Vacuum packaging apparatus and process

Claim 1

A process for vacuum packaging an article in a flexible receptacle comprising: (a) loading the article in the receptacle and placing the loaded, unsealed receptacle in a vacuum chamber having a single chamber; (b) closing the chamber and extracting gas at a substantially constant rate therefrom to lower the pressure surrounding the receptacle thereby causing the receptacle to balloon away from the receptacle while also extracting gas from the unsealed receptacle; (c) continuing the extraction of gas at a constant rate from the chamber while admitting gas to the chamber to raise the pressure surrounding the receptacle in a pressure restoration phase after the pressure has been initially lowered, said pressure restoration phase beginning at a predetermined pressure difference between the pressure surrounding the receptacle and the pressure within the receptacle; (d) subsequently, increasing the rate of admitting gas to the chamber to a rate greater than the constant continuing rate of extraction thereby causing the receptacle to collapse around the article; and, (e) sealing said receptacle as the receptacle collapses upon the article.