Title of Invention

A PACKING STRUCTURE AND A PACKING METHOD SUITABLE FOR PACKING AN ELECTRONIC PRODUCT

Abstract

A packing structure suitable for packing an electronic product comprising a lower shock-absorbing unit (300) comprising a corrugated cardboard tray (500) and a shock-absorbing paper (600), the product (100) being put and fixed on said lower shock-absorbing unit; a vinyl bag (200) covering the middle part of said product; and an upper shock-absorbing unit (400) comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, said upper shock-absorbing unit being fixed on the upper part of the product. A packing method suitable for packing an electronic product, comprising the steps of: assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form a lower shock-absorbing unit; fixing the product on the lower shock-absorbing unit; covering the middle part of product with a vinyl bag ; assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form an upper shock-absorbing unit; fixing the upper shock-absorbing unit on the product ;and binding the product, said lower shock-absorbing unit, and said upper shock-absorbing unit.

Full Text

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a packing structure and a packing method suitable for packing an electronic product and more particularly to a packing method using shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to pack various electronic products which are likely to be easily damaged. PRIOR ART Conventionally, electronic products such as an outdoor unit of an air conditioner is packed with expandable polystyrene for protection from external shock. First, the outer unit is covered with a vinyl bag, put and fixed on a lower shock-absorbing unit including expandable polystyrene. Two upper shock-absorbing units of expandable polystyrene cover the edge of the upper part of the outer unit. Thereafter, a corrugated cardboard box covers the outer unit and an iron pin seams the wing portion of the corrugated cardboard box. On both side walls of the corrugated cardboard box, holes for handle are formed for convenience of treatment for which the folding line coincides with the lower end of the upper shock-absorbing unit. The outer unit, the lower shock-absorbing unit, the upper shock-absorbing unit, and the corrugated cardboard box are fixed by a band. In the above mentioned packing structure using expandable polystyrene, expandable polystyrene waste causing pollution is generated. Further, since the center of gravity of electronic products such as an air conditioner is generally eccentric, there is problem that the corrugated cardboard may be torn or the lower shock-absorbing unit may be damaged during treatment. In order to solve this problem, the lower shock-absorbing unit 2 is strengthened with expandable polystyrene, and additional expandable polystyrene waste is generated. In addition, since the upper shock-absorbing unit, covering both edges of the outer unit of the air conditioner, is integrally formed and then divided into two parts, the shock-absorbing unit is easily damaged during division. The lower shock-absorbing unit having low hardness can be easily damaged due to friction with the ground during treatment or transfer. In packing structure having a corrugated tray attached to the bottom, there is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complex and separate collection is difficult. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a packing structure and a packing method using shock-absorbing paper having good absorbing characteristics to improve protection. Another object of the present invention is to provide a packing structure and a packing method so that pollution can be prevented by using a corrugated cardboard tray and shock-absorbing paper. Another object of the present invention is to provide a packing structure and a packing method in which the shock-absorbing unit is fixed in the upper and lower parts of the products to be packed and a transparent vinyl covers the middle part of the products to reduce waste. In order to achieve these objects, the present invention provides a packing structure suitable for packing an electronic product comprising : a lower shock-absorbing unit comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, the product being put and fixed on said lower shock-absorbing unit; a vinyl bag covering the middle part of said product; and 3 an upper shock-absorbing unit comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, said upper shock-absorbing unit being fixed on the upper part of the product. The packing structure preferably has a binding means provided for binding the product, the lower shock absorbing unit and the upper shock absorbing unit. The corrugated cardboard tray includes an upper plate having two holes for holding on the left and right sides, two horizontal side plates, having edge plates formed at both ends, connected to the upper plate by a folding line, and two vertical side plates connected to the upper plates by the folding line, the vertical side plates each having edge plate provided with a slit. The holes are formed by cutting off a part of the upper plate, which define the first and second folding plates, and folding ii twice. The shock-absorbing paper includes corrugated paper and intermediate paper which are piled up in the vertical, the horizontal, the upper, and the lower directions. The second folding plate of the corrugated cardboard tray is inserted into the slit of the vertical side edge plate to form space with the vertical side plates, the horizontal side plates, the first folding plate, and the second folding plate. The shock-absorbing paper is assembled in this space. The present invention also provides a packing method suitable for packing an electronic product, said method comprising the steps of : assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form a lower shock-absorbing unit; fixing the product on the lower shock-absorbing unit; covering the middle part of the product with a vinyl bag ; assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray, to form an upper shock-absorbing unit; fixing said upper shock-absorbing unit on said product, and binding the product, said upper shock-absorbing unit, and said lower shock-absorbing unit. 4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein : FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional packing structure ; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a packing structure according to the present invention ; FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line A-A1 in Fig. 2 ; FIG. 4 is development of the corrugated cardboard tray ; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shock-absorbing paper; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line B-B1 in Fig. 5 ; FIG. 7 is a graph showing the vibration characteristics of the shock-absorbing paper according to the present invention ; and FIG. 8 is a graph showing the absorbing characteristics of the shock-absorbing paper according to the present invention. Conventionally, electronic products such as an outdoor unit of an air conditioner is packed with expandable polystyrene for protection from external shock as shown in Fig. 1. In this figure, a packing structure and a packing method for the outer unit of an air conditioner is described as one example. First, the outer unit 10 is covered with a vinyl bag 20, put and fixed on a lower shock-absorbing unit 30 including expandable polystyrene. Two upper shock-absorbing units 40 of expandable polystyrene cover the edge of the upper part of the outer unit 10. Thereafter, a corrugated cardboard box 50 covers the outer unit 10 and an iron pin 60 seams wing portion of the corrugated cardboard box 50. 5 On both side walls of the corrugated cardboard box 50, holes 51 for handle of which the folding line coincides with the lower end of the upper shock-absorbing unit 40 are formed for convenience of the treatment. The outer unit 10, the lower shock-absorbing unit 30, the upper shock-absorbing unit 40, and the corrugated cardboard box 50 are fixed by the band 70. In the above mentioned packing structure using the expandable polystyrene, expandable polystyrene waste causing pollution is generated. Further, since the center of gravity of electronic products such as an air conditioner is generally eccentric, there is problem that the corrugated cardboard may be torn or the lower shock-absorbing unit may be damaged during treatment. In order to solve this problem, when the lower shock-absorbing unit 30 is strengthened with expandable polystyrene, additional expandable polystyrene waste is generated. In addition, since the upper shock-absorbing unit 40, covering both edges of the outer unit 10 of the air conditioner, is integrally formed and then divided into two parts, the shock-absorbing unit 40 is easily damaged during the dividing process. The lower shock-absorbing unit 30 having low hardness can be easily damaged due to friction with the ground during treatment or transfer. In a packing structure having a corrugated tray attached to the bottom, there is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complex and separate collection is difficult. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 2, product 100 is fixed on a lower shock-absorbing unit 300 and its middle part is covered with a transparent vinyl bag 200. A upper shock-absorbing unit 400 is fixed on the upper part of the product 100 and a band 700 binds the product 100, the lower shock-absorbing unit 300, and the upper shock-absorbing unit 400. 6 Each of the upper shock-absorbing unit 400 and the lower shock-absorbing unit 300 comprises a corrugated cardboard tray 500 and a shock-absorbing paper 600. In the figure, although the structure of the upper shock-absorbing unit 400 is the same as that of the lower shock-absorbing unit 300, it can have a different structure. In both sides of the upper plate of the upper shock-absorbing unit 400, two holes for handle are formed. As shown in FIG. 1, the most important feature of the, present invention is that the lower and upper ends of the product are protected by the lower shock-absorbing unit 300 and the upper shock-absorbing unit 400 respectively, and the middle part is covered only with a transparent vinyl bag 200. Thus, the present packing structure can reduce the waste as compared with the conventional structure. Further, since the shock-absorbing paper 600 is attached to or assembled on the corrugated cardboard tray 500, no molding process is needed. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line A-A1. In the corrugated cardboard tray 500 contacting with the edge portion of the products 100, is shown in the figure, with the shock-absorbing paper being assembled, in the space formed between the vertical side edge plates 570, the horizontal side edge plates 560 (FIG. 4), the first folding plate 530, and the second folding plate 540 to protect the products from external shock. The shock-absorbing paper 600 can be directly attached to the corrugated cardboard tray 500. FIG. 4 is a development of the corrugated cardboard tray 500. In this figure, the corrugated cardboard tray 500 includes the upper plate 520 of which a part is cut off at each end in opposite directions and the cut-off portions, i.e., the first folding plate 530 and the second folding plate 540, are folded twice. By this cut-off, the holes 510 are formed on both sides of the upper plate 520. The lower and upper 7 parts of the upper plate 520, are connected by respective folding lines to two horizontal side plates 550, each having a horizontal side edge plate 560 in the left and right ends. Two vertical side plates 570 are connected to the left and right parts of the upper plate 520 by folding lines and two vertical side edge plates 580 are connected respectively to the vertical side plates 570 by a folding line. The second folding plates 540 on both sides of the upper plate 520 are inserted respectively into the slits 590 in the vertical side edge plates 580. When each folding line of the corrugated cardboard tray 500 is folded, the first folding plate 530 is folded to form the hole 510 for handle and the second folding plate 540 is again folded so that the second folding plate 540 is inserted into the slit 590 of the vertical side edge plate 580. As a result, the shock-absorbing paper 600 is assembled, in the space formed on both edges of the corrugated cardboard tray 500, as shown in FIG. 3 and 5. The direction of the corrugation of corrugated cardboard tray 500 is directed in the corrugation direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the shock-absorbing paper 600 is formed by piling up corrugation papers 610, 620 having corrugations directed in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively, and intermediate paper 630 to receive the shock-applied to the product in a direction perpendicular to the piling direction. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the vibration characteristics in the upper and lower directions and FIG. 8 is a graph showing the absorbing characteristics, when the outer units of the air conditioners packed with expandable polystyrene and shock-absorbing paper are dropped respectively. In these graphs, the solid line indicates the vibration and absorbing characteristics for the expandable polystyrene and the dashed line indicates these characteristics for shock-absorbing paper. Also, the 8 experimental conditions includes a temperature of about 20°C, humidity of 65%, thickness of absorbing materials of 3 cm, area of 350 cm2, surface density of 190 g/cm2 and dropping height of 50 cm. By this experiment, the most suitable core for protecting the outer unit of the air conditioner is a core having a thickness of 42 mm and a weight of 190 g. As shown in FIG. 7, the vibration characteristics in the upper and lower directions for shock-absorbing paper has a maximum transmitting ratio of about 12 or 13, while the vibration characteristics for expandable polystyrene has a maximum transmitting ratio of about 17 or 18. It means that the packing structure using the shock-absorbing paper reduces the vibration transmitted to the outer unit as compared with a structure using expandable polystyrene. In FIG. 8, X-axis indicates the static stress according to weight applied to the shock-absorbing paper and to the expandable polystyrene, and Y-axis indicates the shock acceleration. As shown in the figure, the core with a thickness of 42 mm and weight of 190 g has higher absorbing characteristics than that of the expandable polystyrene. Namely this core satisfies the static stress of 0.103 kg/cm2, the first acceleration of 29.8 G, and the first distortion value of 19.3 mm, where G is a/g, a is acceleration applied to the products, g is acceleration of gravity, and 1G is free fall. Thus below 30 G, the shock-absorbing paper has a good absorbing characteristics which can protect the product. In the above mentioned packing structure, since the upper and lower parts of the products are protected by the upper and lower shock-absorbing unit and the middle part is covered with the transparent vinyl bag, waste is reduced and pollution can be prevented. In addition, the shock-absorbing paper having low 9 transmitting ratio of vibration and good absorbing characteristics, is applied for the shock-absorbing unit, so that the products can be well protected during treatment. Further, since the shock-absorbing paper is merely assembled in or attached to the shock-absorbing unit, no molding process is needed. While the preferred form of the present invention has been described, it is to be understood that modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims. 10 WE CLAIM: 1. A packing structure suitable for packing an electronic product comprising : a lower shock-absorbing unit comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, the product being put and fixed on said lower shock-absorbing unit; a vinyl bag covering the middle part of said product; and an upper shock-absorbing unit comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, said upper shock-absorbing unit being fixed on the upper part of the product. 2. A packing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein binding means are provided for binding the product, the lower shock-absorbing unit, and the upper shock-absorbing unit. 3. A packing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said corrugated cardboard tray comprises : an upper plate having plurality of folding plates in the left and right sides, each folding plate being formed by cutting off a part of the corrugated cardboard tray, the folding plate being folded twice to define a first folding plate and a second folding plate ; two horizontal side plates connected respectively to the upper and lower parts of the upper plate by a folding line ; and two vertical side plates connected respectively to the left and right parts of the upper plate by a folding line. 11 4. A packing structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein said folding plate in the left side of the upper plate opposes the folding plate in the right side of the upper plate. 5. A packing structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cut-off parts of the upper plate define holes for a handle. 6. A packing structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein horizontal side edge plates are provided in the left and right ends of the horizontal side plates respectively, the horizontal side edge plates being connected to the horizontal side plates by the folding lines, 7. A packing structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein vertical side edge plates, having slits are connected to the vertical side plates by the folding lines, and the second folding plates are inserted into said slits. 8. A packing structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the shock-absorbing paper is assembled into the space formed by the vertical side plate, horizontal side plate and the folding plate. r 9. A packing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shock-absorbing paper comprises : corrugated paper ; and intermediate paper piled up with the corrugated paper. 12 10. A packing structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein the piling direction of the corrugated paper and the intermediate paper is dependent on the direction of the shock applied to the product. 11. A packing structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the binding means comprises a band. 12. A packing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vinyl bag is transparent. 13. A packing method suitable for packing an electronic product, said method comprising the steps of : assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form a lower shock-absorbing unit; fixing the product on the lower shock-absorbing unit; covering the middle part of the product with a vinyl bag ; assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form an upper shock-absorbing unit; fixing said upper shock-absorbing unit on said product; and binding the product, said lower shock-absorbing unit, and said upper shock-absorbing unit. 13 14. A packing structure suitable for packing an electronic product, substantially as herein described, particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 15. A packing method suitable for packing an electronic product, substantially as herein described, particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 26th day of February, 1997 (S.D. AHUJA) of D. P. AHUJA & CO. APPLICANTS'AGENT A packing structure suitable for packing an electronic product comprising a lower shock-absorbing unit (300) comprising a corrugated cardboard tray (500) and a shock-absorbing paper (600), the product (100) being put and fixed on said lower shock-absorbing unit; a vinyl bag (200) covering the middle part of said product; and an upper shock-absorbing unit (400) comprising a corrugated cardboard tray and a shock-absorbing paper, said upper shock-absorbing unit being fixed on the upper part of the product. A packing method suitable for packing an electronic product, comprising the steps of: assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form a lower shock-absorbing unit; fixing the product on the lower shock-absorbing unit; covering the middle part of product with a vinyl bag ; assembling shock-absorbing paper and corrugated cardboard tray to form an upper shock-absorbing unit; fixing the upper shock-absorbing unit on the product ;and binding the product, said lower shock-absorbing unit, and said upper shock-absorbing unit.

Documents:

00352-cal-1997-abstract.pdf

00352-cal-1997-assignment.pdf

00352-cal-1997-claims.pdf

00352-cal-1997-correspondence.pdf

00352-cal-1997-description(complete).pdf

00352-cal-1997-drawings.pdf

00352-cal-1997-form-1.pdf

00352-cal-1997-form-2.pdf

00352-cal-1997-form-3.pdf

00352-cal-1997-g.p.a.pdf

00352-cal-1997-letters patent.pdf

00352-cal-1997-reply f.e.r.pdf