Patent ID: 7328804

Claim:
A shipping system for shipping articles having a shipping box ( 2 ) which can be converted between an in-use state in which the shipping box ( 2 ) can be loaded with articles and a not-in-use state in which the shipping box ( 2 ) has a reduced height in comparison with the in-use state while still having the same base area, having multiple positioning elements ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ), each having at least two holding fixtures ( 25 ) arranged side-by-side, each being shaped to hold a section of one of the articles, wherein the positioning elements ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) can be stacked one above the other, wherein the shipping box ( 2 ) is designed to accommodate at least one stack ( 26 , 27 ) of positioning elements ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) in the in-use state, wherein in each stack ( 26 , 27 ) all the positioning elements ( 3 , 5 ) which are arranged above a bottom positioning element ( 4 , 6 ) are of the same design, and wherein the shipping box ( 2 ) is designed to accommodate the positioning elements ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) when in the not-in-use state.