BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to the methods and apparatus to automatically produce a composite packaging material, from an expanded slit paper and a separator sheet and to the articles produced. Brief Description of the Prior Art

The performance and ecological disadvantages of cellular foam styrene and/or styrofoam peanuts as a void fill material is well known. Starch products have been used, but tend to be ex¬ cessively dusty and frangible, while products made from corn husks and other vegetation, are prone to attracting vermin. Paper products tend to be low in bulk and thus have a high cost per cubic foot of void fill.

Expanded paper can be used to wrap articles and as void fill for packages. Although the expanded paper product is more expensive, on a volume basis than the commonly used void fill materials, its performance as a protective cushioning material is substantially greater.

It is thus an object of the invention to reduce the cost, on a volume basis, of expanded paper packaging material.

It is another object of the invention, to produce a void fill product which can be shipped in the unexpanded form, and expanded at the user's site, at a cost competitive with that of styrene and/or styrofoam void fill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus for producing a composite packaging material comprises at least one roll of separator sheet material, with a first and a second surface and at least one roll of expandable slit sheet material in its unexpanded form. The slit material positioned to be proximate the first sur¬ face of the separator material. A first pair of drive rollers are provided A first pair of expander rollers are provided with gripping means to engage the expandable material.

Delivery means are provided to deliver the expandable material extends from the roll to a first pair of drive rollers, and from the drive rollers to the expander rollers. The expander rollers have an effective peripheral rotational speed greater than the effective peripheral rotational speed of the drive rollers. Rotation of the drive rollers draws slit material from the roll and the faster rotation of the expander rollers expands the slit material in length and thickness. A com¬ posite packaging material is delivered consisting of expanded material in combination with a separator sheet.

A second roll of expandable slit sheet material can be provided in its unexpanded form along with a second pair of drive rollers and a second pair of expander rolls. The expandable material extends from the second paper roll to the second pair of drive rollers, and from the second pair of drive rollers to the second pair of expander rollers. Rotation of the second pair drive rollers draws material from the second roll and rotation of the second pair of expander rollers expands the second sheets of expandable material. The sheets of expanded material are separated by the separator sheet.

At least one second separator sheet can be included to produce a composite having at least two layers of expanded sheet material separated by a separator sheet and at least one outer layer separator sheet. Two outer layers of unslit sheet material can be bound together longitudinally along their edges to form a bound composite packaging material having at least two layers of ex¬ panded sheet material separated by a separator sheet enclosed within two outer layers.

The paper cushion wrap comprises at least one paper sheet of slit, expanded sheet material and a layer of substantially unexpanded paper sheet material. The paper cushion wrap can fur¬ ther combine two layers of expanded sheets separated by a separator sheet. The width of of the separator sheet being substantially less than the width of the two fully expanded sheets. The regions of the expanded sheets which extend beyond the separator sheet, are in contact with ad¬ jacent layers of expanded sheet material in a nesting engagement. The separator sheet prevents nesting of the two layers of expanded sheets in the region separated by said separator sheet. The cushioning wrap can be used as a cushioning pad with outer layers of unexpanded sheet material. At least one seal at each edge forms an integrated structure having unslit outer layers and at least two layers of expanded sheet material separated by an unslit sheet. The unslit sheet is a lighter weight paper than the expanded sheet material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of the instant disclosure will become more apparent when read with the specification and the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a multi-layer expander for production of a three layer product;

Figure 2 is a schematic of a multi-layer expander for product of a seven layer product;

Figure 3 is a schematic of a multi-layer expander for product of pads and envelopes;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the protective envelope produced from the product produced by the expander of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the completed envelope of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a side view of the expanded paper and separator paper combination;

Figure 7 is side view of two sheets of expanded paper having reverse inclines in combina¬ tion with a separator paper;

F gure 8 is a perspective view of a slit paper, separator paper combination;

Figure 9 is is a perspective view of an article wrapped in the combination of Figure 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a end view of expanded and separator paper rolled into a cylinder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The term expanding, as used herein, refers to a three-dimensional expansion, or a volume expansion, as disclosed in PCT/US93/02369, WO 93/18911 published 30 September 1993.

While any slit pattern for expanding the paper can produce an effective packaging material, when used in combination with an unexpanded sheet, the use of a pattern which produces hexagonal cells is preferred due to the high rigidity of the hexagonal cells. Hexagonal cells are rigidly self-supporting as compared to oval cells which close readily under load.

Positioning an unexpanded sheet of material between each layer of expanded hexagonal sheets results in a final thickness which is equal to the full thickness of the sum of the thickness of each individual unexpanded and expanded sheet. To retain the biodegradability of the material, paper or biodegradable plastic should be used, although any flexible material can be sub¬ stituted. Economically it is advantageous to use lightweight kraft or tissue paper as a separator sheet, keeping the paper weight at the minimum required for the desired cushioning. The resultant cushioning is different from the highly resilient cushioning which is produced by the interaction of nested sheets. The highly resilient, high loft, stiff cushioning, is highly suited to void fill ap¬ plications due at least in part, to the very thick product having spongy cushioning which is produced when the expanded sheet layers is interlayered with an unexpanded sheet.

The multi-layer, separator sheet structure's stiffness and resiliency results in it's being ex¬ ceptionally suited for use with lighter weight paper than it's single-ply counterpart, thereby in¬ creasing the volume yield per gram and reducing the price per cubic meter. A greater amount of energy is required to collapse the multi-ply structure than is required to collapse the single ply counterpart.

The separator sheet does not nest with the lands and/or legs of the expanded sheet, but rather, distributes impact from the expanded sheets to from the legs and/or lands to at least cell sized regions of the next layer of expanded sheet. The separator sheet causes each leg and land to

operate independently, rather than in nested groups. The change in effect is not a loss of impact absorption capacity, but a change in the type of impact absorption which the cushioning material is undergoing.

The separator sheet can be a simple sheet of paper freely fed along with one or more ex¬ panded slit sheets. By unwinding along with the wrapping motion, the separator sheet can accom¬ modate and keep up with the rate at which the expanded sheet is being fed. The separator sheet can be coupled to a single expanded sheet, or placed between expanded sheets. When drawing on the expanded sheets during the wrapping operation, the expanded sheet is elongated beyond the initial expansion produced by a powered expander, requiring the separator sheet to accommodate a feed rate greater than that of the expansion rollers. Where the separator sheet is between ex¬ panded sheets, it is preferred to simultaneously feed the composite through a single pair of expan¬ sion rolls. Since the feed rate of the separator sheet is limited to that of the expanded sheets, the separator sheet restricts the further expansion required to wrap with an interlocking action. To accommodate this, the separator sheet can have a tear line formed by a line of perforations, such as small, closely spaced holes, large holes or elongated slits, transverse to the machine direction of the paper.

Alternatively, the separator sheet can be provided with a narrow region of slit patterns transverse to the machine direction of the paper. The expansion region is designed to provide the same degree of expansion from region to region, as is obtained from the pulling of the expanded sheet taut during the wrapping operation. The additional expansion used to spring load the ex¬ panded sheet, is less than 25% of the length of the region, and generally is on the order of five to ten percent. The slit pattern to produce this criteria can vary dependent upon manufacturing preferabilities. The slits can be longer than those used for cushioning expansion at intervals along the length of the sheet rather than uniformly distributed along the sheet. If the resultant cells are twice as large as those for the expanded cushioning layer, half as many cell should be used, with the critical factor being the achievement of equal expansion for the slit and functionally "unslit" layer. The expansion region of the separator sheet can be conveniently spaced at one or two foot

intervals to provide from about one to four inches of expansion. Expansion of about one inch per foot generally provides sufficient extension to permit the required pulling of the expansion sheet to the taut condition. Obviously, providing for more expansion than necessary is not detrimental, though providing insufficient expansion is undesirable and can interfere with the interlocking fea¬ ture. Where the composite is used to produce a pad or envelope, the expanded slit sheet is not pulled taut and an expansion or tear region is unnecessary.

The slit pattern ratio in the separator sheet cannot be the equivalent to the slits pattern as disclosed for the slit paper, as this would result in nesting. If the slit pattern is used, the slit size and ratios must be different from those used in the expanded paper. It is preferable that any slit pattern used does not form the resilient hexagons, thereby providing the firmer support provided by unslit paper.

The weight of the expanded sheet material can be selected based on the required perfor¬ mance, generally in the 40 to 50 pound range. The weight of the separator sheet need not be greater than 30 or 40 pound kraft paper, since its function is strictly as a separator.

The expansion is preferably performed in a modified expander of the type disclosed in copending patent appUcation, Serial Number PCT/US94/10209, WO-95/07225, published 16 March 1995, used for producing single or dual webs of expanded sheet material. This basic expander is redesigned herein to allow for the production of the multi-layer combination. The expansion process, as well as hardware, is disclosed in detail in the foregoing PCT application.

Two layers of expandable sheet material separated by a light weight, unslit separator sheet, can be processed in a single pair of rollers. By offsetting the hook and loop fabric windings of the two rollers, crushing of the expanded material is precluded, even when multiple expandable sheets are separated by a separator sheet. The thickness of material passing between the expansion rollers is about 50% greater when two pairs of unseparated slit sheets are simultaneously processed. The hook filaments must be positioned close enough to one another to apply sufficient pressure to the double webs to grip unexpanded lead material and transform it into expanded material.

The expander is preferably provided with the ability to automatically readjust on the other of the thickness of one or more layers of expanded sheet material. This provides the ability to have a closer position at start-up to provide substantial gripping of the unexpanded paper and a further apart position after a momentary, start-up period. The rollers are preferably provided with high and low settings for optimum performance. The displacement can be adjusted as re¬ quired, to adjust to different slit row spacing and can be adjusted downwardly to compensate for nesting or upwardly to compensate for the use of a separator sheet.

Where multi-layer or webs of expanded sheet material having 203 centimeter slit row spac¬ ing, are fed through a single pair of expansion rollers, the spacing between the expansion roller is increased about 4.8 centimeters per expanded sheet. The expansion rollers are preferably powered for parallel movement, in order to regulate the spacing between the rollers. Where expanded sheets are not separated, the spacing of the pair of parallel expansion rolls will be less than where the expanded sheets have a separator between them to prevent nesting. Thus, where two sheets of expanded paper and two outer sheets of kraft paper are fed through the expansion rollers, the roller spacing is less than where a separator sheet is used between the pair of expanded sheets.

In Figure 1 the tri-layer expander 10 positions slit rolls 12 and 14 above and below the separator roll 16. The slit rolls 12 and 14 are each expanded through dual pairs of expansion rollers. As the expansion rollers used are identical, only one set will be described. The separator paper 20 is fed from the separator roll 16 located between the slit rolls 12 and 14. The separator roll 16 is free floating on the roller support 28 allowing the separator paper 20 to freely unroll as it is pulled. To prevent the separator paper 20 from continuing to unroll due to momentum, any restraining method, such as a friction fit between the roller support 28 and the core of the separator roll 16, can be used.

Figure 2 illustrates one example of an alternate expander 50 with multiple delivery areas which comprises slit paper rolls 52 and 56 and separator roll 54. The rolls are placed to allow for the separator roll 54 to be delivered between the slit paper rolls 52 and 56. The separator paper 72 is removed from the roll 54 and held in position for delivery by positioning bar 58. One or more

positioning bars can be provided to place the paper in the position required for smooth entry into the guide rollers 60 and 62. The slit paper 68 and 70 passes through the guide rollers 60 and 62 and expansion rollers 64 and 66, expanding as described in the aforenoted PCT application. The separator paper 72 also runs through the guide rollers 60 and 62 and expansion rollers 64 and 66, subjecting the separator paper 72 to the same physical pulling as the slit paper 68 and 70. In order to prevent the separator paper 72 from tearing during the expansion stage, the separator paper 72 is provided with slits. The second delivery area is the center separator roll 74 which separates the first and third delivery areas. The center separator sheet 76 prevents the expanded paper 70 from nesting with the expanded paper 78. The third delivery area is the same as the first delivery area, although the positioning of the rolls may differ. This configuration provides cushioning in a more bulky, rigid form and is preferable for wrapping larger objects. It should be noted that any number of delivery areas can be combined in the same manner as disclosed in this Figure.

The expander 100 of Figure 3 has the delivery systems arranged to provide the capability of producing envelopes. The rolls 102 and 106 are unslit kraft paper, at least one of which has a weight sufficient to provide exterior envelope protection. The exterior paper 104 and 108 is placed through dual guide rollers 110 and 112 which are utilized to maintain alignment of the paper 104 and 108. The expanded paper rolls 114 and 116 are positioned to deliver expanded paper adjacent to the exterior paper 104 and 108. The slit paper 118 and 120 is expanded through use of dual guide rollers 122 and 124 and expansion rollers 126 and 128. A center separator sheet 132, fed off a center separator roll 130, is used to prevent the expanded paper 118 and 120 from nesting. The center separator sheet 132 can be provided with one or more positioning rollers 134 to maintain the positioning of the center separator sheet 132. The multi-layer combination 152 can be used for either wrapping, a cushioning pad or envelope.

The combination produced by the expander 100 is ideal for use as a protective envelope. The combination 152 is cut at a predetermined length, approximately two and 1/4 the length of the desired size envelope 150 as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. In Figure 4 the multi-layer com¬ bination 152 has been folded over onto itself, leaving closure flap 154 as a single layer of the

multi-layer combination 152. The envelope 150 is sealed along the peripheral edges 158 and 160 by means known in the art. Alternatively, the cut pad of combination 152 can be folded to produce an envelope which does not incorporate the closure flap 154 and is sealed through sta¬ pling. The advantage to using the exterior weight kraft paper for the exterior paper 104 and 108 is in the ability to fold the combination 154 to either expose exterior paper 104 or exterior paper 108. Alternatively, either paper 104 or 108 can be replaced with a lighter weight paper, however the direction of folding must correspond accordingly.

The cushioning pad can consist of the output from two or more pairs of rollers combined to form a unity structure. The final structure can consist of four layers of expanded sheet material separated by light weigh separator sheets and covered top and bottom, by outer layers of unslit kraft paper, providing extreme loft as a result of the separation of the sheets of expanded paper. The two inner layers of expanded sheet material can be unseparated to provide greater resiliency, or separated by a separator sheet to provide greater stiffness. The structural demands of the separator sheets is so minimal that paper weights normally unsuited to producing a cushioning material can used.

The above disclosed multi-layer combination can be folded in the standard flag fold as known in the art. The folding of the triangle back on itself, diagonally, is repeatedly until the desired thickness of material is produced. The cell pattern is rotated forty-five degrees between layers, thus producing reduced nesting in multi-layer combination where the expanded paper comes in contact with itself. However, even with the ninety degree rotations of the cell pattern, nesting does occur.

Figure 6 illustrates, from a side view, how the separator sheets 250 and 252 prevent the ex¬ panded sheets 254 and 256 from nesting. The peaks of the expanded paper 256 and 254 rest on the separator sheet 250 and 252 thereby causing impact to be transmitted through the separator sheets 250 an 252 as described heretofore.

Decreased nesting can also be obtained by reversing the incline of the lands of the cells as shown in Figure 7. Separator sheet 270 is used in this Figure in combination with the expanded sheets 274 and 272, however the incline reversing can be used without the separator sheet 270. If the inclines are about 60 degrees, reversing the direction of the inclines of each layer of expanded sheets 272 and 274, reduces the nesting. Ten sheets of expanded paper having an individual ex¬ panded thickness of about 4 mm, will have a combined, nested thickness of about 63.5 mm. Nest¬ ing can also be substantially negated by wrapping the expanded paper in the flag fold.

Figure 8 illustrates the ratio between the separator sheet 302 and the expanded sheet 304 for use in wrapping bottles and the like. The separator sheet 302 preferably has a width less than that of the expanded sheet 304 to allow the cells to interlock when wrapped about an article as shown in Figure 9. The wrap extends beyond both ends of the article being wrapped and is fully stretched, or necked down, remaining that way due to the interlocking action. In this format, a single layer of expanded sheet material can be interleaved with a single layer of unslit sheet material, with the outer end regions of the slit sheet providing the desired interlocking effect. It may be necessary to use glue or tape in some instances to preclude unwrapping of the cushioning material, since the separator sheet precludes interlocking along the "body" of the article. Where the article is wider than the paper, the wrapping starts with the article inwardly of one edge of the paper and the composite is wrapped with a spiral action progressing toward the other side, un¬ til composite overhangs both sides of the article. The final product is similar to that achieved where the article is narrower than the composite. By allowing for the cells to interlock, the use of tape or other means to secure the wrap around the article is eliminated. Figure 8 also illustrates how the paper is expanded between the guide rollers 308 and the expansion rollers 306. In the ex¬ pansion process of Figure 8, only the slit paper 304 is fed off the roll (not shown) through the guide rollers 308. The separator paper 302 is brought in from another roll (not shown) and fed only through the expansion rollers 306. This method eliminates separator sheet 302 from being exposed to the pulling force which expands the slit paper 304 and the need for any type of slit pat¬ tern in the separator paper 302. Additionally, an expander can contain a second sheet of slit

paper (not shown) that can be fed through its own set of guide rollers into the expansion rollers 306, thereby producing a multi-layer combination having a separator sheet 302 sandwiched be¬ tween two expanded sheets 304. In the event two expanded sheets are used, the separator sheet 302 can have the same width as the expanded sheet 304. Other combinations of separator sheets and expanded sheets can be used, as disclosed heretofore, with each expanded sheet having its own set of guide rollers.

To form a cylinder from the multi-layer combination, as illustrated in Figure 10, the slit paper is expanded in combination with a separator paper, as disclosed heretofore, and rolled into a cylindrical spiral. The raised cells of the expanded paper interlock with cells in adjacent layers of slit paper as the paper spirals outward. The use of a separator sheet 1244 prevents the cells from interlocking with one another, thereby limiting locking to adjacent expanded sheets and re¬ quiring tape to maintained the cylinder 1200 in a closed position. The spiral cylinder 1200 of Figure 10 is an illustration of an end view showing the expanded paper 1242 in combination with the separator sheet 1244. By combining the separator sheet 1244 with the expanded sheet 1242, the cylinder 1200 has substantially greater bulk than cylinders made from only a single sheet of ex¬ panded paper. The tighter the cylinder is wound, the greater the amount of sheet material re¬ quired to form a cylinder. Although the tighter the cylinder, the firmer the cushion effect which is achieved, winding the cylinder too tightly will have the effect of removing air from the cylinders and lessening their cushioning qualities. Hence, winding forces on the slit paper material and the quantity of slit paper material used to produce a cylinder are critical. The cylinders can be customized to meet specific system requirements.

Whereas hexagonal cells are preferred for the expansion sheets, oval cells are preferred for the separator sheet. Hexagonal cells facilitate nesting, even where the cells of adjacent layers are of substantially unequal size, or the incline pattern is rotated 45 or 90 degrees. Oval cells will flat¬ ten readily, collapsing rather than nesting. It should be apparent, that the novel use of dissimilar layers, provides a wide range of potential cushioning characteristics for the composite structure. The degree of thickening, or loft can be varied, as well as the stiffness, and the relationship be-

tween deflection and load. The response to high impact, as measured by G-force test equipment, can be customized through the selection of the combination of slit patterns, total absence of slits for the separator sheets and weights of the expansion sheets and separator sheets. The variables are as follows:

1 Paper weight for expansion sheet

2 Paper weight for separator sheet

3 Slit pattern for expansion sheet A- Absence of slit pattern

B- Perforated to provide discrete sections

C- Slit to provide expansion equal to expansion sheet a- Slits periodic to provide expansion b- Slits uniform, but of different pattern from expansion sheet to preclude nesting.

4 Ratio of number of expansion sheets to separator sheets.

5 Number of expansion sheets nested with an adjacent expansion sheet.

The system thus provides customization comparable to that which is attainable with cel¬ lular foam plastics. The compression characteristics of the multi-layer structure differ from that of multiple layers of single-ply expanded wrap.

The structures can take the following forms: A- A single layer of expanded slit sheet material with a single layer of a separator sheet; B- separator sheet is narrower than necked down width of expanded slit sheet;

C- separator sheet has spaced apart tear lines; D- separator sheet is manually fed, unrestricted;

E- separator sheet has expansion slits is able to permit expansion equal to that of expanded sheet;

F- separator sheet is slit, but with a longer slit than slits of expanded slit sheet and greater space between rows of slits, to provide fewer cells, but larger cells than in the expanded sheet;

G- single layer sheet of thin, flexible material such as tissue, with expanded material to keep all layers of expanded material from nesting; H- pairs of expanded sheet separated by separator sheet; I- separator sheet between expanded sheet and outer unslit sheets;

J- separator sheet between expanded sheet and outer unslit sheets folded and sealed into en¬ velope form;

K- a plurality of pairs of expanded sheet separated by separator sheet, where each set of pairs is separated by a separator sheet;

L- single layer expanded sheet and single layer separator sheet rolled into cylinder form, as a void fill, either end glued and/or separator sheet is narrower than expanded sheet; M- pair of expanded sheets separated by separator sheet and rolled into cylinder form for use as void fill; or N- expanded sheet preferably with hexagonal cells for optimum rigidity.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for the purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.