US20200087012A1 - Method and apparatus to perform quick vacuum evacuation from universal sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles - Google Patents
Method and apparatus to perform quick vacuum evacuation from universal sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles Download PDFInfo
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- US20200087012A1 US20200087012A1 US16/136,122 US201816136122A US2020087012A1 US 20200087012 A1 US20200087012 A1 US 20200087012A1 US 201816136122 A US201816136122 A US 201816136122A US 2020087012 A1 US2020087012 A1 US 2020087012A1
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- 235000013305 food Nutrition 0.000 claims abstract description 46
- 235000013372 meat Nutrition 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 claims 3
- VVQNEPGJFQJSBK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methyl methacrylate Chemical compound COC(=O)C(C)=C VVQNEPGJFQJSBK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 229920005372 Plexiglas® Polymers 0.000 claims 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000605 extraction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 235000013324 preserved food Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
- B65B31/04—Evacuating, pressurising or gasifying filled containers or wrappers by means of nozzles through which air or other gas, e.g. an inert gas, is withdrawn or supplied
- B65B31/043—Evacuating, pressurising or gasifying filled containers or wrappers by means of nozzles through which air or other gas, e.g. an inert gas, is withdrawn or supplied the nozzles acting horizontally between an upper and a lower part of the container or wrapper, e.g. between container and lid
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
- A23L3/00—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs
- A23L3/015—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs by treatment with pressure variation, shock, acceleration or shear stress or cavitation
- A23L3/0155—Preservation of foods or foodstuffs, in general, e.g. pasteurising, sterilising, specially adapted for foods or foodstuffs by treatment with pressure variation, shock, acceleration or shear stress or cavitation using sub- or super-atmospheric pressures, or pressure variations transmitted by a liquid or gas
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
- A23L13/00—Meat products; Meat meal; Preparation or treatment thereof
- A23L13/70—Tenderised or flavoured meat pieces; Macerating or marinating solutions specially adapted therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
- B65B31/02—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
- B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
- B65B31/02—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
- B65B31/025—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas specially adapted for rigid or semi-rigid containers
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
- C12H—PASTEURISATION, STERILISATION, PRESERVATION, PURIFICATION, CLARIFICATION OR AGEING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; METHODS FOR ALTERING THE ALCOHOL CONTENT OF FERMENTED SOLUTIONS OR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
- C12H1/00—Pasteurisation, sterilisation, preservation, purification, clarification, or ageing of alcoholic beverages
- C12H1/12—Pasteurisation, sterilisation, preservation, purification, clarification, or ageing of alcoholic beverages without precipitation
- C12H1/14—Pasteurisation, sterilisation, preservation, purification, clarification, or ageing of alcoholic beverages without precipitation with non-precipitating compounds, e.g. sulfiting; Sequestration, e.g. with chelate-producing compounds
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
- C12H—PASTEURISATION, STERILISATION, PRESERVATION, PURIFICATION, CLARIFICATION OR AGEING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; METHODS FOR ALTERING THE ALCOHOL CONTENT OF FERMENTED SOLUTIONS OR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
- C12H1/00—Pasteurisation, sterilisation, preservation, purification, clarification, or ageing of alcoholic beverages
- C12H1/22—Ageing or ripening by storing, e.g. lagering of beer
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
- A47J47/00—Kitchen containers, stands or the like, not provided for in other groups of this subclass; Cutting-boards, e.g. for bread
- A47J47/02—Closed containers for foodstuffs
- A47J47/08—Closed containers for foodstuffs for non-granulated foodstuffs
- A47J47/10—Closed containers for foodstuffs for non-granulated foodstuffs with arrangements for keeping fresh
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
- B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
- B65D81/2007—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum
- B65D81/2038—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum with means for establishing or improving vacuum
Definitions
- This invention relates to a method and apparatus to perform effortless vacuum evacuation on universal food sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles for food preserving and meat marinating.
- Sealable vacuum containers are characterized as those are equipped with a valve that only allows air to go in one direction. Air is extracted from the container through this valve using vacuum pump. Sealable vacuum containers are also equipped with a release valve that allows the air to fill back into the container at the end of the storage period to recover the preserved food.
- Vacuum operation can also be utilized to aid the meat marinating process as it can speed it up.
- Most vacuum appliances in the market now can be used for this purpose.
- each vacuum appliance also requires its proprietary sealable vacuum container.
- tubing has to be used between the vacuum appliance and the sealable vacuum container.
- the system used for evacuating air from the sealable vacuum containers comprised of a vacuum chamber that is large enough to enclose a sealable vacuum container or multiple of them.
- This vacuum chamber in effect, is a large-size vacuum container that has a vacuum port.
- the vacuum chamber is of circular shape to better withstand the negative pressure.
- the vacuum chambers are formed by a dome as the top part and the base unit as the bottom part. Between the top part and the bottom part is an airtight element.
- the vacuum port is on the base unit.
- the other aspect of the invention is a system of tubing, vacuum pump, release valve, vacuum switch, microchip control board, and operation switches.
- This system is connected to the vacuum chamber to control the vacuum condition inside the vacuum chamber and the food sealable vacuum container.
- Another aspect yet of the invention is the vacuum extracting and quick releasing process that allows the operation to work with any food sealable vacuum container found on the market.
- FIG. 1 shows the vacuuming process in action.
- FIG. 2 shows the de-vacuuming process in action.
- FIG. 3 is the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance with a food sealable vacuum container in open position.
- FIG. 4 is the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance with a food sealable vacuum container in closed, operating, position.
- FIG. 5 is the perspective view of the wine vacuum appliance with a wine bottle in open position.
- FIG. 6 is the perspective view of the wine vacuum appliance with a wine bottle in closed, operating, position.
- FIG. 7 is the operating flow chart of the vacuuming and de-vacuuming process.
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the vacuum evacuation operations on a vacuum chamber.
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the vacuum evacuation operations on a vacuum chamber.
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the vacuum evacuation operations on a vacuum chamber.
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the vacuum evacuation operations on a vacuum chamber.
- FIG. 1 shows the vacuum evacuation process
- FIG. 2 shows the de-vacuuming process.
- FIG. 3 shows the perspective view of the food vacuum chamber, with a sealable vacuum container, in open position
- FIG. 4 shows the perspective view of the food vacuum chamber, with a sealable vacuum container, in close or operating position.
- FIG. 5 shows the perspective view of the wine vacuum chamber, with a wine bottle, in open position
- FIG. 6 shows the perspective view of the wine vacuum chamber, with a wine bottle, in close or operating position
- FIG. 7 shows the flow chart of the operating processes.
- the key of the invention that makes this vacuum appliance novel and different than the existing ones is the quick de-vacuuming process. This allows the food sealable vacuum container to remain vacuumed after the process. The basis of the vacuum and de-vacuum process is as followed.
- FIG. 1 shows the vacuum evacuation process in action.
- the food vacuum chamber 1 is used, as shown in its sectional view.
- a food sealable vacuum container 2 is also shown placed inside the vacuum chamber.
- the vacuum operation is the same for all vacuum chambers, food or wine.
- These vacuum chambers are shown in FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , FIG. 5 , and FIG. 6 .
- the food vacuum chamber comprises of a dome 1 and the base unit.
- a vacuum port, 16 , on the base unit is connected to the vacuuming system, which comprises of tubing 15 , vacuum pump 5 , vacuum switch 4 , release valve 3 , control circuit 11 , and operating switches 7 - 10 .
- the vacuum pump, vacuum switch, and the release valve are connected to the control circuit by electric wirings 12 - 14 , same as the operating switches 7 - 10 .
- Vacuum pump 5 is a commercially-off-the shelve (COTS) one and is of reciprocating type, which has a piston that moves inside a cylinder.
- the vacuum pump cylinder is equipped with a one-way valve that only allows the air to go one way.
- Vacuum switch 4 is a COTS vacuum sensor that acts as an electrical switch, which is triggered by the sensed vacuum level.
- the vacuum switch used in this application is a normally-open one, meaning its electric switch is in opened position when the sensed vacuum level is less than the preset threshold. When the sensed vacuum level crosses a preset value, the vacuum switch will close its electrical switch.
- the release valve 3 is a normally-closed on-off solenoid valve, which can be controlled electronically.
- Control circuit 11 comprises of programmable microchip controller and circuitry for power supply and for powering up the pump, valve, lights . . . .
- FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance.
- a food sealable vacuum container is also shown placed inside the vacuum appliance.
- This food sealable vacuum container can be of any brand on the market.
- these food sealable vacuum containers are equipped with a vacuuming one-way valve 4 a and a release valve 4 b .
- the base unit 2 houses the pump, valve, and the control unit.
- the airtight dome is secured on top of the base unit by its own weight. Rubbery material is used for the seal between the dome and the base unit.
- the buttons 2 a , 2 b , 2 c , and 2 d are for vacuum, cancel, marinate 1, and marinate 2 enabling.
- the vacuum port 2 d is also shown in FIG. 3 .
- FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the wine vacuum appliance.
- Wine vacuum appliance comprises of top part 2 , which is of one opened-end cylinder shape and secured on top of base unit 1 by its own weight. A rubbery seal is in between the two units.
- the control panel is on the side of the base unit.
- Button 1 a and 1 b are for vacuum and cancel enabling.
- Shown inside the vacuum chamber is a wine bottle 4 , which is sported with a vacuum stopper 5 .
- FIG. 6 also shows the internal view of the wine vacuum appliance; where pump, valve, and control unit 1 c are shown.
- the user first places a food sealable vacuum container inside the vacuum chamber and close the vacuum chamber lid down.
- the vacuum switch 7 When the vacuum switch 7 is pressed by the user, which responses to the “vacuum switch on” on the operating flow chart in FIG. 7 , the vacuum pump 5 will be turned on to extract air from the vacuum chamber.
- the vacuum switch 4 Since the vacuum switch 4 is also connected in-line with the air tubing 15 , it can sense the air pressure inside the tubing and therefore the vacuum chamber itself. Since the food sealable vacuum container is inside the vacuum chamber, air is also extracted from it.
- the food sealable vacuum container is equipped with a one-way valve. The pressure imbalance between the vacuum chamber and the food sealable vacuum container when the vacuum evacuation in action will also cause the air to escape the food sealable vacuum container through its valve.
- the vacuum level in the tubing hit the preset vacuum threshold set on the vacuum switch, it sends signal to the microchip controller to turn off the vacuum pump and open up the release valve to let the air into the vacuum chamber to de-vacuum it instantaneously, as shown in FIG. 2 .
- the air flow is in the direction of the shown arrows along the tubing.
- the food sealable vacuum container because of its one-way valve, preventing the air from getting back into it, and therefore remains vacuumed after this process, even after the pressure inside the vacuum chamber has become that of the ambient.
- the release valve used is a high-flowrate one that allows instantaneous de-vacuuming, and this is key of this invention.
- the one-way valve on the food sealable vacuum container only works if the differential pressure, inside vs. outside of the container, is large enough. A slow de-vacuuming process would cause a low differential pressure, and the air will find it way back into the food sealable vacuum container. Following the de-vacuuming process, a 3-second delay is allowed before the microchip controller will send a signal to close the release valve and to set the system back to the standby mode, getting ready for the next command. The user now can open the vacuum chamber to retrieve the food sealable vacuum container to store it somewhere else. When needed, the user can press the release valve on the food sealable vacuum container to de-vacuum it and retrieve the food inside.
- the vacuum operation on the wine bottle follows the exact procedure as in the vacuuming the food sealable vacuum container.
- the air now is extracted from the wine bottles themselves.
- the wine bottle vacuuming process is made possible with the use of wine bottle vacuum stopper, which are readily available on the market. These stoppers act as a one-way valve and release valve combined.
- the user just plugs a vacuum stopper into the wine bottle and place it in the wine vacuum appliance and turn the vacuum switch on to start the vacuuming process.
- the vacuum pressure has reached the preset value
- the wine vacuum appliance will go into the de-vacuuming cycle, while the wine bottle still remains vacuumed.
- the user now can retrieve the vacuumed wine bottle from the wine vacuum appliance. When needed, the user can press the vacuum stopper to de-vacuum the bottle.
- FIG. 7 shows the operation procedure of this mode, starting with “marinating 1 switch on” block.
- the user can use any open container for meat and marinating recipes, as opposed to a proprietary one of closed type. Trays, bowls . . . can be used for this purpose.
- Prior art systems require that meat and marinating recipes be placed in a specially designed, sealable container.
- the user first place meat and marinating recipes container inside the vacuum chamber and press mal button 9 to start this marinating mode.
- the vacuum pump 5 will turn on to start pumping air out of the vacuum chamber.
- Marinating Mode 1 consists of five vacuuming cycles as described above and totals about 30 minutes.
- Marinating Mode 2 logics are shown on FIG. 7 , starting with “marinating 2 switch on” block. The user will press the mat button 9 on FIG. 1 to start this mode. Marinating Mode 2 is similar to marinating Mode 1, except the delay period is 30 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Also, there is no repeat of the vacuuming cycle as in Mode 1.
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Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to a method and apparatus to perform effortless vacuum evacuation on universal food sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles for food preserving and meat marinating.
- Storing and preserving food in vacuum environment has been proven to prolong the life of food significantly. Currently, there are many types of appliances that can be found in the market to perform vacuum evacuation from sealable vacuum containers, which are typically made of plastic or glass. Sealable vacuum containers are characterized as those are equipped with a valve that only allows air to go in one direction. Air is extracted from the container through this valve using vacuum pump. Sealable vacuum containers are also equipped with a release valve that allows the air to fill back into the container at the end of the storage period to recover the preserved food.
- Almost all sealable vacuum containers (i.e U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,493) found on the market nowadays are proprietarily designed to only work with their compatible vacuum appliances. This fact can add to the cost of owning vacuum operation at home.
- Another shortcoming of prior art systems is that it takes a great deal of efforts to operate vacuum evacuation on sealable vacuum containers. As for all existing vacuum appliances (i.e. FoodSaver® Vacuum Sealer), in order to extract air from a sealable vacuum container, the user has to use a tubing extended from the vacuum appliance and insert it into the sealable vacuum container extract valve. After the vacuum operation is done, the user has to store the tubing back into the vacuum appliance.
- Current vacuum appliances on the market can only perform vacuum extraction from a sealable vacuum container, one at a time. The user has to repeat the tubing inserting and air extracting process multiple times if he/she has multiple sealable vacuum containers that need to be vacuumed. This can increase the time and effort to perform vacuum operation significantly.
- Vacuum operation can also be utilized to aid the meat marinating process as it can speed it up. Most vacuum appliances in the market now can be used for this purpose. However, each vacuum appliance also requires its proprietary sealable vacuum container. Furthermore, tubing has to be used between the vacuum appliance and the sealable vacuum container.
- Furthermore, a market research has found that none of the existing vacuum appliances can be used to extract air from universal wine bottles to preserve wine. Since wine bottles are not proprietarily designed to work with current vacuum appliances, they cannot be used with them. The only device that can be used for this purpose is the vacuum hand pump that works with its proprietarily designed bottle vacuum stopper.
- The above shortcomings and others are addressed in one or more preferred embodiments and vacuum process of the invention described herein. In one aspect of the invention, the system used for evacuating air from the sealable vacuum containers comprised of a vacuum chamber that is large enough to enclose a sealable vacuum container or multiple of them. This vacuum chamber, in effect, is a large-size vacuum container that has a vacuum port. The vacuum chamber is of circular shape to better withstand the negative pressure. The vacuum chambers are formed by a dome as the top part and the base unit as the bottom part. Between the top part and the bottom part is an airtight element. The vacuum port is on the base unit.
- The other aspect of the invention is a system of tubing, vacuum pump, release valve, vacuum switch, microchip control board, and operation switches. This system is connected to the vacuum chamber to control the vacuum condition inside the vacuum chamber and the food sealable vacuum container.
- Another aspect yet of the invention is the vacuum extracting and quick releasing process that allows the operation to work with any food sealable vacuum container found on the market.
-
FIG. 1 shows the vacuuming process in action. -
FIG. 2 shows the de-vacuuming process in action. -
FIG. 3 is the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance with a food sealable vacuum container in open position. -
FIG. 4 is the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance with a food sealable vacuum container in closed, operating, position. -
FIG. 5 is the perspective view of the wine vacuum appliance with a wine bottle in open position. -
FIG. 6 is the perspective view of the wine vacuum appliance with a wine bottle in closed, operating, position. -
FIG. 7 is the operating flow chart of the vacuuming and de-vacuuming process. - This invention relates to apparatuses and method to perform vacuum evacuation from universal food sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles for food and wine preserving. The invention also relates to a vacuum evacuation method for meat marinating.
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 show the vacuum evacuation operations on a vacuum chamber. There are two types of vacuum chambers presented in this invention: food and wine vacuum chambers. Without losing the generality, only the food vacuum chamber is presented inFIG. 1 andFIG. 2 , where the vacuum operations are presented.FIG. 1 shows the vacuum evacuation process, andFIG. 2 shows the de-vacuuming process.FIG. 3 shows the perspective view of the food vacuum chamber, with a sealable vacuum container, in open position,FIG. 4 shows the perspective view of the food vacuum chamber, with a sealable vacuum container, in close or operating position.FIG. 5 shows the perspective view of the wine vacuum chamber, with a wine bottle, in open position, andFIG. 6 shows the perspective view of the wine vacuum chamber, with a wine bottle, in close or operating position.FIG. 7 shows the flow chart of the operating processes. The key of the invention that makes this vacuum appliance novel and different than the existing ones is the quick de-vacuuming process. This allows the food sealable vacuum container to remain vacuumed after the process. The basis of the vacuum and de-vacuum process is as followed. -
FIG. 1 shows the vacuum evacuation process in action. In this figure, thefood vacuum chamber 1 is used, as shown in its sectional view. For illustration purpose (not part of this invention), a foodsealable vacuum container 2 is also shown placed inside the vacuum chamber. For the purpose of simplicity and without losing generality, only the food vacuum chamber is shown in this figure. The vacuum operation is the same for all vacuum chambers, food or wine. These vacuum chambers are shown inFIG. 3 ,FIG. 4 ,FIG. 5 , andFIG. 6 . Back toFIG. 1 , the food vacuum chamber comprises of adome 1 and the base unit. A vacuum port, 16, on the base unit is connected to the vacuuming system, which comprises oftubing 15,vacuum pump 5,vacuum switch 4,release valve 3,control circuit 11, and operating switches 7-10. The vacuum pump, vacuum switch, and the release valve are connected to the control circuit by electric wirings 12-14, same as the operating switches 7-10.Vacuum pump 5 is a commercially-off-the shelve (COTS) one and is of reciprocating type, which has a piston that moves inside a cylinder. The vacuum pump cylinder is equipped with a one-way valve that only allows the air to go one way. The vacuum pump piston is driven by an electric motor in such a way that it moves in a reciprocating pattern and draw air from the cylinder, which in turn will extract air from the vacuum chamber.Vacuum switch 4 is a COTS vacuum sensor that acts as an electrical switch, which is triggered by the sensed vacuum level. The vacuum switch used in this application is a normally-open one, meaning its electric switch is in opened position when the sensed vacuum level is less than the preset threshold. When the sensed vacuum level crosses a preset value, the vacuum switch will close its electrical switch. Therelease valve 3 is a normally-closed on-off solenoid valve, which can be controlled electronically. The release valve used for this application is of a high-flowrate one to allow an almost instantaneous de-vacuuming process, and this is what makes this invention novel.Control circuit 11 comprises of programmable microchip controller and circuitry for power supply and for powering up the pump, valve, lights . . . . -
FIG. 3 andFIG. 4 show the perspective view of the food vacuum appliance. A food sealable vacuum container is also shown placed inside the vacuum appliance. This food sealable vacuum container can be of any brand on the market. Typically, these food sealable vacuum containers are equipped with a vacuuming one-way valve 4 a and arelease valve 4 b. Thebase unit 2 houses the pump, valve, and the control unit. The airtight dome is secured on top of the base unit by its own weight. Rubbery material is used for the seal between the dome and the base unit. Thebuttons vacuum port 2 d is also shown inFIG. 3 . -
FIG. 5 andFIG. 6 show the wine vacuum appliance. Wine vacuum appliance comprises oftop part 2, which is of one opened-end cylinder shape and secured on top ofbase unit 1 by its own weight. A rubbery seal is in between the two units. The control panel is on the side of the base unit.Button wine bottle 4, which is sported with avacuum stopper 5.FIG. 6 also shows the internal view of the wine vacuum appliance; where pump, valve, andcontrol unit 1 c are shown. - Starting with the vacuum operation, as shown in
FIG. 7 for control logics andFIG. 1 for actual system, the user first places a food sealable vacuum container inside the vacuum chamber and close the vacuum chamber lid down. When thevacuum switch 7 is pressed by the user, which responses to the “vacuum switch on” on the operating flow chart inFIG. 7 , thevacuum pump 5 will be turned on to extract air from the vacuum chamber. Since thevacuum switch 4 is also connected in-line with theair tubing 15, it can sense the air pressure inside the tubing and therefore the vacuum chamber itself. Since the food sealable vacuum container is inside the vacuum chamber, air is also extracted from it. As mentioned earlier, the food sealable vacuum container is equipped with a one-way valve. The pressure imbalance between the vacuum chamber and the food sealable vacuum container when the vacuum evacuation in action will also cause the air to escape the food sealable vacuum container through its valve. - When the vacuum level in the tubing hit the preset vacuum threshold set on the vacuum switch, it sends signal to the microchip controller to turn off the vacuum pump and open up the release valve to let the air into the vacuum chamber to de-vacuum it instantaneously, as shown in
FIG. 2 . The air flow is in the direction of the shown arrows along the tubing. The food sealable vacuum container, because of its one-way valve, preventing the air from getting back into it, and therefore remains vacuumed after this process, even after the pressure inside the vacuum chamber has become that of the ambient. As mentioned earlier, the release valve used is a high-flowrate one that allows instantaneous de-vacuuming, and this is key of this invention. If a low-flowrate valve were used and the de-vacuuming process were not quick enough, the air would leak back into the food sealable vacuum container. The one-way valve on the food sealable vacuum container only works if the differential pressure, inside vs. outside of the container, is large enough. A slow de-vacuuming process would cause a low differential pressure, and the air will find it way back into the food sealable vacuum container. Following the de-vacuuming process, a 3-second delay is allowed before the microchip controller will send a signal to close the release valve and to set the system back to the standby mode, getting ready for the next command. The user now can open the vacuum chamber to retrieve the food sealable vacuum container to store it somewhere else. When needed, the user can press the release valve on the food sealable vacuum container to de-vacuum it and retrieve the food inside. - For the wine vacuum appliance, the vacuum operation on the wine bottle follows the exact procedure as in the vacuuming the food sealable vacuum container. However, instead of extracting the air from the sealable vacuum container, the air now is extracted from the wine bottles themselves. The wine bottle vacuuming process is made possible with the use of wine bottle vacuum stopper, which are readily available on the market. These stoppers act as a one-way valve and release valve combined. The user just plugs a vacuum stopper into the wine bottle and place it in the wine vacuum appliance and turn the vacuum switch on to start the vacuuming process. When the vacuum pressure has reached the preset value, the wine vacuum appliance will go into the de-vacuuming cycle, while the wine bottle still remains vacuumed. The user now can retrieve the vacuumed wine bottle from the wine vacuum appliance. When needed, the user can press the vacuum stopper to de-vacuum the bottle.
- For the food vacuuming appliance, the next available operation is
meat marinating Mode 1.FIG. 7 shows the operation procedure of this mode, starting with “marinating 1 switch on” block. To marinate meat, unlike with prior art systems, the user can use any open container for meat and marinating recipes, as opposed to a proprietary one of closed type. Trays, bowls . . . can be used for this purpose. Prior art systems require that meat and marinating recipes be placed in a specially designed, sealable container. Back toFIG. 1 , the user first place meat and marinating recipes container inside the vacuum chamber and pressmal button 9 to start this marinating mode. Thevacuum pump 5 will turn on to start pumping air out of the vacuum chamber. When the vacuum level sensed byvacuum switch 3 reaches the preset threshold, thevacuum switch 3 will send a signal to the microchip controller to stop thevacuum pump 5. A 6-minute delay will follow to allow the marinating recipes to soak into the meat. Following this 6-minute delay, the microchip controller will open therelease valve 3 to de-vacuum the sealable vacuum container. After a 3-second delay, therelease valve 3 is closed again by the microchip controller, getting ready for the next vacuuming cycle, which will start immediately by turning on the vacuum pump. The next vacuuming cycle will end at the end of the 3-second delay mentioned above. In summary,Marinating Mode 1 consists of five vacuuming cycles as described above and totals about 30 minutes. -
Marinating Mode 2 logics are shown onFIG. 7 , starting with “marinating 2 switch on” block. The user will press themat button 9 onFIG. 1 to start this mode.Marinating Mode 2 is similar to marinatingMode 1, except the delay period is 30 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Also, there is no repeat of the vacuuming cycle as inMode 1. - At any time into an operation, when cancel button 8 is pressed, the
vacuum pump 5 will stop andrelease valve 3 will open to bring the pressure inside the vacuum chamber to that of the ambient. - While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.
Claims (5)
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US16/136,122 US20200087012A1 (en) | 2018-09-19 | 2018-09-19 | Method and apparatus to perform quick vacuum evacuation from universal sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles |
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US16/136,122 US20200087012A1 (en) | 2018-09-19 | 2018-09-19 | Method and apparatus to perform quick vacuum evacuation from universal sealable vacuum containers or wine bottles |
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