U.S. patent application number 13/414721 was filed with the patent office on 2013-09-12 for vacuum sealer with drip pan.
The applicant listed for this patent is Mao-Sen Huang. Invention is credited to Mao-Sen Huang.
Application Number | 20130232925 13/414721 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49112794 |
Filed Date | 2013-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130232925 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang; Mao-Sen |
September 12, 2013 |
Vacuum sealer with drip pan
Abstract
A vacuum sealer is provided with a base housing including a
front platform, a heating element, a recess behind the heating
element, a vacuum inlet, an enclosed, resilient sealing strip
spaced around the recess, a rear cover, and a panel on the cover; a
rear vacuum source including a vacuum pump wherein the vacuum
source is electrically connected to both the heating element and
the panel; a transparent front clamping door including a top
handle, a corresponding heating element, and a corresponding
sealing strip electrically connected to the vacuum source; a drip
pan including a bossed bottom hole, a peripheral flange, and two
spaced bottom risers wherein the drip pan is removeably
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 tubing interconnecting the vacuum inlet and the vacuum
pump.
Inventors: |
Huang; Mao-Sen; (Taichung,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Huang; Mao-Sen |
Taichung |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
49112794 |
Appl. No.: |
13/414721 |
Filed: |
March 8, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
53/510 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 51/148 20130101;
B65B 51/146 20130101; B65B 31/048 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
53/510 |
International
Class: |
B65B 31/00 20060101
B65B031/00 |
Claims
1. 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 the 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.
2. The vacuum sealer of claim 1, wherein both the recess and the
drip pan are oval.
3. The vacuum sealer of claim 1, wherein both the sealing strip and
the corresponding sealing strip are formed of rubber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] 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.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] 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.
[0005] While the '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.
[0006] 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
[0007] 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.
[0008] 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
[0009] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vacuum sealer in
accordance with the invention with the drip pan to be mounted
in;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled vacuum sealer
with the clamping door pivotably lifted;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2 showing a
plastic bag containing food to be sealed by the vacuum sealer;
[0012] 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
[0013] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the intermediate, lower
portion of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a vacuum sealer in accordance
with the invention comprises the following components as detailed
below.
[0015] 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.
[0016] 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.
[0017] 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.
[0018] 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.
[0019] 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.
[0020] A hollow tubing 50 is interconnected the vacuum inlet 14 and
the vacuum pump 21 via a electromagnetic valve for fluid
communication.
[0021] 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.
[0022] 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.
[0023] 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.
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