1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of shipment packaging, and in particular to corrugated fiberboard packing. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a single piece of corrugated fiberboard that, when folded, creates a six-sided cushion for fragile shipments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light and fragile products, including electronic equipment, are typically shipped from a manufacturer to a customer or distributor via a common carrier. The products must therefore be packaged to prevent being damaged in transit from physical shock (jarring) caused by being dropped, jostled, etc. The force of such physical shock can be as much as 70 g's.
One method of protecting such equipment is to encase it with shock absorbing material such as Styrofoam® “peanuts.” However, such systems are messy, as the peanuts' light weight makes them prone to being scattered both during packing at the manufacturer's site as well as unpacking at the customer's site. Furthermore, Styrofoam® peanuts are not environmental friendly, since Styrofoam® is not biodegradable. Of even greater engineering significance is that peanuts are inconsistent in their protection against shock. That is, peanuts can shift about during transit, such that different areas within a shipping container are afforded unpredictably varying levels of impact protection.
Another method of protecting such equipment is to engineer a packing cushion, either from fabricated foam or molded material. Fabricated foam (such as polyurethane) is hand or die cut, and then assembled (typically using heat welding) to create a custom shaped protector. Fabricated foam is thus both labor intensive (in assembly steps) and materiel expensive (in the cost of component shapes and scrap material inherent in the assembly process). Molded material (such as polystyrene) is formed by a mold that is specific to the shape of the product being shipped. Molded materials are thus also both labor intensive (in creating and using the molds), equipment expensive (in the molding machines), and materiel expensive (cost of the molding material). Like the use of dunnage such as peanuts, fabricated foam and molded material are also environment unfriendly.
In response to the shortcomings of the prior art system described, the present invention is thus directed to a rollover shipping cushion. The cushion is formed by folding, in a specific manner, a single sheet of die-cut corrugated fiberboard to create the cushion. When properly folded, the cushion includes a central shipping cavity that is surrounded by shock-absorbing tubes on all six sides of the central shipping cavity.
The above, as well as additional purposes, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further purposes and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where:
a depicts a single piece of corrugated fiberboard in an unfolded condition after having been die-cut to create the depicted shape and folding edges;
b-1n illustrate the single piece of corrugated fiberboard in various stages of being folded to form a rollover shipping cushion;
a depicts a top view of the completed rollover shipping cushion; and
b illustrates a bottom view of the completed rollover shipping cushion.
With reference now to the figures, and in particular to
Representative steps taken to create an assembled rollover cushion 200 (shown in FIGS. 2A-B) are presented in FIGS. 1B-N. With reference then to
After bottom tube 128a is assembled, side tube sheet 110a has the shape shown in
The folding process just described is repeated for bottom tube sheet 114b to create assembled bottom tube 128a (shown in
With reference now to
The steps just described are repeated using end assembly 108a to form top tube 140a shown in
With reference again to
In a preferred embodiment, the described rollover cushion 200 (and its precursor unfolded corrugated cushion 100) is made of a corrugated material, such as fiberboard, cardboard, pulp board, corrugated plastic, etc., which is easily foldable and die-cut. Since rollover cushion 200 is created from a single stock item (unfolded corrugated cushion 100), inventory of packing materials is simplified and made cheaper. Likewise, when unpacking a shipped item, rollover cushion 200 is a single piece that is easy to discard or unfold for future use.
As depicted in the drawings and attendant descriptions, in a preferred embodiment the present invention thus provides a rollover cushion that includes a shipping cavity, two top tubes, two bottom tubes, first and second side tubes and first and second end cushions that are formed when a single piece of material is folded in a prescribed manner. When the single piece of material is folded in the prescribed manner, the shipping cavity has dimensions such that an item being contained within the rollover cushion is abutted against a first side of a planar element on every side of the item being contained. Furthermore, when folded, the rollover cushion is such that every planar element has a folded cushion on a second side of each planar element, such that the combined folded cushions provide physical shock protection in all three axes.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.