Cushion

Claim 2

A foldable packing cushion comprising a flat part and at least a first standing part of resilient material, the standing part being hinged to the flat part, at least one of the standing and flat parts having a projecting, generally trapezoidal shaped tab which engages within a similarly shaped recess in the other of the standing and flat parts prior to being folded, the standing and flat parts each having a set of corresponding, orthogonally related edges which are initially compressed and then engaged with each other when the standing part is bent substantially perpendicular with the flat part during folding whereby the engagement of the corresponding edges maintains the perpendicular relationship of the flat and standing parts after being foldEd.

Claim 3

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 1 wherein the standing part is formed from the flat part by at least one hinge slit cut partially through the thickness of the flat part, thereby dividing the two parts and making a hinge of a portion of the resilient material, the trapezoidal shaped tab is at least partially formed by two spaced apart, non-parallel slits cut through the thickness of the one of the flat and standing parts, and at least one of the non-parallel slits joins the hinge slit.

Claim 4

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 2 wherein the trapezoidal shaped tab is also partially formed by a slit cut through the thickness of the one of the flat and the standing parts and which joins the spaced apart slits at their ends opposite the hinge slit.

Claim 5

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 3 wherein the slit joining the ends of the spaced apart slits opposite the hinge slit is oriented in a direction substantially parallel to the hinge slit.

Claim 6

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 3 wherein the spaced apart slits diverge from each other in the direction away from the hinge slit and toward the slit joining their opposite ends.

Claim 7

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 3 further comprising at least a second standing part hinged to the first standing part.

Claim 8

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 1 wherein the resilient material has a substantial thickness.

Claim 9

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 7 wherein the cushion material comprises foamed and inflated beads of plastic material.

Claim 10

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 7 wherein the plastic material is comprised of polyethylene.

Claim 11

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of standing parts substantially similar in construction to the first standing part and hinged in substantially the same manner as the first standing part to the flat part.

Claim 12

A foldable packing cushion comprised of a sheet of resilient material having a substantial thickness, the sheet being divided into a flat part and a standing part by a partial slit through the thickness of the sheet which forms a hinge between the flat and standing parts, one of the flat and standing parts having a projecting tab which interrupts the partial slit and which is cut from the other of the flat and standing parts by a trapezoidal arrangement of slits cut through the thickness of the other of the flat and standing parts, at least two of the slits being spaced from each other, non-parallel with respect to each other, and non-perpendicular and non-parallel to the partial slit, the slits defining a set of normally orthogonal edges on the flat and standing parts which become inter-engaged to support the standing part when it is bent substantially perpendicular to the flat part and to maintain the perpendicular relationship between the flat and standing parts.

Claim 13

A foldable packing cushion comprised of a sheet of resilient material having a substantial thickness, the sheet being divided into a flat part and a standing part by a partial slit through the thickness of the sheet which forms a hinge between the flat and standing parts, one of the flat and standing parts having a projecting tab which interrupts the partial slit and which is cut from the other of the flat and standing parts by a trapezoidal arrangement of slits cut through the thickness of the other of the flat and standing parts, at least two of the slits being spaced from each other, non-parallel with respect to each other, and non-perpendicular and non-parallel to the partial slit, the slits defining a set of normally orthogonal edges on the flat and standing parts which become inter-engaged to support the standing part when it is bent substantially perpendicular to the flat part and to maintain the perpendicular relationship between the flat and standing parts.

Claim 14

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 11 wherein the spaced apart slits extend in diverging directions away from the partial slit and are joined at their ends most distant from the partial slit by an additional slit cut through the thickness of the other of the flat and standing parts.

Claim 15

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 12 wherein the additional slit runs in a longitudinal direction generally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the partial slit.

Claim 16

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 11 wherein a plurality of such projecting tabs are thus formed on one of the flat and standing parts.

Claim 17

A foldable packing cushion as recited in claim 11 wherein the sheet has bottom and top surfaces, the partial slit extends from the bottom surface toward the top surface, one of the sets of inter-engageable edges is located on the top surface of the projecting tab, and the other set of interengageable edges is located on a surface exposed by the partial slit on the other of the flat and standing parts.