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 random crumpling is minimized or eliminated in an area to be cut to reduce or eliminate the production of scrap shards of sheet stock material during the cutting operation.

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.

An apparatus for the provision of packaging material includes a forming unit for producing a cushion or tubular-like packaging material from a paper strip and for ejecting the packaging material. A feeding unit draws in the paper strip from a Leporello stack-shaped paper strip supply having two feed rollers opposing each other for driving the paper strip and a motor for operating the feed rollers. A preforming station is positioned upstream the feed unit in paper feed direction for transverse compression of the paper strip. A guiding unit is positioned upstream the preforming station in paper feed direction for aligning the paper strip for the preforming station and a frame, on which the preforming station is pivotably supported between a working position and a loading position.

An apparatus for the production of a cushion product from a single or multi-layer continuous paper strip includes a chute-like preforming station for the compression of a paper strip in the transverse direction and a deformation station following the preforming station in the feed direction of the paper strip having two embossing rollers engaging into each other in a deformation area in order to form the paper strip to a cushion product with at least one crumple hollow space extending in the longitudinal direction. The preforming station has a lifting unit and is positioned upstream in the feed direction of the embossing rollers for lifting a central area of the paper strip.

The invention relates to a device for providing cushioning material for packaging purposes, comprising a converting unit for turning over at least one lateral edge of a web-type starting material in the direction of a center of the starting material, creating an intermediate product, and a crumpling mechanism for crumpling the intermediate product into the cushioning material. According to the invention, the housing has a first coupling portion, which is complementary to a corresponding second coupling portion of the converting unit, and the converting unit is one of a set of at least two converting units, wherein the converting units of a set all have the same second coupling portion, and wherein the converting units of a set are designed to convert different starting materials.

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.

An apparatus for manufacturing a packaging product from a packaging-material web may include a production device for making the packaging-material web; a drawing device for drawing the packaging-material web off from a packaging-material source; a deforming device for deforming the packaging-material web; a removal conveying device for removing the packaging-material product from the apparatus; and/or a dispensing device for dispensing the packaging-material product in an aligned manner; and using a module interface, via which at least one of the functional units, forming a structural unit, can be connected in a releasable manner to an adjacent functional unit upwards and/or downwards in the conveying direction and/or changed over therewith.

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.

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 configured to receive fanfold stock material and manipulate the fanfold stock material into being withdrawn from the supply station in a non-planar configuration. The supply station is associated with the dunnage conversion machine such that the dunnage conversion machine operably draws fanfold stock material from the top of a stack of fanfold stock material.

An apparatus for the production of a cushion product from a single or multi-layer continuous paper strip includes a chute-like preforming station for the compression of a paper strip in the transverse direction and a deformation station following the preforming station in the feed direction of the paper strip having two embossing rollers engaging into each other in a deformation area in order to form the paper strip to a cushion product with at least one crumple hollow space extending in the longitudinal direction. The preforming station has a lifting unit and is positioned upstream in the feed direction of the embossing rollers for lifting a central area of the paper strip.