Device for temporary vacuuming of storage containers

Abstract

Device (10) for vacuuming an interior (47) of resealable storage containers (15), in particular of food storage containers and / or containers, in order to protect foodstuffs contained therein from oxidation and other harmful influences, such as bacteria and / or mold growth, caused by an atmosphere surrounding them, characterized by a pump unit (11) consisting of a piston (12) which is linearly reversibly movable in a cylinder (13) and which can be connected to a first free end (16) of the cylinder unit (13) with an attachment piece (14), wherein the attachment piece (14) can in turn be sealingly placed on the container (15) and a recess (17) is formed integrally on the attachment piece (14), which recess has an inner diameter which is designed such that it can be sealingly inserted into the recess (17) with a first opening (18) of the cylinder (13) assigned to the first free end (16).wherein the attachment piece (14) is assigned a removable mandrel (22) which is designed such that it can be brought into operative connection with a container lid (23).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for vacuuming resealable storage containers, in particular food storage containers and / or containers, in order to protect food contained therein from oxidation and other harmful influences, such as bacteria and / or mold growth, caused by the surrounding atmosphere.

[0002] During vacuum sealing, the air is sucked out of the packaging using a pump. State-of-the-art vacuum sealers can then seal a bag used to package, for example, food, immediately after the vacuum has been sealed, preventing any further air from entering. Vacuum sealing food thus preserves vitamins and flavor, even if it is later frozen. This stops oxidation processes that would otherwise attack nutrients and flavors, which regularly and inevitably lead to premature spoilage of the food or the unusability of a substance contained in the can.

[0003] A vacuum sealer therefore meaningfully supports the principles of sustainable nutrition. Vacuum-sealed foods or air-sensitive substances last up to 10 times longer. Fruits and vegetables packed in portion-sized pouches, for example, stay fresh and delicious all week long. At the same time, the season for the food is extended by several days or weeks. Already preserved foods can also be vacuum-sealed, thus helping to prevent premature deterioration of opened foods in a canned food container.

[0004] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device with which repeated vacuuming of food containers is possible quickly and cost-effectively, independently of electrical energy.

[0005] The object is achieved by a pump unit consisting of a piston which can be moved linearly and reversibly in a cylinder and which can be connected to the cylinder unit by a first free end with an attachment piece, wherein the attachment piece can in turn be placed sealingly on the container and a recess is formed integrally on the attachment piece, which recess has an inner diameter which is designed such that it can be inserted sealingly into the recess with a first opening of the cylinder assigned to the first free end, wherein the attachment piece is assigned a removable mandrel which is designed such that it can be brought into operative connection with a container lid in a piercing manner.

[0006] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that a handle is assigned to the mandrel, by means of which it can be brought into operative connection with the container lid or by means of a handle, the mandrel can be introduced into the attachment piece in a guide provided for this purpose (not shown), projecting therefrom.

[0007] According to a further embodiment, the recess has a bore in which a check valve is embedded, which opens in a pulling direction of the piston and closes sealingly in the bore in a pushing direction of the piston, so that a gas located in the container can be sucked out of the container via the pump unit.

[0008] This unidirectional pump draws air or a gas mixture out of the container. Atmospheric pressure pushes against the check valve from the outside, creating a positive-locking gas-tight seal against the surrounding atmosphere.

[0009] In a further advantageous embodiment, the attachment is provided with a spike configured to pierce a container lid as soon as the attachment is placed sealingly on the container lid and subjected to a linear pressure directed against the container lid. If a container lid is present, the attachment can also be used as a hole punch. The spike in the attachment pierces the container lid when placed on the lid, thus creating a gas-permeable connection between the container and the pump unit.

[0010] It is also intended to provide the mandrel with a handle so that it can be brought into operative connection with the container lid independently of the attachment piece in order to enable the gas in the container to be evacuated through the punched opening via the pump unit consisting of piston and cylinder.

[0011] In a further embodiment, it is provided that the piston of the pump unit is assigned a passage through which the sucked-in gas from the container, which is then located in the cylinder of the pump unit in the pulling direction of the piston, can be discharged from the cylinder to the atmosphere surrounding the container in the pushing direction of the piston by means of a linearly acting second check valve arranged in the passage.

[0012] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the attachment and the pump unit are made of a food-safe plastic, a thermoplastic, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). However, the attachment can also be made of a food-safe metal material.

[0013] It should be noted that the intended use of the device is not necessarily limited to foodstuffs. Applications can also be found in areas where substances need to be hermetically sealed for repeated storage for later use. This includes varnishes, paints, oils, and liquids.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the piston is connected to a piston rod, which in turn has a handle assigned to its free end.

[0015] According to a further advantageous embodiment, it is provided that the cylinder has an opening at its second free end, the bore of which essentially corresponds to the outer diameter of the piston, so that the piston can be moved back and forth in a sealing manner in the bore in a linear manner under pressure or tensile load.

[0016] For additional sealing and thus to increase the efficiency of the present invention, it is provided in an advantageous embodiment that radially encircling piston rings are assigned to the piston, which additionally seal against the inner wall of the cylinder.

[0017] To prevent a user from accidentally pulling the piston out of the cylinder of the pump unit, it is further provided that a stop piece is assigned to the opening of the cylinder, reducing the bore, so that the piston strikes the stop piece as a travel limiter at the end of the stroke.

[0018] Further advantageous measures are described in the subclaims. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and is described in more detail below; Fig. 1: A schematic representation of the device in section, with pump unit and attachment, as well as a container; Fig. 2: the schematic representation

[0019] The Fig. 1 shows the device 10 in a working position in a sectional view, as it is arranged on a container lid 23 of a container 15 closed thereby. The device 10 essentially consists of a pump unit 11, which in turn is composed of a piston 12 and a cylinder 13. The piston 12 can be moved back and forth linearly in the cylinder 13. In this embodiment, the pump unit 11 is designed as a single-acting suction pump. This means that work is only performed in one direction. However, double-acting pump units are also conceivable, which can perform suction work in both the pressure and the stroke direction of the piston 12 in the cylinder 13.

[0020] The pump unit 11 interacts with an attachment 14, as shown in the Fig. 1. The attachment piece 14 can be assembled with the pump unit 11 to form a working position. The attachment piece 14 has a substantially circular recess 17 into which the cylinder 13 can be inserted with a precise fit and sealing against the inner diameter of the recess 17.

[0021] The recess 17 is formed in one piece with the attachment piece 14 and in this embodiment has a bore 19. A check valve 39 is arranged in the bore 19. The check valve is clamped radially on the outside by means of a shoulder provided in the bore 19 so that it cannot be sucked out of the bore. A further seal 44 lies flat in the projection 17 and is clamped in the recess 17 by means of an undercut 41. The seal 44 seals the first free end 16 of the cylinder 13 against the surrounding atmosphere when pressure is applied to the recess 17. Pressurization is understood to mean the operating step in which the piston 12 in the cylinder 13 moves against the bore 19; thus essentially represents the pressure direction 21 of the piston 12. The suction orSuction direction is understood to be the direction in which the piston 12 is moved away from the bore 19 - thus representing the pulling direction 20 of the piston 12 - and the check valve 39 is released by the resulting suction.

[0022] The attachment piece 14 can be made of a plastic, a plastic mixture, or even a metal or a metal alloy. The attachment piece 14 has a sealing lip 42 on its underside, which is clamped in a circumferential and internal double groove 43. The attachment piece 14 can have various diameters and can thus be adapted to a container 15 or a container lid 23 in diameter, or selected according to the diameter of the container opening, which is adapted to the clear width of the container lid.

[0023] The provision is made for offering the attachment pieces 14 with various diameters, with the recess 17 always being assigned a constant diameter. This is designed such that the inner diameter of the recess 17 largely corresponds to the outer diameter of the first opening 18 at the first free end 16 of the cylinder 13, so that the recess 17 can be sealed gas-tight and positively inserted. If, for production reasons, it is not possible to produce the exact functional pairing of the first opening 18 with the recess 17, an elastic seal 44 is provided in the first opening 18, which temporarily seals the first opening 18 against the recess 17 and the surface of the attachment piece 14.

[0024] As in the Fig. 2, a mandrel 22 is assigned to the attachment piece 14. The mandrel 22 serves to pierce the container lid 23. This creates a punched opening 24 in the container lid 23, through which the container interior 47 of the container 15 can be pumped via the pump unit 11 ( Fig. 1) can be evacuated. In most cases, a seal 46 is assigned to the container lid 23, which creates a gas-tight seal between the interior space 47 of the container 15 and the surrounding atmosphere. The mandrel 22 can be screwed into the top section 14 by means of a thread. The handle 49 can serve as a manipulation aid for inserting the mandrel 22 into the stop 50 provided for this purpose in the top section 14. For this purpose, the handle 49 and the mandrel 22 are detachably connected to one another.

[0025] As in the Fig.As further shown in Figure 1, a centrally arranged passage 25 is provided for the piston 12. A second check valve 26 is arranged in the passage 25 and is operatively connected to the check valve 39 in the attachment piece 14 such that both valves operate in opposite directions; i.e., if the check valve 39 opens during a suction movement of the piston 12 to suck gas from the container 15, the second check valve in the passage 25 of the piston 12 is closed, and vice versa. The check valve 26 is arranged in the passage 25 in a similar way to the check valve 39.

[0026] The piston 12 is connected to a piston rod 27, with the free end 28 of the piston rod 27 in this embodiment being shaped as a handle 29. The handle 29 enables a user to ergonomically perform a linear movement of the piston in the cylinder 13 of the pump unit 11, either in the pulling direction 20 or the pushing direction 21. The piston 12 is provided with piston rings 34, which further help seal the piston 12 against the inner wall 33 of the cylinder 13. The outer diameter of the piston 12 is adapted to the bore 32 of the cylinder 13.

[0027] To prevent a user from accidentally pulling the piston 12 out of the cylinder 13, a stop piece is arranged at the second free end of the cylinder 13. The stop piece limits the stroke of the piston, which is determined by the length of the cylinder 13 and is accordingly variable, so that the piston cannot be accidentally pulled out of the cylinder 13 in its entirety. The stop piece can be placed as a sleeve around the second free end 30 and has an edge that reduces the opening 31. This edge then serves as a stroke limiter. Reference symbol 10 Device 11 Pump unit 12 pistons 13 cylinders 14 top piece 15 containers 16 first free end cylinder 17 Recess 18 first opening of the first free end 20 Piston pull direction 21 Piston pressure direction 22 Mandrel of the attachment piece 23 Container lid 24 Opening in the container lid (punched) 26 Check valve in the piston passage 27 Piston rod 28 free end piston rod 29 Handle 31 Opening at the second free end 32 outer diameter of the cylinder 33 Inner wall cylinder 34 piston rings 39 Check valve in the top section 41 Undercut 42 Sealing lip 43 double groove 44 additional seal top piece 47 Container interior 48 Rand 49 Handle 50 stop

Claims

[1] Device (10) for vacuuming an interior (47) of resealable storage containers (15), in particular of food storage containers and / or containers, in order to protect foodstuffs contained therein from oxidation and other harmful influences, such as bacteria and / or mold growth, caused by an atmosphere surrounding them, characterized by a pump unit (11) consisting of a piston (12) which is linearly reversibly movable in a cylinder (13) and which can be connected to a first free end (16) of the cylinder unit (13) with an attachment piece (14), wherein the attachment piece (14) can in turn be placed sealingly on the container (15) and the attachment piece (14) has a recess (17) formed integrally thereon, which recess has an inner diameter which is designed such that it can be inserted sealingly into the recess (17) with a first opening (18) of the cylinder (13) assigned to the first free end (16),wherein the attachment piece (14) is assigned a removable mandrel (22) which is designed such that it can be brought into operative connection with a container lid (23). [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by that the mandrel (22) is assigned a handle (49), by means of which it can be brought into operative connection with the container lid (23) or by means of a handle (49) of the mandrel (22) can be introduced into the attachment piece (14) in a guide (not shown) provided for this purpose. [3] Device (10) according to claim 2, characterized by that the recess (17) has a bore (19) in which a check valve (39) is embedded, which opens in a pulling direction (20) of the piston (12) and closes sealingly in the bore in a pushing direction (21) of the piston (12), so that a gas which is in the container (15) can be sucked out of the container (15) via the pump unit (11). [4] Device (10) according to claim 3, characterized by that the gas in the container (15) can be evacuated via the pump unit (11) consisting of piston (12) and cylinder (13) via the opening (24) punched into the container lid (23) by the mandrel (22). [5] Device (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the piston (12) of the pump unit (11) is assigned a passage (25) through which the sucked-in gas from the container (15), which is then located in the pulling direction (20) of the piston (12) in the cylinder (13) of the pump unit (11), can be discharged from the cylinder (13) to the atmosphere surrounding the container (15) in the pushing direction (21) of the piston by means of a linearly acting second check valve (26) arranged in the passage (25). [6] Device (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 5, characterized bythat the attachment piece (14) and the pump unit (11) are made of a food-safe plastic, of a thermoplastic, of polyethylene (PE), of polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). [7] Device (10) according to claim 6, characterized by that the attachment piece (14) is made of a food-safe metal material. [8] Device (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the piston (12) is connected to a piston rod (27), which in turn has a handle (29) assigned to its free end (28). [9] Device (10) according to claim 8, characterized by that the cylinder (13) has an opening (31) at its second free end (30), the outer diameter (32) of which is substantially the inner diameter of the recess (17) of the attachment piece (14), so that the latter can be inserted into the recess (17) in a sealing manner. [10] Device (10) according to claim 9, characterized by that the piston is assigned radially encircling piston rings (34) which additionally seal against the inner wall (33) of the cylinder (13).

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