Protective packaging longitudinal heat sealer
AssigneePregis Innovative Packaging LLC
InventorsThomas D. Wetsch, Paul F. Ostwald, William J. Watts
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A protective packaging formation device is provided herein. The device includes an inflation assembly having a fluid conduit that directs fluid between overlapping plies of a polymeric web. The device also includes a driving mechanism that drives the film in a downstream direction. The device also includes a sealing mechanism that includes a thin film heater that heats the plies to create a longitudinal seal that seals the plies of film together. The driving mechanism drives the web such that the web slides across the heating assembly in a downstream direction to trap fluid between the plies.
Claims25
A protective packaging formation device, comprising:
- an inflation assembly having a fluid conduit that directs fluid between first and second overlapping flexible web plies of a flexible structure;
- a driving mechanism that drives the structure in a downstream direction;
- and
- a sealing mechanism that includes a heating assembly having a thin-film heater that heats the plies to create a longitudinal seal that seals the first and second plies of the structure together, trapping the fluid therebetween, wherein the thin-film heater includes:
- a substrate, and
- a heat trace on the substrate that has a waveform shape having an amplitude that determines the width of the longitudinal seal, wherein the heat trace is configured to produce sufficient heat, in response to electrical current applied to the heat trace, to create the longitudinal seal.
A protective packaging formation device, comprising:
- an inflation assembly having a fluid conduit that directs fluid between first and second overlapping flexible web plies of a flexible structure;
- a driving mechanism that drives the structure in a downstream direction;
- and
- a sealing mechanism that includes a heating assembly having:
- a roller that rotates as the structure moves past the roller;
- and
- a thin-film heater mounted to the roller that heats the plies to create a longitudinal seal that seals the first and second plies together trapping the fluid therebetween, wherein the thin-film heater comprises:
- a first layer and a second layer;
- and
- a heat trace sandwiched between the first and second layers.
A method of inflating protective packaging, comprising:
- directing a fluid between overlapping plies of a flexible structure to inflate inflatable chambers that are defined by a seal pattern between the overlapping plies and that are arranged in a longitudinal series;
- driving the overlapping plies with the inflated chambers longitudinally through a pinch area in which a compression element compresses the overlapping plies together sufficiently tightly to retain the fluid between the plies;
- and
- providing electrical current to a heating element adjacent the pinch area, which heating element includes:
- a substrate, and
- a heat trace disposed on the substrate and having a waveform shape that has an amplitude,
- wherein the electrical current is provided through the heat trace to cause the heat trace to heat the overlapping plies in the pinch area sufficiently to heat seal the overlapping plies together, forming a longitudinal seal between the overlapping plies that seals the fluid in the inflated chambers, such that the longitudinal seal has a width determined by the amplitude.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.