WO2004069661A1

WO2004069661A1 - Apparatus closing a vacuum bag provided with a nozzle

Info

Publication number: WO2004069661A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/001700
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joon-Yeong Ahn
Original assignee: Joon-Yeong Ahn
Priority date: 2003-02-10
Filing date: 2003-08-22
Publication date: 2004-08-19
Also published as: KR200316231Y1; AU2003254963A1

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag, the apparatus including: an upper frame; a lower frame; a packing part located on the bottom surface of the upper frame and the top surface of the lower frame, so that an opening portion formed at one end of the plastic bag is placed on the packing part and the other end portion thereof is exposed to the outside of the packing part; a nozzle inserted at one end into the plastic bag in such a manner as to pass through the packing part; a vacuum valve connected to the other end of the nozzle, for opening/closing an air inlet and outlet passage; and a locking part mounted to the upper frame and the lower frame, for maintaining the lower frame and the upper frame in a closed position, whereby the nozzle is still kept in the plastic bag after the plastic bag is vacuumed.

Description

APPARATUS CLOSING A VACUUM BAG PROVIDED WITH A NOZZLE

Background of the Invention

Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag, wherein the nozzle is not heat sealed together with the plastic bag after a vacuuming step for the plastic bag where no embossing part is formed on the inside thereof, and more particularly, to an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag that does not have a vacuum pump, a heater for heat sealing, and a vacuum chamber.

Background Art Generally, plastic bags in which foodstuffs are put are sealed in a vacuum state by an apparatus for sealing them, in order to keep the foodstuffs fresh.

As one of the prior arts, there is disclosed Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0235323 entitled 'An apparatus for vacuum sealing a plastic bag', which is illustrated in FIG. 1. The conventional apparatus includes upper and lower casings 10 and 20, upper and lower rubber packing parts 23 and 24 for packing one end of the plastic bag 30 placed in the interiors of the upper and lower casings 10 and 20, a vacuum pump 25 for absorbing the air in the plastic bag 30 by the operations of the upper and lower rubber packing parts 23 and 24, and a heater 21 located on the front of the lower rubber packing part 23, for heat sealing the plastic bag 30. In case of vacuum sealing the plastic bag 21 by using the conventional apparatus 20, articles like foods are first placed into an appropriate location on the inside of the plastic bag 30, and after the opening portion of the plastic bag 30 is located between the upper and lower rubber packing parts 23 and 24, the upper casing 20 is descended on the lower casing 10 such that the upper and lower rubber packing parts 23 and 24 become engaged with each other. If a predetermined switch is manipulated to operate the vacuum pump 25, then, the space between the upper and lower rubber packing parts 23 and 24 is vacuumed by the operation of the vacuum pump, which enables the air in the interior of the plastic bag 30 to be removed therefrom. At this time, the plastic bag 30 has an embossing part on one inside thereof, such that the air in the plastic bag 30 can be absorbed. However, the conventional apparatus for vacuum sealing the plastic bag should need the embossing part at a high cost, and moreover, since the plastic bag is heat sealed, it cannot be used again.

Disclosure of the Invention Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above- described problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag that is provided in a simple configuration and at a low cost, using the plastic bag where an embossing part is not formed. It is another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag that permits the plastic bag to be used again.

It is still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag, wherein as the nozzle is formed of a flexible hose, it is put into the plastic bag in arbitrary forms, so that air discharging passages are provided in different forms, irrespective of the articles placed into the plastic bag.

It is still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag that does not have a vacuum chamber, such that an amount of air discharging from the plastic bag decreases to make the vacuum efficiency very high, and that is made in relatively small size, such that it is fabricated at a low cost and its productivity is improved.

To accomplish the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag, the apparatus including: an upper frame; a lower frame; a packing part located on the bottom surface of the upper frame and the top surface of the lower frame, so that an opening portion formed at one end of the plastic bag is placed on the packing part and the other end portion thereof is exposed to the outside of the packing part; a nozzle inserted at one end into the plastic bag in such a manner as to pass through the packing part; a vacuum valve connected to the other end of the nozzle, for opening/closing an air inlet and outlet passage; and a locking part mounted to the upper frame and the lower frame, for maintaining the lower frame and the upper frame in a closed position, whereby the nozzle is still kept in the plastic bag after the plastic bag is vacuumed.

With the locking part, the apparatus of this invention makes the vacuum quite maintained for a long period of time, and it does not have the vacuum chamber, so that an amount of air discharging decreases and the number of parts is reduced.

Also, the apparatus of this invention has the plastic bag which is not heat sealed and is kept together therewith, so that the plastic bag can be repeatedly used. And, since the apparatus of this invention is separated from the vacuum pump, it is of a plastic box, so that it can be manufactured in a simple configuration and in great quantities at a low cost.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional apparatus for vacuum sealing a plastic bag;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the apparatus is in an open state;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the apparatus is in a closed state; FIGS. 4a and 4b are partly sectional views showing the vacuum valve used in the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Best mode for Carrying Out the Invention Now, an explanation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be given hereinafter.

FIGs.2 to 4 show an apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 10 of this invention has an upper frame 20, a lower frame 30, a packing part 40, a nozzle 60, a vacuum valve 70 and a locking part 80, wherein the plastic bag 90, especially having no embossing part in the inside thereof is vacuumed and kept together with the apparatus of this invention, with no heat sealing. Also, the apparatus of this invention does not have any vacuum chamber, so that an amount of air discharging decreases. The nozzle is set freely in length and if it is formed of a flexible hose, it is placed in arbitrary forms, so that air discharging passages are provided in different forms, irrespective of the articles placed into the plastic bag.

In FIG 2, the upper frame 20 is provided with a bottom surface 21 on the lower portion thereof, and on a part or the whole of the bottom surface 21 is provided an upper packing element 51. Contrarily, the lower frame 30 is provided with a top surface 31 on the top portion thereof, and on a part or the whole of the top surface 31 is provided a lower packing element 52. The upper and lower frames 20 and 30 are coupled by means of a hinge 23 on the left as shown in FIG 2 and are pivoted to their closed position. The upper and lower frames 20 and 30 are maintained at their closed position by the selective coupling with the locking part 80 on the right thereof. On the other hand, the upper and lower frames 20 and 30 are separable from each other, as shown in FIG

6 showing a third embodiment of the present invention as will be discussed later.

The left and right widths of the upper and lower frames 20 and 30 are dependent upon the width of the plastic bag 90, and preferably, the upper and lower frames 20 and 30 are made of a transparent plastic material in a form of a rectangular hexahedron.

The packing part 50 is made of an elastic material and is located on the bottom surface 21 and the top surface 31, for tightly closing the opening portion of the plastic bag 90. In some cases, the packing part 50 may be provided with any of the upper packing element 51 of the upper frame 20 and the lower packing element 52 of the lower frame 30. And, the packing part 50 is in a flat form, but it may be provided with a groove that corresponds with the nozzle 60 engaged therewith.

The nozzle 60 is located in such a manner that the one end thereof is inserted into the plastic bag 90 to pass through the packing part 50 and the other end thereof is comiected to the vacuum valve 70, whereby an air inlet and outlet passage connecting the interior of the plastic bag 90 with the vacuum pump 91 is formed.

The nozzle 60 is made of a hard material like stainless steel, hard plastic, or of a soft material like a plastic hose, and is substantially rigid enough not to close the air inlet and outlet passage even when compressed by the packing part 50. Preferably, the nozzle 60 on the front 33 of the packing part 50 has a plurality of through holes 61 on the outer peripheral surface thereof, such that the internal air in the plastic bag 90 is rapidly discharged, which prevents the generation of local air traps often occurring during the vacuum sealing procedure.

The nozzle 60 is preferably sufficiently long in length in such a manner as to be inserted deeply in the plastic bag 90. Particularly, in case of the nozzle 60 being made of a flexible hose, it is placed in arbitrary forms in the plastic bag 90, thereby accomplishing the vacuum in the plastic bag, irrespective of the articles therein.

In more detail, the nozzle 60, as shown in FIG 4a, is formed integrally with the vacuum valve 70 in a plastic injection molding manner in such a manner as to be extended to the front 33 of the lower frame 30. And, the second nozzle 63 is detachably mounted onto the second nozzle 63. At that time, the nozzle 60 is desirably formed of a substantially hard material, which is not varied in the shape by the packing part 50, and the second nozzle 63 is flexible to be easily bent. If the second nozzle 63 is varied or damaged, it is exchangeable into new one, and also, it has the plurality of through holes 61 on the outer peripheral surface thereof, through which the internal air in the plastic bag 90 is rapidly discharged, which prevents the generation of local air traps. And, the coupling portion between the nozzle 60 and the second nozzle 63 is placed in the plastic bag 90, so that the sealing state for the plastic bag 90 can be well maintained even though some spaces occur at the coupling portion.

On the other hand, the nozzle 60 is detachably mounted onto the vacuum valve 70 on the back 34 of the lower frame 30, as shown in FIG 4b, but may be formed integrally with the vacuum valve 70. FIGS. 4a and 4b are sectional views taken along the line A- A in FIG 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum valve 70 is connected to the end of the nozzle 60, for opening/closing the air inlet and outlet passage 71 communicating the air with the interior of the plastic bag 90. Such the valve is used in different forms in the vacuum packaging apparatuses, for example, with as disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-023016 (entitled 'A date display valve for vacuum packaging apparatus'). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4a and 4b, in case of using the hose 92, a rubber part 74 is ascended such that the air inlet and outlet passage 71 gets open. After the vacuuming step, the rubber part 74 is descended by the vacuum pressure such that the air inlet and outlet passage 71 gets closed. Also, when a cap 73 and a thread part 72 are coupled to each other, the vacuum sealing apparatus 10 can be kept at a substantially long period of time. On the other hand, the vacuum valve 70 may be used with as disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 92-700998 (entitled 'An apparatus for vacuum sealing plastic bags').

The vacuum valve 70 is, as shown in FIG. 3, connected with the vacuum pump 91 by means of the hose 92, and as the air inlet and outlet passage 71 is open, the plastic bag 90 gets vacuumed by the operation of the vacuum pump 91. After a predetermined degree of vacuum is completed, the vacuum valve 70 is separated from the hose 92 and the vacuum pump 91, and as the air inlet and outlet passage 71 in the vacuum valve 70 is closed, the plastic bag 90 is kept at the state of being vacuumed. Preferably, the vacuum pump 91 includes a pressure sensor (which is not shown in the drawings) therein, for making the vacuum pump 91 stop automatically when the predetermined degree of vacuum is achieved. And, if the vacuum valve 70 is open again, the plastic bag 90 is in communication with the air. On the other hand, the vacuum valve 70 may be formed of a unidirectional valve.

The locking part 80 is adapted to clamp the upper frame 20 and the lower frame 30, so that the plastic bag 90 is kept at the state of being vacuumed in the vacuum sealing apparatus 10. The locking part 80 is in a form of clamp, concave/convex or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, the locking part 80 includes a keeper 81 that is hinge-coupled on the right side of the upper frame 20 and a protruding piece 32 that is protrudedly formed on the right side of the lower frame 30, whereby the keeper 81 is pulled downwardly to be coupled to the protruding piece 32. With the locking part 80, the vacuum in the plastic bag 90 can be maintained for a long period of time. Of course, the locking part 80 can be put at different locations in a typical manner.

Loops 24, as shown in FIG 3, are provided on the back of the upper frame 20, such that the vacuum sealing apparatus 10 of this invention can be put on a hook on a wall for easy keeping.

On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows the vacuum sealing apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the same manner as the first embodiment, the apparatus in the second embodiment includes the upper frame 20, the lower frame 30, the packing part 50, the nozzle 60, the vacuum valve 70 and the locking part 80. In the second embodiment, however, the vacuum valve 70 and the packing part 50 are little varied in their shape.

In more detail, the vacuum valve 70 is connected with a mounting part 75 that is located on the back 34 of the lower frame 30, such that the nozzle 60 and the vacuum valve 70 are formed integrally with the vacuum sealing apparatus 10.

At this time, the nozzle 60 in the second embodiment is formed of a flexible material like a plastic hose and is substantially rigid enough not to close the air inlet and outlet passage even when compressed by the packing part 50. As a result, the nozzle 60 easily moves to be inserted into the plastic bag 90. In the second embodiment, the packing part 50 has two upper packing elements 51 and two lower packing elements 52, wherein the upper packing elements 51 are spaced in a parallel relation with each other on the top surface 21 of the upper frame 20. The lower packing elements 52 are located like the upper packing elements 51. On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows the vacuum sealing apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the same manner as the first embodiment, the apparatus in the third embodiment includes the upper frame 20, the lower frame 30, the packing part 50, the nozzle 60, the vacuum valve 70 and the locking part 80. In the third embodiment, however, the nozzle 60 and the locking part 80 are little varied in their shape. The nozzle 60 in the third embodiment is formed of a hard material like stainless steel or a hard plastic. In this case, the nozzle 60 is pivotally coupled by means of a hinge part 62 on the back 34 of the top surface 31 of the lower frame 30, as integral with the vacuum sealing apparatus 10. As the nozzle 60 is turned, there is a space between the nozzle 60 and the lower frame 30, such that the nozzle 60 can be inserted easily into the plastic bag 90. And, the nozzle 60 is turned as the upper frame 20 gets tightly contacted with the lower frame 30, such that the space between the nozzle 60 and the lower frame 30 disappears thus to make the plastic bag 90 sealed. At that time, preferably, the hinge part 62 is moved upward and downward by an elastic member like a spring or by the coupling of its hinge shaft with a hinge hole.

In the third embodiment, the upper frame 20 and the lower frame 30 are provided individually, and the locking part 80 is disposed on the left and right of the upper frame 20 and the lower frame 30, such that the upper frame 20 and the lower frame 30 are kept at their closed location.

Now, an explanation of the operation of the apparatus 10 of this invention will be given with reference to FIG 1.

Articles like foods for storage are placed into the plastic bag 90, and the nozzle 60 is inserted into the plastic bag 90. After that, an opening portion formed at one end of the plastic bag 90 into which the nozzle 60 is inserted is placed on the packing part 50 and the other end portion thereof is exposed to the outside of the packing part 50. After that, the upper frame 20 is tightly contacted with the lower frame 30, and the opening portion of the plastic bag 90 is tightly closed by the packing part 50. The vacuum valve 70 is connected to the vacuum pump 91 through the hose 92, and thus, as the vacuum pump 91 operates, the interior of the plastic bag 90 becomes vacuumed. After a predetermined degree of vacuum is achieved, the vacuum valve 70 is separated from the hose 92 and the vacuum pump 91 and then closed. And, the keeper 81 of the locking part 80 is coupled on the protruding piece

82, such that the upper frame 20 and the lower frame 30 are maintained at their closed position, thereby completing the vacuum sealing procedure for the plastic bag

90. In this state, the plastic bag 90 is kept at an appropriate place together with the vacuum sealing apparatus 10.

Industrial Applicability

As set forth in the foregoing, the apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag according to the present invention can be provided with a vacuum pump separated therefrom, whereby it is fabricated in simple manner and in great quantities at a low cost, like a general plastic box.

In addition, the apparatus of this invention permits the plastic bag to be used again since the plastic bag is not heat sealed after the vacuuming procedure.

The apparatus of this invention is provided with the nozzle is formed of a flexible hose which is put into the plastic bag in arbitrary forms, so that air discharging passages are provided in different forms, irrespective of the articles placed into the plastic bag.

Also, the apparatus of this invention is provided with the nozzle that is substantially long in length, so that the air in the plastic bag can be fully discharged with no air traps, and with the plurality of through holes on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, so that the air discharging procedure can be rapidly accomplished.

The apparatus of this invention does not have any vacuum chamber between the upper frame and the lower frame, such that an amount of air discharging from the plastic bag decreases to make the vacuum efficiency very high, and is made in relatively small size, such that it is fabricated at a low cost and its productivity is improved.

While the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. An apparatus having a nozzle for vacuum sealing a plastic bag, the apparatus comprising: an upper frame; a lower frame; a packing part located on the bottom surface of the upper frame and the top surface of the lower frame, so that an opening portion formed at one end of the plastic bag is placed on the packing part and the other end portion thereof is exposed to the outside of the packing part; a nozzle inserted at one end into the plastic bag in such a manner as to pass through the packing part; a vacuum valve connected to the other end of the nozzle, for opening/closing an air inlet and outlet path; and a locking part mounted to the upper frame and the lower frame, for maintaining the lower frame and the upper frame in a closed position.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a second nozzle detachably mounted to one end thereof, and the nozzle is formed at the other end integrally with the vacuum valve.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second nozzle has a plurality of through holes formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the locking part is located on one side of the upper frame and the lower frame.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is hingeably mounted to the lower frame located on the rear portion of the packing part.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle is a substantially flexible hose.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the vacuum valve is fixed to the lower frame or the upper frame disposed on the rear portion of the packing part.