Block strengthening air enclosure and manufacture thereof

A block strengthening air enclosure comprises a plurality of air cylinders, a plurality of nodes disposed on the plurality of air cylinders to allow the plurality of air cylinders to be bended along the plurality of nodes to form an accepting space, and at least one sheet positioned in the accepting space and attached onto a bended part of the plurality of air cylinders. After the plurality of air cylinders are filled with air and expanded, the accepting space can then be used for accepting an article, and the pat or block of the plurality of air cylinders needed to protect is strengthened through the sheet. Whereby, the air cylinders can be prevented form being piecing through and broken by a part of the article such as a projecting face, angle or edge; the production cost can be reduced, more kinds of articles can be accepted in the accepting space and the use convenience can be elevated.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 095149971 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on 2006 Dec. 19, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an air enclosure and a method for manufacturing it, and more particularly to a block strengthening air enclosure and a method for manufacture it.

BACKGROUND

Generally, an article is directly placed into a paper box while being packed. However, the paper box can only be used for packing the article and has no cushioning protection function to cause the article to be damaged easily owing to shake while being transported such that cushioning material is usually placed in the paper box during the packing to elevate the cushioning protection function of the paper box. A general used way is to fill foam between the article and the paper box thereby using the softness of the foam to provide the cushioning protection for the article. However, the price of foam is so high as to cause the packing cost to be increased and thus, it is of no economic interest. Besides, foam is not easy to be processed such that it is harmful to the environment protection. Moreover, although the foam can be tightly attached onto a surface of the article, the collision prevention effect is not good such that the article is still often subjected to collision to cause damage.

Another common cushioning material is Styrofoam. An article is first wrapped by means of Styrofoam, and then placed in a paper box so as to prevent the article from being collided during the transportation. Although Styrofoam can prevent the article from being damaged due to shake, the volume of Styrofoam fluffily occupies a great deal of space and not easy to be decomposed by microorganism as well as will release poison gas to endanger human bodies during an incineration process to cause a serious environmental pollution; Styrofoam is not an ideal cushioning material in nowadays of environmental consciousness upsurge. Moreover, Styrofoam with a fixed size cannot be used for packing all different dimensions and sizes of articles; a different dimension of Styrofoam must be only used for a specific article; this not only is resources wasting but also increases the article packing cost.

For solving the problems mentioned above, an air packing bag made by hot-sealing two sheets of thin plastic film is generated thereby providing a cushioning protection use to an article while being shaken. Although the air packing bag can provide a better cushioning protection, the article is easy to pierce the air packing bag through due to the shake in the air packing bag if the article is provided with sharp angles or hardware joint corners. If a small breach appears on the air packing bag, air in the air packing bag will then be leaked out to cause the air packing bag to loose the cushioning protection effect and further to increase the article packing cost. For solving this problem, the thin plastic film of the air packing bag may be thickened or strengthened so as to avoid being pierced through by the article as far as possible. But, it is impossible to strengthen or thicken only one single face of the air packing bag in a continuous mass production, all faces of the air packing bag must be strengthened or thickened; it leads to a high production cost to loose the market competitiveness.

SUMMARY

For providing an article with a good cushioning protection, preventing the article from being damaged or scratched by collision during the transportation, solving the problem that an air packing bag is easy to be pierced through, and reducing the production cost of a cushioning material, the present invention is proposed. The present invention proposes a block strengthening air enclosure, comprising:

a plurality of air cylinders;

a plurality of nodes, positioned on the plurality of air cylinders to allow the plurality of air cylinders to be bended along the plurality of nodes to form an accepting space for accepting an article; and

at least one sheet, positioned in the accepting space and attached onto a bended place of the plurality of air cylinders and used for preventing the article from being pierced through to cause no damage.

The present invention also proposes a method for manufacturing a block strengthening air enclosure. Comprising:

providing at least one inner film;

spreading a heat resistant material intermittently on a part of one face of the inner film;

stacking two outer films to cause the inner film to be lain between the outer films;

hot-sealing the outer films and the inner film, forming at least one air filling passageway and a plurality of air cylinders from the outer films and forming a plurality of air passageways to connect the air filling passage with the plurality of air chambers from the part of the inner film spread with the hear resistant material;
hot-sealing the outer films to form a plurality of nodes on the plurality of air chambers; attaching at least one sheet onto the plurality of nodes of the plurality of air chambers; and
bending the plurality of air chambers along the plurality of nodes to form an accepting space to allow the sheet to be positioned in the accepting space;
in which the sheet mentioned above may be glued on the plurality of air chambers, and may also be hot-sealed on the plurality of air chambers.

The sheet mentioned above is a multi-layer compound film or air cushioning sheet. Furthermore, a material of the sheet may be selected from a group constituted by foam, PE foam cloth, PVC, PP, EPE and EPP, or may be selected from a group constituted by corrugated paper, paper and paper-like material such as kraft paper or single-layer corrugated paper box material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer toFIGS. 1A,1B and1C.FIG. 1Ais a plane view, showing an air enclosure of a first preferred embodiment according to the present invention before being filled with air.FIG. 1Bis a perspective view, showing an air enclosure of the first preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.FIG. 1Cis a cross sectional view, showing a bended air enclosure of the first preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.

A block strengthening air enclosure6comprises two sheets of outer film2aand2b, and two sheets15.

The two sheets of outer films2aand2bare stacked vertically.

Hot sealing is carried out along hot sealing lines3a,3b,3cand3dto form a plurality of air cylinders11, and the two sheets of outer film2aand2bare then adhered to each other by means of hot sealing to form an air filling entrance12. Next, a plurality nodes14aare generated on the air cylinders11by means of hot sealing so as to allow the air cylinders11to be bended into a U-typed body along the nodes14a, and an accepting space8is formed on the U-typed body.

The sheets15are positioned in the accepting space8and attached onto bended parts of the plurality of air cylinders11, and glued on the plurality of air cylinders11or adhered onto the plurality of air cylinders11by means of hot sealing, and the sheets may also be attached flatly on surfaces of the plurality of air cylinders11.

The sheet15mentioned above may be a multi-layer compound film, and a material of the sheet15may be selected from a group constituted by corrugated paper, paper and paper-like material such as bendable or malleable kraft paper or single-layer corrugated paper box material; the material is cut into a proper size sheet and then attached onto positions of the plurality of air cylinders needed to protect or blocks of the plurality of air cylinders.

Air entering the air filling entrance12causes the plurality of air cylinders11to be filled with air and expanded, the accepting space8can then be used to accept an article20so as to provide the cushioning protection, and the sheet15is used as a strengthened protection layer to parts such as projecting faces, angles or edges of the article20to prevent the article20from piercing through the air cylinders11and the air from being leaked out under a condition that the air filling of the plurality of air cylinders11is not influenced. Whereby, not only the packing cost of the article20can be reduced, but also the production cost of the air enclosure can be reduced and the problem that the air cylinder is apt to be pierced through by the article20can be solved.

Please refer toFIGS. 2A and 2B.FIG. 2Ais a plane view, showing an air enclosure of a second preferred embodiment according to the present invention before being filled with air.FIG. 2Bis a cross sectional view, showing a bended air enclosure of the second preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.

A block strengthening air enclosure6comprises two sheets of outer film2aand2b, two sheets of inner film1aand1b, an air filling passageway9, a plurality of air cylinders11, a plurality of air passageways15and at least one sheet15.

The two sheets of outer film2aand2bare stacked vertically.

The two sheets of inner films1aand1bare side-attached onto the outer film2aor2b, and a heat resistant material1cis spread between the two sheets of inner film1aand1bso as to use the heat resistant material1cas an air passable passageway thereby forming a continuous check valve or single air filling check valves.

Hot sealing is carried out along hot sealing lines3a,3b,3cand3dto form a plurality of air cylinders11, in which the two sheets of outer film2aand2bas well as the two sheet of inner film1aand1bare adhered together by means of hot sealing to allow an air filling passageway9to be formed between the two sheets of outer film2aand2b; the air filling passageway9is passed through the hot sealing line3eand comprises an air filling entrance12connected to the outside air. And then, a plurality of nodes14aare generated on the plurality of air cylinders11by means of hot sealing to allow the plurality of air cylinders11to be bended into a U-typed body along the nodes14a, and an accepting space8is formed on the U-typed body.

A heat resistant material1cis spread sequentially and intermittently between the two sheets of inner film1aand1b, for example, by means of heat resistant resin printing or ink printing, the two sheets of inner film1aand1bare still not adhered to each other to form air passageways13even by hot sealing.

The sheets15are positioned in the accepting space8and attached onto bended parts of the air cylinders11, and glued on the plurality of air cylinders11or adhered onto the plurality of air cylinders11by means of hot sealing, and the sheets may also be attached flatly on surfaces of the plurality of air cylinders11.

Air entering the air filling entrance12expands the air filling passageway9and fills it with air to allow the two sheets of inner film1aand1bto be pulled apart outward to open the air passageways13thereby being capable of using the air in the air filling passageway9to fill the plurality of air cylinders11with air and allow them to be expanded. When the two sheets of inner film1aand1bform a continuous check valve, the air in the air filling passageway9can fill the plurality of air cylinders11with air simultaneously via the continuous check valve, and when the two sheets of inner film1aand1bform single air filling check valves, the air in the air filling passageway9can respectively fill the air cylinders11with air. Furthermore, air pressure at a curved part of the air passageway13is larger than air pressure at two sides thereof to cause the air in the air filling passageway9is easy to enter and not easy to escape out. When the internal pressure of the air cylinder11increases, it thrusts the curved part of the air passageway13to attain to the air locking effect. Furthermore, when the internal air pressure of the air cylinder11compresses the two sheets of inner film1aand1bto attach onto the outer film2aor2bclosely, they will cover the air passageway13to shield the air cylinder to allow the air not to be leaked out to attain to the air locking effect.

Please refer toFIG. 3.FIG. 3is a plane view, showing an air enclosure of a third preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

According to a structure disclosed by the present invention, the block strengthening air enclosure6further comprises an outer box30; one face of the plurality of air cylinders11not attached with the sheet15is attached onto an inner surface of the outer box30closely, the accepting space8may then be used for accepting an article20to provide the cushioning protection and a user is allowed to deliver the article20through the outer box30. In the process of transportation, the sheet15is relied on to take as a strengthened protection layer for a part such as projecting face, angle or edge of the article30to avoid a situation that the article20pierces through the air cylinder11to cause the air to be leaked out. Whereby, the packing cost of the article20can be reduced, but also the production cost of the air enclosure6can be reduced and the problem that the air cylinder11is apt to be pierced through by the article20can be solved.

In addition, the outermost plurality of air cylinders11may also be adhered together by means of hot sealing to allow the air enclosure6to form a bag thereby being able to elevate the article accepting convenience.

Please refer toFIGS. 4A and 4B.FIG. 4Ais a perspective view, showing an air enclosure of a fourth preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.FIG. 4Bis a cross sectional view, showing a bended air enclosure of the fourth preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.

In this embodiment, the sheet15is a foldable or malleable air cushioning sheet151. The sheet15is attached onto a part or block of the plurality of air cylinders11needed to protect, and a double air filling is used to allow the plurality of air cylinders11and the sheet15to be respectively filled with air and expanded so as to form a double cushioning to the part or the block of the plurality of air cylinders11needed to protect to elevate the protection for the part or the block of the plurality of air cylinders needed to protect.

Please refer toFIGS. 5A and 5B.FIG. 5Ais a perspective view, showing an air enclosure of a fifth preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.FIG. 5Bis a cross sectional view, showing a bended air enclosure of the fifth preferred embodiment according to the present invention after being filled with air.

The sheet15may also be a PE foam cloth152. As a surface of the PE foam cloth152is disposed with many small bubble particles, it is attached onto a part or block of the plurality of air cylinders11needed to protect by means of hot sealing or gluing in advance after it is cut into a proper size cloth so as to increase the protection effect.

In addition, a material of the sheet15may be selected from a group constituted by form, PVC, PP, EPE and FPP.

A method for manufacturing a block strengthening air enclosure6comprises the following steps:

Step 1: providing at least one inner film1a;

Step 2: spreading a heat resistant material1cintermittently on a part of one face of the inner film1a, for example, by means of heat resistant resin printing or ink printing;

Step 3: stacking two outer films2aand2bto allow the inner film1ato be lain between the outer films2aand2b;

Step 4: hot-sealing the outer films2aand2band the inner film1a, forming at least one air filling passageway9and a plurality of air cylinders11from the outer films2aand2b, and forming a plurality of air passageway13to connect the air filling passageway9with the plurality of air cylinders11from the part of the inner film1aspread with the heat resistant material1c;
Step 5: hot-sealing the outer films2aand2bto form a plurality of nodes14aon the plurality of air cylinders11;
Step 6: attaching at least one sheet15onto a place of the plurality of air cylinders11on which the plurality of nodes are disposed.

The sheet15may be glued on the plurality of air cylinders11or hot-sealed on the plurality of air cylinders11, and the sheet15may also be attached flatly one a surface of the plurality of air cylinders11.

The sheet mentioned above is a multi-layer compound film or air cushioning sheet. Furthermore, a material of the sheet may be selected from a group constituted by foam, PE foam cloth, PVC, PP, EPE and EPP, or may be selected from a group constituted by corrugated paper, paper and paper-like material; it is attached in advance onto a part or block of the plurality of air cylinders11needed to protect by means of hot sealing or gluing after it is cut into a proper size cloth so as to increase the protection effect.

Step 7: bending the plurality of air cylinders11along the nodes14ainto a U-typed body, and forming an accepting space8on the U-typed body to allow the sheets15to be positioned in the accepting space8.

After the air enclosure6is manufactured, the plurality of air cylinders11are allowed to fill with air and expand through the air in the air filling entrance12so as to use the accepting space8to accept an article20to provide the cushioning protection effect, and the sheet15is used as a strengthened protection layer to a part such as projecting face, angle or edge of the article20to prevent the article20from piercing through the air cylinders11and the air from being leaked out under a condition that the air filling of the plurality of air cylinders11is not influenced.

In addition, the block strengthening air enclosure6further comprises an outer box30; one face of the plurality of air cylinders11not attached with the sheet15is attached onto an inner surface of the outer box30closely, the accepting space8may then be used for accepting an article20to provide the cushioning protection and a user is allowed to deliver the article20through the outer box30. In the process of transportation, the sheet15is relied on to take as a strengthened protection layer for a part such as projecting face, angle or edge of the article30to avoid a situation that the article20pierces through the air cylinder11to cause the air to be leaked out.

A hot sealing or gluing manner, according to the present invention, is used to attach the sheet15manufactured from a piercing-resistant material like a waist belt onto a part or block of the plurality of air cylinders11needed to protect As the sheet15is attached onto the outside of the air cylinders11such that it does not influence the air filling of the plurality of air cylinders11, and the sheet15is used as a strengthened protection layer to a part such as projecting face, angle or edge of the article20to avoid a situation that the article20pierces through the air cylinders11to cause the air to be leaked out so as to extend the life of the air enclosure6. Whereby, not only the packing cost of the article20can be reduced, but also the production cost of the air enclosure can be reduced and the problem that the air cylinder is apt to be pierced through by the article20can be solved.