HK40002104B - Sheet stock material configuration and apparatus, systems and methods for feeding sheet stock material to a dunnage system - Google Patents

Description

Sheet stock material construction and apparatus, system and method for feeding sheet stock material to a dunnage system

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from chinese application No. 201610161068.7 filed on 21/3/2016 and U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/314,379 filed on 28/3/2016, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Background

1. Field of the invention

The present disclosure relates generally to stock material configuration for dunnage systems, and apparatus and methods for feeding stock material to a dunnage system to produce a cushioning material and/or void filling material.

2. Correlation technique

Exemplary prior art dunnage systems are shown in U.S. patent nos. 8501302 and 8708882, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, to help provide a context for understanding the present disclosure.

Fig. 1a-1c illustrate a prior art dunnage system 2b, the dunnage system 2b having a feed system utilizing fanfold stacks (26 a, 26 b) of stock material. Fig. 1a shows a post-or "fresh" folded stack 26a used in the method of replenishing the raw material stock 26, which has an adhesive or tape 26a "on the starting (top) section (section). The last section 26b 'of the supply of almost spent raw material stock 26b (leading supply) is connected to the beginning section 26 a' of the supply of fresh raw material stock 26a (trailing supply) by pasting or otherwise adhering the beginning section of the new/trailing supply (trailing supply) to the last end section of the almost spent/leading supply. This helps prevent the need to refill or reconnect the beginning section of the new supply of raw material to the dunnage machine, which can be time consuming. Conversely, by connecting the supplies of stock material together (e.g., a folded stack or paper roll), refilling of the dunnage machine can be avoided because the nearly depleted front supply will pull the new rear supply into a filled configuration as if the depleted front supply had not been depleted at all.

Still referring to fig. 1a (prior art), in the prior art, a user may raise the front folding stack 26b in the tray 4 so that a rear (new) folding stack 26a may be placed thereunder and connected to the front folding stack 26a, as described above. In addition, the rear folded stack 26a has an initial section edge that is aligned with the adhesive 26a ". As shown in fig. 1c (prior art), the edge of the initial section of the new stack and/or the edge of the last section of the previous stack is aligned with an adhesive strip 26a ", which adhesive strip 26 a" can be covered by a release liner strip 27 when delivered to the user to maintain the adhesive quality of the adhesive until it is ready for use. Before placing the rear folded stack 26a on the tray 4, the liner 27 may be peeled away from the adhesive 26a "to expose the adhesive 26 a". Thereafter, once the rear folded stack 26a is placed on the tray 4, the starting edge with the adhesive 26a "may be attached to the last end section of the bottom of the front folded stack 26 b. Once the front stack 26b is depleted, the immediately following stack 26a will be pulled into the feed of the dunnage system. Using this method, two or more stacks can be connected. That is, if a third stack is placed below the above-mentioned back stack, the third stack is a back stack with respect to the stack immediately above it, and the stack immediately above it is a front stack with respect to the third back stack, and so on.

Brief summary

Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a method of feeding a pre-configured sheet stock material (disposed in a pre-configured sheet stock material supply unit) to a dunnage machine while forming a continuous pocket between a longitudinally extending middle section and a pair of longitudinally extending outer sections that are folded inwardly (e.g., about a pair of corresponding longitudinally extending perforation lines) over all or a portion of an inner surface of the middle section.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured sheet feed material supply unit is provided in a folded stack, as will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the preconfigured sheet stock material supply unit conforms to or wraps around the preform (e.g., spreader) by opening the continuous pocket as the preconfigured sheet stock material from the supply unit is pulled through the dunnage machine to cause the sheet stock material to become filled (volumize) from its flat storage form (e.g., the outer section is folded flat against the middle section in the folded stack). For example, during loading or filling of a dunnage machine with a preconfigured sheet stock material, a user deploys a front portion of the preconfigured sheet stock material in the sheet stock supply unit by raising an outer section (the outer section folded against the intermediate section in the preconfigured sheet stock material) away from the intermediate section to expose the front portion of the continuous pocket and wraps the sheet stock material around a spreader within the pocket (e.g., the intermediate section is positioned below the spreader, while the outer section wraps around a pair of side saddle portions of the spreader and curls inward within a central recessed area of the spreader). Thereafter, the leading edge of the sheet stock material is connected to the forming member and can be pulled over the expander such that the preconfigured sheet stock material continues to flow over the expander as it is pulled in a wrapped configuration as described above. In this way, the preconfigured sheet material supply continues to receive the expanders within the continuous pockets of the preconfigured sheet material supply unit.

In some embodiments, structures and methods are provided that impart continuous pockets between a series of preconfigured sheet stock supply units that are spliced together (or otherwise coupled) to avoid interrupting the flow of sheet stock material to a dunnage machine (including a dunnage machine spreader). One method of coupling together the preconfigured sheet stock supply units such that the pockets are continuous is to place the last section of the preceding preconfigured sheet stock supply unit concentrically within the pockets of the starting section of the succeeding preconfigured sheet stock supply unit and to adhere the exterior of the last section to the interior of the starting section, or vice versa.

In some embodiments, methods and structures are provided such that a user will not need to place the last section within the starting section, and vice versa, in order to provide a continuous pocket between preconfigured sheet stock supply units that are coupled together. In some embodiments, this may be provided by, for example, altering the last and starting segments. In particular, and for example, because the preconfigured sheet stock supply units described herein include a longitudinally extending intermediate section and a longitudinally extending outer section, wherein the outer section has been pre-folded inwardly over the intermediate section, the outer section obscures at least a portion of the inner surface of the intermediate section, and the intermediate section obscures the inner surface on each of the outer sections. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include providing a modified last section (e.g., the last or bottom layer in a fanfold stack or a portion thereof) on a previously pre-configured sheet stock supply unit, the modified final section exposes a portion of each inner surface of the outer sections, such that the inner surfaces are exposed downwardly (in the case of separate fanfold stacks stacked vertically to feed them continuously to the dunnage machine), and providing a modified starting section (e.g., a first or upper layer or portion thereof in a folded stack) on a post-preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, the altered starting section exposes a portion of the intermediate section that would otherwise be obscured upward facing by the overlapping outer sections (in the case of separate fanfold stacks stacked vertically to feed them continuously to the dunnage machine) to the last section of the preceding fanfold stack. These changes of the disclosure may be achieved by cutting away a portion of the middle section or a portion of the outer section, respectively, or by folding over portions of these sections, as described herein by way of example in connection with the illustrative drawings. Thereafter, coupling the leading preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to the trailing preconfigured sheet stock supply unit while providing a continuous pocket between the two supply units may include simply aligning and abutting a last layer (e.g., a modified last section) in the leading stack with a first layer (e.g., a modified starting section) in the trailing stack, providing adhesive on the respective surfaces prior to aligning and abutting the respective stacks.

In some embodiments, the method includes stacking a first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit on top of a second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, as a result of the stacking, is coupled to the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by adhesive contact between the respective sheet stock supply units as the respective sheet stock supply units are stacked, and wherein the continuous pocket is aligned between the respective sheet stock supply units as a result of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit being coupled to the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by the stacking.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure include methods of feeding a sheet stock material to a dunnage machine, and in particular, methods for loading a preconfigured sheet stock material onto a spreader. The method includes providing a preconfigured sheet stock supply unit having a plurality of transverse perforation lines and at least one longitudinal perforation line, and connecting the preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to a spreader of a dunnage machine by raising at a front portion thereof at least one longitudinal section of the preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to spread the at least one longitudinal section about the at least one longitudinal perforation line, whereby the spreader is receivable within a pocket formed by the at least one longitudinal section and another longitudinal section separated by the at least one longitudinal perforation line.

In some embodiments, a supply unit of a pre-configured sheet stock material for a dunnage machine is provided, the supply unit including at least one intermediate longitudinal section and at least one transversely folded longitudinal section, wherein a beginning section or a last section of the supply unit includes at least one transversely folded longitudinal section that extends longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section or at least one intermediate longitudinal section that extends longitudinally further than the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section. Further, in some embodiments, both the beginning segment and the last segment have at least one segment that extends longitudinally further than at least one other segment. Further, in some embodiments, the starting section has at least one intermediate longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section, and the last section has at least one transversely folded longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section.

In some embodiments, a connected chain of folded feed stock supply units for a dunnage machine is provided, the connected chain including a front supply unit having a final section and a rear supply unit having an initial section, wherein the front supply unit and the rear supply unit each include at least one longitudinally extending fold line about which at least one longitudinal section of the supply unit is folded transversely against another longitudinal section of the supply unit, and wherein the initial section includes at least another longitudinal section that extends longitudinally forward of the at least one longitudinal section.

In some embodiments, a dunnage machine is provided that includes a spreader including a left saddle portion, a right saddle portion, and an intermediate recessed area between the left and right saddle portions, and a vertically elevated rearwardly inclined separator bar disposed between the left and right saddle portions, a shaping member, and a motor connected to the shaping member.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1a and 1b show a prior art dunnage system including a series of stacked folded sheet stock supply units.

FIG. 1c shows a prior art sheet stock end portion having an adhesive or tape with a peel-off portion for exposing an adhesive surface for splicing together sheet stock supply units.

Fig. 2a shows an embodiment of a perforated sheet stock material having longitudinal and transverse lines of perforations.

Fig. 2b shows the sheet stock material of fig. 2a with the laterally outer sections of the sheet stock material folded laterally inward about the longitudinal perforation lines to fit generally flat against the middle section of the sheet stock material to form a preconfigured sheet stock material.

Fig. 2c shows a pre-constructed folded stack of sheet stock material formed from the perforated sheet stock material of fig. 2a and 2b, with a transversely folded portion folded about a longitudinal perforation line and a longitudinally folded portion folded about a transverse perforation line (forming a stack). In some alternative embodiments, the pre-constructed sheet stock material shown in fig. 2c does not include perforations, and the folds are disposed about unperforated fold lines as described immediately above.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example dunnage system of the present disclosure including an adhesive disposed on the ends of the folded stacks of preconfigured sheet stock material for splicing the folded stacks together by inserting the end portion of one folded stack concentrically within the end portion of the next folded stack within the pocket of the next folded stack, and using the adhesive to remain coupled to produce a chain of folded stacks having a continuous pocket throughout the chain, the pocket being the space between the inwardly folded outer section and the middle section of each preconfigured folded stack.

Fig. 4 shows a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of the segments of the preconfigured foldable stack of fig. 2c or 9B, and the outer segments have been partially raised (expanded) upwardly and outwardly in the direction of arrow "B" to expose or begin exposing pockets for loading the foldable stack onto the dilator, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows the section of sheet stock material of FIG. 4 having been wrapped around the expander for the dunnage machine with the outer section wrapped around the saddle portion of the expander.

Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary preform (or dilator) of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of a section of pre-constructed sheet stock material, such as that shown in FIG. 2c, having a multi-layer construction with pockets.

Fig. 8 illustrates a section of multiple layers of the sheet stock material of fig. 7 wrapped around an expander of the present disclosure, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9a is a perspective view showing a front and rear foldout stack of some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the stacks being pre-configured, wherein the front foldout stack includes a dashed line to illustrate an exemplary cut-out of the present disclosure made to remove a portion of the middle longitudinal section of the foldout stack in its final section to form a modified final section in the front foldout stack of fig. 9b (which shows the front and rear foldout stacks of the present disclosure).

Fig. 9b is a perspective view showing a front and rear folding stack of some embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the stacks being pre-configured with a modified last section and a modified start section, respectively, and the modified last section being formed starting from the cut shown in fig. 9a and the modified start section being formed by the folding and folding process shown in fig. 10a-10 d.

Fig. 9c and 9d are perspective views of alternative embodiments showing variations of the starting section of a back-folded stack of some alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the stack being pre-constructed, the starting section of which has been altered in fig. 9d by the cut made in fig. 9 c.

Fig. 10a-10d are simplified views illustrating a folding process for some embodiments of the present disclosure by which to alter a pre-configured fanfold stack of the present disclosure to achieve an altered starting section of the rear fanfold stack shown in fig. 9 b. The folding process shown can also be used to change the front portion of a pre-configured stock sheet supply unit that is not a fanfold stack.

11a-11b illustrate a front portion of a preconfigured sheet stock material that has been packed on a spreader having a tapered leading edge portion and that has been packed into a forming member, which for some embodiments of the present disclosure is a gear arrangement, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11c illustrates an exemplary plugged sheet feed stock material of various embodiments of the present disclosure, wherein the pre-configured sheet feed stock material has been packed as shown in fig. 11a-11b, but has accumulated near the forming member, e.g., when the leading edge of the sheet feed stock material according to various embodiments of the present disclosure (such as those shown in fig. 11a and 11 b) is not tapered.

Fig. 12 shows a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of a dunnage product (buffer product) produced using various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates a simplified side view of a dilator including a rearwardly tapered leading edge of some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13a shows a partial side view of a dilator with a mounted rotatable disk for some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13b shows a perspective view of the dilator of fig. 13 a.

Fig. 13c shows the dilator of fig. 13b with the rear cut away to expose a transverse cross-section of the disc.

Fig. 13d is a rear view of the dilator of fig. 13 b.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a pre-configured stock sheet material that has been filled, including wrapped around the expander in fig. 13b and pulled forward by a shaping member, and also showing a separator bar tilted upward and rearward from the expander, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14a is a side view of the dilator of fig. 13a further including a separator rod sloping upward and rearward according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14b is a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of the expander of FIG. 13b in use with the outer section of the pre-configured sheet stock material wrapped around the saddle portion thereof, with arrow "G" illustrating the tendency of the outer section of the pre-configured sheet stock material to lift off of or derail from the saddle portion without the aid of the angled separator bar shown in FIGS. 14 and 14 a.

Fig. 15 is a rear view of the dilator of fig. 13b, including size markers L1, L2, and L3 as further described herein.

Fig. 16a and 16b are simplified cross-sectional side views of the dunnage system of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, upon reviewing this disclosure, one skilled in the art will understand that the disclosure may be practiced without many of these details. In other instances, well known or widely available machine components, dunnage system components, or stock materials for making cushioning and/or void-fill products have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this specification, since the terms "about," "substantially," "approximately," and "consisting essentially of … …" are used, they mean ± 20% of the indicated range, value, or structure, unless otherwise specified. It should be understood that the terms "a" and "an" as used herein refer to "one or more" of the listed components. The use of alternatives (e.g., "or") should be understood to refer to one, two, or any combination thereof, unless explicitly stated otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprising" and "including" are used synonymously, and unless otherwise explicitly stated, both terms are intended to be interpreted in a non-limiting sense, as are variations thereof.

For illustrative purposes, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the context of a paper-based sheet stock material for dunnage formation. However, other materials may also be suitable, as will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of this disclosure. Throughout this disclosure, unless otherwise indicated, the term "sheet" may refer to a single layer material, but may also refer to a multi-layer material, where each "sheet" has multiple layers comprising thinner sheets.

Referring to fig. 2a-2c, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the folded stack 12a is formed from a continuous longitudinally extending sheet or perforated paper 20 of perforated stock material. Here, longitudinal in the direction refers to the axial length extending across the plurality of folded plies from the back end (e.g., bottom end) to the front end (e.g., top end) of the folded stack, rather than transversely (e.g., in the width direction) across any folded ply.

In some embodiments, the perforations represented by the dashed lines in fig. 2a may each extend completely through the multilayer mass (if the sheet is multilayered), or may extend partially through the sheet. In some embodiments, the perforations may have different shapes, such as circular perforations or slots. As best seen in fig. 2a, in some embodiments, laterally extending lines of perforations 20c (including a plurality of aligned perforations) and longitudinal lines of perforations 20d may be provided in a spaced-apart manner throughout the stock material folded into a folded stack 12a (or wound into a roll), which folded stack 12a may be a continuous longitudinally extending sheet of perforated paper 20 (e.g., there are no completely separate sections of sheet material from the beginning of the stack to the end of the stack, or from the beginning of the roll of stock material to the end of the roll).

Referring to fig. 2a and 2b, in some embodiments, the laterally separated longitudinally extending section 20e (outer section 20e) is defined by a longitudinal perforation line 20 d. The longitudinal perforation line 20d may extend longitudinally through the folded stack 12a (or roll) of stock material. The feedstock material 20 may be folded laterally inward about the longitudinal perforation lines 20d to pre-configure the feedstock material 20. In particular, for example, the outer section 20e of the feedstock material 20 separated by the intermediate longitudinally extending section 20f (intermediate section 20f) may be folded inwardly about the longitudinal perforation line 20d to overlap the intermediate longitudinally extending section 20f to form the transversely folded section 20 e. The transverse folded sections 20e may be longitudinally continuous on both sides of the longitudinally extending stock material 20, throughout the folded stack 12a or the roll or stock material 20. This transversely folded configuration of the feedstock material may be referred to herein as a pre-configuration, or the feedstock material configured in this manner may be referred to as a pre-configured feedstock material.

Referring to fig. 2c, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the preconfigured stock material 20 of fig. 2b may be used to produce a folded stack 12a of preconfigured stock material, which folded stack 12a may be used to be fed to a dunnage system to produce dunnage or cushion/void-fill material.

As shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, a plurality of fanfold stacks including a rear fanfold stack 20a and a front fanfold stack 20b may be pre-configured and provided with adhesive tape sections 26a "at a starting edge of a starting section 20a 'of the rear stack 20a and at a terminal edge of a last section 20 b' of the front stack 20 b. Adhesive tape segments 26a "may be disposed on opposing outwardly facing walls of the feedstock 20. In this way, the starting or last segment 20a ', 20 b' may be inserted into the pocket 50 of the other segment, i.e., the pocket 50 formed between the transversely folded segment 20e and the unfolded intermediate segment 20f (see, e.g., fig. 2 a). The adhesive tape segment 26a "on the outer surface of the insertion segment may contact and bond to the inner wall surface of another segment within its receiving pocket 50.

As further disclosed by illustration in fig. 3, in some embodiments, the beginning and last sections 20a ', 20 b' are each truncated folded layers in the respective folded stack, configured to extend only partially across the entire depth of the stack, while all other folded layers of the respective folded stack extend the entire depth of the folded stack (i.e., the longitudinal length of each folded layer of the folded stack, as indicated by the label "depth" in fig. 2 c), as will be understood by those of skill in the art upon review of the present disclosure. Similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 1a-1c, the arrangement described with respect to fig. 3 helps to prevent the need to refill the dunnage machines 2a, 54, 55 or reconnect the beginning section of the raw material supply to the dunnage machines 2a, 54, 55, which may be time consuming to refill the dunnage machines 2a, 54, 55 or reconnect the beginning section of the raw material supply to the dunnage machines 2a, 54, 55.

Fig. 5 and 6 illustrate an exemplary spreader 100 of the present disclosure, which spreader 100 may be included as part of a dunnage machine (or dunnage system), arranged upstream of a forming gear of the dunnage machine, as will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure. By forming gears or other types of forming members within the dunnage machines 2a, 54, the expander 100 can facilitate pre-forming the stock material fed to the dunnage machine by expanding the stock material prior to forming the stock material. The dilators 100 may be conveniently received in the pockets 50 of the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 of the folded stack 12a (or, as otherwise noted, the preconfigured sheet stock material may be fitted or wrapped around the dilators 100 with the dilators in the pockets 50). In particular, during filling of the dunnage machine, the transversely folded section 20e of the preconfigured stock material may rise upwardly and outwardly generally in the direction of arrow "B" in fig. 4, such that the expander 100 in fig. 5 and 6 may fit generally between the transversely folded outer section 20e and the intermediate section 20 f. This may be done for the start section 20 a' of a pre-configured front supply unit of raw material stock (e.g., a folded stack or roll). The sheet stock material 20 is then pulled in a forward direction (generally indicated by arrow "C" in fig. 6) on the expander 100 toward the forming member (e.g., a gear of a dunnage system).

Referring back to fig. 3 (showing the starting section 20a 'of the rear folding stack placed within the pocket 50 of the last section 20 b' of the front folding stack, or vice versa), one benefit of this arrangement of connecting separate folding stacks is to allow successive folding stack pockets 50 to successively receive the spreader 100 as they are pulled over the spreader 100 in the connected configuration, as will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing the present disclosure (a spreader similar or identical to the spreader 100 may be provided within the dunnage machines 2a, 54 or other dunnage machines to receive the pre-configured sheet stock material, but which is not illustrated within the dunnage machines 2a, 54 shown in fig. 1 and 3 because it is obscured by a housing and/or other structure, as will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing the present disclosure). That is, as shown in fig. 7, when the starting segment 20a 'is connected to the last segment 20 b' within the pocket 50 of the last segment (and vice versa, when the last segment 20b 'is connected to the starting segment 20 a' within the pocket 50 of the starting segment), the pocket 50 of one of the segments 20a ', 20 b' opens into the pocket 50 of the other segment 20a ', 20 b', and because the segments 20a ', 20 b' are connected together, this allows the connected fanfold stack to continuously receive a spreader 100 within the pocket 50 (see, e.g., fig. 8), with the outer wall 20aa 'of one segment connected to the inner wall 20 bb' of the other segment by the adhesive applied when loaded. Thus, when the folded stack is connected together in this manner, no refill of the dunnage machine is typically required as the front folded stack is depleted and pulled through the spreader, so long as it is connected to the rear folded stack as described above. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure, connecting the fanfold stacks via insertion into the pockets 50 in this manner can be time consuming and difficult. In particular, the user needs to insert one segment 20a 'or 20 b' into the pocket 50 of the other segment 20a 'or 20 b' and adhere the outer surface of the inserted segment to the inner surface of the other segment within the pocket 50 of the other segment.

Instead of the more time consuming method described above, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the folded stacks are connected in sequence for continuous feeding via a modified starting section 20a 'in the rear stack and a modified last section 20 b' in the front stack. Referring to fig. 9a, in some embodiments, a front folded stack 20b ("front" refers to the folded stack being formed in the dunnage closer to the dunnage than a "rear" stack 20a) may have a last section 20b '(trailing folded layer) that is modified to form a modified last section 20 b' shown in fig. 9 b. Specifically, for example, the middle section 20f may be partially cut out and removed from the rear edge of the last section 20b 'by cutting the transverse cuts 20g across the width of the last section 20 b' and the transverse cuts 20g are positioned longitudinally at, for example, the longitudinal midpoint (midpoint of the depth) of the last section 20f, and cutting the longitudinal cuts along each fold around which the left and right outer sections 20e are folded from the rear edge 111 to the transverse cuts 20g to form the cuts 20 h. These cutouts 20g, 20h allow a portion of the intermediate section (labeled 110 in fig. 9 a), to be completely removed from the intermediate section 20f to form a modified final section 20 b' as shown in fig. 9b, where only a portion of the intermediate section 20f is intact at its front portion 20 i. The desired effect of the altered final section 20b ' is to expose the inner surface 20e ' of the outer section 20e of the final section 20b ' that would otherwise be obscured by the intermediate section 20f in a pre-constructed folded stack.

Referring to fig. 9a, the top folded layer (or starting section 20a ') of the pre-constructed back stack 20a may be folded in a tapered configuration without cutting to form the modified starting section 20 a' of the back stack 20a shown in fig. 9 b. Specifically, the rear stack 20a configuration in fig. 9b is formed by the rear stack 20a configuration in fig. 9a by folding the front portion of the rear stack longitudinally back into two portions (described further below) near the starting edge of its starting section 20 a' to expose the otherwise obscured portion of the middle section 20f (which would normally be obscured by the left and right outer sections 20e, 20e) in front of the outer section 20e (see, e.g., fig. 9a, showing the folded stack 20a with the middle section 20f largely obscured by the left and right outer sections 20e, 20 e). The desired effect of the altered initiation section 20 a' in fig. 9b is to expose the upward facing portion of the intermediate section 20f in fig. 9b that would otherwise be obscured by the outer section 20e in a pre-constructed folded stack.

One way of forming the altered initiation segment 20 a' is illustrated in fig. 10a-10 d. For example, first, as shown in fig. 10a and 10b, the left and right outer sections 20e, 20e may be folded outwardly to expose the inner surface 20 f' of the middle section 20 f. Next, referring to fig. 10c and 10d, the triangular portion 21 of the starting section 20a 'may be folded longitudinally back on each side of the starting section 20 a' from the front edge 21b of the starting section 20a 'until the triangular portion 21 lies substantially flat on the inner surface 21 f' of the middle section 20f and the inner surfaces of the respective left and right outer sections 20e, 20 e. The triangular portion may be folded longitudinally back about angled fold 21a so that fold 21a forms a new leading edge of intermediate section 20f in the changed starting section of fig. 10d and 9 b. The fold 21a may be angled longitudinally outwardly and rearwardly such that the fold 21a forms a laterally tapered front edge of the starting section 20a ', the forwardmost location 21d of the starting section 20a ' having the narrowest width of the starting section 20a '. In some embodiments, the triangular portion 21 includes a portion 21b of the outer section 20 e. Thus, when triangular portion 21 is folded longitudinally back about crease 21a, crease 21a also includes a reverse portion 21c, which reverse portion 21c is angled longitudinally inward and rearward. As stated above, a desirable effect of the modified initiation section 20a 'in fig. 9b and 10d is to expose the upward facing portion of the intermediate section 20f that would otherwise be obscured by the outer section 20e in the preconfigured foldaway stack (in relation to fig. 9b and 10 d), and another desirable effect of the modified initiation section 20 a' illustrated so far is to provide a tapered leading edge defined by a crease 21a, the leading edge having a narrow forwardmost position 21 d. In some alternative embodiments, such as shown in fig. 9c and 9d, the altered initiation section 20 a' may be formed by cutting away a front portion of the outer section 20e along the dashed line shown in fig. 9c to form the initiation section 20a "in fig. 9d, which initiation section 20 a" also exposes portions of the intermediate section 2f that would otherwise be obscured.

As best seen in fig. 9b, the exposed intermediate section 20f of the starting section 20a 'of the rear stack 20a may be placed in direct contact with the intermediate longitudinal section 20f of the last section 20 b' of the front stack 20b across the entire width of the starting and last sections 20a ', 20 b' simply by aligning the last section 20b 'face-to-face with the starting section 20 a' and allowing the two stacks 20a, 20b to meet or abut flat with the front stack 20b resting on the rear stack 20 a. This is not inherent to the unchanged starting section 20a and the unchanged last section 20 b'. Furthermore, when the front stack 20b with the modified last section 20b ' is allowed to rest on top of the modified start section 20a ' of the rear stack 20a, the inner surface 20e ' of the outer section 20e in the last section 20b ' abuts against the outer section 20e of the start section 20a '. Again, this is not inherent to the unaltered start segment 20a 'and the unaltered last segment 20 b'. The effect of this mutual abutment of the intermediate section 20f between the front and rear stacks 20b, 20a and the mutual abutment of the outer section 20e between the front and rear stacks 20b, 20a is that the pockets 50 of each formed in the modified last and starting sections 20b ', 20 a' will align, as best seen in fig. 9b, to form continuous longitudinal pockets 50 throughout the joined folded stacks 20a, 20b (the pockets 50 of each folded stack being defined by the inwardly facing walls of the outer section 20e folded over the inwardly facing walls of the intermediate section 2f, or as otherwise stated, the spaces between these sections).

As best seen in fig. 9b, the adhesive 114 may be placed at different locations on the surface of the modified last segment 20b 'or the modified beginning segment 20 a' to contact and engage corresponding locations on the segments when the segments mate (as generally indicated by arrow "D"). That is, for example, the adhesive 114 on the triangular portion 21 of the middle section 20f may be adhered to the outer surface of the middle section 20f of the last section 20b ', and the adhesive 114 on the outer surface of the outer section 20e of the starting section 20 a' may be adhered to the inner surface 20e 'of the outer section 20e of the last section 20 b'. As will be understood by those skilled in the art after reviewing the present disclosure, in combination with the modified starting and last segments 20a ', 20 b', the adhesive 114 disposed at the above-described locations allows the front and back stacks 20b to align and abut with the front stack on top of the back stack, and adhere to form a continuous pocket 50 between the front and back stacks. This avoids the otherwise time consuming task of splicing the front and rear stacks together while maintaining a continuous pocket, such as in the previous method and the structure described in relation to fig. 3. As will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure, the adhesive 114 may be applied at alternative locations other than those shown in the various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, a single adhesive tape or element/surface may be applied proximate to the tapered front edge portion of the intermediate section of the altered starting section, rather than having adhesive in multiple locations of the intermediate section.

The modified last section and modified start section described immediately above provide structures and methods for various connection configurations between the front stack 20b and the back stack 20 a. In some embodiments, where two stacks have varying last and starting sections, the front stack in the stack sequence simply rests on the back stack or the next stack, and successive back stacks may be placed under the front stack (i.e., the last back stack in the connected stack sequence, etc.) to form a sequence of folded stacks. Adhesive 114 may be applied as the connection between the stacks to provide a continuous supply with pockets 50 continuously aligned. In other embodiments, the adhesive 114 may be applied to either the last or starting section to impart adhesion between the above-described locations at any time before each of the fanfold stacks are loaded into the dunnage system in a sequence of fanfold stacks, as shown in fig. 1 and 3. In some embodiments, the adhesive 114 is applied when making a folded stack prior to shipment to a customer, and the adhesive may be covered by a peelable cover that can be peeled off prior to using the adhesive.

In other embodiments, such as shown in fig. 3, horizontal directional loading of the feed stacks is highly desirable, and the same or similar principles would apply, wherein a front stack with a modified last segment 20a 'abuts a rear stack with a modified starting segment 20 b' so that the stacks can be joined without having to insert the starting segment into the pocket of the last segment, and/or vice versa, and still provide a continuous aligned pocket 50.

In some embodiments, the folded stack may be manufactured such that each of the modified starting section 20a 'and the modified last section 20 b' are so. In this manner, each folded stack may be connected as described above with respect to fig. 9b, regardless of whether it is used as a back stack or a front stack with respect to the folded stack to which it is connected.

The embodiments disclosed herein provide a convenient, efficient, time-saving mechanism for connecting different pre-configured supply units of sheet stock material with laterally inwardly folded outer sections such that a continuous pocket is formed between the connected units (e.g., a folded stack or a roll of sheet stock material). In the case of a roll, the ends of the roll may need to be exposed before the changed last section of the roll can be connected to the changed starting section of another roll. However, in the case of a folded stack, embodiments disclosed herein may facilitate a user to stack multiple stacks of folded stacks and continue to do so when the stack is depleted, thereby maintaining a continuous pocket on a continuous basis without having to refill the dunnage machine being fed. Thus, in some embodiments, the user typically only needs to manually fill the pre-stack or supply on a regular basis, such as, for example, when a jam has occurred and the dunnage machine needs to be cleaned, or when the dunnage machine is initially started to be used, or if the user inadvertently or intentionally runs out of the connected supply of sheet stock material. The use of a preconfigured stock material (e.g., a fold-over stack or roll) of the present disclosure to fill a dunnage machine may include, among other things, raising a laterally inwardly folded longitudinal section 20e (outer section 20e) at a starting section 20a 'to unfold them from a preconfigured shape (flat), wrapping the outer section 20e around a preform 100 or 100', the outer section 20e enclosing a top portion of the preform, and an intermediate section 20f disposed below the preform (as shown in fig. 11 a), and connecting a forwardmost location 21d of the sheet stock material to a dunnage forming member, such as a gear 30, as explained further below.

Further, it should be noted that in some embodiments, the starting section of the change and the last section of the change may be reversed in a vertical orientation and used for the same or similar purposes as described above with respect to fig. 9 b; however, this reversal does not take into account the advantage of having the changed starter section 20 a' act as a leading edge into the dunnage machine. For example, as best seen in fig. 11a, in some embodiments, the fold 21a of the altered initiation section 20a 'allows any given folded stack having the altered initiation section 20 a' to be efficiently packed in a dunnage machine, including the feeding of a forming member (e.g., gear 30) that is activated to the dunnage machine. That is, the tapered configuration of the leading edge of the fold stack initiation section 20a 'with the narrower forwardmost location 21d allows the fold stack to be packed into the dunnage machine more efficiently with less jamming than the overall lateral width of the initiation section 20 a'. Without the tapered leading edge portion 32, the user may need to manually contract (manually form a narrower configuration) the front portion of the sheet stock material to initially feed it to the forming member, which may create an irregular random structure at the leading edge portion 32, or otherwise feed the leading edge portion 32 of the full width (corresponding to the width of the folded stack) to the forming member, and in both cases, portions of the sheet stock material are more likely to jam on various portions of the dunnage machine and cause jams (as opposed to the tapered leading edge portion 32) by accumulating in the dunnage machine (see, e.g., fig. 11c) as the forming member is operated, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art in reviewing the present disclosure. That is, without being limited by theory, the arrangement of the tapered crease 21a and folded edge portion 21 may allow the starting section 20 a' to be pulled into the dunnage machine while reducing the likelihood of the leading edge portion 32 or other portion of the sheet of stock material 20 becoming stuck on a portion of the dunnage machine.

Referring to fig. 4, 5, 9B, and 11a, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5 and 11a, when the left and right outer sections 20e, 20e on the starting section 20a 'are expanded and raised upwardly and laterally outward in the general direction indicated by arrow "B" (e.g., fig. 4) and then wrapped around the expander 100, 100' of the dunnage machine during filling, this can help to inflate the stock sheet material 20 as the stock sheet material 20 is pulled through the dunnage machine so that the resulting paper mat (e.g., dunnage buffer material) will have longitudinally extending bulked side portions (bulked up side portions), such as, for example, as shown in fig. 12, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the present disclosure. That is, for example, the shaping member can be used to compress or stitch together the inward portions of the outer segments 20e (as seen in the laterally central region in fig. 12), while the intermediate segments 20f and laterally outer portions of the outer segments 20e are inflated by the saddle portion 104 of the dilator 100. The resulting stably bulked outer section of dunnage or cushioning material can provide the desired cushioning for a package or other container, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more structures are provided herein to help ensure that, once the dunnage machine with the pre-form (otherwise referred to herein as a "spreader") is filled and operating as described above, as the stock sheet material 20 is processed/pulled, both the left and right outer sections 20e, 20e of the pre-formed (pre-folded) stock sheet material remain curled inward around the spreader 100, as shown in fig. 11a, and then compressed by the forming gears to form the desired paper mat as shown in fig. 12. That is, in particular, the present inventors have noted that when sheet stock material 20 from a stack 20a (e.g., fig. 9b) is filled into a dunnage machine as shown in fig. 11a, during operation, the outer section 20e may have a tendency to "derail", or otherwise partially or fully expand from around the expander 100 such that the final cushioning product is not properly formed with sufficiently bulked (inflated) side portions or the like as shown in the dunnage product 7 in fig. 12. Various structures and methods are described below to facilitate the desired operation.

As shown in fig. 13 and 13a, prior to entering the expander 100, the pre-configured stock sheet material is in a flat configuration (see, e.g., each of the folded layers in fig. 2c and 9 b). In some embodiments, during operations after the sheet stock material has been filled into the dunnage machine (e.g., wrapped around the expander 100 and connected to the forming member 30), as the forming member 30 pulls on the sheet stock material 20, the front edge 102 of the expander 100 applies a force to expand or open, spread the stock material 20 as it passes over the front edge 102. The front edge 102 is shown in fig. 13, which shows a simplified side cross-sectional view in fig. 13. The spreading effect is a function of the angle a at the front edge of the dilator, which is approximately the angle between the top outer wall surface 102a and the lower or bottom outer wall surface 102b, the top outer wall surface 102a and the lower or bottom outer wall surface 102b sloping backwards towards each other to join at the front edge 102 in a backwards tapering manner. The inventors have experimentally found that in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the effective angle α may be in the range of 10 to 120 degrees, 10 to 40 degrees, or 40 to 90 degrees, or 90 to 120 degrees. The inventors have found that such an angle a may significantly improve system performance compared to some angles outside this range. As shown in fig. 13, after the stock sheet material has been unfolded and continues to move onto the front portion of the extender 100 by the forming member (e.g., gear 30) pulling on the front edge 102 at the angle α, the upper layer of paper (e.g., the laterally inwardly folded section 20e) and the bottom layer of paper (e.g., the middle unfolded section 20f) may continue to separate vertically at a corresponding similar or identical angle α.

In some embodiments, when the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 is fed to a dunnage machine including a spreader, the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 having two outer longitudinal fold lines (e.g., defined by longitudinal perforation lines 20 d) will travel more smoothly with the outwardly tapered left and right side edges 108 provided on the spreader 100', e.g., as illustrated in fig. 13a-13 d. That is, for example, in some embodiments, the disc 106 is rotatably connected to the left and right side edge portions of the dilator 100' near its anterior region. As shown in fig. 13b, the disc 106 can be mounted on the dilator 100' in a manner free to rotate about the central vertical axis "E" in the direction indicated by arrow "F". In some embodiments, the disk rotates about a plane parallel to the average direction of travel (travel) of the sheet stock material 20 of the expander 100'. As best seen in fig. 13d, the disc 106 has outwardly tapered top and bottom walls 106 ", 106 'that transition into a tapered perimeter that forms the right and left outwardly tapered edges 108 of the dilator 100'. As the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 travels over the expander 100 'and the outer section 20e wraps around the saddle portion 104', the outwardly tapered edge 108 of the tray 106 can exert a force to facilitate opening of the outer section 20e along a longitudinal fold line (e.g., which can be a perforated longitudinal fold line, as described herein). In some embodiments, the outwardly tapered left and right side edges are provided on a dilator without the disc 106, such as, for example, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, which may also serve a similar purpose as the disc 106, as will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the extender 100' having the tray 106, the tray can be freely rotated in the forward direction of arrow "F" shown in fig. 13b to further accommodate the smooth advancement of the preconfigured sheet stock material. In some embodiments, the tray 106 is positioned on the extender 100 'such that a rear edge 106a of the tray 106 (rear refers to a direction away from the direction of flow of sheet stock material over the extender) is proximate to the front edge 102 of the extender 100'. In some embodiments, the longitudinal distance between the posterior edge 106a of the disc 106 and the anterior edge 102 of the dilator is less than about 10mm, or less than about 20mm, or less than about 30 mm. In this way, when the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 is pulled forward to wrap around the expander 100 ', the tapered top and bottom walls 106 ", 106' of the tray 106 can help to open (unfold) the preconfigured sheet stock material 20 with the outer section 20e rising upward to slide over the saddle portion 104 (see, e.g., fig. 13d and 14).

Referring to fig. 13d, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the width L2 of the dilator 100' (e.g., the distance between the outwardly tapered edges of the tray 106) measured from the leftmost edge of the left tray 106 to the rightmost edge of the right tray 106 is less than the maximum width of the preconfigured sheet stock material (e.g., sheet stock material 20a in fig. 9b or 14), which may have a width L1 of, for example, 15 inches or about 38.1 centimeters. In some embodiments, the ratio of the maximum width of the dilator, L2, divided by the maximum width of the pre-configured sheet stock material processed in the dunnage machine 30, L1, is between about 0.75 and 0.80, or between about 0.80 and about 0.95.

Referring to fig. 14 and 14a, in some embodiments, a beveled or inclined separator rod 120 is provided and is connected to the dilator 100'. The inclined separator rod 120 can rise from a recessed surface 122 of the dilator 100 'between its saddle portions 104'. In addition to providing mounting members for the expander 100 ' (in some embodiments), the inclined separator rod 120 can also facilitate operation of the expander 100 ' to assist in moving the outer section 20e of the preconfigured sheet stock material forward in a "rolled" configuration along the expander saddle portion 104 ' shortly after traveling over the saddle portion 104 ', thereby "wrapping" a later portion (former portion) of the expander saddle portion 104 ' to help stably form the dunnage product 7 in a desired shape. If the pre-constructed sheet stock material does not remain sufficiently wrapped around the expander 100 ' saddle portion 104 ' in a manner generally/approximately as shown in fig. 14, the dunnage product 7 may not have bulked side portions 7 ' as shown in fig. 12. For example, as can be seen in fig. 14b, fig. 14b shows a simplified transverse cross-sectional view of the expander 100 ' having a saddle portion 104 ', requiring the outer section 20e to be crimped or wrapped around the saddle portion 104 ', with the inward portion of the outer section 20e being inclined toward the recessed surface 122 between the saddle portions 104 ', and proceeding along the expander 100 ' in a similar manner before reaching the shaping member (e.g., gear 30) of the dunnage machine.

Still referring to fig. 14b, without the separator bar 120 being tilted in the rearward-rising direction, the outer section 20e will have a more frequent and/or stronger tendency to expand in the upward direction indicated at least in part by arrow "G", which in turn will expand or unwind the preconfigured sheet stock material or outer section thereof from the saddle portion 104' and cause the dunnage product to poorly form or otherwise jam the dunnage machine. In particular, referring again to fig. 14 and 14a, in some embodiments, the rising longitudinal axis of the separator bar 120 is inclined rearwardly upward (or, in other words, forwardly downward) to assist the outer section 20e of the sheet stock material 20 in moving in a forward direction to curl inward about the saddle portion 104'. Furthermore, the present inventors have determined that a vertically oriented separator rod may cause the outer section 20e to "flip up" (not required), or otherwise expand laterally outward, rather than curling in the saddle portion 104 'of the dilator, or wrapping inward down around the saddle portion 104' of the dilator (required). (see, e.g., FIG. 14 b). In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14a, the backward-sloping angle a, measured between the axis (or straight edge) of the sloping separator bar 120 and the concave surface 122 of the expander 100' or average plane (average plane) of travel of the sheet stock material, is between about ten (10) degrees and seventy-five (75) degrees. In other embodiments, the backward tilt angle is greater than seventy-five (75) degrees or less than ten (10) degrees.

Referring to fig. 13b, in some embodiments, at the central portion of the dilator 100 ', just forward of the dilator's leading edge 102, an open pocket or recessed region 124 defined by a recessed surface 122 is provided. Rearward of the recessed area defining its rearward perimeter is the top wall of the forward edge 102 of the dilator 100', which has a top outer wall surface 102 a. In some embodiments, the vertical distance or height L1 by which the top outer wall surface 102a rises above the front edge 102 (or the vertical center of the front edge 102) is between about 5mm and 20mm, or less than about 60mm (see, e.g., fig. 15). In some embodiments, the height L1 is less than about 20% of the maximum width of the pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

In some embodiments, the maximum width L3 of recessed region 124 is configured to be between about 20% (1/5) and about 80% (4/5) of the maximum width L2 of dilator 100'.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure, the dunnage system 2 generally employs rollers for directing sheet stock material from a supply tray or roll location where a folded stack or roll of paper is placed or held to supply the sheet stock material to the dunnage machine. Referring to fig. 16a and 16b, there is shown a dunnage system 2, the dunnage system 2 having: at least one roller, which may be the last roller in a series of one or more rollers, for guiding sheet stock material from a stock sheet supply unit (e.g., a pre-constructed folded stack of multi-or single ply paper); and a dunnage machine 55, the dunnage machine 55 including an expander 100', a motor unit 58 for driving the forming members 30 (e.g., gears), etc., as will be understood by those skilled in the art upon review of the present disclosure. The final contact location 130 is defined as the location where the preconfigured stock sheet material of the present disclosure contacts the "last roller" (the last paper roll in the feeding system) prior to interacting with the expander 100'. As the sheet stock material advances from the final contact location 130 to the expander 100 ', the sheet stock material 20 is in a "free state" with various degrees of freedom of movement, and thus there is a risk that it will not be properly aligned with the leading edge 102 of the expander 100' to properly deploy the outer segments 20e so that they ride onto the saddle portion 104 'and curl around the saddle portion 104'. Incorrect alignment may result in the sheet stock material 20 jamming or otherwise incorrectly forming the dunnage product 7 of fig. 12. To address the alignment problem and increase stable operation of the dunnage machine, using a pre-configured stock sheet material with spreader 100' in the dunnage system 2 of fig. 16a, the dunnage system 2 can be configured such that the distance L4 between the final contact location 130 and the leading edge 102 is less than about 150 mm. In some embodiments, L4 is less than about 200 mm.

Further, referring to fig. 16b, in some embodiments, the dunnage system 2 is configured such that the final contact location 130 and the front edge 102 of the spreader should generally reside in a single horizontal plane to facilitate efficient sheet stock material travel over the spreader 100' to produce the dunnage product 7. In some embodiments, the height difference, vertical height D1, between leading edge 102 and final contact location 130 should be less than about 40 mm.

As will be understood by those of skill in the art upon review of the present disclosure, various aspects of the present disclosure, including the altered starting and last sections, the use of the altered starting and/or last sections to stack or otherwise couple pre-configured stock supply units (e.g., fanfold stacks) formed from multi-directional perforated stock sheet material, the use of tapered leading edge portions for the pre-configured stock sheet material, the loading and wrapping of the pre-configured stock sheet material around the pre-form (spreader 100') by raising a pre-folded outer section (e.g., pre-configured) at the leading portion of the stock sheet supply unit, and the various structural features disclosed herein for the spreader, dunnage system, and dunnage machine may be in a dunnage system or method of operating a dunnage system or machine, or combined in a stock sheet supply unit. Alternatively, one or more of these different aspects described herein may be used alone or with one or more of the other different aspects described herein.

One of ordinary skill in the art will immediately appreciate upon review of this disclosure that certain details and features may be added, removed and/or changed without departing from the spirit of the invention. Reference throughout the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "another embodiment," or "some embodiments," or variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one or some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, such that the reference does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The present application also provides the following aspects:

1) a method of feeding pre-configured sheet stock supply units to a dunnage machine, wherein each pre-configured sheet stock supply unit includes a longitudinally extending intermediate section and longitudinally extending outer sections that have been pre-folded inwardly over the intermediate section to conceal a portion of the inner surface of the intermediate section and to conceal the inner surface on each of the outer sections, the method including the steps, not necessarily in the order listed:

stacking a first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit on top of a second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein due to said stacking, said first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit is coupled to said second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by adhesive contact between the respective sheet stock supply units when stacked, and wherein due to said first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit being coupled to said second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by said stacking, successive pockets are aligned between the respective sheet stock supply units.

2) The method of 1), further comprising:

providing a modified last section on the first pre-configured sheet stock supply unit that exposes a portion of each inner surface of the outer sections on the first pre-configured sheet stock supply unit, wherein other portions of the inner surfaces of the outer sections are obscured on the first pre-configured sheet stock supply unit;

providing a modified start section on the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit that exposes a portion of the intermediate section on the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit that would not otherwise be exposed through a remaining portion of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit;

wherein coupling the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit comprises coupling exposed portions of the inner surface of the outer section of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to an outer surface on an outer section of the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, and coupling exposed portions of the intermediate section of the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to an outer surface of an intermediate section of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit; and

pulling at least one of the first or second pre-configured sheet stock supply units toward the dunnage machine.

3) The method of claim 2), wherein the first and second preconfigured sheet stock supply units are each folded stacks of preconfigured sheet stock material.

4) The method of claim 2), wherein an exposed portion of each inner surface of the outer section on the first pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least a portion of the intermediate section of the first pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been removed.

5) The method of claim 2), wherein the exposed portion of the middle section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least a portion of the front edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a new front edge.

6) The method of claim 5), wherein the at least a portion of the leading edge is triangular in shape.

7) The method of claim 5), wherein the new leading edge is angled.

8) The method of claim 2), wherein the exposed portion of the middle section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least two portions of a leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a new leading edge, the at least two portions of the leading edge each being triangular in shape.

9) The method of claim 2), wherein the exposed portion of the middle section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least two portions of the front edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a tapered new front edge.

10) The method of claim 2), wherein the exposed portion of the intermediate section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed because at least a portion of the leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit has been folded longitudinally back to form a new leading edge having a leading portion of a width narrower than the maximum width of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit.

11) The method of claim 2), further comprising applying an adhesive on at least one of the altered last segment and the altered beginning segment for imparting the coupling.

12) The method of claim 2), wherein the pulling comprises a forming member of the dunnage grasping a tapered leading edge of a preconfigured sheet stock supply unit.

13) The method of claim 2), further comprising stacking the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit on top of a third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit is adhesively coupled to the third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit as a result of said stacking, and wherein successive pockets are aligned between the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, and the third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit.

14) A method of feeding a sheet stock material to a dunnage machine, comprising:

providing a preconfigured sheet stock material supply unit having a plurality of transverse perforation lines and at least one longitudinal perforation line;

connecting the pre-constructed sheet stock supply unit to a spreader of a dunnage machine by raising at least one longitudinal section of the pre-constructed sheet stock supply unit at a forward portion thereof to spread the at least one longitudinal section about the at least one longitudinal perforation line, whereby the spreader is receivable within a pocket formed by the at least one longitudinal section and another longitudinal section separated by the at least one longitudinal perforation line; and

wrapping the raised at least one longitudinal section around the dilator such that a portion of the at least one longitudinal section curls inward around a portion of the dilator.

15) The method of 14), further comprising connecting a leading end portion of the preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to a forming member, wherein the leading end portion is tapered.

16) The method of 14), further comprising at least a third longitudinal section of the pre-configured sheet stock supply unit and at least a second longitudinal perforation line of the pre-configured sheet stock supply unit, wherein the at least third longitudinal section and the at least one longitudinal section are each folded laterally inward to lie substantially flat against the other longitudinal section prior to feeding the pre-configured sheet stock supply unit to the dunnage machine.

17) The method of 16), wherein connecting the preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to the spreader of the dunnage machine further comprises elevating the at least third longitudinal segment at a front portion thereof to deploy the at least third longitudinal segment about the at least second longitudinal perforation line to expose the pocket to the spreader, the pocket being defined by the at least one longitudinal segment, the another longitudinal segment, and the at least third longitudinal segment.

18) A supply unit for a pre-configured sheet stock material for a dunnage machine, the supply unit comprising:

at least one intermediate longitudinal section;

at least one transversely folded longitudinal section; and is

Wherein the starting section or the last section of the supply unit comprises the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section or the at least one intermediate longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section.

19) The supply unit of 18), wherein the supply unit is a folded stack of sheet stock material.

20) The supply unit of 18), wherein the at least one intermediate longitudinal section comprises a cut extending widthwise along a front or rear edge thereof, the cut intercepting the intermediate longitudinal section relative to the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section.

21) The supply unit of 18), further comprising at least a second transversely folded longitudinal section, wherein both the transversely folded longitudinal section and the second transversely folded longitudinal section each comprise a folded leading edge portion, the folded leading edge portion being folded in the longitudinal direction.

22) The supply unit of 21), wherein the folded front edge portions of the longitudinal sections each form part of a triangular larger folded portion comprising part of the at least one intermediate longitudinal section.

23) The supply unit of 18), comprising the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section at a first end of the supply unit and the at least one intermediate longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section at a second end of the supply unit.

24) The supply unit of 18), wherein the starting section comprises a tapered leading edge.

25) The supply unit of 18), further comprising an adhesive disposed on at least one of the beginning section and the last section.

26) A connecting chain for a folded feed stock supply unit of a dunnage machine, the connecting chain comprising:

a front supply unit having a last section;

a rear supply unit having a start section; and is

Wherein the front and rear supply units each comprise at least one longitudinally extending fold line about which at least one longitudinal section of the supply unit is folded transversely against another longitudinal section of the supply unit, and wherein the initiation section comprises at least one other longitudinal section extending longitudinally in front of the at least one longitudinal section.

27) The connecting link according to 26), further comprising a transverse cut and at least one longitudinal cut on said last section, said transverse cut and said at least one longitudinal cut being made to remove at least a portion of said at least another longitudinal section.

28) The connecting chain of claim 26), wherein said at least another longitudinal section is a continuous longitudinal intermediate section, and further comprising at least a second longitudinal section folded transversely against said longitudinal intermediate section in each of both the front and rear supply units.

29) The connecting chain of 28), wherein each of the at least one longitudinal section and the at least second longitudinal section comprises a longitudinally folded portion at the start section of the post-supply.

30) The connecting link of 29), wherein the longitudinally folded portion is joined with the longitudinally folded portion of the intermediate section to form a triangular shaped longitudinally folded portion.

31) The connecting chain of 29), wherein a leading edge of the starting section tapers laterally.

32) The connecting chain of 28), further comprising a continuous longitudinally extending pocket extending between the front and rear supply units, the pocket being at least partially defined by the at least one longitudinal segment and the continuous longitudinal mid-segment.

33) A dunnage machine comprising:

a dilator;

a forming member;

a motor connected to the forming member; and is

Wherein the spreader includes a left saddle portion, a right saddle portion, and an intermediate recessed area between the left saddle portion and the right saddle portion, and a vertically elevated separator rod elevated vertically upward between the left saddle portion and the right saddle portion.

34) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the separator bar is raised in an inclined manner.

35) The dunnage machine of claim 34), wherein the slope of elevation of the separator bar is rearward relative to the direction of travel of the sheet stock material.

36) The dunnage machine of 35), wherein the angle of inclination of the separator bar, measured between the average plane of travel of sheet stock material moving through the dunnage machine and the rearward-facing edge of the separator bar, is between about 10-75 degrees.

37) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the thickness of the separator bar is less than 1/3-1/10 of the maximum width of the recessed area between the left and right saddle portions.

38) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein a rearward leading edge of the spreader against a direction of travel of the sheet stock material is tapered against the direction of travel.

39) The dunnage machine of 38), wherein the angle between the top outer wall and the bottom outer wall of the tapered front edge is between about 40 degrees and 60 degrees.

40) The dunnage machine of 38), wherein the angle between the top outer wall and the bottom outer wall of the tapered front edge is between about 40 degrees and 90 degrees.

41) The dunnage machine of 38), wherein the angle between the top outer wall and the bottom outer wall of the tapered front edge is between about 10 degrees and 120 degrees.

42) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising outwardly tapered edges on each side of the spreader.

43) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising a disc rotatably mounted on each side of the spreader.

44) The dunnage machine of 43), wherein each of the trays has a perimeter edge that tapers outward.

45) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the maximum width of the spreader is between 60% and 95% of the maximum width of the pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

46) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the maximum width of the spreader is between 60% and 70% of the maximum width of the pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

47) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the maximum width of the spreader is between 75% and 95% of the maximum width of the pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

48) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein a rearward leading edge of the expander against a direction of travel of sheet stock material tapers against the direction of travel, and wherein a top outer wall rises from the leading edge and a bottom outer wall falls from the leading edge, and wherein a maximum height of the top outer wall is less than about 60mm when a maximum width of pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine is about 15 inches.

49) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein a rearward leading edge of the expander against a direction of travel of sheet stock material tapers against the direction of travel, and wherein a top outer wall rises from the leading edge and a bottom outer wall falls from the leading edge, and wherein a maximum height of the top outer wall is less than about 20% of a maximum width of pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

50) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein a rearward leading edge of the expander against a direction of travel of sheet stock material tapers against the direction of travel, and wherein a top outer wall rises from the leading edge and a bottom outer wall falls from the leading edge, and wherein a maximum height of the top outer wall is about 10% of a maximum width of pre-configured sheet stock material being processed in the dunnage machine.

51) The dunnage machine of 33), wherein the maximum width of the recessed region of the spreader is about 20% (1/5) to about 80% (4/5) of the maximum width of the spreader.

52) The dunnage machine of 51), wherein a maximum width of the spreader is measured between a leftmost surface of the left rotatable disk of the spreader and a rightmost surface of the right rotatable disk of the spreader.

53) The dunnage machine of 51), wherein a maximum width of the spreader is measured between a leftmost surface of the left tapered edge of the spreader and a rightmost surface of the right tapered edge of the spreader.

54) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising a rearward facing leading edge of the spreader against a direction of travel of sheet stock material and one or more sheet stock feed positioning members, wherein a last feed positioning member has a final contact position with sheet stock material fed to the spreader, and wherein a distance between the final contact position and the leading edge of the spreader is less than 200 mm.

55) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising a rearward facing leading edge of the spreader against a direction of travel of sheet stock material and one or more sheet stock feed positioning members, wherein a last feed positioning member has a final contact position with sheet stock material fed to the spreader, and wherein a distance between the final contact position and the leading edge of the spreader is less than about 150 mm.

56) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising a rearward facing leading edge of the spreader against a direction of travel of sheet stock material and one or more sheet stock feed positioning members, wherein a last feed positioning member has a final contact position with sheet stock material fed to the spreader, and wherein a difference in height between the final contact position and the leading edge of the spreader is less than about 60 mm.

57) The dunnage machine of 33), further comprising a rearward facing leading edge of the spreader against a direction of travel of sheet stock material and one or more sheet stock feed positioning members, wherein a last feed positioning member has a final contact position with sheet stock material fed to the spreader, and wherein a difference in height between the final contact position and the leading edge of the spreader is less than about 40 mm.

Claims (25)

1. A method of feeding pre-configured sheet stock supply units to a dunnage machine, wherein each pre-configured sheet stock supply unit includes a longitudinally extending middle section and first and second longitudinally extending outer sections that have been pre-folded inwardly over the middle section to conceal a portion of an inner surface of the middle section and to conceal the inner surface on each of the first and second outer sections, the method comprising the steps of:

stacking a first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit on top of a second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein due to said stacking, said first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit is coupled to said second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by adhesive contact between the respective sheet stock supply units as they are stacked, and wherein due to said first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit being coupled to said second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit by said stacking, successive pockets are aligned between the respective sheet stock supply units, wherein at least a first portion of a leading edge of said second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit has been folded longitudinally back.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a modified last section on the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, the modified last section exposing a portion of each inner surface of the first and second outer sections on the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein other portions of the inner surfaces of the first and second outer sections are obscured on the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit;

providing a modified start section on the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit that exposes a portion of the intermediate section on the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit that would not otherwise be exposed through a remaining portion of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit;

wherein coupling the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit comprises coupling exposed portions of the inner surfaces of the first and second outer sections of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to outer surfaces on the first and second outer sections of the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, and coupling exposed portions of the middle section of the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit to outer surfaces of the middle section of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit; and

pulling at least one of the first or second pre-configured sheet stock supply units toward the dunnage machine.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second preconfigured sheet stock supply units are each folded stacks of preconfigured sheet stock material.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein exposed portions of each of the inner surfaces of the first and second outer sections on the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit are exposed as a result of at least a portion of the intermediate section of the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit having been removed.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the exposed portion of the intermediate section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least the first portion of the leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a new leading edge.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least the first portion of the leading edge is triangular in shape.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the new leading edge is angled.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the exposed portion of the middle section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least two portions of a leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a new leading edge, the new leading edge including the at least two portions of the leading edge, the at least two portions of the leading edge each being triangular in shape and one of the at least two portions being the first portion.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the exposed portion of the intermediate section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least two portions of the leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a tapered new leading edge, and one of the at least two portions is the first portion.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the exposed portion of the intermediate section of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit is exposed as a result of at least the first portion of the leading edge of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit having been folded longitudinally back to form a new leading edge having a leading portion of a width narrower than a maximum width of the second pre-configured sheet stock supply unit.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising applying an adhesive on at least one of the altered last segment and the altered beginning segment for imparting the coupling.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the pulling comprises a forming member of the dunnage grasping a tapered leading edge of a preconfigured sheet stock supply unit.

13. The method of claim 2, further comprising stacking the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit on top of a third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, wherein the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit is adhesively coupled to the third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit as a result of said stacking, and wherein successive pockets are aligned between the first preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, the second preconfigured sheet stock supply unit, and the third preconfigured sheet stock supply unit.

14. A supply unit of pre-configured sheet stock material for a dunnage machine, the supply unit comprising:

at least one intermediate longitudinal section;

a first transversely folded longitudinal section; and

a second transversely folded longitudinal section;

wherein the starting or last section of the supply unit comprises at least one transversely folded longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section, or the at least one intermediate longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the at least one transversely folded longitudinal section, and

wherein both the first and second transversely folded longitudinal sections each comprise a folded front edge portion, the folded front edge portion being folded in the longitudinal direction.

15. The supply unit of claim 14, wherein the supply unit is a folded stack of sheet stock material.

16. The supply unit according to claim 14, wherein the at least one intermediate longitudinal section comprises a cut extending in the width direction along a front or rear edge thereof, the cut intercepting the intermediate longitudinal section with respect to the first and second transversely folded longitudinal sections.

17. The supply unit according to claim 14, wherein the folded front edge portions of the first and second transversely folded longitudinal sections each form part of a triangular larger folded portion comprising part of the at least one intermediate longitudinal section.

18. The supply unit according to claim 14, comprising the first and second transversely folded longitudinal sections extending longitudinally further than the at least one intermediate longitudinal section at a first end of the supply unit and the at least one intermediate longitudinal section extending longitudinally further than the first and second transversely folded longitudinal sections at a second end of the supply unit.

19. The supply unit of claim 14, wherein the initiation section comprises a tapered leading edge.

20. The supply unit of claim 14, further comprising an adhesive disposed on at least one of the starting section and the last section.

21. A connecting chain for a folded feed stock supply unit of a dunnage machine, the connecting chain comprising:

a front supply unit having a last section;

a rear supply unit having a start section; and is

Wherein the front and rear supply units each comprise a first longitudinally extending fold line and a second longitudinally extending fold line, a first longitudinal section is folded laterally about the first longitudinally extending fold line of each of the front and rear supply units against an intermediate longitudinal section, and a second longitudinal section is folded laterally about the second longitudinally extending fold line against the intermediate longitudinal section,

wherein the middle longitudinal section of the initiation section extends longitudinally forward of the first longitudinal section of the initiation section, and

wherein the first and second longitudinal sections of the starting section of the rear supply unit each comprise a longitudinally folded portion at the starting section of the rear supply unit.

22. A connecting chain according to claim 21, further comprising a transverse cut and at least one longitudinal cut on said last section, said transverse cut and said at least one longitudinal cut being made to remove at least a portion of said intermediate longitudinal section of said last section.

23. The connecting chain of claim 21, wherein the longitudinally folded portions of the first and second longitudinal sections of the starting section of the rear supply unit are joined with the longitudinally folded portion of the intermediate longitudinal section to form a triangular shaped longitudinally folded portion of the starting section of the rear supply unit.

24. The connecting chain of claim 21, wherein a leading edge of the initiation section tapers laterally.

25. A connecting chain as set forth in claim 21 further comprising a continuous longitudinally extending pocket extending between said front and rear supply units, said pocket being at least partially defined by at least one of said first longitudinal segments, at least one of said second longitudinal segments, and at least one of said intermediate longitudinal segments.