U.S. patent application number 14/251651 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-15 for airtight sheath having openable air inlets.
The applicant listed for this patent is Yaw-Shin LIAO. Invention is credited to Yaw-Shin LIAO.
Application Number | 20150290902 14/251651 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54106919 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150290902 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIAO; Yaw-Shin |
October 15, 2015 |
AIRTIGHT SHEATH HAVING OPENABLE AIR INLETS
Abstract
An airtight sheath having openable air intakes includes two
outer films and two inner films heat-sealed together, an air
inflation path, and multiple air columns. Upper edges of the two
inner films extend to upper edges of the two outer films. A
plurality of air guiding portions are disposed on an inner surface
of at least one of the inner films and coated with a heat-resistant
material. A plurality of air guiding holes are formed on each of
the inner films between the plurality of air guiding portions and
upper edges of the two inner films. When being inflated from the
air inflation path, air currents flow among the outer and inner
films through the air guiding holes to quickly fill the air columns
and generate pressure in the air columns to automatically press the
inner films against each other for prevent air from leaking out of
the air columns.
Inventors: |
LIAO; Yaw-Shin; (Taipei
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LIAO; Yaw-Shin |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
54106919 |
Appl. No.: |
14/251651 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/136 ;
428/138 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 31/145 20130101;
B32B 2435/02 20130101; B65D 81/052 20130101; B32B 2307/306
20130101; B32B 2307/7244 20130101; B32B 2307/31 20130101; B32B
2307/558 20130101; B32B 7/05 20190101 |
International
Class: |
B32B 3/26 20060101
B32B003/26; B32B 7/04 20060101 B32B007/04 |
Claims
1. An airtight sheath having openable air intakes, comprising: two
outer films respectively formed with a heat-sealing side for
heat-sealing the two outer films together; two inner films attached
to the two outer films by a first heat-sealing line, each of the
inner films extending along the first heat-sealing line to opposite
sides and upper edges of the two outer films; an air inflation path
formed between the first heat-sealing line and the upper edges of
the two outer films, one end of the air inflation path forming at
least one air inflation opening for air inflating, and a buffering
portion defined between the first heat-sealing line and bottoms of
the outer films; a plurality of second heat-sealing lines disposed
on the buffering portion for being heat-sealed to form multiple air
columns; a plurality of air guiding portions disposed on an inner
surface of at least one of the inner films and coated with a
heat-resistant material, each of the air guiding portions extending
into a respective air column and crossing the respective air column
and the first heat-sealing line to the air inflation path; a
plurality of air guiding holes formed on each of the inner films
between the plurality of air guiding portions and upper edges of
the two inner films and communicating with the air inflation path;
and a plurality of heat-sealing blocks disposed between two
adjacent inner film and outer film in the air inflation path for
heat-sealing the two inner films with the two outer films in the
air inflation path; wherein the upper edges of the two inner films
and the upper edges of the two outer films are integrally
heat-sealed together, and when air is discharged from the at least
one air inflation opening of the air inflation path, air currents
flow through the plurality of air guiding holes to inflate the two
inner films and outer films, whereby each of the air guiding
portions is pulled outward to form a current guiding channel
between the two inner films, and each of the air intakes is formed
in the current guiding channel facing the first heat-sealing line
where air is capable of rapidly flowing from the air intakes to
fill the multiple air columns in which pressure is generated to
press the two inner films against each other in the air columns so
as to prevent air from leaking out of the air columns.
2. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 1,
wherein the plurality of air guiding holes respectively have a
cutting line shape.
3. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 1,
wherein a plurality of current guiding heat-sealing lines are
formed on one of the outer films in each of the multiple air
columns for heat-sealing the adjacent inner film and outer
film.
4. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 3,
wherein the current guiding heat-sealing lines are curved and
symmetrical to each other, the current guiding heat-sealing lines
in each air column forming two opposite air holes at upper and
lower portions of the current guiding heat-sealing lines, wherein
the air hole at the upper portion has a width larger than that of
the air hole at the lower portion.
5. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 1,
wherein each of the air columns is formed with multiple current
guiding channels spaced away from each other.
6. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 1,
wherein the two outer films and two inner films are heat-sealed
through a thermal die.
7. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 1,
wherein each one of the second heat-sealing lines is formed with at
least one through hole for allowing the multiple air columns to
communicate with each other in the buffering portion.
8. An airtight sheath having openable air intakes, comprising: two
outer films overlapping together with at least one inner film
disposed in between the two outer films, upper edges of the two
outer films being flush with an edge of the at least one inner
film, portions of an inner surface of the at least on inner film
being coated with a heat-resistant material; an air inflation
channel formed between the two outer films, one end of the air
inflation path forming three air inflation openings for air
inflating; multiple air columns being formed by heat-sealing the
outer films and the at least one inner film; and the air intakes
disposed between the air inflation channel and the multiple air
columns for communicating with the air inflation channel and the
multiple air columns; wherein the at least one inner film is
attached to the two outer films by heat-sealing, with the portions
coated with the heat-resistant material not attached to the outer
films, and when either one of the three air inflation openings is
inflated, air flows through and inflates the air inflation channel
so as to automatically open the air intakes to allow air to flow
into the multiple air columns, whereby pressure is generated in the
multiple air columns to press the at least one inner film to block
the air intakes and therefore seal the air columns.
9. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 8,
wherein number of the at least one inner film is two, the
heat-resistant material is coated on the inner surfaces of the two
inner films, and the three air inflation openings are respectively
disposed between the two inner films, and between the adjacent out
film and inner film.
10. The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of claim 8,
wherein the two outer films and the at least one inner film are
heat-sealed through a thermal die.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an airtight sheath, and
more particularly to an airtight sheath having openable air intakes
for providing impact-resistant protection for an article.
[0003] 2. Related Art
[0004] A traditional wrapping material is generally provided with a
soft inner pad, such as foam, on a peripheral side thereof for
protecting articles to be wrapped so as to prevent the articles
from being damaged or broken by external vibration. However, the
soft inner pad is required to be attached to the wrapping material
with additional processes to avoid moving or coming off from the
wrapping material, but the additional processes of attaching the
soft inner pad are not only cumbersome but also costly to
assembly.
[0005] In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, an air inflatable
structure is designed to resist impact, with air columns filled
with air, and is capable of effectively protecting articles from
being vibrated. A conventional air inflatable structure is known to
have two pocket sheets and two valve sheets disposed in between and
attached to the two pocket sheets, wherein a switch valve path and
an air intake channel are formed therein. After being inflated with
air, the air inflatable structure is inflated where the switch
valve path is blocked to prevent air from leaking out. When air is
filled in the air intake channel to inflate the air inflatable
structure, the two pocket sheets are pulled outwards by inside air,
while a switch valve is not pulled outwards in conjunction with the
two pocket sheets. As a result, the two valve sheets of the switch
valve are still attached together which causes the air intake
channel to be closed and thus air is allowed to flow into the air
inflatable structure again. Furthermore, because the two valve
sheets are separately attached to outer sheets, assembly processes
thus become cumbersome. Moreover, because the outer sheets and
inner valve sheets are not assembled and manufactured together,
mass production efficiency thereof is seriously affected as well as
manufacturing cost. In another example of air inflatable structure,
two outer films and two inner films are provided to form the
structure, wherein the two inner films are formed with multiple
heat-resistant materials, heat-sealing dots, and heat-sealing sides
at predetermined locations thereof in order to form air inflation
channels. After being inflated with air, the two inner films are
inflated to attach to respective outer films and pull away air
intakes of the air inflation channels so as to form air columns.
However, the above-mentioned air inflatable structure has drawbacks
as follows: the two inner films must be lower than the two outer
films, and when the heat-sealing dots are not formed at exactly
correct positions, the two inner films are to be folded inwards
whereby blocking the air intakes causing unsuccessful air
filling.
[0006] Consequently, it is imperative to improve an inflation
structure to be capable of being manufactured with simple
processes, automatically rapidly opening air intakes for
continuously air charging without causing the block of air intake
by inner films, preventing air from flowing reversely and leaking
out when stopping air charging, and allowing outer films and inner
films to be cut and processed together at the same time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to
provide an airtight sheath having openable air intakes that are
manufactured in simple processes and are capable of improving
efficiency of mass-production.
[0008] Another objective of the present invention is to provide an
airtight sheath having multiple air inflation openings for air
inflating, and enabling air currents to quickly flow among the
inner and outer films so as to automatically open air intakes when
inflating, and automatically seal the air intakes to avoid air
leakage.
[0009] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the airtight
sheath having openable air intakes comprises two outer films
respectively formed with a heat-sealing side for heat-sealing the
two outer films together; two inner films attached to the two outer
films by a first heat-sealing line, each of the inner films
extending along the first heat-sealing line to opposite sides and
upper edges of the two outer films; an air inflation path formed
between the first heat-sealing line and the upper edges of the two
outer films, one end of the air inflation path forming at least one
air inflation opening for air inflating, and a buffering portion
defined between the first heat-sealing line and bottoms of the
outer films; a plurality of second heat-sealing lines disposed on
the buffering portion for being heat-sealed to form multiple air
columns; a plurality of air guiding portions disposed on an inner
surface of at least one of the inner films and coated with a
heat-resistant material, each of the air guiding portions extending
into a respective air column and crossing the respective air column
and the first heat-sealing line to the air inflation path; a
plurality of air guiding holes formed on each of the inner films
between the plurality of air guiding portions and upper edges of
the two inner films and communicating with the air inflation path;
and a plurality of heat-sealing blocks disposed between two
adjacent inner film and outer film in the air inflation path for
heat-sealing the two inner films with the two outer films in the
air inflation path; wherein the upper edges of the two inner films
and the upper edges of the two outer films are integrally
heat-sealed together.
[0010] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,
a plurality of current guiding heat-sealing lines are formed on one
of the outer films in each of the multiple air columns for
heat-sealing the adjacent inner film and outer film.
[0011] In accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention, each one of the second heat-sealing lines is formed with
at least one through hole for allowing the multiple air columns to
communicate with each other in the buffering portion.
[0012] when air is discharged from the at least one air inflation
opening of the air inflation path, air currents flow through the
plurality of air guiding holes to inflate the two inner films and
outer films, whereby each of the air guiding portions is pulled
outward to form a current guiding channel between the two inner
films, and each of the air intakes is formed in the current guiding
channel facing the first heat-sealing line where air is capable of
rapidly flowing from the air intakes to fill the multiple air
columns in which pressure is generated to press the two inner films
against each other in the air columns so as to prevent air from
leaking out of the air columns.
[0013] The airtight sheath having openable air intakes of the
present invention utilizes two inner films having the upper edges
extending to the upper edges of the two outer films so as to
facilitate attachment of the two outer films and the inner films at
the same time, whereby simplifying processing procedures.
Furthermore, the plurality of air guiding holes facilitate a quick
inflation process and ensure air currents that flow among the outer
films and the inner films when air is inflated from either one of
the air inflation openings. Still further, because the outer films
and the inner films in the air inflation path are precedingly
heat-sealed together, the inner films are easy to be separated to
automatically open the air intakes for inflating the air
columns.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an airtight sheath
having openable air intakes of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airtight
sheath of the present invention being inflated;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic front elevational view of the airtight
sheath according to another embodiment of the present invention
showing a plurality of air guiding holes respectively having a
cutting line shape; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the
airtight sheath having openable air intakes being inflated.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] An airtight sheath having openable air intakes of the
present invention is capable of being quickly inflated with air to
function as an impact resistant structure, and is capable of
automatically opening the air intakes and closing the air intakes
after being inflated. The airtight sheath is feasible to have
variable shapes, such as, for example, a single wall shape having
multiple air columns arranged in a row, or a container shape for
encompassing an article so as to provide impact resistance for the
article.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 showing a preferable embodiment of
an airtight sheath 1 of the present invention, the airtight sheath
1 has a shape of multiple air columns arranged in a single row, and
comprises two outer films 2a and 2b, and two inner films 3a and 3b
that are made of a transparent material, but not limited thereby.
The two outer films 2a and 2b are corresponding to each other and
are respectively provided with heat-sealing sides at peripheries of
the two outer films 2a and 2b for being heat-sealed together.
Additionally, a first heat-sealing line 21 is formed on the two
outer films 2a and 2b for dividing the two outer films 2a and 2b
into an air inflation path 4 and a buffering portion 5. The two
inner films 3a and 3b are heat-sealed with the two outer films 2a
and 2b with the first heat-sealing line 21, wherein a part of the
two inner films 3a and 3b is located in the air inflation path 4,
and another part thereof is located in the buffering portion 5. In
this embodiment, a width of the two inner films 3a and 3b is
thinner than a width of the two outer films 2a and 2b for
facilitating the attachment of the inner films 3a and 3b and the
outer films 2a and 2b.
[0021] The air inflation path 4 is formed between the first
heat-sealing line 21 and upper edges 2c of the two outer films 2a
and 2b. One end of the air inflation path 4 forming at least one
air inflation opening 41 for air inflating. In this preferable
embodiment, there are three air inflation openings 41, and one of
which is formed between the two inner films 3a and 3b, and the
other two air inflation openings 41 are respectively formed between
the adjacent inner film 3b and outer film 2a, and the adjacent
inner film 3a and outer film 2b. The present invention is to
utilize an air compressor (not shown) connecting an inflation
needle (not shown) inserted into one of the air inflation openings
41 for quickly inflating air therein. The buffering portion 5 is
provided with a plurality of second heat-sealing lines 22 spaced
apart from each other to heat-seal the two inner films 3a and 3b
and the two outer films 2a and 2b for forming multiple air columns
51. The plurality of second heat-sealing lines 22 are respectively
perpendicular to and extend to the first heat-sealing line 21,
whereby the multiple air columns 51 and the air inflation path 4
are arranged in different direction so as to reinforce the strength
of the airtight sheath 1. The multiple air columns 51 are arranged
in a row. Furthermore, each one of the second heat-sealing lines 22
is formed with at least one through hole 221 for allowing the
multiple air columns 51 to communicate with each other in the
buffering portion 5. In other words, air discharges from either one
of the multiple air columns 51 is capable of flowing to the other
air columns 51 through the through holes 221.
[0022] Continuing referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the two inner films
3a and 3b are corresponding to each other and respectively extend
along the first heat-sealing line 21 to opposite sides and upper
edges 2c of the two outer films 2a and 2b. In particular, a
plurality of air guiding portions 31 are separately disposed on an
inner surface of the inner film 3a, and are located relative to the
multiple air column 51. Each of the air guiding portions 31 extends
into a respective air column 51 and crosses the respective air
column 51 and the first heat-sealing line 21 to the air inflation
path 4, and is completely coated with a heat-resistant material.
More specifically, a part of each air guiding portion 31 is located
in the air inflation path 4, and another part thereof is located in
the air column 51. The plurality of air guiding portions 31 are not
affected by the first heat-sealing line 21 when heat sealing
because of the heat-resistant material so that the air guiding
portion 31 are not to be attached to another inner film 3b. On the
other hand, the parts of the air guiding portions 31 in the air
inflation path 4 do not extend to the upper edges 2c of the two
outer films 2a and 2b in order for reducing the size of the air
guiding portions 31 so as to lower a manufacturing and coating
cost. It is particularly noted that upper and lower sides of the
inner films 3a and 3b extend to the opposite left and right sides
of the two outer films 2a and 2b, and upper edges 3c of the two
inner films 3a and 3b extend to the upper edges 2c of the outer
films 2a and 2b for facilitating heat-sealing attachment of the
outer films 2a and 2b and the inner films 3a and 3b. That is, when
mass producing the airtight sheaths 1, a large size of the outer
films 2a and 2b and the inner films 3a and 3b are overlapped with
each other and are capable of being cut at the same time to be
separated into two units of the airtight sheaths 1, whereby
simplifying the manufacturing processes.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of air guiding holes
311 are formed on each of the inner films 3a and 3b between the
plurality of air guiding portions 31 and the upper edges 3c of the
two inner films 3a and 3b and communicate with the air inflation
path 4. The air guiding holes 311 are spaced apart from each other
and arranged in line with each other for facilitating air currents
discharging in the air inflation path 4. Referring to FIG. 4, in
another embodiment, the plurality of air guiding holes 311 are
shaped as cutting lines 312. When being inflated, the air inflation
path 4 is filled with pressure which inflates the two inner films
3a and 3b and therefore opens the cutting lines 312 to allow air
currents to flow therethrough until the air inflating stops. The
cutting lines 312 are arranged in alignment with each other in one
row or multiple rows.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 5 showing a schematic side cross-sectional
view of the present invention, when inflating the airtight sheath
1, the inflation needle is inserted into one of the air inflation
openings 41, and air discharges from the air inflation opening 41
into the air inflation path 4. It is noted that no matter which of
the air inflation openings 41 is inserted with the inflating
needle, air currents are capable of flowing through the plurality
of air guiding holes 311 of the two inner films 3a and 3b so as to
inflate the two inner films 3a and 3b in the air inflation path 4.
As a result, each of the plurality of air guiding holes 311 is
spaced apart from the opposite inner film 3b to form a current
guiding channel 32, wherein an air intake 321 is formed in the
current guiding channel 32 facing the first heat-sealing line 21
where air is capable of rapidly flowing from the air intake 321 to
fill the buffering portion 5 and inflates the outer films 2a and 2b
so as to form the multiple air columns 51. At the same time,
pressure is generated in the air columns 51 and presses the two
inner films 3a and 3b against each other in the air columns 51 so
as to seal the current guiding channels 32 and to prevent air from
leaking out of the air columns 51.
[0025] Alternatively, each of the multiply air columns 51 is
capable of including multiple current guiding channels 32 for
facilitating air currents discharging.
[0026] It is particularly noted that a plurality of heat-sealing
blocks 23 are disposed between the two adjacent inner film 3b and
outer film 2a, and between the two adjacent inner film 3a and outer
film 2b, in the air inflation path 4 (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5).
The plurality of heat-sealing blocks 23 are spaced apart from each
other for heat-sealing the two inner films 3a and 3b with the two
outer films 2a and 2b in the air inflation path 4. In this manner,
portions of the two inner films 3a and 3b are bonded with the
adjacent outer films 2a and 2b so as to facilitate separation of
the two inner films 3a and 3b when inflating, whereby allowing
inflation air quickly directly flows in the current guiding
channels 32.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of current guiding
heat-sealing lines 313 are formed on one of the outer films 2a in
each of the multiple air columns 51 for heat-sealing the adjacent
inner film 3b and outer film 2a before inflating. Every two of the
plurality of current guiding heat-sealing lines 313 are arranged
symmetrically and apart from each other in each air column 51,
wherein two opposite air holes 313a and 313b are located at upper
and lower portions of the two current guiding heat-sealing lines
313. The air hole 313a at the upper portion has a width larger than
that of the air hole 313b at the lower portion so as to enable the
pressure between the two current guiding heat-sealing lines 313 to
be greater than pressure outside of the two current guiding
heat-sealing lines 313. More specifically, every two of the current
guiding heat-sealing lines 313 function as a unit to guide air
currents, and each unit of the current guiding heat-sealing lines
313 has different shapes (as shown in FIG. 2). In one embodiment,
the two current guiding heat-sealing lines 313 are curved in
symmetrical to each other.
[0028] Accordingly, the airtight sheath 1 of the present invention
utilizes two inner films 3a and 3b having the upper edges 3c
extending to the upper edges 2c of the two outer films 2a and 2b so
as to facilitate attachment of the two outer films 2a and 2b and
the inner films 3a and 3b at the same time, whereby simplifying
processing procedures. Furthermore, the plurality of air guiding
holes 311 facilitate a quick inflation process and ensure air
currents that flow among the outer films 2a and 2b and the inner
films 3a and 3b when air is inflated from either one of the air
inflation openings 41. Furthermore, because the outer films 2a and
2b and the inner films 3a and 3b in the air inflation path 4 are
precedingly heat-sealed together, the inner films 3a and 3b are
easy to be separated to automatically open the air intakes 321 for
inflating the air columns 51.
[0029] It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other
forms within the scope of the claims. Thus the present examples and
embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative,
and not restrictive, of the invention defined by the claims.
* * * * *