Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
A DEVICE FOR VACUUM SEALING GLASS AND PLASTIC CONTAINERS WITH LIDS FOR STORING FOOD
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2018/147813
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention belongs to the field of devices and methods for vacuum packing of food, more precisely to the field of devices and gadgets for re-vacuuming of already opened glass jars and plastic containers with lids that enable closure with a tight seal. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food, from which air has to be pumped out after each use thereby vacuum sealing them again, comprises: - a valve, entirely made from a flexible material, preferably silicone, wherein the upper part is shaped as a circular sealing part with a plurality of concentric grooves on the lower side, with a stem in the middle, the stem having a first cylindrical part, a round bulge in the middle and a second cylindrical part in the end; and - a hand vacuum pump with an integrated dagger for penetrating a metal or plastic lid of a container.

Inventors:
CULIG BRANKO (SI)
CULIG MARKO (SI)
Application Number:
PCT/SI2018/050004
Publication Date:
August 16, 2018
Filing Date:
February 07, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
STATUS D O O METLIKA (SI)
International Classes:
B65D81/20; A47J41/02; B65B31/04; B65D51/16; F04B33/00; F04B53/10
Foreign References:
US2648474A1953-08-11
US5974686A1999-11-02
US5540557A1996-07-30
EP2269919A12011-01-05
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
PATENTNI BIRO AF D.O.O. (SI)
Download PDF:
Claims:
Patent claims

1. A device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food, from which air has to be pumped out after each use thereby vacuum sealing them again, the device comprising:

- a valve entirely made from a flexible material, preferably silicone, wherein its upper part is shaped as a circular sealing part with a plurality of concentric grooves on a bottom part of the valve, and a stem in the middle of the valve, the stem having a first cylindrical part, a round bulge in the middle and a second cylindrical part in the end; and

- a hand vacuum pump with an integrated dagger for penetrating a metal or plastic lid of a container.

2. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers according to claim 1 , characterized in that the valve (1) is made as one piece, wherein the plan view of an upper part (11) has a circular shape with a convex upper side (111) and a flat bottom side (112) with the plurality of concentric grooves (121) around the stem (13), which comprises the first cylinder (131), the round bulge (132) and the second cylinder (133); and in that the round bulge (132) has a larger radius than the cylinders (131 and 133) of the stem (13).

3. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the size of the valve (1) and the distance between the lower side (112) and round bulge (131) depends on the thickness of a lid (A) of a container (B).

4. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve has in its bottom side (112) from two to ten grooves (121), preferably four.

5. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hand vacuum pump (2) has a housing (21), into which a movable part (22) with a handle (23) with the separable integrated dagger (3) for penetrating a lid (A) of a container (B) for storing food is mounted.

6. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dagger (3) has on its base (31) around the vertical axis a circular attachment (32) with four ribs

(321) , which border with concave sides (322') of a pillar (322), into which a steel thorn (341) is mounted; that the thorn (341) is under the edge of the pillar

(322) surrounded with a cylindrical accessory (34), which covers the wider part of the thorn (341).

7. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made from metal material, preferably steel, wherein the longer part of the thorn (341) has a larger diameter as the shorter part, which is after a short cylindrical part shaped into a cone; that for making a larger hole in the lid (A) the accessory (34) is removed from the thorn (341), the accessory covering the bottom part of the wider part of the thorn (341 ).

8. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is used for any shape of a container (B) and lid (A), which enables tight sealing of the container (B).

9. The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is used for any container (B) made from glass or plastic and any lid (A) made from tin or plastic.

Description:
A device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food

Field of the invention

The present invention belongs to the field of devices and methods for vacuum packing of food, more precisely to the field of devices and gadgets for re-vacuuming of already opened glass jars and plastic containers with lids that enable closure with a tight seal.

The technical problem

The technical problem, which is solved by the present invention, is a constructional solution of a vacuum sealing device and a valve, which would universally close the lids of glass or plastic containers after vacuum has been created in the container.

The problem with opened jars with canned fruit, vegetables, sour turnips, sour cabbage or jam, compote, spreads and other conserved food begins when the vacuum closed container is opened and its contents are not fully consumed. Because the lid of the container does not allow creation of vacuum, the remaining contents are quickly spoiled despite low temperatures in the fridge. The problem to be solved is how to pump out air from a re-closed jar or container and how to completely close the openings, which are not adapted for vacuum sealing and have no valves for vacuuming and re-closing.

State of the art

Several different devices for pumping air out from containers, which are appropriately sealed at the contact with the lid, exist on the market. Several different containers with vacuum sealing and a lid with a valve that allows pumping air out from the container and thereby vacuum sealing are known. This is also enabled by a handheld pump adapted for special lids for plastic containers having a valve of company Status. Several different manufacturers produce plastic containers having valves for pumping air out from containers with a vacuum pump.

European patent EP 2 269 919 B1 discloses a valve for vacuum sealing and a vacuum pump, wherein the valve has a cutting head in its lower part and the pump houses the said valves. This solution differs from the present invention in that the dagger for penetrating the lid of the container for storing food is not on the valve, as the valve only performs the task of sealing, while penetration of the lid is effectuated by a special dagger comprised in the handle of a hand vacuum pump.

Description of the solution of the technical problem

The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food, from which air has to be pumped out after each use thereby vacuum sealing them again, comprises:

- a valve, entirely made from a flexible material, preferably silicone, wherein the upper part is shaped as a circular sealing part with a plurality of concentric grooves on the lower side, with a stem in the middle, the stem having a first cylindrical part, a round bulge in the middle and a second cylindrical part in the end; and

- a hand vacuum pump with an integrated dagger for penetrating a metal or plastic lid of a container.

The device for vacuum sealing glass jars and plastic containers with lids according to the invention will be described in further detail based on an embodiment and figures, which show:

Figure 1 assembly of the hand vacuum pump 2

Figure 2 the hand vacuum pump 2 in a cross-section Figure 3 the valve 1

Figure 4 a cross-section of the valve 1

Figure 5 the dagger 3

Figure 6 a cross section of a container B closed with a lid A and the valve 1

The essence of the device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food is in that the entire valve 1 is made from a flexible material, preferably silicone, wherein its upper part is shaped as a circular sealing part with a plurality of concentric grooves 121 on the bottom side 12 and a stem 13 in the middle, which has in its beginning a first cylindrical part 131, a round bulge 132 in the middle and a second cylindrical part 133. The hand vacuum pump 2 has in a cylindrical part of a movable part 22 a space 221 for housing the already mentioned valves 1 and in a handle 23 with an integrated dagger 3 for penetrating a metal of plastic lid A of a container B. After punching a hole in the lid A of the container B, the valve 1 is placed into the hole, the valve being covered with the bottom part of the hand vacuum pump 2 and the air is pumped out from the container B. After the air is pumped out, the valve 1 is only slightly raised, so that the bulge 132 in the stem 13 is leaned against the inner part of the lid A. Raising and lowering of the movable part 22 of the vacuum pump 2 is repeated for so long that the bottom part of the valve 1 due to its grooves 121 is sucked onto the lid A of the container B. The container B can have any shape and can be made from glass or plastic material and can be tightly closed with a lid made from tin or plastic.

The device for vacuum sealing glass and plastic containers with lids for storing food according to the invention comprises the valve 1 and the hand vacuum pump 2, which has a housing 21 , into which the movable part 22 with the handle 23 with the separable integrated dagger 3 for penetrating the lid A of the container B for storing food is mounted.

The hand vacuum pump 2 has in the interior of the movable part 22 the space 221 for housing a larger number of valves 1. The movable part 22 of the pump 2 has a cylindrical shape with a convex bottom 22a as shown in figure 2. Near the bottom 22a of the part 22 a widened part 22b with a groove 22b' is arranged in order to mount a seal 4. The movable part 22 is mounted into the interior of the housing 21 , which is on the contact with the handle 23 equipped with a seal 5.

The handle 23 is shaped so that the bottom cylindrical part 231 has almost the same diameter as the cylindrical part 222, so that a strong contact between both parts is ensured. From the cylindrical part 231 a grip 232 is formed, which has attachments for mounting the dagger 3.

The dagger 3 has on its base 31 around the vertical axis a circular attachment 32 with four ribs 321 , which border with concave sides 322' of a pillar 322, into which a steel thorn 341 is mounted. The thorn 341 is under the edge of the pillar 322 surrounded with a cylindrical accessory 34, which covers the wider part of the thorn 341. When the lid A has to be penetrated, the dagger 3 is taken from the handle 23, then it is faced towards the lid and by pushing it into the lid A on the container B a hole for mounting the valve 1 is made.

The valve 1 is made as one piece, wherein the plan view of the upper part 11 has a circular shape with a convex upper side 111 and a flat bottom side 112 with the plurality of concentric grooves 121 around the stem 13, which is made from the initial cylinder 131 , the round bulge 132 and the second cylinder 133. The round bulge 132 has a larger radius than the cylinders 131 and 133 of the stem 13. The size of the valve 1 and the distance between the bottom side 112 and the round bulge depends on the thickness of the lid A of the container B (figure 6). The valve 1 may have in its bottom side 112 from two to ten grooves 121 , preferably four as shown in figure 4.

In the lid A, after it is placed onto the container B, a circular hole is made with the dagger 3 located on the inner part of the handle 23. After the hole in the lid A is created, the valve 1 is mounted into the hole so that the cylinder 133 from the upper side of the lid A is pushed downwards, then the cylinder 133 is pulled from the bottom side of the lid A so that the round bulge 132 comes through the hole. When the valve 1 is mounted into the lid A, the container B is closed. The bottom part of the hand vacuum pump 2 is placed on the valve 1 and the process of pumping air of the container begins. Due to the shape of the stem 13 the valve 1 can move vertically in the length of the initial cylinder 131 minus the thickness of the lid A, which consequently allows pumping air out form the container with the pump 2 each time the movable part 22 moves upwards.

The dagger is made in such a way that it preferably has two or more different thicknesses of the thorn 341 for penetrating different types of lid materials. The thorn 341 is made from a metal material, preferably steel, wherein the longer part of the thorn 341 has a larger diameter as the shorter part, which is after a short cylindrical part shaped into a cone. In order to enable a larger diameter of a hole in the lid A, the accessory 34 is removed from the thorn 341 , wherein the accessory 34 covers the bottom part of the wider part of the thorn 341.

The valve 1 together with the hand vacuum pump 2 enables pumping air put form the container B closed with the lid A and hermetically closing of the container B in order to store food products with the help of the bottom part 12 of the valve 1 having grooves 121 for sealing the hole in the lid A.

The device for vacuum sealing glass jars and plastic containers with lids can be used for any container B with any lid A in any shape, wherein lid A enables tight closing. The device can be used for any container B made from glass or plastic or any lid A made from tin or plastic.

The device for vacuum sealing glass jars and plastic containers with lids for storing food according to the invention enables pumping out the air from an opened jar or plastic container and thereby re-closing them with vacuum. This allows improved storage of different foods or drinks.