A packing product, its use, a machine for production of the packing product, and a method of manufacture, creates a double curl, “B” or modified “B” having elastic, cushioning, form-fitting, and coherent packing properties. The “B” is created from a dimension-controlled strip of preferably, but not necessarily, cohesive paper having a cohesive side and a non-cohesive side, a leading end, and a trailing end. The leading edge is wound into a spiral in a first direction with the cohesive side of the dimension-controlled cohesive paper facing outward, while the trailing edge is wound into a spiral in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, with the cohesive side of the cohesive paper also facing outward. A plurality of “B”s provide a clumped, cohesive mass around a packed item. The machine can produce “B”s of various sizes to accommodate various sized items and/or packaging.

A machine for converting a sheet material into a relatively less dense dunnage product includes a forming assembly and a feeding assembly downstream of the forming assembly. The forming assembly is configured to cause lateral edges of the sheet material to roll towards one another, forming a tubular shape. A deflector at a downstream end of the forming assembly is configured to engage the lateral edges of the sheet material and to urge the lateral edges into an interior of the tubular shape. This juxtaposes lateral edge portions of the sheet material adjacent the respective lateral edges. A forming channel at a downstream end of the forming assembly faces the deflector to receive the lateral edge portions and shape them into a tab. Finally, the feeding assembly includes rotating connecting members that engage and connect together the overlapping lateral edge portions of the sheet material forming the tab.

Method for producing a padding product, comprising the following steps: providing a flat, elongate paper strip, which has a central region extending in the longitudinal direction and two-layered or multi-layered adjacent edge regions, which are not joined to one another, opening up adjacent edge regions, and crumpling the paper strip along the central region, characterized in that before the crumpling along the central region the edge regions are turned over towards the center region, and a device for producing a padding product, and a padding product.

In a device for machine-making a dunnage product from a single- or multi-ply continuous paper web comprising a delivery conveyor for drawing in a paper web into the device whereby a conveying direction is defined and a cutter for separating the dunnage product from a three-dimensional strand of dunnage material formed from the paper web within the device, it is provided that a removal conveyor succeeds in the conveying direction to the cutter, the removal conveyor transporting the separated dunnage product away from the cutter.

A conversion apparatus is provided herein. The conversion apparatus includes a cutting member having an edge configured for cutting the dunnage material. The conversion apparatus also includes a biasing member that is located adjacent to the cutting member such that the dunnage material passes between the biasing member and the cutting member. The biasing member operably contacts the dunnage material thereby biasing the dunnage material against the cutting member. The position of the biasing member relative to the cutting member is such that in response to the dunnage material being retracted back into the conversion apparatus the cutting member begins to sever the dunnage material, but in response to the dunnage material traveling in the dispensing direction the cutting member does not begin to sever the dunnage material due to the relative position.

A conversion apparatus is provided herein. The conversion apparatus includes a cutting member having an edge configured for cutting the dunnage material. The conversion apparatus also includes a biasing member that is located adjacent to the cutting member such that the dunnage material passes between the biasing member and the cutting member. The biasing member operably contacts the dunnage material thereby biasing the dunnage material against the cutting member. The position of the biasing member relative to the cutting member is such that in response to the dunnage material being retracted back into the conversion apparatus the cutting member begins to sever the dunnage material, but in response to the dunnage material traveling in the dispensing direction the cutting member does not begin to sever the dunnage material due to the relative position.

A dunnage conversion system (20) for expanding an unexpanded slit sheet stock material (23) to form an expanded dunnage product (26). The dunnage conversion system includes a converging chute (28) to inwardly gather laterally-extending edges of sheet stock material towards one another, causing random crumpling of the sheet stock material to form a modified ply. The conversion system also includes feed wheels (120) that advance the modified ply through the converging chute and pinch rollers (122) that cooperate with the feed wheels to expand the modified ply traveling between the feed wheels and the pinch rollers to form a dunnage product. The expanded dunnage product is expanded both in a longitudinal feed direction and in thickness as compared to the unexpanded slit sheet stock material, and thus is a three-dimensional product having increased volume and lower density per unit of length as compared to the unexpanded slit sheet stock material.

A device for machine-making a dunnage product from a single- or multi-ply continuous paper web may include a delivery conveyor configured to draw the paper web into the device in a conveying direction; a cutter configured to separate the dunnage product from a three-dimensional strand of dunnage material formed from the paper web within the device; and a removal conveyor positioned after the cutter in the conveying direction and configured to remove the separated dunnage product from the cutter.

Stock material units that may be used in a dunnage conversion machine. For example, stock material units include sheet material that may be fed into the dunnage conversion machine and may be converted thereby into dunnage.

A dunnage crumpling apparatus is provided having first and second entry-side crumpling members and first and second exit-side crumpling members. The first and second entry-side crumpling members define an entry therebetween. The first and second exit-side crumpling members define an exit therebetween that is disposed along the longitudinal path downstream of the entry. A crumpling zone being defined between the entry and exit. The first entry-side crumpling member is configured for moving at an first rate and is associated with the second entry-side crumpling member for moving sheet material through the entry in a first direction along a longitudinal path at an entry rate. The first exit-side crumpling member is configured for moving at an second rate and is associated with the second exit-side crumpling member for moving the sheet material through the exit in the first direction along the path at a exit rate that is slower than the entry rate to crumple the sheet material for producing dunnage. The entry and exit-side crumpling members are displaced laterally along the path with respect to each other to cause shearing of the sheet within the crumpling zone.