GB2316935A

GB2316935A - Pulp mould packaging element and moulding means

Info

Publication number: GB2316935A
Application number: GB9618645A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chun-Tse Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-12-27
Filing date: 1996-09-06
Publication date: 1998-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-06
Also published as: GB9618645D0; DE19638096A1; GB2316935B; DE19638096C2

Abstract

A pulp mould packaging element 30 for supporting an article 34 comprises a cushioning section 31 with a plurality of units with ridged surfaces 36 for engaging an external packaging material such as a carton, each pair of successive units being connected by an inner surface for engagement with the article, which may have irregular contours. The packaging element may receive the corner of a cuboid or the end of a cylindrical article and the cushioning section may comprise orthogonally disposed units 31,32,33. The ridged surfaces may be rectangular, triangular or semi-circular, and may taper towards a smaller outer end. A method of moulding such a packaging element comprises using a two part mould (see fig 8B), the lower mould members 87 being used to form the inner surface of the packaging element to match the irregular contours of the article, the upper mould members 86 being used to form the ridged surfaces. If the required contours are changed, then only the lower mould members need to be replaced. A further packaging element is shown in fig 2 which comprises a recess 20 with a cushioning section having spaced strips 22 for engaging an article 23 with a substantially circular cross-section.

Description

2316935 US-1306 PULP MOLD AND MOLDING MEANS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME The

present invention relates generally to pulp mold technology for packaging articles and more specifically to a pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article, and a molding means for manufacturing the pulp mold.

Conventional packaging materials, such as those used to hold agricultural products or food, e.g., fruits, eggs, cans or fresh meat, or industrial products, e.g., computer parts, electronic components, electrical appliances and porcelain products, are usually made of polylone or EPE foam materials. As is well know, these materials are bulky, highly inflammable and spontaneous combustible, un-degradable, toxic and non-recyclable, and thus cause significant problems in environmental protection. EPE foam material contains CFC which is known to be detrimental to the ozone of the atmosphere and is even worse to the earth environment.

To overcome the disadvantages of the conventional packaging materials, most of the countries that have long engaged in environment protection save no effort in finding substitutes and use more and more pulp mold packaging materials. Since the raw material of pulp molds comes from recycled paper and is free from tree felling, the pulp molds are fully suitable in view of the increasingly desired environmental concerns. As 2 65019.591 compared to the conventional polylone and EPE foam materials, the pulp mold materials require less space and will not generate toxic substances when burnt. The fibrous contents of the pulp mold materials are capable of absorbing humidity. Furthermore, the pulp mold materials are not spontaneously combustive.

However, the existing pulp mold materials are designed to hold or support articles only. Specifically, they only function to position articles and provide no cushioning effect to the packaged articles. That is, the conventional pulp mold materials cannot minimize damages on the packaged articles due to is collision or impact during shipping. Besides, the conventional molding devices for making pulp molds can only be used for a specific design. More specifically, when there is a change in the contour or shape of an article, a new molding device will be required for such a change. As a result, the conventional molding devices provide no flexibility in use.

Thus, a problem associated with the prior art which has been recognised herein is that conventional pulp molds for packaging articles do not provide both functions of positioning and cushioning for the packaged articles.

Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, said pulp mold comprising: cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each pulp mold unit defining a ridged surface on said pulp mold for contact with an external packaging material, and any two successive units being connected by a bottom surface, said bottom surfaces defining an envelope corresponding to said irregular contour of said article.

The ridged surface may be in the form of a continuous elongate ridge, or it may be made up of longitudinally spaced ridge portions, such ridge portions being, for example, square or rectangular in plan view.

Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a molding means for manufacturing a pulp mold, said pulp mold being provided for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour and comprising cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each pulp mold unit defining a ridged surface on said pulp mold for contact with an external packaging material, and any two successive units being connected by a bottom surface, said bottom surfaces defining an envelope corresponding is to said irregular contour of said article, said molding means comprising: upper mold members and lower mold members for together defining the ridged surfaces of said units, and said lower mold members for further defining said bottom surfaces.

Viewed from a third aspect, the present invention provides a pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a substantially a rectangular cross section, said pulp mold comprising: a receptacle section for receiving one corner of said article; portions extending from said receptacle section, said portions being substantially orthogonal to each other and each portion having an inner and an outer surface, each inner surface covering the surface of said article associated with said corner when said corner is received by said receptacle section; and cushioning sections provided on said outer surfaces of said portions for contact with an external packaging material, each.cushioning section comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each unit being a ridged surface provided on said portion.

Viewed from a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a cylindrical shape, said pulp mold comprising: a receptacle section for receiving a segment of one end of said article; portions extending from said receptacle section, the inner surface of one of said portions contacting said end of said article and the inner surfaces of the remaining portions covering the surface associated with said segment when said segment is received by said receptacle section; and cushioning sections provided on the outer surfaces of said portions for contact with an external packaging material, each cushioning section comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each unit being a ridged surface provided on said portion.

Viewed from a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a substantially circular cross-section, said pulp mold comprising: a recessed section for receiving said article, said recessed section defining an upper opening, a bottom and an inner wall, the diameter of said opening being greater than that of said bottom; and a cushioning section comprising a plurality of pulp mold strips spaced apart and forming said inner wall of said recessed section, each strip extending from the periphery of said opening to said bottom.

Viewed from a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a pulp mold which comprises at least a cushioning section formed by a plurality of pulp mold units, each unit being a ridged surface on the pulp mold.

Viewed from a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a molding means including upper mold members and lower mold members for making the pulp mold units and in turn the pulp mold, the upper mold members, together with the lower mold members, being provided to form the ridged surfaces of the pulp mold units, and the lower mold members being adapted to fit with the contour of an article to be packaged.

Some preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1A shows a prior art pulp mold used to support fruit or eggs; Figure 1B shows a prior art pulp mold used to package an article having a jagged or uneven contour; Figure 2 is a schematic view showing a pulp mold in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for packaging an article having a substantially circular cross-section; Figure 3A and 3B are schematic views showing the pulp mold in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention for packaging an article having a is substantially rectangular cross-section; Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of the present invention for the article shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 shows a further alternative of the present invention shown in Figure 3; Figure 6A shows a preferred fortified pulp mold in accordance with the present invention; Figure 6B is a side view of Figure 6A; Figure 7A shows yet another preferred fortified pulp mold of the invention; Figure 7B is a side view of Figure 7A; and US1306 - 6 - Figure 8 shows the preferred molding means for making pulp mold units in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1A and 1B respectively show the schematic views of conventional pulp molds for supporting fruits or eggs and for supporting industrial parts having jagged or uneven contours. As shown in Figure 1A, the prior art pulp mold is formed with recessed portions for receiving articles 10, such as apples, having a substantially circular cross-section. The prior art pulp mold shown in Figure 1B is to hold an article 12 such as an electronic product or a mechanical device that has a jagged contour. The prior art pulp mold has recessed sections 13, 14 corresponding to the contour of the article 12 so as to hold the article 12 therein. The known pulp molds are provided to hold or support the packaged articles alone and provideno cushioning effect to protect the packaged articles from impact or collision during shipping. In other words, the prior art packaging materials cannot minimize the damage the articles may suffer.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The pulp mold shown in Figure 2 is to position and cushion articles having a substantially circular cross-section. These articles may include for example fruits, eggs and cans. In this embodiment, a substantially cylindrical recess 20 is formed in the pulp mold. The opening of the recess 20 has an inner diameter substantially greater than that of the bottom 21 of the recess 20. The bottom 21 is US1306 - 7 - preferably provided with a hole for ventilation. A cushioning section 22 formed by a plurality of spaced pulp mold strips defines the inner wall of the recess 20.

Each strip extends from the periphery of the opening to the bottom 21. The cushioning section 22 provides a "surf ace-to-surf ace" contact with an article 23 to be packed. The surface-to-surface contact is accomplished when the ring zones 24 and 24' are engaged. The prior art shown in Figure 1A typically provides "point-to point" contact alone because the prior art pulp mold is formed with recesses of uniform dimension and there often exists a gap 11 when an article is put in one of the recesses. Consequently, the prior art packaging material connot securely hold the packaged article, and typically, uses sponge pads to compensate the gap 11.

This solution requires undesirable materials which further cause more environmental protection problems and increase the cost. On the contrary, in the present invention,due to the cushioning section 22, not only can the packaged article 23 be more securely held, but also a cushion effect is provided by virtue of the resiliency of the pulp mold fibers.

Figures 3A and 3B show another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 3A, in this embodiment, the pulp mold 3ois designed with cushioning sections 31, 32 and 33 respectively arranged in X, Y and -Z (negative Z) direction (Cartesian coordinate system) to enclose an article 34 having a substantially rectangular cross-section. The article 34 may be the actual object to be packed or an outside wrappage that contains an article.The cushioning section 33 in the negative Z direction is constructed with a plurality of successive units 35 extending longitudinally. The units 35 comprise ridged surfaces raised from the surface of the pulp mold 30 and having US-1306 - 8 - for example semi-circular, square or triangular shapes. The cushion sections 31 and 32 respectively in the X and Y directions are formed with a number of laterally extending units 36.

Figure 3B shows an alternative use of the pulp mold 30. In this embodiment, an article 37 is packed at four or eight corners thereof by the pulp molds 30.

Although not illustrated, it can be easily understood that the cushioning section (31,32) can be arranged at an angle greater than orthogonal to each other as shown in Figure 3A so as to cover a substantially cylindrical article.

Figure 4 is a further embodiment of the present invention for the article shown in Figure 3, in which a pulp mold 4-0, like the pulp mold 30 shown in Figures 3A and 3B, is applied to two, four or eight corners of a substantially rectangular cross-sectioned article. However, when the receptacle section 42 of the pulp mold 40 is fit onto a corner of the article, the pulp mold 40 provides cushioning function along each of the three orthogonal axes, namely X, Y and Z directions or alternatively in the (1,0,0), (0,1,0) and (0,0,1) orientation, by means of the cushion sections formed by units 41 successively arranged along the axes.

Figure 5 is yet a further embodiment of the present invention for the article shown in Figure 3, in which the pulp mold 50 is also applicable to two, four or eight corners of a substantially rectangular cross-sectioned article. However, when the receptacle section 52 of the pulp mold 50 is fit onto a corner of the article, units 51 that form a cushioning section are provided in a successive manner along each of the (1,1,0), (0,1,1) and (1,0,1) US-1306 9 - orientation rather than the (1,0,0), (0,1,0) and (0,0,1) orientation illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6A shows a pulp mold 60 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, which comprises cushioning sectionsformed by a plurality of pulp mold units 61. As illustrated, four units form a cushion section. Each unit 61 has a ridged surface which is not simply constituted by elementary geometrical shapes, such as semi-circular, triangle or square, but is formed with a terraced section 62 at both sides of the ridged surface to define a configuration having a narrow upper surface and a wide lower region. The pulp mold 60 is also provided with a base 63 to which the bottom surfaces 64 that connect the units 61 are connected. In addition to providing shock-absorption and cushioning effect to the packaged article, the units formed with the terraced section 62 also provide additional resistance to the pressure from upward. The base 63 is to provide further support to the units 61 to prevent them from collapsing, thereby forming a fortified pulp mold structure.

Figure 7A shows a pulp mold 70 also having a fortified structure,which comprises acushioning section constructed with a plurality of units 71. As illustrated, four units form a cu shioning section. As compared with the embodiment shown in Figure 6A, the units 71 comprise a terraced section 72 at one side of the ridged surface alone, and a base 73.

The present invention also provides a molding means for making the units. Figure 8A shows a finished pulp mold 81. The pulp mold 81 comprises a cushioning section constructed with.a plurality of pulp mold units 82, as illustrated, are arranged as a unit matrix to be in US-1306 - 10 - contact with an external packaging material such as a carton or cardboard box (not shown). The bottom surfaces 83 each connecting two successive units can be shaped in accordance with the contour of the article 84 to be packaged. In the embodiment, the article 84 has a contour defined by curved lines f and g in the horizontal plane. The bottom surfaces 83 are designed to f orm an envelope by curved lines f ' and g, which correspond to the curved lines f and 9 so as to closely fit with the article 84.

Figure 8B shows a molding means 85 for making the pulp mold 81 shown in Figure 8A. The molding means 85 comprises upper mold members 86 (hatched regions) and lower mold members 87 (non-hatch regions), each lower mold member connecting two successive upper mold members. The upper and lower mold members 86 and 87 together define the configuration of the units 82, such as semi-circle, triangle, square or the terraced configuration. The lower mold members 87 are also used to form the bottom surface 8'3 such that an envelope can be defined to correspond to the contour of the article. In Figure 8B, the dashed line 88 represents the pulp mold units attached tothe upper and lower mold members, which will then be dehydrated, baked and possibly further processed to form the pulp mold 81.

In the molding means 85 of the present invention, the upper mold members 86 may be repeatedly used even when the contour of the article to be packaged changes, such as having a contour defined by another curved contour line h ( not shown). In such a case, only the lower mold members 87 are re-designed to meet the new contour and the upper mold members 86 can be retained.

The prior art molding means for making pulp moldsas

US1306 - 11 - shown in Figures IA and 1B, on the contrary, take the form of integral mold members so that the entire molding means are no longer useful as design changes.

Quite obviously, the molding means in accordance with the present invention is flexible and economic in use.

As discussed above, the present invention provides a pulp mold that has cushioning and shock-absorption features and a molding means for manufacturing the pulp mold units of the pulp mold having parts which can be repeatedly used in different designs.

Claims

1. A pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, said pulp mold comprising:

cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each pulp mold unit defining a ridged surface on said pulp mold for contact with an external packaging material, and any two successive units being connected by a bottom surface, said bottom surfaces defining an envelope corresponding to said irregular contour of said article.

2. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said is ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

3. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a triangular shape.

4. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a semicircular shape.

5. The pulp mold as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said ridged surface comprises at least one terraced section such that the ridged surface has a top region smaller than a bottom region thereof.

6. A molding means for manufacturing a pulp mold, said pulp mold being provided for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour and comprising cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each pulp mold unit defining a ridged surface on said pulp mold for contact with an external packaging material, and any two successive 13 - units being connected by a bottom surface, said bottom surfaces defining an envelope corresponding to said irregular contour of said article, said molding means comprising:

upper mold members and lower mold members for together defining the ridged surfaces of said units, and said lower mold members for further defining said bottom surfaces.

7. The molding means as claimed in claim 6, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

8. The molding means as claimed in claim 6, wherein is said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a triangular shape.

9. The molding means as claimed in claim 6, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a semi-circular shape.

10. The molding means as claimed in claim 6, 7, 8 or 9, wherein said ridged surface comprises at least a terraced section such that the ridged surface has a top region smaller than a bottom region thereof.

11. A pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a substantially a rectangular cross section, said pulp mold comprising:

a receptacle section for receiving one corner of said article; portions extending from said receptacle section, said portions being substantially orthogonal to each other and each portion having an inner and an outer surface, each inner surface covering the surface of said article associated with said corner when said corner is received by said receptacle section; and - 14 cushioning sections provided on said outer surfaces of said portions for contact with an external packaging material, each cushioning section comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each unit being a ridged surface provided on said portion.

12. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 11, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

13. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 11, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a triangular shape.

is

14. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 11, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a semicircular shape.

15. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 11, 12, 13 or 14, wherein said ridged surface comprises at least a terraced section such that the ridged surface has a top region smaller than a bottom region thereof.

16. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a raised base which is connected with said bottom regions.

17. A pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a cylindrical shape, said pulp mold comprising:

a receptacle section for receiving a segment of one end of said article; portions extending from said receptacle section, the inner surface of one of said portions contacting said end of said article and the inner surfaces of the remaining portions covering the surface associated with said segment when said segment is received by said - 15 receptacle section; and cushioning sections provided on the outer surfaces of said portions for contact with an external packaging material, each cushioning section comprising a plurality of successive pulp mold units, each unit being a ridged surface provided on said portion.

18. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 17, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

19. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 17, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a triangular shape.

is

20. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 17, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a semicircular shape.

21. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 17, 18, 19 or 20, wherein said ridged surface comprises at least a terraced section such that the ridged surface has a top region smaller than a bottom region thereof.

22. The pulp mold as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a raised base which is connected with said bottom regions.

23. A pulp mold for positioning and cushioning an article having a substantially circular cross-section, said pulp mold comprising:

a recessed section for receiving said article, said recessed section defining an upper opening, a bottom and an inner wall, the diameter of said opening being greater than that of said bottom; and a cushioning section comprising a plurality of pulp mold strips spaced apart and forming said inner wall of said recessed section, each strip extending from the periphery of said opening to said bottom.

24. A pulp mold substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2, Figures 3A and 3B, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figures 6A and 6B, Figures 7A and 7B, or Figure 8A.

25. A molding means for manufacturing a pulp mold substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 8B.