Package Cushioning Structure

The present invention relates to a package cushioning structure to be used in containers or the like to protect the edges and corners of articles against shock and damage. More particularly, the present invention concerns a package cushioning structure fabricated by superposing a plurality of spacer fins of an outer board which itself is bent to a given angle into two face portions with a plurality of matching spacer fins of an inner board which itself consists of two face portions substantially parallel to those of the outer board, with the latter fins being aslant at a given angle to the outer board, and by gluing or otherwise joining the superposed fins together back to back to provide an integral structure.

Conventional package cushioning structures are usually made of plastic foams, such as styrol foam, or of thick laminated corrugated boards. The cushioning structures of plastic foams have problems of high material and molding cost and difficulty in disposal of used dunnages. The laminated-corrugated-board dunnages have a common drawback of limited load carrying capacity.

The present invention eliminates the foregoing disadvantages by offering improvements over the prior art structures. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a package cushioning structure which is made at low material and fabrication cost, has great load carrying and cushioning capacities, and is easily disposed of after use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a package cushioning structure which can be easily and quickly made from outer and inner boards, either or both of the boards consisting of paperboard, cardboard, pasteboard, or corrugated board.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a package cushioning structure in which the angle at which two face portions of the outer board and/or the inner board meet may be right, acute, or obtuse, the choice depending upon the angle of the edges and/or corners of the article or object to be dunnaged.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a package cushioning structure in which the inner and outer boards differ in physical strength so that either board is imparted with greater cushioning quality than the other.

A further object of the invention is to provide a package cushioning structure in which the spacer fins of the inner or outer board are of H, V, U or other suitably chosen shape in cross section and are symmetrically adhered back to back to the corresponding fins of the other board.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of a package cushioning structure according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a partly sectional view taken along the line III--III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view explanatory of the manner in which spacer fins of the package cushioning structure are formed;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the second embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a side view;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along the line IX--IX of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are views explanatory of the manner in which outer inner boards, respectively, of the second embodiment are assembled; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an object to be protected by the package cushioning structure of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 6 to 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 5, there is shown an embodiment of the invention as based on an outer board 1 of cardboard, corrugated board or the like. As shown best in FIG. 4, the outer board consists of a horizontal face portion 4 and a vertical face portion 5 substantially at right angles to each other. These portions 4, 5 are formed with spacer fins 2, 3, respectively. Numeral 6 indicates an inner board, which may or may not be made of the same material as the outer board 1 according to the necessity. The inner board consists of face portions 7, 8 corresponding to, and arranged in parallel to, the horizontal and vertical face portions 4, 5 of the outer board. The portions 7, 8 have spacer fins 9, 10 similar in shape to the fins 2, 3, respectively. The method of forming these fins 2, 3, 9, 10 will now be explained with particular reference to FIG. 5 which shows a fragment of the inner board 6 by way of example. A fragmentary area 7A of the face portion 7 is cut open along two U lines a-b-e-f and c-b-e-d indicated by full lines X, overlapping bottom to bottom, or at the center line A--A, and the flaps thus obtained are folded obliquely downward from end lines a-f and c-d indicated by broken lines Y to provide the fins 9, 10. The fins are then joined to the corresponding spacer fins 2, 3 of the outer board by means of adhesive layers 11, 12. In order to keep the outer and inner boards 1, 6 in a uniformly spaced relation throughout, their fins are slanted at a given angle to the outer board. If both boards are to be made of corrugated board, it is desirable by reason of strength that the cross direction of corrugated board are parallel to the directions D in FIG. 2.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, numerals 1 through 11 designate parts like or corresponding to those of the embodiment already described. Here, corner pads 20 are held inwardly of the inner board 6, and cushioning strips 22 are attached to, or supported by, the inner side of the same board. End spacers 24 are provided on both ends of the outer board 1. Instead of forming the end spacers in one piece, square paperboard tubes, articles formed by corrugated board or laminated corrugation board of a suitable width may be glued to the both ends.

The second embodiment just described above is fabricated in the following way. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, an outer board 1 and an inner board 6, both of corrugated board, are prepared. The full lines indicate the lines X along which the boards have been cut off, and the broken lines indicate the lines Y along which the boards are to be folded down. With end spacers 24 folded back in between, the outer and inner boards 1, 6 are held apart in parallel, making certain that neither end spacer is at a point coinciding with any cut-off line X. Next, the spacer fins 2, 3 of the outer board 1 are folded aslant toward the inner board 6, and the fins 9, 10 of the inner board toward the outer board. The fins 2, 3 and 9, 10 are superposed back to back and glued together at 11, 12. Then the cushioning strips 22 are folded outwardly and the outer board 1 is bent to an L shape in cross section so that the strips are glued to the outer board or are supported by the folding parts indicated by broken lines. The corner pads 20A and then 20B are bent inwardly and are glued or otherwise united together. It is possible, as an alternative, to slit the pads 20A and provide the matching pads 20B with tongues adapted to fit into the slits. Lastly, the end spacers 24 are folded back to complete the assembling of the package cushioning structure.

FIG. 12 shows a typical article or object P to be dunnaged in accordance with the present invention. Numeral 15 indicates the edges and 16 indicates the corners of the object to be protected by the package cushioning structure of the invention. The corners 16 are suitably protected by means of dunnage units, for example, obtained by cutting the second embodiment of the invention across its length into two units.

By way of illustration the two embodiments of the invention have been described as having one row of spacer fins on each portion, horizontal or vertical, of the outer board. Actually each portion may have two or more rows of fins instead.

Also it is possible to form the spacer fins only on either outer or inner board and glue or weld the fins to the other board. The dunnage thus obtained will have excellent cushioning effect, particularly for lighweight articles or objects.

FIG. 13 shows, in a perspective view, the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 11. Thus, FIG. 13 more explicitly shows the use of cushioning strips 22, end spacers 24 and corner pads 20A and 20B.

While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.