Process for forming bubble-pack
AssigneeTirod Industrial Packaging Ltd.
InventorBoaz Kristal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for producing bubble-pack. Bulges are formed in a first sheet by a combination of mechanical pressure, vacuum and air pressure, without using the high temperatures associated with the prior art processes. A second sheet is sealed to the first sheet, opposite the bulges, by contacting the sheets and heating them only along the area of contact. The process of the present invention is suitable for forming bubble-pack from a wider variety of materials, notably HDPE, and bubble-pack with a lower weight per unit area, than are the prior art processes.
Claims30
An article of manufacture comprising a first sheet and a second sheet joined along facing surfaces thereof, said first sheet including only a material selected from the group consisting of HDPE and PET, said first sheet having a plurality of bulges concave towards said second sheet, said second sheet and each of said bulges of said first sheet forming between them a sealed bubble.
An article of manufacture comprising a first sheet and a second sheet joined along facing surfaces thereof, said first sheet having a plurality of bulges concave towards said second sheet, said second sheet having a plurality of bulges, opposite said bulges of said first sheet, concave towards said first sheet, each of said bulges of said first sheet and said opposite bulges of said second sheet forming between them a sealed bubble containing air, said bulges of said second sheet being formed by a pressure of said air greater than atmospheric pressure.
A process for joining a first sheet and a second sheet to form a bubble-pack, comprising the steps of:
- (a) forming a plurality of bulges in the first sheet, said bulges facing convexly in a common direction away from the first sheet;
- said bulges defining between them a flat region of the first sheet;
- (b) applying the second sheet to the first sheet on a side of the first sheet opposite to said common direction, the second sheet contacting the first sheet only along said flat region;
- and
- (c) heating both the first sheet and the second sheet solely along said flat region as the second sheet contacts said flat region, thereby sealing the second sheet to the first sheet along said flat region.
A process for forming a bubble-pack, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a plurality of substantially identical molds on a rim of a first wheel, neighboring said molds being separated by walls;
- (b) providing a second wheel having a plurality of slots on a rim thereof that match said walls;
- (c) engaging said first wheel with said second wheel;
- (d) rotating said wheels in opposite directions, so that said walls enter and leave said slots;
- and
- (e) causing a first sheet to pass between said wheels as said wheels are rotated, so that said first sheet is drawn between said wheels and urged into said molds, thereby forming a plurality of bulges in said first sheet, said bulges all facing in a common direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.