The present disclosure generally relates to corrugated packaging for appliances, and more particularly, to a corrugated wrapper for a water heater.
Large round appliances such as water heaters are particularly difficult to package to prevent damage during shipment. Typically, an appliance of this type can be packaged in a corrugated box that surrounds it such that the four side walls of a box are in close contact with a limited portion of the outer surface of the appliance; however, this form of packaging leaves gaps or spaces near the corners of the boxes that results in a less than desired amount of protection. The appliance may be packaged in a larger corrugated box with corrugated sleeves inserted in the box to position the appliance. This type of packaging is labor intensive due to its need for precise sleeve placement and increases overall cost. Thus, there is a need in the industry to provide appliance packaging that can minimize cost and provide better product protection thereby minimizing product damage.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.
Disclosed herein is a corrugated wrapper for a water heater or other appliance with inserts or cushioning members attached to the corrugated wrapper to secure the appliance.
In one embodiment, a corrugated wrapper comprises six side panels and an end side panel, wherein the end side panel overlaps at least a portion of at least one of the six side panels and wherein at least one side panel has at least one opening sized to allow passage of a valve of a water heater therethrough.
In another embodiment, a method of wrapping a water heater comprises the steps of providing a corrugated wrapper comprising a first side panel, an end side panel and at least five side panels therebetween, at least one side panel having at least one opening sized to allow passage of a valve therethrough; passing a valve of the water heater through an opening of a side panel; and wrapping the side panels around the water heater, allowing the end side panel to overlap at least a portion of at least one of a plurality of side panels, thereby creating overlapping panels and at least one non-overlapping panel.
In another embodiment, each of the panels of the corrugated wrapper have a first face and a second face, the second face opposite the first face, wherein the first face is adapted to be positioned closer to the contents of the corrugated wrapper than the second face, and at least one side panel has at least one cushioning member attached to the first face of at least one side panel.
The above described and other features are exemplified by the following figures and detailed description.
The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that the description and drawings provided are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only, to assist in understanding the claimed invention, and are not intended to be limiting of the invention claimed. Also, the invention includes the overall products and methods described herein, as well as the individual components and sub-combinations thereof, as claimed. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are to be interpreted as including the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It will be appreciated that although the corrugated wrapper 100 of
Referring now to
A mushroom lock, clip, clamp, metal tab and/or other suitable mechanism (not shown) may be attached to and/or cooperate with openings 138 and 142 to secure the entire corrugated wrapper. Additional openings may be provided requiring additional securing mechanisms. Openings 138 and 142 are optional as the overlapping side panels may be glued, taped, banded together, stapled, bonded or secured by another suitable method, While
In an alternate embodiment (not shown), ninth side panel 118 may overlap another panel other than first side panel 102 creating at least two pairs of overlapping panels (e.g. ninth side panel 118/second side panel 104 and eighth side panel 116/first side panel 102). Alternatively, a side panel other than the first side panel 102 and the ninth side panel 118 may be positioned against water heater 200 with the remaining side panels wrapped around the water heater 200. For example, second side panel 104 may have an opening for the T&P valve. In this configuration, the second side panel 104 could be placed about water heater 100 first, wrapping first side panel 102 around water heater 100 and wrapping the third fourth fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth side panels, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116 and 118, respectively, in an opposite direction about the water heater 100. In another embodiment, a fourth side panel 108 with no openings could be placed about water heater 100 first, wrapping first, second and third side panels 102, 104 and 106, respectively, around water heater 100 and wrapping the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth side panels, 110, 112, 114, 116 and 118, respectively, in the opposite direction about the water heater, allowing the T&P valve to pass through openings on the first and ninth side panels 102 and 118.
It will be appreciated that the water heater may be placed on a bottom locator pad during assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,703 discloses a bottom locator pad with four clips separably positioned around the pad to maintain the position of the water heater relative to the pad during assembly. Likewise,
Prior to shipment, the water heater is assembled or at least placed on the bottom locator pad and then a corrugated wrapper is positioned around the water heater as described above. A top protective or locator pad such as one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,703 or a pad similar in configuration to the bottom locator pad 300 of
While the disclosure has been described with reference to an embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Also, in the drawings and the description, there has been disclosed an embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms may have been employed, they are unless otherwise stated used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention therefore not being so limited. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.
This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/357,772, filed on Jun. 23, 2010, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61357772 | Jun 2010 | US |