Thermoformed fragility packaging

A unitary fragility packaging article for packaging a plurality of shock sensitive items within a container having multiple panels, comprising:

• first and second platform portions each defining a floor for supporting at least a portion of a corresponding one of the items, said floor having a peripheral edge including generally parallel front and rear edges and generally parallel inner and outer side edges;
• at least one of said front and rear edges of said platform portion is provided with a peripheral wall defined by an inner surface joined to said floor, an outer surface having a lower edge, and a bridge portion for joining corresponding upper ends of said inner surface to said outer surface, wherein said inner surface and said outer surface both extend in a direction generally transverse to said floor and said outer surface is taller than said inner surface so that when the article is placed upon a substrate or against a panel of the container, said floor is suspended above the substrate or panel to define an air cushioning space;
• a pair of inner sidewalls, each having an upper edge and a lower edge, each of said sidewalls being hinged at said lower edge to a corresponding one of said inner side edges of one of said first and second platform portions, said sidewalls hinged to each other at said upper edges in a back-to-back orientation;
• a plurality of platform ribs disposed on said platform portion to project from said floor and to divide said floor into a plurality of item-supporting cells each having a cell floor;
• a plurality of sidewall ribs disposed on each said sidewalls to project from said sidewalls in a way which further defines said item supporting cells on said platform portion, said sidewall ribs being tapered at upper ends thereof to facilitate the insertion of items into said cells, said cells on said sidewalls having floors tapered at upper ends of the sidewall for also facilitating item insertion;
• and
• each of said cells being provided with at least one crush depression for forming a cushion distance between said cell floor and an adjacent panel of the container, or an adjacent one of said sidewalls.