Exhaust valve for vacuum bag

Abstract

An exhaust valve used in a plastic bag for exhaust of air out of the plastic bag is disclosed to include a valve body, a valve flap directly fastened to the valve body to block the valve gap defined in the valve body, and a cap capped on an upright top stub tube of the valve body to hold the valve flap in place. When the suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner/air suction device is attached to the cap and the vacuum cleaner/air suction device is started, the air suction force causes the valve flap to open the valve gate so that inside air is drawn out of the plastic bag. When the vacuum cleaner/air suction device is turned off, the valve flap is forced by the atmospheric pressure to close the valve gap again.

1 . An exhaust valve installed in a plastic bag for exhaust of air out of said plastic bag, said exhaust valve comprising:
 a valve body, said valve body comprising an open chamber, said open chamber having a bottom wall, an upright top stub tube perpendicularly upwardly extending from a top side of the bottom wall of said open chamber, a bottom stub tube perpendicularly downwardly extending from a bottom side of the bottom wall of said open chamber, a center through hole cut through the bottom wall of said open chamber and defining with said top stub tube and said bottom stub tube a valve gate, a plurality of air holes transversely cut through the periphery of said bottom stub tube in air communication with said center through hole and said open chamber, and a bottom retaining flange extending around an inside wall of said bottom stub tube;   a valve flap covered on said upright top stub tube of said valve body to block said valve gate, said valve flap comprising a flap body attached to said upright top stub tube of said valve body, a stem perpendicularly downwardly extending from said flap body and inserted into said upright top stub tube of said valve body, and a head connected to one end of said stem remote from flap body and fastened to said bottom retaining flange inside said bottom stub tube; and   a cap capped on said top stub tube of said valve body over said valve flap, said cap comprising a plurality of exhaust holes cut through top and bottom sides thereof for guiding air out of said plastic bag through said valve gap to the atmosphere when said flap body is sucked to open said valve gap by an external suction force.   
   
   
       2 . The exhaust valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said valve body further comprises a horizontal top flange extended from a side of the periphery of said open chamber and bonded to an inside wall of said plastic bag; and a plurality of radial ribs protruded from the periphery of said bottom stub tube and the bottom wall of said open chamber and respectively radially disposed between each two adjacent ones of said air holes. 
   
   
       3 . The exhaust valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said valve body further comprises a top retaining flange extending around the periphery of said upright top stub tube for securing said cap; and said cap comprises an inside coupling groove fastened to the top retaining flange of said valve body. 
   
   
       4 . The exhaust valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said flap body has a plurality of arched notches spaced around the periphery and dividing said flap body into multiple flap elements. 
   
   
       5 . The exhaust valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said open chamber of said valve body has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of said cap such that an annular groove is defined between the periphery of said cap and the periphery of said open chamber of said valve body for receiving a suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner. 
   
   
       6 . The exhaust valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said cap has a dome-like top fitted into said open chamber of said valve body to block said open chamber, and a plurality of radial grooves formed on a top surface of said dome-like top and respectively disposed in air communication with said exhaust holes.