Patent ID: 7955245

Claim:
A dunnage conversion machine for converting a sheet stock material into a wrapping dunnage product, comprising: a feed mechanism for advancing at least a first web of sheet stock material therethrough along a first path, the feed mechanism including at least one pair of rotating members that feed the first web therebetween at a first rate; and a connecting mechanism downstream of the feed mechanism that (a) retards the advancement of the first web, the connecting mechanism including at least one pair of rotating members that feed the first web therebetween at a second rate that is less than the first rate, thereby causing the first web to randomly crumple in a longitudinal space between the feed mechanism and the connecting mechanism as the first web moves along the first path from the feed mechanism to the connecting mechanism, and the connecting mechanism also (b) connects the crumpled first web to a second web to maintain the crumpled first web in its crumpled state, the second web advancing to the connecting mechanism along a second path that is different from the first path.