GB2353029A

GB2353029A - A packaging element and moulding means for manufacturing the same

Info

Publication number: GB2353029A
Application number: GB0028885A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chun-Tse Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-09-06
Filing date: 1996-09-06
Publication date: 2001-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-06
Also published as: GB0028883D0; GB2353029B; GB0028885D0; GB2353028A; GB2353028B

Abstract

A packaging element 81 moulded from pulp comprises cushioning sections for positioning and cushioning an article, each comprising a number of successive units of moulded pulp, each unit defining a ridged surface 82 on the packaging element 81. A moulding means (85, Fig.2B) for manufacturing the units comprises upper mould members (86, Fig.2B) and lower mould members (87, Fig.2B), together defining the units, with each lower mould member being connected between two successive upper mould members. The upper mould members are used to form the ridged surfaces of the units for contact with an external packing material, such as a cardboard box or a carton, and the lower mould members, in addition to defining the units with the upper mould members, are used to form bottom surfaces each connecting two successive units. These bottom surfaces define an envelope to completely fit with the contour of the article to be packaged. When the contour of the article changes, only the lower mould members are replaced and the upper mould members can be retained.

Description

2353029 A Packaging Element and Mouldina Means for Manufacturing the same

5 The present invention relates generally to moulded pulp technology for packaging articles and more specifically to a pulp moulding for positioning and cushioning an article, and a moulding means for manufacturing a packaging element of moulded pulp.

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, is electrical appliances and porcelain products, are usually made of polylone or EPE foam materials. As is well known, these materials are bulky, highly inflammable and spontaneous combustible, undegradable, 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 moulded packaging materials. Since the raw material of pulp mouldings comes from recycled paper and is free from tree felling, the pulp moulds are fully suitable in view of the increasingly desired environmental concerns. As compared to the conventional polylone and EPE foam materials, the moulded pulp materials require less space and will not generate toxic substances when burnt. The fibrous contents of the, moulded pulp materials are capable of absorbing humidity. Furthermore, the moulded pulp materials are not spontaneously combustive.

2 However, the existing moulded pulp 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 packaging materials of moulded pulp cannot minimize damages on the packaged articles due to collision or impact during shipping. Besides, the conventional moulding devices for making packaging elements of moulded pulp 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 moulding device will be required for such a change. As a result, the conventional moulding devices provide no flexibility in use.

Thus, a problem associated with the prior art, which has been recognised herein is that conventional moulded pulp materials for packaging articles do not provide both functions of positioning and cushioning for the packaged articles. Another problem that has been recognised is that a new moulding device is required each time there is a change in the contour or shape of an article.

Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a packaging element of moulded pulp for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, said packaging element comprising: cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive units of moulded pulp, each unit defining a ridged surface on said packaging element 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 surf ace may be in the f orm 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 3 plan view.

Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a moulding means for manufacturing a packaging element of moulded pulp which is provided for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, the moulding means defining a surface onto which pulp can be moulded to form a packaging element having cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive units of moulded pulp, each unit defining a ridged surface on said packaging element 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, said moulding means comprising: upper mould members and lower mould members for together defining the ridged surfaces of said units, and said lower mould members for further defining said bottom surfaces.

A preferred embodiment 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 packaqinq element of moulded pulp used to support fruit or eggs; Figure 1B shows a prior art packaging element of moulded pulp used to package an article having a Jaqqed or uneven contour; Figure 2A shows a preferred packaging element of moulded pulp in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 2B shows the preferred moulding means for making units of moulded pulp in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1A and 1B respectively show the schematic views of conventional packaging elements of moulded pulp for supporting fruits or eggs and'for supporting industrial paris having jagged or uneven contours. As shown in Figure 1A, the prior art packaging element is formed with recessed portions for receiving articles 10, such as apples, having a substantially circular crosssection. The prior art packaging element 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 packaging element of moulded pulp has recessed sections 13, 14 corresponding to the contour of the article 12 so as to hold the article 12 therein. The known pulp mouldings are provided to hold or support the packaged articles alone and provide no 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.

The present invention also provides a moulding means for making the units. Figure 2A shows a finished packaging element 81 made from moulded pulp. The packaging element 81 comprises a cushioning section constructed with a plurality of units of moulded pulp 82, as illustrated, which are arranged as a unit matrix to be in 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 2S 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 form an envelope by curved lines f ' and g which correspond to the curved lines f and g so as to closely fit with the article 84.

Figure 2B shows a moulding means 85 for making the packaging element from moulded pulp 81 that is shown in Figure 8A. The moulding means 85 comprises upper mould members 86 (hatched regions) and lower mould members 87 (non-hatch regions), each lower mould member connecting two successive upper mould members. The upper and lower mould members 86 and 87 together define the configuration of the units 82, such as semi-circle, triangle, square or the terraced configuration. The lower mould members 87 are also used to form the bottom surface 83 such that an envelope can be defined to correspond to the contour of the article. In Figure 2B, dashed line 88 represents the units of moulded pulp which are attached to the upper and lower mould members, which will then be dehydrated, baked and possibly further processed to'form the packaging element 81.

In the moulding means 85 of the present invention, the upper mould 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 mould members 87 are re-designed to meet the new contour and the upper mould members 86 can be retained. The prior art moulding means for making moulded pulp packaging materials such as shown in Figures 1A and 1B, on the contrary, take the form of integral mould members so that the entire moulding means are no longer useful as design changes. Quite obviously, the moulding means in accordance with the present invention is flexible and economic in use.

As discussed above, the present invention provides a packaging element that has cushioning and shockabsorption feature and a moulding means for manufacturing the units of moulded pulp of the packaging element having parts which can be repeatedly used in different designs.

6

Claims

1. A packaging element of moulded pulp for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, S said packaging element comprising:

cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive units of moulded pulp, each unit defining a ridged surface on said packaging element 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 packaging element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

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

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

2S

5. The packaging element 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. The packaging element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said plurality of moulded pulp units are arranged as a unit matrix.

7. The packaging element as claimed in claim 6, wherein the upper surfaces of the plurality of moulded pulp units, which are for contact with an external - 7 packaging material, lie in the same plane.

8. The packaging element as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the bottom surfaces of the plurality of moulded pulp units follow curved contours which correspond to the surface of an article which is curved.

9. A moulding means for manufacturing a packaging element of moulded pulp which is for positioning and cushioning an article having an irregular contour, the moulding means defining a surface onto which pulp can be moulded to form a packaging element having cushioning sections, each comprising a plurality of successive units of moulded pulp, each unit defining a ridged surface on said packaging element 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, said moulding means comprising:

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

10. The moulding means as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a square shape.

11. The moulding means as claimed in claim 9, wherein said ridged surface of each unit takes the form of a triangular shape.

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

8

13. The moulding means as claimed in any of claims 9 to 12, 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. 5

14. A moulding means as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13, wherein said upper mould members are repeats of the same shape.

15. A moulding means as claimed in claim 14, wherein said lower mould members connect with said upper mould members to form a unit matrix of mould members defining the shape of the packaging element.

16. A packaging element substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2A of the accompanying drawings.

17. A moulding means for manufacturing a packaging element of moulded pulp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2B of the accompanying drawings.