CA2427942C - Inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product having multiple, interconnected, bubble structures - Google Patents
Inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product having multiple, interconnected, bubble structures Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2427942C CA2427942C CA002427942A CA2427942A CA2427942C CA 2427942 C CA2427942 C CA 2427942C CA 002427942 A CA002427942 A CA 002427942A CA 2427942 A CA2427942 A CA 2427942A CA 2427942 C CA2427942 C CA 2427942C
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- Prior art keywords
- chambers
- bubble
- row
- cellular cushioning
- cushioning material
- Prior art date
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- Expired - Lifetime
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B31—MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER; WORKING PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER
- B31D—MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN SUBCLASSES B31B OR B31C
- B31D5/00—Multiple-step processes for making three-dimensional articles ; Making three-dimensional articles
- B31D5/0039—Multiple-step processes for making three-dimensional articles ; Making three-dimensional articles for making dunnage or cushion pads
- B31D5/0073—Multiple-step processes for making three-dimensional articles ; Making three-dimensional articles for making dunnage or cushion pads including pillow forming
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B3/00—Layered products comprising a layer with external or internal discontinuities or unevennesses, or a layer of non-planar form; Layered products having particular features of form
- B32B3/26—Layered products comprising a layer with external or internal discontinuities or unevennesses, or a layer of non-planar form; Layered products having particular features of form characterised by a particular shape of the outline of the cross-section of a continuous layer; characterised by a layer with cavities or internal voids ; characterised by an apertured layer
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/02—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage
- B65D81/03—Wrappers or envelopes with shock-absorbing properties, e.g. bubble films
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
- B65D81/02—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage
- B65D81/05—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage maintaining contents at spaced relation from package walls, or from other contents
- B65D81/051—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage maintaining contents at spaced relation from package walls, or from other contents using pillow-like elements filled with cushioning material, e.g. elastic foam, fabric
- B65D81/052—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage maintaining contents at spaced relation from package walls, or from other contents using pillow-like elements filled with cushioning material, e.g. elastic foam, fabric filled with fluid, e.g. inflatable elements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B2309/00—Parameters for the laminating or treatment process; Apparatus details
- B32B2309/08—Dimensions, e.g. volume
- B32B2309/10—Dimensions, e.g. volume linear, e.g. length, distance, width
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
- B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
- B32B2553/00—Packaging equipment or accessories not otherwise provided for
- B32B2553/02—Shock absorbing
- B32B2553/026—Bubble films
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
- Y10T428/24479—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.] including variation in thickness
- Y10T428/24562—Interlaminar spaces
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
- Y10T428/24628—Nonplanar uniform thickness material
- Y10T428/24661—Forming, or cooperating to form cells
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
- Y10T428/24802—Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]
- Y10T428/24851—Intermediate layer is discontinuous or differential
Abstract
An inflatable, conformable, cushioning, packaging product (11) comprises a plurality of individual inflatable strips (21) of multiple bubble cushioning structures. Each individual inflatable strip (21) has a plurality of bubble chambers (23) with each bubble chamber (23) interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber (23) by an interconnecting passageways (25) which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers (23), but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber (23) to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers (23) for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber (23) along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip (21) of interconnected bubble chambers (23). Each individual inflatable strip (21) is defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines (43) which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes which could concentrated stresses.</SDOA B>
Description
INFLATABLE, CUSHIONING, BUBBLE WRAP PRODUCT HAVING
MULTIPLE, INTERCONNECTED, BUBBLE STRUCTURES
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product.
This invention relates particularly to a bubble wrap product which has the bubbles formed in individual inflatable strips. The individual inflatable strips extend laterally across the width of a sheet of film material, and each individual inflatable strip has a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway. The interconnected passageway is smaller in size and in internal volume that the bubble chambers but is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
This invention relates particularly to a bubble wrap product in which each individual inflatable strip is defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes which could concentrate stresses.
Webs of plastic film which are constructed to permit the production of patterns of air filled envelopes, cushions and pillows have (in the past ten years or so) been used extensively for cushioning objects to be transported in containers.
The thin webs incorporate two thin sheets of plastic film and are inexpensive, tough, resilient and recyclable.
-.2-Inflated pillow packagings which are created from these webs of plastic film are used for void-fill packaging to replace products such as crumpled paper or polyethylene peanuts and for protective packaging to replace molded or extruded forms.
U.S. Patent Number 5,454,642; U.S. Patent Number 5,651,237; U.S.
Patent Number 5,755,328; U. S. Patent Number 4,017,351; and U.S. Patent Number 5,824,392 disciose methods, apparatus, and w.ebs of plastic film used for rnaking strips of inflated pillow packaging of this general kind.
U.S. Patent No. 6,116,000 filed December 8, 1998 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Air-Filled Sheet Plastic Shipping Cushions and the Like", Nicholas P. De Luca and Andrew Perkins, inventors and U.S. Patent No. 6,209,286 filed Novernber 12, 1999 and entitled "Machine and Method for tVianufacturing a Continuous Production of Pneumatically Filled Inflatable Packaging Pillows", Andrew Perkins, Philipp Borchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors and U.S. Paten:t No. 6,659,150 filed August 14, 2000 and entitled "Methods and Apparatus for lnflating and Sealing Pillows in Packaging", Andrew Perkins, Cliver 'M. Reyes, Philipp B.orchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors also disclose methods, apparatus and webs of plastic film of this general kind. Each of these three U.S. patents is assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
.lt is a.p.rimary object of the :present invention to construct a web of two sheets of film material in a pattern of seal lines which enables an inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product to be produced Which -has significant -functional and economic advantages over existing bubble packaging.
It is a related object to con$tr.uct an inflatable packaging product which enables inflated bubble chambers to be large enough-so that only a single layer of inflated packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for many objects.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product in which substantially all of the area of the packaging product is available for inflation to provide cushioning.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product which is highly conformable to provide effective cushioning at all angles of possible shock loads on the object being shipped.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product in which the seal lines for inflatable bubble structures have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product having a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures which extend laterally across the longitudinal length a web of inflated film material and in which each bubble chamber in an individual inflatable strip is interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
An inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product is constructed for interposing between and engagement with both the interior surfaces of a shipping container and the outer surfaces of one or more objects packaged within the shipping container. The inflatable packaging product is constructed, when inflated, to reduce or to eliminate the transfer of shock load from the shipping container to the objects packaged within the shipping container.
The packaging product comprises a first sheet of film_ material and a second sheet of film material. The sheets have substantially equal lengths and substantially equal widths. The sheets are joined together as a web in a pattern of seal lines.
The pattern of seal lines form an inflation channel which extends linearly along the length of the sheets for receiving pressurized air from an outlet end of an inflation tube.
The pattern of seal lines also form a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures which extend laterally from the inflation channel.
Each individual inflatable strip has a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflatable bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
Each individual inflatable strip of multiple bubble cushioning structures has an entrance port connecting the first bubble chamber in the strip to the inflation channel for receiving pressurized air at the inflation station to inflate all of the bubble chambers in the individual inflatable strip.
The entrance port is configured to permit the entrance port to be sealed by a line seal formed across the entrance port by a heated sealing element at a sealing station as the web of film material is continuously and uninterruptedly transported through the sealing station after the bubble chambers have been inflated at the inflation station.
Each individual inflatable strip is defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines of the pattern. The peripheral seal lines have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
The peripheral seal lines have a generally sinusoidal configuration as viewed from above the web formed by the two sheets.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the bubble chambers in one individual inflatable strip are laterally offset with respect to the bubble chambers in an immediately adjacent individual inflatable strip so that a bubble chamber in one inflatable strip is opposite an interconnecting passageway in an immediately adjacent inflatable strip.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a peripheral seal line on one side of a first inflatable strip is also a peripheral seal line for a second individual inflatable strip which is immediately adjacent said one side of the first inflatable strip.
In the present invention the bubble chambers can be made sufficiently large so that only a single layer of the inflated packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for many objects.
In one embodiment of the present invention the inflation channel extends along one side edge of the web, and each individual inflatable strip extends across substantially the entire width of the web.
In another embodiment of the present invention the inflation channel extends along a center portion of the web, and the individual inflatable strips extend laterally outwardly from the central inflation channel toward the peripheral side edges of the web.
Inflatable packaging products which incorporate the features described above and which function as described above comprise additional objects of the invention.
-5a-According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product constructed for interposing between and in engagement with both the interior surfaces of a shipping container and the outer surfaces of one or more objects packaged within the shipping container and also constructed, when inflated, to reduce or to eliminate the transfer of shock loads from the shipping container to the objects packaged within the shipping container, said packaging product comprising, a first sheet of film material, a second sheet of film material, said sheets having substantially equal lengths and substantially equal widths, said sheets being joined together as a web in a pattern of seal lines, said pattern of seal lines forming an inflation channel extending linearly along the length of the sheets for receiving pressurized air from an outlet end of an inflation tube disposed within the inflation channel at an inflation station as the sheets are transported past the sealing station in the process of inflating and sealing strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures in the packaging product, said pattern of seal lines also forming a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures extending laterally from said inflation channel, each individual inflatable strip having a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers, each individual inflatable strip of multiple bubble cushioning structures -5b-having an entrance port connecting the first bubble chamber in the strip to the inflation channel for receiving pressurized air at the inflation station to inflate all of the bubble chambers in the individual inflatable strip, said entrance port being configured to permit the entrance port to be sealed by a line seal formed across the entrance port by a heated sealing element at a sealing station as the sheets of film material are continuously and uninterruptedly transported through the sealing station after the bubble chambers have been inflated at the inflation station, and each individual inflatable strip being defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together along a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between, aligned with, and formed by the same seal lines as the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows so there is no dead space between the bubble chambers and the flow passageways in adjacent rows, a longitudinally extending inflation channel, and laterally extending inlet ports interconnecting the inflation channel and one of the bubble chambers in each of the rows.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material -5c-comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form: a longitudinally extending inflation channel near a longitudinally extending edge of the material; a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between and aligned with the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form: an inflation channel which extends longitudinally of the material near a lateral edge of the material; a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines which extend laterally on one side of the inflation channel and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening -5d-near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
According to still a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble -5e-chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends.
According to still yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers;
wherein the chambers in each row have relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends; and wherein a first chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which by -5f-way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING VIEWS
Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a bubble wrap product constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Figure 1 shows a patterned web of the bubble wrap product in the process of being inflated and sealed. The patterned web is taken off of a storage roll and then advanced through a machine. The machine inflates bubble chambers of the patterned web at an inflation station and then seals the air in the inflated bubble chambers at a sealing station.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the uninflated web shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
In Figure 3 the inflation channel extends through the center portion of the web while in Figure 2 the inflation channel extends along one side portion of the web.
Figure 4 is a view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product having bubble chambers which are smaller in size than those of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a view like Figure 3 but showing a packaging product having smaller size bubble chambers.
Figure 6 is an isometric view showing how the inflated packaging product (see the inflated product shown in the lower part of Figure 1) is used to envelope and cushion an object to be shipped within a shipping container.
In Figure 6 the object to be shipped is a generally rectangular shaped object.
Figure 6 shows how the construction of the inflated packaging product of the present invention is r"eadily conformable to wrap around all surfaces of the rectangular object, including the corner areas of the object, to provide cushioning against shock loads imposed at any angle on the outer shipping container. Figure 6 also shows how the shape, size and volumes of the inflated bubble chambers are large enough so that a single layer of the packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for the object to be shipped.
Figure 7 is an isometric view like Figure 6 but showing the inflated packaging product of the present invention can be wrapped about a cup to cushion the cup for shipment within the outside container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a bubble wrap product 11 constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 shows a patterned web of the bubble wrap product 11 in the process of being inflated and sealed.
As illustrated in Figure 1 the uninflated patterned web of the bubble wrap product 11 is stored on a storage roller 13 and is looped over guide rollers 15 and 17 as the web 11 is advanced, in the direction indicated by the block arrow 18, to and through a machine 19.
The machine 19 inflates bubble cushioning structures and interconnecting passageways with pressurized air at an inflation station and seals the pressurized air within the bubble chambers and the interconnecting passageways at a sealing station (as will be described in more detail below).
In the preferred embodiments of the present invention the bubble wrap product 11 is constructed so that the inflation and sealing can be accomplished as the web 11 is moved continuously, without interruption or intermittent stopping, through the machine 19 during a production run. This will also be described in more detail below.
The lower part of Figure 1 shows the web 11 in its inflated form and ready for use as a cushioning packaging product.
In the inflated form individual inflated strips 21 extend laterally across the width of the web 11.
Each individual inflated strip 21 comprises a series of inflated bubble chambers 23 with each bubble chamber 23 interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber 23 by an interconnecting passageway 25.
The interconnecting passageways 25 are smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers 23, but the passageways 25 are sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber 23 to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers 23 for distributing a shock load (imposed on or near one bubble chamber 23) along the entire length of the individual strip 21 of interconnected bubble chambers 23.
The interconnecting passageways 25 also function to facilitate bending or creasing of the packaging product 11 by folding or bending along a iine passing through the passageways 23 at any one of a number of varied angles. This function will be better understood with reference to Figures 6 and 7 described in more detail below. This function enables the packaging product 11 to be highly conformable to enable and to cushion the object being shipped, as also will become more .apparent from a review of Figures 6and7.
A seal line 27 produced by the inflating and sealing machine 19 (see the bottom part of Figure 1) closes one end (the right hand end as viewed in Figure 1) of each inflated strip 21.
The length of the inflated packaging product to be used for any particular application can be determined either by cutting across the inflated web 11 or by detaching along preformed perforation lines (not shown in -Figure -1).
The seal line.27 is formed by the inflating and sealing machine 19, but the seal line paitern on the upper part of the web 11 shown in Figure 1 is 2:0 preformed either by a.pressing machine or by a continuous roller mechanism.
Pattern forming machines of these kinds are disclosed in several of the U.S. patents referred to above.
The web 11 is formed of a first sheet of film material and a second sheet of film material with both sheets having substantially equal lengths and substantially widths.
The .first :and second sheet can be separate sheets or can be a single sheet that is folded over to provide the two sheets.
The two sheets are joined together -in a web by the pattern of seaJ
lines shown in the top part of Figure 1.
The pattern of seal lines shown in the top part of Figure 1 form an inflation charinel 31 which extends linearly along the length of web 11.
In the particular embodiment of the packaging product 11 shown in Figure 1, the inflation channel 31 extends along one side edge portion of the web 11.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the inflation channel 31 extends linearly along a center porrtion of the web 11.
The inflation channel 31 is defined between spaced apart seal lines 33 and 35.
The seal line 33 is opened at spaced intervals to provide outlet ports 37. The outlet ports 37 function to permit a certain amount of the inflation pressure in the inflation channel 31 to be vented to atmospher.e.
In addition, the air that exits from the outlet ports 37 can be sensed by a pressure transducer (as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150) to allow for accurate position sensing of the individual inflatable strips 21 as these strips move through the machine -19. This sensing of escaping air through the outlet ports 37 can be used as signals for counting the number of strips inflated in a particular run through the machine and can also be used to stop the movemerf of the web 18 through the machine, after one production run of a selected number of inflated strips, at a position which is the right position to start a subsequent production run of a selected number of inflated strips 21.
The seal line 35 is open at intervals to provide entrance ports 41. The entrance ports 41 permit pressurized air from the inflation channel 31 to enter the individual inflatable strips 21 for inflating the bubble chambers 23 and interconnecting passageways 25 (as described above).
Each indMdual and inflatable strip 21 is defined between two laterally extending seal lines 43.
In the preferred embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 1-7 each laterally extending seal line 43 serves as :a common boundary between two immediately adjacent inflatable strips 21 so that the only area of the inflatable portion of the web 11 which cannot be inflated and used for cushioning is the very small area of the seal lines 43 themselves.
As can best be seen by viewing the lower part of Figure 1, the bubble chambers 23 of one individual inflatable strip 21 are offset laterally with respect to the bubble chambers 23 of an immediately adjacent individual inflatable strip 21. A bubble chamber 23 in one strip is directly opposite a passageway 25 of an immediately adjacent inflatable strip 21.
The seaf [ine 27 shown in the lower part of Figure 1 is formed across the inlet ports 41 at the sealing station of the machine 19 as the web 11 is transported continuously and without interruption through the sealing station and through the machine 19..
The machine 19 shown in Figure 1 is the same as the machine illustrated and described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150 filed August 14, 2000, entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Inflating and Sealing Pillows in Packaging", Andrew Perkins, Oliver M. Reyes, Phillip Borchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors, assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
A short summary of the parts of that machine as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings in this application will now be described.
The machine 19 includes a first set of film transport rollers 51, a second set of film transport rollers 53 and a drive mechanism, including a drive belt 55, for driving the film transport rollers 51 and 53.
An outlet bulb 57 of an inflation tube 59 is po.sitioned within the inflation channel 3-1 and introduces air under pressure into the inflation channel for inflating the individual inflatable strips 21 by causing pressurized air to flow through the entrance ports 41.
The outlet ports 37 which are opposite certain ones of the entrance ports 41 serve to regulate the level of the air pressure within the inflation channel 31 (as described in more detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150).
The seal line 27 is formed across the entrance ports 41 as the strip of the film which contains the entrance ports 41 is passed through a sealing station. The film is engaged with a sealing wheel 61 on one side of the film 11 and is engaged with a heated sea(ing element on the other side of the film. The heated sealing element includes a fabric covered, electrically heated Nicrom wire.
A slitting station (not shown in Figure 1 but described in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150) slits the inflation channel 31 to permit the web 11 to pass over-the inflation tube 59 after the seal line 27 has been formed by the machine 19.
The pressure of the inflation air can range from'/2 pounds per square inch gauge to 10 pounds per square inch gauge.
'10 The material of the two sheets making up the web 11 can be low density polyethylene or can be high density polyethylene. The thickness of the web 11 can be one mil -to ten mils.
The height of an inflated bubble chamber 23 can be from 1/4 inch to 9 inches.
The configuration of each seal line 43, as viewed from above in Figure 1, is, in the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a wavy, undulating, curved configuration without corners or sharp bends that could concentrate stresses.
In a specific embodiment as illustrated in Figures 1-7 of the drawings, the configuration of a seal line 43 is generally sinusoidal, as viewed from directly above.
The center line of each'individual inflatable strip 21 preferably extends orthogonally across the width of the web 11, but the center line could be itself a wavy configuration and could extend at some angle other than directly orthogonal.
.Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of a web 11 having the line pattern structure shown in the top part of Figure 1.
Figure .3 is a plan view like Figure 2-but shows a pa.ckaging product constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
In Figure 3 the inflation channel 31 extends through the center portion of the web 11.
in Figure 2 the inflation channel 11 extends along one side portion of the web 11.
The embodiment of the patterned web 11 shown in Figure 3 is inflated and sealed by an apparatus and method described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,209,286 filed November 12, 1999, and titled "Machine and Method for Manufacturing a Continuous Production of Pneumatically Filled Inflatable Packaging Pillows", Andrew Perkins, Nicholas P. De Luca, and Phillip Borchard, inventors, and assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, two seal lines 27 are formed alongside the inflation channel :31 and across .the inlet ports 41.
Figure 4 is a view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product having bubble chambers which are smaller in size than those of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a view like Figure 3 but showing a packaging product having smaller size bubble chambers than Figure 3.
Figure 6 is an isometric view showing how the inflate a packaging product 11 of the present invention is used to cushion a generally rectangular shaped object 71 within a shipping container 73.
figure 6 shows how the individual bubble chambers 23 are effectively engaged with all outer surfaces of the object 71_,,.;to envelope the object 71 within the conformable inflated packagin.g product 11.
.As noted above, the interconnecfiing passageways 25 in particular are readily foldable and bendable along lines as -needed to facilitate conforming of the inflated packag-ing product 11 to the particular object being shipped.
The construction of the individual inflatable strips which permits a certain amount of bending or compressing of some parts of the inflated strip (by transferring pr.essurized air to other parts of the inflated strip) afso facilitates conformation of the packaging product to the conf guration of the object being shipped.
The conformability of the packaging product (the ability to wrap all surfaces of the object, including corner areas of the object) provides cushioning against shock loads imposed at any angle on the outer shipping container 11.
Figure 6 also shows how the shape, size and volumes of the inflated bubble chambers 23 are large enough so that a single layer of the packaging product 11 can provide necessary cushioning for the object to be shipped.
Figure 7 is an isometric view like Figure 6 but shows the inflated packaging product 11 wrapped about a cup 75 to cushion the cup for shipment within the outer container 73.
While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.
MULTIPLE, INTERCONNECTED, BUBBLE STRUCTURES
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product.
This invention relates particularly to a bubble wrap product which has the bubbles formed in individual inflatable strips. The individual inflatable strips extend laterally across the width of a sheet of film material, and each individual inflatable strip has a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway. The interconnected passageway is smaller in size and in internal volume that the bubble chambers but is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
This invention relates particularly to a bubble wrap product in which each individual inflatable strip is defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes which could concentrate stresses.
Webs of plastic film which are constructed to permit the production of patterns of air filled envelopes, cushions and pillows have (in the past ten years or so) been used extensively for cushioning objects to be transported in containers.
The thin webs incorporate two thin sheets of plastic film and are inexpensive, tough, resilient and recyclable.
-.2-Inflated pillow packagings which are created from these webs of plastic film are used for void-fill packaging to replace products such as crumpled paper or polyethylene peanuts and for protective packaging to replace molded or extruded forms.
U.S. Patent Number 5,454,642; U.S. Patent Number 5,651,237; U.S.
Patent Number 5,755,328; U. S. Patent Number 4,017,351; and U.S. Patent Number 5,824,392 disciose methods, apparatus, and w.ebs of plastic film used for rnaking strips of inflated pillow packaging of this general kind.
U.S. Patent No. 6,116,000 filed December 8, 1998 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Air-Filled Sheet Plastic Shipping Cushions and the Like", Nicholas P. De Luca and Andrew Perkins, inventors and U.S. Patent No. 6,209,286 filed Novernber 12, 1999 and entitled "Machine and Method for tVianufacturing a Continuous Production of Pneumatically Filled Inflatable Packaging Pillows", Andrew Perkins, Philipp Borchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors and U.S. Paten:t No. 6,659,150 filed August 14, 2000 and entitled "Methods and Apparatus for lnflating and Sealing Pillows in Packaging", Andrew Perkins, Cliver 'M. Reyes, Philipp B.orchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors also disclose methods, apparatus and webs of plastic film of this general kind. Each of these three U.S. patents is assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
.lt is a.p.rimary object of the :present invention to construct a web of two sheets of film material in a pattern of seal lines which enables an inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product to be produced Which -has significant -functional and economic advantages over existing bubble packaging.
It is a related object to con$tr.uct an inflatable packaging product which enables inflated bubble chambers to be large enough-so that only a single layer of inflated packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for many objects.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product in which substantially all of the area of the packaging product is available for inflation to provide cushioning.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product which is highly conformable to provide effective cushioning at all angles of possible shock loads on the object being shipped.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product in which the seal lines for inflatable bubble structures have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
It is a related object to construct an inflatable packaging product having a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures which extend laterally across the longitudinal length a web of inflated film material and in which each bubble chamber in an individual inflatable strip is interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
An inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product is constructed for interposing between and engagement with both the interior surfaces of a shipping container and the outer surfaces of one or more objects packaged within the shipping container. The inflatable packaging product is constructed, when inflated, to reduce or to eliminate the transfer of shock load from the shipping container to the objects packaged within the shipping container.
The packaging product comprises a first sheet of film_ material and a second sheet of film material. The sheets have substantially equal lengths and substantially equal widths. The sheets are joined together as a web in a pattern of seal lines.
The pattern of seal lines form an inflation channel which extends linearly along the length of the sheets for receiving pressurized air from an outlet end of an inflation tube.
The pattern of seal lines also form a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures which extend laterally from the inflation channel.
Each individual inflatable strip has a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflatable bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers.
Each individual inflatable strip of multiple bubble cushioning structures has an entrance port connecting the first bubble chamber in the strip to the inflation channel for receiving pressurized air at the inflation station to inflate all of the bubble chambers in the individual inflatable strip.
The entrance port is configured to permit the entrance port to be sealed by a line seal formed across the entrance port by a heated sealing element at a sealing station as the web of film material is continuously and uninterruptedly transported through the sealing station after the bubble chambers have been inflated at the inflation station.
Each individual inflatable strip is defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines of the pattern. The peripheral seal lines have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
The peripheral seal lines have a generally sinusoidal configuration as viewed from above the web formed by the two sheets.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the bubble chambers in one individual inflatable strip are laterally offset with respect to the bubble chambers in an immediately adjacent individual inflatable strip so that a bubble chamber in one inflatable strip is opposite an interconnecting passageway in an immediately adjacent inflatable strip.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a peripheral seal line on one side of a first inflatable strip is also a peripheral seal line for a second individual inflatable strip which is immediately adjacent said one side of the first inflatable strip.
In the present invention the bubble chambers can be made sufficiently large so that only a single layer of the inflated packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for many objects.
In one embodiment of the present invention the inflation channel extends along one side edge of the web, and each individual inflatable strip extends across substantially the entire width of the web.
In another embodiment of the present invention the inflation channel extends along a center portion of the web, and the individual inflatable strips extend laterally outwardly from the central inflation channel toward the peripheral side edges of the web.
Inflatable packaging products which incorporate the features described above and which function as described above comprise additional objects of the invention.
-5a-According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product constructed for interposing between and in engagement with both the interior surfaces of a shipping container and the outer surfaces of one or more objects packaged within the shipping container and also constructed, when inflated, to reduce or to eliminate the transfer of shock loads from the shipping container to the objects packaged within the shipping container, said packaging product comprising, a first sheet of film material, a second sheet of film material, said sheets having substantially equal lengths and substantially equal widths, said sheets being joined together as a web in a pattern of seal lines, said pattern of seal lines forming an inflation channel extending linearly along the length of the sheets for receiving pressurized air from an outlet end of an inflation tube disposed within the inflation channel at an inflation station as the sheets are transported past the sealing station in the process of inflating and sealing strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures in the packaging product, said pattern of seal lines also forming a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures extending laterally from said inflation channel, each individual inflatable strip having a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers, each individual inflatable strip of multiple bubble cushioning structures -5b-having an entrance port connecting the first bubble chamber in the strip to the inflation channel for receiving pressurized air at the inflation station to inflate all of the bubble chambers in the individual inflatable strip, said entrance port being configured to permit the entrance port to be sealed by a line seal formed across the entrance port by a heated sealing element at a sealing station as the sheets of film material are continuously and uninterruptedly transported through the sealing station after the bubble chambers have been inflated at the inflation station, and each individual inflatable strip being defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together along a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between, aligned with, and formed by the same seal lines as the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows so there is no dead space between the bubble chambers and the flow passageways in adjacent rows, a longitudinally extending inflation channel, and laterally extending inlet ports interconnecting the inflation channel and one of the bubble chambers in each of the rows.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material -5c-comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form: a longitudinally extending inflation channel near a longitudinally extending edge of the material; a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between and aligned with the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form: an inflation channel which extends longitudinally of the material near a lateral edge of the material; a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines which extend laterally on one side of the inflation channel and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening -5d-near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
According to still a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble -5e-chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends.
According to still yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers;
wherein the chambers in each row have relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends; and wherein a first chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which by -5f-way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING VIEWS
Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a bubble wrap product constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Figure 1 shows a patterned web of the bubble wrap product in the process of being inflated and sealed. The patterned web is taken off of a storage roll and then advanced through a machine. The machine inflates bubble chambers of the patterned web at an inflation station and then seals the air in the inflated bubble chambers at a sealing station.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the uninflated web shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
In Figure 3 the inflation channel extends through the center portion of the web while in Figure 2 the inflation channel extends along one side portion of the web.
Figure 4 is a view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product having bubble chambers which are smaller in size than those of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a view like Figure 3 but showing a packaging product having smaller size bubble chambers.
Figure 6 is an isometric view showing how the inflated packaging product (see the inflated product shown in the lower part of Figure 1) is used to envelope and cushion an object to be shipped within a shipping container.
In Figure 6 the object to be shipped is a generally rectangular shaped object.
Figure 6 shows how the construction of the inflated packaging product of the present invention is r"eadily conformable to wrap around all surfaces of the rectangular object, including the corner areas of the object, to provide cushioning against shock loads imposed at any angle on the outer shipping container. Figure 6 also shows how the shape, size and volumes of the inflated bubble chambers are large enough so that a single layer of the packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for the object to be shipped.
Figure 7 is an isometric view like Figure 6 but showing the inflated packaging product of the present invention can be wrapped about a cup to cushion the cup for shipment within the outside container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a bubble wrap product 11 constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 shows a patterned web of the bubble wrap product 11 in the process of being inflated and sealed.
As illustrated in Figure 1 the uninflated patterned web of the bubble wrap product 11 is stored on a storage roller 13 and is looped over guide rollers 15 and 17 as the web 11 is advanced, in the direction indicated by the block arrow 18, to and through a machine 19.
The machine 19 inflates bubble cushioning structures and interconnecting passageways with pressurized air at an inflation station and seals the pressurized air within the bubble chambers and the interconnecting passageways at a sealing station (as will be described in more detail below).
In the preferred embodiments of the present invention the bubble wrap product 11 is constructed so that the inflation and sealing can be accomplished as the web 11 is moved continuously, without interruption or intermittent stopping, through the machine 19 during a production run. This will also be described in more detail below.
The lower part of Figure 1 shows the web 11 in its inflated form and ready for use as a cushioning packaging product.
In the inflated form individual inflated strips 21 extend laterally across the width of the web 11.
Each individual inflated strip 21 comprises a series of inflated bubble chambers 23 with each bubble chamber 23 interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber 23 by an interconnecting passageway 25.
The interconnecting passageways 25 are smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers 23, but the passageways 25 are sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber 23 to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers 23 for distributing a shock load (imposed on or near one bubble chamber 23) along the entire length of the individual strip 21 of interconnected bubble chambers 23.
The interconnecting passageways 25 also function to facilitate bending or creasing of the packaging product 11 by folding or bending along a iine passing through the passageways 23 at any one of a number of varied angles. This function will be better understood with reference to Figures 6 and 7 described in more detail below. This function enables the packaging product 11 to be highly conformable to enable and to cushion the object being shipped, as also will become more .apparent from a review of Figures 6and7.
A seal line 27 produced by the inflating and sealing machine 19 (see the bottom part of Figure 1) closes one end (the right hand end as viewed in Figure 1) of each inflated strip 21.
The length of the inflated packaging product to be used for any particular application can be determined either by cutting across the inflated web 11 or by detaching along preformed perforation lines (not shown in -Figure -1).
The seal line.27 is formed by the inflating and sealing machine 19, but the seal line paitern on the upper part of the web 11 shown in Figure 1 is 2:0 preformed either by a.pressing machine or by a continuous roller mechanism.
Pattern forming machines of these kinds are disclosed in several of the U.S. patents referred to above.
The web 11 is formed of a first sheet of film material and a second sheet of film material with both sheets having substantially equal lengths and substantially widths.
The .first :and second sheet can be separate sheets or can be a single sheet that is folded over to provide the two sheets.
The two sheets are joined together -in a web by the pattern of seaJ
lines shown in the top part of Figure 1.
The pattern of seal lines shown in the top part of Figure 1 form an inflation charinel 31 which extends linearly along the length of web 11.
In the particular embodiment of the packaging product 11 shown in Figure 1, the inflation channel 31 extends along one side edge portion of the web 11.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the inflation channel 31 extends linearly along a center porrtion of the web 11.
The inflation channel 31 is defined between spaced apart seal lines 33 and 35.
The seal line 33 is opened at spaced intervals to provide outlet ports 37. The outlet ports 37 function to permit a certain amount of the inflation pressure in the inflation channel 31 to be vented to atmospher.e.
In addition, the air that exits from the outlet ports 37 can be sensed by a pressure transducer (as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150) to allow for accurate position sensing of the individual inflatable strips 21 as these strips move through the machine -19. This sensing of escaping air through the outlet ports 37 can be used as signals for counting the number of strips inflated in a particular run through the machine and can also be used to stop the movemerf of the web 18 through the machine, after one production run of a selected number of inflated strips, at a position which is the right position to start a subsequent production run of a selected number of inflated strips 21.
The seal line 35 is open at intervals to provide entrance ports 41. The entrance ports 41 permit pressurized air from the inflation channel 31 to enter the individual inflatable strips 21 for inflating the bubble chambers 23 and interconnecting passageways 25 (as described above).
Each indMdual and inflatable strip 21 is defined between two laterally extending seal lines 43.
In the preferred embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 1-7 each laterally extending seal line 43 serves as :a common boundary between two immediately adjacent inflatable strips 21 so that the only area of the inflatable portion of the web 11 which cannot be inflated and used for cushioning is the very small area of the seal lines 43 themselves.
As can best be seen by viewing the lower part of Figure 1, the bubble chambers 23 of one individual inflatable strip 21 are offset laterally with respect to the bubble chambers 23 of an immediately adjacent individual inflatable strip 21. A bubble chamber 23 in one strip is directly opposite a passageway 25 of an immediately adjacent inflatable strip 21.
The seaf [ine 27 shown in the lower part of Figure 1 is formed across the inlet ports 41 at the sealing station of the machine 19 as the web 11 is transported continuously and without interruption through the sealing station and through the machine 19..
The machine 19 shown in Figure 1 is the same as the machine illustrated and described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150 filed August 14, 2000, entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Inflating and Sealing Pillows in Packaging", Andrew Perkins, Oliver M. Reyes, Phillip Borchard, and Nicholas P. De Luca, inventors, assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
A short summary of the parts of that machine as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings in this application will now be described.
The machine 19 includes a first set of film transport rollers 51, a second set of film transport rollers 53 and a drive mechanism, including a drive belt 55, for driving the film transport rollers 51 and 53.
An outlet bulb 57 of an inflation tube 59 is po.sitioned within the inflation channel 3-1 and introduces air under pressure into the inflation channel for inflating the individual inflatable strips 21 by causing pressurized air to flow through the entrance ports 41.
The outlet ports 37 which are opposite certain ones of the entrance ports 41 serve to regulate the level of the air pressure within the inflation channel 31 (as described in more detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150).
The seal line 27 is formed across the entrance ports 41 as the strip of the film which contains the entrance ports 41 is passed through a sealing station. The film is engaged with a sealing wheel 61 on one side of the film 11 and is engaged with a heated sea(ing element on the other side of the film. The heated sealing element includes a fabric covered, electrically heated Nicrom wire.
A slitting station (not shown in Figure 1 but described in U.S. Patent No. 6,659,150) slits the inflation channel 31 to permit the web 11 to pass over-the inflation tube 59 after the seal line 27 has been formed by the machine 19.
The pressure of the inflation air can range from'/2 pounds per square inch gauge to 10 pounds per square inch gauge.
'10 The material of the two sheets making up the web 11 can be low density polyethylene or can be high density polyethylene. The thickness of the web 11 can be one mil -to ten mils.
The height of an inflated bubble chamber 23 can be from 1/4 inch to 9 inches.
The configuration of each seal line 43, as viewed from above in Figure 1, is, in the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a wavy, undulating, curved configuration without corners or sharp bends that could concentrate stresses.
In a specific embodiment as illustrated in Figures 1-7 of the drawings, the configuration of a seal line 43 is generally sinusoidal, as viewed from directly above.
The center line of each'individual inflatable strip 21 preferably extends orthogonally across the width of the web 11, but the center line could be itself a wavy configuration and could extend at some angle other than directly orthogonal.
.Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of a web 11 having the line pattern structure shown in the top part of Figure 1.
Figure .3 is a plan view like Figure 2-but shows a pa.ckaging product constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
In Figure 3 the inflation channel 31 extends through the center portion of the web 11.
in Figure 2 the inflation channel 11 extends along one side portion of the web 11.
The embodiment of the patterned web 11 shown in Figure 3 is inflated and sealed by an apparatus and method described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,209,286 filed November 12, 1999, and titled "Machine and Method for Manufacturing a Continuous Production of Pneumatically Filled Inflatable Packaging Pillows", Andrew Perkins, Nicholas P. De Luca, and Phillip Borchard, inventors, and assigned to the same assignee as the assignee of this application.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, two seal lines 27 are formed alongside the inflation channel :31 and across .the inlet ports 41.
Figure 4 is a view like Figure 2 but showing a packaging product having bubble chambers which are smaller in size than those of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a view like Figure 3 but showing a packaging product having smaller size bubble chambers than Figure 3.
Figure 6 is an isometric view showing how the inflate a packaging product 11 of the present invention is used to cushion a generally rectangular shaped object 71 within a shipping container 73.
figure 6 shows how the individual bubble chambers 23 are effectively engaged with all outer surfaces of the object 71_,,.;to envelope the object 71 within the conformable inflated packagin.g product 11.
.As noted above, the interconnecfiing passageways 25 in particular are readily foldable and bendable along lines as -needed to facilitate conforming of the inflated packag-ing product 11 to the particular object being shipped.
The construction of the individual inflatable strips which permits a certain amount of bending or compressing of some parts of the inflated strip (by transferring pr.essurized air to other parts of the inflated strip) afso facilitates conformation of the packaging product to the conf guration of the object being shipped.
The conformability of the packaging product (the ability to wrap all surfaces of the object, including corner areas of the object) provides cushioning against shock loads imposed at any angle on the outer shipping container 11.
Figure 6 also shows how the shape, size and volumes of the inflated bubble chambers 23 are large enough so that a single layer of the packaging product 11 can provide necessary cushioning for the object to be shipped.
Figure 7 is an isometric view like Figure 6 but shows the inflated packaging product 11 wrapped about a cup 75 to cushion the cup for shipment within the outer container 73.
While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.
Claims (47)
1. An inflatable, conformable, cushioning, multiple bubble strip, packaging product constructed for interposing between and in engagement with both the interior surfaces of a shipping container and the outer surfaces of one or more objects packaged within the shipping container and also constructed, when inflated, to reduce or to eliminate the transfer of shock loads from the shipping container to the objects packaged within the shipping container, said packaging product comprising, a first sheet of film material, a second sheet of film material, said sheets having substantially equal lengths and substantially equal widths, said sheets being joined together as a web in a pattern of seal lines, said pattern of seal lines forming an inflation channel extending linearly along the length of the sheets for receiving pressurized air from an outlet end of an inflation tube disposed within the inflation channel at an inflation station as the sheets are transported past the sealing station in the process of inflating and sealing strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures in the packaging product, said pattern of seal lines also forming a plurality of individual inflatable strips of multiple bubble cushioning structures extending laterally from said inflation channel, each individual inflatable strip having a plurality of bubble chambers with each bubble chamber interconnected to an adjacent bubble chamber by an interconnecting passageway which is smaller in size and internal volume than the bubble chambers but which is sufficiently large to enable air volume and pressure in one inflated bubble chamber to be transmitted to adjacent bubble chambers for distributing a shock load on one bubble chamber along the entire length of the individual inflatable strip of interconnected bubble chambers, each individual inflatable strip of multiple bubble cushioning structures having an entrance port connecting the first bubble chamber in the strip to the inflation channel for receiving pressurized air at the inflation station to inflate all of the bubble chambers in the individual inflatable strip, said entrance port being configured to permit the entrance port to be sealed by a line seal formed across the entrance port by a heated sealing element at a sealing station as the sheets of film material are continuously and uninterruptedly transported through the sealing station after the bubble chambers have been inflated at the inflation station, and each individual inflatable strip being defined between two laterally extending spaced apart peripheral seal lines which have an undulating configuration free of corner shapes or sharp bends which could concentrate stresses.
2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said peripheral seal lines have a generally sinusoidal configuration as viewed from above the sheets.
3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the bubble chambers in one individual inflatable strip are laterally offset with respect to the bubble chambers in an immediately adjacent individual inflatable strip so that a bubble chamber in one inflatable strip is opposite an interconnecting passageway in an immediately adjacent inflatable strip.
4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein a peripheral seal line on one side of a first individual inflatable strip is also a peripheral seal line for a second individual inflatable strip immediately adjacent said one side of the first individual inflatable strip.
5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the bubble chambers are sufficiently large that only a single layer of the inflated packaging product can provide the necessary cushioning for many objects.
6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein the height of a bubble chamber when inflated is substantially 1 1/2 inches.
7. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the inflation channel extends along one side edge of the web and each individual inflatable strip extends across substantially the entire width of the web.
8. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the inflation channel extends along a center portion of the web and the individual inflatable strips extend laterally outwardly from the central inflation channel toward the peripheral side edges of the web.
9. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together along a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between, aligned with, and formed by the same seal lines as the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows so there is no dead space between the bubble chambers and the flow passageways in adjacent rows, a longitudinally extending inflation channel, and laterally extending inlet ports interconnecting the inflation channel and one of the bubble chambers in each of the rows.
10. The cellular cushioning material of claim 9 wherein the undulating seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
11. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form:
a longitudinally extending inflation channel near a longitudinally extending edge of the material;
a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between and aligned with the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
a longitudinally extending inflation channel near a longitudinally extending edge of the material;
a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines arranged in a pattern such that adjacent ones of the seal lines are offset laterally of each other and form rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads, the flow passageways in alternate rows being positioned between and aligned with the bubble chambers in the intermediate rows; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
12. The cellular cushioning material of claim 11 wherein the seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
13. The cellular cushioning material of claim 11 wherein the bubble chambers are inflated, and the sheets of film material are sealed together along a longitudinally extending seal line which crosses and closes off the entrance ports.
14. The cellular cushioning material of claim 13 wherein each of the bubble chambers has a height on the order of 1/4 inch to 9 inches.
15. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form:
an inflation channel which extends longitudinally of the material near a lateral edge of the material;
a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines which extend laterally on one side of the inflation channel and form rows-of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
an inflation channel which extends longitudinally of the material near a lateral edge of the material;
a plurality of generally parallel, undulating seal lines which extend laterally on one side of the inflation channel and form rows-of spaced apart bubble chambers with flow passageways interconnecting adjacent ones of the bubble chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and laterally extending entrance ports interconnecting the inflation channel and the first bubble chamber in each of the rows.
16. The cellular cushioning material of claim 15 wherein the seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
17. The cellular cushioning material of claim 15 wherein bubble chambers are inflated, and the sheets of film material are sealed together along a longitudinally extending seal lines which crosses and closes off the entrance ports.
18. The cellular cushioning material of claim 17 wherein each of the inflated bubble chambers has a height on the order of 1/4 inch to 9 inches.
19. The cellular cushioning material of claim 9 wherein the bubble chambers are inflated, and the sheets of film material are sealed together along a longitudinally extending seal line which crosses and closes off the entrance ports.
20. The cellular cushioning material of claim 9 wherein the inflation channel is positioned near an edge of the material, and the bubble chambers are located on only one side of the inflation channel.
21. The cellular cushioning material of claim 9 wherein the inflation channel is positioned between two edges of the material, and the bubble chambers are located on both sides of the inflation channel.
22. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
23. The cellular cushioning material of claim 22 wherein the curvilinear seal lines form generally circular chambers.
24. The cellular cushioning material of claim 22 wherein the film material comprises a single sheet folded over to provide the two superposed sheets.
25. The cellular cushioning material of claim 22 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common curvilinear seal line.
26. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
27. The cellular cushioning material of claim 26 wherein the wavelike seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
28. The cellular cushioning material of claim 26 wherein the film material comprises a single sheet folded over to provide the two superposed sheets.
29. The cellular cushioning material of claim 26 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common wavelike seal line.
30. An inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of curvilinear seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads;
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
31. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 30 wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
32. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 30 wherein the curvilinear seal lines form generally circular chambers.
33. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 30 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common curvilinear seal line.
34. An inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of wavelike seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart bubble chambers;
wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
wherein the chambers in each row have flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads; and wherein a first bubble chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
35. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 34 wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
36. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 34 wherein the wavelike seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
37. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 34 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common wavelike seal line.
38. A cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers with a first chamber in each row having an opening near a longitudinal edge of the film material, and relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers in each row so that air can shift between the chambers in a row; wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends.
39. The cellular cushioning material of claim 38 wherein the seal lines form generally circular chambers.
40. The cellular cushioning material of claim 38 wherein the film material comprises a single sheet folded over to provide the two superposed sheets.
41. The cellular cushioning material of claim 38 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common seal line.
42. The cellular cushioning material of claim 38 wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
43. The cellular cushioning material of claim 38 wherein the seal lines are generally sinusoidal.
44. An inflated cellular cushioning material comprising two superposed sheets of film material joined together to form a plurality of seal lines arranged in a pattern forming rows of spaced apart chambers; wherein the chambers in each row have relatively narrow flow passageways interconnecting adjacent chambers so that air can shift between chambers in a row to accommodate loads; wherein the relatively narrow flow passageways are free of corner shapes or sharp bends; and wherein a first chamber in each row is closed by a longitudinal seal line extending near an edge of the film material.
45. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 44 wherein each row of chambers has an axis which is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the film material.
46. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 44 wherein the seal lines form generally circular chambers.
47. The inflated cellular cushioning material of claim 44 wherein adjacent rows of chambers share a common seal line.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US09/717,782 | 2000-11-21 | ||
| US09/717,782 US6410119B1 (en) | 2000-11-21 | 2000-11-21 | Inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product having multiple, interconnected, bubble structures |
| PCT/US2001/045443 WO2002042066A1 (en) | 2000-11-21 | 2001-10-30 | Inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product having multiple, interconnected, bubble structures |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2427942A1 CA2427942A1 (en) | 2002-05-30 |
| CA2427942C true CA2427942C (en) | 2009-03-24 |
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| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002427942A Expired - Lifetime CA2427942C (en) | 2000-11-21 | 2001-10-30 | Inflatable, cushioning, bubble wrap product having multiple, interconnected, bubble structures |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (3) | US6410119B1 (en) |
| EP (1) | EP1355780B1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2427942C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE01997389T1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2216735T1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2002042066A1 (en) |
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-
2000
- 2000-11-21 US US09/717,782 patent/US6410119B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2001
- 2001-10-30 DE DE0001355780T patent/DE01997389T1/en active Pending
- 2001-10-30 CA CA002427942A patent/CA2427942C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2001-10-30 ES ES01997389T patent/ES2216735T1/en active Pending
- 2001-10-30 EP EP01997389A patent/EP1355780B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 2001-10-30 WO PCT/US2001/045443 patent/WO2002042066A1/en active Application Filing
-
2002
- 2002-05-28 US US10/160,200 patent/US6761960B2/en not_active Ceased
-
2006
- 2006-07-13 US US11/485,647 patent/USRE42240E1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP1355780A4 (en) | 2008-10-22 |
| DE01997389T1 (en) | 2004-07-08 |
| US6410119B1 (en) | 2002-06-25 |
| USRE42240E1 (en) | 2011-03-22 |
| EP1355780B1 (en) | 2012-08-01 |
| CA2427942A1 (en) | 2002-05-30 |
| ES2216735T1 (en) | 2004-11-01 |
| WO2002042066A1 (en) | 2002-05-30 |
| US20020150730A1 (en) | 2002-10-17 |
| US6761960B2 (en) | 2004-07-13 |
| EP1355780A1 (en) | 2003-10-29 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20211101 |