Abstract:
A machine and method for the manufacture of a continuous production of pneumatically filled packaging pillows for use as void fill packaging for the safe shipping of articles. A strip of flattened preformed film material with a repeated sealing pattern is advanced along a path through the machine and include a common inflation channel that is guided onto a longitudinally extending inflation tube at a first station. The inflation tube has an orifice through which pressurized air is expressed in controlled fashion to inflate pillow chambers that emanate off the common inflation channel of the film material. The film material is advanced to a second station where continuous longitudinally extending heat seals are formed in the film material in a manner to trap and confine a quantity of air inside the inflated pillow chambers. The film material is then advance to a third station where the common inflation channel is slit open in order to release the film material from the inflation tube of the machine. An advantageous aspect of the invention is that the film material is advanced along the path from station to station in a continuous motion.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
     The co-pending application Ser. No. 09/207,129 filed Dec. 8, 1998 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING AIR-FILLED SHEET PLASTIC SHIPPING CUSHIONS AND THE LIKE”, Nicholas P. De Luca and Andrew Perkins inventors, is incorporated by reference in this application. 
     Subject matter in this application was originally filed in provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/123,497, filed on Mar. 9, 1999. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a machine and method for making a continuous production pneumatically filled sheet plastic cushions or pillows for the shipping and storage of delicate articles; being more concerned with structures, apparatus and techniques of the type disclosed in earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,454,642, 5,651,237, and 5,755,328 of the commonly assignee herewith, (systems employing a plastic thin film substrate in conjunction with machinery to automate or semi-automate the packaging of items within cushions of air formed and bounded by such substrates), and to improvements thereon. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The use of air-filled envelopes, cushions, and pillows (herein collectively referred to as “inflatables”) for packaging and shipping has, in the past 10 years, become reality through the use of thin film plastics which are inexpensive, tough, resilient, and recyclable. Such inflatables are created using heat sealed bags from these plastic films and can be advantageously used for void-fill packaging to replace products such as crumpled paper or polystyrene peanuts and for protective packaging to replace products such as molded or extruded foams. Overall, inflatables offer cost advantages over conventional materials because of their minimal storage volume and inherent minimal material usage. 
     The difficulties in creating inflatable packaging are generally related to the inflation process. In accordance with the conventional technique, two layers of the plastic film are formed together as tubing which is then divided into sections to create individual bags that must be inflated at the user site. The air must be sealed shut within the bag. Conventionally, this is accomplished by using valves or by heat sealing the plastic tubing during inflation. Inherently, this inflation process is slow and causes intermittent production of the air-filled bags or pillows rather than continuous production. 
     In accordance with one prior art technique, the inflation for each bag is accomplished by inserting air nozzles or needles into the plastic substrate of the material or into the valves. The step of inserting the air nozzle or needle into the substrate material or valving for each individual bag requires that the bags be stationary for best results. This adds complexity to the machine and reduces the robustness of the inflation system. In addition, the time cycle associated with the inflation process can be on the order of 2 to 10 seconds and this adds additional production delay. Furthermore, it is difficult to insert a needle into the valve or through the wall of the flexible tubing without pricking the tubing material a second time. A machine and method which eliminates the use of air nozzles and needles for pressurizing inflatable packages and which further allows for continuous production of several air-filled bags simultaneously would constitute a significant advance in the art. 
     Once the inflatable bag has been pressurized with air, the bag must be sealed to capture the pressurized air in the bag. In accordance with one conventional technique, one way valves, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,328, are used to keep air inside the inflated bag. However, such valves are prone to leakage problems. Moreover, the use of valves add significantly to the cost to produce each bag. In addition, both flutter valves and solid rigid valves, because of their thickness, tend to complicate and inhibit the compact folding or roll-up capability of the deflated end-to-end packages such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,642. Accordingly, a machine and method which allows for the continuous production of inflatable packages from a compact roll of adjacent and connected deflated inflatable preformed plastic film material would be desirable. 
     One alternative to using valves in the inflatable bags is to heat seal the upper and lower film layers of the preformed bag together so that the air is trapped within the bag to form the inflated package. In general, the process of heat sealing bags is time consuming and requires a minimum of 1 to 2 seconds to accomplish for polyethylene based films of thicknesses ranging from 0.001 to 0.003 inches. In addition, the handling and positioning of the film can require an additional 1 to 5 seconds. To the inventors&#39; knowledge, techniques for heat sealing continuously moving polyethylene based films has not been perfected for inflatable packaging applications. One difficulty encountered in forming a heat seal in moving plastic sheet is maintaining the delicate balance of temperature, pressure and duration necessary to ensure a strong and reliable bond as the material is moving (often at variable speeds) relative to the heat seal apparatus. If the heating element is too hot or the applied pressure is too great, the plastic simply melts completely through or the seam rips open. If the heating element is not hot enough, the fuse area of melted plastic between the sheets to be joined does not hold and the seam fails. Another factor which complicates the heat sealing process of moving plastic sheet material is the internal inflation pressure of the adjacent air filled cavity which has a tendency to pulls apart the newly heat sealed seam. 
     In order to reduce costs of packages, some systems avoid preforming the inflatable plastic bags prior to the customer end-use and instead use a single continuous sheet of plastic film that has been folded lengthwise with the edges joined together to form tubing from which bags are created at the time of need. The film is fed into a machine and divided into bag sections which are individually inflated and heat sealed perpendicularly to the length of the tubing thus creating a chain of inflated packets. Such systems are slow because they require individual inflation and heat sealing of each bag section perpendicularly to the direction of the movement of the film (tubing). In consequence, the film must either be stopped to heat seal it shut, or an oscillating sealing station must be used which moves in the direction of the film. 
     The present invention is directed to machine and method for the manufacture of a continuous production of pneumatically filled pillows from a strip of flattened preformed film material of adjacent and connected inflatable plastic pillow sections, wherein the individual pillows of the pillow sections are heat sealed in the same direction of movement of the film material in order to confine the gas therein. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is among the objects of the invention to provide a machine for making, at low cost, a production of pneumatically filled packaging pillows from a sheet of preformed film material of adjacent and connected uninflated inflatable flat bag assemblies or pillow sections, and wherein the pneumatically filled pillows are useful for both void-fill and protective packaging applications. 
     It is related object of this invention to provide a method of producing pneumatically filled packaging pillows from preformed plastic film material wherein individual bag or pillow sections of the film material are inflated and sealed closed as the film material is in continuous motion. 
     Briefly, the invention employs a strip of preformed plastic sheet or film material such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,642 for use in the continuous production of inflatable packaging pillows. Such preformed film material is most commonly composed of an upper and a lower sheet and is patterned with heat seals to form a plurality of adjacent and connected inflatable flat bag assemblies or pillow sections. Each pillow section includes two pillow chambers disposed on either side of a common longitudinally extending inflation channel. The heat seals form the periphery of the pillow chambers and also form a necked-down area or entrance port that connects each pillow chamber to the common inflation channel. The adjacent pairs of pillow chambers of each pillow section are separable from the adjacent and connected pillow sections via perforations placed perpendicularly to the length of the film material and are also separable from one another by perforations located along the length of the common inflation channel. 
     The inflatable flat pillow sections can, in addition, be modified to incorporate secondary heat seals inside the periphery of each pillow chamber so that when the pillow chambers are inflated a modified pillow shape results. This allows for the creation of pneumatically filled packages which resemble “bubble-wrap” and also for the creation of specialty packages. 
     The peripheral seals of the flat pillow sections are generally formed using a platen or impulse heat sealing press on plastic sheets commonly ranging in thickness from 0.008 to 0.001 inches. The seals that define the common inflation channel are formed to overlap end to end to create an infinitely extended channel area with sequential pillow chambers emanating from the common inflation channel. Once the strip of plastic material has been pressed to form the adjacent and connected flat pillow sections the resulting “formed” film material can either be wound on a roll or folded to create a stack of units. In accordance with an advantageous aspect of the invention, the preformed film material can be compactly rolled or folded since bulky valves are not present. 
     The machine for creating the inflated packages or pillows includes a pair of closely spaced idler rollers that extend perpendicularly to the direction of the film material length and through which the material is fed. As the flattened preformed film material is advanced through the machine, the open end of the common inflation channel of the film material is first guided over an inflation tube at a first station. The inflation tube extends longitudinally in the direction of the length of the film and is connected to an air source. The tip or inserted end of the inflation tube is provided with a Teflon) ball. The ball or adjacent area of the inflation tube is provided with an orifice or nozzle through which pressurized air or other suitable gas is introduced into the common inflation channel of the film material and subsequently into the adjoining pillow chambers via the respective ports of each pillow section as the film material advances along the inflation tube. 
     The film material is then pulled over the tube for approximately five to ten inches and then is fed through a secondary set of driven nip rollers or wheels located on either side of the tube. As the film material is griped by the nip rollers, it is pulled further “down-stream” through a heat sealer or seal forming apparatus at a second station. The seal forming apparatus is operative to form a pair of spaced apart continuous seals that extend in the longitudinal direction (direction of travel) of the film material. Each seal is parallel to and adjacent the respective channel seals of the common inflation channel. The two continuous seals formed by the seal forming apparatus effectively close off the respective transversely oriented openings or ports thereby capturing a quantity of the pressurized air within the respective pillow chambers. In order to allow for the removal of the central channel from the tube, the film material is advanced to a third station at which there is a blade, generally positioned at an angle along the tube adjacent the driven nip rollers. As the film is pulled by the nip rollers, the bottom layer (and/or top layer if desired) of the two ply construction is (are) slit open, thus allowing the now inflated pillow sections to release from the inflation tube at the third station. 
     The inflated pillow sections are then ejected from the machinery on a single unit (i.e. pillow) basis by tearing along the line of perforations located between adjacent pillow sections and also along the non-slit perforated layer of the common channel. Alternatively, the inflated pillow sections can be ejected uncut into a collection bin so that a user can determine the length required and separate the units as needed. 
     In addition, the pneumatically filled pillow sections can be folded along the center channel and then passed through a secondary set of rotary heat sealers to seal the external peripheral edges and create the dual pouch protective packaging described by De Luca in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,642. These packaging units also being automatically or manually separated. 
     The machine as described herein for creating the inflated packages utilizes a continuous process with cycle times ranging on the order of 1 to 2 seconds per package. The machine can also be made to create packages of a predetermined length by simply engaging or disengaging the drive mechanism at a regulated interval. 
     In accordance with one advantageous aspect of the invention, the introduction of air or gas into the pillow sections is accomplished by pulsing the air in several discreet bursts in order to increase the air flow pressure into bags without increasing the total airflow volume. We have found that the use of this “pulsing” process yields a higher percentage of fully inflated bags or pillows with low incidence of popping or bag breakage. The pulsing of the bags or pillows also facilitates the controlled movement of the inflated pillow sections through the machine without bunching up at the drive rollers. 
     Methods and apparatus which incorporate the features described above and which are effective to function as described above constitute specific objects of this invention. 
     Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what are now considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is plan view of a strip of sheet material of adjacent and connected preformed inflatable packaging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a means of making the sheet material of adjacent and connected deflated inflatable plastic pillow structure of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a machine in accordance with the present invention for manufacturing air-filled sheet plastic shipping pillows or cushions in a continuous manner from a roll of film material formed by the apparatus of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the machine similar to that shown in FIG.  3  and also showing the film being advanced, inflated, sealed, and separated; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the region encircled by arrow  5 — 5  in FIG. 4 showing the first set of driver rollers for advancing the film through the primary apparatus. 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded isometric view of the region encircled by arrow  6 — 6  in FIG. 4 showing the detail of the heat sealer apparatus. 
     FIG. 7 is an isometric view illustrating the inflation tube tip of the automatic machinery and the incorporation of the cutting blades adjacent to the heat sealer apparatus (not shown). 
     FIG. 8 is plan view of inflatable packaging material constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 9 is plan view of inflatable packaging material constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate an alternate embodiment of the machine shown in FIGS.  3  and  4 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The terms “pillows”, “bags”, and “cushions” are used interchangeably in the following description. The pneumatically filled pillows manufactured by the machine and method of the present invention originate from a strip of preformed plastic sheet or film material. 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a strip of flattened preformed film material  10  provided with a sealing pattern of four adjacent and connected inflatable flat pillow sections  12  (a fifth flat pillow section is partially shown at the far right of the figure). As will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 2, the film material  10  is preferably formed from two sheets of superimposed film layers, although the film material may also be formed from a single sheet of plastic film which is folded in the lengthwise direction with the edges joined together to form a tube. Most preferably, because of ease of recycling and ease of sealability characteristics, a high density or low density polyethylene film material having thickness ranging from 0.001 to 0.008 inches is used. 
     Each of the flat pillow sections  12  of the patterned strip of film material  10  include continuous heat seals  14  which define two pillow chambers  16  emanating off of a common inflation channel  18 . The common inflation channel  18  is centrally oriented along the longitudinal axis A—A of the patterned strip  10  and is in general alignment with the direction of travel of the strip  10  (indicated by arrow B) through the inflation and sealing apparatus (to be described infra). The pillow chambers  16  are connected to the common inflation channel  18  via respective entrance ports  20  which are oriented in the transverse (or widthwise) direction of the patterned strip  10  and perpendicular to the direction of travel (arrow B). With the above described patterned strip  10 , the pillow chambers  16  will inflate equally upon ingress of air through the common inflation channel  18  and the respective ports  20 . The patterned strip  10  is further provided with perforations or score lines  21  that define the transverse or lateral edge boundaries of the flat pillow sections  12 . Optionally, a perforation or score line (not shown) may run the length of the common inflation channel  18 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a method of making the patterned strip  10  of adjacent and connected flat pillow sections  12  shown in FIG. 1 wherein single wound plastic sheeting of rolls  22  and  24  are layered, one a top the other, and pressed together with a stamp member  26 . Stamp member  26  may comprise either a flat platen, die, or a rotary sealer which is heated by using impulse nichrome wire or by using constant heat cartridges. The perforated or score lines  21  shown in FIG. 1 can also be formed using a die (stamp member  26 ) or can be added later as desired. The completed patterned strip  10  is then either wound onto a roll  28  or folded using folder  30  and stacked into a bundle  32 . It is important that the indexing of the preformed sheet material create a continuous longitudinally oriented inflation channel  18  and that the leading end of the inflation channel  18  in each pillow section  12  have an uninterrupted connection with the trailing end of the inflation channel  18  in the connected and adjacent flat pillow section  12 . 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a machine  40  for manufacturing a continuous production of pneumatically filled packaging pillows in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The strip of flattened preformed film material  10  created in FIG. 2 is compactly wound onto roll  120  and placed at one end of the machine  40 . The preformed film material  10  is advanced along a path through the machine  40  and is first fed between a set of tightly spaced nip rollers  42 . The opening to the common inflation channel  18  of the preformed sheet of material  10  is guided onto inflation tube  44  at a first station and is pulled further into the machine  40  by a first set of drive rollers  46 . The drive rollers  46 , in combination with the closely spaced pair of free spinning idler wheels or rollers  48 , provide a direct drive means for advancing the preformed sheet material  10  along the inflation tube  44  in the direction of travel indicated by arrow B and at a rate substantially equal to the rotational speed of the drive rollers  46 . 
     As best seen in FIG. 5, the film contacting surfaces of the idler rollers  48  are crowned in the center to provide a means for keeping the central section of the sheet material  10  laterally taut by imparting a desired outward lateral tension to the sheet material  10  along both sides of the common inflation channel  18 . Lateral tautness of the common inflation channel  18  is important in this region as the introduction of pressurized air (or other suitable gas) causes substantial shrinkage of the preformed sheet material  10 . Stated in another way, the outward lateral tension on the sheet material  10  (indicated by arrows) imparted by the crowned idler rollers  48  keeps the sheet material  10  from bunching up at the drive rollers  46 . It is also important to keep this central region of the sheet material  10  as flat as possible in order make a longitudinal heat seal to close off the ports  20  after inflation of the pillow chambers  16  . 
     A seal forming apparatus, generally indicated by reference arrow  52  in FIGS. 3-4, is located downstream of the first set of drive rollers  46  and defines a second station of the machine  40 . The seal forming apparatus  52 , through a combination of light pressure and heat, is effective to form a pair of spaced apart and continuous seals, each seal being formed along opposite sides of the inflation channel  18 . The continuous seals formed by the seal forming apparatus are effective to seal off the entrance ports  20  and thereby trap a quantity of pressurized air within each pillow chamber  16 . The seal forming apparatus  52  is described in greater detail below with reference to FIG.  6 . 
     Located downstream of the seal forming apparatus  52  is what is referred to as the “take up” section  53 . In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, take up section  53  comprises the combination of a second set of drive rollers  54  and a belt drive assembly  56 . The take up section  53  is effective to (1) take up the slack in the preformed film material  10  by keeping the film material  10  taut in the lengthwise or longitudinal direction and (2) pull the film material  10  through the seal forming apparatus  52 . The belt drive assembly  56  includes an elastomeric belt  58 , preferably of silicon rubber, which loops around forward wheel  60  and rearward wheel  62 . In the preferred embodiment described herein, only the rearward wheel  62  is driven, the forward wheel being free spinning. The second set of drive rollers  54  are driven at a higher rate of speed than the first set of drive rollers  46 . The rearward wheel  62  of the belt drive assembly is preferably driven at an even higher rate of speed than the second set of drive rollers  54 . The contact pressure between the film material  10  and the combination of second set of drive rollers  54  and belt drive assembly is light, however, such that there is sufficient drag force on the film material  10  to continue advancing it through the machine  40  but not so great a drag force that would otherwise cause the film material I  0  to separate along the perforations or score lines  21 . The combination of drive rollers  54  and belt drive assembly  56  effectively form a clutch with both the drive rollers  54  and belt  58  slipping against the film material  10 , but at different speeds. 
     Air inserted into the common channel  18  at the exiting nozzle or orifice  70  of the inflation tube  44  is regulated at the input  72  (see FIG.  7 ). The forward end of the inflation tube  44  is provided with a low friction ball  74 , preferably made of or coated with Teflon® or a similar low fiction material. The ball  74  provides resistance to the air coming into the channel  18  and thereby focuses the air into the entrance ports  20  for the first set of pillow chambers  16  to be pressurized upon being fed into the first set of drive rollers  46  of the machine  40 . The diameter of the ball  74  is selected to be slightly smaller than the inflated diameter of the channel  18  so that a small amount of air seepage is permitted and bunching up of the film material in this region is minimized. The ball  74  also helps to open up the common inflation channel  18  by separating the upper and lower layers of the film material  10 . A second low friction ball  76 , also preferably made of Teflon® or a similar low friction material, is positioned on the inflation tube  44  down stream of the nozzle  70 . In this way, air exiting the nozzle  70  is being pressurized in the common inflation channel  18  (of the preformed film  10 ) between the two balls  74  and  76 . The diameter of ball  76  may be a slightly bigger than the diameter of the ball  74  but still less than the diameter of the common inflation channel  18  so that bunching up of material is avoided. 
     The air inflation component of machine  40  also preferably includes a solenoid controlled timer and valve system (not illustrated) which provides a means for delivering several bursts of high pressure air through the nozzle  70  per bag or pillow cycle in order to rapidly inflate each pair of pillow chambers  16  as they advance by the nozzle  70 . The timer is ideally set in accordance with the speed of travel of the film material  10 . The pulsing of air in this manner increases the air flow pressure into the pillow chambers (due in part to the back pressure caused by the ball  76 ) without increasing the total air flow volume. We have found that pulsing high pressure air into the pillow chambers results in a higher percentage of fully inflated bags (pillows) with low incidence of bursting than if the bags (pillows) were merely inflated by a continuous flow of pressurized air. Inflation of the bags (pillows) using continuous high pressure air increases the air flow rate tremendously which causes the bags (pillows) to bunch up at the drive rollers  46  and burst if over pressurized. On the other hand, inflation of the bags (pillows) using continuous low pressure air decreases the air flow rate tremendously which tends to result in under inflated bags (pillows). 
     The inflation tube  44  is further provided with a blade  78  at a third station downstream of the ball  76  and seal forming apparatus  52 . The blade  78  is generally angled and is operative to cut either one of the upper, lower or both layers of the preformed film material  10  in the region of the common inflation channel  18 , thus allowing the common inflation channel  18  to separate from the tube  44  so that the strip of adjacent and connected (and now) inflated pillow sections are able to continue to progress forward through the machine  40 . The blade  78  is positioned upstream of the contact point between the second set of drive rollers  54  and belt  58  such that any friction imparted by the blade onto the film material  10  is compensated for by the drag force imparted on the preformed film material  10  by the drive rollers  54  and belt  58 . 
     As an option, the machine  40  may further include another take up roller  64  positioned downstream of the belt drive assembly  56  (see FIG.  3 ). The take up roller  64  is driven at a high rate of speed in order to take up the slack in the film material  10  after passing through the second set of drive rollers  54  and belt drive assembly  56 . Upon exiting the second set of drive rollers  54  and belt drive assembly  56 , the now air-filled and sealed pillow sections can then be separated from each other along the perforations  21  using a cutter  66  as shown to produce individual air-filled pillows or cushions  50 . Alternatively, the air-filled pillow sections can be kept together as a continuous sheet which can be broken apart into pillows as desired by the end user. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a seal forming apparatus  52  constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The seal forming apparatus includes two small electrically regulated heating elements  80 , preferably nichrome wire, that are maintained at a constant heat and are positioned, under light pressure, to contact the film material  10  as it is pulled through the machine in order to form two spaced heat seals along opposite sides of the common inflation channel  18 . Each seal closes off the respective entrance port  20  for the pillow chambers  16  of each pillow section  12 . In an alternate embodiment, a second set of heating elements may be employed to provide redundant parallel secondary seals as a back up to the primary seals. Each heating element  80  is welded to copper conductors  82  and supported by an insulator block  84 . The actually heating area of the nichrome wire heating elements is optimized to provide efficient heating without undue heat loss through the insulator block  84  and conductors  82 . Teflon( coated fiberglass tape  86  covers the heating elements  80  to provide a suitable heat conducting barrier between the heating elements  80  and the film material  10  and to prevent the build up of melted plastic on the heating elements  80 . As is seen in FIG. 6, the insulated block  84  is connected to the machine  40  by an adjustable spring loaded mounting assembly  88  which permits the operator to fine tune the contact pressure of the heating elements  80  against the film material  10 . The insulator block  84 , being mounted on axle  90 , is also permitted to pivot about a Z-axis parallel to the centerline of longitudinal center of the common inflation channel  18  of the film material  10 . This facilitates in the application of balanced pressure at both contact points between the seal forming apparatus and the film material. 
     The machine  40  of FIGS. 3 and 4 can be equipped with a secondary folding apparatus (not shown) to create the dual pouch package described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,642 to De Luca Such package having pillows joined together at their exterior edges (farthest from common inflation channel  18 ) and products inserted within the packages before or after the folding. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate alternate package configurations of the basic preformed film material  10  shown in FIG. 1 to create low profile inflated packages similar to bubble-wrap materials. 
     In FIG. 8, there is shown a plan view of a strip of preformed film material  110  provided with a sealing pattern of four connected inflatable flat pillow sections  112 . Each of the flat pillow sections  112  of the patterned strip of film material  110  include continuous heat seals  114  which define two complex pillow chambers  116  emanating off of a common inflation channel  118 . The common inflation channel  1   18  is centrally oriented along the longitudinal axis A—A of the patterned strip  110  and is in general alignment with the direction of travel of the strip  110  (indicated by arrow B) through the inflation and sealing apparatus. The pillow chambers  116  are connected to the common inflation channel  118  via respective entrance ports  120  which are oriented in the transverse (or widthwise) direction of the patterned strip  110  and perpendicular to the direction of travel (arrow B). The patterned strip  110  is further provided with perforations or score lines  121  that define the transverse or lateral edge boundaries of the flat pillow sections  112 . 
     In FIG. 9, there is shown a plan view of a strip of preformed film material  210  provided with a sealing pattern of four connected inflatable flat pillow sections  212 . Each of the flat pillow sections  212  of the patterned strip of film material  210  include continuous heat seals  214  which define two complex pillow chambers  216  emanating off of a common inflation channel  218 . The common inflation channel  218  is centrally oriented along the longitudinal axis A—A of the patterned strip  210  and is in general alignment with the direction of travel of the strip  210  (indicated by arrow B) through the inflation and sealing apparatus (to be described infra). The pillow chambers  216  are connected to the common inflation channel  218  via respective entrance ports  220  which are oriented in the transverse (or widthwise) direction of the patterned strip  210  and perpendicular to the direction of travel (arrow B). The patterned strip  210  is further provided with perforations or score lines  221  that define the transverse or lateral edge boundaries of the flat pillow sections  212 . 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a machine  440  for producing air-filled packaging pillows in a continuous manner from a roll of preformed film material in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention. The machine  440  of FIGS. 10 and 11 is substantially identical to the machine  40  of FIGS. 3 and 4 with the exception of the take up section. In all other respects, structural elements of the machine  440  of FIGS. 10 and 11 common to machine  40  of FIGS. 3 and 4 are indicated by identical reference numerals. In machine  440 , take up section  453  includes a pair of opposing rollers or wheels  454  and  456 . Rollers  454  are free spinning and are used to heat seal the film material at the port openings of each pillow chamber. The rollers  454  are made of a heat conducting material, preferably aluminum, and are heated to a constant temperature or optionally fitted with electrically regulated nichrome heating elements. The rollers  456  are driven and are positioned in light contact with rollers  454  in order to both advance the film material  10  through the machine  440  and drive the free spinning rollers  454 . 
     While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification. For example, it is understood that the dual bag configuration for the preformed patterned film material shown and described in FIG. 1 is capable of a number of variations depending upon user requirements. In particular, the preformed patterned film material may be configured with a sequential series of connected single compartment pillow sections each individually joined in air communication with one side edge of a common inflation channel. The inflation channel may be located along the longitudinal center line as before or may be located closer towards one side edge of the film material. Other possible configurations for the patterned preformed material may include, but not be limited to, a four bag design which includes two spaced apart longitudinally oriented common inflation channels, each having pillow chambers stemming off either side. We therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.