Patent ID: 7450021

Claim:
A method of monitoring the performance of a vacuum system, the steps comprising: a) providing a vacuum system comprising a vacuum pump, a vacuum regulator and a vacuum load, all interconnected to one another by a vacuum line; b) placing an upstream vacuum sensor in a portion of said vacuum line proximate said vacuum pump but before said vacuum regulator, said upstream vacuum sensor generating an output signal representative of a vacuum level in said vacuum line proximate said upstream vacuum sensor; c) placing a downstream vacuum sensor along said vacuum line between said regulator and said vacuum load, said downstream vacuum sensor generating an output signal representative of a vacuum level thereat; d) comparing said output signal from at least one of: said upstream vacuum sensor and said downstream vacuum sensor with respect to at least one of: time, and said output signal from at least one other of said upstream vacuum sensor and said downstream vacuum sensor, and generating a comparison output signal representatives of a result of said comparison; and e) providing an indication to an operator if said comparison output signal falls outside a predetermined range of values.