U.S. patent application number 11/384372 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-27 for packing box equipped with airbag for shock-absorbing and manufacturing method thereof.
Invention is credited to Jihee Lee.
Application Number | 20070221530 11/384372 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38532208 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070221530 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Jihee |
September 27, 2007 |
Packing box equipped with airbag for shock-absorbing and
manufacturing method thereof
Abstract
Disclosed are a packing box equipped with an airbag for
shock-absorbing and a manufacturing method thereof, in which the
airbag consisting of a plurality of air cells is integrally formed
with an inner surf ace of the packing box by means of heat and
pressure, instead of installing a separate shock-absorbing member
in the packing box, and then air is injected into the airbag,
wherein the air cells of the airbag have their own one-way valves,
respectively, so the shock-absorbing function of the airbag is
continuously maintained even if some air cells are broken, and
additionally support square bars are integrally formed with a lower
surface of the packing box, thereby further absorbing impact
applied to the packing box.
Inventors: |
Lee; Jihee; (Fullerton,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
38532208 |
Appl. No.: |
11/384372 |
Filed: |
March 21, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/522 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/052
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/522 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/02 20060101
B65D081/02 |
Claims
1. A shock-absorbing packing box comprising: a packing box member;
an airbag bonded to an inner surface of the packing box member by
means of hot-pressure; and support square bars integrally formed
with a lower surface of the packing box member, wherein the airbag
includes air cells provided with one-way valves, respectively, for
controlling input and output of air, and an air injection port is
formed at one side of the airbag.
2. The shock-absorbing packing box as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the one-way valve provides an air-feeding route and is made from
polyethylene, and the one-way valve is accommodated in the
airbag.
3. The shock-absorbing packing box as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the support square bars include a first support square bar, which
is obtained by folding a first damper three times along folding
lines and inserting protrusions of the first damper into slots of
the first damper, a second support square bar, which is obtained by
folding a second damper three times along folding lines and
inserting protrusions of the second damper into slots of the second
damper, a third support square bar, which is obtained by folding a
third damper three times along folding lines and inserting
protrusions of the third damper into slots of the third damper, and
a fourth support square bar, which is obtained by folding a fourth
damper three times along folding lines and inserting protrusions of
the fourth damper into slots of the fourth damper, in which the
first and second support square bars serve as an auxiliary lower
plate of the shock-absorbing packing box, third and fourth support
square bars serve as a lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing
box, and the lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box is
inserted into a recess formed at a center portion of the auxiliary
lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box perpendicularly to
the auxiliary lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box,
thereby forming a cross-shaped damping unit at a lower surface of
the shock-absorbing packing box.
4. The shock-absorbing packing box as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the air injection port is fixedly formed at an outer portion of the
shock-absorbing packing box so as to facilitate air injection into
the air cells in an automation process.
5. A method for manufacturing a shock-absorbing packing box
equipped with an airbag, the method comprising the steps of:
placing the airbag onto an upper surface of a developed packing box
member; and bonding the airbag to the upper surface of the packing
box member by applying heat of 180 to 250.degree. C. and pressure
of 4-6 kgf/cm.sup.2 to an upper surface of the airbag by using a
heating seal bar, without employing adhesives or other bonding
agent.
6. The shock-absorbing packing box as claimed in claim 5, wherein a
sealant layer made from a mixture including at least one or two
selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE), ethylene
vinyl acetate (EVA) and polypropylene (PP) forms an outer surface
of the airbag, and a core layer of the airbag is made by at least
one or two selected from the group consisting of nylon,
polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)
copolymer, which have an oxygen barrier property.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a packing box equipped with
an airbag for shock-absorbing and a manufacturing method thereof.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a packing box
equipped with an airbag for shock-absorbing and a manufacturing
method thereof, in which the airbag consisting of a plurality of
air cells is integrally formed with an inner surface of the packing
box by means of heat and pressure, instead of installing a separate
shock-absorbing member in the packing box, and then air is injected
into the airbag, wherein the air cells of the airbag have their own
one-way valves, respectively, so the shock-absorbing function of
the airbag can be continuously maintained even if some air cells
are broken, and additionally support square bars are integrally
formed with a lower surface of the packing box, thereby further
absorbing impact applied to the packing box.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] A carton box has a light weight and is adapted for packaging
and delivering articles. Typically, the carton box is used for
packaging and delivering various articles, such as furniture,
products, electronic appliances, foodstuffs, etc.
[0005] However, in spite of superior utilities of the carton box,
the carton box is very weak against external impact applied
thereto. Thus, if the carton box is dropped to the ground or strong
external impact is applied to the carton box, external impact is
directly transferred to articles contained in the carton box, so
that the articles will be broken or damaged. In this case, the
value of the articles may be degraded.
[0006] For this reason, a shock-absorbing member capable of
absorbing impact applied to the carton box is necessary in order to
prevent the articles contained in the carton box from being broken
or damaged. Styrofoam is extensively used as the shock-absorbing
member. However, such Styrofoam used as the shock-absorbing member
has a large volume, so it is inconvenient to produce and deliver
the shock-absorbing member made of Styrofoam and it is cumbersome
to retrieve the shock-absorbing member made of Styrofoam.
Furthermore, since the pecuniary profit is not expected, persons
discard Styrofoam without reusing it, thereby causing environmental
pollution.
[0007] In addition to Styrofoam, a vinyl tube or an air pocket can
be installed in the packing box. However, in this case, if the
expiration date of the article contained in the packing box has
lapsed, air contained in the vinyl tube or the air pocket may be
gradually discharged to the exterior due to the weight of the
article and oxygen permeable characteristic of a film, so that
pressure of the vinyl tube or the air pocket may be lowered to a
level corresponding to atmospheric pressure. In this case, the
shock-absorbing function of the vinyl tube or the air pocket may be
significantly lowered when the packing box is dropped to the ground
or external impact is applied to the packing box.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve
the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an
object of the present invention is to provide a packing box
equipped with an airbag for shock-absorbing and a manufacturing
method thereof, in which the airbag consisting of a plurality of
air cells is integrally formed with an inner surface of the packing
box by means of heat and pressure, instead of installing a separate
shock-absorbing member in the packing box, and then air is injected
into the airbag, wherein the air cells of the airbag have their own
one-way valves, respectively, so the shock-absorbing function of
the airbag can be continuously maintained even if some air cells
are broken, and additionally support square bars are integrally
formed with a lower surface of the packing box, thereby further
absorbing impact applied to the packing box.
[0009] In order to accomplish the above object, according to one
aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
shock-absorbing packing box comprising: a packing box member; an
airbag bonded to an inner surface of the packing box member my
means of heat and pressure; and support square bars integrally
formed with a lower surface of the packing box member, wherein the
airbag includes air cells provided with one-way valves,
respectively, for controlling input and output of air, and an air
injection port is formed at one side of the airbag.
[0010] The airbag is bonded to the upper surface of the packing box
member by applying heat of 180 to 250.degree. C. and pressure of
4-6 kgf/cm.sup.2 to an upper surface of the airbag by using a
heating seal bar, without employing adhesives or other bonding
agent.
[0011] A sealant layer made from a mixture including at least one
or two selected from the group consisting of polyethylene (PE),
ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and polypropylene (PP) forms an outer
surface of the airbag, and a core layer of the airbag is made by at
least one or two selected from the group consisting of nylon,
polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)
copolymer, which have an oxygen barrier property.
[0012] The one-way valve provides an air-feeding route and has a
two-layer structure made from polyethylene, which is accommodated
in the airbag having a two-layer structure.
[0013] The support square bars include a first support square bar,
which is obtained by folding a first damper three times along
folding lines and inserting protrusions of the first damper into
slots of the first damper, a second support square bar, which is
obtained by folding a second damper three times along folding lines
and inserting protrusions of the second damper into slots of the
second damper, a third support square bar, which is obtained by
folding a third damper three times along folding lines and
inserting protrusions of the third damper into slots of the third
damper, and a fourth support square bar, which is obtained by
folding a fourth damper three times along folding lines and
inserting protrusions of the fourth damper into slots of the fourth
damper, in which the first and second support square bars serve as
an auxiliary lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box, third
and fourth support square bars serve as a lower plate of the
shock-absorbing packing box, and the lower plate of the
shock-absorbing packing box is inserted into a recess formed at a
center portion of the auxiliary lower plate of the shock-absorbing
packing box perpendicularly to the auxiliary lower plate of the
shock-absorbing packing box, thereby forming a cross-shaped damping
unit at a lower surface of the shock-absorbing packing box.
[0014] The air injection port is fixedly formed at an outer portion
of the shock-absorbing packing box so as to facilitate air
injection into the air cells in an automation process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a
conventional packing box;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a
packing box equipped with an airbag according to one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a development view of a packing box equipped with
an airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a development view of a one-way valve of an airbag
according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating support square bars
provided at a lower surface of a packing box equipped with an
airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0021] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for
manufacturing a packing box equipped with an airbag according to
one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
[0023] A packing box according to the present invention is equipped
with an airbag including a plurality of air cells into which air is
injected. The airbag is bonded to an inner surface of the packing
box by means of heat and pressure, so that the airbag is integrally
formed with the packing box.
[0024] An air injection port is formed at one side of the airbag so
as to allow air to be injected into the airbag. In addition, the
air cells of the airbag have their own one-way valves,
respectively, so as to control input and output of air.
[0025] A problem may occur when bonding the airbag to the packing
box because the material of the airbag is different from the
material of the packing box. However, since the outer surface of
the airbag is made from polymer, the outer surface of the airbag
may serve as an adhesive. Accordingly, if a worker bonds the airbag
to the packing box by applying predetermined heat and pressure to
the airbag using a seal bar, the airbag can be easily bonded to
eight-planes of the packing box. In addition, since the bonding
force between the airbag and the packing box is not too strong, if
the worker injects air into the airbag after articles have been
accommodated in the packing box, the airbag is inflated in the
packing box by a predetermined volume, thereby perfectly protecting
the articles contained in the packing box.
[0026] The packing box having the above structure does not require
a separate shock-absorbing member to be installed in the packing
box, thereby improving convenience of use for the packing box. In
addition, since the airbag is detachably attached to the packing
box, the user can discard the airbag separately from the packing
box, so the packing box of the present invention is useful in view
of the current policy "separate waste collection".
[0027] In addition, since the airbag is made from polymer, it is
possible to provide an air injection port of the airbag at an outer
surface of the packing box by forming holes in the outer surface of
the packing box. In this case, air can be easily injected into the
airbag from the outside of the packing box through the automation
process. Furthermore, even if air-pressure of the airbag is lowered
to a level corresponding to atmospheric pressure due to the leakage
of the airbag, since support square bars are integrally formed with
the lower surface of the packing box in a cross pattern, the impact
may not be directly transferred to the articles contained in the
packing box when the packing box is dropped to the ground.
[0028] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
[0029] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a
conventional packing box, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view
illustrating the packing box equipped with the airbag according to
one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a development
view of the packing box equipped with the airbag according to one
embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a development view
of a one-way valve of the airbag according to one embodiment of the
present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating support
square bars provided at a lower surface of a packing box equipped
with an airbag according to one embodiment of the present
invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for
manufacturing the packing box equipped with the airbag according to
one embodiment of the present invention.
[0030] FIG. 1 shows a conventional packing box. The conventional
packing box has no structure for absorbing impact when external
impact is applied to the packing box or the packing box is dropped
to the ground due to carelessness of consumers or workers. Thus,
articles contained in the conventional packing box may be easily
damaged or broken.
[0031] In order to solve the above problem, as shown in FIGS. 2 and
3, the present invention provides a shock-absorbing packing box
equipped with an airbag 12 integrally formed with an inner surface
of the shock-absorbing packing box 1.
[0032] The airbag 12 mainly absorbs impact applied to the
shock-absorbing packing box 1. The airbag 12 has a substantially
planar structure, so that the airbag 12 is closely attached to the
inner surface of the shock-absorbing packing box 1 if air is not
injected into air cells of the airbag 12. However, as air is being
injected into the air cells of the airbag 12, the airbag 12 is
gradually inflated, so the planar structure of the airbag 12 is
changed to the cylindrical structure.
[0033] The airbag 12 having the planar structure is integrally
formed with the inner surface of the shock-absorbing packing box 1
when the shock-absorbing packing box 1 is fabricated through the
automation process. After packaging the shock-absorbing packing box
with articles, if the worker injects air into the airbag 12 through
an air injection port 121 formed at one side of the airbag 12, the
airbag 12 is gradually inflated in the form of a cylinder, thereby
protecting the articles contained in the shock-absorbing packing
box from external impact.
[0034] In addition, the air cells of the airbag 12 have their own
one-way valves 13 for allowing air to be injected into the air
cells and preventing air injected into the airbag 12 from being
discharged to the exterior. Thus, the air cells may individually
receive air through the one-way valve 13. Accordingly, even if some
air cells are broken, the remaining air cells may absorb impact
applied to the packing box, so the shock-absorbing function of the
airbag 12 may not be suddenly lowered.
[0035] In addition, the airbag 12 is made from polymer including at
least one or two selected from the group consisting of
polyethylene, nylon, polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), and ethylene
vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer.
[0036] The one-way valve 13 is provided in each air cell. Air
introduced through the air injection port 121 is injected into each
air cell through the one-way valve 13 positioned at an inlet
section of each air cell. Thus, the air cell is inflated due to air
injected into the air cell. As the air cell is inflated, the
one-way valve 13 having the flat structure is strongly pressed by
the inflated air cell, so that air injected into the air cell
cannot be discharged to the exterior.
[0037] FIG. 3 is a development view of a shock-absorbing packing
box 1 equipped with the airbag shown in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, the
present invention will be described in detail with reference to
FIG. 3.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, a cross-shaped damping unit is provided
at a lower surface of the shock-absorbing packing box 1 so as to
absorb impact applied to the shock-absorbing packing box together
with the airbag 12. The damping unit includes a first damper 14a, a
second damper 14b, a third damper 14c and a fourth damper 14d. The
first and second dampers 14a and 14b, which may serve as an
auxiliary lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box 1, are
coupled with the third damper 14c and the fourth damper 14d,
respectively, thereby forming the cross-shaped damping unit.
[0039] The third damper 14c is folded three times along folding
lines and protrusions 141c formed in the third damper 14c are
inserted into slots 142c, thereby forming a third support square
bar.
[0040] In the same manner, protrusions 141d of the fourth damper
14c are inserted into slots 142d, thereby forming a fourth support
square bar. The third and fourth dampers 14c and 14d may serve as a
lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box. When the
shock-absorbing packing box has been fabricated, the third and
fourth dampers 14c and 14d, which serve as the lower plate of the
shock-absorbing packing box 1, are adjacent to each other as shown
in FIG. 5.
[0041] The first damper 14a is folded three times along folding
lines and protrusions 141a of the first damper 14a are inserted
into slots 142a, thereby forming a first support square bar.
[0042] In the same manner, protrusions 141b of the second damper
14b are inserted into slots 142b, thereby forming a second support
square bar. The first and second dampers 14a and 14b may serve as
an auxiliary lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box 1.
[0043] The first and second dampers 14a and 14b (auxiliary lower
plate of the shock-absorbing packing box) are formed at center
portions thereof with recesses, and the third and fourth dampers
14c and 14d (lower plate of the shock-absorbing packing box) are
inserted into the recesses of the first and second dampers 14a and
14b in perpendicular to the first and second dampers 14a and 14b as
shown in FIG. 5, so that the cross-shaped damping unit is formed at
the lower surface of the packing box. When articles are
accommodated in the shock-absorbing packing box 1, the articles are
primarily loaded on the cross-shaped damping unit and the
cross-shaped damping unit may distribute the load primarily applied
thereto. Thus, when air-pressure of the airbag is lowered to a
level corresponding to atmospheric pressure due to the leakage of
the airbag 12 integrally formed with the shock-absorbing packing
box 1, the cross-shaped damping unit attenuate the impact applied
to the packing box, thereby protecting the articles contained in
the shock-absorbing packing box.
[0044] Hereinafter, the procedure for manufacturing the
shock-absorbing packing box 1 will be described. As shown in FIG.
6, after developing a packing box member 11, the airbag 12 is
placed on an upper surface of the packing box member 11 (which may
become the inner surface of the shock-absorbing packing box 1). In
this state, heat (180 to 250.degree. C.) and pressure (4-6
kgf/cm.sup.2) are applied to an upper surface of the airbag 12 by
using a heating seal bar, thereby bonding the airbag 12 to the
upper surface of the packing box member 11. That is, the airbag 12
is bonded to the shock-absorbing box by applying heat and pressure
to the airbag 12 without using adhesives or other bonding
mediums.
[0045] Hereinafter, the manufacturing process for the
shock-absorbing packing box will be described in detail with
reference to embodiments of the present invention.
Embodiment 1
[0046] In order to obtain a damping member 15 by bonding the airbag
12 to the outer surface of the packing box member 11, the airbag 12
is placed on the upper surface of the packing box member 11 and
heat (about 180.degree. C.) and pressure (about 4 kgf/cm.sup.2) are
applied to the upper surface of the airbag 12 by using a heating
seal bar, thereby bonding the airbag 12 to the upper surface of the
packing box member 11. Then, the packing box member 11 integrally
formed with the airbag 12 is assembled in the form of a box,
thereby obtaining the shock-absorbing packing box 1 as shown in
FIG. 2.
Embodiment 2
[0047] The manufacturing procedure of Embodiment 2 is identical to
that of Embodiment 1, except that heat (about 200.degree. C.) and
pressure (about 5 kgf/cm.sup.2) are applied to the upper surface of
the airbag 12 by using a heating seal bar.
Embodiment 3
[0048] The manufacturing procedure of Embodiment 3 is identical to
that of Embodiment 1, except that heat (about 250.degree. C.) and
pressure (about 6 kgf/cm.sup.2) are applied to the upper surface of
the airbag 12 by using a heating seal bar.
[0049] Since the outer surface of the airbag 12 is made of a film
including polyethylene and nylon, the film may serve as an adhesive
so that the airbag 12 can be easily bonded to the outer surface of
the packing box member 11 when heat and pressure are applied to the
airbag 12. That is, the damping member 15 can be obtained by
bonding the airbag 12 to the packing box member 11 using the
heating seal bar, so that the shock-absorbing packing box 1
equipped with the airbag 12 having the rectangular structure can be
obtained through the automation process.
[0050] The air cells of the airbag 12 are provided at upper center
portions thereof with one-way valves, which allow air to be
injected into the air cells and prevent air injected into the air
cells from being discharged to the exterior. The one-way valve has
a structure made from polyethylene. One layer of the one-way valve
must not be bonded to the packing box member 11 in order to provide
an air-feeding route, so ink is printed onto the one-way valve so
as to allow the worker to recognize the one layer during the
manufacturing process. An inner portion of the one-way valve is
coupled to an inner portion of a structure film, which is the main
material for the airbag.
[0051] The one-way valves are sealed off from each other and
printed with ink in such a manner that the worker can recognize the
one-way valves during the manufacturing process. As air is being
injected into the air cell through the one-way valve, the air cell
is gradually inflated so that a gap formed in the one-way valve is
closed, thereby preventing air injected into the air cell from
being discharged to the exterior.
[0052] That is, air cells have their own one-way valves, so that
the shock-absorbing function of the airbag may not be significantly
degraded even if some air cells are broken, because the remaining
air cells may absorb impact applied to the packing box.
[0053] In addition, the user receiving the packing box can discard
the airbag separately from the packing box after safely taking
articles out of the packing box, so the packing box of the present
invention is useful in view of the current policy "separate waste
collection".
[0054] As described above, the shock-absorbing packing box
according to the present invention can improve the shock-absorbing
function without installing a separate shock-absorbing member, such
as Styrofoam, in the packing box by integrally forming a plurality
of air cells with the packing box member, thereby allowing the user
to conveniently keep or deliver the articles accommodated in the
shock-absorbing packing box. In addition, since the air cells are
constructed separately from each other, the shock-absorbing
function of the airbag may not be significantly degraded even if
some air cells are broken, because the remaining air cells may
absorb impact applied to the shock-absorbing packing box.
Furthermore, since the airbag is detachably coupled to the
shock-absorbing packing box, the user can economically reuse the
airbag by detaching the airbag from the shock-absorbing packing
box. In addition, the shock-absorbing packing box of the present
invention does not use Styrofoam, so shock-absorbing packing box of
the present invention does not produce a negative effect upon the
environment.
[0055] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has
been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
* * * * *