Reconfigurable Packaging Material and Packages
Packaging materials are disclosed which are reconfigurable into two different shipping configurations: one for bulk shipment of electronic products, and one for individual shipment of the same electronic products.
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This invention relates to packaging materials, and more particularly to a body of energy absorbing foam material which can be configured for two distinct uses. In accordance with this invention, the body of material is used in two distinct steps of shipping electronic products, thereby saving in cost of packaging materials and waste of such materials which would otherwise be used once and discarded.
It is conventional practice to use packaging materials, sometimes also called dunnage, to cushion electronic products being shipped against shock imposed on the packaged products. Most consumers are familiar with the molded soft plastic inserts configured to engage consumer electronic products and provide a layer of protection between the product and the carton in which the product is packaged for shipment. In this usage, the packaging materials are single use, and are conventionally discarded by the end user who unpacks the product.
On a different level of commerce, certain types of electronic products, of which server blades are one, are conventionally manufactured in one location, packaged in bulk for shipment to a break bulk point remote from the manufacturing facility, and repackaged for shipment as individual single units. Heretofore, such packaging has involved the use of one form of packaging material or dunnage as the products are packaged for bulk shipment and another form as the product is are repackaged for single unit shipment. This causes additional effort at both the manufacturing site and the break bulk site. Manufacture of dunnage is duplicated, and the bulk packaging materials must be discarded and disposed of at the break bulk point.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWith the foregoing in mind, it is a purpose of this invention to reduce the effort and expense involved in moving electronic products from a bulk shipment environment to a single unit shipment environment. In pursuing this purpose, packaging materials have been developed which are reconfigurable into two different shipping configurations: one for bulk shipment of electronic products, and one for individual shipment of the same electronic products.
Some of the purposes of the invention having been stated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, it is to be understood at the outset of the description which follows that persons of skill in the appropriate arts may modify the invention here described while still achieving the favorable results of the invention. Accordingly, the description which follows is to be understood as being a broad, teaching disclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts, and not as limiting upon the present invention.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, two forms of packaging for electronic products are there shown (in
It is contemplated here that a server blade or similar product will be manufactured at one location and shipped in a bulk package (
In manufacture of electronic products of the types with which this invention is concerned, “high touch” manufacturing is typically done in a country where direct labor costs may be relatively low. “Low touch” final steps in manufacturing are typically done in other countries where technical skills—and labor costs—may be higher. While server blades are here given as an illustrative example, as initial assembly is a “high touch” endeavor while final configuration is a “low touch” endeavor, the same characteristics of manufacture are found in innumerable other products. It is to be understood that the concepts of the present invention will find use in such processes independently of the specific type of product being manufactured in multiple steps completed in differing locations.
In accordance with this invention, packaging methods include receiving a plurality of electronic products packaged for bulk shipment in which a plurality of configurable bodies of energy absorbing foam material are disposed as top and bottom or end caps in pairs, each engaging a corresponding one electronic product, with the pairs of bodies and corresponding electronic products being interleaved with others of like electronic products; unpacking the electronic products; and then reconfiguring a single pair of the configurable bodies to engage a single one of the electronic products as a pair of top and bottom, end or side caps and to provide three dimensional projecting portions which cushion the engaged electronic product against shock loads. The engaged single electronic product and reconfigured bodies are then packaged for shipment to an end user. These steps will become more clear in connection with consideration of the accompanying drawings.
It is to be understood that, while
In the preferred embodiment, the reconfiguring of each body involves folding the body about the fold lines 16a, 16b formed therein (see
When in the bulk packaging configuration, the body 11 serves with a like companion body as one of a pair of top and bottom, end, side or corner caps engaging an electronic product which is then interleaved among a plurality of similarly capped electronic products packaged for bulk shipment. The plurality of products are enclosed within a suitable carton 18 (
When in the single unit shipment configuration, the body 11 serves with a like companion body as one of a pair of top d bottom, end, side or corner caps engaging an electronic product and providing three dimensional projecting portions which cushion against shock loads when the engaged electronic product and the reconfigured body are packaged as a single unit for shipment to an end user. The individual product is enclosed within a suitable carton 19 (
In the drawings and specifications there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are used, the description thus given uses terminology in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
Claims
1. Method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of electronic products packaged for bulk shipment in which a plurality of configurable bodies of energy absorbing foam material are disposed as caps in pairs each engaging a corresponding one electronic product, the pairs of bodies and corresponding electronic products being interleaved with others of like electronic products;
- unpacking the electronic products;
- reconfiguring a single pair of the configurable bodies to engage a single one of the electronic products as a pair of caps and to provide three dimensional projecting portions which cushion the engaged electronic product against shock loads; and
- packaging the engaged single electronic product and reconfigured bodies for shipment to an end user.
2. Method according to claim 1 wherein the reconfiguring of each body comprises folding the body about fold lines formed therein.
3. Method according to claim 1 wherein the reconfiguring of each body comprises removing a portion of each body by separating the body along tear lines formed therein.
4. Method according to claim 1 wherein said electronic product has a rectilinear configuration in elevation and plan and has a width dimension which is a fraction of the height and length dimensions thereof.
5. Method according to claim 1 further comprising assembling each configurable body as a plurality of layers of energy absorbing foam material, a central layer having smaller dimensions than outer layers to form with the outer layers a pocket for receiving an engaged electronic product and further wherein the outer layers of the body have fold lines formed therein enabling reconfiguration of the body from bulk packaging configuration to single unit packaging configuration.
6. Method comprising:
- disposing a plurality of configurable bodies of energy absorbing foam material as top and bottom caps in pairs each engaging a corresponding one server blade, the pairs of bodies and corresponding electronic products being interleaved with a plurality of server blades packaged for bulk shipment;
- unpacking the server blades;
- reconfiguring a single pair of the configurable bodies to engage a single one of the server blades as a pair of side caps and to provide three dimensional projecting portions which cushion the engaged server blade against shock loads; and
- packaging the engaged single server blade and reconfigured bodies for shipment to an end user.
7. Method according to claim 6 further comprising assembling each configurable body as a plurality of layers of energy absorbing foam material, a central layer having smaller dimensions than outer layers to form with the outer layers and in both configurations a pocket for receiving an engaged server blade and further wherein the outer layers of the body have fold lines formed therein enabling reconfiguration of the body from bulk packaging configuration to single unit packaging configuration.
8. Apparatus comprising:
- a configurable body of energy absorbing foam material used as protective packaging for electronic components and having lines scored therein;
- said body being configurable into a first packaging configuration with a like companion body as one of a pair of caps engaging an electronic product and interleaved among a plurality of similarly capped electronic products packaged for bulk shipment; and
- said body being reconfigurable by manipulation along the scored lines into a second packaging configuration with a like companion body as one of a pair of caps engaging an electronic product and providing three dimensional projecting portions which cushion against shock loads when the engaged electronic product and the reconfigured body are packaged as a single unit for shipment to an end user.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said body is composed of a plurality of layers of energy absorbing foam material, a central layer having smaller dimensions than outer layers and defining with the outer layers a pocket receiving an engaged electronic product and further wherein said outer layers have fold lines formed therein for pivoting portions thereof between bulk packaging configuration and single unit packaging configuration.
10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said central layer is sandwiched between two outer layers and further wherein, when disposed in the bulk packaging configuration, the body is three layers thick and, when disposed in the single unit packaging configuration, the body is five layers thick.
11. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said outer layers are configured with a plurality of reliefs regulating the energy absorption characteristics of the body and the shock cushioning effectiveness thereof.
12. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said body is composed of a plurality of layers of energy absorbing foam material, a central layer having smaller dimensions than outer layers and defining with the outer layers a pocket receiving an engaged electronic product and further wherein said outer layers have tear lines formed therein for removing portions thereof between bulk packaging configuration and single unit packaging configuration.
13. Apparatus comprising:
- a carton;
- a server blade disposed within said carton; and
- a pair of reconfigured bodies of energy absorbing foam material engaging said blade and said carton and cushioning said blade against shock loads possibly exerted on said carton during shipment, said bodies having been reconfigured from a first condition into an arrangement having three dimensional portions interposed between said blade and an inner wall of said carton by folding along fold lines scored in the material of said sheet.
14. Apparatus comprising:
- a carton;
- a plurality of server blades disposed within said carton; and
- a plurality of pairs of reconfigurable bodies of energy absorbing foam material, each pair engaging a corresponding one of said blades and said carton and cushioning said corresponding blade against shock loads possibly exerted on said carton during shipment, said plurality of server blades and pairs of bodies being interleaved one with another within said carton.
Type: Application
Filed: May 7, 2007
Publication Date: Nov 13, 2008
Applicant: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (Armonk, NY)
Inventors: Selcuk S. Eren (Chapel Hill, NC), Brian J. Jaeger (Raleigh, NC), Douglas A. Law (Chapel Hill, NC), Jeffrey J. Miller (Cary, NC), Edward A. Purtill (Bridgeville, PA), Paul A. Roberts (Raleigh, NC), Shawn K. Sremaniak (Chapel Hill, NC)
Application Number: 11/745,407
International Classification: B65D 85/00 (20060101);