Surfboardpack

Abstract

The invention provides an industry standard packaging design to ship and protect surfboards, wakeboards, snowboards, kiteboards, etc. in various sizes. It uses corrugated die-cut end caps, flexible straps, and foam and corrugated pads to provide enhanced fragility protection in an easy to assemble/disassemble and reusable package. This package makes it possible to ship expensive board products around the world safely and cost effectively for OEM Bulk and retail single/bulk deliveries.

Description

Cross-Reference Provisional Patent Application: 60/593,758; Filing Date: Feb. 10, 2005

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERAL SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

• Results of Search in 1976 to present db for:
• (surfboard AND packaging):
• D478,506 Surfboard display packaging
• U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,745 Dual Purpose Surfboard Bag
• U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,692 Sectionalized Surfboard

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of recreational board products that are fragile in nature in terms of transportation, namely surfboards, kiteboards, snowboards, and wakeboards, packaging has comprised one of the most expensive components of the supply chain due to their relatively large size, heavy weight, and easily damageable construction materials, namely foam cores and high graphic resin top coats. Up until now, there has not been any engineered standard for packaging these products; labor intensive efforts such as different methods of wrapping the product in bubble wrap, corrugated, and foam have been utilized but no custom, cost efficient designed package has been created that could been be used for OEM or retail shipments to buyers. The only custom, protective products that exist are made for airline or truck shipments for use by persons when using the product (i.e. for travel to a surf spot and back) but are far too expensive to ship as packaging to initially get the product to the consumer upon original purchase or to supply the retail chain in bulk. In addition, the packaging utilized today does not pass industry-shipping standards and is very labor intensive, unrecyclable, and not reusable. The surf industry trade, governed by SIMA (Surf Industries Manufacturing Association), has established packaging improvement as a priority for 2006 in their trade journal (SIMA magazine) and at their annual trade show in San Diego, Calif. in January.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

SurfBoardPack is a custom-designed, fragility protective system that is expandable in shape to fit all of the potential sizes of board products made today. It is cost effective enough such that it is competitive to the cost of the packaging used today but provides labor and material savings, enhanced fragility protection that passes industry-shipping standards, and is reusable and recyclable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure Descriptions

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of the invention, illustrating a surfboard pack;

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of the invention, illustrating a surfboard as mounted on the surfboard pack;

FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of the invention, illustrating the surfboard pack in a closed position around the surfboard, the surfboard and surfboard pack ready for transportation;

FIG. 4 is a partial top plan view of the invention, illustrating one end of the surfboard pack;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the invention, illustrating the one end of the surfboard pack in more detail; and

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the invention, illustrating a middle section of the surfboard pack in more detail.

Number Description List

• 10 is a surfboard pack of the invention.
• 20 is a surfboard.
• 30 is a stiffening pad.
• 35 is a cushioning pad.
• 40 is an end cap.
• 50 is a strap retainer section
• 55 is a cut-out in the strap retainer section for receiving a film strap
• 60 is the film strap
• 70 is a scored section of the surfboard pack.
• 80 is a cover section
• 90 is a telescoping section of overlapping cover and scored sections for accommodating varying lengths of surfboards, as well as multiple boards stacked upon each other.
• 100 is mid cap
• 110 is a side tab stiffening feature

DESCRIPTION

This invention includes the following components:

• • Custom Designed Internal End Cap (40): has scored, strap retainer sections (50) that fold over board to protect sensitive ends and side rails with foam and corrugated pad inside, which offer cushioning and stiffening at the same time. Scores (70) allow for adaptability to board thickness and width changes; multiple cutouts (55) in the strap retainer section (50) allow for strap (60) to stretch to desired tightness and provide a snug fit amongst different widths and thicknesses of boards. Snap-lock design aids in quick setup and scored side panels allow for various shapes and sizes. Corrugated also offers layer of protection from pressure dings. Side tabs (110) offer lateral compression strength from side impacts. Corrugation is run horizontal in this part to aid in the increased strength of this part of the End Cap.
  • Internal Middle Cap (100): protects middle of board from side impacts and pressure dings on side and bottom and top. Scored side panels allow for different shapes and sizes. Also has side tab to help with protection from side impact by acting like a stiffening member.
  • Strap (60): locks caps into place, keeping board centered and away from side impacts and shifting, as well as offering flexibility for multiple sizes and reusability.
  • Outer carton (80,90): offers external structure for all surfaces from impact and point load. Telescoping design offers best protection from its overlapping panels in center, where board is its widest. In addition, the telescope design aids in storage as it folds into itself, half as small as a full-length box would be.

Internal components, when all used, work together to protect and hold board from impact and vibration seen in outer container. In addition, they support outer container and keep impact away from board. The outer container (90) provides structure for stacking, drop, vibration, etc. and is modifiable in size to accommodate multiple boards in one system. The outer container (80,90) may also be made in two (FIGS. 1 and 2) or three piece (FIG. 3) to provide a telescoping nature that allows one exterior box to accommodate multiple lengths of board products. In addition, this telescoping length provides overlap protection when telescoping and thus increase fragility protection by way of extra-corrugated thicknesses that aid in impact protection.

Alternatively, the corrugated die-cut “caps” (40, 100) that fit onto the ends and middle of the boards can be any length, height, or width to accommodate any shape of board. The straps (60) which fasten the “caps” together can be made from a variety of materials, including but not excluded to, urethane or polyethylene films, other plastic films, corrugated pads by snap-lock or other fastening method including glue, tape, or staple, tape, or other flexible strapping material like rubber, neoprene, etc. The exterior box (80,90) can be RSC, HSC, DST, FOL, 5-panel folder or any other box structure designed to offer structure or stability. Corrugated materials themselves can be lessened or strengthened as weight or fragility considerations apply. Internal cushioning components like the foam pad (35) and corrugated stiffening pad (30) can be made out of various materials, including, but not excluded to, all types of foam, corrugated, plastic corrugated, cellulose paper, thermoformed plastic or foam, etc. In addition, extra foam (35) and corrugated pads (30) may be added to the end, nose, top, bottom, or side for increased fragility, shock, and vibration protection. The invention may be used with or without an outer carton. It can be used for many board types, including but not limited to snowboards, wakeboards, surfboards, kiteboards or any long, thin product in need of protection for shipping. It is also reusable and recyclable, which are voluntary considerations.

Claims

1. A packaging system for recreational board products (surfboards, kiteboards, wakeboards, snowboards) consisting of:

Specially designed internal die-cut corrugated “Caps” (40, 100) that secure board products in place such that they are not subjected to direct contact with the surface onto which the box is dropped or any objects brought into contact with it.

“straps” (60) made of various materials that allow for further flexibility of sizes and offers reusability as well as quick packing and unpacking times.

A telescoping box (80,90) made of corrugated that provides both protection in the form of cushioning and size flexibility by its ability to change sizes within a certain range.

Foam pads (35) which are perforated for easy tear off and assembly which provide indent load defection from side, top, or bottom impacts.

Corrugated pads (30), which provide stiffening protection for the foam pads to “push” against, to yield a “hard-soft” compression environment as well as further cushioning to the heavy board product upon impact.

2. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are features that allow for various shapes (length, width, and depth) of boards to fit into one size system.

The telescoping box (90) contains certain features that allow for size adjustments. The box is made in either two (FIGS. 1 and 2) or three-pieces (FIG. 3), with the outer box being a bit larger than the inner box, such that the two or three boxes can “telescope” or slide back and forth to create different lengths. The size can vary as the range of change desired.

A packaging component of claim 1, the end cap and mid cap (40,100), contain multiple die-cut “slots (55) and scores (70). The slots (55) allow for the Strap (60) to be placed in different places according to its width and the scores (70) allow it to bend around the board at different hinge points. This allows for a wide range of board thicknesses and widths to be placed in the same size pack. The end caps and side caps (40,100) can be made in various sizes to accommodate any size range the boards would be manufactured.

The Straps (60) are made of a flexible plastic film that enables it to stretch and thus conform to various sizes of board widths and thicknesses. In addition, the strap (60) acts as a security device, eliminating the need for tape or staples, and thus, allowing for recyclability and reusability.

3. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are features that allow for fragility protection:

Side Tabs (110) provide a stiffening member to resist a shocking force from the side of the telescoping box (80,90). The corrugation of the die-cut end and mid-cap (40,100), can be run either horizontal or vertical, which changes the strength of the side tab.

The Telescoping box (80,90) has an overlap in the center. This provides increased impact protection from the corrugations in the box. Corrugations provide impact protection from compression. Multiple thicknesses in the center of the board, which is the closest to the box sidewall (80,90), provide increased protection exactly in the area that will impact any side surface.

The End Caps (40) fill up the corners of the box and are shaped with multiple thicknesses such that they have tremendous compressive strength for stacking and provide excellent corner, end, and edge protection. Upon such impacts, the forces are kept away from the board by nature of the board shape. With all board products having drawn in tails from the middle of the board to the end, the empty space is strengthened by the end cap geometry, filling up that section with stiff corrugated members that create crush zones and keep the impact away from the board product it is housing.

Foam cushioning pads (35) offer thickness and indent load deflection, thereby giving the board a soft surface and extra distance to slow down its deceleration into impact.

Corrugated stiffening pads (30) offer thickness and a somewhat stiffer surface for the foam to press against and deflect. In addition, the corrugated has, by it nature, a stiffer cushion made up of corrugation that further aids in decellerating the boards upon impact.

Corrugation direction has been designed into this pack to provide stiffness where it is needed (vertical corrugation) and flexibility where it is needed (horizontal corrugation). Corrugation can be altered at the manufacturing level of all corrugated products.

4. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are certain materials used that makes the design affordable, shippable, light weight, strong, and recyclable:

Corrugated is used in the telescoping box (80,90) because it is strong, relatively inexpensive and easily manufacturable worldwide.

The strap (60) can use films from a variety of plastics, with thin-film urethane being the strongest and most desirable. However, PVC, Polyethylene, or other plastic films can be used. The fastening feature of the strap (60) can be by glue, locking retention, staples, or any other method of securance.

The foam pad (35) can be made from polyethylene, polypropylene, or any other foamed or blown plastic. In addition, cellulose paper or layered cardboard liners may be used.

5. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are certain materials and design features that aid in easy storage:

The Telescoping Box (80,100), because it is in two or three pieces, is able to store in either ½ or ⅓ its size, saving space.

Both the end caps and mid caps (40,100) utilize a snap-lock design that allows the caps to be easily disassembled and knocked down for flat storage.

The foam and corrugated pads (35,30) also flatten out for densification.

All of the components end up folding and storing in one of the pieces of the Telescoping box (80,90).

6. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are certain materials used and design features that aid in recylability:

The use of corrugated, which is curbside recylable worldwide, in the Telescoping box (80,90), the End and Mid Cap (40,100), and the corrugated pad (30).

The use of a plastic film strap (60) and polyethylene foam sheets (35), which due their overall weight volume, can be curbside recycled with the pack as a whole.

7. Within the packaging system in claim 1, there are certain materials used and design features that aid in reusability:

The snap-lock design of the End Caps (40) enable this product to knock down flat and be reassembled with ease.

The use of flexible Straps (60), which eliminate the need for tape or staples, allow the End and Mid Caps (40,100) to be repeatedly reassembled.

The Telescoping Box (80,90) construction allows for multiple taping events due to its side and end flaps being FOL (Full Overlap), providing complete double thickness such that cutting the tape and retaping do not compromise the integrity of the box.