Manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method for pouch packaging

Abstract

The automated pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus includes a dunnage converting machine and an envelope making machine. The dunnage converting machine includes a laminating machine for laminating an upper cover sheet material on a lower cover sheet material with an expanded slit sheet material therebetween, and a transverse pressurizing machine for applying pressure to the laminated product to bond a lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to an upper surface of the lower cover sheet material via an adhesive to form a strip of expanded dunnage. The envelope making machine includes a folding machine for folding the strip upon itself at a transversely extending crease such that a top surface of a first strip portion overlaps a top surface of a second strip portion, and for pressing opposing longitudinal sides of the strip along respective locations of the longitudinally extending adhesive to bond the opposing longitudinal sides of the strip.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to pouch packaging such as envelopes for mailing, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for manufacturing pouch packaging having a cushioning material.

Background Art

[0002] Cushioned mailing members such as envelopes with cushioning material are often used for shipping articles, especially fragile articles. Cushioned mailing members are typically made by lining the inside of the mailing member with a plastic bubble material, although alternatives such as foams, recycled fiber fluffs, and paper-based cushioning materials may be used. A cushioned mailing member, which is a packaging having a cushioning material called pouch packaging herein, has any cushioning material for protecting an article during transportation and provides a pouch into which the article can be inserted. Pouch packaging is typically formed by connecting a front sheet and a back sheet along their respective bottom edges and their respective opposing side edges and leaving them unconnected at their respective upper edges. Also, the pouch packaging includes a liner or other component made of a cushioning material to provide additional protection to the article within the pouch packaging. Also, the pouch packaging may include a seal for closing the opening at the upper edge of the pouch packaging.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus including a dunnage converting apparatus for converting a sheet material into a longitudinal strip of expanded dunnage and an envelope creating apparatus for forming the expanded dunnage into a pouch packaging. By automating the pouch packaging manufacturing process, it is possible to provide a pouch with faster and more consistent characteristics while minimizing operator intervention.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, a dunnage conversion device for converting an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an extended slit sheet material into a strip of extended dunnage includes a supply device, a transverse adhesive application device, a laminating device, and a transverse pressing device. The supply device is configured to send an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an extended slit sheet material, each having parallel opposing side edges, longitudinally through the device. The transverse adhesive application device is configured to apply an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material. The laminating device is downstream of the transverse adhesive application device and is configured to laminate the upper cover sheet material on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material with the extended slit sheet material sandwiched therebetween to form a layered product. The transverse pressing device is configured to apply pressure to the layered product at the position of the adhesive applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to adhere the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0005] Embodiments of the present invention may optionally include one or more of the following additional features, separately or in combination. The transverse pressing device may be configured to apply pressure to the layered product as the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the extended slit sheet material are sent through the device. The transverse pressing device may include a cam roller configured to extend across the layered product and, when rotated, apply pressure to the layered product at the position of the adhesive applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0006] The transverse adhesive application device may be configured to apply the adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material as the lower cover sheet material is sent through the device. The transverse adhesive application device may include an adhesive head configured to move across the lower cover sheet material in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.

[0007] The transverse adhesive application device may include a linear actuator configured to translate the adhesive head across the lower cover sheet material along a linear path. The linear path may be non-perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

[0008] The transverse adhesive application device may include an adhesive head having a split nozzle for applying the adhesive of the first bead and the second bead parallel to each other across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material, and the first bead and the second bead are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction. The transverse pressing device may include a cam roller configured to extend across the laminated product and, when rotated, press the laminated product at the positions of the adhesive of the first bead and the second bead applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0009] The apparatus may further include a side adhesive application device configured to apply an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges of the lower cover sheet material (or to the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges of the upper cover sheet material). The side adhesive application device may be configured to apply the adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material when the lower cover sheet material is fed through the apparatus.

[0010] The apparatus may further include a side pressing device configured to apply pressure to the laminated product at the positions of the adhesive applied to the opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material to bond the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0011] The side pressing device may be configured to apply pressure to the laminated product when the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the extended slit sheet material are fed through the apparatus. The side pressing device may include a first pair and a second pair of upper bonding rollers and lower bonding rollers on each of the opposing side portions of the laminated product, and the upper bonding rollers and the lower bonding rollers are configured to sandwich the opposing side portions of the laminated product when the laminated product passes between the upper bonding rollers and the lower bonding rollers.

[0012] The apparatus may be combined with an expanding device, which is configured to expand the slit sheet material into an expanded slit sheet material, and in the longitudinal direction, the transverse adhesive applying device is downstream of the expanding device. The apparatus may further include a cutter configured to cut a strip separated from the expanded dunnage from the laminated product between the first bead and the second bead of the adhesive.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for converting an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an expanded slit sheet material into a strip of expanded dunnage is provided. The method includes feeding in the longitudinal direction an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an expanded slit sheet material each having parallel opposing side edges, applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material, stacking the upper cover sheet material on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material with the expanded slit sheet material sandwiched therebetween to form a laminated product, and applying pressure to the laminated product at the position of the adhesive applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to bond the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention may separately or in combination include one or more of the following additional features. The method may include applying pressure to the laminated product when the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the expanded slit sheet material are fed in the longitudinal direction.

[0015] The method may include applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material as the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction. The method may further include applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges of the lower cover sheet material. The method may include applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material as the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing a pouch package from a strip of extended dunnage having an upper surface and a lower surface, opposing front and rear ends, and opposing longitudinal sides includes a creasing device, an adhesive application device, and a folding device. The creasing device is configured to crease the strip at a longitudinal position between the front end and the rear end of the strip by a transverse crease extending across the width of the strip, forming a first strip portion and a second strip portion on opposite longitudinal sides of the transverse crease. The adhesive application device is configured to apply an adhesive to the upper surface of the second strip portion at each of the opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion, from the transverse crease towards one of the front end and the rear end of the strip in the longitudinal direction. The folding device is configured to fold the strip onto itself such that the upper surface of the first strip portion overlaps the upper surface of the second strip portion at the transverse crease, and to press the opposing longitudinal sides of the first strip portion against the respective opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion along the respective positions of the longitudinally extending adhesive, thereby adhering the opposing longitudinal sides of the first strip portion to the respective opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, the upper cover sheet material may be omitted. A dunnage conversion device for converting the lower cover sheet material and the extended slit sheet material into a band of extended dunnage comprises a supply device configured to feed, through the device, in the longitudinal direction, the lower cover sheet material and the extended slit sheet material, each having parallel opposing side edges. The device further comprises an adhesive application device configured to apply an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material, a laminating device downstream of the adhesive application device configured to laminate the extended slit sheet material on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to form a laminated product, and a pressing device configured to apply pressure to the laminated product at the position of the adhesive applied to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to adhere the extended slit sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0018] Embodiments of the present invention may separately or in combination include one or more of the following additional features. The creasing device, the adhesive application device, and the folding device may be configured such that the band is fed through the devices non-stop.

[0019] The folding device may comprise a drive mechanism having an upper drive belt and a lower drive belt that frictionally engage the upper and lower surfaces of the band, respectively, to restrain the band and feed the band through the folding device along the path. The folding device may comprise a deflecting device configured to move between a deflecting position where the deflecting device deflects the first band portion from the path in front of the deflecting device and a retracted position where the deflecting device does not deflect the first band portion from the path in front of the deflecting device. The deflecting device may be configured to move to the retracted position when a crease extending in the transverse direction reaches the deflecting device.

[0020] The folding device may comprise a deflecting device configured to deflect the first band portion from the path in front of the deflecting device to a path behind the deflecting device, and the path behind the deflecting device is inclined with respect to the path in front of the deflecting device. The folding device may further include a drive mechanism that drives the belt toward the deflection device to partially fold the first belt portion toward the second belt portion at the fold extending in the transverse direction, and a pinch mechanism that receives the partially folded belt and further folds the partially folded belt so that the upper surface of the first belt portion overlaps the upper surface of the second belt portion.

[0021] The folding device may include a pinch mechanism and a drive mechanism that sends the belt into the pinch mechanism. The pinch mechanism is configured to bias the upper surface of the first belt portion toward the upper surface of the second belt portion in response to the drive mechanism sending the belt into the pinch mechanism.

[0022] The pinch mechanism may further be configured to drive the belt to pass through and bias the upper surface of the first belt portion to overlap the upper surface of the second belt portion. The drive mechanism and the pinch mechanism may be mechanically connected.

[0023] The folding device may include a pinch mechanism having first and second pairs of upper and lower pressing wheels on opposite side portions of the belt. The upper pressing wheel and the lower pressing wheel are configured to press the opposite side portions of the first belt portion against the respective opposite side portions of the second belt portion when the belt is sent through the pinch mechanism.

[0024] The folding device may include a drive mechanism having an upper drive belt and a lower drive belt that frictionally engage the upper and lower surfaces of the belt, respectively, to send the belt through the drive mechanism to the pinch mechanism. The belt of the drive mechanism and the upper and lower pressing wheels of the pinch mechanism may be driven by a single motor.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a pouch package from a strip of extended dunnage having an upper surface and a lower surface, opposing front and rear ends, and opposing longitudinal sides. The method includes creasing the strip at a longitudinal position between the front and rear ends of the strip by a transverse crease extending across the width of the strip to form a first strip portion and a second strip portion on opposite sides of the transverse crease in the longitudinal direction, applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the second strip portion at each of the opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion extending longitudinally from the transverse crease toward one of the front and rear ends of the strip, folding the strip onto itself at the transverse crease such that the upper surface of the first strip portion overlaps the upper surface of the second strip portion, and pressing the opposing longitudinal sides of the first strip portion against the respective opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion along the respective positions of the longitudinally extending adhesive to adhere the opposing longitudinal sides of the first strip portion to the respective opposing longitudinal sides of the second strip portion.

[0026] Embodiments of the present invention may optionally include one or more of the following additional features, separately or in combination. The method may include deflecting the first strip portion from a pre-deflector path to a post-deflector path, the post-deflector path being inclined with respect to the pre-deflector path. The method may include stopping the deflection of the first strip portion when the transverse crease reaches a path-changing position between the pre-deflector path and the post-deflector path.

[0027] The method may further include sandwiching the opposing sides of the strip between a first pair and a second pair of upper and lower press wheels to press the opposing sides of the first strip portion against the respective opposing sides of the second strip portion as the strip is sandwiched. The method may further include frictionally engaging the respective upper and lower surfaces of the strip to feed the strip to the first pair and the second pair of upper and lower press wheels.

[0028] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above-described features and other features of the present invention will be described in more detail.

Brief Explanation of Drawings

[0029]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] When the present invention is put into practice, it can take many different forms. For the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the principles of the present invention, a limited number of embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in specific terms in the following paragraphs. However, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention by describing only one or a limited number of embodiments. Any changes and further modifications to the described embodiments, as well as any further applications of the principles of the present invention described herein, are assumed to occur normally to those skilled in the art related to the present invention.

[0031] Figures 1 to 17 show an exemplary automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10. The automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a dunnage conversion apparatus 12 (see FIG. 9) that converts sheet materials 20, 22, 24 into vertical bands of an extended dunnage 30, and an envelope creating apparatus 40 (see FIG. 16) downstream of the dunnage conversion apparatus 12 that forms the extended dunnage 30 into a pouch packaging 50.

[0032] As will be described in more detail below, the dunnage conversion apparatus 12 includes a plurality of parts described in the order of moving downstream as a supply apparatus 60, a transverse adhesive applying apparatus 70, a laminating apparatus 80, and a transverse pressing apparatus 90. The supply source of the sheet stock material includes an upper cover sheet material 20, a lower cover sheet material 22, and an expandable slit sheet material 24, each having respective parallel opposing side edges 20A, 20B; 22A, 22B; 24A, 24B, and each is supplied from a separate supply source in the form of a respective roll in a downstream direction parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the sheet materials 20, 22, 24, also called the longitudinal direction L passing through the apparatus 12 (parallel to the side edges 20A, 20B; 22A, 22B; 24A, 24B, respectively). The supply apparatus 60 is configured to advance and expand the expandable slit sheet material 24.

[0033] The transverse adhesive application device 70 is configured to apply adhesives 76 and 78 in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges 22A and 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22 across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22. The laminating device 80 is configured to laminate the upper cover sheet material 20 with the expanded slit sheet material 24 interposed therebetween on the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 to form a laminated product 86. The transverse pressing device 90 applies pressure to the laminated product 86 at the positions of the adhesives 76 and 78 applied across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 to adhere the lower surface 20L of the upper cover sheet material 20 to the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22, thereby obtaining a longitudinal strip of the expanded dunnage 30. In this way, the dunnage conversion device 12 enables the automatic manufacture of the longitudinal strip of the expanded dunnage 30 suitable for the pouch packaging 50, ensuring the consistent expansion, adhesive application, lamination, and adhesion of the laminated strips of the expanded dunnage 30.

[0034] The strip of the expanded dunnage 30 is sent from the dunnage conversion device 12 to the envelope making device. As will be described in more detail below, the envelope making device 40 forms the pouch packaging 50 from a longitudinal strip of the expanded dunnage 30, such as the strip of the expanded dunnage 30 provided by the dunnage conversion device 12. Further, the envelope making device 40 includes a plurality of parts including a creasing device 100, an adhesive application device 110, and a folding device 120. The creasing device 100 is configured to crease the strip of the expanded dunnage 30 by a transverse crease 106 extending in the transverse direction across the width of the strip 30 at a longitudinal position between the front end 30C and the rear end 30D of the strip 30, and to form a first strip portion 32 and a second strip portion 34 on opposite sides in the longitudinal direction with respect to the transverse crease 106 extending in the transverse direction.

[0035] Next, the adhesive applicator 110 is configured to apply an adhesive 116 onto the upper surface 34U (the upper surface of the upper cover sheet material 20) of the second strip portion 34 at each of the opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second strip portion 34, from the fold 106 extending in the transverse direction toward the rear end 30D of the strip 30 in the longitudinal direction. The folding device 120 is configured to fold the strip 30 over itself at the fold 106 extending in the transverse direction. When folded, the upper surface 32U of the first strip portion 32 overlaps the upper surface 34U of the second strip portion 34. The folding device 120 is also configured to press the opposing side portions 32A, 32B of the first strip portion 32 against the respective opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second strip portion 34 along the respective positions of the adhesive 116 extending in the longitudinal direction, thereby adhering the opposing side portions 32A, 32B of the first strip portion 32 to the respective opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second strip portion 34, and thus obtaining the pouch package 50. When the pouch package 50 is formed, the pouch package 50 is sent to a sealing adhesive station 700 that applies a sealing adhesive strip to the pouch package 50 so that a user can seal the opening side of the pouch package 50. The production of the pouch package 50 by the envelope creating device 40 can be performed more quickly and consistently than when an operator performs it manually.

[0036] Next, these various parts of the automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 will be described in further detail sequentially. Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, the supply device 60 feeds the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 in the longitudinal direction L. As used herein, the longitudinal direction L is the length direction of the sheet materials 20, 22, 24, and in the figures, it is from right to left and from left to right. The direction from right to left corresponds to the feeding direction of the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 passing through the dunnage conversion device 12 (this feeding direction is also referred to as the downstream direction passing through the dunnage conversion device 12, and the opposite direction is the upstream direction).

[0037] The sheet materials 20, 22, 24 preferably include or are made of paper, particularly kraft paper, and provide a packaging pouch that is recyclable, reusable, and composed of renewable resources. The sheet materials 20, 22, 24 may all be made of the same material or different materials, and may have the same basis weight or different basis weights. Further, the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22 typically have the same dimensions, but the upper cover sheet material 20 that forms the inner surface of the resulting product may be made narrower than the lower cover sheet material 22 to reduce "rigidity" and minimize or completely hide the shift between the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22. As a further alternative, the upper cover sheet material 20 may be completely omitted, and the extended slit sheet material 24 may form the inner surface of the resulting pouch product. The extended slit sheet material 24 typically has dimensions of different widths and thicknesses compared to the dimensions of the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22, and is narrower and thicker when extended at least more than the lower cover sheet material 22. The upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22 are flat sheet materials supplied from their respective rolls 130, 132. The rolls 130, 132 are respectively attached to their respective spindles 140, 142, and the spindles 140, 142 are rotatably attached to the frame 150 of the dunnage conversion device 12.

[0038] The supply device 60 includes a first set of rollers 160 that send the extendable slit sheet material 24 in the longitudinal direction L, and a second set of rollers 162 that send the joined or laminated sheet materials 20, 22, 24, that is, the upper cover sheet material 20, the lower cover sheet material 22, and the extended slit sheet material 24 together in the longitudinal direction L.

[0039] In the illustrated embodiment, the expandable slit sheet material 24 is provided by the expansion device 170 portion of the dunnage conversion device 12. The expansion device 170 expands the expandable slit sheet material 172 supplied from the roll 174. The roll 174 is attached to the spindle 176, and the spindle 176 is rotatably attached to the frame 150 of the dunnage conversion device 12. The expandable slit sheet material 172 has been die-cut or otherwise pre-cut with a plurality of rows extending horizontally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. Each row has a plurality of spaced cuts in the sheet material, and the cuts in adjacent rows are offset horizontally.

[0040] The expansion device 170 includes a set of upstream or "feed" rollers 180 and a set of downstream or "expansion" rollers 160. In an exemplary embodiment, the downstream set of rollers 160 is the same as the aforementioned first set of rollers 160. In an alternative embodiment, the downstream set of rollers 160 may be different from the first set of rollers 160. The expansion device 170 expands or stretches the die-cut paper 172 by rotating the upstream set of rollers 180 and the downstream set of rollers 160 at different speeds, specifically by rotating the downstream set of rollers 160 faster than the upstream set of rollers 180. As a result, the expandable slit sheet material 172 stretches to form the expandable slit sheet material 24, the cuts open, and the material adjacent to the cuts rotates from its previous planar state, thereby obtaining an expandable slit sheet material 24 that is longer, thicker, and narrower than the expandable slit sheet material 172. In an alternative embodiment, the expansion device 170 may be omitted, and the expandable slit sheet material 24 may be supplied in a pre-expanded form from a supply source such as a roll of expandable slit sheet material. However, by using the expansion device 170, a roll 174 of expandable slit sheet material of a given length can be made more compact compared to a roll of expandable slit sheet material of equivalent length.

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the spindles 140, 176 for the respective rolls 130, 174 of the sheet materials 20, 172 are suspended above the three sets of rollers 160, 162, 180, and the spindle 142 for the roll 132 of the lower cover sheet material 22 is disposed below the three sets of rollers 160, 162, 180. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an exemplary supply device 60 includes an upper cover sheet material guide roller 190 and a lower cover sheet material guide roller 192 that guide the respective upper cover sheet material 20 and lower cover sheet material 22 to the second set of rollers 162. The upper cover sheet material guide roller 190 is rotatably attached to the frame 150 and is positioned between the roll 130 and the second set of rollers 162. The lower cover sheet material guide roller 192 is rotatably attached to the frame 150 and is positioned below the expanding device 170. The lower cover sheet material 22 is also guided through an access path or opening 210 in a wall 214 disposed between the upstream end of the transverse adhesive applicator 70 and the downstream end of the expanding device 170.

[0042] As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A, 3B, and 4, supply device 60 includes a drive motor 230, such as a servo drive motor, as a power device for driving various pairs of rollers 160, 162, 180. In the illustrated embodiment, drive motor 230 is mechanically connected to the second set of rollers 162 by drive chain 234 and is mechanically connected to the first set of rollers 160 by intermediate drive chain 236 wound around intermediate sprocket 238. Thus, a single drive motor 230 is controlled to feed sheet materials 20, 22, 24 through dunnage conversion device 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the first set of rollers 160 and the second set of rollers 162 are also mechanically connected by a drive chain (not shown) to the upstream set of rollers 180 of expansion device 170. Drive motor 230 is configured to selectively rotate and stop rotating each set of rollers 160, 162, 180. Alternatively, each set of rollers 160, 162, 180 of supply device 60 may be driven by separate motors, or two combinations of rollers 160, 162, 180 may be driven by a common motor and the other one of rollers 160, 162, 180 may be driven by another motor.

[0043] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, downstream of expansion device 170, supply device 60 advances lower cover sheet material 22 and expansion slit sheet material 24 through transverse adhesive application device 70. The illustrated transverse adhesive application device 70 is configured to apply first bead of adhesive 76 and second bead of adhesive 78 across upper surface 22U of lower cover sheet material 22 and overlapping expansion slit sheet material 24. As will be appreciated, in order to reach lower cover sheet material 22, adhesives 76, 78 pass through the slits of expansion slit sheet material 24 that is on top of lower cover sheet material 22. Adhesives 76, 78 can be any adhesive suitable for adhering sheet materials 20, 22, 24 and easily passing through the open slits of expansion slit sheet material 24, such as a hot glue adhesive.

[0044] When the extended slit sheet material 24 and the lower cover sheet material 22 are sent through the dunnage conversion device 12 by the supply device 60, the transverse adhesive application device 70 is configured to apply the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 across and through the extended slit sheet material 24 and across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22. Therefore, the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 can be applied without stopping the supply device 60 and / or the transverse adhesive application device 70.

[0045] In the illustrated embodiment, the transverse adhesive application device 70 has an adhesive head 240 which is a hot glue head and is configured to move across the lower cover sheet material 22 in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction L. In one aspect, the adhesive head 240 can be actuated by a pneumatic solenoid valve incorporated into the structure of the adhesive head 240. The adhesive head 240 has a split nozzle for applying the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 where the first bead adhesive 76 is spaced apart from the second bead adhesive 78 in the longitudinal direction L. Alternatively, the transverse adhesive application device 70 may comprise an injection nozzle configured to inject a single wide bead of adhesive sufficient to seal the front end 30C and the rear end 30D, similar to the separate first bead adhesive 76 and second bead adhesive 78.

[0046] As will be described in more detail below, the adhesive 76 of the first bead seals the layer at the rear end 30D of one longitudinal band of the extended dunnage 30, and the adhesive 78 of the second bead seals the layer at the front end 30C of the continuous longitudinal band of the extended dunnage 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the linear actuator 244 translates the adhesive head 240 across the lower cover sheet material 22 along a linear path A that is non-perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. The linear actuator 244 is positioned above the supply path of the lower cover sheet material 22 at a height sufficient to allow passage of both the lower cover sheet material 22 supplied by the roll 132 and the extended slit sheet material 24 thereabove supplied by the expansion device 170. In one aspect, the linear actuator 244 is driven by a servo motor and can move up to about 60 inches per second.

[0047] By angling the path A, the translational speed of the adhesive head 240 can be controlled based on the speed of the lower cover sheet material 22 supplied by the supply device 60 to deposit the adhesive along a line perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. FIGS. 5A-5D show the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 being applied across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22, and the extended slit sheet material 24 is omitted from the illustration to better view the adhesives 76, 78. In FIGS. 5A-5D, the series of figures from the first FIG. 5A to the last FIG. 5D each represent the time from earliest to latest that the supply device 60 feeds the lower cover sheet material 22 through the dunnage conversion device 12 while the linear actuator 244 translates the adhesive head 240 across the lower cover sheet material 22. Referring to FIGS. 5A-5D and FIG. 9, the supply device 60 and the transverse adhesive application device 70 operate simultaneously, i.e., without stopping, to apply the adhesives 76, 78 to the lower cover sheet material 22 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and the opposing side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22 that are parallel.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, adjacent to the transverse adhesive applicator 70, the dunnage conversion device 12 also includes a side adhesive applicator 260 configured to apply beads of adhesive 276 to the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 adjacent to one longitudinal side edge 22A of the lower cover sheet material 22 and to apply beads of adhesive 276 adjacent to the opposite longitudinal side edge 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22. Similar to the transverse adhesive, the adhesive applied to the extended slit sheet material 24 passes through the open slit and reaches the lower cover sheet material 22. When the width of the extended slit sheet material 24 is narrower than the upper and lower sheet materials 20, 22, the adhesive 276 applied by the side adhesive applicator 260 is applied directly to the lower cover sheet material 22 without passing through the slit of the extended slit sheet material 24. The adhesive 276 can be any adhesive suitable for bonding the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 and allowing the open slit to pass through easily as needed, for example, a hot glue adhesive or the like.

[0049] The side adhesive applicator 260 has two adhesive heads 284, two hot glue heads in the illustrated embodiment, and is attached to the frame 150 at the opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material 22 above the supply path of the lower cover sheet material 22 at a height sufficient to allow passage of both the lower cover sheet material 22 supplied by the roll 132 and the extended slit sheet material 24 thereabove supplied by the expanding device 170. In one aspect, the adhesive heads 284 can be actuated by respective pneumatic solenoid valves incorporated into the structure of the adhesive heads 284. One adhesive head 284 applies a bead of adhesive 276 adjacent to one longitudinal side edge 22A of the lower cover sheet material 22, and the other, opposite adhesive head 284 applies a bead of adhesive 276 adjacent to the opposite longitudinal side edge 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22.

[0050] Referring again to FIGS. 5A-5D, the beads of the adhesive 276 are shown applied to the opposing longitudinal side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22 on its upper surface 22U. To make the adhesive 276 more clearly visible, the extension slit sheet material 24 is not shown. In FIGS. 5A-5D, the series of figures from the first FIG. 5A to the last FIG. 5D each represent the time from the earliest to the latest when the supply device 60 sends the lower cover sheet material 22 through the dunnage conversion device 12 as the adhesive head 284 applies the adhesive 276 to the lower cover sheet material 22. Referring to FIGS. 5A-5D and FIG. 9, the supply device 60 and the side adhesive application device 260 operate simultaneously, i.e., without stopping, to apply the adhesive 276 to the lower cover sheet material 22 at the opposing longitudinal side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22. Alternatively, the side adhesive application device 260 can be configured to apply the adhesive to the lower surface 20L of the upper cover sheet material 20 at the opposing longitudinal side edges 20A, 20B of the upper cover sheet material 20.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A, 3B, and 9, when the adhesive is applied by the transverse adhesive applicator 70 and the side adhesive applicator 260, the supply device 60 supplies the lower cover sheet material 22 and the extended slit sheet material 24 to the laminating device 80 for combination with the upper cover sheet material 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the laminating device 80 includes a second set of rollers 162 that is also part of the supply device 60. The second set of rollers 162 draws the upper cover sheet material 20 from the roll 130 onto the upper cover sheet material guide roller 190, presses the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22 along the line of adhesive deposited by the side adhesive applicator 260, and adheres the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22 together with the extended slit sheet material 24 therebetween. In its capacity as the laminating device 80, the second set of rollers 162 stacks the upper cover sheet material 20 on the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 with the extended slit sheet material 24 sandwiched therebetween. In this way, the rollers 162 not only assist the supply device 60 in feeding the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 through the dunnage conversion device 12 as part of the supply device 60, but also stack the sheet materials 20, 22, 24, press them together, and form a band of laminated dunnage 86.

[0052] The second set of rollers 162 functions not only as part of the supply device 60 and the laminating device 80, but also as the side pressurizing device 290. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3A, 3B, and 9, the side pressurizing device 290 is configured to apply pressure to the laminated product 86 at the location of the adhesive 276 applied to the opposing side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22 in order to adhere the lower surface 20L of the upper cover sheet material 20 to the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22. The side pressurizing device 290 is configured to apply pressure to the laminated product 86 when the supply device 60 feeds the upper cover sheet material 20, the lower cover sheet material 22, and the extended slit sheet material 24 through the dunnage conversion device 12.

[0053] In the illustrated embodiment, similar to the aforementioned laminating apparatus 80, the side pressing apparatus 290 is constituted by the second set of rollers 162. In terms of the capabilities as the side pressing apparatus 290, the rollers 162 function as the first set and the second set of upper bonding rollers and lower bonding rollers at the respective opposing side portions of the layered product 86, and the upper bonding rollers and the lower bonding rollers are configured to sandwich the opposing side portions of the layered product 86 when the layered product 86 passes between the upper bonding roller and the lower bonding roller. Therefore, the rollers 162 not only assist the supply apparatus 60 when sending the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 through the dunnage converting apparatus 12, but also apply pressure to and press against the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 at the positions of the side beads of the adhesive 276, whereby, with the respective opposing side edges 24A, 24B of the expanded slit sheet material 24 sandwiched therebetween, the opposing side edges 20A, 20B of the upper cover sheet material 20 and the respective opposing side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22 are sealed together to form the layered product 86.

[0054] Alternatively, when the expanded slit sheet material 24 is narrower than the interval between the opposing side beads of the adhesive 276, the side edges 20A, 20B of the upper cover sheet material 20 may be directly adhered to the respective side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22. The expanded slit sheet material 24 is still captured between the upper cover sheet material 20 and the lower cover sheet material 22, but the side edges 24A, 24B of the expanded slit sheet material 24 are not sandwiched between the side edges 20A, 20B of the upper cover sheet material 20 and the respective side edges 22A, 22B of the lower cover sheet material 22.

[0055] In the illustrated embodiment, the second set of rollers 162 performs a plurality of functions including feeding the lower cover sheet material 22 and the extended slit sheet material 24, pulling the upper cover sheet material 20 from its roll 130, overlaying the upper cover sheet material 20 over the extended slit sheet material 24 and the lower cover sheet material 22, and pressing the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 against the side bead adhesive 276 to adhere the upper cover sheet material 20 to the lower cover sheet material 22. Each of these functions is provided by a common set of rollers 162 in the illustrated embodiment, although it will be understood that in alternative embodiments they may be provided by separate sets of drive rollers.

[0056] Adjacent to the side pressurizing device 290, the laminated product 86 is also sealed by a transverse pressurizing device 90 along the vertical bead adhesives 76, 78 deposited by the transverse adhesive applying device 70. The transverse pressurizing device 90 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 - 9. The transverse pressurizing device 90 is configured to apply pressure to the laminated product 86 as the upper cover sheet material 20, the lower cover sheet material 22, and the extended slit sheet material 24 are fed through the dunnage conversion device 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the transverse pressurizing device 90 includes a cam roller 300 that extends across the laminated product 86 and, when rotated, is configured to press the laminated product 86 at the locations of the longitudinally spaced first bead adhesive 76 and second bead adhesive 78 of the adhesive applied across the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22. The pressure applied by the cam roller 300 to the regions of the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 functions to mechanically seal the trailing end 30D of one strip of the extended dunnage 30 and the leading end 30C of the successive strip of the extended dunnage 30, respectively. The cam roller 300 can also be configured to crush the strip of the extended dunnage 30 at the location where the fold is provided, for example, in the flap region to reduce the overall thickness when folding the flap to close the pouch package, or at other locations to reduce the thickness of the strip of the extended dunnage 30.

[0057] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cam roller 300 includes a cam 302 connected to the roller 304 along the length of the roller 304. The roller 304 has its opposite ends rotatably attached to the frame 150 of the dunnage conversion device 12. A drive motor (not shown), for example, a servo drive motor, is attached to the frame 150 and connected to the roller 304 to rotate the roller 304, and thus rotate the cam roller 300. As will be appreciated, when the roller 304 rotates (clockwise in FIG. 8), the cam 302 cooperates with the sliding surface 320, on the opposite side of the laminated product 86 in the illustrated embodiment, i.e., the conforming roller 320 below the laminated product 86, to press or crush the laminated product 86 therebetween. The cam 302 includes an arcuate support portion 330 having an arcuate length 330L that is the same length as the longitudinal spacing between at least the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78 and the longitudinal span of each bead adhesive 76, 78. In this way, the arcuate support portion 330 and the sliding surface 320 press the laminated product 86 only at the positions of the first bead adhesive 76 and the second bead adhesive 78.

[0058] As will be appreciated, in applications where the flap region is crushed to reduce the thickness of the flap region, the arcuate length 330L of the arcuate support portion 330 can be increased accordingly. Also, in an alternative embodiment, the cam can be omitted and the roller 304 can be configured to be adjustable in the vertical direction, i.e., movable up and down, to either roll the entire thickness in the raised position or crush it in the lowered position. Alternatively, or additionally, a crushing roller can be added to the front of the envelope creating device 40 or the feeder 60. The crushing gap can also be made adjustable to reduce the thickness of the pouch packaging. As will be appreciated, these alternatives can facilitate the manufacture of pouch packaging with adjustable thickness.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 9, the cam roller 300 applies pressure to the laminated product 86 while the supply device 60 feeds the sheet materials 20, 22, 24, that is, without either the cam roller 300 or the supply device 60 stopping. In one form, the cam roller 300 is configured to rotate once per longitudinal strip of the expansion bladder 30. The transverse pressing device 90 is not limited to the illustrated arrangement of the cam roller 300 and may include other devices for pressing the upper cover sheet material 20, the expansion slit sheet material 24, and the lower cover sheet material 22 together with the adhesive 76 of the first bead and the adhesive 78 of the second bead to bond the layers of the laminated product 86 together. For example, any portion of the expansion slit sheet material 24 compressed by either the side pressing device 290 or the transverse pressing device 90 has a reduced thickness and thus provides less cushioning at those locations.

[0060] The laminated product 86 is cut, such as by cutting, between the adhesive 76 of the first bead and the adhesive 78 of the second bead to separate the finished strip of the expansion bladder from the laminated product 86. FIG. 10 shows a cutter 360 configured to cut the laminated product 86 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and between the adhesive 76 of the first bead and the adhesive 78 of the second bead sealed by the transverse pressing device 90. The illustrated cutter 360 includes a motor 362 and a connecting portion 364 that drive the blade 366 downward to cut the laminated product 86 to form a separated strip of the expansion bladder 30 and then drive upward to retract the blade 366 to allow the passage of the laminated product 86 for forming subsequent strips of the expansion bladder 30. The motor 362 may be any suitable motor, such as a 48 VDC motor, for example. The motor 362 makes a complete rotation when cutting the laminated product 86 and retracting the blade 366 to the retracted position, that is, the home position.

[0061] The cutter 360 is provided with a home sensor for confirming that the blade has returned to its retracted position. The cutter 360 can be configured to cut the layered product 86 in place, that is, simultaneously when the supply device 60 and the transverse pressing device 90 are operating. For example, the illustrated cutter 360 may translate longitudinally at the same speed as the layered product 86 to cut without stopping the movement of the layered product 86, or the cutter 360 may be formed by a rotating element having a cutting blade 366. Alternatively, when the cutter 360 cuts the layered product 86, the supply device 60 and the transverse pressing device 90 may be stopped or temporarily stopped. The lower left of FIG. 9 shows the layered product 86 cut at two locations by each repeated cutting operation of the cutter 360, resulting in a strip of extended dunnage 30 having respective front ends 30C and rear ends 30D.

[0062] The resulting strip of extended dunnage 30 is supplied to the envelope creating device 40, and the strip of extended dunnage 30 is folded into a pouch package. Looking again at FIG. 1, the envelope creating device 40 for creating the pouch package 50 from the strip of extended dunnage 30 includes a folding device 120. The folding device 120 is disposed downstream in the longitudinal direction L from the dunnage conversion device 12. Depending on the length of the strip of extended dunnage 30, the folding device 120 may be close enough to the cutter 360 such that the folding device 120 receives the front end 30C of the strip of extended dunnage 30 before the cutter 360 cuts the strip of extended dunnage 30 to form the rear end 30D of the strip of extended dunnage 30. Thus, at least a portion of the length of the strip 30 can be held by the folding device 120 before the rear end 30D of the strip of extended dunnage is formed by the cutting operation of the cutter 360.

[0063] In other embodiments, for example, the dunnage conversion device 12 is omitted or disposed remotely, and the strip of the extended dunnage 30 is manually supplied to the envelope creating device 40 or sent from a cartridge that can automatically provide a plurality of strips of the extended dunnage 30. In addition or alternatively, the folding device 120 may be further spaced downstream or in the longitudinal direction L from the cutter 360 such that the leading edge 30C of the strip of the extended dunnage 30 does not reach the folding device 120 until after the strip of the extended dunnage 30 has left the cutter 360.

[0064] The leading edge 30C of the strip of the extended dunnage 30 can enter the folding device 120 but is not yet ready to be folded. To facilitate folding, the creasing device 100 creases the strip of the extended dunnage. The creasing device 100 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the creasing device 100 is configured to crease the strip 30 with two creases, the aforementioned transverse crease 106 and a second transverse crease 406 spaced longitudinally from the transverse crease 106. Alternatively, two separate devices may form the transverse creases 106, 406 extending in the first and second transverse directions.

[0065] The envelope creating process including creasing is illustrated in FIG. 16, and the series of views from top to bottom respectively represent the earliest to the latest in time as the envelope creating device 40 passes the strip 30 to manufacture the pouch package 50. The creasing device 100 sequentially forms the first transverse crease 106 and then the second transverse crease 406 extending in the transverse direction. The creasing device 100 forms the first transverse crease 106 so as to extend across the width of the strip 30 at a longitudinal position between the leading edge 30C and the trailing edge 30D of the strip 30, thereby forming the first strip portion 32 and the second strip portion 34 on opposite sides longitudinally sandwiching the transverse crease 106.

[0066] The creasing device 100 forms a crease 406 extending in a second transverse direction across the width of the strip 30 at a position longitudinally spaced from the crease 106 extending in a first transverse direction by a distance equal to the length of the first strip portion 32, as a result of which the second strip portion 34 is divided into a shortened second strip portion 34 and a third strip portion 436 or flap 436. Thus, also as shown in FIG. 16, the length of the first strip portion 32 is equal to the length of the shortened second strip portion 34. As will be described in more detail below, the crease 106 extending in the transverse direction assists the folding device 120 when folding the strip 30 over itself immediately after the adhesive has been applied to form the pouch portion of the pouch package 50. The crease 406 extending in the second transverse direction provides a crease position at which the flap 436 can be folded to close the pouch package 50 once the pouch package 50 has been formed. Although a pouch package 50 such as an envelope is thought to be a common configuration, the pouch package 50 can also have a relatively short pouch and a relatively long flap such that the flap can cover the pouch to provide additional cushioning material.

[0067] In this way, as the strip 30 is sent through the envelope creating device 40 and, as described above, as the strip 30 is sent through the folding device 120, the creasing device 100 is configured to apply creases 106, 406 extending in the first and second transverse directions through each of the upper cover sheet material 20, the lower cover sheet material 22, and the extended slit sheet material 24 to the strip of the extended dunnage 30. In an exemplary embodiment, the creasing device 100, when rotated, is configured to sequentially crease the strip 30 at two predetermined positions, namely, a first longitudinal position between the front end 30C and the rear end 30D of the strip 30 to form a crease 106 extending in the transverse direction, and a second longitudinal position spaced from the crease 106 extending in the transverse direction by a distance equal to the length of the first strip portion 32, and includes a dull blade roller 450 extending across the strip 30. The dull blade roller 450 is disposed to engage the conforming surface 470 with the strip of the extended dunnage 30 sandwiched therebetween. The conforming surface 470 may be made of any suitable conforming material that enables the dull blade roller 450 to apply creases 106, 406 to the strip 30. In one aspect, the conforming material is polyurethane and the conforming surface 470 is a polyurethane roller.

[0068] The dull blade roller 450 includes a dull blade 452 connected to the roller 454 along the length of the roller 454. The roller 454 has its opposing ends rotatably attached to the frame 150 of the dunnage converting device 12. A drive motor (not shown), for example, a servo drive motor, is attached to the frame 150 and coupled to the roller 454 to rotate the roller 454 and thus the dull blade roller 450. As will be appreciated, when the roller 454 rotates (clockwise in FIG. 12), the dull blade 452 cooperates with the conforming surface 470, in the illustrated embodiment, another roller 470 on the opposite side of the strip 30, i.e., below the strip 30, to apply a crease to the strip 30 therebetween.

[0069] Referring to FIGS. 11, 12, and 16, the double blade roller 450 makes creases in the band 30 at the same time that the supply device 60 feeds the sheet materials 20, 22, 24 through the dunnage conversion device 12, that is, without either the double blade roller 450 or the supply device 60 stopping. In one form, the double blade roller 450 rotates once for each of the creases 106, 406, and accordingly is configured to rotate twice for each vertical band of one extended dunnage 30.

[0070] Once the creases are made, the bands of the extended dunnage 30 are ready to be folded. However, before folding, the adhesive applicator 110 applies an adhesive to the upper surface of the outer cover sheet material 20. FIGS. 13 to 16 show a more detailed state of the adhesive applicator 110 and the folding device 120 of the envelope creating device 40 for manufacturing the pouch package 50. As will become more apparent from the following description, the creasing device 100, the adhesive applicator 110, and the folding device 120 are configured such that the vertical bands of the extended dunnage 30 are fed through the envelope creating device 40 non-stop. Thereby, the manufacturing speed is improved, and the necessity or the amount of manual work required to manufacture the pouch package 50 is reduced.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 13 to 16, the folding device 120 includes a drive mechanism 500, a deflecting device 502, and a pinch mechanism 504, which are arranged in this order from right to left in the longitudinal direction L. Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, as will be described in more detail below, the drive mechanism 500 sends the belt of the extended dunnage 30 with the crease to the deflecting device 502 in order to partially fold the first belt portion 32 toward the second belt portion 34 at the crease 106 extending in the transverse direction. As a result, the partially folded belt 510 is folded at the first angle A between the first belt portion 32 and the second belt portion 34. The pinch mechanism 504 receives the partially folded belt 510 and further folds the partially folded belt 510 so that the upper surface 32U of the first belt portion 32 overlaps the upper surface 34U of the second belt portion 34. Thus, the pinch mechanism 504 further folds the belt 30 from the first angle A shown in the partially folded belt 510 to the second angle B shown in the partially folded belt 520, resulting in a completely folded belt or pouch package 50 with an angle of course zero (zero).

[0072] The drive mechanism 500 of the folding device 120 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 13 to 15. The drive mechanism 500 has upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 that frictionally engage the respective upper surface 30U and lower surface 30L of the belt 30 to send the belt 30 through the folding device 120. The upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 have a gap between the belts that is set smaller than the thickness of the belt 30 and narrower than the width of the belt 30 in order to slightly press and grip the belt 30 as the belt 30 moves through the folding device 120. The drive belts 540, 542 can be driven in any suitable manner. In an exemplary embodiment, the drive mechanism 500 includes an upper series of rollers 560 that drive the upper drive belt 540 clockwise in a side view and a lower series of rollers 562 that drive the lower drive belt 542 counterclockwise in a side view. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14B, an S-drive belt 566 may be coupled to the upper and lower series of rollers 560, 562 to effect clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the respective upper and lower drive belts 540, 542. To drive the S-drive belt 566, a motor (not shown) may be coupled to the S-drive belt 566. The motor may be, for example, a servo motor.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 15, the upstream ends of the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 are inclined so as to define a narrowing channel 570. On the downstream side of the narrowing channel 570, the lower surface 540L of the upper drive belt 540 and the upper surface 542U of the lower drive belt 542 define a feed channel 580. In this way, the narrowing channel 570 is configured to guide the belt of the extended dunnage 30 into the feed channel 580. The height of the feed channel 580, i.e., the height between the lower surface 540L of the upper drive belt 540 and the upper surface 542U of the lower drive belt 542, is such that the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 can push the belt 30 therebetween and the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 can frictionally engage and thus drive the belt 30.

[0074] The engagement lengths of the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 with the respective upper surface 30U and lower surface 30L of the belt 30 are selected to prevent or minimize wrinkles or tears in the belt 30 when the drive mechanism 500 feeds the belt 30 through the folding device 120. To that end, the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 can be configured to engage the belt 30 of the extended dunnage along the side edges where the layer of the sheet material is already compressed for adhering the upper cover sheet material 20 to the lower cover sheet material 22. However, the extended slit sheet material 24 is sufficiently elastic to allow the upper and lower drive belts 540, 542 to slightly compress the belt 30 of the extended dunnage without degrading the cushioning property of the belt 30 of the extended dunnage.

[0075] The deflecting device 502 is disposed downstream of the drive mechanism 500 in the longitudinal direction L. Any suitable means may be used to drive the deflecting device 502. As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the deflecting device 502 is driven by a pneumatic cylinder 590 between a deflecting position where the deflecting device 502 deflects the first belt portion 32 of the belt 30 of the extended dunnage and a retracted position as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. In the retracted position, the deflecting device 502 does not deflect the first belt portion 32 and is out of the path of the first belt portion 32. Referring to FIGS. 13, 15, and 16, the drive mechanism 500 and the deflecting device 502 are driven such that when the leading end 30L of the belt 30 approaches the deflecting device 502, the deflecting device 502 moves to the deflecting position to deflect the first belt portion 32 from the path in front of the deflecting device 600 to the path behind the deflecting device 602, and the path 602 behind the deflecting device is inclined by the aforementioned first angle A (FIG. 16) with respect to the path 600 in front of the deflecting device. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the folding device 120 may include an inclined path 610 that is coaxial with the deflecting device 502 in its deflecting position to assist the deflecting device 502 when guiding the first belt portion 32 along the path 602 behind the deflecting device.

[0076] As the crease 106 extending in the first transverse direction approaches the deflecting device 502, the deflecting device 502 retracts to open a path to the pinch mechanism 504. The pinch mechanism 504 is disposed downstream of the deflecting device 502 in the longitudinal direction L. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, the pinch mechanism 504 includes an upper press wheel 624 and a lower press wheel 626 of a first set 620 provided on side portions 32A, 34A of the strip of the extended dunnage 30, and an upper press wheel 634 and a lower press wheel 636 of a second set 630 provided on side portions 32B, 34B opposite to the side portions of the strip of the extended dunnage 30. In the illustrated embodiment, the pinch mechanism 504 also includes an upper drive roll 644 having its opposite ends connected to the upper press wheels 624, 634, and a lower driven roll 646 having its opposite ends connected to the lower press wheels 626, 636. The same motor that drives the drive mechanism 500 also drives the pinch mechanism 504, which may be achieved by appropriate mechanical connections. In this way, the drive belts 540, 542 of the drive mechanism 500, the upper and lower press wheels 624, 626 of the first set 620 of the pinch mechanism 504, the upper and lower press wheels 634, 636 of the second set 630, and the upper and lower rolls 644, 646 can be driven together simultaneously without stopping their respective rotations.

[0077] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 15, when the first strip portion 32 is directed along the post-deflection device path 602, the first strip portion 32 is positioned above the upper press wheels 624, 634 of the pinch mechanism 504. As shown in FIG. 15, the upper and lower press wheels 624, 626, 634, 636 of the first set 620 and the second set 630 come together at the nip region 640 at their upstream ends. The pinch mechanism 504 is positioned relative to the drive mechanism 500 such that the nip region 640 is aligned with the feed direction of the drive mechanism 500 with the deflecting device 502 in the retracted position (FIG. 15). Accordingly, the nip region 640 is blocked by the deflecting device 502 in the deflected position and is aligned with the locus of the feed channel 580 of the drive mechanism 500 or the pre-changer path 600 that is opened when the deflecting device 502 is in the retracted position.

[0078] During operation, when the first belt portion 32 follows the post-deflector path 602, the first belt portion 32 is vertically above the pinch mechanism 504 so that the deflector 502 continues to deflect the first belt portion 32 along the post-deflector path 602. On the other hand, the drive mechanism 500 continues to drive the second belt portion 34 along the pre-deflector path 600. Before the transverse fold 106 extending in the first transverse direction of the belt 30 reaches the deflector 502, or when the transverse fold 106 extending in the transverse direction substantially reaches the path change position 650 between the pre-deflector path 600 and the post-deflector path 602, the pneumatic cylinder 590 retracts the deflector 502 to the retracted position (FIG. 15). The continuous drive of the second belt portion 34 by the drive mechanism 500 then biases the second belt portion 34 towards the nip region 640 of the pinch mechanism 504, which nip region 640 biases the first belt portion 32 to fold about the transverse fold 106 extending in the transverse direction of the belt 30 by virtue of the transverse fold 106 extending in the transverse direction of the belt 30 and the first belt portion 32 being located above the upper press wheels 624, 634. In this sense, the transverse fold 106 extending in the transverse direction provides a weak point of the belt 30 that functions as a fold line.

[0079] Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the movement of the second belt portion 34 effectively biases the fold line 106 extending in the transverse direction to the left, which, in conjunction with the action of the upper press wheels 624, 634, biases the portion of the first belt portion 32 below the tangential contact portion with the upper press wheels 624, 634 to the left and biases the portion of the first belt portion 32 above the tangential contact portion with the upper press wheels 624, 634 to the right. It will be appreciated that with the further continuous drive of the second belt portion 34 towards and into the nip region 640, the upper press wheels 624, 634 bias the upper surface 32U of the first belt portion 32 towards the upper surface 34U of the second belt portion 34, as represented, for example, by the transition from angle A to angle B in FIG. 16. Next, the upper press wheels 624, 634 and the lower press wheels 626, 636 of the pinch mechanism 504 bite or grip the first belt portion 32 and the second belt portion 34 together, whereby the press wheels 624, 634, 632, 634 bias the upper surface 32U of the first belt portion 32 to overlap the upper surface 34U of the second belt portion 34 as the belt 30 is fed through the pinch mechanism 504, as represented, for example, by the transition from angle B to zero degrees in FIG. 16.

[0080] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, when the first band portion 32 is folded with respect to the second band portion 34, the first band portion 32 may approach the adhesive applicator 110. The envelope creating device 40 may include one or more guide panels (not shown) to guide the folded first band portion 32 of the band 30 away from the adhesive applicator 110 or otherwise prevent the first band portion 32 from contacting the adhesive applicator 110. Also, to assist in initiating the folding of the first band portion 32 with respect to the second band portion 34, one or more air injection devices (not shown) may be provided to assist in pushing the first band portion 32 from the inclined path 610 (to the right in FIGS. 13 and 15). For example, a horizontal pneumatic tube may be provided behind the inclined path 610 and air injection may be made through the slots of the inclined path 610 from the tube. Such air injection assist is particularly useful for long pouch packaging. In this regard, it will be understood that the lengths of the guide panel and the inclined path 610, as well as the arrangement of the air injection device, may vary according to the desired length of the pouch packaging 50.

[0081] The performance of the pinch mechanism 504 can also be improved by the upper drive roll 644 and the lower driven roll 646. Referring again to FIGS. 13 and 15, it can be seen that the diameters of the upper and lower rolls 644, 646 are smaller than the diameters of the respective press wheels 624, 634, 626, 636 to which they are connected. The diameters of the upper and lower rolls 644, 646 are selected such that the height of the gap between the upper and lower rolls 644, 646 is smaller than the height of the folded band 30 passing therebetween. In this way, the upper drive roll 644 and the lower driven roll 646 provide stability when the folded band 30 is sandwiched between the upper wheels 624, 634 and the lower wheels 626, 636. The upper and lower rolls 644, 646 also press the folded band 30 flat and align the edges.

[0082] Referring to FIGS. 1, 14A and 15, it can be seen that the adhesive application device 110 is arranged downstream of the drive mechanism 500 and upstream of the pinch mechanism 504 and the deflection device 503 in the longitudinal direction L. Referring to FIG. 16, as described above, the adhesive application device 110 applies the adhesive 116 longitudinally from the fold 106 extending in the transverse direction toward the rear end 30D of the strip 30 on each of the opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second strip portion 34 on the upper surface 34U of the second strip portion 34. The adhesive 116 can be any adhesive suitable for adhering the upper surface 32U of the first strip portion 32 to the upper surface 34U of the second strip portion 34, for example, a hot glue adhesive. The adhesive application device 110 is configured to apply the adhesive 116 to the upper surface 34U of the second strip portion 34 when the drive mechanism 500 feeds the second strip portion 34 to the adhesive application device 110. The adhesive application device 110 has two adhesive heads 684, two hot glue heads in the illustrated embodiment, and is attached to the frame 150 at the opposing sides of the strip 30 above the supply path of the strip 30 at a height sufficient to allow the passage of the strip 30 through the drive mechanism 500. In one aspect, the adhesive heads 684 may be actuated by respective pneumatic solenoid valves incorporated into the structure of the adhesive heads 684. One adhesive head 684 applies a bead of the adhesive 116 to one side portion 34A of the second strip portion 34, and the other, opposite adhesive head 684 applies a bead of the adhesive 116 to the opposite side portion 34B of the second strip portion 34.

[0083] Referring again to FIG. 16, the beads of the adhesive 116 are shown applied on the upper surface 34U of the second band portion 34 at the opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second band portion 34. In FIG. 16, the series of views from top to bottom respectively represent the earliest to the latest in time when the drive mechanism 500 supplies the band 30 below the adhesive head 684 as the adhesive head 684 applies the adhesive 116 to the upper surface 34U of the second band portion 34. Referring to FIGS. 13, 14A, 15, and 16, the drive mechanism 500 and the adhesive application device 110 operate simultaneously, i.e., without stopping, to apply the adhesive 116 to the second band portion 34 at the opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second band portion 34. When the desired pouch package 50 includes the flap 436, the adhesive application device 100 applies the adhesive 116 from the transversely extending fold 106 towards the rear end 30D of the band 30 in the longitudinal direction up to the second transversely extending fold 406. When the desired pouch package 50 does not have the flap 436, the adhesive application device 100 applies the adhesive 116 from the transversely extending fold 106 towards the rear end 30D of the band 30 in the longitudinal direction up to the end of the rear end 30D or near the end.

[0084] Next, the adhesive application device 110 applies the adhesive 116 to the opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second band portion 34. When the deflection device 502 and the pinch mechanism 504 cooperate to fold the first band portion 32 so as to overlap the second band portion 34, the first band portion 32 and the second band portion 34 are compressed together by the continuous action of the pinch mechanism 504. Accordingly, the upper press wheels 624, 634 above the band 30 and the lower press wheels 626, 636 below the band 30 drive the overlapping first band portion 32 and second band portion 34 therebetween, compressing the opposing side portions 32A, 32B of the first band portion 32 against the respective opposing side portions 34A, 34B of the second band portion 34, thereby adhering the first band portion 32 to the second band portion 34 to manufacture the pouch package 50 (FIG. 16). Further, the gap between the upper drive roll 644 and the lower driven roll 646 of the pinch mechanism 504 is smaller than the thickness of the band 30 for pressing the band 30, which is considered to help maintain the alignment of the band 30 as the band 30 moves between the upper press wheels 624, 634 and the lower press wheels 626, 636. Further, a pair of ironing rollers (not shown) having a uniform diameter and a spacing smaller than the thickness of the band 30 may be employed upstream or downstream of the folding device 120 to adjust the thickness of the band 30 before folding or to remove wrinkles formed in the outer cover sheet material (lower cover sheet material 22) during the folding operation.

[0085] When the pouch package 50 is formed, the pouch package 50 is sent to the sealing and adhering station 700. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 17, the sealing and adhering station 700 includes a conveyor 710 on which the pouch package 50 is placed by the folding device 120, and a lateral adhesive application device 720 configured to apply an adhesive band to the pouch package 50 adjacent to the front end 30C (see FIG. 16) of the band 30 of the extended dunnage of the pouch package 50.

[0086] The folding device 120 places the pouch package 50 on the conveyor in the direction C1 which is the longitudinal direction L. The conveyor 710 is arranged to move the pouch package 50 in the direction C2 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L so that the lateral adhesive applicator 720 can apply a strip of adhesive across the front end 30C of the strip 30. An exemplary lateral adhesive applicator 720 applies a strip of double-sided tape with a release liner. The end user simply peels off the release liner, folds the flap 436 along the fold line 406, and presses the exposed adhesive tape surface against another part of the pouch package 50 to close the open end and seal the article within the pouch package 50.

[0087] An alignment device (not shown) may be provided to maintain the alignment of the pouch package for the application of the adhesive to close the pouch package. For example, a backstop rail (not shown) may be provided to stop the fold line 106 extending in the first lateral direction against it in the longitudinal direction L. A pneumatic line (not shown) may be provided to blow the completed pouch package against the rail to align it when moving to the tape applicator.

[0088] Finally, as shown in FIG. 1, the automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a controller 750 for overall adjustment and control of the operations of the pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 and its respective components including the supply apparatus 60, the transverse adhesive application apparatus 70, the laminating apparatus 80, the transverse pressing apparatus 90, the creasing apparatus 100, the adhesive application apparatus 110, and the folding apparatus 120. The controller 750 may include a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory. The controller 750 may further include one or more input devices, such as for determining a desired length of the pouch package 50 and / or the flap 436, and one or more outputs including an output for controlling elements of the pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10. The input device may be connected to or may include one or more of a touch screen display 752 as shown in FIG. 1, and / or a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner or sensor, a barcode reader, a radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor, a microphone, a camera, etc. The controller 750 may be programmed to recognize an appropriate input representing the desired length of the pouch package 50 and / or the flap 436, or to identify a location for examining one or more available lengths.

[0089] As will be appreciated, the automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 can be operated to manufacture pouch packages 50 of any desired length or width. Different lengths can be obtained, for example, by increasing the supply period and reducing the frequency of cutting and creasing. Different widths can be obtained, for example, by providing upper cover sheet materials 20, lower cover sheet materials 22, and extension slit sheet materials 24 of different widths.

[0090] FIG. 1 also shows that a supply device 60, a transverse adhesive applicator 70, a stacking device 80, a transverse pressing device 90, a creasing device 100, and a folding device 120 are each configured as sub-assemblies on respective sub-frames 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 812, and the sub-frames 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 812 are relatively adjustable with respect to each other in the longitudinal direction L, for example, on parallel rails 840 on opposite sides of the frame 150.

[0091] Next, a method for converting an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an extended slit sheet material into a strip of extended dunnage will be described. This method can be implemented by the dunnage conversion device 12 and its various components described above. The method includes the step of feeding in the longitudinal direction an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an extended slit sheet material, each having parallel opposing side edges. The method also includes applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material. The method also includes stacking the upper cover sheet material on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material with the extended slit sheet material sandwiched therebetween to form a layered product. The method also includes applying pressure to the layered product at the position of the adhesive applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to bond the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material.

[0092] The method may further include applying pressure to the layered product as the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the extended slit sheet material are fed in the longitudinal direction. The method may include applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material as the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction.

[0093] The method may further include applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges of the lower cover sheet material. This method may include applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material when the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction.

[0094] Next, a method for manufacturing a pouch package from a strip of extended dunnage having an upper surface and a lower surface, opposing front and rear ends, and opposing longitudinal side portions will be described. This method may be implemented by the envelope creating device 40 and its various components described above. This method includes creating a fold in the strip by a fold extending transversely across the width of the strip at a longitudinal position between the front end and the rear end of the strip, and forming a first strip portion and a second strip portion on opposite sides of the transversely extending fold in the longitudinal direction. This method also includes applying an adhesive longitudinally to the upper surface of the second strip portion from a transversely extending fold toward one of the front end and the rear end of the strip at each of the opposing longitudinal side portions of the second strip portion. This method also includes folding the strip onto itself at the transversely extending fold such that the upper surface of the first strip portion overlaps the upper surface of the second strip portion, and pressing the opposing longitudinal side portions of the first strip portion against the respective opposing longitudinal side portions of the second strip portion along respective positions of the longitudinally extending adhesive to adhere the opposing longitudinal side portions of the first strip portion to the respective opposing longitudinal side portions of the second strip portion.

[0095] This method may further include deflecting the first strip portion from a pre-deflector path to a post-deflector path, the post-deflector path being inclined with respect to the pre-deflector path. This method may include stopping the deflection of the first strip portion when the transversely extending fold reaches a path change position between the pre-deflector path and the post-deflector path.

[0096] This method may further include sandwiching the opposing side portions of the strip between a first pair and a second pair of upper and lower press wheels at the respective opposing side portions of the strip to press the opposing side portions of the first strip portion against the respective opposing side portions of the second strip portion as the strip is sandwiched. The method may further include frictionally engaging the respective upper and lower surfaces of the strip to feed the strip to the first and second pairs of upper and lower press wheels.

[0097] Briefly, an exemplary automatic pouch packaging manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a dunnage converting apparatus 12 that converts sheet materials 20, 22, 24 into a strip of elongated expanded dunnage 30, and an envelope creating apparatus 40 downstream of the dunnage converting apparatus 12 that forms the expanded dunnage 30 into a pouch package 50. The dunnage converting apparatus 12 includes a laminating apparatus 60 that laminates an upper cover sheet material 20 on top of a lower cover sheet material 22 with an expanded slit sheet material 24 therebetween, and a transverse pressing apparatus 90 that applies pressure to the laminated product 86 to bond the lower surface 20L of the upper cover sheet material 20 and the upper surface 22U of the lower cover sheet material 22 with adhesives 76, 78, thereby forming a strip of the expanded dunnage 30. The envelope creating apparatus 40 includes a folding apparatus 120 that folds the strip 30 over itself along a transverse fold 106 such that the upper surface 32U of a first strip portion 32 overlaps the upper surface 34U of a second strip portion 34, and compresses the opposing longitudinal side portions 32A, 32B, 34A, 34B of the strip 30 along the respective positions of a longitudinally extending adhesive 116 to bond the opposing longitudinal side portions 32A, 32B, 34A, 34B of the strip 30.

[0098] Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to one or more particular embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that equivalent changes and modifications will occur upon reading and understanding this specification and the accompanying drawings. In particular, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described elements (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms used to describe such elements (including references to "means"), unless otherwise indicated, are intended to correspond to any element that performs the specified function of the described element (i.e., is functionally equivalent), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the function in one or more of the exemplary embodiments illustrated in this specification of the present invention. In addition, although a particular feature of the present invention may have been described above with respect to one or more of the exemplary embodiments, such a feature may be combined with one or more other features of one or more other embodiments so as to be desirable and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

1. A dunnage conversion device (12) for converting an upper cover sheet material (20), a lower cover sheet material (22), and an extended slit sheet material (24) into a band of extended dunnage (30), comprising: A supply device (60) configured to feed the upper cover sheet material (20), the lower cover sheet material (22), and the extended slit sheet material (24), each having parallel opposing side edges (20A, 20B, 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B), longitudinally (L) through the dunnage conversion device (12); A transverse adhesive application device (70) configured to apply adhesives (76, 78) to the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges (22A, 22B) of the lower cover sheet material (22); A laminating device (80) downstream of the transverse adhesive application device (70) configured to laminate the upper cover sheet material (20) on the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) with the extended slit sheet material (24) interposed therebetween to form a laminated product (86); A transverse pressing device (90) configured to apply pressure to the laminated product (86) at the positions of the adhesives (76, 78) applied across the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) to adhere the lower surface (20L) of the upper cover sheet material (20) to the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22); and The transverse adhesive application device (70) includes an adhesive head (240) configured to move across the lower cover sheet material (22) along a linear path (A) in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction (L); The dunnage conversion device (12), wherein the linear path (A) is non-perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L).

2. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 1, wherein the transverse pressing device (90) includes a cam roller (300) configured to extend across the laminated product (86) and, when rotated, compress the laminated product (86) at the positions of the adhesives (76, 78) applied across the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22).

3. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 1, wherein the transverse adhesive application device (70) is configured to apply the adhesives (76, 78) across the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) when the lower cover sheet material (22) is sent through the dunnage conversion device (12).

4. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 1, wherein the transverse adhesive application device (70) includes a linear actuator (244) configured to translate the adhesive head (240) along the linear path (A) across the lower cover sheet material (22).

5. The adhesive head has a split nozzle for applying the adhesives (76, 78) of the first and second beads parallel to each other across the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22), and the adhesives (76, 78) of the first and second beads are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction (L). The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 2.

6. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 5, wherein when the cam roller (300) rotates, it is configured to compress the laminated product (86) at the positions of the adhesives (76, 78) of the first and second beads applied across the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22).

7. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 1, further comprising a side adhesive application device (260) configured to apply an adhesive (276) to the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges (22A, 22B) of the lower cover sheet material (22).

8. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 7, wherein the side adhesive application device (260) is configured to apply the adhesive (276) to the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22) when the lower cover sheet material (22) is sent through the dunnage conversion device (12).

9. A side pressurizing device (290) is further provided, which applies pressure to the laminated product (86) at the position of the adhesive (276) applied to the opposing longitudinal side edges (22A, 22B) of the lower cover sheet material (22), and is configured to bond the lower surface (20L) of the upper cover sheet material (20) to the upper surface (22U) of the lower cover sheet material (22). The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 7.

10. The side pressurizing device (290) is configured to apply pressure to the laminated product (86) when the upper cover sheet material (20), the lower cover sheet material (22), and the extended slit sheet material (24) are sent through the dunnage conversion device (12). The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 9.

11. The side pressurizing device (290) includes first and second pairs of upper bonding rollers and lower bonding rollers (162) on respective opposing side portions of the laminated product (86), and the upper bonding rollers and the lower bonding rollers (162) are configured to sandwich the opposing side portions of the laminated product (86) when the laminated product (86) passes between the upper bonding rollers and the lower bonding rollers (162). The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 9.

12. Combined with an expanding device (170), the expanding device (170) is configured to expand a slit sheet material (172) into the extended slit sheet material (24), and in the longitudinal direction (L), the transverse adhesive applying device (70) is downstream of the expanding device (170). The dunnage conversion device (12) according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. The dunnage conversion device (12) according to claim 5 further includes a cutter (360) configured to cut a band separated from the extended dunnage (30) from the laminated product (86) between the adhesives (76, 78) of the first bead and the second bead.

14. A method for converting an upper cover sheet material, a lower cover sheet material, and an extended slit sheet material into a band of extended dunnage, comprising: feeding the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the extended slit sheet material, each having parallel opposing side edges, in a longitudinal direction; A step of applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material; A step of forming a laminated product by overlapping the upper cover sheet material on the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material with the expansion slit sheet material interposed therebetween; A step of applying pressure to the laminated product at the position of the adhesive applied across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material to bond the lower surface of the upper cover sheet material to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material, and the method includes: A step of applying an adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material in a direction perpendicular to the parallel opposing side edges of the lower cover sheet material, and moving an adhesive head across the lower cover sheet material along a linear path that is transverse to the longitudinal direction and non-perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

15. The method according to claim 14, including applying pressure to the laminated product when the upper cover sheet material, the lower cover sheet material, and the expansion slit sheet material are fed in the longitudinal direction.

16. The method according to claim 14, including applying the adhesive across the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material when the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, further including applying an adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material adjacent to the opposing longitudinal side edges of the lower cover sheet material.

18. The method according to claim 17, including applying the adhesive to the upper surface of the lower cover sheet material when the lower cover sheet material is fed in the longitudinal direction.

19. At a longitudinal position between the front end (30C) and the rear end (30D) of the strip of the expansion dam (30), a creasing device (100) that creases the strip of the expansion dam (30) by a crease (106) extending in a transverse direction across the width of the strip of the expansion dam (30), and forms a first strip portion (32) and a second strip portion (34) on opposite sides in the longitudinal direction with respect to the crease (106) extending in the transverse direction; In each of the opposing longitudinal side portions (34A, 34B) of the second band portion (34), an adhesive application device (110) for applying an adhesive (116) to the upper surface (34U) of the second band portion (34) in the longitudinal direction toward one of the front end (30C) and the rear end (30D) of the band of the extended damage (30) from the fold line (106) extending in the transverse direction. The damage conversion device (12) according to claim 1, further comprising a folding device (120) that folds the band of the extended damage (30) onto itself at the fold line (106) extending in the transverse direction such that the upper surface (32U) of the first band portion (32) overlaps the upper surface (34U) of the second band portion (34), and presses the opposing longitudinal side portions (32A, 32B) of the first band portion (32) against the respective opposing longitudinal side portions (34A, 34B) of the second band portion (34) along the respective positions of the adhesive (116) extending in the longitudinal direction, thereby adhering the opposing longitudinal side portions (32A, 32B) of the first band portion (32) to the respective opposing longitudinal side portions (34A, 34B) of the second band portion (34).

20. The damage conversion device (12) according to claim 19, wherein the folding device (120) comprises a deflection device (502) configured to move between a deflection position for deflecting the first band portion (32) from the pre-deflection device path (600) and a retracted position for not deflecting the first band portion (32) from the pre-deflection device path (600).

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