Patent 7788966 was granted and assigned to Airbus Deutschland GmbH on September, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A device to diagnose a vacuum system comprises a pipe with a first opening that can be closed by a hingable cover, and a second opening that is designed to establish a pressure-proof connection to the vacuum system. The diagnostic device may be operated in a volume-flow mode in which the cover is open in order to determine a volume flow in the base body, and in a negative-pressure mode in which the cover is closed so as to allow to draw conclusions about the available pressure difference.