Method of making shipping bag

Claim 1

A method of making a cushioned bag of multilayer material having first and second exterior faces formed by outer surfaces of at least one exterior layer of relatively thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet material, an inner layer lining substantially the entire bag interior and comprising at least one sheet of foamed plastic; the method comprising the steps of: automatically bringing together along a path of travel two long sections of the multilayer material, positioning surfaces of the foamed plastic of the sections adjacent one another inside the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet of the two sections to form outer layers from the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet, joining together the two long sections at intervals spaced along the length thereof to form attached bags of the multilayer material, said step of joining comprising applying sufficient heat and pressure to the two sections at said intervals to entirely collapse the foamed plastic along thin strips transverse to the path of travel and to join the outer layers of the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet substantially face-to-face along the strips, thereby forming a bonded together, two layer, marginal seam area where the outer surface forming, thin, fibrous, and flexible sheets are securely joined together, forming adjacent the transverse strips a continuum of the foamed plastic spanning the joined strips inside the bag, said step of forming a continuum including applying less heat and pressure than applied to the transverse strips adjacent the transverse strip towards the bag interior to join the adjacent surfaces of the foamed plastic absent total collapse of the foam, thereby forming a second joined internal seam area that includes the joined foam spanning the marginal seam area adjacent thereto, whereby bag seams are formed with an improved seal and cushioning across the seam.

Claim 2

A method of making a cushioned bag of multilayer material having first and second exterior faces formed by outer surfaces of at least one exterior layer of relatively thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet material, an inner layer lining substantially the entire bag interior and comprising at least one sheet of foamed plastic; the method comprising the steps of: automatically bringing together along a path of travel two long sections of the multilayer material, positioning surfaces of the foamed plastic of the sections adjacent one another inside the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet of the two sections to form outer layers from the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet, joining together the two long sections at intervals spaced along the length thereof to form attached bags of the multilayer material, said step of joining comprising applying sufficient heat and pressure to the two sections at said intervals to entirely collapse the foamed plastic along thin strips transverse to the path of travel and to join the outer layers of the thin, fibrous and flexible sheet substantially face-to-face along the strips, thereby forming a bonded together, two layer, marginal seam area where the outer surface forming, thin, fibrous, and flexible sheets are securely joined together, forming adjacent the transverse strips a continuum of the foamed plastic spanning the joined strips inside the bag, said step of forming a continuum including applying less heat and pressure than applied to the transverse strips adjacent the transverse strip towards the bag interior to join the adjacent surfaces of the foamed plastic absent total collapse of the foam, thereby forming a second joined internal seam area that includes the joined foam spanning the marginal seam area adjacent thereto, whereby bag seams are formed with an improved seal and cushioning across the seam.

Claim 8

A method of making a bag of multilayer material having first and second exterior faces formed by outer surfaces of at least one exterior layer of relatively thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet material, an inner layer lining substantially the entire bag interior and comprising at least one sheet of foamed plastic; the method comprising the steps of: automatically bringing together along a path of travel two long sections of the multilayer material, positioning surfaces of the foamed plastic of the sections adjacent one another inside the thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet of the two sections to form outer layers from the thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet, joining together the two long sections to form bag edge seams with side-by-side first and second sealed together seam zones, said step of joining comprising pressing at least one heated sealing member against an outer surface of the thin, fibrous, and flexible material to apply sufficient heat and pressure in aligned limited areas of the two sections to form for each bag at least one marginal strip wherein the foam is completely collapsed and the outer thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet is securely bonded together substantially face-to-face to form the first of said side-by-side zones, forming adjacent the marginal strip intersecting segments of uncollapsed foam layers defining the second of said side-by-side zones, integrally joined at heat-fused inner surfaces, and including subjecting the foam at the intersecting segments to a lessened degree of at least one of the applied heat and pressure to fuse the inner foam surfaces without entirely collapsing the foam, whereby across the bag edge seam is formed a continuous foam lining.

Claim 9

A method of making a bag of multilayer material having first and second exterior faces formed by outer surfaces of at least one exterior layer of relatively thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet material, an inner layer lining substantially the entire bag interior and comprising at least one sheet of foamed plastic; the method comprising the steps of: automatically bringing together along a path of travel two long sections of the multilayer material, positioning surfaces of the foamed plastic of the sections adjacent one another inside the thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet of the two sections to form outer layers from the thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet, joining together the two long sections to form bag edge seams with side-by-side first and second sealed together seam zones, said step of joining comprising pressing at least one heated sealing member against an outer surface of the thin, fibrous, and flexible material to apply sufficient heat and pressure in aligned limited areas of the two sections to form for each bag at least one marginal strip wherein the foam is completely collapsed and the outer thin, fibrous, and flexible sheet is securely bonded together substantially face-to-face to form the first of said side-by-side zones, forming adjacent the marginal strip intersecting segments of uncollapsed foam layers defining the second of said side-by-side zones, integrally joined at heat-fused inner surfaces, and including subjecting the foam at the intersecting segments to a lessened degree of at least one of the applied heat and pressure to fuse the inner foam surfaces without entirely collapsing the foam, whereby across the bag edge seam is formed a continuous foam lining.