WEBS OF PREFORMED BAGS WITH EXPANDABLE SHEET CUSHIONING

A web of preformed bags includes an exterior sheet material and an expandable slit sheet material. The exterior sheet material and an expandable slit sheet material are coupled along longitudinal seams. The expandable slit sheet material has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams. The web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet material is on the inner side of the exterior sheet material. The longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams. When the expandable slit sheet material is in an unexpanded form, the exterior sheet material extends farther away from the longitudinal seams than the expandable slit sheet material extends from the longitudinal seams. The expandable slit sheet material in each of the bags is expandable from the unexpanded form to an expanded form.

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Description
BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is in the technical field of webs of preformed bags. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to webs of preformed bags with expandable sheet material such that the sheet material can be expanded individually in each bag to form individual cushioned bags.

Webs of preformed bags (sometimes referred to as “mailers”) are used to package objects for shipment (e.g., mailing). Some examples of webs of bags are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,828 (“the '828 patent”), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and which is directed to a web of bags on a roll. The '828 patent discloses a web of bags interconnected by lines of weakness, preferably in the form of perforations, with each of the bags being open on one face. In use, the bags are sequentially fed to a loading station. When at the loading station, each bag is blown open, a product is inserted and thereafter separated from the web and, if desired, the bag is then sealed to form a package. These container strips in the form of chains of pre-opened bags are supplied either on a roll as taught in the '828 patent or festooned in a carton in the manner taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,029, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such webs have been sold by Automated Packaging Systems of Streetsboro, Ohio, under the trademark AUTOBAG.

Other examples of webs of bags are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,070 (the '070 Patent), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and which is directed to a web of bags having longitudinal openings along the web. The '070 patent also describes machines for forming packages from the web and processes of making the packages. In one example, the web is fed first through a slitter which splits a top portion into two lips (or flaps) that are respectively grasped between pairs of belts for transport through a load section. Examples of such belts that transport the web through the load section are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,218, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. As the web is fed the flaps are spread to effect the sequential opening of the side connected bags for receiving a product to be packaged. The flaps are then returned to juxtaposed relationship and trimmed as the flaps are grasped by belts in a sealer section. Examples of belts in a sealer section are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,238, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Such webs and machines have been sold by Automated Packaging Systems of Streetsboro, Ohio, under the trademark SIDEPOUCH.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In a first embodiment, a web of preformed bags, the web includes an exterior sheet material and an expandable slit sheet material coupled to the exterior sheet material along longitudinal seams. The expandable slit sheet material has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams. The web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet material is on an inner side of the exterior sheet material and the longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams. When the expandable slit sheet material is in an unexpanded form, the exterior sheet material extends farther away from the longitudinal seams than the expandable slit sheet material extends from the longitudinal seams. The expandable slit sheet material in each of the bags is expandable from the unexpanded form to an expanded form.

In a second embodiment, the first embodiment is arranged such that portions of the exterior sheet material on either side of the longitudinal fold are coupled together to form transverse seams.

In a third embodiment, the second embodiment is arranged such that a closed longitudinal edge of the web at the longitudinal fold forms bottoms of the bags, an open longitudinal edge of the web between the longitudinal seams forms open tops of the bags, and the transverse seams form sides of the bags.

In a fourth embodiment, the web of any of the second or third embodiments further includes lines of weakness in the longitudinal seams on either side of one of the bags. The lines of weakness can be broken to remove the one of the bags from the web.

In a fifth embodiment, the web of any of the previous embodiments further includes a first connecting material on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material proximate the longitudinal fold and a second connecting material on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material at a location corresponding to the first connecting material on the exterior sheet material.

In a sixth embodiment, the fifth embodiment is arranged such that the first and second connecting materials are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon at least one of contact or pressure applied between the first and second connecting materials, cause the first and second connecting materials to be adhered together.

In a seventh embodiment, the sixth embodiment is arranged such that, when the first and second connecting materials are adhered together, the first and second connecting materials cause the expandable slit sheet material to remain in the expanded form.

In an eighth embodiment, the any of the previous embodiments is arranged such that the expandable slit sheet material includes one or more transverse pleats in one of the bags.

In a ninth embodiment, the eight embodiment is arranged such that the one or more transverse pleats are overlapping portions of the expandable slit sheet material and a total longitudinal length of the expandable slit sheet material in the one of the bags, including the lengths of the overlapping portions in the transverse pleats, is longer than a longitudinal length of the one of the bags.

In a tenth embodiment, either of the eighth or nine embodiments is arranged such that, as the expandable slit sheet material is expanded in the one of the bags, the transverse pleats unfold at least partially.

In an eleventh embodiment, the web of any of the previous embodiments further includes an interior sheet material coupled to the exterior sheet material and the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal seams such that the expandable slit sheet material is located between the interior sheet material and the exterior sheet material.

In a twelfth embodiment, the eleventh embodiment is arranged such that the interior sheet material includes longitudinal pleats such that allow the interior sheet material is in an unexpanded form.

In a thirteenth embodiment, the twelfth embodiment is arranged such that the longitudinal pleats can be unfolded at least partially such that the interior sheet material is in an expanded form.

In a fourteenth embodiment, the thirteenth embodiment is arranged whereby expansion of the longitudinal pleats such that the interior sheet material is in an expanded form causes expansion of the expandable slit sheet material to the expanded form.

In a fifteenth embodiment, any of the eleventh to fourteenth embodiments is arranged such that the interior sheet material is a multi-part interior sheet material.

In a sixteenth embodiment, the multi-part interior sheet material of the fifteenth embodiment includes upper parts coupled to the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal seams and a lower part is folded such that the lower part substantially conforms to the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal fold.

In a seventeenth embodiment, the lower part of the sixteenth embodiment is capable of moving with respect to the upper parts.

In an eighteenth embodiment, the multi-part interior sheet material of the seventeenth embodiment further includes a third connecting material located on lower ends of the upper parts and a fourth connecting material located on upper ends of the lower part.

In a nineteenth embodiment, the web of the eighteenth embodiment is arranged such that, when the interior sheet material is in the unexpanded form, the upper ends of the lower part are located between the upper parts and the expandable slit sheet material.

In a twentieth embodiment, the web of any of the eighteenth or nineteenth embodiments is arranged such that the lower part is capable of moving with respect to the upper parts until the third and fourth connecting materials are in contact with each other, and the third and fourth connecting materials are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon at least one of contact and/or pressure applied between the third and fourth connecting materials, cause the interior sheet material to remain in the expanded form.

In a twenty first embodiment, the web of any of the previous embodiments is arranged such that each of the exterior sheet material, the expandable slit sheet material, and the interior sheet material is made from a fiber-based material.

In a twenty second embodiment, the web of any of the previous embodiments is arranged such that the expandable slit sheet material in each of the bags is separately expandable to the expanded form.

In a twenty third embodiment, the web of any of the previous embodiments is arranged such that the expandable slit sheet material includes a first transverse seam and portions of a first transverse side of the expandable slit sheet material are coupled together by the first transverse seam.

In a twenty fourth embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material of the twenty third embodiment includes a second transverse seam and portions of a second transverse side of the expandable slit sheet material are coupled together by the second transverse seam.

In a twenty fifth embodiment, the web of any of any of the previous embodiments further includes a second expandable slit sheet material coupled to the expandable slit sheet material and to the exterior sheet material along the longitudinal seams, where the second expandable slit sheet material has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams.

In a twenty sixth embodiment, the second expandable slit sheet material of the twenty fifth embodiment includes a second transverse seam that couples portions of the second expandable slit sheet material to each other.

In a twenty seventh embodiment, the web of the twenty sixth embodiment is arranged such that the second transverse seam is located in the second expandable slit sheet material is offset from any corresponding longitudinal seam in the expandable slit sheet material.

In a twenty eighth embodiment, the web of any of the twenty fifth to twenty seventh embodiments is arranged such that (i) the expandable slit sheet material includes a first transverse seam, (ii) the second expandable slit sheet material includes a second transverse seam and (iii) the first transverse seam and the second transverse seam are offset from each other such that, when the expandable slit sheet material and the second expandable slit sheet material are in the expanded form, the expandable slit sheet material provides cushioning where the second expandable slit sheet material has the second longitudinal seam and the second expandable slit sheet material provides cushioning where the expandable slit sheet material has the first longitudinal seam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of slit paper material in an unexpanded form;

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict front and side views, respectively, of an embodiment of the slit paper material shown in FIG. 1 in an expanded form;

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B with the expandable slit sheet material in an expanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form and with an interior sheet material that will be located between the expandable slit sheet material and any objects placed in the bags, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B with the expandable slit sheet material in an expanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C depict front, side cross-sectional, and bottom cross-sectional views, respectively, of a variation of the web shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B that has transverse pleats in the expandable slit sheet material, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form and a multi-part interior sheet material that will be located between the expandable slit sheet material and any objects placed in the bags, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 9A and 9B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B with the expandable slit sheet material in an expanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIG. 10A depicts a front view of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein;

FIG. 10B depicts a front view of the web shown in FIG. 10A with the expandable slit sheet material 406 in an expanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein; and

FIGS. 11A and 11B depict front and top cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 400′ of preformed bags having multiple layers of expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form, in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted above, webs of preformed bags can be useful for packaging objects for shipment. In some cases, it is advantageous for the preformed bags to be cushioned so that the cushioning in the bags provides additional protection for the objects placed therein.

Examples of webs of preformed bags with cushioning are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/089,160 (attorney docket number D-45061-PRO1), the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

One challenge with webs of preformed cushioned bags is the amount of space required to store the webs. Cushioning materials, such as air cellular cushioning materials (e.g., BUBBLEWRAP) or foam sheet materials, typically take up more than a nominal volume. When used in a web of preformed bags, the cushioning material greatly increases the volume taken by the web. For example, a roll of a web of preformed cushioned bags made from a polymer film and an air cellular cushioning material will be significantly larger than a roll of a web of preformed non-cushioned bags made from a polymer film.

Another type of cushioning material that has been used to wrap objects is expandable slit sheet material. FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of expandable slit sheet material 10 in an unexpanded form. The expandable slit sheet material 10 includes a sheet material 12, such as paper or other fiber-based material. In some embodiments, the sheet material 12 is kraft paper. The expandable slit sheet material 10 includes rows of slits 14. The slits 14 extend generally in a slit direction (as indicated in the figure) and the slits 14 are arranged in rows that also extend generally in the slit direction. In the depicted embodiment, each row of slits 14 is offset from the adjacent rows to form a pattern of the rows that repeats generally in the length direction (as indicated in the figure). In the unexpanded form, the expandable slit sheet material 10 is generally flat and the expandable slit sheet material 10 can be stored in a compact configuration. For example, the expandable slit sheet material 10 can be wound into a roll (e.g., around a core), fanfolded into a fanfolded stack, and the like.

The expandable slit sheet material 10 can also be in an expanded form. FIGS. 2A and 2B depict front and side views, respectively, of an embodiment of the expandable slit sheet material 10 in an expanded form. In some embodiments, the expanded slit sheet material 10 is transformed from the unexpanded form to the expanded form by exerting a longitudinal force 16 on the expandable slit sheet material 10 in the length direction. The longitudinal force 16 causes the slits 14 to expand to form open cells 18. The expansion of the slits 14 into the open cells 18 causes the sheet material 12 to buckle and take a three-dimensional shape, as seen in FIG. 2B. The expansion of the slits 14 into the open cells 18 also causes the length of the sheet material 12 to expand in the length direction and the width of the sheet material 12 to shrink in the slit direction.

Traditionally, after the expandable slit sheet material 10 is in the expanded form, the slit expandable sheet material 10 has been used to wrap objects. When wrapped around an object multiple times, the expandable slit sheet material 10 tends to remain in the expanded form as the wrapping of the object causes at least some layers of the expandable slit sheet material 10 to interlock and resist retraction of the expandable slit sheet material 10 to the unexpanded form. In some embodiments, an interleaf paper material is layered over the expandable slit sheet material 10 and wrapped around the object with the expandable slit sheet material 10 to deter retraction of the expandable slit sheet material 10. As used herein, an “object” may comprise a single item or a grouping of several distinct items. Further, an object may include any accompanying informational items, such as a packing slip, tracking code, a manifest, an invoice, a machine-readable identifier (e.g., a bar code or a quick response (QR) code) that can be sensed by a reader (e.g., a bar code scanner or a camera), or any other informational item.

The use of expandable slit sheet material as a cushioning material is well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,871, issued Sep. 16, 1997, describes the use of slit paper to package objects. In particular, the slit paper is rolled into a roll in its unexpanded form, the roll is placed in a contain, and the slit paper is pulled out of the container. As the slit paper is pulled out of the container, the longitudinal force from pulling the slit paper causes the slit paper to convert from the unexpanded form to the expanded form so that the expanded slit paper can be used as a cushioning material to wrap an object.

In addition to being used to wrap objects, expanded slit sheet material has also been used as cushioning in mailers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,850,891 describes an example of a cushioned mailer formed from an exterior layer of paper and a cushioning layer of expanded sheet paper. For example, expanded slit paper can be sandwiched between two layers of kraft paper to form a web and the web can be folded and sealed together at the edges to form a mailer. One of the benefits of this mailer is that the mailer is made almost entire of paper so that the mailer is easily recyclable (e.g., curbside recyclable). However, when this type of mailer is formed, the expanded slit paper cushioning is already in the expanded form when the layers are coupled together to form the mailer. Thus, the expanded slit paper cushioning is already in its three-dimensional form when the mailer is formed such that the mailer takes up more volume that it would if the slit paper was in a flat, unexpanded form.

The present disclosure describes embodiments of webs of preformed bags with expandable slit sheet material such that the sheet material can be expanded individually in each bag to form individual cushioned bags. The bags in the web embodiments can be stored with the expandable slit sheet material in an unexpanded form. In some embodiments, the expandable slit sheet material in each bag can be selectively expanded such that each of the bags can be converted from a lay flat condition to a cushioned bag condition “on demand” (e.g., whenever desired by a user). In some embodiments, the bags are configured such that, once the expandable slit sheet material in one of the bags is expanded, the slit sheet material in that bag is held in the expanded form so that the bag is transformed into a cushioned bag. In this way, the webs can be stored at a lower volume with the expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form and then each bag can be converted to a larger volume with the expandable slit sheet material in expanded form when the bag is ready for use as a cushioned bag.

FIGS. 3A and 3B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 100 of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form. The web 100 includes bags 1021, 1022, 1023 (collectively, bags 102) that are preformed and connected in a series of the bags 102. It will be understood that the bags 102 in the web 100 may include additional that are coupled to the bags 102 depicted in the figures.

The web 100 includes an exterior sheet material 104 and an expandable slit sheet material 106. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the exterior sheet material 104 and the expandable slit sheet material 106 are coupled together along longitudinal seams 110. The longitudinal seams 110 can be formed in any manner of coupling the exterior sheet material 104 and the expandable slit sheet material 106 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the figures of the present disclosure, the longitudinal and transverse directions of the various web embodiments are shown by arrows with “lo” and “tr” indicators, respectively. In the depicted embodiment, the exterior sheet material 104 is shown as being transparent for convenience in viewing the expandable slit sheet material 106. In other embodiments, the exterior sheet material 104 can be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, an opaque polymer material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bags 102 from being viewed when the bags 102 are closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 100 has a closed longitudinal edge 112 where the web 100 is longitudinally folded and an open longitudinal edge 114 between the longitudinal seams 110. As used herein, the term “fold” includes either (1) a portion of a ply or plies of sheet material have been bent, creased, or otherwise modified from a flat shape (e.g. so that portions of the ply or plies on either side of the fold are juxtaposed together), or (2) a coupling of two sheet materials (e.g., a seam) where such that the two sheet materials are not in a flat shape (e.g., so that the two sheet materials are juxtaposed against each other). In the depicted embodiment, the exterior sheet material 104 and the expandable slit sheet material 106 are shown as single pieces of sheet material that have folded by being bent at the closed longitudinal edge 112. It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the exterior sheet material 104 and the expandable slit sheet material 106 could each be two separate pieces of sheet material that are coupled together along an edge to form the fold at the closed longitudinal edge 112.

In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 112 of the web 100 forms the bottoms of the bags 102 and the open longitudinal edge 114 of the web 100 forms the open tops of the bags 102. The web 100 is also longitudinally folded such that the expandable slit sheet material 106 is on the inner side of the exterior sheet material 104. The slits of the expandable slit sheet material 106 are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams 110 in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet material 106 is also in the unexpanded form. In this state, the web 100 can be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 112 such that the web 100 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration can reduce and/or minimize the volume of the web 100 when the web 100 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fanfolded into a fanfolded stack, etc.). As can be seen in FIG. 3B, the exterior sheet material 104 extends in the transverse direction farther away from the longitudinal seams 110 than the expandable slit sheet material 106 extends from the longitudinal seams 110 when the expandable slit sheet material 106 is in the unexpanded form.

Portions of the exterior sheet material 104 of the web 100 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 112 are also coupled together along transverse seams 116. The transverse seams 116 can be formed in any manner of coupling the portions of the exterior sheet material 104 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 106 is not connected to the exterior sheet material 104 in the transverse seams 116. This allows the transverse edges of the expandable slit sheet material 106 to move in the transverse direction of the web 100 with respect to the transverse seams 116 so that the expandable slit sheet material 106 can be expanded in the transverse direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 includes lines of weakness 118 in the transverse seams 116 between the bags 102. Each of the lines of weakness 118 may be any weakened portion of the web 100 that aids in the separation of the bags 102 from each other, such as line of perforations, a slit, a thinner portion of the exterior sheet material 104, or any other type of line of weakness.

In some embodiments, the web 100 also includes connecting materials that are arranged to hold the expandable slit sheet material 106 in an expanded form after the expandable slit sheet material 106 is expanded. In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 includes a connecting material 120 on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material 104 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 112. The web 100 also includes a connecting material 122 on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material 106 at a location corresponding to the connecting material 120 on the expandable slit sheet material 106. In some embodiments, the connecting material 120 and the connecting material 122 are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon contact and/or pressure applied between the connecting materials 120 and 122, cause the connecting materials 120 and 122 to be adhered together.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web 100 with the expandable slit sheet material 106 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, an object 130 has been inserted into the bag 1022. The loading of the object 130 into the bag 1022 has caused a force to be exerted on the bottom of the expandable slit sheet material 106 to cause the expandable slit sheet material 106 to be in the expanded form. The force exerted by the object 130 may be due to the weight of the object 130, a force exerted when the object 130 is inserted into the bag 1022 (e.g., a force exerted by a person inserting the object 130 or a machine inserting the object 130). In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 106 has been expanded to the point that the connecting materials 120 and 122 have come in contact with each other and adhered to each other. The adhering of the connecting materials 120 and 122 will cause the expandable slit sheet material 106 to remain in the expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 130.

With the bag 1022 in the configuration shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the bag 1022 can be closed and/or separated from the web 100. The bag 1022 can be closed by closing the open longitudinal edge 114 of the web 100 at the bag 1022. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the two longitudinal seams 110 of the bag 1022 can be coupled together (e.g., by adhering, sealing, etc.) to close the top of the bag 1022. In other embodiments, one of the sides of the bag 1022 (e.g., the left or right side when viewing FIG. 4B) can have a flap that extends up from the top of the bag 1022 with a closure mechanism (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive strip) that allows the flap to be secured over the top of the bag 1022. It will be understood that the bag 1022 can be closed any number of other ways. The bag 1022 can also be removed from the web 100. As noted above, the lines of weakness 118 on either side of the bag 1022 can be broken to remove the bag 1022 from the web 100.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the object 130 is in direct contact with the expandable slit sheet material 106 when the object 130 is in the bag 1022. Having the object 130 in direct contact with the expandable slit sheet material 106 will provide cushioning for the object 130 without the need for any other material to be placed between the object and the expandable slit sheet material 106. However, in some instances, it may be advantageous to have another material between the object 130 and the expandable slit sheet material 106. For example, some shippers and/or recipients of shipments may find the expandable slit sheet material 106 to be aesthetically unpleasing. In such cases, it may be advantageous for another material to be between the object 130 and the expandable slit sheet material 106.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 200 of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form and with an interior sheet material that will be located between the expandable slit sheet material and any objects placed in the bags. The web 200 includes bags 2021, 2022, 2023 (collectively, bags 202) that are preformed and connected in a series of the bags 202. It will be understood that the bags 202 in the web 200 may include additional that are coupled to the bags 202 depicted in the figures.

The web 200 includes an exterior sheet material 204 and an expandable slit sheet material 206. The web 200 also includes an interior sheet material 208. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the exterior sheet material 204, the expandable slit sheet material 206, and the interior sheet material 208 are coupled together along longitudinal seams 210. The longitudinal seams 210 can be formed in any manner of coupling the exterior sheet material 204, the expandable slit sheet material 206, and the interior sheet material 208 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the exterior sheet material 204 is shown as being transparent for convenience in viewing the expandable slit sheet material 206. In other embodiments, the exterior sheet material 204 can be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, an opaque polymer material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bags 202 from being viewed when the bags 202 are closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 200 has a closed longitudinal edge 212 where the web 200 is longitudinally folded and an open longitudinal edge 214 between the longitudinal seams 210. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 212 of the web 200 forms the bottoms of the bags 202 and the open longitudinal edge 214 of the web 200 forms the open tops of the bags 202. The web 200 is also longitudinally folded such that the expandable slit sheet material 206 is on the inner side of the exterior sheet material 204 and such that the interior sheet material 208 is on the inner side of the expandable slit sheet material 206. The slits of the expandable slit sheet material 206 are arranged to be substantially in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet material 206 is also in the unexpanded form. In this state, the web 200 can be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 212 such that the web 200 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration can reduce and/or minimize the volume of the web 200 when the web 200 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fanfolded into a fanfolded stack, etc.).

As can be seen in FIG. 5B, the exterior sheet material 204 extends in the transverse direction farther away from the longitudinal seams 210 than the expandable slit sheet material 206 extends from the longitudinal seams 210 when the expandable slit sheet material 206 is in the unexpanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the interior sheet material 208 includes longitudinal pleats 224 that allow the interior sheet material 208 to be in an unexpanded form, as shown in FIG. 5B, and to be expanded from that position in the transverse direction to an expanded form (as depicted below). As described below, the longitudinal pleats 224 allow the interior sheet material 208 to expand in the transverse direction when the expandable slit sheet material 206 is expanded. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal pleats 224 are formed by longitudinal folds in the interior sheet material 208. In other embodiments, the longitudinal pleats 224 can be formed by longitudinal creases, crimps, bends, or any other type of pleating. In some embodiments, the interior sheet material 208 can formed from a material that is the same as or similar to the exterior sheet material 204, such as kraft paper.

Portions of the exterior sheet material 204 of the web 200 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 212 are also coupled together along transverse seams 216. The transverse seams 216 can be formed in any manner of coupling the portions of the exterior sheet material 204 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 206 is not connected to the exterior sheet material 204 in the transverse seams 216. This allows the transverse edges of the expandable slit sheet material 206 to move in the transverse direction of the web 200 with respect to the transverse seams 216 so that the expandable slit sheet material 206 can be expanded in the transverse direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 includes lines of weakness 218 in the transverse seams 216 between the bags 202. Each of the lines of weakness 218 may be any weakened portion of the web 200 that aids in the separation of the bags 202 from each other, such as line of perforations, a slit, a thinner portion of the exterior sheet material 204, or any other type of line of weakness. In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 also includes a connecting material 220 on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material 204 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 212 and a connecting material 222 on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material 206 at a location corresponding to the connecting material 220 on the expandable slit sheet material 206. In some embodiments, the connecting materials 220 and 222 are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon contact and/or pressure applied between the connecting materials 220 and 222, cause the connecting materials 220 and 222 to be adhered together.

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web 200 with the expandable slit sheet material 206 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, an object 230 has been inserted into the bag 2022. The loading of the object 230 into the bag 2022 has caused a force to be exerted on the bottom of the interior sheet material 208, which caused a force to be exerted on the bottom of the expandable slit sheet material 206. The force exerted by the object 230 caused the interior sheet material 208 and the expandable slit sheet material 206 to be in the expanded form. The force exerted by the object 230 may be due to the weight of the object 230, a force exerted when the object 230 is inserted into the bag 2022 (e.g., a force exerted by a person inserting the object 230 or a machine inserting the object 230). In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 206 has been expanded to the point that the connecting materials 220 and 222 have come in contact with each other and adhered to each other. The adhering of the connecting materials 220 and 222 will cause the expandable slit sheet material 206 to remain in the expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 230. The longitudinal pleats 224 of the interior sheet material 208 have also been expanded to an expanded form. While no connecting materials are located between the expandable slit sheet material 206 and the interior sheet material 208, it will be apparent that connecting materials could be placed between the expandable slit sheet material 206 and the interior sheet material 208 to aid in keeping the interior sheet material 208 in the expanded form shown in FIG. 6B.

With the bag 2022 in the configuration shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the bag 2022 can be closed and/or separate from the web 200. The bag 2022 can be closed by closing the open longitudinal edge 214 of the web 200 at the bag 2022. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the two longitudinal seams 210 of the bag 2022 can be coupled together (e.g., by adhering, sealing, etc.) to close the top of the bag 2022. In other embodiments, one of the sides of the bag 2022 (e.g., the left or right side when viewing FIG. 6B) can have a flap that extends up from the top of the bag 2022 with a closure mechanism (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive strip) that allows the flap to be secured over the top of the bag 2022. It will be understood that the bag 2022 can be closed any number of other ways. The bag 2022 can also be removed from the web 200. As noted above, the lines of weakness 218 on either side of the bag 2022 can be broken to remove the bag 2022 from the web 200.

As noted above, expanded slit sheet material has a tendency to shrink in the slit direction as it is expanded. In one example, as the expandable slit sheet material 106 in the web 100 is expanded in the transverse direction, the expandable slit sheet material 106 will tend to shrink in the longitudinal direction. The shrinking of the expandable slit sheet material 106 in the longitudinal direction can leave the areas along the sides of the bags 102 (e.g., proximate near the transverse seals 116) without cushioning material. This can result in damage to the object 130, such as damage when the object 130 is shipped in the bag 1022. In another similar example, as the expandable slit sheet material 206in the web 200 is expanded in the transverse direction, the expandable slit sheet material 206 will tend to shrink in the longitudinal direction. The shrinking of the expandable slit sheet material 206 in the longitudinal direction can leave the areas along the sides of the bags 202 (e.g., proximate near the transverse seams 216) without cushioning material. This can result in damage to the object 230, such as damage when the object 230 is shipped in the bag 2022.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C depict front, side cross-sectional, and bottom cross-sectional views, respectively, of a variation of the web 200 that has transverse pleats 226 in the expandable slit sheet material 206. In the depicted embodiment, the transverse pleats 226 are overlapping portions of the expandable slit sheet material 206. In this configuration, the total longitudinal length of the expandable slit sheet material 206 in each of the bags 202, including the lengths of the overlapping portions in the transverse pleats 226, is longer than the longitudinal length of the bag itself. As the expandable slit sheet material 206 is expanded in the transverse direction and the expandable slit sheet material 206 narrows in the longitudinal direction, the transverse pleats 226 tend to unfold at least partially so that the expandable slit sheet material 206 in the expanded form is wider in the longitudinal direction than it would be without the transverse pleats 226. In some cases, the transverse pleats 226 allow the expandable slit sheet material 206 in the expanded form to span completely or nearly completely across the bag 202 between the transverse seams 216 in the longitudinal direction.

In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 206 is shown with two transverse pleats 226. In other embodiments, the expandable slit sheet material 206 can include any number of transverse pleats 226 (e.g., one, three, etc.). In some cases, the size of the transverse pleats 226 (e.g., the amount of overlapping expandable slit sheet material 206 in the transverse pleats 226) can be determined based a width of the bags 202, an expected longitudinal shrinking of the expandable slit sheet material 206 during expansion, a number of the transverse pleats 226, any other factor, or any combination thereof. The other webs depicted herein are not shown with transverse pleats; however, it will be apparent that any of the webs described herein could include transverse pleats. For example, the expandable slit sheet material 106 in the web 100 could have transverse pleats.

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 300 of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form and a multi-part interior sheet material that will be located between the expandable slit sheet material and any objects placed in the bags. The web 300 includes bags 3021, 3022, 3023 (collectively, bags 302) that are preformed and connected in a series of the bags 302. It will be understood that the bags 302 in the web 300 may include additional that are coupled to the bags 302 depicted in the figures.

The web 300 includes an exterior sheet material 304 and an expandable slit sheet material 306. The web 300 also includes an interior sheet material 308. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the exterior sheet material 304, the expandable slit sheet material 306, and the interior sheet material 308 are coupled together along longitudinal seams 310. The longitudinal seams 310 can be formed in any manner of coupling the exterior sheet material 304, the expandable slit sheet material 306, and the interior sheet material 308 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the exterior sheet material 304 is shown as being transparent for convenience in viewing the expandable slit sheet material 306. In other embodiments, the exterior sheet material 304 can be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, an opaque polymer material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bags 302 from being viewed when the bags 302 are closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 300 has a closed longitudinal edge 312 where the web 300 is longitudinally folded and an open longitudinal edge 314 between the longitudinal seams 310. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 312 of the web 300 forms the bottoms of the bags 302 and the open longitudinal edge 314 of the web 300 forms the open tops of the bags 302. The web 300 is also longitudinally folded such that the expandable slit sheet material 306 is on the inner side of the exterior sheet material 304 and such that the interior sheet material 308 is on the inner side of the expandable slit sheet material 306. The slits of the expandable slit sheet material 306 are arranged to be substantially in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet material 306 is also in the unexpanded form. In this state, the web 300 can be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 312 such that the web 300 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration can reduce and/or minimize the volume of the web 300 when the web 300 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fanfolded into a fanfolded stack, etc.). As can be seen in FIG. 8B, the exterior sheet material 304 extends in the transverse direction farther away from the longitudinal seams 310 than the expandable slit sheet material 306 extends from the longitudinal seams 310 when the expandable slit sheet material 306 is in the unexpanded form.

In the depicted embodiment, the interior sheet material 308 is a multi-part interior sheet material. The interior sheet material 308 includes upper parts 340 and a lower part 342. The upper parts 340 are coupled to the expandable slit sheet material 306 at the longitudinal seams 310. The lower part 342 is folded such that the lower part 342 substantially conforms to the expandable slit sheet material 306 at the closed longitudinal edge 312. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8B, the lower ends of the upper parts 340 include a connecting material 344 and the upper ends of the lower part 342 includes a connecting material 346. In some embodiments, the connecting materials 344 and 346 are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon contact and/or pressure applied between the connecting materials 344 and 346, cause the connecting materials 344 and 346 to be adhered together. In the depicted embodiment, the upper ends of the lower part 342 are located between one of the upper parts 340 and the expandable slit sheet material 306. In the configuration shown in FIG. 8B, the upper parts 340 and the lower part 342 of the interior sheet material 308 are not coupled to each other so that the lower part 342 is capable of movement with respect to the upper parts 340. In some embodiments, the interior sheet material 308 can formed from a material that is the same as or similar to the exterior sheet material 304, such as kraft paper.

Portions of the exterior sheet material 304 of the web 300 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 312 are also coupled together along transverse seams 316. The transverse seams 316 can be formed in any manner of coupling the portions of the exterior sheet material 304 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 306 is not connected to the exterior sheet material 304 in the transverse seams 316. This allows the transverse edges of the expandable slit sheet material 306 to move in the transverse direction of the web 300 with respect to the transverse seams 316 so that the expandable slit sheet material 306 can be expanded in the transverse direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 includes lines of weakness 318 in the transverse seams 316 between the bags 302. Each of the lines of weakness 318 may be any weakened portion of the web 300 that aids in the separation of the bags 302 from each other, such as line of perforations, a slit, a thinner portion of the exterior sheet material 304, or any other type of line of weakness. In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 also includes a connecting material 320 on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material 304 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 312 and a connecting material 322 on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material 306 at a location corresponding to the connecting material 320 on the expandable slit sheet material 306. In some embodiments, the connecting materials 320 and 322 are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon contact and/or pressure applied between the connecting materials 320 and 322, cause the connecting materials 320 and 322 to be adhered together.

FIGS. 9A and 9B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web 300 with the expandable slit sheet material 306 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, an object 330 has been inserted into the bag 3022. The loading of the object 330 into the bag 3022 has caused a force to be exerted on the lower part 342 of the interior sheet material 308, which caused a force to be exerted on the bottom of the expandable slit sheet material 306. The force exerted by the object 330 caused the interior sheet material 308 and the expandable slit sheet material 306 to be in the expanded form. The force exerted by the object 330 may be due to the weight of the object 330, a force exerted when the object 330 is inserted into the bag 3022 (e.g., a force exerted by a person inserting the object 330 or a machine inserting the object 330). In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 306 has been expanded to the point that the connecting materials 320 and 322 have come in contact with each other and adhered to each other. The adhering of the connecting materials 320 and 322 will cause the expandable slit sheet material 306 to remain in the expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 330. The lower part 342 of the interior sheet material 308 has also been moved downward with respect to the upper parts 340 of the interior sheet material 308. In the depicted embodiment, the lower part 342 has moved with respect to the upper parts 340 to the point that the connecting materials 344 and 346 have come in contact with each other and adhered to each other. The adhering of the connecting materials 344 and 346 will cause the interior sheet material 308 to remain in the expanded form to provide a material between the expandable slit sheet material 306 and the object 330.

With the bag 3022 in the configuration shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the bag 3022 can be closed and/or separate from the web 300. The bag 3022 can be closed by closing the open longitudinal edge 314 of the web 300 at the bag 3022. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the two longitudinal seams 310 of the bag 3022 can be coupled together (e.g., by adhering, sealing, etc.) to close the top of the bag 3022. In other embodiments, one of the sides of the bag 3022 (e.g., the left or right side when viewing FIG. 9B) can have a flap that extends up from the top of the bag 3022 with a closure mechanism (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive strip) that allows the flap to be secured over the top of the bag 3022. It will be understood that the bag 3022 can be closed any number of other ways. The bag 3022 can also be removed from the web 300. As noted above, the lines of weakness 318 on either side of the bag 3022 can be broken to remove the bag 3022 from the web 300.

One of the benefits of the webs described herein is the ability to form the webs from materials that are easily recyclable. In some embodiments, the webs described herein can be mostly formed a material that is be curbside recyclable in many municipalities. For example, in any of the webs described herein, the outer sheet material, the expandable slit sheet material, and the interior sheet material (if included) can be formed from a fiber-based material (e.g., kraft paper). Because fiber-based materials tend to be curbside recyclable in many municipalities, it will be relatively to recycle the bags in curbside recycling containers. For example, a consumer that received a shipment in one of the bags can open the bag, remove any objects from the bag, and then place the entire bag in a curbside recycling container to effectively and efficiently recycle the bag. In another example, in any of the webs described herein, the outer sheet material, the expandable slit sheet material, and the interior sheet material (if included) can be formed from similar polymer-based materials (e.g., all polypropylene, or all polyethylene). By forming the bags from similar polymer-based materials, the bags can be placed in a recycling container use to collect materials of that type of polymer for recycling.

Another advantage of the webs described herein is that the webs can be used with automatic bagging machines to fill and close the bags. For example, the webs can be used with AUTOBAG or SIDEPOUCH automatic bagging machines sold by Automated Packaging Systems of Streetsboro, Ohio. Such machines decrease the amount of labor required to fill and close bags while also decreasing the amount of time to fill and close the bags. Automated bagging machine also tend to fill bags individually and the ability to expand the expandable slit sheet material in each bag separately allows the webs to be used with these automated bagging machines.

FIG. 10A depicts a front view of an embodiment of a web 400 of preformed bags having expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form. The web 400 includes bags 4021, 4022, 4023 (collectively, bags 402) that are preformed and connected in a series of the bags 402. It will be understood that the bags 402 in the web 400 may include additional that are coupled to the bags 402 depicted in the figures.

The web 400 includes an exterior sheet material 404 and an expandable slit sheet material 406. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the exterior sheet material 404 and the expandable slit sheet material 406 are coupled together along longitudinal seams 410. The longitudinal seams 410 can be formed in any manner of coupling the exterior sheet material 404 and the expandable slit sheet material 406 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the exterior sheet material 404 is shown as being transparent for convenience in viewing the expandable slit sheet material 406. In other embodiments, the exterior sheet material 404 can be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, an opaque polymer material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bags 402 from being viewed when the bags 402 are closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 400 has a closed longitudinal edge 412 where the web 400 is longitudinally folded and an open longitudinal edge 414 between the longitudinal seams 410. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 412 of the web 400 forms the bottoms of the bags 402 and the open longitudinal edge 414 of the web 400 forms the open tops of the bags 402. The web 400 is also longitudinally folded such that the expandable slit sheet material 406 is on the inner side of the exterior sheet material 404. The slits of the expandable slit sheet material 406 are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams 410 in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet material 406 is also in the unexpanded form. In this state, the web 400 can be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 412 such that the web 400 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration can reduce and/or minimize the volume of the web 400 when the web 400 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fanfolded into a fanfolded stack, etc.). The exterior sheet material 404 extends in the transverse direction farther away from the longitudinal seams 410 than the expandable slit sheet material 406 extends from the longitudinal seams 410 when the expandable slit sheet material 406 is in the unexpanded form.

Portions of the exterior sheet material 404 of the web 400 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 412 are also coupled together along transverse seams 416. The transverse seams 416 can be formed in any manner of coupling the portions of the exterior sheet material 404 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 406 is not connected to the exterior sheet material 404 in the transverse seams 416. This allows the transverse edges of the expandable slit sheet material 406 to move in the transverse direction of the web 400 with respect to the transverse seams 416 so that the expandable slit sheet material 406 can be expanded in the transverse direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 includes lines of weakness 418 in the transverse seams 416 between the bags 402. Each of the lines of weakness 418 may be any weakened portion of the web 400 that aids in the separation of the bags 402 from each other, such as line of perforations, a slit, a thinner portion of the exterior sheet material 404, or any other type of line of weakness.

In some embodiments, transverse sides of the expandable slit sheet material 406 in the bags 402 are coupled together along transverse seams 419. In the depicted embodiment, portions of the left transverse side of the expandable slit sheet material 406 (when viewing FIG. 10A) on either side of the fold are coupled together along one of the transverse seams 419 and the portions of the right transverse side of the expandable slit sheet material 406 on either side of the fold are coupled together along another one of the transverse seams 419. The transverse seams 419 can be formed in any manner of coupling the portions of the exterior sheet material 404 together, such as adhering, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. While other embodiments of webs of preformed bags described herein do not have transverse seams in the expandable slit sheet material, it will be understood that, in any of the embodiments described herein, the expandable slit sheet material in those embodiments could include transverse seams similar to the transverse seams 419 in the expandable slit sheet material 406 of the web 400.

In some embodiments, the web 400 also includes connecting materials that are arranged to hold the expandable slit sheet material 406 in an expanded form after the expandable slit sheet material 406 is expanded. In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 includes a connecting material 420 on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material 404 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 412. The web 400 also includes a connecting material 422 on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material 406 at a location corresponding to the connecting material 420 on the expandable slit sheet material 406. In some embodiments, the connecting material 420 and the connecting material 422 are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon contact and/or pressure applied between the connecting materials 420 and 422, cause the connecting materials 420 and 422 to be adhered together.

FIG. 10B depicts a front view of the web 400 with the expandable slit sheet material 406 in an expanded form. In some embodiments, the loading of an object into the bag 4022 has caused a force to be exerted on the bottom of the expandable slit sheet material 406 to cause the expandable slit sheet material 406 to be in the expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 406 has been expanded to the point that the connecting materials 420 and 422 have come in contact with each other and adhered to each other. The adhering of the connecting materials 420 and 422 will cause the expandable slit sheet material 406 to remain in the expanded form to provide cushioning for the object. In the depicted embodiment, the transverse seams 419 remain coupled to each other. In this way, an object in the bag 4022 is deterred and/or prevented from slipping outside of the expandable slit sheet material 406.

With the bag 4022 in the configuration shown in FIG. 10B, the bag 4022 can be closed and/or separated from the web 400. The bag 4022 can be closed by closing the open longitudinal edge 414 of the web 400 at the bag 4022. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the two longitudinal seams 410 of the bag 4022 can be coupled together (e.g., by adhering, sealing, etc.) to close the top of the bag 4022. In other embodiments, one of the sides of the bag 4022 (e.g., the left or right side) can have a flap that extends up from the top of the bag 4022 with a closure mechanism (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive strip) that allows the flap to be secured over the top of the bag 4022. It will be understood that the bag 4022 can be closed any number of other ways. The bag 4022 can also be removed from the web 400. As noted above, the lines of weakness 418 on either side of the bag 4022 can be broken to remove the bag 4022 from the web 400.

In some embodiments, it may be advantageous for a web of preformed bags to have multiple expanded sheet materials in the bags. FIGS. 11A and 11B depict front and top cross-sectional views, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 400′ of preformed bags having multiple layers of expandable slit sheet material in unexpanded form. The web 400′ is similar to the web 400 and where the web 400′ includes components that are the same or substantially similar as the web 400, the same reference number has been used to refer to the component in both of the webs 400 and 400′. In addition to the expandable slit sheet material 406, the web 400′ also includes a second expandable slit sheet material 406′. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is arranged between the expandable slit sheet material 406 and the exterior sheet material 404. It will be understood that, in other embodiments, the expandable slit sheet material 406′ could be arranged such that the expandable slit sheet material 406 is between the expandable slit sheet material 406′ and the exterior sheet material 404.

In some embodiments, one longitudinal edge of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is coupled to the expandable slit sheet material 406 and to the exterior sheet material 404 by the longitudinal seams 410. Another longitudinal edge of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is coupled together along a longitudinal seam 410′ that is between the bottom of the expandable slit sheet material 406 and the bottom of the exterior sheet material 404. It will be appreciated that, unlike the longitudinal seam 410 which couples the expandable slit sheet material 406′ to both of the expandable slit sheet material 406 and the exterior sheet material 404, the longitudinal seam 410′ couples portions of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ to each other. The slits of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ are arranged substantially parallel to the slits of the expandable slit sheet material 406 such that the expandable slit sheet material 406′ and the expandable slit sheet material 406 are can be expanded in the same direction from the unexpanded form shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B to an expanded form.

In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is formed from a single sheet of expandable slit sheet material that is sealed together along a transverse seam 419′. In other embodiments, the expandable slit sheet material 406′ could be formed from two or more sheets of expandable slit sheet material that are connected together along multiple transverse seams. In some embodiments, the transverse seam 419′ of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is offset from the transverse seam 419 of the expandable slit sheet material 406. For example, in the depicted embodiments, the transverse seams 419 of the slit sheet material 406 are located along the left and right sides of the bag 4022 and the transverse seam 419′ is located away from the left and right sides of the bag 4022. With this arrangement, when the expandable slit sheet materials 406 and 406′ are in the expanded form, one of the expandable slit sheet materials 406 and 406′ will have slits in the expanded form to provide cushioning where the other of the expandable slit sheet materials 406 and 406′ includes a transverse seam 419. In this way, at least one of the expandable slit sheet materials 406 and 406′ provides cushioning completely around an object that is in the bag 4022. Similarly, the longitudinal seam 410′ of the expandable slit sheet material 406′ is offset from any corresponding longitudinal seam in the expandable slit sheet material 406 such that, when the expandable slit sheet materials 406 and 406′ are in the expanded form, the expandable slit sheet material 406 provides cushioning where the expandable slit sheet material 406′ has the longitudinal seam 410′.

While the embodiment of the web 400′ has two layers of the expandable slit sheet material 406 and 406′, it will be apparent that other embodiments of webs could have any number of layers of expandable slit sheet material as may be desirable, feasible, etc. In addition, while other embodiments of webs described herein (e.g., webs 100, 200, and 300) are show as having a single layer of expandable slit sheet material, it will be apparent that any of the embodiments of webs described herein could have multiple layers (i.e., two or more layers) of expandable slit sheet material similar to the web 400′.

For purposes of this disclosure, terminology such as “upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “inwardly,” “outwardly,” “inner,” “outer,” “front,” “rear,” and the like, should be construed as descriptive and not limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. Further, the use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Unless stated otherwise, the terms “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like are used to mean within 5% of a target value.

The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the present disclosure which are intended to be protected are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as claimed.

Claims

1. A web of preformed bags, the web comprising:

an exterior sheet material; and
an expandable slit sheet material coupled to the exterior sheet material along longitudinal seams, wherein the expandable slit sheet material has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams;
wherein the web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet material is on an inner side of the exterior sheet material, and wherein the longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams;
wherein, when the expandable slit sheet material is in an unexpanded form, the exterior sheet material extends farther away from the longitudinal seams than the expandable slit sheet material extends from the longitudinal seams; and
wherein the expandable slit sheet material in each of the bags is expandable from the unexpanded form to an expanded form.

2. The web of claim 1, wherein portions of the exterior sheet material on either side of the longitudinal fold are coupled together to form transverse seams.

3. The web of claim 2, wherein a closed longitudinal edge of the web at the longitudinal fold forms bottoms of the bags, an open longitudinal edge of the web between the longitudinal seams forms open tops of the bags, and the transverse seams form sides of the bags.

4. The web of claim 2, further comprising:

lines of weakness in the longitudinal seams on either side of one of the bags, wherein the lines of weakness can be broken to remove the one of the bags from the web.

5. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

a first connecting material on an inner surface of the exterior sheet material proximate the longitudinal fold; and
a second connecting material on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet material at a location corresponding to the first connecting material on the exterior sheet material.

6. The web of claim 5, wherein the first and second connecting materials are complimentary parts of a binary adhesive that, upon at least one of contact or pressure applied between the first and second connecting materials, cause the first and second connecting materials to be adhered together.

7. The web of claim 6, wherein, when the first and second connecting materials are adhered together, the first and second connecting materials cause the expandable slit sheet material to remain in the expanded form.

8. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slit sheet material includes one or more transverse pleats in one of the bags.

9.-10. (canceled)

11. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

an interior sheet material coupled to the exterior sheet material and the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal seams such that the expandable slit sheet material is located between the interior sheet material and the exterior sheet material.

12. The web of claim 11, wherein the interior sheet material includes longitudinal pleats such that allow the interior sheet material is in an unexpanded form.

13-14. (canceled)

15. The web of claim 11, wherein the interior sheet material is a multi-part interior sheet material.

16. The web of claim 15, wherein the multi-part interior sheet material comprises:

upper parts coupled to the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal seams; and
a lower part is folded such that the lower part substantially conforms to the expandable slit sheet material at the longitudinal fold.

17. The web of claim 16, wherein the lower part is capable of moving with respect to the upper parts.

18. The web of claim 17, wherein the multi-part interior sheet material further comprises:

a third connecting material located on lower ends of the upper parts; and
a fourth connecting material located on upper ends of the lower part.

19.-20. (canceled)

21. The web of claim 1, wherein each of the exterior sheet material, the expandable slit sheet material, and the interior sheet material is made from a fiber-based material.

22. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slit sheet material in each of the bags is separately expandable to the expanded form.

23. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slit sheet material includes a first transverse seam, wherein portions of a first transverse side of the expandable slit sheet material are coupled together by the first transverse seam.

24. (canceled)

25. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

a second expandable slit sheet material coupled to the expandable slit sheet material and to the exterior sheet material along the longitudinal seams, wherein the second expandable slit sheet material has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seams.

26. The web of claim 25, wherein the second expandable slit sheet material includes a second transverse seam that couples portions of the second expandable slit sheet material to each other.

27. (canceled)

28. The web of claim 25, wherein:

the expandable slit sheet material includes a first transverse seam;
the second expandable slit sheet material includes a second transverse seam; and
the first transverse seam and the second transverse seam are offset from each other such that, when the expandable slit sheet material and the second expandable slit sheet material are in the expanded form, the expandable slit sheet material provides cushioning where the second expandable slit sheet material has the second longitudinal seam and the second expandable slit sheet material provides cushioning where the expandable slit sheet material has the first longitudinal seam.
Patent History
Publication number: 20240051725
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 23, 2022
Publication Date: Feb 15, 2024
Inventors: Gary Walter Starks (Kent, OH), Rick S. Wehrmann (Hudson, OH), Charles Michael Balentine (Newbury, OH)
Application Number: 18/278,917
Classifications
International Classification: B65D 81/03 (20060101); B65D 65/40 (20060101); B65D 75/42 (20060101); B65D 75/52 (20060101);