BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a shock-absorbing unit of a packaging device embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing two foldable pads of the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view showing that plate members of a top panel are assembled with the foldable pads;
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing that an object and the shock-absorbing unit are placed in a box;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a plate member of a partition pad;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing one partition pad placed inside the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing three partition pads provided inside the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing two partition pads provided within the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing two partition pads provided inside the shock-absorbing unit;
FIG. 11 is the same view as FIG. 10 but showing an additional top panel provided on top of a foldable pad; and
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing four partition pads provided inside the shock-absorbing unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a packaging device embodying the present invention includes a container in the form of a box 5, and a shock-absorbing unit to be placed inside the box 5 in abutment with an inner surface of the box 5. The shock-absorbing unit includes a bottom pad 1, side pads, a partition unit 3, and a top pad 4.
The bottom pad 1 includes two plate members 11 each of which has a plurality of parallel grooves 111 that define a plurality of ribs 112 therebetween.
The side pads include two pairs of opposite side pads that extend upright at opposite sides of the bottom pad 1. In particular, the side pads include front and rear side pads 2A, 2B, and left and right side pads 2C, 2D. Each of the front and rear side pads 2A, 2B includes two plate members 21, 22. Each of the plate members 21, 22 has parallel grooves 211, 221 that are aligned respectively with the grooves 211, 221 of the other one of the plate members 21, 22 in a horizontal direction and that define a plurality of ribs 212, 222 therebetween. Each of the left and right side pads 2C, 2D has a plate member 23, 24 including parallel grooves 231, 241. The grooves 231 of the plate member 23 of the left side pad 2C are aligned respectively with the grooves 241 of the plate member 24 of the right side pad 2D in a horizontal direction. The grooves 231, 241 define ribs 232, 242 therebetween. In addition, the grooves 211, 221 of the plate members 21, 22 are aligned with the grooves 111 of the plate members 11 of the bottom pad 1.
Referring to FIG. 5 in combination with FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, each plate member 11, 21, 22, 23, 24 is a tray-like plate member that includes a corrugated base plate region 26 provided with the grooves 111, 211, 221, 231, 241 and the ribs 112, 212, 222, 232, 242, and a peripheral flange 27 that surrounds the corrugated base plate region 26 and that extends obliquely and flares outwardly from the corrugated base plate region 26. The plate members 11, 21, 22, 23, 24 are preferably made of plastic and are arranged such that the corrugated base plate regions 26 project from an inner surface of the box 5 when the peripheral flanges 27 abut against the inner surface of the box 5. The corrugated base plate regions 26 are deformable to absorb shock. The peripheral flanges 27 of the plate member 21, 22, 23, 24 are provided with protrusion-and-recess engagement surfaces for interengaging the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24 at four corners of the box 5. Preferably, the protrusion-and-recess engagement surfaces include recesses 213, 223 formed in the peripheral flanges 27 of the plate members 21, 22, and protrusions 233, 243 formed in the peripheral flanges 27 of the plate members 23, 24.
The partition unit 3 includes a plurality of partition pads, specifically, first partition pads 31 for spanning the front and rear side pads 2A, 2B, and second partition pads 32 for spanning the left and right side pads 2C, 2D. Each first partition pad 31 has two opposite ends insertable selectively and respectively into two grooves 211, 221 of the plate members 21, 22. Each second partition pad 32 has two opposite ends insertable selectively and respectively into two grooves 231, 241 of the plate members 23, 24. The first and second partition pads 31, 32 are substantially vertical and each has a height smaller than that of the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24. Preferably, the first and second partition pads 31, 32 has a height substantially equal to half a height of the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24. In use, the first partition pads 31 are placed transversely of the second partition pads 32.
Referring to FIG. 6 in combination with FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the first and second partition pads 31, 32 includes a plate member made of plastic and having a corrugated partition plate region 331 and a marginal flange 332 that is insertable into the grooves 111, 211, 221, 231, 241. The corrugated partition plate region 331 has a plurality of ribs 334 and grooves 335 that extend in a direction transverse to the directions along which the grooves 211, 221, 231, 241, and the ribs 212, 222, 232, 242 of the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24 extend. However, it is contemplated that the partition pads 31, 32 may be provided with grooves and ribs having any other suitable shapes.
The top pad 4 has two plate members 41 each of which is also a tray-like plate member that has a peripheral flange 27 surrounding a corrugated base plate region 26 formed with grooves 411 and ribs 412.
While the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24, 41 are provided with the parallel grooves 111, 211, 221, 231, 241, 411 and parallel ribs 112, 212, 222, 232, 242, 412, the present invention should not be limited thereto. It is contemplated that the grooves and ribs of the plate members 11, 21, 22, 23, 24, 41 may have any other suitable shape as long as the plate members 11, 21, 22, 23, 24, 41 have strength and shock-absorbing characteristics sufficient to cushion an object to be packaged.
Referring once again to FIGS. 1 and 2, each plate member 11 of the bottom pad 1 is formed foldably as one piece with one of the plate members 21 of the front side pad 2A, one of the plate members 22 of the rear side pad 2B, and the plate member 23, 24 of one of the left and right side pads 2C, 2D, thereby forming a foldable pad 2. Fold lines 28 are formed among the plate members 21, 22, and 23 (or 24) of the foldable pad 2. Therefore, there are two foldable pads 2. Each foldable pad 2 has four plate members 11, 21, 22, and 23, or 11, 21, 22, and 24. The plate members 21, 22, 23 (24) are foldable upward from the plate member 11 in each foldable pad 2.
In use, the foldable pads 2 are folded and placed within the box 5 together with an object 6 as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. The corrugated base plate regions 26 project from an inner surface 52 of the box 5 to cushion or abut against the object 6, whereas the peripheral flanges 27 abut against the inner surface 52 of the box 5. At four corners of the box 5, the peripheral flanges 27 of the plate members 21, 22 abut against and interlock with the respective peripheral flanges 27 of the plate members 23, 24 through interengagement of the protrusions 233, 243 and the recesses 213, 223. The plate members 41 of the top pad 4 are placed on top of the plate members 21, 22, 23, 24, as best shown in FIG. 3.
Referring once again to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, if the size of the box 5 is large, the two foldable pads 2 may be placed within the box 5 in a spaced-apart relationship so that the two plate members 11, 21, 22 of each of the bottom pad 1, the front side pad 2A, and the rear side pad 2B are spaced apart from each other by a distance 51. The distance 51 between the foldable pads 2 may be increased or decreased depending on the size or length of the box 5. Thus, the shock-absorbing unit according to the present invention can accommodate to various sizes of the box 5.
Referring to FIG. 7 in combination with FIGS. 4 and 5, if the width of the object 6 is too small to fit the foldable pads 2, the second partition pad 32 may be placed between the plate members 23, 24 by inserting two ends of the second partition pad 32 into one of the grooves 231 of the plate member 23 and one of the grooves 241 of the plate member 24, respectively. One side of the second partition pad 32 abuts against the object 6, whereas the other side thereof is spaced apart from the inner surface of the box 5. The two plate members 41 (only one is shown) of the top pad 4 are provided on top of the foldable pads 2, respectively. The peripheral flanges 27 of the plate members 41 will abut against the inner surface of the box 5 when placed in the box 5. As such, the object 6 can be prevented from vibrational movements within the box 5.
Referring to FIG. 8 in combination with FIGS. 4 and 5, when the height of the object 6 is half a height of the box 5, two second partition pads 32 may be inserted additionally into the box 5 above the first partition pad 31 to press against the top side of the object 6.
When the length of the object 6 is too small to fit the foldable pads 2, two first partition pads 31 may be placed in the foldable pads 2 to abut against two sides of the object 6 by inserting two opposite ends of each first partition pad 31 into one of the grooves 211 of the corresponding plate member 21 and one of the grooves 221 of the corresponding plate member 22, as shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. If the height of the object 6 is half a height of the box 5, two second partition pads 32 may be inserted additionally into the box 5 above the first partition pads 32 so as to press against the top side of the object 6, as shown in FIG. 12.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Patent Application
20080000796
