SK279375B6 - Gas-containing product supporting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A supporting structure (100) for positioning a product (55, 102) within an outer shipping container (57, 104) takes the form of a plastic air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) shaped on one side to provide a cavity having internal dimensions matching external dimensions of the product and shaped on the other to have external dimensions matching internal dimensions of the shipping container (57, 104). The supporting structure (100) contains a shaped, semi-solid, self-supporting monolithic and gas- containing air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) having approx. 8 millimetres thick wall due to a pre-set durability of shape and size thereof in conditions that the overpressure therein equals approx. zero. The air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) has a cavity for receiving the product (55, 102) thus forming the first area of the shape thereof negatively corresponding with the shape of the product (55, 102); a part (15, 17, 19, 21, 114) for a contact with the shipping container (57, 104) which forms the second area of the air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) remote from the first area and adjacent thereto, of a shape negatively corresponding with the shape of the outer shipping container (57, 104).

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a support structure with an air container for receiving an article disposed within an outer shipping container, wherein the supported article has a predetermined configuration at least in its predetermined portion and wherein the outer shipping container has a predetermined configuration at least in its predetermined portion to accommodate the support structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When transporting fragile products, it is desirable to protect them against external impact. This protection is as complete as possible while minimizing both packaging and shipping costs. Previously, inserts made of lightweight, expanded polystyrene as well as polyurethane or polyethylene - flexible foam have been used with great success. In recent years, however, the interest in the environment has surpassed both polystyrene foam and flexible foams. Both materials are very bulky and thus fill the landfills too quickly. In addition, any lightweight or foamed plastic product is difficult and expensive to recover or recycle to its original unfoamed state. Thus, there is an increasing need for new packaging processes that provide not only adequate protection of products against external impact and minimize both packaging and shipping costs, but also pose minimal environmental problems to dispose of the packaging material after it has served its purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The support structure of the present invention is largely overcome by the deficiencies of the prior art, which comprises forming a semi-rigid, self-supporting monolithic gas containing an air bladder with an average wall thickness of about 0.8 mm to maintain its predetermined configuration and dimensions when the overpressure is within the bladder approximately zero, said bladder having a portion for receiving a product forming its first region of negative shape corresponding to the shape of the article, further having a portion for contacting the shipping container forming a second region of the bladder container.

The invention is generally in the form of a support structure for positioning and receiving the article within the external shipping container. In accordance with an essential aspect of the invention, the structure is self-supporting and is also capable of supporting or supporting the structure. carrying the load upon itself, thereby becoming the main support element, and further using gas, such as air, as another main support element. According to a preferred embodiment, the support structure comprises a bellows comprising a specific gas or air bladder with an outer recess on one side thereof or in its first region. The recess is shaped to mate with the outer predetermined configuration and the dimensions of the article and, on the other hand or in the second opposite region, to fit its outside with the inner dimensions of the shipping container or shipping container. The bladder may be either a vertical or a horizontal element and, as a rule, may be used in sets as a pair - top and bottom - in one external transport container. The bladder provides support for the product and impact protection during storage and transport, and can be easily released after use. After discharge and collapse, the air bladder is compact and can be reused for some time before it is finally recycled and does not need to be discarded, minimizing the environmental impact. Before assembling for transport, the bladder requires a relatively small storage space and even shaped bladders can be stored either totally or partially emptied to save space.

For the purposes of this application, the use of the term inflated refers to a gas inside an air bladder or other moss containing gas and means that it is a gas inside the moss. The gas may have ambient pressure - zero overpressure or may be slightly higher or lower than zero overpressure. Generally, the tube is not intentionally inflated above atmospheric pressure, either during manufacture or during use. Correspondingly, the term 'deflated' means that the bladder is collapsed, with a small amount of air remaining inside. Accordingly, the term semi-inflated or semi-collapsed means that the bladder is partially collapsed, with the appropriate amount of air inside.

According to another aspect of the invention, the bladder is made of a plastic material such as polyethylene and is manufactured by blow molding. Blow molding involves extruding a semisolid tube of plastic material into a mold having the shape of the outer walls of the article. When the mold is closed, the air stream from the nozzle forces the plastic material to expand up to contact with the metal walls of the farm. The plastic resin cools and hardens almost immediately since the mold is kept cold by the flow of water through the built-in internal cavities. Blow molding is well known and is the process chosen in the manufacture of many kinds of products, such as large soft drink bottles, fuel and waste containers. The use of blow molded plastic material is particularly advantageous from an environmental point of view, since the invention allows recycling with minimal cost or difficulty. In addition, no environmentally hazardous substances or expanders are used in the production. In addition, the material of the bladder itself can be made of material using modern recycling technologies that is practically 100% recyclable.

According to an important aspect of the invention, the bladder may comprise a higher number of internal chambers or compartments. When such internal chambers are provided, they provide locally controllable damping by way of distributing air impact absorbers into areas such as corners potentially exposed to greater impacts. When a passage is formed between the chamber and another chamber, the size of the passage is controlled by throttling and has a direct effect on the rate at which these chambers are deflated under load. This provides a high degree of controlled damping. Alternatively, many air chamber chambers may be completely sealed from each other for maximum separation if directional load requirements are to be met. If the air chamber chambers are sealed from each other in this manner, separate blow nozzles for each chamber are used in the blow molding process. This aspect of the invention provides the protective packaging technology with another controllable con

2796 construction element that allows smaller and more effective protective packaging containers or transport packaging.

The damping also takes place due to the increased gas pressure inside the bladder. Special gases such as sulfur hexafluoride may be used to maximize gas quenching capacity. Furthermore, the damping effect is also obtained as a result of the compliance of the plastic forming the airline and also of the relatively small extent of elasticity of the plastic. From the standpoint of damping, it is undesirable for the plastic material to be too elastic, since this excessive elasticity could cause the material to return to the supported product. Other gases that may be used are, for example, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon and krypton.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the bladder may be further inflated with air or other gases, as appropriate, either before or after sealing the bladder, and even after assembly of the article and bladder in the shipping container. Thus, the bladder can, if necessary, be inflated after production only partially or completely omitted, which allows the bladder itself to occupy less space during its transport and also simplifies the final assembly and insertion of the product and one or more bladders into the container. After final assembly, inflatable needles may be pushed through the outer container, at one or more inflatable points, where the needles penetrate into the designated air chamber and inflate it to a specified pressure level.

The support structure is a semi-solid self-supporting monolith, which is made of a relatively thick polyethylene plastic material or a similar material, preferably by blow molding. The supporting structure was constructed taking into account the properties of typical polyethylene plastics. A polyethylene plastic having a thickness of about 0.8 mm is compliant and slightly resilient and is also sufficiently rigid to maintain a considerable load when a properly designed support structure is used.

The load-bearing supporting structure must provide the following functions:

- carry a static vertical load (all or at least part of the weight of the product);

- carry a vertically directed dynamic load induced by the vertical movement of the product or outer packaging;

- carry a horizontally oriented (in the other two directions) dynamic load induced by the horizontal movement of the product or outer packaging;

- deform to cushion the article at high accelerating or decelerating forces with a deformation that takes place over as long a path as possible to minimize the forces transmitted to and absorbed by the article.

The support structure for supporting, supporting and supporting the article of the invention has been designed to have sufficiently thick walls to withstand a static load of several kilograms so that the article can only be supported by the wall strength alone, and also to absorb the extra forces caused by dynamic loads.

The support structure to support, support and support the article of the invention has also been designed to have walls sufficiently thin to be at least partially deformable under typical load conditions so that the entire structure deforms and thus absorbs the load force over a relatively large path, at least as long. as expediently possible. Such a large deformation helps to minimize the deceleration forces resulting from load storage and damping of dynamic load movement.

The walls must be sufficiently thin to be flexible and preferably elastically deformable so that the structure is not permanently deformed by static or dynamic forces caused by the weight of the material and the movement of the material is absorbed without permanent deformation of the material. The elasticity allows the support structure within its limits to return to its original shape after being deformed. If the walls are too thick, then the supporting structure does not deform sufficiently and is therefore unable to minimize the accelerating and decelerating forces acting on it. Further, the support structure is less compliant and is more likely to deform permanently at least to some extent and then resiliently return to its original shape is less likely.

The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of several specific embodiments which illustrate the drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. Fig. 1 shows a gas-containing air bladder as a vertical end cap for carrying an article incorporating various aspects of the invention; 2 is a plan view showing details of the bladder as the end cap of FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views of the airline as a vertical cap shown in FIG. 2, FIG. Fig. 3 shows a bladder, representing a horizontal divider, for carrying an article comprising various aspects of the invention; 4 shows an inflatable air inflator gun incorporating a different aspect of the invention; FIG. 4A shows the upper part of the inflatable gun of FIG. 4, FIG. 5 is a broken isometric view of another particular embodiment of the invention showing a support structure cooperating with the corner of the article and the corner of the outer wrapper; and FIG. 6 is a cross-section of the support structure of FIG. 5th

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to properly understand the invention, it is first necessary to understand the physical conditions in which the outer package containing the article suffers from impacts. There are basically two types of situations. The first situation involves an outer wrapper in motion that has hit an outer object that may or may not have moved and which will slow the wrapper. The second situation is a package that may or may not move and is hit by an outer moving object, which in turn accelerates the package. The first case is more common when handling and transporting or embarking containers, and typically occurs when the container is dropped. In any case, this is a change in the speed of the packaging and the product therein.

In the first situation, the inertia forces are transmitted from the article to the carrier, to the outer packaging and to the outer object. The supporting structure absorbs as many of these forces as possible. The supporting structure transmits forces to the product, causing the product to slow down. In the second situation, the accelerating forces are transmitted from the outer object to the outer shell, to the carrier and then to the article. The supporting structure absorbs as many of these forces as possible. Part of the forces are transferred to the product, which accelerates the product.

In any case, there are forces that are transmitted to the product and the product must absorb the energy that is transmitted to them by these forces. If these forces are too great, damage to the product may result. It is therefore necessary to reduce these forces which are transferred to the product to a minimum so that the product is not damaged.

It should be noted that in principle, kinetic energy is transferred to the product. If a moving object hits the outer shell, the kinetic energy of the outer article must be absorbed. When the outer casing falls and subsequently hits a surface such as the floor, the kinetic energy of the product itself at the time of impact must be absorbed from the product by the support structure, and so on.

In order to absorb the kinetic energy while transferring a minimum force range to the product, it is necessary to spread the energy absorption as much as possible over time and keep the acceleration and deceleration of the product as constant as possible. In order to achieve this, it is necessary, inter alia, to maximize the path on which the acceleration takes place. A relatively pliable supporting structure is preferred for this.

In use, when an object is placed on a support structure, the relatively rigid but still compliant plastic constituting the support structure carries the original weight of the object placed thereon. Since the bulk of the weight of the object is supported by the support structure, it also causes the object to deform the support structure and accordingly causes an increase in the gas pressure inside the support structure. Since the pressure of the gas inside the support structure has increased, the gas provides a correspondingly increased support for the load. The elastic deformation of the support structure continues until the resistance forces exerted by the support structure and the increased gas pressure inside are equal and counter-load to the support structure until equilibrium is reached. This procedure allows a relatively long trajectory of the support structure before reaching equilibrium, resulting in relatively low loading or damping forces on the supported object.

In a dynamic load situation, the support structure and the pressure inside the varying load of the supported object carry in a manner analogous to that described.

If the load-bearing structure is inflated to an excess pressure of about 2 - 5 pounds per square inch (0.14 - 0.34 atmospheres = 0.014 - 0.034 MPa), then the pressure of the gas in the load-bearing structure may bear the load placed on the load-bearing structure immediately the load is placed on it. That is, there is a relatively shorter path of the load-bearing structure when the load is placed thereon and, accordingly, the load is not attenuated over such a long path, that is, the energy from the supported product is absorbed over a short path and thus over a relatively short period of time. which in turn would cause relatively high forces to be transmitted to the product, which may be undesirable.

If compared to that, if the support structure had no overpressure, it would deform over a longer distance after the load had been placed on it, all when absorbing energy during deformation due to plastic compliance. In the meantime, the air pressure would be high enough to hold the load, with the energy resulting from the location of the load already partially absorbed and, accordingly, less force would be transmitted to the product.

Fig. 1 illustrates a typical application of the invention. In the protective packaging industry, vertical packaging elements are commonly referred to as end caps, while horizontal packaging elements are commonly referred to as intermediate caps. Fig. 1 shows one of a pair of end caps that can be used, for example, for packaging personal computers. In FIG. 1, there is shown a bladder 11 containing a gas forming an end cap with a recess 13 directed towards the viewer for receiving the article. The bladder 11 is a specific product in the sense that once formed, the specific end cap will only accept the product having the outer dimensions licensing with the inner dimensions of the recess 13 and will be placed in shipping containers flush with its own outer dimensions. Thus, according to the illustrated embodiment, the side of the personal computer may be received in a recess 13 of a pair of bladder end caps and the entire assembly may be inserted into a corrugated cardboard box (not shown) which serves as an outer shipping container. Alternatively, for example, when an inner container for accommodating a plurality of articles is desired, the inner dimension of the recess 13 may be made to fit the outer dimensions of the inner container. Such an alternative may be desirable when multiple products are to be packaged in a single inner container, which then provides protective support and holding the outer container. In a broader sense, the filled inner container then becomes the product to be stored or transported.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recess 13 for accommodating the article in the bladder 11 is bounded by four respective corner elements 15, 17, 19 and 21. Although many examples of the bladder 11 will have corner elements, the need for sidewalls will largely depend on the specific use. For example, a relatively large product may require side walls between corner elements 15 and 17 and between corner elements 19 and 21. On the other hand, a relatively small product may not even need the side walls 23 and 25.

The bladder 11 of FIG. 1, in accordance with important aspects of the invention, consists of a suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, and is manufactured by a blow molding process to form the end cap shown. In this process, the semi-rigid plastic material tube is extruded into a mold having the shape of the outer walls of the article. According to the illustrated example, this shape is the exterior walls of the personal computer. After the mold is closed, high pressure air is blown through one or more holes in the mold wall, thereby expanding the plastic tube and resting on the metal walls of the mold. The plastic resin is then cooled and cured as the mold is cooled by the water circulating through the internal cavities of the mold. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1c, the end cap bladder 11 is inflated to about 3 to 5 pounds per square inch (0.20 to 0.34 atmospheres = 0.02 to 0.034 MPa) during the forming process.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bladder 11 of the end cap of FIG. 1, with its recess 13 facing the viewer. Fig. 2 shows several details not shown in FIG. 1, one of which is the division of the bladder 11 into two separately sealed main chambers 27 and 29, bounded by the outer dimensions of the bladder 11a by the side walls 31 and 33, which are shown in broken lines. Thus, the chambers 27 and 29 are separated from one another in a vertical plane due to the vertical orientation of the bladder 11. Without separation, the weight of the product (according to a computer example) would compress the air in the lower chamber 29 and expel it into the upper chamber 27. the lower side wall 25 and the lower corner elements 17 and 21.

SK 279375-6

Although the main chambers 27 and 29 in the bladder 11 of FIG. 2 are sealed from each other, the invention allows the formation of sub-chambers within the main chambers. Such sub-chambers are partially separated from other chambers to produce a controllable impact damping effect. Examples of such sub-chambers are the corner elements 15, 17, 19 and 21 in FIG. 2. The corner element 15 is shaped as a corner damping sub-chamber, defined by the outer walls of the bladder 11a by bulges 35 and 37 extending from the outside of the bladder 11 inwardly until they almost contact each other. The gap 39 left between the bulges 35 and 37 allows air to pass between the corner damping chambers and the main chamber 27, but only at a relatively low velocity. The degree of separation of the sub-chambers forming the corner element 15 is controlled by the size of the gap 39.

As shown in FIG. 2, the remaining corner members 17, 19, 21 are constructed similarly and form corner damping sub-chambers that operate in a similar manner. Extra impact protection is provided in this way at the respective corners of the outer transport packaging. For the sake of clarity, the reference numerals 35, 37 and 39 are used to denote corresponding parts in all four corner elements in FIG. Second

Fig. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the bladder 11 of FIG. 2 along the line A-A, which is centered in the middle to show details of both the outer and inner structure. The cutout 41 in FIG. 2A indicates the end of the side walls 31,33 separating the upper chamber 27 and the lower chamber 29 from each other. The bulges 37 designate the ends of similarly numbered penetrations into these chambers to create a limited air flow between the upper chamber 27 and the lower chamber 29 and their respective corner sub-chambers. , 21.

Fig. 2B is a further cross-sectional view of the bladder 11 of FIG. 2 along line B-B. Here, the partition walls 31, 33 are as far apart as possible. Shown are portions of the upper chamber 27 and the lower chamber 29, such as the cutout 41 at the other end of the bladder 11.

Fig. 2C is yet another section of the airline 11 along line C-C. Shown here are the ends of the bulges 35, 37 into the interior of the bladder 11, longitudinally with a gap 39 that is formed therebetween to provide a limited air flow required for corner damping.

Finally, FIG. 2D is a side elevation view of a press with a side wall 25 and corner members 17, 21 facing the viewer. The dashed lines 43 mark the bottom and ends of the recess 13 in the air receiver 11 for receiving the article.

Fig. 3 illustrates another typical application of the invention, this time providing a horizontal interdigital for packaging a product such as a television set. In FIG. 3, the first bladder 51 forms the upper intermediate tray and the second bladder 53 forms the lower intermediate tray. These two interdigitated interposed bays, respectively, provide the upper and lower receptacles of the article 55 - shown in broken line - in the cardboard carton of the outer shipping container 57, also shown in broken line. The intersections 51, 53 are shown as a mirror image of one another in this exemplary embodiment for illustration, but generally do not need to be identical.

In FIG. 3, the apertures 59, 61 exemplify a plurality of apertures extending entirely through the respective intervening pockets 51, 53 to obstruct the passage of air between the different sections of their individual main inner chambers by forming sub-chambers. Similarly, the penetrations 63, 65 are examples of penetrations for a similar purpose extending in part into the respective interposed air tanks 51, 53 on the one hand from the outside of the air pipes and from the recess for receiving the article. In FIG. 3, the recess 67 for receiving the article in the lower interdial-air bladder 53 faces up, while a similar recess (not apparent) in the upper interdial-air bladder 51 points downward.

In the horizontal application of the invention, as shown in FIG. 3, it is sometimes advantageous to produce the respective intermediate tubes 51, 53 initially slightly densified. This slight under-inflation simplifies the packaging process by making the under-inflated tubes, which are slightly under-sized, easier to place in the outer cardboard transport container 57. After the article 55 and the two under-inflated interliners 51, 53 are installed in the container 57, 57 is sealed, the bladders 51, 53 may further be inflated directly through the corrugated board of the container 57 by an inflatable gun, an example of which is shown in FIG. 4th

The inflatable pistol 71 (FIG. 4) is essentially an air valve connected to a hollow needle on which a small heating element is installed inside the upper portion 73 of the inflatable pistol 71. The inflatable pistol 71 is connected to an air supply 75 (not shown) and a control source (not shown). electric power line 77 to control the needle temperature. The trigger mechanism 79 on the handle of the inflatable gun allows the user to switch. A temperature adjusting knob 81 is also disposed on the handle of the inflatable piston 71 to precisely control the heater element of the top 73 of the inflatable pistol 71. The combination is complemented by an air pressure meter 83 and a thermometer 85.

The details of the upper part 73 of the air gun 71 of FIG. 4 are shown in FIG. 4A. The upper portion 73 consists of a neoprene bellows 87 that surrounds the air and heating hollow needle 89 and the heating coil 91. The heating coil 91 surrounds the base of the hollow needle 89 and the bellows 87 is compressed to eject the hollow needle 89 when the user pushes the inflatable gun against the intended target. such as the outer container 57 of FIG. Third

When not in use, the hollow needle 89 of FIG. 4A practically a temperature about ten percent higher than the melting temperature of the plastic bladder material. The outer container 57 of FIG. 3 may be provided with pre-printed instructions on the inflation point and may indicate the location where the hollow needle is to be pushed by the corrugated cardboard container 57 into the bladder. For example, in areas where the extruded plastic tube is cut and sealed, the walls of the bladder are often three to four times thicker than the walls of the remaining portions of the bladder. In general, such areas are good points for inflation after assembly. The trigger mechanism 79 of FIG. 4 inflates the bladder to a predetermined pressure. In order to prevent the hollow needle 89 from continuing to melt the bladder and create an excessively large opening for five to ten seconds of filling time, the incoming air lowers the temperature of the hollow needle 89 quickly below the melting temperature of the plastic bladder material. Once the predetermined pressure has been reached and the air supply is stopped, the temperature of the hollow needle 89 quickly returns to a value that allows the plastic to melt, thereby facilitating retraction of the hollow needle 89. After the hollow needle 89 has been withdrawn the fabric into the hole left by the hollow needle 89 and reseals the airway.

For final disassembly after the transported product has reached its destination, graphical instructions on the bladder itself can be used to instruct consumption.

It should also provide general or specific instructions on how to handle or punch the airway for easier removal of the product. how to recycle it.

Another part of the description relates to FIG. 5, which shows an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this alternative solution, a support structure 100 is used to place and support the article 102 in the outer shipping container 104. Typically, a total of eight such support structures 100 are used, one at each corner of the product 102. The support structure 100 carries the product 102 on its predetermined locations. parts. The support structure has a predetermined configuration and dimensions such that it carries the article 102 on predetermined portions - whose configuration is predetermined. Further, the outer shipping container 104 has a predetermined configuration with a support structure for placement in its predetermined portions.

When the support structure 100 is used - in combination with the article 102 and the outer shipping container 104 - the support structure comprises a bladder 110 which is provided with a portion 112 for placing the article in its first region. The product placement portion 112 has a predetermined configuration and dimensions to interact with predetermined portions of the article 102 so that the portion 112 accurately adopts its predetermined configuration of the predetermined configuration of the product 102. The predetermined configuration and dimensions of the support structure 100 are adapted to the predetermined configuration of the predetermined configurations. parts of the product. Typically, the predetermined portion of the article is a portion of the corner of the article 102.

The bladder 110 is provided in its second region with a package receiving portion 114 therein. The second region is remote from the first region and generally opposed to it. The package receiving portion 114 is adapted to cooperate with a predetermined configuration of the outer shipping container 104.

The support structure 100 acquires a predetermined size and shape in manufacture. The support structure 100 is typically manufactured with an opening 116 formed therein. The plug 118 is adapted to seal the opening 116 and is inserted therein either immediately after manufacture or prior to use. Thus, a sealable aperture is formed in the bladder 110. When the plug is located therein, the bladder 110 is sealed with respect to the environment. For transportation purposes, the support structure can be transported without a plug, in which case it is foldable or break-through, if necessary, or can be transported with a plug 118 in the opening 116. The support structure 100 retains its size and shape when the gas overpressure is in the bladder 110 zero, regardless of whether the bladder 110 is sealed or open to the environment.

The support structure 100 is capable of supporting a load even when the interior of the bladder 110 is connected to the environment so as to allow the flow of fluids from and out of the bladder 110.

The bladder 110 may be sealed so that the gas overpressure is approximately zero therein. This allows for a relatively soft cushioning of the article 102. It is also possible to inflate the bladder 110 to an excess pressure greater than zero, for example in the range of about 0.01 to 2.0 atmospheres (0.001 to 0.20 MPa). Such additional gas overpressure causes the bladder 110 to provide a firmer dampening of the article 102.

In another alternative embodiment of the invention, the predetermined configuration and dimensions of the support structure 100 may be adapted to a predetermined configuration of a predetermined portion of the article, wherein the predetermined portion of the article is its corner. For example, a long slender object may be carried in its center, a plate or drum at selected locations on its periphery.

Preferably, the support structure 100 is made of a plastic material with an average wall thickness of the order of about 0.7 mm. The material constituting the support structure 100 may be selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and copolymers thereof, but also vinyl, polyvinyl chloride or nylon. The gas inside the bladder 110 is usually air, but can also be selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, sulfur hexafluoride, argon, and krypton.

The bladder 110 may include a plurality of separate chambers, the separate chambers being interconnected by small openings which provide means for restricting the gas flow between the chambers. These openings allow a small amount of gas to pass through at a given time, thereby providing a cushioning effect that ultimately aids in the cushioning effect of the bladder 110. Preferably, the opposing chambers are connected to each other in the bladder.

Another part of the description relates to FIG. 6, which illustrates the support structure 100 of the invention in which the article 102 is located. It will be appreciated that the portion of the article 102 that is supported by the support structure 100 has a rather complex shape and predetermined configuration and dimensions of the support structure 100 are adapted to a predetermined predetermined configuration. specified part of this product. Of course, when the article 102 is placed on the support structure 100, a static force, indicated by an arrow 120, is applied in the downward direction. This static force causes the support structure 100 to deform as shown by the broken lines 122. If, as usual, the bladder 110 is sealed, the deformation causes an increase in gas pressure inside the bladder 110.

It is understood that the described embodiments of the invention are illustrative. A number of other solutions and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art which will remain within the spirit of the invention.

Claims (11)

PATENT CLAIMS A support structure (100) with a bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) for accommodating an article (55, 102) positioned within an outer shipping container (57, 104), wherein the supported article (55, 102) has a predetermined configuration of at least in its predetermined portion and wherein the outer shipping container (57, 104) has a predetermined configuration at least in its predetermined portion to accommodate the support structure (100), wherein the support structure (100) comprises a shaped, semi-rigid self-supporting monolithic, a gas comprising an air bladder (11,51, 53, 110) with an average wall thickness of about 0,8 mm to maintain its predetermined configuration and dimensions when the positive pressure inside the air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) is approximately zero, the air bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) has a product receiving portion (55, 102) forming its first shape region negatively corresponding to the shape of the product (55, 102), further has a portion (15, 17, 19, 21, 114) for intercourse with transport the container (57, 104) forming a second region of the bladder (11, 51, 53, 110), spaced from and opposed to the first region, a shape negatively corresponding to the shape of the outer transport container (57, 104). SK 279375-6 Supporting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas-containing bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) is sealed with respect to its surroundings. A support structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas-containing bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) is provided with a sealable opening (116). A support structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gas in the bladder has an overpressure in the range of 0.001 to 0.20 MPa above ambient pressure. A support structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gas-containing bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) comprises a plurality of separate chambers interconnected for fluid passage and further comprises means for restricting the gas flow. between the chambers. Support structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the part of the bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) for receiving the article (55,102) is formed by a recess (13,67, 112). A support structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the part of the bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) for contacting the transport container (57, 104) is formed by corner elements (15,17,19, 21,114). A support structure according to claim 5, characterized in that the means for restricting the gas flow between the chambers are formed by screening elements, for example, bulges (35, 37). A support structure according to claim 5, characterized in that at least some of the separate chambers are located in the corners of the bladder (11, 51, 53, 110). A support structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made of a plastics material selected from the group of moldable plastics, consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and their copolymers, and also of vinyl, polyvinyl chloride or nylon. A support structure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gas in the bladder (11, 51, 53, 110) is selected from the group of compressible gases consisting of air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, sulfur hexafluoride, argon and krypton.