MXPA98004195A - Infla packing cushion - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an inflatable packing cushion of flexible material adapted to be loaded at least partially with filling means and having an outer peripheral edge adapted to the configuration and dimensions of a packaging receptacle, comprising: the cushion that it has at least one internal opening capable of receiving an article to be packed so that the sides of the article are completely surrounded by a pair of inflatable end chambers interconnected with a pair of inflatable side chambers through passages; a pair of panels inflatable bottoms interconnected to each of the end panels and at least one tie band placed in the inner opening connecting the bottom panels so as to hold them in position when the cushion is inflated; a plurality of recesses extending from the opening internal to the peripheral edges of the recesses that delimit wedging as a portion of the side chambers, the wedging parts capable of contacting the sides of the article, areas for pivoting the wedging parts that are being defined between the recesses and the peripheral edge, the wedging parts being adapted to pivot automatically during the inflating of the inflatable packing cushion about a line extending generally between two successive recesses in order to vary the size and configuration of each internal aperture, the internal opening being completely surrounded by the wedging portions, at least one internal opening between each of the lower panels and end chambers to facilitate that the cushion extends around the lower ends of the article, and filling element to at least partially load the cushion with the filling means

Description

INFLATABLE PACKAGING PAD Field of the Invention The present invention relates to inflatable packaging cushions and more particularly to inflatable packaging cushions that protect all sides of an article during shipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When items are packed in a shipping container or box, empty spaces are often found in the container. Protective packaging material for items of different sizes and configurations is commonly used to cushion items during shipment. There are number types and forms of packaging material for this purpose including waste paper, embossed paper, laminated bubble paper and plastic beads, known as peanuts. These forms of cushioning material do not always provide the necessary accommodation when embarking and are generally one-use items that are discarded after use. When looking for better protective packaging materials, various forms of cushions inflated with air have been suggested. One of these examples is the U.S. Patent. No. 4,798,123 to Pharo which describes an inflatable bag having a pocket for holding an article and adapted to be rolled up to assume a spiral configuration for cushioning the article. Said bag is inflated after the article is placed in the bag, the air bag is wound around the package and placed in a shipping container. Another example of an inflatable packing cushion is described in the U.S. Patent. No. 5,042,663 to Heinrich, which describes an inflatable cushion comprising a plurality of flexible ampoules that can be attached. A further example of an inflatable packing cushion is set forth in United States Patent No. 3,889,743 to Presnick which describes thermoplastic bags defining an inflation chamber within a box. An improvement in the inflatable packaging material is shown in US Pat. No. 5,348,157 to Pozzo which describes various forms of inflatable cushions that serve to protect one or more sides and / or ends of an article. These inflatable packing cushions do not always protect all six sides of an article with a single cushion. The disadvantages of the prior art packaging materials discussed above are overcome by using the inflatable packing cushion of the present invention as described below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a single inflatable packing cushion to protect all sides of an article. Another object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable packing cushion that easily bends around the edges of a rectangular article. A further object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable packing cushion that is inflated through a single valve and protects all sides of an article. Still another object of this invention is to provide an inflatable cushion in which at least two of the cushion chambers are bonded together by at least one strip d? Mooring It has been found that the above objects are achieved in accordance with this invention by providing a cushion formed from a pair of thermoplastic sheets that have been juxtaposed one on top of the other, thermally sealed around their peripheral edge and cut to shape and size desired. The cushion is designed so that it can be inflated through a single inflation valve. When the cushion is at least partially inflated a pair of inflatable bottom panels rest under each end of the bottom of an article to be protected. These bottom or bottom panels are retained in place by at least one mooring band of varying width and configuration connecting the panels. The cushion has a pair of inflatable end chambers interconnected to the lower panels through an air passage and a pair of inflatable side chambers interconnected to the end chambers, which, when inflated, protect the ends and sides of the item. The internal openings between each end chamber and bottom panel allow the inflated panels to bend easily under the ends of the article and around the corners. Recesses extending from each corner of an internal opening positioned below the article are provided to the peripheral edge of the cushion. When inflated, the side chambers form wedge-like portions that contact the sides of the article and turn the side chambers upward to wedge against the sides of the article. In one of the embodiments, an additional pair of internal openings facilitate that a pair of upper inflatable chambers interconnected to the end chambers rest on the article. In another embodiment of the invention, the lower inflatable panels are connected by at least two tie-down bands. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the cushion that protects the upper portion of the article includes a single inflatable chamber that bends through and covers a major portion of the upper part of the article. The upper single chamber has an internal opening in the middle thereof formed by a weld. Extending inward from the welds are portions of each thermoplastic sheet that remain after the cushion has been cut. The portions are adapted to retain a thin article, such as a hard computer drive between the blades.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view illustrating an embodiment of the inflatable packing cushion of the present invention in its inflated shape surrounding an article to be protected as it is used in combination with a shipping container; Figure 2 is a plan view of the inflatable packing cushion of Figure 1 made in accordance with this invention in its deflated state; Figure 3 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the inflatable cushion of the present invention; Figure 4 is a plan view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 3, in a deflated condition; and Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4 and illustrating the upper chamber of one embodiment of the invention holding in place a flat, thin article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown the inflatable packing cushion 10 made in accordance with the present invention, surrounding an article A adapted to be placed inside a box C of cardboard. The inflatable packaging cushion 10 includes panels or chambers interconnected through internal passages and adapted to protect each of the sides of article a. The inflatable cushion 10 is made from two sheets of thermoplastic material which are thermally sealed together around their outer peripheral edge 12 and which is generally adapted to the dimensions of, for example, a cardboard box C made from corrugated cardboard or the like. The inflatable cushion 10 includes an internal opening 16, capable of receiving an article to be cushioned, generally defined by the internal recesses 15 extending from each of the corners of the internal opening 16 towards the peripheral edge 12 of the cushion 10. The inflatable cushion 10 is made of two sheets of thermoplastic material impervious to air. Any number of commercially available waterproof thermoplastic materials can be used. The sheets are juxtaposed one above the other and sealed together in the region of their peripheral edges - that is, the welding lines 13. The seal can be formed by conventional techniques, for example, heat sealing. furthermore, the inner edges are welded in the same way also along the welding lines 13 and the cushion is cut to form the various internal openings. The thermoplastic sheets must be sufficiently flexible to adapt to the contours of the article to be packed and, at the same time, strong enough not to be punctured by any possible highly projecting or pointed parts of the article A to be protected. The cushions of these materials can be deflated and reused. but they can also be incinerated, without release of toxic vapor, or they can be recirculated. As shown in Figure 2, the inflatable cushion 10 is designed so that when inflated, a pair of inflatable panels 11 is below each end of the bottom of the article A. These panels 11 must be large enough to provide protection to the side bottom of article A when the cushion is properly inflated. A delineation of article A illustrates how the article fits into the deflated cushion 10. As the cushion 10 is inflated, the end chambers 14, placed at each end of the article A and interconnected through air passages to the panels 11, rise around the corners of the article a in the recesses 15 to protect the ends of article A. The ability of the end cameras to fit against the ends of the article it is facilitated by internal openings 17 which allow the inflated end chambers 14 to bend easily around the lower edges of the article. The pair of inflatable combs 11 are retained in place by the tie band 19. The mooring strap 19 can be formed as a weld seam when the peripheral edge 12 and the inner edges 13 of the cushion 10 are formed and the cushion is die cut. The width and configuration of the mooring strap 19 may vary. alternatively, the panels 11 can be connected by a plurality of tie-down bands 119 as shown in Figure 4. The sides of the article a are protected by the side inflation chambers 18, interconnected through the air passages to the chambers 14. of extreme, when they inflate. The side chambers 18 form wedge-like chambers that come into contact with the sides of the article and pivot upwards, shown by the arrows in Figures 1 and 2, to wedge against the sides of the article. Internal recesses 15 are found in each corner. which extend from the corners of the internal opening 16 to a peripheral edge of the cushion. As can be seen in figure 2, the recesses 15 delimit the wedging parts formed by the lateral inflation chambers 18 capable of contacting the article by plying around areas generally defined by the area of the air passage between the recesses 15 and the peripheral edge 12, connecting the end cameras 14 and the side chambers 18. The pivoting of the chilling portion of the chambers 18 around the pivoting zones allows the size and / or configuration of the internal opening 16 to be varied so as to adapt it to objects of various sizes and configurations, while maintaining a holding pressure on the article in view of a return movement that is exerted in the region of the pivoting areas. The configuration of each recess 15 and / or of the peripheral edge 12 is such that, in this region, two pivoting zones are placed respectively in two locations where the space between the recesses 15 and the outer peripheral edge 12 of the cushion 10 is the minimum . In this example, as can be seen in Figure 2, the peripheral edge 12 is substantially straight between the end of the side chambers 18 and each recess 15 is substantially of droplet configuration, ie it has a configuration constituted by two lines 15a, 15b which diverge from a corner in the internal opening 16 towards the peripheral edge 12 and are joined together by a rounded portion 15c in the vicinity of the edge. In the region of each rounded portion 15c there is an area where the space between the recess 15 and the outer peripheral edge 12 is the minimum and this area defines a pivoting area. The configurations of the recesses 15 are not unique and a person skilled in the art will be able to make modifications to them, knowing that it is sufficient to create, between a recess 15 and the peripheral edge 12, at least one narrowing in order to define a pivoting area. For example, it is possible to see the outer peripheral edge 12 having indentations in the region of each recess 15 in order to define, with the recess, the preferential pivoting zones. The four lateral edges of the article a placed in the inflatable cushion 10 are coupled in the recesses 15; therefore, they are not in contact with the cushion, which minimizes the risk of wear or deterioration of the cushion chambers by these intersecting edges. The recesses 15 also constitute, in view of their deformability, preferentially impact cushioning zones. The upper part of the article a is protected by a pair of inflatable upper chambers 20 interconnected through the passages to the end chambers 14. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the upper chambers 20 are large enough to provide protection to the upper part of the article A when the cushion is properly inflated. It is not necessary that the upper chambers 20 remain over the entire area of the article. The size of these cameras can be easily determined by those experienced in the field. An internal opening 21 between each of the upper chambers 20 and the end chambers 14 facilitates the upper chambers 20 to bend easily around the upper corners of the end of the article. Of course, the internal openings 21 may be a series of minor openings placed approximately in the same location as the openings 21 shown in Figure 2. The inflatable packing cushion 10 includes a single valve 23 for inflation. As seen in Figure 3, the inflatable chamber is inflated through the inflation valve 23 which may be positioned in any of a number of regions along the sides or top of the cushion. The inflation valve 23 is any of the well-known types of self-sealing inflating valve typically comprising two thin sheets of plastic juxtaposed and welded together along lines so as to form a passage conduit for an inflation hose. the valve 23 is placed between the two sheets forming the cushion. As a filling means, preferably air, is passed to the inflation valve 23, the chambers and panels in the cushion 10 are inflated around the article A. The internal openings 16, 17 and 21 allow the honeycombs 11 of When inflated, the end chambers 14, the side chambers 18 and the top chambers 20 fold easily under and around the ends and sides of the article and through the top. additionally, it is not necessary to completely fill the cushion with air to provide the desired protection. In another embodiment, that shown in Figures 3-5, there is provided an inflatable packing cushion 100 made from two sheets of thermoplastic material which are sealed together in the welds 113 around their outer peripheral edge 112. In this embodiment, the cushion has two mooring bands 119 to maintain the pair of lower honeycombs 111 in position. The embodiment shown in Figures 3-5 is similar in part to the embodiment of Figures 1-2 in that it includes the end cameras 114 connected to the lower panels 111 through air passages and the end cameras are connected to each other. the side cameras 118 in the same way. This embodiment includes recesses 115 that operate in the same manner as those of figures 1-2. As shown, the tie bands 119 are positioned on the sides of the bottom panel. The internal openings 116 and 117 sealed at their edges and corresponding to the internal openings 16 and 27 are provided. The inflation valve 123 is also provided. An alternative embodiment of the present invention, the upper inflatable chambers are replaced by a single inflatable chamber 120 that remains on at least a larger portion of the upper part of the article as more clearly shown in Figures 3 and 4. The upper chamber 120 The inflatable described in FIG. 4 has an internal opening 121 in the middle thereof which is formed by a seal seal 123. The opening 122 serves to maintain the chamber 120 from inflating excessively. Extending inwardly from the weld 123 are portions of each thermoplastic sheet 125 that remain when the cushion is cut. The portions are adapted to hold an elongate article 124 in place, thin, such as the hard disk drive of a computer. As shown in Figure 4, the welding line 113 forming the internal opening 122 is divided on its inner edge around the radius at each corner to alleviate any stresses caused by an article being retained with the opening. In operation, the inflatable chamber is designed for an article of a specific size and is inflated and placed around the article and then placed in a cardboard box or shipping box. The invention is advantageously applied to the transport and handling of any fragile merchandise, and especially electronic, computer or other equipment, with the ability to use a single inflatable cushion to protect all sides of the product and to be able to use it again on several occasions. The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a preferred embodiment and the operation thereof, but it is understood that variations, modifications and substitution of equivalent elements may be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (11)

- íe - CLAIMS:

1. - An inflatable packing cushion of flexible material adapted to be at least partially loaded with filling means and having an outer peripheral edge adapted to the configuration and dimensions of a packaging receptacle, comprising; the cushion having at least one internal opening capable of receiving an article to be packaged so that the sides of the article are completely surrounded by a pair of inflatable end chambers interconnected with a pair of inflatable side chambers through passages; a pair of inflatable lower panels interconnected to each of the end panels and at least one tie band placed in the inner opening connecting the lower panels so as to hold them in position when the cushion is inflated; a plurality of recesses extending from the internal opening towards the peripheral edges of the recesses delimiting wedging portions as a portion of the side chambers, the wedging parts capable of contacting the sides of the article, areas for pivoting the parts of wedging that are being defined between the recesses and the peripheral edge. the wedging parts being adapted to pivot automatically during inflating of the inflatable packing cushion about a line that ST generally extends between two successive recesses in order to vary the size and configuration of each internal opening, the inner opening being completely surrounded by the chipping parts, at least one internal opening between each of the lower panels and the end chambers to facilitate that the cushion extends around the lower ends of the article; and filling element for at least partially filling the cushion with the filling means.

2. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 1, wherein the cushion comprises a pair of juxtaposed thermoplastic sheets having the outer peripheral edges thereof sealed together to form the cushion.

3. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 1, wherein the filling element is a single, self-sealing inflation valve.

4. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 1. having a plurality of tie-down bands.

5. - The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 1, further comprising at least one upper chamber interconnected to the end chamber.

6. The inflatable packaging cushion according to claim 1, further comprising an upper chamber that remains on at least a majority of the article and that has an internal opening therein defined by a weld.

7. The inflatable packaging cushion according to claim 6, further comprising portions of the cushion extending inward from the weld toward the peripheral portion of the internal opening so as to define an element for retaining a thin article.

8. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 1, wherein the filling medium is air.

9. An inflatable packing cushion of flexible thermoplastic material adapted to be at least partially loaded with air and having an outer peripheral edge adapted to the configuration and dimensions of a packaging receptacle, comprising: a cushion having a pair of juxtaposed thermoplastic sheets having the outer peripheral edges thereof sealed together to form the cushion and having at least one internal opening capable of receiving an article to be packed so that the sides of the article are completely surrounded by end chambers inflatable interconnected with a pair of inflatable side chambers through passages; a pair of inflatable bottom panels interconnected to each of the end panels and at least one tie band placed in the internal opening connecting the bottom panels so as to hold them in position when the cushion is inflated; a plurality of recesses extending from the internal opening towards the peripheral edges of the recesses delimiting wedging portions as a portion of the side chambers, the wedging parts capable of contacting the sides of the article. areas for pivoting the wedging parts that are being defined between the recesses and the peripheral edge, the wedging parts being adapted to pivot automatically during inflation of the inflatable packing cushion about a line generally extending between two successive recesses in order to vary the size and configuration of each internal opening, the internal opening being completely surrounded by the wedging portions; at least one internal opening between each of the lower panels and the end chambers to facilitate the cushion extending around the lower ends of the article; at least one internal opening between each of the lower panels and the end panels; at least one inflatable upper chamber interconnected to the end chamber and having at least one internal opening between the at least one upper chamber and the end chamber; and a single self-sealing inflation valve to at least partially load the cushion with air.

10. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 9, further comprising an upper chamber that remains on at least the majority of the article and that has an internal opening therein defined by a weld.

11. The inflatable packing cushion according to claim 10. further comprising portions of the cushion extending inward from the weld towards the peripheral part of the internal opening so as to define an element for retaining a thin article. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An inflatable cushion is provided, inflated through a single inflation valve. A pair of inflated panels held in place by at least one tie band connecting the panels rests under each end of the bottom of an article to be protected. The cushion has a pair of inflatable end chambers interconnected to the lower panels and a pair of inflatable side chambers interconnected to the end chambers, which when inflated protect the ends and sides of the article. This is facilitated by internal openings that allow the inflated panels to bend easily under the ends of the article and around the corners. Recesses are found at each corner extending from each corner of an internal opening to a peripheral edge of the cushion to provide a wedge-like portion of the side chambers. In one of the embodiments, an additional pair of internal openings facilitate that the pair of upper inflatable chambers interconnected to the end chambers rest on the article. In another embodiment of the present invention, the chamber that protects the upper portion of the article includes a single inflatable chamber that is bent through the top of the article. The upper chamber has an internal opening in the middle thereof formed by welding. Extending inward from the weld are portions of each thermoplastic sheet that remain after the cushion has been cut and adapted to retain a thin article.