This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ยง119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 100150083 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on 2011 Dec. 31, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to an air cylinder bag structure, and more Specifically to a cushioning air bag with a predetermined opening in an air cylinder turning zone and a method for making it.
Currently, bubble paper or PVC is mostly used to cover an article upon packing of the article, but the cushioning effect is not good, and environmental pollution is a byproduct. To solve the defects of bubble paper and PVC, an air packing bag is developed, which is heat-sealed to form airtight air cylinders, and configured with air filling entrances allowing air filling; the air packing bag can be used as a cushioning material in interior packaging after air is filled in the air cylinders through the air filling entrances.
However, bending areas at the bottom of a general package bag usually cannot present a flat shape; an outward protuberance is always naturally generated due to compression of air pressure after the package bag is filled with air and expanded, such that the package bag cannot be placed on a level surface stably.
To improve an air packing bag, the present invention proposes a cushioning air bag with a predetermined opening in an air cylinder turning zone, including: an air cylinder sheet, constituted by a plurality of air cylinders formed by adhering two sheets of outer film with a plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines and a plurality of transversal heat sealing lines; a plurality of turning points, formed on the plurality of air cylinders or the plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines by adhering the two sheets of outer film; a turning middle line, position on the air cylinder sheet, parallel substantially to the plurality of transversal heat sealing lines; a plurality of nodes, positioned on two respective sides of the turning middle line, and at a predetermined distance from the turning middle line; and a plurality of lateral heat sealing lines, used to stick two sides of the turned air cylinder sheet after the air cylinder is turned along the turning middle line, wherein, the plurality of lateral heat sealing lines are extended from two respective ends of the air cylinder sheets to the corresponding plurality of nodes, two lateral sides of the air cylinder sheet between the plurality of nodes and the turning middle line form a non-heat sealing section in a turning zone; wherein a bottom surface is formed between the plurality of turning points, the non-heat sealing section is expanded to form a lateral polygonal opening, and a supporting surface is formed on a bottom of the opening, after the air cylinder sheet is filled with air.
The present invention also proposes a method for making a cushioning air bag with a predetermined opening in an air cylinder turning zone, including: providing an air cylinder sheet, constituted by a plurality of air cylinders formed by adhering two sheets of outer film with a plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines and a plurality of transversal heat sealing lines; adhering the two sheets of outer film to form a plurality of turning points on the plurality of air cylinders or the plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines; determining a turning middle line on the air cylinder sheet, parallel substantially to the plurality of transversal heat sealing lines; configuring a plurality of nodes on two respective sides of the turning middle line at a predetermined distance from the turning middle line; turning the air cylinder sheet along the turning middle line; and adhering two sides of the turned air cylinder sheet with a plurality of lateral heat sealing lines; wherein, the plurality of lateral heat sealing lines are extended from two respective ends of the air cylinder sheets to the corresponding plurality of nodes, two lateral sides of the air cylinder sheet between the plurality of nodes and the turning middle line form a non-heat sealing section; a bottom surface is formed between the plurality of turning points, the non-heat sealing section of the turning zone is expanded to form a lateral polygonal opening, and a supporting surface is formed on a bottom of the opening, after the air cylinder sheet is filled with air.
The present invention eliminates pointed corners by presetting non-sealing sections in a lateral turning zone, and further utilizes a turning node zone being positioned at an air cylinder and a bottom air cylinder between the turning nodes, allowing an area change of the air cylinder to adjust a cushioning effect of the region. In addition, a volume of an outer box can be reduced, and air leaking of the air cylinder due to a crevice caused from pointed corner friction can be eliminated. Adjustment of an air cylinder around a triangle of the opening is used to fit a wrapped object, avoid pointed corners, and increase a cushioning effect. Furthermore, the bottom cushioning air cylinder structure eliminates perplexity of lateral side sealing of a bag body causing pointed corners due to air compression after the bottom air cylinder is filled with air, in the prior art. Additionally, the areas of the nodes of the lateral turning zone and the air cylinder at that portion can be increased and reduced by means of heat sealing, thereby strengthening a cushioning effect of the turning zone.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
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An air cylinder bag of the present invention includes a cylinder sheet 200, a plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines 21, a plurality of transversal heat sealing lines 22, a plurality of turning points 4a, 4b, and a respective non-heat sealing section in a predetermined turning zone at the two sides of the bag and a predetermined reduced area required for air cylinders in the non-heat sealing section of a turning zone.
The air cylinder sheet 200 is formed of two sheets of outer film 2 by means of heat sealing, and a plurality of hermetically sealed bodies formed of the air cylinder sheet 200 containing check valves capable of locking air after air filling by means of heat sealing are referred to air cylinders, where an air filling passageway 50 in air communication with the air cylinders 1 and air inlet 52 of each air cylinder 1 are configured in the bag. Air enters the air cylinder 1 via each air inlet 52 along the air filling passageway 50 after air filling. The air cylinders are sealed automatically after air filling because of the installment of the check valves, and the turning points 4a,4b are also disposed on the air cylinder sheet 200, allowing the air cylinders 1 to be bent to turn the air cylinder sheet 200. Thereafter, two sides of the air cylinder sheet 200 are heat sealed, allowing the air cylinder sheet 200 to become an air filling type cushioning air bag with an object storing opening 11 at one end thereof for accepting an object. The air bag is expanded to form a U-typed bent air cylinder bag after filled with air; the bag may be arranged in pairs with continuous check valves respectively used independently for each air cylinder 1 or a single sheet of check valve in air communication with each air cylinder 1. Two sheets of outer film 2 respectively have a corresponding inner face, and an accepting space 10 is formed among a plurality of face-to-face inner surfaces, and an object storing opening 11 is so formed at one end of the air cylinders. The outer film 2 above are made from a hot melt hot-sealable material such as polyester, polyethylene-polypropylene copolymer, PET, EVA, nylon, a film compounded with PE, biodegradable materials, paper coated with polymer, or the same, but the present invention is not so limited.
The air cylinder sheet 200 is folded in half to form a U-typed air bag along a turning middle line M, as
the node 31a herein, as
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Specifically, the check valve 5 has a heat-resistant material 51, which is stuck to form the air inlet 52 by means of heat sealing, where the air inlet 52 is in air communication with the air filling passageway 50. Preferably, the check valves 5 are formed by adhering the plurality of inner film 53 together by means of heat sealing, and a plurality of heat sealing switches 54 are included between the plurality of inner films 53 and the plurality of outer films 1a. The two sheets of outer film 1a are pulled apart outward after air is filled into the air filling passageway 50, driving each heat sealing switch 54 to pull the respective inner film 53 corresponding thereto apart outward, and further open the corresponding check valve 5, thereby allowing the air in the air filling passageway 50 to be filled between the plurality of outer films 1a via the check valves 5, and the space between the two sheets of outer sheet 1a to be expanded to form the air cylinders 1, Finally, the air cylinders 1 are bent to form a U-typed body.
The two sheets of outer film 1a are pulled apart outward by air pressure in the air filling passageway 50 to drive the each heat sealing switch 54 to pull the respective inner film 53 corresponding thereto apart outward, and further to open each corresponding check valve 5, allowing the air in the air filling passageway 50 to be filled between the plurality of outer films 1a via the check valves 5, and the space between the two sheets of outer film 1a to be expanded to form the air cylinders 1, and the air cylinders 1 are finally bent to form a U-typed body.
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When a lateral air cylinder 1 is large, turning it will form a natural stacking, causing the lateral air cylinder 1 to be overlarge. To avoid increasing an outer box volume, the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone that the side of the lateral air cylinder 1 is not intended to be sealed is adopted to contract the volume of the air cylinder 1, thereby preventing the air cylinder 1 from being stacked and so volume-expanded after being turned. Namely, the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone is referred to a section of the lateral side of the air cylinder sheet 200 that is not heat-sealed after the air cylinder sheet 200 is bent in half along the turning middle line M, i.e. the lateral side of the air cylinder sheet 200 from the node 31a to the node 31b is not heat-sealed after the air cylinder sheet is bent in half. But, the two sheets of outer film 1a at the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone can be adhered together by means of heat sealing to form various shapes of heat sealing blocks 32 such as rectangle, half ellipse, triangle or other irregularly shaped body. However, the heat sealing block 32 is narrower than the air cylinder, and two sections of the air cylinder 1 at the two sides of the heat sealing block 32 can then be in air communication with each other and so expanded after air filling. Additionally, the heat sealing block 32 may abut upon the turning points 4a, 4b, and may also keep a distance from them, thereby allowing air flow. In addition, the heat sealing block 32 is narrower than the air cylinder and shorter than the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone so as to reduce the area of the air cylinder 1 at the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone.
Methods for reducing the area of the lateral air cylinder 1 are the followings:
A method for making a cushioning air bag with a predetermined opening at an air cylinder turning zone, includes:
Step 101: providing an air cylinder sheet 200, constituted by a plurality of air cylinders 1 formed by adhering two sheets of outer film 1a through a plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines 21 and a plurality of transversal heat sealing lines 22;
Step 102: adhering the two sheets of outer film 1a to form turning points 4a, 4b on the plurality of air cylinders 1 or the plurality of longitudinal heat sealing lines 21;
Step 103: configuring a turning middle line M on the air cylinder sheet 200, where the turning middle line M is parallel substantially to the plurality of transversal heat sealing lines 22;
Step 104: respectively configuring a plurality of nodes 31a, 31b at two sides of the turning middle line M with a predetermined distance therefrom;
Step 105: turning the air cylinder sheet 200 along the turning middle line M;
Step 106: adhering two sides 1b of the turned air cylinder 200 with a plurality of lateral heat sealing lines 2a, where the plurality of lateral heat sealing lines 2a are respectively extended from one end of the air cylinder sheet 200 to the nodes 31a and from another end thereof to the nodes 31b, and the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone are respectively formed between the node 31a and the turning middle line M and between the node 31b and the turning middle line M; and
Step 107: forming a cushioning bag body 100 with a triangular opening 40 having no lateral pointed angle after air filling.
A bottom surface 41b is formed between the turning points 4a, 4b of the air cylinder sheet 200, and the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone is expanded to form a lateral polygonal opening 40, and a supporting surface 41a is forced on the bottom of the opening 40 after the air cylinder sheet 200 is filled with air.
The two sheets of outer film 1a are expanded through air filling, and two compressed corners 4 are formed on the two sheets of outer film 1a; the non-heat sealing section 3 of the turning zone and the two compressed corners 4 form substantially the triangular opening 40, and the bottom cushioning air cylinder 41 is formed between the two compressed corners 4. Consequently, a packed object is buffered by the bottom cushioning air cylinder 41.
A step of providing check valves 5 is further included after Step 101 of providing the two sheets of outer film 1a, where the structure of the check valve 5 is described above, the detail thereof is herein omitted. Air is filled in the air filling passageway 50 to pull the two sheets of outer film 1a apart outward, and the plurality of heat sealing switches 54 is then driven to further pull the two sheets of inner film 53 apart outward to open the check valves 5, allowing the air in the air filling passageway 50 to enter the plurality of outer films 1a via the check valves 5.
Furthermore, a space is provided between the any two adjacent longitudinal heat sealing lines 21 in Step 102 of providing a plurality of heat sealing lines 2. Specifically, the distance d between the compressed corner 4 is shorter than the length D of the bottom cushioning air cylinder 41, as
Other descriptions with respect to the method for making a cushioning air bag with a predetermined opening at a air cylinder turning zone are the same as the contents with respect to the cushioning air bag described above; they are herein omitted.
In the present invention, an object is placed in an internal space of the air cylinder bag via an object storing opening, and the surface of the object is supported by a plurality of bottom cushioning air cylinders, allowing the object to be buffered, and the object is wrapped by the air cylinder bag, allowing the object to be protected at the same time. Configuring non-heat sealing sections on lateral sides of the turning zone in advance and contracting with a predetermined area on the air cylinder of the turning zone are used to adjust a lateral cushioning effect. A triangle of a lateral corner is automatically formed after the cushioning bag is filled with air. Therefore, the lateral portion is flat without any pointed angle, and the cushioning air bag containing the object can be attached to a table face stably without inclination. The triangular air cylinder formed after being filled with air and expanded belongs to an edge corner cushioning adjustment and is helpful for reducing an outer box space, thereby reducing the transportation cost.
While the present invention has been described by the way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100150083 | Dec 2011 | TW | national |