US2401141A - Packing material - Google Patents

Description

w. .L DE REAMl-:R 'PACKING 111131111111111.v

Filed April 20. 19,42

Mayv 28, 194s'.

Patented May 28, 1946 PACKING MATERIAL William J. De Reamer, Crown Point, Ind., assigner to Mapes Consolidated Manufacturing Company, Grth, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application April 20, 1942, Serial No. 439,689

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in packing material and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The packing material with which the present invention is more especially concerned is of the kind made of molded pulp in the form of a flat or pad for use in connection with conventional intersecting strip-like fillers in a standard egg case and having on its upper side, intersecting right angled rows of egg receiving seats disposed one within the area of each cell formed by the ller.

When the seats mentioned are of the round cup type, a downward pressure thereon tends to roll the circular top edge or ridge thereof, inwardly and downwardly. This not only changes the original cross sectional contour of the seats, but weakens them so that in some instances certain ones thereof collapse to lose their intended cushioning action.

One `of the objects of the invention is to provide packing material of this kind wherein the egg receiving seats are so shaped and formed as to have greater strength against distortion or axial crushing or collapse and at the same time permit of a ventilation about that end of the egg engaged on the seat so that the egg remains in a better condition for a longer period of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide packing material of this kind having seats so shaped and formed as to receive either the small or the large end of an egg with a better seating action and furnish a plurality of arcuately and uniformly spaced contact areas therefor and this in a manner so that the egg cannot so easily rock or tip out of position under impact imparted to the side or the end of the case.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packing material of this kind having seats of such shape and form as will better resist a downward pressure tending to collapse them,

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a packing material of this kind having seats of such shape and form that it is possible to present between the rows of such seats, striplike parts of greater area for engagement by and for the support of the strips of the cellular filler used with the material, thereby reducing the tendency of such strips to cut through thematerlal.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, as well as others, together with the advantages thereof will more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is a plan view, on a full size scale, of the egg receiving side of substantially a quarter corner fragment of the improved packing material,

with an associated part of the cell forming fillerl used therewith appearing in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View through a bottom end part of a packed standard egg case and illustrates the use of the improved pad therein in connection with the standard strip type of cellular ller, the plane of the section through the pad being indicated by theline 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view through the pad as taken on the` line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 `is another vertical sectional view through the pad as taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

The improved pad, which is preferably made of molded pulp material, includes a sheet-like rectangular body I0 of an area to t Within a compartment of a standard egg case. On the top side of the body are provided right angled rows of egg receiving seats each in the form of a shallow, inverted, pyramidal shaped cup I I--I I.

Each seat, which is square in plan, includes two pairs of oppostely disposed inner sides or walls I2-I2 and two pairs of oppositely disposed outer sides or walls I 3--I3, each inner side or wall being connected to an associated outer side or wall by a ridge I4 which is disposed in a plane above that of the sheet-like body l0. Each inner side or wall I2-I 2, which is of a triangular shape, slopes downwardly and inwardly from its ridge I4 toward the center of the cup and all of said sides or walls of each cup merge into the small rectangular bottom I5 of the cup which is disposed in a plane between those of the body I0 and the ridges I4 respectively, as best 'appears in Fig. 2.

Each outer side or wall I3 of each seat slopes downwardly and outwardly from its ridge to merge into raised strip-like platform portions I6 and I1 respectively. These portions IB and Il, which are disposed in a plane between those of the body IIJ and the bottom l5 of each seat respectively, are arranged in the pattern of the intersecting strips I8 of the standard llers used therewith. vThe intersecting strips of the fillers define the usual cells each associated with and surrounding a cup-like seat I l.

The platform portions I6 are associated with the outer side or wall of each seat disposed about the margin of the body and there is a platform portion I1 disposed between each two adjacent to the corners 22 formed by the meeting ends of' the ridges I4--I4 of each seat.

At the intersections of the strip-like platform portions II--I'I are square depressed portions, each with a bottom 23 disposed in the plane of the body portion II) and having thereacross the corner dimensions of greatest length, arranged parallel with the planes of said platform portions I'I. Each square depressed portion i has four upwardly and outwardly flaring side walls 24, each of which extends from itsassociatedside of the bottom to an associated corner 22 as provided by the meeting ends f two right angled ridge'portions I of the adjacent seat. This disposes each square depressed portion between each four adjacent seats and in the plane of the intersection of the right angled strips I8 of the filler used with the pad.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a plurality of the pads disposed in a part of the bottom of a standard egg case, only the bottom 25 and one end 26 of which appears therein.

In the use of the pads in such a case, a pad III is disposed in the bottom of the crate, Vwith the seats -II-II thereof facing upwardly and with the margin of the body Ill and with the bottom 22 of the square depressed portions bethe upper ends of the eggs in the layer below when said eggs are so large that their upper ends project above the top end edges of the ller. Thus, even with large eggs, the upper ends thereof are not so disposed with respect to the eggs in the tier or layer above as to become damaged or broken by reason of any pressure imposed upon the eggs in the layer below.

It,l isA apparent by the structure described, each seat is of such size that anyl egg placed in the seat, either end down, will readily find its own best seating engagementareas for itself on the tween each four adjacent seats engaged flatwise upon said bottom 25 of the egg case. A filler I8 is then placed in position in the case with the bottom edges of the strips thereof disposed on the platform parts I6 and I1 of the first pad placed therein and with the intersections of said strips disposed one above each square depressed portion having the bottom 23. The intersecting strips then define a cell 2l one above each seat II.

An egg is placed in each cell 21 so that its bottom end engages upon the seat therein. In this respect, it is pointed out that it makes no particular difference whether it is the large end or the small end of the egg which is disposed downwardly to engage upon its seat. When said egg is so disposed in the cell, its bottomk end will engage at four points spaced symmetrically about the egg, with each point resting on a mid portion of one of the inner side walls I2-f-I2. With the egg so engaged on its seat, a space is left between the bottom I5 of said seat and the axial bottom of. they egg and this space ODGDS into the associated cell at the corners of each pocket as provided by the meeting ends of the inner sides or walls I2-I2. Thus, air may circulate under the egg. Also, with this kind of support for the egg, downward endwise pressure on the egg will permit said sides to vyield slightly to accommodate said pressure and this with out permitting the seat to collapse because of the resistance offered by the strong angular structure formed at the corners of each pocket.

After the cells in the bottom tier or layer have been filled with eggs, another pad III and another filler is positioned as before and the cells thereof are filled as before. It is noted that by thestructure mentioned, the underside of each seat' II forms a hollow space to accommodate sides I2-I2 thereof and therefore the egg at no time will ride on the top rim or ridge of the seat. This overcomes certain objections in not only the circular seats before mentioned, but in certainnon-circular seats wherein the egg has point contact or engagement upon hard corner-like parts thereof.

It is also apparent that when an egg has four areas of engagement with the sides I2-I2 of the seat below the ridges I4 thereof, a downwardly imposed pressure tends to spread said sides outwardly and said sides yield to accommodate such pressure with a cushioning action. Furthermore, due to the shape and form of said seats, no downward and inward rolling action can start at the ridges of the seats and therefore the seats can-` not collapse. As thesides of the seats preclude any hard point contact engagement for the egg, the egg is not so easily `broken and therefore the eggs and the packing material itself remain in a much better condition during shipment,

` Also, it is pointed out that with the seats shaped and formed as described, the parts I6 and II, which are engaged by the bottom edges of the strips of the cellular filler, are of a greater area than has heretofore been possible to so provide and therefore the pressure of said strips is not so localized as to cut through the packing material along said parts.

With the pad described, it is to be noted that in no line acros'sethe pad is the material ofthe pad disposed 'in the same plane. This provides a truss construction which really stiiens the pad as a whole so that it is not floppy in the handling it naturally receives in use.

While in describing the invention I have referred in detail to the form, construction and arrangement of parts, the same is to be considered only in the illustrative sense so that I do not `wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A packing material in the form of a cushion pad embodying therein a rectangular sheet-like body portion having rows of spaced apart substantially square cup-like egg receiving seats thereon, each of a relatively shallow inverted pyramidal shape and including four full counterpart sides which meet at the corners of the seat and slope downwardly and inwardly from their upper base ends toward the center of the seat where they coact to form the bottom thereof, the mid portion of each side of each seat constituting the egg and engageable area therefor.

2. A packing material in the form of a cushion pad embodying therein a rectangular sheet-like body having rows of spaced apart substantially square cup-like egg receiving seats thereon, each of a relatively shallow inverted pyramidal shape and each vincluding a set of four full counterpart inner sides which meet at the corners of the seat and four outer sides, the four inner sides of each seat sloping downwardly and inwardly from their upper base ends toward the center of the kseat Where they coact to form the bottom therefor, the mid portion of each inner side of each seat constituting the egg and engageable portion therefor, the outer sides of each seat sloping downwardly and outwardly from its upper base end toward and merging into a ledge portion disposed in a plane between the planes of said base ends and said sheet-lilac body respectively,

3. A packing material in the form of a cushion pad embodying therein a rectangular sheet-like body portion having rows of spaced apart substantially square cup-like egg receiving seats thereon, which are separated by parts of the pad arranged in accordance with and adapted to be engaged by and support the bottom edges of the strips of the cellular iller used with the pad, each seat being of a relatively shallow inverted pyramidal shape and including four full counterpart sides which meet at the corners of the seat andslope downwardly and'inwardly from their upper base ends toward the center of the seat where they coact to form the bottom therefor, the mid portion of each side of each seat constituting the egg end engageable area therefor.

4. A packing material in the form of a cushion pad embodying therein a rectangular sheet-like body having right angled rows of spaced apart,

substantially square cup-like egg receiving seats thereon which are separated by parts of the pad disposed above the plane of the body and arranged in accordance with and adapted to be engaged by the bottom edges of the strips of the cellular ller used with the pad, each seat being of a relatively shallow inverted pyramidal shape and including four full counterpart sides which meet at the corners of the seat and slope downwardly and inwardly from their upper base ends toward the center where they coact to form the bottoni therefor, the mid portion of each side of each seat constituting the egg and engageable area therefor and a depressed portion between each four adjacent seats and having a bottom disposed in a plane below those parts of the pad separating said seats.

WILLIAM J. DE BEAMER.

Images