Method and apparatus for manufacture of free-flowing dunnage of molded pulp
AssigneePulptech Corporation
InventorJack E. Pregont
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Free-flowing dunnage of molded pulp pieces (10), having random non-nestable shapes to insure the free-flowing characteristic, is made by a method and apparatus involving partially drying pulp fibers on a forming-die screen (38) to form intermediate dish-shaped pieces, form-free removal of such pieces from the screen, and thereafter drying them free of form support to obtain random shapes. One preferred embodiment involves blowing intermediate pieces from the screen onto a conveyor (50) for subsequent drying, such blowing and landing altering the intermediate piece shapes to enhance randomness in the shapes of the dunnage pieces, and another involves using heated air for partial drying.
Claims18
A method for manufacture of a free-flowing dunnage comprising:
- mixing pulp fibers with water to form a water-based pulp-stock slurry;
- capturing damp pulp fibers from the slurry onto a dish-shaped screen;
- partially drying the pulp fibers on the screen to form individual dish-shaped intermediate pieces;
- form-free removing of the partially-dried intermediate pieces from the screen;
- and
- thereafter drying the intermediate pieces free of form support;
- thereby to form random dish-shaped dunnage pieces which resist nesting with each other.
A method for manufacture of a free-flowing dunnage comprising:
- mixing pulp fibers with water to form a water-based pulp-stock slurry;
- capturing damp pulp fibers from the slurry onto a screen;
- partially drying the pulp fibers on the screen to form individual dish-shaped intermediate pieces;
- blowing the partially-dried intermediate pieces from the screen to cause the intermediate pieces to land on a conveyor for movement to final drying, the blowing and landing altering the shapes of the intermediate pieces;
- and
- thereafter drying the intermediate pieces free of form support;
- thereby to form random dish-shaped dunnage pieces which resist nesting with each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.