US20060000746A1

US20060000746A1 - Packing assembly with cushioning function

Info

Publication number: US20060000746A1
Application number: US11/153,856
Authority: US
Inventors: Hai Ma
Original assignee: BenQ Corp
Current assignee: BenQ Corp
Priority date: 2004-06-16
Filing date: 2005-06-14
Publication date: 2006-01-05
Also published as: TW200600428A; TWI254018B

Abstract

The present invention provides a packing assembly for packing an article. The packing assembly includes at least one cushioning sleeve and a casing. Each cushioning sleeve is adapted to tightly receive one of the side ends of the article. The space of the casing is adapted to tightly accommodate the article packed by the at least one cushioning sleeve. The first supporting portion is disposed in the space, and abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packing assembly with cushioning function for packing and protecting an article, e.g., a printer, a notebook computer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, or other electrical products that are easily damaged by impact.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common packing assembly for electrical products that are easily damaged by impact mostly relies on light, well cushioning polymer, such as polystyrene. Referring to FIG. 1, it is a schematic diagram of a common packing assembly 1 for packing and protecting an electrical product 2, e.g. a scanner. The packing assembly shown in FIG. 1 includes a casing 12 and a pair of cushioning sleeves (14, 16). The casing 12 is usually made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material, e.g. a board of corrugated paper. The pair of sleeves is respectively formed from a polymer material.
As shown in FIG. 1, each sleeve is tightly adapted to receive one of the side ends of the electrical product 2. Similar to many typical electrical products, the electrical product 2 has a complicated profile. Therefore, each of the sleeves (14, 16) has a respective concave that suits one of the side ends (not shown in FIG. 1) of the electrical product 2, and the inner profile of the concaves generally meet the profile of the side ends to tightly accommodate it. Consequently, the pair of sleeves (14, 16) is mostly formed from polymer material that is easy to process. Thereupon, the electrical product 2 packed by the sleeves (14, 16) is disposed into the casing 12, and the casing 12 is then sealed.
However, the heavy electrical products are easily susceptible to damages caused during the packing process mentioned above; for example, the products could be accidentally dropped while being disposed by the operator into the narrow opening of the body casing, or the entire packing assembly might be subjected to impact while being transported. Once the entire packing assembly is subjected to an impact along the L direction defined in FIG. 1, a displacement will instantly occur at the sleeve relatively in front, and along with the dropping force of the electrical product, the impact to the sleeve will be multiplied, which leads to cracking in the sleeve and damage to the electrical product. Moreover, the packing process above requires more manpower to execute.
Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to provide a packing assembly. The packing assembly comprises cushioning sleeves, and especially, once a sleeve is subjected to an impact, the packing assembly also has a construction formed from paper board that helps to reduce the impact on the cushioning sleeves.
In addition, packing assembly made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material, practiced nowadays, also has many cushioning construction designs that utilize portions of its own body to reduce impact. Please refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,212, U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,970, U.S. Pat. No.
6,651,875, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,541, U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,039, Taiwan Pat. No. 335,811, Taiwan Pat. No. 398,488, etc.
Accordingly, another objective of the present invention is to provide a packing assembly; the packing assembly includes a casing made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material, and especially, a portion of the casing forms a cushion construction to absorb possible impact on the article that is packed and protected by the packing assembly. Therefore, the protection provided by the packing assembly to the article is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a packing assembly of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention functions to pack and protect an article. The packing assembly includes a pair of cushioning sleeves, a lower casing, and an upper casing. Each sleeve is adapted to correspondingly receive one of the side ends of the article. The lower casing has an opening, a space, a first side-surface portion, and a first supporting portion. The space of the lower casing is adapted to tightly accommodate the article packed by the at least one cushioning sleeves. The first side-surface portion abuts the at least one cushioning sleeves tightly. The first supporting portion extends from the first side-surface portion and is folded into cylindrical shape. The cylindrically-shaped first supporting portion abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. The upper casing functions to cover the opening of the lower casing and to bond with the lower casing.
In an embodiment, according to the packing assembly of the first preferred embodiment, the second supporting portion of the lower casing functions as a cushion. The second supporting portion also abuts against the article with one side-surface of its own, so as to absorb part of the impact once the article is subjected to it.
Accordingly, a packing assembly of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention functions to pack and protect an article. The packing assembly comprises a pair of cushioning sleeves, a lower casing, and an upper casing. Each of the sleeves is adapted to correspondingly receive one of the side ends of the article. The lower casing has an opening, a space, and a first side-surface portion. The space of the lower casing is adapted to tightly accommodate the article packed by the at least one cushioning sleeves. A first supporting portion extends upon the first side-surface portion and bends toward the space of the lower casing. The first supporting portion abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. The upper casing functions to cover the opening of the lower casing and to bond with the lower casing.
The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a common packing assembly that functions to pack and protect an electrical product 2.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a packing assembly 3 according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, for packing and protecting an article 4.
FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view drawing of the lower casing 34 and the article 4 accommodated along the A-A’ section.
FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a packing assembly 5 according to the second preferred embodiment of present invention, for packing and protecting an article 6.
FIG. 3B is a drawing to show the imperceptible changes in construction to the packing assembly 5 in FIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a packing assembly for packing and protecting an article. The packing assembly comprises cushioning sleeves, and especially, the packing assembly also has a construction made of paper board which helps to reduce impact once the sleeves are subjected to it. According to the packing assembly of the present invention, the assembly also has a casing made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic paper material. Another objective of the invention is to provide a cushioning construction utilizing a portion of the casing to absorb partial impact once the article, packed and protected by the packing assembly, is subjected to it, thus increasing the protection of the packing assembly to the article. Several preferred embodiments will be introduced in the following articles to expatiate on the characteristics, spirit, advantages, and convenience on the application of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are two drawings of the packing assembly 3 of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A also shows an article 4 packed and protected by the packing assembly 3. FIG. 2B is the cross-sectional view of the lower casing 34 and the article 4 packed along the A-A’ section in FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the packing assembly 3 includes at least one cushioning sleeve, e.g. number 31 and number 32 in FIG. 2A. The packing assembly 3 also has a casing comprises a lower casing 34 and an upper casing 36.
Each of the sleeves (31, 32) has a concave (not shown in the figure), and each concave is tightly adapted to receive one of the side ends (not shown in FIG. 2A) of the article 4. In an embodiment, each of the sleeves (31, 32) is formed from a polymer material, e.g. Styrofoam material, which is a light and effective cushioning material.
The lower casing 34 has an opening, a space, a first side-surface portion 342, and a first supporting portion 344. As shown in FIG. 2A, the space in the lower casing 34 is adapted to tightly accommodate the article 4 packed by the at least one cushioning sleeve (31, 32). The first supporting portion 344 extends from the first side-surface portion 342.
Referring to FIG. 2B, especially, the first supporting portion 344 is folded into cylindrical shape. The cylindrically-shaped first supporting portion 344 abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the cushion sleeves (31, 32) tightly to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. For example, the first supporting portion 344 abuts, via a side edge 3442 thereof, against the shoulder 312 of the cushioning sleeve 31 in FIG. 2A.
The upper casing 36 functions to cover the opening of the lower casing 34 and to bond with the lower casing 34 to complete the packing of the article 4.
In an embodiment, the lower casing 34 and the upper casing 36 are respectively made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material, e.g. a board of corrugated paper.
In an embodiment, the first supporting portion 344 abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against one of the cushion sleeves (31, 32) tightly to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. For example, the first supporting portion 344 abuts, via a side edge 3444 thereof, against the shoulder 322 of another cushioning sleeve 32 in FIG. 2A.
In an embodiment, the cylindrically-shaped first supporting portion 344 is a cushioning construction. As shown in FIG. 2B, the first supporting portion 344 also abuts, via a side surface 3446 thereof, against the article 4 to absorb part of the impact once article 4 is subjected to it.
In an embodiment, the lower casing 34 also has a second side-surface portion 346 and a second supporting portion 348. The second side-surface portion 346 is opposite to the first side-surface portion 342, and it abuts upon the cushioning sleeves (31, 32). The second supporting portion 348 extends from the second side-surface portion 346. Referring to FIG. 2B, especially, the second supporting portion 348 is also folded into cylindrical shape. The cylindrically-shaped second supporting portion 348 abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the cushioning sleeves (31, 32) to reduce the impact once subjected to said one a cushioning sleeve is subjected to it. For example, the second supporting portion 348 abuts, via a side edge 3482 thereof, against the shoulder 312 of the cushioning sleeve 31 in FIG. 2A.
In an embodiment, the second supporting portion 348 abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against another one of the cushioning sleeves (31, 32) to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. For example, the second supporting portion 348 abuts, via a side edge 3484 thereof, against the shoulder 322 of the cushioning sleeve 32 in FIG. 2A.
In an embodiment, the cylindrically-shaped second supporting portion 348 is a cushioning construction. As shown in FIG. 2B, the second supporting portion 348 also abuts, via a side surface 3486 thereof, against the article 4 to absorb part of the impact once article 4 is subjected to it.
Referring to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, FIG. 3A is a drawing of a second preferred embodiment 5 of the present invention, and FIG. 3B shows the imperceptible difference in the construction of the packing assembly 5. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B also show an article 6 packed and protected by the packing assembly 5.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the packing assembly 5 includes at least one cushioning sleeve, e.g. number 51 and number 52 in FIG. 3A. The packing assembly 5 also has a casing which includes a lower casing 54 and an upper casing 56.
Each of the sleeves (51, 52) has a concave (not shown in FIG. 3A), and each concave is adapted to receive one of the side ends (not shown in FIG. 3A) of the article 6. In an embodiment, each of the sleeves (51, 52) is formed from a polymer material, e.g. a Styrofoam material, which is a light and effective cushioning material.
The lower casing 54 has an opening, a space, and a first side-surface portion 542. As shown in FIG. 3A, the space is adapted to tightly accommodate the article 6 packed by the cushioning sleeves (51, 52). Especially, a first supporting portion 544 is pre-formed, via e.g. die-cut mode, on the first side-surface portion 542. In the packing process of the article 6, the first supporting portion 544 bends toward the space of the lower casing 54. The bent first supporting portion 544 abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the cushioning sleeves (51, 52) to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. For example, the first supporting portion 544 abuts, via a side edge 5442 thereof, against the shoulder 512 of the sleeve 51 in FIG. 3A.
The upper casing 56 functions to cover the opening of the lower casing 54 and to bond with the lower casing 54 to complete the packing of the article 6.
In an embodiment, the lower casing 54 and the upper casing 56 are respectively made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material, e.g. a board of corrugated paper.
In an embodiment, the first supporting portion 544 abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against one of the cushion sleeves (51, 52) tightly to reduce the impact once subjected to said one sleeve. For example, the first supporting portion 544 abuts, via a side edge 5444 thereof, against the shoulder 522 of another cushioning sleeve 52 in FIG. 3A.
In an embodiment, the lower casing 54 also has a second side-surface portion 546. The second side-surface portion 546 is opposite to the first side-surface portion 542 and it abuts upon the cushioning sleeves (51, 52). Especially, a second supporting portion is preformed, via e.g. die-cut mode, on the first side-surface portion 542. In the packing process of the article 6, the second supporting portion 548 bends toward the space of the lower casing 54. The bent first supporting portion 548 abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the cushioning sleeves (51, 52) to reduce the impact once subjected to said one sleeve. For example, the second supporting portion 548 abuts, via a side edge 5482 thereof, against the shoulder 512 of the sleeve 51 in FIG. 3A.
In an embodiment, the second supporting portion 548 abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against another one of the cushioning sleeves (51, 52) to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve. For example, the second supporting portion 548 abuts, via a side edge 5484 thereof, against the shoulder 522 of the cushioning sleeve 52 in FIG. 3A.
Referring to FIG. 3B, FIG. 3B shows the imperceptible difference in the construction of the packing assembly 5. The construction and apparatus in FIG. 3B, that are marked with the same numbers as in FIG. 3A, relatively function respectively as those in FIG. 3A, and it will not be described in detail again. However, through the embodiment in FIG. 3B, the first supporting portion 544 only, via a side edge 5442 of its own, abuts upon the shoulder 514 of the sleeve 51, and the second supporting portion 548 only, via a side edge 5482 of its own, abuts upon the shoulder 512 of the sleeve 51.
As shown in FIG. 3B, a third supporting portion 550 is pre-formed, via e.g. die-cut mode, on the first side-surface 542. The third supporting portion 550 is adjacent to the first supporting portion 544, and it bends toward the space of the lower casing 54 in the process of packing the article 6. The third supporting portion 550, via one of its side edges away from the first supporting portion 544, abuts against the sleeve which is not abutted by the first supporting portion 544, thus reducing the impact once the cushioning sleeve is subjected to it. For example, the third supporting portion 550 abuts, via a side edge 5502 thereof, against the shoulder 522 of the sleeve 52 in FIG. 3B.
Also, as shown in FIG. 3B, a fourth supporting portion 552 is pre-formed, via e.g. die-cut mode, on the second side-surface 546. The fourth supporting portion 552 is adjacent to the second supporting portion 548, and it bends toward the space of the lower casing 54 in the process of packing the article 6. The fourth supporting portion 552, via one of its side edges away from the second supporting portion 548, abuts against the sleeve which is not abutted by the second supporting portion 548, thus reducing the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve is subjected to it. For example, the fourth supporting portion 552 abuts, via a side edge 5552 thereof, against the shoulder 512 of the sleeve 51 in FIG. 3B.
With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A packing assembly for packing an article, comprising:

at least one cushioning sleeve which each is adapted to receive one of the side ends of the article; and

a casing having a space and a first supporting portion, the space being adapted to tightly accommodate the article packed by the at least one cushioning sleeve, the first supporting portion being disposed in the space and abutting, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

2. The packing assembly of claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a lower casing and an upper casing, the lower casing has the space and an opening, the upper casing functions to cover the opening of the lower casing and to bond with the lower casing.

3. The packing assembly of claim 2, wherein the lower casing and the upper casing are respectively made of a one-piece board of corrugated plastic material.

4. The packing assembly of claim 3, wherein each of the at least one cushioning sleeves is formed from a polymer material.

5. The packing assembly of claim 1, wherein the casing has a first side-surface portion abutting upon the at least one cushioning sleeve, the first supporting portion extends from the first side-surface portion and is folded into cylindrical shape.

6. The packing assembly of claim 5, wherein the first supporting portion abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

7. The packing assembly of claim 6, wherein the first supporting portion also abuts, via a side surface thereof, against the article to absorb partial impact once subjected to the article.

8. The packing assembly of claim 7, wherein the casing also has a second side-surface portion, opposite to the first side-surface portion and abutting upon the at least one cushioning sleeve, and a second supporting portion extending from the second side-surface portion and folded into cylindrical shape, the cylindrically-shaped second supporting portion abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

9. The packing assembly of claim 8, wherein the second supporting portion abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

10. The packing assembly of claim 9, wherein the second supporting portion also abuts, via a side-surface thereof, against the article to absorb part of the impact once subjected to the article.

11. The packing assembly of claim 1, wherein the casing also has a first side-surface portion abutting upon the at least one cushioning sleeve, the first supporting portion is formed on the first side-surface portion and bends toward the space of the casing.

12. The packing assembly of claim 11, wherein the casing also has a second side-surface portion opposite to the first side-surface portion and abutting upon the at least one cushioning sleeve, a second supporting portion is formed on the second side-surface portion and bends toward the space of the casing, the second supporting portion abuts, via a side edge thereof, against one of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

13. The packing assembly of claim 12, wherein the first supporting portion abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce the impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

14. The packing assembly of claim 13, wherein the second supporting portion abuts, via the other side edge thereof, against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

15. The packing assembly of claim 12, wherein a third supporting portion is formed on the first side-surface portion, adjacent to the first supporting portion and bends toward the space of the casing, the third supporting portion, via a side edge thereof, away from the first supporting portion, abuts against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.

16. The packing assembly of claim 15, wherein a fourth supporting portion is formed on the second side-surface portion, adjacent to the second supporting portion and bends toward the space of the casing, the fourth supporting portion, via a side edge thereof, away from the second supporting portion, abuts against the other of the at least one cushioning sleeve to reduce impact once subjected to said one cushioning sleeve.