Hammock Package

Abstract

Rigid support members attached to opposite ends of a product-receiving hammock section are tightly wedged between mating sections of a telescoping container to suspend the hammock in a taut condition within the container. The container sections during telescoping cooperatively engage the support members to draw the hammock outwardly from a relaxed to the taut condition. The support members also prevent telescoping beyond a predetermined point. In another form, the hammock section is supported by a single, resilient frame member.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to improvements in packaging and, more particularly, to a novel package and method for packing a product in a shock-absorbent, suspended hammock for storage, shipment, or on-the-shelf display of the product.

The advantages of hammock packaging have long been recognized, particularly for fragile objects such as glassware, eggs, electronic devices and the like. In general, the hammock containing the fragile object is suspended in a relatively taut condition within a packing box or other container by securing the hammock ends to opposite walls of the container. In this manner, the object is securely supported in space without contacting any of the container walls and is thus cushioned against vibration and shock. The need for bulky padding or other forms of protection inserts is eliminated, and as a result, the overall container weight and volume can be held to a minimum. Finally, if the hammock takes the form of a closed envelope, such as a sealed plastic bag, it provides a cocoon for protection against dirt, moisture, and the like.

Despite their advantages, prior forms of hammock packaging have been limited primarily to the custom and special-order packaging fields and have not become generally acceptable for automated, mass production packaging applications. This is due, at least in part, to the difficulty encountered in securing the hammock ends directly to the container and maintaining the proper tension between the ends to support the hammock in its taut condition. As a result, the hammock often must be secured in place with specialized equipment or by a time-consuming hand operation, either of which increases the overall complexity and cost of the packaging operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in a hammock package of the foregoing general character having one or more novel support members attached thereto which greatly simplify the procedures for assembling and securing the hammock in place. The support members are formed of relatively rigid material and are adapted to be securely held by a container or other structure in order to suspend the hammock.

The support members, which may be secured to support points at opposite ends of the hammock section, are preferably shaped to include two angularly disposed leg sections with the inner of the legs connected to a hammock support point and the remaining outer leg used to draw the hammock into its taut condition.

In a preferred form of the invention, the hammock is placed within the bottom section of a telescoping container with the support members disposed in a first position extending outwardly over and resting on the container rim. As the telescoping top section is installed, it engages the support member outer legs and drives them further out and down over the rim into a second position to tighten the hammock. In this latter position the outer legs are trapped snugly between the telescoping container walls to securely hold the hammock in place. In this manner the hammock is erected into its taut condition and restrained thereat in a simple fashion without special handling procedures. Moreover, the operation lends itself to automated procedures since the single step of positioning the container top also serves to suspend the hammock.

The support member outer leg may have an outwardly-extending, restraining flange which serves to stop the downward travel of the telescoping container top at a predetermined container height. The support members may be utilized for this purpose either with or without an attached hammock section, and by employing member of varying leg lengths, a single size of telescoping container can be tailored for products of varying heights. The flange may also incorporate a downwardly projecting lug which facilitates stacking of two or more containers. In addition, the support member may include a detent or other locking means to mount the hammock in a non-telescoping container.

The support members may extend substantially the full width of the container and are thereby held against lateral, side-to-side movement by the container walls. Alternatively, locating the support members within cutouts in the container also prevents such movement.

In a modified form of the invention, the hammock is attached to a one piece, resilient frame which exerts an outward force on the hammock to maintain its tautness. The hammock and frame may then be placed together within a suitable container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view showing a hammock package embodying the novel aspects of the present invention, with the package container depicted having telescoping top and bottom sections, and with the hammock shown in a relaxed condition prior to closure of the container.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partly in section, vertically through the package left end along the line 2--2 in FIG. 1, and showing the container top section in an intermediate position prior to complete closure.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal view, partly in elevation and partly in section, through the package showing the hammock in a taut condition following closure of the container.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a hammock support member.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that in FIG. 4 of a modified form of support member.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view through the support member of FIG. 5 depicting attachment of the hammock thereto by joining opposing hammock portions through an opening in the member.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view through a support member enclosed within and sealed to hammock section.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing another form of the support member held in place by a detent, the relaxed hammock position being depicted in phantom.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view through two stacked containers, showing a modified support member for holding the containers in their stacked position.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view through a telescoping container, and illustrating means for limiting the extent to which the container sections telescope.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another form of hammock support member according to the invention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view through a package utilizing the support member of FIG. 11, the relaxed hammock position being depicted in phantom.

FIG. 13 is a elevational view of one end of a hammock having a modified support member, the hammock shown in relaxed and taut conditions, the relaxed condition depicted in phantom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in the drawings, and in particular FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, the present invention is embodied in a package, indicated generally by the reference numeral 20, comprising a hammock section 22 in combination with one or more rigid support members 24 for suspending a product 26, such as a glass bottle, from a surrounding structure or container. It should be understood that an almost unlimited variety of products may be packed in the hammock section, particulary those of a delicate or fragile nature such as a stop watch, a glass figurine, a serum vile, or even a heaver and larger radio, camera, or the like.

Herein, the container is depicted as a rectangularlyshaped telescoping box, formed of plastic, metal, cardboard, or other suitable material, and having telescoping top and bottom sections 28 and 30, respectively, which close together around the hammock. With its rectangular configuration, the bottom section 28 includes two parallel sidewalls 32 connected by parallel end walls 34, the walls extending vertically upward from a bottom panel 36 and terminating in an upper rim 38. Cutouts 40 are formed in each end wall to receive the support members 24. The top section 28 includes a top panel 42 with similar side and end walls 44 and 46 terminating in a lower rim 48. An opening 50 may be formed in the top panel through which the box contents can be viewed or, if desired, the box itself may be of transparent plastic for the same purpose. While the package of the invention lends itself ideally to containers of the telescoping variety, it should be understood that other forms of supporting structures of containers could likewise be employed.

The hammock section 22 may take various forms depending on the nature of the product 26 to be packaged. In general, the hammock section is flexible but substantially non-elastic, so that when placed in its taut condition it will carry the weight of the packaged product without excessive sagging to cushion the product against shock and vibration. In one suitable form, the hammock section comprises a tubular sleeve of transparent polyvinyl chloride film within which the product is placed. The sleeve is sealed shut at its opposing ends 52 and 54, and these ends provide support points for suspending the hammock section within its container. While two support points are illustrated, it will be apparent that additional support points and support members could be located around the hammock periphery, particularly if the hammock were to contain a relatively heavy product.

In accordance with the present invention, a relatively rigid support member 24 is attached to each support point of the hammock section 22 in order to draw and support the hammock in its taut condition. As shown most clearly in FIG. 4, each support member is a rigid, one-piece element which can be formed of aluminum, plastic, or other suitable material. The support member is bent at 56 to form inner and outer support legs 58 and 60, respectively, angularly disposed in a general L-shape. In addition, the remote end of the outer leg may be bent at 62 to provide an outwardly extending flange member 64. The hammock section is secured to the inner leg of each support member with a suitable adhesive, and with this structure the support members may be readily manipulated to securely suspend the hammock in place.

In order to support the hammock section 22 within the telescoping container, the hammock is first laid in a relaxed condition within the container bottom section 30, as shown in FIG. 1. In this position, each support member 24 extends up out of the container with the outer leg 60 resting on the container rim 38 within the cutout 40. In this relaxed condition, the hammock section may be suspended above the bottom panel 36 of the box, as in FIG. 2, however if the box is relatively shallow, the hammock may instead lie directly on the bottom panel.

To erect the hammock section 22 into the taut position of FIG. 3, the container top section 28 is simply lowered in place over the bottom section 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower rim 48 of the top section strikes the support member outer leg 60, and as the top is telescoped further it traps the outer leg between the telescoping sections until the leg is rotated into the vertical position of FIG. 3. As this leg slides over the container rim 38, the inner leg 58 and the hammock section are drawn outwardly (to the left in FIG. 2) to tighten the hammock and lift it into its erect position. It should be noted that the outer leg of the support member is tightly wedged between the telescoped container sections in FIG. 3, so that the hammock is tightly restrained in its taut position, and lateral, side-to-side movement of the support member is prevented by the cut-out 40. The extent to which the container sections telescope is determined by the flange member 64 which functions as a stop to limit closure of the two sections.

If desired, the cutouts 40 may be eliminated and the support members 24 laid directly on the rim 38. Without the cutouts, the width of each support member may be increased up to the full width of the container end wall 34 to provide additional girder strength to the package 20 by distributing the hammock load over an area closer to the stronger corners of the container.

As alternative form of support member 24 is shown in FIG. 5 which includes one or more openings 66 in its inner leg 58. With this structure, the hammock section can be secured to the support member by heat sealing opposing layers of the hammock ends through the openings. As shown in FIG. 6, the hammock section includes upper and lower layers 68 and 70 respectively, of polyvinyl chloride film for example, which are heat sealed together at 72 through each opening 66. This method of attachment forms a very secure bond between the support elements and the hammock.

The support member 24 may be totally enclosed within and sealed to the hammock section 22 as shown in FIG. 7. There the product 26 and the support members are all placed in a single plastic hammock bag and the upper and lower hammock layers 68 and 70 heat sealed at points 74 on each end of the support member in a single operation.

In the modification of FIG. 8, the support member 24 is restrained in place to suspend the hammock section 22 in a taut condition without requiring the use of a telescoping container top. There the support member includes a detent 76 at the remote end of its outer leg 60 which rigidly snaps in place within a pocket 78 in the container bottom section 30. Of course, a telescoping top could be applied to the container, however, with the detent lock, other forms of containers may be employed with differing tops or even no top at all. If desired, the support member may be secured in position by means other than a detent lock. For example, a detent lock would be difficult to implement with a cardboard container, in which case a layer of pressure-sensitive tape could be employed to secure the support member to the container.

FIG. 10 shows another form of the invention in which a modified form of support member 24 is utilized simply to limit the telescoping of top and bottom container sections 28 and 30, respectively. In this form, the inner leg 58 has been substantially shortened, since no hammock is to be employed. This leg, however, remains of sufficient length and is shaped to hook over the rim 38 of the bottom container section. The support member thus forms, in effect, a connector member which permits the sections to be telescoped but only to a predetermined point. By replacing the connector with another having an outer leg of different length, the extent to which the top and bottom sections telescope and and the resultant container height can be changed. Thus a line of containers of a standard, predetermined size may be utilized to hold product of varying heights by selecting the connector of appropriate length for each product.

FIG. 9 shows the use of a support or connector member 24 to facilitate the stacking of more than one container. In this form the outer leg 60 extends to the bottom panel 36 of the container and the flange member 64 has a lug 80 extending downwardly from its outer end. When the upper container is placed on the lower container, the lug extends down along side the lower container to restrain lateral, side-to-side movement of the two containers.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show another form of the invention in which the hammock section 22 is supported by a one piece support or frame member 82. The frame member includes a bottom piece 84 having legs 86 extending generally vertically upward from each end thereof, with each leg having an inwardly disposed lip 88 to which the hammock section is secured. Preferably the frame member is of resilient material, so that its legs may be urged inwardly to the phantom position shown in FIG. 12, at which point the hammock section is secured to the frame. Thereafter, the ends spring back to their original position to place the hammock in its taut condition. With this structure, the hammock may be secured to the frame after which both are placed within a suitable container 90 for shipment.

FIG. 13 shows a modified form of support member 24 in which the legs 58 and 60 are disposed in a general L-shape at an angle somewhat greater than 90.degree.. With this structure the support may be placed over the container rim 38 with the rim disposed against the bend 56, so that simple pivoting of the member from the relaxed condition in phantom to the full line position serves to tighten the hammock by drawing it a distance "x" outward (to the left in the figure).

It will be apparent from the foregoing that while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A package comprising:

a flexible but substantially non-elastic hammock member adapted to enclose a product to be packaged, said hammock member being of a size to extend beyond both ends of said product;

angularly shaped support means each having an inner leg adapted to be attached to an end of said hammock member, and an outer leg at an angle thereto; and

an external structure surrounding said hammock and said support means and supporting the same, said structure engaging said outer legs of said support means to rotate the same to a position to tension said hammock member between them.

2. A package as defined in claim 1 in which said external structure includes a generally rectangular container on which said support means rest, and a slightly larger container telescopingly fitting over said rectangular container to rotate said support means.

3. A package comprising:

a flexible but substantially non-elastic hammock member adapted to enclose a product to be packaged, said hammock member having ends extending beyond said product;

supporting means adapted to be attached to each end of said hammock member, said supporting means being pivotable about axes substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said hammock means; and

enclosing means surrounding said hammock member and receiving said supporting means to apply tension to said hammock member to hold the same suspended by its end.

4. A package as defined in claim 3 in which said enclosing means is proportioned so that said hammock member, when suspended, is spaced from said enclosing means.

5. A package as defined in claim 3 in which said supporting means are angular members, each having a first leg adapted to be attached to an end of said hammock member, and a second leg at an angle to said first leg, the junction of said first and second leg forming a concave portion adapted to receive said enclosing means.

6. A package as defined in claim 5 in which said enclosing means engages said second leg of said supporting means to pivot the latter to suspend said hammock member.