JP2025166300A - Cushioning material - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cushioning material compatibly usable for a plurality of types of loads.SOLUTION: A cushioning material 10A of the present disclosure is to be received in a box body 90 together with loads 91A, 91B and oppositely placed sandwiching the loads 91A, 91B. The cushioning material 10A comprises a plate-formed main body 11 that is to be placed abutting against the loads 91A, 91B, protrusions 12T, 13T, 15T, and 16T that project from the plate-formed main body 11, and protrusion-receiving portions 12J, 13J, 15J, and 16J that are formed in the plate-formed main body 11 and, when a plate-formed main body 11 of another cushioning material 10A is superposed over the plate-formed main body 11, can receive protrusions 12T, 13T, 15T, and 16T of the other cushioning material 10A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

This disclosure relates to a cushioning material that is housed in a box together with luggage.

Conventionally, this type of cushioning material has been known to be rectangular in shape, fitting perfectly into a box, with a luggage fitting recess on one side into which luggage can fit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-33895 (Figure 5)

However, the conventional cushioning materials mentioned above require multiple types of cushioning materials with different sizes of luggage fitting recesses to be prepared for different sizes of luggage, which increases manufacturing costs. Therefore, this application provides a cushioning material that can be used for multiple types of luggage.

One aspect of the present disclosure, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a cushioning material that is housed in a box together with luggage and is positioned opposite each other with the luggage in between, and includes a plate-shaped main body portion that is fitted to the luggage, a protrusion that protrudes from the plate-shaped main body portion, and a protrusion receiving portion that is formed on the plate-shaped main body portion and can receive the protrusion of another cushioning material when the plate-shaped main body portion of another cushioning material is placed on top of the plate-shaped main body portion.

One aspect of the cushioning material disclosed herein is structured so that the plate-shaped main body portion that is applied to the luggage has a protrusion and a protrusion receiving portion. When multiple plate-shaped main bodies of cushioning material are stacked on top of each other, the protrusion of one cushioning material is received in the protrusion receiving portion of the other cushioning material. This allows the same cushioning material to be used for multiple types of luggage of different sizes by changing the number of plate-shaped main bodies that are stacked (i.e., the number of cushioning materials used) depending on the size of the gap between the luggage and the inner surface of the box. Furthermore, when multiple cushioning materials are stacked on top of each other, the engagement between the protrusions and protrusion receiving portions prevents the cushioning materials from shifting, stabilizing the cushioning materials and luggage within the box.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a box, luggage, and cushioning material according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the box, luggage, and two layers of cushioning material. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a two-ply cushioning material. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the inner surface side of the cushioning material, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the outer surface side of the cushioning material. 4A is a plan view of the cushioning material, FIG. 4B is a front view of the cushioning material, FIG. 4C is a bottom view of the cushioning material, and FIG. 4D is a side view of the cushioning material. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the box, the luggage, and the cushioning material. FIG. 6A is a plan view of the box, the luggage, and the cushioning material, and FIG. 6B is a plan view of the box, the luggage, and the two-layer cushioning material. FIG. 7A is a plan view of the two-ply cushioning material, and FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the two-ply cushioning material. FIG. 8A is a side cross-sectional view of the center and grain, and FIG. 8B is a side cross-sectional view of a modified central protrusion. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the inner surface side of a cushioning material according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a side cross-sectional view of a two-ply cushioning material. FIG. 10A is a plan view of a box, luggage, and cushioning material according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a plan view of a box, luggage, and two layers of cushioning material. FIG. 11A is a perspective view of a cushioning material according to a fourth embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a plan view of a box, a package, and two layers of cushioning material. FIG. 12A is a plan view of a box, luggage, and cushioning material according to a fifth embodiment, and FIG. 12B is a plan view of a box, luggage, and two layers of cushioning material. FIG. 13A is a plan view of a cushioning material according to a modified example, a box body, and luggage, and FIG. 13B is a plan view of a cushioning material according to a modified example in a two-ply state, a box body, and luggage. FIG. 14A is a plan view of a cushioning material according to a modified example, a box body, and luggage, and FIG. 14B is a plan view of a cushioning material according to a modified example in a two-ply state, a box body, and luggage.

[First embodiment]
A cushioning material 10A according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. 1A shows a state in which a box 90 contains a plurality of cushioning materials 10A according to this embodiment together with luggage 91A. The box 90 is, for example, a resin container with an open top and a square planar shape. The luggage 91A has a cylindrical shape large enough to fit entirely within the box 90. As shown in FIG. 1B, a box 90 of the same size as that for luggage 91A can also be used to contain a cylindrical luggage 91B having a smaller outer diameter than luggage 91A. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between luggage 91A and 91B, they will be referred to as "luggage 91A, etc."

The box 90 is not limited to being made of resin, but may also be made of paper, metal, or wood. Furthermore, the luggage 91A, etc., is not limited to being cylindrical, but may be, for example, spherical, prismatic, rectangular, or any other shape.

The cushioning material 10A is, for example, a molded product made of bead-method polystyrene foam, and as shown in Figure 2, has a plate-shaped main body 11 that is fitted to the luggage 91A, etc., and has multiple protrusions and recesses, giving it a symmetrical shape.

The cushioning material 10A may be any foam molded product, for example, a foam molded product made of open-cell or closed-cell resin. While the cushioning material 10A of this embodiment is molded as a single unit, it may also be made by joining multiple foam molded products together with adhesive or the like.

Figure 3A shows a perspective view of cushioning material 10A, viewed from diagonally above, on the side that will be applied to luggage 91A or the like (hereinafter referred to as the "inner surface 11N"), and Figure 3B shows a perspective view of the reverse side, the outer surface 11G, viewed from diagonally below. In Figures 3A and 3B, the overall width of cushioning material 10A is depicted as decreasing in either the vertical direction, but this is due to perspective; the overall width of cushioning material 10A is generally uniform (see Figure 4B).

As shown in Figures 3A and 4B, the front shape of the plate-shaped main body 11 in the thickness direction is a vertically elongated rectangle, and as a whole, as shown in Figure 4A, it is curved in the horizontal direction, for example, with the inner surface 11N side concave and the outer surface 11G side convex. Furthermore, central bends 12, 13 are formed in the horizontal center of the plate-shaped main body 11, and a pair of side bends 14 are formed at both horizontal ends of the plate-shaped main body 11. The portions of the plate-shaped main body 11 sandwiched between the central bends 12, 13 and the pair of side bends 14 form a pair of arc-shaped bends 11E.

As shown in Figure 3A, the central bending portion 12 extends from the upper end of the plate-shaped main body 11 to a position near the lower end, and is formed by bending a portion of the plate-shaped main body 11 into a groove-like trapezoidal cross section that protrudes outward. Meanwhile, as shown in Figure 3B, the central bending portion 13 extends from the lower end of the plate-shaped main body 11 to a position near the lower end, and is formed by bending a portion of the plate-shaped main body 11 into a groove-like trapezoidal cross section that is deeper and wider than the central bending portion 12, and is connected to the lower end of the central bending portion 12. Furthermore, near the upper end of the central protrusion 12T, a finger hook portion 12Y in the shape of a square groove is formed, crossing the tip of the central protrusion 12T.

As shown in Figure 4D, a sloped wall 13D is provided between the central bent portion 13 and the central bent portion 12, sloping downward from the base end to the tip end of the central bent portion 13. Also, as shown in Figure 3B, the underside of the central bent portion 13 is flush with the underside of the entire plate-shaped main body portion 11 and is a horizontal plane. The outer portions of the central bent portions 12, 13 form central protrusions 12T, 13T that protrude from the outer surface 11G of the plate-shaped main body portion 11, and the inner portions of the central bent portions 12, 13 form protrusion receiving portions 12J, 13J that receive the central protrusion 12T, 13T of one cushioning material 10A when the cushioning materials 10A are stacked on top of each other, as shown in Figures 7A and 7B.

As shown in FIG. 4B, a pair of base ends of the inclined wall 13D located on either side of the central bent portion 12 are bent horizontally, thereby forming a pair of upward-facing horizontal surfaces 30A in the central protrusion 13T and a pair of downward-facing horizontal surfaces 30B (see FIG. 4C) in the protrusion receiving portion 12J. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8A, these upward-facing and downward-facing horizontal surfaces 30A, 30B are arranged at the same height. Furthermore, to prevent the cushioning materials 10A from shifting up and down when stacked, the outer surface of one cushioning material 10A (the cushioning material 10A on the left in FIG. 8A) overlaps with the inner surface of the other cushioning material 10A (the cushioning material 10A on the right in FIG. 8A). Therefore, the wall portions inclined relative to the stacking direction of the cushioning materials 10A are thinner in accordance with the angle of inclination than the wall portions perpendicular to the stacking direction, and the inner and outer surfaces are parallel. Specifically, the inclined wall 13D of the central bent portion 13, which is inclined relative to the overlapping direction of the cushioning materials 10A, and both side walls (portions marked with the reference symbol 13V in FIG. 4C ), and both side walls of the central bent portion 12, are thinner than the tip walls of the central bent portions 12, 13, which are perpendicular to the overlapping direction, and their inner and outer surfaces are parallel. Similarly, the second flat portion 14B of the side bent portion 14, which will be described later, is thinner than the first flat portion 14A and its inner and outer surfaces are parallel. Furthermore, when cushioning materials 10A are overlapped, the upward-facing horizontal surface 30A of one cushioning material 10A overlaps with the downward-facing horizontal surface 30B of the other cushioning material 10A, preventing one cushioning material 10A from slipping off the other cushioning material 10A when the other cushioning material 10A is pulled up.

In addition, the horizontal surfaces 30A, 30B on the inside and outside of the central bend 13 may be inclined surfaces 31A, 31B that are inclined in the opposite direction to the central bend 13, as shown in Figure 8B. This makes it possible to more reliably prevent one cushioning material 10A from slipping off the other cushioning material 10A when two cushioning materials 10A are stacked on top of each other and one cushioning material 10A is pulled up.

As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the pair of side bends 14 are formed by bending both side edges of the plate-shaped main body 11 toward the outer surface 11G in a crank shape. Specifically, each side bend 14 has a first flat portion 14A that protrudes laterally from the arc portion 11E and is parallel to the lateral direction of the plate-shaped main body 11, and a second flat portion 14B that bends from the first flat portion 14A toward the inner surface 11N at an angle of approximately 45°. As shown in Figure 7B, the outer portion of each side bend 14 forms a side protrusion 15T that protrudes from the outer surface 11G of the plate-shaped main body 11, and the inner portion of each side bend 14 forms a protrusion receiving portion 15J that receives the side protrusion 15T of one of the cushioning materials 10A when the cushioning materials 10A are stacked together.

Furthermore, the tip surfaces 15U of the side protrusions 15T are flat surfaces that are inclined at an angle of 45° relative to the lateral direction of the plate-shaped main body 11. As shown in Figure 4C, a pair of imaginary extension planes I extending from the tip surfaces 15U of a pair of side protrusions 15T intersect perpendicularly beyond the tip surface 13U of the central protrusion 13T. Furthermore, the corners between the tip surface 13U and both side surfaces 13V of the central protrusion 13T are chamfered to form flat surfaces parallel to the extension planes I.

As shown in Figure 3B, a pair of special side protrusions 16T are formed at the upper ends of the pair of side bends 14 by slightly extending the upper ends of the pair of side protrusions 15T in a stepped manner. The undersides of the pair of special side protrusions 16T form stepped recessed protrusion receiving portions 16J, as shown in Figure 3A. The lower surfaces of the special side protrusions 16T are horizontal, and the bottom surfaces of the protrusion receiving portions 16J are also horizontal. As shown in Figure 7A, when cushioning materials 10A are stacked on top of each other, the pair of special side protrusions 16T of one cushioning material 10A are received in the protrusion receiving portions 16J of the other cushioning material 10A, and the horizontal lower surfaces of the special side protrusions 16T overlap the horizontal bottom surfaces of the protrusion receiving portions 16J. The underside of the special side protrusion 16T and the bottom surface of the protrusion receiving portion 16J may be inclined in the vertical direction so that they overlap when the cushioning materials 10A are stacked on top of each other.

As shown in Figure 3A, a pair of tapered slopes 11S are formed on the upper edge of the inner surface of the pair of arcuate portions 11E. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3B, recesses 11W are formed on the side edges of the outer surfaces of the pair of arcuate portions 11E, on the side edges facing the pair of side bends 14, with rectangular stepped recesses 11W recessed at positions near the upper and lower ends, and the bottom surfaces of these recesses 11W are flush with the outer surfaces of the first flat portions 14A of the side bends 14.

The circular patterns on the bottom surface of recess 11W and tip surface 13U of central protrusion 13T are marks formed by the gaps between the multiple bead inlets in the mold used to form cushioning material 10A using the bead method and the lids that cover them, or marks formed by pushing cushioning material 10A out with a rod when it is removed from the mold.

This concludes the explanation of the configuration of the cushioning material 10A of this embodiment. Next, we will explain the effects of the cushioning material 10A of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1A, when cushioning materials 10A are used for cylindrical luggage 91A, for example, a pair of cushioning materials 10A is placed in a box 90 before the luggage 91A. The pair of cushioning materials 10A are then placed diagonally around the box 90, with the central protrusions 13T of each cushioning material 10A abutting the corners of the box 90. In this state, the pair of cushioning materials 10A are free-standing. The worker then releases their hands from the pair of cushioning materials 10A and, for example, holds the luggage 91A between both hands in a direction perpendicular to the opposing direction of the pair of cushioning materials 10A, and inserts it from above between the pair of cushioning materials 10A. The luggage 91A is then guided by the sloped surfaces 11S of the pair of cushioning materials 10A and fitted between the pair of cushioning materials 10A.

In the above example, the worker holds the luggage 91A between both hands in a direction perpendicular to the opposing direction of the pair of cushioning materials 10A and inserts it from above between the pair of cushioning materials 10A. However, the worker may also hold the luggage between both hands in the opposing direction of the pair of cushioning materials 10A, and insert the luggage from above between the pair of cushioning materials 10A with both hands positioned within the protrusion receiving portions 12J of the pair of cushioning materials 10A.

When a package 91A is fitted between a pair of cushioning materials 10A, the package 91A pushes the pair of cushioning materials 10A away from each other diagonally across the box 90. As shown in Figure 5, the corners on both sides of the tip surface 13U of the central protrusion 13T of each cushioning material 10A are pressed against the inner surfaces of a pair of adjacent side walls 90S of the box 90, and the pair of special side protrusions 16T of each cushioning material 10A are pressed against the upper inner surfaces of the pair of side walls 90S. Furthermore, because the box 90 is narrower at the bottom than at the top due to the draft angle created by resin molding, the pair of side protrusions 15T on both sides of the plate-shaped main body 11 are pressed against the lower inner surfaces of the pair of side walls 90S while the plate-shaped main body 11 is held in a substantially vertical position. This restricts movement of the pair of cushioning materials 10A within the box 90. As shown in Figure 6A, when the plate-shaped main body 11 is stretched across the pair of side walls 90S, it elastically deforms to deepen the curve (to reduce the radius of curvature), and the curved inner surface 11N of the plate-shaped main body 11 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the luggage 91A, restricting movement of the luggage 91A within the box 90.

In this embodiment, the side protrusions 15T and the special side protrusions 16T are configured to be pressed against the side wall 90S of the box body 90 at two points, but the side protrusions 15T or the special side protrusions 16T may be provided to match the slope of the side wall 90S so that the side protrusions 15T or the special side protrusions 16T are pressed along almost the entire vertical length of the side wall 90S. Furthermore, if the side wall 90S does not have a slope, the special side protrusions 16T at the top end of the cushioning material 10A may be omitted, or the special side protrusions 16T may be provided at both the top and bottom ends of the cushioning material 10A.

1B and 6B, when a smaller package 91B is to be stored in a box 90 of the same size as the package 91A described above, two cushioning materials 10A are stacked on top of each other. Then, the outer surface 11G of the plate-shaped main body 11 of the inner cushioning material 10A overlaps the inner surface 11N of the plate-shaped main body 11 of the outer cushioning material 10A. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the central projections 12T and 13T, the side projections 15T, and the special side projections 16T (hereinafter collectively referred to as "projections 12T, 13T, 15T, and 16T") of the inner cushioning material 10A are received in the projection receiving portions 12J, 13J, 15J, and 16J of the inner cushioning material 10A. 1B and 6B, two pairs of cushioning materials 10A, each stacked in two, are placed at diagonal corners of the box 90, and then the luggage 91B is inserted from above between the two pairs of cushioning materials 10A in the same manner as described above. If there is still a gap between the cushioning materials 10A and the luggage 91B at this time, the cushioning materials 10A placed at each of the pair of diagonal corners of the box 90 can be adjusted by stacking three of them, or by stacking one pair of cushioning materials 10A two times and the other three times. Furthermore, the luggage 91B is positioned within the box 90 and its movement is restricted by its outer circumferential surface abutting against a pair of opening edges in the projection receiving portions 12J of the pair of cushioning materials 10A.
When using multiple overlapping cushioning materials 10A, the cushioning materials 10A may be stacked on top of each other before being housed in the box 90, or additional cushioning materials 10A may be inserted into a box 90 that already houses cushioning materials 10A and placed on top of the cushioning materials 10A already inside the box 90. In this case, the only areas at the top of the box 90 that come close to the side walls are the easily deformed special side protrusions 16T, and there is space below the special side protrusions 16T, making it easy to insert additional cushioning materials 10A. In addition, the inclined wall 13D of the central protrusion 13T is inclined in the vertical direction, and thus serves as a guide when inserting additional cushioning materials 10A.

In this way, the cushioning material 10A of this embodiment is structured so that the plate-shaped main body 11 assigned to the luggage 91A, 91B is provided with protrusions 12T, 13T, 15T, 16T and protrusion receiving portions 12J, 13J, 15J, 16J. When the plate-shaped main body 11 of multiple cushioning materials 10A is stacked on top of each other, the protrusions 12T, 13T, 15T, 16T of one cushioning material 10A are received in the protrusion receiving portions 12J, 13J, 15J, 16J of the other cushioning material 10A. As a result, by changing the number of plate-shaped main body portions 11 stacked (i.e., the number of cushioning materials 10A used) depending on the size of the gap between the luggage 91A, 91B and the inner surface of the box 90, the same cushioning material 10A can be used to accommodate luggage 91A, 91B of various sizes.

Furthermore, the cushioning material 10A is placed on only one pair of two pairs of diagonal corners of the box body 90, and fits within an area of approximately half or less of the side wall 90S of the box body 90, thereby reducing the number of cushioning materials 10A used and the material costs of the cushioning materials 10A. Note that the cushioning materials 10A of this embodiment may also be placed on both pairs of diagonal corners of the box body 90.

Furthermore, when multiple cushioning materials 10A are stacked, the engagement between the protrusions 12T, 13T, 15T, and 16T and the protrusion receiving portions 12J, 13J, 15J, and 16J prevents the cushioning materials 10A from shifting relative to one another, stabilizing the cushioning materials 10A and the cargo 91A and 91B within the box 90. Furthermore, the central protrusion 13T, side protrusions 15T, and special side protrusions 16T, which are "positioning protrusions" that position the cushioning materials 10A within the box 90, create a gap between the inner surface of the box 90 and the plate-like main body 11, thereby reducing the cost of materials used to construct the cushioning materials 10A. Furthermore, because the cushioning materials 10A are self-supporting, tasks such as placing the cushioning materials 10A in the box 90 and then placing the cargo 91B in the box 90 can be easily performed.

When removing luggage 91A, 91B and cushioning material 10A from box 90, simply remove luggage 91A, 91B first, then remove cushioning material 10A. By placing your fingers on finger hook 12Y, you can remove cushioning material 10A from box 90 without it slipping. Furthermore, finger hook 12Y is positioned so that it faces the gap formed between plate-shaped main body 11 and the corner of box 90, so you can easily insert your hand into the gap and hook your fingers on finger hook 12Y.

Furthermore, when multiple cushioning materials 10A are stacked, the inner underside of the projection receiving portion 16J of the outer cushioning material 10A (the side farthest from the luggage 91B) overlaps from below with the special side projection 16T of the inner cushioning material 10A (the side closer to the luggage 91B). Therefore, even if only the outer cushioning material 10A is pulled up, the inner cushioning material 10A is also pulled up. Furthermore, because the inclined wall 13D of the inner cushioning material 10A overlaps from below with the inclined wall 13D of the outer cushioning material 10A, even if only the inner cushioning material 10A is pulled up, the outer cushioning material 10A is also pulled up. As a result, even if only one of the stacked cushioning materials 10A is pulled up, the overlapping cushioning materials 10A are pulled up together, making it easy to remove the cushioning material 10A from the box 90.

As shown by the two-dot chain lines in Figures 6A and 6B, even for packages 92A and 92B that have a roughly rectangular planar shape but are different sizes, by receiving a pair of diagonal corners of the packages in the protrusion receiving portions 12J of a pair of cushioning materials 10A, cushioning materials 10A can be used for packages 92A and 92B in the same way as for cylindrical packages 91A and 91B that are different sizes.

Second Embodiment
The cushioning material 10B of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B differs from the cushioning material 10A of the first embodiment only in that the finger hook portion 12X has a structure that penetrates the central bent portion 12.

[Third embodiment]
The cushioning material 10C of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B differs from the cushioning material 10A of the first embodiment only in that it does not have the central bent portions 12, 13.

[Fourth embodiment]
11A and 11B includes a plate-shaped main body 20 curved in an arc shape and a housing 21 connected to the lower edge of the outer surface of the plate-shaped main body 20, which is the bulging side. The housing 21 has a substantially right-angled triangular upper wall 21A that projects outward from the lower edge of the outer surface of the plate-shaped main body 20, and a pair of side walls 21B that hang down from the outer edges of two sides of the upper wall 21A and are perpendicular to each other. The outer portion of the housing 21 forms a protrusion 21T, and the inner portion of the housing 21 forms a protrusion receiving portion 21J.

As shown in Figure 11B, cushioning materials 10D are placed at a pair of diagonal corners of the box body 90. The plate-shaped main body portion 20 is then placed on the outer surface of luggage 91A, 91B with the protrusion 21T of each cushioning material 10D overlapping the corner of the box body 90 and the plate-shaped main body portion 20 spanning a pair of side walls 90S on both sides of the corner of the plate-shaped main body portion 20. Furthermore, cushioning materials 10D are overlapped with each other with the protrusion 21T of one cushioning material 10D placed inside the protrusion receiving portion 21J of the other cushioning material 10D.

Fifth Embodiment
12A and 12B, the cushioning materials 10E1 and 10E2 of this embodiment are corrugated plates, with the crests of the waves forming the protrusions 22T and the valleys forming the protrusion receiving portions 22J. Furthermore, the entire cushioning materials 10E1 and 10E2 form a plate-like main body. Furthermore, the cushioning materials 10E1 and 10E2 have different widths. A pair of cushioning materials 10E1 are stacked on one pair of opposing surfaces of the box body 90, while a pair of cushioning materials 10E2 are stacked on the other pair of opposing surfaces of the box body 90.

Other Embodiments
While the cushioning materials 10A, 10B, etc. of the first to fifth embodiments described above have protrusions and protrusion receiving portions for receiving the protrusions, FIGS. 13A, 12B, 13A, and 13B show cushioning materials 10F and 10G that do not have protrusions or protrusion receiving portions and are stacked in two to accommodate different sized packages 91A and 91B. The cushioning material 10F shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B has a structure in which two flat plates are orthogonal to each other. It is used by placing it at a pair of diagonal corners of a box 90. Furthermore, the cushioning material 10G shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B has a structure in which three flat plates are connected to form a groove-shaped structure with a trapezoidal cross section. It is used by placing it opposite the aforementioned cushioning material 10E1 within the box 90.

<Additional Notes>
The following describes the features extracted from the above embodiment, while indicating, as necessary, the effects, etc. Note that, for ease of understanding, the corresponding configurations in the above embodiment are indicated in parentheses as appropriate below, but these features are not limited to the specific configurations indicated in parentheses.

[Feature 1]
Cushioning materials (10A-10E1, 10E2) are accommodated in a box (90) together with luggage (91A, 91B, 92A, 92B) and are arranged opposite each other with the luggage (91A, 91B, 92A, 92B) in between, the cushioning materials (10A-10E1, 10E2) including: plate-shaped main bodies (11, 20) that are assigned to the luggage (91A, 91B, 92A, 92B); protrusions (12T, 13T, 15T, 16T, 21T, 22T) that protrude from the plate-shaped main bodies (11, 20); and projection receiving portions (12J, 13J, 15J, 16J, 21J, 22J) that can receive the projections (12T, 13T, 15T, 16T, 21T, 22T) of another cushioning material (10A to 10E1, 10E2) when the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20) of another cushioning material (10A to 10E1, 10E2) is overlapped on the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20).

The cushioning material of Feature 1 has a structure in which the plate-shaped main body portion that is applied to the luggage has a protrusion and a protrusion receiving portion. When the plate-shaped main body portions of multiple cushioning materials are stacked on top of each other, the protrusion of one cushioning material is received in the protrusion receiving portion of the other cushioning material. This allows the same cushioning material to be used for multiple types of luggage of different sizes by changing the number of plate-shaped main body portions that are stacked (i.e., the number of cushioning materials used) depending on the size of the gap between the luggage and the inner surface of the box. Furthermore, when multiple cushioning materials are stacked on top of each other, the engagement between the protrusions and protrusion receiving portions prevents the cushioning materials from shifting, stabilizing the cushioning materials and luggage within the box.

The protrusions may protrude toward the inner surface of the box to restrict movement of the cushioning material relative to the box, as in Feature 2, or may protrude away from the inner surface of the box to restrict movement of the cargo relative to the cushioning material, or may simply be used to restrict misalignment of cushioning materials.

[Feature 2]
The cushioning materials (10A to 10E1, 10E2) described in Feature 1 are position-regulating protrusions (13T, 15T, 16T, 21T, 22T) that protrude from the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20) toward the inner surface of the box body (90) and regulate the movement of the cushioning materials (10A to 10E) within the box body (90).

The protrusions of the cushioning material in Feature 2 are position-regulating protrusions that protrude toward the inner surface of the box body. The position-regulating protrusions form a gap between the inner surface of the box body and the plate-shaped main body, thereby reducing the cost of materials used to construct the cushioning material.

[Feature 3]
The cushioning material (10A, 10B, 10D) described in feature 1 or 2, wherein the protrusion (13T, 21T) is arranged at the lower end of the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20), and the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20) can stand on its own by abutting the protrusion (13T, 21T) against the bottom surface of the box body (90).

The cushioning material with Feature 3 is self-standing, so it is easy to store the cushioning material in a box and then place the luggage in the box.

[Feature 4]
The cushioning material (10A, 10B, 10D) according to any one of features 1 to 3, wherein the plate-shaped main body (11, 20) has a widthwise intermediate portion arranged on a diagonal line of the box body (90), the protrusion (13T) protrudes from the plate-shaped main body (11, 20) toward a corner of the box body (90), and the plate-shaped main body (11, 20) is provided with a finger hook portion (12X, 12Y) in a portion facing the inner surface of the box body (90) above the protrusion (13T) and across a space.

In the cushioning material of Feature 4, the protrusions protrude toward the corners of the box body and are sandwiched between a pair of side walls of the box body, restricting the movement of the cushioning material within the box body. Furthermore, in the cushioning material of Feature 4, a user can easily insert their hand into the gap formed between the plate-shaped main body and the corner of the box body and place their fingers on the finger rest. Then, with their fingers hooked, they can easily remove the cushioning material from the box body by pulling up the plate-shaped main body.

[Feature 5]
The protrusions (12T, 13T, 15T, 16T, 21T) include a first protrusion (12T, 13T, 21T) disposed at the middle of the plate-shaped main body (11, 20) in the width direction, and a pair of second protrusions (15T, 16T) protruding from both ends of the plate-shaped main body (11, 20) in the width direction and abutting against a pair of side walls of the box body (90), and the protrusion receiving portion (1 2J, 13J, 15J, 16J, 21J) includes a first protrusion receiving portion (12J, 13J, 21J) capable of receiving the first protrusion (12T, 13T, 21T) and a pair of second protrusion receiving portions (15J, 16J) capable of receiving the pair of second protrusions (15T, 16T).

The cushioning material of Feature 5 has protrusions at the center and both ends in the width direction of the plate-shaped main body, and protrusion receiving portions corresponding to each protrusion. Therefore, the engagement between the protrusions and protrusion receiving portions across the entire stacked plate-shaped main body is effective in preventing misalignment between the plate-shaped main body parts.

[Feature 6]
The protrusions (12T, 13T, 15T, 16T, 21T) and the protrusion receiving portions (12J, 13J, 15J, 16J, 21J) include special protrusions (13T, 16T, 21T) and special protrusion receiving portions (13J, 16J, 21J) that engage with each other in a concave-convex manner so that, when the plate-shaped main body portions (11, 20) of one cushioning material (10A-10D) and another cushioning material (10A-10D) are overlapped with each other, simply pulling one of the outer or inner plate-shaped main body portions (11, 20) upward causes the other plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20) to be pulled upward as well.

According to the configuration of Feature 6, simply pulling one of the stacked plate-shaped main body sections upward also pulls the other plate-shaped main body section upward, making it easy to remove the cushioning material from the box.

[Feature 7]
The cushioning material (10A to 10C) according to any one of Features 1 to 6, wherein the protrusions (15T, 16T) include a pair of special side protrusions (15T, 16T) that protrude from upper ends at both widthwise ends of the plate-shaped main body portion (11, 20) and abut against a pair of side walls of the box body (90).

In the cushioning material of Feature 7, the pair of special side protrusions as mentioned above protrude from the upper ends of the upper ends of both widthwise ends of the plate-shaped main body portion. Therefore, when the plate-shaped main body portions of the cushioning material are stacked together, the inner lower surfaces of the pair of protrusion receiving portions that receive the pair of special side protrusions face the pair of special side protrusions from below. As a result, when the plate-shaped main body portions of the cushioning material are stacked together, simply pulling the outer plate-shaped main body portion upward also pulls the inner plate-shaped main body portion upward, making it easy to remove the cushioning material from the box.

Note that while the present specification and drawings disclose specific examples of technology included within the scope of the claims, the technology described in the claims is not limited to these specific examples and includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples, as well as parts of the specific examples taken independently.

10A to 10G: Cushioning materials 11, 20: Plate-shaped main body 12J, 13J: Protrusion receiving portion (first protrusion receiving portion)
12X, 12Y Finger rest 12T Center protrusion (first protrusion)
13T central protrusion (first protrusion, special protrusion)
15J, 16J: Protrusion receiving portion (second protrusion receiving portion)
15T Side protrusion (second protrusion)
16T Side special protrusion (second protrusion, special protrusion)
21T, 22T Projection 21J, 22J Projection receiving part 90 Box 91A, 91B, 92A, 92B Baggage

Claims (7)

A cushioning material that is housed in a box together with luggage and is arranged opposite to the luggage,
a plate-shaped main body portion that is applied to the luggage;
a protrusion protruding from the plate-shaped main body;
A cushioning material comprising: a protrusion receiving portion formed on the plate-shaped main body portion, capable of receiving the protrusion of another cushioning material when the plate-shaped main body portion of another cushioning material is overlapped on the plate-shaped main body portion. The cushioning material described in claim 1, wherein the protrusion is a position-regulating protrusion that protrudes from the plate-shaped main body toward the inner surface of the box and regulates movement of the cushioning material within the box. the protrusion is disposed at a lower end of the plate-shaped main body,
The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plate-shaped main body is self-supporting with the protrusion abutting against the bottom surface of the box. The plate-like main body has a widthwise intermediate portion disposed on a diagonal line of the box body,
The cushioning material described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the protrusion protrudes from the plate-shaped main body toward a corner of the box body, and the plate-shaped main body has a finger hook portion on a portion thereof above the protrusion and facing the inner surface of the box body across a space. The protrusions include a first protrusion disposed at a widthwise intermediate portion of the plate-shaped main body portion, and a pair of second protrusions protruding from both widthwise end portions of the plate-shaped main body portion and abutting against a pair of side walls of the box body,
The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protrusion receiving portion includes a first protrusion receiving portion capable of receiving the first protrusion, and a pair of second protrusion receiving portions capable of receiving the pair of second protrusions. The cushioning material described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the protrusions and the protrusion receiving portions include special protrusions and special protrusion receiving portions that engage with each other in a concave-convex manner so that when the cushioning material and the plate-shaped main body portion of another cushioning material are stacked together, simply pulling either the outer or inner plate-shaped main body portion upward also pulls the other plate-shaped main body portion upward. The cushioning material described in claim 2, wherein the protrusions include a pair of special side protrusions that protrude from the upper ends of both widthwise ends of the plate-shaped main body and abut against a pair of side walls of the box body.