NUM>.

Alternatively, in some examples, the mechanical member <NUM> may be temporarily pushing a side <NUM> of the container <NUM> during the measurement. The pushing may be done in an oscillating manner while the container <NUM> moves, for example, along a convey belt.

Alternatively, in some examples, instead of using a mechanical member <NUM>, a jet stream of gas, such as air, may be used to apply a force on a side <NUM> of the container <NUM>.

Alternatively, instead of pushing on the top side <NUM> of the container <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG>, the force may be applied on any side or sides of the container <NUM>.

The force applied on a side of the container either by a mechanical member, such as a roller, a glider or a pusher, or by a jet stream of gas will temporarily deform the container forcing the inside gas out through any holes that may exist. This may increase the concentration of the leaked gas outside of the container thereby increasing the signal which may improving the sensitivity of the system thereby improving the detection rate of leaks from smaller holes than would otherwise be possible to detect.

In the schematic example illustrated in <FIG>, the container <NUM> may be moving in relation to the senor and the mechanical member <NUM> used for deforming the container <NUM>. The container <NUM> may for example be moved by a convey belt. Alternatively, the container <NUM> is fixed while the mechanical member <NUM> and the sensor move in relation to the container <NUM>.

Additionally, and/or alternatively, in some example, an extractor member or suction member (not shown) may be arranged adjacent the laser beam <NUM> of the sensor. In some examples, the extractor member or suction member may be arranged adjacent both the laser beam <NUM> and the mechanical member <NUM> used for deforming the container <NUM>.

The extractor member or suction member may be used for increasing the concentration of leaked gases <NUM> from the container <NUM> close to the sensor thereby increasing the signal which may lead to improvement of the sensitivity of the system. The improved sensitivity makes it possible to detect smaller hole or cracks <NUM>, but also make the detection faster.

The extractor member or suction member may be made from, for example, a beam or tube having a lumen and holes arranged along a side directed towards the container <NUM>. The lumen may be connected to a pump, a fan or an extractor and when in use, the pump, a fan or an extractor will suck air through the holes. Any leaked gas <NUM> from holes or cracks <NUM> in the container <NUM> will be drawn towards the extractor or suction member increasing the concentration of the leaked gas in the beam path of the sensor thereby increase the signal.

<FIG> are illustrating two different schematic examples of implementations <NUM>, <NUM> for further improving the detection rate and the sensitivity of the system. The improvements are archived by adding a roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> over the light beam <NUM> transmitted between the light source <NUM> and the detector <NUM>. The roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> may increase the concentration of the leaked gas <NUM> from a hole of crack <NUM> adjacent the light beam <NUM>, thereby increase the detected signal.

Additionally, in some examples, the roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> may be used together with a mechanical member, or device, <NUM> used for applying a force on a side <NUM> of the container <NUM>.

The example illustrated in <FIG>, the roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> is arranged to cover the whole side <NUM> of the container <NUM>. To allow the light beam <NUM> to be transmitted across the outer surface <NUM> of the container <NUM>, the roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> may be provided with holes <NUM>.

The example illustrated in <FIG>, the roof, screen, cap or dome <NUM> is arranged locally over the light beam.

The roof, screen, or cap <NUM> may have any suitable shape, apart from the curved shapes illustrated in <FIG>, the roof, screen, or cap <NUM> may be, for example, dome shaped or flat.

The implementation of the arrangements as illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG> may be done off-line or in-line while the packages are moving along a convey belt. The implementation may, in some examples, be that the sensor is moving in relation to the container instead of the container moving in relation to the sensor.

Additionally, in some examples, a surrounding of the container may be flushed with a neutral gas, such as with nitrogen (N2), between or during transmittal of the light signal. When flushing the neutral gas between measurements, the surrounding may be cleaned from any gas that may interfere with the measurements. Hence the sensitivity may increase.

When applying a neutral gas to the surrounding of the container during the measurements, such as flushing of having a constant flow, the background of the measurement will be low. Hence the leaked gas may be easier to detected, thereby increasing the sensitivity.

In the illustrated examples, absorption is measured to determining if there is a leakage from the container. An alternative may be to use an optical sensor based on laser induced fluorescence where the detected light signal is a disperse spectra or an excitation spectra. The arrangement may be similar but the light source may be a pulsed laser ending in a beam blocker while the detector is moved to detect the fluorescence signal. An alternative arrangement may be planar laser-induced fluorescence where optics is used to form the laser beam into a plane which may cover a whole side of the container.

<FIG> are illustrating exemplary arrangements of an optical sensor to be used in a system or method while applying a mechanical force.

<FIG> is illustrating a schematic exemplary arrangement <NUM> of an optical sensor for determining if there is a leakage from a closed container <NUM>.

The optical sensor includes a light source <NUM>, such as a laser and a detector <NUM>. The light source may be a white light source or at least one laser source, such as a diode laser, a semiconductor laser. The wavelengths or wavelength range used for the light source is selected to match the absorption spectra of at least one species of the gas inside the container <NUM>. The detector <NUM> may be, for example, a photodiode, a photomultiplier, a CCD detector, a CMOS detector, a, InGaAs detector, selected to be able to detect the wavelengths or wavelength range of the light source <NUM>.

The light source <NUM> transmits a light signal <NUM> at least across a portion of an outer surface <NUM> of a side of the container <NUM>. The light signal <NUM> is transmitted above the outer surface <NUM>, such as adjacent the outer surface <NUM> or at a distance above the outer surface <NUM>. The light signal <NUM> may be transmitted from side to side across the outer surface <NUM>, such as transverse, or at an angle, such as diagonally or along. The optical sensor may transmit the light signal <NUM> above the container <NUM>, along a side of the container, or under the container.

<FIG> is illustrating the schematic arrangement <NUM> of the optical sensor in <FIG> from another angle.

Alternatively, for the arrangements illustrated in <FIG>, the light source <NUM> and the detector <NUM> may be arranged at the same side and the light may be transmitted twice across the outer surface <NUM> by having the light signal <NUM> reflected in a reflecting element, such as a mirror, arranged opposite the light source <NUM> and the detector <NUM>.

<FIG> is illustrating a further schematic arrangement, <NUM>, of the optical sensor. In this example, the light signal <NUM> is transmitted from a light source <NUM> to a detector <NUM> across three outer surfaces <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> of three sides of a container <NUM>. The light signal <NUM> is, in this example folded by reflective elements 113a, 113b, such as mirrors. By only using one reflective element 113a, 113b the light signal <NUM> may be transmitted across two outer surfaces instead of three as illustrated. Alternatively, as illustrated in <FIG>, in the further arrangement <NUM>, of the optical sensor, by adding a third reflective member, 113c, the light signal <NUM> may be transmitted across four outer surfaces of the container <NUM>.

Additionally, and/or alternatively, in some examples, by using different optical elements, such as mirrors, beam splitters and prisms, the light signal <NUM> may be transmitted across further outer surfaces of the container <NUM>. This may also include the use of further detectors.

<FIG> is illustrating a further schematic arrangement <NUM> of an optical sensor wherein a light signal <NUM> is transmitted from the light source <NUM> to the detector <NUM>. The light signal <NUM> is, in the illustrated example, folded using two reflective elements 113a, 113b to have the beam reflected across an outer surface <NUM> of the container <NUM>. Other arrangements are possible wherein only one reflective element 113a is used to have the light signal <NUM> to be transmitted across the outer surface <NUM> twice.

Alternatively more than two reflective elements 113a, 113b may be used to have the light transmitted across the outer surface <NUM> more than three times.

<FIG> is illustrating a schematic example of an arrangement <NUM>, where two sensors are used to cover two outer surfaces of a container <NUM>. The first optical sensor includes light source <NUM> transmitting a light signal <NUM> across a first outer surface <NUM> of container <NUM>. The second optical sensor includes the light source <NUM> and detector <NUM> transmitting a light signal <NUM> across a second outer surface <NUM> of container <NUM>. Additional optical sensors may be used to cover further outer surfaces of the container <NUM>.

In the examples given in <FIG>, the measurements are based on absorption spectroscopy, such as Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. If a change in the gas signal is detected matching at least one species of a gas inside the container, the container is considered to be leaking, given by a certain threshold. The leak could be due to a hole, crack, a bad welded or glued seal or seam, such as foil against the edge of a tray or an opening of a bag. If the species inside the container is present in the ambient background, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), an increase in the absorption peak of CO2 compared to the background may indicate that the container is leaking.

<FIG> is illustrating a schematic example of an arrangement <NUM>, where an additional flow of gas <NUM>, for example air or nitrogen, is injected in order to increase the gas transport from a leakage position on a package <NUM>, to a light beam <NUM> transmitted between the light source <NUM> and the detector <NUM>. In this example, the light beam <NUM> may pass above the package. Alternatively, any of the configurations as described in relation to <FIG> may be used. If the leakage, for example, is on the bottom side of the package <NUM> it may be beneficial to inject a gas flow <NUM> from below to help the leakage gas reach to the light beam <NUM>. The injected gas stream <NUM> may create a flow, which may be laminar or turbulent or a mixture between, across the surface of the package <NUM> toward and through the light beam <NUM>. The gas injection is in this example figure made through a device <NUM> with a number of small holes across the surface, which functions as outlets. The device may be connected to a gas inlet <NUM>. The gas injection may also be done in other ways, for example through a single eject nozzle, or a porous material. The gas injection may also occur on any other side of the package.

The advantage of this arrangement <NUM>, is to help transmitting the leakage gas to the light beam <NUM>. This may increase the signal related to the leakage gas.

The arrangement <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> may be used together with a member or device for applying a mechanical force on the package <NUM>, as described in relation to <FIG>, <FIG>.

The systems disclosed herein may further include a control unit for determining if a level of at least one gas inside the container has changed outside of the container based on a detected transmitted light signal. All determinations or calculations described herein may be performed by a control unit or a data processing device (not illustrated) connected to the detector. The control unit may be a data processing device, and may be implemented by special-purpose software (or firmware) run on one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computing devices. In this context, it is to be understood that each "element" or "means" of such a computing device refers to a conceptual equivalent of a method step; there is not always a one-to-one correspondence between elements/means and particular pieces of hardware or software routines. One piece of hardware sometimes comprises different means/elements. For example, a processing unit serves as one element/means when executing one instruction, but serves as another element/means when executing another instruction. In addition, one element/means may be implemented by one instruction in some cases, but by a plurality of instructions in some other cases. Such a software controlled computing device may include one or more processing units, e.g. a CPU ("Central Processing Unit"), a DSP ("Digital Signal Processor"), an ASIC ("Application-Specific Integrated Circuit"), discrete analog and/or digital components, or some other programmable logical device, such as an FPGA ("Field Programmable Gate Array"). The data processing device <NUM> may further include a system memory and a system bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. The system bus may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM) and flash memory. The special-purpose software may be stored in the system memory, or on other removable/non-removable volatile/non-volatile computer storage media which is included in or accessible to the computing device, such as magnetic media, optical media, flash memory cards, digital tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, etc. The data processing device <NUM> may include one or more communication interfaces, such as a serial interface, a parallel interface, a USB interface, a wireless interface, a network adapter, etc., as well as one or more data acquisition devices, such as an A/D converter. The special-purpose software may be provided to the control unit or data processing device on any suitable computer-readable medium, including a record medium and a read-only memory.

<FIG> is illustrating a schematic diagram over a measurement <NUM>. The diagram shows two curves, one with a leakage <NUM>, and one being the background <NUM> or a container without a leakage. The increased amplitude of the absorption peak <NUM> indicates that there is a leakage.

Additionally, in some examples, by calculating the difference <NUM> between the background <NUM> and the peak <NUM> indicating a leak, the size of the leak may be estimated, such as the size of the hole or crack.

<FIG> is illustrating a method <NUM> of determining integrity of a closed container. The closed container includes at least one species of a gas. The at least one species of a gas to be detected is either not present in the ambient atmosphere outside the container or is present in a higher concentration inside the container. The method comprises the step of:
Transmitting <NUM> a light signal across at least a portion of an outside surface of at least one side of a container using an optical sensor. The optical sensor is sensitive to at least one species of a gas inside the container.

Determining <NUM> based on the detected light signal if the at least one species of a gas inside the container has been detected outside of the container.

A container may be a closed bag or closed tray that includes at least one species of a gas, Examples may be containers having a modified atmosphere (MAP). Modified atmosphere is commonly used in packages in order to improve the shelf life, for example in food packages, drugs, etc. gases commonly used are carbon dioxide (CO2) or nitrogen (N2) to lower the amount of oxygen (O2). This is made in order to slow down growth of aerobic organisms and prevent oxidation reactions. Hence it is important to monitor these packages and make sure that there is no leakage, for example during packaging. Apart from CO2, N2, other gases can be monitored as well, depending on the container and the product, for example oxygen (O2) may be of interest for certain products.

The method <NUM> may be performed on a single container or may be performed in-line, such as at a convey belt.

In some examples of the method, the optical sensor is a light source and a detector and the light is transmitted between the light source and the detector. The detected light signal is an absorption signal. An example of a sensor may be, for example Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS).

Alternatively, in some examples, the optical sensor may be based on laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The detected light signal may be a disperse spectra or excitation spectra. The LIF sensor may using Planar laser-induced fluorescence.

To improve the sensitivity a force may be applied on a side of the container. The force may be applied using a mechanical member, such as a roller or glider. <FIG> shows the result of an example measurement of four leaking tray packages passing through a system based on detection of CO2. The packages have an increased level of CO2 in the headspace and are slightly pressed with a roller creating a small force on the top film of the trays. As the leaking packages pass through the system, the detector records sharp peaks with increased level of CO2 outside the package, in this specific example measured in the unit ppm_m (parts-per-million meter CO2). Each measurement point represents the average CO2 signal within a time period of <NUM>.

It should be noted that in the examples described above, it is not necessary to measure the gas concentration in absolute values. In some examples, it is sufficient to measure a signal that is related to the gas concentration. In some examples, the spectroscopic signal is related to the gas pressure.

In some examples, at least one reference container is used, the reference container having no leaks, or having leaks with known characteristics. The measurement on the reference container provides a baseline signal which is used for comparison with the measured signals on subsequent containers.

The present invention has been described above with reference to specific examples. However, other examples than the above described are equally possible within the scope of the disclosure. Different method steps than those described above, performing the method by hardware or software, may be provided within the scope of the invention. The different features and steps of the invention may be combined in other combinations than those described. The scope of the disclosure is only limited by the appended patent claims.

Claim 1:
A method of determining integrity of a closed container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) comprising at least one gas, said method comprising:
applying a mechanical force to at least one side of said container;
characterized by transmitting (<NUM>) a light signal (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) across at least a portion of an outside surface (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) of at least one side of said container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) using an optical sensor; said optical sensor being sensitive to said at least one gas inside said container; wherein said optical sensor comprises a light source (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) being a tunable diode laser, and a detector (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) and said light (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is transmitted between said light source (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) and said detector (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
detecting (<NUM>)said transmitted light signal (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>);
determining (<NUM>), based on said transmitted light signal (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) being detected and Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS), if a level of said at least one gas inside said container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) has changed outside of said container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>).