reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . fig2 is a perspective view showing a buffer packing apparatus according one embodiment of this invention . fig3 is an exploded view showing the components of a buffer packing apparatus according to one embodiment of this invention . as shown in fig3 , the buffer packing apparatus 200 comprises a plurality of rectangular partition boards 202 , eight u - shaped column bodies 204 and a pair of connecting walls 206 . the rectangular partition boards 202 are set at a fixed distance apart but parallel to each other . all corners of each rectangular partition board are chamfered 208 . furthermore , the two side edges of the rectangular partition board close to each chamfer 208 has a set ( for example , two ) of first slots 210 . in addition , the side edge of each rectangular partition between the two sets of first slots 210 has a buffer slot 222 , for example . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the u - shaped column bodies 204 mesh with the respective corners of the rectangular partition boards to serve as buffer columns . the u - shaped column bodies 204 together with the rectangular partition boards 202 form a plurality of spatial compartments 250 . each u - shaped column body 204 comprises a support wall 216 and a pair of meshing walls 218 and 220 . the meshing walls 218 and 220 connect with the respective sides of the support wall 216 but the meshing walls 218 and 220 are folded in a direction perpendicular to the support wall 216 . moreover , the side edges ( or corners ) of the meshing walls 218 , 220 away from the support wall 216 have chamfers 226 . furthermore , each u - shaped column body 204 has a plurality of second slots 212 extending from the support wall 216 into both meshing walls 218 and 220 . when the second slots 212 on a u - shaped column body 204 mesh with corresponding first slots 210 on the edges of the rectangular partition boards 202 , the entire u - shaped column body 204 is embedded within the rectangular partition boars 202 . furthermore , after meshing the u - shaped column bodies 204 and the rectangular partition boards 202 together , the support walls 216 can serve as physical supports for the packing objects . aside from enclosing two neighboring chamfers 208 , the two connecting walls 206 also extend from the respective chamfers 208 along adjacent sides and connect with a buffer column having a configuration similar to the aforementioned u - shaped column body 204 . in the following , a buffer column having just a simple u - shaped column body 204 is referred to as an “ a ” type buffer column . on the other hand , a buffer column having two u - shaped column bodies 204 connected via a connecting wall 206 is referred to as a “ b ” type buffer column . fig4 is an expanded out version of an “ a ” type buffer column according to this invention . as shown in fig4 , the u - shaped column body 204 is fabricated by folding a flat chevron paper with three fold sections . the second slots 212 on the u - shaped column body 204 is formed , for example , by cutting grooves 214 on the flat three - fold chevron paper before folding . fig5 is an expanded out version of an “ b ” type buffer column according to this invention . as shown in fig5 , the “ b ” type buffer column is formed by folding a flat chevron paper that includes a section for the connecting wall 206 and two sections for the u - shaped column bodies 204 . in this embodiment , the connecting wall 206 connects with the side of the meshing walls 220 of the u - shaped column body 204 away from the chamfers 208 . furthermore , the rectangular wall 224 of the connecting wall 206 encloses the chamfer 208 at the corner of the rectangular partition board 202 . the second slots 212 on the u - shaped column body 204 is formed , for example , by cutting grooves 214 on the flat chevron paper before folding . fig6 is a perspective view showing the process of assembling a buffer packing apparatus according to this invention . to package an object 300 , an operator may select one of the sides for sliding the object 300 into the buffer packing apparatus 200 . after slipping the object 300 into the buffer packing apparatus 200 , the orientation of the object 300 inside the packing apparatus 200 can be identified through the setting of the buffer columns . for example , the object 300 is slipped into one of the compartments 250 of the buffer packing apparatus 200 by opening up the two “ b ” type buffer columns . fig7 is a perspective view showing a buffer packing apparatus according to this invention inside a packing box . as shown in fig7 , the entire buffer packing apparatus 200 is lowered into a packaging box 400 . with chamfers 208 or 226 on every corner of the buffer packing apparatus 200 , gaps 260 are produced that minimize the extent of direct contact with the packaging box 400 . when the edges of the packaging box 400 receives an impact , the degree of damage to the u - shaped column bodies 204 is reduced and the buffering capacity of the packing apparatus 200 is enhanced . aside from using chevron paper , other type of materials including packaging paper , paper - like or buffering material can also be used to form the buffer packing apparatus . furthermore , although four type “ a ” buffer columns and two type “ b ” type of buffer columns are used in the aforementioned packing apparatus , the buffer columns can be all “ a ”, all “ b ” or various combinations of “ a ” and “ b ”. through a variation in the positioning of the buffer columns , the orientation of the objects within the packing apparatus can be readily identified . in addition , the chamfers on the rectangular partition boards and the meshing walls of the u - shaped column bodies provide additional gaps between the buffer columns and a packaging box . therefore , the degree of damage on the buffer columns when the packaging box receives an impact is greatly minimized . in other words , overall strength of the buffer packing apparatus is increased . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the apparatus of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . in view of the foregoing , it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents .