Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for evacuating the air from a vacuum vessel which has a check valve on a lid of the vessel and, more particularly, to a handheld vacuum apparatus for vessels, which is constructed so that a vacuum pump is installed in a body of the apparatus, thus being easy to hold in a user's hands and being easy to manipulate, in addition to allowing the user to easily carry the apparatus.

Background Art

A vacuum vessel is used to store food, e.g., fruits and vegetables. By evacuating the air from the vessel to create a vacuum, temperature variation in the vessel is reduced. Further, decay of the food due to the action of bacteria in the air and oxidation due to the reaction of food with oxygen are prevented. Thereby, the vacuum vessel can store food for a longer period while maintaining freshness. To evacuate air from vacuum vessels, manual vacuum apparatuses that have the shape of a plunger and are operated in a piston actuation manner, and automatic vacuum

apparatuses using electric pumps have been used.

An example of conventional automatic vacuum apparatuses is one combined in a vacuum packing machine as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1992- 0700998 and shown in FIG. 12 of this cited reference. This patent was published on Aug. 10, 1992,. and is entitled

"apparatus for vacuum sealing plastic bagsj . Another example of the automatic vacuum apparatuses is one combined in a mixer as disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-0005757 which was published on Jan. 23, 2003 and is entitled "vacuum devicej .

According to both of the above-mentioned patents, the vacuum apparatus for vacuum vessels is combined in a vacuum packing machine or a mixer, thus forming complex machines. Thus, the vacuum apparatuses are problematic in that portability is poor, the apparatuses occupy large areas, and coupling pipes are exposed to the outside, so that they obstruct the movement of people and are inconvenient to use. A vacuum apparatus used as an independent apparatus is proposed in Korean U.M. Registration No. 0166051 that was registered on Oct. 25, 1999 and is entitled ^vacuum apparatus of a containerj . The vacuum apparatus of the utility model has a rectangular shape and a predetermined thickness to allow a user to grasp it with a hand. This vacuum apparatus is operated as follows. That is, a nozzle

of the apparatus is inserted into a hole formed on a lid of a vacuum vessel having a check valve. After the nozzle of the apparatus is forced into the hole of the vacuum vessel to accomplish a sealed coupling to the vessel, a motor of the apparatus is operated, thus evacuating the air from the vessel.

However, the utility model is disadvantageous in that a user must insert the nozzle of the vacuum apparatus into the hole formed on the lid of the vessel, thus causing inconvenience to the user. Further, since the vacuum apparatus is pressed while being grasped by the user, the vacuum apparatus may slip from the user' s hands if the hands are wet. At this time, the user may undesirably be injured. Accordingly, the present invention is proposed to solve the problems of conventional vacuum apparatuses for vacuum vessels.

An object of the present invention is to provide a handheld vacuum apparatus, which is not a peripheral for a complex machine but serves as an independent apparatus, and which is constructed so that the apparatus does not slip from a user's hands when a user holds the apparatus, and which does not require excessive pressure to be applied to operate. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum apparatus having a suction part which is

configured to cover a portion around a check valve of a vacuum vessel.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum apparatus which has acupressure protrusions on its cover that contact a user's palm when the user holds the apparatus.

Disclosure of the Invention

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a handheld vacuum apparatus for a vacuum vessel, including a body defining a mounting space therein, with an opening provided on an upper portion of the body; a cover to cover the opening of the body; a vacuum pump installed in the mounting space of the body, the vacuum pump being turned on or off by a power switch that is provided on an outer surface of the cover; a power supply unit to operate the vacuum pump; and a suction part provided on a lower portion of the body, the suction part including a suction hole coupled to the vacuum pump via a pipe, and a sealing member which comes into contact with a lid of the vessel having a check valve and is made of a soft material.

Further, the power supply unit includes a connecting jack, the connecting jack mounted to a predetermined position on the body to connect an external power source to

the vacuum pump.

The body has a width of 5 to 10cm to allow a user to easily hold the body in the user's hand, and the cover has a curved shape to allow the user to easily press the cover with the user's hand.

Further, a plurality of acupressure protrusions is provided on an upper portion of the cover.

Furthermore, a cruciform groove is provided on a lower surface of the suction part to allow air to be easily drawn into the suction hole.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view to show the external appearance of a vacuum apparatus for vessels, according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view to schematically show the interior of a body of the vacuum apparatus, according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are a side view and a bottom view of the vacuum apparatus, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view to show the use of the vacuum apparatus, according to the present invention.

description of reference characters of important parts>

10: body 11: mounting space

20: cover A: vacuum apparatus

30: vacuum pump 31: power switch

31a: lamp 33: pipe 41: connecting jack 50: suction part

51: suction hole 53: sealing member

60: vessel 61: receptacle

63: lid 65: check valve

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vacuum apparatus A of this invention includes a body 10 and a cover 20 that are assembled with each other to have a deformed box shape, that is, a streamlined appearance.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vacuum pump 30, a pipe 33, a circuit board 35, and electric wires are installed in a mounting space 11 of the body 10. The cover 20 covers an opening of the body 10, with a power switch 31 and a lamp 43 provided on an outer surface of the cover 20. The power switch 31 is used to turn on or off the vacuum pump 30, and the lamp 43 is used to display the ON state of a power supply unit. Further, a button 31a is provided at a predetermined position on the circuit board 35 to be

pressed down or released by the power switch 31 which is provided on the outer surface of the cover 20.

-Preferably, the body 10 has a width W of 5 to 10cm to allow an adult to easily hold the apparatus. Further, it is preferable that an upper portion of the cover 20 have a curved shape to be similar to a user's palm, thus preventing the user from feeling pain in his/her palm when the user presses down the apparatus.

Alternatively, a plurality of acupressure protrusions may be provided on the upper portion of the cover to provide a massage effect.

The power supply unit to operate the vacuum pump 30 shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3a may be a battery installed in the body 10. When an external power source is used as the power supply unit, an adapter is connected to a connecting jack 41 which is provided on a surface of the body 10 and exposed to the outside, as shown in FIG. 3a.

The construction of a vacuum vessel 60 which is evacuated by the vacuum apparatus according to the present invention is as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the vacuum vessel 60 includes a receptacle 61 and a lid 63 to cover an upper portion of the receptacle 61. A check valve 65 is provided at a predetermined position on the lid 63. Meanwhile, a suction part 50 is provided on a lower portion of the body 10 of the vacuum apparatus and seated in a seating part 63a that is provided around the check valve

65. As shown in FIG. 3b, the suction part 50 has a suction hole 51 which is coupled to the vacuum pump 30 via the pipe 33. Further, a sealing member 53 is provided around the suction hole 51 and projects downwards, and is made of a soft rubber or a synthetic resin material.

A cruciform groove is formed on a lower surface of the suction part 50 to be located around the suction hole 51. When the air is evacuated from the vessel using the vacuum pump, the cruciform groove allows the air to be smoothly drawn into the suction hole from four directions while the air passes over the groove. Meanwhile, only a cruciform groove has been described herein, but the groove is not limited to this shape. For example, the groove may have a five-pronged structure. In this case, the air may be more smoothly drawn into the suction hole.

The method of using the handheld vacuum apparatus A according to the present invention is as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the vacuum apparatus is connected to the power supply unit via the connecting jack 41. Next, the vacuum apparatus is aligned with the vessel 60 such that a position of the sealing member 53 of the suction part 50 corresponds to a position of the seating part 63a of the lid 63. The power switch 31 is turned on, thus operating the vacuum pump 30. At this time, it is preferable that the upper portion of the cover 20 be lightly pressed and covered by the user's palm.

Unlike the conventional vacuum apparatus disclosed in Korean U.M. Registration No. 0166051, the vacuum apparatus of this invention does not slip from a user's hand when the user presses down the vacuum apparatus. Further, according to the present invention, the sealing member 53 of the suction part 50 is positioned around the check valve 65 of the vessel 60, so that it is convenient to use.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a handheld vacuum apparatus for vessels, which is not a peripheral of a complex machine but serves as an independent apparatus, thus providing a small apparatus. Further, the shape and size of a body, the shape of a cover, and the holding manner during the use of the vacuum apparatus afford easy use, prevent undesirable slippage, and allow the apparatus to be easily pressed without requiring great force.

Further, a suction part is configured to cover a

portion around a check valve of a vacuum vessel, so that it is more convenient compared to Korean U.M. Registration No. 0166051 having a nozzle, because the nozzle must be inserted into a hole of the vessel before use. Furthermore, a plurality of acupressure protrusions is provided on the cover to contact a user's palm when holding the vacuum apparatus, thus promoting the user's health.