GB1580996A - Method of packaging - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A METHOD OF PACKAGING (71) We, E. P. S. (RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT) LIMITED, a British company, of Staplehurst Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to packaging and more particularly relates to the packaging of articles for transportation thereof. There is a need for packages which can be utilised from time to time, to transport articles, and which can, in the meantime, be stored in a very small space.One particular need for such packages arises in ships where, from time to time, delicate equipment such as radio equipment or radar equipment has to be transported from the ship to the shore for servicing or maintenance. In many ships it is not feasible to maintain a supply of erected rigid containers for the transport of such delicate equipment, and thus there is a need for a collapsible container or package which, when collapsed, occupies a very small space, and which can subsequently be utilised to transport the delicate equipment. The present invention seeks to provide a package for use in such circumstances, but it is to be appreciated that embodiments of the invention may be utilised in many different circumstances where a collapsible container is required.

According to the invention, there is provided a package comprising a collapsible container and at least one cushion, said cushion comprising an air-tight receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in the receptacle being at a pressure below the pressure outside the receptacle.

Preferably the receptacle is resilient and when expanded or opened out has a volume substantially equal to the volume of the resilient material when uncompressed.

Conveniently the cushion comprises an air-tight receptacle having flexible walls, a portion of the receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in such portion being reduced to a sufficient extent so that the differential air pressure between the exterior and the interior of the receptacle retains the filling material in the compressed state and the unfilled portion of the receptacle in a collapsed state, the arrangement being such that, on permitting air to enter the receptacle by puncturing a wall of the receptacle, the material expands substantially to fill the entire available volume of the receptacle, the receptacle thus expanding or opening out.

Conveniently the package comprises a base, a collapsible side wall forming member and a lid, means being provided to secure said components together.

When the receptacle of the invention is required to be flexible it may be made of any suitable flexible material which is impermeable to air, such as for example, rubber, polyethylene or plasticised polyvinylchloride. When using these materials the receptacles may be punctured by, for example, cutting off a corner thereof or slitting an edge portion thereof.

In relation to dunnage bags the compressible infilling material may be any suitable resilient material having an open-cell type structure (i.e. one which is porous to air).

The term "open-cell material" as used in relation to the provision of a dunnage bag is intended also to embrace foamed materials initially having a substantial proportion, if not all, closed cells defined by walls which would rupture to permit substantially all the air in the cells to be expelled therefrom during the compression of the material whilst the material itself still retained sufficient resiliency to expand very substantially after the receptacle was punctured and preferably to its original size.

Examples of infilling materials which may be suitable for use with dunnage bags in accordance with this invention, are foamed rubber, foamed polyvinylchloride or polyurethane. Alternatively, a suitably resilient fibrous material may be used, for example, a material of the HAIRLOK type (Trade Mark) which comprises a random arrangement of hairs held together by a rubber latex adhesive and such material is to be construed as falling within the term "opencell" material.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows part of a package in accordance with the present invention, this figure being an exploded view of the parts of the package in a generally collapsed condition; Figure 2 shows the parts of the package illustrated in Figure 1 in a generally erected condition, this view also being an exploded view; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a cushion for use in a package in accordance with the present invention in its inoperative collapsed condition, and Figure 4 is a similar view to Figure 3 of the same cushion in its expanded condition.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings a collapsible package in accordance with the present invention comprises a base 1, a lid 2, a side wall forming assembly 3 and a packing element 4. All these elements may be made from a substantially rigid material such as card, plywood, metal sheet or the like, although it is to be appreciated that the material forming the various elements may be any suitable material. The base 1 comprises a rectangular planar portion 5 having a peripheral upstanding side wall 6 and the lid also comprises a rectangular planar portion 7 having a downwardly depending peripheral side wall 8. A plurality of cushions or dunnage bags, to be described in detail hereinafter, are also provided.

The planar portion 7 of the lid 2 of the container is slightly larger than the planar portion 5 of the base 1 of the container.

The side wall forming element 3 is provided with score or fold lines 9, or hinges if wood or metal is utilised, on the two shorter side walls thereof to enable the side wall forming element 3 to be collapsed to form a generally planar member as shown in Figure 1, and the packing element 4 is constructed in a similar manner.

The side wall forming element 3 and the packing element 4 may be located in the base 1 of the container, the packaging cushions, to be described hereinafter, may also be located in the base 1 of the container and the lid 2 of the container may then be located in position with the downwardly depending side walls 8 of the lid 2 of the container located within the upwardly extending side walls 6 of the base 1 of the container. The lid 2 and the base 1 may be secured together by straps, adhesive tape, or any other convenient means, to form a small compact item that can readily be stored.

When the container is to be utilised the lid 2 and the base 1 are separated and the side wall forming member 3 is erected to have the position illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings. When in this condition the lid 2 is a snug-fit on the side wall forming member 3. Since the side walls 6 of the base 1 are spaced further apart than the side walls 6 of the lid 2 it is necessary initially to introduce the packing element 4 into the base 1, the area defined within the packing member 4 then corresponding to the area defined by side walls 8 of the lid 2. The side wall forming member 3 consequently fits snugly within the combination of the base 1 and the packing member 4. When the container has been erected in this manner the packaging cushions or dunnage bags may be inserted into the container.

Each dunnage bag 10 comprises a block 11 of open-cell (as hereinbefore defined in relation to dunnage bags) resilient material enveloped in an air-tight substantially evacuated receptacle 12 in the form of a sealed envelope of air impervious sheet plastics material. The block 10 of open-cell material may be located within the receptacle 11, and the receptacle may then be evacuated to compress the block, the receptacle then being sealed.

Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings illustrates the same bag 10 after a corner 13 of the receptacle 12 has been cut to permit air to enter the receptacle 12. When air enters the receptacle the resilient open cell material expands under its own natural resilience, thus opening out or expanding the receptacle.

It will be appreciated that six cushions or dunnage bags 10 of the type described may be provided, one being intended to be located on the base 1 of the erected container, one adjacent each side wall of the erected container and one under the lid 2 of the erected container. An article to be packaged may be located within the container and the evacuated receptacles forming the dunnage bags 10 may be cut or punctured to permit the dunnage bags to expand resiliently to surround and embrace the packaged article. The lid 2 may be secured on the container by means of straps, adhesive tape, or any other suitable means.

It will be appreciated that in utilising a packaging system as described above all the components of the packaging system may be stored in a relatively small space, that is to say the space defined by the combination of the base 1 and the lid 2, and yet the components may be erected to form a relatively large container, and an item may be packaged within the container and may be provided with means resiliently to retain the packaged item in position to prevent the item being damaged in any way.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to one specific embodiment it is to be noted that many modifications may be made. For example, the collapsible container may take any convenient form and the collapsible container may be formed of any suitable material. Thus it is conceivable that the collapsible container may be formed of metal or timber, such collapsible containers being utilised for large and heavy items of equipment.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A package comprising a collapsible container and at least one cushion, said cushion comprising an air-tight receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in the receptacle being at a pressure below the pressure outside the receptacle.

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle is resilient and when expanded or opened out has a volume substantially equal to the volume of the resilient material when uncompressed.

3. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cushion comprises an air-tight receptacle having flexible walls, a portion of the receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in such portion being reduced to a sufficient extent so that the differential air pressure between the exterior and the interior of the receptacle retains the filling material in compressed state and the unfilled portion of the receptacle in a collapsed state, the arrangement being such that, on permitting air to enter the receptacle by puncturing a wall of the receptacle, the material expands substantially to fill the entire available volume of the receptacle, the receptacle thus expanding or opening out.

4. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the package comprises a base, a collapsible side wall forming member and a lid, means being provided to secure said components together.

5. A package substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (5)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. packaged article. The lid 2 may be secured on the container by means of straps, adhesive tape, or any other suitable means. It will be appreciated that in utilising a packaging system as described above all the components of the packaging system may be stored in a relatively small space, that is to say the space defined by the combination of the base 1 and the lid 2, and yet the components may be erected to form a relatively large container, and an item may be packaged within the container and may be provided with means resiliently to retain the packaged item in position to prevent the item being damaged in any way. Whilst the invention has been described with reference to one specific embodiment it is to be noted that many modifications may be made. For example, the collapsible container may take any convenient form and the collapsible container may be formed of any suitable material. Thus it is conceivable that the collapsible container may be formed of metal or timber, such collapsible containers being utilised for large and heavy items of equipment. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A package comprising a collapsible container and at least one cushion, said cushion comprising an air-tight receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in the receptacle being at a pressure below the pressure outside the receptacle.

2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle is resilient and when expanded or opened out has a volume substantially equal to the volume of the resilient material when uncompressed.

3. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cushion comprises an air-tight receptacle having flexible walls, a portion of the receptacle having a filling of compressed open-cell resilient material, the air pressure in such portion being reduced to a sufficient extent so that the differential air pressure between the exterior and the interior of the receptacle retains the filling material in compressed state and the unfilled portion of the receptacle in a collapsed state, the arrangement being such that, on permitting air to enter the receptacle by puncturing a wall of the receptacle, the material expands substantially to fill the entire available volume of the receptacle, the receptacle thus expanding or opening out.

4. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the package comprises a base, a collapsible side wall forming member and a lid, means being provided to secure said components together.

5. A package substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.