ITBS20110087A1 - CONTAINERS FOR MARINATING AND / OR STORAGE OF VACUUM PRODUCTS - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

â € œCONTAINERS FOR MARINATING AND / OR STORAGE OF

VACUUM PRODUCTSâ €

Field of Invention

The present invention generally relates to containers, trays and the like, particularly for rapid marinating and / or the preservation of vacuum-packed products, and relates in particular to a valve and sealing system for creating a vacuum in said containers.

State of the art

Containers or trays are already known for receiving food products for their vacuum-packed preservation or, where desired, for a quick marinating or flavoring procedure, always vacuum-packed.

Such containers or trays can be made in various shapes and sizes and usually have a container body equipped with a removable lid, where the body and the lid are coupled at the level of overlapping edges. A gasket is mounted between these edges for a pneumatic seal when the container is closed and placed under vacuum, and at least one valve system is applied to the lid, capable of assuming multiple positions for different functions.

In fact, the valve must be able to open to create a vacuum in the container when connected to a suction device; automatically close when suction is interrupted, or when the depressor device is disconnected; remain stably closed to maintain the vacuum in the container over time. On the other hand, it must be possible to intentionally let the air into the container through an opening to cancel the vacuum inside it and to be able to remove the lid for its opening. A valve for this application has been described, for example, in document IT 0 257 426 by the same applicant.

According to the known art, the aforesaid containers or trays can be made with different materials. For example, they can have a container body in steel and a lid in polycarbonate or in synthetic material, or both the container body and lid in polycarbonate or in synthetic material, or in metal, in particular stainless steel, but they are not exempt from inconveniences.

In fact, a drawback is due to the fact that due to the depression and consequently the forces that are generated in the container to create a vacuum in a quick marinating procedure or for the preservation of the product stored there, the lid, if in polycarbonate or similar, can be subject to implosion or in any case to deformations with cracks up to breakage, so it is preferable that the lid is made of steel with a given thickness so that it is non-deformable. Moreover, in both cases the gasket placed between the body and the lid is substantially flat and has the drawback of not offering a safe pneumatic seal even at the beginning of the suction to create a vacuum in the container. It has been found, in fact, that if the lid is and remains simply supported by its own weight on the container body, a flat gasket does not prevent any infiltration of air from the outside when starting the suction. of the air from the container with the result of delaying or compromising the formation of the vacuum in the container.

So, to remedy this problem, you have to manually press the lid when starting the suction or mechanically lock the lid on the container. However, in the first case the user has to keep the lid pressed on the container body at least during the start of the suction and even to be present during the entire treatment cycle when it comes to marinating by alternating suction and loading of the air into the container; in the second case the container must be equipped with means, usually handles, for tightly locking the lid to the body before starting the suction of the air from the container.

Aims and summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to obviate the aforementioned drawbacks of the known art and to correspondingly propose a container or tray for rapid marinating and / or preserving vacuum-packed products which advantageously does not require manual interventions on the part of the User to start the aspiration of the air from the container, nor means of locking the lid on the container body thus simplifying the system.

This object is achieved with a container or tray according to claim 1.

In particular, the gasket arranged between the coupled edges of the body and lid of the container then has a suitable configuration to automatically create a suction cup effect such as to ensure a pneumatic seal between the two components as soon as the suction of the container starts. Air from the container, thus facilitating the vacuum start operation without having to press the lid or lock it in any other way.

The gasket is preferably associated with the peripheral edge of the lid to rest on the facing edge of the container body and it can consist of a separate element to be applied in a removable form to the edge of the lid or constrained without being able to separate it from the lid.

Another object of the invention is to propose a container or tray for rapid marinating and / or preservation of vacuum-packed products in which the lid is equipped with a valve which remains fixed to it in a removable form and which has an antiquing system, capable of that is to avoid the leakage of fluid substances up to the top of the lid through the valve when it is opened and the air quickly enters the container to cancel the vacuum. There is therefore the advantage that the lid is not soiled by unwanted liquid substances for its easier handling.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will, however, be better illustrated in the continuation of the description made with reference to the accompanying indicative and non-limiting drawings, in which:

Fig.1 shows a perspective view of the complete container; Fig.2 shows a top view of the container in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a section of the container according to the arrows A-A in Fig.2;

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the sealing gasket only;

Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view of a part B of the container circled in Fig. 3, with the lid and relative gasket simply resting on the container body;

Fig. 6 shows a view similar to that of Fig. 5, but with a lid and relative sealing gasket which engage tightly on the edge of the container when this is placed under vacuum;

Fig. 7 shows in section the valve applied to the lid of the container;

Fig.7a shows an enlarged top view of the valve; Fig. 8 shows an internal view of the base component of the valve in Fig.7;

Fig.9 shows a side view of the base component in Fig.8; And

Fig. 10 shows a cross section of the component in Fig. 9 according to the arrows C-C in Fig.8.

Detailed description of the Invention

As shown, the container essentially comprises a container body 11, a lid 12, a seal 13 between the body and the lid, and a valve unit 14 associated with the lid 12 and intended to control the formation of the vacuum in the container.

The container body 11 and the lid 12 are preferably both made of stainless steel. In particular, the container body 11 can have any shape but in any case has a peripheral edge 15 with a flat part 16 substantially parallel to its bottom. The lid 12 has a shape compatible with that of the container body 11 and has a peripheral edge 17 with a portion 18 intended to couple by overlapping with at least the flat part of the edge of said body. The sealing gasket 13 is associated with the peripheral edge 17 of the lid to rest on the flat part 16 of the edge of the container body.

The sealing gasket 13 can be fitted inside the peripheral edge 17 of the cover in a removable form. Alternatively, it can be printed or overprinted on the lid to be permanently attached to it.

In any case, as shown in detail in Figs. 4 - 6 of the drawings, the sealing gasket 13 has, seen in section, an angled shape with a vertical side 19 and a horizontal side 20. When the lid 12 is coupled with the container body 11, the vertical side 19 of the gasket 13 is substantially parallel to the internal surface of the perimeter walls of said body, while its horizontal side 18 is substantially parallel to the flat part 16 of the peripheral edge 15 of the body itself.

Advantageously, then, the gasket 13 has at least one flexible lip 21 which extends at an acute angle from its horizontal side 20 and which is inclined towards the outside of the lid. This is so that the gasket 13 rests on the flat part 16 of the edge 15 of the container body 11 essentially through the flexible lip 21.

In particular, when the lid is arranged on the edge of the container body and in the absence of a vacuum inside the container, the flexible lip 21 of the gasket 13 rests on the edge of said body as shown in Fig. 5, simply by the weight of the lid itself. and remains at an angle to the horizontal side from which it extends. Starting from this condition, with the application of a suction through the valve on the lid for the formation of the vacuum in the container, the lip 21 of the gasket 13 tends to adhere progressively to the flat part 16 of the edge of the body 11 thus generating a suction effect aimed at safely inhibiting the entry of air from the outside, thus favoring the formation of a vacuum right from the start without exerting manual pressure on the lid and without previously blocking the lid on the container body.

It should be noted that a similar effect can also be achieved with the adoption of a sealing gasket equipped with a flexible lip extending from its vertical side or with a gasket having a flexible lip both along its horizontal side and along its vertical side. .

Furthermore, instead of a lip, as shown, the gasket may have a protuberance or the like, shaped in such a way as to guarantee the seal between the lid and the container and to generate a suction effect that prevents the entry of air from the outside.

As for the vacuum control valve 14 in the container, it is mounted in correspondence with a hole 22 preferably obtained in a recess 23 provided in the center of the lid.

In the example shown in Figs. 7 - 10, the valve 14 comprises a base element 24, preferably made of elastomeric plastic material, relatively soft, having externally a peripheral groove 25 by means of which it is coupled and constrained to the edge around the hole 22 of the cover. In particular, the base element 24 has a bottom wall 26 facing towards the inside of the container body 11 to which the lid is to be associated, and a perimeter wall 27 which rises from the bottom wall and above the hollow of the cover. This perimeter wall 27 has on its inner side a groove 28 to which the outer edge of a plate 29 is coupled and constrained, which is arranged parallel to the bottom wall 26 of the base element 24 and which has a central orifice 30. A cylindrical neck 31 rises from the plate 29 which is around and concentric to said central orifice 30 and which is equipped with an external thread 32 to which a radially finned control nut or knob 33 is screwed for manual gripping.

It should be noted that the plate 29 - Fig. 7 - has feet 34 which, however, keep it spaced from the back wall 26 so as to delimit with it an intermediate chamber 35 communicating with the aforementioned central orifice and with the outside of the base element 24 through through radial channels 36 which in turn are in communication with the interior of the container body 11 when the lid 12 rests thereon. In other words, the central orifice 30 of the plate 29 does not communicate directly with the interior of the container body 11 on which the lid 12 rests, but through the radial channels 36.

More in detail, then, the knob 33 has a central portion 37 which is turned from top to bottom coaxially inside the cylindrical neck 31 and to which it is fixed, by pressure, by welding, with an adhesive or another suitable system, a sleeve 38 which peripherally carries at least one sealing gasket 39 on the internal surface of the cylindrical neck 31. The sleeve 38 extends below the central portion 37 of the knob 33, where it ends with a bottom transverse wall 40, substantially parallel to the plate 29 and equipped with a central opening 41 in axis with the central orifice 30 of the plate 29. Furthermore, on its lower face facing the plate 29, the transverse wall 40 has a possible annular thrust relief, and at said opening 41 is associated with a substantially flat obturator 42, floating axially, albeit to a limited extent, and intended to rest in closing with its lower face on a valve seat 43 consisting of a sealing gasket placed around the central orifice 30.

Hooks 44 passing through the opening 41 rise from the upper face of the obturator 22 and are intended to engage with the internal or upper surface of the bottom wall 40 of the sleeve 38 to prevent the detachment of the obturator.

The central portion 37 of the nut or knob 33 delimits a hole with a countersink 45 to which a suction pipe or a fitting - not shown - placed or at the end of a suction pipe can be connected directly to head to a suction device, or directly on the device itself, said hole 45 being in communication, through the opening 41 in the bottom wall 40 of the sleeve 38, with the central orifice 30 of the plate 29 and therefore with the intermediate chamber 35 and from this with the inside of the container body through the radial channels 36.

Basically, the obturator 42 can move axially to rest on the valve seat 43 when closed, move away from it or remain hanging with the relative hooks 44 on the bottom wall of the sleeve depending on the degree of screwing of the nut or knob 33 on the neck 31 and the vacuum present in the container.

When the nut or knob 33 is fully screwed onto the neck 31 in a closed position, the obturator 42 is pushed by the bottom wall 40 of the sleeve 38 and rests on the valve seat 43, as shown in Fig. 7 In this condition the valve and therefore the container are hermetically closed both with and without the presence of vacuum in the container.

When the nut or knob 33 is rotated, by screwing / unscrewing it only partially on the neck 31, the obturator 42 is free to float axially between a closed resting position, by its own gravity, on the valve seat 43 and an open position resting against the bottom wall 40 of the sleeve 38. In this condition it is possible to suck the air from the container to create a vacuum thanks to the presence of the radial channels.

With the application of a suction at the level of the central hole 45 of the nut or control knob 33, the obturator 42 moves away from the valve seat 43, allowing the evacuation of the air from the container through the Orifice the channels 36, the central orifice 30 and the bottom opening 41 of the sleeve 38. By ceasing the suction and / or disconnecting the suction device, the obturator 42 automatically moves to the closed position on the valve seat 43, either by its own gravity or by the effect of the vacuum in the container.

At that point, the closure of the valve and therefore of the container can be stabilized over time by fully screwing the nut or knob 33 until the obturator 42 is locked on the valve seat 43.

For a subsequent opening of the valve when removing the vacuum from the container and being able to open the latter, the nut or knob 33 is rotated in order to drag, through the hooks 44, the obturator 42 away from the valve seat 43, thus putting the inside of the container in communication with the external atmosphere through the radial channels 36, the orifice 30 and the central hole 45 without the risk of an expulsion of splashes of liquid substances.

The closed, open and vacuum formation valve positions are indicated on the lid or on the plate 29 (see Fig. 7a) in relation to the control knob 33 and defined by means for stopping the rotation of the knob 33 in each individual position.

Claims (10)

â € œCONTAINERS FOR MARINATING AND / OR STORAGE OF VACUUM PRODUCTSâ € R I V E N D I C A Z I O N I 1. Container for marinating and / or preserving vacuum-packed products, comprising a container body (11), a lid (12), a sealing gasket (13) between the body and the lid, and an associated valve unit (14) to the lid (12) and designed to control the formation of vacuum in the container, where the lid has a peripheral edge (17, 18) intended to overlap with a peripheral edge (15, 16) of the container body (11) with the € ™ interposition of the sealing gasket (13), characterized in that said sealing gasket (13) is associated with the peripheral edge of the cover and is equipped with at least one flexible lip (21) inclined so that when the cover is unlocked the flexible lip (21) rests on the rim of the container with a suction effect facilitating the start of an operation of aspiration of the air from the container, and that with the formation of a vacuum in the container the lip rests and adheres tightly to the edge of the container between it and the edge of the lid. Container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing gasket (13) has, in section, an angled shape with a vertical side (19) substantially parallel to the inner surface of the perimeter walls of the container body (11), and a horizontal side (20) substantially parallel to a flat part (16) of the peripheral edge (15) of the container body (11), when the lid (12) is coupled with said body. Container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible lip (21) extends at an acute angle from the horizontal side (20) of the seal (13) and is inclined towards the outside of the lid (12) to rest on the edge of the container body (11). 4. Container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealing gasket (13) has a flexible lip which extends at an acute angle from its horizontal side and is inclined towards the outside of the lid (12) to rest on top the edge of the container body (11) is a flexible lip which extends at an acute angle from its vertical side and is inclined to rest against the internal surface of the perimeter walls of the container body (11). Container according to one of the preceding claims, in which the sealing gasket is removably associated with the peripheral edge of the lid. Container according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing gasket is permanently bonded to the peripheral edge of the lid by gluing or co-molding or overmoulding. Container according to claim 1 and any of claims 2 to 6, wherein said valve (14) is removably anchored in a hole (22) obtained in the lid by means of a base element (24) preferably made of elastomeric material or plastic having a continuous bottom wall (26). 8. Container according to claim 7, wherein said valve (14) comprises a plate (29) peripherally coupled with the base element (24) and arranged parallel to the bottom wall (26) of said base element (24) ), said plate carrying valve components intended to control the inlet and suction phases of the air in and from the container body when the lid is resting on said body. 9. Container according to claim 8, wherein said plate (29) is spaced from the bottom wall (26) of the base element (24) to define with it an intermediate chamber (35) and in which in said chamber through radial channels (36) are provided to put the inside of the container body (11) in communication when the lid (12) rests on it, with an orifice (30) of said inlet control valve means and air outlet in and from the container. 10. Container according to claim 9, in which said radial through channels (36) are formed in the bottom wall of the base element (24).