Method and apparatus for producing a resilient product

An apparatus for producing a resilient product from a sheet of material having a natural resilience, said apparatus comprising:

• means for slitting the sheet of material into a plurality of strips, whereby to form a body of such strips, said means for slitting including a slitting device, and,
• means for advancing the plurality of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips in such a manner that the natural resilience of the material produces substantially uniform adjacent opposite folds thereby causing each of the strips to assume substantially the same zig-zag shape.

A method of producing a paper product from a sheet of paper, said method comprising the steps of:

• cutting the sheet of paper into a plurality of strips, whereby to form a body of such strips, said cutting being performed by a cutting device;
• and
• sequentially folding each of the strips into a zig-zag shape, characterized in that said sequentially folding step is accomplished by advancing the plurality of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips in such a manner that the natural resilience of the paper produces substantially uniform adjacent opposite folds thereby causing each of the strips to assume substantially the same zig-zag shape.

An apparatus for producing a paper product from a sheet of paper, said apparatus comprising:

• means for cutting the sheet of paper into a plurality of strips, whereby to form a body of such strips, said means for cutting including a cutting device,
• characterized by the inclusion of means for advancing the plurality of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips in such a manner that the natural resilience of the paper produces substantially uniform adjacent opposite folds thereby causing each of the strips to assume substantially the same zig-zag shape.

A method for producing a product from a sheet of paper, said method comprising the steps of simultaneously slitting the sheet of paper into a plurality of strips to form a body of strips and sequentially folding each of the strips into a zig-zag shape;

• wherein said sequentially folding step is accomplished by advancing the body of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips;
• wherein said advancing step includes advancing the strips through a common discharge chute and towards an exit opening in the discharge chute.

An apparatus for producing a product from a sheet of paper, said apparatus comprising means for simultaneously slitting the sheet of paper into a plurality of strips to form a body of strips and means for sequentially folding the plurality of strips;

• wherein said sequentially folding means includes means for advancing the plurality of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips;
• and
• wherein said means for advancing includes a common discharge chute having an exit opening towards which the strips are advanced.

A method of producing a product from a sheet of material having a natural resilience, said method comprising the steps of:

• slitting the sheet of material into a plurality of strips to form a body of such strips, and
• sequentially folding each of the strips into a zig-zag shape wherein said sequentially folding step is accomplished by advancing the plurality of strips against a restriction acting on the body of strips in such a manner that the natural resilience of the material produces adjacent opposite folds thereby causing each of the strips to assume a zig-zag shape.