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US 7,125,375 B2Granted
Dunnage conversion machine with translating grippers, and method and product
AssigneeRanpak Corp.
InventorsKurt Küng, Dieter Schwarz, Dan Coppus
Life of this patent
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AssigneeRanpak Corp.
InventorsKurt Küng, Dieter Schwarz, Dan Coppus
Estimating the term…
A dunnage conversion machine for converting stock material into a dunnage product includes a forming assembly and a pulling assembly. The pulling assembly includes at least two grippers movable together through a transfer region in opposition to one another and cooperative to grip therebetween the dunnage strip for advancing the dunnage strip through the transfer region, and at least one of the grippers including an aperture operative to gather and laterally capture therein the dunnage strip as the grippers move through the transfer region. Also disclosed is a severing assembly including a movable blade and a reciprocating actuator connected to the blade by a motion transmitting assembly that moves the blade through a full severing cycle upon a stroke of the actuator in either direction. Also disclosed is a void fill dunnage product including a three dimensional crumpled strip of dunnage round in cross-section and including at least one ply of sheet material having, in cross-section, a crumpled multi-lobed undulating body, with the lobes thereof extending longitudinally and being dispersed in an irregular pattern.
A method of converting a sheet stock material into a relatively less dense strip of dunnage, comprising the following steps:
A dunnage conversion machine for converting a sheet stock material into a relatively lower density dunnage product, comprising a feeding assembly having a pair of opposed members cooperative to engage stock material therebetween and advance the stock material along a path through a transfer region, wherein the opposed members each include at least one gripper movable through the transfer region, each gripper includes a central portion and laterally spaced end portions bounding the central portion, and when viewed along a longitudinal axis through the transfer region, the laterally-spaced portions of at least one gripper from each opposed member transversely overlap to bound opposing lateral sides of the path through the transfer region, while the transversely-spaced central portions are transversely spaced apart so as not to overlap each other, wherein the grippers of the opposed grippers are rotatable through partially overlapping volumes, leaving a longitudinally-extending gap therebetween that defines the path of the stock material through the transfer region.
A dunnage conversion machine for converting a sheet stock material into a relatively lower density dunnage product, comprising a feeding assembly having a pair of opposed members cooperative to engage stock material therebetween and advance the stock material along a path through a transfer region, wherein the opposed members each include at least one gripper movable through the transfer region, each gripper includes a central portion and laterally spaced end portions bounding the central portion, and when viewed along a longitudinal axis through the transfer region, the laterally-spaced portions of at least one gripper from each opposed member transversely overlap to bound opposing transverse sides of the path through the transfer region, while the transversely-spaced central portions are transversely spaced apart so as not to overlap each other, and a forming assembly that includes a constriction member through which the sheet material is pulled to effect crumpling thereof and forming of the strip of dunnage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.