TRANSPORT BOX

Abstract

A transport box includes: an outer box formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and capable of packing a packed object; and a buffer body disposed between the outer box and the packed object, wherein the buffer body includes medium enclosing buffer members having a resin sheet welded in a bag shape and a medium sealed in the resin sheet, each medium enclosing buffer member of the medium enclosing buffer members includes buffer parts each having a bag shape and enclosing a medium, and a communication flow path that allows the buffer parts adjacent to each other to communicate with each other, the buffer parts are disposed in a straight line, the communication flow path is formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other and is bendable, and each of the medium enclosing buffer members is disposed in the outer box.

Description

The entire disclosure of Japanese patent Application No. 2021-039395, filed on Mar. 11, 2021, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technological Field

The present invention relates to a transport box.

Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a transport box in which a packed object can be carried while protecting the packed object has been known. For example, JP 2003-34363 A discloses a transport box including a package box, a first air mat having a shape that opens upward and accommodates a packed object, and a second air mat placed on the packed object. The first air mat has four side walls that fit four side wall portions of the packed object and a bottom wall portion that fits a bottom surface of the packed object.

In the transport box described in JP 2003-34363 A, when the first air mat is manufactured from a rectangular sheet, for example, it is conceivable that a bottom wall portion is disposed at a central portion of the sheet, a side wall portion is disposed at a position adjacent to each of the four sides of the bottom wall portion, and the side wall portions adjacent to each other are connected after each side wall portion is raised with respect to the bottom wall portion. In this case, since four corners of the sheet do not contribute to formation of the first air mat, there is room for improvement in yield.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a transport box capable of improving a yield.

To achieve the abovementioned object, according to an aspect of the present invention, a transport box reflecting one aspect of the present invention comprises: an outer box formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and capable of packing a packed object; and a buffer body disposed between the outer box and the packed object, wherein the buffer body includes a plurality of medium enclosing buffer members having a resin sheet welded in a bag shape and a medium sealed in the resin sheet, each medium enclosing buffer member of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members includes a plurality of buffer parts each having a bag shape and enclosing a medium, and a communication flow path that allows the buffer parts adjacent to each other among the plurality of buffer parts to communicate with each other, the plurality of buffer parts is disposed in a straight line, the communication flow path is formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other and is bendable, and each of the medium enclosing buffer members is disposed in the outer box in a state where the buffer parts of the medium enclosing buffer member is in contact with one of six inner surfaces of the outer box and the communication flow path is bent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a transport box according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a medium enclosing buffer member;

FIG. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a behavior of a medium when an external force acts on one surface of the transport box;

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a configuration of an air mat in a comparative example;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a modification example of the medium enclosing buffer member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a transport box according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a medium enclosing buffer member in the transport box illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a modification example of the transport box;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a modification example of the transport box;

FIG. 10 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of a communication flow path;

FIG. 11 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path;

FIG. 12 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path;

FIG. 13 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path;

FIG. 14 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path;

FIG. 15 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path;

FIG. 16 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path; and

FIG. 17 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification example of the communication flow path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

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. Note that in the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a transport box according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a medium enclosing buffer member.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transport box 1 includes an outer box 5, a fixing member 8, and a buffer body 10.

The outer box 5 can pack the packed object 2 (see FIG. 3). The outer box 5 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The outer box 5 is formed by cardboard, thick paper, soft resin, hard resin, metal, or the like. The outer box 5 has six inner surfaces 5a to 5f. Specifically, the six inner surfaces include four inner surfaces 5a to 5d (see FIG. 3) surrounding the periphery of the packed object 2, a bottom surface 5e positioned below the packed object 2, and a top surface 5f positioned above the packed object 2. The outer box 5 has a box body 5A having five inner surfaces 5a to 5e other than the top surface 5f, and a lid portion 5B having the top surface 5f. The lid portion 5B is openable and closable with respect to the box body 5A.

The buffer body 10 is disposed between the outer box 5 and the packed object 2. The buffer body 10 has a plurality of medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200. In the present embodiment, the buffer body 10 has two medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200. Each of the medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 has a resin sheet welded in a bag shape and a medium (for example, air) enclosed in the resin sheet. The resin sheet preferably has airtightness. In the present embodiment, the medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 all have the same structure. Thus, one medium enclosing buffer member 100 thereof will be described below.

The medium enclosing buffer member 100 has a plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 and communication flow paths 140 and 150.

The plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 has a first buffer part 110, a second buffer part 120, and a third buffer part 130. The plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 is disposed in a straight line (in one direction). The buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 have substantially the same shape. Therefore, the first buffer part 110 will be described below as an example.

The first buffer part 110 has a bag shape and encloses a medium. The first buffer part 110 has at least one buffer chamber 111 and an edge part 112.

A medium is sealed in the at least one buffer chamber 111. In the present embodiment, the at least one buffer chamber 111 has five buffer chambers 111. However, the number of buffer chambers 111 is not limited to five. Each of the buffer chambers 111 has a shape extending long in one direction. The plurality of buffer chambers 111 is disposed side by side in a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

The edge part 112 is formed around the buffer chambers 111. The edge part 112 is formed by welding a resin sheet.

The communication flow paths 140 and 150 allow the buffer parts adjacent to each other among the plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 to communicate with each other. In the present embodiment, the medium enclosing buffer member 100 has a first communication flow path 140 that communicates an inside of the first buffer part 110 and an inside of the second buffer part 120, and a second communication flow path 150 that communicates an inside of the second buffer part 120 and an inside of the third buffer part 130. More specifically, the first communication flow path 140 communicates between an inside of the buffer chamber 111 of the first buffer part 110 and an inside of a buffer chamber 121 of the second buffer part 120, and the second communication flow path 150 communicates between the inside of the buffer chamber 121 of the second buffer part 120 and an inside of the buffer chamber 131 of the third buffer part 130.

Each of the communication flow paths 140 and 150 is formed between buffer parts adjacent to each other. That is, a direction in which the buffer chambers 111 are adjacent to each other is orthogonal to a direction in which the plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 is arranged with the communication flow path 140 or 150 interposed therebetween.

Each of the communication flow paths 140 and 150 is bendable. That is, each of the communication flow paths 140 and 150 connects a pair of buffer parts adjacent to each other so as to allow one of the pair of buffer parts to be bent with respect to the other.

In the present embodiment, each of the communication flow paths 140 and 150 is bent. A cross-sectional area of each of the communication flow paths 140 and 150 is smaller than a cross-sectional area of each of the buffer chambers 111, 121, and 131. Thus, when the medium in each of the buffer chambers 111, 121, and 131 passes through the communication flow paths 140 and 150, the medium receives resistance.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the medium enclosing buffer member 100 is disposed in the outer box 5 in a state where each of the buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 of the medium enclosing buffer member 100 is in contact with one of the six inner surfaces 5a to 5f of the outer box 5, and the communication flow paths 140 and 150 are bent. The same applies to the medium enclosing buffer member 200. That is, the buffer body 10 has six buffer parts.

The fixing member 8 is provided on an inner surface of the outer box 5. In the present embodiment, the fixing member 8 is provided on each of the inner surfaces 5a to 5f of the outer box 5. The fixing members 8 fix the respective buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 to the inner surfaces 5a to 5f of the outer box 5. In other words, the fixing member 8 has a function of determining the position of the medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 with respect to the outer box 5. In the present embodiment, the fixing member 8 is formed by a band into which the buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 can be inserted. However, the fixing member 8 may be formed by an adhesive member capable of bonding each of the buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 to the inner surface of the outer box 5, or other means such as a hook-and-loop fastener.

For example, at least a portion of the edge part in one medium enclosing buffer member 100 may be connected to a portion of an edge part in another medium enclosing buffer member 200. The edge parts connected to each other are selected within a range where the lid portion 5B can be opened and closed with respect to the box body 5A. For example, in FIG. 1, the edge part of the buffer part in contact with the bottom surface 5e of the medium enclosing buffer member 200 and the edge part of each buffer part 110, 120, and 130 of the medium enclosing buffer member 100 are connected to each other. Note that the edge parts may be connected to each other by an adhesive member, a stapler, a hook, a loop fastener, or the like, or may be connected to each other by a locking recess provided in one edge part and a locking protrusion provided in the other edge part and engageable with and disengageable from the locking recess.

Alternatively, the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in one of the medium enclosing buffer members 100 may be connected to the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in another of the medium enclosing buffer members 200. In this case, the medium is not sealed in the portion constituting the buffer chamber of the resin sheet.

Next, a case where an external force acts on one surface of the transport box 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. For example, when an external force acts on a portion (a portion having the inner surface 5d) of the outer box 5 that is in contact with the second buffer part 120 of the medium enclosing buffer member 100, the medium in the second buffer part 120 is directed to the first buffer part 110 and the third buffer part 130 through the communication flow paths 140 and 150 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3. Then, a part of impact energy due to the external force is consumed by the resistance acting on the medium passing through the communication flow paths 140 and 150, and the part of the impact energy is consumed by compressing the medium in the first buffer part 110 and the third buffer part 130. Therefore, the packed object 2 is effectively protected.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a configuration of an air mat in a comparative example. The air mat of the comparative example has a main body having a bottom wall portion and four side wall portions, and an upper wall portion disposed on the main body. When the main body of the air mat is manufactured from a rectangular sheet, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the bottom wall portion is disposed at the central portion of the sheet, and a side wall portion is disposed at a position adjacent to each of the four sides of the bottom wall portion, and side wall portions adjacent to each other are connected after each side wall portion is raised with respect to the bottom wall portion. In this case, as indicated by hatching in FIG. 4, four corners of the sheet do not contribute to formation of the main body, and thus the yield is low.

On the other hand, in the transport box 1 of the present embodiment, since the plurality of buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 is arranged in a straight line and the communication flow paths 140 and 150 are formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other, the medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 can be efficiently manufactured from a rectangular resin sheet.

Further, since the communication flow paths 140 and 150 are configured to be bendable, by combining the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200, each of the medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 can be disposed so that each buffer part is in contact with the six inner surfaces 5a to 5f of the outer box 5.

Note that in the above embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, each of the buffer parts 110, 120, and 130 may have a single buffer chamber 111, 121, or 131.

Second Embodiment

Next, a transport box 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Note that in the second embodiment, only portions different from those of the first embodiment will be described, and the description of the same structure, operation, and effect as those of the first embodiment will not be repeated.

In the present embodiment, the buffer body 10 has three medium enclosing buffer members 100, 200, and 300. Also in the present embodiment, the medium enclosing buffer members 100, 200, and 300 all have the same structure. As illustrated in FIG. 7, each of the medium enclosing buffer members 100, 200, and 300 has two buffer parts 110, 120 and the communication flow path 140.

Also in this embodiment, by combining the three medium enclosing buffer members 100, 200, and 300, the respective medium enclosing buffer members 100, 200, and 300 can be disposed so that the respective buffer parts are in contact with the six inner surfaces 5a to 5f of the outer box 5.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when the lid portion 5B of the outer box 5 is formed by the first lid portion 5B1 and the second lid portion 5B2, the buffer body 10 may have a medium enclosing buffer member 100 having three buffer parts and two medium enclosing buffer members 200,300 each having two buffer parts.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the buffer body 10 may have two medium enclosing buffer members 100 and 200 each having three buffer parts. In this example, the medium enclosing buffer member 200 is inserted from above the box body 5A after the packed object 2 is accommodated in the box body 5A.

Further, the communication flow path 140 may have a bent shape as illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12, or may have a curved shape as illustrated in FIG. 13.

Alternatively, the communication flow path 140 may be formed at a central portion in an orthogonal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 14) orthogonal to the direction in which the first buffer chamber 111 and the second buffer chamber 121 are arranged as illustrated in FIG. 14, may be formed at both ends in the orthogonal direction as illustrated in FIG. 15, or may be formed so as to be arranged at intervals along the orthogonal direction as illustrated in FIG. 16.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the communication flow path 140 may be formed in a shape in which a portion gradually narrowed from the first buffer chamber 111 toward the second buffer chamber 121 and a portion gradually widened are arranged in this order.

It is understood by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are specific examples of the following aspects.

A transport box according to the above embodiment includes an outer box formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and capable of packing a packed object, and a buffer body disposed between the outer box and the packed object, in which the buffer body includes a plurality of medium enclosing buffer members having a resin sheet welded in a bag shape and a medium sealed in the resin sheet, and each medium enclosing buffer member of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members includes a plurality of buffer parts each having a bag shape and enclosing a medium, and a communication flow path that allows the buffer parts adjacent to each other among the plurality of buffer parts to communicate with each other, the plurality of buffer parts is disposed in a straight line, the communication flow path is formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other and is bendable, and each of the medium enclosing buffer members is disposed in the outer box in a state where the buffer parts of the medium enclosing buffer member is in contact with one of six inner surfaces of the outer box and the communication flow path is bent.

In this transport box, the plurality of buffer parts is arranged in a straight line, and the communication flow path is formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other, so that it is possible to efficiently manufacture the medium enclosing buffer members from a rectangular resin sheet. Further, since the communication flow path is configured to be bendable, by combining the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members, each medium enclosing buffer member can be disposed such that the buffer part is in contact with the six inner surfaces of the outer box.

Further, the buffer body may include three medium enclosing buffer members as the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members, and each of the three medium enclosing buffer members may have two buffer parts as the plurality of buffer parts.

Alternatively, the buffer body may include two medium enclosing buffer members as the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members, and each of the two medium enclosing buffer members may have three buffer parts as the plurality of buffer parts.

In these aspects, each of the medium enclosing buffer members is bent at the communication flow path, and thereby each of the buffer parts can be disposed so as to be in contact with the six inner surfaces of the outer box.

Preferably, the transport box further includes a fixing member that fixes the buffer parts to the inner surface of the outer box.

Thus, relative displacement of each medium enclosing buffer member with respect to the outer box is suppressed.

Further preferably, each of the buffer parts includes at least one buffer chamber in which the medium is sealed, and an edge part formed around the at least one buffer chamber.

In this case, preferably, the at least one buffer chamber includes a plurality of buffer chambers arranged in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the plurality of buffer parts is arranged with the communication flow path interposed therebetween.

Further preferably, at least a portion of the edge part in one of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members may be connected to a portion of the edge part in another of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members.

In this manner, relative positions of the medium enclosing buffer members with each other are determined.

Further, the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in one of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members may be connected to the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in another of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members.

Further, the communication flow path is preferably bent or curved.

In this manner, impact energy is effectively consumed when the medium passes through the communication flow path.

Further, the resin sheet preferably has airtightness.

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 not by terms of the above description but by terms of the appended claims, and it is intended that all modifications are included in the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims

Claims

1. A transport box comprising:

an outer box formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and capable of packing a packed object; and

a buffer body disposed between the outer box and the packed object,

wherein the buffer body includes

a plurality of medium enclosing buffer members having a resin sheet welded in a bag shape and a medium sealed in the resin sheet,

each medium enclosing buffer member of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members includes

a plurality of buffer parts each having a bag shape and enclosing a medium, and

a communication flow path that allows the buffer parts adjacent to each other among the plurality of buffer parts to communicate with each other,

the plurality of buffer parts is disposed in a straight line,

the communication flow path is formed between the buffer parts adjacent to each other and is bendable, and

each of the medium enclosing buffer members is disposed in the outer box in a state where the buffer parts of the medium enclosing buffer member is in contact with one of six inner surfaces of the outer box and the communication flow path is bent.

2. The transport box according to claim 1, wherein

the buffer body includes three medium enclosing buffer members as the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members, and

each of the three medium enclosing buffer members has two buffer parts as the plurality of buffer parts.

3. The transport box according to claim 2, wherein

the buffer body includes two medium enclosing buffer members as the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members, and

each of the two medium enclosing buffer members has three buffer parts as the plurality of buffer parts.

4. The transport box according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing member that fixes the buffer parts to the inner surface of the outer box.

5. The transport box according to claim 1, wherein

each of the buffer parts includes

at least one buffer chamber in which the medium is sealed, and

an edge part formed around the at least one buffer chamber.

6. The transport box according to claim 5, wherein the at least one buffer chamber includes a plurality of buffer chambers arranged in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the plurality of buffer parts is arranged with the communication flow path interposed therebetween.

7. The transport box according to claim 5, wherein at least a portion of the edge part in one of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members is connected to a portion of the edge part in another of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members.

8. The transport box according to claim 6, wherein the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in one of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members is connected to the resin sheet constituting one of the plurality of buffer chambers in another of the plurality of medium enclosing buffer members.

9. The transport box according to claim 1, wherein the communication flow path is bent or curved.

10. The transport box according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet has airtightness.