Patent ID: 7334386

Claim:
A vacuum packaging appliance for use in evacuating vacuum packaging receptacles, said vacuum packaging appliance comprising: a vacuum pump; a vacuum circuit coupled to said vacuum pump such that actuation of said vacuum pump evacuates said vacuum circuit, said vacuum circuit intended for evacuating a vacuum packaging receptacle; a vacuum sensing device coupled to said vacuum circuit and operable to sense a vacuum level of said vacuum circuit; a user input device operably enabling a user to select a mode of operation from among at least a first and second operating mode; and a vacuum pump controller operable to actuate said vacuum pump according to a first control profile associated with said first operating mode and a second control profile associated with said second operating mode, said vacuum pump coupled and responsive to said vacuum sensing device, said vacuum pump controller responsive to said user input device, said first control profile having a first evacuation rate and a second evacuation rate, said first evacuation rate corresponding to a first pump speed higher than a second pump speed correlated with said second evacuation rate.