Inflatable cushioning web
AssigneeSealed Air Corporation (US)
InventorsAndrew Bates, Laurence Sperry, Amy Curneen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inflatable web (10) includes a top film (30) heat sealed to a bottom film (32) to define sealed regions (40) and non-sealed regions (214). The non-sealed regions include inflatable regions (216) that are inflatable through one or more inflation ports. The top film (30) may have a color that differs from the color of the bottom film (32) to create a visual contrast between the sealed regions (40) and the adjacent non-sealed regions (214) when the web is viewed from the top film side. The ratio of the surface area of the inflatable regions (216) to the total surface area of the inflatable web is at least 50% and at most 95%.
Claims7
An inflatable web having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the web comprising:
- (i) a top film heat sealed to a bottom film to define sealed regions and non-sealed regions, wherein:
- the sealed regions have the top film heat sealed to the bottom film;
- the non-sealed regions have the top film not heat sealed to the bottom film;
- the non-sealed regions further comprise:
- inflatable regions being inflatable through one or more inflation ports;
- and
- non-inflatable regions that are not inflatable through the one or more inflation ports;
- the ratio of the surface area of the inflatable regions to the total surface area of the inflatable web is at least 50% and at most 95%;
- the sealed regions comprise graphic image portions defining one or more graphical images formed by the visual contrast between the graphic image portions of the sealed regions and the adjacent non-inflatable regions of the non-sealed regions;
- the sealed regions and the inflatable regions of the non-sealed regions define a plurality of inflation rows;
- each inflation row has a proximal end and a distal end;
- each inflation row comprises a plurality of inflatable cells in fluid communication with each other via an interconnecting inflation channel between adjacent cells of the inflation row, each plurality of inflatable cells comprising a proximal inflatable cell at the proximal end of the inflation row, a distal inflatable cell at the distal end of the inflation row, and one or more intermediate inflatable cells between the proximal and distal inflatable cells;
- and
- (ii) one of the one or more inflation ports is at the proximal end of each inflation row to inflate the inflatable region of the inflation row;
- wherein:
- the top film either (i) is colorless by not comprising colorant or (ii) comprises a top film mixture of thermoplastic polymer and one or more top film colorants dispersed therein to provide a top film color;
- the bottom film comprises a bottom film mixture of thermoplastic polymer and one or more bottom film colorants dispersed therein to provide a bottom film color;
- and
- the bottom film color differs from the top film color or top film lack of color;
- wherein the sealed regions define a peripheral seal boundary for each inflatable cell to define a peripheral shape of the inflatable cell;
- wherein the peripheral seal boundary of each of the intermediate inflatable cells accommodates two of the interconnecting inflation channels;
- and
- wherein the peripheral seal boundary of one or more of the plurality of inflatable cells circumscribes a portion of the non-inflatable regions and one or more graphic image portions of the sealed regions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.