# US 10,500,808 B2 · Inflation and sealing device with release features > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,500,808 B2 - Document ID: US10500808B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/630,643 - Filed: 2015-02-24 - Published: 2015-08-27 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2014-02-24 - Assignees: Pregis Innovative Packaging LLC - Applicants: Pregis Innovative Packaging LLC - Inventors: Thomas D. Wetsch - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10500808B2 ## CPC - B31D 5/0073: {including pillow forming} - B29C 49/0042: {without using a mould (B29C49/1602 takes precedence)} - B29C 66/439: {Joining sheets for making inflated articles without using a mould} - B65B 39/00: Nozzles, funnels or guides for introducing articles or materials into containers or wrappers - B65B 41/16: by rollers - B65B 43/06: from more than one web - B65B 51/10: Applying or generating heat or pressure or combinations thereof {(welding of plastics per se B29C65/02; closing plastic tube ends in general B29C57/10)} - B65D 81/052: {filled with fluid, e.g. inflatable elements} - B29C 49/06914: {using parallel sheets as a preform} - B29C 65/02: by heating, with or without pressure - B29C 65/06: using friction, e.g. spin welding {(non-plastics elements to plastic elements B29C65/645)} - B29C 65/08: using ultrasonic vibrations {(non-plastics element to plastics elements B29C65/645)} - B29C 65/16: Laser beams - B29C 66/0042: {of the joining tool and the parts to be joined (B29C66/0046 takes precedence; joining tool characterized by its composition B29C66/8122; joining tool characterized by its microstructure B29C66/8124)} - B29C 66/0342: {Cooling, e.g. transporting through welding and cooling zone} - B29C 66/1122: {Single lap to lap joints, i.e. overlap joints (B29C66/45, B29C66/472, B29C66/52272 take precedence)} - B29C 66/71: {characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined (welding bar compositions B29C65/125)} - B29C 66/8122: {characterised by the composition of the material constituting the pressing elements, e.g. constituting the welding jaws or clamps} - B29C 66/83433: {the contact angle between said rollers, cylinders or drums and said bands or belts being a non-zero angle} - B29L 2022/025: {Bladders} - B31D 2205/0023: as web from a roll - B31D 2205/0047: Feeding, guiding or shaping the material - B31D 2205/0064: Stabilizing the shape of the final product, e.g. by mechanical interlocking - B31D 2205/0082: General layout of the machinery or relative arrangement of its subunits - B31D: MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES B31B OR B31C (manufacture by dry processes of articles made from particles or fibres consisting of wood or other lignocellulosic or like organic material B27N; making layered products not composed wholly of paper or cardboard B32B; making articles from cellulosic fibrous suspensions, e.g. wood pulp, D21J) - B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00) - B65B: MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING (bundling and pressing devices for cigars A24C1/44; devices for tensioning and securing binders adapted to be supported by the article or articles to be bound B25B25/00; applying closure members to bottles, jars or similar containers B67B1/00-B67B6/00; concurrent cleaning, filling and closing of bottles B67C7/00; emptying bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels or similar containers B67C9/00) - B65D: CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES - B29L: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES ## Abstract The present disclosure is related to an inflation and sealing device that can include low or non-stick surfaces and bump-off elements to prevent sticking to a holding region proximal to the exit from the inflation and sealing device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A web inflation device, comprising: an inflation mechanism 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 first post-seal control element comprising a first curved surface that forms part of a holding region operable to retain the sealed plies together downstream of the sealing mechanism, wherein the holding region is arranged to contact the web downstream of the sealing mechanism such that the web follows the first curved surface, and a material release element transversely adjacent to the first curved surface and configured to cause a portion of the inflated web transverse to the sealed plies to bend in a direction away from the first curved surface for releasing the sealed plies from the first post-seal control element as to the sealed plies exit the holding region. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the holding region compresses the sealed plies together. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the sealing mechanism includes a heating element that heats the plies to form the seal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the holding region provides a region operable to cool the seal in order to improve the seal between the sealed plies. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the material release element is formed from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, further comprising a second post-seal control element comprising an opposing surface which contacts the web along a cooling region and presses the sealed plies against the first post-seal control element forming a first contact for a first portion of the sealed plies. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The device of claim 6, wherein the material release element includes a second surface protruding with respect to the first curved surface in the direction away from the first curved surface such that as the sealed plies are compressed between the first post-seal control element and the second post-seal control element a transverse portion of the web at a longitudinal location of the first contact is caused, by the second surface, to bend away from the first curved surface. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The device of claim 7, wherein the first curved surface on the first post-seal control element is a continuous curved surface. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The device of claim 8, wherein the opposing surface of the second post-seal control element is a continuous curved surface. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the second surface of the material release element is a stationary ridge positioned adjacent the first curved surface of the first post-seal control element. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The device of claim 9, wherein the second surface of the material release element is a ridge protruding from the first curved surface of the first post-seal control element. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The device of claim 11, wherein the first post-seal control element is a roller. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device of claim 12, wherein the sealing mechanism is operable to seal the plies together along a first longitudinal edge of the web or a second longitudinal edge of the web, and wherein the ridge is positioned on a side of the roller such that the ridge is between first and second longitudinal edges of the web. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The device of claim 11, wherein the second post-seal control element is a second rotatable cylinder. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The device of claim 11, wherein the ridge protruding from the first curved surface is an annular ridge extending around a roller forming the first post-seal control element with the ridge operably positioned to contact the transverse portion of the web. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The device of claim 15, wherein the first curved surface is positioned relative to the second surface such that the transverse portion of the web is forced to a second contact that is on a different plane or different cylinder diameter compared to the first portion of the sealed plies. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The device of claim 15, wherein the annular ridge contacts the sealed plies along a location wherein the sealed plies are inflated such that due to an inflated shape of the sealed plies, the sealed plies have a degree of rigidity compared to an uninflated state of the sealed plies that allows the annular ridge to bump the sealed plies off of the first post-seal control element deflecting the sealed plies away from the first and second post-seal control elements. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The device of claim 15, wherein the annular ridge and the material release element, which is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), work in concert reducing a force required to bump the sealed plies off of the first and second post-seal control elements. ### Claim 19 A web inflation device, comprising: an inflation mechanism configured to inflate a web with a fluid by directing the fluid between superimposed plies of the web; a sealing mechanism comprising a heated drum configured to seal the plies together to form a longitudinal seal thereby sealing the fluid therein; and a first post-seal control element that includes a first surface, which forms part of a holding region configured to retain the sealed plies together downstream of the heated drum, and a protrusion configured to release the sealed plies from the first post-seal control element as the sealed plies exit the holding region by causing a portion of the inflated web transverse to the longitudinal seal to bend away from the first surface. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, wherein the first surface is formed of a non-stick material polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). ### Claim 21 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, further comprising a second post-seal control element downstream of the heated drum, the second-post seal control element comprising an opposing surface which contacts the web and presses the sealed plies against the first post-seal control element within the holding region to provide a cooling region for the longitudinal seal. ### Claim 22 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, wherein the first the first post-seal control element is a first roller having a first radius that defines the first surface and a second radius larger than the first radius that defines an annular ridge which provides the protrusion, wherein the second post-seal control element is a second roller, and wherein the first and second rollers are located downstream of the heated drum and arranged opposite one another, such that a distance between the axes of the first and second rollers is smaller than a sum of the second radius and the radius of the second roller. ### Claim 23 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, wherein the first surface of the first post-seal control element is a smooth curved surface. ### Claim 24 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, wherein the protrusion is a stationary ridge. ### Claim 25 (depends on 19) The device of claim 19, wherein the first post-seal control element is a first roller and wherein the protrusion is an annular ridge of the first roller.