US20200115101A1

US20200115101A1 - Tray

Info

Publication number: US20200115101A1
Application number: US16/559,449
Authority: US
Inventors: Yucai Jiang; XiaoSong Jiang; Hsin-Chang LU
Original assignee: Maintek Computer Suzhou Co Ltd; Pegatron Corp
Current assignee: Maintek Computer Suzhou Co Ltd; Pegatron Corp
Priority date: 2018-10-11
Filing date: 2019-09-03
Publication date: 2020-04-16
Also published as: CN111036766B; CN111036766A; TW202015505A; TWI699151B

Abstract

The present invention provides a tray including a body. The body includes an outer edge surface, a center hole, a plurality of inner cutting grooves, and a plurality of outer cutting grooves. The center hole penetrates a center of the body to form an inner edge surface spaced apart from the outer edge surface. The inner cutting grooves are formed on the body and they extend from the inner edge surface to the outer edge surface, respectively. The outer cutting grooves are formed on the body and are respectively disposed between the inner cutting grooves, and the outer cutting grooves extend from the outer edge surface to the center hole, respectively. The body can be stretched along the inner cutting grooves and the outer cutting grooves to make a space formed by the center hole and the inner cutting grooves larger and to change an area of the body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of China application serial no. 201811181957.5, filed on Oct. 11, 2018. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

This present disclosure relates to a tray and, more particular, to a tray capable of changing an area thereof.

Description of Related Art

Existing trays are usually installed or disposed on products to buffer and fix components for the products. The trays may be made of plastic, metal, or other mixed materials, and the trays are usually stamped to match specific appearances of the products. Accordingly, the trays can be only applied to corresponding products. However, the existing trays are customized according to sizes and appearances of the products, causing a waste of materials. In addition, for products of different specifications, corresponding trays need to be customized, and the different trays have poor compatibility, resulting in an increase in production costs.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a tray used for buffering and fixing of products and capable of changing an area thereof, thus being applicable to products of different specifications.
The tray of the present invention includes a body. The body includes an outer edge surface, a center hole, a plurality of inner cutting grooves, and a plurality of outer cutting grooves. The center hole penetrates a center of the body to form an inner edge surface spaced apart from the outer edge surface. The plurality of inner cutting grooves are formed on the body, and the plurality of inner cutting grooves extend from the inner edge surface to the outer edge surface, respectively. The plurality of outer cutting grooves are formed on the body and are respectively disposed between the plurality of inner cutting grooves. The plurality of outer cutting grooves extend from the outer edge surface to the center hole, respectively. The body is capable of being stretched along the plurality of inner cutting grooves and the plurality of outer cutting grooves to make a space formed by the center hole and the plurality of inner cutting grooves larger and to change an area of the body.
Based on the above, the tray of the present invention is used for buffering and fixing products. Since the plurality of inner cutting grooves and the plurality of outer cutting grooves are formed on the body of the tray, the body can be easily stretched along the inner cutting grooves and the outer cutting grooves via an external force from a user thus to change the area of the body to be applicable to products of different specifications.
To make the aforementioned more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a tray in a closed state with a radial force according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 1A in an expanded state.

FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of application of the tray in FIG. 1B to a product;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 1A in a closed state with a horizontal force.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 2A in an expanded state.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of application of the tray in FIG. 2B to a product.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are schematic diagrams of application of a tray in a closed state and an expanded state to products of different sizes according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a tray in a closed state with a radial force according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 1A in an expanded state. FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of application of the tray in FIG. 1B to a product.
Please refer to FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C. The tray 100 in this embodiment includes a body 110, and the body 110 may be made of a flexible material (such as silicone, plastic, or other similar materials) to facilitate deformation. When the body 110 is configured on the products, buffering and fixing can be achieved via a flexible property of the body 110. The body 110 includes an outer edge surface OS, a center hole CH, a plurality of inner cutting grooves IG, and a plurality of outer cutting grooves OG.
The center hole CH penetrates a center C of the body 110 and passes through upper and lower side surfaces of the body 110, and an inner side of the center hole CH forms an inner edge surface IS spaced apart from the outer edge surface OS. In addition, the center hole CH may be formed by stamping or drilling.
The plurality of inner cutting grooves IG are formed on the body 110, and the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG extend from the inner edge surface IS to the outer edge surface OS, respectively. In detail, the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG form a plurality of slits extending in a straight line on the body 110 and passes through the inner edge surface IS to be in communication with the center hole CH. That is, the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG extend toward the outer edge surface OS along a radial direction R of the body 110.
The plurality of outer cutting grooves OG are formed on the body 110 and are respectively disposed between the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG, and the plurality of outer cutting grooves OG extend from the outer edge surface OS to the center hole CH, respectively. In detail, the plurality of outer cutting grooves OG form a plurality of slits extending in a straight line on the body 110 and pass through the outer edge surface OS. That is, the plurality of outer cutting grooves OG extend toward the inner edge surface IS along the radial direction R of the body 110.
In this embodiment, the body 110 is made of a flexible material, so that the body 110 can be stretched along the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG and the plurality of outer cutting grooves OG thus to change an area of the body 110.
Further, the plurality of inner cutting grooves IG and the plurality of outer cutting grooves OG are disposed at equal angles, and the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG are disposed alternately, to help expand or close the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG at the same time via an external force.
In this embodiment, the body 110 further includes a plurality of first deformation holes O1 and a plurality of second deformation holes O2. Each of the first deformation holes O1 is respectively disposed through an end of the corresponding inner cutting groove IG away from the center hole CH. Each of the second deformation holes O2 is respectively disposed through an end of the outer cutting grooves OG close to the center hole CH. Further, via the first deformation holes O1 and the second deformation holes O2, the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG of the body 110 can be deformed randomly without damaging the body 110. In short, deformation tolerance of the body 110 can be improved via the first deformation hole O1 and the second deformation hole O2.
Please refer to FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C. How the tray 100 is applied to a product 200A is described below. The product 200A has a disk 210A and a cylinder 220A disposed on the disk 210A.
The body 110 presents a circular appearance in the closed state (refer to FIG. 1A), making the slits of the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG tiny. A plurality of external forces F1 radiating outward along the radial direction R are applied to the body 110. When the body 110 is stretched along the outer cutting grooves OG, an outer diameter D1 of the outer edge surface OS of the body 110 increases. When the body 110 is stretched along the inner cutting grooves IG, an inner diameter D2 of the inner edge surface IS of the body 110 increases. That is, a space formed by the center hole CH and the inner cutting grooves IG becomes larger and a circular area of the body 110 is enlarged. Accordingly, the inner edge surface IS with the increased inner diameter D2 of the body 110 may be sleeved on a periphery of the cylinder 220A of the product 200A. In addition, the outer diameter D1 of the outer edge surface OS of the body 110 is greater than or equal to a diameter of the disk 210A and completely covers the disk 210A, thus achieving a function of buffering.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 1A in a closed state with a horizontal force. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the tray in FIG. 2A in an expanded state. FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of application of the tray in FIG. 2B to a product.
Please refer to FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C. How the tray 100 is applied to a product 200B is described below. The product 200B has a quadrilateral block structure. The body 110 presents a circular appearance in the closed state (refer to FIG. 2A), making the slits of the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG tiny. When two horizontal external forces F2 distributed outward along the radial direction R are applied to the body 110, the body 110 is stretched along two of the outer cutting grooves OG which are disposed in opposite directions to form two parallel short edges L1, and the body 110 is not stretched along the other outer cutting grooves OG thus to form two parallel long edges L2, thus allowing the body 110 to present a rectangular appearance, and allowing the body 110 to be stretched along the inner cutting grooves IG to form a plurality of quadrilateral accommodation spaces AS. In this way, the product 200B can be disposed in the accommodation spaces AS thus to achieve a function of buffering.
Other embodiments are described below for description. It should be noted herein that the following embodiments still use the component numerals and partial content of the foregoing embodiments, where a same numeral is used to represent same or similar components and the description of the same technical content is omitted. For the description of the omitted part, refer to the foregoing embodiments. Details are not repeatedly described in the following embodiment.
FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are schematic diagrams of application of a tray in a closed state and an expanded state to products of different sizes according to another embodiment of the present invention.
A tray 100A in this embodiment is roughly the same as the tray 100 in the foregoing embodiments, and a difference lies in that there is a plurality of clamping holes FH on the body 110A in this embodiment. The plurality of clamping holes FH pass through upper and lower side surfaces of the body 110A and are respectively disposed between the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG.
Further, the tray 100A in this embodiment is applied to products 200C of different sizes, where the product 200C has a disk 210C and a plurality of cylinders 220C.
Please refer to FIG. 3A. The body 110A presents a circular appearance in the closed state (refer to FIG. 3A) and is applied to the products 200C of smaller sizes, so that the slits of the inner cutting grooves IG and the outer cutting grooves OG are tiny. The plurality of clamping holes FH of the body 110A correspondingly accommodates the plurality of cylinders 220C, respectively, and the disk 210C is covered by the body 110A.
Please refer to FIG. 3B. The body 110A presents an enlarged circular appearance in the expanded state (refer to FIG. 3B) and is applied to the products 200C of larger sizes. The body 110A is stretched along the outer cutting grooves OG to increase the outer diameter of the outer edge surface OS, and the body 110A is stretched along the inner cutting grooves IG to increase the inner diameter of the inner edge surface IS, thereby enlarging the circular area of the body 110A, so that locations of the clamping holes FH are changed to correspondingly accommodate the plurality of cylinders 220C of the products 200C and the disk 210C is covered by the body 110A.
Based on the above, the tray of the present invention is used for buffering and fixing of the products. Since the plurality of inner cutting grooves and the plurality of outer cutting grooves are formed on the body of the tray, the body can be easily stretched along the inner cutting grooves and the outer cutting grooves via an external force from a user thus to change the area and the appearance of the body to be applicable to products of different shapes and sizes. Further, a deformable tray of the present invention can change the appearance and area according to specifications of the products and the deformable tray has better compatibility thus to reduce production costs.
Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are merely intended for describing the technical solutions of the present invention rather than limiting the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that they may still make modifications to the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some technical features thereof, as long as such modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of corresponding technical solutions to depart from the protection scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure covers modifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A tray system, comprising:

a body including:

an outer edge surface;

a center hole penetrating a center of the body to form an inner edge surface spaced apart from the outer edge surface;

a plurality of inner cutting grooves formed on the body, wherein the plurality of inner cutting grooves extend from the inner edge surface to the outer edge surface, respectively; and

a plurality of outer cutting grooves formed on the body and respectively disposed between the plurality of inner cutting grooves, wherein the plurality of outer cutting grooves extend from the outer edge surface to the center hole, respectively,

wherein the body is capable of being stretched along the plurality of inner cutting grooves and the plurality of outer cutting grooves to make a space formed by the center hole and the plurality of inner cutting grooves larger and to change an area of the body.

2. The tray according to claim 1, wherein when the body is stretched along the outer cutting grooves, an outer diameter of the body increases, and when the body is stretched along the inner cutting grooves, an inner diameter of the body increases.

3. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the body is stretched along two of the outer cutting grooves which are disposed in opposite directions to form two parallel short edges, and the body is not stretched along the other outer cutting grooves thus to form two parallel long edges, thus allowing the body to present as a rectangle and allowing the body to be stretched along the plurality of inner cutting grooves to form a plurality of accommodation spaces.

4. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner cutting grooves and the plurality of outer cutting grooves are disposed alternately.

5. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a plurality of first deformation holes, and each of the first deformation holes is respectively disposed through an end of the corresponding inner cutting groove away from the center hole.

6. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a plurality of second deformation holes, and each of the second deformation holes is respectively disposed through an end of the corresponding outer cutting groove close to the center hole.

7. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner cutting grooves extends toward the outer edge surface along a radial direction of the body.

8. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of outer cutting grooves extend toward the center hole along a radial direction of the body.

9. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the body further comprises a plurality of clamping holes disposed between the inner cutting grooves and the outer cutting grooves, respectively.

10. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the body is made of a flexible material.