An improved expandable slit-sheet stock material is configured to aid in temporarily restricting opening of a plurality of slits of the slit-sheet stock material, such as during winding of the unexpanded stock material or during expansion of the stock material. Each slit of the plurality of slits includes one or more un-slit reinforcement portions, such as reinforcement ties, extending fully between opposite longitudinal sides of the slit, and disposed between opposed transverse endpoints of the slit. The reinforcement ties minimize or prevent tearing of the stock material during the winding or expansion. A dunnage conversion system for expanding the slit-sheet stock material includes an expander having a pair of opposed rollers. The rollers engage the stock material to effect breaking of the un-slit reinforcement portions and expansion of the slit-sheet stock material.

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.

Sheet packaging has a corrugated ply bonded to a backing ply. The corrugated ply forms parallel flutes. The packaging comprises voids through both the corrugated ply and the backing ply at intervals along the flutes, thereby forming a plurality of insular portions interconnected by flexures. Each insular portion has a flute portion and a backing portion between adjacent voids and bonded together at respective edges and each flexure comprises bonded-together portions of the corrugated ply and the backing ply. The flexures confer hyper flexibility to the packaging wherein each flexure possesses an independent bend axis across which the flexure can both be twisted and bent.

A supply of inflatable pouches includes an inflatable web defining a series of inflatable chambers, a longitudinal fold in the web such that the web is configured in the form of two juxtaposed inflatable panels joined together at the longitudinal fold, and a series of transverse seals that bond the panels together to form a series of inflatable pouches between pairs of the transverse seals.

In some illustrative embodiments of the present invention, a novel expandable slit paper expansion device design is provided that, among other things, avoid complications of prior systems and eliminates the crushing effect of the rollers. Among other things, the preferred embodiments provide a unique structure that provides a novel S shape path of the expandable slit sheet paper, such that the expandable slit sheet paper is tortuously weaved between at least two expansion rollers without being compressed there-between, in a manner that the expandable slit sheet paper follows along surfaces of the expansion rollers without pinching or compression that occurs in the background art.

A dunnage conversion machine for converting an expandable pre-slit sheet stock material into a relatively less dense dunnage product includes an improved expansion assembly that provides means for adjusting the spacing between axes of rotation of components through which the sheet stock material is drawn. The adjustability enables pre-slit sheet stock materials of differing thicknesses and/or having differing slit patterns to be fed through the expansion assembly with no or minimal compression of an expanded dunnage product, jamming in the conversion machine, bunching, and/or tearing of the pre-slit sheet stock material or expanded dunnage product resulting from expansion of the pre-slit sheet stock material.

Apparatus includes one or more fillable containers (35) in fluid communication with a primary channel (32), which is in fluid communication with a fluid entrance opening (31) which is attachable to a fluid source. The fillable containers (35) are made of a material that ruptures upon propelling the fillable containers (35) against a target. Each of the fillable containers (35) includes a one-way valve (33) that allows fluid to flow through the primary channel (32) into a corresponding one of the containers (35) and to seal each of the containers (35) with the fluid therein.

An airbag sealing structure, including: an airbag body; at least one opening portion, configured on the airbag body; at least one passage portion, configured inside the airbag body and positioned at one side of the opening portion, a diameter of the passage portion being smaller than 2.9 millimeters; at least one accommodation space far away from the side of the opening portion and configured on the passage portion; and at least one blocking portion, configured inside the accommodation space and positioned at one side of the passage portion. Thereupon, a pneumatic pump nozzle may be inserted in the opening portion of the airbag body to fill air into the airbag body, air will then enter the accommodation space through the passage portion to inflate the accommodation space; when the accommodation space is saturated with air, the airbag body will seal the passage portion; thereafter, the passage portions are hot-sealed immediately.

A bound pad presents a compact and convenient form of providing a two-ply construction that includes a slit-sheet stock material that may be positioned on or hung from a flat surface at the end-user's site. The bound pad includes sheets of slit-sheet stock material that are interleafed with non-die cut separator sheets. The sheets are bound together adjacent one edge, and may be weakened adjacent the bound edge to facilitate their removal from the bound pad during use. A user creates tension by pulling a free edge of the sheet of slit sheet material away from the bound edge, thereby expanding the slit material sheet to form an expanded packaging material. The user places an article on the bound pad, wraps the article in the sheets, and tears the sheets to remove the wrapped article from the bound pad.

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.