METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVACUATING AND SEALING CONTAINERS
An apparatus and method for creating a vacuum-sealed package comprising the placement of the item to be vacuum packed in a container; sealing the container, placing a portion of the container in contact with a sealable chamber; sealing the chamber, creating holes in the container, evacuating the desired amount of air from the container and creating a seal between the interior of the container and the holes.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/643,183, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Air Removal and Sealing of Evacuable Bags” filed Jan. 12, 2005 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of evacuating and sealing containers, including methods and apparatus for removing fluid from a container and sealing the container.
2. Background
Consumers frequently use vacuum storage containers to preserve items in an environment from which all or most of the fluid in the container, typically air, has been removed. Storing food in a vacuum-sealed bag, for example, may help preserve flavor, may make food last longer, and may prevent freezer burn.
Items other than food can also be kept in vacuum storage bags or containers. Articles of clothing, flower seeds, matches, etc., stored in evacuated containers can be kept secure from external elements. Photos or other documents may also be protected and preserved.
Vacuum bags are also beneficial for compressible items. When air is removed from a bag in which a compressible item is placed, the stored item may be significantly compressed so that it is easier to transport and requires substantially less storage space.
Uses of the vacuum storage bags can be divided into two main categories: 1) single use vacuum storage bags and 2) multiple use vacuum storage bags. Single-use bags are typically used in industrial operations and in home kitchen use. For the industrial application, products are typically sealed in a vacuum pouch or bag for transport and storage. These vacuum pouches or bags are usually thrown away by the consumer after one use. While some industrial vacuum pouches now come with a resealable feature, the bags are meant to be thrown away when the consumer is finished with the contents and the pouches or bags are not vacuum-sealed again. For the home kitchen application, leftovers and other foodstuffs that have been opened are placed in a vacuum bag, sealed and the bag evacuated. When, for example, the leftover is going to be eaten, the vacuum bag is usually cut open to allow access to the contents. If the leftover is again not completely eaten, if it is to be saved, it will typically be placed in a new bag, which is sealed and evacuated.
Multiple-use vacuum storage bags are becoming more popular and are currently mainly used by consumers for storing items such as food or compressible household products (i.e., towels, pillows, etc) to save space.
Currently, most single use vacuum storage bags such as the Deni FRESHLOCK (U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,269 to Deni, et. al) evacuate air from the bag through the same opening through which the item is placed into the bag. Once the desired vacuum is created inside the bag, the bag is permanently sealed in that the bag must be cut open to access the item inside the bag. To accomplish the sealing, typical vacuum machines require extra material around the opening in which the item is inserted to allow for proper sealing. If the user wants to reuse the bag, air is evacuated through the newly cut opening and, if possible, permanently sealed again. However, the bag becomes smaller each time it is cut open, evacuated, and resealed. Eventually, the bag becomes too small and must be discarded. The result is a considerable waste of material and money. To have a truly reusable bag, it is desirable to be able to temporarily seal the opening through which the item is inserted and evacuate the bag from a different opening such as a valve on the side.
One type of known valve system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,384 to Skeens et al. In the Skeens et al. system, a hole is placed in one side of the bag and a sturdy, one-way reusable valve is inserted and attached to the side of the bag. However, it is a plastic piece added to the bag not an integral piece of the bag itself, which requires additional manufacture, added bulk to the bag and expense. A disadvantage of this valve is that if the stem is accidentally depressed the seal to the bag will be broken causing undesirable spillage or the need to re-evacuate the bag.
Another drawback to the use of current vacuum storage bag systems is the cumbersome vacuum packaging apparatus used to evacuate air from the bags. Typical vacuum packaging apparatuses are designed such that they require a significant amount of table or counter space and are as wide as the bag opening. One such vacuum apparatus developed by Yen Lau, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,680) addressed the size of the vacuum apparatus. The Yen Lau patent described a small hand held vacuum device that would close a bag having a resealable top except for a small part of the opening through which a vacuum nozzle was inserted. When the bag was sufficiently evacuated the nozzle would be removed. Unfortunately, air reenters the bag when the device is removed and the desired vacuum is lost as the remaining length of the bag is sealed by hand.
In addition, typical vacuum storage bag systems include heat sealers that may be limited in their ability to seal effectively or lack the ability to seal a wide variety of different bag styles, shapes and sizes. The devices designed to address this issue, for example, devices that use run through heat sealers that can accommodate different size bags are difficult to use reliably. If the user runs the sealer over the opening of the bag too quickly, a consistent vacuum type seal will not be formed. However, if the user runs the sealer too slowly, then the bag will melt. Other heat sealers that use rollers can have a bunching problem. If one of the rollers runs quicker than the other the bag can bunch in the corner, creating an incomplete seal.
On the industrial application side, the single use vacuum bag systems are quite cumbersome. U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,234, issued to Taunton, describes an early system for creating airtight packages. That system takes a pre-sealed bag and creates a slit in one of the side sheets. To accomplish this once the bag is placed in the system, suction is applied to the exterior of the bottom sheet of the bag to pull the bottom sheet away from the opposing top sheet. This creates a space between the top and bottom sheet to allow a piercing tool to pierce only the bottom sheet, leaving the non-pierced top sheet to maintain a seal to allow air to be evacuated from the bag. The area around the slit is then heat-sealed. The Taunton system is a very complex system. For example, in the Taunton system, the piercing tool must be adjusted properly to ensure that both the top and the bottom sheets are not pierced. In Taunton if the piercing tool is misadjusted and pierces both sheets, it would not be possible to evacuate the bag since Taunton relies on the top sheet to form part of the necessary seal during evacuation. Also in the Taunton system the bag material must be sufficiently compliant and consistent to reliably be able to create the appropriate air pocket between the top and bottom sheets.
For these and the following reasons, there is a need for a more compact, reusable method and apparatus for evacuating and sealing containers that address the foregoing disadvantages and problems.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGESSeveral objects and advantages of the present invention include providing a method of evacuating a desired amount of air from a bag after all sides have been sealed; a method that requires a minimal amount of space on the bag surface to evacuate the bag to facilitate the reuse of the bag; and, a device that pairs any opening created in the bag to draw a vacuum with a permanent heat seal to minimize air seepage back into the evacuated bag.
Other objects and advantages include providing a compact/portable apparatus that does not require a large area in which to use the device or a large area in which to store the device. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing detailed description and drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention that addresses one or more of the above identified problems preferably comprises a main body, an opening mechanism, an evacuating mechanism, and a heat sealing mechanism.
A preferred method for creating a vacuum-sealed package comprises the placement of the item to be vacuum packed in a container; sealing the container, placing a portion of the container in contact with a sealable chamber; sealing the chamber, creating holes in the container, evacuating the desired amount of air from the container and creating a seal between the interior of the container and the holes.
Another preferred method for evacuating air from a vacuum bag begins with the placement of a vacuum bag between a base and an actuator of an apparatus. The actuator is closed down upon the vacuum bag so that the portion of the vacuum bag between the actuator and the base is in a sealable chamber isolated from the ambient air. The opening mechanism is activated to create a hole in the vacuum bag. The vacuuming mechanism is then activated to evacuate the air from the hole in the vacuum bag. When a sufficient vacuum is reached inside the bag, the heat-sealing mechanism is activated and seals the opening.
An alternative embodiment provides for the preferred embodiment further comprising an additional heat sealer feature. The additional heat sealer can work alone, independently of the preferred embodiment, or in combination with other mechanisms such as the preferred embodiment.
An alternative preferred method further comprises the steps of initially sealing the vacuum bag with the additional heat sealer. The user clamps the heat sealer across the opening of the vacuum bag. If the vacuum bag is wider than the width of the heat seal, the bag can be shifted and heat-sealed multiple times to seal the still open portions of the bag. After the vacuum bag has been completely sealed, the vacuum bag is inserted at the position of the vacuuming mechanism, and the preferred method is then applied to the bag.
A preferred embodiment of aspects of the present inventions will be described in detail with reference to
The lower sealing assembly 30 preferably includes a heating assembly, a lower gasket 32, and a heater block 38. The heater block 38 forms a lower vacuum chamber 31. As best seen in
Since the vacuum hose 40 communicates with the lower vacuum chamber 31 near the top of the lower vacuum chamber 31, if liquid in addition to air is evacuated from the bag 90, the liquid will drop through the lower vacuum chamber and collect in the bottom of the drip chamber 17 when the evacu-sealer device 10 is operated horizontally (the depicted orientation), for example on a kitchen counter-top, with the actuator 11 on top and the base 12 on the bottom. This minimizes the drawing of liquid through the vacuum hose 40. Also, the depicted preferred embodiment includes a lower vacuum chamber 31 and drip chamber 17 configuration that allows the stand-alone evacu-sealer device 10 to collect evacuated liquid in the drip chamber 17 when the stand-alone evacu-sealer device 10 is operated vertically, e.g., when the stand-alone evacu-sealer device 10 is mounted on a wall, with the evacu-sealer mechanism 50 end of the stand-alone evacu-sealer device 10 on the bottom. This is preferably accomplished by having the lower vacuum chamber 31 and the drip chamber 17 assembly have a generally conical shape with the top of the lower vacuum chamber 31 being the tapered end of the cone. (not shown) Alternatively one end of the drip chamber 17 can include an undercut below the drip tray o-ring 36. As shown in
Also occurring while the actuator 11 is in the closed position is the compression of the spring 24. When the spring 24 is compressed, in addition to exposing the tip of the blade 26, the spring 24 initially presses the heat sealer pressure pad 28 against the exterior surface 91a of the first side 91 of the bag 90. However, the pressure is not too great to prevent the air in the bag 90 from passing between the interior surface of the top later 91 and the interior surface of the bottom side 92 to evacuate the air from the bag 90. In a preferred embodiment, once sufficient air has been evacuated from the bag 90 the sealer plate 23 and heat sealing pressure pad 28 are pulled down creating more pressure on the exterior surface 91a of the first side 91 to facilitate sealing. As discussed more fully below, once the desired amount of air is evacuated from the bag 90, the heating element 34 is activated, causing the first side 91 and second side 92 to fuse forming a seal 94 between the cut 93 and the contents of the bag 90 resulting in a heat sealed vacuum package.
OperationWhile using the preferred apparatus, the bag preferably includes air channels on the inner surfaces of the sides of the bag such as those sold under the Tilia™ brand. When the actuator 11 is in the closed position, the air channels facilitate the passage of the air between the upper gasket 22 and the lower gasket 32 and into the chambers. However, the preferred embodiment may be used with other bags, such as household Ziploc® bags that do not include air channels. An example of a preferred reclosable bag 90 is depicted in
The resulting bag 90 includes a first side 91 and a second side 92. The first and second sides each comprise an interior surface and an exterior surface. The first and second sides may be comprised of one or more layers of the same or a different material and, as noted above, may or may not have air channels or grooves on the interior surfaces. The material on the interior surfaces of the bag, however, must be capable of being scaled together by the application of heat. The seals along the edges 95, 96 should be airtight in that leakage of air through the seal is not greater than the leakage of air through the material forming the sides. Preferably the open top edge 98 of the bag 90 includes a re-closing mechanism 97 such as for example the mechanism found on Ziploc® bags, to allow the bag to be opened and closed more than once.
A preferred method for forming a vacuum package comprises re-sealably sealing an item in a container, evacuating the container and sealing the evacuated container. A preferred process for re-sealably sealing an item in a container comprises, obtaining a reclosable container, placing the item 43 to be packaged into the container and re-sealably sealing the container.
Once an item is re-sealably sealed inside the container the evacuation process can begin. A cut is made through two sides of the container and the desired volume of air is evacuated from the container. Once the desired volume of air is evacuated, an airtight seal is formed between the cut and the rest of the interior of the container. An “airtight seal” is a seal that provides the desired minimum leakage of air or fluid into the container.
An example of a preferred evacuation process is depicted in
The actuator 11 is moved to the closed position. As the actuator 11 is moved to the closed position, the blade 26 is exposed and pierces both sides 91, 92 of the bag 90 forming a cut 93 (See e.g.,
As the actuator is moved to the closed position, the lid switch actuator 18 activates the lid switch 19, turning on the vacuum pump 14. In this method the actuator is biased in the open position so the user must hold the actuator 11 in the closed position through out the evacuation process since releasing the actuator 11 will cause the actuator to move to the open position and the lid switch actuator 18 will no longer engage the lid switch 19 causing the vacuum pump 14 to turn off. In other preferred methods, actuator 11 will temporarily latch into place and automatically be released at the end of the evacuation and sealing processes. As air is evacuated by the vacuum pump 14, the air will exit from the bag through the cut 93 and travel through the vacuum port 33, lower vacuum chamber 31 and the vacuum hose. The evacuated air may be vented through the cracks and seams of the base 12 or preferably through a molded in grating in the plastic housing forming the base 12. When a sufficient vacuum is reached inside the bag 90, the vacuum switch 39 will trigger the sealing process.
If any liquid is evacuated during the evacuation process, the liquid will pass through the lower vacuum chamber 31 into the drip tray reservoir 35. If the drip tray reservoir 35 should become full, the drip tray 17 may be removed after the sealing process and the liquid discarded.
A preferred sealing process comprises forming a seal between the cut in the container and the interior of the container, preferably by thermally fusing the two sides of the container together around the cut. In the presently preferred method, immediately after the bag is sufficiently evacuated the sealing process begins. After the pressure vacuum switch 39 is activated by the preset amount of vacuum, the heating element 34 is turned on. In an alternative embodiment, the sealer can be activated at any point of the evacuation process to prevent crushable items in the container from being crushed. Preferably the vacuum pump 14 maintains a vacuum during the sealing process. This helps ensure that air does not re-enter the bag 90 but also assists with sealing since the low pressure between the interior surfaces of the sides of the bag combined with the bias caused by the spring 24 putting pressure on the exterior surface of the bag through the heat sealer pressure pad 18 facilitates the fusion of the material comprising the two sides. The heat-sealing mechanism preferably keeps the heating element 34 on for a predetermined amount of time. After the predetermined amount of time has elapsed, the bag 90 will have an airtight seal between the cut 93 and the interior of the bag. The heater element 34 and the vacuum pump 4 will shut off. The actuator 11 can be moved to the open position and the bag 90 that has been evacuated can be removed.
Preferably feedback for the operational sequence is provided by an indicator light 44, preferably a red LED, on the actuator 11. For example, the indicator light 44 blinks during the evacuation process, is constantly on during the sealing process and shuts off when the container is sealed, isolating the cut from the rest of the container.
The multi-function evacu-sealer device 200 can perform the function of first heat sealing a container containing an item, evacuating the container and sealing the evacuated container. The multi-function evacu-sealer device 200 preferably includes a multi-function actuator 211 and a multi-function base 212 pivotally connected via hinge assembly 213 to the multi-function actuator 211. The multi-function evacu-sealer device 200 also includes an evacu-sealer mechanism 50 which preferably comprises an upper sealing assembly 20, a lower sealing assembly 30 and a power supply 15, vacuum pump 14, vacuum hose 40 and vacuum pressure switch 39 as described best in connection with
The multi-function evacu-sealer device 200 includes a bag sealer assembly 250 that preferably includes a bag seal element 251 and a bag insulator 254 incorporated in the multi-function base 212. The bag sealer assembly 250 also preferably includes a bag sealer pressure strip 255 preferably attached to the multi-function actuator 211 such that it is aligned with the bag sealer element 251 when the multi-function actuator is in the closed position. The bag sealer pressure strip 255 is preferably made of a relatively durable rubber and formed into a semi-circular strip.
The bag sealer element 251 is preferably a heat seal wire preferably with a non-linear configuration as will be described more fully below. The bag sealer element 251 is preferably fixed into place by screw terminals 252, 253. The bag insulator 254 is preferably a strip of insulating tape. The bag insulator 254, which for purposes of illustration is depicted as only covering a portion of the bag sealer element 251, preferably covers the entire length of the bag sealer element 251 and preferably serves to insulate as well as hold the bag sealer element 251 in place.
The multi-function evacu-sealer device 200 also preferably includes function sensors that may be used to automatically actuate the devices various functions under certain conditions. The function sensors preferably include a multi-function actuator position sensor, a bag sealer position sensor 260, a bag sealer actuator 261, a vacuum sealer position sensor 262 and a vacuum sealer actuator 263. Preferably the bag sealer actuator 261 opposes the bag sealer position sensor 260. The bag sealer actuator 260 and bag sealer position sensor 261 operate to activate or deactivate the bag sealer assembly 250. Preferably, the vacuum sealer actuator 263 opposes the vacuum sealer position sensor 262. The vacuum sealer position sensor 262 and vacuum sealer actuator 263 operate to activate or deactivate the evacu-sealer mechanism 50.
The multi-function actuator position sensor preferably comprises a lid switch actuator 264 and a lid switch 265 which effectively function as an on/off switch. In the presently preferred embodiment of the multi-function evacu-sealer 200, the multi-function actuator 211 is normally in the open position. In the open position the lid switch 265 is “off” and no power flows to the components of the device. When the multi-function actuator 211 is in the closed position, the lid switch actuator 264 turns the lid switch 265 “on” providing power to the components of the device.
Operation Alternative EmbodimentThe multi-function evacu-sealer 200 can be used in the same way as the stand-alone evacu-sealer 10 with the added feature that it can be used with non-reclosable bags that require heat sealing without the need for a separate bag sealer. When the user uses a reusable bag 90 that can be sealed without heat sealing, whether or not it is reclosable, the stand-alone evacu-sealer device 10 can be used since it is not necessary to have a heat sealer to seal the bag opening after the item is placed in side the bag. However, when you have a non-reclosable bag 290 as depicted in
Another preferred method for forming a vacuum package comprises heat sealing an item in a container, evacuating the fluid from the container and sealing the evacuated container. Preferably the method is performed using the multi-function evacu-sealer 200 although the method could be performed by first heat sealing the bag and then using the stand-alone evacu-sealer 10 as described above.
A preferred method of heat-sealing an item in a bag comprises, obtaining a non-reclosable bag 290 that is sealed along three edges 95, 96 and has an open top edge 98 a first and second side 91, 92. As with the bag 90 depicted in
Once the item to be vacuum packed is place in the bag 290, the bag 290 must be sealed. This bag sealing process is preferably accomplished first by placing the open top end 98 of the bag 290 between the heat sealer pressure strip 255 and the bag sealer element 251. The actuator 211 is moved to the closed position and held in the closed position, securing the bag 290 tightly between the bag sealer pressure strip 255 and the bag sealer element 251.
When the actuator 211 is moved to the closed position, the lid switch actuator 264, which opposes the lid switch 265, will press down upon the lid switch 265. The lid switch 265 will then activate either the bag sealer element 251 or the evacu-sealer mechanism 50. The bag sealer position sensor 260 and the vacuum sealer position sensor 262 will sense whether the bag 290 is positioned by the bag sealer assembly 250 or by the evacu-sealer mechanism 50. In the preferred embodiment, when the bag 290 is placed between the bag sealer element 251 and the bag sealer pressure strip 255, the bag sealer actuator 261 contacts the bag sealer position sensor 260 causing the bag sealer element 251 to be activated. The bag sealer assembly 250 will preferably seal for a predetermined amount of time. The bag sealer indicator light 243, preferably a red LED, will indicate that the bag sealing assembly 250 is sealing and when the predetermined time has elapsed, to inform the user when the actuator 211 may be moved to the open position. The bag sealer indicator light 243 will preferably be on when the bag sealer assembly 250 is sealing and turn off when the multi-function actuator 211 may be moved to the open position. After moving the multi-function actuator 211 to the open position bag 290 will then have a first bag seal 256.
Since the opening of the exemplary bag 290 is wider than the width of the bag sealer element 251, the bag seal 256 will not completely seal the bag 290 with only a single bag seal process and the bag 290 will have to undergo the bag sealing process again. The bag sealing process described above will be repeated placing the bag 290 in the bag sealing assembly 250 with the unsealed portion of the opening between the bag sealer element 251 and the bag sealing pressure pad 255 as depicted in
As is seen in
Once the bag 290 is sealed, the evacuation process can begin. Preferably the desired amount of the fluid, in this example air, is removed from the bag 290 using the evacu-sealer mechanism 50. As shown in
Although a drip tray is not shown, the multi-function evacu-sealer 200 preferably includes one. Preferably it is configured as a drawer on the side of the multi-function base 212 near the evacu-sealer mechanism 50 and functions in the same fashion as described with regard to the stand-alone evacu-sealer 10.
A heat sealed vacuum package 270 is depicted in
The long bag sealing routine 530 preferably comprises turning on the bag sealer wire 251 and turning on the bag sealer indicator 243 (531); holding that condition for five seconds (532); and then turning off the bag sealer wire 251 and the bag sealer indicator 243 (533). The short bag sealing routine 540 preferably comprises turning on the bag sealer wire 251 and turning on the bag sealer indicator 243 (541); holding that condition for three seconds (542); and then turning off the bag sealer wire 251 and the bag sealer indicator 243 (543). The reason for the difference in time between the two operations is because it takes a while for the bag sealer wire 251 to cool down. If the bag sealer wire 251 is still hot from the last seal, a five second sealing time could melt through the bag rather than sealing the two sides of the bag together.
If the unit determines that the bag is placed over the evacu-sealer mechanism 50, the vacuum pump routine 550 is commenced. The vacuum pump routine 550 preferably comprises turning on the vacuum pump motor and flashing the evacu-sealer indicator 244 (551) and when the bag has reached its desired vacuum the vacuum pressure switch is activated. After the vacuum pump routine 550 is completed, the donut seal routine 560 preferably commences. The donut seal routine 550 preferably comprises turning on the sealer wire and turning the evacu-sealer indicator 244 on steady (561); holding that condition for three seconds (562); turning off the sealer wire (563); holding that condition for two seconds (564); and, turning off the vacuum pump and the evacu-sealer indicator to alert the user that the donut seal routine 560 is complete (565).
The preferred logic functions depicted in
Each of the various different power supply embodiments described with regard to
The full bag width evacu-sealer 310 depicted in
In operation, when there is no bag between the base and the actuator and the actuator is in the closed position as depicted in
When a bag is present as depicted in
The bag switch 232 can be either normally open or normally closed depending on the desired operation. Preferably the bag switch male assembly 221 is used for the bag sealer actuator 261 and the vacuum sealer actuator 263 and the bag switch female assembly 231 is used for the bag sealer position sensor 260 and the vacuum sealer position sensor 262 in the previously described embodiments.
A preferred vacuum pressure switch 39 is depicted in
In another alternative, the vacuuming unit can be designed in such a way that it interacts with the bag only from one side, preferably by eliminating the actuator. In this configuration, one side of the bag 90 would be pressed against a smooth flat surface, for example a kitchen counter top. The base would include the lower sealing mechanism 30 and also preferably the upper sealing mechanism 20 combined as a single mechanism.
Persons skilled in the art will understand that many variations of the present invention are possible. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. Sealed evacuated package comprising
- a bag comprising two sides having sealed edges and an opening, wherein the sealed edges are airtight; wherein the sides are made of flexible material; a re-closing mechanism integrated with the opening of the bag, wherein said re-closing mechanism is capable of forming an airtight seal; a cut through both sides of the bag used to evacuate fluid from the bag; a seal between the two sides of the bag surrounding the cut and sealing off the cut from the rest of the interior of the bag;
- an item sealed in the bag.
22. The package of claim 21 wherein the cut is a semicircular cut.
23. The package of claim 21 wherein the cut is a crisscross cut.
24. The package of claim 21 wherein the cut is a straight cut.
25. The package of claim 21 wherein inner surface of at least one side of the bag comprises air channels.
26. The package of claim 21 wherein the two sides are formed from two sheets of flexible material.
27. The package of claim 21 wherein the two sides are formed from a single folded sheet of flexible material.
28. The package of claim 21 wherein the flexible material is capable of being sealed by application of heat.
29. The package of claim 21 wherein the seal is circular shape seal.
30. The package of claim 21 wherein the seal is square shape seal.
31. The package of claim 21 wherein the seal is triangular shape seal.
32. The package of claim 21 wherein the seal is octagon shape.
33. The package of claim 21 wherein the fluid is air.
34. The package of claim 21 wherein the cuts in the two sides of the bag are substantially aligned.
35. The package of claim 21 wherein at least one side of the bag comprises multiple layers of the same material.
36. The package of claim 21 wherein at least one side of the bag comprises multiple layers of different materials.
37. Sealed container comprising
- a bag having at least two sides wherein said sides are of flexible material; a re-closable mechanism integrated in the bag, wherein the re-closable mechanism is capable of forming an airtight seal; a plurality of cuts through at least two sides, wherein said cuts were used to evacuate fluid from the bag; a plurality of airtight seals surrounding said cuts, wherein said seals together form an airtight barrier between the cuts and the rest of interior of the bag;
- an item sealed in the bag.
38. The container of claim 37 wherein the cuts were made at different times.
39. The container of claim 37 wherein the seals were formed at different times.
40. The container of claim 37 wherein different items were sealed in the bag at said different times.
41. The container of claim 37 wherein each cut is surrounded by an airtight seal and said seals do not cross over.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 8, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
Applicant: UNOVO, INC. (San Francisco, CA)
Inventors: Ehsan ALIPOUR (San Francisco, CA), Clinton Neal SLONE (Mountain View, CA), William Gregory TAMMEN (Lafayette, CA), Thomas KING (San Francisco, CA), Michael STRASSER (Lafayette, CA), Benjamin Toru MINO (Chicago, IL)
Application Number: 12/206,602