Cushioning material and packing box

Abstract

To provide a cushioning material and a packing box having good assemblability when completing assembly of a cushioning material by bending a bent portion against a base portion, and to facilitate maintaining the bent state of the bent portion after completion of assembly.SOLUTION: There are two parts comprising a core part 61 where a buffer rib 61b is orthogonal to its main surface part 61a, and a bent part 62 where the buffer rib 62b is orthogonal to its main surface part 62a. The core part 61 is provided with an opening part 61c to fit the protruding part 62d of the bent part 62 when the bent part 62 is bent, and to maintain the bent part 62 in the bent state by having its edge 61c1 in contact with the protruding part 62d. Furthermore, the core part 61 is provided with a notch part 61c2 in the edge part 61c1 to facilitate elastic deformation of the edge part 61c1 when the bent part 62 is bent and the protruding part 62d fits into the opening part 61c while elastically deforming the edge part 61c1 of the opening part 61c.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cushioning material to be contained in a packaging box in which an object to be packaged, such as an image forming apparatus, is packaged, and to a packaging box provided with the cushioning material. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been widely known a technique for holding a packaged object inside a packaging box via cushioning material in order to cushion the packaged object during transportation, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Meanwhile, Patent Document 1 discloses a cushioning material made of molded pulp in which a second support portion (folded portion) is folded relative to a first support portion (main portion) in order to support two sides of an object to be packaged. In the cushioning material in Patent Document 1, with the second support portion bent relative to the first support portion, the convex portion formed on the second support portion is fitted into the thin portion formed on the first support portion. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional cushioning materials, when the fitting between the two parts is configured loosely to emphasize ease of assembly when folding the folding portion relative to the main portion to complete the assembly of the cushioning material, a problem arises in that after assembly is completed, it becomes difficult to maintain the bent state of the folding portion due to the bending restoring force of the folding portion. On the other hand, if the fitting between the two parts is made tight to make it easier to maintain the bent state of the bent portion, there is a problem that assembly becomes difficult when folding the bent portion relative to the main portion to complete the assembly of the cushioning material.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a cushioning material and a packaging box that have good assembly properties when completing assembly of the cushioning material by folding the folding portion relative to the main portion, and that make it easy to maintain the bent state of the folding portion after assembly is complete. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cushioning material of this invention comprises a main part in which cushioning ribs are formed so as to protrude in a direction approximately perpendicular to the main surface, and a folded part in which the cushioning ribs and the main surface are brought close to each other and folded approximately perpendicular to the main part, the folded part having a protruding part protruding in a direction approximately perpendicular to the main surface, the main part having an opening into which the protruding part fits when the folded part is folded against the main surface, with its edge abutting the protruding part to maintain the folded state, and a notch part formed in the edge part to promote elastic deformation of the edge part when the folded part is folded against the main surface and the protruding part fits into the opening while elastically deforming the edge part of the opening. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cushioning material and a packaging box which have good assembly properties when completing the assembly of the cushioning material by folding the folding portion relative to the main portion, and which make it easy to maintain the bent state of the folding portion after assembly is complete. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus as an object to be packaged in an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the image forming apparatus is held inside a packaging box via a cushioning material; [Diagram 3] 1A is a perspective view showing the cushioning material after assembly is completed, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing the cushioning material before assembly is performed. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the cushioning material. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state before the bending portion is bent relative to the trunk portion. [Figure 6] 13 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing a state in which a protrusion of a bent portion is fitted into an opening of a trunk portion. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing the elastic deformation of the edge of the opening when the protrusion of the bent portion fits into the opening of the trunk portion. FIG. [Figure 8] 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the protrusion of the bent portion is fitted into the opening of the trunk portion. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an opening of the main part. [Figure 10] 13 is a perspective view showing the relationship in the width direction between the opening of the trunk portion and the protruding portion of the bent portion. FIG. [Figure 11] 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of a main surface portion and a cushioning rib of a cushioning material. FIG. [Figure 12] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a main surface portion and a cushioning rib in a cushioning material. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a cushioning material as a comparative example. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of the cushioning material of FIG. 13. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a cushioning material as a second comparative example. [Figure 16] 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cushioning material of FIG. 15 holds a packaged object. [Figure 17] 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a problem when the cushioning material in FIG. 15 is set in a packaging box together with an object to be packaged. [Figure 18] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating defects during assembly of a cushioning material as a third comparative example. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state before a folding portion is folded relative to a base portion in a cushioning material as a comparative example. [Figure 20] 11 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing a state before a folding portion is folded relative to a main portion in the cushioning material as Modification 1. FIG. [Figure 21] 13 is a perspective view showing a state before a folding portion is folded relative to a base portion in a cushioning material as Modification 2. FIG. [Figure 22]13 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an opening in a main part of a cushioning material as Modification 3. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0010] First, the overall configuration and operation of an image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming apparatus 1 is distributed in the market and is shipped from a manufacturing factory to a destination such as a user's site or a service center while being packed in a packaging box 50 (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a copier as an image forming apparatus, reference numeral 2 denotes an original reading section that optically reads image information from an original D, reference numeral 3 denotes an exposure section that irradiates a photosensitive drum 5 with exposure light L based on the image information read by the original reading section 2, reference numeral 4 denotes an image creating section that forms a toner image (image) on the photosensitive drum 5, and reference numeral 7 denotes a transfer section (image forming section) that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 to a sheet P. In addition, reference numeral 10 denotes a document transport section (automatic document transport device) that transports the set document D to the document reading section 2, reference numeral 12 denotes a sheet feeding device that feeds sheets P stored in a paper feed cassette, and reference numeral 13 denotes a sheet feeding device for manual insertion that protrudes to the side of the image forming apparatus main body 1. Also, reference numeral 16 denotes a pair of transport rollers located downstream of the feeding mechanism 45, 17 denotes a pair of registration rollers (pair of timing rollers) that transport the sheet P toward the transfer unit 7, 20 denotes a fixing device that fixes the toner image (unfixed image) carried on the sheet P, 21 denotes a fixing roller installed in the fixing device 20, 22 denotes a pressure roller installed in the fixing device 20, and 25 denotes a discharge tray on which the sheet P discharged from the apparatus main body 1 is stacked. Also, reference numeral 30 denotes a toner container installed in the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be detachable (replaceable). Further, reference numeral 42 denotes a placement portion (lift plate) configured to be liftable in the sheet feeding device 12, and 45 denotes a feeding mechanism installed in the sheet feeding device 12.

[0011] With reference to FIG. 1, the operation of image forming apparatus main body 1 during normal image formation (printing) will be described. First, the document D is transported (fed) from the document table in the direction of the arrow in the figure by the transport rollers of the document transport unit 10, and passes over the document reading unit 2. At this time, the document reading unit 2 optically reads image information of the document D passing above it. The optical image information read by the document reading unit 2 is converted into an electrical signal and then transmitted to the exposure unit 3 (writing unit). The exposure unit 3 then emits exposure light L, such as a laser beam, based on the image information of the electrical signal toward the photoconductor drum 5 of the imaging unit 4.

[0012] Meanwhile, in the image creating unit 4, the photosensitive drum 5 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and after going through a predetermined image creating process (charging process, exposure process, and development process), an image (toner image) corresponding to the image information is formed on the photosensitive drum 5. Thereafter, the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred in the transfer section 7 onto the sheet P conveyed by a pair of registration rollers 17 . In addition to the transfer unit 7, the image forming unit 4 is composed of a charging device, a developing device, a cleaning device, a charge removing device, etc. New toner is appropriately replenished to the developing device from a toner container 30. The toner container 30 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and when the toner contained therein becomes empty, it is replaced with a new toner container 30.

[0013] On the other hand, the sheet P conveyed to the transfer unit 7 (image forming unit) operates as follows. First, one of the sheet feeding devices 12, 13 in the image forming apparatus main body 1 is automatically or manually selected (for example, it is assumed that the sheet feeding device 12 in the apparatus main body is selected). Then, the uppermost sheet of the sheets P stored in the sheet feeding device 12 is fed by the feeding mechanism 45 and conveyed toward the conveying path K. Thereafter, the sheet P passes through the conveying path K on which the conveying roller pair 16 is disposed, and reaches the position of the registration roller pair 17. At this time, the registration roller pair 17 is in a state of stopping rotation, and the leading edge of the sheet P hits the nip of the registration roller pair 17, thereby correcting the skew of the sheet P.

[0014] Then, the pair of registration rollers 17 start to rotate, and the sheet P is transported toward the transfer section 7 (image forming section) in time for alignment with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 5. Then, in the transfer section 7, the image on the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred onto the sheet P (this is a transfer process). After the transfer process, the sheet P passes through the position of the transfer unit 7, and then reaches the fixing device 20 via a transport path. The sheet P that has reached the fixing device 20 is fed between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22, and the toner image is fixed on the sheet P by the heat received from the fixing roller 21 and the pressure received from both members 21 and 22 (the fixing process). The sheet P after the fixing process with the toner image fixed is sent out from between the fixing roller 21 and the pressure roller 22 (the fixing nip), and then discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 1 and stacked on the discharge tray 25 as an output image. In this way, a series of image forming processes (printing operations) is completed.

[0015] Hereinafter, the state in which the image forming apparatus 1 is packed in the packaging box 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 as the packaged object in this embodiment is packed in a packaging box 50 and transported. When the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object) is to be used at a user's site, it is taken out of the packaging box 50 together with cushioning materials 60A and 60B (described later) and set up as a single apparatus.

[0016] 2, the image forming apparatus 1 as the packaged object is housed (packaged) in the packaging box 50 together with the cushioning materials 60A and 60B. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 is held inside the packaging box 50 via the cushioning materials 60A and 60B. In detail, the packaging box 50 contains at least one cushioning material (two cushioning materials 60A and 60B in this embodiment) so as to contact the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object). The image forming apparatus 1 is held by the two cushioning materials 60A and 60B so that six sides, i.e., top, bottom, left, right, front, and back, do not directly contact the packaging box 50. This cushions the impact that the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object) packed in the packaging box 50 receives during transportation, etc., and reduces the risk of damage to the image forming apparatus 1. Furthermore, even if multiple packaging boxes 50 with image forming apparatuses 1 packed therein are stacked in a warehouse or transportation means, it is possible to make it difficult for the lower packaging boxes 50 to be crushed due to the weight of the upper packaging boxes 50. In this embodiment, two cushioning materials 60A, 60B of similar shapes are used for one packaged object (image forming apparatus 1) in packaging box 50, but the number and shapes of the cushioning materials are not limited to this.

[0017] Hereinafter, cushioning material 60, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 10 and so on. As explained above with reference to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, two cushioning materials 60A, 60B are set in the packaging box 50. However, since they are basically formed based on the same technical idea, hereinafter, the reference numeral 60 given to the cushioning material will be omitted from the letters A and B.

[0018] 3 and other figures, cushioning material 60 in this embodiment is provided with a main portion 61 and two bent portions 62A and 62B. 4 and other figures, the main part 61 is formed such that the cushioning rib 61b protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion 61a. In this embodiment, the cushioning rib 61b is formed in the main part 61 such that it protrudes outward (to the side facing the inner wall surface of the packaging box 50) from the main surface portion 61a. Therefore, the cushioning rib 61b of the main part 61 is a part that directly contacts the inner wall surface of the packaging box 50. And the main surface portion 61a of the main part 61 is a part that is separated from the inner wall surface of the packaging box 50 by the amount of the cushioning rib 61b. In contrast, the folded portions 62A and 62B are formed so that the cushioning ribs 62b protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion 62a, and are folded so as to be substantially perpendicular to the main portion 61 (see FIG. 3(A)). In this embodiment, the cushioning ribs 62b are formed so as to protrude inward (the side facing the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object)) from the main surface portion 62a in the folded portions 62A and 62B. Therefore, the cushioning ribs 62b of the folded portions 62A and 62B are the portions that come into direct contact with the image forming apparatus 1. And the main surface portion 62a of the folded portions 62A and 62B are the portions that come into direct contact with the inner wall surface of the packaging box 50. In this embodiment, the buffer ribs 61b, 62b are hollow (see FIG. 12). The bending direction of the bending portions 62A, 62B relative to the main portion 61 is a direction in which the main portion 61 and the bending portions 62A, 62B can face the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object). In this embodiment, the cushioning ribs 61b of the main portion 61 are formed to protrude outward from the main surface portion 61a, and the cushioning ribs 62b of the folded portions 62A, 62B are formed to protrude inward from the main surface portion 62a. However, the protruding directions of the cushioning ribs 61b, 62b are not limited to these, and what was previously on the outside (or inside) can be formed on the inside (or outside), or they can be formed on both the outside and inside.

[0019] More specifically, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment is made of molded pulp. When the cushioning material 60 is removed from the molding die (metal mold) at the manufacturing factory, as shown in Figure 3(B), the main surface portion 61a of the main portion 61 and the main surface portions 62a of the folded portions 62A, 62B are aligned on a single plane, and the main surface portion 61a of the main portion 61 and the folded portions 62A, 62B are integrally formed. Then, the two folded portions 62A, 62B are folded toward the side where the cushioning ribs 61b, 62b are formed relative to the main portion 61, centered on the boundary portion M (which is the boundary between the main portion 61 and the folded portions 62A, 62B), to complete the approximately U-shaped cushioning material 60 as shown in Figure 3(A). As explained above using FIG. 3, in this embodiment, two folded portions 62A, 62B are formed in the cushioning material 60. However, these are basically formed based on the same technical idea, and therefore, in the following, in FIG. 4 to FIG. 10 etc., the reference numeral 62 given to the folded portion will be omitted from the letters A and B.

[0020] 5 to 10, in the present embodiment, cushioning material 60 has bent portion 62 formed with protrusion 62d, and trunk portion 61 formed with opening 61c and notch 61c2. The protruding portion 62d of the bent portion 62 protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion 62a, and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The opening 61c of the trunk part 61 is for fitting with the protruding part 62d when the bent part 62 is bent relative to the trunk part 61. The opening 61c is for maintaining the bent part 62 in the bent state (the state shown in FIG. 3(A)) by the edge part 61c1 abutting against the protruding part 62d. More specifically, the edge part 61c1 abuts against and supports the protruding part 62d, so that the bent part 62 is maintained in the bent state without returning to its original state. In addition, the cutout portion 61c2 of the trunk portion 61 is a portion formed in the edge portion 61c1 to promote elastic deformation of the edge portion 61c1 when the bending portion 62 is bent relative to the trunk portion 61 and the protrusion 62d fits into the opening 61c while elastically deforming the edge portion 61c1 of the opening 61c.

[0021] In addition, the edge 61c1 that abuts against the protrusion 62d in the opening 61c is the edge formed at the position farthest from the main surface 61a of the main part 61 in the folded state (the top when the main surface 61a is the bottom) among the multiple edges (four edges) that form the approximately rectangular opening 61c. As shown in FIG. 9, the cutout portions 61c2 are formed at both ends of the edge portion 61c1 in the width direction (the direction in which the boundary M extends).

[0022] A specific assembly procedure will be described below. First, when the bent portion 62 is bent from the state shown in Fig. 3(B) and Fig. 5 to the state shown in Fig. 3(A), the protrusion 62d pushes and bends (elastically deforms) the edge 61c1 (wall portion) as shown by the broken line in Fig. 7, and its tip enters the opening 61c. Then, when the protrusion 62d is inserted (fitted) into the opening 61c, the pushed and bent edge 61c1 returns to its original state, and as a result, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the edge 61c1 is caught by the protrusion 62d without any gap, and further, the edge 61c1 does not abut on the protrusion 62d in a bent state but abuts on the protrusion 62d in a straight line, so that the edge 61c1 standing vertically downward (or slightly inclined downward) applies a contact force (hooking force) to the protrusion 62d in a substantially downward direction. This makes it difficult for the bent portion 62 to return to the state shown in Fig. 5, and the bent state is maintained. In particular, in the present embodiment, the cushioning material 60 has multiple folded portions 62A, 62B formed in one main portion 61, so that multiple cushioning ribs 61b, 62b can be provided with strong holding force to correspond to multiple surfaces of the image forming device 1 (packaged object).

[0023] Here, when the bending portion 62 is bent from the state of Fig. 3(B) and Fig. 5 to the state of Fig. 3(A) and the protruding portion 62d elastically deforms the edge portion 61c1, the force required for elastic deformation is smaller than that required when the notch portion 61c2 is not formed because the notch portion 61c2 is formed in the edge portion 61c1. Therefore, the workability of the worker assembling the cushioning material 60 is improved. Then, in the above-described procedure, the elastically deformed edge portion 61c1 returns to its original state due to the restoring force and engages with the protrusion portion 62d, thereby suppressing the movement of the protrusion portion 62d with a high holding force and maintaining the bent state of the bending portion 62. As a result, in the cushioning material 60 in which the folded state of the folded portion 62 is maintained, the cushioning ribs 61b, 62b standing perpendicular to the main surface portions 61a, 62a of the main portion 61 and the folded portion 62 come into contact with a plurality of surfaces of the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object) that are substantially orthogonal to each other. This makes it possible to eliminate the loss in height of the cushioning ribs caused by the draft angle θ from the mold (metal mold) of the cushioning material 60, which will be described later using Figures 11 to 14, etc. This makes it possible to provide the cushioning material 60 with high shock absorbing performance against the shock applied to each surface of the image forming apparatus 1 (packaged object). In this manner, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment has good assembly properties when the assembly of the cushioning material 60 is completed by folding the folding portion 62 relative to the main portion 61, and the bent state of the folding portion 62 is easily maintained after the assembly is completed.

[0024] 5 and other drawings, the cushioning rib 61b of the trunk portion 61 has a recess 61b1 formed on an opposing surface (a side surface of the cushioning rib 61b) opposing the bent portion 62 in the bent state. The opening 61c is formed in the opposing surface of the trunk portion 61 in a portion where the recess 61b1 is not formed. In contrast to this, the cushioning rib 62b of the bent portion 62 has a convex portion 62c formed on the surface facing the trunk portion 61 in the bent state, the convex portion 62c fitting into the concave portion 61b1. The protruding portion 62d is formed on the opposing surface of the bent portion 62 at a portion where the convex portion 62c is not formed. That is, when the bent portion 62 is bent around the boundary portion M, the convex portion 62c of the bent portion 62 fits into the concave portion 61b1 of the main portion 61, and the protruding portion 62d of the bent portion 62 fits into the opening 61c of the main portion 61. The cushioning material 60 configured in this manner can more easily maintain the state (as shown in FIG. 3(A)) in which the bent portion 62 is bent relative to the main portion 61. In particular, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment has a plurality of recesses 61b1 formed in the main portion 61 and a plurality of protrusions 62c formed in the bent portion corresponding thereto, so that the above-mentioned effect is more easily achieved. In addition, the inventors of the present application conducted a simulation and found that the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment has a holding force that is 10 times or more stronger than a case in which the folded state of the folded portion is maintained only by the bending stress due to the bending posture, without any engagement between the recessed portion 61b1 and the protruding portion 62c, or between the opening portion 61c and the protruding portion 62d.

[0025] 4 and other figures, in the cushioning material 60 of the present embodiment, a recess M1 is formed at boundary portion M between the main portion 61 and the bent portion 62 on the valley fold side. In detail, the length of this recess M1 in the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the boundary M (the left-right direction in Figure 4) is set to be approximately 3 to 8 mm, and the depth is set to be approximately 1 / 2 to 1 / 4 of the thickness of the main surface portions 61a, 62a. By configuring in this manner, the workability when bending the bent portion 62 relative to the main portion 61 is improved.

[0026] Also, referring to Figure 8 etc., the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment is formed so that the length of the protruding portion 62d in the protruding direction (the left-right direction in Figure 8) is longer than the thickness (wall thickness) of the edge portion 61c1. By configuring it in this manner, when the folding portion 62 is folded relative to the main portion 61 as described above, the protrusion 62 is securely caught on the edge 61c1 of the opening 61c, making it easier to maintain the folding portion 62 in its folded state.

[0027] Further, with reference to FIG. 5 etc., in this embodiment, the protruding portion 62d and the opening 61c are formed in the vicinity of the boundary portion M which is the boundary between the trunk portion 61 and the bent portion 62, respectively. By configuring it in this manner, the protrusion 62d and the opening 61c can fit together smoothly without misalignment, compared to the comparative example in which the protrusion 62d and the opening 61c are formed at a position away from the boundary M, such as in the cushioning material shown in Figure 19.

[0028] In addition, referring to FIG. 10 and the like, in this embodiment, the length N2 of the protrusion 62d in the width direction is formed to be shorter than the length N1 of the opening 61c in the width direction (N2 <N1)。 The reason for this configuration is that, as explained above, among the four edges that form the opening 61c, the upper edge 61c1 is the one that is most likely to play a role in holding the protrusion 62d in place. Therefore, gaps are provided between the other edges and the protrusion 62d, giving priority to ease of insertion of the protrusion 62d into the opening 61c.

[0029] The effects obtained when the cushioning material 60 of this embodiment is used will be supplementarily described below with reference to FIGS. The cushioning material 60 used as the packaging material has a configuration and shape determined based on the shape and strength of the packaged object, and is attached to the packaged object before being placed in the packaging box 50 (outer box). Here, the main function of the cushioning material 60 is to cushion the impact on the packaged object when the packaged object receives an impact inside the packaging box 50. The cushioning material 60 can adjust the impact acceleration applied to the packaged object when an impact is received by adjusting the rib height H (see FIG. 11) of the cushioning rib 61b (a rib for shock absorption) provided on the cushioning material 60 and the contact area with the packaged object. Here, the pulp molded cushioning material 60 is manufactured by a molding method based on the principle of paper making. Therefore, a characteristic of the cushioning material 60 is that the draft angle θ (see FIG. 12) provided on the side of the cushioning material 60 becomes large in order to make it easier to remove the cushioning material 60 from the mold. Specifically, while the draft angle θ of a foamed resin cushioning material is 1 to 1.5°, the draft angle θ of the pulp molded cushioning material 60 is 5 to 8°. Furthermore, when forming a cushioning material 160 (see FIG. 13) in which cushioning ribs 160b are arranged in multiple directions relative to the packaged object 1, the magnitude of the draft angle θ has an effect such that some of the cushioning ribs 160b significantly reduce the rib heights A, B (see FIG. 14), resulting in a loss of the shock-absorbing function. In order to eliminate such a problem, it is possible to use a cushioning material as shown in Figures 15 to 17, in which the surface on which the cushioning ribs 62b are provided (folded portion 62) is folded toward the main portion 61. The cushioning material having the folded portion 62 thus formed can change the arrangement direction of the cushioning ribs 62b by folding, thereby improving the problem of the rib height loss caused by the draft angle θ and ensuring a sufficient cushioning rib height for the packaged object. However, in the cushioning material having such a bent portion 62 formed thereon, due to the elasticity of the material, the bent portion 62 cannot maintain the bent state, and the bent portion 62 tends to return to its original state. Therefore, when the cushioning material is set in the packaging box 50 together with the packaged object 1, a problem occurs in that the bent portion of the cushioning material gets caught on the packaging box (see FIG. 17). Therefore, workers strongly desire a cushioning material 60 that can maintain the bent portion 62 in a bent state. In response to such a demand, a method of providing a cushioning material in which a convex portion 162c formed on the bent portion fits into a concave portion 161b1 formed on the main portion when the bent portion 62 is in a bent state, as shown in Fig. 18, is conceivable. However, in this case, if the fitting between the concave portion 161b1 and the convex portion 162c is configured loosely with an emphasis on the ease of assembly when the bent portion is bent relative to the main portion to complete the assembly of the cushioning material, a problem occurs in that it becomes difficult to maintain the bent state of the bent portion due to the bending restoring force of the bent portion after the assembly is completed. On the other hand, if the recess 161b1 and the protrusion 162c are tightly fitted together to make it easier to maintain the bent state of the bent portion, there is a problem that the ease of assembly deteriorates when the bent portion is bent relative to the main part to complete the assembly of the cushioning material. In particular, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment is manufactured using pulp molding with low dimensional accuracy, and the dimensions tend to fluctuate either loosely or tightly, which makes the above-mentioned problems more pronounced.

[0030] The relationship with the prior art will be further supplementarily explained below. Conventionally, in a cushioning material consisting of a main part and a bent part, the bent state of the bent part cannot be maintained during assembly (when the bent part is bent) due to the restoring force of the bent part. In order to solve this problem, a method of press-fitting the uneven parts provided on the main part and the bent part can be adopted. However, when adopting such a method, the dimensional accuracy of the uneven parts cannot be increased by the pulp mold, and therefore the press-fit accuracy is also low. In a cushioning material that contains a paper material and has elastic properties, a phenomenon occurs in which the folded portion tends to return to its original state before folding. Therefore, when the cushioning material is attached to the packaged object inside the packaging box, the folded portion of the cushioning material is likely to get caught on the packaging box. In order to solve this problem, it is important to maintain the folded portion, and a possible measure is to provide a shape on the folded portion and the main part side that allows a protrusion and a recess to fit together, and to set the dimensions of the protrusion to be slightly larger than the dimensions of the recess, so that when the folded portion is folded, the protrusion is pressed into the recess to fit it. However, even when such measures were adopted, the following two problems arose. One reason is that the cushioning material is made of hard paper, so if the dimensional difference between the protrusions and recesses is greater than the ideal value, the press-fitting process becomes difficult. Specifically, even a dimensional difference of just 0.5 mm makes it difficult to press the protrusions into the recesses. Secondly, because pulp-molded cushioning is formed using the same principles as papermaking, the dimensional precision of the protrusions and recesses is low, and dimensional errors of around 0.5 mm can easily occur. For these reasons, dimensional variations that occur when mass-producing cushioning material have caused problems in the process of press-fitting the cushioning material, making it difficult to set (hard) the material.

[0031] In response to the above-mentioned problems, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment has an opening 61c in which the protruding portion 62d of the bent portion 62 fits when the bent portion 62 is bent, and the edge portion 61c1 of the opening 62 abuts against the protruding portion 62d to maintain the bent portion 62 in a bent state. Furthermore, the edge portion 61c1 of the cushioning material 60 has a notch 61c2 formed therein to promote elastic deformation of the edge portion 61c1 when the bent portion 62 is bent and the protruding portion 62d fits into the opening 61c while elastically deforming the edge portion 61c1 of the opening 61c. Therefore, the cushioning material 60 can be easily assembled by folding the bent portion 62 relative to the cushioning material 61, and the bent state of the bent portion 62 can be easily maintained after the assembly is completed.

[0032] <Variation 1> As shown in FIG. 20, in the cushioning material 60 in the first modification, the tip portion (the portion surrounded by the dashed line) in the protruding direction of the protruding portion 62d of the bent portion 62 is formed in an R-shape (or a tapered shape). With this configuration, when bending the folding portion 62 around the boundary portion M, the protruding portion 62d can be inserted smoothly into the opening 61c without getting caught, improving the workability.

[0033] <Variation 2> As shown in FIG. 21, in the cushioning material 60 of the second modification, a plurality of protrusions 62d are formed at intervals in the width direction on the folded portion 62, and a plurality of openings 61c are formed at positions in the trunk portion 61 corresponding to the protrusions 62d. With this configuration, the fitting force of the protruding portion 62d into the opening 61c is increased, making it easier to maintain the bent portion 62 in a bent state.

[0034] <Variation 3> As shown in FIG. 22(A), in the cushioning material 60 of the third modification, a notch 61c2 is formed in the center in the width direction at an edge 61c1 of an opening 61c. Furthermore, in the cushioning material 60 shown in FIG. 22(B), notches 61c2 are formed in a plurality of portions spaced apart in the width direction at the edge 61c1 of the opening 61c. Even in the case of such a configuration, as previously described with reference to Fig. 9, when the bending portion 62 is bent and the protruding portion 62d elastically deforms the edge portion 61c1, only a small force is required for elastic deformation, thus improving the workability of the worker assembling the cushioning material 60.

[0035] As described above, the cushioning material 60 in this embodiment is provided with the main part 61 in which the cushioning rib 61b is formed to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface part 61a. Also, the cushioning rib 62b is formed to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface part 62a, and the bent part 62 is provided by bending the main part 61 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface part 62a. The bent part 62 is provided with a protruding part 62d protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface part 62a. Also, the main part 61 is provided with an opening 61c into which the protruding part 62d fits when the bent part 62 is bent relative to the main part 61, and the edge part 61c1 of the protruding part 62d abuts against the protruding part 62d to maintain the bent part 62 in a folded state. Furthermore, when the bending portion 62 is bent relative to the main portion 61 and the protrusion 62d fits into the opening 61c while elastically deforming the edge portion 61c1 of the opening 61c, a notch 61c2 is formed in the edge portion 61c1 of the opening 61c to promote elastic deformation of the edge portion 61c1. This improves the ease of assembly when completing the assembly of the cushioning material 60 by folding the folding portion 62 relative to the main portion 61, and makes it easier to maintain the bent state of the folding portion 62 after the assembly is completed.

[0036] In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the cushioning material 60 that is packed in a packaging box 50 together with the image forming apparatus 1 as a packaged object. However, the cushioning material to which the present invention is applied is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to, for example, all cushioning materials that are packed in a packaging box together with various packaged objects other than the image forming apparatus 1. Even in such a case, the same effects as those of this embodiment can be obtained.

[0037] It is clear that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and that the present embodiment may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention in addition to the modifications suggested in the present embodiment. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the components are not limited to the present embodiment, and may be any number, position, shape, etc. suitable for implementing the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 Image forming device (packaged object), 50 packing boxes (packaging boxes), 60, 60A, 60B buffer material, 61 Core part (base part), 61a Main surface part, 61b Buffer rib, 61b1 recess, 61c opening, 61c1 Edge (contact edge), 61c2 notch, 62 Bending part, 62a Main surface part, 62b Buffer rib, 61c convex part, 62d protrusion, M border, M1 recess.

[0039] The present invention can also be embodied in the following combinations of Supplementary Notes 1 to 13. (Appendix 1) A core portion in which a buffer rib is formed so as to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to a main surface portion; A cushioning rib is formed so as to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion, and a bent portion is bent so as to be substantially perpendicular to the trunk portion; Equipped with The bent portion includes a protruding portion protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion, The backbone is an opening into which the protruding portion fits when the bending portion is bent relative to the trunk portion, and an edge of the opening abuts against the protruding portion to maintain the bending portion in a bent state; a notch formed in the edge portion for promoting elastic deformation of the edge portion when the bent portion is bent relative to the trunk portion and the protruding portion is fitted into the opening while elastically deforming the edge portion of the opening; A cushioning material comprising: (Appendix 2) The cushioning rib of the base portion has a recess formed on a surface facing the bent portion in a bent state, The opening is formed in a portion of the facing surface of the trunk portion where the recess is not formed, The cushioning rib of the bent portion has a protrusion formed on a surface facing the base portion in a bent state, the protrusion fitting into the recess. The cushioning material described in Appendix 1, characterized in that the protrusion is formed on a portion of the opposing surface of the folded portion where the convex portion is not formed. (Appendix 3) The cushioning material described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, characterized in that the edge portion that abuts the protrusion at the opening is, among multiple edge portions, the edge portion that is formed at a position farthest from the main surface portion of the base portion in a folded state. (Appendix 4) 4. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a boundary portion between the main portion and the folded portion has a depression formed on the valley fold side. (Appendix 5) The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protrusion and the opening are each formed near a boundary between the main portion and the folded portion. (Appendix 6) 6. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the length of the protruding portion in the protruding direction is formed to be longer than the thickness of the edge portion. (Appendix 7) 7. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the protrusion is formed so that its widthwise length is shorter than the widthwise length of the opening. (Appendix 8) 8. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the protruding portion has a tip end in a protruding direction formed in an R-shape or a tapered shape. (Appendix 9) The cushioning material described in any one of Appendix 1 to Appendix 8, characterized in that the cutout portion is formed in any one of the center portion in the width direction, both ends in the width direction, and multiple portions separated in the width direction in the edge portion. (Appendix 10) 10. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a plurality of the bent portions are formed in one of the trunk portions. (Appendix 11) 11. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 10, which is made of molded pulp. (Appendix 12) 12. The cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the edge abuts against the protrusion in a straight line when assembly of the cushioning material is completed. (Appendix 13) 12. A packaging box comprising at least one cushioning material according to any one of claims 1 to 11 contained therein so as to come into contact with an object to be packaged. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0040] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-57086 A

Claims

1. A core portion in which a buffer rib is formed so as to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to a main surface portion; A cushioning rib is formed so as to protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion, and a bent portion is bent so as to be substantially perpendicular to the trunk portion; Equipped with The bent portion includes a protruding portion protruding in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main surface portion, The backbone is an opening into which the protruding portion fits when the bending portion is bent relative to the trunk portion, and an edge of the opening abuts against the protruding portion to maintain the bending portion in a bent state; a notch formed in the edge portion for promoting elastic deformation of the edge portion when the bent portion is bent relative to the trunk portion and the protruding portion is fitted into the opening while elastically deforming the edge portion of the opening; A cushioning material comprising:

2. The cushioning rib of the base portion has a recess formed on a surface facing the bent portion in a bent state, The opening is formed in a portion of the facing surface of the trunk portion where the recess is not formed, The cushioning rib of the bent portion has a protrusion formed on a surface facing the base portion in a bent state, the protrusion fitting into the recess.

2. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion is formed on the opposing surface of the bent portion at a portion where the convex portion is not formed.

3. The cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the edge portion that abuts the protrusion at the opening is, among multiple edge portions, the edge portion that is formed at a position farthest from the main surface portion of the base portion when folded.

4. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a boundary portion between the main portion and the folded portion has a recess formed on the valley fold side.

5. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the opening are each formed in the vicinity of a boundary between the trunk portion and the bent portion.

6. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the length of the protruding portion in the protruding direction is longer than the thickness of the edge portion.

7. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the length of the protrusion in the width direction is shorter than the length of the opening in the width direction.

8. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion has a tip end in a protruding direction formed in an R-shape or a tapered shape.

9. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the cutout portion is formed in any one of a widthwise center portion, both widthwise ends, and a plurality of portions spaced apart in the widthwise direction on the edge portion.

10. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the bent portions are formed in one of the trunk portions.

11. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, which is made of molded pulp.

12. 3. The cushioning material according to claim 1, wherein the edge abuts on the protrusion in a straight line when the assembly of the cushioning material is completed.

13. A packaging box comprising at least one cushioning material according to claim 1 or 2 contained therein so as to come into contact with an object to be packaged.

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