Vacuum storage container

Abstract

A thin-walled vacuum storage container made of a plastic material may have a base providing a storage cavity and a detachable lid connectable to the base for covering the storage cavity. To evacuate the storage cavity, the container also includes a valve element communicating with the storage cavity and that may be adapted to interface with a vacuum device. The base and/or the lid can have at least one wall made by a thin-wall manufacturing process wherein the wall thickness is about 2.5 millimeters or less. Alternately, the base and/or lid can have at least one wall with a flow-length-to-wall-thickness ratio of about 90:1 or greater.

1 . A rigid storage container comprising:
 a base having a base wall thickness, the base providing a storage cavity accessible by an opening;   a lid having a lid wall thickness, the lid is positioned over the base for covering the opening;   one of the base wall thickness and lid wall thickness is about  2 . 5  millimeters or less; and   a valve element communicating with the storage cavity.   
   
   
       2 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the wall thickness is in a range of 0.5 millimeters to 2.5 millimeters. 
   
   
       3 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the base is hingedly connected to the lid. 
   
   
       4 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the base is generally rectangular. 
   
   
       5 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the container is air tight. 
   
   
       6 . The storage container of  claim 5  wherein the container is vacuum tight. 
   
   
       7 . The storage container of  claim 1  further comprising a gasket between the base and the lid. 
   
   
       8 . The storage container of  claim 7  wherein the gasket is compressibly deformed when the lid engages the base. 
   
   
       9 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the base includes a tongue projecting from a rim outlining the opening, and the lid includes a corresponding groove for receiving the tongue when the base and lid are connected. 
   
   
       10 . The storage container of  claim 9 , further comprising a resilient gasket in the groove. 
   
   
       11 . The storage container of  claim 1 , further comprising a latch for securing the lid and the container. 
   
   
       12 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the lid includes an upward projecting embossment arranged near the valve element. 
   
   
       13 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the lid includes a recessed portion depressed toward the storage cavity, the valve element being attached to the lid within the recessed portion. 
   
   
       14 . The storage container of  claim 1 , further comprising a filter for the valve element. 
   
   
       15 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the valve element is an umbrella valve element, the umbrella valve element having a circular flexible skirt and a neck projecting from approximately the center of the skirt. 
   
   
       16 . The storage container of  claim 15 , wherein the lid includes a first aperture and a second aperture disposed therein, and the umbrella valve element is attached to the lid such that the neck is received in the first aperture and the skirt overlays the second aperture. 
   
   
       17 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the valve element is a duckbill valve element, the duckbill valve element attached to an aperture disposed through the lid. 
   
   
       18 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the valve element is a diaphragm valve element having a generally planar flexible diaphragm with a peripheral edge and a central aperture disposed therein. 
   
   
       19 . The storage container of  claim 18 , wherein the lid includes at least one aperture disposed therein, and the diaphragm valve element by its peripheral edge is attached to the lid such that the diaphragm normally overlays the aperture. 
   
   
       20 . The storage container of  claim 18 , wherein the diaphragm valve element includes a rolling sleeve formed within the diaphragm and disposed as an annular ring between the diaphragm valve peripheral edge and the diaphragm valve central aperture. 
   
   
       21 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the base and the lid include a thermoplastic material. 
   
   
       22 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the base and the lid are formed by a process selected from the group consisting of injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding, vacuum molding, centrifugal molding, compression molding or combinations thereof. 
   
   
       23 . A storage container comprising:
 a base including at least one base wall, the base providing a storage cavity accessible by an opening;   a lid including at least one lid wall, the lid detachably connectable to the base for covering the opening,   one of the base wall and the lid wall have a flow-length-to-wall-thickness ratio of about 90:1 or greater; and   a valve element communicating with the storage cavity.   
   
   
       24 . The storage container of  claim 19 , wherein the flow-length-to-wall-thickness ratio is in the range of 90:1 to 300:1. 
   
   
       25 . A storage container comprising:
 a base providing a storage cavity accessible by an opening, the base including at least one base wall;   a lid detachably connectable to the base for covering the opening, the lid including at least one lid wall;   one of the base wall and the lid wall having a stiffness such that the container is designed to fail at an absolute pressure inside the storage cavity of about  5  PSIA or less; and   a valve element communicating with the storage cavity.   
   
   
       26 . The storage container of  claim 25 , wherein the absolute pressure is in the range of 5 PSIA to 13.7 PSIA.