Abstract:
A shipping protector for interposition between a shipping carton and an article being shipped for spacing the article within the carton, including a resilient buffer member and a buffer insert provided between the buffer member and the article.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a buffer member for a shipping carton, interposed between the shipping carton and an article packed within, to protect the packed article from external impact during shipping and storage. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Home appliances including television sets, video cassette recorders, refrigerators and washing machines go through a packaging process during the final stage of manufacture. 
     As shown in FIG. 1 for descriptive purposes, a home appliance such as a television set  1  is generally packed in a shipping carton  10  usually constructed of corrugated cardboard, depending on the type and size of the appliance. Buffer members  11  and  12  are installed at the corners of the shipping carton  10  so that the television set  1  is prevented from moving inside the shipping carton  10 . In addition to providing support, the buffer members protect the packed article by absorbing forces generated by an external impact to the shipping carton. In general, buffer members  11  and  12  are formed from a synthetic resin such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) or expanded polypropylene (EPP), often called Styrofoam. 
     In FIG. 1, reference numeral  11  indicates upper buffer members placed on the top/side portions of the television set  1  to protect the top and side surfaces of the television set  1 . Reference numeral  12  indicates lower buffer members placed at the lower/side portions of the shipping carton  10  to protect the bottom and side surfaces of the television set  1 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the interior surface  16  of the lower buffer member  12  is formed to correspond to the peripheral contours of certain portions of the packed article. Because of their placement along the bottom portion of the shipping carton  10  to support the packed article, the lower buffer members  12  can be crushed or damaged due to overload of the packed article, thereby reducing the buffer members support and cushioning attributes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To limit potential crushing of the buffer members, and to offer increased protection to packed articles, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved buffer member for shipping cartons which effectively supports and cushions a packed article subject to static and dynamic overload conditions. To achieve this objective, there is provided a buffer member for a shipping carton, interposed between the shipping carton and a packed article which includes a buffer insert resistant to crushing caused by overload conditions. 
     The buffer insert is preferably fitted and fixed into an aperture formed along the inner surface of the buffer member. In addition, the buffer insert may comprise of a hollow cylindrical plug having a fluid filled inner cavity. According to another aspect of the present invention, the buffer insert comprises a cylindrical body formed from a plastic foam material having a density different from the buffer member. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above objective and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating an example of a conventional shipping carton for a television set; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the lower buffer member shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a buffer member for a shipping carton according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV—IV of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a buffer member for a shipping carton according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI—VI of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a buffer member for a shipping carton according to yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII—VIII of FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a package for a television set using the buffer member for a shipping carton shown in FIG.  3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 3, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a buffer member  120  for a shipping carton is formed from a synthetic resin such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) or expanded polypropylene (EPP), often called Styrofoam, to correspond to certain peripheral contours of a packed article. An aperture  121  is formed along the interior surface  122  of the buffer member  120 , and a buffer insert  130  is fitted and fixed into the aperture  121 . 
     As shown in FIG. 4, the buffer insert  130  is a hollow plug  131 , formed from an elastic material such as rubber or synthetic resin, containing an internal cavity filled with a fluid such as air or oil. The height of the buffer insert  130  is greater than the depth of aperture  121 , such that the upper portion of the buffer insert  130  protrudes above the interior surface  122  of the buffer member  120  by a predetermined height. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 9, a buffering gap  134  is formed between the bottom surface of a packed article  110  and the buffer member  120 . Improved support and cushioning of the packaged article is provided since pressure on a portion of the buffer member  120  where the load of the packed article is concentrated, is effectively absorbed by the buffer insert  130 . 
     A valve  133  may be installed to regulate the amount of fluid  132  contained in the internal cavity of hollow plug  131 . Regulating the amount of fluid  132  according to the type or size of the packed article optimizes the buffer insert&#39;s support and cushioning attributes. 
     The buffer insert  130  according to the present invention is not limited by the shape or the structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Namely, various shapes or structures, e.g., a square-section tube or triangular-section tube can be adopted for the buffer insert  130 . In addition, the buffer insert  130  may be positioned along the exterior surface of the buffer member  120 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the buffer insert  140  can be an open cylindrical body made of corrugated cardboard, rubber or synthetic resin to form an elastic member for insertion into aperture  121 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the buffer insert  150  may also be formed from a material having a different density from the buffer member  120 . For example, the buffer insert  150  is formed from a synthetic resin foam such as expanded polystyrene or expanded polypropylene, having a density different from the buffer member  120 . The buffer insert  150  is fitted into aperture  121 . 
     Although each of the buffer inserts  140  and  150  shown in FIGS. 5 through 8 is formed to have a height equal to the depth of aperture  121 , so that the top surfaces of the buffer inserts  140  and  150  are flush with the inner surface  122  of the buffer member  120 , the buffer inserts  140  and  150  can also be formed to have heights greater than the depth of aperture  121 , as shown in FIG. 4, so that the upper surfaces of the buffer inserts  140  and  150  protrude above the inner surface of the buffer member  120  by a predetermined height. The embodiments disclosed in FIGS. 5 through 8 are simple to manufacture since the buffer inserts  140  and  150  do not include fluid filled internal cavities. 
     As described above, the buffer member for a shipping carton according to the present invention can effectively absorb forces directed at a portion of a packed article at or along an area where the weight of the article is concentrated. This improves the support and cushioning of packed articles over prior buffering methods. 
     It is conceivable that numerous modifications may be made to the buffer member for shipping carton of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.