Patent Publication Number: US-2013232925-A1

Title: Vacuum sealer with drip pan

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to packaging devices, and more particularly to a vacuum sealer having a drip pan so that extraneous liquid and food particles evacuated from a plastic bag can be collected by the drip pan during a sealing. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,134,259, as a prior work of the inventor, disclosed a vacuum sealer comprising a base member formed with a hollow platform having a first sealing ring secured on the platform and a support; a drawing hole defined in top of the platform within the first sealing ring, a heating plate laterally secured on a front edge of the platform, a pumping device mounted on the support for drawing out the air in a plastic bag to be sealed; a transparent presser having a rear end pivotally mounted on the platform and selectively pressed on the top of the platform; and a second sealing ring secured to bottom of the presser and airtightly abutting the first sealing ring when the presser is pressed on the platform. 
     While the &#39;259 Patent enjoys a great market success, it suffers from a drawback. In detail, in often times liquid (e.g., soup, soy bean, or the like) accompanying the food contained in the plastic bag may spill to pollute the components during a sealing. 
     Thus, the invention has arisen to obviate the drawback of the prior art vacuum sealer since continuing improvements are always desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a vacuum sealer comprising a base housing comprising a front, hollow platform, an elongated heating element adjacent to a top front end of the platform, a recess disposed behind the heating element, a bossed vacuum inlet on a bottom of the recess, an enclosed, resilient sealing strip spaced around the recess, a cover releasaby mounted on a rear portion of the base housing, and a panel mounted on the cover; a vacuum source disposed in the rear portion of the base housing and covered by the cover, the vacuum source comprising a vacuum pump wherein the vacuum source is electrically connected to both the heating element and panel; a transparent clamping door pivotally mounted on a front portion of the base housing and comprising a top handle, a corresponding heating element adjacent to a front bottom edge, and a corresponding sealing strip disposed behind the corresponding heating element and electrically connected to the vacuum source; a drip pan comprising a bossed bottom hole, a peripheral flange, and two spaced bottom risers wherein the drip pan is removably complimentarily disposed in the recess with the flange rested upon a top edge of the recess and the bottom hole put on the vacuum inlet; and a hollow tubing interconnecting the vacuum inlet and the vacuum pump; wherein in response to clamping an opening of a plastic bag containing food between the clamping door and the platform with the corresponding heating element engaged with the heating element and the corresponding sealing strip engaged with the sealing strip respectively, an airtight chamber is formed and defined by the drip pan, the sealing strip, and the corresponding sealing strip so that an activation of the vacuum pump draws air out of the plastic bag via the vacuum inlet, the tubing, and the vacuum pump until a predetermined degree of vacuum exists in the plastic bag, energizes both the heating element and the corresponding heating element for a predetermined period of time sufficient for sealing the opening of the plastic bag, and collects extraneous liquid and food particles evacuated from the plastic bag in the drip pan. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a vacuum sealer in accordance with the invention with the drip pan to be mounted in; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the assembled vacuum sealer with the clamping door pivotably lifted; 
         FIG. 3  is a longitudinal sectional view of  FIG. 2  showing a plastic bag containing food to be sealed by the vacuum sealer; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  showing the clamping door having been pivoted down to tightly close the opening of the plastic bag during a sealing; and 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of the intermediate, lower portion of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , a vacuum sealer in accordance with the invention comprises the following components as detailed below. 
     A base housing  10  comprises a front, hollow platform  11 , an elongated heating element  12  adjacent to a top front end of the platform  11 , an oval recess  13  behind the heating element  12 , a bossed vacuum inlet  14  on a bottom of the recess  13 , an oval sealing strip  15  formed of rubber and spaced around the recess  13 , a cover  16  threaded mounted on a rear portion of the base housing  10 , and a panel  17  mounted on the cover  16 . 
     A vacuum source  20  is disposed in the rear portion of the base housing  10  and comprises a vacuum pump  21 , a controller, a timing circuit, a pressure sensor, and an electromagnetic valve in which the heating element  12  is electrically connected to the timing circuit which is in turn electrically connected to the controller. 
     The panel  17  is electrically connected to the controller so as to receive information regarding components of the vacuum source  20  and show same in operation. Also, the panel  17  comprises a plurality of buttons for operating the vacuum sealer. 
     A transparent clamping door  30  pivotally mounted on the front portion of the base housing  10  by being hingedly secured to a rear end of the platform  11  and comprises a handle  31  on top, a corresponding heating element  32  adjacent to a front bottom edge, and an oval corresponding sealing strip  33  formed of rubber and disposed behind the corresponding heating element  32 . The corresponding heating element  32  is also electrically connected to the timing circuit. 
     A drip pan  40  is shaped as an oval. The drip pan  40  comprises a bossed hole  41  on a bottom  43 , a peripheral flange  42 , and two spaced risers  44  on the bottom  43 . The drip pan  40  can be removably complimentarily disposed in the recess  13  with the flange  42  rested upon the top edge of the recess  13  and the hole  41  put on the vacuum inlet  14 . 
     A hollow tubing  50  is interconnected the vacuum inlet  14  and the vacuum pump  21  via a electromagnetic valve for fluid communication. 
     An operation of the invention will be discussed in detail below. An individual may open the clamping door  30  by lifting the handle  31 , place an open portion of the plastic bag  60  on the platform  11 , and align an opening  61  of a plastic bag  60  with the front end of the flange  42  in which the plastic bag  60  is stored with food containing liquids and both the heating element  12  and the sealing strip  15  are engaged with the plastic bag  60  (see  FIG. 3 ). Next, the individual may pivot down the clamping door  30  to tightly engage the corresponding heating element  32  with the heating element  12  and tightly engage the corresponding sealing strip  33  with the sealing strip  15  respectively (see  FIG. 4 ). Thus, an airtight space is formed and defined by the drip pan  40 , the sealing strip  15 , and the corresponding sealing strip  33 . The individual can check whether the opening  61  of the plastic bag  60  is correctly positioned or not by seeing through the transparent clamping door  30 . Next, the individual may press a button on the panel  17  to activate the vacuum pump  21  which in turn draws air out of the plastic bag  60  via the vacuum inlet  14 , a portion of the tubing  50 , the electromagnetic valve, remaining portion of the tubing  50 , and the vacuum pump  21 . The controller will be enabled when the pressure sensor detects a significant decrease in the amount of air leaving the vacuum pump  21  (i.e., the plastic bag  60  approaching vacuum). The enabled controller activates both the heating element  12  and the corresponding heating element  32  (i.e., closing an electrical circuit) and the timing circuit. Thus, both the heating element  12  and the corresponding heating element  32  are energized while the timing circuit is counting down until a predetermined period of time sufficient for sealing the opening of the plastic bag  60  is passed. It is envisaged by the invention that extraneous liquid and food particles evacuated from the plastic bag  60  are not easily drawn into the tubing  50 , but rather fall to the bottom of the drip pan  40  for collection. The individual may open the clamping door  30  by lifting the handle  31  and next remove the drip pan  40  by holding and lifting the risers  44  after the sealing. 
     Advantageously, not only the food in the plastic bag  60  can be preserved in a near vacuum condition but also no pollution is caused to the clamping door  30 , the platform  11 , the tubing  50 , and components of the vacuum source  20 . 
     While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.