US 5,249,678 AGranted

Reusable packaging system for household appliances

AssigneeZanussi Elettrodomestici S.p.A.

InventorAlfredo Traina

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Abstract

Reusable packaging system having two specular side members (2) of rigid plastic material adapted to be applicable to the sides of a household appliance (1). Each one of said side members includes at its ends two corner pieces (6) having an upper protrusion (7) and a lower protrusion (8) interconnected by a flange (9). Two pairs of lower cross members (16, 17) and two pairs of similar upper cross members (18, 19) are adapted to form a lower frame and an upper frame interposed between the appliance, the flanges (9) and the protrusions (7, 8) of said corner pieces (6). A pair of cross members (16, 18) of each frame has a length which is equal to the length of the side members (2), whereas the other pair of cross members (17, 19) of each frame has a length which is shorter than that, but at least equal to the distance between the corner pieces (6) of each side member. The side members (2) are foldable in an accordion-like way, in correspondence of longitudinal grooves (11), from an extended condition in which they are applicable to the sides of the appliance (1), to a retracted condition in which they can be joined specularly together so as to be able to accommodate the cross members and to be stored conveniently.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A reusable packaging system for an object being substantially parallelepipedal in shape, characterized in that the packaging system comprises a pair of single-piece side members (2) having a given width, and made of rigid plastic material and adapted to be applied on respective sides of an object (1), each one of said side members comprising at respective end portions thereof spaced apart corner pieces (6);

and an upper inward protrusion (7) and a lower inward protrusion (8) interconnected through a transverse flange (9) provided on each corner piece, said packaging system further comprising two pairs of lower cross members (16, 17) arranged to form a lower frame interposable between a base of an associated object, the flange (9) of each of the corner pieces, and the lower protrusion (8) of each of the corner pieces (6) of both side members;
and two pairs of upper cross members (18, 19) arranged to form an upper frame interposable between a top of an associated object, the flange (9) of each of the corner pieces, and the upper protrusion (7) of each of the corner pieces (6) of both side members;
a pair of the lower cross members (16) forming said lower frame and a pair of the upper cross members (18) forming said upper frame substantially spanning the width of said side members (2), and the other pairs of cross members (17, 19) forming each one of said frames spanning the space between said corner pieces (6) of each side member (2) and not spanning the width of said side members.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/888,986Filed 26 May 1992
Priority: IT 91 A 00003413 Jun 1991
Granted: 5 Oct 1993
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

B65D 85/64
Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials: for bulky articles
B65D 81/02
Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for…:…
B65D 2585/6815
Specific machines, engines or vehicles: kitchen devices, including unspecified devices, e.g. Haushaltgeräte
B65D 2585/682
Kitchen devices, including unspecified devices, e.g. Haushaltgeräte: cookers or dryers