Universal handling container

Abstract

A universal handling container is disclosed that protects ESD sensitive items from physical damage and electrostatic discharge (ESD). The universal handling container is primarily intended as a temporary housing solution such as during the manufacturing or assembly of ESD-sensitive items which often require transportation between assembly stations and for temporary storage. The universal handling container includes a box constructed with a structural conductive material such as conductive corrugated plastic and has a base section, a hinge section and a lid section. The base and lid sections are lined with conductive resilient panels to increase the ESD shield integrity and provide a cushioning effect to protect against physical damage. The universal handling container may shaped like a decahedron with a base section that may be divided into a main section having a rectangular parallel piped shape and a pair side sections having a hexahedron shape on opposite sides of the rectangular parallel piped. The side sections are filled with conductive blocks each of which has a recess formed in a top surface thereof. The recesses accept conductive projections affixed to an inside surface of the lid section to form a closure mechanism that not only holds the container closed but also provides excellent conductivity between the base and lid sections thereby ensuring a good Faraday cage effect. A document holder may be affixed to the top of lid section to hold documents identifying the contents. Adapter blocks may be used to fill voids between the ESD-sensitive item and the container.