Abstract:
A vibration-absorbing air sheath having improved end-closing structure includes a first and a second buffering walls, at least one first and at least one second nodes, a third buffering wall and an accommodating space. The buffering walls are constructed by air columns. The first and second buffering walls are atop heat-sealed together at each of two ends of the air sheath so as to form a binding portion and a lower flat-bottomed opening. After inflation of the air columns, the air columns of the first and second buffering walls outside the binding portion and the air columns of the third buffering wall form a triangular end buffering portion. The air columns in the end buffering portion have slanted creases for their easy upward-bending so as to make the air columns in the end buffering portion spread and provide a maximized buffering area at the end of the air sheath&#39;s ends.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to packing materials, and more particularly, to a vibration-absorbing air sheath that has air columns processed by heat sealing so that the air columns are shaped through interaction therebetween caused by air pressure and thereby has improved end-closing structure. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    There has been a vacuum-based, hammock-type vibration-absorbing sheath mainly comprises: a first buffering wall, composed of a plurality of air columns that are formed by a plurality of heat-seal edges, and having one side formed with an extended edge; a second buffering wall, composed of a plurality of air columns that are formed by a plurality of heat-seal edges; a third buffering wall, composed of a plurality of air columns that are formed by a plurality of heat-seal edges, and having one side formed with an extended edge; an accommodating space, defined by the first, second and third buffering walls; an internal membrane, having a bag-like structure made of flexible PE film, PE composite film or plastic sheet, and being connected to the extended edges of the first and third buffering walls through an opening edge, so that the internal membrane is suspended in the accommodating space. In use of the prior-art device, the object to be packed is first placed into the internal membrane, and an external apparatus is used to suck out air in the internal membrane, so as to make the interior of the internal membrane a vacuum environment and make the internal membrane completely wrap the object. At last, the extended edges of the first and third buffering walls and the open edge of the internal membrane are heat-sealed together with the interior of the internal membrane remaining vacuum. Thereby, the object during transport is wrapped by the internal membrane and embraced by the first, second and third buffering walls, and obtains effective buffering protection. 
         [0005]    The aforementioned structure mainly features attaching an open edge of the internal membrane to the extended edges of the first buffering wall and the third buffering wall, so that the internal membrane is positioned in the accommodating space formed by the first, second and third buffering walls. After an object to be packaged is placed into the internal membrane, an external apparatus is made to suck air from the internal membrane until the interior of the internal membrane becomes a vacuum while the internal membrane completely wraps the object to be packaged. With the buffering protection provided by the first, second and third buffering walls, the objective is well protected. Despite the foregoing features, the prior art is defective as the joints between the buffering walls tend to be formed as irregular, towering corners, which when receiving squeezes or impacts are likely to have their air columns bursting, and in turn make the entire buffering structure lose the vibration-absorbing function. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides a vibration-absorbing air sheath having improved end-closing structure. The vibration-absorbing air sheath is for wrapping an object and providing buffering protection to the object, and primarily comprises a first buffering wall, a second buffering wall, at least one first node, at least one second node, a third buffering wall and an accommodating space. Therein, the first buffering wall includes at least one first heat-seal edge and a plurality of air columns separated therebetween by air column lines that are made through heat sealing and are perpendicular to the first heat-seal edge. The second buffering wall includes at least one second heat-seal edge that is heat-sealed to the first heat-seal edge, and includes a plurality of air columns separated therebetween by air column lines that are made through heat sealing and are perpendicular to the second heat-seal edge. The first node located on the first buffering wall so that the first buffering wall is allowed to be bent against the first node. The second node located on the second buffering wall so that the second buffering wall is allowed to be bent against the second node. The third buffering wall is formed by bending the first buffering wall and the second buffering wall so as to be defined and connected between the first buffering wall and the second buffering wall. The accommodating space is formed by bending the first buffering wall and the second buffering wall so as to be defined between the first buffering wall and the second buffering wall. The vibration-absorbing air sheath is characterized in that at each of two opposite ends of the vibration-absorbing air sheath, the first buffering wall and the second buffering wall have said air column lines thereof that come to contact with each other after the bending bound through heat sealing, such that at each said end of the vibration-absorbing air sheath, an opening is formed between lower parts of the first and second buffering walls while a binding portion is formed between upper parts of the first and second buffering walls, in which the opening has a flat bottom, whereby after inflation of the air columns, the air columns of the first and second buffering walls outside the binding portion and the air columns of the third buffering wall jointly form a triangular end buffering portion of the vibration-absorbing sheath. 
         [0007]    A secondary objective of the present invention is that by providing at least one of the air columns of the first and second buffering walls in the end buffering portion in the lower part thereof with at least one slanted crease, the air column is allowed to have a part below the crease bent upward against the crease, thereby closing the end of the vibration-absorbing air sheath and making the air columns in the end buffering portion with parts thereof above the crease spread out and form a flat plane, so as to provide a maximized buffering area for the end buffering portion. 
         [0008]    Another objective of the present invention is that by making the air columns of each of the first and second buffering walls inside the binding portion include one first air column and one second air column that are adjacent to each other and have different diameters, a width of the accommodating space corresponding to the binding portion is maximized as the first air column and the second air column jostle with each other. 
         [0009]    Still another objective of the present invention is that, that by making each of the air column lines between the air columns inside the binding portion have an inclined upper end, an edge of an opening of the accommodating space open corresponding to the binding portion is prevented from becoming wavy. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of an accommodating space the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of adjacent air columns inside the binding portion the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing the end buffering portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention before the air columns are bent upward. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the end buffering portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention after the air columns are bent upward. 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing showing the adjacent air columns inside the binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is another schematic drawing showing the adjacent air columns inside the binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is an expanded view of the first, second and third buffering walls according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is an enlarged, partial view of a first concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is an enlarged, partial view of a second concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is an enlarged, partial view of a third concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  is an enlarged, partial view of a fourth concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  is another enlarged, partial view of the first concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  is an enlarged, partial view of a fifth concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  is an applied view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing one end thereof not closed yet. 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the open end of  FIG. 18  is being closed by forming the third buffering wall. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    For achieving the foregoing objectives and features, one preferred embodiment is herein described with reference the accompanying drawings for people having ordinary skill in the art to better implement the present invention. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 17  for a perspective view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cross-sectional view of an accommodating space the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cross-sectional view of a binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cross-sectional view of adjacent air columns inside the binding portion the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an expanded view of the first, second and third buffering walls according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention and an applied view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  is for wrapping an object  200  and providing buffering protection to the object  200 , and mainly comprises a first buffering wall  1 , a second buffering wall  2 , at least one first node  3 , at least one second node  4 , a third buffering wall  5  and an accommodating space  6 . The first buffering wall  1  has a first heat-seal edge  10  that is formed through heat sealing as the upper edge of the first buffering wall  1 . The first buffering wall  1  is composed of a plurality of air columns  11  that are perpendicular to the first heat-seal edge  10 . Each two air columns  11  are separated by an air column line  111  that is also formed through heat sealing. In this way, the air columns  11  are arranged abreast to form the first buffering wall  1 . The second buffering wall  2  is structurally similar to the first buffering wall  1  and corresponds to the first buffering wall  1 . The second buffering wall  2  is connected to the first heat-seal edge  10  through heat sealing, and has at least one second heat-seal edge  20 . The second heat-seal edge  20  is also formed through heat sealing as the upper edge of the second buffering wall  2 . Similarly, the second buffering wall  2  is composed of a plurality of air columns  21  perpendicular to the second heat-seal edge  20 . The air columns  21  are also separated by air column lines  211  made through heat sealing, and arranged abreast to form the second buffering wall  2 . 
         [0031]    Basing on the configuration stated above, in the air columns  11  and  21  of the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2 , at their sides opposite to the first heat-seal edge  10  and the second heat-seal edge  20 , first nodes  3  and second nodes  4  are provided, respectively. The nodes  3 ,  4  are such formed that they do not break the communication between the corresponding air columns  11  and  21  and allow the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  to be bent against the first node  3  and the second node  4 , respectively. Thus, by bending the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2 , the third buffering wall  5  is defined and connected between the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2 . Then the connection among the first buffering wall  1 , the second buffering wall  2  and the third buffering wall  5  further defines the accommodating space  6 . In addition, the third buffering wall  5  is structurally similar to the second buffering wall  2  and the first buffering wall  1 . It also has a plurality of air columns  51  perpendicular to the first heat-seal edge  10  and the second heat-seal edge  20  and separated by air column lines  510  made through heat sealing. The air column  51  of the third buffering wall  5  may correspond to the air columns  11 ,  12  of the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  in a one-to-one or one-to-many manner. The corresponding air columns  11 ,  12 ,  51  have at least one mutual communication. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 9 , the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  may further include a buffering piece  7  whose one side is connected to the first buffering wall  1  with the first heat-seal edge  10  through heat sealing, and opposite side is connected to the second buffering wall  2  with the second heat-seal edge  20  through heat sealing. Then the bilaterally sealed buffering piece  7  is partially sealed along the air column lines  111 ,  211  of the first buffering wall  1  and second buffering wall  2  through heat sealing, so that the buffering piece  7  is hung in the accommodating space  6 , thereby wrapping the object  200  and reducing its possible movement. It is to be noted that the buffering piece  7  is not sealed to the parts of the air column lines  111 ,  211  that correspond to middle sections of the air columns  11  and  21 , so as to make the central part of the buffering piece  7  suspended. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 4 , according to the preferred embodiment of the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100 , the accommodating space  6  formed between the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  by bending the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  has a U-shaped structure with an upward opening. The U-shaped structure has its two outer ends left open. Different from the prior art, the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  features that the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  are first bent and bound at two ends to form the U-shaped structure, and at each of two opposite ends of the U-shaped structure, the air column lines  110 ,  210  are such heat-sealed that an opening  80  is left at their lower parts and a binding portion  8  is formed, so that the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8  and the third buffering wall  5  jointly form a triangular end buffering portion. The air column line  110 ,  210  bound to form the binding portion  8  are located at inner sides of the second outmost air columns  11  and  21  of the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2 , respectively, so that the two ends are closed. The reserved opening  80  has a height determined according to the depth of the accommodating space  7  occupied by the buffering piece  7 , and may be greater than, equal to or small than the length of the binding portion  8 . The amount of the air column lines  110 ,  210  that form the binding portion  8  may match the amount of the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8 , being one or more than one. In other words, there may be one or plural said air columns  11  and one or plural said air columns  21  outside the binding portion  8 . 
         [0034]    However, as shown in  FIG. 2  through  FIG. 4 , while the preferred embodiment is a successful approach to building the triangular buffering portion  9  by heat-sealing the air columns  110 ,  210  at the two ends of the U-shaped structure with the opening  80  reserved and the binding portion  8  formed, the triangular buffering portion  9  has irregular, towering corners formed at the air columns  11 ,  21  at the two ends of the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  outside the binding portion  8  and the bent part of the third buffering wall  5  (as shown in  FIG. 18  and  FIG. 19 ). These corners when receiving squeezes or impacts are likely to have their air columns  11 ,  21 ,  31  bursting, and in turn make the entire buffering structure at the two ends of the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  lose the vibration-absorbing function. Moreover, since the two ends of the U-shaped structure is closed through heat sealing according to the present embodiment, the opening edge of the accommodating space  6  shrinks as the binding portion  8  is formed. This shrinkage at the two ends can become obstruction when the object  200  to be placed into the accommodating space  6  is relatively large and wide. Furthermore, after the two ends of the U-shaped structure are closed as a result of the formation of the binding portions  8  through heat sealing, irregular wavy crumples appear at the open edge of the accommodating space  6  and will aggravate over time as the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  is used. The wavy edge is not only unpleasing in terms of appearance, but also leads to unbalanced load distribution between the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  when the object  200  is loaded. 
         [0035]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 10  through  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing the end buffering portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention before the air columns are bent upward.  FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the end buffering portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention after the air columns are bent upward.  FIG. 11  is an enlarged, partial view of a first concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 12  is an enlarged, partial view of a second concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, for addressing the first issue noted in the preferred embodiment, the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  may further be improved by adding at least one outward slanted crease  113  or  213  formed through heat sealing at the lower part of each of the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8  after the air column lines  110 ,  210  are bound to form the binding portion  8 . The creases  113 ,  213  make the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8  have their lower parts holding a pressure greater than that of their upper parts, so the air columns  51  of the third buffering wall  5  outside the binding portion  8  can be bent upward against the creases  113 ,  213 . In other words, the lower part of the triangular buffering portion  9  is bent upward against the creases  113 ,  213 , so as to eliminate the formation of corners around the triangular buffering portion  9 , and make the air columns  11  and  21  at the upper part of the triangular buffering portion  9  spread out and form a flat plane, so as to provide a maximum buffering area for the end buffering portion  9 . It is to be noted that the amount of the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8  having the creases  113 ,  213  may be one or more and the amount of the air column  51  of the third buffering wall  5  bent upward may be correspondingly be one or more. In addition, the creases  113 ,  213  are inclined on the air columns  11  and  21  outside the binding portion  8 , with an upward trend when extending toward the outside of the binding portion  8 . This facilitates the upward bending of the air columns  51  of the third buffering wall  5  outside the binding portion  8 . The upward bent air columns  51  push the air columns  11  and  21  spread out so as to fill the sunken parts of the first buffering wall  1  and second buffering wall  2  caused by the formation of the binding portion  8 , thereby improving lateral buffering. 
         [0036]    Please refer to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 11 ,  FIG. 13  and  FIG. 14 .  FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing showing the adjacent air columns inside the binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 8  is another schematic drawing showing the adjacent air columns inside the binding portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 13  is an enlarged, partial view of a third concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 14  is an enlarged, partial view of a fourth concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, for addressing the second issue noted in the preferred embodiment, the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  may further be improved by changing the configuration of the air column lines  111 ,  211  between the at least two air columns  11 ,  12  inside the binding portion  8 . As shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , inside the binding portion  8 , there are at least two adjacent air columns of different diameters, namely a first air column  81  and a second air column  82 , so that a width of the accommodating space  6  corresponding to the binding portion  8  is maximized as the first air column  81  and the second air column  82  jostle with each other. As shown in  FIG. 11 , in the first concept of the present embodiment, the air column line  111   a  inside and next to the binding portion  8  has its lower part inclined as the inclined portion  114  of the air column line  111   a , so that the air column  11  outside the upper part of the air column line  111   a  is smaller than the air column  11  inside, and the air column  11  outside the lower part is greater than the air column  11  inside. Thereby, at the upper part of the air column line  111   a , the outside air column  11  has a pressure smaller than that of the inside air column  11 , and at the lower part of the air column line  111   a , the outside air column  11  has a pressure greater than that of the inside air column  11 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , in the third concept of the present embodiment, the air column line  111   a  inside and next to the binding portion  8  has its upper part with a heat-sealed area greater than the of the lower part, so that the at the upper part of the air column line  111   a , the outside air column  11  is smaller than the inside air column  1 , and at its lower part, the outside air column  11  is greater than the inside air column  11 . As a result, the air column  11  outside the upper part of the air column line  111   a  has a pressure smaller than that of the inside air column  11 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , in the fourth concept of the present embodiment, the air column  11  outside the air column line  111   a  next to the binding portion  8  is smaller than the air column  11  inside, so the pressure of the air column  11  outside the air column line  111   a  is smaller than that of the air column  11  inside. With either of the above-mentioned concepts, the shrinkage at the two ends of the open edges of the accommodating space  6  caused by formation of the binding portion  8  can be significantly improved. It is to be noted that the air column lines  111 ,  211  inside the binding portion  8  may each be of an amount of one or more than one. In practice, the amount may vary according to the amount of the air columns  11  and  21  that have shrinkage. Additionally, the inclined portion  114  of the first buffering wall  1  and the inclined portion  214  of the second buffering wall  2  are preferably extended inward as a downward slope, so as to help the jostle. 
         [0037]    Please refer to  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 11 ,  FIG. 15  and  FIG. 16 .  FIG. 15  is another enlarged, partial view of the first concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 16  is an enlarged, partial view of a fifth concept of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, for addressing the third issue noted in the preferred embodiment, in the disclosed vibration-absorbing air sheath  100 , each of the air column lines  111 ,  211  between the air columns  11 ,  12  inside the binding portion  8  has at least one outward inclined upper end  112  or  212 . Thereby, the air pressure in the air columns  11  and  21  can be guided to the ends through the inclined upper end  112 ,  212  of the air column line  111 ,  211 . Once all of the air columns  11  and  21  of the first buffering wall  1  and the second buffering wall  2  are inclined in the same direction, the open edge of the accommodating space  6  can be prevented from having an irregular wavy shape as the binding portion  8  is formed. As shown in  FIG. 15 , all of the air column lines  111 ,  211  between the air columns  11 ,  21  inside the binding portion  8  have their upper ends  112 ,  212  inclined toward either said end of the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 16 , a half of the air column lines  111 ,  211  between the air columns  11 ,  21  inside the binding portion  8  have their upper ends  112 ,  212  inclined toward one said end of the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100  and the other half have their upper ends  112 ,  212  inclined toward the other said end of the vibration-absorbing air sheath  100 . In addition, the air columns  11  of the first buffering wall  1  and the air columns  21  of the second buffering wall  2  inside the binding portion may have the upper ends thereof inclined in an identical direction or inclined in opposite directions, respectively, without limitation.