Patent ID: 7258319

Claim:
A base for supporting an article during shipping, the article having a series of feet projecting from one side thereof, and the article having a series of peripheral side panels, the base comprising: a frame having one or more side edges, each side edge adapted to extend along a side of an article, the base having one or more sockets having internal sidewalls defining wells in the frame that form receptacles for receipt and engagement of feet of the article, each socket having a bottom wall, the bottom wall of the sockets defined by a central portion and a plurality of arms projecting radially outwardly from the central portion to sidewall, each of the arms separated from one another by a hole; and a plurality of elongated flexible ribs extending vertically along the internal sidewall of the sockets from the upper portion of the sidewall to a position adjacent the bottom wall, and projecting inwardly into the well of the sockets, the ribs adapted to deflect and resiliently deform in response to the engagement with the feet of the article upon insertion into the sockets, to secure the base to the article and to align the side edges of the frame adjacent the peripheral side panels of the appliance; the holes in the bottom wall being disposed below a corresponding rib within the socket, the holes being dimensioned and configured to provide separation between a bottom edge of each rib and the bottom wall of the socket.