Abstract:
A packing box for an electronic product to protect an electronic product from external impact. The packing box includes a first packing unit to pack an upper part of the product, a second packing unit passing through the first packing unit and joined to a lower part of the first packing unit, to pack a middle part of the product, and a third packing unit passing through the first and second packing units and joined to a lower part of the second packing unit, to pack a lower part of the product. The packing box is readily disassembled and allows the product to be easily repacked.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-0114839, filed on Nov. 18, 2008 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a packing box, and, more particularly, to a packing box for an electronic product to protect the electronic product from external impact where the packing box is readily disassembled and allows the product to be easily repacked. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a packing box for an electronic product functions to protect electronic products housed therein and contributes to convenient transfer and stacking. That is, a variety of distribution processes are required to transfer electronic products from a production line of factories to consumers. Packing boxes are generally used to prevent the breakage or damage of electronic products caused by external factors such as external impact in the distribution process and to contribute to convenient transfer and stacking. 
         [0006]    Such a packing box for an electronic product generally takes a rectangular shape and enables packing by inserting an electronic product into the packing box and then joining bonding members, arranged at both sides of the top and the bottom, or at both sides of left and right sides of the packing box. However, such a bonding member is firmly attached in order to maintain safe packing, thus disadvantageously making the packing box difficult to disassemble. 
         [0007]    Furthermore, such a general packing box is utilized in large electronic products such as air conditioners and refrigerators. However, unpacking these large electronic products indoors is quite inconvenient, thus inevitably requiring unpacking outdoors and then transfer indoors. In the transfer process, the electronic product may be damaged. 
         [0008]    In addition, since conventional packing boxes for electronic products require the use of means such as knives or scissors in order to remove the electronic product from the packing box, the product included therein may be damaged. Furthermore, upon return of electronic products, the cut packing boxes are difficult to recycle. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a packing box for an electronic product that protects an electronic product from external impact wherein the packing box can readily be disassembled and allows the product to be easily repacked. 
         [0010]    Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0011]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packing box for an electronic product, in which an electronic product is housed and packed, the packing box including one or more units. 
         [0012]    The packing box may include a first packing unit to pack one part of the electronic product and a second packing unit passing through the first packing unit, to pack another part of the electronic product. 
         [0013]    The first packing unit may include at least one holding member adjacent to the second packing unit and the second packing unit may include at least one fixing member, on which the holding member is fixed. 
         [0014]    The second packing unit may only partially overlap the first packing unit. 
         [0015]    The second packing unit may have a width greater than the width of the first packing unit, in order to allow the first packing unit to pass through the second packing unit in a vertical direction. 
         [0016]    The holding member may include a slot formed by partially cutting the first packing unit, and the fixing member may include an engagement jaw to be engaged in the slot, wherein the engagement jaw is formed by partially cutting the second packing unit. 
         [0017]    The first and second packing units may include four side surfaces to cover the electronic product in four directions, and the side surfaces may include two narrow surfaces and two wide surfaces. 
         [0018]    The packing box may be separated from the product, based on a principle that, when the second packing unit is lifted up, the engagement jaw is disengaged from the slot and the first packing unit thus overlaps the second packing unit. 
         [0019]    The packing box further may include a third packing unit passing through the first and second packing units, to pack the other part of the electronic product. 
         [0020]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a packing box for an electronic product, including: a first packing unit to pack an upper part of a product; a second packing unit passing through the first packing unit and joined to a lower part of the first packing unit, to pack a middle part of the product; and a third packing unit passing through the first and second packing units and joined to a lower part of the second packing unit, to pack a lower part of the product. 
         [0021]    The product may have a greater length than width. 
         [0022]    The one of the first and second packing units may include a first holding member and the other of them may include a first fixing member, on which the holding member is fixed, to join the first packing unit to the second packing unit. 
         [0023]    The one of the second and third packing units may include a second holding member and the other of them may include a second fixing member, on which the second holding member is fixed, to join the second packing unit to the third packing unit. 
         [0024]    The first and second holding members may include a slot formed by partially cutting the packing box, and the first and second fixing members may include an engagement jaw engaged in the slot, wherein the first and second fixing members are formed by partially cutting the packing box. 
         [0025]    When the third packing unit is lifted up, the engagement jaw is disengaged from the slot, and at the same time, the second packing unit and the first packing unit are sequentially lifted up. 
         [0026]    The packing box may be disassembled from bottom to top of the electronic product. 
         [0027]    The product may be a large electronic product including an air conditioner or a refrigerator. 
         [0028]    The first packing unit, the second packing unit and the third packing unit may have identical lengths. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]    These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0030]      FIG. 1  is a view illustrating the condition wherein an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied; 
           [0031]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are views illustrating a first packing unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are views illustrating a second packing unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are views illustrating a third packing unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0034]      FIGS. 5A ,  5 B,  6 A,  6 B,  7 A and  7 B are views illustrating a process for disassembling the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  is a view illustrating the condition where a packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied, and  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  3 A,  3 B,  4 A and  4 B are views illustrating the condition wherein the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention is unfold or assembled. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a packing box for an electronic product  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention functions to pack an electronic product  1  such as an air conditioner for transfer and storage, which is divided into one or more units along a packing direction. 
         [0038]    That is, the packing box for an electronic product  10  includes: a first packing unit  100  to pack one part of an electronic product  1  having a greater length than width; a second packing unit  200  to pack another part of the electronic product  1 , where the second packing unit  200  passes through the first packing unit  100  and is connected thereto, and a third packing unit  300  to pack the other part of the electronic product  1 , where the third packing unit  300  passes through the first and second packing units  100  and  200  and is connected to the second packing unit  200 . 
         [0039]    Although a case where the packing box for an electronic product is applied to an air conditioner is illustrated in the drawings, the packing box may be applied not only to the air conditioner, but also to other large electronic products such as refrigerators having a greater length than width. In addition, the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention is divided into one or more units and may thus include at least two packing boxes partitioned along a packing direction of the electronic product. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2A  is an unfolded view illustrating the first packing unit and  FIG. 2B  is an assembled view illustrating the first packing unit. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the first packing unit  100  according to one embodiment of the present invention is a constituent component to pack one part of the electronic product having a length greater than a width. Specifically, the first packing unit  100  is a packing box to pack an upper part of the electronic product having a greater length than width. 
         [0042]    The first packing unit  100  includes a side surface  110  wherein a rectangular sheet plate is divided into four identical parts. The side surface  110  may include two wide surfaces  111  which occupy a large area in the first packing unit  100  and two narrow surfaces  112  which occupy a small area therein. 
         [0043]    The wide surface  111  and the narrow surface  112  are partitioned from each other, based on a first folding portion  110   a.    
         [0044]    The first packing unit  100  includes an upper surface  120  contacting the side surface  110 . The upper surface  120  is partitioned from the side surface  110 , based on a second folding portion  120   a.  A holding member  130  is arranged on the outermost side from the wide surface  111 . 
         [0045]    Accordingly, the first folding portion  110   a  is folded to form one side of the first packing unit  100  with two wide surfaces  111  and two narrow surfaces  112 , and the second folding portion  120   a  is folded to form an upper part of the first packing unit  100  with four upper surfaces  120 . In addition, the holding member  130  is bonded with an adhesive to the narrow surface  112  arranged at the opposite side thereof or is attached to the same with a stapler, to provide a rectangular first packing unit  100 . 
         [0046]    The first packing unit side surface  110  is provided with at least one holding member  130 , through which the first packing unit  100  is joined to the second packing unit  200 . The second packing unit holding member  130  is a constituent component where the second packing unit  200  partially overlaps the first packing unit  100  in a packing direction of the electronic product. Accordingly, the first packing unit holding member  130  may take the form of a slot provided by partially cutting an area of the narrow surface  112  adjacent to the second packing unit  200 . That is, the first packing unit holding member  130  may be in the form of a rectangular slot provided by press-forming an area adjacent to a lower edge of the narrow surface. The reason for formation of the first packing unit holding member  130  on the narrow surface  112  is to cause the wide surface  111  to face the front surface of the electronic product and thus to easily join/disjoin the first packing box  100  to the electronic product. 
         [0047]      FIG. 3A  is an unfolded view of the second packing unit and  FIG. 3B  is an assembled view of the second packing unit. 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the second packing unit  200  according to one embodiment of the present invention is a constituent component to pack another part of the electronic product having a greater length than width. More specifically, the second packing unit  200  is a packing box which passes through the first packing unit  100  and packs the middle of the electronic product. 
         [0049]    Similar to the first packing unit  100 , the second packing unit  200  includes a side surface  210  wherein a rectangular sheet plate is divided into four identical parts. The side surface  210  may include two wide surfaces  211  which occupy a large area and two narrow surfaces  212  which occupy a small area, based on a first folding portion  210   a.  In addition, the wide surface  211  is provided with a holding member  240  at one end thereof. The first folding portion  211  is folded to form the side surface of the second packing unit  200  with two wide surfaces  211  and two narrow surfaces  212 , and the holding member  240  is adhered to the opposite narrow surface  212  to provide a rectangular second packing unit  200 . 
         [0050]    In addition, the second packing unit side surface  210  is provided with at least one fixing member  220  on which the first packing unit holding member  130  is fixed. The second packing unit fixing member  220  may be in the form of an engagement jaw, which is formed by partially cutting the second packing unit  200  and is engaged in the first packing unit holding member  230 . That is, the second packing unit fixing member  220  may protrude from the second packing unit side surface  210  by cutting downward an area corresponding to the first packing unit holding member  130  using processing such as press-forming. 
         [0051]    In addition, the second packing unit side surface  210  is provided with at least one holding member  230  through which the second packing unit  100  is joined to a third packing unit  300 . The second packing unit holding member  230  is a constituent component where the second packing unit  200  partially overlaps the first packing unit  100  in a packing direction of the electronic product. That is, the second packing unit holding member  230  may take the form of a rectangular slot provided by cutting a portion of the narrow surface  112  such that the holding member  230  is adjacent to the second packing unit  300 . Accordingly, while the second packing unit  200  passes through the first packing unit  100  in order to pack the electronic product, the second packing unit engagement jaw  220 , which is cut and protrudes downward, is engaged in the first packing unit slot  130 , thereby allowing the second packing unit  200  to easily join to the first packing unit  100 . 
         [0052]      FIG. 4A  is an unfolded view of a third packing unit and  FIG. 4B  is an assembled view of a third packing unit. 
         [0053]    As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the third packing unit  300  according to one embodiment of the present invention is a constituent component to pack the other part of the electronic product having a greater length than width. More specifically, the third packing unit  300  passes through the first and second packing units  100  and  200  and packs a lower part of the electronic product. 
         [0054]    Like the first and second packing unit  200 , the third packing unit  300  includes a side surface  310  wherein a rectangular sheet plate is divided into four identical parts. The side surface  310  includes two wide surfaces  311  which occupy a large area and two narrow surfaces  312  which occupy a small area. The wide surface  311  and the narrow surface  312  are partitioned from each other, based on a first folding portion  310   a,  and a holding member  330  is arranged at one end of the wide surface  311 , the outermost side from the center of the wide surface  311 . The first folding portion  310   a  is folded to form one side of the third packing unit  300  with two wide surfaces  311  and two narrow surfaces  312 , and the holding member  330  is bonded to the narrow surface  112  arranged at opposite sides thereof, to provide the third packing unit  300 . 
         [0055]    In addition, the third packing unit side surface  310  is provided with at least one fixing member  320  on which the second packing unit holding member  230  is fixed. The third packing unit fixing member  320  may take the form of an engagement jaw, which is provided by cutting a portion of the third packing unit  300  and is engaged in the second packing unit holding member  230 . That is, the third packing unit fixing member  320  may be formed such that it is cut and protrudes downward by press-forming an area corresponding to the second packing unit holding member  230 . 
         [0056]    Accordingly, while the third packing unit  300  passes through the second packing unit  200  in order to pack the electronic product, the third packing unit engagement jaw  320 , which is cut and protrudes downward, is engaged in the second packing unit slot  230 , thereby allowing the third packing unit  300  to easily join to the second packing unit  200 . 
         [0057]    Hereinafter, an operation of the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B,  6 A,  6 B,  7 A and  7 B illustrate a process for disassembling the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0058]    First, a size of the packing box according to one embodiment of the present invention will be explained below. 
         [0059]    As shown in  FIG. 5A , a width of the second packing unit W 2  is greater than a width of the first packing unit W 1  so that the second packing unit  200  can pass through the first packing unit  100 . As shown in  FIG. 5A , compared to the first packing unit width W 1 , the second packing unit width W 2  has a space with a size of about half a thickness T so that the second packing unit  200  can pass through the first packing unit  100  and be fixed on the first packing unit  100  at the fixing member  220 . 
         [0060]    A width of the third packing unit W 3  is greater than the second packing unit width (also referred to as a horizontal length) W 2  so that the third packing unit  300  can pass through the second packing unit  200 . Like the second packing unit width W 2 , the third packing unit width W 3  has a space with a size of about half a thickness T, compared to the second packing unit width W 2 , so that the third packing unit  300  can pass through the first and second packing units  100  and  200  and be fixed on the second packing unit  200  at the fixing member  320 . 
         [0061]    A length of the second packing unit L 2  is substantially equivalent to a length of the first packing unit L 1 , and a length of the third packing unit L 3  is substantially equivalent to the first and second packing unit lengths L 1  and L 2 . This length specification aims to allow users to easily disassemble the packing box  10  and cause the packing box  10  to overlap another box in a predetermined portion. 
         [0062]    Hereinafter, a process for disassembling and repacking the packing box according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , when the third packing unit  300  is lifted up in an A direction, the third packing unit fixing member  320  is disengaged from the second packing unit holding member  230 , and the third packing unit  300  slides in an A direction along the outside of the second packing unit  200 , while the third packing unit  300  is separated from the second packing unit  200 . 
         [0063]    That is, when a user lifts up the third packing unit  300 , the third packing unit engagement jaw  320  is disengaged from the second packing unit slot  230  and the second packing unit  200  can thus be readily separated from the third packing unit  300 . 
         [0064]    Next, as shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , when the third packing unit  300  is further lifted in an A direction, the second packing unit engagement jaw  220  is disengaged from the first packing unit slot  130 , the first packing unit  100  is separated from the second packing unit  200  and the second packing unit  200  thus slides along the outside of the first packing unit  100 . 
         [0065]    Accordingly, as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the first packing unit  100 , the second packing unit  200  and the third packing unit  300  overlap one another, thus reducing an overall length of the packing box  10  and enabling the packing box  10  to be readily separated from the large electronic product. That is, the packing box  10  according to one embodiment is divided into one or more units along a packing direction of the electronic product, and the units are joined to one another through the slots  130  and  230  and the engagement jaws  220  and  320  provided in the packing box  10 , thus eliminating the necessity of an additional device to separate the packing box  10  and further readily disassembling the packing box  10 , as compared to conventional cases. 
         [0066]    In addition, the packing box for an electronic product  10  is separated from the electronic product without using any device, thus causing no damage to the surface of the packing box  10 . Accordingly, the packing box  10  separated from returned electronic products is recycled to repack the electronic product in a reverse order of the disassembly order thereof, thus advantageously significantly reducing a repacking cost of the electronic product. 
         [0067]    As apparent from the foregoing, the packing box for an electronic product according to one embodiment of the present invention includes one or more units to pack an electronic product having a length greater than a width, thus advantageously making it easy to disassemble and readily repacking returned electronic products. 
         [0068]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.