Cushioning Material

The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Application No. 2024-071551 filed on Apr. 25, 2024, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a cushioning material.

Conventionally, various products such as printing machines are packed in a state of being protected by a cushioning material. There are various materials and types of cushioning materials for transportation packaging, and a corrugated cardboard cushion may be used for environmental protection or the like (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-137354).

A corrugated cardboard cushion generally includes a flat surface section flatly placed on the top surface or bottom surface of a product, and a side surface section provided on a side surface of the flat surface section. The flat surface section and the side surface section are fixed to each other by a gluing section.

In such a corrugated cardboard cushion, when an impact is applied to the gluing section between the flat surface section and the side surface section, peeling may occur at the boundary between the flat surface section and the side surface section. If peeling occurs at the boundary between the flat surface section and the side surface section, the cushioning material remains shrunk to form a gap between the product and the cushioning material, and the cushioning material is displaced from a predetermined position. Thus, the function of the cushioning material cannot be exhibited.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cushioning material capable of preventing the occurrence of peeling at a boundary between a flat surface section and a side surface section even when an impact is applied to a gluing section between the flat surface section and the side surface section.

To achieve at least one of the abovementioned objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, a cushioning reflecting one aspect of the present invention comprises the followings.

A cushioning material to be placed on a top surface or a bottom surface of a product to protect the product, the cushioning material including:

To achieve at least one of the abovementioned objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, a cushioning reflecting one aspect of the present invention comprises the followings.

A cushioning material to be placed on a top surface or a bottom surface of a product to protect the product, the cushioning material including:

Hereinafter, one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toto. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference signs, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of description and may be different from actual ratios.

is a front perspective view illustrating a state in which a cushioning materialaccording to an embodiment of the present invention protects a product.is a back perspective view illustrating a state in which the cushioning materialaccording to the embodiment of the present invention protects the product.is a front view illustrating a state in which a cushioning materialaccording to a comparative example protects the product.is a plan view illustrating a state in which a force is applied to the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example when the product inclines during transportation.is a front perspective view illustrating the cushioning materialaccording to a first embodiment.is a front view illustrating the cushioning materialaccording to the first embodiment.

As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialaccording to the first embodiment is to be placed on the bottom surface of the productto protect the product. As described later, a cushioning materialaccording to a second embodiment is to be placed on the top surface of the productto protect the product. The productprotected by the cushioning materialsandis not particularly limited, but is, for example, a printing machine.

In the following description, when the productis viewed from front (the state illustrated in,, and the like), the horizontal direction is referred to as a X direction, the depth direction is referred to as a Y direction, and the height direction is referred to as a Z direction.

The configuration of the cushioning materialaccording to the first embodiment will be described with reference toand. As illustrated in,,, and, the cushioning materialis placed on the bottom surface of the productto protect the product.

As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialincludes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the bottom surface of the product(XY plane), a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction, and a connecting sectionthat connects the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionin a separated state.

As illustrated inand, the flat surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the X direction when viewed from front. Note that the configuration of the flat surface sectionis not limited to the above-described configuration.

As illustrated inand, the side surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the X direction when viewed from front. Note that the configuration of the side surface sectionis not limited to the above-described configuration.

In the first embodiment, the connecting sectionhas a U shape with right-angled corners with its top open as illustrated inand. Note that the connecting sectionmay have a U shape.

Here, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a comparative example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to,, and. Furthermore, with reference to,, and, a mechanism will be described of causing peeling at the boundary between a flat surface sectionand a side surface sectionof the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example due to a force applied to the cushioning materialwhen the productinclines with an impact applied to the side surface of the productduring transportation.

As illustrated in, the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example includes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the bottom surface of the product(XY plane), and a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction. In the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example, the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionare fixed to each other by gluing so as to be adjacent to each other without being separated from each other as illustrated in.

When the productis inclined as indicated by an arrow inwith respect to the cushioning materialconfigured as described above, peeling occurs at the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface section.

In contrast, the cushioning materialaccording to the first embodiment is configured such that the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionare connected in a U shape with right-angled corners with a space therebetween. Therefore, when the productinclines (see an arrow in), the side surface sectioninclines and the space at the connecting sectionfunctions as a clearance, which can prevent an occurrence of peeling at the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface section.

Next, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a first modification example of the first embodiment will be described with reference toand. As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialis placed on the bottom surface of the productto protect the product.

As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialincludes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the bottom surface of the product(XY plane), a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction, and a connecting sectionthat connects the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionin a separated state. The flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionhave the same configuration as the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionof the cushioning materialaccording to the above-described first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

In the first modification example of the first embodiment, the connecting sectionincludes an overlapping sectionthat is folded into two along the surface direction of the flat surface section(horizontal direction in) as illustrated inand. The right end face of the overlapping sectionis glued and fixed to the left end face of the flat surface section, and the left end face of the overlapping sectionis glued and fixed to the right end face of the side surface section. Due to the configuration in which the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionare connected with a space therebetween with the overlapping section, when the productinclines (see an arrow in), the side surface sectioninclines and the overlapping sectionfunctions as a clearance, whereby peeling between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectioncan be prevented.

Next, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a second modification example of the first embodiment will be described with reference toand. As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialis placed on the bottom surface of the productto protect the product.

As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialincludes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the bottom surface of the product(XY plane), a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction, and a connecting sectionthat connects the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionin a separated state. The flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionhave the same configuration as the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionof the cushioning materialaccording to the above-described first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

In the second modification example of the first embodiment, the connecting sectionincludes a first extending sectionand a second extending sectionwhich are configured in an L shape when viewed in the Z direction, and a mat boardwhich is fixed to the first extending sectionand rises in the Z direction, as illustrated inand. According to this configuration, the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionare separated from each other by using the first extending sectionand the mat board, and thus an allowance for twisting of the mat boardis created, with the result that peeling at the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectioncan be prevented.

Next, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a second embodiment will be described with reference toto. As illustrated in,, andto, the cushioning materialaccording to the second embodiment is placed on the top surface of a productto protect the product.

As illustrated into, the cushioning materialincludes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the top surface of the product(XY plane), and a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction.

As illustrated into, the flat surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the Z direction when viewed from front. Note that the configuration of the flat surface sectionis not limited to the above-described configuration.

As illustrated into, the side surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the X direction when viewed from front. Note that the configuration of the side surface sectionis not limited to the above-described configuration.

In the cushioning materialaccording to the second embodiment, a gluing sectionat the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis formed at a position shifted in the Z direction (more specifically, a position shifted upward in the Z direction) from a contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact as illustrated into.

Here, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a comparative example of the second embodiment will be described with reference to,, andto. In addition, with reference to,, and, a mechanism will be described of causing peeling at a boundarybetween a flat surface sectionand a side surface sectionof the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example due to a force applied to the cushioning materialwhen the productinclines with an impact applied to the side surface of the productduring transportation.

As illustrated into, the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example of the second embodiment includes the flat surface sectionflatly placed on the top surface of the product(XY plane), and the side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction. In the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example, the boundarybetween the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis located at a position substantially coinciding with the contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact as illustrated into. Therefore, the contact portion P comes into contact with the boundary, and the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionmay be peeled off due to pressure. Further, the side surface sectionmay shrink as a whole to increase the gap between the productand the side surface sectionas illustrated in.

In contrast, in the cushioning materialaccording to the second embodiment, the gluing sectionat the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis formed at a position shifted in the Z direction (more specifically, a position shifted upward in the Z direction) from the contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact. Therefore, when the productinclines (see an arrow in), the contact portion P of the productcontacts the side surface sectionof the cushioning material. For this reason, peeling between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectioncan be prevented. In addition, since an amount of the gluing section increases, it is possible to increase resistance to peeling. As described above, the gap between the productand the side surface sectionafter the impact can be kept small, and the orientation of the productcan be held.

Next, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a first modification example of the second embodiment will be described. As illustrated in, the cushioning materialaccording to the first modification example of the second embodiment includes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the top surface of the product(XY plane), and a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction. The flat surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the Z direction when viewed from front. The side surface sectionhas a cylindrical shape.

A gluing sectionat the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis formed at a position shifted in the Z direction (more specifically, a position shifted upward in the Z direction) from a contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact as illustrated in.

Here, the configuration of a cushioning materialaccording to a comparative example of the first modification example of the second embodiment will be described with reference toand.

As illustrated inand, the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example of the first modification example of the second embodiment includes a flat surface sectionflatly placed on the top surface of the product(XY plane), and a side surface sectionprovided on a side surface of the flat surface sectionalong the Z direction. The flat surface sectionhas a layered configuration in the Z direction when viewed from front. The side surface sectionhas a cylindrical shape. In the cushioning materialaccording to the comparative example, a boundarybetween the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis located at a position substantially coinciding with the contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact as illustrated inand. Therefore, the contact portion P comes into contact with the boundary, and thus, the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionmay be peeled off due to pressure. When the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionare peeled off, the side surface sectionis deformed into a diamond shape as illustrated in, so that the cushioning property is lowered.

In contrast, in the cushioning materialaccording to the first modification example of the second embodiment, the gluing sectionat the boundary between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectionis formed at a position shifted in the Z direction (more specifically, a position shifted upward in the Z direction) from the contact portion P with which the edge of the productcomes into contact. Therefore, when the productinclines, the contact portion P of the productcontacts the side surface sectionof the cushioning material. As a result, the center of the side surface sectionis deformed, and the gluing section is hardly deformed. Accordingly, peeling between the flat surface sectionand the side surface sectioncan be prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in detail, the disclosed embodiments are made for purposes of illustration and example only and not limitation. The scope of the present invention should be interpreted by terms of the appended claims.