Lid for a pan, plate, bowl or the like
A vacuum seal lid for turning existing containers including plate, bowl, pan and even cutting board into a vacuum storage container comprises a top plate having an opening, a sidewall, sealing means for preserving vacuum, and a knob adapted to be at a first position in which it is above the opening to facilitate evacuation and handling, a second position in which it is at least partly below the opening to facilitate stacking and storage and a third position between the first and second positions in which the vacuum is released. The top plate may further comprise a first plate in which the opening is located and a second plate having an elastic membrane and a smooth lower surface constituting part of the sealing means for sealing containers smaller than the lid. The sealing means also comprises a sealing membrane located below the bottom surface or on the outer surface of the sidewall for sealing containers larger than the lid. To improve the seal, the sealing membrane is separable or apart from the bottom or outer surface of the sidewall. To improve the seal further, at least part of the sealing membrane is sloped at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. The knob has a knob head, a valve opening, and a valve sealer adapted to clean the valve opening by moving the knob head to improve the reliability of the lid.
This invention relates to a lid or cover for a container such as a pan, plate or bowl, particularly to a lid that forms an airtight seal, and more particularly to a lid that forms a vacuum seal to the container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONLids or covers have been ubiquitously used for pans and plates, and typically adopt dome shape and have a knob or handle for easy handling. Since the seal between the lid and the pan or plate is typically not airtight, such lids are not well suited for storage. In addition, the protruded handle prevents the containers covered by the lids from stacking over each other to save space.
Numerous vacuum seal lids, as known in FoodSave® and Seal-A-Meal vacuum containers or taught in exemplar U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,969,632, 6,619,493 and 7,131,550, were invented for specially made containers. For unknown reasons, however, few airtight lids were invented to fit the existing containers such as pans and plates. Among such airtight lids, Piccioni taught in US publication number 2009/0173735 a bell shaped glass lid fitted with a U-shaped soft structure 4 to seal to dish, Hsieh taught in US publication number 2009/0101535 a dome shaped lid having a top valve for allowing a pump to evacuate air and a bottom gasket 30 for sealing to the container, and the applicant taught in U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,586 and US publication numbers 2006/0032852 and 2010/0018169 a lid having a disc shape that can vacuum seal nearly all containers.
Picconi's lid is susceptible to air leakage since the plastic structure 4 may be too rigid to conform to the topography of the dish to form a complete seal. Hsieh's lid is similar to that commercialized by Royal Sovereign International Inc and is also susceptible to leakage, especially after the lid was washed in dishwasher or when the vacuum level is low. The leakage was possibly caused by insufficient conformation of the gasket 30 to the small indents or protrusions on the surface of most dish plates or by the food residue or dust caught between the circular seal 293 and the slot surface of the groove 61 and vent hole 63 of the top valve which is difficult to reach by normal washing. The applicant's lid, commercialized under Keepeez® brand, conforms well to the topography of the container to form a complete seal, but still has some drawbacks such as not working well with plates or with containers larger than the lid.
The present invention is to provide a new lid to simplify the process of preparing and storing products such as food and solve the problems with the prior lids described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA vacuum seal lid is provided to turn existing containers including plate, bowl, pan and even cutting board into a vacuum storage container. The lid comprises a top plate having an opening, a sidewall, sealing means for preserving vacuum, and a knob connected to the top plate and adapted to be at a first position in which it is above the opening to facilitate evacuation and handling, a second position in which it is at least partly below the opening to facilitate stacking and storage and a third position between the first and second positions in which the vacuum is released. In a first embodiment of the invention, the top plate comprises one rigid plate to which the knob is hosted. In a second embodiment of the invention the top plate comprises a first plate in which the opening is located and a second plate having an elastic membrane to which the knob is attached and a smooth lower surface constituting part of the sealing means for sealing containers smaller than the lid. The elastic membrane of the second embodiment is affixed to the sidewall by a membrane lock having a first and second ridges separated only by the second plate or elastic membrane and received by two channels on the side wall and first plate to prevent potential detachment of the membrane.
The sealing means further comprises an elastic sealer having an elastic sealing membrane located at least party below the bottom surface or on the outer surface of the sidewall for sealing containers larger than the lid. To improve the seal, the sealing membrane is separable or apart from the bottom or outer surface of the sidewall. To improve the seal further, at least part of the sealing membrane is sloped at an angle relative to a horizontal plane. In one embodiment of the invention, the elastic sealer is attached to the bottom of the sidewall and the sealing membrane has one end connected to the bottom of the elastic sealer and the other end movable relative to the bottom of the elastic sealer. In another embodiment of the invention, the sealing membrane comprises a part of the second plate or elastic membrane located below the bottom surface or on the outer surface of the sidewall. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the sidewall comprises an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall and the sealing membrane is sloped at an angle preferably larger than 30 degrees and most preferably larger than 50 degrees between the inner and out sidewalls.
The knob, in one embodiment of the invention, comprises a knob head, a body fitted frictionally to the opening, a valve chamber having a tubular opening for frictionally receiving a tube of an evacuation device and a valve opening on its bottom plate, and a valve sealer for covering the valve opening and having a stem body and a head extended above the tubular opening. In another embodiment of the invention, the knob comprises a knob head, a valve opening, and a valve sealer frictionally fitted into the valve opening and adapted to clean the valve opening by moving the knob head to improve the reliability of the lid. A loss or partial loss of the frictional fit results in an air passage for the valve opening. The knob has a motion sealing distance, which is the maximum distance the valve sealer may move without causing any air passage, between about 0.5 mm to 15 mm, preferably between 1 mm and 7 mm, to prevent leakage.
The present invention further provides a method of use comprising placing the lid on a container, pressing or pushing the knob head down to form a first air passage to evacuate the container, thus vacuum sealing the lid to the container, and pulling the knob head up to form a second air passage to release the vacuum, thus lifting the lid away from the container.
The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically non-limitative embodiment of the invention, as follows:
Elastic sealer 10 has three sealing planes 16, 17 and 18 formed on the bottom of the elastic sealer. Sealing plane 18 is horizontal and sealing plane 17 is about 20 degrees. Sealing plane 16 tilts more upwards than plane 17 from the inner to outer periphery of the elastic sealer and is about 40 degrees relative to a horizontal surface or the bottom surface of the dish plate. Sealing planes 16 and 17 are formed at the bottom of an outward protruded ring 25 of the sealer 10 to allow them to slope more upward when interior surface 23 is more vertical. A ring-shaped gap 26 is formed between ring 25 and sidewall 11 of the sealer 10 to enable the sealing planes to be able to tilt even more upward. Elastomer and rubber materials have a durometer (shore A) of 20 to 60, preferably 25 to 45 measured according to ASTM D-2240, are used for the sealer 10. Bottom surface 15 and ridges 15 and 27 convey a weight force of the lid or a vacuum force, which is to be discussed in
It was found that conventional gasket having either flat or round sealing surface or the gasket taught by Hsieh in US publication number 2009/0101535 having downwardly sloped sealing surface caused vacuum loss in days or even minutes when sealed to some dish plates, especially when the vacuum level in the closed chamber 22 is low. The lid 10 with elastic sealer 10 was found to maintain vacuum seal for much longer time, up to weeks and even months.
Knob 50 comprises a cylindrical body 73 received in an opening 34 formed on a recessed central section 75 of the top plate, an attachment screw 77 having a base plate 56 to prevent knob 50 from moving out of the opening 34, a knob head 60 having horizontal protrusion 59 on the top end of body 73, and a O-ring 78. The cylindrical body 73 fits frictionally in opening 34. After placing the lid on a dish plate, one can move the knob downward by pressing head 60, and can hold the protrusion 59 to pull the knob up. The friction fit keeps the knob in the up position (
The ability to hide the knob when not needed not only helps saving storage space in refrigerator and pantries but also enables a host or hostess for an outdoor party or a waiter or waitress in a restaurant to carry several dishes at one time to speed up service and reduce work load. The airtight seal by the lid also provides other benefits such as keeps food fresher, keeps cooked food warm and prevent spill.
It is appreciated that in this and later embodiments of the invention, besides pans and plates, the lid or cover 1 can be used to seal other containers such as bowls, cups, bottles, canisters, chambers, cutting boards, and surfaces on or in which other items may be supported. Besides food, other products such as household, commercial and industrial items may be sealed in the container. It also appreciated that besides being round as in this and later embodiments, lid 1 may also adopt square, oval, rectangular or other shape. It also appreciated that the term top plate simply means that the plate is above the bottom of the container and may have any shape such as round, square, rectangular, ring, heart or oval shape. It further appreciated that the movable knob 50 may be used in existing glass or stainless lids for pans and other cooking devises to allow the hiding of the knob for storage and stacking.
In
Unlike the lids in Seal-A-Meal® or FoodSave® vacuum containers where one's hand has to hold an evacuation device steady during evacuation, lid 1 enables hand-free evacuation. One inserts tube 83 of the device 84 into the tubular opening 53 to fit tightly and the stem body 73b and head 60b are automatically received inside tube 83. The vacuum pulls valve sealer 127 up to open valve opening 125 and cause the closed chamber 22 to the evacuated (
The depressible protruded section 85a may be designed to stay in the protruded form when there is no external force, enabling a small vacuum to be generated in closed chamber 22 by pressing knob head 60a. When the knob head is pressed, the protruded section 85a becomes recessed section 85b and a positive pressure is produced in the closed chamber to push elastic sealer 127 up to release the pressure. When the knob head is released, the recessed section 85b tries to go back to the protruded form and produce a vacuum, which in turn pulls the valve sealer down to close the valve opening 125 and prevents the recessed section 85b from returning to the protruded form 85a.
Although the lid of
In the lids (Keepeez®) based on applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,586, it was found that the elastic membrane tended to separate from the side wall or rigid rim. Membrane lock 31 has resolved this problem, and it comprises a first lock formed on top plate 30a and having a first ridge 8 and a first channel 2 for receiving the elastic membrane and a second lock formed on sidewall 29 and having a second ridge 3 and second channel 9 also for receiving the elastic membrane. The second ridge 3 is adapted to fit into the first channel 2, and the first ridge 8 is adapted to fit into the second channel 9. The first and second ridges are adjacent to each other and separated only by a vertical section of the elastic membrane 30b. It is believed that the dimensional variations of elastic membrane 30b, sidewall 29 and plate 30a, which are believed to cause the membrane separation from the rigid rim in the lids based on U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,586, become canceled out in the membrane lock 31, thus avoiding the membrane separation problem.
Knob 50 comprises knob body 73 having a base 45, a cylindrical chamber 51 and a sidewall 35, an inner body 37 having a base 36 and sidewall 43 adapted to fit tightly into chamber 51 to sandwich the elastic membrane between sidewalls 35 and 43 and between bases 36 and 45, a knob head 60 having horizontal protrusion 59, a first tube receiving opening 54 and a recession 57 above to reduce the height of the opening 54, a valve shaft 55 having a top end affixed to the knob head and a lower end connected to a valve sealer 42, a pair of plate-shaped springs 61a and 61b, each having one end connected to sidewall 35 and another end connected to the valve shaft, and a valve opening 80 formed in inner body 37 for communicating the closed chamber 22 with atmosphere. Protrusion 41 on the valve shaft prevents the valve sealer 42 from slipping out. One or more air channels 44 are formed on base 36 to direct air to valve opening 80 when knob 50 reaches the food. The base 45 fits into opening 33 of the first top plate snugly to stabilize the knob, and the knob is prevented from moving out of the opening 33 by lip 34.
A protrusion 46 on the inner surface of sidewall 35 fits into a corresponding recession on the outer surface of sidewall 43 to prevent the sidewalls 35 and 43 from separation. A membrane scar 49 is formed at an edge of the elastic membrane 30b to cause the membrane to be permanently affixed to sidewalls 35 and 43. The scar 49 is formed by producing a hole on a section of the elastic membrane above inner body 37, and heating the membrane around the edge of the hole to cause the membrane to bead and progress to the area or junction where the sidewall 43 of inner body 37 meets the sidewall 35 of knob body 73.
Valve opening 80 has a valve sidewall 79 dimensioned to form a frictional fit to the valve sealer to cause an airtight seal between the valve sidewall and valve sealer to allow the valve sealer to completely close the valve opening. Valve sealer 42 is adapted to move up and down frictionally in valve opening 80, and cleans the valve sidewall 79 as it moves. A cylindrical extension 40 is formed above the valve sidewall for receiving and guiding the movement of the valve sealer. Three vertical channels 47 (
Unlike the valve in the prior art lid or in
An opening 67 is formed on the top wall 66 of the cylindrical extension 40 and dimensioned to receive and allow movement of the shaft 55 therein. An opening 69 is formed between the plate-shaped springs 61a and 61b, and also dimensioned to receive and allow movement of the shaft 55 therein, which causes the valve shaft and thus the valve sealer 42 to be connected to the springs 61a and 61b. A space or gap 68 is between the springs 61a and 61b to enable independent movement of the springs 61a and 61b. A stop plate 68 is formed on shaft 55 to sandwich springs 61a and 61b between the bottom of the knob head 60 and the stop plate as well as to enable the knob head to pull the springs 61a and 61b upwards as shown in
The springs 61a and 61b are sufficiently long to allow the valve shaft to move sufficient distance to cause the valve sealer 42 either to move out of the valve opening 80 to lose all the frictional fit between the valve sealer and the valve sidewall 79 and produce an air passage 81 as shown in
Knob 50 in
In
To use lid 1, one checks whether the container is larger or smaller than the lid. If the container is larger, one holds knob 50 to place elastic sealer 10 on interior surface 23 of the container. Before use, the knob is above opening 34 of plate 30a with the base 45 resting therein in a first or a non-use position (
If the container is smaller than the lid (
Unlike existing vacuum lids where the lid can not change shape and dimension, the lids in
In
The first channel 163 on plate 30a is a continuous round channel. But there are a plurality of second channels 166 on sidewall 29 around the second ridge 164 and a plurality of first ridges 171 on plate 30a around the first channel 163 adapted to enter the plurality of second channels 166 when the second ridge 164 enters the first channel 163. Each first ridge 171 comprises a left ridge 171a having a hooked end 170a, a right ridge 171b having a hooked end 170b, and a gap 172 between the left and right ridges (
The sidewall 29 is formed from a stainless steel sheet and the top plate 30a is made from glass. A channel 88 is formed at the top part 97 of sidewall 29 to receive a ring 90 and to sandwich the peripheral section 7 of the elastic membrane. Glass plate 30a is placed over ring 90 and the top end 91 of the sidewall is rolled over glass plate 30a to affix the elastic membrane with scar 92 formed at the periphery of the membrane. Like knob 50 of
Besides glass plate 30a and elastic membrane 30b, top plate 30 further has a shield 143 below and connected to the base 36 of inner body. The shield is in contact with the elastic membrane prior to use and moves away or more apart from the elastic membrane as the air in the closed chamber 22 is being evacuated (
To use, one simply presses the knob head 60 to compress the second spring 101, thus moving the valve shaft 55 and valve sealer 42 down to produce air passage 81,and to push the elastic membrane 30 downward to force air out of the closed chamber 22 via the air passage 81 (
Similar to the lid of
To evacuate air with evacuation device 84 of
A fifth modified version of the lid of
The peripheral section 7 also has a sloped part 17 that covers a predetermined height of the outer surface of the sidewall 29 and is accessible to the interior surface 23 of the container to improve the seal to the container. The most outer part of peripheral section 7 is affixed to channel 2 by a ring 82 and has scar 92 formed at the periphery of the membrane. A fluid gap 19 is formed between the sloped part 17 and the sidewall 29 to contain a layer of fluid such as air or liquid to further improves the seal of the elastic membrane to interior surface 23 of the container. The distance between the sidewall 29 and the sections 17 and 18 of the elastic sealer 10 of the elastic membrane 30b contacting the bottom surface 15 and covering of the outer surface of the sidewall 29 is adapted to be changeable to enable the sections 17 and 18 of the elastic membrane to better conform to the interior surface 23 of the container to further improve the airtight seal.
The elastic membrane 30b is stretched 1% to 50%, preferably 5% to 30% when or before the membrane is attached to the sidewall 29 by ring 82 during the production or assembly of the lid, and is maintained in the stretched and tensioned condition when the lid is not in use or not applied to a container. Such stretching facilitates the expelling of fluid such as air and water if present between the first and second plates 30a and 30b when the knob moves from a vacuum storage position in which the knob is partly below the opening 34 or plate 30a to a non-use position in which the knob is above or mostly above the opening 34.
A problem discovered with the lid taught in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,586 is that after extensive heavy uses for months, a small percent of lids (e.g. about 4% depending on the age of the lids) developed small leakage. It was tried to resolve this problem by doubling the thickness of the membrane, for example from 0.05 mm to 0.1 mm. Only some limited success was achieved. In average, the percent of lids that developed leakage was reduced by about 30%, i.e. from about 4% to about 3% when the membrane thickness is doubled. It was found with surprise when the one elastic membrane were replaced by two identical elastic membranes in lid 1, the percent of lids that developed leakage was reduced by almost 250%, i.e. from about 4% to about 1.5%. The improvement is almost 10 times better than expected. As a result, it is preferred that the elastic membrane 30b comprises a plurality of elastic membranes in one stack with their peripheral sections connected together to the sidewall 29. Even more surprisingly, when the two membranes in lid lwere bonded together by heat, no leakage was found in almost 200 lids after extensive heavy uses. This means the bonding process resolved the leakage problem, and bonded membranes with 2 or more elastic membranes bonded together by a bonding process such as calendaring, heat or pressing bonding, laminating or extrusion coating are preferred in lid 1.
The improved knob 50 of
To use, if the container 20 is larger than the lid 1, one places the elastic sealer 10 on the interior surface 23 and press the knob head 60 to produce air passage 81 to evacuate air in chamber 22 (
An improved lid of
In
When testing the lid of
In
To vacuum seal, one inserts the sloped section 17 of the elastic sealer 10 of the elastic membrane 30b into container 21 to seal to its interior surface 23, press the knob head 60 to cause valve shaft to push valve sealer 42 out of the valve opening 80 to produce air passage 81 to evacuate air (
The scope of the invention is obviously not restricted or limited to the embodiments described by way of examples and depicted in the drawings, there being numerous changes, modifications, additions, and applications thereof imaginable within the purview of the claims.
Claims
1. A lid for sealing a container comprising:
- a top plate;
- a sidewall connected to the top plate;
- a knob for facilitating the removal of the lid from the container;
- wherein at least one of said top plate and sidewall is adapted to seal to the container to form a closed chamber between said top plate and the container; and
- wherein at least part of said knob is adapted to change position relative to the container after the lid is applied to the container.
2. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said knob comprises a body, a base plate to prevent said body from separating from the top plate, and a head protruded out of said body horizontally for one to hold and move said knob between a first position in which said knob is at least partly above said top plate to make said knob readily accessible and a second position in which said knob is at least partly below said top plate to allow a second container to sit on said top plate, thereby allowing stacking of containers.
3. A lid as defined in claim 2 wherein said top plate comprises at least one of a recessed section and a depressible section to which said knob is connected.
4. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises an opening adapted to allow said knob to move in said opening between a first position in which said knob is at least partly above said opening and a second position in which said knob is at least partly below said opening.
5. A lid as defined in claim 4 wherein said top plate comprises a first plate on which said opening is formed and a second plate to which said knob is connected, said knob being adapted to move in said opening between said first and second positions.
6. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein said second plate is in contact with said first plate when said knob is at said first position to prevent foreign matters from entering between said first and second plates.
7. A lid as defined in claim 6 wherein said second plate comprises an elastic membrane and said first plate has a lower surface adapted to cause at least the peripheral section of said membrane to slope downward at a direction from said sidewall to knob, thereby improving the seal to the container.
8. A lid as defined in claim 6 wherein said second plate comprises an elastic membrane in a stretched and tensioned condition prior to applying the lid to a container to facilitate the expelling of fluid including at least one of air and water between said first and second plates when said knob moves from said second position to said first position.
9. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein at least part of said knob is sufficiently large to close said opening and allow a layer of air to form between said first and second plates to provide heat insulation for a product in said closed chamber when said knob is at said second position.
10. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein said first plate further comprises a second opening located close to said sidewall and apart from said knob to allow fluid between said plates to pass through.
11. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein said knob comprises a valve opening and a valve sealer for closing said valve opening during storage when said knob is at said second position, said valve sealer being adapted to open said valve opening when said knob is at a third position, said third position being between said first and second positions.
12. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein said opening is sufficiently large to allow a hand to pass through and move said knob from said second position to said first position.
13. A lid as defined in claim 5 wherein said opening is adapted to prevent said knob from completely moving out of said opening at least in one of the upward and downward movements of said knob.
14. A lid as defined in claim 5 further comprising a seal gasket between said opening and knob body to maintain a vacuum between said first and second plates after said knob is moved from said first to said second position.
15. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane having a peripheral section and a membrane lock comprising a first lock having a first ridge and a first channel for receiving said peripheral section and a second lock having a second ridge and a second channel also for receiving said peripheral section, wherein said first ridge is adapted to end said second channel when said second ridge enters said first channel to lock said peripheral section to said sidewall.
16. A lid as defined in claim 15 wherein said first and second ridges are separated only by a vertical section of said peripheral section of said membrane to prevent said membrane from moving out of said channels.
17. A lid as defined in claim 15 wherein said second channel has a plurality of channels around said second ridge and said first ridge has a plurality of ridges around said first channel, each of said plurality of ridges having a wider end adapted to pass through each of said plurality of channels, said lock further comprising a side channel sized to receive said wider end of each of said plurality of ridges, wherein at least one of said side channel, said first ridge and said second channel is adapted to break said elastic membrane.
18. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate further comprises a first plate having a channel and a second plate having an elastic membrane, said channel being adapted to cause said elastic membrane to wrap the bottom surface of said first plate to prevent said elastic membrane from moving out of said channel.
19. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane and a membrane lock for locking said elastic membrane to said sidewall, said sidewall being tilted toward the center of the lid to allow a plurality of said lids to stack into each other, said sidewall comprising an inward protrusion at its top end for hosting said membrane lock, thereby facilitate said stacking.
20. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane, said membrane comprises a scar at an edge of said membrane to facilitate the attaching of said membrane to at least one of said sidewall and side knob.
21. A lid as defined in claim 1 further comprises an elastic sealer connected to said sidewall and adapted to form an airtight seal to an interior surface of a container.
22. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane adapted to generate a vacuum in said closed chamber and further adapted to convert the vacuum to a downward force applied to said elastic sealer to maintain said airtight seal.
23. A lid as defined in claim 22 wherein said elastic membrane has a smooth lower surface accessible to a container to seal to the rim of the container, whereby said membrane allows the lid to seal containers smaller than the lid and said elastic sealer allows the lid to seal containers larger than the lid.
24. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said elastic sealer comprises a plurality of sealing planes having different angles relative to a horizontal surface, the outer sealing plane being adapted to tilt more upwards from the inner to outer periphery of said sealer than the inner sealing plane.
25. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said sidewall has a bottom surface in contact with said elastic sealer to apply a force to said sealer to cause said airtight seal, said bottom surface being adapted to be so sloped that the inner face of said sidewall is taller than the outer face.
26. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane, said elastic membrane having a smooth lower surface for enabling the lid to seal to the rim of a container and an outer section that covers at least part of the bottom surface of said sidewall to form said elastic sealer for enabling the lid to seal to the interior surface of a container.
27. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said sidewall is adapted to change in height when the lid pressed to expel air out of said closed chamber and to have a memory to return to its original height when the lid is not pressed, thereby generating a vacuum in the closed chamber.
28. A lid as defined in claim 21 wherein said elastic sealer comprises at least one mini gasket connected to said elastic sealer to improve said airtight seal, said mini gasket comprising a sealing membrane located below and apart from the bottom surface of said elastic sealer.
29. A lid as defined in claim 28 wherein said sealing membrane is adapted to collapse to cause at least part of it to touch said bottom surface when the lid stands on the container.
30. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane and a shield below said membrane, said shield being adapted to move away from said elastic membrane as air in said closed chamber is being removed.
31. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said knob comprises a valve opening for communicating said closed chamber with atmosphere and a valve sealer, said valve opening having a valve sidewall of a predetermined length adapted to form a frictional fit to said valve sealer to cause an airtight seal, said valve sealer being adapted to move in said valve opening to cause at least a partial loss of said frictional fit to form an air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere.
32. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said knob comprises a valve opening for communicating said closed chamber with atmosphere and a valve sealer, said valve sealer being adapted to move among a first position in which said valve sealer forms an airtight seal to said valve opening, a second position in which said valve sealer is at least partly above said valve opening to form a first air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere, and a third position in which said valve sealer is at least partly below said valve opening to form a second air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere.
33. A lid as defined in claim 32 wherein said knob further comprises a knob head adapted to be pressed to move said valve sealer to form said second air passage, thereby allowing air in said closed chamber to be evacuated, and to be pulled to move said valve sealer to form said first air passage to release the vacuum in said closed chamber, thereby allowing the lid to be removed from the container.
34. A lid as defined in claim 1 wherein said top plate comprises a plurality of elastic membranes in one stack with their peripheral sections connected together to said sidewall.
35. A lid as defined in claim 34 wherein said plurality of elastic membranes was bonded together by a bonding process to prevent the leakage of the elastic membrane after extended heavy uses.
36. A lid for sealing a container comprising:
- a top plate;
- a sidewall connected to the top plate;
- wherein at least one of said top plate and sidewall comprises an elastic sealer to seal to the container to form a closed chamber between said top plate and container; and
- wherein said elastic sealer comprises a sealing membrane adapted to contact and seal to an interior surface of the container, at least part of said sealing membrane being generally sloped at an angle relative to a horizontal plane when the lid is not in use or not applied to the container.
37. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane adapted to cover at least part of a bottom surface of said sidewall, said sealing membrane comprising the part of said elastic membrane below said bottom surface of said sidewall.
38. A lid as defined in claim 37 wherein the distance between said sealing membrane and said sidewall is adapted to be changeable to improve said airtight seal.
39. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said top plate comprises an elastic membrane adapted to cover a predetermined height of an outer surface of said sidewall, said sealing membrane comprising the part of said elastic membrane outside said outer surface of said sidewall.
40. A lid as defined in claim 38 further comprising a layer of fluid including at least one of air and a liquid between said sealing membrane and said outer surface of said sidewall.
41. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said elastic sealer further comprises a top base adapted to contact at least one of said sidewall and top plate, said sealing membrane being connected to said top base at an angle larger than 15 degrees relative to the horizontal plane.
42. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said top plate comprises a first plate and an elastic membrane below said first plate, said elastic membrane being adapted to cover at least part of said side wall and at least part of the bottom surface of said first plate near said sidewall, said sealing membrane comprising the part of said elastic membrane that covers said sidewall or bottom surface of said first plate near said sidewall.
43. A lid as defined in claim 42 wherein at least part of said sealing membrane is sloped at an angle of at least 5 degrees relative to the horizontal plane when the lid is not in use or not applied to a container.
44. A lid as defined in claim 42 wherein at least part of said sealing membrane is sloped at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to the horizontal plane when the lid is not in use or not applied to a container.
45. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said sidewall comprises a first sidewall and a second sidewall located a predetermined distance from said first sidewall, said sealing membrane being sloped between said first and second sidewalls at said angle relative to the horizontal when the lid is not in use.
46. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said elastic sealer is connected to said sidewall, said sealing membrane being sloped and located below and apart from the bottom surface of said elastic sealer.
47. A lid as defined in claim 46 wherein said sealing membrane has a first end connected to said elastic sealer and a second end movable relative to the bottom surface of said elastic sealer.
48. A lid as defined in claim 47 wherein said second end of said sealing membrane is positioned closer to the outer edge of said elastic sealer than said first end.
49. A lid as defined in claim 47 wherein said second end of said sealing membrane comprises a sealing rim thicker than the part of said sealing membrane adjacent to said sealing rim.
50. A lid as defined in claim 46 wherein said sealing membrane approximately adapts one of L, C, sloped V, inverted T, inverted Y, U and sloped I shapes, at least part of said sealing membrane designed to contact the interior surface of the container being sufficiently thin and elastic to conform to the indents or protrusions on the interior surface.
51. A lid as defined in claim 36 wherein said side wall has at least one elastic pleat adapted to collapse when the lid is pressed, thereby expelling air out of said closed chamber, and to have a memory to rebound to its original height when the lid is not pressed, thus generating vacuum in the closed chamber.
52. A lid for sealing a container comprising:
- a top plate;
- a sidewall connected to the top plate;
- a knob located on said top plate;
- wherein at least one of said top plate and sidewall is adapted to seal to the container to form a closed chamber between said top plate and container; and
- wherein said knob comprises a valve opening for communicating said closed chamber with atmosphere and a valve sealer, said valve opening having a valve sidewall of a predetermined length adapted to form a frictional fit to said valve sealer to cause an airtight seal, said valve sealer being adapted to move in said valve opening to cause at least a partial loss of said frictional fit to form an air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere.
53. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said knob further comprises an extension to said valve sidewall, said extension having a channel to cause said at least partial loss of said frictional fit to produce said air passage when said valve sealer moves into said extension.
54. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said knob is adapted to have a motion sealing distance for said valve sealer between about 0.5 mm and 15 mm to prevent leakage during storage due to accidents or aging.
55. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said knob further comprises a spring sufficiently strong to overcome the friction force of said frictional fit and cause said valve sealer to return into said valve opening after said valve sealer is moved to cause said at least partial loss of said frictional fit to produce said air passage.
56. A lid as defined in claim 55 wherein said spring comprises a plate having a first end connected to the body of said knob and a second end connected to said valve sealer, said plate being adapted to bend sufficiently to cause said valve sealer to move and lose said frictional fit.
57. A lid as defined in claim 55 wherein said spring comprises a first spring for moving said valve sealer down and a second spring for moving said valve sealer up, said first and second springs being adapted to keep said valve sealer in said valve opening during storage.
58. A lid as defined in claim 57 wherein said second spring is stronger than said first spring to increase the sealing reliability of the lid during storage.
59. A lid as defined in claim 55 wherein said knob further comprises a knob head connected to said valve sealer through a valve shaft and a knob body in which said valve sealer is hosted, said spring being adapted to move said valve sealer up and down in said valve opening and having a first end immobilized to said knob head and a second end immobilized to said knob body.
60. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said knob further comprises a second opening positioned upstream of said valve opening for receiving an evacuation device connected to a vacuum pump to evacuate said closed chamber and a knob head adapted to interact with the evacuation device to cause said at least partial loss of said friction fit when the evacuation device is received in said second opening.
61. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said knob further comprises a knob head, a knob body having a chamber above said valve opening, and a valve shaft connected to said knob head and valve sealer,
62. A lid as defined in claim 52 wherein said valve sealer is adapted to move among a first position in which said valve sealer forms an airtight seal to said valve opening, a second position in which said valve sealer is at least partially above said valve opening to form a first air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere, and a third position in which said valve sealer is at least partially below said valve opening to form a second air passage between said closed chamber and atmosphere.
63. A lid as defined in claim 62 wherein said knob further comprises a knob head, wherein said valve sealer is adapted to form said second air passage when one presses said knob head, thus the lid, to remove the air from said closed chamber and to form said first air passage when one pulls said knob head to remove the lid from the container.
64. A method of using a lid comprising placing a lid on a container, pressing a knob of the lid down to form a first air passage to evacuate the container, thereby vacuum sealing the lid to the container, and pulling the knob up to form a second air passage to release the vacuum, thereby lifting the lid off the container.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 7, 2011
Publication Date: Aug 9, 2012
Inventor: Edward Z. Cai (Camas, WA)
Application Number: 12/931,638
International Classification: B65D 51/16 (20060101); B65D 53/00 (20060101); B65D 25/28 (20060101);