EP1458629B1 - Gas-filled packings - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a plastic tube (1) which is prefabricated for the production of gas-filled filling bodies. The plastic tube (1) comprises an upper film and a lower film which are in mutually superposed relationship and which are connected together along their two longitudinal edges (4, 6). In that case provided in the upper film is a transverse cut (12) which is preferably cut in at its ends by stampings (10). In addition the upper film and the lower film are subdivided into individual pockets (7) by weld seams extending in the transverse direction and spaced from each other. The plastic tube can be easily filled by injecting a filling gas, wherein after inflation of the pockets (7) the open ends thereof are welded.

Description

The invention relates to a prefabricated plastic tube for producing gas-filled packing, with a top film and a bottom foil, which are connected to each other gas-tight at a first of their longitudinal edges and welded together to form inflatable pockets in the transverse direction by spaced gas-tight welds. Furthermore, the invention relates to a gas-filled packing for the packaging of articles and a method for producing said plastic tube and a gas-filled packing.

Gas-filled fillers are used, for example, for upholstering objects in transport crates in order to avoid vibrations or damage to the transported objects. The fillers are filled with gas only immediately before use and can therefore be delivered very space-saving to the packer or consumer and stored in this. Another advantage of the packing is that they can hardly increase the packaging weight due to their low weight and can be recycled sorted after their use, since they are usually made of a single plastic material.

In this regard is from the DE 199 13 408 A1 a prefabricated plastic tube of the type mentioned, in which upper film and lower film for forming inflatable pockets in the transverse direction are welded together by mutually spaced pairs of gas-tight welds, wherein the welds from the first longitudinal edge to a predetermined distance from the opposite, extend second longitudinal edge. The pockets each have an accessible from the second longitudinal edge of gas filling opening between the upper and the lower film. As a starting point for the production of such a plastic tube is usually a plastic full hose, it must first be divided in the longitudinal direction into two half-hoses open on one side. This requires an additional step before the actual prefabrication of the plastic tube can take place. Furthermore, it is problematic in the known plastic hose that inevitably occurs with the welding of plastic films shrinkage causes the film runs out of its original transport direction.

From the FR 1 253 645 A It is known to introduce a slot in the top and possibly in the folds of a film tube described therein to fill it.

From the US 6 213 167 B1 It is known to fill a film tube with pockets arranged on both sides of a central axis.

The object of the present invention is to provide a prefabricated plastic tube and a method and apparatus for simpler production of packing.

This object is achieved by a plastic tube having the features of claim 1, by a gas-filled filling body with the features of claim 7, by a manufacturing method having the features of claim 8 and by a method having the features of claim 11.

Advantageous embodiments are contained in the subclaims.

The prefabricated for producing gas-filled packing plastic tube has two films, which are referred to as the upper film and lower film, and arranged one above the other and are connected to a first of their longitudinal edges gas-tight. Further, the upper film and the lower film to form inflatable pockets in the transverse direction are welded together by spaced gas-tight welds. The plastic tube is characterized in that the films are continuously connected to each other also at its second longitudinal edge, and that one of the films, which is hereinafter referred to as the upper film by definition, has a transverse section in the transverse direction.

Unlike the known prefabricated plastic hoses of plastic hose described is closed at both longitudinal edges and has a transverse section. This difference on the one hand manufacturing advantages, since it is not assumed that a half-hose, which must first be cut in a separate operation from a full hose. Rather, a (flattened) full hose can be used directly, so that a whole film tube can be filled in one operation. The performance of a corresponding manufacturing plant can thus be virtually doubled, since not two half-tubes must be filled in succession. Furthermore, the transversal transverse section requires that the welds to be attached to close the pockets after inflation also extend transversely. This is advantageous over a welding operation on a longitudinal edge as in the known film, since such welding and blowing the air at a longitudinal edge of the film inevitably has an asymmetry result, due to which the film on one side from their previous direction can run out. However, such an asymmetry can be avoided in a transverse section. The transverse cuts are preferably arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis of the plastic tube in order to exclude any "preference" of a side of the plastic tube which could lead to asymmetry.

According to a preferred embodiment of the plastic tube, the transversely extending welds are formed in pairs, wherein between the two welds of each pair of welds, a gap is present in which a perforation of both films in the transverse direction. Preferably, this perforation extends continuously from one longitudinal edge of the plastic tube to the other. The perforation makes it possible to separate after filling the inflatable bags and their gas-tight welding, the packing thus prepared by tearing each other.

According to the present, inventive design possibility of the plastic tube, the transverse section ends on at least one side, but preferably on both, with a certain distance from the longitudinal edge of the plastic tube, wherein at this end further a (short) incision in the longitudinal direction is arranged. Such an incision perpendicular to the transverse section interrupts the running direction of the transverse section and thereby prevents an unintentional further tearing of the upper film in the transverse direction. Furthermore, the incisions have the advantage that the limited by the transverse section edge of the top film thereby forms a freely movable tab, which can be opened or folded up during the filling of the gas.

According to another embodiment of the plastic tube has this running in the longitudinal direction, in pairs existing welds, between which a likewise extending in the longitudinal direction perforation is arranged. By such pairs of welds with intermediate perforation of the plastic tube is also divided in the longitudinal direction in (at least) two parts, so that correspondingly narrower inflatable bags arise. The narrower packing formed therefrom allow greater flexibility in their use as packaging material, the overall height distribution of the packing being more uniform than with wider packing.

As already explained above, the two-sided connection of the longitudinal edges of the plastic tube can be achieved by using a flattened full tube as the starting material. In order to increase the reduced by the transversal sections stability of the plastic tube for transport purposes or to allow lower thickness of the plastic films with constant stability, the longitudinal edges of the plastic tube are connected by welds in the longitudinal direction according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The longitudinal direction (at the longitudinal edges or in pairs in the middle) extending welds can be formed continuously. Preferably, however, they are interrupted in the rhythm of the transverse weld seams, their respective sections lying with their first end on a first transverse weld seam and ending with their second end at a certain distance from the next transverse weld seam. Between the second end and the spaced next transverse weld extends furthermore the transverse section. Such an arrangement is particularly advantageous if upper film and lower film are separate in themselves and are connected only by the welds on the longitudinal edges. In this case, namely caused by the interruptions of the longitudinal welds transverse strips in which the upper and lower film are unconnected over its entire width. A cutting device can then be inserted into these transverse strips in a particularly simple manner in order to carry out the transverse cut through the upper film. In this case, advantageously at its edges freely hinged tab is formed.

Furthermore, the plastic tube can have markings which form codes for indicating the position of the welds and / or for displaying the film thickness and / or for displaying the film width. By marking to indicate the position of the welds an otherwise required, complex synchronization of the device for the production of packing is avoided. The markings are preferably formed as punched outs, but could also be imprinted in a likewise preferred manner. Furthermore, markings with coded information about the nature of the plastic tubing may be punched or printed. Thereby, a device for filling the plastic hoses according to the invention can detect the type of film currently being inserted into the device (e.g., film thickness, material, dimensions) and thus automatically adjust various operating parameters, e.g. Welding time and temperature, filling quantity or filling time, transport speed and transport distances etc.

The markings are preferably arranged on a line with the perforations or in their immediate vicinity and are preferred in the manufacture of the tube of punched out the same tool that also introduces the perforations, so that no additional operation is required.

Further, punches may be provided (preferably in the region of the transverse perforation and at least near the longitudinal edges) for engaging a mandrel for further transport of the tube. The plastic tube can be easily passed through a device.

The invention further relates to a gas-filled packing for the packaging of articles, which is characterized in that it has been produced from a plastic tube of the type described above. Such a gas-filled filling body may preferably contain an object to be packaged (individual item or solid / liquid product or bulk material) together with a defined amount of air. A so enclosed in the filler object is optimally protected against shocks and shocks. By cutting the packing, the object can be removed again at any time if necessary. The accommodation of an article in the filler is particularly easy to make when using the plastic tube according to the invention, as this has a wide transverse section, through which the article can be introduced.

The addition to the object to be packaged in the filler enclosed air quantity can be adapted to the respective packaging task. If no completely inflated packing is desired, after the introduction of the objects and just before welding a predetermined part of the injected air through a scraper be pushed out again. Such a subsequent outflow of air offers the advantage that the introduction of the articles into the completely inflated packing is particularly easy, while the volume of the finished packing is reduced. The surrounding air protects the item during transport. The air cushion formed in this way and filled with an article can, for example, be laid as a continuous web in a meandering shape in a cardboard box.

• eine Doppellage aus einer Oberfolie und einer Unterfolie gebildet wird, was insbesondere durch Flachlegen eines Vollschlauches geschehen kann;
• die in Querrichtung verlaufenden Schweißnähte erzeugt werden, welche die einzelnen aufblasbaren Taschen abgrenzen;
• durch Oberfolie und Unterfolie mindestens ein durchgehendes Loch gestanzt wird;
• ein Schneidwerkzeug in das genannte Loch in den Raum zwischen Oberfolie und Unterfolie eingeführt und die Oberfolie hiermit in Querrichtung geschnitten wird, um den Transversalschnitt des Kunststoffschlauches zu erzeugen.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a plastic tube of the type described above, wherein

• a double layer of a top film and a bottom film is formed, which can be done in particular by laying flat a full hose;
• the transverse welds are created delimiting the individual inflatable pockets;
• at least one through hole is punched through the upper foil and lower foil;
• a cutting tool is inserted into said hole in the space between the upper film and the lower film and the upper film is hereby cut transversely to produce the transverse section of the plastic tube.

With the method described, it is possible in a simple manner, the desired transverse section through the top film to create. Preferably, the individual steps of the method are carried out in the order named, but in particular the generation of the welds in the transverse direction after the punching or the generation of the transverse cut can also take place.

• Es wird eine Doppellage bestehend aus einer Oberfolie und einer hiervon separaten Unterfolie gebildet, wobei Oberfolie und Unterfolie zum Beispiel durch ein zweiseitiges Schneiden eines Vollschlauches in Längsrichtung erzeugt werden können. Vorzugsweise wird dabei eine der Folien (zum Beispiel die Oberfolie) schmaler als die andere Folie (Unterfolie) dimensioniert, so dass die breitere Folie an beiden Längsrändern des Kunststoffschlauches etwas übersteht und an diesen Rändern somit für Transportzwecke separat erfasst werden kann.
• die Oberfolie und die Unterfolie werden durch in Längsrichtung verlaufende Schweißnähte im Bereich der Längsränder miteinander verschweißt.

In an alternative method for producing a plastic tube according to the invention, which is advantageously combined with the aforementioned method, the following steps are carried out:

• A double layer is formed consisting of an upper film and a lower film separate therefrom, wherein the upper film and the lower film can be produced, for example, by a two-sided cutting of a full hose in the longitudinal direction. Preferably, one of the films (for example, the upper film) is dimensioned narrower than the other film (lower film), so that the wider film projects slightly beyond both longitudinal edges of the plastic tube and can thus be grasped separately at these edges for transport purposes.
• the upper film and the lower film are welded together by longitudinally extending welds in the region of the longitudinal edges.

The connection of the longitudinal edges over welds has the advantage that they lead to a stabilization of the resulting plastic tube and thus counteract the destabilizing effect of the transverse section.

According to a development of the last-mentioned method, the longitudinally extending weld seams are designed such that they have interruptions, wherein the upper film is cut transversely at the level of these breaks to produce the transverse cuts. The interrupted execution of the longitudinally extending welds has the advantage that transverse strips arise in which the upper film and the lower film are unconnected. In these transverse strips, a tool for cutting the upper film can be introduced in a particularly simple manner, wherein additionally by the transversal cut a tab which is free at the edges is produced.

1. a) Bereitstellen eines vorkonfektionierten Kunststoffschlauchs der oben erläuterten Art;
2. b) Einblasen von Luft oder einem anderen Füllgas in jede Tasche durch die Gas-Einfüllöffnung, die durch den Transversalschnitt in der Oberfolie des Kunststoffschlauchs gebildet wird, und
3. c) gasdichtes Verschweißen der Gas-Einfüllöffnung der gasgefüllten Taschen.

The invention further relates to a method for producing gas-filled random packings, which comprises the following steps:

1. a) providing a prefabricated plastic tube of the type described above;
2. b) blowing air or other filling gas into each pocket through the gas filling opening formed by the transverse cut in the upper film of the plastic tube, and
3. c) gas-tight welding of the gas filling opening of the gas-filled pockets.

Due to the special configuration of the plastic tube used, such a method can be carried out very advantageously. In particular, due to the symmetrical effect of inflation and welding, the plastic film no longer tends to run out of its transport direction.

In the above method, the plastic tube in the second processing step b) during injection of the filling gas preferably guided in a direction away from the top film kink, which may typically be 90 °. By means of such a bend-off course, the tabs formed by the transverse cut are unfolded, so that the filling opening for the injection of the filling gas is "automatically" accessible.

According to another embodiment of the method, an object to be packaged is introduced into the bag to be inflated or inflated prior to welding in step c). By the subsequent welding this object is enclosed in the bag and thereby optimally protected.

• eine Halterung für einen Schlauchvorrat;
• eine Transporteinrichtung zum Transport des Schlauches durch die Vorrichtung;
• eine Gasbefüllungseinrichtung, die eine Düse aufweist, mit der Luft oder ein anderes Füllgas in die Gas-Einfüllöffnungen der Taschen einblasbar ist, und
• eine Schweißeinrichtung, die ein Schweißwerkzeug aufweist, mit dem die Gas-Einfüllöffnungen der Taschen mit einer in Schlauchquerrichtung verlaufenden Schweißnaht gasdicht verschließbar sind,
• wobei die Transporteinrichtung bei der Gasbefüllungseinrichtung einen von der Oberfolie wegknickenden Verlauf aufweist. '

In an apparatus for carrying out the described method, the following elements are provided:

• a holder for a hose supply;
• a transport device for transporting the hose through the device;
• a gas filling device having a nozzle, with the air or other filling gas is inflatable into the gas filling openings of the pockets, and
• a welding device which has a welding tool with which the gas filling openings of the pockets can be closed in a gas-tight manner by means of a weld extending in the transverse direction of the tube,
• wherein the transport device in the gas filling device has a bend away from the top film course. '

In order to minimize any leakage of filling gas, the gas filling device may preferably have hold-downs which, during the filling of the gas, press the tab of the upper foil formed by the transverse cut to the gas filling device.

The device may further comprise markers on the plastic tubing, by which the machine speed and / or the gas filling quantity and / or the welding time are controlled. With the help of such devices, it is thus possible to fill different prefabricated plastic tubes in the device, which can automatically adapt to the optimal conditions.

The transport device of the device can transport the plastic tube cyclically. This means that the filling and the welding process take place in each case when the hose is stationary, and that the hose is subsequently transported by a pocket length.

It is particularly preferred, however, if the plastic hose is continuously guided past the gas filling device and the welding device. Such a procedure usually allows a larger production capacity, the control engineering effort can be kept low by the possible omission of the clock control.

Fig. 1

einen Querschnitt durch den Kunststoffschlauch nach Figur 2 entlang der Linie I-I;

Fig. 2

eine Aufsicht auf eine erste Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Kunststoffschlauchs, die aus einem flachgelegten Vollschlauch hergestellt wird;

Fig. 3

einen Längsschnitt durch den Kunststoffschlauch nach Figur 2 entlang der Linie III-III;

Fig. 4

eine Aufsicht auf den Kunststoffschlauch nach Figur 2 nach dem Verschweißen der aufgeblasenen Taschen;

Fig. 5

einen Querschnitt durch den Kunststoffschlauch nach Figur 4 entlang der Linie V-V, welcher eine gerade aufgeblasene sowie eine aufgeblasene und verschweißte Tasche zeigt;

Fig. 6

eine Aufsicht sowie einen Querschnitt und einen Längsschnitt einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines Kunststoffschlauches mit verschweißten Längsrändern; und

Fig. 7

eine Aufsicht sowie einen Querschnitt und einen Längsschnitt einer dritten Ausführungsform eines Kunststoffschlauches mit taschenweise unterbrochenen Verschweißungen an den Längsrändern sowie im Mittenbereich.

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail by way of example with the aid of the figures. Show it:

Fig. 1

a cross section through the plastic tube of Figure 2 along the line II;

Fig. 2

a plan view of a first embodiment of a plastic tube according to the invention, which is made of a flattened full tube;

Fig. 3

a longitudinal section through the plastic tube of Figure 2 along the line III-III;

Fig. 4

a plan view of the plastic tube of Figure 2 after welding the inflated bags;

Fig. 5

a cross-section through the plastic tube of Figure 4 along the line VV, showing a straight inflated and an inflated and welded bag;

Fig. 6

a plan view and a cross section and a longitudinal section of a second embodiment of a plastic tube with welded longitudinal edges; and

Fig. 7

a plan view and a cross section and a longitudinal section of a third embodiment of a plastic tube with pocket-wise interrupted welds at the longitudinal edges and in the middle region.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a plastic hose 1 according to the invention, which is prefabricated for the easier production of gas-filled packing for packaging purposes. The plastic hose 1 is produced starting from a flattened full hose, wherein it has a top film 2 and a bottom film 3, which are connected to each other at its two longitudinal edges 4 and 6.

In the transverse direction of the plastic tube is divided by pairs of weld seams 5 consisting of a first weld 5a and a second weld 5b in inflatable bags 7. Between the welds 5a, 5b of a pair of welds 5 is a transverse from longitudinal edge 4 to longitudinal edge 6 extending perforation 9, along which the individual pockets 7 and later the gas-filled packing 7 'can be separated by tearing.

The prefabricated plastic tube 1 also has a transversely extending transverse section 12 through the upper film 2. Through this transverse section 12, a filling opening 8 (FIG. 3) is formed, via which a filling gas can be blown into the pocket 7 between the upper film and the lower film. The transverse section is preferably already present in the prefabricated film, but can also be introduced only during the filling of a filling device.

At the two ends of the transverse section 12 preferably short incisions 10 are provided in the longitudinal direction, whereby a hinged flap 11 is formed.

The generation of the transverse cuts 12 is preferably carried out such that holes 10 are first punched through the upper film and lower film, through which then a cutting tool for cutting the upper film in the transverse direction can be introduced.

Figures 4 and 5 show the plastic tube 1 during filling of the pockets 7 with a filling gas which is blown through the filling opening 8 in the pockets 7. In this case, unlike shown in Figure 5, the plastic tube 1 advantageously be deflected by a bend of, for example, 90 °, so that the freestanding flap 11 unfolds by maintaining their direction by itself.

Furthermore, it is indicated in FIG. 5 that, in addition to the filling gas, an article 15 to be packaged (individual object or bulk material) can also be thrown into the filling body, whereby it is packaged optimally protected. The insertion takes place preferably in the moment in which the plastic tube 1 is folded over by 90 °, so that the object can be "thrown" by the force of gravity in the resulting pocket in this way. Subsequently or simultaneously, the bag is filled with a defined volume of air and then welded. Thereby the articles - e.g. Filigree glass parts - protected by an air cushion, whereby the emerging from the machine air cushion web can be easily transported and later processed by machine; i.e. the film web can later be cut in a machine, the articles can be removed individually. Alternatively, in the event that a lesser volume of air bag pockets is desired, it is also conceivable to remove some of the air from the pockets after insertion of the articles and prior to welding so as to achieve a lower transport volume.

In Figure 4, the transversely extending welds 13 can be seen, which generates after injection of the filling gas become. This can take place, for example, in a corresponding device in that a kind of flap with a heating wire drops down and the upper foil is welded to the lower foil. The welds 13 must lie (with reference to FIG. 4) underneath the longitudinal cuts 12 and the holes 10 punched out for this purpose in order to seal off a corresponding pocket space completely gastight.

The gas-filled and completely sealed, finished filler 7 'can then be separated from each other along the transverse perforations 9.

In the alternative embodiment of a plastic hose shown in FIG. 6, in contrast to that of FIGS. 1 to 5, the two longitudinal edges are (additionally or exclusively) connected to one another by weld seams 14 and 16, respectively. Such welds in the longitudinal direction contribute to a stabilization of the plastic tube and thus counteract the easy destabilizing effect of the transverse cuts.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the embodiment according to FIG. 6. Upper foil 2 and lower foil 3 are in turn connected by longitudinally extending welds 24 and 26, respectively, but they are not continuous, but only from a first transverse weld 5b to a distance of the next transverse weld 5a. Between the last-mentioned weld seam 5a and the end of the weld seams 24 and 26, the transverse cut 12 lies through the upper film 2.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of Figure 7, the lower film 3 is slightly wider than the upper film 2, so that they on both sides of the longitudinal edges 4 and 6 projects slightly. The lower film 3 can be detected and guided on these projections by a corresponding device.

Furthermore, it can be seen in FIG. 7 that in the middle of the plastic tube 1 further welding seams 21 and 22 running parallel in the longitudinal direction are arranged, between which a perforation 20 extending in the longitudinal direction is formed. As a result, the plastic tube is divided into two parts in the longitudinal direction, so that each adjacent inflatable bags 7a, 7b arise.

Claims (13)

1. A plastic tube (1) for the production of gas-filled filling bodies comprising an upper film (2) and a lower film (3) which are gas-tightly connected together throughout in mutually superposed relationship at their first longitudinal edge (4) and their second longitudinal edge (6) and are welded together to form inflatable pockets (7, 7a, 7b) in the transverse direction by gas-tight weld seams (5a, 5b) arranged at a spacing relative to each other, characterised in that the upper film (2) has a transverse cut (12) in the transverse direction which at at least one side ends at a spacing relative to the longitudinal edges (4, 6), wherein an incision (10) is arranged at said end in the longitudinal direction.
2. A plastic tube according to claim 1 characterised in that the weld seams extending in the transverse direction are arranged in pairs, wherein provided between the weld seams (5a, 5b) of each pair (5) thereof is an intermediate space in which a perforation (9) through both films extends in the transverse direction.
3. A plastic tube according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that the transverse cut (12) ends at a spacing relative to the longitudinal edges (4, 6) and that incisions (10) are arranged at its ends in the longitudinal direction.
4. A plastic tube according to one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that there are provided weld seams (21, 22) which extend in the longitudinal direction and which are arranged in pairs and between which is provided a perforation (20) extending in the longitudinal direction.
5. A plastic tube according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that its longitudinal edges are connected together by weld seams (14, 16, 24, 26).
6. A plastic tube according to claim 4 or claim 5 characterised in that the weld seams (21, 22, 24, 26) extending in the longitudinal direction comprise portions of which a first end is respectively disposed on a first transversely extending weld seam (5b) and a second end is at a spacing relative to the next transversely extending weld seam (5a), wherein the transverse cut (12) extends through the upper film between the second end and the next weld seam (5a).
7. A gas-filled filling body (7') for the packaging of articles characterised in that it is produced from a plastic tube (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 and contains an article (15) to be packaged.
8. A process for the production of a plastic tube (1) comprising an upper film (2) and a lower film (3) which are gas-tightly connected together throughout in mutually superposed relationship at their first longitudinal edge (4) and their second longitudinal edge (6) and are welded together to form inflatable pockets (7, 7a, 7b) in the transverse direction by gas-tight weld seams (5a, 5b) arranged at a spacing relative to each other, wherein the upper film (2) has a transverse cut (12) in the transverse direction which at at least one side ends at a spacing relative to the longitudinal edges (4, 6), wherein an incision (10) is arranged at said end in the longitudinal direction, characterised in that

   - a double layer is formed from an upper film (2) and a lower film (3);

   - weld seams (5a, 5b) are produced in the transverse direction;

   - at least one hole forming the incision (10) is stamped through the upper film (2) and the lower film (3); and

   - a cutting tool is introduced into the hole and the upper film (2) is thereby cut in the transverse direction to produce a transverse cut (12).
9. A process for the production of a plastic tube according to claim 8,
   characterised in that

   - a double layer is formed from an upper film (2) and a lower film (3) which is separate therefrom, wherein one of the films (2) is preferably narrower than the other film (3); and

   - the upper film (2) and the lower film (3) are welded together by weld seams (14, 16, 24, 26) extending in the longitudinal direction.
10. A process according to claim 9 characterised in that the weld seams (24, 26) extending in the longitudinal direction have interruptions, at the level of which the upper film (2) is cut in the transverse direction to produce the transverse cuts (12).
11. A process for the production of gas-filled filling bodies (7') comprising the following steps:

    a) providing a prefabricated plastic tube (1) comprising an upper film (2) and a lower film (3) which are gas-tightly connected together throughout in mutually superposed relationship at their first longitudinal edge (4) and their second longitudinal edge (6) and are welded together to form inflatable pockets (7, 7a, 7b) in the transverse direction by gas-tight weld seams (5a, 5b) arranged at a spacing relative to each other, wherein the upper film (2) has a transverse cut (12) in the transverse direction which at at least one side ends at a spacing relative to the longitudinal edges (4, 6), wherein an incision (10) is arranged at said end in the longitudinal direction;

    b) injecting air or another filling gas into each pocket (7, 7a, 7b) through the gas filling opening (8) which is formed by the transverse cut (12) in the upper film (2) of the plastic tube (1), and

    c) gas-tight welding of the gas filling opening (8) of the gas-filled pockets (7) by a weld seam extending in the transverse direction.
12. A process according to claim 11 characterised in that the plastic tube (1) in step b) in the injection of air or another filling gas is guided in a bend, wherein the angle formed on the side of the lower film by the bend is less than 180°
13. A process according to claim 11 or claim 12 characterised in that prior to the welding operation in step c) an article to be packaged (15) is introduced into the pocket (7).

Images