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KR-20260066767-A - TENSION-ACTIVATED, EXPANDING SHEETS

KR20260066767AKR 20260066767 AKR20260066767 AKR 20260066767AKR-20260066767-A

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to tension-activated expandable articles, films, and sheets. In some embodiments, these articles, films, and/or sheets are used as cushioning films and/or packaging materials. The present invention also relates to methods for manufacturing and using these tension-activated expandable articles, films, and sheets.

Inventors

  • 코리건 토마스 알.
  • 플레밍 패트릭 알.
  • 코스그로브 딜런 티.
  • 랭어-앤더슨 델로니 엘.
  • 밀러 리사 엠.
  • 너멀 매노즈

Assignees

  • 쓰리엠 이노베이티브 프로퍼티즈 컴파니

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20201216
Priority Date
20191223

Claims (20)

  1. As an expansion material, A sheet defining a plane having axial and transverse directions; A first plurality of slits through the sheet—the first plurality of slits form a first row extending across the sheet in the transverse direction, and each slit within the first plurality of slits extends from a first end to a second end—; and An expansion material comprising: a second plurality of slits through the sheet—the second plurality of slits forming a second row extending across the sheet in the transverse direction, each slit within the second plurality of slits extending between end portions, and a first end portion segment defining the first end portion of each slit within the first plurality of slits intersecting a first imaginary line connecting the end portions of the first slits within the second plurality of slits.
  2. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 and 3 through 20, wherein the first end portion of each slit within the first plurality of slits is aligned with the first virtual line.
  3. In any one of claims 1, 2 and 4 through 20, an expanding material wherein each slit within the first plurality of slits extends through the first virtual line.
  4. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 20, wherein a second end segment defining a second end of each of the slits within the first plurality of slits intersects a second virtual line connecting the end segments of the second slits within the second plurality of slits.
  5. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and claims 6 to 20, wherein the second end portion of each slit within the first plurality of slits is aligned with the second virtual line.
  6. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and claims 7 to 20, wherein each slit within the first plurality of slits extends through the second virtual line.
  7. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and claims 8 to 20, wherein the first plurality of slits comprises a repeating pattern of slits.
  8. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and claims 9 to 20, wherein the second plurality of slits comprises a repeating pattern of slits.
  9. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and claims 10 to 20, wherein each slit within the first plurality of slits comprises a transverse portion between a first axial portion and a second axial portion, wherein the first end portion is along the first axial portion and the second end portion is along the second axial portion.
  10. In paragraph 9, the expansion material, wherein each transverse portion is a zigzag pattern.
  11. In paragraph 9, each transverse portion is a curved, expanding material.
  12. In paragraph 9, an expansion material in which each transverse portion is a straight line.
  13. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 12 and claims 14 to 20, wherein each slit within the first plurality of slits comprises a third end and a fourth end.
  14. An expansion material according to claim 13, wherein the first end portion is aligned with the third end portion along the axial axis, and the second end portion is aligned with the fourth end portion along the axial axis.
  15. In paragraph 13, the second plurality of slits is an expansion material having four end portions.
  16. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 15 and claims 17 to 20, wherein the sheet further comprises a plurality of first rows and second rows alternating in the axial direction.
  17. In any one of claims 1 to 16 and 18 to 20, the sheet comprises a third plurality of slits through the sheet—the third plurality of slits form a third row extending across the sheet in the transverse direction, and each slit within the third plurality of slits extends from a first end to a second end—; and An extension material further comprising: a fourth plurality of slits through the sheet—the fourth plurality of slits form a fourth row extending across the sheet in the transverse direction, each slit within the fourth plurality of slits extends between end portions, and a first end portion segment defining the first end portion of each slit within the third plurality of slits intersects a first imaginary line connecting the end portions of the first slits within the fourth plurality of slits.
  18. In claim 17, the sheet further comprises a plurality of first rows, second rows, third rows and fourth rows that alternate in a repeating pattern along the axial direction, an extension material.
  19. In any one of claims 1 to 18 and 20, the first virtual line is an expansion material extending in the transverse direction.
  20. An expansion material according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein each slit within the first plurality of slits does not intersect with any slit within the second plurality of slits.

Description

Tension-Activated, Expanding Sheets The present invention generally relates to tension-activated expansion articles, films, and sheets. In some embodiments, these articles, films, and/or sheets are used as cushioning films and/or packaging materials. The present invention also relates to methods for manufacturing and using these tension-activated expansion articles, films, and sheets. In 2016, consumers purchased more products online than in stores ( Consumers Are Now Doing Most of their Shopping Online, Fortune Magazine, June 8, 2016). Specifically, consumers made 51% of their purchases online and 49% at brick-and-mortar stores. One consequence of this shift in consumer behavior is the increasing number of packages mailed and delivered daily. Over 13.4 billion packages are delivered to homes and businesses worldwide each year (approximately 5.2 billion by the U.S. Postal Service, 3.3 billion by FedEx, and 4.9 billion by UPS). While non-package mail deliveries are decreasing annually, package deliveries are increasing at a rate of approximately 8% per year. This growth has resulted in package deliveries accounting for 25% of the U.S. Postal Service's business. (Washington Examiner, " For every Amazon package it delivers, the Postal Service loses $1.46 ," September 1, 2017 ) . Amazon delivers about 3 million packages a day, and Alibaba delivers about 12 million packages a day. He is not merely a business that ships packages. The growing Maker culture creates opportunities for individuals to ship their handmade products globally through websites like Etsy™. Additionally, an increased focus on sustainability leads many consumers to resell second-hand items on sites like eBay™ rather than throwing them in landfills. For example, over 25 million people sell items on eBay™, and over 171 million people buy these items. Individuals and businesses shipping these goods often ship them in shipping containers, typically boxes, containing the products to be shipped, cushioning material, and air. Boxes have many advantages, such as the ability to stand upright, their lightweight nature, their ability to be stored flat, their recyclability, and their relatively low cost. However, boxes are often provided in standard sizes that do not match the size of the goods being shipped; therefore, users must fill the boxes with a large amount of filler or cushioning material to protect the shipped goods from bumping around and being damaged inside boxes that are too large. Package cushioning materials protect goods during shipping. The effects of vibration and impact shocks during shipping and loading/unloading are mitigated by the cushioning materials, reducing the possibility of product damage. Cushioning materials are often placed inside shipping containers, where they absorb energy, for example, through buckling and deformation, and/or by damping vibrations or transferring shocks and vibrations to the cushioning material rather than to the goods being shipped. In other cases, packaging materials are also used for functions other than cushioning, for example, to immobilize and hold the goods to be shipped within the box. Alternatively, packaging materials are also used to fill voids, for instance, when a box significantly larger than the goods to be shipped is used. Some exemplary packaging materials include plastic Bubble Wrap™, bubble film, cushion wrap, air pillow, shredded paper, crepe paper, shredded aspen, vermiculite, cradle, and corrugated bubble film. Many of these packaging materials are not recyclable. One exemplary packaging material is illustrated in FIGS. 1a through 1c. The film (100) is manufactured from a paper sheet comprising a pattern of multiple cuts or slits (110), often referred to as a "skip slit pattern," which is a type of single slit pattern. When the film (100) is tension-activated (when pulled along a tension axis (T) substantially perpendicular to the cuts or slits (110)), multiple beams (130) are formed. The beams (130) are regions between adjacent coaxial rows of slits. The beams (130) formed by the slits (110) collectively undergo some degree of upward and downward movement (see, for example, FIGS. 1b and 1c). This upward and downward movement results in the two-dimensional article (a substantially flat sheet) of FIG. 1a becoming the three-dimensional article of FIGS. 1b and 1c when tension-activated. When such films are used as packaging materials, the three-dimensional structure provides a certain degree of cushioning compared to a two-dimensional flat structure. A cut or slit pattern of a film (100) is illustrated in FIG. 1a and described in U.S. Patent No. 4,105,724 (Talbot) and No. 5,667,871 (Goodrich et al.). Such a pattern comprises a plurality of substantially parallel rows (112) of a plurality of individual linear slits (110). Each individual linear slit (110) within a given row (112) is in phase different from each individual linear slit (110) within an immediately adjacent and substantia