Patent ID: 7748254

Claim:
A method for testing the integrity of packages, formed as closed hollow bodies having air inside the same, by means of vacuum, the packages ( 10 , 11 ) being transported continuously along a conveying path, and, during a transport section, the packages ( 10 , 11 ) being accommodated in a testing chamber ( 13 ) running along with the packages ( 10 , 11 ) or with a group of the same to be tested, and the testing chamber ( 13 ) having a vacuum applied to it in a region of a defined testing section or testing station, and the testing chamber ( 13 ) being sealed off on all sides, in conjunction with a package conveyor ( 14 ), and any deformations of the packages ( 10 , 11 ) being scanned in the testing chamber ( 13 ) and/or after leaving the same, characterized in that the package conveyor ( 14 ), configured as a plate conveyor, has dimensionally stable plates ( 27 ), which form a continuous plate plane as a support for the packages and a sealing element, namely a covering hood ( 19 ), and the sealing element for sealing being positioned on the package conveyor ( 14 ) in such a manner that transversely oriented side walls ( 25 ) and transverse webs ( 26 ) of the sealing element rest on the package conveyor ( 14 ) in a region of joints ( 30 ) between the plates ( 27 ) for sealing off the joints ( 30 ).