Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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PACKING PROTECTOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to packing protectors
suitable for protecting packed fragile objects such as appliances, computer
parts etc. commonly shipped in a box. More particularly, it relates to a
packing protector formed from elongated strips of material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Packing protectors of different types are already commonly used to
protect fragile items, such as appliances, computer parts, etc., during their
shipment. There is the bubble wrapping where the object to protect is
surrounded by a plastic film filled with air bubbles. There are also the
protective pads made from folded corrugated paperboard blanks. An
example of such protective pads is given in U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,304.
Also known in the prior art, there are the packing protectors made
from blocks of plastic foam such as polyurethane cut to the exact exterior
and interior configuration to fit within a carton box and to receive the
fragile
item. As can be easily understood, a lot of material is wasted during the
making of those protectors, which makes their manufacturing very
expensive. A solution to this problem of material wasting has been to
propose packing protectors formed from foldable foam material. Examples
of such protectors are given in U.S. Pat. 4,883,179; 5,024,328 and
5,160, 473.
U.S. Pat. 4,883,179 discloses a packing member formed from an
expanded plastic foam sheet. The packing member is formed by dividing
the sheet into two legs by a V-shaped longitudinal groove. The surfaces of
the foam sheet defining the V-shaped groove are coated with an adhesive
to keep the packing member in shape once folded.
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U.S. Pat. 4,888,179 and 5,024,328 in the name of Bontrager
disclose a packaging frame formed from a blank including interior cuts and
minimal cutouts. The blank is operably shifted to and form a single piece
frame having an exterior quadrilateral to interfit with the interior of
packing
containers and having an interior perimeter to accommodate the reception
of a part for shipment. Once removed from the container, the packing
member disclosed by Bontrager goes back to its original unfolded state
since there is nothing provided to keep the packing member in its folded
shape.
Other examples of packing protector are given in US patents nos.
4, 938, 360; 5, 090, 571; 5, 207, 327; 5, 307, 928; 5, 348,157; and 5, 515,
976.
There is still presently a need for a packing protector which will be
simple to use by itself without requiring any other material such as glue,
which will be economical to manufacture and easy to ship to the
customers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to propose a packing protector
that will satisfy these above-mentioned needs.
According to the present invention, that object is achieved with a
packing protector formed from an elongated strip of flexible cushioning
material, the elongated strip having a cross section including an L-shaped
portion defining a vertical wall and a horizontal wall. Each of the horizontal
wall and vertical wall has an inner side surface opposite an outer side
surface and the strip comprises at least one transversal folding line
allowing the strip to be folded to form the packing protector. The folding
line
is formed by a groove spanning transversally on the inner side surface of
the vertical wall. The groove is associated with a generally V-shaped
folding cutout in the horizontal wall shaped to form two matching surfaces
which are brought adjacent to each other when the strip is folded, thereby
forming a unified wall. One of the two matching surfaces includes a male
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coupling interlockable with a female coupling in the other matching surface
to keep the strip once folded in the form of the packing protector.
The male coupling preferably consists of a tooth-like projection
projecting from the matching surface and the female coupling preferably
consists of a cavity shaped to receive the tooth-like projection and thus
form a joint.
As can be appreciated, a packing protector according to the present
invention has the advantage of being easy and simple to ship to the user or
purchaser in great amounts as the unfolded strips can be easily piled up for
the delivery. And once it is ready to be used, the strip has the advantage of
being very easy and simple to be folded into the shape of the packing
protector, and thanks to the male and female coupling, the packing
protector remains in shape once folded without requiring any other tool or
adhesive material.
A non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment of the
invention will now be given with reference to the appending drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective top view of a packing protector according
to the present invention having the shape of a partly bottomless box.
Figure 2 is a top view of the packing protector of figure 1 shown in
partially folded state.
Figure 3 is a top view of the elongated strip of material used to form
the packing protector of figure 1.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the strip shown in figure 3,
which is taken along line IV-IV.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to figure 1, a packing protector (10) according to the
present invention may have the shape of a rectangular box. However, it
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may take a lot of other shapes such as a simple corner protector or any
other polygonal shape as a triangle, a heptagon, hexagon etc.
Referring also to figures 2 to 4, the packing protector (10) is formed
from an elongated strip (12) of flexible cushioning material, which is
preferably a plastic foam material such as polypropylene and polyethylene.
This elongated strip (12) has an L-shaped cross section defining a vertical
wall (14) and a horizontal wall (16), each having an inner side surface (18)
opposite an outer side surface (20). The strip (12) comprises at least one
transversal folding line (22) allowing the strip (12) to be folded to form the
packing protector (10). The preferred embodiment illustrated comprises
four of those folding lines (22). However, it has to be understood that a
packing protector according to other embodiments of the invention may
have more or less than four folding lines depending on the shape desired.
For example, a simple corner protector would only have one folding line
and a U-shaped protector would have two folding lines.
As best seen from figures 2 or 3, each folding line (22) is formed by
a groove (24) spanning transversally on the inner side surface (18) of the
vertical wall (14). This groove (24) is associated with a generally V-shaped
folding cutout (26) in the horizontal wall (16). This cutout (26) is shaped to
form two matching surfaces (28A, 28B) which are brought adjacent to each
other when the strip (12) is folded, thereby forming a unified wall (30), as
shown in figure 1. The groove (24) is preferably fan-shaped and disposed
at the tip of the V-shaped cutout (26), as best seen in figure 3.
In order to keep the strip (12) once folded in the shape of the
packing protector (10), one of the two matching surfaces (28A) defined in
the horizontal wall (16) includes a male coupling (32) interlockable with a
female coupling (34) in the other matching surface (28B). As illustrated, the
male coupling (32) may preferably consist of a tooth-like projection
projecting from the matching surface (28a) and the female coupling (34)
then consists of a cavity shaped to receive the tooth-like projection (32)
and thus form a joint.
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As best seen from figures 1 and 2, to form the packing protector
(10), the strip (12) is folded at the folding lines (22), then the strip (12)
is
twisted or bent in order to insert the tooth-like projection (32) into the
cavity
(34). The formed protector (10) thus remains in shape.
5 In the preferred embodiment, the V-shaped folding cutout {26) of the
folding lines (22) has an opening angle (t3) of 45°, as indicated on
one of
the cutouts (26) illustrated in figure 3, such that the packing protector (10)
has the shape of a square corner at the folding lines {22). Different shapes
of packing protectors according to the present invention may be obtained
by varying the opening angle of the V-shaped cutout (26).
In order to obtain a packing protector (10) having the shape of a
bottomless box as illustrated in figure 1, the strip (12) comprises at least
three folding lines (22) dividing the strip (12) into a plurality of sections
including a right end section (36) opposite a left end section (38) and at
least one middle section (40) therebetween, as indicated in figure 3, and
the V-shaped folding cutout {26) of each folding line has an opening angle
(8) calculated so as to allow the end surface (42) of the right end section
(36) and the end surface (44) of the left end section (38) to join up when
the strip (12) is folded at each folding line (22). For example, the preferred
embodiment illustrated, which has the shape of a square box, contains
three of those middle sections (40) having the same length (L). As can be
appreciated, the sum of the length (L~ ) of the right end section (36) and the
length (L2) of the left end section {38) equals the length (L) of one middle
section (40). Thus with an opening angle of 45 degree for each cutout (26),
the packing protector formed with such a strip {12) has the shape of a
square box.
It has to be understood that by varying the opening angle (8) of the
cutouts (26) and the length of the different sections of the strip (12), it is
possible to obtain a multitude of different packing protectors according to
the present invention.
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In the case of a strip suitable to form a box-shaped protector, the
strip (12) preferably comprises a connecting means to securely connect the
right end section (36) with the left end section (38). The connecting means
preferably comprises a tenon-like projection (46) formed at the end surface
(42) of the right end section (36) and interlockable with a mortise-like
cavity
(48) formed at the end surface (44) of the left end section (38). Both the
tenon-like projection and the mortise-like cavity preferably have a T shape.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, not illustrated, the
cross section of the strip (12) may be U-shaped, thereby defining one
vertical wall and two horizontal walls. In that case, the groove of each
folding line would be associated with a V-shaped cutout formed in each of
the horizontal walls.
The necessary shape of a strip (12) according to the present
invention may advantageously be cut by a hot wire process or any other
known method used to shape plastic foam materials.
Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been
described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it
is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise
embodiment and that various changes and modifications may be effected
therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
