This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-41261 filed on Feb. 28, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a cushioning material that is used, when a relatively heavy product such as an electronic device is packed, to protect the side surfaces, the bottom surface and the top surface of the product.
Conventionally, as a method of packing an electronic device or the like, a method of arranging a cushioning material absorbing an impact and vibrations from the outside during transportation between an outer box such as a corrugated cardboard case and the electronic device (packed item) is generally used. As the cushioning material, a material that is obtained by folding a corrugated cardboard, a pulp-molded cushioning material that utilizes used paper as a material and that can be recycled or the like is used.
However, for the purpose of packing a heavy item, a cushioning material is widely used that includes: a base material which is formed with a corrugated cardboard and a sheet material made of a foamed resin; and a plurality of columnar support portions which are formed integrally with or fixed to the base material.
In the packing using the cushioning material described above, in general, the base material is in contact with the side surfaces of the packed item to be cushioned, the columnar support portions are arranged on portions, having a high strength, of the side surfaces of the packed item and the side surfaces of the packed item are received by the entire surface of the base material.
For example, a packing material is known in which a cross-shaped sheet formed with a corrugated cardboard sheet is wound, in a sleeve shape, around a fan attachment frame that is a packed item, and then they are bound with a binding material; a stacked core (columnar support portion) fitted to the holder surface of the cross-shaped sheet (base material) is used to hold the back surface of a flange portion of the fan attachment frame, and thus the resistance to a compression load is enhanced.
However, depending on the packed item, it is likely that a portion strong enough to have the columnar support portion arranged is not present on a surface to be cushioned or the area of a portion having a high strength is small, with the result that it may be impossible to arrange the cushioning material. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to cover the packed item with a foamed cushioning sheet or fill the gap between the packed item and an outer box with foamed resin chips, and thus the amount of cushioning material used is increased. Consequently, the packing cost is increased, and it is not preferable in terms of environment load.
One way is to increase the size of the base materials compared with the surface of the packed item to be cushioned and arrange the columnar support portion outside the outer edge portion of the packed item. However, when a load is applied to the columnar support portion, the base material is bent at a joint portion to the inner edge of the columnar support portion, and the columnar support portion falls to the side of the packed item, with the result that it is disadvantageously impossible to obtain a sufficient cushioning effect.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cushioning material that can cushion an external force sufficiently and reduce the amount of cushioning material used even when a portion having a high strength is not present in the surface of a packed item to be cushioned.
A cushioning material according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a base material and columnar support portions, and is arranged between a packed item and an outer box. The base material includes a main body portion which is brought into contact with a cushioned surface of the packed item and a bending part which is formed integrally with the main body portion so as to be able to be bent through a hinge line, and is arranged opposite the packed item. The columnar support portions are arranged in a plurality of places on a surface on the opposite side to a surface in contact with the cushioned surface of the base material. At least one of the columnar support portions is fixed to or formed integrally with the bending part such that, when the bending part is bent substantially perpendicularly with respect to the main body portion so as to be brought into contact with another surface adjacent to the cushioned surface, all the columnar support portions protrude from the surface of the main body portion by substantially the same height.
Yet other objects of the present enclosure and specific advantages obtained by the present enclosure will be further obvious from the description of embodiments discussed below.
Embodiments of the present enclosure will be described below with reference to accompanying drawings.
In an upper portion of the base material 2, a hinge line 6 is made that is formed with two bending lines 4 extending inwardly from left and right edges 2c and a cut line 5 which connects the bending lines 4, which is convex inwardly (in a direction of a main body portion 2a) and which is U-shaped as seen in plan view. The base material 2 is divided into the main body portion 2a and a bending part 2b that can be bent along the hinge line 6 with respect to the main body portion 2a. Examples of the bending line 4 include a fold line, perforations and a half-cut line.
The columnar support portions 3a and 3b are arranged on the inner sides of the left and right edges of the main body portion 2a in an up/down direction; the columnar support portions 3c are arranged in two places of the bending part 2b, extending from the upper end to the lower end in the up/down direction. The columnar support portions 3a to 3c may be formed by stacking corrugated cardboard sheet parts vertically with respect to the base material 2 or may be formed by stacking corrugated cardboard sheet parts horizontally with respect to the base material 2. The base material 2 is formed with a corrugated cardboard sheet and the columnar support portions 3a to 3c are formed of a stacked corrugated cardboard, and thus it is possible to obtain the cushioning material 1 in which it is not necessary to separate the base material 2 and the columnar support portions 3a to 3c at the time of disposal, it is possible to recycle them and the amount of environment load is low.
A method of using the cushioning material 1 of the present embodiment will now be described.
Hence, in the present embodiment, the bending part 2b of the cushioning material 1 is bent along a corner portion of the electronic device 7, which is the packed item, substantially perpendicularly with respect to the main body portion 2a such that the bending part 2b is arranged along the upper surface 7b of the electronic device 7, and thus the end surfaces 3ca of the columnar support portions 3c protruding from the surface of the main body portion 2a are brought into contact with the side plate 10a of the outer box 10. In this configuration, the columnar support portions 3c are arranged above the upper surface 7b (outside the side surface 7a) of the electronic device 7, and the columnar support portions 3c are not present in the position opposite the region R. Consequently, even when an external force is applied from the direction of the side plate 10a, since the external force is received through the columnar support portions 3a and 3b by the frame or is received by the bending portion between the main body portion 2a and the bending part 2b, the load is not applied to the region R. Thus, it is possible to prevent the deformation and the damage of the region R whose strength is low in the side surface 7a. Moreover, the columnar support portions 3a to 3c are arranged in the vicinity of the three edges, that is, the left and right side edges and the upper edges of the base material 2, and, when the cushioning material 1 is fitted along the side surface 7a, since the three edges, that is, the left and right side edges and the upper edges of the base material 2 are supported by the columnar support portions 3a and 3b and the end surfaces 3ca of the columnar support portions 3c, the base material 2 is not bend more than necessary.
Moreover, since the side portions of the columnar support portions 3c are arranged along the upper surface 7b adjacent to the side surface 7a, the columnar support portions 3c are prevented from falling inwardly (to the side of the electronic device 7). Furthermore, since the external force is applied to the columnar support portions 3c in a direction (the left/right direction of
The amount of protrusion of the convex portion of the cut line 5 is made equal to the height of the columnar support portions 3a and 3b, and the edges of the columnar support portions 3c on the side of the cut line 5 are fixed to the bending part 2b along the convex portion of the cut line 5, and thus when the columnar support portions 3c, which are members separate from the base material 2, are adhered and fixed to the bending part 2b, it is possible to apply an adhesive to the entire back surface of the columnar support portions 3c, with the result that the workability of the assembly is enhanced.
Hence, in the present embodiment, the bending parts 2b are provided in two places of the upper portion and the left side portion of the base material 2. Each of the bending parts 2b is bent substantially perpendicularly with respect to the main body portion 2a such that the bending parts 2b are arranged along the upper surface 7b and the side surface 7c of the electronic device 7. Thus, the end surfaces 3aa of the columnar support portions 3a and the end surfaces 3ca of the columnar support portions 3c protruding from the surface of the main body portion 2a are brought into contact with the side plate 10a of the outer box 10.
In this configuration, since the columnar support portions 3a and 3c are not present in the position opposite the regions R, even when an external force is applied from the direction of the side plate 10a, the load is not applied to the regions R. Thus, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the regions R whose strength is low in the side surface 7a. Moreover, since the three edges, that is, the left and right side edges and the upper edges of the base material 2 are supported by the columnar support portion 3b, the end surfaces 3aa of the columnar support portions 3a and the end surfaces 3ca of the columnar support portions 3c, the base material 2 is unlikely to be deformed as compared with a configuration in which only two opposite edges are supported.
Moreover, since the columnar support portions 3a are arranged along the side surface 7c and the columnar support portions 3c are arranged along the upper surface 7b, the columnar support portions 3a and 3c are prevented from falling inwardly (to the side of the electronic device 7). Furthermore, since an external force is applied to the columnar support portions 3a and 3c in a direction (the left/right direction of
Although, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the bending parts 2b are provided continually in the two places of the upper portion and the left side portion of the base material 2 has been described, even when the flame is not present in the vicinity of the right side edge portion opposite the columnar support portion 3b of the side surface 7a and the strength thereof is low, a bending part 2b where the columnar support portion 3b is arranged is preferably provided continuously on the right side portion of the base material 2.
Since, in the configuration shown in
The cushioning material 1 formed as shown in
Since the cushioning material 1 before use is formed in the shape of a flat plate as shown in
Furthermore, even in the cushioning material 1 of the present embodiment, the bending parts 2b are provided on the three sides of the base material 2, and the bending parts 2b are bent, and thus it is possible to provide the columnar support portions 3a to 3c in the three places of the base material 2 as in the first and second embodiments. In this way, the base material 2 is prevented from being bent more than necessary, with the result that it is possible to obtain the cushioning material 1 having a higher cushioning effect.
As the material of the cushioning material 1, a foamed resin such as a foamed polystyrene or a foamed polyurethane is used. If the foamed resin forming the cushioning material 1 is a material, such as a foamed polystyrene, that has a low elasticity (flexibility), when the bending parts 2b are bent, it is likely that the half cut lines are torn more deeply and the regions S are broken. Even if the regions S are not broken at the time of the bending of the bending parts 2b, when the cushioning material 1 is placed between the electronic device 7 and the outer box 10, and thereafter an external force is applied to easily break the regions S, it is impossible to obtain a sufficient cushioning effect. Hence, when the cushioning material 1 is likely to receive a large external force, a foamed resin, such as a foamed polyurethane, that has an elasticity (flexibility) is preferably used.
The present enclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above; many modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present enclosure. For example, the number, the size, the shape and the height of the bending parts 2b and the columnar support portions 3a to 3c arranged in the base material 2 and the positions where they are arranged in the base material 2 are preferably designed as necessary according to the weight of the electronic device 7, the arrangement of the frame on the cushioned surface and the like. Specifically, even in the cushioning material 1 of the first and second embodiments, as in the third embodiment, only the columnar support portions 3a and 3b can also be arranged on the two opposite sides of the base material 2 without the columnar support portion 3c being arranged. In this case, one or both of the columnar support portions 3a and 3b are preferably arranged on the bending parts 2b.
Although, in the above embodiments, the case where the cushioning material 1 is used for cushioning the side surface 7a of the electronic device 7 has been described, the cushioning material I of the present enclosure may be naturally used for cushioning the upper surface or the bottom surface of the electronic device 7.
The present enclosure can be utilized as a cushioning material formed with a base material and a plurality of columnar support portions. Even when a portion having a high strength is not present on the cushioned surface of a packed item, it is possible to provide, by utilizing the present enclosure, a cushioning material that sufficiently cushions an external force, with a simple configuration.
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