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US 10,328,653 B2Granted
Inflation and sealing device with inclined components
AssigneePregis Innovative Packaging LLC
InventorThomas D. Wetsch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure is related to an inflation and sealing device that can include a material support at an angle to a guide for an inflation and sealing mechanism. The device can have a material support with a discontinuous surface. The device may also have low- or non-stick surfaces and bump-off elements to prevent sticking to a cooling region or exit from the device.
Claims16
A web inflation device comprising:
- a plurality of film handling elements that have film supporting portions that support and direct an inflatable web of film in a longitudinal direction along a path, wherein the plurality of film handling elements includes:
- a supply support element that supports a supply of the web in an uninflated state;
- an inflation mechanism comprising a nozzle operable to inflate the web with a fluid by directing the fluid between superimposed plies of the web;
- and
- a sealing mechanism operable to seal the plies together to seal the fluid therein;
- wherein angled two of the film supporting portions are disposed upstream of the nozzle and extend in non-parallel directions transverse to the longitudinal direction to cause an increased tautness in the web at the nozzle compared to a lesser tautness in a region of the web spaced transversely from the nozzle at a same longitudinal location along the path.
3 more elements
A web inflation device comprising:
- a plurality of film handling elements that have film supporting portions that support and direct an inflatable web of film in a longitudinal direction along a path, the film handling elements including:
- a supply support element that supports a supply of the web in an uninflated state;
- an inflation mechanism that includes a nozzle operable to inflate the web with a fluid by directing the fluid between superimposed plies of the web;
- a sealing mechanism operable to seal the plies together to seal the fluid therein;
- and
- a guide member disposed along the path between the supply support element and the nozzle, wherein the guide member has first and second portions disposed at respective first and second transverse locations transversely spaced from each other, with the first transverse location nearer to the nozzle than the second transverse location;
- wherein the guide member and the supply support element are positioned relative to one another to define a bend in the path extending around the guide member, wherein the bend defined around the first portion is deeper than the bend defined around the second portion to increase tautness of the web downstream of the first portion compared to the web downstream of the second portion.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.