US20080217335A1

US20080217335A1 - Vacuum seal cover of circular container

Info

Publication number: US20080217335A1
Application number: US11/714,782
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsin-Yu Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-03-07
Filing date: 2007-03-07
Publication date: 2008-09-11

Abstract

A vacuum seal cover of a circular container has a circular tabular seal ring, so that the container no longer needs a fixing protrusion, and the cover includes a sheathing hole, a plurality of air holes disposed around the cover, and an umbrella valve installed at the sheathing hole and provided for vacuuming the container or releasing the pressure through the umbrella valve. The cover is installed at an opening of the container, and the air in the container can be extracted by an air extracting device to define a vacuum and maintain the interior of the container at a vacuum condition, so as to extend the expiration of the contents stored in the container.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a seal cover of a circular container, and more particularly to a seal cover of a circular container that comes with a simple structure and provides a vacuum seal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1 of the structure of a conventional seal cover of a circular container, the seal cover is applied as a cover 20 of a container 10 with a circular opening, and the cover 20 is situated at a top rim 11 of an opening of the container 10. The cover 20 has a circular groove 23 disposed around the periphery of the cover 20, and a seal gasket 24 installed to the groove 23. The top rim 11 of the container 10 can be sheathed into the groove 23 and coupled with the seal gasket 24.
The container 10 has a plurality of fixing protrusions 12 disposed proximate to the top rim 11, and the cover 20 has corresponding locking tabs 21 hinged with the periphery of the cover 20, such that the locking tabs 21 can be turned, and each locking tab 21 has a through hole 22 corresponding to the fixing protrusion 12. If the cover 20 is placed at the opening of the container 10 and the locking tab 21 is pressed towards the fixing protrusion 12 of the container 10 by a user's finger, the fixing protrusions 12 will be passed through and latched to the through holes 22, so that the cover 20 can be covered onto the opening of the container 10. In the meantime, the top rim 11 of the container 10 is pressed tightly onto the seal gasket 24 at the groove 23, so that the interior of the container 10 will be isolated from the outside to define a seal condition.
However, these locking tabs 21 are latched and opened repeatedly, and thus the hinged position may be torn or cracked easily. If the thickness is increased, then the hinged position will not be torn or crashed so easily, but it will be difficult for users to latch or open the locking tabs 21, and users cannot operate the locking tabs 21 easily by one hand. Furthermore, the design of the fixing protrusions 12 cannot maintain an integrity of the circular opening of the container 10, and the through hole 22 of the locking tab 21 of the cover 20 must be aligned precisely with the fixing protrusions 12 before the locking tabs 21 can be latched with the fixing protrusion 12, and thus the operation is inconvenient.
Referring to FIG. 2 for another conventional structure of a seal cover of a circular container, the structure is applied as a cover 40 of a container 30 with a circular opening, and its opening has a circular smooth top rim 31, and the cover 40 is installed to the top of the top rim 31. The bottom of cover 40 has a protruding circular wall 43, such that the lower surface of the cover 40 and the external side of the circular wall 43 form a circular top connecting portion 41, and a pulling portion 42 is formed at an appropriate position of the top connecting portion 41. The circular wall 43 has a diameter slightly smaller than the opening of the container 30, and an external sidewall of the circular wall 43 has a groove 44 disposed around the circular wall 43, a tabular seal ring 45 with a portion exposed and inserted into the groove 44, and the seal ring 45 has a penetrating hole 46 disposed at the center of an appropriate position.
If the cover 40 is covered onto the top rim 31 of the container 30, the circular wall 43 will be plugged into the internal side of the top rim 31, and the air in the container 30 will be discharged from the penetrating hole 46 for plugging the circular wall 43 until the top connecting portion 41 is pressed against the top rim 31, and the exposed seal ring 45 will be pressed between the circular wall 43 and the internal wall of the container 30, so that the air in the container 30 will be isolated from the outside to define a seal condition. The protruding pulling portion 42 is provided for users to lift and separate the cover 40 from the container 30 easily.
Although the tabular seal ring 45 can maintain the original shape of the opening of the container 30, the penetrating hole 46 may cause a poor sealing effect for this type of covers. Furthermore, the foregoing conventional seal cover of a circular container only has the sealing function, but it does not have the vacuum function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a seal cover of a circular container, such that the container no longer needs a fixing protrusion, and the seal ring does not need a penetrating hole, and thus the integrity of the periphery of the opening of the container can be maintained. For applications, there will be no alignment issue anymore. The operation becomes more convenient and the invention provides a good sealing function.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a seal cover having a vacuum function, wherein an air extracting device is provided for vacuuming the container to maintain the interior of the container at a vacuum condition, so that the expiration date of the contents stored in the container can be extended.
The present invention is applied as a cover of a container having a circular opening, and the cover comprises: a protruding circular wall disposed at the bottom of the cover and sheathed to the opening of the container, and an external side of the circular wall forming a circular top connecting portion; a groove disposed around an external sidewall of the circular wall; a tabular seal ring installed at the groove and having a portion exposed to the outside; a sheathing hole disposed on the surface of the cover and having at least one air hole disposed around the periphery of the sheathing hole; and an umbrella valve installed to the sheathing hole and having a patch covered onto the air hole, a press button disposed above the patch, and a stopping portion disposed under the patch for inserting the umbrella valve into the stopping portion of the sheathing hole.
The diameter of the circular wall is slightly smaller than the opening of the container, so that after the circular wall is plugged into the opening, the exposed seal ring is pressed and squeezed between the circular wall and an internal wall of the container, and thus the interior space of the container is isolated from the outside to define a seal condition. With the pressure releasing function of the umbrella valve in accordance with the present invention, the cover can be covered onto the opening of the container, and the air extracting device is provided for extracting the air in the container through the umbrella valve, so that the interior of the container is vacuum, and the cover with the sealing function can maintain the interior of the container at a seal condition, and the expiration date of the contents stored in the container can be extended.
The top connecting portion has a pulling portion extended and expanded from an appropriate position of the top connecting portion, so that a user can lift and turn the pulling portion to separate the cover from the opening of the container.
The invention further comprises a folded edge disposed concavely downward from a connecting position of the press button and the patch, so that the patch can be bent, lifted and separated from the air hole easily.
The cover has an indent disposed concavely downward from the top surface of the cover, and the sheathing hole is situated at the indent for facilitating the manual air extracting device to be fixed to the indent for the vacuuming process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a circular container and a seal cover of a prior art;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a circular container and a seal cover of another prior art;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a circular container and a vacuum seal cover of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a circular container and a vacuum seal cover of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly of the present invention when it is vacuuming; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly of the present invention when it is releasing pressure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show various embodiments of the invention.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 for a perspective view and an exploded view of a circular container and a vacuum seal cover of the present invention, the vacuum seal cover is applied as a cover 100 of a container 200 with a circular opening 220, and the cover 100 comprises: a protruding circular wall 130 disposed at the bottom of the cover 100 and sheathed to an opening 220 of the container 200, and an external side of the circular wall 130 forming a circular top connecting portion 110, and a pulling portion 120 extended and expanded from an appropriate position of the top connecting portion 110, such that a user can lift and turn the pulling portion 120 to separate the cover 100 from the opening 220 of the container 200.
A groove 140 is disposed around the external sidewall of the circular wall 130, and a circular tabular seal ring 150 is inserted into the groove 140 and has a portion exposed to the outside. Since the diameter of the circular wall 130 is slightly smaller than the opening 220 of the container 200, such that after the circular wall 130 is plugged into the opening 220, the exposed seal ring 150 is pressed and squeezed between the circular wall 130 and the internal wall of the container 200, and the interior space of the container 200 is isolated from the outside to define a vacuum condition. The surface of the cover 100 has a sheathing hole 102, at least one air hole 103 disposed around the periphery of the sheathing hole 102, and an umbrella valve 160 installed at the sheathing hole 102. The umbrella valve 160 includes a patch 161 with a width sufficient to cover the top of the air hole 103 and attached closely to the surface of the cover 100. The umbrella valve 160 also includes a press button 162 disposed at the top of the patch 161, and a stopping portion 163 disposed at the bottom of the patch 161 for inserting the umbrella valve 160 into the sheathing hole 102, such that the umbrella valve 160 can be forced and pressed for sheathing the stopping portion 163 into the sheathing hole 102 for the installation, and the stopping portion 163 is latched and fixed to the bottom wall of the cover 100. Further, a folded edge 164 is disposed concavely downward from a connecting position of the press button 162 and the patch 161, so that the patch 161 can be bent and lifted to separate the patch 161 from the top of the air hole 103.
Referring to FIG. 5 for a cross-sectional view of the present invention, the exposed seal ring 150 is pressed and squeezed between the circular wall 130 and the internal wall of the container 200, after the cover 100 is covered onto the opening 220 of the container 200 and a portion of the circular wall 130 is plugged into the opening 220. Since the internal and external pressures of the container 200 are different, the cover 100 cannot be covered easily. With the pressure releasing function of the umbrella valve 160, the press button 162 of the umbrella valve 160 of the invention can be used for lifting the patch 161. The air hole 103 is provided for balancing the internal and external pressures of the container 200, so that the circular wall 130 and the seal ring 150 can be plugged all the way into the opening 220 until the top connecting portion 110 of the cover 100 pressed against a top rim 210 of the container 200. After the press button 162 is not pressed anymore, the cover 100 will isolate the interior space of the container 200 from the outside to define a vacuum condition by the seal ring 150 made of elastic material.
Referring to FIG. 6 for a cross-sectional view of a vacuuming process in accordance with the present invention, an indent 101 is disposed concavely downward from the top surface of the cover 100, and the sheathing hole 102 is disposed in the indent 101 for facilitating a manual air extracting device 300 to be fixed onto the indent 101 for the vacuuming process. During the vacuuming process, the manual air extracting device 300 on the indent 101 is provided for extracting air, and the patch 161 will be sucked and lifted, so that the air in the container 200 can be extracted out from each air hole 103. If the container 200 is at a vacuum condition, the air extracting device 300 can be removed, and the patch 161 of the umbrella valve 160 will be attached onto the top of each air hole 103 by the pressure to maintain the interior of the container 200 at a vacuum condition, so as to extend the expiration date of the contents stored in the container 200.
Referring to FIG. 7 for a cross-sectional view of a pressure releasing process of the present invention, a user simply presses the press button 162 of the umbrella valve 160 when it is necessary to open the cover 100, and the press button 162 presses and deforms the patch 161, so that the patch 161 can be separated from the air hole 103 at the surface of the indent 101 to allow outside air to enter into the container 200 successfully and open the cover 100 easily.
If the vacuum seal cover of the present invention is applied simultaneously for a large container and a small container, the air inside a large container can be extracted directly, such that the pressure in the small container stored in the large container is changed to release the air into the large container, and then the air is extracted from the large container, and finally both large and small containers are at a vacuum condition.
With the circular tabular seal ring of the vacuum seal cover in accordance with the present invention, the container no longer needs a fixing protrusion disposed at the exterior of the container, and thus there will be no alignment issue anymore, and the application will become much more convenient. With the pressure releasing function of the umbrella valve, the seal ring does not need a penetrating hole anymore, and thus the container can provide a good sealing function. In the meantime, the air extracting device of the vacuum seal cover of the present invention is provided for vacuuming the container through the umbrella valve and maintaining the interior of the container at a vacuum condition, such that the expiration date of the contents stored in the container can be extended.
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A vacuum seal cover of a circular container, applied as a cover of said container having a circular opening, and said cover comprising:

a protruding circular wall, disposed at the bottom of said cover, and sheathed to said opening of said container, and an external side of said circular wall forming a circular top connecting portion;

a groove, disposed around an external sidewall of said circular wall;

a tabular seal ring, installed at said groove and having a portion exposed to the outside;

a sheathing hole, disposed on the surface of said cover, and having at least one air hole disposed around the periphery of said sheathing hole; and

an umbrella valve, installed to said sheathing hole, and having a patch with a width sufficient to cover said air hole, a press button disposed above said patch, and a stopping portion disposed under said patch for inserting said umbrella valve into said sheathing hole.

2. The vacuum seal cover of claim 1, wherein said circular wall has a diameter slightly smaller than an opening of said container, such that after said circular wall is plugged into said opening, said exposed seal ring is pressed between said circular wall and an internal wall of said container.

3. The vacuum seal cover of claim 1, wherein said top connecting portion forms a pulling portion at an extended and expanded position of said top connecting portion, such that said pulling portion is provided for users to lift and separate said cover from the opening of said container easily.

4. The vacuum seal cover of claim 1, further comprising a folded edge disposed concavely and downwardly from the connecting position of said press button and said patch.

5. The vacuum seal cover of claim 1, wherein said cover has an indent downwardly extended from and concavely disposed on a surface of said top cover, and said sheathing hole is disposed at said indent.