Patent ID: 8671849

Claim:
A shipping base for a large household appliance, the shipping base comprising: a folded member, the folded member comprising a substantially rectangular central panel, opposing side flaps attached to the central panel along side fold lines, a rear flap attached to the central panel along a rear fold line and an elongated front flap attached to the central panel along a front fold line, the side flaps, rear flap and front flap folded over on top of the central panel so that the flaps and the central panel are in facing abutment with each other, the front flap having opposing ends and a pin opening located near each opposing end, each pin opening having a diameter; a pair of locator pins, each locator pin comprising a body and a flange extending laterally outward from the body, the body having a smooth conical upper portion and a smooth cylindrical lower portion configured to easily receive a foothole of an appliance to removably secure the appliance to the shipping base with a friction fit, the flange having a top side and a bottom side and a diameter greater than the diameter of the pin opening, each locator pin extending upwardly through one of the pin openings with its flange captured between the central panel and the front flap, wherein the central panel abuts the bottom side of the flange and the front flap abuts the top side of the flange to hold and support the flange in a stationary, fixed relationship with respect to the folded member without any type of fasteners; and foam members affixed to the front flap, side flaps and rear flap; wherein the foam members define a planar load bearing surface and the locator pins extend above the load bearing surface.