Disclosed herein are protective packaging stock material units that are used in a dunnage system. A dunnage system includes a dunnage conversion machine and a supply station. The supply station is a cart that includes a biased support that is connected to a vertical side support. The biased support is movable from an open position to a closed position with respect to opposing vertical side supports. In the closed position, the biased support is configured to at least partially block the opening between the opposing vertical side supports. In the open position, the biased support leaves the opening between the opposing vertical side supports sufficiently open to load fanfold stock material therein. The biased support is biased towards the closed position and the open position. The supply station also includes an alignment device forming a funnel positioned under its base. The alignment device receives a dunnage machine stand base causing the supply cart to consistently align with the stand base in response to the stand base being slid into engagement with the alignment device.

Disclosed is a dunnage apparatus, including a converting station and a deflector. The converting station converts a line of high-density supply material into low-density dunnage and ejects the dunnage at an exit in an exit trajectory along a path. The deflector is repositionable with respect to the exit between a first position, in which the deflector is interposed in the path to deflect the path of the dunnage from the exit trajectory to a first deflected trajectory, and a second position. The deflector is retained in each position during the ejection of the dunnage.

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. The stock material unit includes a continuous sheet of material including a tapered sheet section defined by a plurality of slanted folds and positioned adjacent to at least one face of the three-dimensional body, and a splice member. The splice member includes a base having a first side attached to a portion of the continuous sheet of foldable material that is positioned adjacent to the tapered sheet section and has an opposite, second side. The splice member also includes a connector that has a first portion non-removably attached to the tapered sheet section and a second portion removably attached to at least a portion of the second side of the base.

A machine for pulling paper off of a roll and crumpling the paper increasing the surface area and bulk of the compressible crumpled paper. The crumpled paper is used as packing material, cushioning packaged parts and filling package voids.

Disclosed herein are protective packaging stock material units that are used in a dunnage system. A dunnage system includes a dunnage conversion machine and a supply station. The supply station is a cart that includes a biased support that is connected to a vertical side support. The biased support is movable from an open position to a closed position with respect to opposing vertical side supports. In the closed position, the biased support is configured to at least partially block the opening between the opposing vertical side supports. In the open position, the biased support leaves the opening between the opposing vertical side supports sufficiently open to load fanfold stock material therein. The biased support is biased towards the closed position and the open position. The supply station also includes an alignment device forming a funnel positioned under its base. The alignment device receives a dunnage machine stand base causing the supply cart to consistently align with the stand base in response to the stand base being slid into engagement with the alignment device.

A dunnage conversion machine includes a drive mechanism configured to deform a stock material into dunnage. The drive mechanism may include a roller with an outer surface having a first shape, and another roller having an outer surface with a second shape different than the first shape. The dunnage conversion machine also may include a cutting mechanism that includes an anvil having a curvilinear surface, and a cutting portion, with the anvil and the cutting portion being configured to cut the dunnage. The dunnage conversion machine also may include an inlet chute configured to feed the stock material to the dunnage conversion machine. The inlet chute may include a protrusion located within an interior channel of the inlet chute and configured to restrict larger objects, such as the fingers and hands of an operator, from moving down the interior channel.

A dunnage conversion machine includes a drive mechanism configured to deform a stock material into a continuous length of dunnage. The machine also includes a cutting device configured to sever a piece of the dunnage from the continuous length of dunnage. The cutting device includes a grip configured to move to a closed position at which the grip exerts a force on the piece of dunnage to retain the piece on the machine until the piece is pulled away from the machine, at which point the grip moves to an open position and the machine advances the continuous length of dunnage to commence another cutting cycle.

The invention relates to a method for producing a cushioning product (88), comprising the following steps: providing a flat, longitudinal, two- or multilayered paper strip (10), wherein the individual layers (12, 14) of the paper strip (10) are connected to one another in at least some sections in a middle area (18) extending in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the individual layers (12, 14) of the paper strip (10) comprise marginal areas (20, 21, 22, 23) which are not connected to one another, opening adjacent marginal areas (20, 21, 22, 23) to form a paper strip (10) having a star-shaped cross section, and crumpling the paper strip (10) along the middle area (18).

The invention relates to a method for producing a cushioning product (88), comprising the following steps: providing a flat, longitudinal, two- or multilayered paper strip (10), wherein the individual layers (12, 14) of the paper strip (10) are connected to one another in at least some sections in a middle area (18) extending in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the individual layers (12, 14) of the paper strip (10) comprise marginal areas (20, 21, 22, 23) which are not connected to one another, opening adjacent marginal areas (20, 21, 22, 23) to form a paper strip (10) having a star-shaped cross section, and crumpling the paper strip (10) along the middle area (18).

A dunnage conversion machine converts a sheet stock material into a dunnage product that is relatively thicker and less dense than the stock material. The conversion machine includes a conversion assembly that draws the sheet stock material therethrough and randomly crumples at least a portion of the sheet stock material. Before severing a discrete dunnage product of a desired length from the substantially continuous length of sheet stock material, the conversion assembly temporarily advances the sheet stock material therethrough while minimizing or eliminating the random crumpling of the sheet stock material in a reduced-crumpling zone, and then cuts the sheet stock material in the reduced-cutting zone to reduce or eliminate the production of scrap shards of sheet stock material.