JP3161676B2 - Method and apparatus for producing sanitary napkin - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin, and more particularly, to a sanitary napkin which can be easily manufactured and has a good fit to a wearer during use and hardly leaks. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a napkin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
BACKGROUND ART In order to improve the fit to a wearer when using an absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a diaper, an elastic member is arranged on the absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a diaper. In the production of absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins and diapers, a method of continuously supplying and bonding a thread-like elastic member in a meandering state between a continuously supplied surface material and a back material is disclosed in a patent. The method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-505046 is known, and the method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-505046 discloses a method in which a curved groove or slot provided on the surface of a rotating roll is used in advance. This is a method in which a tensioned elastic member is supplied between a front surface material and a back surface material while applying an adhesive in a meandering state, and is adhered and fixed.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-50
In the method described in No. 5046, friction between the elastic member and the side wall of the groove or slot of the rotating roll is large, and there is a possibility that the elastic member may be broken at the time of high-speed processing. If the degree (the swing range of the elastic member) is increased, the size of the apparatus increases.

In order to further improve the fit to the wearer when using absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins and diapers, elastic members are provided only on a part of the absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins and diapers. It has also been done.
When manufacturing absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins and diapers,
As a method of disposing an elastic member only on a part thereof, a method described in JP-A-5-269169 or JP-A-6-70958 is known. The method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-269169 discloses a method in which a composite elastic member is formed by continuously supplying and bonding an elastic member that has been pre-tensioned to another material such as a nonwoven fabric that is continuously supplied, and forming a composite elastic member. A method of attaching the composite elastic member to an absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a diaper. The method described in JP-A-6-70958 discloses a method in which an adhesive is intermittently applied to at least one joint surface of a front material and a back material which are continuously supplied, and a gap between the front material and the back material is provided. By continuously supplying and bonding an elastic member that is pre-tensioned to the portion where the adhesive is intermittently applied, by cutting the surface material, the back surface material and the elastic member in the portion where the elastic member is not bonded This is a method in which the elastic member in the non-bonded portion is relaxed so that the elastic member is arranged only on a part of the absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a diaper.

However, in the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-269169, since the above-mentioned composite elastic member is prepared in advance and attached, the process of attaching the elastic member becomes very complicated. There's a problem. Further, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-70958 has a problem that the cut surface has a slight opening, but the opening after the elastic member is relaxed, so that leakage may occur from the opening. there were.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin capable of easily manufacturing a sanitary napkin that is excellent in fitting to a wearer during use and hardly causes leakage. is there.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a sanitary napkin having an absorber between a surface material and a back material, and elastic members adhered near both sides of the absorber. A face material and the back material, a face material supplying step of continuously and separately supplying such that the surfaces to be joined to each other are in contact with each other, one or both of the surfaces of the surface material and the back material to be joined to each other; A coating step of continuously applying an adhesive to at least a portion to which the elastic member is bonded, a stretching step of forcibly stretching a plurality of the elastic members, the stretched elastic member, the surface material and the An elastic member supplying step of supplying the adhesive to the surface material or the back material while supplying the adhesive material to the surface material or the back material while being rocked by a pair of right and left rocking guides reciprocating at right angles to the traveling direction of the back material; Material and above Pressing the face material under the state where the elastic member is sandwiched, an adhesive fixing step of adhesively fixing the elastic member between the front surface material and the back surface material, and the surface material bonded and fixed to the elastic member; The object is achieved by providing a method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin, comprising a cutting step of cutting an unnecessary portion of the backing material in a napkin configuration in a straight line with respect to the traveling direction. It was done.

According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for carrying out the above-described method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the present invention. A sanitary napkin manufacturing apparatus having a resilient member, a surface material supply device for supplying the surface material and the back material separately and continuously so that surfaces to be joined to each other abut against each other, and the surface material And a coating device for continuously applying an adhesive to at least a portion of the back surface material to be bonded to one or both of the surfaces to be bonded to each other, and a stretching device for forcibly stretching a plurality of the elastic members. While the device, the stretched elastic member is oscillated by a pair of left and right swing guides that reciprocate symmetrically at right angles and symmetrically with respect to the central axis in the traveling direction of the front surface material and the back surface material, Back material An elastic member supply device for supplying the adhesive to the coating portion of the adhesive, the surface material and the back surface material are pressed under a state where the elastic member is sandwiched, and the elastic member is moved between the front surface material and the back surface material. A napkin of the surface material and the back surface material bonded and fixed to the elastic member so that only the elastic member arranged near both sides of the crotch portion of the absorber remains. The object has been achieved by providing an apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin, characterized by comprising an excision device for excision of an unnecessary part in a configuration in a straight line in the traveling direction.

[0009]

According to the method and the apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin of the present invention, since the elastic member can be directly adhered in an arbitrary curved shape between the front surface member and the rear surface member while swinging using the swing guide. It is possible to manufacture a sanitary napkin that is excellent in fitting to a wearer during use and hardly leaks, without complicating the manufacturing process.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the method for producing a sanitary napkin according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings together with an apparatus for producing the same. FIG. 1 shows a main part of the apparatus in the present embodiment,
(a) is an enlarged perspective view thereof, (b) is a front view of a state in which two elastic members are respectively passed through a pair of right and left swing guides, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the entire apparatus in the present embodiment. 3 (a) is a plan view of the front and back members when the elastic members are bonded in a meandering state, and FIG. 3 (b) is a plan view of FIG. 3 (a). FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which unnecessary portions are cut, FIG. 4 is a product example of a sanitary napkin manufactured according to the present embodiment, (a) is a plan view thereof, and (b) is a plan view thereof.
FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

The sanitary napkin manufactured in the present embodiment is:
A sanitary napkin having an absorbent body 15 and elastic members 5 and 6 adhered to the vicinity of both sides of the absorbent body 15 between the front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing method of the present embodiment provides a surface where the front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 are separately and continuously supplied so that the surfaces joined to each other come into contact with each other. In the material supply step, the adhesive 1 is applied to at least one of the surfaces of the front surface member 1 and the back surface member 3 which are bonded to each other, at least to the portion where the elastic members 5 and 6 are bonded.
A coating step of continuously coating 3, 14; a stretching step of forcibly stretching a plurality of the elastic members 5 and 6; It is supplied to the coating portion of the adhesive 13 or 14 on the front surface material 1 or the back surface material 3 while being rocked by a pair of right and left rocking guides 7 and 8 reciprocating at right angles to the traveling direction of the material 3. Elastic member supplying step, the surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 are pressed under the state where the elastic members 5 and 6 are sandwiched,
An adhesive fixing step of adhesively fixing the elastic members 5 and 6 between the front surface member 1 and the back surface member 3;
A cutting step is provided for cutting unnecessary portions of the front surface member 1 and the back surface member 3 which are adhered and fixed in the napkin configuration in a straight line in the traveling direction.

In the present embodiment, the excision step is performed so that only the elastic members 5 and 6 arranged near both sides of the crotch portion of the absorber 15 remain. The front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 which are bonded and fixed.
This is a step of linearly cutting off unnecessary portions in the napkin configuration in the traveling direction. The pair of left and right swing guides 7 and 8 in the elastic member supply step includes the front surface material 1 and the back surface material. 3 is reciprocated symmetrically with respect to the central axis in the traveling direction. Hereinafter, the method and apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin of this embodiment will be described in more detail.

[Surface Material Supplying Step (Apparatus)] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface material 1 is made of a raw material roll 1 '.
And is fed in the direction A in the figure over the roll 2 by the rotation of the roll 2 in the direction indicated by the arrow (see FIG. 1).
The backing material 3 is unwound from the material roll 3 ′ and is fed through the auxiliary roll 19 in the direction A in FIG. Can be Since the surface material 1 and the back material 3 are joined between the roll 2 and the roll 4, the roll 2
And the roll 4 rotate so as to feed the front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 in the direction A at the same speed.

[Coating step (apparatus)] Between the raw roll 1 'of the surface material 1 and the roll 2, the surface of the surface material 1 faces the portion where the elastic members 5 and 6 are bonded. The coating devices 11 and 12 are respectively arranged. The hot melt adhesives 13 and 14 are continuously applied by the application devices 11 and 12. The width of the applied portions of the adhesives 13 and 14 is slightly wider than the swing width of the elastic members 5 and 6, so that the elastic members 5 and 6 do not have non-adhered portions over their entire length. You.

[Elastic Member Supplying Step (Equipment)] The elastic members 5 and 6 are each composed of two rubber threads. The elastic members 5 and 6 are unwound from their webs 5 'and 6', respectively, and Between the rolls 2 and 4 while being sandwiched between the front surface member 1 and the back surface member 3 through the guide holes 9, 9, 10, 10 of the pair of swing guides 7, 8. It is supplied continuously. The pair of swing guides 7 and 8 reciprocate symmetrically with respect to the central axis in the traveling direction of the front surface member 1 and the back surface member 3 and at right angles to the direction. Surface material 1 and back material 3
Swings to have a predetermined shape.
The required length and curvature of the elastic members 5 and 6 can be arbitrarily obtained by changing the apex position of the swing cycle, the swing width, and the positions of the guide holes 9 and 10 by the swing guides 7 and 8. .

[Stretching Step (Equipment)] The Auxiliary Roll 20
Is set to be different from the rotation speed of the rolls 2 and 4. That is, the length of the elastic members 5, 6 fed out per unit time by the auxiliary roll 20 is smaller than the length of the elastic members 5, 6 fed out per unit time by the rolls 2 and 4. The elastic members 5 and 6 are stretched by the difference in rotation speed.

[Adhesion fixing step (apparatus)] The elastic members 5 and 6 are continuously supplied while being sandwiched between the surface material 1 and the back material 3 between the rolls 2 and 4. At the same time, the absorber 15 is also supplied between the surface material 1 and the back material 3 between the rolls 2 and 4 by a mechanism (not shown). Absorber 15
Is supplied at the same timing as the supply of the front surface material 1, the back surface material 3, and the elastic members 5 and 6. The front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 supplied between the rolls 2 and 4 were provided on the rolls 2 and 4 with the elastic members 5 and 6 and the absorber 15 interposed therebetween. While being pressed from above and below by a pressing mechanism, it is sent out in the direction A in the figure, and is further pressed again from above and below by a pair of pressure rolls 16, 16, so that the elastic members 5, 6 and the absorber 15 are brought into contact with the surface. The adhesive is securely fixed between the material 1 and the back material 3.

[Resection Step (Apparatus)] The elastic members 5 and 6
The front surface material 1 and the back surface material 3 to which the absorber 15 is bonded and fixed are further fed in the direction A in the drawing. This state is shown in FIG. The elastic members 5 and 6 arranged near both sides of the absorber 15 are symmetrically formed by the swing guides 7 and 8 with respect to the center axis of the front surface member 1 and the back member 3 in the traveling direction A. It is adhesively fixed so that one length is one period. A pair of the pressure rolls 16, 16
The surface member 1 and the back member 3 to which the elastic members 5 and 6 and the absorber 15 fed by the above are adhered and fixed.
An unnecessary portion of the sanitary napkin as a product is cut off by the roller cutter 17 in a straight line parallel to the traveling direction A. In the case of the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (2), only the elastic members 5 and 6 arranged near both sides of the crotch portion of the absorber 15 are cut outside the cutting lines a and a so as to remain. After this, 1
Products are shipped through processes such as separation into individual product units, bending, packaging, and packing.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a sanitary napkin manufactured according to this embodiment. Both edges of the manufactured sanitary napkin are folded back toward the surface material 1 starting from both longitudinal edges of the absorbent body 15, and are folded inside the two elastic members 5, 6 on the left and right sides. The flaps are formed by being turned outward again from the edges 21 and 22 as starting points. When the sanitary napkin is used, the elastic members 5 and 6 are arranged with a predetermined curvature over the crotch portion (the portion from the center to the front in the longitudinal direction of the sanitary napkin) located at the crotch.

According to the method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin of the present embodiment, a sanitary napkin which is excellent in fitting to a wearer during use and hardly leaks can be easily manufactured.

The method and apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the method shown in FIG. 2 Auxiliary roll 18 as shown by the dotted line
By adjusting the rotation speed of the auxiliary roll 18 and the auxiliary roll 19 together with the auxiliary roll 19 on the back material 3 side, the supply speed of the front material 1 and the back material 3 can be more finely adjusted. You can do it. If the surface temperature of the auxiliary roll 18 can be adjusted, the solidification of the coated adhesives 13 and 14 can be promoted and suppressed. Further, in the above embodiment, the coating apparatus 1
Although 1 and 12 are arranged only on the surface material 1, they may be arranged only on the back material 3.
It may be arranged in several places. The positions of the elastic members 5 and 6 need only be provided at the most effective positions of the sanitary napkin of any specification, and the number of the elastic members 5 and 6 can be appropriately changed. Other points can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0022]

According to the method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the first aspect, the elastic member deforms in conformity to the wearer's body shape during use, so that it has excellent fit and fits the wearer's body shape. A simple mechanism for manufacturing sanitary napkins that are less likely to leak due to less gaps between the skin and the skin. Can be performed more easily.

According to the method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the second and third aspects, in addition to the effect of the method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the first aspect, the elastic member is provided on both sides of the crotch lower side edge of the sanitary napkin. Because it can be attached only to the required position of the part, it has excellent fit to the skin, and because there is no non-adhering position of the elastic member, it does not relax when cutting and does not form an opening, so leakage from the opening A sanitary napkin with less worries can be easily manufactured.

According to the apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin according to the fourth aspect, the elastic member is attached to only necessary positions on a part of both side edges of the crotch portion of the sanitary napkin, and the body of the wearer is used by the elastic member during use. A sanitary napkin that is excellent in fit to deform in conformity with the shape of the elastic member, does not have an unbonded position of the elastic member, does not form an opening because it is relaxed at the time of cutting, and does not easily leak from the opening. It can be manufactured, and the manufacturing apparatus can be a simple mechanism using the swing guide.

The sanitary napkin according to the fifth aspect is excellent in fitting property because it is deformed according to the body shape of the wearer during use by the elastic member, and fits into the body shape of the wearer and has a clearance between the skin and the skin. It is hard to cause leakage, and furthermore, since the elastic member can be attached to only a necessary part of both side edges of the crotch portion of the sanitary napkin, the elastic member is more excellent in the fit to the skin and the elastic member. Since there is no non-adhesion position, and the opening is not formed due to relaxation at the time of cutting, there is less fear of leakage from the opening.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a main part of an apparatus in one embodiment of a method for producing a sanitary napkin of the present invention, wherein (a) is an enlarged perspective view thereof, and (b) is a pair of left and right swing guides. It is a front view of the state which passed two elastic members at a time.

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing the entire apparatus in one embodiment of the method for producing a sanitary napkin of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a front surface material and a back surface material when an elastic member is adhered in a meandering state, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of a state in which an unnecessary portion is cut from FIG. .

FIG. 4 is an example of a sanitary napkin manufactured by one embodiment of the method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin of the present invention, wherein (a)
2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surface material 3 Back material 5, 6 Elastic member 7, 8 Swing guide 13, 14 Adhesive

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61F 13/472 A61F 13/15 B29C 69/00 B29D 31/00 A41B 13/02

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for producing a sanitary napkin having an absorber and an elastic member adhered near both sides of the absorber between a surface material and a back material, wherein the surface material and the back material are A surface material supplying step of continuously and separately supplying the surfaces to be joined to each other so that the surfaces are joined to each other; and a portion where at least one of the surfaces of the surface material and the back surface material to be joined is bonded to at least the elastic member. A coating step of continuously applying an adhesive to the substrate, a stretching step of forcibly stretching the plurality of elastic members, and applying the stretched elastic member to a traveling direction of the front surface material and the back surface material. An elastic member supplying step of supplying the adhesive to the coated portion of the adhesive on the front surface material or the back surface material while swinging by a pair of left and right swing guides reciprocating at a right angle; Components Pressurizing the elastic member, and bonding and fixing the elastic member between the front surface material and the back surface member, and the napkin configuration of the surface material and the back surface material bonded and fixed by the elastic member. A method for manufacturing a sanitary napkin, comprising a cutting step of cutting an unnecessary portion linearly in the traveling direction. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cutting step includes the step of removing the surface member and the back surface member bonded and fixed to the elastic member so that only the elastic member disposed near both sides of the crotch portion of the absorber remains. The method for producing a sanitary napkin according to claim 1, wherein the unnecessary portion in the napkin configuration is cut off linearly in the traveling direction. 3. The reciprocating motion of the pair of left and right swing guides in the elastic member supplying step is symmetrical with respect to a center axis in a traveling direction of the front surface member and the back surface member.
The method for producing a sanitary napkin according to the above. 4. An apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin having an absorber and an elastic member adhered near both sides of the absorber between a surface material and a back material, wherein the surface material and the back material are: A surface material supply device for continuously and separately supplying the surfaces to be joined to each other so as to be in contact with each other; a portion for bonding at least the elastic member to one or both of the surfaces of the surface material and the back surface material to be joined to each other; A stretching device for forcibly stretching a plurality of the elastic members, and a central axis in the traveling direction of the front surface material and the back surface material. An elastic member supply device that supplies the adhesive to the surface material or the back surface material while applying the adhesive by rocking with a pair of left and right swing guides that reciprocate symmetrically at right angles to the surface material and the surface material; Back material Pressure is applied under the state where the elastic member is sandwiched, an adhesive fixing device for adhesively fixing the elastic member between the front surface material and the back surface material, and the adhesive fixing device arranged near both sides of the crotch portion of the absorber. A cutting device is provided which cuts unnecessary portions of the surface material and the back surface material, which are bonded and fixed to the elastic member, in a napkin configuration so that only the elastic member remains, in a straight line in the traveling direction. An apparatus for manufacturing a sanitary napkin. 5. A sanitary napkin produced by the method for producing a sanitary napkin according to claim 2 or 3.