Apparatus and method for dispensing cushioning wrap material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9701091-B2
Application number	US-201314415724-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2013
Priority date	Jul 19, 2012
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

An unpowered, manually operable apparatus ( 10 ) for dispensing cushioning wrap material ( 13 ) includes a frame ( 12 ), a roll ( 14 ) of interleaf material ( 16 ) rotatably secured to the frame, a roll ( 18 ) of expandable sheet material ( 20 ) in an unexpanded form rotatably secured to the frame adjacent the roll of interleaf material, and a tensioning assembly ( 60, 70, 80, 90 ) operably associated with the roll of expandable sheet material to control rotational resistance thereof. The rotational resistance causes the expandable sheet material to expand in length and thickness as it is pulled with the interleaf material by a user. Typically, the roll of interleaf material and the roll of expandable sheet material are secured to the frame such that respective longitudinal centerlines of each roll are substantially aligned. In addition, typically, the axial directions of the rolls are substantially parallel.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. An unpowered, manually operable apparatus for dispensing cushioning wrap material, the apparatus comprising:
a frame;
a roll of interleaf material secured to the frame for rotation about a longitudinal interleaf axis;
a roll of expandable sheet material extending between opposite ends spaced-apart along longitudinal expandable sheet axis, wherein the roll of expandable material is in an unexpanded form rotatably secured to the frame adjacent the roll of interleaf material for rotation about the longitudinal expandable sheet axis, the longitudinal expandable sheet axis being parallel to the longitudinal interleaf axis; and
a tensioning assembly operative to selectively apply a compressive force to the expandable sheet roll ends along an axis parallel to the longitudinal expandable sheet axis to control rotational resistance of the roll of expandable sheet material, wherein the rotational resistance causes the expandable sheet material to expand in length and thickness as the expandable sheet material is pulled with the interleaf material manually by a user.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the frame includes a pair of opposing brackets extending upwardly from the frame, each bracket having an open ended, elongated slot formed therein, wherein a respective end portion of an elongated member is received within each slot, and wherein the roll of interleaf material is supported by the member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the member includes a first pair of spaced-apart stops that limit axial movement of the member when the member ends are received within the bracket slots.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the member includes a second pair of spaced-apart stops located between the first pair of stops, wherein the second pair of stops limit axial movement of the roll of interleaf material supported by the member.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the open end of each bracket slot is configured to inhibit unintentional removal of the respective member end portion from the bracket slot.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tensioning assembly has an adjustment mechanism to control rotational resistance of the roll of expandable sheet material.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the frame includes a pair of supports extending from the frame;
the roll of expandable sheet material includes a hollow, axially-extending core, and
wherein the tension assembly includes
an elongated member having a received portion that extends through the hollow core, the elongated member having opposite end portions, each end portion secured to a respective one of the supports;
a first core plug attached to one end portion of the member, the first core plug including opposite first and second end portions, and a radially outwardly directed flange adjacent the first core plug first end portion, wherein the first core plug second end portion extends into one end of the hollow core;
a second core plug attached to an opposite end portion of the member, the second core plug including opposite first and second end portions, and a radially outwardly directed flange adjacent the second core plug first end portion, wherein the second core plug second end portion extends into an opposite end of the hollow core; and
an adjustment mechanism operably coupled to the second core plug and configured to exert the compressive force to opposing end faces of the roll of expandable sheet material to thereby control rotational resistance of the roll of expandable sheet material.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein axial directions of the rolls are parallel.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a width of the roll of interleaf material is the same or less than a width of the roll of expandable sheet material.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the expandable sheet material includes a slit pattern which forms an array of openings when the expandable sheet material is in an expanded form.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the expanded sheet material and interleaf material are paper sheet materials.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the expanded sheet material is die-cut slit paper, and wherein the interleaf material is tissue paper.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the frame includes spaced-apart first and second visual indicia, wherein a distance between the first and second visual indicia corresponds to a desired width of the expandable sheet material as the expandable sheet material is dispensed in a proper expanded shape.

14. An unpowered, manually operable apparatus for dispensing cushioning wrap material, the apparatus comprising:
a frame;
a pair of opposing brackets extending upwardly from the frame, each bracket having an open ended, elongated slot formed therein;
a roll of interleaf material including a hollow, axially-extending core, wherein the roll of interleaf material is rotatably secured to the frame via an elongated member having a received portion extending through the core, wherein the elongated member includes opposite end portions, each end portion received within a respective elongated slot, and wherein the open end of each elongated slot is configured to inhibit unintentional removal of the respective member end portion from the elongated slot;
a roll of expandable sheet material in an unexpanded form rotatably secured to the frame adjacent the roll of interleaf material such that the roll of interleaf material and the roll of expandable sheet material are rotatable about parallelly aligned longitudinal axes; and
a tensioning assembly operative to selectively apply a compressive force to opposite spaced-apart ends of the expandable sheet material along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll of expandable sheet material, wherein the rotational resistance causes the expandable sheet material to expand in length and thickness as the expandable sheet material is pulled with the interleaf material by a user.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the member includes a first pair of spaced-apart stops that limit axial movement of the member relative to the brackets, and a second pair of spaced-apart stops located between the first pair of stops, wherein the second pair of stops limit axial movement of the roll of interleaf material supported by the member.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the tensioning assembly has an adjustment mechanism to control rotational resistance of the roll of expandable sheet material.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the roll of expandable sheet material includes an expandable sheet hollow, axially-extending core, and wherein the tension assembly includes
the elongated member that extends through the expandable sheet hollow core, the elongated member having opposite end portions, each end portion secured to a respective support of a pair of opposing supports extending upwardly from the frame;
a first core plug attached to one end portion of the member, the first core plug including opposite first and second end portions, and a radially outwardly directed flange adjacent the first core plug first end portion, wherein the first core plug second end portion extends into one end of the expandable sheet hollow core;
a second core plug attached to an opposite end portion of the member, the second core plug including opposite first and second end portions, and a radially outwardly directed flange adjacent the second core plug first end portion, wherein the second core plug second end portion extends into an opposite end of the expandable sheet hollow core; and
an adjustment m

Assignees

• Ranpak Corp

Inventors

• Page Brandon Cadette
• Passos Marcelo Miller
• Gardner Matthew Scott

Classifications

• B31D2205/0047

  Feeding, guiding or shaping the material · CPC title

• B65H75/185

  End caps, plugs or adapters · CPC title

• B31D2205/0064

  Stabilizing the shape of the final product, e.g. by mechanical interlocking · CPC title

• B65H2701/1944

  Wrapping or packing material · CPC title

• B65H23/06

  by retarding devices, e.g. acting on web-roll spindle · CPC title