Electrically conductive container

Abstract

An improved electrically conductive container for material handling, shipping and storing rigid planar objects, in particular such objects which have static sensitive devices thereon, and even as a production and in the manufacture of such objects. The electrically conductive container includes a cardboard container member formed from a substantially flat blank of cardboard material having electrically conductive material on the opposite sides thereof with the blank of cardboard material being cut and folded to define sidewalls and a bottom wall of the container member so that the interior surfaces of the cardboard container member are in electrical contact with the exterior surfaces of the cardboard container member. Electrically conductive holding panels having a plurality of slots therein are arranged on the interior sidewall surfaces of the cardboard container member in a manner to provide oppositely disposed slots which cooperate to form a plurality of holding pockets for positively receiving and holding the objects having static sensitive devices in the interior of the cardboard container member. The electrically conductive holding panels are in electrical contact with the interior sidewall surfaces. In this manner, the static sensitive devices on the objects placed in the container will be at the same potential as the container so that when the container is electrically grounded on a portion of the exterior surface thereof, it provides a vehicle to facilitate continuous gradual bleed-off of static charge so as to prevent blow-outs or other damage to the static sensitive devices as a result of a discharge of accumulated static charge.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.