WO1995009770A1

WO1995009770A1 - Compression container and method for using same

Info

Publication number: WO1995009770A1
Application number: PCT/US1993/009398
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Frank Theis
Original assignee: Theis Peter F
Priority date: 1993-10-04
Filing date: 1993-10-04
Publication date: 1995-04-13
Also published as: AU5143293A

Abstract

A flexible collapsible container (52) having a reseable opening (54), wherein the circumference of the opening (54) is at least equal to one-quarter the circumference of the container (52), has a reseable closure device (56) near the opening (54) for opening sufficiently to admit an object with a circumference similar to the circumference of the opening (54). A valve (58) is coupled to the container (52) for releasing air from the container (52) after the closure device (56) is closed to reduce the volume of the container (52) with an object therein. The closure device (56) is opened and an object is placed in the container (52) via the opening (54). The closure device (56) is sealed and the container (52) is pressed to expel excess air via the valve (58), which prevents reintroduction of air into the container (52).

Description

COMPRESSION CONTAINER AND METHOD FOR USING SAME

Background of the Invention

This invention relates to an improvement in flexible, collapsible containers of the type having a resealable opening sufficiently large to admit objects of substantial circumference into the container.

Figures 10 through 15 show views of three prior art collapsible or compression containers. Figures 10 and 11 show views of a compression container 10 which is formed of a waterproof, flexible material and defines an opening 12 at one end 14. In this embodiment the compression container 10 is generally cylindrical in shape, and thus the circumference of the compression container 10 is equal to the circumference of the opening 12. The opening 12 therefore does not limit the circumference of the largest object that can be placed in the compression container 10. The compression container 10 also includes a closure device 16 which may optionally include reinforcing bands surrounding the opening 12. The closure device 16 includes straps 20 which can be secured together via a conventional snap 22. In order to seal the opening 12, the end 14 of the container 10 is rolled as shown in Figure 10, and the straps 20 are then secured together by the snap 22. The result is a sealed, substantially water-tight container 10. Containers of the type shown in Figure 10 are commonly available from camp equipment suppliers such as Cascade Designs, Inc.

Figures 12 and 13 show a second prior art compression container 24 which also defines a single opening 26 at one end 28 of the container 24. The container 24 is substantially tubular, and the circumference of the opening 26 is comparable to the circumference of the container 24, thereby allowing large objects to be inserted into and removed from the container 24. The container 24 is formed of a flexible, waterproof material such as a suitable plastic. The container 24 includes a closure device 30 which comprises a bar 32 and a clamp 34. In order to seal the opening 26, the end 28 is wrapped around the bar 32 as shown in Figure 12, and then the clamp 34 is installed in place as shown in Figure 12 to hold the end 28 and the bar 32 in an assembled relationship. When closed, the closure device 30 provides a water-tight seal. Containers similar to the container 24 are commonly available from camp equipment suppliers. Figures 14 and 15 show a third prior art waterproof bag 36 which includes a flexible, waterproof bag body 38 which defines an opening 40. The opening 40 defines a circumference which is a substantial fraction of the circumference of the bag body 38. The opening 40 is situated at an end 42 of the bag 36. The end 42 supports a closure device 44 which in this embodiment comprises a pair of spaced parallel ribs 46 on one side of the opening 40, and an aligned central rib 48 on the other side of the opening 40. As shown in Figure 15, the ribs 46, 48 can be releasably interlocked to seal the opening 40 and provide a waterproof bag 36. Bags of the type shown in Figures 14 and 15 are sold under the trade name "SNAP LOCK" and are commonly used for the storage of food and small items.

Collapsible containers of the types shown in Figures 10-15 are used for example in camping. One type of such a container is commonly called a "dry bag" because in the event of a rain storm or a boating spill the container will keep its contents dry. Also, such collapsible containers are also used inside other larger collapsible containers both for the purposes of organization (one bag for clothes and another for a sleeping bag for example) and for extra protection. With this arrangement, even if the outer bag should leak, the contents of the individual dry bags are doubly protected. Such flexible, collapsible containers are also used for foods such as powdered milk and sugar.

In camping and other outdoor activities it is often important to minimize space requirements, and the space required to pack an object may be more important than its weight. For example, day packs and fanny packs have limited space. The weight of typical equipment such as rain gear and clothing is small, but the required space may make it difficult to pack the equipment efficiently. Similarly, kayaks have limited storage space but more than adequate weight carrying capacity. Also, light airplanes are often more restricted by the bulk of the equipment by its weight, and for this reason extra storage compartments are often slung underneath the fuselage to provide additional space.

Certain outdoor gear expands to fill the available space. For example, when a sleeping bag is placed in its stuff sack, the sleeping bag can be compressed and the air forced out of the stuff sack. However, as soon as this pressure is released, the sleeping bag will tend to expand to fill the original dimensions of the stuff sack. Similarly, clothes will also expand once compressive pressure is released. When gear is placed in a sealed waterproof bag, such as a dry bag as described above, the very fact that the bag is waterproof means that entrapped air cannot be expelled when the bag is fully closed. Thus, the bag is typically partially filled with air, which occupies space. This is particularly troublesome when waterproof bags are placed inside other, larger waterproof bags.

A further problem with entrapped air is that it will typically contain moisture. In the event the entrapped air is cooled (as for example in the evening or when placed in the cool bottom of a boat) the entrapped air may condense, thereby moistening the contents of the dry bag. The greater the volume of entrapped air, the greater the amount of moisture available to wet the contents of the bag.

One commonly used approach to the problem of entrapped air is to partially seal the bag and then to expel air at the opening to the extent possible and quickly seal the top. This approach is not only cumbersome and time consuming, but it is only partially effective. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide improved flexible, collapsible containers (which may be of the type shown, for example, in Figures 10 through 15) which to a large extent overcome the problems of the prior art discussed above.

Summary of the Invention According to this invention, a flexible, collapsible container having an opening is provided with a closure device coupled to the container near the opening and effective to open sufficiently to admit passage of an object comparable in circumference to the circumference of the opening into and out of the opening. This closure device is effective to close the opening releasably. A valve is coupled to the container and is operative to release air from the container after the closure device is closed to reduce the volume of the container after the object has been closed within the container by the closure device.

According to the method of this invention, a flexible, collapsible container of the type described above is used by first opening the closure device and placing an object in the container via the opening. Then the closure device is closed to seal the container, and the container is compressed to expel excess air from the container via the valve to reduce the volume of the container. The valve is effective to prevent subsequent reintroduction of air into the container. Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side view of a second preferred embodiment of this invention. Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view of a third preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side view of a fourth preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side view of a fifth preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 6 is a side view of a sixth preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side view of a seventh preferred embodiment of this invention. Figure 9 is a fragmentary side view of a eighth preferred embodiment of this invention.

Figures 10 and 11 are side and top views, respectively, of a first prior art compression container.

Figures 12 and 13 are side and top views, respectively, of a second prior art compression container.

Figures 14 and 15 are side and enlarged fragmentary views, respectively, of a third prior art compression container.

Detailed Description of the Presently Preferred Embodiments Figures 1 through 9 illustrate eight preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Many of these figures show only fragmentary views of a compression container. It should be understood that any suitable compression container and any suitable closure device may be used in the embodiments of Figures 1 through 9. For example, the compression containers 10, 24 and 36 discussed above in conjunction with Figures 10 through 15 are suitable for use with this invention, as are other alternatives.

Turning now to Figures 1 through 9, Figure 1 provides a side view of a first preferred embodiment 50 of this invention. This embodiment includes a flexible, collapsible, air-tight bag 52 which defines an opening 54 at one end. The opening 54 defines a circumference at least equal to one-quarter the circumference of the bag 52, and the opening 54 is closed by a closure device 56 which may for example be of the type described above in conjunction with Figures 10 through 15. According to this invention, the bag 52 also includes a valve 58. The valve 58 includes an inlet port 60 and an outlet port 62. In this embodiment, the valve 58 is a manual, screw-type valve. The valve 58 includes a control knob 64 which can be rotated to selectively open or close the valve 58. When closed, the valve 58 cooperates with the closure device 56 to seal the bag 52 in a air-tight condition. As shown in Figures 2 through 5, alternate embodiments of this invention can include automatic valves which allow air to be expelled from the bag 52, but which prevent air from reentering the bag 52. As shown in Figure 2, the valve may include an automatic flap valve 66. The flap valve 66 includes a cover 68 which defines an outlet port 70. A flap 72 is positioned between the cover 68 and the bag 52, which defines an inlet port 74. The flap valve 72 can seal the inlet port in its relaxed state. Alternatively, or in addition, the seal can be maintained by the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the bag 52. As shown in Figure 3, a biasing means such as springs or foam 76 may be provided to bias the flap 72 against the inlet port 74 to keep the valve closed.

Figures 4 and 5 show automatic valves 78 and 80 which include ball valves 82 and 84 respectively. In the valves 78, 80 the covers 86, 88 define ball guides 90, 92, respectively. The embodiment of Figure 4 uses air pressure differential between the inside and outside of the bag, pressure of the ball guide 90 in its relaxed state, or both, to seal the bag 52. The embodiment of Figure 5 includes a spring 94 to bias the ball valve 84 closed. All of the automatic valves of Figures 2 through 5 are arranged to allow air to be expelled out of the bag 52 and to prevent the reintroduction of air into the bag 52. The covers 86, 88 may be rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible.

As show in Figures 6 and 7, a compression container 96 of the general type described above may be provided with multiple check valves 98. In the illustrated embodiment, three check valves 98 are provided, each with its respective air inlet port 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the check valves 98 are provided with covers 102, each provided with multiple air outlet ports 104. The covers 102 may be rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible. When the air inlet ports 100 are distributed in spaced relationship along the inner surface of the valves 98, it becomes less likely that the contents of the compression container 96 will close all of the valves 98 when an attempt is made to expel excess air from the container 96. Similarly, by providing multiple, spaced air outlet ports 104 distributed about an exterior surface of the valves 98, it becomes less likely that all of the air outlet ports 104 will be unintentionally closed if the compression container 96 is positioned closely adjacent to an exterior surface, such as a wall or another compression container.

Figure 8 shows another compression container 106 with an automatic flap valve 108 that includes multiple air inlet ports 110 and multiple air outlet ports 112 providing the advantages set out above.

The compression container 114 of Figure 9 includes a valve 116 which is made up of a series combination of an automatic flap valve 118 and a manually controlled screw valve 120. With this arrangement, the screw valve 120 can be opened and the flap valve 118 will allow excess air to be expelled from the compression container 114. Once this operation has been completed, the screw valve 120 can be manually closed to insure a air¬ tight seal.

Operation

In order to use any of the bags and compression containers 52, 96, 106, 114 described above, the closure device is first opened as explained in connection with Figures

10 through 15, and one or more objects are inserted into the bag or compression container.

Then the closure device is sealed using any suitable method, such as any of the three examples shown in Figures 10 through 15. The bag is then compressed by pushing on the exterior surface of the bag. Air entrapped in the bag escapes through the valve, such as the valves 58, 66, 78, 80, 98, 108, 116 described above. When an automatic valve is used, the valve responds to higher pressure on the inside of the bag by opening and allowing air to escape from the bag. Once the compression pressure is removed from the bag, the higher atmospheric pressure or the spring or pressure pad forces the automatic valve closed so that air cannot return into the container. If a manual valve is included, once the container has been compressed, the valve is closed, and once again air cannot reenter the container. The result is a relatively inexpensive, easy to use compression container from which excess air can readily be expelled to minimize volume of the sealed container.

Of course, it should be understood that a wide range of changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments described above. Any suitable material, including air-tight but not necessarily water-tight materials, or configuration can be used for the compression container, the closure device and the valve. As pointed out above, manual and automatic valves can be adapted for use of this invention, and they can be used either alone or in combination.

It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, which are intended to define the scope of this invention.

Claims

CLAIMS I Claim:

1. In a flexible, collapsible container of the type having a resealable opening, wherein the flexible container defines a first circumference, wherein the opening defines a second circumference, the improvement comprising: a) a closure device coupled to the container near the opening and effective to open sufficiently to admit passage of an object comparable in circumference to the second circumference into and out of the opening, said closure device effective to close the opening; b) a valve coupled to the container and operative to release air from the container after the closure device is closed to reduce the volume of the container after the object has been closed within the container by the closure device.

2. The invention of Claim 1 wherein the valve comprises a one-way valve.

3. The invention of Claim 1 wherein the valve comprises a manual valve.

4. The invention of Claim 2 wherein the valve further comprises a manual valve in series with the one-way valve.

5. The invention of Claim 1 wherein the valve comprises a plurality of air outlet ports spaced from one another on an exterior surface of the container.

6. The invention of Claim 1 wherein the valve comprises a plurality of air inlet ports spaced from one another on an interior surface of the container.

7. The invention of Claim 1 wherein the second circumference is greater than or equal to one quarter of the first circumference.

8. A method of enclosing material, comprising the sequential steps of: providing a collapsible container having a first resealable opening and a second resealable opening therein; placing the material into said container through said first resealable opening and sealing said opening; squeezing said container to expel fluid from within said container through said second resealable opening; and sealing said second resealable opening.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said collapsible container includes a flexible wall.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said second resealable opening is a one way valve.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said second resealable opening is a valve.

12. The method of claim 8, further including the step of expelling fluid out of the material enclosed within said container to compress the material as fluid is expelled from said container.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein said squeezing step is performed by manually squeezing the container.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the container is a dry bag.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the enclosed material is food.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the enclosed material is a small item.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein said fluid is air.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein said fluid is a gas.

19. The method of claim 8, wherein said collapsible container is portable.

20. The method of claim 8, wherein the enclosed material is baggage.

21. A method of enclosing material to protect the material from water, air or other elements, comprising the steps of: providing a container having a first sealable opening, a second sealable opening and a collapsible covering surface; placing the material into said container through said first sealable opening; sealing said first sealable opening upon receipt of the material therethrough; collapsing said collapsible covering surface by placing external, inwardly directed force thereon to force fluid outwardly through said second sealable opening; and then sealing said second sealable opening to prevent the passage of fluid into the container.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said second sealable opening is a valve.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein said second sealable opening is a one way valve.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein said collapsible covering surface is flexible.

25. The method of claim 21 , further including the steps of opening and resealing said first sealable opening.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein applying said external force increases the fluid pressure within said container so as to cause said fluid to exit said container through said second sealable opening.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein said inwardly directed force is applied by manually squeezing the container.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the said container is a dry bag.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the enclosed material is food.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein the enclosed material is a small item.

31. The method of claim 21 , wherein said fluid is air.

32. The method of claim 21 , wherein said fluid is a gas.

33. The method of claim 21, wherein said collapsible container is portable.

34. The method of claim 21 , wherein said fluid is a liquid.

35. A method of packing an object in a container and reducing the volume of the object once it is packed within the container, said method comprising the following steps: a) providing a flexible collapsible container which defines a resealable opening, said container further comprising:

1) a closure device coupled to the container near the resealable opening and configured to be opened sufficiently to admit passage of an object into and out of the opening, said closure device including a closing mechanism to close the opening to provide a resealable fluid tight seal; 2) a valve coupled to the container and operable to release air from the container after the closure device has been closed; b) opening the closure device; c) placing an object in the container via the opening; d) closing the closure device with the closing mechanism to seal the container; and e) compressing the container to expel excess air from the container via the valve to reduce the volume of the container, said valve operable to substantially prevent subsequent reintroduction of air into the container.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the valve of the container provided in step (a) comprises a one-way valve.

37. The method of claim 35 wherein the valve provided in step (a) comprises a manual valve, and wherein step (b) further comprises the step of opening the manual valve prior to compressing the container in step(e) and closing the manual valve subsequent to compressing the container in step (e).

38. A method of enclosing material, comprising the sequential steps of: providing a collapsible container having a resealable opening therein; placing the material into said container through said resealable opening and sealing said opening; providing a one way valve to expel fluid outward said container in response to an increase in fluid pressure within said container; squeezing said container to increase the pressure within said container and expel fluid from within said container through said valve; and sealing said valve.