JP2011042383A - Spiral shock-absorbing member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spiral shock-absorbing member which is deformed in a relatively free manner, and capable of protecting a component, a product or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The spiral shock-absorbing member 1 has a slender tube 2. The tube 2 has a space part 3 which is formed by superposing two long sheets on each other and joining the sheets at an outer peripheral seal part 5 and an inner peripheral seal part 7. When the space part 3 is filled with gas, a spiral shape is formed, in which a loop part 8 is turned around the virtual axis O. The spiral shock-absorbing member 1 is freely deformed in the axial direction, the diameter of the loop part 8 is freely deformed, and thus, the member is functioned as a packaging material and a spacer for various kinds of articles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a helical cushioning member that is mainly used to protect an article from external force and can also be used as a spacer interposed between articles.

  From large parts constituting large structures such as automobiles and houses to small parts used in small electronic devices and the like, these parts are stored or transported while being protected by a buffer member. Conventionally, this type of buffer member is generally made of foamed polystyrene.

  However, the cushioning member formed of foamed polystyrene is not deformable and needs to be manufactured so as to have a shape and structure suitable for the part or product to be protected. For this reason, it was difficult to use repeatedly, and after use it had to be discarded or remade by recycling. Moreover, since it cannot deform | transform, the buffer member itself became large sized, and there existed a fault which requires space and a manpower also in conveyance and storage itself of a buffer member.

  As the buffer member, there is a buffer member that is formed hollow with a flexible resin sheet or resin film and is filled with air. However, many of these pneumatic cushioning members are manufactured in a state in which the inside is filled with air in advance, and cannot be stored compactly when not in use. In addition, the shape has also been specified, the versatility is poor, and it was not suitable for repeated use.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention in which a spiral tube having a hollow interior and formed of a flexible material is used as a shock absorber. However, in this shock absorber, a coil spring is housed in a spiral tube, and the shock absorber is not intended to be exerted by air sealed inside the tube.

JP 2003-130109 A

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, can be flexibly deformed according to the size and shape of the article to be protected, can function as a cushioning material or a spacer, and can be stored compactly when not in use. The object is to provide a possible helical cushioning member.

  The helical cushioning member of the present invention is formed by a flexible tube having a space portion in which gas can be filled, and the three-dimensional shape when the space portion is filled with gas is helical. It is characterized by this.

  In the spiral buffer member, the three-dimensional shape is a spiral extending around the virtual axis and in a direction along the axis.

  Since the three-dimensional shape is spiral, it has elasticity in the axial direction and the diameter can be freely changed, and it can flexibly respond to the shape and size of various parts and finished products, and can exhibit a buffer function it can.

  Moreover, when the gas of the said space part is discharged | emitted, the helical buffer member of this invention becomes a flat ring shape centering on the said virtual axis.

  Since it can be stored as a flat ring shape, it can be easily stored and transported in a non-use state that is not filled with gas.

  The helical buffer member of the present invention can be configured as one in which one end of the tube is sealed and a gas inlet is provided at the other end.

  By filling the gas from the inlet at the other end during use, it can be used immediately in a three-dimensional shape.

  In the helical buffer member of the present invention, for example, the tube is wound around a shaft, an object is sandwiched between adjacent tubes around the shaft, and the tube functions as a spacer and a buffer material.

  Alternatively, for example, the tube is wound around an article, and the tube functions as a cushioning material.

  Since the helical buffer member of the present invention can flexibly follow the size and shape of various parts and finished products, it can exhibit a buffering function and a function as a spacer with respect to articles that are parts and finished products.

  Further, the helical buffer member can be stored and transported in a compact state without being filled with gas, and can be made into a usable three-dimensional shape by being filled with gas. Moreover, since the whole is comprised by the elongate tube, there is not much quantity of the gas with which a space part is filled, and gas filling can be completed in a short time.

The perspective view which shows embodiment of the helical buffer member of this invention, and shows the state which filled the gas into the space part and became three-dimensional, The perspective view which shows the non-use state in which the space part is not filled with gas, The perspective view which shows an example of the manufacturing process of a helical buffer member, A partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a manufacturing process of a helical buffer member, Sectional drawing which shows the inlet_port | entrance of the gas formed in the edge part of the tube which comprises a helical buffer member, The top view which shows the other structural example of the gas inlet formed in the edge part of the tube which comprises a helical buffer member, The perspective view which shows the usage example which uses a helical buffer member as a spacer and a buffer material, The side view of the helical buffer member in the usage example of FIG. The perspective view which shows the usage example which wrapped the product with the helical buffer member, The perspective view which shows the other usage example which wrapped the product with the helical buffer member,

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the helical cushioning member 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured by an elongated tube 2. The tube 2 has a spiral shape centered on the virtual axis O, and in this embodiment, one round (360 degrees) of the spiral of the tube 2 is defined as the loop portion 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tube 2 is crushed and flat when the space 3 is not filled with gas. In the non-use state, the outer peripheral edge 4 of the tube 2 is positioned on an arc having a constant radius centered on the virtual axis O, and the inner peripheral edge 6 is positioned on an arc having a constant radius centered on the virtual axis O. In addition, it is possible to overlap the respective loop portions 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the spiral cushioning member 1 in a non-use state has a flat ring shape with a constant radius around the virtual axis O, and can be stored compactly.

  FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional state in which the space portion 3 of the tube 2 is filled with a gas such as air. In the three-dimensional state, each loop portion 8 has a bulge, and the tube 2 has a spiral shape extending around the virtual axis O and in a direction along the axis.

  The tube 2 is made of a soft sheet material. The sheet material is a synthetic resin sheet, a laminate material of a synthetic resin sheet and a paper material, or a laminate material in which a synthetic resin film and a reinforcing material such as a net shape are laminated. The space 3 in which the sheet material can be filled with gas by being joined at the outer peripheral seal portion 5 along the outer peripheral edge 4 of the spiral and at the inner peripheral seal portion 7 along the inner peripheral edge 6 of the spiral. Is formed.

  At one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the tube 2, the sheet material is bonded and sealed at an end seal portion, and at the other end portion of the tube 2, a gas inlet is provided.

  FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the introduction port 10a of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a cross section of the structure of the end of the tube 2 in a state where the space 3 is filled with gas and swells.

  A check valve 11 extending from the opening end 2a of the tube 2 toward the inside of the space 3 is provided in the introduction port 10a shown in FIG. This check valve 11 is formed of a synthetic resin sheet having a slightly higher rigidity than the sheet material constituting the tube 2. Two check valves 11 are provided, one end is fixed to the inner surface of the open end 2 a of the tube 2, and the other end is joined inside the space portion 3 to form a valve portion 12. In the structure shown in FIG. 5, air can be filled from the inlet 10 a toward the space portion 3, and when the tube 2 expands into a three-dimensional shape, the valve portion 12 is closed by internal pressure, and the air in the space portion 3 It becomes possible to prevent leakage.

  FIG. 6 shows the inlet 10b of the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an end of the tube 2 in a flat state where the space 3 is not filled with gas.

  As described above, the tube 2 has the outer peripheral seal portion 5 formed on the outer peripheral edge 4 and the inner peripheral seal portion 7 formed on the inner peripheral edge 6. And an introduction seal portion 7b continuous to the inner peripheral seal portion 7 are formed. A thin maze 13 is formed between the introduction seal portion 5b and the introduction seal portion 7b, and a port 14 communicating with the maze 13 is formed.

  A gas such as air introduced from the mouth 14 passes through the thin maze 13 and fills the space 3. When the space part 3 swells and the internal pressure increases, the thin maze 13 is deformed so that the gas in the space part 3 is prevented from leaking from the mouth 14 to the outside.

Based on FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, an example of the manufacturing method of the said helical buffer member 1 is demonstrated.
In the manufacturing method shown in FIG. 3, elongated sheet materials S1 and S2 are supplied and overlapped. The sheet materials S1 and S2 are both strips extending in a straight line with the same width dimension. At least one of the sheet materials S1 and S2 is provided with a resin layer sealant layer having a low melting temperature on the joint surface, and heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing is performed at the joint between the sheet material S1 and the sheet material S2. Is possible.

  The elongated sheet materials S1 and S2 are overlapped so that the edges 4a and the edges 6a coincide with each other and supplied to the sealing step 20. The sealing step 20 is provided with a pair of sealing rollers 21a and 21b and a counter roller 22 that are spaced apart in the width direction of the sheet materials S1 and S2. The seal rollers 21a and 21b and the counter roller 22 rotate at a constant peripheral speed, and the sheet materials S1 and S2 are sandwiched between the seal rollers 21a and 21b and the counter roller 22 and sent out at a constant speed. The seal rollers 21a and 21b are heat rollers or rollers that generate ultrasonic vibrations. The sheet materials S1 and S2 are heated at the edge portions 4a and 6a, and are melt-bonded to each other at the seal portions 5a and 7a.

  The sheet materials S1 and S2 joined to each other in the seal portion 5a and the seal portion 7a are sent to the spiral forming step 25. In the spiral forming step 25, gear rollers 26a and 26b sandwiching the seal portion 7a and guide rollers 27a and 27b sandwiching the seal portion 5a are provided. As shown in FIG. 4 in an enlarged manner, the outer peripheral surface of the gear roller 26a and the gear roller 26b are formed with teeth that mesh with each other on the outer peripheral surface. On the other hand, the guide rollers 27a and 27b are rollers having a flat outer peripheral surface.

  The gear rollers 26a and 26b and the guide rollers 27a and 27b rotate at the same peripheral speed. The seal portion 7a is sandwiched between gear rollers 26a and 26b and has a zigzag cross section. The seal portion 5a is fed out at a constant speed by the guide rollers 27a and 27b. Since the seal portion 7a is fed to the gear rollers 26a and 26b before being completely cooled after being heated by the seal roller 21a, the zigzag shape of the cross section of the seal portion 7a bitten by the tooth portion is stably sealed to the inner periphery. It becomes part 7. As a result, the tube 2 that has passed through the spiral forming step 25 has the inner peripheral edge 6 formed into an arc shape, and has the spiral shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  The gear rolls 26a and 26b may be heating rollers, and may be formed in a zigzag shape at the tooth portion while further heating the seal portion 7a. In addition, after the seal portion 5a is formed by the seal roller 21b, the outer peripheral edge 4 is deformed into an arc shape by inserting cuts with a depth that does not communicate with the space portion 3 from the edge portion 4a into the seal portion 5a. It may be easy to do.

  After the sheet materials S1 and S2 are overlapped to form the outer peripheral seal portion 5 and the inner peripheral seal portion 7 to form a spiral shape, the tube 2 is cut into a certain length, and an end seal portion is formed at one end. Then, the inlet 10a shown in FIG. 5 and the inlet 10b shown in FIG. 6 are formed at the other end.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the manufactured helical cushioning member 1 can be transported and stored in a flat shape with a ring shape centered on the virtual axis O. When the space 3 is filled with gas such as air from the inlets 10a and 10b of the tube 2 during use, the tube 2 is a three-dimensional spiral extending in the axial direction with a spiral around the virtual axis O as shown in FIG. It becomes a shape.

  The three-dimensional spiral buffer member 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be elastically contracted and deformed because the space 3 is filled with gas. When a tensile force is applied along the virtual axis O, it can extend freely, and when the external force is removed, the original shape is restored. Moreover, it can deform | transform so that the diameter of each loop part 8 may be expanded. Further, in FIG. 1, the spiral shape of the spiral cushioning member 1 is a right-handed spiral, but the loop portion 8 is reversed halfway, and one side is a right-handed spiral and the other side is a left-hand side across the reversed portion. It can also be deformed to form a screw spiral.

FIG. 7 and subsequent figures show usage examples of the helical cushioning member 1.
FIG. 7 shows an example in which the spiral cushioning member 1 is used in a packing body 30 in which a relatively large article 31 is packed.

  In the package 30 shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of shafts 35 are provided on a tray 32, and the spiral buffer member 1 filled with gas is wound around each shaft 35. A large article 31 such as an automobile part, a ship part, or a house part is overlapped in the front and back and supported on the shaft 35, and the loop of the spiral cushioning member 1 is placed between the front and back articles 31. Part 8 is interposed. The tray 32 is covered with a container 33.

  The shaft 35 installed on the tray 32 is a bar made of metal or wood and having a circular cross section or a bar having a rectangular cross section. Or the hollow pipe etc. which were formed with the synthetic resin may be sufficient. A buffer material such as rubber or foamed resin is wound around the surface of the shaft 35. As shown in FIG. 8, the spiral buffer member 1 in which the space 3 is filled with gas is wound around a shaft 35 whose surface is formed of the buffer material. The diameter of the shaft 35 is set to be slightly larger than the inner diameter dimension of the spiral buffer member 1 filled with gas, and each loop portion 8 of the spiral buffer member 1 is deformed so that the inner diameter is slightly enlarged. And is wound around the shaft 35. Therefore, the helical buffer member 1 is firmly fixed around the shaft 35.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 8, the lower end portion of each article 31 is supported by a shaft 35, and the loop portion 8 that is a part of the tube 2 of the spiral cushioning member 1 between the front and rear articles 31. , And the loop portion 8 functions as a spacer and also functions as a buffer material because gas is sealed inside.

  As shown in FIG. 8, since the interval between adjacent loop portions 8 of the spiral cushioning member 1 can be arbitrarily widened, even if the thickness of the article 31 is different between the front and back, the gap between the articles 31 is different. The loop portion 8 can be brought into close contact with each other. In addition, one loop portion 8 may be interposed between adjacent articles 31, or two or four loop portions 8 may be interposed. Because of this degree of freedom, it is possible to pack together articles 31 of different thicknesses as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, the lower part of each article 31 is supported by the shaft 35 and the spiral cushioning member 1, but in addition to this, the upper end portion and both sides of each article 31 are composed of the shaft 35 and the spiral cushioning member. 1 may be supported.

FIG. 9 shows an example of use in which the bottle 41 is wrapped with the helical cushioning member 1.
The spiral cushioning member 1 in which the space 3 is filled with gas can be freely extended in the axial direction of the virtual axis O, and the radius of each loop portion 8 can be expanded. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the helical cushioning member 1 is wound around the outer periphery of the bottle 41, the loop portion 8 can be wound around each place following the outer shape of the bottle 41 having a different diameter depending on the place. it can. When the bottle 41 is packed and stored or transported in the state shown in FIG. 9, the bottle 41 can be protected from external force.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of use in which the spiral cushioning member 1 is wound around a relatively large article 42.

  In the usage example shown in FIG. 10, the spiral cushioning member 1 filled with gas in the space 3 is wound around the article 42 in a state of being slightly stretched along the axial direction of the virtual axis O. Since the spiral cushioning member 1 is wound around the article 42 in the stretched state, the helical cushioning member 1 is brought into close contact with the outside of the article 42 without being loosened by the contraction force in the axial direction. Further, at the crossing portion 43 of the spiral buffer member 1, the loop portions 8 are entangled with each other, so that the spiral buffer members 1 are restrained from each other and are not easily separated from the outer surface of the article 42.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the spiral cushioning member 1 is wound around the outside of the article 42 and is stored in a container or packaged with a wrapping paper.

  Similarly to the case shown in FIG. 10, by winding the spiral cushioning member 1 around the outer surface of furniture, piano, etc., it can be used as a cushioning material when transporting furniture etc. in moving, etc., and the furniture is damaged. It becomes easy to prevent.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Helical buffer member 2 Tube 3 Space part 4 Outer periphery 5 Outer periphery seal part 6 Inner periphery 7 Inner periphery seal part 8 Loop part 10a, 10b Inlet 35 Axis

Claims (6)

  A helical cushioning member which is formed by a flexible tube in which a space capable of being filled with gas is formed, and whose three-dimensional shape is helical when the space is filled with gas. .   The helical cushioning member according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional shape is a spiral extending around an imaginary axis and extending in a direction along the axis.   The helical cushioning member according to claim 2, wherein when the gas in the space is discharged, the helical cushioning member has a flat ring shape centered on the virtual axis.   The helical buffer member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one end of the tube is sealed and a gas inlet is provided at the other end.   The helical buffer member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tube is wound around a shaft, an object is sandwiched between adjacent tubes around the shaft, and the tube functions as a spacer and a buffer material.   The spiral buffer member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tube is wound around an article and the tube functions as a buffer material.

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