CN116917214A

CN116917214A - Web of preformed bags with expandable sheet buffer

Info

Publication number: CN116917214A
Application number: CN202280017044.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: G·W·斯塔克斯; R·S·韦尔曼; C·M·巴伦汀
Original assignee: Sealed Air Corp
Current assignee: Sealed Air Corp
Priority date: 2021-02-26
Filing date: 2022-02-23
Publication date: 2023-10-20
Also published as: US20240051725A1; EP4298030A1; WO2022182691A1

Abstract

A web of preformed bags includes an outer sheet and an expandable slit sheet. The outer sheet and the expandable slit sheet are coupled along a longitudinal seam. The expandable slotted sheet has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam. The web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet is on the inside of the outer sheet. The longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam. When the expandable slotted sheet is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam than the expandable slotted sheet extends from the longitudinal seam. The expandable slit sheet in each pouch is expandable from an unexpanded form to an expanded form.

Description

Web of preformed bags with expandable sheet buffer

Technical Field

The present disclosure is in the technical field of preforming webs of bags. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to webs of preformed bags with expandable sheets such that the sheets can be individually expanded in each bag to form individual cushion bags.

Background

A web of preformed bags (sometimes referred to as a "mailer") is used to package objects for shipment (e.g., mailing). Some examples of webs of bags are described in U.S. patent No.3,254,828 ("the' 828 patent"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and is directed to webs of bags on a roll. The' 828 patent discloses a web of bags interconnected by lines of weakness, preferably in the form of perforations, wherein each bag is open on one face. In use, bags are sequentially fed to the loading station. While at the loading station, each bag is blown open, the product is inserted and thereafter separated from the web, and the bags are then sealed to form the package, if desired. These container strips in the form of chains of pre-opened pouches are either supplied on rolls as taught in the' 828 patent or decorated in cartons in the manner taught in U.S. patent No.4,201,029, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such webs have been sold under the trademark AUTOBAG by AutomatedPackaging Systems of Cui Tesi Bai Luo, ohio.

Other examples of webs of bags are described in U.S. patent No.5,743,070 (the' 070 patent), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and is directed to webs of bags having openings along the longitudinal direction of the web. The' 070 patent also describes a machine for forming packages from a web and a process of manufacturing the packages. In one example, the web is first fed through a slitter that divides the top portion into two lips (or flaps) that are each gripped between a pair of belts for transport through the loading section. An example of such a belt that transports a web through a loading section is described in U.S. patent No.5,722,218, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. As the web is fed, the flaps are unfolded to effect sequential opening of the side-attached bags for receiving the product to be packaged. The flaps then return to juxtaposed relationship and are trimmed as they are gripped by the bands in the sealer section. Examples of belts in sealer sections are described in U.S. Pat. No.6,170,238, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Such webs and machines have been sold under the trademark SIDEPOUCH by Automated Packaging Systems of Cui Tesi Bai Luo, ohio.

Disclosure of Invention

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

In a first embodiment, a web of preformed bags includes an outer sheet and an expandable slit sheet coupled to the outer sheet along a longitudinal seam. The expandable slotted sheet has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam. The web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet is located on the inside of the outer sheet and the longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam. When the expandable slotted sheet is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam than the expandable slotted sheet extends from the longitudinal seam. The expandable slit sheet in each pouch is expandable from an unexpanded form to an expanded form.

In a second embodiment, the first embodiment is arranged such that portions of the outer sheet on either side of the longitudinal fold are coupled together to form a transverse seam.

In a third embodiment, the second embodiment is arranged such that: the closed longitudinal edges of the web at the longitudinal folds form the bottom of the bag, the open longitudinal edges of the web between the longitudinal seams form the open top of the bag, and the transverse seams form the sides of the bag.

In a fourth embodiment, the web of any of the second or third embodiments further comprises a line of weakness in the longitudinal seam on either side of one of the bags. The line of weakness may be broken to remove one of the bags from the web.

In a fifth embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments further comprises a first connecting material on the inner surface of the outer sheet proximate the longitudinal fold and a second connecting material on the outer surface of the expandable slit sheet at a location corresponding to the first connecting material on the outer sheet.

In a sixth embodiment, the fifth embodiment is arranged such that the first and second connection materials are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the first and second connection materials to adhere together when at least one of contact or pressure is applied between the first and second connection materials.

In a seventh embodiment, the sixth embodiment is arranged such that the first and second attachment materials cause the expandable slit sheet to remain in an expanded form when the first and second attachment materials are adhered together.

In an eighth embodiment, any of the foregoing embodiments are arranged such that the expandable slit sheet includes one or more transverse pleats in one of the pouches.

In the ninth embodiment, the eighth embodiment is arranged such that: the one or more transverse pleats are overlapping portions of the expandable slit sheet and the total longitudinal length of the expandable slit sheet in the one of the pockets including the length of the overlapping portions in the transverse pleats is longer than the longitudinal length of the one of the pockets.

In a tenth embodiment, either of the eighth or ninth embodiments is arranged such that the transverse pleats are at least partially unfolded when the expandable slit sheet expands in the one of the bags.

In an eleventh embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments further comprises an inner sheet coupled to the outer sheet and the expandable slit sheet at a longitudinal seam such that the expandable slit sheet is located between the inner sheet and the outer sheet.

In a twelfth embodiment, the eleventh embodiment is arranged such that the inner sheet comprises longitudinal pleats such that the inner sheet is allowed to be in an unexpanded form.

In a thirteenth embodiment, the twelfth embodiment is arranged such that the longitudinal pleats are at least partially deployable such that the inner sheet is in an expanded form.

In a fourteenth embodiment, the thirteenth embodiment is arranged wherein the expansion of the longitudinal pleats in which the inner sheet is in an expanded form causes the expandable slit sheet to expand to an expanded form.

In a fifteenth embodiment, any of the eleventh to fourteenth embodiments are arranged such that the inner sheet is a multipart inner sheet.

In a sixteenth embodiment, the multipart inner sheet of the fifteenth embodiment comprises: an upper portion coupled to the expandable slit sheet at a longitudinal seam; and a lower portion folded such that the lower portion substantially conforms to the expandable slit sheet at the longitudinal fold.

In the seventeenth embodiment, the lower portion of the sixteenth embodiment is movable relative to the upper portion.

In an eighteenth embodiment, the multipart inner sheet of the seventeenth embodiment further comprises a third connecting material on the lower end of the upper portion and a fourth connecting material on the upper end of the lower portion.

In a nineteenth embodiment, the web of the eighteenth embodiment is arranged such that the upper end of the lower portion is located between the upper portion and the expandable slit sheet when the inner sheet is in an unexpanded form.

In a twentieth embodiment, the web of any of the eighteenth or nineteenth embodiments is arranged such that: the lower portion is movable relative to the upper portion until the third and fourth joining materials contact one another, and the third and fourth joining materials are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the inner sheet to remain in an expanded form upon application of at least one of contact or pressure between the third and fourth joining materials.

In a twenty-first embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments is arranged such that each of the outer sheet, the expandable slit sheet, and the inner sheet is made of a fiber-based material.

In a twenty-second embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments is arranged such that the expandable slit sheet in each of the bags is individually expandable into an expanded form.

In a twenty-third embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments is arranged such that: the expandable slotted sheet includes a first transverse seam, and portions of the first transverse side of the expandable slotted sheet are coupled together by the first transverse seam.

In a twenty-fourth embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet of the twenty-third embodiment includes a second transverse seam, and portions of the second transverse side of the expandable slotted sheet are coupled together by the second transverse seam.

In a twenty-fifth embodiment, the web of any of the preceding embodiments further comprises a second expandable slit sheet coupled to the expandable slit sheet and the outer sheet along the longitudinal seam, wherein the second expandable slit sheet has slits disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam.

In a twenty-sixth embodiment, the second expandable slit sheet of the twenty-fifth embodiment includes a second transverse seam coupling portions of the second expandable slit sheet to each other.

In a twenty-seventh embodiment, the web of the twenty-sixth embodiment is arranged such that the second transverse seam located in the second expandable slotted sheet is offset relative to any corresponding longitudinal seam in the expandable slotted sheet.

In a twenty-eighth embodiment, the web of any of the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh embodiments is arranged such that (i) the expandable slotted sheet comprises a first transverse seam, (ii) the second expandable slotted sheet comprises a second transverse seam, and (iii) the first transverse seam and the second transverse seam are offset relative to each other such that the expandable slotted sheet provides cushioning where the second expandable slotted sheet has a second longitudinal seam and the second expandable slotted sheet provides cushioning where the expandable slotted sheet has a first longitudinal seam when the expandable slotted sheet and the second expandable slotted sheet are in an expanded form.

Drawings

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

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a slit paper material in an unexpanded form;

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict front and side views, respectively, of an embodiment of the slit paper material shown in FIG. 1 in an expanded form;

fig. 3A and 3B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having an expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 4A and 4B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in fig. 3A and 3B, with the expandable slit sheet in an expanded form, according to embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags according to embodiments described herein, the web having an expandable slit sheet in unexpanded form and having an inner sheet to be positioned between the expandable slit sheet and any object placed in the bag;

FIGS. 6A and 6B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, with the expandable slit sheet in an expanded form, according to embodiments described herein;

fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C depict front, side, and bottom cross-sectional views, respectively, of a variation of the web shown in fig. 5A and 5B with transverse pleats in the expandable slit sheet according to embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags according to embodiments described herein, the web having an expandable slit sheet in unexpanded form and a multipart inner sheet to be positioned between the expandable slit sheet and any object placed in the bag;

fig. 9A and 9B depict front and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of the web shown in fig. 8A and 8B, with the expandable slit sheet in an expanded form, according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 10A depicts a front view of an embodiment of a web of preformed bags having expandable slit sheets in unexpanded form according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 10B depicts a front view of the web shown in FIG. 10A with the expandable slit sheet 406 in an expanded form according to embodiments described herein; and

fig. 11A and 11B depict a front cross-sectional view and a top cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 400' of preformed bags having a multi-layer expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form according to embodiments described herein.

Detailed Description

As noted above, the web of preformed bags may be useful for packaging objects for shipment. In some cases, it is advantageous to buffer the preformed bag so that the buffer in the bag provides additional protection for the object placed therein. Examples of webs of preformed bags with cushioning are described in U.S. provisional patent application No.63/089,160 (attorney docket No. D-45061-PRO 1), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

One challenge with pre-forming webs of buffer bags is the amount of space required to store the web. Cushioning materials such as air-porous cushioning materials (e.g., BUBBLEWRAP) or foam sheets typically occupy more than a nominal volume. When used in a web of preformed bags, the cushioning material greatly increases the volume occupied by the web. For example, a roll of the web of preformed cushion bags made of polymeric film and air hole cushion material will be significantly larger than a roll of the web of preformed non-cushion bags made of polymeric film.

Another type of cushioning material that has been used to wrap objects is an expandable slit sheet. Fig. 1 depicts an embodiment of an expandable slit sheet 10 in an unexpanded form. The expandable slit sheet 10 includes a sheet 12 of material such as paper or other fiber-based material. In some embodiments, the sheet 12 is kraft paper. The expandable slotted sheet 10 includes a plurality of rows of slits 14. The slits 14 extend substantially in the slit direction (as indicated in the figure), and the slits 14 are arranged in rows that also extend substantially in the slit direction. In the depicted embodiment, each row of slits 14 is offset relative to adjacent rows to form a pattern of rows that repeat substantially in the length direction (as indicated in the figures). In the unexpanded form, the expandable slotted sheet 10 is substantially flat and the expandable slotted sheet 10 can be stored in a compact configuration. For example, the expandable slit sheet 10 may be wound into a roll (e.g., around a core), fan folded into a fan folded stack, and so forth.

The expandable slit sheet 10 may also be in an expanded form. Fig. 2A and 2B depict front and side views, respectively, of an embodiment of an expandable slit sheet 10 in an expanded form. In some embodiments, the expanded slotted sheet 10 is converted from an unexpanded form to an expanded form by applying a longitudinal force 16 on the expandable slotted sheet 10 in a lengthwise direction. The longitudinal force 16 causes the slit 14 to expand to form the aperture 18. Expansion of the slit 14 into the aperture 18 causes the sheet 12 to bend and assume a three-dimensional shape, as seen in fig. 2B. Expansion of the slit 14 into the aperture 18 also causes the length of the sheet 12 to expand in the length direction and the width of the sheet 12 to contract in the slit direction.

Traditionally, after the expandable slotted sheet 10 is in the expanded form, the expandable slotted sheet 10 has been used to wrap objects. When wrapped multiple times around an object, the expandable slit sheet 10 tends to remain in the expanded form because wrapping of the object causes at least some layers of the expandable slit sheet 10 to interlock and prevent the expandable slit sheet 10 from retracting to the unexpanded form. In some embodiments, an interleaving paper (interlayer) material is laminated over the expandable slit sheet 10 and wrapped around the object with the expandable slit sheet 10 to prevent retraction of the expandable slit sheet 10. As used herein, an "object" may include a single piece or a grouping of several different pieces. Further, the object may include any accompanying information item, such as a packaging sheet, tracking code, manifest, invoice, machine-readable identifier (e.g., a bar code or Quick Response (QR) code) that may be sensed by a reader (e.g., a bar code scanner or camera), or any other information item.

The use of expandable slit sheets as cushioning materials is well known. For example, U.S. patent No.5,667,871 issued to 1997, 9 and 16 describes the use of slit paper to package objects. In particular, the slit paper is rolled into a roll in its unexpanded form, the roll is placed in the container, and the slit paper is pulled out of the container. When the slit paper is pulled out of the container, the longitudinal force from pulling the slit paper causes the slit paper to transition from an unexpanded form to an expanded form, such that the expanded slit paper can be used as a cushioning material for wrapping objects.

In addition to being used to wrap objects, expanded slit sheets have also been used as cushioning in mailbags. For example, U.S. patent No.10,850,891 describes an example of a buffered mailer formed from an outer layer of paper and a buffer layer of expanded paper sheets. For example, the expanded slit paper may be sandwiched between two layers of kraft paper to form a web, and the web may be folded and sealed together at the edges to form a mailer. One benefit of such a mailer is that the mailer is made almost entirely of paper so that the mailer can be easily recycled (e.g., roadside recyclable). However, when forming this type of mailer, the expanded slotted paper cushioning has been in an expanded form when the layers are coupled together to form the mailer. Thus, when the mailer is formed, the expanded slotted paper buffer is already in its three-dimensional form, such that the mailer occupies a greater volume than when the slotted paper is in its flat, unexpanded form.

The present disclosure describes embodiments of webs of preformed bags with expandable slit sheets such that the sheets can be individually expanded in each bag to form individual cushion bags. The pouches in web embodiments can be stored with the expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form. In some embodiments, the expandable slit sheet in each pouch is selectively expandable such that each of the pouches can transition from a flat-laid condition to a cushion pouch condition "on demand" (e.g., whenever desired by a user). In some embodiments, the bag is configured such that: once the expandable slit sheet in one of the bags is expanded, the slit sheet in that bag is maintained in an expanded form such that the bag is converted into a cushion bag. In this way, the web can be stored in a smaller volume with the expandable slotted sheet in an unexpanded form, and then each pocket can be converted to a larger volume with the expandable slotted sheet in an expanded form when the pocket is ready to be used as a cushioning pocket.

Fig. 3A and 3B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 100 of preformed bags having an expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form. Web 100 includes bags 102 preformed and connected into a series of bags 102 ₁ 、102 ₂ 、102 ₃ (collectively bag 102). It will be appreciated that the bag 102 in the web 100 may include additional bags coupled to the bag 102 depicted in the figures.

Web 100 includes an outer sheet 104 and an expandable slit sheet 106. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the outer sheet 104 and the expandable slotted sheet 106 are coupled together along a longitudinal seam 110. The longitudinal seam 110 may be formed in any manner that joins the outer sheet 104 and the expandable slit sheet 106 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the figures of the present disclosure, the longitudinal and transverse directions of the various web embodiments are shown by arrows with indicators of "lo" and "tr", respectively. In the depicted embodiment, the outer sheet 104 is shown as transparent to facilitate viewing of the expandable slit sheet 106. In other embodiments, the outer sheet 104 may be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, opaque polymeric material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the pouch 102 from being observed when the pouch 102 is closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 100 has a closed longitudinal edge 112 where the web 100 is folded longitudinally and an open longitudinal edge 114 between the longitudinal seams 110. As used herein, the term "fold" includes (1) a portion of one or more plies of a sheet that have been bent, wrinkled, or otherwise modified from a flat shape (e.g., such that portions of one or more plies on either side of the fold are juxtaposed together), or (2) a coupling (e.g., a seam) of two sheets, wherein the two sheets are not made to be in a flat shape (e.g., such that the two sheets are juxtaposed against each other). In the depicted embodiment, the outer sheet 104 and the expandable slit sheet 106 are shown as a single piece of sheet that has been folded by bending at the closed longitudinal edge 112. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the outer sheet 104 and the expandable slotted sheet 106 may each be two separate pieces of sheet that are coupled together along edges to form a fold at the closed longitudinal edge 112.

In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 112 of the web 100 forms the bottom of the bag 102 and the open longitudinal edge 114 of the web 100 forms the open top of the bag 102. The web 100 is also folded longitudinally such that the expandable slit sheet 106 is located on the inside of the outer sheet 104. The slits of the expandable slotted sheet 106 are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam 110 in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet 106 is also in an unexpanded form. In this state, the web 100 may be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 112 such that the web 100 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration may reduce and/or minimize the bulk of the web 100 when the web 100 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fan folded into a fan folded stack, etc.). As can be seen in fig. 3B, when the expandable slotted sheet 106 is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet 104 extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam 110 in the transverse direction than the expandable slotted sheet 106 extends from the longitudinal seam 110.

Portions of the outer sheet 104 of the web 100 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 112 are also coupled together along a transverse seam 116. The transverse seam 116 may be formed in any manner that joins portions of the outer sheet 104 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 106 is not connected to the outer sheet 104 in the transverse seam 116. This allows the lateral edges of the expandable slotted sheet 106 to move in the lateral direction of the web 100 relative to the lateral seam 116 such that the expandable slotted sheet 106 can expand in the lateral direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 includes lines of weakness 118 in the transverse seams 116 between the pouches 102. Each of the lines of weakness 118 can be any weakened portion of the web 100 that facilitates separation of the pouches 102 from one another, such as a perforation line, a slit, a thinner portion of the outer sheet 104, or any other type of line of weakness.

In some embodiments, the web 100 further comprises a connecting material arranged to maintain the expandable slit sheet 106 in an expanded form after expansion of the expandable slit sheet 106. In the depicted embodiment, the web 100 includes a connecting material 120 on the inner surface of the outer sheet 104 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 112. The web 100 also includes a connecting material 122 on the outer surface of the expandable slotted sheet 106 at a location on the expandable slotted sheet 106 that corresponds to the connecting material 120. In some embodiments, the connecting material 120 and the connecting material 122 are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the connecting materials 120 and 122 to adhere together when contact and/or pressure is applied between the connecting materials 120 and 122.

Fig. 4A and 4B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of a web 100 having an expandable slit sheet 106 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the object 130 has been inserted into the pocket 102 ₂ Is a kind of medium. Loading object 130 into bag 102 ₂ Is applied to the bottom of the expandable slotted sheet 106, thereby causing the expandable slotted sheet 106 to be in an expanded form. The force exerted by the object 130 may be due to the weight of the object 130 when the object 130 is inserted into the bag 102 ₂ Such as by a person inserting object 130 or by a machine inserting object 130. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet 106 has been expanded to connectThe extent to which materials 120 and 122 have contacted each other and adhered to each other. The adhesion of the connecting materials 120 and 122 will cause the expandable slotted sheet 106 to remain in an expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 130.

In the bag 102 ₂ In the case of the configuration shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the bag 102 ₂ May be enclosed and/or separated from the web 100. Bag 102 ₂ Can be carried out by the bag 102 ₂ Is closed by an open longitudinal edge 114 of the closing web 100. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the bag 102 ₂ May be coupled together (e.g., by adhesion, sealing, etc.) to close the pouch 102 ₂ Is provided. In other embodiments, the pouch 102 ₂ May have a secondary pocket 102 (e.g., left or right when viewing fig. 4B) ₂ With a closure mechanism (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive tape) that allows the flap to be secured to the bag 102 ₂ On top of (a). It will be appreciated that the pouch 102 ₂ May be closed in any number of other ways. Bag 102 ₂ But may also be removable from the web 100. As noted above, in the bag 102 ₂ Lines of weakness 118 on either side of (a) can be broken to remove the bag 102 from the web 100 ₂ 。

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4A and 4B, when the object 130 is in the pocket 102 ₂ In which the object 130 is in direct contact with the expandable slit sheet 106. Having the object 130 in direct contact with the expandable slit sheet 106 will provide cushioning to the object 130 without the need to place any other material between the object and the expandable slit sheet 106. However, in some cases, it may be advantageous to have another material between the object 130 and the expandable slotted sheet 106. For example, some shippers and/or recipients of goods may find the expandable slit sheet 106 less aesthetically pleasing. In this case, it may be advantageous for another material to be located between the object 130 and the expandable slotted sheet 106.

Fig. 5A and 5B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 200 of preformed bags, the web 200 having an expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form and having a slit sheet to be positioned in an expandable stateA slit sheet and an inner sheet placed between any objects in the bag. The web 200 includes bags 202 that are preformed and connected into a series of bags 202 ₁ 、202 ₂ 、202 ₃ (collectively bag 202). It will be appreciated that the bag 202 in the web 200 may include additional bags coupled to the bag 202 depicted in the figures.

Web 200 includes an outer sheet 204 and an expandable slit sheet 206. Web 200 also includes an inner sheet 208. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the outer sheet 204, the expandable slit sheet 206, and the inner sheet 208 are coupled together along a longitudinal seam 210. The longitudinal seam 210 may be formed in any manner that couples the outer sheet 204, the expandable slotted sheet 206, and the inner sheet 208 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the outer sheet 204 is shown as transparent to facilitate viewing of the expandable slit sheet 206. In other embodiments, the outer sheet 204 may be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, opaque polymeric material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the pouch 202 from being observed when the pouch 202 is closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 200 has a closed longitudinal edge 212 where the web 200 is folded longitudinally and an open longitudinal edge 214 between the longitudinal seams 210. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 212 of the web 200 forms the bottom of the pouch 202 and the open longitudinal edge 214 of the web 200 forms the open top of the pouch 202. The web 200 is also folded longitudinally such that the expandable slit sheet 206 is located on the inside of the outer sheet 204 and such that the inner sheet 208 is located on the inside of the expandable slit sheet 206. The slits of the expandable slotted sheet 206 are arranged substantially in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet 206 is also in an unexpanded form. In this state, the web 200 may be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 212 such that the web 200 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration may reduce and/or minimize the bulk of web 200 when web 200 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fan folded into a fan folded stack, etc.).

As can be seen in fig. 5B, when the expandable slotted sheet 206 is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet 204 extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam 210 in the transverse direction than the expandable slotted sheet 206 extends from the longitudinal seam 210. In the depicted embodiment, the inner sheet 208 includes longitudinal pleats 224, which longitudinal pleats 224 allow the inner sheet 208 to be in an unexpanded form, as shown in fig. 5B, and to expand in a transverse direction from this position to an expanded form (as depicted below). As described below, the longitudinal pleats 224 allow the inner sheet 208 to expand in the transverse direction when the expandable slit sheet 206 expands. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal pleats 224 are formed by longitudinal folds in the inner sheet 208. In other embodiments, the longitudinal pleats 224 may be formed by longitudinal corrugations, waves, bends, or any other type of pleating. In some embodiments, the inner sheet 208 may be formed of the same or similar material as the outer sheet 204 (such as kraft paper).

Portions of the outer sheet 204 of the web 200 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 212 are also coupled together along a transverse seam 216. The transverse seam 216 may be formed in any manner that joins portions of the outer sheet 204 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 206 is not connected to the outer sheet 204 in the transverse seam 216. This allows the lateral edges of the expandable slotted sheet 206 to move in the lateral direction of the web 200 relative to the lateral seam 216 such that the expandable slotted sheet 206 can expand in the lateral direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 includes lines of weakness 218 in the transverse seams 216 between the bags 202. Each of the lines of weakness 218 can be any weakened portion of the web 200 that facilitates separation of the bags 202 from one another, such as a perforation line, a slit, a thinner portion of the outer sheet 204, or any other type of line of weakness. In the depicted embodiment, the web 200 also includes a connecting material 220 on the inner surface of the outer sheet 204 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 212 and a connecting material 222 on the outer surface of the expandable slit sheet 206 at a location on the expandable slit sheet 206 that corresponds to the connecting material 220. In some embodiments, the connection materials 220 and 222 are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the connection materials 220 and 222 to adhere together when contact and/or pressure is applied between the connection materials 220 and 222.

Fig. 6A and 6B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of a web 200 having an expandable slit sheet 206 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the object 230 has been inserted into the pocket 202 ₂ Is a kind of medium. Loading objects 230 into the bag 202 ₂ Which results in forces being applied to the bottom of the inner sheet 208, which results in forces being applied to the bottom of the expandable slotted sheet 206. The force exerted by the object 230 causes the inner sheet 208 and the expandable slit sheet 206 to be in an expanded form. The force exerted by the object 230 may be due to the weight of the object 230 when the object 230 is inserted into the bag 202 ₂ Such as by a person inserting object 230 or by a machine inserting object 230. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet 206 has been expanded to the point where the connecting materials 220 and 222 have contacted each other and adhered to each other. The adhesion of the connecting materials 220 and 222 will cause the expandable slotted sheet 206 to remain in an expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 230. The longitudinal pleats 224 of the inner sheet 208 have also been expanded into an expanded form. Although no connecting material is located between the expandable slit sheet 206 and the inner sheet 208, it will be apparent that a connecting material may be placed between the expandable slit sheet 206 and the inner sheet 208 to help maintain the inner sheet 208 in the expanded form shown in fig. 6B.

In the bag 202 ₂ With the configuration shown in fig. 6A and 6B, pouch 202 ₂ May be enclosed and/or separated from the web 200. Bag 202 ₂ Can be passed through the bag 202 ₂ Is closed by an open longitudinal edge 214 of the closing web 200. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the pouch 202 ₂ May be coupled together (e.g., by adhesion, sealing, etc.) to close the pouch 202 ₂ Is provided. In other embodiments, the pouch 202 ₂ May have a secondary pocket (e.g., left or right when viewing fig. 6B)202 ₂ With a closure mechanism (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive tape) that allows the flap to be secured to the pouch 202 ₂ On top of (a). It will be appreciated that the pouch 202 ₂ May be closed in any number of other ways. Bag 202 ₂ May also be removed from the web 200. As noted above, in bag 202 ₂ Lines of weakness 218 on either side of (i) can be broken to remove the bag 202 from the web 200 ₂ 。

As noted above, the expanded slit sheet has a tendency to shrink in the slit direction as it expands. In one example, when the expandable slit sheet 106 in the web 100 expands in the cross direction, the expandable slit sheet 106 will tend to shrink in the machine direction. The contraction of the expandable slit sheet 106 in the longitudinal direction may leave areas along the sides of the pouch 102 (e.g., near the lateral seals 116) free of cushioning material. This may result in damage to the object 130, such as when the object 130 is in the bag 102 ₂ Is damaged when shipped. In another similar example, when the expandable slit sheet 206 in the web 200 expands in the cross direction, the expandable slit sheet 206 will tend to contract in the machine direction. The contraction of the expandable slit sheet 206 in the longitudinal direction may leave areas along the sides of the pouch 202 (e.g., near the transverse seam 216) free of cushioning material. This may result in damage to the object 230, such as when the object 230 is in the bag 202 ₂ Is damaged when shipped.

Fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C depict front, side, and bottom cross-sectional views, respectively, of a variation of web 200 having transverse pleats 226 in expandable slit sheet 206. In the depicted embodiment, the transverse pleats 226 are overlapping portions of the expandable slotted sheet 206. In this configuration, the total longitudinal length of the expandable slit sheet 206 in each of the bags 202, including the length of the overlapping portion in the transverse pleats 226, is longer than the longitudinal length of the bag itself. When the expandable slotted sheet 206 expands in the transverse direction and the expandable slotted sheet 206 narrows in the longitudinal direction, the transverse pleats 226 tend to at least partially unfold such that the expandable slotted sheet 206 in the expanded form is wider in the longitudinal direction than it would be without the transverse pleats 226. In some cases, the transverse pleats 226 allow the expandable slotted sheet 206 in the expanded form to span completely or nearly completely across the pouch 202 between the transverse seams 216 in the longitudinal direction.

In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 206 is shown with two transverse pleats 226. In other embodiments, the expandable slit sheet 206 may include any number of transverse pleats 226 (e.g., one, three, etc.). In some cases, the size of the transverse pleats 226 (e.g., the amount of expandable slit sheet 206 overlapped in the transverse pleats 226) may be determined based on the width of the pouch 202, the expected longitudinal shrinkage of the expandable slit sheet 206 during expansion, the number of transverse pleats 226, any other factors, or any combination thereof. Other webs depicted herein are not shown with cross direction wrinkles; however, it will be apparent that any of the webs described herein may include cross-direction wrinkles. For example, the expandable slit sheet 106 in the web 100 may have transverse pleats.

Fig. 8A and 8B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 300 of preformed bags, the web 300 having an expandable slit sheet in unexpanded form and a multipart inner sheet to be positioned between the expandable slit sheet and any object placed in the bag. The web 300 includes bags 302 preformed and connected into a series of bags 302 ₁ 、302 ₂ 、302 ₃ (collectively bag 302). It will be appreciated that the bag 302 in the web 300 may include additional bags coupled to the bag 302 depicted in the figures.

Web 300 includes an outer sheet 304 and an expandable slit sheet 306. Web 300 also includes an inner sheet 308. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the outer sheet 304, the expandable slit sheet 306, and the inner sheet 308 are coupled together along a longitudinal seam 310. The longitudinal seam 310 may be formed in any manner that joins the outer sheet 304, the expandable slotted sheet 306, and the inner sheet 308 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the depicted embodiment, the outer sheet 304 is shown as transparent to facilitate viewing of the expandable slit sheet 306. In other embodiments, the outer sheet 304 may be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, opaque polymeric material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bag 302 from being observed when the bag 302 is closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 300 has a closed longitudinal edge 312 where the web 300 is folded longitudinally and an open longitudinal edge 314 between the longitudinal seams 310. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 312 of the web 300 forms the bottom of the bag 302 and the open longitudinal edge 314 of the web 300 forms the open top of the bag 302. The web 300 is also folded longitudinally such that the expandable slit sheet 306 is located on the inside of the outer sheet 304 and such that the inner sheet 308 is located on the inside of the expandable slit sheet 306. The slits of the expandable slotted sheet 306 are arranged substantially in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet 306 is also in an unexpanded form. In this state, the web 300 may be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 312 such that the web 300 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration may reduce and/or minimize the bulk of web 300 when web 300 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fan folded into a fan folded stack, etc.). As can be seen in fig. 8B, when the expandable slotted sheet 306 is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet 304 extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam 310 in the transverse direction than the expandable slotted sheet 306 extends from the longitudinal seam 310.

In the depicted embodiment, the inner sheet 308 is a multipart inner sheet. The inner sheet 308 includes an upper portion 340 and a lower portion 342. The upper portion 340 is coupled to the expandable slotted sheet 306 at the longitudinal seam 310. The lower portion 342 is folded such that the lower portion 342 substantially conforms to the expandable slit sheet 306 at the closed longitudinal edge 312. In the embodiment shown in fig. 8B, the lower end of the upper portion 340 includes a connecting material 344 and the upper end of the lower portion 342 includes a connecting material 346. In some embodiments, the connecting materials 344 and 346 are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the connecting materials 344 and 346 to adhere together when contact and/or pressure is applied between the connecting materials 344 and 346. In the depicted embodiment, the upper end of the lower portion 342 is located between one of the upper portions 340 and the expandable slit sheet 306. In the configuration shown in fig. 8B, the upper portion 340 and the lower portion 342 of the inner sheet 308 are not coupled to each other such that the lower portion 342 is movable relative to the upper portion 340. In some embodiments, the inner sheet 308 may be formed of the same or similar material as the outer sheet 304 (such as kraft paper).

Portions of the outer sheet 304 of the web 300 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 312 are also coupled together along a transverse seam 316. The transverse seam 316 may be formed in any manner that joins portions of the outer sheet 304 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 306 is not connected to the outer sheet 304 in the transverse seam 316. This allows the lateral edges of the expandable slotted sheet 306 to move in the lateral direction of the web 300 relative to the lateral seam 316 such that the expandable slotted sheet 306 can expand in the lateral direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 includes lines of weakness 318 in the transverse seams 316 between the pouches 302. Each of the lines of weakness 318 can be any weakened portion of the web 300 that facilitates separation of the bags 302 from one another, such as a perforation line, a slit, a thinner portion of the outer sheet 304, or any other type of line of weakness. In the depicted embodiment, the web 300 further includes a connecting material 320 on the inner surface of the outer sheet 304 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 312 and a connecting material 322 on the outer surface of the expandable slotted sheet 306 at a location on the expandable slotted sheet 306 corresponding to the connecting material 320. In some embodiments, the connecting materials 320 and 322 are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the connecting materials 320 and 322 to adhere together when contact and/or pressure is applied between the connecting materials 320 and 322.

Fig. 9A and 9B depict a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view, respectively, of a web 300 having an expandable slit sheet 306 in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the object 330 has been inserted into the bag 302 ₂ Is a kind of medium. Loading objects 330 into the bag 302 ₂ Has led to the application of forces thereinOn the lower portion 342 of the face sheet 308, which results in a force being applied to the bottom of the expandable slotted sheet 306. The force exerted by the object 330 causes the inner sheet 308 and the expandable slit sheet 306 to be in an expanded form. The force exerted by the object 330 may be due to the weight of the object 330 when the object 330 is inserted into the bag 302 ₂ Such as by a person inserting object 330 or by a machine inserting object 330. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet 306 has been expanded to the point where the connecting materials 320 and 322 have contacted each other and adhered to each other. The adhesion of the connecting materials 320 and 322 will cause the expandable slotted sheet 306 to remain in an expanded form to provide cushioning for the object 330. The lower portion 342 of the inner sheet 308 has also moved downwardly relative to the upper portion 340 of the inner sheet 308. In the depicted embodiment, lower portion 342 has moved relative to upper portion 340 to the point where connecting materials 344 and 346 have contacted and adhered to one another. The adhesion of the connecting materials 344 and 346 will cause the inner sheet 308 to remain in the expanded form to provide material between the expandable slit sheet 306 and the object 330.

In the bag 302 ₂ In the case of the configuration shown in fig. 9A and 9B, the bag 302 ₂ May be enclosed and/or separated from web 300. Bag 302 ₂ Can be passed through the bag 302 ₂ Is closed by an open longitudinal edge 314 of the closing web 300. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the bag 302 ₂ May be coupled together (e.g., by adhesion, sealing, etc.) to close the pouch 302 ₂ Is provided. In other embodiments, the bag 302 ₂ May have a secondary pocket 302 (e.g., left or right when viewing fig. 9B) ₂ With a closure mechanism (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive tape) that allows the flap to be secured to the bag 302 ₂ On top of (a). It will be appreciated that the bag 302 ₂ May be closed in any number of other ways. Bag 302 ₂ But may also be removable from the web 300. As noted above, in bag 302 ₂ Lines of weakness 318 on either side of (a) can be broken to remove the bag 302 from the web 300 ₂ 。

One of the benefits of the webs described herein is the ability to form the web from easily recyclable materials. In some embodiments, the webs described herein may be formed primarily of materials that may be recovered at the roadside in many cities. For example, in any of the webs described herein, the outer sheet, the expandable slit sheet, and the inner sheet (if included) can be formed from a fiber-based material (e.g., kraft paper). Because fiber-based materials tend to be roadside recyclable in many cities, recovery bags will be opposed in roadside recovery containers. For example, a consumer receiving goods in one of the bags may open the bag, remove any objects from the bag, and then place the entire bag in a roadside recycling receptacle to effectively and efficiently recycle the bag. In another example, in any of the webs described herein, the outer sheet, the expandable slit sheet, and the inner sheet (if included) can be formed from similar polymer-based materials (e.g., all polypropylene or all polyethylene). By forming the bag from a similar polymer-based material, the bag can be placed in a recovery container for collecting the material of that type of polymer for recovery.

Another advantage of the webs described herein is that the webs can be used with automatic bagging machines to fill and close bags. For example, the web may be used with an AUTOBAG or SIDEPOUCH automatic bagging machine sold by AutomatedPackaging Systems of Cui Tesi Bai Luo, ohio. Such a machine reduces the amount of labor required to fill and close the bag, while also reducing the amount of time to fill and close the bag. Automatic bagging machines also tend to fill bags individually, and the ability to individually expand the expandable slit sheet in each bag allows the web to be used with these automatic bagging machines.

Fig. 10A depicts a front view of an embodiment of a web 400 of preformed bags with expandable slit sheets in unexpanded form. The web 400 includes bags 402 that are preformed and connected into a series of bags 402 ₁ 、402 ₂ 、402 ₃ (collectively referred to as bag 402). It will be appreciated that the bag 402 in the web 400 may include additional bags coupled to the bag 402 depicted in the figures.

Web 400 includes an outer sheet 404 and an expandable slit sheet 406. In the depicted embodiment, the longitudinal edges of the outer sheet 404 and the expandable slotted sheet 406 are coupled together along a longitudinal seam 410. The longitudinal seam 410 may be formed in any manner that couples the outer sheet 404 and the expandable slotted sheet 406 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of coupling. In the depicted embodiment, the outer sheet 404 is shown as transparent to facilitate viewing of the expandable slit sheet 406. In other embodiments, the outer sheet 404 may be an opaque material (e.g., kraft paper, opaque polymeric material, etc.) to prevent the contents of the bag 402 from being observed when the bag 402 is closed.

In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 has been folded longitudinally such that the web 400 has a closed longitudinal edge 412 where the web 400 is folded longitudinally and an open longitudinal edge 414 between the longitudinal seams 410. In some embodiments, the closed longitudinal edge 412 of the web 400 forms the bottom of the bag 402 and the open longitudinal edge 414 of the web 400 forms the open top of the bag 402. The web 400 is also folded longitudinally such that the expandable slit sheet 406 is located on the inside of the outer sheet 404. The slits of the expandable slotted sheet 406 are arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam 410 in the longitudinal direction. The expandable slit sheet 406 is also in an unexpanded form. In this state, the web 400 may be folded on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 412 such that the web 400 is in a flat configuration. Such a flat configuration may reduce and/or minimize the bulk of the web 400 when the web 400 is stored (e.g., wound into a roll around a core, fan folded into a fan folded stack, etc.). When the expandable slotted sheet 406 is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet 404 extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam 410 in the transverse direction than the expandable slotted sheet 406 extends from the longitudinal seam 410.

Portions of the outer sheet 404 of the web 400 on either side of the closed longitudinal edge 412 are also coupled together along a transverse seam 416. The transverse seam 416 may be formed in any manner that joins portions of the outer sheet 404 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 406 is not connected to the outer sheet 404 in the transverse seam 416. This allows the lateral edges of the expandable slotted sheet 406 to move in the lateral direction of the web 400 relative to the lateral seam 416 such that the expandable slotted sheet 406 can expand in the lateral direction. In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 includes lines of weakness 418 in the transverse seams 416 between the pouches 402. Each of the lines of weakness 418 can be any weakened portion of the web 400 that facilitates separation of the bags 402 from one another, such as a perforation line, a slit, a thinner portion of the outer sheet 404, or any other type of line of weakness.

In some embodiments, the lateral sides of the expandable slit sheet 406 in the bag 402 are coupled together along a lateral seam 419. In the depicted embodiment, the portions of the left lateral side of the expandable slotted sheet 406 on either side of the fold (when viewing fig. 10A) are coupled together along one of the lateral seams 419, and the portions of the right lateral side of the expandable slotted sheet 406 on either side of the fold are coupled together along the other of the lateral seams 419. The transverse seam 419 may be formed in any manner that joins portions of the outer sheet 404 together, such as by adhesion, gluing, fastening, heat sealing, cold sealing, fusing, or any manner of joining. While other embodiments of webs of preformed bags described herein do not have transverse seams in the expandable slit sheet, it will be understood that in any of the embodiments described herein, the expandable slit sheet of these embodiments may include transverse seams similar to transverse seams 419 in expandable slit sheet 406 of web 400.

In some embodiments, web 400 further includes a connecting material arranged to maintain expandable slit sheet 406 in an expanded form after expandable slit sheet 406 is expanded. In the depicted embodiment, the web 400 includes a connecting material 420 on the inner surface of the outer sheet 404 proximate the closed longitudinal edge 412. The web 400 also includes a connecting material 422 on the outer surface of the expandable slotted sheet 406 at a location on the expandable slotted sheet 406 that corresponds to the connecting material 420. In some embodiments, the connecting material 420 and the connecting material 422 are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the connecting materials 420 and 422 to adhere together when contact and/or pressure is applied between the connecting materials 420 and 422.

Fig. 10B depicts a front view of a web 400 having an expandable slit sheet 406 in an expanded form. In some embodiments, objects are loaded into the bag 402 ₂ Is applied to the bottom of the expandable slotted sheet 406, thereby causing the expandable slotted sheet 406 to be in an expanded form. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 406 has been expanded to the point where the connecting materials 420 and 422 have contacted each other and adhered to each other. The adhesion of the joining materials 420 and 422 will cause the expandable slotted sheet 406 to remain in an expanded form to provide cushioning to the object. In the depicted embodiment, the transverse seams 419 remain coupled to each other. In this manner, bag 402 is blocked and/or prevented ₂ The object in (a) slides out of the expandable slit sheet 406.

In bag 402 ₂ In the case of the configuration shown in fig. 10B, the bag 402 ₂ May be enclosed and/or separated from the web 400. Bag 402 ₂ Can be carried out by the bag 402 ₂ Is closed by an open longitudinal edge 414 of the closing web 400. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the bag 402 ₂ May be coupled together (e.g., by adhesion, sealing, etc.) to enclose the bag 402 ₂ Is provided. In other embodiments, the bag 402 ₂ May have a secondary pocket 402 (e.g., left or right) on one of the sides of (e.g., left or right) ₂ With a closure mechanism (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive tape) that allows the flap to be secured to the bag 402 ₂ On top of (a). It will be appreciated that the bag 402 ₂ May be closed in many other ways. Bag 402 ₂ But may also be removed from the web 400. As described above, in bag 402 ₂ Lines of weakness 418 on either side of (a) can be broken to remove the bag 402 from the web 400 ₂ 。

In some embodiments, it may be advantageous for the web of preformed bags to have multiple expansion sheets in the bag. Fig. 11A and 11B depict a front cross-sectional view and a top cross-sectional view, respectively, of an embodiment of a web 400 'of preformed bags, the web 400' having a multi-layer expandable slit sheet in an unexpanded form. Web 400' is similar to web 400, and where web 400' includes the same or substantially similar components as web 400, the same reference numerals have been used to designate components in both webs 400 and 400 '. In addition to the expandable slit sheet 406, the web 400 'also includes a second expandable slit sheet 406'. In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slit sheet 406' is disposed between the expandable slit sheet 406 and the outer sheet 404. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the expandable slotted sheet 406 'may be arranged such that the expandable slotted sheet 406 is located between the expandable slotted sheet 406' and the outer sheet 404.

In some embodiments, one longitudinal edge of the expandable slotted sheet 406' is coupled to the expandable slotted sheet 406 and the outer sheet 404 by a longitudinal seam 410. The other longitudinal edge of the expandable slotted sheet 406 'is coupled together along a longitudinal seam 410' between the bottom of the expandable slotted sheet 406 and the bottom of the outer sheet 404. It will be appreciated that, unlike the longitudinal seam 410 that couples the expandable slotted sheet 406' to both the expandable slotted sheet 406 and the outer sheet 404, the longitudinal seam 410' couples portions of the expandable slotted sheet 406' to each other. The slits of the expandable slotted sheet 406 'are arranged substantially parallel to the slits of the expandable slotted sheet 406 such that the expandable slotted sheet 406' and the expandable slotted sheet 406 are expandable in the same direction from an unexpanded form shown in fig. 11A and 11B to an expanded form.

In the depicted embodiment, the expandable slotted sheet 406 'is formed from a single piece of expandable slotted sheet sealed together along a transverse seam 419'. In other embodiments, the expandable slotted sheet 406' may be formed from two or more expandable slotted sheets joined together along a plurality of transverse seams. In some embodiments, the transverse seam 419 'of the expandable slotted sheet 406' is offset relative to the transverse seam 419 of the expandable slotted sheet 406. For example, in the depicted embodiment, the transverse seam 419 of the slit sheet 406 is along the bag 402 ₂ Is positioned left and right of (a) and the transverse seam 419' is positioned away from the pocket 402 ₂ Is positioned on the left and right sides of (a). With this arrangement, when the expandable slotted sheets 406 and 406' are in the expanded form, one of the expandable slotted sheets 406 and 406' will have a slit in the expanded form to provide cushioning where the other of the expandable slotted sheets 406 and 406' includes a transverse seam 419. In this manner, at least one of the expandable slit sheets 406 and 406' completely surrounds the bag 402 ₂ Provides cushioning for the object in (a). Similarly, the longitudinal seam 410' of the expandable slotted sheet 406' is offset relative to any corresponding longitudinal seam in the expandable slotted sheet 406 such that the expandable slotted sheet 406 provides cushioning where the expandable slotted sheet 406' has the longitudinal seam 410' when the expandable slotted sheets 406 and 406' are in the expanded form.

While the embodiment of web 400 'has two layers of expandable slotted sheets 406 and 406', it will be apparent that other embodiments of webs may have any number of layers of expandable slotted sheets as may be desired, possible, etc. Further, while other embodiments of the webs described herein (e.g., webs 100, 200, and 300) are shown as having a single layer of expandable slit sheet, it will be apparent that any embodiment of the webs described herein may have multiple layers (i.e., two or more layers) of expandable slit sheet similar to web 400'.

For purposes of this disclosure, terms such as "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "inward," "outward," "inner," "outer," "front," "rear," and the like are to be construed as descriptive, and not limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the use of "including," "comprising," or "having" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms "connected," "coupled," and "mounted" and variations thereof are used broadly herein and encompass both direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "substantially," "about," and the like are used to indicate within 5% of the target value.

In the foregoing description, principles, representative embodiments and modes of operation of the present disclosure have been described. However, aspects of the present disclosure that are intended to be protected should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. Furthermore, the embodiments described herein should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive. It will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made by others and equivalents employed without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. It is therefore expressly intended that all such modifications, alterations, and equivalents fall within the spirit and scope of the claimed disclosure.

Claims

1. A web of preformed bags, the web comprising:

an outer sheet; and

an expandable slotted sheet coupled to the outer sheet along a longitudinal seam, wherein the expandable slotted sheet has slits arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam;

wherein the web has a longitudinal fold such that the expandable slit sheet is located on the inside of the outer sheet, and wherein the longitudinal fold is substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam;

wherein, when the expandable slotted sheet is in an unexpanded form, the outer sheet extends a greater distance away from the longitudinal seam than the expandable slotted sheet extends from the longitudinal seam; and is also provided with

Wherein the expandable slit sheet in each of the pouches is expandable from the unexpanded form to an expanded form.

2. The web of claim 1, wherein portions of the outer sheet on either side of the longitudinal fold are coupled together to form a transverse seam.

3. The web of claim 2, wherein the closed longitudinal edges of the web at the longitudinal folds form the bottom of the bag, the open longitudinal edges of the web between the longitudinal seams form the open top of the bag, and the transverse seams form the sides of the bag.

4. The web of claim 2, further comprising:

a line of weakness in the longitudinal seam on either side of one of the bags, wherein the line of weakness is breakable to remove the one of the bags from the web.

5. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

a first connecting material on an inner surface of the outer sheet proximate the longitudinal fold; and

a second connecting material on an outer surface of the expandable slit sheet at a location corresponding to the first connecting material on the outer sheet.

6. The web of claim 5, wherein the first and second joining materials are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the first and second joining materials to adhere together upon application of at least one of contact or pressure between the first and second joining materials.

7. The web of claim 6, wherein the first and second attachment materials cause the expandable slit sheet to remain in the expanded form when the first and second attachment materials are adhered together.

8. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slit sheet comprises one or more transverse pleats in one of the pockets.

9. The web of claim 8, wherein the one or more transverse pleats are overlapping portions of the expandable slotted sheets, and wherein a total longitudinal length of the expandable slotted sheets in the one of the pockets including a length of the overlapping portions in the transverse pleats is longer than a longitudinal length of the one of the pockets.

10. The web of claim 8, wherein the transverse pleats are at least partially unfolded when the expandable slit sheet expands in the one of the pockets.

11. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

an inner sheet coupled to the outer sheet and the expandable slit sheet at the longitudinal seam such that the expandable slit sheet is located between the inner sheet and the outer sheet.

12. The web of claim 11, wherein the inner sheet comprises longitudinal pleats so as to allow the inner sheet to be in an unexpanded form.

13. The web of claim 12, wherein the longitudinal pleats are at least partially expandable such that the inner sheet is in an expanded form.

14. The web of claim 13, wherein expansion of the longitudinal pleats that cause the inner sheet to be in an expanded form causes the expandable slit sheet to expand to the expanded form.

15. The web of claim 11, wherein the inner sheet is a multipart inner sheet.

16. The web of claim 15, wherein the multipart inner sheet comprises:

an upper portion coupled to the expandable slit sheet at the longitudinal seam; and

a lower portion folded such that the lower portion substantially conforms to the expandable slotted sheet at the longitudinal fold.

17. The web of claim 16, wherein the lower portion is movable relative to the upper portion.

18. The web of claim 17, wherein the multipart inner sheet further comprises:

a third connecting material located on a lower end of the upper portion; and

and a fourth connecting material on an upper end portion of the lower portion.

19. The web of claim 18, wherein the upper end of the lower portion is located between the upper portion and the expandable slit sheet when the inner sheet is in the unexpanded form.

20. The web of claim 18, wherein the lower portion is movable relative to the upper portion until the third and fourth joining materials contact each other, and wherein the third and fourth joining materials are complementary portions of a binary adhesive that cause the inner sheet to remain in the expanded form upon application of at least one of contact and/or pressure between the third and fourth joining materials.

21. The web of claim 1, wherein each of the outer sheet, the expandable slit sheet, and the inner sheet is made of a fiber-based material.

22. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slit sheet in each of the pockets is individually expandable into the expanded form.

23. The web of claim 1, wherein the expandable slotted sheet comprises a first transverse seam, wherein portions of a first transverse side of the expandable slotted sheet are coupled together by the first transverse seam.

24. The web of claim 23, wherein the expandable slotted sheet comprises a second transverse seam, wherein portions of the second transverse side of the expandable slotted sheet are coupled together by the second transverse seam.

25. The web of claim 1, further comprising:

a second expandable slotted sheet coupled to the expandable slotted sheet and the outer sheet along the longitudinal seam, wherein the second expandable slotted sheet has slits disposed substantially parallel to the longitudinal seam.

26. The web of claim 25, wherein the second expandable slit sheet includes a second transverse seam coupling portions of the second expandable slit sheet to each other.

27. The web of claim 26, wherein the second transverse seam in the second expandable slotted sheet is offset relative to any corresponding longitudinal seam in the expandable slotted sheet.

28. The web of claim 25, wherein:

the expandable slit sheet includes a first transverse seam;

the second expandable slit sheet includes a second transverse seam; and is also provided with

The first transverse seam and the second transverse seam are offset relative to each other such that the expandable stitched-open sheet provides cushioning where the second expandable stitched-open sheet has the second longitudinal seam and the second expandable stitched-open sheet provides cushioning where the expandable stitched-open sheet has the first longitudinal seam when the expandable stitched-open sheet and the second expandable stitched-open sheet are in the expanded form.