Test disc, test system and method for testing the seal of a glove which is installed in a port of an isolator, a glove and an isolator for use with the test system

Abstract

A test system and a corresponding method for testing the seal of a glove which is installed in a port of an isolator, including a test disc which can be connected in a hermetically sealed fashion to the port. The glove and test disc define a sealed glove volume which can be placed under excess pressure. The test disc has a pressure-measuring device with a microprocessor and a memory for recording and storing a pressure profile in the glove volume and a data interface. The glove and port have identification elements which are read by a reading device of the test disc and information concerning the pressure profile along with the identities of the glove and port are transmitted wirelessly to an evaluation unit which estimates and records a residual period of use of the glove. A plurality of gloves in ports can be tested simultaneously.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A test disc for testing the seal of a glove which is installed in a particular port of an isolator, the glove having an open end sized to be sealed between the test disc and port so as to define an internal glove volume which can be placed under excess pressure, comprising:
 a test disc having a peripheral seal for sealing the open end of the glove against the port in a hermetically sealed fashion, the test disc having a pressure-measuring device, a microprocessor, a memory and a data interface for transmission of information, the test disc further including a reading device configured to determine an identity of the particular isolator port, the microprocessor being programmed to store the identity of the particular isolator port in the memory, and wherein the microprocessor and memory are configured to record and store a glove volume pressure profile.   
     
     
         2 . The test disc of  claim 1 , wherein the peripheral seal is a radially-expanding sealing device and further including a first micro-air pump connected to the test disc to expand the sealing device. 
     
     
         3 . The test disc of  claim 2 , further including a second micro-air pump with a pre-filter connected to the test disc to fill the glove volume. 
     
     
         4 . The test disc of  claim 3 , wherein the second micro-air pump comprises a pressure sensor to secure proper sealing. 
     
     
         5 . The test disc of  claim 1 , further including a micro-air pump with a pre-filter connected to the test disc to fill the glove volume. 
     
     
         6 . The test disc of  claim 1 , further including an electrical energy source in the form of an accumulator mounted to the test disc. 
     
     
         7 . The test disc of  claim 1 , wherein the reading device has a reader selected from the group consisting of: an RFID module, a CCD sensor and a laser sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The test disc of  claim 1 , wherein the test disc microprocessor has a control device for automatically setting a pressure in the glove volume. 
     
     
         9 . The test disc of  claim 1 , wherein the data interface has a wireless transmitter such that the glove pressure profile and information regarding the port identity may be transmitted wirelessly to an evaluation unit of an external test system. 
     
     
         10 . The test disc of  claim 8 , wherein the glove has a first identification element which can be read by the reading device of the test disc to determine a glove identity, and the microprocessor is programmed to store the identity of the glove as well as the identity of the particular isolator port in the memory so as to be transmitted wirelessly to the evaluation unit. 
     
     
         11 . The test disc of  claim 8 , wherein the wireless transmitter of the data interface is selected from the group consisting of: a WiFi module, a W-LAN module, a Bluetooth module or a radio-based transceiver module. 
     
     
         12 . A method for testing the seal of a glove which is installed in a particular port of an isolator, comprising:
 providing a test disc having a seal for connecting to the port in a hermetically sealed fashion, the test disc having a pressure-measuring device, a microprocessor, a memory and a data interface for transmission of information, the test disc further including a reading device configured to determine an identity of the particular isolator port;   sealing an open end of a glove between the test disc and port so as to define an internal glove volume, the glove having a first identification element;   placing the glove volume under excess pressure;   measuring the glove volume pressure with the pressure-measuring device of the test disc;   recording and storing a glove volume pressure profile with the microprocessor and memory;   reading the first identification element of the glove with the reading device of the test disc to determine a glove identity; and   storing both the identity of the glove and the identity of the particular isolator port in the memory.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further including measuring the glove volume pressure over a predefined time period and comparing any pressure drop with a limiting value. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further including correlating historical data on previous tests of the glove and estimating a residual period of use of the glove therefrom. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further including simultaneously receiving the pressure profiles for a plurality of gloves from a plurality of test discs, and assigning the respective pressure profiles to a corresponding glove and port. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further including preventing removal of the test disc from the port if a defect in the glove is detected. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further including recording an early pressure profile for a specific glove at a relatively early point in time and comparing the early pressure profile with a later pressure profile which is recorded for this glove at a relatively late point in time, and estimating a residual period of use of the glove from the comparison. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further including providing an evaluation unit comprising a memory unit and an output unit connected to a user database, and transmitting the pressure profile with the identities of a corresponding glove and port to the evaluation unit, and estimating a residual period of use of the glove therefrom. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the transmission of the pressure profile with the identities of a corresponding glove and port to the evaluation unit are done wirelessly. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein process-related data about the use of the glove is stored in the evaluation unit and taken into account during the estimation. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , further including providing an identification element for the port of the isolator which can be read by the reading device of the test disc.