Patent Application
20230010351
The present disclosure relates to the field of packaging and transportation of base station antennas.
Base station antennas are widely used in cellular communications systems. The base station antennas are used to transmit RF signals to users and to receive RF signals from users, thereby realizing the transmission of information.
As shown in
Currently, in order to protect the base station antenna, foams and/or cushions made of Expandable Polyethylene (EPE) materials are typically used. Then the base station antenna along with foams and/or cushions are placed in a carton for transportation.
It is an object of the present disclosure to solve one or more of above-described problems and other problems, and to achieve additional advantages.
In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a cushioning device for a base station antenna is provided. The base station antenna comprises a housing and at least one protruding element provided on an end cover of the housing. The cushioning device comprises an inner cushioning member and an outer cushioning member. Each of the inner cushioning member and the outer cushioning member comprises an inflated airbag. The inner cushioning member is configured to abut the end cover and surround the at least one protruding member provided on the end cover within a cavity defined by the inner cushioning member. The outer cushioning member is configured to cover at least both ends of the base station antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device further comprises a bottom cushioning member in the form of an inflated airbag, wherein the bottom cushioning member is configured to be placed below the base station antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device further comprises at least one middle cushioning member in the form of an inflated airbag, wherein the at least one middle cushioning member is configured to be placed between opposed ends of the base station antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one middle cushioning member comprises a U-shaped inflated airbag.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member comprises a U-shaped inflated airbag.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member comprises a cylindrical inflated airbag having a rectangular cross section and at least one open end.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one protruding element comprises a plurality of protruding elements, and the inner cushioning member comprises an inner cushioning member body provided with a notch to avoid interference of the inner cushioning member body with one or more of the plurality of protruding elements.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer cushioning member comprises first and second cap-shaped inflated airbags.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the cap-shaped inflated airbags includes a cushioning reinforcing member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the cap-shaped inflated airbags comprises an outer cushioning member body, and the cushioning reinforcing member is constructed in one piece with the outer cushioning member body.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each cushioning reinforcing member is configured in a multiple-folding and one-step-shaping structure.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer cushioning member comprises a cushioning base and a cushioning cover, wherein the cushioning base is configured to support the entire base station antenna thereon, and the cushioning cover is configured to cover the whole base station antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning base comprises a bottom portion and two side edges projecting upward from the bottom portion, wherein the two side edges are spaced apart from each other, such that the base station antenna is configured to be supported on the two side edges while one or more mounting elements provided on a bottom plate of the base station antenna are configured to be suspended between the two side edges.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device further comprises a support cushioning member, wherein the support cushioning member is configured to be placed in an area of the end cover where there are no protruding elements and is configured to abut the end cover.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member is enclosed within the outer cushioning member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device is provided with at least one gas access port.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device is configured to meet the international safe transit association 2A&3E packaging inspection standards.
In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a packaging assembly for a base station antenna is provided. The packaging assembly comprises an outer package and a cushioning device according to the present disclosure.
In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a cushioning device for a base station antenna is provided. The base station antenna comprises a housing and a plurality of connectors that protrude from an end cover of the housing. The cushioning device comprises an outer cushioning member that substantially encloses the base station antenna and a shrink film or a wrapping film that is wrapped around the outer cushioning member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning device further comprises an inner cushioning member that is enclosed within the outer cushioning member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member comprises an inflated airbag.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member is configured to abut the end cover and surround at least some of the connectors within a cavity defined by the inner cushioning member.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member includes a top wall and two side walls.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the inner cushioning member comprises a cylindrical inflated airbag having a rectangular cross section and at least one open end.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer cushioning member comprises a cushioning base and a cushioning cover, wherein the cushioning base is configured to support the entire base station antenna thereon, and the cushioning cover is configured to cover the whole base station antenna.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cushioning base comprises a bottom portion and two side edges projecting upward from the bottom portion, wherein the two side edges are spaced apart from each other, such that the base station antenna is configured to be supported on the two side edges while one or more mounting elements provided on a bottom plate of the base station antenna are configured to be suspended between the two side edges.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, cushioning device further comprises a support cushioning member, wherein the support cushioning member is configured to be placed in an area of the end cover where there are no connectors and is configured to abut the end cover.
The present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings, in which several embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be presented in multiple different ways, and not limited to the embodiments described below. In fact, the embodiments described hereinafter are intended to make a more complete disclosure of the present disclosure and to adequately explain the protection scope of the present disclosure to a person skilled in the art. It should also be understood that, the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide more additional embodiments.
It should be understood that terms in the specification are only used for describing particular embodiments and are not intended to define the present disclosure. All the terms used in the specification (including the technical terms and scientific terms) have the meanings as normally understood by a person skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. For the sake of conciseness and/or clarity, the well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail any longer. The singular forms “a/an”, “said” and “the” as used in the specification, unless clearly indicated, all contain the plural forms. The terms “comprising”, “encompassing” and “containing” used in the specification indicate the presence of the claimed features, but do not preclude the presence of one or more other features.
Conventional methods of transporting base station antennas in cartons containing foam and/or EPE cushions have various disadvantages. Foam and EPE materials are expensive, which increases the cost of the base station antenna; foam and EPE materials may occupy a large storage space, which is unfavorable for their transportation and recycling; and the carton typically is not waterproof, so that the performance of the base station antenna may be impaired due to water ingress into the packaging material.
The present disclosure provides a cushioning device for protecting a base station antenna during transportation thereof. The cushioning device according to the present disclosure may comprise an inner cushioning member and an outer cushioning member, and each of the inner cushioning member and the outer cushioning member may have a preformed structure formed by an inflatable airbag. The inner cushioning member may be configured to abut an end cover of the housing of the base station antenna and to surround protruding elements provided on the end cover within a cavity defined by the inner cushioning member, so as to protect the protruding elements and to prevent the protruding elements from contacting and damaging the outer cushioning member. The outer cushioning member may be configured to cover both ends of the base station antenna or to cover the entire base station antenna, so as to reduce the forces imparted to the base station antenna during transportation from vibrations or direct impact with other things (e.g., if the base station antenna is dropped while being handled). The cushioning device according to the present disclosure may meet the international safe transit association 2A&3E packaging inspection standards. Specific structures of the cushioning device according to the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to
With reference to
In order to strengthen the cushioning effect of the outer cushioning member 14, the outer cushioning member 14 may further comprise a cushioning reinforcing member 143. The cushioning reinforcing member 143 may be configured in a multiple-folding and one-step-shaping structure. The cushioning reinforcing member 143 may be formed by multiple folding of the inflatable airbag. The cushion reinforcing member 143 may be constructed in one piece with the outer cushioning member body 141. In addition, since several mounting elements 4 for mounting and fixing the base station antenna are usually provided on the bottom plate of the base station antenna, in order to avoid transmission of vibration via these mounting elements 4, the thickness of the cushioning reinforcing member 143 may be selected to support the base station antenna at a sufficient distance above the ground or an outer package so that the mounting elements 4 do not contact the ground or the outer package.
The inner cushioning member 12 and the outer cushioning member 14 may have any suitable configurations depending on actual conditions.
After the cushioning device according to the present disclosure is mounted onto the base station antenna, the base station antenna may be directly placed in a conventional package for transportation, such as a carton or a box made of other materials.
As shown in
The cushioning device 30 shown in
Various embodiments of the cushioning device according to the present disclosure as well as its members have been described in detail above in combination with the accompanying drawings. The cushioning devices according to various embodiments of the present disclosure can all meet the international safe transit association 2A&3E packaging inspection standards. In various embodiments according to the present disclosure, the material of the airbag is a coextruded film of PA (nylon) and PE (low density polyethylene). When various cushioning members are formed into a preformed structure with an airbag, the corners may be reduced in an air-column-point-pressure manner, so as to diminish the outer dimensions of various cushioning members.
In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the inner cushioning member, the outer cushioning member, each of the bottom cushioning member, the middle cushioning member, and the support cushioning member of the cushioning device according to the present disclosure may be provided with at least one gas access port. When the cushioning device according to the present disclosure is to be used, each cushioning member of the cushioning device will be filled with gas via the gas access port; and when the cushioning device according to the present disclosure is not in use, the gas may be vented from each cushioning member of the cushioning device via the gas access port. Such a configuration may allow the cushioning device according to the present disclosure to occupy a small space when the cushioning device is not in use, and thus facilitate its storage before use and facilitate its recovery after use.
The cushioning device according to the present disclosure may protect the base station antenna with various cushioning members (for example, an outer cushioning member, an inner cushioning member, a bottom cushioning member, at least one middle cushioning member, a support cushioning member, etc.) formed of an inflatable airbag, so as to reduce the likelihood that electronic elements within the base station antenna and/or protruding elements provided on the end cover of the base station antenna are damaged by vibration or shock during transportation. Compared with a conventional cushioning device, the cushioning device according to the present disclosure has the following advantages: it has a favorable damping effect so that it may meet the international safe transit association 2A&3E packaging inspection standards; it is low cost; it may be stored and reused conveniently, since it may only occupy a small space in a non-inflated condition; and it has a favorable waterproof function.
Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, a person skilled in the art should understand that, he or she can make multiple changes and modifications to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all the changes and modifications are encompassed within the protection scope as defined by the claims of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201921154834.2 | Jul 2019 | CN | national |
The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/909,069, filed Jun. 23, 2020 which claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201921154834.2, filed Jul. 22, 2019, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth fully herein
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16909069 | Jun 2020 | US |
| Child | 17933289 | US |
