Patent Grant
11596228
The present disclosure relates generally to corner protectors, and more particularly to improved corner protectors for furniture.
Corners on furniture are often where the most damage occurs due to multiple impacts with sides of trucks, the ground, or other goods during shipment. Corners are one of the primary areas of concern when considering the protection of finished goods, and, often become costly damage points for manufactures and/or delivery companies. There is a challenge to ensure that furniture like sofas, tables, hutches, servers etc. will arrive in pristine condition at an end customers location, such as a home or office, and that the furniture looks just like it did in the furniture showroom, in pictures in a catalog, or on an online website.
When damaged goods arrive at a customer's location, they cost manufacturers hard dollars in warranty claims that are remedied through additional manufacturing repairs, and also additional shipping costs. When damaged goods arrive at a customer's location, they also result in soft dollar costs that materialize in the form of a damaged brand name and damaged reputation.
Some conventional methods to reduce or eliminate damage that occurs during shipment of furniture goods have been in the form of large and expensive thick plastic poly bags or bubble wrap, or with oversized corrugated boxes. Linear low-density poly bags, in some examples, require more labor to apply large amounts of clear tape required to seal the bags properly, and while damage is often reduced during shipments, the price paid to wrap the manufactured goods is prohibitive because of both labor and raw materials required. The use of excessive oversized corrugated boxes usually results in significantly less efficient shipping, excess environmental impact, and substantial additional finished goods expenses. Both of these types of wrappings to cover furniture, however, also over-protect large portions of the finished furniture that are not prone to damage, significantly raising costs by providing unnecessary wrapping and an inability to focus protection where it is most necessary. Such traditional wrappings may also be extremely time-intensive, not malleable, and/or increase labor costs for packagers. It is to these and other challenges the invention of the present disclosure is directed.
In accordance with the present disclosure, corner protectors are provided for protection of furniture. This disclosure provides improved corner protector systems, devices, kits and methods that are convenient, efficient, economical, and durable.
In some embodiments a corner protector includes a body, a first end, a second end, a first side and a second side. The first end may include one or more shoulders. The second end may include one or more cutouts. The cutout may include an attachment projection. The cutout may include an attachment receptor.
The corner protector may include a first position and a second position. The first position may be a linear sheet position. The first position may be a flat sheet. The second position may be an assembled position. The second position may be a folded position. In the second position, the corner protector may take on a pyramidal shape. In some examples, the pyramidal shape may include four sides. The attachment projection may mate with the attachment receptor to secure the corner protector in the second position. In some examples, the body may be a flexible body. The body may be a stretchable body. The body may be a foam body. The foam body may be a polyolefin foam body.
The corner protector may include an adhesive on the body. The adhesive may be a strip of adhesive. An adhesive cover, for example, a contact release liner, may be included.
Conventional attempts to protect furniture, such as with shrink wrap or bags have failed to protect the furniture around the corners and lack the strength for suitable durability. Corrugated materials have been combined with shrink wrap. While this combination may somewhat limit damage with specific pieces of furniture that have consistent right angles in their corners, this combination doesn't provide a widely adaptable method of packaging protection for the overwhelming number of unique and individual furniture shapes and sizes that have become much more common over time in the lines developed and sold by competitive furniture manufacturers who are all trying to make products that stand out from each other and will draw the consumers attention because of their uniquely developed look and style. Such attempts do not allow targeted protection in a malleable and concise form, that cuts down on environmental waste, covering time, storage space needed, and cost.
The inventions of the present disclosure serve to control costs, provide multiple impact corner protection for finished goods, and ensure that furniture can be concisely protected even when there are unique angles on the corners, with targeted, concise coverage. Many furniture manufacturers produce multiple styles of furniture across numerous product lines, and the corner protector may be beneficial alone and/or in combination with using a stretch film in instances where a high degree of flexibility is required. Stretch film can be applied using mechanized equipment instead of hand labor, then the polyolefin corner protectors can be applied either on the stretch wrap or under a layer of the stretch wrap and can provide consistent and cost-effective multiple impact corner protection.
In some examples, a system for a corner protector may include a set of stackable linear sheets, wherein each sheet within the set of stackable linear sheets includes, a set of corner protectors arranged in a first position. Each corner protector of the set of corner protectors may include, a body, a first end including a shoulder, a second end including a cutout, a first side, and a second side. The cutout may include an attachment projection and an attachment receptor. In one example, this structure allows the corner protector sheets to be direct sent from its own source of manufacture to a furniture manufacturer. This allows for a reduction of shipment costs. The corner protector system may take on a flat sheet shaping, by way of example in a blank. Once shipped in the flat sheets to the furniture manufacturer, the corner protectors in the system may be separated and alternated into a multi-dimensional second position. The corner protectors are able to rapidly snap from the flat sheet first position into a multi-dimensional second position by way of, in some examples, a mechanical fastening method.
In some examples, the body may be a polyolefin foam. The body may have a relative flexibility, a compression set of around 25%, tensile stress of around 58 psi, an elongation of around 25.5%, and/or a tear resistance of 8.4 lb.cu.ft. These overlapping features create a unique corner protector that is able to stretch, and to more readily conform to a significant variation in angles and shapes of furniture corners produced by furniture manufacturers, while also being economical and durable. Impact protection is also achieved, with some examples including a compression strength of between about 3.0 psi to about 12.5 psi (ASTM D3575-93 Suffix D @ 25%/50%) variable with size differentiation. In some examples the corner protector may include a compression set of between 25%-28% (ASTM D3575-93 Suffix B). The flexibility and durability are often competing factors and the inventions of the present disclosure are an improvement over corrugated or rigid plastic which are both much more limited in one or more of these factors.
In certain instances, the corner protector may, in a second position, take on a folded shape. The folded shape may be a pyramid. This pyramidal shape provides more effective protection of the edges of the furniture. In some examples, the corner protector may include at least 7″ sides, and in some cases at least 7.5″ sides. The corner protector may also include at least a 3.75′ inner height, and in some cases at least a 4″ inner height. The pyramidal shape may be a four-sided pyramid including at least 7″ to 7.5″ sides at the four bases, with a tall height of at least 3.75″ to 4″. Conventional protectors of this size would take up around 89 cubic inches of shipping space, in comparison to Applicant's inventions where, by way of example, an entire corner protector sheet when shipped flat in a first position, would only consume about 36.125″ cubic inches of shipping space. This is an increased shipping capacity over a conventional type protector where in a pallet 36×48″ stacked 3″ high will hold about 3,048 formed protectors, however, Applicant's flat to folded corner protector system in the same shipping container would hold 5,040, a 165% increase and improvement. This significant savings in freight costs is an important consideration that drives manufacturing cost of goods down for the furniture manufacturer.
Corner protectors may include a strip of adhesive that may be applied prior to arriving at a furniture manufacturer. A suitable adhesive may, by way of example, be a Jowatherm® 245.55 pressure sensitive hot melt adhesive and may include a cover. A suitable cover may, by way of example be a silicone release liner paper by Rayven, Inc. This combination is one that allows the corner protector to be held in place in a cost-effective manner, for example, when the assembled corner protector is placed on top of a layer of stretch wrap. With the adhesive layer, furniture manufacturers will have the flexibility to choose to adhere the corner protector onto a layer of stretch film that has been applied to the finished furniture then ship their finished goods, or they can choose to add another layer of stretch film depending on their quality specifications and depending on their internal material cost goals.
The above summary was intended to summarize certain embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiments will be set forth in more detail in the figures and description of embodiments below. It will be apparent, however, that the description of embodiments is not intended to limit the present inventions, the scope of which should be properly determined by the appended claims.
Embodiments of the disclosure will be better understood by a reading of the Description of Embodiments along with a review of the drawings, in which:
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “left,” “right,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
Referring now to the drawings in general, it will be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of describing embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the disclosure or any invention thereto. In one example, a corner protector 10 is shown embodied according to the present disclosure and may include a body 12, a first end 14, a second end 15, a first side 17 and a second side 18. The body 12 may include a first main surface 12a and a second main surface 12b opposite to the first main surface. The first end 14 may include one or more shoulder 20, by way of example, a first shoulder and a second shoulder. The first shoulder and the second shoulder may meet each other and form an angle A1 therebetween. The second end 15 may include one or more cutout 26. The cutout 26 may include an attachment projection 30. The cutout may include a first cutout side and a second cutout side. The first cutout side and the second cutout side meet each other and form an angle A2 therebetween. The body may include an attachment receptor 32 that is spaced apart from the second cutout side and is also spaced apart from the second side.
The corner protector may include a first position (an example as seen in
The corner protector 10 may include an adhesive 24 on the body 12. The adhesive 24 may be a strip of adhesive. An adhesive cover, for example a contact release liner, may be included.
In certain instances, the corner protector may, in a second position, take on a folded shape. The folded shape may be a pyramid. This pyramidal shape provides more effective protection of the edges of the furniture. In some examples, the corner protector may include at least 7″ sides, and in some cases at least 7.5″ sides. The corner protector may also include at least a 3.75′ inner height, and in some cases at least a 4″ inner height. The pyramidal shape may be a four-edged pyramid including at least 7″ to 7.5″ sides at the four bases, with a tall height of at least 3.75″ to 4″. Conventional protectors of this size would take up around 89 cubic inches of shipping space, in comparison to Applicant's inventions where, by way of example, an entire corner protector sheet when shipped flat in a first position, may only consume about 36.125 cubic inches of shipping space. This is an increased shipping capacity over a conventional type protector where in a pallet 36×48″ stacked 3″ high will hold about 3,048 formed protectors, however, Applicant's flat to folded corner protector system in the same shipping container would hold 5,040, a 165% increase and improvement. This significant savings in freight costs is an important consideration that drives manufacturing cost of goods down for the furniture manufacturer.
Corner protectors 10 may include a strip of adhesive that may be applied prior to arriving at a furniture manufacturer. A suitable adhesive may, by way of example, be a Jowatherm® 245.55 pressure sensitive hot melt adhesive and may include a cover. A suitable cover may, by way of example be a silicone release liner paper, by way of example as provided by Rayven, Inc. This combination is one that allows the corner protector to be held in place in a cost-effective manner, for example, when the assembled corner protector is placed on top of a layer of stretch wrap. With the adhesive layer, furniture manufacturers will have the flexibility to choose to adhere the corner protector onto a layer of stretch film that has been applied to the finished furniture then ship their finished goods, or they can choose to add another layer of stretch film depending on their quality specifications and depending on their internal material cost goals.
In some examples, a system for a corner protector 10 may include a set of stackable linear sheets, wherein each sheet within the set of stackable linear sheets includes, a set of corner protectors 10 arranged in a first position. Each corner protector 10 of the set of corner protectors may include, a body 12, a first end 14 including a shoulder 20, a second end 15 including a cutout 26, a first side 17, and a second side 18. The cutout 26 may include an attachment projection 30 and an attachment receptor 32. In one example, the corner protector system may take on a flat sheet shaping. Once shipped in the flat sheets to the furniture manufacturer, the corner protectors in the system may be separated and alternated into a multi-dimensional second position. The corner protectors 10 are able to rapidly snap from the flat sheet first position into a multi-dimensional second position by way of, in some examples, a mechanical fastening method and/or a hook and receiver manner.
The corner protector 10 body 12 may be made from a foam. In some examples, the body 12 may be a polyolefin foam. The body 12 may have a relative flexibility, a compression set of around 25%, tensile stress of around 58 psi, an elongation of around 25.5%, and/or a tear resistance of 8.4 lb.cu.ft. These overlapping features create a unique corner protector that is able to stretch, and to more readily conform to a significant variation in angles and shapes of furniture corners produced by furniture manufacturers, while also being economical and durable. Impact protection is also achieved, with some examples including a compression strength of between about 3.0 psi to about 12.5 psi (ASTM D3575-93 Suffix D @ 25%/50%) variable with size differentiation. In some examples, the corner protector may include a compression set of between 25%-28% (ASTM D3575-93 Suffix B). The flexibility and durability are often competing factors and the inventions of the present disclosure are an improvement over corrugated or rigid plastic which are both much more limited in one or more of these factors. In this example, the invention overlaps in being able to both be flexible and durable.
A corner protector body 12 may include a density. The density, in some examples, may be in a range of 0.8 lb/cu ft-1.5 lb/cu ft. During the extrusion process, a polyethylene feed stock may be fed into an extruder, for example, a Gloucester Engineering 3.5″-4.5″ right hand extruder, that is heated to (200 F—220 F temperature), and then the heated feedstock is pushed through the extruder by the use of a large screw located inside the extruder. The melted polyethylene may then be pushed through the extruder and out through a narrow opening where the polyethylene is then injected with an expanding agent or blowing agent (for example butane or CFC). As the foamed plastic expands with the addition of the blowing agent, the foamed plastic continues beyond the exit of the extruder and then begins to cool. The extruded shape, by way of example, can be produced in a sheet with a thickness range of 0.25″−0.5″ and a width of 48″-60.″ The sheet may then be rolled up and cut to lengths of 150′-300′ with an exemplary finished roll product being a 0.25″×60″×300′ roll. After extrusion, a foamed plastics fabricator may die cut the rolls to a specific shaped corner protector system as desired using, for example, an Associated Pacific (ABC-60 MODEL) hydraulic kiss cut press. With a steel rule die mounted in the hydraulic press, the polyolefin foam can be run into the machine, then stamped with a specifically designed shape from the rule in the steel rule die. Multiple pieces of the corner protector can be stamped with each hit of the hydraulic die press.
Once the parts have been die cut, the system corner protectors 10 may be formed in multiple copies within one sheet. The corner protects 10 may have a narrow bead of adhesive applied using a hot melt adhesive applicator, for example, by a Nordson Durablue 10 low temperature hot melt glue gun. After the hot melt adhesive is applied, a layer of thin contact release liner like may be placed over the bead of adhesive. One application may be able to apply an adhesive to multiple corner protectors in one application, saving time and cost. The contact paper may prevent the flat corner protectors from adhering to each other when they are placed in stacks, and can rapidly be removed when the furniture manufacturer is ready to apply the corner protector pads to the finished furniture pieces. The flat corner protector pads can be shipped in stacks that optimize the shipment cube size of the inside of a truck from foamed plastic fabricator to the location where the furniture is being manufactured. Once the flat corner pads arrive at the furniture manufacturer, they can be applied to the completed furniture pieces that are ready for shipment.
In other examples, a corner protector 10 may include a body 12 made of a low density or a linear low density polyethylene sheeting. A density may be between 0.919 to 0.924 with a melt index in the range of 0.8 to 2.3. The body 12 may be a mono layer sheet and within the range of 0.00075 mil to 0.008 mil. The body 12 may have a thickness of between 0.001 to 0.0015 with characteristics as indicated in the ranges of some or all parameters as demonstrated below in Table 1:
In other embodiments, the disclosure includes a furniture corner protector kit. Still in other embodiments methods for protecting furniture corners by way of any of the embodiments described herein are considered within the scope of this disclosure.
Numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of structure and function. Many of the novel features are pointed out in the appended claims. The disclosure, however, is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts, within the principle of the disclosure, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the general claims are expressed. It is further noted that, as used in this application, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless expressly and unequivocally limited to one referent.
This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 62/969,296, filed Feb. 3, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62969296 | Feb 2020 | US |
