Patent Application
20070186993
This invention relates to an air-packing device for use as packing material, and more particularly, to a structure of check valve incorporated in the air-packing device for achieving an improved shock absorbing capability to protect a product from shock or impact where the check valve has a simple structure and can be established in a small size with high reliability.
There are several choices in the packing and shipping industries for shock absorbing material for protecting products from damages due to shocks and vibrations during the distribution channels of the products. One of those choices has been styrofoam. Although using styrofoam as packaging material has benefits such as good thermal insulation and light weight, it also has various disadvantage. For example, recycling styrofoam is not possible, soot is produced when it burns, a flake or chip comes off when it is snagged because of its brittleness, and expensive mold is needed for its production, and a relatively large warehouse is necessary for storage.
Therefore, to solve such problems noted above, other packing materials and methods have been proposed. One method is a fluid container that seals in liquid or gas such as air (hereinafter “air-packing device”). Such an air-packing device has excellent characteristics that solve the problems involved with styrofoam. First, because the air-packing device is made only of thin plastic films, it does not need a large warehouse for storage until immediately prior to product packing when the air-packing device is inflated. Second, a large mold is not necessary for its production because of its simple structure. Third, the air-packing device does not produce a chip or dust which may have adverse effects on precision products. Furthermore, recyclable materials can be used for the films forming the air-packing device. Additionally, the air-packing device can be produced and stored with low cost and transported with low cost.
An example of a structure of such an air-packing device is shown in
One of the purposes of having multiple air containers with corresponding check valves is to increase the reliability of the air-packing device. Because each air container 22 is independent from the others, even if one of the air containers suffer from an air leakage for some reason, the remaining air containers 22 that are still intact and remain inflated. Therefore, the air-packing device can still function as a shock absorber.
When using the air-packing device, each air container 22 is filled with air from the inlet port 25 through the guide passage 21 and the check valve 24. After filling the air-packing device with the air, the expansion of each air container 22 is maintained because each check-valve 24 prevents the reverse flow of the air. The check valve 24 is typically made of two small thermoplastic valve films that are bonded together to form an air pipe. The air pipe has a tip opening and a valve body to allow the air flowing in the forward direction through the air pipe from the tip opening but the valve body disallows the air to flow in the backward direction.
As noted above, the structure of the air-packing device having a multiplicity of air-containers, each of which having a check valve that prevents reverse flow of compressed air, is advantageous in improving reliability of the air-packing device. In order to allow various shapes (contour) of air-packing devices to accommodate various shapes and sizes of products to be protected, it is desirable that the check valve can be manufactured with ease and allows flexibility of designing the air-packing device.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure of check valve for use with an air-packing device which has a simple structure with low cost and can be established in a small size so that each air cell of the air-packing device can be significantly decreased.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a structure of check valve for use with an air-packing device which can be established at any location of the air-packing device with high reliability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a structure of check valve and air-packing device which is able to reduce the size of each air cell on the air-packing device.
One aspect of the present invention is a structure of check valve for an air-packing device. The structure of check valves includes a plurality of air containers each being made of upper and lower packing films by applying separation seals where a check valve is provided to each air container; upper and lower check valve films for forming a plurality of check valves where peeling agents of predetermined pattern are applied between the upper and lower check valve films, the upper and lower check valve films being attached to one of the upper and lower packing films; an air input established by one of the peeling agents on the air-packing device for receiving an air from an air source; an air passage formed in each check valve by heat-seals between the upper and lower check valve films, the air passage including a narrow channel formed by the separation seal and one of the heat-seals between the upper and lower check valve films; and a common air duct formed between the upper and lower check valve films for providing the air from the air input commonly to the plurality of check valves. The heat-sealing between the upper and lower check valve films is prevented in a range where the peeling agent is applied, thereby creating the common air duct.
The upper and lower packing films are separate thermoplastic films, and wherein the upper and lower check valve films are separate thermoplastic films which are provided between the upper and lower packing films. Alternatively, the upper and lower packing films are separate thermoplastic films, and the upper and lower check valve films are configured by a single sheet of thermoplastic film which is folded into two and is provided between the upper and lower packing films.
The upper and lower check valve films are attached to one of the upper and lower packing films at any desired locations of the air-packing device. The air passage in the check valve is closed by air tightly contacting the upper check valve film and the lower check valve film by the air pressure within the air container when the air-packing device is filled with the compressed air to a sufficient degree.
The peeling agent between the upper and lower check valve films is located on a part of the separation seal, and wherein the air input is an opening between the upper check valve film and the lower check valve film created by a pattern of the peeling agent. The pattern of the peeling agent applied to the check valve films is a belt like shape extending on the separation seal of the air-packing device.
Another aspect of the present invention is an air-packing device incorporating the structure of check valve. The air-packing device includes a plurality of air containers each being made of upper and lower packing films by applying a pair of separation seals where a check valve is formed for each air container; a plurality of air cells formed in a series manner in each container by partially bonding the upper packing film and the lower packing film by applying folding seals; upper and lower check valve films for forming a plurality of check valves where peeling agents of predetermined pattern are applied between the upper and lower check valve films, the upper and lower check valve films being attached to one of the upper and lower packing films; an air input established by one of the peeling agents on the air-packing device for receiving an air from an air source; an air passage formed in each check valve by heat-seals between the upper and lower check valve films, the air passage including a narrow channel formed by the separation seal and one of the heat-seals between the upper and lower check valve films; and a common air duct formed between the upper and lower check valve films for providing the air from the air input commonly to the plurality of check valves. The heat-sealing between the upper and lower check valve films is prevented in a range where the peeling agent is applied, thereby creating the common air duct.
According to the present invention, the structure of check valve for an air-packing device is simple and allows reduction of the size of each check valve such that more freedom is attained in designing the air packing device. Moreover, the check valves under the present invention can be flexibly attached to any desired location of the air-packing device due to the common duct that is formed between the upper and lower check valve films independently from the packing films.
The new structure of check valve for use with an air-packing device under the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The construction of check valve under the present invention allows to significantly reduce the size of the check valve itself such that more freedom is attained in designing the air packing device. Accordingly, it is also possible to reduce the size of each air cell so that the air-packing device of the present invention can replace the conventional air bubble packing sheets. Moreover, the check valve under the present invention can be flexibly attached to the air-packing device at any location.
The basic configuration of the check valve for an air-packing device under the present invention is described with reference to the schematic cross sectional view of
The upper packing film 51 and the lower packing film 59 function are thermoplastic films which create the main body of the air-packing device 101 with a plurality of air containers. The upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 55 are small thermoplastic films for creating a plurality of check valves 80 with a common air duct 92 that commonly introduces the air to each air container 70 through each check valve. The common duct 92 and the air containers 70 will be explained later with reference to
In
In
As explained with reference to the side view of
All of the thermoplastic films are bonded to one another at the separation seals 71. In other words, when the four thermoplastic films 51, 53, 57 and 59 are overlaid, all four thermoplastic films are bonded to one another at the solid hatches. When the two thermoplastic films 51 and 59 are overlaid, the two thermoplastic films are bonded with each other at the solid hatches. By the separation seals, the air-packing device 101 is separated to a plurality of air containers 70.
The upper packing film 51 and the lower packing film 59 are further bonded to one another at the folding seals 73 indicated by the solid hatches. In the area where the check valve films 53 and 57 are inserted to form the check valves 80, all of the four thermoplastic films are bonded to one another at the separation seals 73 indicated by the solid hatches. Further, all of the thermoplastic films are bonded to one another at the edge seals 75 indicated by the solid hatches if the check valves 80 are located at the edge of the air-packing device. If the check valves 80 are formed at a position other than the edge of the air-packing device, i.e., an inner area of the packing device, the upper packing film 51 and the lower packing film 59 are bonded to one another at the edge 75 of the air-packing device 101.
The diagonal line hatches shown in
In
As shown in
Because of the structure of the heat-seals among the packing films and check valve films described above, the air packing device 101 in this embodiment allows the air to flow in the forward direction. Reference is now made to
As noted above, the peeling agent 91 is a high heat-resistant material which prevents the heat-sealing between the two thermoplastic films. Thus, in the present invention, the peeling agent 91 prevents the lower check valve film 57 and the upper check valve film 53 from bonding with each other when the heat-sealing process is applied to the air-packing device 101. For this purpose, it is also possible to apply the peeling agent 91 on the lower surface of the upper check valve film 53.
The separation seals 71 for separating the air containers 70 by heat-sealing the thermoplastic films (upper and lower packing films) 51 and 59 are not effective at the locations of the peeling agents 91. Thus, the two air containers 70 are not separated by the separation seals 71 where the peeling agents 91 are applied. As noted above, the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57 are not bonded because of the peeling agents 91. Therefore, the common duct 92 is formed that allows the air from the air input 90 to flow into all of the check valves 80 and the air containers 70.
The obstruction seals 83 and 85, and the air guide seal 81 are shown on the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57 in
The compressed air from air input flows through the common air duct 92 and flows into each air container 70 through the check valve 80. The folding seals 73 bond all of the films 51, 53, 57 and 59 in the check valve 80. The folding seals 73 where the check valve films 53 and 57 are not provided bond the upper and lower packing films 51 and 59 as shown in
It should be noted that the structure shown in
Now, the explanation is made as to how the air flows in the structure of the air-packing device 101 having the check valve 80 under the present invention and how the check valve 80 function to prevent a reverse flow of the air.
As shown, the air from the air input 90 flows to each air container 70 (air cells 72) via the common air duct 92 formed by the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57 as explained above. The obstruction seals 83, folding seals 73, the air guide seal 81, and the obstruction seals 85 create complicated air passages or air flow mazes to establish a certain degree of resistance against the forward flow the air. The air flow mazes are also function to completely close the check valve 80 when the inner pressure of the air-packing device reaches a predetermined level. The air introduced to the first air container 70 (within the check valve 80) through the pair of obstruction seals 83 collides against the folding seal 73 and diverts into the sides as indicated by the arrows.
The compressed air then enters the narrow air passages each being formed between the air guide seal 81 and the obstruction seals 85. Further, each of the air passages for the compressed air is gradually narrowed due to the diagonal shape of the air guide seal 81 with respect to the separation seal 71. Particularly, a small distance between the end of the air guide seal 81 and the separation seal 71 establishes a narrow air passage. These air passages will be completely closed when the check valve films 53 and 57 are pressed against the upper packing film 51 by the inner pressure produced by the compressed air.
After the compressed air leaves the check valve 80, the air will fill the air container 70, thereby inflating each of the air container 70. Since the folding seals 73 are provided in this embodiment, each air container 70 includes a plurality of air cells 72. Thus, each air cell will be shaped like a sausage when the air container 70 is inflated by the compressed air. Since the thermoplastic films are bonded at the areas of the folding seals 73, the inflated air-packing device 101 can be easily folded about the holding seals 73.
As the compressed air fills the air container 70, the air will press the check valve films 53 and 57 against the upper packing film 51 so that three thermoplastic films are tightly contact with one another. Thus, the air passages in the check valves 80 are completely closed, which prevents reverse flow of the air. The detail of this procedure and operation is more clearly described with reference to
The compressed air then travels through the air passages (air flow maze) formed by the folding seal 73, obstruction seals 85 and the air guide seal 81. The compressed air travels toward the exit opening (narrow channel) of the check valve 80 formed between the tip of the air guide seal 81 and separation seal 71 (
As arrows 89 show, the air is introduced into the chamber (air container 70) through the air passages between the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57. As the air fills the air container 70, the air begins to push up the check valve films 53 and 57. As shown in
In the embodiment described above, the bonding (sealing) between the upper packing film 51 and the upper check valve film 53 is mostly identical to that between the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57 such as shown in
Although not essential, the obstruction seal 85 and the air guide seal 81 between the upper packing film 51 and the upper check valve film 53 are created because of the same heat-sealing process applied to the air-packing device 101. Namely, when creating the obstruction seal 85 and the air guide seal 81 between the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57, the heat-seals between the upper packing film 51 and the upper check valve film 53 by one heat-sealing applied to these three thermoplastic films.
However, it is also possible to create the shapes and locations of the heat-seals between the upper packing film 51 and the upper check valve film 53 differently from that between the upper check valve film and the lower check valve film 57. In such a case, the heat-sealing process for the air-packing device may become more complicated. For example, the air guide seals 81 may be created between the upper and lower check valve films 53 and 57 in advance. Then, the upper packing film 51 is overlapped on the check valve films 53 and 57 where the obstruction seals 83 and 85 are created for the three thermoplastic films. Finally, the three films are place on the lower packing film 59 where the separation seals 71 and the folding seals 73 are created for the four thermoplastic films.
Because of the configuration of the check valve 80 described above, the air-packing device 101 of the present invention achieves several advantages. One major advantage attained by the configuration of the check valve 80 is its ability to be formed in a small size. One of the reasons is that the separation seals 71 and the folding seals 73 can also function to create the air passages (air flow maze) for the check valve 80. As a result, it is possible to provide an air-packing device having many small air cells 72 so that it can replace air bubble packing materials used today which have a large number of air bubbles.
Another advantage of the air-packing device of the present invention is that the check valve 80 can be placed in a flexible manner at any desired locations of the air-package device. As described in the foregoing, the common air duct 92 is formed between the upper check valve film 53 and the lower check valve film 57. Thus, the common air duct 92 will not depend upon structure or location of other thermoplastic films such as the upper packing film 51 or the lower packing film 59.
The configuration of the check valve under the present invention allows flexible design of the air-packing device by enabling flexible placement of the seals. An example of a configuration of the air-packing device that takes advantage of the present invention is shown in the plan view of
In a similar manner, the check valve under the present invention allows variation of the air-packing device such that air-packing devices can accommodate various kinds of product to be protected. Some other embodiment example of the air-packing device incorporating the check valves under the present invention are shown in
As has been described above, the structure of check valve for an air-packing device under the present invention is simple and allows reduction of the size of each check valve such that more freedom is attained in designing the air packing device. Moreover, the check valves under the present invention can be flexibly attached to any desired location of the air-packing device due to the common duct that is formed between the upper and lower check valve films independently from the packing films.
Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
