Wedge for immobilizing objects in a box having a square or rectangular cross-section

Abstract

A wedge used to wedge objects in a box the wedge being a sheet made of a rigid, resistant and foldable material, including a central portion having a polygonal shape and size substantially equivalent to those of the bottom of the box, the sheet including at least one foldable flap, attached to the central portion via folding lines or hinges, wherein the central portion is provided with multiple grooves being segments of a curve or of a straight line, along which the material is crushed and the thickness thereof is reduced, the grooves constituting folding lines inside the central portion, which facilitate the deformation of the wedge, the grooves leading to the periphery or the proximity thereof of the central portion of the wedging sheet and they are not parallel to one another or to the sides of the central portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wedge element to immobilize objects in a box of cardboard, corrugated or similar solid fiber material, with a square or rectangular cross-section, particularly for shipping and transportation of said objects, such boxes featuring a flat bottom of polygonal shape (generally rectangular or square) and four faces or side walls.

The technical domain of the invention is that of machinery for the manufacture, processing or closing of packaging materials and that of the manufacture and application of wedge materials for such packaging.

The present invention concerns more particularly a wedge element intended for being placed inside boxes used for the preparation and shipping of orders for single or multiple articles and more generally for boxes the content of which occupies a variable volume from one box to the next, and, most of the time, significantly less than the total volume of the box, in which case said wedging material serves to immobilize the items inside the useful volume of the box.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.

It is known that boxes of this type are created by machines from one or several flanks of pliable rigid sheeted material and that their upper part features various flaps and turned-down pieces assembled by gluing or adhesive tape or a lid fitted over said upper part. A characteristic of these boxes is that they offer a constant volume once they have been produced and closed.

Several means are applied by the users or are integrated into the box forming or closing machines to fasten by wedges the objects which vary by number and unit volume from one box to another.

One is familiar, for example with wedging means constituted by heat-shrinking plastic film where one or several layers are secured to the bottom or the side walls of the box during its shaping. After the box has been filled, these films are lowered onto the pile of objects and then retracted by passing through a heating tunnel.

Such a process presents several disadvantages. As a matter of fact:

• • this heat-shrink plastic film must necessarily be separated from the carton packaging prior to possible collection and recycling of the corresponding waste; this collection is a complex and very costly operation;
  • this wedging material is itself expensive;
  • its application is difficult and requires either complex automated machines or a great number of man-hours; the cost of these operations is therefore high.

Also known is the use of polystyrene particles or other light materials which are spread inside the box after insertion of the objects, in order to fill unused space.

Another fastening method consists of using inflatable plastic pockets which are placed inside the boxes to fill any unused space.

One is also familiar with the use of chips, particles, pelletized balls, . . . of paper, carton or wood which are put, in various forms, inside the boxes to fill unoccupied space between the objects.

Such production methods also present several disadvantages. As a matter of fact:

• • the distribution dosage of these wedging materials so they fill exactly the unused space is an operation that is difficult to automate which requires either complex automated machines or a great number of man-hours; the cost of these operations is therefore high;
  • collection of these materials after opening the packaging requires a number of different elements and is thus an operation not easily taken care of by the end user.

And one is also familiar with wedging elements presenting themselves in the form of a sheet of cardboard, corrugated or equivalent solid fiber featuring a central part which is put into contact with the upper surface of the pile of objects placed inside the box and flexible flaps on at least two sides of the central part of the sheet which are turned down and fastened, for instance by gluing, against the inside face of the side walls of said box.

Such wedging elements are, for example, described in the document EP-1 197 436. Documents FR-2 828 169, DE-2 02 04 975, EP-1 452 453, EP-0 251 945, U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,871, FR-1 575 635, FR-919 469, U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,731, U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,046, and FR-2 770 447 illustrate other implementations of wedging elements of this type or the technological background.

The implementation of the wedging element described in document EP-1 197 436 presents numerous advantages:

• • This wedging element is not meant to fill up all the unused space inside the box; the quantity of material used is always the same and remains moderate, even when the previously packaged objects occupy only a very small portion of the volume of the box;
  • This sheet can be made of a material similar to that used for producing the box itself, thereby greatly simplifying the recycling operations of the waste resulting from the elements constituting such a packaging.
  • Placement and fastening of this sheet inside the box are mechanical operations which can be automated.

But the implementation of such a wedging element also presents some inconveniences.

As a matter of fact:

• • the flat central part of the wedging sheet must be sufficiently sturdy and rigid to resist the constraints involved in the transportation of the box and maintain in a stable manner the products contained in it; under these conditions, it is often necessary to exert considerable efforts to deform it so that the largest portion of its surface will be in contact with the upper surface of the pile of objects; these efforts are inevitably transmitted to some of these objects and may damage them, if some of them are fragile;
  • when the lid of the box is removed, this wedging sheet constitutes an obstacle which prevents direct access to the packaged goods; for that this sheet needs to be torn away, but this operation is made difficult due to the absence of a grip area; to make this operation easier, it is known that the manufacturers usually put a plastic ribbon, called a pull strap, on the lower surface of box lids so as to facilitate opening of the lid by tearing the lid along the line created by this ribbon; the problem is that this pull strap can easily be put by the manufacturers only on the face of the lid on which grooves (also called channels) are made which mark the location of the folds of the flaps; on a lid, this face corresponds properly to the lower face; in the case of a wedging sheet as described, the face on which the grooves are made corresponds to the upper face of the wedge; it is thus not possible to easily place a pull strap on the bottom face of the wedge;
  • the material used for producing such a wedging sheet is most often corrugated board; this material, constituted in its so-called “single flute” version by 3 layers of paper (two flat sheets enclosing a corrugated sheet), poses a particular problem due to its anisotropic character: in effect, the folding of the various flaps along the grooves positioned perpendicularly to the flutes of the material does not pose a particular problem, whereas the folding of the flaps along the grooves positioned parallel to the flutes of the material has a tendency to deviate from the theoretical folding line created by the groove for the benefit of a most often polygon folding line, corresponding to the smallest effort needed to fold the flap taking into account the positions of the waves of the flute in the folding zone; the result of this deviation is an incorrect wedge geometry with dimensions between the turned-down flaps which may vary by significant proportions (in the order of the thickness of the wedging sheet, which is to say several millimeters);
  • the folding zone which connects the flaps to the central portion of the sheet is a zone of fragility; if special precautionary measures are not taken during the production of this wedge sheet, there exists a major risk of tearing of the material along this fold.

The problem at hand is therefore to provide a wedge in the form of a cardboard sheet, corrugated board or equivalent solid fiber material featuring a central portion which is put into contact with the upper surface of the pile of objects placed inside the box and flexible flaps, on at least two sides of the sheet, which are meant to be turned down and fastened, for example by gluing, to the internal face of the sidewalls of the box, this sheet:

• • must have a central portion that is sufficiently sturdy and rigid to resist the constraints during the transportation of the box and properly keep the product in these conditions, but must also be sufficiently pliable so that the largest portion of its surface can be put into contact with the upper surface of the pile of objects without exerting any major stress on these objects;
  • must allow a precise folding of the flaps along the theoretical folding line at their articulation with the central portion of the sheet, without making this articulation overly fragile.

The device described in document FR-2 828 169 does not allow to efficiently resolve the problem previously described. This device is constituted by a plate made of a semi-rigid material, such as cardboard or corrugated board, comprising a polygonal central portion with at least two parallel sides that are articulated by folding lines, strips or flaps the sides of which that are opposite the side walls of the container or box containing the items to be shipped are provided with an adhesive enabling them to become integral with said walls. It is pointed out, incidentally, that the central portion features folding lines parallel to two of its parallel sides which make it possible to deform said plate to apply it to portions of different heights of mixed lots of items to maintain in position in the boxes. According to the implementation illustrated in FIG. 3 of document FR-2 828 169, the polygonal central portion of the wedge plate features only two folding lines or grooves parallel to its short sides. Said central portion features, on the other hand, two weakening lines close together parallel to its large sides, however, these are not folding lines but perforating lines associated with a pull strap provided with a tab or “snake head” for traction.

Such a layout of the wedge sheet does not resolve the problem of efficient wedging of unusually shaped objects.

As a matter of fact,

• • either the wedge sheet is made of material that is too rigid and, in this case:
  • it cannot mold very closely the uneven upper surface of the pile of objects;
  • it can exert significant pressure on said upper surface so that certain fragile objects may get crushed or damaged by this pressure.
  • or the wedge sheet is made of too soft material and risks being split open if the score lines yield under the pressure, leading to the tearing of said wedge sheet as it is being pushed into the box.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The solution to the problem at hand consists of creating a wedge allowing to block objects, in particular unusually shaped objects, in a box featuring a bottom and at least four faces or side walls connected to said bottom by folding lines or articulations, this wedge being constituted by a sheet of cardboard, corrugated board or other equivalent rigid and flexible material, featuring a central portion of polygonal shape, for example square or rectangular, of dimensions essentially equivalent to those of the bottom of the box, said central portion being attached, on at least two of its parallel sides to at least one and preferably several flexible flaps, by means of folding lines or articulations, said wedge being especially noteworthy in that its central portion features several grooves (also called channels and constituted by curved or straight segments along which the material is crushed and its thickness reduced), the two ends of which terminate at the periphery of said central portion and, preferably, at the ends of the articulations between the various flaps and said central portion or outside of said articulations, these grooves not being parallel to each other, nor to the long sides of the central portion of the wedge, nor to the short sides of said central portion.

According to an advantageous arrangement, the ends of the grooves terminate on two adjacent sides of the central portion of the wedge sheet.

Advantageously, when the material used is corrugated board or any other material with a corrugated sheet, the articulations which are parallel to the flute, between the various flaps and the central portion, are not contiguous but are preceded and succeeded by straight or curved segments belonging to the periphery of the central portion of said wedge and essentially tangent to said articulations.

Advantageously, when the material used is corrugated board or any other material with a corrugated sheet, the articulations which are not parallel to the flute (or, if the material is homogenous, all articulations), between the various flaps and the central portion, are not contiguous but are preceded and followed by straight or curved segments the ends of which are essentially tangent to the periphery of said flaps at the points of intersection with said articulations.

From these arrangements, it results that the wedge can be made of a sturdy rigid and resistant material but that it can nevertheless be deformed, without exerting a very great effort, by folding the material around grooves which have been made on the central portion of said wedge. In an advantageous implementation, said central portion features also a score for starting a tear (constituted by a succession of curved or straight segments along which the material is perforated over all or part of its thickness) which delimits a closed contour with small surface.

Advantageously, said central portion features also other perforations spread out over the surface of said central portion beginning at the small closed contour of the score for starting a tear.

These other perforations delimit tear tabs for obtaining, by simple traction, a large opening of the central portion of the wedge, thus giving access to the articles located inside the box.

Advantageously, when the material used is corrugated board or any other material with a corrugated sheet, the articulations which are parallel to the flute, between the different flaps and the central portion, are characterized by the superposition of a groove, and, on at least a portion of the articulation, of a perforation, without these perforations reaching the end of said articulations.

It ensues also that it is possible to proceed to the opening of the wedge by removing material located inside of the closed contour with a small surface; this removal can be made by pushing said material in or by tearing it out.

It is then possible to proceed to the removal of a large part of the central portion of said wedge by tearing up the material along the score lines which are spread out over the surface of said central portion and that it is thus possible to easily access the objects which had previously been placed inside the box.

It follows, on the other hand, that the flaps which are connected to the possibly present flute, can be easily and precisely turned down along the perforations which have been made at said articulations, in the alignment of the periphery of said central portion, but that these articulations are not overly made brittle to the extent that the end of said perforations is distanced from the end of said articulations.

And it also follows that the articulations which are not perpendicular to the flute (or, if the material is homogenous, all the articulations) between the flaps and said central portion are not made brittle to the extent where the end of said articulations is not tangential to the periphery of the material.

Thus, thanks to the invention, one has at one's disposal a wedge for perfectly immobilizing, in a stable manner, the objects inside the box, without exerting a high constraint on said objects and while producing an ecological packaging which can be easily recycled after use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages obtained by this invention will be better understood through the following description which refers to the attached drawings illustrating, without being in any way limiting, a particular implementation of a wedge according to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an empty box usable for wedging objects with a wedge according to the invention, shown without its lid.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wedging element according to the invention, before use.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wedge according to the invention, the flaps of which have been turned down before its insertion in the box to wedge objects.

FIG. 4 is a plan view, with partial removal, of a wedge according to the invention.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are detail and plan views of four different zones of a wedge according to the invention.

Reference to said drawings is made to describe an advantageous, although by no means limiting, example of production of a fastening wedge of the objects placed in a box, according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a type of box 1 which is composed of a bottom 1e and of four side walls 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, this type of box being in current use for shipping parcels containing various articles of different shapes which, when placed in the box, may present a very uneven upper surface.

According to the example shown, the bottom 1e has a rectangular shape so that the box provided with this bottom has the shape of a parallelepiped rectangle. It is shown that, according to this example, the side walls 1a and 1c are parallel to the width of the box 1 and that the side walls 1b and 1d are parallel to the length of the box 1.

It is emphasized that the bottom and the side walls could have a different shape, for example a square shape or a generally square or rectangular shape with cut angles.

This box 1 may be produced of solid fiber, corrugated board or any other equivalent sheeted material presenting the required qualities of rigidity and folding possibilities.

FIG. 2 shows a wedge produced according to the invention. Said wedge 2 features a central portion 2k of shape and dimensions essentially equivalent to those of the bottom 1e of the box 1, so it can slide without any notable play between the side walls of said box when it is pushed into the latter. Said wedge 2 also features flexible flaps 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, and 2j.

Said wedge 2 may be constituted by a rigid sheet made of rigid and deformable board, corrugated board or of any other equivalent sheeted material identical or not to that of which the boxes are made that are likely to receive such a wedging element.

Shown are the articulations of the flaps constituted by grooves or channels 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, and 3j which connect said flaps to said central portion. Also shows are grooves 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h, 4i, and 4j that said flaps are equipped with, parallel to said articulations. It is known that said grooves 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h, 4i, and 4j constitute folding lines which allow reducing the surface of said flaps that is applied against the inside face of said four side walls for the benefit of the surface put into contact with said pile of objects when it is not plane and has therefore a surface larger than that of said central portion 2k.

FIG. 3 shows said wedge 2 made according to the invention, constituted by the central portion 2k and the flexible flaps 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, and 2j. On this figure, said flaps have been turned upward around said articulations 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, and 3j.

Shown are glue lines 5c, 5d, 5e, 5f, and 5g, deposited respectively of the outside face of said flaps 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, and 2g, intended to be applied against the side walls of the box, when the wedge element has been pushed into the latter.

It is clear that glue lines or points (not shown) are also deposited on said flaps 2a, 2b, 2h, 2i, and 2j.

It is known that after insertion of said wedge 2 in the box 1, [after] putting said wedge in contact with said pile of objects positioned in said box, and deformation of said wedge 2 to optimally adapt to the shape of the upper face of said pile of objects, said flaps find themselves turned down and flattened against the inside face of the side walls 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d of said box 1.

It is also known that there are means other than gluing to firmly attach said flaps to said side walls, such as stapling, fitting material parts into each other or any other means to obtain an equivalent result.

FIG. 4 also shows said wedge 2 produced according to the invention, and shown in the flat, before folding and raising the peripheral flaps.

One sees the central portion 2k and the flexible flaps 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2li, 2i, and 2j connected to said central portion 2k by means of the articulations 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, and 3j.

According to a first characteristic arrangement of the invention, the central portion 2k of the sheet features a plurality of grooves 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d constituted by curved and straight segments along which the material the sheet is made of, is crushed and its thickness reduced. The two end or each groove 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d end at the periphery or in proximity of the periphery of said central portion 2k of said sheet; on the other hand, the two ends of this groove or of each groove end, preferably, at the end of the articulations 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, and 3j between said flexible flaps and said central portion 2k, or outside of said articulations.

According to the invention, the grooves 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d are not parallel to each other, nor to the sides of the central portion 2k of the sheet 2 (in the case of a central portion of square shape), nor with the long sides of the central portion 2k of the plate 2, nor with the short sides of said central portion (in the case of a central portion of rectangular shape).

According to an advantageous arrangement, the two ends of each groove 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d end on two adjacent sides, respectively 3j-3i-3h 3g-3f; 3g-3f 3e-3d-3c; 3e-3d-3c 3b-3a; 3b-3a 3j-3i-3h, of the central portion 2k of the wedge 2.

The two ends of each groove 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d end at the ends of the articulations 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3i, 3j between the flexible flaps and the central portion, or outside of said articulations.

Said groove 6a has one end essentially merged with one of the ends of said articulations 3d and 3e of said flaps 2d and 2e and its other end terminates between the ends of said articulations 3f and 3g of said flaps 2f and 2g and away from the ends of two successive articulations. Likewise, said groove 6b has one end which terminates between the ends of said articulations 3f and 3g of said flaps 2f and 2g and away from the ends of said successive articulations and its other end is essentially merged with one of the ends of said articulations 3h and 3i of said flaps 2h and 2i, said groove 6c has one end essentially merged with of the ends of said articulations 3i and 3j of said flaps 2i and 2j and away from the ends of said successive articulations and its other end terminates between the ends of said articulations 3a and 3b of said flaps 2a and 2b, and said groove 6d has one end which terminates between the ends of said articulations 3a and 3b of said flaps 2a and 2b and away from the ends of said successive articulations and its other end essentially merged with one of the ends of said articulations 3c and 3d of said flaps 2c and 2d.

It is understood that the grooves 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d constitute folding lines for said central portion 2k, which facilitate the deformation of said wedge 2 which can assume a large variety of shapes in order to conform optimally to the shape of the upper surface of said pile of objects, in particular when said wedge is made of a sturdy and rigid material.

As indicated previously, the central portion 2k of the sheet could feature channels of diverse shapes adapted to specific articles to be expedited and shipped in the boxes.

One also sees, on FIG. 4, the score 7, in the form of a non-circular ring. This score 7 is constituted by a succession of straight or curved segments along which the material is scored over all or part of its thickness. Said score 7 delimits a closed contour of small surface. One understands that the portion of material included in this closed contour is attached to said central portion 2k but can easily be detached from said central portion 2k by pushing said material in or by tearing it out.

One also sees on FIG. 4 the score groups 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d. One understands that, when the portion of material included in the closed contour delimited by said score 7 has been detached, it is possible to open said central portion 2k, by exerting traction beginning at the opening caused by tearing away the portion of material delimited by the score 7, so as to detach and lift the material tabs 14a,14b, comprised between the pairs of score 8a, 8b and 8c, 8d, and thereby to open a large part of the central portion 2k, one now has easy access to the articles previously placed in the box.

One also sees, on FIG. 4, the zones A, B, C, and D. These zones of said wedge 2 are shown in greater detail on FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8, respectively.

Finally FIG. 4 shows zone E. In the particular presentation mode shown by FIG. 4, the material used for the creation of said wedge 2 consists of corrugated board or another material integrating an undulated sheet. Said zone E shows a “peel-away” view of said wedge 2 which reveals the flute of said material.

One sees that in the particular presentation mode of FIG. 4, the articulations 3a, 3b, 3f, and 3g are parallel to the flutes 15 of the corrugated board sheet, whereas the articulations 3c, 3d, 3e, 3h, 3i, and 3j are perpendicular to said flutes 15.

FIG. 5 shows in detail zone A of said wedge 2 produced according to the invention. This figure shows the central portion 2k and the flexible flap 2f. FIG. 5 also shows the articulation 3f which connects said flap 2f to said central portion 2k.

It is known that said articulation 3f is parallel to the flute of the material used for the creation of said wedge 2 when it is made of corrugated board, and FIG. 5 also shows that said articulation 3f is constituted by the superposition of a groove 9f and a score 10f, itself constituted by a succession of straight segments along which the material has been scored over all or part of its thickness.

One understands that the articulations 3a, 3b, and 3g, parallel to the flute of the material used for the creation of said wedge 2, are themselves constituted by the superposition of a groove and a score.

FIG. 6 shows in detail zone B of said wedge 2 created according to the invention. FIG. 6 shows the central portion 2k and the flexible flap 2j. FIG. 6 also shows the articulation 3j which connects said flap 2j to said central portion 2k. FIG. 6 also shows the flexible flap 2a and the articulation 3a which connects said flap 2a to said central portion 2k.

FIG. 6 also shows point 11ja which corresponds to one of the angles of the rectangle formed by said central portion 2k in the particular representation mode shown. One sees that said point 11ja is located at the intersection of the straight lines aligned on said articulations 3j and 3a. The same is true with respect to the angles of the rectangle located respectively at the intersection of the straight lines aligned on said articulations 3b and 3c, 3e and 3f, and 3g and 3h.

FIG. 6 also shows the point 3ja which corresponds to one of the two ends of articulation 3j. Then again, one knows that said articulation 3j is perpendicular to the flute of the material used for the creation of said wedge 2.

FIG. 6 also shows the curved segment 13ja which belongs to the periphery of said central portion 2k. The characteristic of said segment 13ja is that it is tangential to the periphery of said flexible flap 2j at point 3ja. One realizes that thanks to this characteristic said articulation 3j is prevented from becoming brittle by the creation of a starting point of a fracture at point 3ja. One understands that other curved segments similar to segment 13ja are likewise tangents to the periphery of said flexible flaps 2c, 2e, and 2h.

FIG. 6 also shows that said articulation 3a is constituted by the superposition of a groove 9a and a score 10a.

FIG. 6 also shows the point 3aj which corresponds to one of the two ends of the articulation 3a.

It should also be remembered that according to one implementation said articulation 3a is parallel to the flute of the material used for the production of said wedge 2.

FIG. 6 also shows the straight segment 12aj which belongs to the periphery of said central portion 2k. A characteristic of said segment 12aj is that it is tangential to said articulation 3a at the point 3aj. It is clear that this characteristic facilitates the folding of said flap 2a along said groove 9a and said score 10a beginning at point 3aj.

It is clear that other straight segments similar to segment 12aj are, likewise, tangential to said articulations 3b, 3f, and 3g.

FIG. 7 shows in detail the zone C of said wedge 2 produced according to another implementation of the invention. This figure shows the central portion 2k and the flexible flap 2a. FIG. 7 also shows the articulation 3a constituted by the superposition of the groove 9a and the score 10a which connects said flap 2a to said central portion 2k. FIG. 7 also shows the flexible flap 2b and the articulation 3b constituted by the superposition of the groove 9b and the score 10b which connects said flap 2b to said central portion 2k.

It should also be remembered that said articulations 3a and 3b are parallel to the flute of the material used for the production of said wedge 2.

FIG. 7 also shows the grooves 6c and 6d made on said central portion 2k and it can be seen that the ends of said grooves 6c and 6d are located in the same zone as the end 3ab of the articulation 3a and as the end 3ba of the articulation 3b, but outside of said articulations.

FIG. 7 also shows the straight segment 12ab which belongs to the periphery of said central portion 2k. The characteristic of said segment 12ab is that it is tangential to said articulation 3a, at point 3ab, and to be also tangential to said articulation 3b, at point 3ba. It is clear that this characteristic facilitates the folding of said flap 2a along said groove 9a and said score 10a, beginning at point 3ab as well as folding of said flap 2b along said groove 9b and said score 10b, beginning at point 3ba.

It is clear that another straight segment similar to segment 12ab is, likewise, tangential to articulations 3f and 3g.

FIG. 8 shows, in detail, the zone D of said wedge 2 produced according to another example of implementation of the invention. This figure shows the central portion 2k and the flexible flap 2h. FIG. 8 also shows the articulation 3h which connects said flap 2h to said central portion 2k. FIG. 8 also shows the flexible flap 2i and the articulation 3i which connects said flap 2i to said central portion 2k.

It should also be remembered that said articulations 3h and 3i are perpendicular to the flute of the material used for the production of said wedge 2.

FIG. 8 also shows the groove 6b made on said central portion 2k and it shows that the end of said groove 6b is situated in the same zone as the end 3hi of the articulation 3h and as the end 3ih of the articulation 3i, but outside of said articulations.

FIG. 8 also shows the curved segment 13hi which belongs to the periphery of said central portion 2k. It is characteristic of said segment 13hi to be tangential to the periphery of said flexible flap 2h at point 3ih. One realizes that thanks to this characteristic said articulations 3h and 3i are prevented from becoming brittle by the creation of a starting point of a fracture at points 3hi and 3ih.

It is clear that other curved segments similar to segment 13hi are, likewise, tangential to the periphery of said flexible flaps 2i and 2j, 2c and 2d, and 2d and 2e.

Claims

1. A wedge article for immobilizing one or more objects that are placed in a box having a bottom and at least four side walls, the one or more objects forming an upper surface opposite the bottom of the box, the wedge article comprising: a sheet having a central portion of a polygonal shape that is generally square or rectangular, said central portion having dimensions corresponding to the bottom of the box, said sheet having one or more flaps on each of at least two edges of said central portion, the one or more flaps attached by an articulation to said central portion so as to allow movement of the one or more flaps to conform against the sidewalls of the box so as to fasten the wedge article on the sidewalls of the box after the wedge article has been pushed down into the box, said central portion having a plurality of grooves of curved or straight segments of folding lines within said central portion to facilitate a deformation of the wedge article to conform to a shape of the upper surface, said plurality of grooves terminating at a periphery of said central portion, said plurality of grooves not parallel with the edges of said central portion and not all parallel with each other, wherein said central portion defines front and rear opposing edges parallel to each other and defines left and right opposing edges perpendicular to the front and rear opposing edges, the front edge being adjacent to and between the left and right opposing edges, the rear edge being between and adjacent the left and right opposing edges, at least two edges of said central portion being adjacent edges in which each of the at least two of the edges have the one or more flaps attached to said central portion by articulations, each groove of the plurality of grooves extending between the at least two edges that are adjacent to the edges having the one or more flaps, wherein each of the articulations has a given length and wherein each groove of said plurality of grooves does not terminate within the given length of the articulation.

2. The wedge article of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of grooves has a first termination point and a second termination point at opposite ends of the groove, the first termination point being at an end of the articulations, the second termination point being at one of the front and rear opposing edges and the left and right opposing edges of said central portion outside the articulation.

3. The wedge article of claim 1, said sheet further comprising parallel flutes, at least some of the articulations being parallel to said flutes, the articulations that are parallel to said flutes comprise a plurality of scores.

4. The wedge article of claim 1, said sheet comprising parallel flutes, at least some of the flutes being parallel to said flutes, said articulations that are parallel to said flutes being preceded and succeeded by a straight or curved segments at the periphery of said central portion and adjacent a respective articulation whereby a folding of the one or more flaps is facilitated along the respective articulation.

5. A wedge article for immobilizing one or more objects that are placed in a box having a bottom and at least four side walls, the one or more objects forming an upper surface opposite the bottom of the box, the wedge article comprising: a sheet having a central portion of a polygonal shape that is generally square or rectangular, said central portion having dimensions corresponding to the bottom of the box, said sheet having one or more flaps on each of at least two edges of said central portion, the one or more flaps attached by an articulation to said central portion so as to allow movement of the one or more flaps to conform against the sidewalls of the box so as to fasten the wedge article on the sidewalls of the box after the wedge article has been pushed down into the box, said central portion having a plurality of grooves of curved or straight segments of folding lines within said central portion to facilitate a deformation of the wedge article to conform to a shape of the upper surface, said plurality of grooves terminating at a periphery of said central portion, said plurality of grooves not parallel with the edges of said central portion and not all parallel with each other, said sheet comprising parallel flutes, at least some of the articulations are not parallel to said flutes, the articulations that are not parallel to said flutes are preceded and followed by curved segment at the periphery of said central portion and adjacent a respective articulation.

6. The wedge article of claim 1, wherein said central portion has scores defining one or more tear tabs that are adapted to provide access through said central portion.

7. The wedge article of claim 6, said score defining a detachable portion adjacent the one or more tear tabs that is configured to provide access to initiate tearing of the one or more tear tabs.

8. A wedge article for immobilizing one or more objects that are placed in a box having a bottom and at least four side walls, the one or more objects forming an upper surface opposite the bottom of the box, the wedge article comprising: a sheet having a central portion of a polygonal shape that is generally square or rectangular, said central portion having dimensions corresponding to the bottom of the box, said sheet having one or more flaps on each of at least two edges of said central portion, the one or more flaps attached by an articulation to said central portion so as to allow movement of the one or more flaps to conform against the sidewalls of the box so as to fasten the wedge article on the sidewalls of the box after the wedge article has been pushed down into the box, said central portion having a plurality of grooves of curved or straight segments of folding lines within said central portion to facilitate a deformation of the wedge article to conform to a shape of the upper surface, said plurality of grooves terminating at a periphery of said central portion, said plurality of grooves not parallel with the edges of said central portion and not all parallel with each other, said sheet comprising a homogenous non-fluted material, the articulation being preceded and followed by curved segments at the periphery of said central portion and adjacent a respective articulation.