Packaging apparatus for film inflation and method thereof

Abstract

A packaging apparatus with an improved pinch roller apparatus, fluid supply apparatus, and/or a sealing apparatus. The pinch roller apparatus (e.g., comprising one or more guide and/or pinch rollers) is used to deliver film material to the fluid supply apparatus (e.g., nozzle and blower apparatus, or the like) that fills one or more chambers of the film material with fluid (e.g., air, gas, or other like fluid), and the film material is then sealed by a sealing apparatus (e.g., using one or more heating elements with an improved temperature sensor configuration) that seals the fluid within the one or more chambers in order to form the inflated article (e.g., inflated packaging material). In particular, the sealing apparatus provides improved sealing through the improved accuracy of the temperature reading in the heating zone, in part, by locating a sensor between a heating element and a protective member that covers the sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A packaging apparatus comprising:
 a pinch roller apparatus comprising:
 a first roller configured to spin around a first roller axis; and 
 a second roller configured to spin around a second roller axis; and 
 wherein the first roller or the second roller is adjustable with respect to the other roller to pinch a film material between the first roller and the second roller and guide the film material towards a nozzle apparatus that inflates the film. 
   
     
     
         2 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first roller comprises a pinch roller, and the second roller comprises a guide roller. 
     
     
         3 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first roller and the second roller are pinch rollers that are both adjustable with respect to each other. 
     
     
         4 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a film supply member with a supply longitudinal axis, wherein the film supply member is configured to support a spool of the film material that rotates around the longitudinal axis of the film supply member.   
     
     
         5 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has a roller longitudinal axis that is angled with respect to an orientation of the film material in a sealing apparatus, wherein the roller longitudinal axis guides the film material out of plane with respect to the orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus. 
     
     
         6 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has a non-uniform surface, wherein the non-uniform surface guides the film material out of plane with respect to an orientation of the film material in a sealing apparatus. 
     
     
         7 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the non-uniform surface of the first roller or the second roller comprises a diverging portion in which a surface diverges from a first cross-sectional area to a second cross-sectional area that is smaller than the first cross-sectional area. 
     
     
         8 . A packaging apparatus comprising:
 a film supply member having a supply longitudinal axis, wherein the film supply member is configured to support a spool of film material that rotates around the supply longitudinal axis of the film supply member; and   a pinch roll apparatus, wherein the pinch roll apparatus comprises:
 a first roller configured to spin around a first roller axis; and 
 a second roller configured to spin around a second roller axis; 
 wherein the first roller and the second roller are configured to pinch the film material between the first roller and the second roller and guide the film material towards a nozzle apparatus that inflates the film material before the film material is sealed by a sealing apparatus; and 
 wherein the first roller or the second roller has a roller longitudinal axis that is angled with respect to an orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus or a non-uniform surface, wherein the roller longitudinal axis or the non-uniform surface guides the film material out of plane with respect to the orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus. 
   
     
     
         9 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first roller or the second roller is adjustable with respect to the other roller to pinch the film material between the first roller and the second roller. 
     
     
         10 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first roller comprises a pinch roller and the second roller comprises a guide roller. 
     
     
         11 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first roller and the second roller are pinch rollers that are both adjustable with respect to each other. 
     
     
         12 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has the roller longitudinal axis that is angled with respect to the orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus. 
     
     
         13 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has the non-uniform surface. 
     
     
         14 . The packaging apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the non-uniform surface of the first roller or the second roller comprises a diverging portion in which a surface diverges from a first cross-sectional area to a second cross-sectional area that is smaller than the first cross-sectional area. 
     
     
         15 . A method of operating a package apparatus, the method comprising:
 feeding a film material from a film supply member to a nozzle apparatus using a pinch roll apparatus, wherein the pinch roll apparatus comprises:
 a first roller configured to spin around a first roller axis; and 
 a second roller configured to spin around a second roller axis; and 
 wherein the first roller and the second roller are configured to pinch the film material between the first roller and the second roller and guide the film material towards the nozzle apparatus that inflates the film material before the film material is sealed by a sealing apparatus; and 
 wherein the first roller or the second roller has a roller longitudinal axis that is angled with respect to an orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus or a non-uniform surface, wherein the roller longitudinal axis or the non-uniform surface guides the film material out of plane with respect to the orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus; 
   inflating one or more chambers of the film material with a fluid using the nozzle apparatus;   feeding the film material through the sealing apparatus; and   sealing the one or more chambers of the film material using the sealing apparatus.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first roller or the second roller is adjustable with respect to the other roller to pinch the film material between the first roller and the second roller. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first roller comprises a pinch roller, and the second roller comprises a guide roller. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first roller and the second roller are pinch rollers that are both adjustable with respect to each other. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has the roller longitudinal axis that is angled with respect to the orientation of the film material in the sealing apparatus. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first roller or the second roller has the non-uniform surface, and wherein the non-uniform surface of the first roller or the second roller comprises a diverging portion in which a surface diverges from a first cross-sectional area to a second cross-sectional area that is smaller than the first cross-sectional area.