Machine for inflating and sealing air-filled cushioning materials
View Patent ↗Machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material which includes a rotatively mounted roll support shaft having a fixed end and a free end, a hub mounted on the shaft near the fixed end for engagement with a cylindrical core at the end of a roll of film material, a circumferentially expandable roll gripper at the free end of the shaft for locking engagement with the inner wall of the core, an inflator having a conically tapered tip and a plurality of outlet openings for injecting air into cells of the film material, a nip roller pressing against the roll of film material to limit the flow of air into the cells of the film material on the roll, and sealer for sealing the inlet passageways to retain the air in the cells.
1. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material which is wound in a roll on a hollow cylindrical core and has superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form rows of interconnected, inflatable cells, a longitudinally extending inflation channel near one edge of the material and inlet passageways interconnecting the inflation channel and the rows of cells, comprising: a rotatively mounted roll support shaft having a fixed end and a free end, a hub mounted on the shaft near the fixed end for engagement with the core at the end of the roll near the inflation channel, a circumferentially expandable roll gripper at the free end of the shaft for locking engagement with the inner wall of the cylindrical core, means for drawing the material from the roll and feeding it along a predetermined path, an inflator having a conically tapered tip and a plurality of outlet openings adapted to be received in the inflation channel for injecting air into the cells as the material travels along the path, a nip roller, means for pressing the nip roller against the roll of film material to block the inflation channel and thereby limit the flow of air into the material on the roll and to provide rolling resistance to rotation of the roll, and means for sealing the inlet passageways to retain the air in the cells.
2. The machine of claim 1 wherein the roll gripper includes a body with an axially inclined surface, a jaw in sliding engagement with the inclined surface, and a screw operable from the fixed end of the shaft for advancing the jaw along the inclined surface to drive the jaw in an outward direction toward the inner wall of the core.
3. The machine of claim 2 wherein the body of the roll gripper is affixed to the free end of the shaft, and the screw is threadedly connected to the jaw for drawing the jaw and the body together.
4. The machine of claim 1 wherein the inflator includes a hollow base and a plurality of wire-like elements extending between the base and the conically tapered tip, with the openings being formed between the wire-like elements.
5. The machine of claim 1 wherein the inflator has an elongated tubular body, with the conically tapered tip being mounted at one end of the tubular body, and the outlet openings being formed as elongated slots in the side wall of the tubular body.
6. The machine of claim 1 including a knife blade mounted on the inflator for slitting the film along the inflation channel when the cells are inflated.
7. The machine of claim 1 wherein the nip roller is mounted on a swing arm and pressed against the roll of film material by a spring.
8. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material which is wound in a roll on a hollow cylindrical core and has superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form inflatable cells, comprising: a rotatively mounted roll support shaft having a fixed end and a free end, a hub mounted on the shaft near the fixed end for engagement with the core at one end of the roll, a circumferentially expandable roll gripper at the free end of the shaft for locking engagement with the inner wall of the cylindrical core, means for drawing the material from the roll and feeding the material along a predetermined path, an inflator for injecting air into the cells as the material travels along the path, and means for sealing the cells to retain the air therein.
9. The machine of claim 8 wherein the roll gripper includes a body with a plurality of axially inclined surfaces affixed to the shaft, a plurality of jaws in sliding engagement with the inclined surfaces, and a screw operable from the fixed end of the shaft for drawing the jaws and the body together to advance the jaws along the inclined surfaces and thereby drive the jaws in an outward direction.
10. The machine of claim 9 wherein the screw extends coaxially within the shaft and projects from the fixed end, with a manually operable knob affixed to the projecting portion of the screw.
11. The machine of claim 8 wherein the roll gripper includes a body with a plurality of axially inclined surfaces affixed to the shaft, an adjustable head having a base spaced axially from the body and a plurality of circumferentially spaced jaws extending from the base toward the inclined surfaces, a screw threadedly engaged with the base extending through the shaft for drawing the head toward the body to advance the jaws along the inclined surfaces and drive the jaws in an outward direction toward the core, and an operating knob affixed to the screw adjacent to the fixed end of the shaft.
12. The machine of claim 8 wherein the portion of shaft near the fixed end extends through a support plate and is rotatively supported in a bearing mounted to the support plate on the opposite side of the plate from the hub.
13. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material having superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form inflatable cells and a longitudinally extending inflation channel communicating with the cells, comprising:
means for feeding the material along a predetermined path;
an axially elongated inflation tube connected to a source of air with a free end adapted to be received in the inflation channel as the material travels along the path, a plurality of axially elongated slotted openings in the side wall of the inflation tube through which air can flow to inflate the cells, and a conically tapered tip mounted on the free end of the inflation tube; and
means for sealing the cells to retain the air in therein.
14. The machine of claim 13 including a knife blade mounted on the inflation tube for slitting the film material along the inflation channel when the cells are inflated.
15. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material having superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form inflatable cells and a longitudinally extending inflation channel communicating with the cells, comprising:
means for feeding the material along a predetermined path;
an inflator having an axially extending tubular base connected to a source of air for inflating the cells, a conically tapered tip spaced axially from the base, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced, wire-like elements extending between the base and the tip, with the tip, the wire-like elements and the base being adapted to be received in the inflation channel as the material is drawn along the path; and
means for sealing the cells to retain the air therein.
16. The machine of claim 15 wherein the wire-like elements extend from the base toward the tip in a radially convergent manner.
17. The machine of claim 15 including a knife blade mounted on the base of the inflator for slitting the film material along the inflation channel when the cells are inflated.
18. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material which is wound in a roll and has superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form inflatable cells and a longitudinally extending inflation channel communicating with the cells, comprising: means for rotatively supporting the roll of film material, means for drawing the material from the roll and feeding it along a predetermined path, an inflator for injecting air into the inflation channel to inflate the cells as the material travels along the path, a nip roller, means for pressing the nip roller against the roll of film material to block the inflation channel and thereby limit the flow of air into the material on the roll, and means for sealing the cells to retain the air therein.
19. The machine of claim 18 wherein the nip roller is positioned to engage an edge portion of the film material.
20. The machine of claim 18 wherein the nip roller is mounted on a swing arm and pressed against the roll of material by a spring.
21. The machine of claim 18 wherein the means for rotatively supporting the roll of film material includes a roll supporting shaft, and the nip roller is mounted on a swing arm which is rotatively mounted on a second shaft that is spaced from and generally parallel to the roll supporting shaft, with the means for pressing the nip roller against the roll of film material comprising a torsion spring disposed coaxially of the second shaft and in driving engagement with the swing arm.
22. The machine of claim 21 wherein the torsion spring is constrained between the swing arm and a stop affixed to the second shaft.
23. A machine for inflating and sealing a preconfigured cushioning material which is wound in a roll and has superposed layers of plastic film sealed together to form inflatable cells and a longitudinally extending inflation channel communicating with the cells, comprising: means for rotatively supporting the roll of film material, means for drawing the material from the roll and feeding it along a predetermined path, an inflator for injecting air into the inflation channel to inflate the cells as the material travels along the path, a nip roller fabricated of a relatively soft resilient material, means for pressing the nip roller against the roll of film material so that the nip roller is deformed by the roll, and a brake roller engagable with the nip roller to resist rotation of the nip roller.
24. The machine of claim 23 wherein the nip roller is mounted on a swing arm and pressed against the roll of material by a spring.