Inventors:
Field of technology: Industrial Machinery and Processes
Patent granted on: Tue, 24 Mar 1998
Disclosed herein is a box insert for protecting bottles. The box insert is formed from a piece of cardboard with fold lines. When the cardboard is folded along the lines and a bottle is placed within the cardboard, the bottle's sides are surrounded by cardboard. At least one bottom and top cut am provided through the cardboard across one of the fold lines. When the cardboard is pushed below the bottom cut and above the top cut, the cardboard folds inward to create a bottom and top indentation to hold the bottle away from the bottom and top of the box. If the bottle has a neck, the top indentation is positioned next to the bottle's neck above the body of the bottle. Usually the top indentation is formed from two top cuts. The inserts and bottles are then placed in a box for shipping. The cardboard inserts provide cardboard indentations that cushion and provide a small space between the bottom and top of the box. The bottle is prevented from moving up and down by the indentations and in the event the box is dropped the box and insert receive the force of the blow rather than the bottles. In the preferred embodiment the piece of cardboard also include with fold lines, such that when the cardboard is folded along the lines at least two bottles can be surrounded by the cardboard and there are sufficient bottom and top cuts to form at least one bottom and top indentation for each of the bottles. The preferred embodiment also includes cut lines to form tabs that interact to hold the insert in a folded position.