Method of packing furniture suite for shipping
A method of packing a furniture suite for shipment and, particularly international shipment, comprising the steps of forming a recess having a perimeter created by a skirt circumscribing a large table top and nesting several elements within the recess by forming packing material to nest various elements, which packing material is sized to fit snugly within the recess and using the various elements themselves to create a package having minimal size and weight and being of a shape which is readily fitted with other packages in a container or the like.
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The present invention relates generally to the packing of items of furniture for shipment and, more particularly, to methods of packing substantial quantities of furniture products in a relatively small space.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
For many years it was common to ship furniture items, typically relatively bulky, overland by truck or train. Neither, of course, are able to traverse the oceans, opening the market for container shipping by sea.
With every mode of shipping comes both benefits and problems, and with container shipping the shipper must be particularly conscious of both weight and size of every package since those parameters have a direct bearing on cost, and cost has a direct bearing on saleability.
2. Overview of the Related Art
Efficient economical concepts of packaging is not a recent revelation. In fact, packaging is as old as shipping and in the furniture industry there have been patents issued for various packaging programs, among them Wieting U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,201 which addresses the packaging of tray type tables, by separating legs from table tops in the package.
Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,009 teaches packaging in an unrelated industry for a garage door opener assembly.
Returning to the furniture industry, the more common approach to packaging rests in the protection of the entire assembled piece in a suitable container, illustrative of the approach is Lett III U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,849 for a coffee table; VanderMey U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,929, and Miller et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,318, again for a small table.
Finally, Wycech U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,514 is included although relating more to storage of product than shipping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention addresses the packaging of furniture packages in a manner which permits very economical shipping for extended distances such as, e.g., from the Pacific Rim to central or eastern regions of the United States.
More specifically, it is an objective of the present invention to create a packaging method which would permit an entire furniture ensemble can be economically packaged and shipped as a unit. It is a further objective, related to the foregoing, to provide an efficient, shippable package capable of moving an entire salable unit, e.g., a furniture suite, at one time.
A still further objective of the present invention is to devise a package which may be shipped very long distances at a most economical rate.
The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages, will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment is read in concert with the accompanying drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings and, initially, to
As an initial step in the packing process, the accomplishment of the objectives of the invention is to break down, or reduce, those elements of the suite that have separable parts that are capable of being separated, in order to facilitate their being efficiently packed. To this end, the legs 31 of the table 17 and the legs 33 of the tables 19 are removed. Similarly, the electricals [not illustrated in
Having thus reduced the suite 15 to its various severable parts of the elements, packing of the suite can begin.
The large table top 37, as previously noted, is inverted and placed on a piece of packing material 39. While various packing materials are available, the preferred material for this package is Styrofoam®. A suitable packing material must be relatively rigid, energy absorbing, light weight and sufficiently malleable to be molded into various shapes in order to accommodate the various configurations of the elements of the suite 15. It is because of these characteristics that Styrofoam® is particularly suitable to the task.
In furtherance of the objectives of the invention and, with reference to
The block of packing material 42 is also provided with a cavity 47 for receipt of the rectangular dish.
It should be noted that the large table top 37 is provided with depending skirts 48, which create a perimeter, or border, defining a recess. The block of packing material 42 is shaped to fit within the perimeter created by the skirts 48 in snug relation so that there is no movement of the block of packing material during the shipping process. In a similar fashion, a smaller block 51 is provided and a cavity 53 is formed therein, and one of the candle stick holders is received in the cavity.
Finally, the block of packing material 55 is provided and sized to be fitted snugly between one end of the block 51 and the adjacent skirt 48, where it abuts the block of packing material 42. The block of packing material 55 is formed with cavities 57, which are expressly designed to receive the accessories 26.
Having thus positioned the blocks of packing material 42, 51 and 55 within the confines of the skirt 48 of the table top 37, the next step in the process is to place the various elements of the suite 15, namely the lamp bases, candle stick holders and accessories, into their respective cavities formed in the block of packing material.
Referring to
To the extent that additional unused spaces in the open area 59 still exists, a block of packing material 64 may be used to fill that space and assure that there will be no movement within the package during the shipping process.
Referring now to
Moving to
Having now described, in considerable detail, an improved method of packing an entire furniture suite as a saleable unit, it is appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to think of variations on the elements described. For example, table tops may be oval or even round and to the extent voids are created, they may be filled in with appropriately shaped packing material. Such variations are within the contemplation of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims, wherein:
Claims
1. A method of packaging an entire furniture suite within a single package in which said furniture suite's several elements include, at least one large table, said table having a separable top comprising the steps of:
- reducing each separable element of the furniture suite into their various individual parts;
- inverting the large table top and placing it on a rectangle of packing material, said packing material being somewhat larger than the said top;
- forming blocks of packing material dimensioned to fit on said table top and creating cavities in said packing material to receive various elements of said furniture suite;
- placing the various elements of said furniture suite in said cavities;
- placing a rectangular piece of packing material over the top of said elements; and,
- placing the package in a carton for shipping.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a skirt is provided on said large table top, said skirt depending from said skirt, defining the perimeter of a recess when said large table top is inserted.
3. The method as set forth in claim 2, forming blocks of packing material, said blocks of packing material being sized to be fitted within said recess defined by said skirt.
4. The method as set forth in claim 3, forming cavities in said blocks of packing material, said cavities being shaped to permit the nesting of various of said elements of said furniture suite there within.
5. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein wrapping said various parts of said separable elements in protective material to thereby preserve the surfaces of said various parts.
6. The method as set forth in claim 2, providing a series of pillars about the perimeter of said large table top, resting on the underside of said large table top.
7. The method as set forth in claim 6, additionally providing elements in the nature of at least two small tables and placing said small table tops on said pillars.
8. The method as set forth in claim 3, providing several blocks of packing material, said blocks being formed with cavities therein, said blocks being fitted over said lower blocks so as to encase the various elements nested therein.
9. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein said lamp shades being collapsed and wrapped in protective material and placed within said recess.
10. The method as set forth in claim 2, providing a packing sheet rested on said smaller table tops; and placing the package in a protective carton for shipping.
Type: Application
Filed: May 17, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 17, 2011
Applicant:
Inventor: Jimmy Wingsun Lam (Hunghom Kowloon)
Application Number: 12/800,385
International Classification: B65B 61/00 (20060101); B65B 7/16 (20060101);