Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Including aperture
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-26
2001-08-14
Watkins, III, William P. (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Including aperture
C206S522000, C206S523000, C206S591000, C428S138000, C428S218000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06274217
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buffer member for a shipping carton, interposed between the shipping carton and an article packed within, to protect the packed article from external impact during shipping and storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Home appliances including television sets, video cassette recorders, refrigerators and washing machines go through a packaging process during the final stage of manufacture.
As shown in
FIG. 1
for descriptive purposes, a home appliance such as a television set
1
is generally packed in a shipping carton
10
usually constructed of corrugated cardboard, depending on the type and size of the appliance. Buffer members
11
and
12
are installed at the corners of the shipping carton
10
so that the television set
1
is prevented from moving inside the shipping carton
10
. In addition to providing support, the buffer members protect the packed article by absorbing forces generated by an external impact to the shipping carton. In general, buffer members
11
and
12
are formed from a synthetic resin such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) or expanded polypropylene (EPP), often called Styrofoam.
In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
11
indicates upper buffer members placed on the top/side portions of the television set
1
to protect the top and side surfaces of the television set
1
. Reference numeral
12
indicates lower buffer members placed at the lower/side portions of the shipping carton
10
to protect the bottom and side surfaces of the television set
1
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the interior surface
16
of the lower buffer member
12
is formed to correspond to the peripheral contours of certain portions of the packed article. Because of their placement along the bottom portion of the shipping carton
10
to support the packed article, the lower buffer members
12
can be crushed or damaged due to overload of the packed article, thereby reducing the buffer members support and cushioning attributes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To limit potential crushing of the buffer members, and to offer increased protection to packed articles, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved buffer member for shipping cartons which effectively supports and cushions a packed article subject to static and dynamic overload conditions. To achieve this objective, there is provided a buffer member for a shipping carton, interposed between the shipping carton and a packed article which includes a buffer insert resistant to crushing caused by overload conditions.
The buffer insert is preferably fitted and fixed into an aperture formed along the inner surface of the buffer member. In addition, the buffer insert may comprise of a hollow cylindrical plug having a fluid filled inner cavity. According to another aspect of the present invention, the buffer insert comprises a cylindrical body formed from a plastic foam material having a density different from the buffer member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4096965 (1978-06-01), Lessnig et al.
patent: 4572716 (1986-02-01), West
patent: 4851286 (1989-07-01), Maurice
patent: 4872563 (1989-10-01), Warder et al.
patent: 4911962 (1990-03-01), Baumann et al.
patent: 5160021 (1992-11-01), Sibley et al.
patent: 5322181 (1994-06-01), Nelson
patent: 5339958 (1994-08-01), Taravella et al.
patent: 5351829 (1994-10-01), Batsford
patent: 5628402 (1997-05-01), Dickie et al.
patent: 56-107366 (1981-08-01), None
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Watkins III William P.
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