# US 5,947,886 A · Cushioning conversion machine for converting sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product

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- Number: US 5,947,886 A
- Document ID: US5947886A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/482,640
- Filed: 1995-06-07
- Granted: 1999-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 1994-04-01
- Assignees: Ranpak Corp.
- Inventors: James A. Simmons
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5947886A

## CPC

- B31D 5/0056: {involving belts}
- B31D 5/0047: {involving toothed wheels}
- B65D 81/02: specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage {(containers of polygonal cross-section provided with internal protecting elements for contents B65D5/50; devices to locate articles in containers B65D25/10)}
- B65D 81/051: {using pillow-like elements filled with cushioning material, e.g. elastic foam, fabric}
- B65D 81/09: using flowable discrete elements of shock-absorbing material, e.g. pellets or popcorn
- B31D 2205/0023: as web from a roll
- B31D 2205/0047: Feeding, guiding or shaping the material
- B31D 2205/0082: General layout of the machinery or relative arrangement of its subunits
- Y10S 206/814: Space filler
- Y10S 428/906: Roll or coil
- Y10S 493/967: Dunnage, wadding, stuffing, or filling excelsior
- Y10T 428/1307: Bag or tubular film [e.g., pouch, flexible food casing, envelope, etc.]
- Y10T 428/1334: Nonself-supporting tubular film or bag [e.g., pouch, envelope, packet, etc.]
- Y10T 428/23: Sheet including cover or casing
- B31D: MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES B31B OR B31C (manufacture by dry processes of articles made from particles or fibres consisting of wood or other lignocellulosic or like organic material B27N; making layered products not composed wholly of paper or cardboard B32B; making articles from cellulosic fibrous suspensions, e.g. wood pulp, D21J)
- B65D: CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

A cushioning conversion machine and method for converting sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product. The machine includes a forming assembly which inwardly crumples the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to form a dunnage strip, a stock supply assembly which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly, and a feed assembly which feeds the stock material to the forming assembly. The method includes the steps of withdrawing a section of stock material from a continuous web and forming the stock material into a dunnage strip. The cushioning conversion machine and method are characterized by an embossing device or step which embosses the stock material.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of converting a sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a continuous web of the stock material comprising inner and outer plies;
withdrawing a section of the stock material from the continuous web;
embossing the withdrawn stock material with an embossing pattern; and
forming the embossed stock material into a pillow-like portion by inwardly crumpling the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material; and
wherein the embossing step includes embossing only the inner plies.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein the embossing device embosses the width of the sheet-like stock material.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein the embossing device embosses the width of the sheet-like stock material.

### Claim 4

A cushioning conversion machine for converting sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product, the machine comprising:
a frame;
a forming assembly, mounted to the frame, which inwardly crumples the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to form a dunnage strip;
a stock supply assembly, positioned upstream of the forming assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly;
a feed assembly, positioned downstream of the stock supply assembly, which feeds the stock material to the forming assembly; and
an embossing device, which embosses the sheet-like stock material;
wherein the stock supply assembly includes a separating device to separate multiple plies of stock material into inner and outer layers and wherein said separating device is positioned upstream of the embossing device and wherein said embossing device is positioned to emboss only the inner plies.

### Claim 5

A method of converting a sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a continuous web of the stock material;
withdrawing a section of the stock material from the continuous web;
embossing the withdrawn stock material with an embossing pattern; and
forming the embossed stock material into a pillow-like portion by inwardly crumpling the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material;
wherein the embossing step is performed in such a manner that the embossing pattern includes grooved sections and ungrooved sections;
wherein each of the grooved sections includes a plurality of grooves and wherein the span of each of the ungrooved portions is equivalent to the span between at least two grooves.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

A method as set forth in claim 5 wherein the embossing step is performed in such a manner that the embossing pattern occupies the width of the stock material.

### Claim 7

A cushioning conversion machine for converting sheet-like stock material into a cushioning product, the machine comprising:
a frame;
a forming assembly, mounted to the frame including a unit having sidewalls which converge in downstream direction, which randomly inwardly crumples the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to form a dunnage strip having a pillow-like portion;
a stock supply assembly, positioned upstream of the forming assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly; the stock supply assembly is adapted to inner and outer layer of stock material;
a feed assembly, positioned downstream of the stock supply assembly, which feeds the stock material to the forming assembly; and
an embossing device, which embosses the sheet-like stock material; the embossing device is positioned to emboss only the inner layer of material;
wherein the stock-supply assembly includes a separating device to separate multiple plies of the stock material and wherein the separating device is positioned downstream of the embossing device.