U.S. patent application number 12/385428 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-14 for multiply built up buffer structure and manufacturing method thereof.
Invention is credited to Hsing-Chen Liu.
Application Number | 20100258474 12/385428 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42933497 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100258474 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liu; Hsing-Chen |
October 14, 2010 |
Multiply built up buffer structure and manufacturing method
thereof
Abstract
The present invention provides a multiply built up buffer
structure and a manufacturing thereof. The buffer structure
includes at least two buffer members and a pair of end caps. The
buffer member is made of paper material, having an elongate strip
configuration having a U-shaped cross-section forming a hollow
chamber shaped to correspond to the configuration thereof. The
hollow chamber extends between and completely through opposite ends
of the buffer member. One of the buffer members is movably received
in the hollow chamber of the other buffer member to form an
extendible strip. The end cap is made of paper material, having a
U-shaped configuration forming therein a hollow chamber
corresponding in shape to the configuration thereof. The hollow
chamber extends between and completely through opposite ends of the
end cap. The hollow chamber of the end cap receives at least one
reinforcement piece made of paper material therein. The pair of end
caps is respectively and movably fit into opposite ends of the
extendible strip in accordance with the hollow chambers of the
respective buffer members.
Inventors: |
Liu; Hsing-Chen; (Kaohsiung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
42933497 |
Appl. No.: |
12/385428 |
Filed: |
April 8, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/587 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 81/055 20130101;
B65D 81/053 20130101; B65D 2581/053 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/587 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/02 20060101
B65D081/02 |
Claims
1. A buffer structure, comprising: at least two buffer members, the
buffer members being made of paper material comprising base paper,
each of said buffer members being of an elongate strip
configuration having a U-shaped cross-section forming a hollow
chamber shaped to correspond to the configuration thereof, the
hollow chamber extending between and completely through opposite
ends of the buffer member, one of the buffer members being movably
received in the hollow chamber of the other buffer member to form
an extendible strip; and a pair of end caps, the pair of end caps
being made of paper material comprising base paper, each end cap
being of a U-shaped configuration and forming therein a hollow
chamber corresponding in shape to the configuration thereof, the
hollow chamber extending between and completely through opposite
ends of the end cap, the hollow chamber of each end cap receiving
at least one reinforcement piece made of paper material therein,
the pair of end caps being respectively and movably fit into
opposite ends of the extendible strip in accordance with the hollow
chambers of the respective buffer members; wherein said buffer
structure and said pair of end caps are slidingly adjustable to
conform to a length of a product accommodated therein.
2. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at
least one stop block made of paper material and wherein each buffer
member forms a trough for configuring the U-shape, the stop block
being set in the trough of at least one of the buffer members.
3. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the stop
block comprises a pair of U-shaped pieces made of paper material,
the U-shaped pieces being mated together to make a rectangular
body.
4. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each buffer
member has two outer side walls, an outer bottom wall, and an inner
bottom wall each forming a plurality of pressure-resistant patterns
extending in a direction parallel to length of the buffer member
and wherein each end cap has two outer side walls and an outer
bottom wall each forming a plurality of pressure-resistant patterns
extending in a direction parallel to height of the end cap.
5. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein each buffer
member has a cross-section that comprises two vertical sections and
a horizontal section connecting between the vertical sections to
constitute the U-shape, the hollow chamber of the buffer member
correspondingly comprising two vertical sections and a horizontal
section, and wherein each end cap has a cross-section comprising
two vertical sections and a horizontal section connecting between
the vertical sections, the two vertical sections of the end cap
being respectively fit into the two vertical sections of the hollow
chamber of the corresponding buffer member.
6. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a
plurality of additional buffer members, the buffer members being
movably fit into each other to from the extendible strip.
7. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hollow
chamber of each buffer member receives at least one reinforcement
piece made of paper material therein.
8. (canceled)
9. The buffer structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base
paper is corrugated board.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a multiply built up buffer
structure and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular to
a buffer structure and the manufacturing method thereof, which is
used to encase a product to be protected for providing effects of
resisting pressure, drop, and impact between a package box and the
product to be protected and is applicable to electric appliances,
computers, various kinds of monitor screen, electronic products,
mechanical products, and other fragile products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] To convey or ship a product to be protected, such as
electric appliances, computers, various kinds of monitor screen,
electronic products, mechanical products, and other fragile
products, the product is wrapped with an enclosure buffer material
to provide buffering effect between a package box and the product
to be protected, whereby protections of the product can be secured
during the transportation or shipping thereof.
[0003] Conventional buffering materials are often made of
Styrofoam, which is known to be non-environment-conservative,
bulky, and having drawbacks of occupying a large amount of
container space and increasing transportation costs resulting from
bulkiness thereof. Other disadvantages, such as insufficient
resistance against pressure, drop, and impact, are often found.
[0004] FIG. 1 of the attached drawings illustrates a conventional
buffer 900, which comprises body 9 made of pulp molding. The body 9
has a U-shaped configuration and forms a hollow chamber 91, which
is also made U-shaped, and four curved edges 92. With the hollow
chamber 91 and the four curved edges 92, buffering effect is
realized.
[0005] The conventional buffer 900, however, has the following
disadvantages: (1) insufficient resistance against pressure, drop,
and impact; (2) requiring a devoted mold and unique material for
manufacturing for each specific product to be protected thereby,
apparently leading to excessively high costs and a waste of natural
resources; (3) potential risk of generating odors in a humid and
high temperature condition (such as being stored in a container for
maritime transportation) due to the fact that the buffer 900 is
made of pulp molding; (4) poor resistance against humidity and
temperature and thus being not suitable for maritime
transportation; and (5) insufficient resistance against pressure,
making it impossible to be high stacked for after-packaged
stacking.
[0006] Thus, it is desired to provide a solution to overcome the
above discussed problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A first objective of the present invention is to provide a
multiply built up buffer structure and a manufacturing method
thereof, wherein a unique structural design and a
multiple-structured arrangement are employed to provide improved
resistance against pressure, drop, and impact between a package box
and a product-to-be-protected so as to realize excellent strength
of pressure resistance and applicability of high stacking of the
packaged products. With a telescopic structure provided by the
present invention makes it possible to apply to various sizes of
products to be protected to thus realize reduction of costs and
conservation of natural resources.
[0008] A second objective of the present invention is to provide a
multiply built up buffer structure and a manufacturing method
thereof, wherein with the improved resistance against pressure,
drop, and impact that the present invention offers, the thickness
of the buffer structure can be made small, and further, buffer
members, end caps, and even stop blocks can be made with the same
mold, leading to further reduction of costs and better conservation
of resources.
[0009] A third objective of the present invention is to provide a
multiply built up buffer structure and a manufacturing method
thereof, wherein an elongate stop block is selectively set in an
encasing channel of the buffer structure, the applicability of the
buffer structure is made wide.
[0010] A fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a
multiply built up buffer structure and a manufacturing method
thereof, wherein the buffer structure 100 is made of paper material
comprising base paper, such as corrugated boards, rather than being
formed with pulp molding, and thus effects of such as generating no
odor, being humidity resistant, being temperature durable, and
being suitable for maritime transportation, can be realized. Other
advantages, such as small size, occupying less container space,
reducing transportation costs, meeting requirement of environmental
protection, are also offered.
[0011] To realize the above objective, the present invention
provides a multiply built up buffer structure, which comprises at
least two buffer members and a pair of end caps. The two buffer
members are made of paper material, and each has an elongate strip
configuration having a U-shaped cross-section forming a hollow
chamber shaped to correspond to the configuration thereof. The
hollow chamber extends between and completely through opposite ends
of the buffer member. One of the buffer members is movably received
in the hollow chamber of the other buffer member to form an
extendible strip. The pair of end caps is also made of paper
material, and each end cap has a U-shaped configuration forming
therein a hollow chamber corresponding in shape to the
configuration thereof. The hollow chamber of each end cap extends
between and completely through opposite ends thereof. The hollow
chamber of each end cap receives at least one reinforcement piece
made of paper material therein. The pair of end caps is
respectively and movably fit into opposite ends of the extendible
strip in accordance with the hollow chambers of the respective
buffer members.
[0012] As such, improved resistance against pressure, drop, and
impact is provided between a package box and a product to be
protected. Further, with the extendible structure, the buffer of
the present invention is applicable to various sizes of products to
be protected to provide excellent strength of pressure resistance
and allows for high stacking of packaged products, reduction of
costs and non-wasting of resources.
[0013] The present invention also provides a method for
manufacturing a multiply built up buffer structure, comprising the
following steps: providing base paper; slitting: in which the base
paper is slit into small pieces of base paper of reduced widths;
winding: in which the small pieces of base paper are rolled up in a
helical fashion to form an elongate paper tube; cutting: in which
the elongate paper tube is cut into a number of short tubes having
lengths corresponding to a mold; pressing: in which the short paper
tubes are pressed with the mold to form a plurality of shaped
bodies; and assembling: in which the shaped bodies formed by
pressing are first divided into at least two groups of shaped
bodies of different lengths, the two shaped body groups comprising
a number of first shaped bodies and a number of second shaped
bodies respectively, and then at least two first shaped bodies that
are of a great length being assembled together according to a
desired dimension to form an extendible strip, and then two second
shaped bodies that are of a small length being fit to opposite ends
of the extendible strip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following description of preferred
embodiments thereof, as well as the best mode of a manufacturing
method thereof, with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional buffer;
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a buffer structure in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the buffer structure of the
present invention in an assembled form;
[0018] FIG. 4 shows, respectively in Part a, b, and c,
cross-sectional views of the buffer structure in accordance with
the present invention taken along line a-a, b-b, and c-c of FIG.
3;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an application of
the buffer structures in accordance with the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a buffer structure in
accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating an application of the
buffer structures in accordance with said another embodiment of the
present invention;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a buffer structure in
accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a buffer structure in
accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0024] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a manufacturing method of a buffer
structure in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The present invention provide a multiply built up buffer
structure and a manufacturing method thereof for substituting the
conventional Styrofoam-molded buffers or pulp-molding buffers to
provide various effects of pressure resistance, drop resistance,
and impact resistance between a package box and a
product-to-be-protected.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, a buffer structure constructed in
accordance with the present invention, generally designated at 100,
comprises at least two buffer members 1 and a pair of end caps 2
and preferably further comprises at least one stop block 3.
[0027] The buffer members 1 are made of paper material, such as
corrugated boards, and are each of an elongate strip configuration
having a U-shaped cross-section. Each buffer member 1 forms a
hollow chamber 10 arranged in a U-shape to correspond to the
U-shaped configuration of the buffer member 1. The hollow chamber
10 extends between and completely through opposite ends of the
buffer member 1. One of the two buffer members 1 is movably
received in the hollow chamber 10 of the other buffer member 1,
whereby a telescope strip that is freely extendible in accordance
with a dimension of the product-to-be-protected is formed. The
telescopic strip is made up of at least two buffer members 1
telescopically fit into each other. In the embodiment illustrated,
the telescopic strip is made up of two buffer members 1 and it is
apparent that the telescopic strip can be alternatively made up of
a number of buffer members 1 telescopically fit into each other
(examples being shown in FIGS. 6-9).
[0028] The pair of end caps 2 are both made of paper material (such
as corrugated boards) and each end cap 2 is of a U-shaped
configuration and forms therein a U-shaped hollow chamber 20
corresponding to the U-shaped configuration thereof. The hollow
chamber 20 extends between and completely through opposite ends of
the end cap 2. The hollow chamber 20 of each end cap 2 receives at
least one reinforcement piece 25 made of paper material (such as
corrugated boards), which forms an additional layer of structure
inside the hollow chamber 20 of the end cap 2 for enhancing
resistance of the end cap 2 against pressure, drop, and impact. One
of the end caps 2 is movably fit into one end of the telescopic
strip in accordance with the hollow chamber 10 of the corresponding
one of the buffer members 1, while the other end cap 2 is movably
fit into an opposite end of the telescopic strip in accordance with
the hollow chamber 10 of the other one of the buffer members 1.
[0029] Each buffer member 1 has two outer side walls 11, an outer
bottom wall 12, and an inner bottom wall 13 each forming a
plurality of pressure-resistant patterns 14 (see Part a of FIG. 4).
The pressure-resistant patterns 14 extend in a direction parallel
to length of the buffer members 1 in order to provide enhanced
resistance to pressure, drop, and impact. Each end cap 2 has two
outer side walls 21 and an outer bottom wall 22 each forming a
plurality of pressure-resistant patterns 24 (see Part b of FIG. 4).
These pressure-resistant patterns 24 extend in a direction parallel
to height of the end caps 2 in order to provide enhanced resistance
to pressure, drop, and impact.
[0030] As shown in Part a of FIG. 4, each buffer member 1 has a
cross-section that is made up of two vertical sections (not
labeled) and a horizontal section (not labels) connecting between
the vertical sections, which sections constitute the U-shape. The
hollow chamber 10 of the buffer member 1 is correspondingly
comprised of two vertical sections and a horizontal section.
Further referring to Part b of FIG. 4, each end cap 2 has a
cross-section comprising two vertical sections and a horizontal
section connecting between the vertical sections, and these
sections form the U-shape. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the two
vertical sections of the end cap 2 are respectively fit into the
two vertical sections of the hollow chamber 10 of the corresponding
buffer member 1 to thereby form the buffer structure 100.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, each buffer member 1 forms a trough 15
that makes the U-shaped configuration of the buffer member 1. The
buffer structure 100 is comprised of a plurality of troughs 15
arranged between the two end caps 2 (two troughs 15 being shown in
the embodiment illustrated), which together form an encasing
channel 16 (see FIG. 3) for receiving and encasing a
product-to-be-protected 500.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 5, to package the product-to-be-protected
500 in a package box (not shown), opposite sides of the
product-to-be-protected 500 are respectively covered and encased by
two buffer structures 100 of the present invention. The encasement
is made in accordance with the length of the corresponding side of
the product-to-be-protected 500 by controlling the telescopically
extended length of the buffer structure 100 to be substantially the
same so as to allow the encasing channel 16 of the buffer structure
100 to fit over and encase the side of the product-to-be-protected
500 for providing protective effects of pressure resistance, drop
resistance, and impact resistance between the package box and the
product-to-be-protected 500.
[0033] Besides the additional arrangement of the reinforcement
piece 25 in the hollow chamber 20 of the end cap 2, each buffer
member 1 can be selectively provided with at least one
reinforcement piece (not shown) made of paper material (such as
corrugated boards) in the hollow chamber 10 thereof. Both the
reinforcement piece for the buffer member 1 and the reinforcement
piece 25 of the end cap 2 can be formed as any desired structure
made of paper material. In the embodiment illustrated, the
reinforcement piece 25 is of a form that is one size smaller than
the end cap 2. (The reinforcement piece for the buffer member 1 can
be made in the same way.)
[0034] Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the buffer structure 100
further comprises at least one stop block 3 made of paper material
(such as corrugated boards). The stop block 3 is fit into and
retained in the trough 15 of at least one of the buffer member 1,
namely being fixed in the encasing channel 16 of the buffer
structure 100 (the buffer structure 100 shown in FIG. 6 being
comprised of three buffer members 1 movably fit into each other).
With the stop block 3, as shown in FIG. 7, an accessory (not shown)
for the product-to-be-protected 500 can be encased together. In
other words, a large space defined between upper portions of a pair
of buffer structures 100 can be used to accommodate and encase a
product-to-be-protected 500 in such a way that the
product-to-be-protected 500 is retained in position by the stop
blocks 3, while lower portions of the pair of buffer structures 100
that define a small space therebetween can separately receive and
store small-size accessories of the product-to-be-protected 500
therein. In the embodiment illustrated, the product-to-be-protected
500 comprises a notebook computer and two small-sized accessories
are respectively a power cable and a transformer of the notebook
computer. The applicability of the buffer structure 100 is thus
made wider with the stop block 3 (as being applicable to
products-to-be-protected of various sizes and having various
accessories) and can also be extended to accommodate and store
accessories that are usually of smaller sizes. Further, in case
that the product-to-be-protected 500 has a dimension (not shown)
that is smaller than the length of any single buffer member 1 and
the product-to-be-protected 500 can be kept in position without
undesired movement by setting a stop block 3 in the trough 15 of
the buffer member 1 by setting a stop block 3.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 8, the encasing channel 16 of the buffer
structure 100 can be selectively provided with more than one stop
blocks 3. In the embodiment illustrated, two stop blocks 3 are
provided to divide the buffer structure 100 into three segments, of
which a large space is used to accommodate and encase a
product-to-be-protected, while the other two small spaces each
receive and retain one accessory. For a package with two buffer
structures 100 to encase the product-to-be-protected, the two
buffer structures 100 provide four small segments of the encasing
channels to receive four accessories.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 9, in case that a product-to-be-protected
has a substantial weight, to protect the bottom of the
product-to-be-protected from damage caused by gravity, one end of
the buffer structure 100 is provided with an end cap 2 fit therein,
similar to the previous embodiments, but a stop block 3 is set in
the encasing channel 16 close to the opposite end of the buffer
structure 100 and the stop block 3 is made elongate to support a
downward force induced by the substantial weight of the
product-to-be-protected and also to resist external downward force
(such as that caused by vibration, impact, and shaking). This means
a substantial downward force can be supported and this allows a
number of packages to be stacked vertically to a higher level.
[0037] The stop block 3 can be made in any desired form, such as in
the embodiment illustrated, including a pair of U-shaped pieces 31,
32, which are of slightly different sizes and are mated to each
other to make a rectangular body. Preferably, each U-shaped piece
31, 32 is provided with pressure resistant patterns (not
labeled).
[0038] Referring to FIG. 10, a manufacturing method in accordance
with the present invention is illustrated. The method comprises the
following steps: providing base paper (step S101); slitting (step
S103): in which the base paper is slit into small pieces of base
paper of reduced widths; winding (step S105): in which the small
pieces of the base paper are rolled up in a helical fashion to form
an elongate paper tube; cutting (step S107): in which the elongate
paper tube is cut into a number of short tubes having lengths
corresponding to a mold; pressing (step S109): in which the short
paper tubes are pressed with the mold to form a plurality of shaped
bodies; and assembling (step S111): in which the shaped bodies
formed by pressing are first divided into at least two groups of
shaped bodies of different lengths, the two shaped body groups
being comprised of a number of first shaped bodies and a number of
second shaped bodies respectively, and then at least two first
shaped bodies that are of a great length (such as buffer members 1
of FIG. 2) are assembled together according to a desired dimension
to form a telescopic strip and then two second shaped bodies that
are of a small length (such as end caps 2 of FIG. 2) are fit to
opposite ends of the telescopic strip.
[0039] The features of the multiply built up buffer structure and
the manufacturing method thereof are that structural design of
unique U-shape and pressure-resistant patterns 14 and 24, together
with a multiple-structured arrangement, provide improved resistance
against pressure, drop, and impact between a package box and a
product-to-be-protected so as to realize excellent strength of
pressure resistance and applicability of high stacking of packaged
products. The multiple-structured arrangement adopted in the
present invention means the overlap between two mutually-fit buffer
members 1 (see Part c of FIG. 4), reinforcement piece 25 inside
each end cap 2, and/or reinforcement piece selectively set in each
buffer member 1 (made in the same way as the reinforcement piece 25
of the end cap 2). The telescopic structure of the multiple
mutually-fit buffer members 1 is applicable to various sizes of
products-to-be-protected 500 to realize reduction of costs and
conservation of natural resources. With the improved resistance
against pressure, drop, and impact inherent to the buffer structure
100, the thickness of the buffer structure 100 can be made small,
and further, the buffer member 1, the end cap 2, and even the stop
block 3 can be made with the same mold, both leading to further
reduction of costs and better conservation of resources. With at
least one elongate stop block 3 set in the encasing channel 16 of
the buffer structure 100, the applicability of the buffer
structures 100 is made wide (being applicable to
products-to-be-protected of various sizes and containing various
small-sized accessories), and may be used to accommodate and store
various small-sized accessories. With an elongate stop block 3 set
in the encasing channel 16 of the buffer structure 100 at a
location close to an end thereof, the gravitational force (which is
in a direction parallel to a length of the elongate stop block 3)
induced by a heavy product-to-be-protected 500 can be properly
supported and additionally, strong external forces, such as those
caused by vibration, impact, and/or shaking, (which are in a
direction parallel to the length of the elongate stop block 3), can
also be supported. In other words, increased gravitational force,
as well as strong external forces, can be supported in the present
invention to offer better protection to heavy
products-to-be-protected and this facilitates high stacking of
packaged products in large number. The buffer structure 100 is made
of paper material comprising base paper, such as corrugated boards,
rather than being formed with pulp molding and thus effects of such
as generating no odor, being humidity resistant, being temperature
durable, and being suitable for maritime transportation, can be
realized. Other advantages, such as small size, occupying less
container space, reducing transportation costs, meeting requirement
of environmental protection, are also offered. With the buffer
member 1 and the end cap 2 both forming hollow chambers 10, 20,
clearances for resisting vibration and shaking is provided. In
other words, when an external force is applied to one outer wall of
the buffer member 1 or the end cap 2, the presence of the hollow
chamber 10, 20 makes the external force only affecting the outer
wall, but not the inner wall and this makes the
product-to-be-protected 500 that is set in engagement with the
inner wall well protected and not affected by vibration, shaking,
and/or abrasion caused by the external force. The
product-to-be-protected 500 is thus well protected against wearing
caused by abrasion.
[0040] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, as well as the best
mode for carrying out a manufacturing method thereof, it is
apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of
modifications and changes may be made without departing from the
scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by
the appended claims.
* * * * *