Reusable container

An object to be packaged is positioned and secured on a set rack, and the set rack is placed on a buffer material provided on a bottom plate of an inner packaging cover. Right/left cover portions of the inner packaging cover are folded up at folding lines so that the inner packaging cover covers the set rack, and the set rack is placed on a bottom panel of the outer packaging case with the inner packaging cover therebetween. Thereafter, an open/close panel is slid along a guide groove formed on a side opening of the outer packaging case so as to close the side opening by the open/close panel, and an upper opening is covered by a top plate panel to thereby store the object to be packaged in the outer packaging case using the inner packaging cover and the set rack.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a reusable container for packaging objects having various shapes and sizes for transportation, and especially relates to a reusable container capable of being assembled easily and capable of being reused.

Description of the Related Art

Various containers have conventionally been known for packaging objects during transportation of objects and the like. Various types of containers are provided in response to the forms of objects being packed therein (hereinafter also referred to as object to be packaged). For example, in transporting precision machinery such as a passbook entry module of an ATM (Automated Teller Machine), the machinery is heavily packaged to realize toughness against impact, dust-proof performance against dusts and foreign matter, and shock-absorbing properties. In the prior art, these types of precision machinery have been packaged for example by embedding buffer materials in a cardboard box having the object stored therein, and further packaging the cardboard box by covering the outer side via a wooden frame formed by assembling panel members in a frame shape. However, according to such conventional packaging method, it requires much work to assemble and disassemble the wooden frame, so that it cannot correspond to resource-saving needs since the cardboard box, the buffer material and the wooden frame formed of different materials cannot be reused, and efficient packaging operation cannot be realized since the separation of refuse during disposal requires much work in addition to the assembling operation during packaging and the disassembling operation thereof.

Recently, there have been provided assembled containers that can be repeatedly reused for packaging. Various types of assembled containers are known in response to the shapes and sizes of the equipment being packaged, examples of which are a box-shaped container formed by molding aluminum alloy or other light metal, or an assembled container formed of synthetic resin disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-79941 (Patent Document 1). The assembled container shown in Patent Document 1 has face panels constituting the respective faces of the container formed of PP panels, wherein four side wall panels are connected in a foldable manner to four sides of the bottom panel, and wherein the respective face panels are assembled in a box shape during packaging to pack the object to be packaged.

However, even by using the reusable assembled container disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to transport a precision machiner or the like, for example, a tough frame body for protecting the precision machinery from impact, a cover for preventing dusts or foreign objects from entering and a buffer material for absorbing impact are required in addition to the assembled container, and especially, in transporting a passbook entry module, excessive work was required to embed buffer materials to the space formed between the container and the passbook entry module in order to protect the passbook entry module from the impact applied thereto during transportation, so that there were demands for a reusable container capable of reusing a tough container having sufficient toughness, a dustproof cover and a buffer material, which realizes superior shock-absorbing effects and superior packaging operability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims at solving the problems of the prior art mentioned above by providing a reusable container enabling to reuse the tough frame body for protecting the object being packaged from impact or the like, the protection cover, the buffer material and the container for packaging the object, which has a superior packaging operability and which can be assembled easily.

A reusable container according to the present invention includes a set rack composed of a base plate for positioning and retaining an object to be packaged and a reinforcing frame, an inner packaging cover having a rectangular parallelepiped shape for covering the set rack, and an outer packaging case having a rectangular parallelepiped shape for housing the inner packaging cover, wherein the reusable container has the object to be packaged positioned and secured on the base plate, and further has rails provided between the inner packaging cover and the outer packaging case for guiding and pulling out the inner packaging cover.

According to the reusable container of the present invention, the object to be packaged is positioned and secured on the base plate constituting the bottom surface of the set rack, and then the set rack covered by the inner packaging cover, so that the set rack to which the object to be packaged is secured is housed via the inner packaging cover to the outer packaging case. The inner packaging cover is supported via rails disposed on the inner side of the outer packaging case.

The base plate of the set rack for positioning and retaining the object to be packaged in the reuse container of the present invention has a rectangular shape, and the reinforcing frame is a reinforcing frame arranged to correspond to each side of a rectangular parallelepiped shape, one side of which is composed of the rectangular shape of the base plate.

According to the reusable container of the present invention, the inner packaging cover can be repeatedly reused, and since the set rack has a rectangular bottom base plate, and the reinforcing frame is a rectangular parallelepiped having the rectangular base plate constituting one side thereof, the reusable container provided by the present invention can be utilized regardless of the shape or the size of the object to be packaged therein.

The inner packaging cover of the rectangular parallelepiped shape of the reuse container according to the present invention is composed of a single continuous synthetic resin sheet, having a pair of left and right box-shaped cover portions connectedly disposed to open and close via folding lines from a center area of upright plates folded up from a bottom panel, and wherein multiple buffer materials are bonded to and arranged on an upper surface of the bottom panel and an inner surface of the cover portions.

According to the reusable container of the present invention, the inner packaging cover can be repeatedly reused, and by placing the set rack having the object to be packaged secured thereto on multiple buffer materials disposed on the bottom panel of the inner packaging cover, and folding up a pair of left and right cover portions from the folding lines formed to the middle section of the upright plates so as to cover the set rack with the inner packaging cover, the base plate of the set rack can be supported by the buffer material disposed on the base plate and the buffer material secured to the inner surface of the cover portions can come into contact with the reinforcing frame of the set rack.

The outer packaging case having the rectangular parallelepiped shape of the reusable container according to the present invention is composed of a plurality of synthetic resin panels, wherein the respective panels are assembled to form a box shape with one side surface and upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped shape capable of being opened and closed, the side opening of the outer packaging case has a pair of left and right guide grooves formed thereto, the side opening being allowed to open and close via an open/close panel sliding along the pair of guide grooves, the upper opening being covered via a ceiling panel to constitute the outer packaging case, and rails for guiding and pulling out the inner packaging cover housing the set rack are arranged on an inner side of the outer packaging case, and wherein the inner packaging cover is housed in the outer packaging case.

According to the reusable container of the present invention, when housing the inner packaging cover storing the set rack in which the object to be packaged is set in the outer packaging case, the set rack is placed on the buffer material disposed on the bottom panel, and the inner packaging cover is inserted from the side opening of the outer packaging case and the open/close panel is slid along the guide groove facing the side opening, so that the side opening is covered by the open/close panel, and thereafter, the upper opening of the outer packaging case is closed via the top plate panel, according to which the inner packaging cover is housed in the outer packaging case. Thereby, the object to be packaged can be protected both by the inner packaging cover and the outer packaging case.

According further to the present invention, the reusable container has a set rack composed of a rectangular base plate and a reinforcing frame arranged on respective sides of a rectangular parallelepiped having one surface composed of the rectangular base plate, the set rack having an object to be packaged positioned and retained thereon and being covered by an inner packaging cover having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the inner packaging cover further housed in an outer packaging case having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, wherein a pair of left and right guide grooves are formed on a side opening of the outer packaging case, the side opening being allowed to open and close via an open/close panel sliding along the pair of guide grooves, and an upper opening being covered by a ceiling panel to constitute the outer packaging case, and wherein rails are arranged on an inner side of the outer packaging case for guiding and pulling out the inner packaging cover from the outer packaging case.

According to the reusable container of the present invention, the inner packaging cover can be repeatedly reused, and the inner packaging cover can be easily inserted to or pulled out from the outer packaging case.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, a best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 through 9. In the present embodiment, an example is illustrated where the container is optimized for packaging a passbook entry module of an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) as the object to be packaged, but the present invention is not limited to packaging specific devices as the object, and the invention can be applied to packaging other objects not illustrated in the embodiments.

A reusable container1is composed of a set rack10having a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which an object to be packaged (passbook entry module) A is set, positioned and retained, an inner packaging cover20having a rectangular parallelepiped shape with a buffer material for protecting the set rack10, and an outer packaging case50having a rectangular parallelepiped shape for further packaging the inner packaging cover20.

As shown inFIG. 5, for example, the set rack10is composed of a metallic base plate11having a rectangular shape as a whole, and a reinforcing frame12having a rectangular parallelepiped shape erected from the four corners of the rectangular base plate11and having the rectangular base plate constitute one surface thereof, wherein the base plate11has attached thereto L-shaped brackets13for positioning an object to be packaged A and attachment brackets14for securing the object to be packaged A, and as illustrated inFIG. 5, in the state where the two corners at one end of the object to be packaged A is positioned by the L-shaped brackets13, the attachment brackets14are latched to rails15disposed on the side portions of the object to be packaged A, the attachment brackets14are screwed onto the base plate11, and then the reinforcing frame12is secured to the base plate11via screws or other appropriate means.

As shown in the development view ofFIG. 7, the folding lines of the inner packaging cover20are shown by dotted lines. The inner packaging cover20is formed of a single continuous synthetic resin sheet21, wherein left and right upright plates23and24are connectedly disposed via folding lines25aon a bottom plate22, and further, a left side wall plate26, a right side wall plate27, ceiling plates28, front side plates29, rear side plates30, and pasting margins32are connectedly disposed on the upright plates23and24via folding lines25b,25c,25dand25e. By perpendicularly folding the front side plates29, the rear side plates30and the pasting margins32at the folding lines25dand25e, and folding the ceiling plates28at right angles from the folding lines25cand securing the pasting margin32to the ceiling plates28via riveting or the like, a pair of box-shaped cover portions35on left and right sides are formed by the left side wall plate26, the right side wall plate27, the front side plates29, the rear side plates30and the ceiling plates28(FIG. 8). Buffer materials36having L-shaped cross-sections for positioning the set rack10are secured to the inner sides of the cover portions35and the bottom plate22at positions corresponding to each corner of the set rack10and at the center of both side edges of the set rack10. Further, on the outer surface of the ceiling plate28are attached hook and loop fasteners40for securing the cover portions35in a closed state, and on the front side plates29and rear side plates30are formed slits41for handles.

An outer packaging case50is composed of, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, a bottom panel51formed of synthetic resin such as PP (polypropylene) (which is not shown inFIGS. 1 and 2since it is placed on the bottom side), an open/close panel52disposed on one of the left and right side walls (illustrated as being formed on the left side wall inFIG. 1and opened inFIG. 2), a side wall panel53disposed on the opposite side therefrom (which is referred to as a right side wall panel53for convenience), a front side panel54, a rear side panel55and a top plate panel56. The respective panels51through56constituting the outer packaging case50have their outer edge portions reinforced via reinforcing frames57. Corner members58are secured to the four corners of the bottom panel51, and the front side panel54, the rear side panel55and the right side wall panel53excluding the open/close panel52are secured to the corner members58. According to such arrangement, an opening60in which the upper opening60aand one of the side openings60b(left side in the drawing) are connected is formed to the outer packaging case50by removing the open/close panel52and the top plate panel56(refer toFIG. 2). In other words, the reinforcing frames57disposed in a vertical direction (perpendicular direction in the state ofFIG. 2) facing the side opening60bhas guide grooves61formed thereto for guiding the open/close panel52, wherein by sliding insert portions62formed on both side edges of the open/close panel52, the side opening60acan be opened and closed, and the upper opening60acan be opened and closed by the top plate panel56.

As shown inFIGS. 1 through 3A and 3B, positioning frames64having L-shaped positioning projections63are secured to four corners of the side wall panels52through55(FIG. 2) facing the upper opening60aof the outer packaging case50, and the reinforcing frame65for reinforcing the circumference of the top plate panel56have cutout portions66corresponding to and fitting with the projections63. Further, a pair of latched projections67is formed on each side of the projections63of the positioning frames64, and elastic deformable hook pieces68are formed on the reinforcing frames65to the latched projections67. The dimensions of the projections63are designed so that when the top plate panel56is fit to the upper opening60aof the outer packaging case50, the projections63are protruded above the upper surface of the top plate panel56.

Further, as shown inFIG. 4, multiple guide rails70are secured to the inner sides of the front side panel54and the rear side panel55of the outer packaging case50, and the outer side of the inner packaging cover20is guided by the guide rails70and moved in sliding motion. The outer packaging case50is secured in a state where binding members73fixed to both ends of fastening bands72are engaged to receiver clasps74fixed to the outer side of side wall panels54and55so that the outer packaging case50is closed tightly. Incidentally, reference number75inFIG. 1and the like denotes a pair of openings as handles formed close to the upper frame of side wall panels54and55, and reference number76denotes a support platform for forming insert openings used when carrying the outer packaging case50via forklifts or pallets.

Now, we will describe the steps for assembling the reusable container1according to the present invention arranged as described above. At first, as shown inFIG. 6, the object to be packaged A is positioned via the L-shaped brackets13disposed on the base plate11of the set rack10, the attachment brackets14are latched on rails15disposed on the sides of the object to be packaged A, the attachment brackets14are screwed onto the base plate11so as to position and secure the object to be packaged A on the set rack10, and then the reinforcing frame12is screwed onto the base plate11of the set rack10so as to assemble the set rack10. At this time, it is preferable to use rails for assembling the passbook entry module as the object to be packaged A to a banking terminal device as the rails15disposed on the sides of the object to be packaged A. Then, as shown inFIG. 9, after placing the set rack10with the object to be packaged A set thereto on the buffer material36disposed on the bottom plate22of the inner packaging cover20by attaching the hook and loop fasteners40fixed to one of the ceiling plates28while folding up the right/left cover portions35from the folding lines25bof the inner packaging cover20to female hook and loop fasteners40afixed to the other ceiling plate28, the right/left cover portions35are secured to the set rack10in the covered state. Thereafter, as shown inFIG. 2, the object to be packaged A secured to the set rack10is stored in the outer packaging case50in a state covered by the inner packaging cover20. At this time, the inner packaging cover20is guided via rails70through the side opening60bof the outer packaging case50and inserted thereto, and the set rack10is placed via the inner packaging cover20on the bottom panel51. Then, by having the open/close panel52slide along the guide grooves61formed vertically on the reinforcing frame57facing the side opening60b, the side opening60bis closed via the open/close panel52, and at the same time, the upper opening60aof the outer packaging case50is closed via the top plate panel56while having the cutout portions66formed on the four corners of the top plate panel56fit to the L-shaped positioning projections63formed on the four corners of the respective side wall panels52through55. Thus, the hook pieces68formed on the reinforcing frame65of the top plate panel56are elastically deformed and engaged to the latched projections67formed to the positioning frames64of the respective side wall panels52through55, by which the top plate panel56is secured. Thereafter, the binding members73of the fastening bands72attached to the top plate panel56are engaged with the receiver clasps74secured to the side wall panels54and55, so as to seal the outer packaging case50. According to the above operation, the object to be packaged A is stored within the outer packaging case50and the packaging operation of the object to be packaged A is completed.

As described, according to the reusable container1of the present invention, the object to be packaged A is set in the set rack10and the inner packaging cover20is arranged to cover the set rack10, so that any impact applied on the object to be packaged A can be absorbed via the buffer material36disposed in the inner packaging cover20, and the object to be packaged A is protected by the inner packaging cover20. By further housing the object to be packaged A covered by the inner packaging cover20in the outer packaging case50, the vibration or impact that may be applied on the object to be packaged A being a precision component during transportation or the like can be absorbed effectively by the buffer material36in the inner packaging cover20, and the transportation can be performed in an extremely safe manner. Conventionally, in packaging a precision machinery having a complex outer shape, such as a passbook entry module of an ATM as the object to be packaged, it was necessary to heavily pack the object by filling buffer materials in the space between the container and the object to be packaged A, but according to the present embodiment, the operation of filling buffer materials is not required, and the set rack10having a predetermined shape (rectangular parallelepiped) in which the object to be packaged A is secured should simply be covered by the inner packaging cover20. Further, the outer packaging case50disposed on the outermost side packaging the object to be packaged A has an opening60formed of an upper opening60aand a side opening60b, and when loading the set rack10covered by the inner packaging cover20in the outer packaging case50, there is no need to raise the object to be packaged A up high since the object to be packaged A can be loaded via sliding movement along rails70through the side opening60bof the outer packaging case50, so that the loading can be performed easily. As for the assembly operation of the outer packaging case50storing the object to be packaged A, by having the open/close panel52slide along the guide grooves61formed vertically on the reinforcing frame57facing the side opening60b, and closing the upper opening60aof the outer packaging case50via the top plate panel56by having the L-shaped positioning projections63formed on the four corners of the respective side wall panels52through55fit to the cutout projections66formed on the four corners of the top plate panel56, the hook pieces68formed on the reinforcing frame65of the top plate panel56elastically deform and engage to the latched projections67formed on the positioning frames64and the top plate panel56can be secured easily. Therefore, the present invention not only enables to facilitate the packaging operation of the object to be packaged A, but also corresponds to needs regarding saving of resources since the set rack10, the inner packaging cover20and the outer packaging case50for packaging the object to be packaged A can be used repeatedly. Further, the present invention provides a container having sufficient strength and rigidity during transportation of the object to be packaged A, which can be formed and processed easily, and which has reduced weight, so that the container can be handled easily.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, but the present invention is not restricted to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are enabled within the scope of the present invention. For example, the passbook entry module of an ATM has been taken as an example of the object to be packaged A, but the present reusable container can be utilized widely for packaging various devices by preparing various types of attachment brackets for securing the various devices.

The effects of the present invention are as follows.

According to the present invention, even when it is necessary to pack a precision machinery having a complex outer shape as the object to be packaged, there is no need to embed buffer materials to the space formed between the outer packaging case and the object to be packaged, and it is simply necessary to secure the object to be packaged to the rectangular parallelepiped-shape set rack and to house the object to be packaged together with the inner packaging cover equipped with buffer materials covering the set rack to the outer packaging case, so that a reusable container that does not require buffer filling operations can be provided. Further, the present invention enables to transport the object to be packaged in an extremely safe manner by effectively absorbing the vibration and impact applied on the object during transportation by the buffer material disposed on the inner packaging cover and the buffer material disposed on the outer packaging case.

Furthermore, when loading the inner packaging cover storing the set rack on which the object to be packaged is set in the outer packaging case, the loading can be performed so that the inner packaging cover is slid horizontally through the side opening into the outer packaging case, so that there is no need to raise the inner packaging cover in which the object to be packaged is stored up high, and the loading operation is facilitated.

The outer packaging case for storing the object to be packaged has sufficient strength and rigidity, and the forming process thereof is easy. The outer packaging case made of synthetic resin is lightweight and can be handled easily, so that the work related to the packaging operation can be reduced and the time required for the packaging operation can be shortened.