EXHAUST VALVE FOR VACUUM BAG

Abstract

An exhaust valve used in a plastic bag for exhaust of air out of the plastic bag is disclosed to include a valve body, a valve flap directly fastened to the valve body to block the valve gap defined in the valve body, and a cap capped on an upright top stub tube of the valve body to hold the valve flap in place. When the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner/air suction device is attached to the cap and the vacuum cleaner/air suction device is started, the air suction force causes the valve flap to open the valve gate so that inside air is drawn out of the plastic bag. When the vacuum cleaner/air suction device is turned off, the valve flap is forced by the atmospheric pressure to close the valve gap again.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vacuum bag and more specifically to an exhaust valve for vacuum bag.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

A vacuum bag for keeping clothes, quilt, or other compressible items is equipped with an exhaust valve. After clothes, quilt, or other compressible items are stored in the vacuum bag and the vacuum bag is sealed, a vacuum cleaner or suitable air suction device is attached to the exhaust valve to draw air out of the vacuum bag, thus reducing its size. A conventional exhaust valve for this purpose has a movable valve flap that allows air inside the vacuum bag to go out of the vacuum bag and prohibits outside air from entering the vacuum bag. The installation of this movable valve flap is complicated. Further, a spring member is used to support the movable flap in the close position so that the valve flap will automatically return to the close position after each exhaust action. Therefore, a conventional exhaust valve for this purpose has a complicated structure and high cost. Further, a conventional exhaust valve for this purpose fits only a specific size of suction nozzle of a particular model of vacuum cleaner, therefore it cannot be conveniently used with conventional vacuum bags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, the exhaust valve is installed in the plastic bag for exhaust of air out of the plastic bag, comprised of a valve body, a valve flap, and a cap. The valve flap is directly fastened to the valve body to block the valve gap defined in the valve body. The cap is capped on an upright top stub tube of the valve body to hold the valve flap in place. When the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner or air suction device is attached to the cap and the vacuum cleaner or air suction device is started, the air suction force causes the valve flap to open the valve gate so that inside air is drawn out of the plastic bag. When the vacuum cleaner or air suction device is turned off, the valve flap is forced by the atmospheric pressure to close the valve gap again.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the cap has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the valve body so that the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner or air suction device can be directly inserted into the valve body and sleeved onto the cap to draw air out of the plastic bag.

In an alternate form of the present invention, the cap has a dome-like top fitted into the inside wall of the valve body, and a plurality radial grooves formed on the dome-like top of the cap and disposed in air communication with the exhaust holes in the cap so that the exhaust valve can fit different suction nozzles of different calibers. Further, a small amount of external air can be drawn through the radial grooves into the inside of the vacuum cleaner or air suction device before the user turns off the vacuum cleaner or air suction device, preventing idle running and overheat of the vacuum cleaner or air suction device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vacuum bag with an exhaust valve made according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of another design of vacuum bag with an exhaust valve made according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded, top elevational view of an exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded, bottom elevational view of the exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an oblique top elevational view of the exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention while in operation, showing the exhaust valve installed in a vacuum bag.

FIG. 8 is an oblique elevational view of an exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded, top elevational view of the exhaust valve for vacuum bag according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention while in operation, showing the exhaust valve installed in a vacuum bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the annexed drawings in detail, a vacuum bag shown therein comprises a plastic bag 1 and an exhaust valve 2. Referring to FIG. 1, the plastic bag 1 is a single-opening bag formed by heat-sealing three sides of two stacked rectangular plastic films. The plastic bag 1 has an access opening 11 disposed at one side, and a resealable sealing device 12 disposed adjacent to the access opening 11 and adapted to seal the access opening 11. Alternatively, the plastic bag 1 has two fusion lines 13 arranged in parallel at one side, for example, the bottom side, and an exhaust passage 14 defined between the fusion lines 13. Each fusion line 13 has a non-fusion portion 15 in air communication with the exhaust passage 14 for exhaust of air. The plastic bag 1 can be rolled up to squeeze air to the outside through the non-fusion portions 15 and the exhaust passage 14.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an exhaust valve 2 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a valve body 21, a valve flap 22, and a cap 23. The valve body 21 is an inwardly curved disk member comprising an open chamber 212, a horizontal top flange 211 extended from the topmost edge of the open chamber 212 and bonded to the plastic bag 1, an upright top stub tube 213 perpendicularly upwardly extending from the center of the top surface of the bottom wall of the open chamber 212, a top retaining flange 214 extending around the periphery of the upright top stub tube 213 for securing the cap 23, a bottom stub tube 215 perpendicularly downwardly extending from the center of the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the open chamber 212, a center through hole 216 cut through the bottom wall 212 and forming with the inside space of the top stub tube 213 and the inside space of the bottom stub tube 215 a valve gate A, a plurality of air holes 217 transversely cut through the periphery of the bottom stub tube 215 in air communication with the center through hole 216 and the open chamber 212, a bottom retaining flange 218 extending around the inside wall of the bottom stub tube 215 for securing the valve flap 22, and a plurality of radial ribs 219 protruded from the periphery of the bottom stub tube 215 and the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the open chamber 212 and respectively radially disposed between each two adjacent air holes 217.

The valve flap 22 is a flexible member comprising a plurality of arched notches 221 equiangularly spaced around the periphery of the body thereof and dividing the body into a multiple flap elements 222, a stem 223 perpendicularly downwardly extending from the center of its bottom wall, and a head 224 at the distal (free) end of the stem 223. The valve flap 22 is mounted in the upright top stub tube 213 to block the valve gate A, having its stem 223 inserted into the top stub tube 213 and its head 224 forced into engagement with the bottom retaining flange 218 (see FIG. 6).

The cap 23 is a hollow, rounded cover member having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the open chamber 212 of the valve body 21. The cap 23 comprises a plurality of exhaust holes 231 cut through its top and bottom sides, and an inside coupling groove 232 extending around its inside wall. The cap 23 is capped on the top stub tube 213 over the valve flap 22, forcing the inside coupling groove 232 into engagement with the top retaining flange 214 of the valve body 21 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). When the exhaust valve is assembled, an annular groove is defined between the periphery of the cap 23 and the periphery of the open chamber 212 of the valve body 21 for receiving the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner.

When the valve body 21, the valve flap 22 and the cap 23 are assembled, the exhaust valve 2 thus obtained is then installed in the aforesaid plastic bag 1 by sealing the horizontal top flange 211 of the valve body 21 to the inside wall of the plastic bag 1 by fusion (see FIG. 6). After installation of the exhaust valve 2 in the plastic bag 1 and storage of storage items in the plastic bag 1, the inside air can be expelled out of the plastic bag 1 through the valve body 21.

After storage of storage items in the plastic bag 1, the resealable sealing device 12 is sealed to close the access opening 11, and then the suction nozzle 3 of a vacuum cleaner or air suction device is inserted into the open chamber 212 of the valve body 21 and sleeved onto the cap 23 (see FIG. 7), and then the vacuum cleaner or air suction device is started to draw air out of the plastic bag 1. At this time, inside air goes out of the plastic bag 1 through the air holes 217 and center through hole 216 of the valve body 21 to push open the valve flap 22 from the valve gap A, and then goes through the valve gap A to the outside of the plastic bag 1 via the exhaust holes 231 of the cap 23. When air is drawn out of the plastic bag 1, the plastic bag 1 and the storage items are compressed, so that their sizes are reduced. According to the present invention, the valve flap 22 is directly coupled to the valve body 21 without any spring or elastic member. Therefore, the exhaust valve 1 has a simple structure that is easy to assembly and inexpensive to manufacture.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the cap 23 of the exhaust valve 2 in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention has a dome-like top 233 fitting the inner diameter of the open chamber 212 of the valve body 21, and a plurality of radial grooves 234 formed on the top surface of the dome-like top 233 and respectively disposed in air communication with the exhaust holes 231. When the cap 23 is fastened to the top stub tube 213 of the valve body 21, the dome-like top 233 blocks the open chamber 212, and the suction nozzle 3 of any of a variety of vacuum cleaners or air suction devices can be directly attached to the top surface of the dome-like top 233 of the cap 23 to draw air out of the plastic bag 1 (see FIG. 10). When the inside air is about fully drawn out of the plastic bag 1, a small amount of external air can be drawn through the radial grooves 234 into the inside of the vacuum cleaner or air suction device before the user turns off the vacuum cleaner or air suction device, preventing idle running and overheat of the vacuum cleaner or air suction device.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An exhaust valve installed in a plastic bag for exhaust of air out of said plastic bag, said exhaust valve comprising:

a valve body, said valve body comprising an open chamber, said open chamber having a bottom wall, an upright top stub tube perpendicularly upwardly extending from a top side of the bottom wall of said open chamber, a bottom stub tube perpendicularly downwardly extending from a bottom side of the bottom wall of said open chamber, a center through hole cut through the bottom wall of said open chamber and defining with said top stub tube and said bottom stub tube a valve gate, a plurality of air holes transversely cut through the periphery of said bottom stub tube in air communication with said center through hole and said open chamber, and a bottom retaining flange extending around an inside wall of said bottom stub tube;

a valve flap covered on said upright top stub tube of said valve body to block said valve gate, said valve flap comprising a flap body attached to said upright top stub tube of said valve body, a stem perpendicularly downwardly extending from said flap body and inserted into said upright top stub tube of said valve body, and a head connected to one end of said stem remote from flap body and fastened to said bottom retaining flange inside said bottom stub tube; and

a cap capped on said top stub tube of said valve body over said valve flap, said cap comprising a plurality of exhaust holes cut through top and bottom sides thereof for guiding air out of said plastic bag through said valve gap to the atmosphere when said flap body is sucked to open said valve gap by an external suction force.

2. The exhaust valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve body further comprises a horizontal top flange extended from a side of the periphery of said open chamber and bonded to an inside wall of said plastic bag; and a plurality of radial ribs protruded from the periphery of said bottom stub tube and the bottom wall of said open chamber and respectively radially disposed between each two adjacent ones of said air holes.

3. The exhaust valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve body further comprises a top retaining flange extending around the periphery of said upright top stub tube for securing said cap; and said cap comprises an inside coupling groove fastened to the top retaining flange of said valve body.

4. The exhaust valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flap body has a plurality of arched notches spaced around the periphery and dividing said flap body into multiple flap elements.

5. The exhaust valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said open chamber of said valve body has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of said cap such that an annular groove is defined between the periphery of said cap and the periphery of said open chamber of said valve body for receiving a suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner.

6. The exhaust valve as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cap has a dome-like top fitted into said open chamber of said valve body to block said open chamber, and a plurality of radial grooves formed on a top surface of said dome-like top and respectively disposed in air communication with said exhaust holes.