Universal air removal port

Abstract

Universal air removal port can be installed on factory sealed frozen food bags or any new plastic food bags. The port comprises of a flat disk or compressed foam check valve, air sieve and double-sided adhesive inserts to bond two elements. A hole is created on one-side wall of food bag. The check valve is bonded to the exterior hole and the air sieve to the interior hole. Valve restricts air flows to outflows from the sealed bag. Multiple openings of air sieve prevent blocking of valve inlet by foods or bag film. Its flat top plate reinforces bonding of bag film and the valve. Amorphous viscid adhesive inserts fill micro holes and grooves on valve surface, eliminating formation of micro tracts and loss of vacuum. The universal air removal port can be removed from empty bag and reused on a new food bag.

1 . A universal air removal port comprising:
 a one-way check valve of either a tubular flat disk type or a box shape valve having a compressed foam sponge block;   an air sieve with a central air passage and cylindrical or square box type walls with multiple openings and a top flat plate;   a first and a second double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive inserts;   said first double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive insert having a central bore that is bonded to an inferior flat surface of said valve housing;   said second double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive insert that is bonded to a top flat plate of said air sieve;   said double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive inserts fill any micro holes or grooves on the flat rigid valve housing or air sieve top flat plate, eliminating formation of micro tracts for air passage between the food package and the valve or air sieve, and provide a common surface for bonding said air sieve and a plastic food bag together,   a hole created in said plastic food bag and the valve housing is bonded with the second double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive insert to said hole on an outside of said plastic food bag and said air sieve is bonded with said first double-sided amorphous viscid adhesive insert to the hole on an inside of said plastic food bag;   a central tubular passage of the air sieve is aligned with an inlet leg of the valve which sticks out through the hole of the plastic food bag, whereas   when the both the valve and air sieve are pressed firmly towards each other, they sandwich walls of said plastic food bag and said universal air removal port is bonded to said plastic food bag.   
     
     
         2 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein the closing force of the box shape valve is a combination of expansive force of the compressed foam sponge block and traction force on the foam sponge block by the internal vacuum pressure of the plastic food bag and said expansive force of said foam sponge block is adjusted by controlling a degree of compression of said foam sponge block. 
     
     
         3 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein the closing force of the flat disk valve depends on the traction force generated by the internal vacuum of the plastic food package. 
     
     
         4 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein a sealed plastic food bag is opened by unlocking the zipper strips or cutting the sealed food bag. 
     
     
         5 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein a sealed plastic food bag is vacuumed by exerting force onto walls of the food bag thereby pushing air from within the plastic food bag out through the flat disk check valve or by a vacuum pump through either flat disk or compressed foam valve. 
     
     
         6 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein the universal air removal port is installable on an existing plastic food bags. 
     
     
         7 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 6  wherein the existing plastic food bag is selected from a group consisting of polyethylene, nylon, polyester, polyurethane, or laminate. 
     
     
         8 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 6  wherein the existing plastic food bag has a built-in resealing zipper strips. 
     
     
         9 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 6  wherein the existing plastic food bag does not have a built-in resealing zipper strips. 
     
     
         10 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 6  wherein the existing plastic food bag has open ends that are sealed by impulse heat sealer. 
     
     
         11 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein said amorphous viscid adhesive bonding element eliminates surface imperfections between the selected plastic food bag wall and said first or said second part of an air removal port. 
     
     
         12 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein said first part and said second part of said air removal port is removable from the food bag when the plastic food bag becomes empty and be installed on another new plastic food bag, thus are re-usable. 
     
     
         13 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 1  wherein a loss of vacuum is visible when food content within the plastic food bag is no longer clearly delineated or the food contents move around inside the plastic food bag when pressed by fingers. 
     
     
         14 . The universal air removal port according to  claim 13  wherein the loss of vacuum in the plastic food bag is rectified by manual compression on the plastic food bag, pushing air out through a flat disk valve or aspirating air from the plastic food bag by a vacuum pump.