Great Northern Corporation

James W Gilfert

Loren D Ervay

Robert W Crandall

An improved porous mold for fabricating a formed mold pulp structure to protectively support at least one roll of web material. The mold has a forming surface that contains a first molding cavity surrounded by a periphery. The molding container has sidewalls extending from at least a portion of the periphery into the molding cavity. Within the molding cavity is at least one generally semi-cylindrical hump and land formation areas positioned adjacent the hump and one land formation areas at an end of the hump. A first mold forming surface on the hump is smooth and dished longitudinally such that a transverse cross-section of the first mold forming surface across the hump in the molding cavity is generally concave between the respective sidewalls. The first molding cavity also has a chamfered portion between the hump and an adjacent sidewall and the first molding cavity can have a plurality of humps separated by land formation areas. The porous mold can also have a second molding cavity parallel to the first molding cavity and separated by a longitudinal hinge portion that is coplanar with the periphery of the forming surface.

Porous mold for a roll support and spacing structure

An improved roll support and spacing structure for packaging and handling of multi-layer stacks of rolls of web material. The structure is preferably an elongated molded pulp member. Rolls of web material fit into generally semi-cylindrical indentations in the roll support structure. The generally semi-cylindrical roll cushioning indentations are smooth and free of recesses, and thus substantially eliminate marking, denting and/or scratching associated with such recesses. The smooth, generally semi-cylindrical roll cushioning indentations are crowned to improve strength and reduce sagging during fabrication. Raised lands are located between the roll cushioning indentations. The resulting roll support structure provides the proper combination of strength and flexibility to appropriately cushion the rolls. The formed roll support structure also includes chamfered portions between the smooth crowned roll cushioning indentations and adjacent sidewalls to substantially eliminate markings associated with sidewall rigidity. Preferably, the roll support structure includes two substantially similar elongated members disposed in parallel across a longitudinal hinge. The longitudinal hinge preferably includes elongated formed openings located exclusively between selected aligned lands to facilitate bending and/or tearing along the hinge line.

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Eldreld, PA, United States of America

James W Gilfert