Abstract:
A package restraint system wherein a plurality of straps are secured around an item in a container for shipping purposes. A plurality of frictional pads and a plurality of flaps attached to the inner surfaces of the container further restrict any movement of the item in the container.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/330,920 filed on Nov. 2, 2002 by Kuldip Randhawa and the entire disclosure of such provisional application is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
         [0002]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the public Patent Office file or records but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.  
         TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0003]    This invention relates to a system for securing an item in a container to be shipped, and more particularly, a system using straps to prevent movement of the item in the container.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0004]    The need to secure items of various types, shapes, and sizes in a container to prevent damage to such items during the shipping process constantly arises. For example, retail stores frequently ship goods in containers to other retail stores or customers, and individuals commonly ship gifts in containers to friends and relatives. Although manufacturers typically provide product specific packaging designed to snuggly fit around the product to prevent potential damage during shipping, such product specific packaging may be unavailable when the product is subsequently shipped to another recipient. In such cases, the item must be placed within a container that may be considerably larger than the item itself and the problem of securing such item to restrict movement within the container occurs.  
           [0005]    When shipping items where product specific packaging is not available, there are a multitude of ways to prevent damage to such items caused by shifting or sliding within the container. A common practice to restrict the movement of an item in a container is to fill the space between the container and the item with newspapers or other cushioning materials, such as styrofoam or bubble wrap, to create a buffer or protection zone around the item. However, such practice requires the sender to maintain a supply of newspapers or other cushioning materials and may be fairly time consuming, depending on the size of the item and the container.  
           [0006]    Various devices designed to secure an item in a container exist in the prior art. For example, Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,607 discloses a multitude of anchor tabs secured to the container wall wherein ties are secured to such anchor tabs and such ties are then wrapped around an item and either secured to the container wall by adhesive means or tied together by a knot. Wylenzek, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,950 discloses tie down brackets mounted on the base of the container wherein straps are secured to such tie down brackets and such straps are passed over the top of the item and secured to an opposing tie down bracket. Biggs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,710 discloses a container with a slotted base wherein removable straps with fasteners are passed through any two slots on such base to strap the item to the base.  
           [0007]    The devices for securing an item in a container currently available in the art provide for a system of straps to secure the item in the container but they do not provide an additional flexible barrier to assist in securing the item.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is an object of this invention to provide a package restraint system, namely a plurality of straps, frictional pads, and flaps which are used to secure an item in a container to prevent damage during the shipping purposes.  
           [0009]    The present invention is a package restraint system having two embodiments. In the first embodiment, the system comprises a surface, a first and second semi rigid flexible flap on the surface, and a first and second strap attached to the first and second flap, respectively. The surface comprises an upper layer and lower layer wherein the first flap is formed from a first aperture on the upper layer and the second flap is formed from a second aperture on the upper layer. The first flap is opposed to the second flap and a frictional pad is attached to the upper layer between the first flap and the second flap. Each of the first and second flaps are pivotable towards each other and therefore engageable to an item positioned on the frictional pad. The first strap is securable to the second strap.  
           [0010]    The method of restraining an item in a container according to the first embodiment involves positioning the item on the frictional pad and pivoting the first flap towards the second flap such that the first flap and the second flap engages the item. The first and second straps are then secured around the item and secured to each other.  
           [0011]    In a second embodiment of the package restraint system, the system comprises a surface having an upper layer and a lower layer, a first and second semi rigid flexible flap on the surface, and a strap interposed between the upper layer and the lower layer. The first flap is formed from a first aperture on the upper layer and the second flap is formed from a second aperture on the upper layer. The first flap is opposed to the second flap and a frictional pad is attached to the upper layer between the first flap and the second flap. Each of the first and second flaps are pivotable towards each other and therefore engageable to an item positioned on the frictional pad. A first end of the strap is inserted through the first aperture and the second end of the strap is inserted through the second aperture. The first end and the second end of the strap are securable to each other.  
           [0012]    The method of restraining an item in a container according to the second embodiment involves positioning the item on the frictional pad and pivoting the first flap towards the second flap such that the first flap and the second flap engages the item. The strap is then secured around the item and the first end and the second end are secured to each other. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES  
       [0013]    Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a side view of a container incorporating an embodiment of a package restraint system according to the invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a top view thereof;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a detailed side view thereof;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a side view of a container incorporating an alternative embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a detailed side view thereof. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    The following detailed description will be made with reference to two preferred embodiments of a package restraint system, more particularly, an embodiment wherein a plurality of straps are attached to a plurality of flaps such that the free end of such straps are secured around an item (as seen in FIG. 1) and an embodiment wherein a strap is interposed between an upper layer and a lower layer of a surface such that the first end and the second end of the strap are inserted through a first and second aperture and secured around an item (as seen in FIG. 4).  
         [0020]    In an embodiment of the system, the package restraint system comprises first flap  5 , second flap  10 , first strap  15 , second strap  20 , and frictional pad  25  attached to upper layer  30  of surface  33 , as seen in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. First flap  5  and second flap  10  may be attached to lower layer  35  but preferably, first flap  5  and second flap  10  are formed from a first cut out and a second cut out, respectively, of upper layer  30  attached to lower layer  35  of surface  33 . First flap  5  and second flap  10  are opposed and can be any size or shape so long as first flap  5  and second flap  10  can engage item  40  positioned in container  1 . First flap  5 , second flap  10 , upper layer  30 , and lower layer  35  can be made of any material capable of supporting the weight of item  40  positioned in container  1 . Typically, first flap  5  and second flap  10  are made of a semi-rigid flexible material such as plastic or cardboard. Preferably, the surface of first flap  5  and second flap  10  which engage item  40  are grooved such that first flap  5  and second flap  10  may grip item  40 , as seen in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.  
         [0021]    First strap  15  and second strap  20  can be made of any material, such as cloth, plastic, string, metal strap, chain or twine. Preferably first strap  15  and second strap  20  are made of a flexible wire such that first strap  15  can be secured to second strap  20  by twisting first strap  15  and second strap  20  together. Alternatively, first strap  15  and second strap  20  may be made of plastic and further comprise a connector adapted to secure first strap  15  and second strap  20  together. First strap  15  is attached to first flap  5  and second strap  20  is attached to second flap  10  by conventional adhesive means. The length of first strap  15  and second strap  20  may vary depending on the size of container  1 . The larger container  1  is, the longer first strap  15  and second strap  20  should be. Typically, a soft material such as foam or felt is attached to the surface of first strap  15  and second strap  20  to engage item  40 .  
         [0022]    Frictional pad  25  can be any slip resistant material but is preferably made of a rubber or polystyrene based product. Frictional pad  25  is attached to upper layer  30  by conventional adhesive means and can be any size or shape so long as frictional pad  25  can be positioned between first flap  5  and second flap  10 .  
         [0023]    To use the package restraint system according to the embodiment described above, first flap  5  and second flap  10  are pivoted towards item  40  positioned on frictional pad  25  such that first flap  5  and second flap  10  engage item  40 . First strap  15  and second strap  20  are then secured around item  40  and secured to each other. By securing item  40  by the method described, first flap  5 , second flap  10 , and frictional pad  25  prevent any horizontal movement of item  40  and first strap  15  and second strap  20  prevent any vertical movement.  
         [0024]    As seen in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the package restraint system comprises first flap  5 , second flap  10 , strap  45 , and frictional pad  25 . The description of first flap  5 , second flap  10 , and frictional pad  25  are substantially the same as described above.  
         [0025]    As seen in FIG. 5, strap  45  is interposed between lower layer  35  and upper layer  30  such that one end of strap  45  is inserted through the first aperture of the cut out to form first flap  5  and the second end of strap  45  is inserted through the second aperture of the cut out to form second flap  10 . Similar to first strap  15  and second strap  20 , strap  45  can be made of any material, such as cloth, plastic, string, metal strap, chain or twine. Preferably strap  45  is made of a flexible wire such that the first end of strap  45  can be secured to the second end of strap  45  by twisting the first end and the second end together. Alternatively, strap  45  can be made of plastic and further comprises a connector adapted to secure the first end of strap  45  and the second end of strap  45  together. The length of strap  45  may vary depending on the size of container  1 . The larger container  1  is, the longer strap  45  should be. Typically, a soft material such as foam or felt is attached to the surface of strap  45  which engages item  40 .  
         [0026]    To use the package restraint system according to the second embodiment described above, first flap  5  and second flap  10  are pivoted towards item  40  positioned on frictional pad  25  such that first flap  5  and second flap  10  engage item  40 . The first end of strap  45  and the second end of strap  45  are then secured around item  40  and secured to each other. By securing item  40  by the method described above, first flap  5 , second flap  10 , and frictional pad  25  prevent any horizontal movement of item  40  and strap  45  prevents any vertical movement  
         [0027]    In a variant of both of the described embodiments, the package restraint system can be positioned on any of the side surfaces of container  1 . Also, the package restraint system can be an insert positionable in container  1 . In yet another variant (as seen in FIG. 3), a multitude of opposing flaps  5 ,  10  and a multitude of straps  15 ,  20 ,  45  may be used as necessary to secure an item in container  1 .  
         [0028]    While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in the illustrated embodiments, it will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made of structure, arrangements, and algorithms used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operational requirements, without departing from those principles. The claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace such modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.