Roller segments and segmented rollers made therefrom

Abstract

A roller segment includes a circumferential surface, a wall substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface, at least one of a protrusion or a depression on the circumferential surface, and a through hole in the wall. The roller segment is configured to be a portion of a segmented roller by inserting a shaft through the through hole of the roller segment. When the roller segment is in the segmented roller, the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface of the roller segment forms at least one of a protrusion or a depression of the segmented roller. A pair of segmented rollers formed from a plurality of the roller segments are capable of converting a sheet material from a unformed state to a formed state.

Description

ROLLER SEGMENTS AND SEGMENTED ROLLERS MADE THEREFROMSPECIFICATIONBACKGROUND

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to protective packaging. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to systems for forming sheet materials into formed sheet materials for use in packaging.

[0002] Sheet material dunnage-producing machines are conventionally used to form sheet materials into formed material that can be used for cushioning or void-fill to package products for shipping. One common sheet material used for such purposes is paper, such as kraft paper. The sheet material is typically supplied in sheet form, such as a roll of stock paper or a stack of fanfold paper. A dunnage conversion machine can convert the sheet material into a formed material, such as from sheet paper to formed paper. The formed material has a three-dimensional form rather than the substantially two-dimensional form of the sheet material.

[0003] Machines for producing void fill material from paper are well-known in the art. Such machines generally operate by pulling a web of paper from a roll or fanfolded stack, manipulating the paper web in such a way as to convert the paper into void fill material, and then severing the converted material into cut sections of a desired length. While such machines are widely used and have been commercially successful, in many applications, there is a need for improved functionality. For example, in order to achieve a specific shape of the formed paper, the dunnage-producing machine includes complicated and typically expensive parts that form the sheet paper into the specific shape of the formed paper. These dunnage-producing machines are typically used to form very large amounts of paper from a sheet into a formed state, thus spreading out the high cost of the machine over a large amount of formed paper that is made by a machine. However, reduction of the cost of making andmaintaining dunnage-producing machines will further decrease the costs associated with making formed sheet materials for packaging purposes.SUMMARY

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] In a first embodiment, a roller segment includes a circumferential surface, a wall substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface, at least one of a protrusion or a depression on the circumferential surface, and a through hole in the wall. The roller segment is configured to be a part of a segmented roller by inserting a shaft through the through hole of the roller segment. When the roller segment is in the segmented roller, the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface of the roller segment forms at least one of a protrusion or a depression of the segmented roller.

[0006] In a second embodiment, at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface of the first embodiment comprises a plurality of protrusion or depressions on the circumferential surface.

[0007] In a third embodiment, the plurality of protrusions or depressions on the circumferential surface of the second embodiment comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of depressions.

[0008] In a fourth embodiment, the plurality of protrusions and a plurality of depressions of the third embodiment are arranged on the circumferential surface in an alternating pattern of protrusions and depressions.

[0009] In a fifth embodiment, the through hole of any of the preceding embodiment is in a shape that has corners and the through hole comprises relief cutouts on the corners.

[0010] In a sixth embodiment, one of the relief cutouts of the through hole of the fifth embodiment has a shape that is different from shapes of the others of the relief cutouts.

[0011] In a seventh embodiment, the through hole of any of the previous embodiments comprises sidewalls that extend from the wall.[00121 In an eighth embodiment, the sidewalls of the seventh embodiment extend from the wall to a distance that is equal to or less than a distance that the circumferential surface extends from the wall.

[0013] In a ninth embodiment, each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of any of the preceding embodiments is located at an edge defined by the circumferential surface and the wall.

[0014] In a tenth embodiment, each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the ninth embodiment is a half hemisphere in shape.

[0015] In an eleventh embodiment, the roller segment of any of the preceding embodiments is arranged such that a number of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface, an orientation of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface, a shape of the through hole, and an orientation of the through hole are selected such that the shape of the through hole corresponds to a cross sectional shape of the shaft and the roller segment can be formed using roller segments only having the form of the roller segment.

[0016] In a twelfth embodiment, a segmented roller includes a shaft and a plurality of roller segments. Each of the roller segments is the roller segment of any of the preceding embodiments. Each of the plurality of roller segments is located on the shaft with the shaft passing through the through hole of each of the plurality of roller segments.

[0017] In a thirteenth embodiment, the plurality of roller segments of the twelfth embodiment is arranged in a pattern of alternating orientations.

[0018] In a fourteenth embodiment, the alternating orientations of a pair of roller segments from the plurality of roller segments of the thirteenth embodiment cause the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of one of the pair of roller segments to be aligned with the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the other of the pair of roller segments.

[0019] In a fifteenth embodiment, the segmented roller of the fourteenth embodiment is arranged such that (1) in the pair of roller segments, each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression is a half hemisphere in shape, and (2) in the pair of roller segments, the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the one of the pair of roller segments is aligned with the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the other of the pair ofroller segments to form at least one of a foil hemisphere protrusion or a full hemisphere depression.[00201 In a sixteenth embodiment, the segmented roller of any of the twelfth to fifteenth embodiments further includes a separation spacer mounted on the shaft. The separation spacer is located between two of the plurality of roller segments.

[0021] In a seventeenth embodiment, the segmented roller of any of the twelfth to sixteenth embodiments further includes shaft locks fixedly coupled to the shaft and configured to deter axial movement of the plurality of roller segments with respect to the shaft.

[0022] In an eighteenth embodiment, a system is arranged to form a sheet material from an unformed state into a formed state. The system includes a first segmented roller, which is the segmented roller of any of the twelfth to seventeenth embodiments, and a second segmented roller, which is the segmented roller of any of the twelfth to seventeenth embodiments. The first and second segmented rollers are arranged with respect to each other such that, when a sheet material in an unformed state is passed between the first and second segmented rollers, the first and second segmented rollers form the sheet material from the unformed state into a formed state having at least one of protrusions or depressions.

[0023] In a nineteenth embodiment, the system of the eighteenth embodiment further includes a dunnage conversion machine having the first and second segmented rollers located therein.

[0024] In a twentieth embodiment, the sheet material of any of the eighteenth and nineteenth embodiments is a paper material.

[0025] In a twenty first embodiment, the first segmented roller of any of the eighteenth to twentieth embodiments is configured to be driven to rotate in a first rotational direction. The the first and second segmented rollers are arranged such that rotation of the first segmented roller in the first rotational direction causes counterrotation of the second segmented roller in a second rotational direction.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0026] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood byreference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0027] Fig. 1 depicts an example of a sheet material being converted from an unformed state into a formed state, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0028] Figs. 2A and 2B depict top and partial cross-sectional side views, respectively, of an embodiment of a formed sheet material, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0029] Figs. 3A and 3B depict top and partial cross-sectional side views, respectively, of another embodiment of a formed sheet material, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0030] Fig. 4 depicts rollers that can be used to press or emboss sheet material;

[0031] Figs. 5A and 5B depict perspective and side views, respectively, an embodiment of a roller segment, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0032] Fig. 6 depicts an embodiment of a set of roller segments, which are similar to roller segment shown in Figs. 5 A and 5B, to form a segmented roller with a three-dimensional circumferential surface, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0033] Fig. 7 depicts an embodiment of a segmented roller, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein;

[0034] Fig. 8 depicts an embodiment of a system having segmented rollers configured to convert a sheet material from an unformed state to a formed state, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein; and

[0035] Figs. 9A and 9B depict additional embodiments of roller segments, in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Fig. 1 depicts an example of a sheet material 100 being converted from an unformed state 110 into a formed state 120. The sheet material 100 can be any material that can be converted from the unformed state 110 into the formed state 120. As used herein, the terms “formed state” of sheet material or “formed” sheet material refer to sheet material that hasbeen formed into a non-planar form. In some embodiments, the sheet material 100 is paper, such as kraft paper, bleached paper, extensible paper, coated paper, or any other type of paper. In the depicted embodiment, the unformed state 110 of the sheet material 100 is in a lay-flat condition. In other embodiments, the unformed state 110 of the sheet material 100 can alternatively be provided any other type of unformed condition, such as a roll of the sheet material 100 or a fanfold stack of the sheet material 100.

[0037] In Fig. 1, the sheet material 100 is the process of being fed through a dunnageproducing machine 130 in a direction 132. The dunnage-producing machine 130 converts the sheet material 100 from the unformed state 110 to the formed state 120. In the depicted embodiment, the sheet material 100 in the formed state 120 includes a number of protrusions and / or depressions 122. The protrusions and / or depressions 122 can extend from one or both sides of the sheet material 100. In the depicted embodiment, the protrusions and / or depressions 122 are hemispherical in shape. In other embodiments, the protrusions and / or depressions 122 can have any shape, such as in the shape of a pyramid, a rectangular prism, a cone, any other shape, or any combination of shapes.

[0038] Figs. 2A and 2B depict top and partial cross-sectional side views, respectively, of an embodiment of a formed sheet material 204. The formed sheet material 204 extends in a longitudinal direction 212 between transverse sides 214. Between the transverse sides 214, the formed sheet material 204 has a pattern of alternating protrusions 216 and depressions 218 with flat portions 220 in between. Fig. 2B shows the depicted example of a pattern of alternating protrusions 216 and depressions 218. As can be seen in Fig. 2B, the protrusions 216 and depressions 218 extend away from both sides of the flat portions 220. In the depicted embodiment, the protrusions 216 and depressions 218 are substantially hemispherical in shape. In other embodiments, the protrusions 216 and depressions 218 can have any other shape. In some embodiments, the protrusions 216 and depressions 218 in the formed sheet material 204 have a plurality of different shapes.

[0039] Figs. 3A and 3B depict top and partial cross-sectional side views, respectively, of another embodiment of a formed sheet material 304. The formed sheet material 304 extends in a longitudinal direction 312 between transverse sides 314. Between the transverse sides 314, the formed sheet material 304 has a pattern of consecutive protrusions 316 with flat portions 320 in between. Fig. 3B shows the depicted example of a pattern of consecutiveprotrusions 316. As can be seen in Fig. 3B, the protrusions 316 extend away from one side of the flat portions 320. In the depicted embodiment, the protrusions 316 are substantially hemispherical in shape. In other embodiments, the protrusions 316 can have any other shape. In some embodiments, the protrusions 316 in the formed sheet material 304 have a plurality of different shapes.[00401 In some embodiments, dunnage-producing machines can form sheet material from the unformed state into the formed state by pressing or embossing the sheet material. In some embodiments, the pressing or embossing can be accomplished by passing the sheet material between two rollers that press or emboss the sheet material. Fig. 4 depicts rollers 140 and 150 that can be used to press or emboss sheet material. For example, the rollers 140 and 150 can be in the dunnage conversion machine 130 to form the sheet material 100 from the unformed state 110 to the formed state 120.

[0041] The roller 140 includes a cylindrical body 142 that is fixedly coupled to an axle 144. The cylindrical body 142 has an outer circumference that has protrusions 146 and depressions 148. In some embodiments, the cylindrical body 142 is manufactured with the protrusions 146 and depressions 148 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 142. For example, the cylindrical body 142 can be formed by machining the cylindrical body 142 with the protrusions 146 and depressions 148 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 142, formed by casting in a mold that leaves the protrusions 146 and depressions 148 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 142, or by any other method.[00421 The roller 150 is similar to the roller 140. The roller 150 includes a cylindrical body 152 that is fixedly coupled to an axle 154. The cylindrical body 152 has an outer circumference that has protrusions 156 and depressions 158. In some embodiments, the cylindrical body 152 is manufactured with the protrusions 156 and depressions 158 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 152. For example, the cylindrical body 152 can be formed by machining the cylindrical body 152 with the protrusions 156 and depressions 158 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 152, formed by casting in a mold that leaves the protrusions 156 and depressions 158 on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 152, or by any other method.

[0043] When the rollers 140 and 150 are used in the dunnage conversion machine 130, the rollers 140 and 150 are arranged such that the sheet material 100 entering the dunnageconversion machine 130 in the unformed sate 110 will pass between the rollers 140 and 150. The axles 144 and 154 of the rollers 140 and 150 are arranged substantially parallel to each other. The rollers 140 and 150 are arranged so that, as the rollers 140 and 150 counterrotate, the protrusions 146 of the roller 140 are aligned with the depressions 158 of the roller 150 and the depressions 148 of the roller 140 are aligned with the protrusions 150. As the sheet material 100 passes between the rollers 140 and 150, the interactions of the protrusions 146 and the depressions 158 and the interactions of the depressions 148 and the protrusions 156 cause the sheet material 100 to form into the formed state 120. With the arrangement of protrusions 146 and 156 and depressions 148 and 158 on the rollers 140 and 150, the formed state 120 of the sheet material 100 is somewhat similar to the formed sheet material 204 in that the protrusions and depressions 122 in the formed state 120 of the sheet material 100 extend away from both sides of the flap portions of the sheet material 100.

[0044] In some embodiments, one or both of the rollers 140 and 150 are driven in the dunnage conversion machine 130 to cause the rollers 140 and 150 to counterrotate. For example, the dunnage conversion machine 130 can include an electric motor or some other driving mechanism that is coupled to one or both of the rollers 140 and 150 to drive one or both of the rollers 140 and 150. When the leading end of the sheet material 100 is inserted between the rollers 140 and 150 and one or both of the rollers 140 and 150 are driven, the counterrotation of the rollers 140 and 150 cause the rollers 140 and 150 to pull the sheet material 110 in the direction 132. As the rollers 140 and 150 move the sheet material 100 in the direction 132, the rollers 140 and 150 also form the sheet material 100 from the unformed state 110 to the formed state 120.

[0045] The use of the rollers 140 and 150 is an effective way to form sheet material 100 from the unformed state 110 to the unformed state 120. One challenge with the rollers 140 and 150 is that the circumferential surfaces of the cylindrical bodies 142 and 152 are complex and expensive to manufacture. In particular, the three-dimensional shapes of the protrusions 146 and 156 and the depressions 148 and 158 are very difficult to manufacture properly. This difficulty makes the rollers 140 and 150 very expensive to manufacture. In addition, once the rollers 140 and 150 are manufactured, there is no possibility to customize the rollers 140 and 150 to an end user’s particular need. It would be advantageous to gain the benefit of the useof the rollers 140 and 150 and for the rollers 140 and 150 to be customized without the expense of manufacturing the rollers 140 and 150.

[0046] In the embodiments disclosed herein, roller segments can be formed individually and then placed together to form a roller that can form sheet material into formed sheet material. Figs. 5A and 5B depict perspective and side views, respectively, an embodiment of a roller segment 400. The roller segment 400 includes a circumferential surface 402 that includes protrusions 404 and depressions 406. The roller segment 400 further includes a wall 408 and a through hole 410. In the depicted embodiment, the wall 408 is thinner than the thickness of the roller segment 400 so that the roller segment 400 has a “shell” form. In other embodiments, the wall 408 can be as thick as the thickness of the roller segment 400 so that the roller segment 400 has a “solid” form. The wall 408 is substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface 402 and extends between the circumferential surface 402 and the through hole 410. In the depicted embodiment, each of the protrusions 404 and depressions 406 is located at the edge created by the intersection of the circumferential surface 402 and the wall 408. In the depicted embodiment, each of the protrusions 404 and depressions 406 has a shape of a half hemisphere that extends from the plane of the wall 408. In the depicted embodiment, the protrusions 404 and depressions 406 are in an alternating pattern of the protrusions 404 and depressions 406.

[0047] The through hole 410 includes sidewalls 412 that extend from the wall 408. In the depicted embodiment, the sidewalls 412 of the through hole 410 extend a distance from the wall 408 that is equal to or less than a distance that the circumferential surface 402 extends from the wall 408. In some embodiments, comers of the through hole 410 have relief cutouts to prevent cracking or other stress damage. In the depicted embodiment, the corners of the through hole 410 have three circular relief cutouts and one square relief cutout. Having one different relief cutout from the other relief cutouts can help with alignment of multiple roller segments, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0048] In some embodiments, the roller segment is formed from a rigid or substantially-rigid material, such as plastic, metal, and the like. In some examples, the material of the roller segment 400 can be selected such that the roller 400 is inexpensive to manufacture. For example, the roller segment 400 can be formed inexpensively from a plastic material, such asplastic molding (e.g., injection molding, blow molding, etc.). In other embodiments, the roller segment can be formed from any other rigid or substantially-rigid material.

[0049] The roller segment 400 can be used together with other roller segments to form a roller that can be used to form sheet material into formed sheet material. Fig. 6 depicts an embodiment of a set 514 of roller segments, which are similar to roller segment 500, to form a segmented roller with a three-dimensional circumferential surface. The set 514 of roller segments includes roller segments 5001 to 50012 (collectively, roller segments 500). Each of the roller segments 500 is substantially similar to the roller segment 400 described above. For example, the roller segments 5001 to 50012 include circumferential surfaces 502i to 50212 (collectively, circumferential surfaces 502), respectively. The roller segments 500i to 50012 also include protrusions 504i to 50412 (collectively, protrusions 504) and depressions 506i to 50612 (collectively, depressions 506) on the circumferential surfaces 5021 to 50212, respectively. In the depicted embodiment, each of the protrusions 5041 to 50412 and the depressions 5061 to 50612 are half hemispherical in shape.

[0050] As can be seen in Fig. 6, the roller segments 5001 includes a wall 5081 and a through hole 510i. The wall 5081 is substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface 502i. The through hole 5101 has sidewalls 512i that extend from the wall 5081. In the depicted embodiment, the through hole 5101 is substantially square in shape and has relief cutouts on each of the corners. The depicted embodiment has three circular relief cutouts and one square relief cutout. While not visible in Fig. 6, each of the roller segments 5002 to 50012 includes a wall and a cutout with sidewalls similar to the roller segment 5001 and the roller segment 400.

[0051] Fig. 6 also depicts a shaft 516 that holds the roller segments 500. In particular, the shaft 516 passes through the through hole 5101 of the roller segment 5001 and the through holes of the other roller segments 5002 to 50012. In the depicted embodiment, the shaft 516 has a square cross-sectional shape that has a size such that the shaft 516 to be inserted through the through holes of the roller segments 500 and such that rotation of the shaft 516 will cause rotation of the roller segments 500.

[0052] In the depicted embodiment, the roller segments 500 are oriented on the shaft 516 with every adjacent pair of the roller segments 500 on the shaft oriented in opposite directions. In this way, the protrusions 504i and the protrusions 5042 of the roller segments5001 and 5002 aligned to form a full hemispherical protrusion shape. Similarly, the depressions 506i and the depressions 5062 of the roller segments 500i and 5002 aligned to form a full hemispherical depression shape. The edges of the roller segments 5002 and 5003 that do not include any of the protrusions 5042 and 5043 or any of the depressions 5042 and 504s are abutted such that the circumferential surfaces 5022 and 5023 are aligned. This pattern of alternating orientations of the roller segments 500 continues down the shaft 516. The result is that the set 514 of roller segments 500 can be used as a roller having a similar three-dimensional shape of the circumferential surface as the rollers 140 and 150, except that the roller segments 500 can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. This results in the cost of the set 514 of roller segments 500 and the shaft 516 being significantly less than either of the rollers 140 and 150 while still providing the functionality to be used as a roller in the formation of sheet material from an unformed state to a formed state.

[0053] Sets of roller segments can be combined to form a segmented roller. Fig. 7 depicts an embodiment of a segmented roller 620. The segmented roller 620 includes a set 614i of roller segments 600i to 6OO12, a set 6U2 of roller segments 6OO13 to 6OO24, a set 6H3 of roller segments 6OO25 to 6OO36, and a set 6144 of roller segments 6OO37 to 60048. The sets 6141, 6M2, 614s, 6M4 of roller segments 6OO1 to 60048 (collectively, sets 614 of roller segments 600) are arranged on a shaft 616. The roller segments 600 have through holes and the shaft 616 passes through the through holes of the roller segments 600. In the depicted embodiment, the shaft 616 has a main section 622 that passes through the through holes of the roller segments 600 and has a square cross-sectional shape. The shaft 616 also has ends 624 that have a circular cross-sectional shape. In some embodiments, the ends 624 of the shaft 616 are capable of freely rotating while the main section 622 engages the through holes of the roller segments 600 to rotate the roller segments 600.

[0054] The segmented roller 620 also includes separation spacers 630i, 6302, and 630s (collectively, separation spacers 630). The separation spacers 630 are mounted on the shaft 616 between the sets 614 of roller segments 600. In some embodiments, the separation spacers 630 extend radially outward from the shaft 616 a distance that is less than the distance that the circumferential surfaces of the roller segments 600 extend from the shaft 616. In some embodiments, the separation spacers 630 are arranged along the segmented roller 620 at a location where sheet strippers 632i, 6322, and 632s (collectively sheet strippers632) will be located in a machine (e.g., a dunnage conversion machine) that the segmented roller 620 is used. The sheet strippers 632 are configured to contact the sheet material after the sheet material has passed by the segmented roller 620 and been formed by the segmented roller 620. The sheet strippers 630 encourage the sheet material to separate from the roller segments 600 and deter the sheet material from rotating around the segmented roller 620.

[0055] While use of separation spacers 630 is not required in the segmented roller 620, the inclusion of the separation spacers 630 in the segmented roller 620 may be beneficial in certain circumstances, such as when the materials of the sheet material and the segmented roller 620 tend to remain in contact with each other (e.g., due to static charge). In the depicted embodiment, the separating spacer 630i is located between the sets 614i and 6142 of roller segments 600 and is arranged to be in line with the sheet stripper 6321, the separating spacer 6302 is located between the sets 6142 and 6143 of roller segments 600 and is arranged to be in line with the sheet stripper 6322, and the separating spacer 6303 is located between the sets 6143 and 6144 of roller segments 600 and is arranged to be in line with the sheet stripper 632s. In other embodiments, the segmented roller 620 can have any number of separation spacers 630 and the separation spacers 630 can be placed between any of the roller segments 600.

[0056] The segmented roller 620 also includes shaft locks 626. The shaft locks 626 are located on the shaft 616 on either side of the roller segments 600. The shaft locks 626 engage the shaft 616 in a way that the shaft locks 626 are fixedly coupled to the shaft 616. In the depicted embodiment, the shaft locks 626 engage the main section 622 of the shaft 616. The shaft locks 626 are positioned on the main section 622 of the shaft 616 in a way that deters movement of the roller segments 600 and the separation spacers 630 in the axial direction of the shaft 616.

[0057] Fig. 7 depicts one of the benefits of using roller segments 600 to form the segmented roller 620. The segmented roller 620 can be varied and adjusted based on any desired characteristic of the roller. In some embodiments, a number of the roller segments can be varied. While the segmented roller 620 includes forty-eight roller segments 600 in the depicted embodiment, the segmented roller 620 can include any number of roller segments 600. For example, the segmented roller 620 can include fewer roller segments 600 to have a narrower roller or more roller segments 600 to have a wider roller. When a different numberof the roller segments 600 is used, the locations of the shaft locks 626 can be adjusted accordingly to accommodate the different width of the roller. In some embodiments, the number and / or locations of the separation spacers 630 can also be varied. The segmented roller 620 can include no separation spacers 630, one separation spacer 630, or any plurality of separation spacers 630. When assembling the segmented roller 620, the separation spacers 630 can be placed between any pair of the roller segments 600.

[0058] Segmented rollers can be used in systems to form sheet material from an unformed state to a formed state. Fig. 8 depicts an embodiment of a system 750 having segmented rollers 720i and 7202 configured to convert a sheet material 752 from an unformed state 754 to a formed state 756. The system 750 includes the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 (collectively, segmented rollers 720). Each of the segmented rollers 720 is similar to the segmented roller 620. In particular, the segmented roller 720i includes roller segments 700i that have a circumferential surface 702i having protrusions 704i and depressions 706i and the segmented roller 7202 includes roller segments 7002 that have a circumferential surface 7022 having protrusions 7042 and depressions 7062. The roller segments 700i have been placed on a shaft 716i and secured in place by shaft locks 726i and the roller segments 7002 have been placed on a shaft 7162 and secured in place by shaft locks 7262. The segmented roller 720i also includes separation spacers 7301 located between some of the roller segments 7001. No separation spacers are visible on the segmented roller 7202, but the segmented roller 7202 can include separation spacers if desired.

[0059] The shafts 716i and 7162 include shaft ends 724i and 7242, respectively. In the depicted embodiment, one of the shaft ends 724i and both of the shaft ends 7242 are round and configured to rotate freely. The other of the shaft ends 724i is keyed to interact with a driving mechanism, such as an electric motor, that is configured to rotate the shaft 716i. In this configuration, the shaft 716i can be actively driven by the driving mechanism to rotate in a rotational direction 7281. The segmented rollers 720i and 7202 can be positioned such that the interactions of the circumferential surfaces 702i and 7022, the interactions of the protrusions 704i and the depressions 7062, and / or the interactions of the protrusions 7042 and the depressions 706i cause the active driving of the segmented roller 720i in the rotational direction 7281 to cause passive counterrotation of the segmented roller 7202 in the rotational direction 7282. In addition, when the sheet material 752 is passed between the segmentedrollers 720i and 7202, the interaction of the sheet material 752 and the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 can also cause the counterrotation of the segmented roller 7202 in the rotational direction 7282 when the segmented roller 720i is actively driven in the rotational direction 728i.

[0060] During operation, the sheet material 752 can be fed between the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 in the direction 758. The sheet material 752 enters the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 in the unformed state 754. The sheet material 752 in the unformed state 754 can be supplied from a roll of the sheet material 752, a fanfolded stack of the sheet material 752, or any other form of the supply of the sheet material 752. As the sheet material 752 passes through the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 in the direction 758, the segmented rollers 720i and 7202 cause the sheet material 752 to be formed into the formed state 756. In the depicted embodiment, the sheet material 752 in the formed state 756 includes protrusions and depressions 760 that extend from both sides of the flat portions of the sheet material 752. The sheet material 752 in the formed state 756 can be used as a packaging material either as cushioning for a packaged object or as void fill to take up void volume in a shipping container (e g., a box). In other embodiments, the sheet material 752 in the formed state 756 can be used as decoration, aesthetic presentation material, thermal or acoustic insulation, branding, or for any other reason.

[0061] It will be understood that the roller segments described herein can have any arrangements of protrusions and / or depressions as desired to obtain a desired formed state of sheet material. Figs. 9A and 9B depict additional embodiments of roller segments 800 and 900. The roller segment 800 in Fig. 9A has a circumferential surface 802 having protrusions 804. The roller segment 800 also has a wall 808 that is substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface 802 and a through hole 810 in the wall 808. The roller segment 800 can be placed on a shaft by inserting the shaft through the through hole 810. Additional roller segments just like the roller segment 800 can be placed on the same shaft by inserting the shaft through the through holes of the other roller segments. Every other roller segment can be oriented an opposite direction so that pairs of the roller segments form hemispherical protrusions. The resulting segmented roller will have protrusions around the circumferential surface but no depressions.

[0062] The roller segment 900 in Fig. 9B has a circumferential surface 902 having depressions 906. The roller segment 900 also has a wall 908 that is substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface 902 and a through hole 910 in the wall 908. The roller segment 900 can be placed on a shaft by inserting the shaft through the through hole 910. Additional roller segments just like the roller segment 900 can be placed on the same shaft by inserting the shafter through the through holes of the other roller segments. Every other roller segment can be oriented an opposite direction so that pairs of the roller segments form hemispherical depressions. The resulting segmented roller will have depressions around the circumferential surface but no protrusions.

[0063] The two roller segments contemplated being formed from the roller segments 800 and 900, respectively, can be used together in a system that forms sheet material into a formed state. The protrusions of the one segmented roller can be aligned with the depressions of the other segmented roller so that the protrusions of the one segmented roller interact with the depressions of the other segmented roller when the two segmented rollers are counterrotated. When a sheet material is passed between these two couterrotating rollers, the sheet material will be formed into a formed state having protrusions that extend from only one side of the flat portions of the sheet material. In other embodiments, the segmented rollers 800 and 900 can have any type, shape, and / or size of protrusions and / or depressions to achieve a desired form of the formed paper that is formed by passing the sheet material through the segmented rollers made from those roller segments.

[0064] For purposes of this disclosure, terminology such as “upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “inwardly,” “outwardly,” “inner,” “outer,” “front,” “rear,” and the like, should be construed as descriptive and not limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. Further, the use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Unless stated otherwise, the terms “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like are used to mean within 5% of a target value.

[0065] The principles, representative embodiments, and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described in the foregoing description. However, aspects of the presentdisclosure which are intended to be protected are not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Further, the embodiments described herein are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, as claimed.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A roller segment, comprising: a circumferential surface; a wall substantially perpendicular to the circumferential surface; at least one of a protrusion or a depression on the circumferential surface; and a through hole in the wall, wherein the roller segment is configured to be a part of a segmented roller by inserting a shaft through the through hole of the roller segment; wherein, when the roller segment is in the segmented roller, the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface of the roller segment forms at least one of a protrusion or a depression of the segmented roller.

2. The roller segment of claim 1, wherein at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface comprises a plurality of protrusion or depressions on the circumferential surface.

3. The roller segment of claim 2, wherein the plurality of protrusions or depressions on the circumferential surface comprises a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of depressions.

4. The roller segment of claim 3, wherein the plurality of protrusions and a plurality of depressions are arranged on the circumferential surface in an alternating pattern of protrusions and depressions.

5. The roller segment of claim 1, wherein the through hole is in a shape that has comers and wherein the through hole comprises relief cutouts on the comers.

6. The roller segment of claim 5, wherein one of the relief cutouts of the through hole has a shape that is different from shapes of the others of the relief cutouts.

7. The roller segment of claim 1, wherein the through hole comprises sidewalls that extend from the wall.

8. The roller segment of claim 7, wherein the sidewalls extend from the wall to a distance that is equal to or less than a distance that the circumferential surface extends from the wall.

9. The roller segment of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression is located at an edge defined by the circumferential surface and the wall.

10. The roller segment of claim 9, wherein each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression is a half hemisphere in shape.

11. The roller segment of claim 1, wherein a number of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface, an orientation of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression on the circumferential surface, a shape of the through hole, and an orientation of the through hole are selected such that the shape of the through hole corresponds to a cross-sectional shape of the shaft and the roller segment can be formed using roller segments only having the form of the roller segment.

12. A segmented roller, comprising: a shaft; and a plurality of roller segments, wherein each of the roller segments is the roller segment of any of the preceding claims; wherein each of the plurality of roller segments is located on the shaft with the shaft passing through the through hole of each of the plurality of roller segments.

13. The segmented roller of claim 12, wherein the plurality of roller segments is arranged in a pattern of alternating onentations.

14. The segmented roller of claim 13, the alternating orientations of a pair of roller segments from the plurality of roller segments cause the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of one of the pair of roller segments to be aligned with the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the other of the pair of roller segments.

15. The segmented roller of claim 14, wherein: in the pair of roller segments, each of the at least one of the protrusion or the depression is a half hemisphere in shape; and in the pair of roller segments, the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the one of the pair of roller segments is aligned with the at least one of the protrusion or the depression of the other of the pair of roller segments to form at least one of a full hemisphere protrusion or a full hemisphere depression.

16. The segmented roller of claim 12, further comprising: a separation spacer mounted on the shaft, wherein the separation spacer is located between two of the plurality of roller segments.

17. The segmented roller of claim 12, further comprising: shaft locks fixedly coupled to the shaft and configured to deter axial movement of the plurality of roller segments with respect to the shaft.

18. A system for forming a sheet material from an unformed state into a formed state, the system comprising: a first segmented roller, wherein the first segmented roller is the segmented roller of any of claims 12 to 17; and a second segmented roller, wherein the second segmented roller is the segmented roller of any of claims 12 to 17; wherein the first and second segmented rollers are arranged with respect to each other such that, when a sheet material in an unformed state is passed between the first and second segmented rollers, the first and second segmented rollers form the sheet material from the unformed state into a formed state having at least one of protrusions or depressions.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising: a dunnage conversion machine having the first and second segmented rollers located therein.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the sheet material is a paper material.

21. The system of claim 18. wherein the first segmented roller is configured to be driven to rotate in a first rotational direction, and wherein the first and second segmented rollers are arranged such that rotation of the first segmented roller in the first rotational direction causes counterrotation of the second segmented roller in a second rotational direction.

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