Back to results
US 7,794,382 B2Granted
Manual dunnage converting system and method
AssigneeRanpak Corp.
InventorRobert C. Cheich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeRanpak Corp.
InventorRobert C. Cheich
Estimating the term…
A motor-free dunnage conversion system for converting a sheet stock material into a relatively less dense dunnage includes a container having a wall with an opening therethrough, a supply of sheet stock material within the container, and a forming member. The forming member has converging sidewalls that define a passage alignable with the opening in the wall. The forming member is a converging chute having a relatively larger inlet spaced from the outlet, which is relatively smaller than the inlet. The forming member functions to crumple the sheet stock material as a packer draws the sheet stock material through the forming member to form a crumpled strip of dunnage. The forming member has a dimension that is larger than a corresponding dimension of the opening to keep the forming member from escaping the container as the packer pulls the stock material through the forming member.
A method of converting sheet stock material to a relatively less dense dunnage product, comprising the steps of reconfiguring a container from a shipping configuration to a converting configuration, and when the container is in the converting configuration manually pulling the sheet stock material from a supply of sheet stock material in the container and through an outlet in a forming member captured in the container whereby the stock material is crumpled and permanently deformed to form a relatively less dense strip of dunnage, wherein the pulling step includes causing the forming member, which has a relatively large inlet spaced from the relatively smaller outlet, to float within the container as the stock material is pulled therethrough.
A method of converting sheet stock material to a relatively less dense dunnage product, comprising the steps of reconfiguring a container from a shipping configuration to a converting configuration, and when the container is in the converting configuration manually pulling the sheet stock material from a supply of sheet stock material in the container and through an outlet in a forming member captured in the container whereby the stock material is crumpled and permanently deformed to form a relatively less dense strip of dunnage wherein the reconfiguring step includes moving the outlet from a shipping position to a converting position removed from the shipping position.
A motor-free dunnage conversion system for converting a sheet stock material into a relatively less dense dunnage, comprising a container sized to contain a supply of sheet stock material therein, the container having a wall with an opening therethrough, and a forming member at least partially within the container, the forming member having converging sidewalls that define a passage which terminates in a reduced-width outlet alignable with the opening in the wall, the forming member having a relatively larger inlet that is spaced from the relatively larger outlet, wherein the outlet of the forming member is smaller than the opening in the wall;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.