SUPPLY OF CUSHIONING MATERIAL FOR WRAPPING AT LEAST ONE OBJECT

Abstract

A supply of cushioning material for wrapping at least one object comprises a stack formed of a multitude of prefabricated sheets of three-dimensional cushioning material. The invention proposes that adjacent sheets are connected to each other by means of a releasable adhesive system, the adhesive system being designed such that the connection can be released without auxiliary means, i.e. without special heat exposure and without chemicals and without special tools simply by mechanical action, and non-destructively, i.e. without damaging the cushioning material.

Claims

1. A supply of cushioning material for wrapping at least one object, which comprises a stack formed of a multitude of prefabricated sheets of three-dimensional cushioning material, wherein adjacent sheets are connected to each other preferably in the region of at least one edge by means of a releasable adhesive system, the adhesive system being designed such that the connection can be released without auxiliary means, i.e. without special heat exposure and without chemicals and without special tools simply by mechanical action, and non-destructively, i.e. without damaging the cushioning material.

2. The supply of claim 1 wherein the releasable adhesive system has an adhesive layer with an adhesive note adhesion effect, for example à la Post-it®.

3. The supply of claim 1 wherein the sheets of three-dimensional cushioning material each have a plurality of embossed protrusions.

4. The supply of claim 3 wherein the sheets comprise a plurality of creases created during or prior to embossing the protrusions.

5. The supply of claim 1 wherein the sheets each have at least one line of weakened material strength, preferably a perforation line allowing to separate a portion of the sheet from the remainder along the line.

6. The supply of claim 5 wherein the sheets each have a plurality of perforation lines.

7. The supply of claim 6 wherein the sheets each have a plurality of perforation lines wherein at least two of the perforation lines are not parallel to each other, preferably are orthogonal to each other.

8. The supply of claim 1 wherein the sheets comprise a paper material, preferably craft paper material, still more preferably recycled craft paper material.

9. The supply of claim 1 wherein the sheets are connected to each other by means of the releasable adhesive system in at least one of an edge region, a corner region and a center region of a sheet.

10. The supply of claim 1 wherein an adhesive layer of the adhesive system is formed as a straight line, an undulated line, or by a plurality of adhesive points.

Description

[0021] The invention now will be described with reference to the attached drawing. In the drawing is

[0022] FIG. 1 a schematic sectional view of a supply of cushioning material in the form of a stack formed of a multitude of prefabricated sheets of three-dimensional cushioning material;

[0023] FIG. 2 a perspective view of the supply of FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 3 a perspective partial view of a prefabricated sheet of three-dimensional cushioning material of the supply of FIG. 1; and

[0025] FIG. 4 a schematic sectional view of the sheet of FIG. 3.

[0026] It is to be noted that for the sake of clarity in the figures only exemplary but not all elements and portions or regions are designated with reference signs.

[0027] In the figures, a supply of cushioning material generally has the reference sign 10. The supply 10 comprises a stack 12 formed of a multitude of prefabricated sheets 14 of three-dimensional cushioning material 16. The sheets 14 are arranged horizontally and parallel to each other on top of each other like a pile.

[0028] As can be seen from the figures, a sheet 14 of cushioning material 16 is generally flat. It comprises a plurality of embossed protrusions 18. The embossed protrusions 18 extend from a reference or middle plane 20 (FIG. 4) in a first direction 22 and in a second direction 24, the second direction 24 being opposite to the first direction 22. Both directions 22 and 24 are orthogonal to the reference or middle plane 20.

[0029] By consequence, while a sheet 14 of cushioning material 16 is generally flat with a thickness D which is low compared to its length and width, the thickness D (FIG. 4) is distinct enough for providing the elasticity necessary for providing the required cushioning properties. The positions of the embossed protrusions 18 are arranged in an alternating order. The embossed cushioning material 16 further comprises a plurality of creases 26 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

[0030] In the present exemplary embodiment the embossed cushioning material 16 is made from craft paper. It is particularly preferred that the embossed cushioning material 16 is made from recycled craft paper. The sheets 14 of cushioning material 16 are prefabricated which means that the protrusions 18 are embossed for example into a web type and flat starting material which is then cut into the rectangular sheets 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0031] In the present exemplary embodiment a cross sectional shape, when viewed from the side (FIGS. 1 and 4), of the embossed protrusions 18 is approximately half-circular. Furthermore, in the present exemplary embodiment a cross sectional shape, when viewed from above (FIGS. 2 and 3), of the embossed protrusions 18 is approximately circular.

[0032] As can be seen from 1 and 2, adjacent sheets 14 are connected to each other in the region of, by way of example, the right free edge 28 of the sheets 14 by means of a releasable adhesive system 30. The adhesive system 30 comprises an adhesive layer 32 applied to a surface region adjacent to the free edge 28 of each sheet 14 prior to forming the stack 12 of sheets 14. The adhesive system 30 is designed such that the connection between adjacent sheets 14 can be released without any auxiliary means, i.e. without special heat exposure and without chemicals and without special tools simply by mechanical action, and non-destructively, i.e. without damaging the cushioning material. The mechanical action may consist in simply lifting a sheet 14 off from the remainder of the stack 12 for example manually by means of a hand of a user.

[0033] The adhesive layer 32 may have an adhesive note adhesion effect, for example à la Post-it®. Such an adhesive principle is well known from those adhesive layers that have a so-called “sticky note adhesive effect”, for example from notepads known on the market under the brand name “Post-it®”. The adhesive used for this is a cured plastic consisting of tiny beads with fine hairs. These hairs act like tentacles that in the present case hold the surface of one sheet 14 of cushioning material 16 to the adjacent and parallel surface of the adjacent sheet 14 of cushioning material 16. The sheet 14 of cushioning material 16 can be easily removed again, as the contact surface between two adjacent 14 sheets is reduced by the small beads.

[0034] As can be seen from FIG. 2, each sheet has a plurality of transverse and longitudinal perforation lines 34 and 36 allowing to separate a portion 38 of the sheet 14 along the perforation lines 34 and/or 36. The transverse perforation lines 36 are orthogonal to the longitudinal perforation line 34. As can be seen from FIG. 2, in the region of the perforation lines 34 and 36 no embossed protrusions 18 are provided.

[0035] While not shown in the figures, it is possible that the stack of prefabricated sheets of cushioning material is presented to a user in a box mounted on a swivelling arm having one or more articulations, which allows to place the supply for example over a working table of a user and allows to easily move the supply to the desired position.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0036] 10 supply

[0037] 12 stack

[0038] 14 sheets

[0039] 16 cushioning material

[0040] 18 embossed protrusions

[0041] 20 middle plane

[0042] 22 first direction

[0043] 24 second direction

[0044] 26 creases

[0045] 28 edge

[0046] 30 adhesive system

[0047] 32 adhesive layer

[0048] 34 longitudinal perforation line

[0049] 36 transverse perforation lines

[0050] 38 portion of sheet