JPH10114364A - Cushioning material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-pollution cushioning material which can be produced through a processing of thermoforming or the like to thermoplastic sheet and which is provided with a well balanced buffer effect and a pressure-resistance and further, which can be easily handled. SOLUTION: At least one dish-shaped projection 110 is formed by treating a thermoplastic sheet through a thermoforming process and V-shaped grooves 112 are formed in the projections 110 to effectively absorb external forces by the deformation of the grooves. And at least one closed curved-line extending along the periphery of the bottom face of the projection 110 is formed on the bottom of effectively absorb external forces, as the curved line and the outer periphery line of the bottom face are bent by external forces and the slopes are moved to lean toward the inside and the projections is pressed down. And further, folding parts 101 corresponding to the shape of an article are provided in the cushioning material with a plurality of projections 110 to cope with external forces to various faces of the article.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cushioning material provided between a cardboard box and a product for absorbing an external force such as an impact in the transportation of the product for protecting the product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a product packaging form, a cushioning material installed between a cardboard and a product is provided so as to wrap around the product, and protects the product against impacts caused by dropping during transportation. Has a function. An example of the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an external view showing an example of a conventional cushioning material. The cushioning material according to this example is inserted into both sides (front and rear or up and down directions) of the product so as to sandwich the product, and then put into a cardboard in this state. Packing,
transport. Such a cushioning material is obtained by thermoforming a thermoplastic plastic sheet (a sheet such as PP or PET) so as to have a shape as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

[0003] When the product is dropped in the Z direction, the cushioning material of such a form has a relatively low damping property due to the shape of the cushioning material, so that the product is relatively damaged and is prevented. Therefore, if the thickness of the sheet is reduced to increase the cushioning property, the sheet is too weak against the impact in the Y direction, and the damage to the product also increases. As described above, if impact resistance in one direction is taken, measures must be taken in the other direction next, and in order to obtain a balanced cushioning property, it is necessary to set an appropriate sheet thickness and However, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain an appropriate shape.

In the case of packing a product, if the cushioning material is to be attached to the left and right of the product, the work must be performed in a state where the cushioning material is attached to the product and put in a corrugated cardboard. Also, when the product is taken out by opening the lid of the cardboard, the product and the cushioning material must be taken out of the cardboard at the same time.

[0005] Similar applications for cushioning materials according to the present invention include:
There is U.S. Design Patent No. 371940, which relates to a packaging box provided with a semicircular groove only, a) that it is not a pure cushioning material, b) there is only a flared shape of a buffering groove, Since there is no wide portion and no bent portion in the horizontal direction as in the present invention, there is a drawback that it does not reliably function as a cushioning material.

[0006]

As in the prior art, in a cushioning material manufactured by thermoforming using such a sheet,
The test had to be repeated many times to make a practical assessment. In addition, if the direction of impact is not limited to some extent, it is difficult to design a cushioning material, and it is not possible to obtain a balanced cushioning effect that can withstand pressing forces from all directions. Furthermore, when packing the product, it is necessary to insert the cushioning material into the product and put it in the cardboard box.On the contrary, when opening the cardboard box lid and taking out the product, the cushioning material must be taken together. Since it is necessary to take out the product and then remove the cushioning material, there is a problem that it is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and is a cushioning material made by subjecting a thermoplastic sheet to a process such as thermoforming. An object of the present invention is to provide a low-pollution cushioning material that has an effect and is easy to handle.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cushioning material which is placed in a box or a container for the purpose of protecting a product and has a function of absorbing an external force due to an impact or a pressing force. The plastic sheet is thermoformed so that the thermoplastic sheet has at least one dish-shaped protrusion consisting of a slope and a bottom surrounded by the slope, and is oriented to the maximum slope line of the slope. A V-shaped groove extending to the bottom surface is provided on the protrusion, and the V-shaped groove is deformed by the external force, so that the external force is effectively absorbed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the width of the V-shaped groove is made wider at an intermediate portion of the groove than at an end of the groove, so that a shock absorbing effect is enhanced. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface is provided with at least one closed bent line along the periphery of the bottom surface, and the bent line and the outer peripheral line of the bottom surface are defined by the following. The present invention is characterized in that the slope is bent by an external force and falls down toward the inside of the protrusion, and the protrusion is pressed down, so that the external force is effectively absorbed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the cushioning member having the plurality of protrusions is bent in accordance with the shape of a product protected by the cushioning member. Possible bends are provided between the projections so as to be able to cope with the external forces on all surfaces of the product.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The cushioning material according to the present invention is made by subjecting a thermoplastic plastic sheet to a process such as thermoforming. In addition, the sheet has no space because it can be used by stacking the formed sheets, and furthermore, it is easy to handle at the time of production and at the time of packing and taking out the product. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view conceptually showing an embodiment of a cushioning material according to the present invention.
(A) shows the cut state, and (B) shows the bent state according to the shape of the box or container. In the figure, 100 is a cushioning material, 101 is a bent portion (hinge portion) of the cushioning material, 110 is a projection, 111 is a slope, 11
2 is a V-shaped groove. FIG. 2 is a perspective view when the cushioning material of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is placed in a cardboard box and a product is packed. FIGS.
(C). In the figure, 200 is a cardboard box, 201 is a bent portion of cardboard, 300 is a product, 4
00 is a staple.

A cushioning material 100 according to the present invention is placed inside a cardboard box 200 assembled except for one direction (upper surface) as shown in FIG.
The product 300 is placed as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 (B) shows a view in which the product 300 is arranged. In this state, the bent portion 1 provided on the cushioning material 100 is shown.
01, and further, bend the folding section 201 provided on the cardboard box 200 and cover it with
Pack it fixed with 0 or the like.

In FIG. 1, a thermoplastic sheet (a sheet of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like) is thermoformed (a method of heating and softening a thermoplastic sheet and applying an external pressure to the sheet to form the sheet. This is an example in which a softened sheet is processed by adsorbing it on a mold or pressing it by air pressure). In the cushioning material according to the present invention, a method in which the dish-shaped protrusion 110 obtained by the above-mentioned thermoforming is applied to the product surface and a method in which the dish-shaped protrusion 110 is applied to the cardboard surface are considered. Shows the method of hitting the product side. Such a cushioning material is provided with a hinge portion 101 so as to be adaptable to each surface of the product, and a V-shaped groove 112 is provided on a slope 111 of the dish-shaped projection 110. . Such a cushioning material is assembled into a shape as shown in FIG. 1 (B), installed on both sides of a cardboard box, and a product is put into this and packed.

Next, the dish-shaped projection 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view for explaining the shape of the projection provided in one embodiment of the cushioning material according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the entire projection, and FIG. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing a shape change according to a reduction by an external force such as a pressure, and is a plan view (A).
The vertical and horizontal sectional views according to (E) to (G),
(B) to (D). In the figure, 113 is the outer peripheral line of the bottom surface, 114 is the outer peripheral line of the projection, and 115 is the bent line. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the compressed shape of the projection shown in FIG. 3 in more detail. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the cushioning material is not subjected to an external force, and FIG. This is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a V-shaped groove is formed from the outer peripheral line 114 of the projection to the bending line 115 (the description of the V-shaped groove is omitted in the drawing). . In the normal state that is not packed,
As shown in FIGS. 3B and 3E, the protrusion 110
Has a cross-sectional shape such that the outer peripheral line 113 on the bottom surface is in contact with the product. When external force is applied to this,
As shown in (C) and (F), the outer peripheral line 113 on the bottom surface
But, for example, it decreases by L _1. Further, when the applied external forces, as shown in FIG. 3 (D) and (G), for example, it decreases by L _2. As described above, when an external force is applied to the cushioning material, the bending line 115 bends and the protrusion 110
Let down.

Referring to FIG. 4 in detail, such an operation will be described. Since the actual external force is not uniform, the surface on the line AB is distorted. , BC, and CD are not changed, and the slope of the line CD performs an arc movement about D to form a line AB.
Retreat is performed.

Such a change will be described in order.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the projection in the state where no external force is applied has a shape including ABCDE, and when an external force is applied thereto, as shown in FIG. 4B, A′B′C′DE
Is included. In FIG. 4B, the length of the line AB does not change even when an external force is applied, but only changes to the position indicated by A'B '. When an external force is applied, the slope CD performs an arc movement around the point D and moves to the position of DC '. At this time, the distortion caused by the bending of the protrusion absorbs the distortion due to the narrow groove width of the V-shaped groove 112.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment in which a bending point F is further provided between B and C in the shape of the protrusion shown in FIG. The projection including ABFCD deforms from A'B'F'C'D to a shape including A "B" F "C" D in response to an external force. With such a configuration, the circular motion of the inclined surface CD is performed more smoothly, and distortion in the plane between the lines AB can be reduced.

[0021]

As apparent from the above description, the following effects can be obtained by the cushioning material according to the present invention. Effects of Claims 1 and 2: In the cushioning material according to the present invention, by providing a V-shaped groove in the projection, the groove is deformed by an external force such as an impact, and the external force is effectively reduced. It becomes possible to absorb. At this time, by adjusting and optimizing the area of the dish-shaped projection provided in the cushioning material and the depth or number of the V-shaped groove formed in the projection in accordance with the product shape and weight, more reliable Can absorb the impact load. Also, by selecting the sheet material,
Because the combustion temperature can be lowered, it is also environmentally friendly at the time of disposal. Furthermore, since the sheet is formed into a shape, a plurality of cushioning materials can be stacked, saving space during storage and efficiently transporting a large number of cushioning materials.

Effect of Claim 3 In addition to the effects of Claims 1 and 2, in the cushioning material of the present invention, when an impact such as dropping is applied, the projection slope is inclined and the entire projection is reduced. By doing so, the contact position of the product that is in contact with the dish-shaped projection of the cushioning material on the slope of the projection is changed, and the impact can be effectively absorbed. At this time, the V provided on the slope of the protruding portion in contact with the product
The letter-shaped groove has a function of opening and contracting to smoothly move the position where the product comes into contact.

Effect of Claim 4 In addition to the effects of Claims 1 to 3, the cushioning material according to the present invention has a structure having a bent portion between the projections, so that the cushioning material can be used at the time of packing and the product. At the time of taking out, it is not necessary to put the product and the cushioning material in and out of a box or a container in a combined state, and the work is easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view conceptually showing one embodiment of a cushioning material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a procedure when the cushioning material of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is provided in a cardboard box and a product is packed.

3A and 3B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a shape of a protrusion provided in an embodiment of a cushioning material according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing in more detail a shape when the protrusion shown in FIG. 3 is pressed down by an external force.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment according to the present invention in which a bending point F is further provided between points B and C of the protrusion shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an external view showing an example of a conventional cushioning material.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: cushioning material, 101: bent portion (hinge portion) of cushioning material, 110: protrusion, 111: slope, 112: V-shaped groove, 113: outer peripheral line of bottom surface, 114: outer peripheral line of projection, 115 ... Bending line, 200: cardboard box, 201: bent portion of cardboard, 300: product, 400: staple.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermoplastic material, which is placed in a box or a container for the purpose of protecting a product and has a function of absorbing an external force due to an impact or a pressing force, is formed by thermoforming a thermoplastic sheet. The plastic sheet is provided with at least one dish-shaped projection comprising a slope and a bottom surrounded by the slope, and a V-shaped groove directed to the maximum slope of the slope and reaching the bottom is formed. A cushioning material provided on a protrusion, wherein the V-shaped groove is deformed by the external force to effectively absorb the external force. 2. The shock absorbing effect according to claim 1, wherein the width of said V-shaped groove is made wider at an intermediate portion of said groove than at an end of said groove. Cushioning material. 3. The bottom surface is provided with at least one closed bending line along the periphery of the bottom surface, and the bending line and the outer peripheral line of the bottom surface are bent by the external force so that the slope is inward of the projection. The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the external force is effectively absorbed by tilting down and the projecting portion being pressed down. 4. A foldable portion, which can be bent in accordance with the shape of a product protected by the cushioning material, is provided between the protrusions on the cushioning material having a plurality of the protrusions. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cushioning member is adapted to cope with the external force on the surface.