Patent ID: 6862868

Claim:
A system for on-demand production of foam-in-bag cushions, comprising: a continuous web of interconnected bags, each bag formed of flexible plastic film material and defining therein an enclosed space of a volume corresponding to the size of the foam cushion to be produced and defining a first compartment containing a first foam precursor and a second compartment containing a second foam precursor, wherein each bag includes a frangible seal that is rupturable by manipulating the bag so as to cause the foam precursors to mix and react to form a foam that expands within the enclosed space of the bag and thereafter cures to form a foam cushion; and an apparatus structured and arranged to rotatably support a roll of said web of interconnected bags, the apparatus further comprising: web guides for guiding the web from the roll along a path to a discharge through which the web is dispensed from the apparatus; and at least one heating element for heating the web of interconnected bags such that bags prior to being dispensed from the discharge are heated to an elevated temperature to hasten a foam-forming reaction upon use of the bags, wherein the at least one heating element comprises a flexible heater formed as an elongate generally flat strip, and wherein the web of bags is disposed in face-to-face relation with the heater and wound to form said roll of the bags with the heater interleaved with the bags, the heater being operable to heat the bags to an elevated temperature to hasten the foam-forming reaction.