Cushioning material for packing

Abstract

To easily join the sheet-like cushioning materials for packing together and make the size adjustable.SOLUTION: A cushioning material for packing of this invention comprises base materials 1 on which sheet parts 2 which form the overall outer shape in a plan view have aligned thereon a large number of identically shaped uneven parts 3, each formed integrally on the front and back sides, with recesses 3a consisting of recessed space parts on one side and protrusions 3b consisting of convex-shaped mountain parts on the other side, and when the peripheral edge parts of the base materials 1 are overlapped together, the uneven parts 3 of one base material and the uneven parts 3 of the other base material fit together, thereby allowing the base materials 1 to be joined together in a two-dimensional manner so as to be engageable and detachable. By standardizing the shape of the uneven parts 3 of the base materials 1 and orientation and arrangement interval in the plan view, when the base materials 1 are stacked together, all of the uneven parts 3 of both base materials fit together, thereby reducing the bulk volume during transportation and storage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a cushioning material for packaging used in the transportation, storage, distribution, etc. of various products or merchandise. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when electrical appliances and various other products are transported, conveyed, or stored in a warehouse in a transport container or cardboard box, protective cushioning materials that fill the gap between the packaging container and the product are known from Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] The cushioning materials in the above patent documents are all made of thermoplastic molded products, and of these, the one in Patent Document 1 is made by stacking a sheet material on which a number of dome-shaped protrusions and recesses are formed, with the protrusions facing each other, and the protrusions and recesses elastically deform when pressure is applied, thereby providing a cushioning function.

[0004] The invention of Patent Document 2 achieves a cushioning effect by packaging each product in a pad made of a plastic film sheet that has been formed with irregularities according to the external shape of relatively small electronic products such as personal computers, office automation equipment, and LCD televisions.

[0005] The inventions in the above patent documents all have the advantage that they require less volume during transportation and storage than foam plastic molded products, air wraps (commonly known as "bubble wrap"), air cushioning materials, etc., because the film-like cushioning materials themselves are stacked so that the concave and convex surfaces fit together and fit together. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-122703 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-105937 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the cushioning material in Patent Document 1 mentioned above is difficult to adjust in size both in the thickness direction and in the width direction to cover, in response to variations in the insertion space of the cushioning material, which varies depending on the size of the packaging container, such as a container or cardboard box, and the size of the product (goods) to be packed. In particular, to accommodate differences in width direction, it is necessary to prepare cushioning material for each size.

[0008] Furthermore, the cushioning material of Patent Document 2 is limited to products with specific external shapes, and has the drawback of not being usable for products with different external shapes or sizes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The cushioning material for packaging of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is characterized by the fact that it comprises a base material 1 having a sheet portion 2 which forms the overall outer shape in a plan view, and on one side of the front and back of which are aligned a number of identically shaped uneven portions 3, each of which has a recess 3a consisting of a concave space portion on one side and a protrusion 3b consisting of a convex mountain portion on the other side, and which is formed integrally with the front and back of the sheet portion 2 in a plan view, and when the peripheral edges of the base materials 1 are overlapped, the uneven portions 3 of one base material and the uneven portions 3 of the other base material fit together, thereby allowing the base materials 1 to be joined together in a two-dimensionally detachable manner.

[0010] Secondly, the shape, orientation in a plan view, and spacing of the uneven portions 3 of the substrates 1 are unified, resulting in a structure in which all of the uneven portions 3 of both substrates fit together when the substrates 1 are stacked on top of each other.

[0011] Thirdly, a cut 4 that can be torn off is formed in the sheet portion 2 between adjacent uneven portions 3 along the arrangement direction of the uneven portions 3, making it possible to adjust the size of the substrate 1.

[0012] Fourthly, it is characterized in that it is made up of a combination of a plurality of types of base material 1 in which the depth or height of the concave-convex portion 3 relative to the sheet portion 2 differs.

[0013] Fifthly, the material of the base material 1 is either a plastic material or a plant fiber material.

[0014] Sixth, the material of the base material 1 is made of either a nonwoven fabric or a mesh material that can be press-formed, vacuum-formed, or pneumatically formed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention configured as above, the following effects are achieved. (1) By partially overlapping the peripheral edges of the base material and engaging the rows of concave and convex portions, the area of ​​the base material can be easily expanded and adjusted in two dimensions (front, back, left, and right), and the size can be adjusted according to the shape and size of the product to be packaged, allowing for packaging that more completely covers the required portion or the entire product.In addition, the size adjustment can be achieved by simply overlapping the rows of concave and convex portions on the ends of the base material, making attachment and detachment easy. (2) By standardizing the shape, orientation, and spacing of the uneven parts, the entire substrate can be stacked and the uneven parts can be fitted together, allowing a large number of substrates to be transported, stored, and handled without increasing the bulk of the uneven parts. (3) By making cuts in the sheet between adjacent concave and convex portions, it is possible to adjust the size of the base material not only in the enlarged direction but also in the reduced direction, which has the advantage of being able to accommodate differences in the size of products and partial packaging.In addition, by overlapping multiple base materials with the concave sides as the overlapping surface, it is possible to adjust the thickness of the base material, which can also accommodate variations in the gap between the packaging container and the product.Furthermore, by combining base materials with different depths and heights of the concave and convex portions, it is possible to fine-tune the thickness adjustment. (4) The base material can also be used as a tray, with the concave side of the uneven portion serving as a storage area for electronic components or small fruits, and by stacking and fixing two base materials with the concave portions facing each other, the capacity of the concave portions can be increased and utilized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1(A)] 1 is an overall plan view of a cushioning material (base material) of the present invention. [Figure 1(B)]FIG. [Figure 1(C)] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of the state in which the ends of the substrates according to the present invention are overlapped and joined by fitting and locking the concave and convex portions. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged front view of the state in which the ends of the same base materials are joined together. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of two substrates stacked together with their recesses facing each other. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a partially omitted front view of a state in which a number of base materials are stacked together with their concave and convex portions fitted together. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] All of the drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 1(A) to Fig. 1(C) show a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a cushioning material (substrate) of the present invention.

[0018] The substrate 1 is a molded product made of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, or other thermoplastic resin, and in the example shown, the substrate is formed from a film-like material by vacuum forming, pneumatic forming, etc. In this example, a flat sheet portion 2 measuring 187 x 267 (mm) has a number of identically shaped concave or cup-shaped recesses 3a on the front side and convex portions 3b consisting of convex mountain portions on the back side, which are integrally molded together, with 10 examples arranged vertically and 13 rows arranged horizontally, as shown in Figure 1.

[0019] In the example shown, the uneven portion 3 is formed in an inverted trapezoid shape with the peripheral walls slightly inclined downward, the opening of the recess 3a is a square with sides of 17 mm (the bottom is a square with sides of 16 mm), the sheet portion 2 between each recess 3a is formed in a grid shape with a left-right width of 3.5 mm and a top-bottom width of 1.7 mm, the thickness of the base material is 0.4 mm, and the height H of the uneven portion 3 is 16.4 mm, but these shapes and dimensions are not particularly limited and can be determined appropriately depending on the target product and packaging conditions.

[0020] Furthermore, in the sheet portion 2 between the adjacent recesses 3a, cut lines 4 are formed in the shape of chain lines so that the substrate 1 can be cut and adjusted to a desired size, as will be described later.

[0021] 2 and 3, the peripheral portions of multiple substrates 1 are stacked one on top of the other, and downward-facing convex portions 3b of the upper substrate 1 (shown in imaginary lines) are fitted into one or several rows of concave portions 3a of the lower substrate 1 (shown in solid lines) at the end, thereby allowing the concave-convex portions 3 on each side to engage with each other, locking and joining the left and right substrates 1. By overlapping multiple rows of concave-convex portions and widening the overlap width, the overall area of ​​the substrates to be joined becomes narrower, but the engaging portion becomes wider, thereby increasing the joining strength.

[0022] The joining by overlapping described above can be done not only in the left-right direction but also in the front-back direction (two-dimensional direction), so it is possible to adjust the area of ​​the base material 1 in two-dimensional directions. In addition to being able to adjust the size of the single base material 1 in two-dimensional directions by cutting it apart at the cuts 4 described above, it is also possible to cut off at any position the end that has been excessively enlarged during joining and adjust it.

[0023] The base material 1 functions as a cushioning material by inserting it directly into the gap between, for example, a container or cardboard box and the packaged item contained therein, due to the elastic deformation of the concave and convex portions 3, but the thickness can be adjusted depending on the size of the gap by overlapping and fixing the sheet portions 2 together with the concave portions 3a facing each other, as shown in Figure 4. In this case, a high degree of freedom in thickness adjustment can be achieved by preparing and combining base materials 1 to be overlapped that have different thicknesses (heights of the concave and convex portions) H1 and H2.

[0024] 5 is a front view of a case where a large number of substrates 1 are stacked with the same orientation in the vertical direction (front and back), thereby minimizing the bulk volume of the substrates 1 during transport, shipping, and packaging. In the example shown, the shapes, sizes, and orientations of the concave and convex portions 3 of the substrates 1 are the same, and the arrangement pitch in the vertical direction and the left-right direction is the same. However, even if concave and convex portions with different shapes and dimensions in plan view are formed on a single substrate, it is possible to stack the entire substrate as long as the arrangement and orientation are the same as those of other substrates.

[0025] Furthermore, if one only considers the convenience of joining the ends of the substrates 1, it is sufficient to standardize the shape, orientation, dimensions, and arrangement in a plan view of the irregularities in the peripheral edges required for overlapping the substrates. The cushioning material of the present invention can also be used as a tray for storing small products or parts of various products, and it is expected that there may be cases where it is necessary to form irregularities 3 of different sizes and shapes on the same substrate 1, as described above.

[0026] Furthermore, the shape of the uneven portion 3 is not limited to the cubic or rectangular parallelepiped shape described above, but may be circular, polygonal, inverted trapezoid, or other shapes depending on the conditions under which the substrate 1 is used.

[0027] In addition, in this embodiment, various thermoplastic plastic materials are used as the material of the substrate, but as long as it is possible to form the above-mentioned uneven portion and sheet portion, it is possible to use plant fiber materials such as paper, nonwoven fabric, fiber-reinforced plastic material, mesh material, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Base material 2 Seat section 3 Uneven part 3a Recess 3b Convex part 4 cuts

Claims

1. The cushioning material for packaging is made up of a base material (1) on which a sheet portion (2) that forms the overall outer shape in a plan view has aligned thereon a number of identically shaped uneven portions (3) each having recesses (3a) consisting of concave spaces on one side of the front and back and protrusions (3b) consisting of convex ridges on the other side, each of which is formed integrally on the front and back of the base material (1), and when the peripheral edges of the base materials (1) are overlapped, the uneven portions (3) of one base material and the uneven portions (3) of the other base material fit together, thereby allowing the base materials (1) to be joined together in a two-dimensionally detachable manner.

2. 2. The cushioning material for packaging according to claim 1, wherein the shape, orientation in a plan view, and spacing of the uneven portions (3) of the substrates (1) are unified so that when the substrates (1) are overlapped, all of the uneven portions (3) of both substrates fit together.

3. 2. The cushioning material for packaging according to claim 1, wherein a cut (4) that can be separated is formed in the sheet portion (2) between adjacent uneven portions (3) along the arrangement direction of the uneven portions (3), thereby making it possible to adjust the size of the base material (1).

4. 4. The cushioning material for packaging according to claim 1, which is made up of a combination of a plurality of types of base materials (1) having different depths or heights of the uneven portion (3) relative to the sheet portion (2).

5. 4. The cushioning material for packaging according to claim 1, wherein the base material (1) is made of either a plastic material or a plant fiber material.

6. 4. The cushioning material for packaging according to claim 1, wherein the material of the substrate (1) is either a nonwoven fabric or a mesh material that can be press-formed, vacuum-formed or pneumatically formed.

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