Adhesive-coated expandable slit-sheet material wrap for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box

Abstract

In some preferred embodiments, an expandable slit sheet paper wrap product for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection is provided that includes: an expandable slit sheet paper having an array of slits extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper, said expandable slit sheet paper expanding in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells when manually stretched; said expandable slit sheet paper having an adhesive applied on a side of said expandable slit sheet paper; and whereby said expandable slit sheet paper can be manually stretched and expanded in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells and manually wrapped around an item for protection, with said adhesive adhering layers of said expanded expandable slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

Description

[0001] ADHESIVE-COATED EXPANDABLE SLIT-SHEET MATERIAL WRAP FOR MANUALLY WRAPPING ITEMS PLACED WITHIN A PACKAGE OR BOX

[0002] BACKGROUND

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 765,495, filed on February 28, 2025.

[0004] Field of the Invention

[0005] The preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to a slit sheet material wrap for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box.

[0006] Description of the Background Art

[0007] The present invention is an improvement over existing systems and methods for wrapping items with expandable slit sheet material.

[0008] SUMMARY

[0009] The preferred embodiments overcome shortcomings and / or other problems in the background art.

[0010] The following paragraphs describe some most-preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[0011] 1. According to a first embodiment, an expandable slit sheet paper wrap product for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection is provided that includes:

[0012] an expandable slit sheet paper having an array of slits extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper, the expandable slit sheet paper expanding in thickness with the slits forming expanded cells when manually stretched;each of the slits having a slit length within a range of about 5 / 8 inches or less; the expandable slit sheet paper being made with a kraft paper;

[0013] the expandable slit sheet paper having an adhesive applied on a side of the expandable slit sheet paper, the adhesive extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper; and

[0014] the expandable slit sheet paper being rolled in a generally cylindrical configuration in an unexpanded state,

[0015] whereby the expandable slit sheet paper can be manually stretched and expanded in thickness with the slits forming expanded cells and manually wrapped around items placed within a package or box for protection.

[0016] 2. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 above includes that the Kraft paper has a weight within a range from about 40 to 60#.

[0017] 3. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes that the adhesive adheres layers of the expandable slit sheet paper to one another.

[0018] 4. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) wherein the adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

[0019] 5. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

[0020] 6. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0021] 7. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0022] 8. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0023] 9. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1

[0024] 2 | P a g e(or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive is coated on only one side of the expandable slit sheet paper.

[0025] 10. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein each of the slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 4 to 5 / 8 inches.

[0026] 11. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein each of the slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 2 to 5 / 8 inches.

[0027] 12. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive extends across the entire width of the expandable slit sheet paper.

[0028] 13. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, within any of the preceding paragraphs) includes wherein the adhesive covers an entire region of the expandable slit sheet paper across the width of the expandable slit sheet paper.

[0029] 14. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection is performed that includes:

[0030] a) providing the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of as set forth in the above paragraph 1 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs); and

[0031] b) manually stretching the expandable slit sheet paper such that the expandable slit sheet paper expands in thickness with the slits forming expanded; and c) manually wrapping the expanded slit sheet paper around an item.

[0032] 15. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 14 further includes placing the wrapped item within a package or box for protection.

[0033] 16. In some examples, the embodiment set forth in the above paragraph 15 further includes shipping the package or box.

[0034] 17. According to another embodiment of the present invention, an expandable slit sheet paper wrap product for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection is provided that includes:

[0035] 3 | P a g ean expandable slit sheet paper having an array of slits extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper, said expandable slit sheet paper expanding in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells when manually stretched;

[0036] said expandable slit sheet paper having an adhesive applied on a side of said expandable slit sheet paper; and

[0037] whereby said expandable slit sheet paper can be manually stretched and expanded in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells and manually wrapped around an item for protection, with said adhesive adhering layers of said expanded expandable slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

[0038] 18. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said kraft paper has a weight within a range from about 30 to 70#, or, preferably, within a range from about 40 to 60#.

[0039] 19. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive adheres layers of said expandable slit sheet paper to one another.

[0040] 20. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 18 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

[0041] 21. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 19 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

[0042] 22. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is a cohesive adhesive.

[0043] 23. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0044] 24. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the 4 | P a g eabove paragraph 18 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0045] 25. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 19 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

[0046] 26. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of any of the above paragraphs 17 to 25 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is coated on only one side of the expandable slit sheet paper.

[0047] 27. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 4 to 5 / 8 inches.

[0048] 28. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 2 to 5 / 8 inches.

[0049] 29. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive extends across an entire width of said expandable slit sheet paper.

[0050] 30. In some examples, the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive covers an entire region of said expandable slit sheet paper across a width of said expandable slit sheet paper.

[0051] 31. According to some other preferred embodiments, a method for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection is performed that includes:

[0052] a) providing the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of the above 5 | P a g eparagraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs); and

[0053] b) stretching said expandable slit sheet paper such that said expandable slit sheet paper expands in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells; and c) manually wrapping said expanded slit sheet paper around an item.

[0054] 32. In some examples, the method of the above paragraph 31 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes placing the wrapped item within a package or box for protection.

[0055] 33. In some examples, the method of the above paragraph 17 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes shipping the package or box.

[0056] 34. In some examples, the method of the above paragraph 31 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive on the side of the expandable slit sheet paper maintains the expanded slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

[0057] 35. In some examples, the method of the above paragraph 34 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is a cohesive adhesive, such that when the expanded slit sheet paper is wrapped around an item regions of the cohesive adhesive adhere to one another.

[0058] 36. In some examples, the method of the above paragraph 35 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein a first cohesive adhesive region at a first region of the expanded slit sheet paper contacts with a second cohesive adhesive region at a second region of the expanded slit sheet paper by extending through at least one open cell of the expandable slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

[0059] 37. In some examples, the method of any of the above paragraphs 17 or 35 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes wherein said adhesive is made with latex.

[0060] 38. In some examples, the method of any of the above paragraphs 17 or 35 (or, alternatively, as set forth within any of the preceding paragraphs) further includes . 6 | P a g ewherein said adhesive is made without latex.

[0061] In some other preferred embodiments, a plurality of sheets of slit sheet material are removably supported on a support. In preferred implementations, the sheets of slit sheet material are removable for use of the slit sheet material for packing items or the like. For example, the sheets can be individually removed and used to wrap and protect items or the like.

[0062] In some preferred embodiments, sheets of slit sheet material are mounted or adhered to a stable bottom pad or the like that can be fixed, e.g., non-permanently adhered, to a table or support for dispensing and packing items.

[0063] According to some preferred embodiments, a pad of a plurality of sheets of expandable slit paper is provided, the paper expanding in thickness when stretched to form expanded cells, wherein the sheets of expandable slit paper are bound together along a single edge and otherwise unbound together. In some embodiments, said expanded cells are hexagonal cells.

[0064] In some embodiments, each sheet of the plurality of sheets is provided with a score line proximate the region of the single edge, thereby facilitating the separation of each sheet from the pad of a plurality of sheets.

[0065] In some embodiments, at least one staple is applied to the pad of a plurality of sheets, and, in some embodiments, a plurality of staples are applied to the pad of a plurality of sheets. In some embodiments, each sheet of the plurality of sheets is provided with a score line proximate a region formed by the at least one staple, thereby facilitating the separation of each sheet from the pad of a plurality of sheets.

[0066] In some embodiments, a releasable adhesive is applied to each sheet in the region of the single edge. In some embodiments, an adhesive is applied to each sheet in the region of the single edge thereby binding together the plurality of sheets of expandable paper. In some embodiments, each sheet of the plurality of sheets is provided with a score line proximate the region of the adhesive, thereby facilitating the separation of each sheet from the pad of a plurality of sheets.

[0067] In some embodiments, a support sheet is provided below the bottom sheet of the plurality of sheets. In some embodiments, the support sheet is provided with a plurality of adhesive strips placed under and attached to the support sheet for adhering the pad . 7 | P a g eto a supporting surface. In some embodiments, at least one release sheet is applied to the exposed the adhesive strips.

[0068] In some embodiments, the support sheet is a paper board sheet. In some embodiments, the support sheet is a chipboard sheet. In some embodiments, the paper board sheet is stiff or rigid.

[0069] In some embodiments, the slit sheet paper is a Kraft paper in the range from about 40# to 60#.

[0070] In some embodiments, the slit sheet paper has a slit pattern in the range from of approximately 0.45" slit length, 0.17" land length between ends of slits, and 0.11" row width between slits to approximately 0.40" slit length, 1.15" land length between ends of slits, and 0.1125" row width between slits.

[0071] In some embodiments, the slit sheet paper has a slit pattern with slits each having a length of 0.45" or less. In some embodiments, the slit sheet paper has a slit pattern with slits each having a length of 0.40" or less.

[0072] In some embodiments, the pad of a plurality of sheets of expandable slit paper is rolled to form a generally cylindrical configuration. In some embodiments, the pad of a plurality of sheets of expandable slit paper is rolled to form a roll of sheets of expandable slit paper.

[0073] In some embodiments, the expandable slit paper is an extensible paper having an extensibility in a machine direction of at least 5%. In some embodiments, the expandable slit paper is an extensible paper having an extensibility in a cross direction of at least 5%.

[0074] According to some other embodiments, a method of using a pad of a plurality of sheets of expandable slit paper is provided, said paper expanding in thickness when stretched to form expanded cells, wherein the sheets of expandable slit paper are bound together along a single edge and otherwise unbound together, includes: having the user manually grasp a top sheet of said plurality of sheets and pull the top sheet in a direction away from said single edge so as to cause said top sheet to expand to form a plurality of expanded cells; having the user wrap the expanded top sheet around an item.In some embodiments, the method further includes: having the user wrap the expanded top sheet around the item while the top sheet remains bound at said single edge, whereby the top sheet is maintained in an expanded state during wrapping; and having the user separate the expanded top sheet from being bound at said single edge after wrapping of the item.

[0075] In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, a chip board type material as a backing for a smaller number of sheets is employed to provide an inexpensive dispensing device for uses where only a limited number of items require packing.

[0076] For the purposes of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, slit sheet paper employed can include, e.g., the paper and slit patterns described in U.S. Patent No. 5,667,871, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0077] Further information relating to exemplary slit sheet paper that can be used in the present invention, slit patterns of such papers, and the expansion process by which the slit sheet paper is expanded is found in the following patents and applications, the entire disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Patent No.

[0078] 5,538,778; U.S. Patent No. 5,667,871; U.S. Patent No. 5,688,578; U.S. Patent No.

[0079] 5,782,735; U.S. Patent No. 3,908,071; PCT Application No. WO84 / 02936; U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2002 / 0060034; U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2007 / 0240841; U.S. Patent No. 3,104,197; U.S. Patent No. 3,220,116; U.S. Patent No. 3,266,972; U.S. Patent No. 3,269,393; U.S. Patent No. 3,908,071; U.S. Patent No. 6,024,832; U.S.

[0080] Patent No. 6,458,447; U.S. Patent No. 6,712,930 B2. As indicated, the entire disclosures of the foregoing patents, publications and applications are all incorporated by reference herein, as though recited in full.

[0081] For reference, FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) correspond to FIGS. 1 and 3 of U.S.

[0082] 5,667,871 (the ‘871 patent). These figures describe existing “slit sheet” expandable paper structure. As explained in the ‘871 patent:

[0083] “The slit paper, indicated generally as 10, is illustrated in FIG. [7(A)] as it would come off the slitting machine. The sheets can be formed on a flat-bed slitter and produced directly as rectangular sheets, as well as on a rotary slitter and cut into individual sheets or stored directly as a continuous sheet in roll form.”“The flexible sheet 10 is preferably manufactured from exclusively recycled paper with the grain of the paper running in the direction of arrow A. The flexible sheet 10 is provided with slits 14 and slits 16 are parallel to the edges 22 and 24 of the flexible sheet 12 and perpendicular to the paper grain. The slits 14 and slits 16 are placed in rows and separated from one another by land 20 and legs 21 [shown in FIG. 7(B)], The land 20 is a consistent size and provides the support required to prevent the paper from tearing into strips when opened. The cushioning effect is produced by the flexing of the lands and legs under a load. It is therefore necessary that the land 20 be of sufficient size to provide cushioning. The spacing between the rows of slits 14 and slits 16 must also be of sufficient size to prevent the paper from tearing. The offset positioning of the rows of slits 14 and slits 16 gives the paper resiliency when opened and is discussed in detail further hereinafter. The existence of partial slits 14 and 16 at the ends 25 and 18 of the flexible sheet 10 do not hinder the efficiency of the slit paper 10. The flexible sheet 10 when flat; lies in a first plane.”

[0084] “When expanded, the expanded sheet, indicated generally as 12, is formed of hexagonal cells 26, legs 21 and land 20 areas, as illustrated in FIG. [7(B)], Preferably, at least a majority of the land 20 areas lie in a plurality of parallel planes. The planes of the land 20 areas form an angle of at least about 45 degrees with the plane of the sheet in flat form.”

[0085] “The slitting operation in which the slits are cut into the sheet material can take several forms. In one embodiment, rectangular sheets are provide with its total number of slits in one action. The term rectangular should be understood to include rectangles in which all four sides are equal, that is, square. Where the sheet material is subjected to rotary cutting or slitting, the pressure required for the cutting action is significantly lower that which is required for the flat bed cut, since essentially only a single row or a few rows of slits are cut simultaneously. Unlike prior art structures and systems, expansion contemporaneous with slitting is not desirable. Therefore a critical balance must be struck between resistance to opening of the cells during the rewind step and ease of opening of cells during the expansion step. By achieving this critical balance and producing a flat, unexpanded sheet, the sheet material has an effective thickness

[0086] 10 | P a g ewhich is as much as one twentieth of the thickness of a sheet of expanded material. The compact configuration provides for the optimization of shipping and storage.”

[0087] In the preferred embodiments, the term "slit sheet" means an expandable paper sheet having a slit pattern. The following are direct quotes of U.S. 5,667,871 (the ‘871 patent).

[0088] First, column 10, lines 13-48, of the ‘871 patent explains:

[0089] “The length of the slit and the ratio of the land intervals between slit affects the dimensions of the polygons which are formed during the expansion step. The higher the ratio of slit length to interval length the greater is the maximum angle which can be formed between the plane of the sheet and the planes of the land areas. The greater the uniformity of the shape and size of the formed polygonal shaped open areas and the angle to which the land areas incline relative to the flat sheet, the greater is the degree to which interlocking of land areas can be achieved. Interlocking of land areas, that is, the nesting of layers of sheets, reduces the effective thickness of the sheets. However, the net effect is still a dramatic increase in effective sheet thickness. For example, 0.008 inch thick paper having a silt pattern of a 1 / 2" slit, 3 / 16" slit spacing, and 1 / 8" row spacing, produces a 1 / 4" by 3 / 16" land which can expand to under about one quarter of an inch thickness and will have a net effective thickness for two layers, when nested, of about 0.375 inches. It is noted that the land width is double the width of the legs. The net effect is a useful thickness expansion of roughly 20 times the unexpanded thickness of the paper. ”

[0090] “The longer the slit relative to the rigidity of the sheet material, the weaker is the interlocking effect and the cushioning effect due to the weakness of the expanded structure. If the slits are too small, expansion can be severely limited and cushioning can be excessively limited. This does not mean that the dimensions are narrowly critical, but rather that the dimension must be selected relative to the characteristics of the paper, as for example the degree of rigidity, and the cushioning or energy absorbing effects which are required. The resistance to expansion increases relative to the increase in the size of the land areas. It should be understood that some resistance to opening is desired. The object rests on, or contacts the edge of the sheet formed by the

[0091] 11 | P a g eincline of the land areas which turns the perimeter of the openings into upper and lower edges. ”

[0092] Second, column 10, lines 58-67 and column 11, lines 1-6, of the ‘871 patent further explains:

[0093] “ / is heretofore mentioned, the slit dimensions can be varied to ease the process of opening. A 5 / 8" slit, 3 / 16" land by 3 / 16 row opens very easily since the number of hexagons is reduced. When the size of the hexagons are increased and the numbers decreased; the stretched thickness was increased, producing a very viable wrap material. This sizing increases the yield of the paper and provides almost the same protection as the 1 / 2" slit. This sizing provides a less expensive product utilizing a larger content of post consumer waste while maintaining the integrity of the wrap product. The 1 / 2" slit, 3 / 16" land by 1 / 8" row pattern produces a more protective wrap due to the greater number of wraps that can be made within the same volume. Thus, a 2% pound vase dropped from a thirty inch height, with only 1 / 2" of cumulative sheet thickness around the vase, can be protected with the 1 / 2" slit, 1 / 4 by 3 / 16 inch land pattern." In some preferred embodiments, the expandable slit sheet dispenser has a physical appearance that is similar to paper pads that are sometimes referred to as note pads, writing pads, drawing pads, and / or legal pads. Typically, such paper pads are in the form of a book or binder of paper pages (often, with line rules), used for purposes such as recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing or scrapbooking. Specifically, with such paper pads, the papers are typically used for writing purposes in which a user can, e.g., write upon sheets of paper within the paper pad.

[0094] While paper pads are typically bound sheets of flat paper bound to a heavy weight back sheet, as for example formed of cardboard, the present invention is a unique physical structure having layers of expandable slit sheets. The expandable slit sheet paper has an entirely different function and purpose than paper in common paper pads. In particular, the expandable slit sheet paper can be, e.g., expanded in a manner to increase its thickness and wrapped around an item for protection of the item.

[0095] Moreover, the support of the expandable slit sheet paper not only retains the expandable slit sheet paper for storage, but the support also serves to enable expansion of the expandable slit sheet paper as it is pulled from the support.

[0096] . 12 | P a g eIn some illustrative embodiments, embodiments of the present invention can be manufactured in accordance with the disclosures of the following patents, publications and applications, the entire disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Patent No. 7,175,731; U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2007 / 0204572; Canadian Patent No. CA1312889C; U.S. Patent No. 5,299,833; PCT Application No. WO98 / 57810; U.S. Patent No. 3,778,324; U.S. Patent No. 3,937,491; U.S. Patent No.

[0097] 848,680; U.S. Patent No. 4,149,288; U.S. Patent No. 8,702,085; U.S. Patent No.

[0098] 741878; U.S. Patent No. 2,367,608; and U.S. Patent No. 5,112,083 (see, e.g., Fig. 6). As indicated, the entire disclosures of the foregoing patents, publications and applications are all incorporated by reference herein, as though recited in full.

[0099] The above and / or other aspects, features and / or advantages of various embodiments will be further appreciated in view of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Various embodiments can include and / or exclude different aspects, features and / or advantages where applicable. In addition, various embodiments can combine one or more aspect or feature of other embodiments where applicable. The descriptions of aspects, features and / or advantages of particular embodiments should not be construed as limiting other embodiments or the claims.

[0100] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0101] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by a way of example, and not limitation, in the accompanying figures, in which:

[0102] FIG.1 is a perspective view of the chip board, or the like, backing with sheets of unexpanded slit sheet material;

[0103] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternate design which reduces the use of the chipboard;

[0104] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate adhesive design that eliminates the need for a bottom pad;

[0105] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate design that uses a dual pin type fixture to attach the sheets to the back of the packing table;

[0106] 13 | P a g eFIG. 5 is a perspective view of the alternate dual pin design that shows the paper loaded to be used;

[0107] FIG. 6 is a side view of an alternate design in which a support is configured to hang the dispenser pad from a wall or the like;

[0108] FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) show existing slit sheet expandable paper structure that can be employed in some embodiments of the present invention;

[0109] FIG. 8 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 rolled up in roll form;

[0110] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a sheet of slit paper from the dispensing pad shown in FIG. 3;

[0111] FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of the sheet of slit paper shown in FIG. 9 in use for wrapping of an item;

[0112] FIGS. 11 A to 111 show plan views of various embodiments of slit sheet paper having adhesive applied within regions of the slit sheet paper;

[0113] FIGS. 12 to 13 show embodiments employing a slit sheet paper similar to that shown in FIG. 11A wound into a roll around a cylindrical core, wherein FIG. 12 shows the slit sheet paper wound into a roll around a cylindrical core placed within a dispenser;

[0114] FIG. 14 is a side view of another embodiment including a slit sheet paper stored in a stack beneath a dispenser;

[0115] FIGS. 15A and 15B depict illustrative embodiments of expandable slit sheet paper in expanded states, wherein FIG. 15A shows a normal expansion pattern and FIG. 15B shows an alternating row expansion.

[0116] THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0117] While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, the illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and that such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and / or illustrated herein.

[0118] 14 | P a g eDescription of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

[0119] The entire disclosures of U.S. Patent Application Nos. 15 / 428,144 and 16 / 018,702, of U.S. Patent No. 10,669,086 (which corresponds to the 702 application), of U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 929,836, and of U.S. Provisional Application No.

[0120] 62 / 874,163 (which corresponds to the ‘836 application) are all incorporated by reference in their entireties, and referenced and recited herein as if in full as part of the description of the present application.

[0121] U.S. Patent No. 10,669,086 (the ‘086 patent) describes a use of extensible paper to greatly reduce the tension required to stretch the slit sheet material. Advantageously, the dispensing pad utilizes the extensible paper of the ‘086 patent in some preferred embodiments of the present invention. Among other things, the stretching with extensible paper provides greater resiliency while further facilitating the ease of stretching the slit sheet manually.

[0122] This invention also relates to the use of a slit sheet material in combination with extensible paper to manufacture a pad and envelope product that is more resilient but, thinner for better utilization of space.

[0123] In accordance with one broad embodiment of the invention, an expanded slit sheet paper is made with an extensible paper that, e.g., advantageously substantially reduces a pulling force necessary to expand the expanded slit sheet material. Among other benefits, this reduced pulling force leads to a variety of very substantial benefits, including that it avoids previously required complex resistant devices that were previously necessary and opens the market to smaller manual expansion devices that can be made to be completely or almost completely recyclable. In accordance with one broad embodiment of the invention, the use of extensible paper reduces the pulling force necessary to stretch the expanded slit sheet material and thereby expands the market to include, e.g., void fill usage and lighter weight papers for greater cushioning effect for very fragile items.

[0124] In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the use of extensible paper reduces the tendency of the slit paper to tear during the expanding of the expandable slit sheet paper without negating the ability to tear the expanded slit sheet paper from the support at, e.g., the end of a wrapping step or the like.

[0125] . 15 I P a g eThe above-noted U.S. Application No. 16 / 929,836 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 874,163 describe the use of reduced cell sizes for slit sheet material to increase the resiliency of cells. Advantageously, the dispensing pad utilizes the extensible paper of the ‘836 and ‘163 applications in some embodiments of the present invention.

[0126] According to some embodiments, the slit sheet paper is made with an extensible paper. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of at least 5%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a cross direction in a range of at least 5%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of at least 5% and in a cross direction in a range of at least 5%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of at least 6% and in a cross direction in a range of at least 6%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of at least 7% and in a cross direction in a range of at least 7%. According to some, most preferred, embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of at least 8% and in a cross direction in a range of at least 8%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of between 5% to 15% and in a cross direction in a range of between 5% to 15%.

[0127] According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range of between 7% to 15% and in a cross direction in a range of between 7% to 15%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a machine direction in a range between 3 to 20%. According to some embodiments, the extensible paper is extensible in a cross direction in a range between 3 to 20%. It should be appreciated that the extensibility of the paper corresponds to the extensibility of the paper in an unslit state - i.e. , corresponds to the extensible nature of the material of the paper itself.

[0128] In some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, a preferred reduced slit pattern utilizing 50# Kraft paper with a slit pattern of approximately 0.45" slit, 0.17" land, 0.11" row width yields about 2.72-2.92 pounds of per inch of crush strength which, can yield a 27% increase in strength with a 10% decrease in thickness from approximately . 16 I P a g e0.187" to 0.169". Another exemplary and non-limiting preferred slit pattern is approximately 0.40" slit, 1.15" land, 0.1125" row width, yielding 3.1-3.3 pounds per inch crush strength which produces a 40% increase in crush strength from .1875" to .169." Although for clarity dimensions may be provided to four decimal places, in some other embodiments, the dimensions can vary + / - 15% and, preferably, + / - 10%.

[0129] It has now been found that the shorter paper fibers make them stiffer and therefore increases their strength which, can be extrapolated by the ratio in the thicknesses of the sheet from 0.1875 to 0.16875 which, in this case is a 10% increase in strength if all things were equal but, they are not. The additional increase in strength is also due to the decrease, which is preferably about 10% in cell size as compared to the prior art slit pattern. This provides more cells per square foot and accordingly a greater crush resistance. Increased crush resistance generally correlates directly with increased cushioning. Increased crush resistance is good for cushioning some things and not for others. For the most part, the items placed in an envelope require less crush distance to absorb shock. Something extreme fragile might require 2” of distance to absorb shock to be safe.

[0130] In the present invention, (1) it has now been found that varying the legs per square foot enables fine-tuning of the cushioning properties, as needed, and (2) for most applications, advantageously, increasing the resiliency of an already non-vertical but, fully stretched item, provides improved cushioning.

[0131] This increase in strength can be offset by reducing the thickness (weight) of the paper which can provide equivalent crush strength while providing for a reduction in overall height. In this case the use of 40# paper would reduce the leg stiffness but would reduce the cost of the paper. Stated another way, the reduction in height of the cells (a shorter distance between rows of un-slit material) (1 ) uses less paper and the increased stiffness can further be adjusted (decreased) by (2) reducing the thickness of the paper further decreasing the use of paper.

[0132] In some preferred embodiments, the dimensions of the expandable slit sheet paper are proportionally reduced from an expandable slit sheet paper having a 0.5” slit length, a 1 / 8” (0.125 inch) spacing between rows of slits, and a spacing between slits within the same row (i.e. , land length) of 3 / 16” (0.1875 inch) as follows: a) the row . 17 I P a g espacing is proportionally reduced by a ratio SL(new) / 0.5 and b) the slit spacing is set at SL(new) divided by 2.6667. For example, some preferred embodiments include dimensions as set forth below Table A:

[0133]

[0134] In some preferred embodiments, the corresponding row spacings of the Examples A to I in the above Table A are substantially as shown in Table A. In some preferred embodiments, the row spacings of Examples A to I can be substantially as shown in Table A plus or minus 20%, or, more preferably, substantially as shown in Table A plus or minus 15%, or, more preferably, substantially as shown in Table A plus or minus 10%, or, more preferably, substantially as shown in Table A plus or minus 5%.

[0135] The dispensing pad, as shown in FIG. 1, in its preferred embodiment is to be made from paper and further it is to be made from corrugated paper or paper made from chip board normally found within the art. The chip board or the like is also the dispenser of the slit sheet material by having the slit sheets held at the opposite end of the packer with non-permanent adhesive attaching the chipboard sheet or the like to the packing table.

[0136] A preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, is the slit sheet paper can be attached to back of the chipboard material with adhesive, staples, or with sewing thread. In other embodiments, other forms of attachment can be employed. The smallest surface area is optimal for the adhesion so that most of the slit sheet material can be stretched into the three-dimensional hexagonal shape. The term “three dimensional” is > 18 I P a g eemployed to distinguish the slit sheet material that has been expanded in thickness as compared to a flat sheet which has minimal thickness. The volume of the expanded slit sheet can be on the order of at least 20 times that of the unexpanded slit sheet. In the illustrative case of slit sheet material having 1 / 8” rows, .5” slits, and .1875 unslit rows, the expansion from flat 50# paper (.0045” thick) to .1875” produces a volume expansion of about 41 times.

[0137] A second preferred embodiment is with releasable adhesive such that the adhesive holds firm during the wrapping of the top sheet but, pulls away so as not to produce any waste and the entire sheet is used for wrapping. In some embodiments, each sheet can be coated with releasable adhesive on the bottom and then stacked on top of the chipboard base.

[0138] In a further preferred embodiment, the stack of expandable slit sheets can be held together with one or more staples proximate an edge of the stack, preferably the top edge.

[0139] Another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 is without a bottom pad. In some implementations, the absence of the bottom pad beneficially enables the pad to be rolled up and stored in roll form or can be folded over. The slit sheets are paper and, therefore, very flexible providing an option to fold it over (e.g., in half) or roll it up in a tube and held in place with a rubber band or the like. The bottom sheet could be slit sheet material or not. In some embodiments, the bottom sheet has a releasable adhesive to hold it to the table.

[0140] Another preferred embodiment is without a bottom where it is beneficial to store in roll form and laid flat when ready to be used. The adhesive on the bottom can be releasable adhesive only on the back side such that when the last sheet is used it would lift off the table, thus, leaving no wasted slit sheet material. Another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, employs dual pins that pass through premade holes in the slit sheet and chipboard to hold the sheets in place. While at least two pins are shown, a greater number of pins can be used. The dual pin fixture is made from plastic or metal or the like such that it can either be adhered, clamped, screwed or otherwise attached to the back of a table as shown.

[0141] 19 | P a g eIn some embodiments, the preferred size of the pad dispenser is such as to be ergonomically viable. In some preferred embodiments, the preferred size includes rectangular sheets of slit sheet expandable sheets that are about 15.25” wide by 20” long in an unstretched state. In some preferred embodiments, this configuration in an unstretched, results in an approximately 12 inch wide by 32 inch long three dimensional expanded slit sheet paper having an array of hexagonal shape cells caused by the expanded slits.

[0142] In use, an individual using the dispensing pad would grab the top sheet of expandable slit sheet paper in an unexpanded state, and pull to stretch the slit sheet paper such as to create the dimensionally expanded slit sheet. Then, the individual would preferably place an item to be packed on top of the expanded slit paper and wrap the item. This manner of wrapping is similar to that known in the art in relation to rolltype expandable slit sheet paper.

[0143] Advantageously, in various embodiments, the dimensions of the unstretched slit sheet paper can be varied as desired, such as, e.g., as required or preferred by users. For example, very small sized pads with dimensions of even less than about 4 inch wide by 4 inch long could be used to wrap very small items. As another example, larger pads with larger dimensions could be used to wrap larger items.

[0144] In use, if the item to be wrapped requires more than one sheet of expanded slit sheet material, the individual user (i.e. , packer) could wrap the item in a first expanded slit sheet, after wrapping the item tear the expanded first slit sheet paper away from the back of the dispensing pad and then place the now wrapped item onto the unstretched slit sheet below the removed first sheet, which has become the top sheet of the dispensing pad. Then, the user can repeat the process and wrap the item with a second sheet of expanded slit sheet paper. In particular, while holding the wrapped item, the user can grab the top sheet and pull it to expand the top sheet and then wrap the item a second time for further wrapping.

[0145] If sufficient wrapping material has been deemed to be obtained from the two sheets, the user could then place the item within a box for shipping or otherwise store the wrapped item. If not, a third sheet can be wrapped around the wrapped product to provide even further protection. Similarly, the user can wrap the item with even more . 20 | P a g esheets; that is, the user can wrap the item with as many sheets as deemed necessary or desired.

[0146] Further Discussion of the Illustrated Embodiments

[0147] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the dispensing pad 100 that includes a number of unexpanded slit sheets 101 (having an array of slits S extending across all or substantially all of the area of each of the sheets 101 ) placed on a support that includes, e.g., a board 104 (such as, e.g., in a preferred embodiment a chipboard sheet 104), which is attached to a vertical section 103 and an upper horizontal section 102. In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of adhesive strips 105 (e.g., four in this illustrative embodiments at the corresponding corners of the board 104) are attached to the chipboard sheet 104 as shown. In some embodiments, the slit sheets are adhered by adhesive to the board 104 (e.g., in a region close to the vertical section 103, such as, e.g., under the upper horizontal section 102), the vertical section (e.g., which can be adhered to ends of the respective slit sheets 101 , and / or the upper horizontal section 102. Additionally, in some embodiments the end regions of the slit sheets 101 close to the vertical section 103 can be adhered to one another (e.g., in a region close to the vertical section 103, such as, e.g., under the upper horizontal section 102).

[0148] FIG. 2 is perspective view of another embodiment where a dispensing pad 100A includes only a bottom sheet 104 that has the slit sheets 101 placed on top and adhered in the a rectangular area depicted as 107 either by staples 106 or adhesive or the like. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of adhesive strips (e.g., four in this illustrated embodiment) are placed under and attached to chipboard layer 104. In the preferred implementations, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 omits the vertical section 103 and the upper horizontal section 102 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; rather, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 either a) adheres the slit sheets 101 to the board 104 and to one another using adhesive that is within the rectangular region 107 shown in FIG. 2 (e.g., which corresponds approximately to regions under the area that is covered by the upper horizontal section 102 shown in FIG. 1), or fixes the slit sheets 101 to the board and to one another using a plurality of stables 106 that extend through the slit sheets 101 and the board 104, or that attaches the slit sheets 101 to the board 104 and one another employing a combination of staples and adhesive. In other embodiments, . 21 | P a g eother forms of connectors can be employed instead of or in addition to adhesive and / or staples, such as, e.g., nuts and bolts, thread, clips and / or other forms of connectors. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, it should be understood that the region 107, although depicted schematically as a rectangular box region, is intended to identify a proximate region for application of adhesive, rather than a block that is attached to the dispensing pad.

[0149] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment where a dispensing pad 100B is only made from the slit sheet material (e.g., similar to 101 shown in FIGS. 101 and 102) that is releasably adhered to each other and to the packing table in areas 107. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, it should also be understood that the region 107, although depicted schematically as a rectangular box region, is intended to identify a proximate region for application of adhesive, rather than a block that is attached to the dispensing pad. Additionally, in this embodiment, it should also be understood that the adhesive would also preferably extend within this region 107 in between adjacent slit sheets 101.

[0150] The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is further described above. To facilitate reference, portions of the above descriptions are quoted in the following paragraphs:

[0151] “FIG. 3 is without a bottom pad, and, in some implementations, the absence of the bottom pad beneficially enables the pad to be rolled up and stored in roll form or can be folded over. The slit sheets are paper and, therefore, very flexible providing an option to fold it over (e.g., in half) or roll it up in a tube and held in place with a rubber band or the like. The bottom sheet could be slit sheet material or not. In some embodiments, the bottom sheet has a releasable adhesive to hold it to the table.” “Another preferred embodiment is without a bottom where it is beneficial to store in roll form and laid flat when ready to be used. The adhesive on the bottom can be releasable adhesive only on the back side such that when the last sheet is used it would lift off the table, thus, leaving no wasted slit sheet material.”

[0152] For reference, FIG. 8 shows the embodiment of FIG. 3 rolled up in roll form, FIG.

[0153] 9 shows an individual slit sheet paper from the embodiment of FIG. 3, and FIG. 10 shows the individual slit sheet paper from the embodiment of FIG. 3 being wrapped around an item.

[0154] . 22 | P a g eIn particular, as shown in FIG. 8, the slit sheet dispensing pad 1OOB is rolled up into a roll R. FIG. 9 shows a plan view of a sheet 101 of slit paper from the dispensing pad 100B shown in FIG. 3 including the region 107 with adhesive.

[0155] FIG. 10 shows the sheet 101 of slit paper shown in FIG. 9 in use for wrapping of an item. As shown in FIG. 10, the sheet 101 of slit sheet paper is removed and used to wrap and protect an item 11. In particular, the sheet 101 of slit paper is expanded to create open cells 26 and wrapped around the item 11. As shown in FIG. 10, during wrapping of the item 11 , the region 107 with adhesive extends around the item 11 and contacts a side of the expanded slit sheet paper, whereby adhering to the side of the expanded slit sheet paper.

[0156] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment where a fixture 400 is employed that retains a stack of slit sheets 101 (not shown in FIG. 4). In the preferred embodiments, the fixture is configured to be supported on another surface, such as, e.g., upon a table surface or upon another surface. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the fixture 400 is placed at the back side of a table 404. Here, the table 404 can operate as a packing table at which a user uses the dispensing pad to wrap items. For example, in some embodiments, the user can stand alongside a front side of the table (i.e. , opposite to the back side of the table at which the fixture 400 is mounted as shown in FIG. 4), and the user can manipulate the slit sheets 101 that are supported on the fixture from this front position, whereby the user can expand the unexpanded slit sheets by pulling the sheets towards the user so as to elongate the slit sheets while the opposite end is connected to the fixture 400.

[0157] In the illustrative example shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of pins (e.g., two pins 401 in the illustrated embodiment) are permanently attached to the fixture 400. In some embodiments, the fixture 400 is attached to the table with adhesive; in other embodiments, the fixture 400 can be screwed to the table using holes 403; in other embodiments, the fixture 400 can be clipped to the back of the table 404 using a “U” or “L” shape connector shown in area 402 that is configured to extend around the end of a table. In some embodiments, in order to fit on different table thicknesses, the connector can be adjustable, such as, e.g., employing an adjustable screw member to accommodate different table thicknesses.In the preferred embodiments, the pins 401 are arranged to pass through corresponding through-holes extending through the stack of slit sheets 101 proximate an end of a stack of slit sheets 101 , such as to support the slit sheet papers 101. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the fixture 400 with a stack of slit sheet paper 100C loaded by using through-holes 405 that are within the slit sheet material 101 for the pins 401 to pass through such that the stack of slit sheet paper 100C eventually rests onto the table 404 when slid over the pins in a downward direction as shown with arrow 403. In some embodiments, the stack of slit sheet paper can include a board 104, such as, e.g., a chipboard, similar to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In some alternative embodiments, the stack of slit sheet paper 100C can omit such a board 104, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

[0158] FIG. 6 shows another embodiment which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-5, but adapted such that the dispenser pad 100D is supported in an upright (e.g., vertical) orientation, such as, e.g., along a wall, beam or other non-horizontal surface. In some embodiments, supporting of a dispenser pad 100D from a wall or the like can facilitate saving of space and be useful where space is restricted.

[0159] As shown in FIG. 6, in some embodiments, a fixture 404A can be mounted to a non-horizontal surface W, such as, e.g., a side of a wall or column or the like. In the illustrated example, the fixture 404A includes through holes for a plurality of screws SC which can mount the fixture upon a wall or the like (see arrow adjacent screw SC showing the mounting of the fixture). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, to facilitate retention of the dispenser pad 100D, the distal ends of the pins 401 A are turned up slightly to provide a restricting step that retains the dispenser pad 100D when supported on the pins 401A. Although only one pin 401A is shown in the side view shown in FIG.

[0160] 6, in the preferred embodiments two or more pins 401A are employed.

[0161] While FIGS. 1-5 illustrate substantially horizontally mounted dispenser pads and FIG. 6 illustrates a substantially vertically mounted dispenser pad, it should be appreciated that the surfaces of the embodiments shown in these figures can be at various angles. For example, the devices of FIGS. 1-5 could be used upon surfaces having rather step angles of inclination, including angles greater than 15 degrees inclination from horizontal, or even greater than 30 degrees inclination from horizontal, . 24 | P a g eor even greater than 45 degrees from horizontal, or even greater than 60 degrees from horizontal. Similarly, the device of FIG. 6 could be mounted upon surfaces of various angles of inclination, including even horizontal surfaces.

[0162] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the dispensing pad can be similar to any of the dispensing pads of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-5, with the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 being employed in some preferred embodiments.

[0163] Although not depicted in the figures, in some preferred embodiments (i.e., which can be implemented in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-6), each sheet of the plurality of sheets in the dispenser pad is provided with a score line that is proximate the region at which the sheet is connected to the support, thereby facilitating the separation of each sheet from the pad of a plurality of sheets. For example, a score line can include a substantially linear indentation formed across a width of each sheet proximate the region at which the sheet is connected to the support. As another example, a score line can include a row of perforations or through-holes extending entirely or partly through the sheet formed across a width of each sheet proximate the region at which the sheet is connected to the support. By way of example, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-5 and FIG. 6, score lines could be implemented across a width of each respective sheet 101 at a location adjacent the holes 405, such that when a corresponding sheet is removed, a narrow strip portion of the sheet having the holes 405 is retained on the pins 401 or 401 A.

[0164] Various Embodiments Including Slit Sheet Paper with Adhesive

[0165] As described herein, in various preferred embodiments of the present invention, an expandable slit sheet paper is provided with an adhesive applied on a side of said expandable slit sheet paper.

[0166] By way of example, as described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, an expandable slit sheet paper is shown including an adhesive applied on a side of the expandable slit sheet paper within the region 107. As described above, the adhesive within the region 107 adheres together adjacent layers of sheets 101 of slit sheet paper.

[0167] First, as described above, the adhesive within the region 107 adheres together adjacent layers of slit paper within the dispensing pad 100B.

[0168] 25 | P a g eSecond, as also described above, the adhesive adheres together adjacent layers of slit paper when a sheet 101 of slit sheet paper is removed and used to wrap and protect an item 11 as shown in FIG. 10. As described above, during wrapping of an item 11 , the region 107 with adhesive extends around the item 11 and contacts a side of the expanded slit sheet paper, whereby adhering to the side of the expanded slit sheet paper. In this manner, the adhesive within the region 107 advantageously facilitates wrapping of items. For example, the adhesive within the region 107 helps to maintain the expanded slit sheet paper in a wrapped state around an item due to the adhesive adhering to the side of the expanded slit sheet paper. As a result, the adhesive within the region 107 can help obviate any need for tape or other the like to be applied to maintain the wrapped slit sheet paper in a wrapped state around the wrapped item.

[0169] In the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 3 and 8 to 10, the adhesive adheres to the expandable slit sheet paper such that adjacent layers of expandable slit sheet paper are adhered together with said adhesive. As described above, the adhesive, thus, adheres together adjacent layers of slit paper. As described above, in some preferred embodiments, the adhesive is a releasable adhesive, whereby the adjacent layers can be adhesively bound together, but released upon the application of an appropriate pulling force. In this regard, as described above, in some embodiments, a releasable adhesive enables adjacent layers of slit paper stacked together within a dispensing pad 100B to be retained together, but separable with a sufficient pulling force. Similarly, in some embodiments, a releasable adhesive enables adjacent layers of slit paper wrapped around an item to be retained together, but separable upon a sufficient pulling force.

[0170] In the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 3 and 8 to 10, an adhesive is applied within the region 107. As described above, in some embodiments, the adhesive is coated on a side of the slit paper within the entire region 107 with i) the adhesive extending across the entire width W (see FIG. 9) of the slit paper in a crossdirection of the slit paper (i.e., in a direction parallel to the slits in the slit paper) and ii) the adhesive extending across a portion of the entire length L (see FIG. 9) of the slit paper in a machine-direction of the slit paper (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the slits in the paper), which portion of the entire length L is limited to within the region 107.

[0171] . 26 | P a g eIn some implementations of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 8 to 10, the region 107 has the adhesive applied within the entire region 107 and extending the entire width W of the slit sheet paper and extending in the direction of the length L of the slit sheet paper within a range of about 1 / 4 inch to about 3 inches, or, in some embodiments about 1 / 3 inch to about 2 inches, or, in some embodiments, about 1 / 2 inch to about 1 inch.

[0172] In the embodiments described above, the adhesive applied within the region 107 covers only a portion of the surface of a sheet 101. For example, in the embodiment depicted to scale in the drawing in FIG. 3, the adhesive within the region 107 covers only about 6.5% of the surface area of the sheet 101. As another example, in the embodiment depicted to scale in the drawing in FIG. 2, the adhesive within the region 107 covers only about 10.5% of the surface area of the sheet 101.

[0173] Although the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 8 to 10 include adhesive applied within a single region 107 along the length L of the slit paper sheet 101, in some alternative embodiments adhesive can be applied within a plurality of regions along the length L of the slit paper. For example, in some alternative embodiments, as shown in FIG. 11 A, a plurality of regions 107A are positioned across a width W of the slit paper at intervals in the direction of the length L of the slit paper. In some embodiments, the intervals can be periodically spaced at equal or substantially equal intervals along the length L of the slit paper. In some implementations of the embodiment shown in FIG.

[0174] 11A, the regions 107A have the adhesive applied within each entire region 107A, with the adhesive within each region 107A extending the entire width W of the slit sheet paper and extending in the direction of the length L of the slit sheet paper within a range of about 1 / 4 inch to about 3 inches, or, in some embodiments about 1 / 3 inch to about 2 inches, or, in some embodiments, about 1 / 2 inch to about 1 inch. In some illustrative embodiments, the regions 107A are separated from each other by a distance greater than the width of the regions 107A in the direction of the length L of the slit sheet paper, such as, e.g., being separated from each other in some implementations by a distance of between about 1 / 4 inch to 6 inches, or, in some embodiments about 1 / 3 inch to 5 inches, or, in some embodiments about 1 / 2 inch to 4 inches, or, in some embodiments about 3 / 4 inch to 3 inches, or, in some embodiments about 1 inch to 2 inches.

[0175] . 27 | P a g eAs indicated above, in the preferred embodiments, the adhesive applied to the surface of the slit sheet paper (such as, e.g., within all of the regions 107A in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 A) preferable covers only a portion of the surface of a slit sheet paper. In some embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 5% to about 75% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 10% to about 50% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 15% to 40% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 20% to 30% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper.

[0176] In some alternative embodiments, other arrangements of adhesive applied regions can be employed. In this regard, FIGS. 11 B to 111 show various other embodiments in which adhesive is applied on a surface of an expandable slit sheet paper within other adhesive region arrangements.

[0177] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11B, adhesive is applied in regions 107A, which regions are the same as the regions 107A in FIG. 11A, and is also applied in regions 107B such as to form a grid pattern on a surface of the expandable slit sheet paper. As shown, the regions 107B are similar to the regions 107A, but extend in a lengthwise direction of the slit sheet paper 101 B. In various embodiments, the regions 107B can have width dimensions across the width W of the paper 101 B similar to the dimensions of the regions 107A in FIG. 11A in the direction of the length L (i.e., such that the regions 107B and 107A can have substantially similar widths, but extending perpendicularly to one another).

[0178] In some alternative embodiments, a slit sheet paper can include adhesive only within regions 107B extending lengthwise along the length of the slit sheet paper as shown in FIG. 11B, without adhesive extending width across the regions 107A.

[0179] As with the embodiments discussed above, such as, e.g., shown in FIG. 11 A, in the embodiment of FIG. 11 B, the adhesive applied to the surface of the slit sheet paper preferable covers only a portion of the surface of a slit sheet paper. As indicated above, in some embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 5% to about 75% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some embodiments, the adhesive covers . 28 | P a g ean area of between about 10% to about 50% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 15% to 40% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 20% to 30% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper.

[0180] In various other embodiments, an adhesive can be applied in other arrangements on a slit sheet paper.

[0181] For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 C and 11 D, in some embodiments, the adhesive can be applied in an array pattern upon the surface of the slit sheet paper. In the example shown in FIG. 11 C, the adhesive is applied within an illustrative array pattern having adhesive regions 1070 as shown. In the example shown in FIG. 11 D, the adhesive is applied within an illustrative array pattern having adhesive regions 107D as shown. Although FIGS. 11 C and 11 D show adhesive regions 107C and 107D that are substantially rectangular, in various embodiments, other shapes of adhesive regions can be employed, such as, e.g., circular regions, hexagonal regions, irregularly shaped regions, and / or other shapes or configurations of the regions.

[0182] As another example, as shown in FIG. 11 E, in some embodiments the adhesive can be applied so as to form a grid pattern in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 11 B, except that the grid lines can be formed non-parallel to the width W and length L of the slit sheet paper. For example, in the illustrative example grid lines 107E1 extend diagonally upwardly across the width W of the sheet (e.g., such as to extend from a lower position at the left side of the drawing of FIG. 11 E to an upper position at the right side of the drawing of FIG. 11 E) and grid lines 107E2 extend diagonally downwardly across the width W of the sheet (e.g., such as to extend from an upper position at the left side of the drawing of FIG. 11 E to a lower position at the right side of the drawing of FIG. 11 E). In the illustrated example, the grid lines 107E1 extend downwardly at about a 45 degree angle from horizonal, and the grid lines 107E2 extend upwardly at about a 45 degree angle from horizontal. In various alternative embodiments, the grid lines can extend at other angles, such as, e.g., between about 15 to 65 degrees in other illustrative embodiments.

[0183] 29 | P a g eIn other examples, as shown in FIGS. 11 F and 11 G, in some embodiments the adhesive can be applied within wavy or undulating line regions extending widthwise and / or lengthwise along the sheet. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 F, in some embodiments, an adhesive can be applied within wavy or undulating line regions 107F extending across a width of the sheet. As another example, as shown in FIG. 11 G, in some embodiments, an adhesive can be applied within wavy or undulating line regions 107G extending along a length of the sheet. In other alternative embodiments, the adhesive can be applied in both wavy or undulating line regions 107F like that shown in FIG. 11 F and wavy or undulating line regions 107G like that shown in FIG. 11 G.

[0184] In other examples, rather than employing adhesive regions consisting of straight lines or straight line segments as shown in FIGS. 11 A-11 B and 11 E-G, in some embodiments the adhesive regions (such as, e.g., the adhesive regions shown in FIGS.

[0185] 11 A-11 B and 11 E-11 G) can be applied in curved or non-linear lines or line segments.

[0186] Additionally, in other embodiments, rather than employing consistent or repeated patterns, in some embodiments, the adhesive regions within which adhesives are applied can be irregular. For example, in some implementations the regions within which the adhesive is applied can be irregularly sized and / or shaped. As another example, in some implementations the regions within which the adhesive is applied can be irregularly positioned upon the surface of the slit sheet paper. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11H, adhesive regions 107H within which adhesive is applied on the surface of a slit sheet paper 101 H are a) irregularly shaped, b) irregularly sized, and c) irregularly positioned upon the surface of the slit sheet paper. As another example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 111, adhesive regions 1071 within which adhesive is applied on the surface of a slit sheet paper 101 H are a) irregularly shaped, b) irregularly sized, and c) irregularly positioned upon the surface of the slit sheet paper, but the adhesive regions are generally smoothly contoured and can be formed by spraying, dripping or otherwise randomly applying adhesive to the surface of the sheet.

[0187] As with the embodiments discussed above, in the embodiments of FIGS. 110-111, the adhesive applied to the surface of the slit sheet paper again preferably covers only a portion of the surface of a slit sheet paper. As indicated above, in some embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 5% to about 75% of the . 30 | P a g esurface area of the slit sheet paper. In some embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 10% to about 50% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 15% to 40% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. In some alternative embodiments, the adhesive covers an area of between about 20% to 30% of the surface area of the slit sheet paper. Although some preferred embodiments include adhesive that covers an area of less than about 50% of the surface of the slit sheet paper, in some embodiments greater than 50% of the surface of the slit sheet paper can be covered with adhesive, even greater than 60%, or greater than 80% or up to 100% in some embodiments.

[0188] In various illustrative implementations, the slit sheet papers shown in FIGS. 11A to 111 can be implemented within a pad of slit sheet papers like that shown in FIG. 3. As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, in various embodiments, slit sheet paper shown in FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be rolled up into a roll R similarly to that shown in FIG. 8. Additionally, in various illustrative implementations, the slit sheet papers shown in FIGS.

[0189] 11A to 111 can be used to wrap items in a like manner described above, including as shown and described in relation to FIG. 10.

[0190] In further embodiments of the present invention, any of the embodiments of slit sheet paper with adhesive regions shown in FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be stored and / or dispensed in other manners for wrapping of items or products. For example, in some embodiments, such as, e.g., as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a slit sheet paper with adhesive regions like that shown in any FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be stored in a roll form in which the slit sheet paper is wound into a roll R’ around a cylindrical core C. As another example, in some embodiments, such as, e.g., as shown in FIG. 14, a slit sheet paper with slit sheet regions like that shown in any FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be stored in a layered manner in which an elongated sheet of slit sheet paper is zig-zagged into a stack of layers.

[0191] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an elongated single slit sheet paper similar to that shown in FIG. 11 A is wound into a roll R’ around a cylindrical core. As shown in FIG. 12, one surface of the slit sheet paper includes regions 107A’ within which adhesive is applied on that surface of the slit sheet paper. In the illustrated embodiment, the adhesive regions 107A’ are situated on the inner side IS of the slit . 31 | P a g esheet paper that is exposed as the slit sheet paper is unrolled from the roll R’ , and the opposite side of the slit sheet paper on the outer side OS of the roll is free of such adhesive regions.

[0192] In operation, as shown in FIG. 13, the roll R’ of slit sheet paper is placed within a dispenser D. Then, the distal end of the slit sheet paper is manually pulled by a user U in the direction of arrow A2 to expand the slit sheet paper and manually wrapped around an item in the direction of the arrow A3 to form a wrapped item Wl as shown in FIG. 13. As shown, upon wrapping of the wrapped item Wl the adhesive regions 107A’ are situated between layers of the expanded slit sheet paper wrapped around the item, whereby the adhesive inhibits or prevents the expanded slit sheet paper wrapped around the item from separating, thereby maintaining the wrapped item in a wrapped state.

[0193] Although FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate a slit sheet paper similar to that shown in FIG. 11 A, as indicated above, in various other embodiments any of the slit sheet papers shown in any of FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be wound into a roll R’ and dispensed with such a dispenser D.

[0194] As shown in FIG. 13, the dispenser D includes a frame F for rotatably supporting the roll R’ of slit sheet paper wound around a core C. The core C has projections that extend from the ends of the roll R’ and are supported on opposite walls of the frame. As shown, a first wall of the frame F supports a pressure mechanism PM that includes a pivotal pressure arm PA that is positioned to apply an adjustable pressure against a protrusion of the core C upon manual rotation of a thumbscrew TS that applies a downward pressing force against the pressure arm via a spiral spring. In this manner, the dispenser can adjust the resistance applied by the roll R’ when a user U manually pulls the slit sheet paper in the direction of the arrow A2 as shown in FIG. 13. As indicated above, the expanded slit sheet paper is then wrapped around the item in the direction of the arrow A3 to form a wrapped item Wl as shown in FIG. 13.

[0195] In various other embodiments, the slit sheet papers shown in any of FIGS. 11 A to 111 can be dispensed from any other dispensers known in the art. For example, in some alternative embodiments, the slit sheet papers shown in any of 11 A to 111 can be dispensed with any of the dispensers shown in the following patents and patent . 32 | P a g epublications, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if recited herein in full: a) U.S. Patent No. 12,115,752; b) U.S. Patent No. 11,220,395; c) U.S. Patent No. 11 ,608,222; d) U.S. Patent No. 11 ,479,009; e) U.S. Patent No.

[0196] 10,766,690; and f) U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021 / 0315426.

[0197] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, an elongated slit sheet paper with adhesive regions like that shown in any of FIGS. 11A to 111 is folded to form stacked layers of slit sheet paper having a zig-zag arrangement as viewed in the side view shown in FIG. 14. As shown, the zig-zagged layers form a stack 100Z of layers. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the stack 100Z of layered slit sheet paper is located beneath a dispenser having a table TB, a first guide roller GR1 is fixed to a lower surface of the table, and a second guide roller GR2 is fixed to an edge of the table. As shown, the expandable slit sheet paper 101” is positioned in a stack 100Z under the table TB, extended over the first guide roller GR1 (i.e. , which guide roller has a length sufficient to extend across the full width of the expandable slit sheet paper to guide the paper as shown), extended around the second guide roller GR2 (i.e., which guide roller also has a length sufficient to extend across the full width of the expandable slit sheet paper to guide the paper as shown), and extended over the top of the table TB whereat a user can manually grasp the expandable slit sheet paper and pull the expandable slit sheet paper in the direction of the arrow A5 to cause the paper to expand into an expanded state and then manually wrap the expanded paper around an item. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, a resistance mechanism can also be included to resist rotation of the guide roller GR2 in a manner similar to that of the pressure mechanism PM shown in FIG. 13.

[0198] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an elongated single slit sheet paper similar to that shown in FIG. 11 A is wound into a roll R’ around a cylindrical core. As shown in FIG. 12, one surface of the slit sheet paper includes regions 107A’ within which adhesive is applied on that surface of the slit sheet paper. In the illustrated embodiment, the adhesive regions 107A’ are situated on the inner side IS of the slit sheet paper that is exposed as the slit sheet paper is unrolled from the roll R’, and the opposite side of the slit sheet paper on the outer side OS of the roll is free of such adhesive regions.In the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 11A to 111 and 12 to 15, similarly to the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 3 and 8-10, the adhesive adheres to the expandable slit sheet paper such that adjacent layers of expandable slit sheet paper are adhered together with said adhesive. As described above, the adhesive, thus, adheres together adjacent layers of slit paper, such as, for example, when the slit sheet paper is expanded and wrapped around an item creating layers of slit sheet paper around the wrapped item. In some preferred implementations of the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 11A to 111 and 12 to 15, the adhesive is a releasable adhesive, whereby the adjacent layers can be adhesively bound together, but released upon the application of an appropriate pulling force. For example, when the paper is initially in a roll R’ or stack 100Z state, the paper can be released upon application of a sufficient pulling force. In this regard, in some embodiments, a releasable adhesive enables adjacent layers of slit paper layered together (e.g., in a roll or stack), but separable with a sufficient pulling force. Similarly, in some implementations, after wrapping of an item, a releasable adhesive enables adjacent layers of slit paper wrapped around an item to be retained together, but separable upon a sufficient pulling force.

[0199] In some implementations of all of the embodiments described above in relation to FIGS. 3 and 8 to 15, the adhesive employed can be an adhesive that is fixedly applied to the surface of the paper but that adheres to a limited range of materials. For example, in some embodiments, the adhesive is a cohesive adhesive that substantially or that only adheres to a similar cohesive adhesive. In this manner, when an adhesive that is a cohesive adhesive is coated on a surface of the slit sheet paper, during wrapping of the slit sheet paper around an item, the cohesive adhesive will substantially not or will entirely not adhere to an adjacent layer of slit sheet paper unless the adjacent layer of slit sheet paper has a similar cohesive adhesive coating that contacts the cohesive adhesive on that surface of the slit sheet paper.

[0200] Additionally, a cohesive adhesive can be employed upon a surface of a slit sheet paper that is wound into a roll R' similar to that shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 or that is arranged in a stack 100Z similar to that shown in FIG. 14 without the cohesive adhesive adhering to an adjacent layer of slit sheet paper. In this manner, the expandable slit . 34 | P a g esheet paper on a roll R’ like that shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 can be more easily pulled and separated from the roll R’, and similarly the expandable slit sheet in a stack 100Z like that shown in FIG. 14 can be more easily pulled and separated from the stack 100Z.

[0201] In some illustrative embodiments, the cohesive type of adhesive employed can include any of the cohesives described in any of the following U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent Publications, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if recited herein in full: a) U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008 / 0153685; b) U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023 / 0016932; c) U.S. Patent No. 4,680,918; d) European Patent No. EP1368192; e) U.S. Patent No. 6,076,969; f) U.S. Patent No. 5,655,707; g) PCT Application No. PCT / US 14 / 72732, published as WO2015 / 103251 (July 9, 2015);

[0202] For example, in some embodiments, the cohesive adhesive can be a cohesive as described in the above-listed U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023 / 0016932, which explains that: “A ‘cohesive’ refers to an adhesive that adheres substantially to itself but does not substantially adhere to other materials. In particular cases, the cohesive is non-tacky to the touch at ambient temperatures. In particular cases, when adjacent to a substance other than itself, the cohesive has a tack of no more than 30 grams, more particularly no more than 20 grams, and even more particularly no more than 10 grams, when measured by a TA-XT2i Texture Analyzer according ASTM D-2979. Some cohesives are known in the art as ‘cold seal adhesives.’ A ‘cohesive material’ is a material having cohesive properties. In this disclosure, a cohesive material is a component, and in many cases the only component of a cohesive portion. In some cases, however, there are other components to a cohesive portion.”

[0203] As another example, in some embodiments, the cohesive can be a cohesive as described in the above-listed WO2015103251 A1, which explains that “an exemplary cohesive may be a synthetic or natural latex that has attached itself to the sheet, and once cured in place on the surface will have a strong propensity to attach to other surfaces coated with the cohesive, but generally will not attach to the base sheet, machine parts, packaging containers, or the products being packaged. Other non-latex cohesives may be acceptable alternatives,” and which explains that such cohesive may be coated on a kraft paper to form a cohesive-coated kraft paper.

[0204] 35 | P a g eIn some illustrative embodiments, a cohesive Kraft paper can be employed, such as, e.g., a cohesive Kraft paper from: a) American Printpak (wvw.americanprintpak.com), which comes in weights of 50# and 60#, and which includes cohesive coatings either with latex or without latex; b) Riverside Paper Co. (www. com ) , which comes in weights of 50# recyclable Kraft paper;.

[0205]

[0206] As described above in relation to FIG. 7B, an expandable slit sheet paper expands to create open cells 26 upon expansion. The present inventors discovered that due to the opening of the slits, a cohesive adhesive can be advantageously employed and used to wrap items in a novel manner when the cohesive adhesive is coated even on just one side surface of the expandable slit sheet material. For example, the present inventors discovered that when a cohesive adhesive is applied to only one side of the expandable slit sheet paper, whether covering the entire side of the expandable slit sheet paper, or a portion of the side of the slit sheet paper, such as, e.g., employing any of the arrangements described above in relation to FIGS. 11 A to 111, the cohesive adhesive can be a) separated and, thus, not adhered to an adjacent layer of slit sheet paper while the expandable slit sheet paper is in an unexpanded state such that the cells 26 are not opened and b) enabled to contact and, thus, adhere to a cohesive adhesive in an adjacent layer of the slit sheet paper when the expandable slit sheet paper is in an expanded state such that the cells 26 are opened and edges of the expanded cells of a first layer thereby can extend to or through openings in the cells of an adjacent layer causing cohesive adhesive in adjacent layers to contact and, thus, adhere together.

[0207] To facilitate reference, FIGS. 15A and 15B depict illustrative embodiments of expandable slit sheet paper in expanded states, which states are described in U.S. Patent No. 11,401,090, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Particularly, FIG. 15A shows a normal expansion pattern in which cells 26 include angled land regions 20 extending between a high side HS and a low side LS, and FIG. 15B shows an alternating row expansion pattern in which cells 26 are arranged in alternating rows as described in U.S. Patent No. 11,401 ,090. In some embodiments, an expandable slit sheet paper having cohesive adhesive applied thereto only on one side of the slit sheet paper in patterns similar to that of any of FIGS. 11 A to . 36 | P a g e111 be configured to expand to form either of the expansion patterns shown in FIGS. 15A or 15B, and while a length of the expandable slit sheet paper is wrapped in a roll R’ or maintained in a stack 100Z the closed state of the slits will prevent adjacent layers of slit sheet paper from adhering together, while once the expandable slit sheet paper is expanded and wrapped around an item and then layered upon an adjacent layer of slit sheet paper the open cells will enable edges of the cells of one layer of the slit sheet paper to penetrate the cells of an adjacent layer such as to result in contacting of cohesive applied on adjacent layers, resulting in adhesion of adjacent layers of the slit sheet paper.

[0208] In some embodiments, in order to enhance the connection between adjacent layers of slit sheet paper having cohesive adhesive applied on one side of the slit sheet paper, the slit pattern within the slit sheet paper can adapted to increase adhesion between adjacent layers of the slit sheet paper. For example, in some implementations, employing an expansion pattern like that shown in FIG. 15A can increase adhesion between adjacent layers beyond that of employing an expansion pattern like that shown in FIG. 15B due to, e.g., the wider cell openings, the larger land regions 20, and / or larger land region angles of inclination which can result in greater contact of cohesive between adjacent layers and, hence, greater adhesion between adjacent layers.

[0209] In some illustrative embodiments, the pattern of slits is configured to have greater land region inclination angles to facilitate contacting of adjacent layers of the slit sheet paper through the open cells 26. For example, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 40 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 45 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 50 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 55 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 60 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 65 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are greater than 70 degrees. In some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are between about 45 degrees and 75 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are between about 50 degrees and 75 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the . 37 | P a g eland region inclination angles are between about 60 degrees and 75 degrees, and, in some embodiments, the land region inclination angles are between about 65 degrees and 75 degrees.

[0210] In some illustrative embodiments, the pattern of slits is configured to have greater slit widths to facilitate contacting of adjacent layers of the slit sheet paper through the open cells 26. For example, in some embodiments, slit widths of greater than 0.40 inches are employed (such as, e.g., slit widths of between about 0.40 and 0.80 inches), and, in some embodiments, slit widths of greater than 0.45 inches are employed (such as, e.g., slit widths of between about 0.45 and 0.80 inches), and, in some embodiments, slit widths of greater than 0.50 inches are employed (such as, e.g., slit widths of between about 0.50 and 0.80 inches), and, in some embodiments, slit widths of greater than 0.60 inches are employed (such as, e.g., slit widths of between about 0.60 and 0.80 inches), and, in some embodiments, slit widths of greater than 0.70 inches are employed (such as, e.g., slit widths of between about 0.70 and 0.80 inches).

[0211] Additionally, in some embodiments, in order to increase the amount of adhesion between adjacent layers of slit sheet paper having cohesive adhesive applied on one side of the slit sheet paper, the expansion pattern of the slit sheet paper can be adapted to include an increased amount of switch-back. As explained in U.S. Patent No.

[0212] 11 ,608,222, the term “switch back” means the reversal of the angle of inclination of the land at some point or points along the length of a sheet of expanded slit sheet material. Particularly, “switch back” results in reversal of the side of a sheet of slit sheet paper, such that during wrapping such switch back can result in increased adhesion between adjacent layers of slit sheet paper by increasing the areas in which cohesive material on one layer of slit sheet paper contacts cohesive material on another layer of slit sheet paper even in the context in which the layers of slit sheet paper are formed by wrapping of a long length of slit sheet paper around an item wherein the slit sheet paper has cohesive adhesive on only one side of the slit sheet paper. In some preferred embodiments, between about 10% to 50% of the cells undergo switch back, and, in some other preferred embodiments, between about 15% to 40% of the cells undergo switch back, and, in some other preferred embodiments, between about 20% to 30% of the cells undergo switch back.

[0213] . 38 | P a g eAdditionally, in order to enhance adhesion between adjacent layers, any of the embodiments described herein can be further enhanced by employing a high % of virgin paper (i.e. , paper that has not been previously recycled) in the formation of the expandable slit sheet paper. The use of a high % of virgin paper can achieve a plurality of unforeseen advantages in various embodiments of the present. As explained in U.S. Patent No. 11 ,608,222, recycled papers have fibers that are very short and in the production of recycled paper “dust” is created. As a result, employing a higher percentage of virgin paper reduces the presence of dust on the surface of the produced paper and facilitates adhesion between adjacent layers of slit sheet paper (e.g., when wrapped around an item). Additionally, employing a higher percentage of virgin paper also results in a more “chaotic opening” of cells in which more switch back occurs in the cell expansion pattern as described in U.S. Patent No. 11 ,608,222. Accordingly, due to the increased chaotic opening, adhesion between adjacent layers of slit sheet paper is further enhanced by using a higher percentage of virgin paper. In some preferred implementations of any of the embodiments described herein, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper is made with at least 50% virgin paper, and, in some other embodiments, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper employs at least 60% virgin paper, and, in some other embodiments, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper employs at least 70% virgin paper, and, in some other embodiments, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper employs at least 80% virgin paper, and, in some other embodiments, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper employs at least 90% virgin paper, and, in some other embodiments, the paper employed for the expandable slit sheet paper employs 100% virgin paper. In some preferred embodiments, the paper is a kraft paper having a weight (per each 3000 square feet) of between about 30# to 80# (i.e., 30 to 80 pounds), and, in some embodiments, between about 40# to 60#, and, in some embodiments, between about 45# to 55#.

[0214] Broad Scope of the Invention

[0215] While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein, the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein, but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications, . 39 | P a g eomissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and / or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure. The limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term "preferably" is non-exclusive and means "preferably, but not limited to." In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) "means for" or "step for" is expressly recited; b) a corresponding function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts that support that structure are not recited. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “present invention” or “invention” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure. The language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality, should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments (i.e. , it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “embodiment” can be used to describe any aspect, feature, process or step, any combination thereof, and / or any portion thereof, etc. In some examples, various embodiments may include overlapping features. In this disclosure, the following abbreviated terminology may be employed: “e.g.” which means “for example.”

[0216] The use of individual numerical values is stated as approximations as though the values were preceded by the word "about", “substantially”, or "approximately." Similarly, the numerical values in the various ranges specified in this application, unless expressly indicated otherwise, are stated as approximations as though the minimum and maximum values within the stated ranges were both preceded by the word "about", “substantially”, or "approximately." In this manner, variations above and below the stated ranges can be used to achieve substantially the same results as values within . 40 I P a g ethe ranges. As used herein, the terms "about", “substantially”, and "approximately" when referring to a numerical value shall have their plain and ordinary meanings to a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed subject matter is most closely related or the art relevant to the range or element at issue. The amount of broadening from the strict numerical boundary depends upon many factors. For example, some of the factors which may be considered include the criticality of the element and / or the effect a given amount of variation will have on the performance of the claimed subject matter, as well as other considerations known to those of skill in the art. As used herein, the use of differing amounts of significant digits for different numerical values is not meant to limit how the use of the words "about", “substantially”, or "approximately" will serve to broaden a particular numerical value or range. Thus, as a general matter, "about", “substantially”, or "approximately" broaden the numerical value. Also, the disclosure of ranges is intended as a continuous range including every value between the minimum and maximum values plus the broadening of the range afforded by the use of the term "about", “substantially”, or "approximately”. Thus, recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. To the extent that determining a given amount of variation of some the factors such as the criticality of the slit patterns, paper width differential pre- and postexpansion, paperweights and type, as well as other considerations known to those of skill in the art to which the disclosed subject matter is most closely related or the art relevant to the range or element at issue will have on the performance of the claimed subject matter, is not considered to be within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art, or is not explicitly stated in the claims, then the terms "about", “substantially”, and "approximately” should be understood to mean the numerical value, plus or minus 15%.

[0217] It is to be understood that any ranges, ratios and ranges of ratios that can be formed by, or derived from, any of the data disclosed herein represent further embodiments of the present disclosure and are included as part of the disclosure as though they were explicitly set forth. This includes ranges that can be formed that do or do not include a finite upper and / or lower boundary. Accordingly, a person of ordinary . 41 | P a g eskill in the art most closely related to a particular range, ratio or range of ratios will appreciate that such values are unambiguously derivable from the data presented herein.

[0218] 42 | P a g e

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An expandable slit sheet paper wrap product for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection, comprising:an expandable slit sheet paper having an array of slits extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper, said expandable slit sheet paper expanding in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells when manually stretched;each of said slits having a slit length within a range of about 5 / 8 inches or less;said expandable slit sheet paper being made with a kraft paper;said expandable slit sheet paper having an adhesive applied on a side of said expandable slit sheet paper, said adhesive extending across a width of said expandable slit sheet paper; andsaid expandable slit sheet paper being rolled in a generally cylindrical configuration in an unexpanded state, whereby said expandable slit sheet paper can be manually stretched and expanded in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells and manually wrapped around items placed within a package or box for protection.

2. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein said kraft paper has a weight within a range from about 40 to 60#.

3. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive adheres layers of said expandable slit sheet paper to one another.

4. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 2, wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

5. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 3, wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.43 | P a g e6. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

7. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 2, wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

8. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 3, wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

9. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 6, wherein said adhesive is coated on only one side of the expandable slit sheet paper.

10. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 4 to 5 / 8 inches.

11. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 2 to 5 / 8 inches.

12. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive extends across the entire width of said expandable slit sheet paper.

13. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 , wherein said adhesive covers an entire region of said expandable slit sheet paper across said width of said expandable slit sheet paper.

14. A method for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection, comprising:a) providing the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 1 ; and b) manually stretching said expandable slit sheet paper such that said expandable slit sheet paper expands in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells; and44 | P a g ec) manually wrapping said expanded slit sheet paper around an item.

15. The method of claim 14, further including placing the wrapped item within a package or box for protection.

16. The method of claim 15, further including shipping the package or box.

17. An expandable slit sheet paper wrap product for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection, comprising:an expandable slit sheet paper having an array of slits extending across a width of the expandable slit sheet paper, said expandable slit sheet paper expanding in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells when manually stretched;said expandable slit sheet paper having an adhesive applied on a side of said expandable slit sheet paper; andwhereby said expandable slit sheet paper can be manually stretched and expanded in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells and manually wrapped around an item for protection, with said adhesive adhering layers of said expanded expandable slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

18. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said kraft paper has a weight within a range from about 30 to 70#, or, preferably, within a range from about 40 to 60#.

19. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said adhesive adheres layers of said expandable slit sheet paper to one another.

20. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 18, wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.

21. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 19, wherein said adhesive is a releasable adhesive.. 45 | P a g e22. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said adhesive is a cohesive adhesive.

23. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

24. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 18, wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

25. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 19, wherein said adhesive is coated on a side of expandable slit sheet paper.

26. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of any of the preceding claims 17 to 25, wherein said adhesive is coated on only one side of the expandable slit sheet paper.

27. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 4 to 5 / 8 inches.

28. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein each of said slits has a slit length within a range of about 1 / 2 to 5 / 8 inches.

29. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said adhesive extends across an entire width of said expandable slit sheet paper.

30. The expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17, wherein said adhesive covers an entire region of said expandable slit sheet paper across a width of said expandable slit sheet paper.46 | P a g e31. A method for manually wrapping items placed within a package or box for protection, comprising:a) providing the expandable slit sheet paper wrap product of claim 17; and b) stretching said expandable slit sheet paper such that said expandable slit sheet paper expands in thickness with said slits forming expanded cells; and c) manually wrapping said expanded slit sheet paper around an item.

32. The method of claim 31, further including placing the wrapped item within a package or box for protection.

33. The method of claim 17, further including shipping the package or box.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein said adhesive on the side of the expandable slit sheet paper maintains the expanded slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein said adhesive is a cohesive adhesive, such that when the expanded slit sheet paper is wrapped around an item regions of the cohesive adhesive adhere to one another.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein a first cohesive adhesive region at a first region of the expanded slit sheet paper contacts with a second cohesive adhesive region at a second region of the expanded slit sheet paper by extending through at least one open cell of the expandable slit sheet paper wrapped around the item.

37. The method of any of claims 17 or 35, wherein said adhesive is made with latex.

38. The method of any of claims 17 or 35, wherein said adhesive is made without latex.47 | P a g e

Images