Patent ID: 8776483

Claim:
A system for making air-filled packing cushions, the system comprising: (i) a preconfigured plastic film material having a plurality of generally rectangular inflatable chambers, a longitudinally extending channel near an edge portion of the film material, and transverse perforations separating the chambers or groups of chambers, and (ii) an apparatus for making air-filled packing cushions from the preconfigured plastic film material; the apparatus comprising, not necessarily in the order recited: a pair of drive belts adapted to engage an edge portion of the film material and feed the film material along a plane disposed between the pair of drive belts; a guide member positioned upstream of the drive belts which is adapted to be inserted into the longitudinally extending channel for positioning the film material along the plane; wherein a knife is positioned along a downstream portion of the guide member for slitting the longitudinally extending channel; an injector for injecting inflation gas into the inflatable chambers; and a sealing mechanism for forming a longitudinally extending seal to close the chambers and trap inflation gas therein; wherein the sealing mechanism comprises a pair of blocks disposed on opposite sides of the film material, wherein at least one of the blocks has a source of heat, and wherein heat is delivered to the film material through the thickness of at least one of the drive belts.