(19)
(11) EP 1 502 874 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
16.03.2005 Bulletin 2005/11

(43) Date of publication A2:
02.02.2005 Bulletin 2005/05

(21) Application number: 04254554.1

(22) Date of filing: 29.07.2004
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)7B65D 81/26, B65D 77/00
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LI LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR
Designated Extension States:
AL HR LT LV MK

(30) Priority: 31.07.2003 US 492047 P

(71) Applicant: Tilia International, Inc.
San Francisco, California 94107 (US)

(72) Inventor:
  • Albritton, Charles Wade
    Hercules, California 94547 (US)

(74) Representative: McLeish, Nicholas Alistair Maxwell et al
Boult Wade Tennant Verulam Gardens 70 Gray's Inn Road
London WC1X 8BT
London WC1X 8BT (GB)

   


(54) Fragile-product cage for vacuum packaging appliances


(57) In order to protect the structural integrity of fragile products during the process of vacuum packaging, a protective cage is used. The protective cage may be constructed using a membrane supported by a suitable frame. In addition, the protective cage may include a suitable mechanism to allow gas to exit the protective cage during the process of vacuum packaging. Further, the protective cage may be adapted to have a variable size, and thus may be adjusted to a desired size. To protect fragile products, the frame and the membrane are such that they, in combination, provide sufficient resistance to compressive forces that might occur during the vacuum packaging process.







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