Abstract:
Universal air removal port comprises of check valve, air sieve and adhesive inserts. Check valve is bonded to exterior and air sieve to interior hole created on food bag, converting to manual vacuum sealer. Multiple small openings prevent blocking of air sieve by foods and flat top plate reinforces bonding of food bag and valve. Amorphous viscid adhesive inserts fill micro holes and grooves on part surfaces, preventing formation of micro tracts and loss of vacuum. Universal air removal port can be removed from empty bags and reused on new food bags.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant&#39;s Ser. No. 14/143,173 filed Dec. 20, 2013 and is a continuation-in-part of applicant&#39;s Ser. No. 12/880,253 filed Sep. 13, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,471 issued Nov. 15, 2011, the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0004]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0006]    This invention relates to a universal air removal port. More specifically the air removal port that can be installed on any existing food bags, as the word, “universal” implies, such as factory packed frozen food bags with or without resealing zipper strips, new empty food bags with or without resealing zipper strips, including slider. In case of food bags without resealing zipper strips, the open ends of the bags are sealed by an impulse heat sealer. The universal air removal port is installed on one side of the food bag wall through a punched circular hole. Once it is installed on a food bag, vacuum can be induced by manual compression on the sealed bag without any tools. When the food bag becomes unsuitable for further use, the universal air removal port can be removed and installed on another new bag—reusable. 
         [0007]    2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98: 
         [0008]    Many frozen foods are sold in plastic packages with built-in zipper strips for resealing. Some of them are vacuum sealed at the factory. After they are cut and opened, however, none of them is equipped with a device that allows induction of vacuum. There is no consumer device on the market which allows removal of air from the resealed food packages. 
         [0009]    The problem with presently designed factory sealed food packages is two-fold, the first being that ice is formed on the food content if the package is sealed without vacuum and the second being that no measures are provided to induce vacuum in the resealed package following opening of the sealed package for addition of food or for removing a portion of its content. In both cases, when the seal is broken to allow removal and/or addition of food, the entry of air and moisture into the package frequently causes ice formation. The result is a deterioration of the food and a reduction in flavor and edibility. Also the long term storage viability of the food contained therein is reduced upon resealing. 
         [0010]    Various patents have been disclosed pertaining to closures and sealing systems for food packages, and they include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,941,310; 5,009,828; 5,070,584; US 2003/0152296 A1; U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,147; B2; 2004/0114837 A1; 2004/0161178 A1; 2005/0196077 A1; 2005/0244083 A1; and, 2007/0110340 A1. However, as noted, supra, none of the above patents provide a means that allows consumers to induce vacuum in the resealed food package in order to solve the problem of ice formation and air and moisture contamination following opening of a food package to access the contents therein. 
         [0011]    What is needed is a product to allow an ordinary consumer to make a vacuum seal on any existing food package after being sealed. Therefore, presented in this disclosure is an air removal device, referred to as a Universal Air Removal Port. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    It is an object of the universal air removal port that can be installed on any existing plastic food packages, converting them to vacuum sealers for continued, long term storage. Universal air removal port comprises of a check valve and an air sieve which are bonded to one side of the plastic wall of a food package, sandwiching a punched hole by means of flat washer shape double-sided adhesive inserts, referred to as adhesive donuts. When the universal air removal port is installed on a food bag, low vacuum can be induced by manual compression on the sealed bag without any tools—manual vacuum sealers. If the remaining interior air from the sealed bag is removed further by means of a vacuum pump, high vacuum is achieved. When the food bag becomes unsuitable for continued use, the universal air removal port can be removed and installed on a new food bag—reusable. 
         [0013]    It is another object of the universal air removal port which allows users to choose the types of food packages, depending on their purposes. The variants include (1) the type of check valve, either a tubular flat disk valve or a box shape compressed foam sponge valve, and (2) the type of sealing modalities of the food packages, either resealing zipper strips with or without slider or permanent seal by an impulse heat sealer. If the tubular flat disk valve is installed on the bag, low vacuum can be induced by flat hands compression alone on the sealed bag, but the vacuum lasts only for a short period of time because of low traction force applied to the flat valve disk by low vacuum of the sealed bag. This problem can be solved by capping the air outlet leg of the tubular flat disk valve. 
         [0014]    If the remaining interior air from the sealed bag is removed by a vacuum pump, high vacuum, up to −70 kPa, can be achieved. The tubular flat disk valve can hold high vacuum for a prolonged period of time, if the food bag is permanently sealed by heat. Zipper strips are, however, incapable of holding vacuum for days. The food bag with zipper strips with slider on which the universal air removal port is installed is best suited for a relatively short storage of foods, especially when repetitive accesses to the content is needed. By contrast, the compression foam sponge valve can hold vacuum of any magnitude for a long period of time because the powerful expansive closing force of the compressed foam sponge block is not influenced by the interior vacuum pressure of the sealed bag. The force of air flow generated by the compression of the sealed food bag is, however, too weak to counteract the expansive force of the foam block. This problem can be solved by either making the valve housing in two separable pieces, relieving compression of the foam sponge block or by inserting a spatula into the valve, creating a free air passage through the valve. 
         [0015]    In case of two-piece valve housing, when the upper valve shell is separated from the lower shell, the compression of the foam sponge block becomes nil. After low vacuum is induced by manual compression on the sealed bag, the upper shell is pressed down until it snaps on the lower shell, restoring the expansive closing force of the compression foam sponge valve. If the spatula is inserted into the valve, low vacuum can be induced by manual compression on the sealed bag. After the vacuum is induced, the spatula is pulled out, leaving the sealed food bag in low vacuum. If the spatula is hooked up to a vacuum pump and the remaining interior air is removed from the sealed food bag, high vacuum is induced. After the spatula is pulled out, the high vacuum of the sealed food bag remains for a prolonged period of time, provided the food bag is permanently sealed by heat. Based on these variables, the consumers can choose the best combination of valve and sealing method of food package. 
         [0016]    Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded projection view of a conventional tubular flat disk valve and simple tubular air sieve are bonded to the external and internal bore of a food package by means of flat washer shape double-sided adhesive inserts, referred to as adhesive donuts. 
           [0018]      FIG. 2A-2C  shows a lower shell of two-piece separable box shape compressed foam sponge valve housing. 
           [0019]      FIG. 3A-3C  shows the upper shell of the two-piece separable box shape compressed foam sponge valve housing. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4A-4D  illustrates the two-piece separable box valve housing incorporates rectangular foam sponge block without compression. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5A-5D  shows the upper shell of the two-piece box shape housing is snapped on the lower shell, compressing the foam sponge block. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6A-6C  shows an adhesive donut. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7A-7C  shows a cylindrical air sieve. 
           [0024]      FIG. 8A-8D  illustrates a wedge shape hollow spatula. 
           [0025]      FIG. 9A-9C  illustrates the spatula of  FIG. 8  inserted into the assembled box shape compressed foam sponge valve of  FIG. 5  between the compressed foam sponge block and the bottom wall of the lower shell of the box shape compressed foam sponge valve. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]      FIG. 1  Illustrates an exploded projection view of universal air removal port, using a conventional tubular flat disk valve  100 - 104  and a simple design of an air sieve  109  &amp;  110 . The inferior flat surface  103  of the valve housing  102  is bonded to an exterior bore  107  of a plastic food package wall  106  (only a small portion is shown) by means of an adhesive donut  105  and the top flat plate  109  of an air sieve  110  is bonded to the interior bore  107  of the food package wall  106  by means of another adhesive donut  108 . The inlet leg  104  of the valve is inserted into the adhesive donut  105 , food bag  107 , second adhesive donut  108  and central air path of the air sieve (hidden behind the top plate  109 ). The flat valve disk (which resides inside the valve housing  102  and not visible) shuts the inflow of air into the sealed food package (only its portion  106  is shown). 
         [0027]    The flat valve disk opens easily if the sealed food bag is compressed by flat hands since the traction force on the valve disk generated by the low vacuum of the sealed food bag is weak. Because of a weak traction force applied to the flat valve disk by low vacuum of the sealed food bag, the flat valve disk stays in closed position only for a short period of time. This problem is circumvented by capping the air outflow leg  101  so that the atmospheric air cannot enter the sealed food package. High vacuum can be established by removing the remaining interior air from the sealed bag by a vacuum pump (not shown). High vacuum can be maintained only if the food package is permanently sealed. Zipper strips on the food package cannot withstand high vacuum. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2A-2C  shows the lower part of a two-piece box shape valve housing  200 , which is a modification of the box shape compressed foam sponge valve, as described in the inventor&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,471;  FIG. 2A  front view,  FIG. 2B  bottom view,  FIG. 2C  top isometric view. The compressed foam sponge block has a strong expansive closing force and cannot be opened by manual compression on the sealed food package. In order to make manual induction of vacuum in the food package feasible on which the box shape compressed foam sponge valve is installed, the box shape valve housing is made in two separable pieces, the lower part  200  and the upper part  300  of  FIG. 3A-3C  Side walls  201 ,  202 ,  203 , and  204  and bottom wall  205  form a hollow rectangular lower box part  200 . The front wall  203  has a rectangular window  208  to be used for insertion of a spatula of  FIG. 8A-8D . The bottom wall  205  has a tubular protrusion  209  with circular air outflow opening  210 . The side walls  201  &amp;  202  have catching bars  206  &amp;  207  at the low ends. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3A-3C  shows the upper part  300  of the box valve housing. The interior of the top wall  301  has a rectangular shallow recess  302  for placement of a foam sponge block of  FIG. 4A-4D . Side walls  303  &amp;  304  have hooking bars  305  &amp;  306  at the low ends. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4A-4D  shows two parts of the box valve housing  200  &amp;  300  are assembled with a rectangular foam sponge block  400 ;  FIG. 4A  front view,  FIG. 4B  side view,  FIG. 4C  top isometric view,  FIG. 4D  sectional view along the line  4 D- 4 D of  FIG. 4A . The rectangular foam sponge block  400  is placed in the shallow rectangular recess  302  (not visible) of the upper part  300  and inserted into the lower part  200 . The uncompressed rectangular foam sponge block  400  is sitting on the circular air outflow opening  210  but can be easily lifted with a small force. 
         [0031]      FIG. 5A-5D  illustrates the two-piece box shape valve with compressed foam sponge valve;  FIG. 5A  bottom view,  FIG. 5B  front view,  FIG. 5C  bottom isometric view,  FIG. 5D  sectional view along the line  5 D- 5 D of  FIG. 5A . The upper part  300  is pushed down towards the lower part  200  until side hooking bars  305  &amp;  306  snap on the catching bars  206  &amp;  207  of the lower part  200 . The foam sponge block is now compressed  401  and a portion  402  is bulging out into the circular opening  210  of the tubular protrusion  209  of the bottom wall  205 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 6A-6C  shows a flat washer shape double-sided adhesive insert, referred to as adhesive donut  601 . The adhesive donut  601  has double-sided adhesive  602  &amp;  603  which are covered with protective liners  604  &amp;  605  on both sides. They have tabs  606  &amp;  607 , facilitating peeling off the liners at the time of application. The amorphous viscid adhesive materials  602  &amp;  603  covering both sides of the insert  601  fills micro holes and grooves on the macroscopically flat inferior valve wall  103  of a tubular flat disk valve and top plate  109  of the air sieve  110  of  FIG. 1 , eliminating the formation of micro air tracts between them when they are bonded. Similarly, the amorphous viscid adhesive materials fill the micro holes and grooves of the bottom wall of the lower shell  205  and top flat plate  705  of the air sieve  700  of  FIG. 9A-9C  before bonding them to the food package wall  900 , thus eliminating the formation of micro air tracts between them. 
         [0033]      FIG. 7A-7C  shows another design of air sieve  700 ;  FIG. 7A  bottom view,  FIG. 7B  side view,  FIG. 7C  top isometric view. The configuration of the air sieve is not critical, provided it has multiple small openings for air passage and a flat supporting plate at the top. A bottom wall  701 , a side wall  702 , and a top wall  703  have multiple small openings in order to block wrapping of the air outflow passage  706  of the universal air removal port by foods and food package wall. A short tubular protrusion  704  has a flat top plate  705 . It bonds to the interior food package wall  900  and reinforces the bonding of the lower box wall  205  and the food package  900  of  FIG. 9A-9C . This prevents detachment of the food package  900  from the lower box wall  205  when high vacuum is induced in the food package. 
         [0034]      FIG. 8A-8D  illustrates a wedge shape hollow spatula  800 ;  FIG. 8A  perspective view,  FIG. 8B  side view,  FIG. 8C  bottom view,  FIG. 8D  top isometric view. A wedge shape hollow spatula  800  has a thin leading edge  801 , bottom wall  807  with a rectangular air intake opening  808 , side walls  805  &amp;  806 , back wall  804 , top walls  802  &amp;  803  and a tubular protrusion  809  extending from the top back wall  803 . The central opening  810  provides an air outflow. 
         [0035]      FIG. 9A-9C  illustrates the box shape compressed foam sponge valve of  FIG. 5A-5D  and the air sieve of  FIG. 7A-7C  are installed on a food bag with the spatula of  FIG. 9A-9D  in place;  FIG. 9A  back view,  FIG. 9B  perspective view,  FIG. 9C  sectional view along the line  9 C- 9 C of  FIG. 9B . The spatula  800  is inserted into the window of the front wall (not visible) and advanced into the valve box, between the compressed foam sponge block  401  and the bottom shell  205  of the lower box valve shell  200 . The rectangular air intake opening  808  is aligned with the air intake opening  210  of the lower box shell  205  and  706  of the air sieve  700 . The spatula  800  is placed over the bottom wall  205  of the lower valve shell  200  before the valve housing  200  &amp;  300  are assembled with foam sponge block  401 . Then the upper box shell  300  is pushed down towards the lower box shell  200 , until the hooking bars  304  &amp;  305  snap on the catching bars  206  &amp;  207 , the foam sponge block becomes compressed  401  between the upper valve shell  200  and lower valve shell  300 . Wide open air channel is established, consisting of the multiple openings of the air sieve  701 - 703 , circular openings  706  of the lower box shell  205 , rectangular opening  210  of the bottom wall  205  of the lower shell  200 , rectangular air intake opening of the spatula  808  and the central tubular opening  810  of the tubular protrusion of the spatula  809 . This wide open air flow passway allows an easy induction of low vacuum in the sealed food bag  900  by manual compression alone. After the low vacuum is induced in the sealed food bag  900 , a vacuum pump (not shown) may be connected to the back tubular protrusion  809  to aspirate the remaining interior air from the sealed bag  900 , inducing high vacuum. Adhesive donuts  601  &amp;  609  bond the valve housing wall  205  and the food bag wall  900  (only a portion is shown) and the top plate  705  of the air sieve  700  to the interior food bag wall  900 , while filling any possible micro air tract between the bonded compartments. The top plate  705  reinforces the bonding of the food bag  900  and the lower valve shell  205 , preventing detachment of the food bag  900  off the box  205 . 
         [0036]    After the high vacuum is induced in the food package  900 , the spatula  800  is pulled out, restoring the expansive closing force of the compressed foam sponge  401  and the sealed food package remains in high vacuum. 
         [0037]    Thus, specific embodiments of a universal air removal port have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.