Packing material including cushion

Abstract

An air cushion having first and second rooms bends at a partition at a corner of a multi-function peripheral (MFP) and contacts a first face of the MFP at a first room outer surface and a second face of the MFP at an second room outer surface. An outer case applies pressure to the outer surfaces of the first and second rooms and presses the first and second rooms to the MFP. When the first room receives a force from outside the outer case, gas moves from the first room to the second room against pressure the outer case applies to the second room, such that a side wall of the outer case contacting the second room deforms. Upon removal of the force, the side wall returns to an original flat state and presses the second room, such that the gas returns from the second room to the first room.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A packing material comprising:
 an outer case allowing a to-be-packed object to be put inside; and   a cushion arranged in a gap between the outer surface of the object and the inner wall of the outer case, including:
 a bag containing gas and hermetically sealed; 
 a partition linearly dividing the inside of the bag into first and second rooms of the same capacity; and 
 a duct connecting between the first and second rooms, wherein 
   when the partition is placed along an edge of the object that is shared by first and second outer faces of the object, the cushion can bend at the partition and contact the first outer face of the object at the outer surface of the first room of the bag and the second outer face of the object at the outer surface of the second room of the bag,   the outer case, when containing the object and the cushion, applies pressure to the outer surfaces of the first and second rooms of the bag through the inner wall contacting the outer surfaces of the first and second rooms, and the pressure includes a first component pressing the first room to the first outer face of the object and a second component pressing the second room to the second outer face of the object, and   when the outer surface of the first room of the bag receives a force through the outer case from its outside, gas moves from the first room through the duct to the second room against the pressure applied by the outer case to the second room, and when the force from the outside of the outer case is removed, gas returns from the second room through the duct to the first room due to the pressure applied by the outer case to the second room.   
     
     
         2 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein the bag is made of a soft plastic sheet, and the partition is an area where two inner surfaces of the bag, which are placed across a space inside of the bag, are welded or adhered to each other. 
     
     
         3 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer case has a higher stiffness than the cushion, and the pressure applied by the outer case to the first and second rooms of the bag is based on a stress of the outer case preventing its deformation caused by the gas pressure of the first and second rooms. 
     
     
         4 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein a filling ratio of the gas in the bag is higher than 50% but lower than 100%. 
     
     
         5 . The packing material according to  claim 4 , wherein the filling ratio of the gas in the bag is 55-85%. 
     
     
         6 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the width of the duct to the length of the boundary between the first and second rooms of the bag is 5-30%. 
     
     
         7 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second rooms of the bag includes a thickness limiter, a collapsed area included in the two inner surfaces of the bag placed across the space inside of the bag, preventing the first or second room from swelling by the contained gas to limit the thickness of the first or second room. 
     
     
         8 . The packing material according to  claim 7 , wherein the bag is made of a soft plastic sheet, and the thickness limiter is an area where the two inner surfaces of the bag placed across the space inside of the bag are welded or adhered to each other. 
     
     
         9 . The packing material according to  claim 7 , wherein the thickness limiter is arranged in both the first and second rooms in a manner symmetric with respect to the partition. 
     
     
         10 . The packing material according to  claim 7 , wherein, with respect to a line parallel to the partition and passing through the edge of the thickness limiter closest to the partition, a portion of the first or second room on the opposite side of the partition has a capacity ratio to the entirety of the first or second room, and the capacity ratio is equal to the filling ratio of the gas in the bag. 
     
     
         11 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a protect sheet placed between the bag of the cushion and the outer case or the object, wherein,   the partition includes a coupler coupling the protect sheet with the bag.   
     
     
         12 . The packing material according to  claim 1 , wherein the cushion further includes
 a bar, when the bag bends at the partition, connecting between the edges of the first and second rooms on the same side in the longitudinal direction of the partition to fix an angle of the bag.