Humidity control for long term storage of articles

a technology for long-term storage and humidity control, applied in the direction of packaging, gas/liquid distribution and storage, container preventing decay, etc., can solve the problems of unfavorable long-term storage, unpleasant mustiness, mold growth, etc., and achieve the effect of maintaining the textural qualities of foods, low permeability, and effective

Inactive Publication Date: 2008-12-25
BOVEDA INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]It will be appreciated that the packets of the present invention are also effective in maintaining textural qualities of foods when these commodities are stored in containers made from low permeability materials such as polypropyl

Problems solved by technology

Exposure to excess moisture is known to have undesirable and detrimental effects on clothing and other fabrics such as bedding, linens, etc., particularly when they are stored for significant periods of time up to six months or more.
Not only is “mustiness” unpleasant, but mold growth tends to weaken natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk and also to produce allergens to trouble those susceptible to airborne particles.
However, these bags are open to rapid to change of ambient air and thus, are ineffective in dealing with high humidity or changes in the humidity to which the clothes are exposed.
Prior and present methods of reducing and regulating moisture content in storage areas to alleviate undesirable conditions for storage of fabrics such as clothing, bedding, etc., include employing air conditioning or dehumidifying systems or storing the items in controlled atmosphere rooms, all of which are quite expensive.
While air conditioning systems are often employed, they suffer from certain shortcomings.
Because

Method used

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  • Humidity control for long term storage of articles
  • Humidity control for long term storage of articles
  • Humidity control for long term storage of articles

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0043]Rectangular bags having relatively long and short edges were prepared from clear, 6-mil vinyl. The bags were heat sealed on 3 edges and provided with a slider-seal at the fourth, a narrow or short edge to provide access to produce a storage container.

[0044]Filling for units designed to regulate at about 32% RH was prepared as follows:

Water (45° C.)300 gXanthan gum 14 g

were mixed in a blender to disperse the gum for quick hydration.

Magnesium Chloride hexahydrate1000 gwas added with stirring.Then Calcium chloride dihydrate 450 g

was added and mixed thoroughly to form a paste of which approximately 70 g each was placed in 3.5×5.25 inch pouches (units) prepared from 1.5 mil polyester elastomer film extruded on paper.

[0045]Approximately 2.13 kg of bedding consisting of sheets, pillow cases and a heavy knit blanket was placed in one of the vinyl bags. Eight pouches were weighed and distributed one to two layers of fabric around the perimeter of the fabric in the vinyl bag storage con...

example 2

[0047]Similarly, another vinyl bag from Example 1 was filled with 2.12 kg of clothing including a sport jacket, cotton shirts and slacks and a robe. Eight weighed humidity regulating units were placed in pockets of the sports coat, slacks and shirts. A data logger was placed in the inner vest pocket of the sports coat. As with the bedding, the clothes bag was placed in the high humidity chamber.

[0048]Results: The data loggers provided the data depicted by FIG. 3.

[0049]The statistical analysis of these data show very good control of the humidity within the container of clothing and good control with bedding placed in a “tropical” chamber maintained with, saturated Potassium Chloride solution. The difference in performance can be attributed to a higher water content in the bedding at the beginning of the trial in FIG. 2.

example 3

[0050]Additional units were prepared as described in Example 1.

[0051]About 2.1 Kg of bedding including cotton sheets, pillow cases, pajamas and a wool / nylon knitted blanket were placed in a 6 mil vinyl bag. A data logger was placed among the pillow cases approximately at the center of the bag and 8 humidity regulators were distributed at two levels, about ¼ of the way from the bottom and top around the perimeter of the storage bag.

[0052]This bag was placed in a “Tropical Chamber” humidified with saturated potassium chloride solution.

[0053]Results:

[0054]The clothes were held in the range of 35 to 43% relative humidity.

[0055]The moisture pick up by the pouches averaged 1.5 to 1.6 g / day hence would require about 2 units per month of storage.

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PUM

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Abstract

A humidity regulating system and method is disclosed for use in the storage of humidity sensitive items and includes a storage container defining a volume for storing articles of interest and having a selected generally low water vapor transmission rate, a closure arrangement that generally effectively seals fabric items in the storage container thereby creating a storage environment, and one or more humidity regulating units in communication with the interior of the storage container and including humidity regulating material capable of regulating a desired, generally constant relative humidity in the storage environment that will not support mold growth in fabric or other articles of interest during a selected duration.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]I. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to controlling humidity in small, relatively closed environments and, more particularly, to a system and method for regulating environmental humidity about stored articles of clothing, other fabric and diverse articles in a manner that precludes mold growth or other humidity-related problems which may occur during long term storage. The system combines storage containers fabricated from materials having generally low water vapor transmission rates and effective closure systems with one or more humidity control devices placed in the containers to produce units which maintain a generally constant relative humidity in the internal environment despite ambient humidity swings.[0003]II. Related Art[0004]Exposure to excess moisture is known to have undesirable and detrimental effects on clothing and other fabrics such as bedding, linens, etc., particularly when they are stored for significant peri...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): B65D81/26
CPCB65D81/268
Inventor SAARI, ALBERT L.ESSE, ROBERT L.
Owner BOVEDA INC
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