Claims
- 1. A cushioning conversion machine for converting stock material into a relatively low density cushioning dunnage product, comprising a shaping member over which the stock material is drawn to form the stock material into a three-dimensional shape, a feed mechanism for drawing the stock material over the shaping member, and a cutting assembly for cutting the cushioning dunnage product into cut sections, including a blade assembly and an operator assembly for operating said blade assembly, said blade assembly including a pair of relatively movable blades and said operator assembly including a handle member movable in a first direction to move said blades together and in a second direction to move said blades apart, said handle is movable in said second direction to a feed position at which said blades are relatively moved apart sufficiently to permit passage of the dunnage product therebetween and in said first direction to a cut complete position sufficient to cut the dunnage product to form a cut piece, said feed mechanism includes at least one rotatable member for engaging and advancing the stock material, a drive motor for driving said one rotatable member, and a control member operatively connected to said drive motor for controlling energization and de-energization of said drive motor, and said control member is functionally related to said handle such that movement of said handle in said second direction to said feed position effects energization of said drive motor and movement of said handle in said first direction effects de-energization of said drive motor.
- 2. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein said handle is connected to means movable in response to movement of said handle for actuating said control member to energize said motor when said means for moving is moved by said handle to a first position, and resilient means is provided for resiliently biasing said means for moving away from said first position to deactuate said control member if said handle is released when said means for moving is in said first position.
- 3. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein said means for moving includes a spring-biased plunger.
- 4. A method of converting a stock material into a cushioning product, said method comprising the steps of (1) providing a stock material, (2) moving an operating handle of a conversion machine in a first direction to cause the conversion machine to produce a continuous strip of a relatively low density dunnage product, and (3) moving the operating handle in a reverse direction to manually actuate a cutting assembly of the conversion machine to provide a cut piece of the dunnage product.
- 5. A cushioning conversion machine for converting stock material into a cushioning dunnage product, said machine comprising:
- a forming assembly which forms the stock material into a three-dimensional strip of dunnage;
- a stock supply assembly, positioned upstream of the forming assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly;
- a feed assembly, positioned downstream of the stock supply assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly;
- a cutting assembly, positioned downstream of the forming assembly, which cuts the strip of dunnage into sections of a desired length; and
- an operating assembly including a handle member which when moved to a first position activates the feed assembly and which when moved to a second position activates the cutting assembly.
- 6. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein the feed assembly includes a motor which is energized when the handle member is moved to the first position.
- 7. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 6 wherein the feed assembly includes at least one rotatable member for advancing the stock material and wherein the rotatable member is driven by the motor.
- 8. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 7 wherein the feed assembly includes a control member activated when the handle member in the first position to thereby energize the drive motor.
- 9. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 8 wherein the control member is biased to move the handle away from the first position whereby if the handle member is released the motor will be de-energized.
- 10. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 5 wherein the feed assembly includes a motor, an energy storage device for storing power, and a circuit for selectively supplying power from the energy storage device to the motor for energizing the motor.
- 11. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 10 wherein the motor is an electrical motor and the energy storage device is a battery.
- 12. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 11 further comprising a support structure for the first and second units and wherein the battery is carried on the support structure.
- 13. A cushioning conversion machine as set forth in claim 12 wherein the support structure comprises a stand which includes a holder for the battery.
- 14. A method of making cut sections of a cushioning product, said method comprising the steps of:
- supplying a stock material; and
- providing a cushioning conversion machine including a forming assembly which forms the stock material into a three-dimensional strip of dunnage, a stock supply assembly, positioned upstream of the forming assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly, a feed assembly, positioned downstream of the stock supply assembly, which supplies the stock material to the forming assembly, a cutting assembly, positioned downstream of the forming assembly, which cuts the strip of dunnage into sections of a desired length; and an operating assembly including a handle member which when moved to a first position activates the feed assembly and which when moved to a second position activates the cutting assembly;
- moving the handle member to a first position to activate the feed assembly to supply stock material to the forming assembly to form a strip of dunnage;
- moving the handle member to the second position to activate the cutting assembly to cut the strip of dunnage into sections of a desired length to make cut sections of a cushioning product.
- 15. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said supplying step comprises supplying stock material that is biodegradable, recyclable, and reusable.
- 16. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said supplying step comprises supplying stock material that is Kraft paper.
- 17. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said supplying step comprises supplying stock material that comprises multiple plies of Kraft paper.
- 18. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said supplying step comprises supplying stock material that comprises a roll of three superimposed plies of Kraft paper.
- 19. A method as set forth in claim 18 wherein said supplying step comprises supplying stock material that is approximately 27 inches wide.
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 08/386,355, filed Feb. 8, 1995, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/337,929 filed Nov. 10, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No.: 5,607,383, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/326,782 filed Oct. 20, 1994, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/279,150 filed on Jul. 22, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No.: 5,593,376. All of the aforesaid applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (35)
Continuation in Parts (4)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
386355 |
Feb 1995 |
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Parent |
337929 |
Nov 1994 |
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Parent |
326782 |
Oct 1994 |
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Parent |
279150 |
Jul 1994 |
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