1. A method for manufacturing a sheet having at least first shapes of texture thereon, comprising:
placing a sheet-like material comprising a thermoplastic resin between an imprint mold having an imprinting surface provided with the first shapes of texture and an intermediate base; and
pressing the imprint mold and the intermediate base in a direction toward the sheet-like material by a pair of pressing plates so that the first shapes of texture are imprinted on the sheet-like material,
wherein the sheet-like material is pressed such that, when a pressing force of the pressing plates is maximum, an imprinting pressure difference is present along an imprinting surface of the imprint mold, a maximum imprinting pressure section of the pressing plates where the imprinting pressure has a maximum value is present at a location on the imprinting surface, and wherein the imprinting pressure on the imprinting surface is monotonically decreasing without a relative minimum value that is less than any value of the imprinting pressure on the imprinting surface immediately preceding or following the relative minimum value.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the imprint mold comprises a concave shape and a plurality of grooves are arranged in parallel with one another, and the pressing is carried out such that, when the pressing force of the pressing plates is maximum, the imprinting pressure difference is present in a longitudinal direction of the grooves.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pressing is carried out such that, on the imprinting surface of the imprint mold, an absolute value of the imprinting pressure difference is monotonically increased in a decreasing direction of the imprinting pressure from the maximum imprinting pressure section.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate base has an imprinting surface having a second shapes of texture thereon such that the second shapes of texture are imprinted on a surface of the sheet-like material that is opposed to the intermediate base, and
wherein the pressing process is carried out such that, when pressing force of the pressing plates is maximum, an imprinting pressure difference is present along an imprinting surface of the intermediate base, a maximum imprinting pressure section of the pressing plates where the imprinting pressure has a maximum value is present at a location on the imprinting surface, and wherein the imprinting pressure on the imprinting surface is monotonically decreasing without a relative minimum value that is less than any value of the imprinting pressure on the imprinting surface immediately preceding or following the relative minimum value.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate base has a cushioning property.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when pressing force of the pressing plates is maximized, the intermediate base has a compressive elastic modulus in a range from 0.1 MPa to 200 MPa over the entire area of the imprinting surface of the intermediate base.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first and second shapes of texture are same.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1-17. (canceled)
18. A dunnage product comprising n plies of sheet stock material having laterally spaced apart edge portions folded upon themselves and crumpled to form laterally spaced apart folded crumpled edge portions separated by a central portion, where n is a whole number greater than or equal to one.
19. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 18, wherein the laterally spaced apart folded crumpled edge portions are at least 2*n layers thick and are separated by the central portion which is n layers thick.
20. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 18, wherein the dunnage product is formed of multiple plies of sheet stock material.
21. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 18, wherein multiple layers of sheet stock material in the folded portions are fixed to maintain the folded portions in their folded condition.
22-27. (canceled)
28. A dunnage product produced by a process comprising the following steps: causing laterally spaced apart edge portions of a sheet stock material to fold and to crumple inwardly and fixing the folded crumpled edge portions in a folded crumpled state.
29. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 28, wherein the causing step includes feeding the sheet stock material through a forming assembly.
30. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 28, wherein the causing step includes causing the laterally spaced apart edge portions to fold over a same side of the sheet stock material.
31. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 28, wherein the fixing step includes mechanically interlocking the layers of sheet stock material in the lateral edge portions.
32. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 28, wherein the fixing step includes perforating the layers of sheet stock material.
33. A dunnage product as set forth in claim 28, further comprising the step of severing dunnage products from a continuous strip of dunnage.