A packaging system includes an outer bag having an inner bag suspended therein to define an expandable chamber between the bags and one either side of the inner bag. When the chamber is charged with a filler medium, such as pressurized air, the outer bag will inflate to suspend the inner bag at a fixed position therein. The inner bag defines a pocket adapted to receive and retain an article, prepackaged therein.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/089,228, filed on Aug. 25, 1987 for "Bag-in-Bag Packaging System" now U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,558, issued on Oct. 19, 1989.
A flexible, inflatable packaging device is adapted to enclose and protect an article during shipping and the like. The packaging device has an inlet valve for selectively admitting air to inflate the packaging device to protect an enclosed article against rough handling during shipping and the like and an aperture that can be selectively sealed to retain the inflation air or unsealed to release the inflation air to deflate the packaging device to enable removal of the article from the packaging device and compact storage of the packaging device before and after shipping. The packaging device can be inflated and deflate a plurality of times, thereby enabling reuse of the packaging device for shipping a plurality of articles in succession.
A method of and apparatus for automatically feeding from a roll successive pairs of inflatable packaging bags each having a common intermediate inflation channel to present the end bag upon a base platform for receiving an item-to-be-packaged, and then to fold the other bag of the pair thereover to envelope the same; and then sealing the enveloping bags to provide a package of appropriate item size, inflating the bags through the inflation channel, and finally severing the inflated package from the roll.
An inflatable package adapted to be formed into a packaging system for retaining an article therein is formed with a pair of overlying inner panels defining a pocket therebetween adapted to retain an article therein and an inflating portion for communicating through the overlying inner panels. A pair of outer panels is provided, each outer panel overlying a respective one of the inner panels and each outer panel being associated with a different one of the inner panels to form an inflatable chamber therebetween. Overlying edge portions of the inner and outer panels are secured together, except at one side of the package where only overlying edge portions of each respective pair of the inner and outer panels are secured together and the inner panels remain unattached to each other to expose the pocket and inflating portion. The inflatable chambers are at least partially inflated with a filler medium which is communicated to the inflatable chambers through the inner panels within the inflating portion. The inflatable chambers are sealed upon inflation by inflation pressure from the inflatable chambers acting upon the inflating portion.
A packaging system (100) protects integrated circuit devices (106) from corrosion and mechanical damage. The devices are enclosed in a reel (102) having a hub (114) in which a cavity (116) is formed for retaining a molded desiccant (118). Apertures (120) between the cavity and the devices provide a vapor path for drawing moisture from the devices. A banding strip (108) for enclosing the devices within the reel has recessed areas (142) for housing pellets of desiccant (140). The reel is placed in an inflatable envelope (50) that includes view ports (56) for reading identifying information on the reel. A vacuum is drawn and the envelope is sealed. Air cells (52) in the inflatable envelope are inflated to cushion the devices from mechanical damage during shipment.
A method of packaging articles and packaged article assemblies disclosed includes inflating a body such as a latex balloon or a bag with a drawstring preferably by evacuating the air in a chamber surrounding the body while the body is supported and sealed at the fill opening. An initial selected quantity of packaging particles are placed inside the inflated body followed by placing the article therein. The body is collapsed around the particles which distributes them in a substantially uniform layer surrounding the article from all sides and applies compressive forces inwardly from all sides to cushion the article in the body. Another method involves expanding an outer body, placing packaging particles in that body, collapsing that outer body and placing a second body in the outer body followed by expansion of the two and putting a fluid and article in the inner body and sealing the bodies closed. The resulting packaging assembly has an inner body with fluid such as water and preferably a live fish with a layer of particles compressed against the inner body by an outer collapsed body for transporting live fish and the like.
