Special receptacle or package – Shock protection type – With distinct corner or edge protector
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2001-03-13
Gehman, Bryon P. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Shock protection type
With distinct corner or edge protector
C206S320000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199700
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention generally relates to a cushioning material for packaging, and more particularly, to a cushioning material for packaging formed of a foldable and recyclable sheet such as a corrugated cardboard, thick paper or the like, and used to protect an article to be packaged when such an article of a rectangular cross-sectional shape is packaged in an outer case.
BACKGROUND ART
In Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 8-58842, for instance, there is proposed a cushioning material for packaging making use of prismatic hollow bodies formed of a corrugated cardboard.
As shown in
FIGS. 32 and 33
, according to the cushioning material for packaging described in the above publication, the opposite end portions of a hollow body
6
of a square cross-sectional shape have parallel cuts
60
,
61
intersecting one edge at a right angle, and an edge portion between the cuts
60
,
61
has an incised portion incised in the manner of forming a plurality of symmetrical concave-convex portions
62
,
63
. In the body
6
, two surfaces positioned with the edge between have flaps
66
,
67
formed by forming folds
64
,
65
to connect the opposite ends of the cuts
60
,
61
, and a step portion
60
a
is formed as shown in
FIG. 33
by turning the flaps
66
,
67
inward of the body
6
, with the concave-convex portions
62
,
63
meshed with one another.
This cushioning material for packaging is used such that the end of an article to be packaged is guided onto the stepped portion
60
a
and is then held therein when packaged in an outer case.
In
FIG. 33
, step portions
60
a
,
60
a
form a channel by combining a pair of bodies
6
,
6
together to position the step portions
60
a
right and left, and the end of an article
4
to be packaged is guided to the inside of the channel formed by portions
60
a
,
60
a
and is then held therein when article
4
is packaged in an outer case (not shown).
Since the cushioning material for packaging proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 8-58842 described above is mainly formed of the hollow bodies
6
, it has low density as a whole, but also has the following problems.
The first problem is that it is difficult to package the article
4
in the outer case together with the cushioning material for packaging, for the reason that the body
6
has only a single hollow of square cross sectional shape, so that each body
6
is easily deformed until constricted by the outer case after packaging the article
4
in the outer case.
The second problem is that only a very lightweight article can be packaged for the reason that the edges of the flaps
67
,
67
constituting the bottom of the channel are connected to the flaps
66
,
66
constituting the side walls only by meshing the plurality of concave-convex portions
62
,
63
with one another, and a leg portion
68
in the center of the bottom of the channel mainly bears the load of the packaged article
4
so that the strength of the bottom flaps
67
is not sufficient when the above cushioning material is used in the state as shown in FIG.
33
.
The third problem is that it is difficult to form the concave-convex portions
62
,
63
using an automatic machining process after the hollow body
6
is formed in three dimensions. although the folds for forming the hollow body
6
, the parallel cuts
60
,
60
, the concave-convex portions
62
,
63
and the folds
64
,
65
may be formed simultaneously with the process of cutting the sheet.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging, which is wholly formed of a regenerable and foldable sheet, which has a relatively small apparent density, which is easily assembled in a packing process, and besides, is rarely deformed before the assembled cushioning material is packaged in an outer case after an article to be packaged is set in the cushioning material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging, which is applicable to the packaging of a somewhat heavyweight article.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging, which may be easily assembled using an automatic machine process.
For the purpose of solving the above problems, a cushioning material for packaging according to the present invention is structured as follows.
A cushioning material for packaging according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises first and third frame members forming a pair of parallel edge members of a rectangular or square frame, and second and fourth frame members forming the other pair of parallel edge members of the frame. The frame members are each formed as hollow bodies internally and longitudinally divided into a plurality of hollow sections longitudinally extending in parallel, with the contour and sizes of cross sections of the hollow sections being substantially the same. The hollow frame members constituting the frame members are formed in a row by folding a single sheet of corrugated cardboard, thick paper or other foldable sheet, with adjacent frame members connected by outer side sheet portions positioned on the outer side when the frame members are assembled into a square frame. The ends of some of the frame members are closed by a fold of the sheet to provide joint structures for joining the frame members together at right angles to each other with outer side sheet portions left as they are.
A cushioning material for packaging in a second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the first embodiment of the present invention, the contour of cross sections of the frame members is rectangular or square, and partition sheet portions, inclined to the sides of the cross sections of the frame members, are provided within each hollow portion constituting a frame member.
In another embodiment of cushioning material for packaging the contour of the cross section of the frame members is trapezoidal such that the outer side sheet portions are substantially perpendicular while inner side sheet portions are sharply inclined to the outer side sheet portions and partition sheet portions inclined to the outer side sheet portions are provided within the hollow portions constituting the frame members.
In yet another embodiment, cushioning material for packaging the frame members have the outer side sheet portions which are substantially perpendicular, and are composed of first portions positioned on the outer side when the frame members are assembled into a rectangular or square frame, and second portions coextensive and positioned on the inner side of the first portions and in parallel therewith when the frame members are assembled into the rectangular or square frame, the second portions being substantially equal in height to the first portions.
A cushioning material for packaging according to yet another embodiment of the present invention is in the form of first frame members which are substantially perpendicular when the frame members are assembled into a rectangular or square frame and second frame members coextensive with and abutting inner sides of the first frame members when the frame members are assembled into the rectangular or square frame, the second frame members being shorter in height than the first frame members.
In any of the foregoing embodiments the outer side sheet portions of the frame members may be formed of a plurality of layers formed by folding the sheet into the layers.
A cushioning material for packaging in a further embodiment of the present invention comprises first and third frame members for forming a pair of parallel edge members of a rectangular or square frame, and second and fourth frame members for forming the other pair of parallel edge members, wherein the frame members are formed of layered bodies resulting from folding or laminating a corrugated cardboard, thick paper or other foldable sheet in parallel layers. Adjacent frame members are connected through an outer side sheet portion positioned on
Yamamoto Masahiro
Yokoyama Yoshimasa
Gehman Bryon P.
Hitachi Zosen Corporation
Lorusso & Loud
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