Patent Application
20220250823
This invention relates to containers such as cardboard boxes for shipping. More specifically, this invention relates to such containers having dunnage for the shipment of items.
When items are shipped in containers such as cardboard boxes, they are often packaged with added dunnage. Dunnage in general is lightweight material added to the container simply for the purpose of retaining and cushioning the contents of the container. Because the overall weight of a package often factors into the cost of shipping, dunnage is generally of a lightweight material. And, because the dunnage has no value in the shipping transaction, it is preferred that dunnage be effective at the lowest possible cost.
Exemplary dunnage added to shipping containers have comprised crumpled paper, excelsior made of paper or wood fiber, beads of plastic such as Styrofoam®, and inflated plastic dunnage bags. All of these forms of dunnage in current use share a number of disadvantages.
One disadvantage hitherto is that, for many forms of prior art dunnage, the dunnage must be chosen and placed in a way that is specific to the configuration of the shipped item. While fill materials such as beads and excelsior address this problem, difficulties in removing and disposing such diffuse material present a disadvantage to their use. Plastic sheeting with inflatable air cells, such as described in U.S. Publication No. 20020134049A1 by Simahee, may be used advantageously as dunnage, its integrity permitting relatively easy removal from the shipping container. Such dunnage, however, must be chosen and placed in a way that is specific to the configuration of the container and the shipped item.
An approach to using a dunnage that configures to the container and the shipped item is to use inflatable air bags or balloons, such as described in U.S. Publication Nos. 20010001921A1 and 20070172326A1 by Sperry et al., in which an inflatable bag is inserted in an assembled container holding the item to be shipped. The bag is then inflated to press against the item and hold it in place for shipment. As with the sheets of air cells, the integrity of the inflatable bag permits relatively easy removal from the shipping container.
However, disadvantages of all these related art dunnage technologies include the fact that the shipper must insert and install the dunnage in the shipping container with each shipped item. Further, after the container with the item has been received at its destination by the recipient, the dunnage must be removed and disposed of by the recipient. In the case of much dunnage in current use, particularly the widely used plastic beads and inflated plastic bags, disposal of dunnage poses significant environmental burdens.
What is needed is a form of dunnage that is integral to each shipping container, needing neither insertion on shipment nor removal on delivery. What is needed further is a single form of dunnage that configures to every shipped item regardless of item configuration. What is needed further is such a form of dunnage that, because it does not need to be removed and disposed of by the recipient, enables easy reuse of the shipping container with dunnage.
A container with integrated dunnage comprises a box fabricated from sheet container material such as cardboard. On at least one interior wall of the box is adhered at least one inflatable balloon fabricated from flexible, relatively inelastic sheet material such as Mylar®. The balloon, when inflated, serves as dunnage for items shipped in the box. In some embodiments, protruding from the exterior through the wall to which the balloon adheres and communicating with the interior of the balloon is a valve stem permitting the balloon to be inflated and deflated from the outside of the box. Within the valve stem is a valve serving releasably to retain gas within the balloon.
In other embodiments, one or more means for inflating the adhered balloon may be integral to the container. Such integral means may be a small air pump which in some embodiments may be manually operated and in other embodiments may be powered by battery or other source of power. Alternatively or additionally, such integral means for inflating may comprise a replaceable or refillable container of compressed gas. In such embodiments, a valve also is provided releasably to retain gas within the balloon. For the release of the inflating dunnage gas, such valve may be accessible from the box exterior or, in other embodiments, the valve is operably accessible in the interior of the box prior to deflation of the inflated dunnage.
Some embodiments have only a single balloon attached to one interior wall of the box. Other embodiments have a plurality of balloons adhering to one or more interior walls of the box. Some embodiments may have a single point for inflation and deflation of the dunnage. Other embodiments may have a plurality of points for inflation and deflation.
In some embodiments, in addition to the dunnage balloon, a rigid or semi-rigid member may be attached to the dunnage balloon distal the wall to which the dunnage balloon is attached. In some such embodiments, this member may be configured or molded to receive and retain an item with a specific configuration. In use, the inflated dunnage presses the member against the item it is configured to receive, thereby restraining the item for shipment.
Embodiments may be fabricated in a flat sheet as for a conventional shipping box. In embodiments with a protruding valve stem, a valve stem opening is cut in the sheet for each dunnage balloon to be used. Prior to assembly into a box, the deflated dunnage balloon or balloons are adhered to the box, placed so that the valve stem protrudes through the valve stem openings cut in the box. The box sheet material with integral inflatable dunnage may be shipped and stored for later assembly into a box.
In embodiments in use, an item for shipping is placed in an assembled box with deflated dunnage. The dunnage is then inflated, either prior to or after sealing the box. In embodiments having a protruding valve stem, the dunnage balloon is inflated with compressed gas passed into the valve stem. In embodiments with an air pump, the user simply operates the pump to provide sufficient air to inflate the balloon. In embodiments relying on a container of compressed gas, the user releases the gas from the container into the dunnage balloon to inflate it. In any case, the dunnage balloon is sufficiently inflated so as to retain, restrain and protect the item being shipped. On receipt, the recipient can deflate the dunnage through the valve provided for such purpose, either before or after opening the box, and retrieve the item. The box with attached dunnage may then be reused for other shipments.
Objects of the present invention as well as advantages, features and characteristics, in addition to methods of operation, function of related elements of structure, and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become apparent upon consideration of the following description and claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures, and wherein:
Turning now to the drawings,
As will be appreciated by those in the art, other embodiments of the invention may use other forms of valve to retain air in the inflated dunnage balloons. Such valves include but are not limited to self-sealing flap valves, gate valves and umbrella valves. What is needed is that the valves employed in the invention seal the air or other gas with which the bag is inflated, reasonably preventing substantial leakage from an inflated bag and permitting deflation by the user after the device has been used for shipment of an item, readying the device for reinflation with the next item to be shipped.
In
Compressed gas source 510 may be a small, battery powered air compressor. Many such small compressors, such as the Enusic™ 7800 mAh Cordless 25 L/min 150 PSI Portable Air Compressor Pump, are widely available online and most are adaptable for employment in the present invention. After placement of item 508 within container 502, as illustrated in
Compressed gas source 510 may alternatively be a small manually operated air pump, such as the double action hand pump, item 23115, from Texsport Inc. of Houston, Tex. In such embodiments, after placement of an item in the container, as illustrated in
In yet other embodiments, compressed gas source 510 may be a replaceable or refillable small tank of compressed gas, such as a replaceable cartridge of carbon dioxide, breached and delivered by a device such as the CO2yre from Oxford Products Ltd. of Witney, Oxfordshire, U.K. To operate the device for filling the inflatable dunnage, a threaded sealed compressed gas cartridge is screwed into a receptable in the device that pierces the seal of the cartridge, the device restraining the pressure inside the cartridge by a valve. The user may then open the valve to release the gas from the device. In the depicted embodiment, the gas released from this compressed gas source 510 is then delivered by connected feeder lines 512, 514 to inflate dunnage balloons 504, 506. When the dunnage balloons are sufficiently inflated, the user closes the valve on the device. Advantageously for cargo presenting a fire hazard, such as flammable material or lithium batteries, embodiments may utilize tanks of fire retardant gas, for example a brominated haloalkane like Halon 1211, or alternatively FM-200 fire suppressant from The Chemours Company, with U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, Del., to inflate the dunnage, thereby reducing the risk associated with such hazardous cargo.
Turning now to
Although embodiments of the invention have been described above, persons of skill in the art will appreciate that variations and elaborations of the apparatus may be made that are nonetheless within the scope of the invention. For example, embodiments may employ one or more planar semi-rigid members, in contrast with the molded members described in respect to
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth in this specification, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as can be reasonably included within the scope of the invention. The invention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63146591 | Feb 2021 | US |
