BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention.

[0001] The present invention relates to packaging made entirely or partially of cellulose material. More particularly, the present invention relates to the formation of such cellulose- based packaging in the field from a cellulose-based precursor material. The present invention further relates to an apparatus to process the precursor material on site into a packaging product.

2. Description of the Prior Art.

[0002] Packaging materials have been widely used in shipping containers to insulate the contents of the containers, including as thermal insulation and impact insulation but not limited thereto. Thermal insulation extends the period of time that perishable items remain viable, and impact insulation reduces the chance of content damage that may occur during the shipping process. For the most part, such insulation structures tend to be for one-time use and are typically discarded upon removal of the contents from the container. It is desirable to provide effective insulation structures for container packaging that may be curbside recyclable to reduce the adverse environmental impact associated with existing shipment insulation products.

[0003] There has been an increase in efforts to develop environmentally friendly packaging that is relatively inexpensive to make and deploy. Existing packaging materials formed of Styrofoam, plastic pillows and other types of plastics are undesirable and should be replaced; however, they are relatively inexpensive, effective at insulating, and fairly easy to deploy in containers. Rigid paper-based geometric structures, multilayer panels, and shaped paper sheets have been used with some success to replace the plastic-based materials. However, these and other packaging materials are costly to package and ship. It would be preferable to be able to make and deploy environmentally friendly packaging material in the field at or near the site of insertion into a container. That would reduce the expenses associated with packaging material shipment. What is needed is a precursor material that can be used in the field to produce the packaging. More particularly, what is needed is a cellulose-based product in sheet or roll form that can be used as the precursor material for packaging fabrication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is a cellulose-based precursor material and an apparatus and method for processing that precursor material to complete formation of cellulose-based packaging at a remote site. The precursor material in readily transportable form, such as in sheets or rolls but not limited thereto, can be used to make the packaging on site where items to be packaged are prepared for shipment in a container. The precursor material may be processed in a different location to allow the formation of a precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging with different properties than the precursor material, which are advantageous for packaging applications, such as low bulk density, high thermal resistance, fungal resistance, specific barrier properties and/or low dust and residues. The precursor material may include one or more additives selected to enable expansion of the precursor material at the point of manufacturing, at the point of distribution, or at the point of end-use to reduce its density structure. The precursor material is formed into sheets or rolls for cost-effective delivery to a distribution site or end-use site. The precursor material in compacted form can be shipped from a manufacturer in a condition to enable its conversion into packaging or a component of packaging to a different location, such as to a distributor for conversion by the distributor prior to delivery to an end-use site. The precursor material may also be shipped directly to the end-use site and converted by the end user, The precursor material is any cellulose material previously formed into a cellulose- based precursor, which may be produced in the form of solid paper, tissue paper, a porous web, mats, etc. and may be delivered in sheets, fan folds, rolls, webs, mats, or other forms.

[0005] The precursor material includes expansible elements such as expansible microbeads. The microbeads may be expanded to increase the bulk of the precursor material, at the point of m nufacturing, prior to deliver} to the end-use site (such as by a distributor), or they may be expanded at the end-use site. The cellulose-based precursor material product may include one or more other additives, such as one or more mold-control agents, odorants, deodorants, and debonding agents but not limited thereto. The cellulose-based precursor material may also include one or more coatings, such as oxygen barrier coatings, moisture barrier coatings, oilresistant coatings, microbe-resistant coatings, etc. Some or all such additives and/or coatings may be added to the cellulosic material of the precursor prior to delivery to an end-use site, at an intermediate site (such as a distributor) or after delivery to the end-use site.

[0006] The precursor material is provided in a condition to enable its conversion into cellulose- packaging while in the field. That condition may be a compacted form of cellulose material, such as paper including folded paper, as well as mats of compressed fibers. This minimizes the delivery costs, which otherwise could be higher if they were associated with transport of finished, lightweight, packaging. The precursor material may be generated in deliverable condition having a density and structure appropriate for producing a desired packing weight and thermal and/or impact-resistance. The precursor material may be provided in stacked sheets that are not joined together, and which may be fed manually into a machine and/or may be fed by an automated sheet feeder (such as is the case for paper in a copying machine, but at a larger scale). The precursor made be fed into the machine in sheet form or the machine may have blades that advance into the precursor material or other means to consume the precursor material and to feed it into an aeration machine. The precursor material may be modified at an intermediate site (such as a distributor) or at the end use site to reduce its bulk density, such as by expansion of one or more expansion component additives or other expansible elements. The precursor material so modified (after expansion) may be referred to herein as precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging. The precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging may be expanded in the field such that the density of the precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging is 20-95% lighter than the precursor material.

[0007] The precursor material may be paper formed of fibers that are recycled fibers, virgin fibers, or a combination of the two. The precursor material may be prepared offsite prior to delivery to a distribution location or an end-use site for further processing including, but not limited to, expansion. The precursor material may be modified in part rather than completely prior to delivery to the end-use site. The precursor material may include densely packed fibers, or its bulk density may be partially or fully expanded prior to shipment, creating internal voids. That internal void porosity may be established using an expanded or expandible component, such as a foaming agent, microbeads, or other expansible element or elements. That porosity may be established in the forming process, such as by through-air-drying. The precursor material may also include one or more of mold-control agents, debonding agents, odorants, and deodorants. Further, reactive zeolites may be integrated into the precursor material to reduce odor and/or to capture or react with one or more Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The precursor material may be provided in rolls for ease of unwinding or in accordion folded sheet form that can be fed into automated processing equipment. Sheets or mats of the precursor material may be perforated, scored or otherwise prepared to be disassembled rapidly by an aeration machine. It is not limited to those configurations.

[0008] As noted, at least a portion of the process for converting the precursor material may occur at a distribution site or the end-use site. For example, the precursor material may be processed at a distribution site or the end-use site to expand its volume by expanding the one or more expansion components. The use of an aeration machine at a remote site, such as an end-user location, may also enable the delivery of a lower density material to the ultimate location of use, such as an installation location. The precursor material may be infused with the expansion component, such as microbeads or a foaming agent, for example, via application at the wet end of paper manufacturing or via addition of one or more such additives to the material using a sizing press. Alternatively, the precursor material may be manufactured by infusing the expansion component via a dry application and/or with a forced airflow through base paper that is already porous, thereby trapping the expansion component in the precursor matrix, which acts as a filter to collect the expansion components.

[0009] The cellulose-based precursor material may be supplied suitable for forklift interactions and operator interactions. A specific example of a suitable cellulose-based precursor material starter component is a 4ft by 4ft stack of fanfold paper 6 ft high on a skid or slip sheet for forklift interaction and with a pull tab on the top sheet to aid in operator initialization of the paper feeding to a precursor processing apparatus located on site at a packaging distributor or an enduser location. The precursor processing apparatus may be configured to feed the precursor material in a metered way for bulk density reduction and, optionally, for partial or complete aeration, and other steps require or desired for the production of precursor-derived cellulose- based packaging with characteristics of interest. The expansion of an expansion component in the precursor material may be triggered by heat, which may be utilized to expand microbeads. The microbeads may contain a liquid that evaporates when the heat is applied, expanding the microbeads and thereby expanding the precursor material. Further, thermal decomposition of a blowing agent at elevated temperatures could result in expansion forces that reduce precursor material density. The precursor material may optionally contain a foaming agent that expands when reacted with another component, which may be applied in the field. For example, an isocyanate / poly-isocyanate or blocked isocyanate base may be utilized that reacts with water, so that the addition of water in the field allows the precursor material to be expanded. Even a small faction of expansible material may allow for a significant increase in the volume of the precursor material. If metered precursor material is aerated and possibly shredded, that may be done using one or more of spinning blades, pins, chains, and possibly other means to create a homogeneous mixture of cellulose fibers and voids. Additional treatments may be carried out to facilitate dust control, bulkiness, fire retardancy, and cohesiveness, for example. A specific example of such an additional treatment might be mineral oil for dust control.

[0010] The cellulose-based precursor material and the option to field process it enables the production of packaging with a material that can be shipped in a much more compressed state of rolls, stacks of fanfold, or other configuration for ease of shipment rather than being shipped as low density pillows, three-dimensional geometries, or bulked paper sheets. The cellulose-based precursor material may be specifically designed such that upon expansion and any further optional processing, the finished packaging meets specific performance characteristics for density, impact resistance, thermal insulation, and/or other relevant performance characteristics. [0011] Moisture and/or binders may be added in the field to create a stabilized product, meaning a product where fibers of the cellulose precursor material adhere to each other via bonding as the moisture evaporates. The moisture and/or binders may be added during, before, or after the expansion of an expansible element if included in the precursor material in converting the cellulose-based precursor material to the precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging. In particular, a binder may be included in the precursor that is activated by the addition of moisture in the field, and then binds fibers together as they dry. Equipment to expand the precursor material may also include functionality to wet and then dry the precursor material in the process of converting the precursor material to precursor-derived packaging material.

[0012] The precursor material web or sheets can be mechanically embossed with twin matched geared embossing cylinders conforming the precursor into a desired textured web. Deformation will increase the dimensional caliper of the precursor material. Embossing can also be conducted with an engraved cylinder and a resilient backing roll. Use of vacuum assisted embossing can also be used to develop higher Z-directional embossing depths. Precursor embossing can take place in-line during pre-cursor production prior to volumetric expansion or at the end-use site prior to volumetric expansion by methods described above using the apparatus of the present invention. Embossing patterns can range from ribs, pleats, waves, dimples, bumps, or any other three-dimensional texture suitable for increasing caliper. Embossing depths could range from lOOum to 3000um or as much as 5000 um and may require moisture addition or pre-heating to improve compliance in the embossing nip. The embossed precursor can be used as is or vertically stacked to form a multi layered structure where the stacked embossing pattern develops voids in the stacked construction. Embossing textures that prevent interlocking of the stacked sheets is preferred to improve development of voids in the multi-ply laminate. Alternatively, the embossed precursor sheets can be stacked in a transverse orientation further developing void pockets in the multi-sheet laminate. Void volume in layered assemblies can be filled with loose fill insulation which may also include binders and bonding agents, such as starch, PVA, to create a durable post-formable insulating matrix.

[0013] Use of a creping process is a further method with an apparatus of the present invention to increase caliper of the precursor material prior to or following pre-cursor expansion. Secondary processing of a post-expanded precursor material could utilize moisture or binding agent to sufficiently adhere the precursor to a metal drying cylinder. Upon release from the metal drying cylinder, most often termed a Yankee dryer, the creping process will disrupt or break weak intermolecular forces established during pre-cursor consolidation or expansion stages and allow the precursor sheet or web to expand in the Z-direction so that the precursor layers become partially separated. The ensuing micro-folds associated with crepe processing establishes a cross-sheet ribbing or crepe bar. These cross-sheet bars are in the order of 10-50 per linear cm. The creped precursor can be used as is or stacked in the Z direction to form a multi layered structure where the crepe bars overlap and develop voids in the stacked construction. Alternatively, the creped precursor sheets can be stacked in a transverse orientation further developing void pockets in the multi-sheet laminate. Void volume in layered assemblies can be filled with loose fill insulation which may also include binders and bonding agents, such as starch, PVA, to create a durable post-formable insulating matrix.

[0014] Applicable to either method, creping or embossing, the inclusion or addition of a thermally or pressure sensitive activated adhesive would help retain multi-ply laminate structural character during post processing and prevent axial slip of the multi-layer composite. Tip printing the top-most surface of the embossed or creped precursor with an adhesive is an advantaged method for retaining caliper and bulk as well as multi-ply assembled structure though downstream processing or usage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a simplified side view of an example apparatus of the present invention to convert cellulose-based precursor material into precursor-derived expanded cellulose-based packaging.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a simplified cross sectional side view of the precursor material prior to processing to form the precursor-derived expanded cellulose-based packaging.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a simplified cross sectional representation of an embodiment of the precursor material before and after expansion.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a simplified representation of one machine of the apparatus for expanding an embodiment of the precursor material including microbeads as an agent to expand the precursor material.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a simplified representation of a version of packaging that includes one or more layers of precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging alone or combined with one or more packaging components that are not formed of the precursor material.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a simplified representation of an optional embosser machine of the apparatus that may form part of the system.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a simplified representation of an optional creping machine of the apparatus that may form part of the system.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional side view of a stack of expanded precursor-based packaging that has been embossed or creped.

[0023] FIG. 9 is cross sectional close up of a portion of the packaging stack of FIG. 8 showing the expanded precursor material.

[0024] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a translaminated stack of expanded precursor-based packaging that has been embossed or creped.

[0025] FIG. 11 is a simplified flow diagram showing primary steps of the method of the present invention for making cellulose-based packaging from a cellulose precursor material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0026] An apparatus 10 for converting a cellulose-based precursor material 16 of the present invention into precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging 18 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus 10 includes a cellulosic precursor material supply 12 and a cellulosic precursor material processing machine 14. The machine 14 is enabled to produce the precursor- derived cellulose-based packaging 18 at an end-use site or at a pre-end-use site. The machine 14 may be used to carry out a portion of the steps associated with converting the precursor material on-site and off-site. It should be noted that the precursor material processing machine 14 may contain some subset of the functions shown. The machine 14 may simply provide a mechanism for transferring processed precursor material 16 to a designated location to be used as the packaging 18. The precursor material may be delivered in the form of rolls, pallets, stacked sheets or fan folds.

[0027] The supply 12 may be a container, pallet, or other apparatus for retaining thereon the precursor material 16 for making the packaging 18. The precursor material 16 includes a base of a plurality of fibers that are recycled fibers, virgin fibers, or a combination of the two. The source of the fibers is selectable and may include but not be limited to paper, OCC, and other cellulose fiber sources. The precursor material 16 is treated to include one or more material expanders in the form of one or more expansion components. The precursor material 16 may also optionally include one or more other additives including, but not limited to, mold controllers, adherents, fire retardants, debonding agents, odorants, deodorants, binders, barrier coatings, and one or more material expanders. The fibers and any additives are formed, pressed, infused, or otherwise included into sheet or roll form for ease of transport, ease of delivery to the machine 14, or both.

[0028] The precursor material 16 is conveyed by transfer component 24 into inlet 26 of the machine 14. The transfer component 24 may be a conveyor belt or band, or other type of material transport device arranged to move the precursor material 16. It may be a roller set when the precursor material 16 is in roll form. A plurality of transfer components may be used to deliver one or more sets of the precursor material 16 in sheet or roll form to an optional precursor modification component 28.

[0029] The optional modification component 28 may be arranged to convert the physical condition of the precursor material 16, whether in sheet or roll form. The precursor material 16 is otherwise simply transferred from inlet 26 to outlet 34 of the machine 14. The optional component 28 is shown as a single-stage structure but may be embodied in a plurality of stages. One or more additives may be applied to the precursor material 16, the precursor-derived insulation packaging 18 in entering or exiting the modification component 28, or both. The one or more additives may be supplied from additive supplier 30, which represents one or more additive supply containers. The additive supplier 30 may include one or more outlets 32 for delivery of one or more additives. The one or more additives may include, but are not limited to, mold restriction agents, odorants, deodorants, moisture supply, bonding agents, coating agents and debonding agents.

[0030] The outlet 34 of the machine 14 may include a roller 36 or other apparatus arranged to transfer the packaging 18 to a location of interest such as, but not limited to, a shipment assembly line for subsequent insertion into a shipping container. The roller 36 may also be used to insert the packaging material 18 directly into a container. Further, the precursor material 16 may alternatively be inserted into a container and then expanded rather than being expanded prior to reaching the container. In that alternative arrangement, the precursor material 16 may be heated and/or moisture applied to activate the expansion component therein while in the container. The packaging 18 in this embodiment can be an effective void filler within the container. The packaging 18 may be subsequently processed as desired to generate container content protection and/or insulation. For example, but without limitation, the packaging 18 may be shredded and inserted into a container, stacked in a container, partially or completed expanded while in a container, and combined with one or more other materials including layers of different forms of the packaging 18.

[0031] The apparatus 10 optionally includes expander 70 arranged to increase the volume of the precursor material 16 in the z-axis but not limited thereto. In order to expand the precursor material 16, one or more additives may be added to the base component of the precursor material 16, wherein the one or more additives are selected to cause expansion of the precursor material 16 upon passing through the expander 70.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, the precursor material 16 appears as a combination of compacted fibers 100 that form a sheet or roll. There are one or more additives depicted as additives 102 dispersed through the fibers 100. The one or more additives 102 include an expansion component selected to cause expansion of the precursor material 16 while passing through the expander component 70 of the apparatus 10. The precursor material 16 comprising the compacted fibers 100 and any additives 102 may be in sheet or roll form for ease of transport and delivery into the expander component 70. The precursor material 16 may include adhesion and or release coatings and/or these may be modified in the field.

[0033] The expander component 70 may be arranged to cause the precursor material 16 in compressed form to expand. The expansion component additive may be a plurality of microbeads. FIG. 3 represents an illustration of the appearance of the precursor material 16 before and after passing through the expander component 70, wherein the expansion component is activated to cause it to expand with sufficient force to reduce the density of the precursor material 16 and thereby form expanded precursor material 200.

[0034] An example representation of the expander component 70 is shown in FIG. 4. The example expander component 70 is a heater 70 over, through or under which the precursor material 16 passes, wherein the precursor material 16 includes a plurality of microbeads as an additive. The heater 70 is configured to generate enough heat imposed on the precursor material 16 to cause the microbeads to expand the volume of the precursor material 16, resulting in reduced density thereof. While the heater 70 is shown positioned prior to the modification component 28, it is understood that it may be positioned after the modification component 28. The expander component 70 is generally configured to convert the precursor material 16 including the expansion component additive into the expanded precursor material 200. If the expansion material is or includes a foaming agent, the foaming agent is selected to be reactive to heat or moisture, for example, to cause it to convert from a dense form, such as a liquid or solid, into a foam form. The foam formed may remain within the dimensions of the precursor material 16, or it may extend beyond those dimensions. When the expansion component is or includes microbeads, those microbeads are selected to be expandible. They may be expanded by the application of heat at the expander component 70 but not limited thereto. The expander component 70 may therefore be a heater, a foam activator, a fluid delivery component for the delivery of moisture or another reactive fluid that causes a foam or other expansion element to expand, or any combination thereof.

[0035] The precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging 18 may be used alone as a single layer of packaging product. The precursor-derived cellulose-based packaging 18 may also be used to form a multilayer packaging assembly 300 such as shown in FIG. 5. The aeration and optional shredder portions of the precursor material processing machine 14 may be replaced with mechanisms to generate a multilayer assembly such as shown in FIG. 5. Each layer of the assembly 300 may be packaging 18. Alternatively, one or more layers of the assembly 300 may be a different component including, but not limited to, cellulose-based materials such as nonexpanded paper or fiber insulation, and non-cellulose material. Expansion of the expansion component of the packaging 18 may occur before or after the assembly 300 is inserted into the container. The assembly 300 may be used as a thermal blanket but not limited thereto.

[0036] A first alternative embodiment of the apparatus 10 of the present invention includes as the optional precursor modification component 28 an embosser apparatus 28 as shown in FIG. 6. The embosser apparatus 28 includes an embossing roll 40 configured with an embossing pattern of interest and matching resilient backing roll 42, which may be a composite backing roll. The precursor material 16 is shown on a roll but may be in sheet form. The precursor material 16 is transferred to an embossing nip 41 where it comes in contact with the backing roll 42. The embosser apparatus 28 causes the precursor material 16 to deform and become embossed precursor material 44. The embossed precursor material 44 may then optionally be transported to the expander component 70 where expansion material contained in the embossed precursor material 44 is expanded into embossed expanded precursor material 46. The material 46 may be transferred to container 47 where optional cutting mechanism 48 may be used to clip the embossed expanded precursor material 46 and stored as stacked embossed expanded packaging 49. It is to be understood that the expander component 70 may be positioned ahead of the embosser apparatus 28 so that the precursor material 16 is first expanded and then embossed.

[0037] A second alternative embodiment of the apparatus 10 of the present invention includes as the optional precursor modification component 28 a creping apparatus 28 as shown in FIG. 7. The creping apparatus 28 includes a creping roller 60 and a creping blade 62. The precursor material 16 is shown on a roll but may be in sheet form. The precursor material 16 is transferred to the expander component 70 where expansion material in the precursor material 16 is expanded into expanded precursor material 64. The expanded precursor material 64 is then transported to the creping roller 60 where it comes in contact with the creping blade 62. The creping blade 62 is arranged to cause a scraping off of relatively rigid face or faces of the expanded precursor material 64 that bulks up the expanded precursor material 64 to convert it to creped expanded precursor material 66. The material 66 may be transferred to take-up roll 67 or otherwise processed to become creped expanded packaging 68. It is to be understood that the expander component 70 may be positioned behind the creping apparatus 28 so that the precursor material 16 is first creped and then expanded.

[0038] In an alternative embodiment of the creping apparatus 28, the precursor material 16 can be creped by running it through a system of geared rollers that force the precursor material I 6 to be stretched, while imparting texture and bulk into the precursor material 16.

[0039] FIG. 8 shows an example of a stack 400 of a plurality of embossed packaging layers 402. Similar to the stack of layers shown in FIG. 5, the stack 400 may be used as packaging. The layers 402 may be expanded material including expansion material such as expanded microbeads as represented in FIG. 9. The stack 400 includes a plurality of voids 404 or chambers between the layers 402. The voids 404 may be empty or may be filled with a selected material, such as insulative foam, fibers, precursor material, or the like to either or both of provide some structural support to the stack 400 and improve the thermal or insulative characteristics of packaging in the stacked form of embossed packaging layers 402. If some or all voids/ chambers 404 are filled with loose fill material, an adhesive may be applied thereto to retain the fill material in those voids/chambers 404. It is to be noted that the embossed packaging layers 402 may be combined with the creped expanded packaging 68 produced by the creping apparatus 28 of FIG. 7.

[0040] Each of the embossed packaging layers 402 includes a peak 406. In an embodiment of the invention, one or more peaks 406 of at least a lower layer 408 may be treated to enable attachment of the lower layer 408 to upper layer 410. That attachment may be accomplished by treating at least the peaks 406 with a starch or other type of adhesive to secure relatively light bonding of the layers 408 and 410 together. That attachment may be employed with a stack that includes more than two layers.

[0041] FIG. 10 shows an example of a stack 500 of a plurality of embossed packaging layers 502 wherein adjacent layers are stacked transverse to one another to form translaminated embossed expanded packaging. The stack 500 includes a plurality of voids 504 or chambers between the layers 502. The voids/chambers 504 may be empty or may be filled with a selected material, such as insulative foam, fibers, precursor material, or the like to either or both of provide some structural support to the stack 500 and improve the thermal or insulative characteristics of packaging in the stacked form of embossed packaging layers 502. If some or all voids/chambers 504 are filled with loose fill material, an adhesive may be applied thereto to retain the fill material in those voids/chambers 504. The translamination of the layers 502 improves the structural integrity of the stack 500. It is to be noted that the embossed packaging layers 502 may be combined with the creped expanded packaging 68 produced by the creping apparatus 28 of FIG. 7.

[0042] Each of the embossed packaging layers 502 includes a peak 506. In an embodiment of the invention, one or more peaks 506 of at least a lower layer 508 may be treated to enable attachment of the lower layer 508 to upper layer 510. That attachment may be accomplished by treating at least the peaks 506 with a starch or other type of adhesive to secure relatively light bonding of the layers 508 and 510 together. That attachment may be employed with a stack that includes more than two layers transversely joined together.

[0043] A method 600 of the present invention for making a packaging product from a cellulose precursor material is represented in FIG. 11. In the method 600, the precursor material may be fabricated at a first location and transferred to a second location away from the first location. The precursor material may be converted into cellulose-based packaging at the second location. In a first step 602, the precursor material 16 is conveyed by transfer component 24 into inlet 26 of the machine 14. In a second step 604, the precursor material 16 in sheet or roll form is conveyed to the precursor modification component 28. In a third step 606, the precursor material 16 is expanded to convert it to the precursor-derived packaging 18. In a fourth step 608, the packaging 18 is transferred 18 to a location of interest such as, but not limited to, a shipment assembly line for subsequent insertion into a shipping container.

[0044] In an optional step, one or more additives may be applied to the precursor material 16, the precursor-derived insulation packaging 18 in entering or exiting the modification component 28, or both. In an optional step, the roller 36 may be used to insert the packaging material 18 directly into a container. In another optional step, the precursor material 16 may be inserted into a container and then expanded rather than being expanded prior to reaching the container. In another optional step, the packaging 18 may be shredded and inserted into a container, stacked in a container, partially or completed expanded while in a container, and combined with one or more other materials including layers of different forms of the packaging 18.

[0045] In another optional step of the method 600, a multilayer assembly of the packaging 18 may be generated. In another optional step, the packaging 18 and/or an assembly of the packaging 18 may be expanded after insertion into the container. In another optional step, the precursor material may be embossed to form the embossed precursor material 44. The embossed precursor material 44 may then be transported to the expander component 70 where expansion material contained in the embossed precursor material 44 is expanded into embossed expanded precursor material 46. In another optional step of the method 600, the expanded precursor material 64 is creped. Creping may occur before or after expansion of the precursor material 16. [0046] Additional optional steps of the method 600 may be dependent on the particular form of the packaging to be used. When the stack 400 or 500 with voids is used, an optional step is to fill the voids with a selected material, such as insulative foam, fibers, precursor material, or the like. If some or all voids/chambers 404/504 are filled with loose fill material, an adhesive may be applied thereto to retain the fill material in those voids/chambers 404/504. It is to be noted that the embossed packaging layers 402 may be combined with the creped expanded packaging 68 produced by the creping apparatus 28 of FIG. 7. Another optional step of the method 600 includes treating one or more of the one or more peaks 406/506 of the embossed packaging layers 402/502. The treatment may be an adhesive, such as a starch, or other mechanism for enabling attachment.

[0047] While the present invention has bene described with respect to specific embodiments, it is not intended to those expressly described embodiment. Instead, the invention is described in the appended claims as well as all reasonable equivalents.