Hoffmaster Group, Inc.

Other

John P O'Neill

A corrugating machine for forming a flexible paper drinking straw by forming annular corrugations in a tube, including a plurality of corrugating elements and means for moving the tube against the corrugating elements. Each of the corrugating elements is spaced apart from each other in both a lateral direction and a forward direction. The corrugating machine includes an assembly spool and a drum mounted to a side of the assembly spool for rotation about a common axis. A mandrel is mounted to the drum for reciprocation into and out of the spool assembly, to carry the tube against the corrugating elements mounted in an arc defined about the common axis.

Flexible straw and system and method of manufacturing the same

A machine for forming a flexible paper drinking straw by forming annular corrugations in a tube includes a plurality of corrugating elements and means for moving the tube against the corrugating elements. Each of the corrugating elements is spaced apart from each other in both a lateral direction and a forward direction. The corrugating machine includes an assembly spool and a drum mounted to a side of the assembly spool for rotation about a common axis. A mandrel is mounted to the drum for reciprocation into and out of the spool assembly, to carry the tube against the corrugating elements mounted in an arc defined about the common axis.

A drinking straw includes a cylindrical sidewall having a longitudinal axis and a flexible region formed in the sidewall. The flexible region including a plurality of segmented sections separated from each other by inward annular corrugations. Each corrugation has a height parallel to the longitudinal axis and a depth transverse to the longitudinal axis. The height of each corrugation is one and a half times greater than the depth of the corrugation.

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Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America

John P O'Neill