Patent Application
20200216252
The present disclosure relates to dunnage used to secure cargo during transit, and more particularly to dunnage suspendable in midair adjacent the cargo.
Dunnage is used to stabilize cargo during transportation of cargo containers. Generally, after some or all of the cargo is loaded into a cargo container, dunnage is positioned in the voids between the cargo to fill the voids and limit movement of the cargo during transit.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide dunnage including a void filler and an attachment member usable to suspend the void filler in midair adjacent a palletized load of goods.
While the systems, devices, and methods described herein may be embodied in various forms, the drawings show and the specification describes certain exemplary and non-limiting embodiments. Not all of the components shown in the drawings and described in the specification may be required, and certain implementations may include additional, different, or fewer components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components; the shapes, sizes, and materials of the components; and the manners of connections of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. Unless otherwise indicated, any directions referred to in the specification reflect the orientations of the components shown in the corresponding drawings and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, terms that refer to mounting methods, such as coupled, mounted, connected, etc., are not intended to be limited to direct mounting methods but should be interpreted broadly to include indirect and operably coupled, mounted, connected and like mounting methods. This specification is intended to be taken as a whole and interpreted in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide dunnage including a void filler and an attachment member usable to suspend the void filler in midair adjacent a palletized load of goods.
The void filler 1000 includes a first panel 100, a second panel 200, and a core 300.
As best shown in
As best shown in
As best shown in
The attachment member 400 includes a first face 410, a second face 420 opposite the first face 410, a top edge 430, a bottom edge opposite the top edge 430 that in this embodiment is identified by a fold line F (which in certain embodiments corresponds to a score in the second panel of the void filler), a first side edge 450, and a second side edge 460 opposite the first side edge 450. In this example embodiment, the attachment member 400 is rectangular and formed from corrugated fiberboard, though the attachment member may take any suitable shape and be formed from any suitable material in other embodiments. The fold line may be creased in certain embodiments to facilitate folding the attachment member 400 as described below.
The attachment member 400 is attached to the void filler 1000. More particularly, in this embodiment (as best shown in
In one example embodiment, the first and second panels of the core are 40 inches tall and 48 inches wide, and the attachment member (which is centered on the second panel in the side-to-side direction) is 8 inches tall and 16 inches wide, thought these components may be of any suitable size. The core is 3 inches thick in this embodiment, but may be any suitable thickness in other embodiments (such as 1-6 inches thick).
Once the attachment member 400 is inserted between the stretch film S and the load of goods L, the tension applied by the stretch film S is large enough to retain the attachment member 400and therefore the void filler 1000 attached thereto (and here integrally formed therewith)securely in place relative to the load of goods L. In this example embodiment, the attachment member 400 suspends the bottom edges 140 and 240 of the first and second panels 100 and 200 of the void filler 1000 above the bottom of the pallet P (and therefore above whatever support surface supports the pallet P). The materials that form the second panel 200 and the attachment member 400 are strong enough to support the void filler 1000 without it detaching from the attachment member 400. Put differently, in this example embodiment, the attachment member 400 is configured to suspend the void filler 1000 in midair adjacent the load of goods L.
The suspendable dunnage of the present disclosure and its method of installation improves upon known void fillers and methods of installing those known void fillers. To attach a known void filler to a wrapped load of goods, an installer must tape (or otherwise adhere) the known void filler to the stretch film wrapped around the load of goods. This is time-consuming and requires the purchase and use of extra material (e.g., tape). The suspendable dunnage of the present disclosure solves these problems via the inclusion of the attachment member, which enables the installer to quickly and easily position the void filler as desired adjacent a wrapped load of goods such that the void filler remains in place wherever that load of goods is transported. This process is quicker and easier than taping and has the added benefit of not requiring the purchase of additional materials (e.g., tape).
In other embodiments, clips (not shown) are used to secure the void filler to the stretch film to help retain the void filler suspended in midair adjacent the load of goods. In these embodiments, the installer installs the clips such that one leg abuts the inner surface of the stretch film and the other legs abuts the inner surface of the second panel of the void filler. The legs are biased toward one another (such as via a spring or the orientation of the legs) such that the clip pinches the stretch film and the second panel and retains the second panel in place. In some embodiments the void filler does not include an attachment member, and the clips are used to suspend the void filler in place adjacent the load.
In certain embodiments, part of the second panel is not attached to the core, and that unattached part of the second panel forms the attachment member.
