Abstract:
A multi-purpose air-packing method and system enables to pack a product having an irregular shape easily at low cost. The air-packing method includes the steps of placing a product to be protected in a container box; applying a first air-packing device having a plurality of air containers to side surfaces of the product in a manner to surround the product in the container box; and inflating the air-packing device by supplying an compressed air to securely hold the product within the container box.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to an air-packing system to pack a product of various shapes, and more particularly, to an air-packing method and system utilizing an air-packing device having-a plurality of air containers to pack a product of various shapes and sizes in a container box to securely protect the product from shocks and vibrations.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     A styroform packing material has been used for a long time for packing commodity and industrial products. Although the styroform package material has a merit such as a good thermal insulation performance, it has also various disadvantages, i.e., recycling the styroform is not possible, soot is produced when it burns, a flake or chip comes off when it is snagged because of it&#39;s brittleness, an expensive mold is needed for its production, and a relatively large warehouse is necessary to store it.  
         [0003]     Therefore, to solve such problems above, other packing materials and methods have been proposed. One method is a fluid container (air-packing device) for sealingly containing a liquid or gas, typically an air as a cushion. An air-packing device has excellent characteristics to solve the problems in the styroform. First, because the air-packing device is made of only thin films, it does not need a large warehouse to store it unless the air-packing device is inflated. Second, a mold is not necessary for its production because of its simple shape and structure. Third, the air-packing device will not produce a chip or dust which has adverse effect on precision products. Further, recyclable materials can be used for thermoplastic films of the air-packing device. Furthermore, the air-packing device can be produced with low cost.  
         [0004]      FIG. 1  shows an example of air-packing device in the conventional technology. The air-packing device  10   a  is composed of first and second air-packing thermoplastic films  13  and  14 , respectively, and a check valve  11 . Typically, each thermoplastic film is composed of three layers of materials: polyethylene, nylon and polyethylene which are bonded together with appropriate adhesive. The nylon layer is incorporated to increase physical strength of the thermoplastic film. The first and second thermoplastic films are heat-sealed together around seal portions  12   a ,  12   b  after the check valve is attached. Thus, one container bag  10   a  sealed with the heat seal portions  12   a ,  12   b  is formed as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0005]     Air-packing devices are becoming more and more popular because of the above noted advantages. Products to be enclosed by air-packing devices come in various shapes, sizes and materials. Moreover, a product having a simple shape can become a complicated shape when combined with other products. Generally, it is difficult and time consuming for packing a product that has irregular shapes or sizes in a container box. Two or more different types of air-packing devices complicated structure may be necessary to firmly hold a product having a complicated shape. Moreover, it is not cost effective to manufacture specific air-packing devices tailored to fit to each unique product. Thus, there is a need for a cost effective air-packing system that can be applied to various products.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose air-packing method and system to enclose a product that comes with various shapes and sizes within a container box with use of an air-packing device of simple structure.  
         [0007]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system to pack a product by an air-packing device as an inflatable cushion for protecting the product from damages due to shocks and vibrations where the air-packing device is configured by a plurality of air containers each having a check valve.  
         [0008]     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air-packing method and system to securely enclose a product of complicated shape in a container box in which an air inlet port of an air-packing device is projected from the container box thereby enabling to supply the compressed air after closing the container box.  
         [0009]     It is a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system to enclose a product of complicated shape in a container box to prevent damages to the product due to shocks and vibrations by using an air-packing device having a plurality of air containers of different cross sectional sizes.  
         [0010]     One aspect of the present invention is a method of packing a product to prevent damages to the package due to shocks and vibrations. The method includes the steps of: placing a product to be protected in a container box; applying a first air-packing device having a plurality of air containers to side surfaces of the product in a manner to surround the product in the container box; and inflating the air-packing device by supplying an compressed air to securely hold the product within the container box.  
         [0011]     The method of packing a product further includes the step of laying out a second air-packing device on a bottom surface of the container box as a bottom air cushion before placing the product in the container box. The method further includes the step of laying out a third air-packing device on a top of the product in the container box as a top air cushion after applying the first air-packing device to the sides of the product.  
         [0012]     In the air-packing method, preferably, an air inlet port of the air-packing device is introduced through an opening of the container box to outside of the container box, thereby enabling to supply the compressed air to the air-packing device after closing the container box.  
         [0013]     In the present invention, the plurality of air containers of the first air-packing device have an identical cross sectional size with one another. Alternatively, the plurality of air containers of the first air-packing device have different cross sectional sizes from one another. The air containers of the air-packing device with small cross sectional size are arranged at one end of the air-packing device. The air containers of the first air-packing device with small cross sectional size and large cross sectional size are arranged in a predetermined order so that the air containers of the air-packing device fit with a product of particular outer shape.  
         [0014]     Another aspect of the present invention is an air-packing system for packing a product to prevent damages to the package due to shocks and vibrations. The air-packing system is comprised of a container box for placing a product to be protected therein; a first air-packing device having a plurality of air containers and is applied to side surfaces of the product in a manner to surround the product in the container box; wherein the first air-packing device is inflated by supplying an compressed air to securely hold the product within the container box.  
         [0015]     According to the multi-purpose air-packing method and system of present invention, a product that comes with various shapes and sizes can be securely packed within a container box with use of an air-packing device of simple structure. The air-packing device as an inflatable cushion is able to protect the product from damages due to shocks and vibrations where the air-packing device has a plurality of air containers each having a check valve. The air-packing method and system of the present invention can enclose a product of complicated shape in a container box by using an air-packing device having a plurality of air containers of different cross sectional sizes. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing an example of outer structure of a typical air-packing device in the conventional technology.  
         [0017]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are schematic diagrams showing an example of structure of an air-packing device having a plurality of air containers each having a check valve, where  FIG. 2A  is a plan view thereof and  FIG. 2B  is a perspective view thereof.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a partially cut-out perspective view showing the air-packing system of the present invention where an air-packing device as a bottom air cushion is laid out in a container box.  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a partially cut-out perspective view showing the air-packing system of the present invention where a set of products is placed on the bottom air-packing device in the container box.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a partially cut-out perspective view showing the air-packing system of the present invention where another air-packing device is arranged to encircle the set of products in the container box.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6A  is a partially cut-out perspective view showing the air-packing system of the present invention of  FIG. 5  where the another air-packing device encircling the set of products is inflated to pack the products, and  FIG. 6B  is a cross sectional front view of the air-packing system of the present invention including top and bottom air-packing devices and the encircling air-packing device.  
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is a plan view showing the air-packing system of the present invention correspond to  FIG. 6A  without the top air-packing device where the air-packing device surrounding the set of products is inflated.  
         [0023]      FIG. 8A  is a plan view showing another example of the air-packing system of the present invention where the air-packing device surrounding the products and having air containers of different sizes is inflated, and  FIG. 8B  is a front view of the air-packing device of  FIG. 8A  when it is flatly extended.  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a further example of the air-packing system of the present invention where an air inlet port of the air-packing device is projected from the container box.  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the air-packing system of  FIG. 9  having the air inlet port on the container box viewed in an angle different from that of  FIG. 9 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 11A  is a plan view showing an example of an air-packing system specifically made for packing a particular product having a complicated outer shape, and  FIG. 11B  is a front view of the air-packing device used in the air-packing system of  FIG. 11A . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     The present invention provides an air-packing method and system that can securely hold a product or a set of products of various sizes and shapes in a container box. The present invention utilizes one or more air-packing devices having a plurality of air containers to pack a product in a container box to absorb shocks and vibrations that encounter during the shipment of the products. Generally, the container box used in air-packing system is a carton box, but other type of boxes such as a wood box or plastic box can be used as well.  
         [0028]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  show an example of an air-packing device  10   b  with a plurality of air containers where each air container is provided with a check valve. A main purpose of having a plurality of air containers with corresponding check valves is to increase the reliability. Namely, even if one of the air containers suffers from an air leakage for some reason, the air-packing device can still function as a cushion of a product in the distribution channel because other air containers can remain inflated. The structure having a plurality of air containers allows the air-packing device to be bent at the boundary of the air containers to create a desirable shape.  
         [0029]     The air-packing device  10   b  is made of first and second thermoplastic films which are bonded together around a rectangular periphery  23   a  and further bonded together at each boundary  23   b  of two adjacent air containers  22  so that a guide passage  21  and a plurality of air containers  22  are created. When the first and second thermoplastic container films are bonded together at the hatched areas  23   a  and  23   b  shown in  FIG. 2A , the check valves  11  are also attached to each input of the air container  22 . By attaching the check valves  11 , each air container  22  becomes independent from the other. An inlet port  24  of the air-packing device lob is used when filling an air or other types of fluid to each air container  22  by using, for example, an air compressor.  
         [0030]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view showing the air-packing device  10   b  having the multiple air containers  22  when it is filled with the compressed air. Each air container  22  is filled with the air from the inlet port  24  through the guide passage  21  and the check valve  11 . To avoid a rupture of the air container by variations in the environmental temperature, the supply of compressed air to the air container is typically stopped when the air container member  22  is inflated at about 90% of its full expansion rate. After filling the air, the expansion of each air container  22  is maintained because each check-valve  11  prevents the reverse flow of the air. Typically, the air compressor has a gage to monitor the supplied air pressure, and automatically stops supplying the air to the air-packing device lob when the pressure reaches a predetermined value.  
         [0031]     The check valve  11  is typically made of one or two thermoplastic valve films to form a fluid pass (not shown). The fluid pass has a tip opening and a valve body to allow a fluid flowing through the fluid pipe from the tip opening but the valve body prevents the reverse flow of the air. Typically the check valve  11  is prepared before manufacturing the air-packing device and attached to the thermoplastic film during the procedure of bonding the thermoplastic films.  
         [0032]     The structure and procedure of enclosing a product or a set of products by the air-packing system of the present invention is described in detail with reference to partially cut-out perspective views of  FIGS. 3-7 . In the drawings, the front side of a container box (ex. carton box)  50  is cut out for an illustration purpose to show the inside of the container box  50 . In the example of  FIGS. 3-7 , two or more air-packing devices each having a plurality of air containers of the same size and shape are used in the container box  50 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 3  shows the air-packing system of the present invention where a bottom air-packing device  40  as a bottom air cushion is laid out in the container box  50 . The bottom air-packing device  40  shown in  FIG. 3  is comprised of a plurality of air containers  42  such as shown in  FIG. 2A and 2B . It is also feasible to use a conventional fluid container made of only one air container body that hold the compressed air as shown in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 3 , an air inlet port and check valves of the air-packing device  40  are omitted for simplicity of illustration.  
         [0034]     When the bottom air-packing device  40  is laid on the bottom surface of the container box  50 , a product  43  to be packed in the container box  50  is placed on the air-packing device  40  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The product  43  can be a single product or a set of two or more products (in this example, two packages of products). Rather than a simple box shape, the product  43  in this example has a relatively complicated outer shape.  
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows the condition where another air-packing device  60  having a plurality of air containers is placed in the container box  50  in a manner to surround the sides of the product  43 . In this example, the air-packing device  60  is not inflated at this stage, however, it is also possible that the air-packing device  60  is inflated by the compressed air before being placed in the container box  50 . The air-packing device  60  is composed of an air passage  71 , an air inlet port  74 , and a plurality of air containers  62  each of which has a check valve  61 . Preferably, a further air-packing device which is similar to the air-packing device  40  is placed at the top of the product  43  and air-packing device  60  ( FIG. 6B ). Alternatively, the top portion of the air-packing device  60  will be inwardly bent to cover the top area of the product  43 .  
         [0036]     After the air-packing device  60  is placed inside of the container box  50  in  FIG. 5 , the air-packing device  60  is filled with the compressed air through the inlet port  74  by means of, for example, an air compressor (not shown).  FIG. 6A  shows the condition where the air-packing device  60  is inflated so that the product  43  is securely held by the air-packing device  60  which is supported by the container box  50 . As noted above, preferably, a further air-packing device  40  which is the same or similar to the air-packing device  40  is placed at the top of the product  43  as a top air cushion. Thus, as shown in a cross sectional front view of  FIG. 6B , the air-packing system is configured by a first air packing device  60  that surrounds the sides of the product  43 , a second (bottom) air-packing device  40   a  on the bottom surface of the container box  50 , and a third (top) air-packing device  40   b  on the upper surface of the product  43 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 7  is a plan view showing the relationship between the product  43 , the inflated air-packing device  60 , and the container box  50  as described above with reference to  FIGS. 3-6 . The air-packing devices  40   a  and  40   b  ( FIG. 6B ) at the top and bottom of the product  43  are not shown for simplicity of illustration. In this manner, the product  43  is tightly packed by the air-packing devices  40   a ,  40   b  and  60  within the container box  50 .  
         [0038]     It should be noted that although the container box (carton box)  50  has a conventional box shape, the method described above may be applied to any shape of a container box as well. Although the air-packing device  60  is placed at the sides of the product  43  to surround the product  43  in the example described above, such an encircling air-packing device may be placed to surround the top and bottom of the product  43 . In such a situation, the air-packing devices  40   a  and  40   b  at the top and bottom of the container box  50  may be positioned at the sides of the product  43 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 8A  is a top view of the container box in another embodiment of the present invention where a product  83  having a shape different from that of the product  43  in  FIGS. 3-7  is packed by an air-packing device  70  within the container box  50 .  FIG. 8B  is a front view of the air-packing device  70  when it is flatly extended before placing in the container box  50  of  FIG. 8A . The air-packing device  70  in this example has a plurality of air containers  72  and  73  where the air containers  73  have a cross sectional size smaller than that of the air containers  72 .  FIG. 8B  also shows check valves  84  provided to the air containers  72  and  73 .  
         [0040]     The air containers  73  with smaller size will be configured, for example, at one end of the air-packing device  70  to contact with the surfaces of the product  83  at an area having a relatively complicated shape. The air container  73  with smaller cross sectional size can be more flexible to fit with the irregular outer shape of the product  83 . Thus, even though the product  83  has the irregular shape, the air-packing device  70  can securely hold the product  83  within the container box  50  when it is inflated.  
         [0041]     A further embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to Figured  9  and  10 .  FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing the air-packing system of the present invention where an air inlet port of the air-packing device is projected from the container box.  FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the air-packing system  9  having the air inlet port on the container box viewed in an angle different from that of  FIG. 9 . In  FIG. 9 , unlike an actual embodiment, the front side of the container box  50  is illustrated in a transparent manner to show the configuration of a container box  100  and an air-packing device  60  in the container box  100 .  
         [0042]     In  FIG. 9 , the product  43  to be protected is placed on the bottom air cushion made of the air-packing device  40  which is laid out at bottom of the container box  100 . The air inlet port  74  of the air-packing device  60  is projected from the container box  100  through an opening  102  ( FIG. 10 ) formed on the wall of the box  100 . This configuration allows the compressed air to be supplied to the air-packing device  60  after the container box  100  is closed.  
         [0043]     In the case where a large number of products having the same shape and size are to be distributed, air-packing devices specifically made for such products can be used for packing the products. Such an example is shown in Figured  11 A and  11 B where an air-packing device  90  is configured by air containers of different sizes that are aligned in the order specific to the particular shape of a product  113 . FIG  11 A is a plan view showing the air-packing system specifically made for packing the particular product  113  having a complicated shape, and FIG  11 B is a front view of the air-packing device  90  of FIG  11 A when it is flatly extended.  
         [0044]     More specifically, the air-packing device  90  includes air containers  92  and  93  where a cross sectional size of the air container  93  is larger than that of the air container  92 . The air containers  92  and the air containers  93  are arranged in the specific order to match the outer shape of the product  113  to be protected. The front view of the air-packing device  90  in FIG  11 B also shows such an order of the air containers  92  and  93 . The example of FIG  11 B also shows the check valves  104  for the corresponding air containers  92  and  93 . As shown in  FIG. 11A , the air containers  93  fit with the relatively large indented portions of the product  113  to fill-in the spaces between the container box  50  while the air containers  92  are positioned at relatively narrow areas in the container box  50 .  
         [0045]     According to the multi-purpose air-packing method and system of present invention, a product that comes with various shapes and sizes can be securely packed within a container box with use of an air-packing device of simple structure. The air-packing device as an inflatable cushion is able to protect the product from damages due to shocks and vibrations where the air-packing device has a plurality of air containers each having a check valve. The air-packing method and system of the present invention can enclose a product of complicated shape in a container box by using an air-packing device having a plurality of air containers of different cross sectional sizes.  
         [0046]     Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.