Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
680
BACKGROUND OF TH~ IN ~TION
The packaging of delicate objects for shipment usually in-olves the
use of bulky packaging materials~ such as excel~ior, shredded or wadded
paper, or granulated plaYtic foams. These cause inconvenience in handling.
In other cases, plastic foam is molded or cut to fit closely around the
object. This is troublesome and expensive~ particularly when various kinds
of objects are to be shipped. It is used principally in connection with
mass produced items. Moreover, it must often be supplemented by the use of
loose packing of the type described above.
Yarious inflated containers are sha~n in the patented art. Among these
are Butler, U. S. Patent 1~457J~96; Root et al, U. S. Patent 3,038,~93; and
Abbott, U. S. Patent 3,138,248. To the best of my kn~qledge, none of these
are in use today. Some appear to be fundamentally defective, others diffi-
cult and expensive to manufacture.
An object ~ my invention is to Frovide a package including a flexible,
inflatable container which is cheap and effective ar.d which is very compact
when empty.
It is also an object of my invention to Frovide a method of packaging
utilizing the container referred to above which will cause the article pack-
aged to be finmly held in position.
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It is also an object of my invention to provide a package including the
container referred to above which is of such character that the article will
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be protected even if the container is punctured.
SUMMARY OF TEIE I~V~NTION
My package comprises a double envelope. The inner envel-
ope receives the article to be packaged. An outer envelope,
which has normal dimensions in all directions substantially
greater than the inner, is sealed to the latter only adjacent
its ends. The inner envelope is left open at one end to
receive the article. Preferably its walls are sealed together
inwardly of the other end, in order to position the article.
The outer envelope is provided with means for inflating it.
The article is inserted and the outer envelope is inflated
while the inner envelope remains open. It-is important-that the
inner envelope be vented at the time the outer envelope is in-
flated, so that the inner envelope will collapse about the
article so as to hold it in position.
Because of the relative dimensions of the t~o envelopes,
the article is suspended in the air, spaced in all directions
from the outer envelope.
~` Preferably, the inflation takes place within a casing of
such a size that the outer envelope is pressed against it, coat-
ed on its inside with an adhesive which adheres to the envelope.
It is desirable to seal the inner envelope after the inflation
~; step. Then, if the casing and outer envelope should be
~- accidentally punctured, the article will still be held suspend-
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; In another embodiment I provide for refrigeration of the
article, which may be fish or other perishable substance. I
provide an intermediate envelope which can be filled with
liquid and frozen after being sealed, a mold of the size and
shape of the article being placed in the inner envelope if i-t
is not desired to freeze the article itself. The article is
then inserted (if it was not present during the freezing) and
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the inner envelope is partially evacuated and then sealed.
The container is then placed in the adhesive-coated casing,
which is preferably of an insulating character, and the outer
envelope inflated and sealed. As the ice begins to melt, the
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inner envelope will collapse about the article, holding it tightly in posi-
tion.
~ESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the dra~Ying~
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of an empty container embodying my
invention
Fig. 2 is a view partially in elevation and partia~Ly in longitudinal
section of the container of Fig. 1 after loading and inflation, taken on a
plane perpendicular to that of Fig. lo
Fig. 3 is a view of the loaded and inflated container of Figso 1 and 2
in a casing, partia~Ly in elevation and partialLy in section.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of a modification of my container
adapted for refrigerated shipment.
Fig. 5 is a vieu, partially in elevation and partiaLly in section9 of
the container in Fig. 4, on a plane perpendicular to that of Fig. 4, at an
intermediate stage of its loading.
Fig. 6 is a view, partiaLly in elevation and partially in section9 of
the completed package involving the modification of Figs. 4 and 50
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figs~ 1, 2 ard 3, my invention involves a double envelope,
2, made of flexible sheet material, preferably heat-sealable, such as poly-
ethylene. It includes an inner envelope 4, and an outer envelope 6, which
are sealed to each other at both ends, 8 and 10. The inner e.~velope 4 is
left open at least at one endg 10. This is readily accomplished by inser-
~` 25 tion of a strip of metal, e.g., aluminum foil, in end 10 of envelope 4 dur-
ing the heat-sealing step End 8 may also be left open, but normally inner
envelope is closed at this end for convenience in loadingO Preferably,
inner envelope 4 is sealed up to an intermediate point 12 in order to posi-
tion the article to be packaged The articLe 14 can then be simply dropped
3 in open end 10 of inner envelope 4
~; Next, outer envelope 6 is inflated~ The inflating means can be simply
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a heat-sealable tube 16 of the same material as the envelopes 4 and 6. The
tube may also be closed by rr~ochanical means or may be provided with a valve.
After inflation, the tube 16 is heat-sealed, as shown in Fig 2, or other-
wise closed.
It is important that envelope ~ be ~ented to the atmosphere during
the inflation of outer ~ velope 60 When this is done3 inner envelope 4 is
collapsed tightly about ar~icle 1~, as shown, the air within the inner
en~elope being ~xpelled through the open endO Therefo~e, end 10 of inner
envelope is left open at least until the inflation is completed. I have
found that in rnany cases it is unnecessary to close it at any timeO How--
ever3 it may then be heat~sealed and in some cases this ssaling is desir-
ableg as will be explained belowO
The normal dimensions o~ the outer env~lope are greater in all direc-
ticns than those of the inner en~-alope3 so that the inner envelope is
stretched and the article is suspended spaced from all walls of the outer
envelopeO
The container described above is ordinarily encl~sed in a box or cas-
ing for shipmentO A parki~ularly desirable arrange~ent i~ shown in Fig, 30
Casing 1~ is first coated on the inside with an adhes;~s 20 which will
adhere tightly to the rraterial of container 20 The latter is first parti-
ally in~lated~ thenJ with end 22 of ca.si~g 1~ open, it is carefully posi-
tioned in the ca.sing and inflated until it is pressed against adhesive 20;
It is desirable to heat-seal end 10 of inner en~elope 4 at this time.
End 22 is then closedO
Alternatively, the container rnay be sealed to the casing before infla~
tion~ For 0xarnple, casing 1~ may be a cardboard box of the usual type,
which is stored in quantities in a collapsed condit.ion with tho ends folded
out ~y container may be packed inside the box~ adhesively secured to ths
sides of the box. When the box is assembl~o-d the contalner will be held in
an e~tended condit~on; After insertion of the article, the outer envslope
i9 inf lated, coll apsing th e irner envelopa about the artiole. Open end 10
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of envelope 4 is then preferably sealed.
With the container in the casing and adhesively joined to it, the pack-
age is very secure. Even if the casing and outer envelope should be punc-
tured, the inner envelope will be held suspended and, since it was seaLed
in its collapsed condition, wilL continue to hold article 14 securely in
position.
It may be desirable, particularly if the articles to be packaged are
comparatively heavy, to make inner envelope4 af fabric-reinforced sheet
material.
In Figs. 4, 5, and 6, I show a package for the refrigerated ship~ent
of, for instance, a freshLy caught salmon. The heart of the package is a
container, 102, simalar to container 2 of Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The empty
container i9 sho~n in Fig~ 4. It comprises an inner envelope 104 and an
outer envelope 106 corresponding to envelopes 4 and 6 of Figso 1 and 20
In addition, it includes an intermediate envelope 1050 AlL three envelopes
are sealed together and inner envelope is sealed shut at one end, 10~. At
the other end, 110, the three envelopes are se~led together, but inner en-
velope 104 is left open,as was inner envelope 40 A filling tube 107 laading
to the interior of intermediate envelope 105 is also p~ovidedO It is sealed
between the intermediate and inner envelopes but is left openO The inner
envelope may be sealed at a point 112 if desired, though this is less nec-
essary in this modification than in that of Figs. 1-3. Outer env~lope 106
is provlded with an inflating tube lL6.
The next stage in the formation of the package is shown in Figo 5. A
mold 109 of approximately the same size and shape as the article to be
packaged is inserted into inner envelope 104. ~ater or other liquid, lLlg
is then introduced into intern~diate envelope 105 through filling tube 107
~hich is then seal9d. Intermediate envelope 105 should be substantially
filled. Container 102, with mold 109 in place, is put in a freezer and
water or other Liquid 111 is frozen. Mold 109 is then withdrawn and re-
placed by article lL4, e.g., a saLmon (Fig. 630 Inner envelope 104 is then
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evacuated and the end 110 is sealed shut.
Container 102 is then positioned in casing 11~ and outer envelope 106
is inflated until it contacts adhesive coating 120. ~nd 122 is then closed
and fastened. It is desirable in this embodiment to then deliberately lo~er
the pressure in outer envelope 106 in order to lessen the heat conductionO
(If adhesive 120 is of a setting type, sufficient time should be allo~ed to
elapse to insure that container 102 is firmly adhered to casing 11~o3 For
example, tube 116 may be withdrawn through an aperature 121 provided in
end 122 and air withdrawn from outer envelope 1060 The pressure should,
however, be left greater than that in inner envelope 104. As soon as the
ice 111 begins to melt, inner envelope 104 1~ 11 collapse around the fish
11~, holding it tightly in position.
If the outer envelope is adhered to the box or casing in advance, ag
described above, it is unnecessary to inflate it3 as atmospheric pressure
will cause the collapse of the inner envelope if the latter is evacuated
and then sealed.
The container 2, Figs. 1 and 2, which constitutes the heart of m~ in-
vention can be made by several different methods. For example3 the inner
and outer envelopes may be formed from extruded polyethylene tubesO The
smaller is given the intermediate seal 12, then inserted inside the larger
and they are heat-sealed together and the outer sealed shutg a strip of
metal, e.g., aluminum foil or other material to which the polyethylene will
not adhere, being inserted inside one end of the inner tube, as descr~bed
above, thus leaving the inner envelope open at one end.
In a second ~ethod each envelope can be formed from a flat sheet ~hich
is folded over and sealed at the edges. In this method the inner envelope
is first formed, then the outer envelope is folded over and seaLed at its
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edges and to the inner envelope.
CoaxiaL extrusion can also be used. In this methodg a double tube is
` 30 axtruded and cut to suitable lengths. The procedure is then the same as
for the first methcd.
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Injection molding can also be employed~ the inner and outer envelopes
being mclded in one piece, closed at ~hat becomes seal 12 (Fig. 1). Outer
envelope 6 exists in the form of an enlarged extension from end 10 of inner
envelope 4. This extension is then folded back and its open end is heat-
sealed across the closed end mentioned above, forming end $ of the com-
pleted container.
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