KR101966248B1 - Absorber and method of manufacturing absorbent article - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an absorber that forms an absorber having a dimension smaller than the dimension in the transverse direction in the conveying direction so that even when the absorber continuum is cut along the transverse direction, It makes it hard to recognize. A method of manufacturing an absorber for an absorbent article, comprising the steps of preparing an absorber continuum (50) in which a material of the absorber (3) extends in a strip shape; and a step of transferring the absorber continuum in the transverse direction And a cutting step of cutting along the transverse direction so as to form an absorber having a dimension smaller than the dimension in the conveying direction. The transverse end edge portion (50b) of the absorber continuum is convexly curved outside the transverse direction Convex curved region 52 having an edge and a concave curved region 53 having an outer edge curved concavely with respect to the outer side in the transverse direction and the convex curved region and the concave curved region are arranged alternately along the carrying direction And the cutting step includes a step of cutting the absorber continuum in the concave curved region.

Description

Absorber and method of manufacturing absorbent article

The present invention relates to an absorber and a method for producing the absorbent article.

As a method for producing an absorber for an absorbent article, there are the following methods. That is, first, an absorber continuum in which the absorber is connected in the transport direction is prepared and transported in the transport direction. Then, the absorber continuum is cut along the transverse direction while being conveyed in the conveying direction, and separated into individual absorbers to obtain an absorber. According to such a method, for example, a method of manufacturing an absorbent pad for an absorbent article of Patent Document 1 can be mentioned. In Patent Document 1, the absorber has a protrusion protruding outward in the width direction at an end portion in the width direction. When manufacturing the absorber, an absorber continuum having a shape such that the absorber is connected in the transport direction is prepared so that the longitudinal direction of the absorber is along the transport direction.

Japanese Patent Specification 2001-506153

As the absorbent article of the absorbent article, there is one having an end portion extending in the longitudinal direction outwardly from an end portion in the longitudinal direction. The shape of the end portion is an arched shape surrounded by an arc (a central angle of 180 degrees or less) and a string. The part of the arc shape outwardly extending from the arc shape. The end portion is formed by securing the amount of water absorption and matching with the outer shape of the product, and generally has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center line. The absorber is used for a physiological pad or an incontinence pad, for example.

When the absorber is manufactured by the above-described manufacturing method, for example, an absorber continuum having a shape in which the width direction of the absorber is connected to the end portion in the width direction of the absorber is prepared along the conveying direction, And is transported in the transport direction. In this case, the edge portions extending outward from the transverse direction end portions of the absorber continuum are constituted such that the arcuate portions are alternately arranged along the transport direction. When the absorber continuum is cut in the transverse direction, it is cut at a position between adjacent arcuate shapes in the transport direction. However, if the timing of conveyance of the absorber continuum is deviated from the timing of cutting, the position of the cut in the conveying direction may be displaced. If the position of the cutting is deviated, the bow shape that should not be originally divided may be split in the middle. Then, at the end of the absorber, the part of the arcuate step is cut off in the middle, the other arcuate step is added, or the arcuate shape is not line-symmetric with respect to the longitudinal center line, . Therefore, if the absorber is directly used for the absorbent article, even if the performance of the absorber is not problematic, the consumer may perceive that the shape of the absorber is different from the original, that is, a defective article.

Particularly, in the case of forming an absorber having a shorter dimension in the transport direction than the dimension in the transverse direction, that is, a dimension smaller than the dimension in the longitudinal direction, the dimension in the transverse direction is smaller than that in the transverse direction. Even if the absolute value of the positional deviation is the same, The effect is greater. In other words, even if the absolute value of the positional deviation is within the allowable tolerance range of the manufacturing apparatus, since the ratio of the absolute value of the positional deviation to the dimension in the carrying direction becomes larger as the dimension in the carrying direction becomes shorter, It becomes easier to do.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing an absorber that forms an absorber having a dimension smaller than the dimension in the transverse direction in the conveying direction so that even when the absorber continuum is cut along the transverse direction, And it is possible to make it difficult for the consumer to perceive it.

The method of producing the absorber of the present invention is as follows.

(1) A method of manufacturing an absorber for an absorbent article, comprising the steps of: preparing an absorber continuum in which a material of the absorber extends in a strip; and conveying the absorber continuum in the conveying direction, And a cutting step of cutting along the transverse direction so as to form an absorber having a smaller dimension in the transport direction than the dimension in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum, And a concave curved region having an outer edge curved concavely with respect to an outer side of the transverse direction, wherein the convex curved region and the concave curved region are formed along the conveying direction And the cutting step is a step of cutting the absorber continuum in the concave curved region The manufacturing method of the absorbent article including a cutting step to come.

The manufacturing method of this absorber has the above-described structure, that is, the end edge in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum is constituted by alternately arranging the convex curved region and the concave curved region along the conveying direction, and the cutting step is performed in the concave curved region And cutting the absorber continuum at any position in the carrying direction. Here, in the absorber formed by cutting, the transverse direction and the transport direction are respectively the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the absorbent body in that the dimension in the transport direction is smaller than the dimension in the transverse direction. Therefore, when the absorber is formed, the end portion in the longitudinal direction (transverse direction) of the absorber, which is constituted by the convex curved region and the concave curved regions located on both sides thereof, has a transverse direction (conveying direction) like concave-convex-concave So that they are continuously arranged. Here, at the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the absorber, the apex of the convex curvature region is conspicuous, and therefore, it is easily recognized as the center in the width direction of the absorber. However, a consumer who has seen a continuous shape of concave-convex-concave recognizes it as a part of a continuous pattern and is not aware of the concept of center. Therefore, it is unnecessary to know where the center in the width direction is at the end in the longitudinal direction of the absorber. In other words, by virtue of the visual effects of the convex curved region and the concave curved region at the longitudinal end portion of the absorbent body, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body in the width direction (conveying direction) from being imprinted on the consumer. As a result, even if the top of the convex curved region is not located at the center of the conveying direction (width direction) of the absorber and the line of symmetry about the longitudinal center line of the absorber is not symmetrical, It can be made difficult to recognize. Thereby, it is possible to make it difficult for the consumer to think that the absorbent article is defective, and to prevent the good feeling of the absorbent article from being damaged.

The method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized in that (2) the outline of the convex curve region is formed by a convex curve or a convex curve and a straight line, and the outline of the concave curve region is concave Wherein an angle at which a tangent line of an arbitrary point intersects with a tangent line of another arbitrary point in each of the contour line of the convex curve region and the contour line of the concave curvature region is defined by a curve or a curved line and a straight line, (1) above, wherein the thickness of the absorbent body is not less than 150 degrees and not more than 210 degrees.

In this method of manufacturing an absorber, the angular range is limited so that the intersection angle of the tangent lines at an arbitrary point of the contour line in the convex curved region or the concave curved region becomes a relatively large obtuse angle. Therefore, the degree of convex curvature or concave curvature can be made small and gentle in the concave curved region or the convex curved region. As a result, when the absorbent body is formed, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body in the width direction (conveying direction) from being further impressed. As a result, the position of the cutting in the cutting step is shifted and the top of the convex curved region can be made hard to be seen as the center of the absorbent body even if the top of the convex curved region is not located at the center of the width direction Or it can be made inconspicuous around the top of the convex curved region. That is, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized.

(3) A method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized in that (3) the outer contour line of the concave curved region includes a circle arc having a center on the outer side of the transverse direction edge of the absorber continuum, Wherein the outer curve line of the convex curve region includes at least one of an elliptical arc having a focal point on the outer side of the transverse direction end edge and a circular arc having a center on the inner side of the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum, And an elliptical arc having a focal point inside the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum. The present invention also provides an absorber manufacturing method as described in (1) or (2) above.

In this method of manufacturing the absorber, the concave curved region or the convex curved region includes a circular arc or an elliptical arc, whereby the degree of concavity or convexity of curvature in the concave curved region or the convex curved region can be made small and moderate have. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body in the width direction (transport direction) from being left with an impression. Thereby, even if the position of cutting in the cutting step is shifted, the top portion of the convex curved region can be made hard to be seen as the center of the width direction (transport direction) of the absorbent article, or the top portion can be made inconspicuous . That is, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized.

(4) A method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized in that (4) the curvature radius of an arbitrary point of the contour curve of the concave curved region in the absorber continuum is larger than the curvature radius of an arbitrary point of the contour curve of the convex curved region, (1) to (3) above.

In this method of manufacturing an absorber, the radius of curvature of an arbitrary point of the contour line of the concave curved region where cutting is performed in the cutting step is larger than the radius of curvature of an arbitrary point of the contour line of the convex curved region where cutting is not performed. That is, the change of the outline of the concave curved region is not more gradual or steep than the change of the outline of the convex curved region. As a result, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, it can be seen that there is no difference in the shape relative to the case where the position is not shifted, thereby making it difficult to recognize the positional shift.

(5) In each of the outline of the convex curved region and the outline of the concave curved region, the radius of curvature at an arbitrary point is defined as A in the carrying direction of the absorber (A) to (4), wherein A is not less than A and not more than 3A.

In this method of manufacturing the absorber, since the radius of curvature at an arbitrary point of the contour line in the convex curved region or concave curved region is A or more, the degree of convex curvature or concave curvature in the concave curved region or the convex curved region is small It can be gentle. Thereby, when the absorbent body is formed, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body in the width direction (conveying direction) from being further impressed. On the other hand, since the radius of curvature is equal to or less than 3A, convex curvature at the top of the convex curved region can have a degree of roundness to some extent. Thereby, when the absorber is formed, the size of the absorber can be maintained at a sufficient size. It is possible to make both the difficulty of recognizing the positional deviation and the height of the absorption performance compatible with each other.

(6) The method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the ratio of the minimum dimension to the maximum dimension in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum is 0.8 to 0.95 Or a method of producing the absorbent body described above.

In this method of manufacturing the absorber, the ratio of the maximum dimension (the top of the convex curve region) in the transverse direction to the minimum dimension (the bottom of the concave curved region) is within a predetermined range close to 1, The degree of convex curvature and the degree of concave curvature in the concave curved region can be made small and smooth. As a result, when the absorbent body is formed, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body in the width direction (conveying direction) from being further impressed. As a result, the position of the cutting in the cutting step is shifted and the top of the convex curved region can be made hard to be seen as the center of the absorbent body even if the top of the convex curved region is not located at the center of the width direction Or it can be made inconspicuous around the top of the convex curved region. That is, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized.

(7) A method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized by comprising the steps of: (7) passing through a junction between an outline of the convex curve region and an outline of the concave curve region, When the distance between the concave position and the virtual line is the concave dimension and the distance between the most convex position of the convex curved region and the virtual line is the convex dimension, (6), which is smaller than the convex dimension.

In this method of manufacturing the absorber, the concave curvature of the concave curved region in the transverse direction is smaller than the convex dimension of the convex curved region, so that the concave curvature of the concave curved region becomes inconspicuous, The change in the dimension in the transverse direction becomes small. Therefore, even if the position of cutting is shifted to the front side or the back side of the conveying direction, the change in the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body in the concave curved region is small and is not noticeable. can do.

(8) A method of manufacturing an absorber according to (6) or (7), wherein the outline of the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum has a shape of a sinusoidal wave or a composite wave of a plurality of sinusoidal waves Or a manufacturing method thereof.

In this method of manufacturing an absorber, since the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum has a sinusoidal wave or a shape of its synthetic wave, the waveform of the absorber cuts out a continuous shape to the consumer, It can be seen that there is no center in the width direction (transport direction). Therefore, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional shift can be hardly recognized.

(9) A manufacturing method of an absorber according to the present invention, further comprising a machining step for performing a predetermined machining for each of the areas to become the absorber in the absorber continuum between the preparing step and the cutting step, The method of manufacturing an absorber according to any one of (1) to (8).

Generally, the function imparted to the absorber differs depending on the use purpose of the absorptive article. Therefore, in order to impart different functions to the absorber, the absorber continuum may be subjected to a predetermined machining step (for example, slit forming, pressing). At that time, the stiffness and elongation percentage of the continuous absorber body change due to the processing step, so that the position of the continuous absorber continuum in the transport direction is more likely to occur in subsequent steps. Thus, by manufacturing the absorber before the cutting process, it is possible to make it difficult to recognize the positional deviation including the positional deviation occurring in the machining process.

(10) The method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized in that (10) the absorber material continuous body in which the absorber material as the material of the absorber extends in a strip-like manner in the carrying direction, the transversely- (1) to (9), further comprising a forming step of forming the absorber continuum by cutting the absorber to have the shape of the convex curved region.

In this method of manufacturing an absorber, the absorber continuum can be relatively easily obtained by cutting the transverse end edges of the absorber material continuum in the shape of a concave curved region and a convex curved region. Thereby, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more easily exhibited.

(11) The method of manufacturing an absorber according to the present invention is characterized in that (11) the absorber material, which is the material of the absorber, is arranged on the edge of the transverse direction in the concave curved region and the pattern plate (1) to (9), further comprising a forming step of forming the absorber continuum by fiber stacking the absorber on the absorber.

In the method of manufacturing the absorber, the absorber material is placed on the pattern plate, and the absorber continuum can be relatively stably obtained. Thereby, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more stably exhibited.

(12) A process for producing an absorbent body as described in any one of (1) to (11) above to obtain an absorbent body; and a step of laminating the topsheet and the backsheet on the absorbent body And a step of cutting the outer edge of the transverse end edge of the absorbent body formed in the cutting step and the outer edge of the transverse edge of the topsheet and the backsheet so as not to be constant And a cutting step of cutting the topsheet and the backsheet into a product shape.

By design, when the distance between the outer edge of the end portion in the longitudinal direction (transverse direction) of the absorbent article and the outer edge of the end portion in the longitudinal direction (transverse direction) of the surface sheet is constant, for example, , And when they are parallel to each other, when the absorber is laminated with the surface sheet at the time of manufacturing, the positional deviation of the end portion of the absorber may be noticeable. Thus, in the method of manufacturing the absorbent article, the distance between the outer edges of the absorbent article is not constant. Whereby the positional deviation of the absorber can be made more difficult to recognize.

(13) The laminating step may include a surface sheet laminating step of laminating a surface sheet to the absorber immediately after the cutting step, and a step of laminating the absorbent article to the absorbent article immediately after the surface sheet laminating step (12), further comprising an embossing step of embossing the laminated body of the absorbent article and the topsheet.

In general, the displacement of the embossed portion in the width direction of the absorber is related to the position of the side edge in the width direction of the absorber, and is easily perceived by the consumer. Thus, in this method of manufacturing an absorbent article, it is possible to prevent the position deviation from becoming larger through other steps by performing the step of laminating the surface sheet and the step of embossing the laminate immediately after the cutting step, It is possible to more reliably exhibit the effects that can be difficult.

(14) The method for producing an absorbent article according to (12) or (13), wherein only the topsheet is present on the skin side of the absorbent article.

In general, when the absorptive article has only the surface sheet on the skin side of the absorber, the consumer tends to visually recognize the shape of the absorber through the surface sheet. In such a case, the consumer can easily recognize the positional deviation of the absorber. Therefore, in this method of manufacturing an absorbent article, even in such a case, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more remarkably exerted by applying the present manufacturing method.

According to the present invention, in the method of manufacturing an absorber that forms an absorber having a dimension smaller in the transport direction than the dimension in the transverse direction, even when the absorber continuum is cut along the transverse direction, It is possible to provide a method of manufacturing an absorber that makes it difficult to recognize the absorbent body.

1 is a view showing an absorbent article according to an embodiment.
2 is a view showing an absorbent article according to an embodiment.
3 is a view showing an absorber according to the embodiment.
4 is a schematic overall view of an apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent article according to the embodiment.
5 is a schematic overall view of an apparatus for producing an absorbent article according to the embodiment.
6 is a view for explaining a manufacturing method of the absorbent article according to the embodiment.
7 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing the absorbent article according to the embodiment.
8 is a view showing the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
9 is a view for explaining the shape of the absorber continuum.
10 is a view for explaining the shape of the absorber continuum.
11 is a view for explaining the shape of the absorber continuum.
12 is a view for explaining the shape of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
13 is a view showing an edge portion of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
14 is a view showing a variation of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
15 is a view showing a deformation of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
16 is a view showing deformation of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.
17 is a view showing deformation of the absorber continuum according to the embodiment.

The absorbent article and the absorbent article according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings by way of example with reference to the drawings. However, the kind and use of the absorbent article are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a panty liner and a light incontinence pad. The liquid to be absorbed by the absorbent article is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a liquid excrement and a body fluid of a wearer.

First, the absorbent article according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are views showing the absorbent article 2, and show a top view and an exploded perspective view, respectively, of the absorbent article 2 in a developed state. Absorbent article 2 includes a main body 2a having a longitudinal direction L, a width direction W and a thickness direction T orthogonal to each other and extending in the longitudinal direction L, And a pair of flap portions 2b and 2b extending to both sides of the width direction W at approximately the center of the flap portion 2b. The absorbent article 2 has a center axis CL extending in the longitudinal direction L through the center of the width direction W and a center axis CL extending in the longitudinal direction L of the pair of flap portions 2b, And has a central axis CW extending in the width direction W. 1, the upper side is the front side of the absorbent article 2, and the lower side when viewed from the front side is the back side of the absorbent article 2. The longitudinal direction L, the lateral direction W and the thickness direction T of the absorbent article 2 coincide with the longitudinal direction, the width direction and the thickness direction of the respective materials of the absorbent article 2 described later, 2, and the materials thereof, the longitudinal direction L, the width direction W, and the thickness direction T are commonly used. Refers to viewing the absorbent article 2 in an unfolded state in the thickness direction T from the upper surface side. The terms "skin side" and "non-skin side" mean that when the absorbent article 2 is worn by the wearer of the absorbent article 2, the side close to the skin surface of the wearer in the thickness direction T Respectively. And the direction toward and away from the central axis CL are the inner and outer directions of the width direction W, respectively. And the direction toward and away from the center axis CW are the inner and outer directions of the longitudinal direction L, respectively. These definitions are also commonly used for each material of the absorbent article 2.

In the present embodiment, the absorbent article 2 is a sanitary pad and has elongation in the longitudinal direction L. In other words, the extensibility in the longitudinal direction (L) is higher than the extensibility in the width direction (W). Here, extensibility refers to a property in which, when a tensile force is applied to an object, the shape of the object extends in that direction. In this case, when the tensile force disappears, the shape of the object may be returned to its original shape or close to the original shape, but not completely returned to the original shape. The absorbent article 2 may have elasticity in the longitudinal direction L. [ The elasticity refers to a property that when a tensile force is applied to an object, the shape of the object extends in that direction, and when the tensile force is lost, the shape of the object returns to its original shape. The extensibility and stretchability may be expressed as the characteristics of the material, or may be expressed in the form of a material or in combination with other materials. For example, the degree of elongation (elongation at break) (elongation at break) is at least 5% with respect to the degree of extension in elongation or stretchability. In this case, the measurement method is determined by a test of the tensile elongation of the fiber sheet to be described later.

The outer edges 2T1 and 2T2 of the opposite end portions in the longitudinal direction L of the main body portion 2a are formed into a substantially semicircular shape in the longitudinal direction L of the main body portion 2a, Or a shape of a bowl-like shape. A region abutting the excretion hole, that is, the excretion hole abutting area STA is set at the center of the width direction W in the vicinity of the center of the longitudinal direction L in the longitudinal direction L. In the main body portion 2a, the pressed portion 26 is formed on and around the excretion hole abutment region STA. In the present embodiment, the center squeezing portion 26a on the perforation contact area STA, the peripheral side squeezing portions 26b and 26b, the front squeezing portion 26c, and the rear squeezing portion 26d Is formed. The flap portion 2b has a semicircular or semi-elliptical shape and the positions of both ends (joined portions) and the central portion of the pair of flap portions 2b and 2b in the longitudinal direction L are aligned with each other in the excretion hole contact area STA ) And the center portion of the end portion of the substrate.

The absorbent article 2 includes a liquid permeable topsheet 4, a liquid impermeable backsheet 5, and an absorbent body 3 disposed between the topsheet 4 and the backsheet 5 Respectively. The pressing portion 26 is formed by pressing the topsheet 4 and the absorbent 3. [ In the present embodiment, the topsheet 4, the backsheet 5, and the absorbent body 3 are formed so as to be able to extend substantially integrally.

The topsheet 4 has a front portion 4a and a rear portion 4b with the center axis CW as a boundary. The front portion 4a is a portion having little extensibility in the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. [ The rear portion 4b is a portion where the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is higher than the elongation in the width direction W. In the present embodiment, the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is high, The extensibility of the extruded polyolefin resin is very small. The rear portion 4b may have stretchability or elasticity in addition to extensibility. As a method of imparting extensibility, for example, gear stretching treatment can be mentioned, and in this case, elasticity can also be imparted. In the present embodiment, the topsheet 4 also has stretchability in the rear portion 4b.

The backsheet 5 has a front portion 5a and a rear portion 5b with the center axis CW as a boundary. The front portion 5a is a portion having little elongation in the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. [ The rear portion 5b is a portion where the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is higher than the elongation in the width direction W. In the present embodiment, the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is high, The extensibility of the extruded polyolefin resin is very small. The rear portion 5b may have stretchability or elasticity in addition to stretchability. As a method of imparting extensibility, for example, gear stretching treatment can be mentioned, and in this case, elasticity can also be imparted. In the present embodiment, the backsheet 5 also has elasticity at the rear portion 5b.

The absorbent body 3 has an absorbent body portion 3m and further includes a carrier sheet 3n joined to the surface of the absorbent body portion 3m on the side of the back sheet 5 in this embodiment . The absorber main body portion 3m has a front portion 3ma and a rear portion 3mb with the center axis CW as a boundary. The front portion 3ma is a portion having little elongation in the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. [ The portion 3mb on the back side (except for the excretion hole abutment area STA in plan view) is a portion where the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is higher than the elongation in the width direction W, and in this embodiment, The stretchability in the direction L is high and the stretchability in the width direction W is little. As a method for imparting extensibility, a plurality of gaps 3S extending in the width direction W may be formed on the absorber main body 3m so as to be arranged along the length direction L. [ Thereby, when the absorber main body 3m is tensioned in the backward direction of the longitudinal direction L, stretchability is expressed by expanding the gap 3S in the longitudinal direction L. As the shape of the gap 3S, there can be mentioned a linear shape (this embodiment), a wave line shape, and the like. The arrangement of the gaps 3S may be such that individual gaps 3S are arranged in a zigzag arrangement in the back side portion 3mb or individual gaps 3S are arranged in a zigzag arrangement in a virtual rhombic shape, , And arranging the small region of the rhombic shape in a zigzag arrangement in the rear side portion 3mb (this embodiment). The gap 3S may have a circular or elliptical shape (preferably, the opening has a long diameter in the width direction W) and may have a clearance like the opening.

The carrier sheet 3n has a front portion 3na and a rear portion 3nb with the center axis CW as a boundary. The front side portion 3na is a portion having little elongation in the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. [ The rear portion 3nb is a portion where the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is higher than the elongation in the width direction W. In the present embodiment, the elongation in the longitudinal direction L is high, The extensibility of the extruded polyolefin resin is very small. The rear portion 3nb may have stretchability in addition to elongation. As a method for imparting extensibility, for example, there is a method of using a sheet having stretchability in a predetermined direction and having no stretchability in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction as a back portion 3nb, and in particular , Stretchability can also be imparted when a sheet having stretchability in a predetermined direction and having no stretchability in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction is used. The front portion 3na and the rear portion 3nb may be the front portion and the rear portion of the same sheet and may be formed of two kinds of sheets having different stretchability (or stretchability). In the present embodiment, a sheet having no stretchability and stretchability in any direction is used as the front side portion 3na, and a stretchable material having a stretchability in the predetermined direction is used as the rear side portion 3nb, A sheet having no stretchability in the direction orthogonal to the sheet is used.

Therefore, the absorber 3 is formed in such a manner that the absorber body portion 3m and the carrier sheet 3n are superimposed to each other on the rear side portion of the absorbent article 2 (excluding the excretory foot abutting region STA in plan view) And can exhibit extensibility. However, in the absorber 3, the carrier sheet 3n has stretchability, so that stretchability can also be exhibited. Although the absorber body portion 3m exhibits stretchability only through a plurality of gaps 3S, the shrinkability is not necessarily sufficient, and therefore, the stretchability is not sufficient. Thus, in the present embodiment, the absorber 3 is provided with stretchability by bonding the carrier sheet 3n having elasticity to the absorber main body 3m. The carrier sheet 3n has a function of preventing the shape of the absorbent article body portion 3m from being collapsed because the carrier sheet 3n is hard to be cut by the cutting blade due to elasticity when the gap 3S is formed in the absorbent article body portion 3m.

3 shows the absorber 3, and the absorber 3 includes a main body 30a and an edge 30b. The main body portion 30a has two outer edges 36 and 36 in a straight line parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction L of the absorbent body 3 and a pair of outer edges 36 and 36 in the width direction W of the absorbent body 3. [ Which are surrounded by two imaginary outer edges 37, 37 on a straight line parallel to each other. The edge portion 30b is a portion extending outwardly from the end in the longitudinal direction L of the main body portion 30a and has a virtual outer edge 37 and a substantially- W, which is surrounded by the outer edge 31 on the curve. In this embodiment, the edge portions 30b are formed at both end portions in the longitudinal direction L of the main body portion 30a.

The edge portion 30b includes a convex curved region 32 and two concave curved regions 33a and 33b. The convex curvature region 32 has a curved outer edge 31c located at the center of the width direction W and curved convexly toward the outside of the longitudinal direction L. [ The two concave curved regions 33a and 33b are located outside one and the other ends of the width direction W of the convex curved region 32 respectively and are curved concavely with respect to the outside of the longitudinal direction L And has outer edges 31a and 31b on one curved line. Therefore, the outer edge 31 is regarded as a roughly curved line connecting the outer edge 31a of the concave shape, the outer edge 31c of the convex shape, and the outer edge 31b of the concave shape in this order . The boundary point 34 between the convex curved region 32 and the concave curved region 33a or the concave curved region 33b, that is, the boundary point between the outer edge 31c and the outer edge 31a or the outer edge 31b For example, the inflection point of the curved line of the outer edge 31. As shown in Fig. Specifically, assuming that the width direction W is an x-axis, the longitudinal direction L is a y-axis, and the curved line of the outer edge 31 is y = f (x) That is, the inflection point at which the second derivative value with respect to x of y changes from positive / negative (negative) to negative (positive) / negative (positive) / negative (negative). Or the distance L between the top TP0 of the convex curved region 32 and the bottom portion (not shown) of the concave curved region 33a or the concave curved region 33b is set to, for example, 2: 1 And a point where a virtual line passing through the point and parallel to the width direction W intersects the curve of the outer edge 31 with respect to the dividing point. The distance between the top portion TP0 of the convex curved region 32 and the widthwise direction W of both ends of the width direction W of the edge portion 30b is divided by 2: And a point where an imaginary line passing through the point and parallel to the longitudinal direction L crosses the curve of the outer edge 31. The value of the ratio is arbitrary.

The outer edge 31 extending along the width direction W of the absorbent body 3 is a curved line substantially in the wave form so that the consumer recognizes the outer edge 31 as a continuous shape, The center of the width direction W of the base 3 is not recognized. In other words, even if the dimension in the width direction W of the concave curved region 33a is different from the dimension in the width direction W of the concave curved region 33b, Even if the absorber 3 is not line-symmetric with respect to the longitudinal center line extending in the direction L, the difference in shape is not recognized by the consumer. As a result, the permissible range can be increased with respect to manufacturing tolerances in which the width of the concave curved region 33a in the width direction W and the width of the concave curved region 33b in the width direction W are different from each other. However, the convex curved region 32 and the concave curved regions 33a and 33b may be formed by a curved line and / or a straight line indicating an outer edge curved in a convex shape or a concave shape, respectively. The curvature includes a case where straight lines are arranged in a polygonal shape and can be regarded as a curvature as a whole. Incidentally, when the line representing the outer edge is modulated with fine irregularities, it is included in the convex curved region 32 and the concave curved regions 33a and 33b.

The outer edge 31 of the edge portion 30b of the absorber 3 and the outer edge 3T1 of the absorbent core 3 and the outer edge of the edge portion in the longitudinal direction L of the body portion 2a, The distance D between the outer edge 2T1 and the outer edge 2T1 is not constant (Fig. 1), and the shape of the outer edge 2T1 and the shape of the outer edge 3T1 do not resemble each other. Here, the end edge of the body portion 2a in the longitudinal direction L is formed by the topsheet 4 and the backsheet 5. The distance between the outer edge of the end edge of the absorbent core 3 and the outer edge of the end edge of the longitudinal direction L of the topsheet 4 and the backsheet 5 is not constant, The shape of a person does not resemble each other. Thereby, even if the shape of the end edge portion of the absorber 3 deviates from the designed position, the positional deviation can be made more difficult to recognize.

The main body portion 2a and the pair of flap portions 2b of the absorbent article 2 are provided with a plurality of fixing portions (not shown) for fixing the absorbent article 2 to a garment, (5). The plurality of fixing portions of the main body portion 2a extend in a strip shape in the width direction W of the absorbent article 2 and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction L of the absorbent article 2. [ Each of the fixing portions of the pair of flap portions 2b and 2b overlaps a part of the outer edge of the outer side in the width direction W of each flap portion 2b. The absorbent article 2 may further include an auxiliary sheet (not shown) for assisting the diffusion of the liquid between the topsheet 4 and the absorbent body 3. [ In this case, the auxiliary sheet has the same outer shape and clearance as the absorbent article body 3m, and can be stretched in the longitudinal direction L by the gap 3S.

In the absorbent article 2, the topsheet 4 and the backsheet 5, which are stretchable sheets, and the stretchable absorbent body 3 are overlapped with each other to form a part of the back side of the absorbent article 2 20K) is excluded) can exhibit extensibility. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the absorbent article 2 has the elasticity of the topsheet 4, the backsheet 5, and the absorbent body 3, so that the back side portion of the absorbent article 2 (Except for the region STA), stretchability can be exhibited. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. The present invention is not limited to the example, and the absorbent 3 (the back side portion 3mb + 3nb), the topsheet 4 (the back side portion 4b) (Preferably stretchable) is applied to a predetermined region of the absorbent article 2 as a whole so that the stretchability (preferably stretchability) May be expressed.

As the material of the topsheet 4, the absorbent body 3m, the carrier sheet 3n, the backsheet 5, the fixing portion and the release sheet, known materials generally used in the absorbent article 2 are used . For example, examples of the material of the topsheet 4 include a nonwoven fabric, a woven fabric, a synthetic resin film having liquid through holes formed therein, and a composite sheet of these. Examples of the nonwoven fabric include natural fibers, regenerated fibers, inorganic fibers, and synthetic resin fibers. Examples of the material of the absorbent article body portion 3m include pulp fibers, synthetic fibers, and water absorbent polymers. Examples of the material of the auxiliary sheet include nonwoven fabric, pulp fiber and synthetic fiber. The carrier sheet 3n may be a synthetic resin film having stretchability in the uniaxial direction. Particularly, a synthetic resin film having stretchability in the uniaxial direction but not stretchability in the direction of the other axis orthogonal to the uniaxial direction is preferable. Examples of the material of the backsheet 5 include a waterproofed nonwoven fabric, a synthetic resin film, a composite sheet of a nonwoven fabric and a synthetic resin film, and an SMS nonwoven fabric. As the material of the fixing portion, a pressure-sensitive adhesive such as a styrene-butadiene copolymer can be used. As a material of the release sheet, a release agent of a silicone resin system is coated on a substrate of a paper sheet or a resin sheet. The adhesive used for bonding between the topsheet 4, the auxiliary sheet, the absorbent body 3m, the carrier sheet 3n and the backsheet 5 is generally used as the absorbent article 2 For example, a thermoplastic adhesive can be used. As the material of the package sheet, known materials generally used for packaging the absorbent article 2 can be used. Examples thereof include resin films, paper, and nonwoven fabrics.

The absorbent article 2 of the present embodiment has an area on the front side (more than the center axis CW) and an excretion hole abutting area STA without stretching in the excretion foot abutting area STA in a plan view And has extensibility in the region on the back side (excluding the center axis CW) except for the above. That is, among the one absorbent article 2, the stretchability is changed in the region on the substantially front side and the region on the rear side. Therefore, when the absorbent article 2 is fixed to the undergarment by the fixing portion, the front side region and the excretion hole abutment region STA of the absorbent article 2 are kept in contact with the body of the underwear attacher The area on the back side excluding the excretory foot abutment area STA can be stretched along with the movement of the user's body. Specifically, the load applied to the absorbent article 2 along with the movement of both legs is increased by stretching and deforming the area on the back side excluding the excretion hole abutting area STA when the underwear wearer is walking, Or the like. At this time, since the excretion hole contact area STA and the front area are not elongated, they can be stably stuck to the body of the underwear wearer and the excretion hole abutment area STA can stably come into close contact with the excretion hole (vaginal opening) . This is because the area on the front side and the area on the excretory stop abutment area STA do not have stretchability, so that deformation such as twist in the rear side area is hardly transmitted to the front side area. In addition, since the area on the front side is originally easy to stably adhere to the body because the influence of the movement of both legs is small, a region which does not have extensibility is widely secured in the area on the front side, It is possible to increase the ability to prevent the transmission of deformation from the area of the area. Particularly, since the stretchable rear side region extends to the central axis CW as the outward side of the width direction W of the excretion hole abutment area STA, And it is difficult for the deformation to be transmitted to the excretion hole contact area STA. As described above, in the absorbent article 2, the behavior in the front side region and the rear side region can be different from each other in accordance with the movement of the underwear attachment member, thereby making it possible to achieve both the absorbency and the attachability. In addition, the above-mentioned mechanism can be similarly effective even when each member has stretchability, not stretchability.

(Tensile elongation (elongation at break) of the fiber sheet)

A strip-shaped test piece having a length of 150 mm and a width of 25 mm is cut from a member or a sheet to be measured, and used as a sample for measurement. Using a tensile tester (Autograph, type AGS-1kNG, manufactured by Shimadzu Seisakusho Co., Ltd.) equipped with a load cell having a maximum load capacity of 50 N, the measurement sample was measured for three measurement samples, The tensile elongation is measured under the conditions of a chuck distance of 100 mm and a tensile speed of 100 mm / min. The average value of tensile elongation of the three measuring samples is referred to as tensile elongation.

The absorbent article 2 according to the present embodiment can be stretchable / stretchable when the topsheet 4, the backsheet 5 and the absorbent body 3 are stretchable It may not be formed.

Next, a method of manufacturing the absorbent article 2 including the absorbent body 3 according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show an example of the construction of the manufacturing apparatus 400 for manufacturing the absorbent article 2 including the absorbent 3. Fig. The manufacturing apparatus 400 includes the absorbent body forming unit 400A, the first semi-finished product forming unit 400B, the second semi-finished product forming unit 400C, the absorbent article forming unit 400D, and the packaging unit 400E Respectively. 6 to 7 are views for explaining a manufacturing method of the absorbent article 2 including the absorbent 3. FIG. The present manufacturing method includes an absorber forming step, a first semi-finished product forming step, a second semi-finished product forming step, an absorbent article forming step, and a packaging step.

The manufacturing apparatus 400 relates to the conveyance of the absorbent article 2 and the materials constituting it, and includes a conveying direction (MD direction), a transverse direction (CD direction) orthogonal to the conveying direction along the conveying surface, (TD direction) perpendicular to the transverse direction and along the thickness direction of the material or the like. The upstream side in the conveying direction and the downstream side in the conveying direction are simply referred to as the upstream side and the downstream side and the upper side in the vertical direction and the lower side in the vertical direction are simply referred to as the &Quot; lower side ". The longitudinal direction L, the lateral direction W, and the thickness direction T of the absorbent article 2 and the members (for example, the absorbent body, the topsheet, and the backsheet) Are overlapped with the carrying direction, the transverse direction and the vertical direction, respectively. Therefore, the longitudinal direction L, the widthwise direction W, and the thickness direction T of the absorbent article 2 are also referred to as a transport direction, a transverse direction, and a vertical direction, respectively.

First, the absorber forming process executed by the absorber forming unit 400A will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 6 (a) to 6 (c).

A negative pressure chamber 111N to which a negative pressure is applied and a static pressure chamber 111P to which a positive pressure is applied are formed in the inner space of the rotary drum 111. [ A plurality of through holes (not shown) are formed in the outer circumferential surface of the rotary drum 111 to communicate with the negative pressure chamber 111N and the static pressure chamber 111P. The pattern plate 112 has grooves (not shown) formed continuously along the outer peripheral surface. The grooves have substantially the same shape as the shape in which the absorbers 3 are connected in the width direction W. The longitudinal direction and the width direction of the grooves are the circumferential direction (transport direction) of the outer circumferential surface of the rotary drum 111, And in the width direction (transverse direction). The grooves have air permeability and can communicate with the negative pressure chamber 111N or the static pressure chamber 111P by the rotation of the pattern plate 112. [ The grooves are capable of accommodating an accumulating material (for example, pulp fiber, synthetic fiber, absorbent resin) supplied from the material feeder 113.

First, the rotary drum 111 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the drive mechanism in the sheet stacking apparatus 110, and the sheet material is fed from the material feeder 113. Thereby, a laminated material is deposited in the groove communicating with the negative pressure chamber 111N of the pattern plate 112, and a continuous web of a strip-like shape, that is, the absorber continuum 50, in which a single absorber is connected in the circumferential direction . Next, when the pattern plate 112 reaches the static pressure chamber 111P together with the absorber continuum 50, the absorber continuum 50 is sucked by the suction device 116 and released from the pattern plate 112. [

On the other hand, in the roll WR1, the continuous sheet SS on the continuous sheet is rewound by the conveying roll 117 or the like, and is conveyed by the conveying belt 115 in the conveying direction. One side of the continuous sheet SS is coated with an adhesive (for example, a thermoplastic resin) by a bonding device 114. The absorber continuum 50 is adhered on one side of the continuous support sheet SS on the conveyance belt 115. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 6 (a), the absorber member P1 in which the absorber continuum 50 is laminated on the continuous support sheet SS is formed.

Next, in the carrier sheet feeding device 120, the continuous carrier sheet CS1 (with stretchability, CS2 with no stretchability) on the continuous sheet in the rolls WR2a and WR2b is rewound and fed to the conveyor belt 115 . The continuous carrier sheets CS1 and CS2 are respectively the rear side portion 3nb and the front side portion 3na of the carrier sheet 3n. On one side of the continuous carrier sheets CS1 and CS2, an adhesive is applied by a bonding device 121. [ One side of the continuous carrier sheets CS1 and CS2 is pressed and attached to the upper side of the absorber member P1. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 6 (b), the absorber member P2 in which the continuous carrier sheets CS1 and CS2 are laminated on the absorber member P1 is formed.

Next, in the pressing device 130, the absorber member P2 is sandwiched between the pressing roll 131 and the anvil roll 132, in which a plurality of convex portions are periodically formed on the outer peripheral surface, and pressed. Thereby, the absorber member P2 is formed into a desired thickness and adjusted to a desired fiber density (desired volume). The pressed absorber member P2 is conveyed to the conveying belt 133 in the conveying direction.

Next, in the gap forming apparatus 140, the absorber member P2 includes a cut roll 142 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof with a plurality of blades for forming the gap 3S of the absorber 3, and an anvil roll 141, And a plurality of gaps 3S are formed. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 6 (c), an absorber member P3 having a plurality of gaps 3S is formed. At this time, the plurality of gaps 3S are formed on the back side excluding the excretory contact area STA of the absorber body 3m in the absorber member P1 (absorber continuum 50 + continuous support sheet SS) Side portion 3mb, and is not formed in the continuous carrier sheets CS1 and CS2. In this embodiment, the linear gaps 3S extending in the circumferential direction are arranged in a zigzag shape in a virtual rhombic shape, and the rhombic shape regions are staggered in the circumferential direction and the width direction within the predetermined region. The absorber member P3 is transported to the transport belt 143 in the transport direction. At this time, since the stretchable direction of the continuous carrier sheet CS1, the absorber continuum 50 and the continuous sheet SS is perpendicular to the conveying direction, the continuous carrier sheet CS1, the absorber continuum 50, (SS) does not elongate.

The absorber member P3 is sucked by the outer circumferential surface of the anvil roll 152 and is transported by the cutting edge of the cutter roll 151 so that one absorber 3 And cut in the transverse direction every width. Thereby, the absorber member P3 separated into the shape of the absorber 3 becomes the absorber member P3. The absorber member P3 is substantially the absorber 3. The absorber member P3 is fed to the conveying roll 164.

The above-described absorber-forming process can be said to be a method of manufacturing an absorber. The process of forming the absorber continuum 50 by the redispersion apparatus 110 is a process of forming the absorber continuum 50 and a preparation process for preparing the absorber continuum 50. [ The step of cutting the absorber member P3 (absorber continuum 50) in the transverse direction and separating the absorber member P3 into the shape of one absorber 3 by cutting device 153 is a step of cutting the absorber continuum 50 Process.

Next, the first semi-finished product forming process executed by the first semi-finished product forming unit 400B will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 (d).

First, in the gear stretching device 160, the continuous topsheet TS on the continuous sheet in the roll WR3 is rewound and subjected to gear stretching to be formed into a stretchable continuous sheet. In the present embodiment, the pair of gear rolls 161 and 162 are provided with teeth only in an area corresponding to the rear portion 4b of the topsheet 4 among the outer circumferential surfaces thereof. Therefore, in the continuous topsheet TS, the portion TS1 corresponding to the rear portion 4b of the topsheet 4 exhibits stretchability and the portion TS2 corresponding to the front portion 4a ) Does not exhibit elasticity. The continuous topsheet TS after stretching is applied to one side by an adhesive 163 with an adhesive (for example, thermoplastic resin) and supplied to the conveyor belt 165. At this time, since the conveying direction is orthogonal to the stretchable direction, the continuous topsheet TS does not extend during conveyance. On the conveying belt 165, the surface of each continuous absorbent member P3 supplied from the conveying roll 164 on the side of the continuous sheet SS is pressed and adhered to one surface of the continuous top sheet TS. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 6 (d), the absorber member P3 with the continuous topsheet TS, that is, the first semi-finished product P4 is formed. The first semi-finished product P4 is supplied to the pressing device 170 by the conveyor belt 165. [

Next, in the pressing apparatus 170, the first semi-finished product P4 is sandwiched by an anvil roll 172 and a pressing roll 171 having a convex portion having a shape corresponding to the pressing portion 26 on the outer peripheral surface thereof , The crimping portion 26 is formed. Whereby the first semi-finished product P4 having the pressed portion 26 is formed. The first semi-finished product P4 is conveyed to the conveying belt 184 in the conveying direction.

The step of pressing the absorptive member P3 (absorber 3) to the continuous topsheet TS (topsheet 4) by sticking to it is a topsheet lamination process. The step of forming the pressed portion 26 on the laminate of the continuous topsheet TS and the absorbent member P3 may be referred to as an embossing (pressing) process.

Next, the second semi-finished product forming process executed by the second semi-finished product forming unit 400C will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 7 (a). In the gear stretching device 180, the continuous back sheet BS on the continuous sheet in the roll WR4 is rewound, subjected to gear stretching processing, and formed into a stretchable continuous sheet. In the present embodiment, the pair of gear rolls 181 and 182 are provided with teeth only in an area corresponding to the rear portion 5b of the backsheet 5, among the outer circumferential surfaces thereof. Therefore, in the continuous back sheet BS, stretchability develops in the portion BS1 corresponding to the back side portion 5b of the backsheet 5 and the portion BS2 corresponding to the front side portion 5a ) Does not exhibit elasticity. At this time, since the conveying direction is orthogonal to the stretchable direction, the sheet BS does not extend continuously during conveyance. Between the pair of conveying rolls 185 and 186, a first semi-finished product P4 coated with an adhesive is supplied from the conveying belt 184 to the upper side by an adhesive 183. Then, between the pair of transport rolls 185 and 186, the continuous sheet BS is pressed and adhered to the upper surface of the first semi-finished product P4. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 7 (a), the second semi-finished product P5 with the continuous sheet BS attached thereto is formed. 7 and 8, the description of the pressing portion 26 is omitted. The second semi-finished product P5 is conveyed to the conveying belt 187 in the conveying direction.

A step of adhering the continuous topsheet TS (topsheet 4) to the absorbent member P3 (the absorbent 3), and a step of adhering the sheet BS (backsheet 5) Can be regarded as a lamination step of laminating the topsheet 4 and the backsheet 5 on the absorber 3.

Next, the absorbent article forming step performed by the absorbent article forming unit 400D will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 7 (b).

The continuous release sheet CT wound back from the roll WR5 in the back side fixing part forming apparatus 190 is coated with an adhesive agent (fixing part) in a predetermined shape by a bonding device 195 on one side And cut to a predetermined size by a cutter roll 191 and an anvil roll 192 to form a release sheet. The peeling sheet is fed between the anvil roll 192 and the pressing roll 193. The second semi-finished product P5 is supplied from the conveyor belt 187 between the anvil roll 192 and the pressing roll 193. [ Between the anvil roll 192 and the pressing roll 193, the release sheet is pressed on the upper side of the second semi-finished product P5 and the release sheet is adhered to the second semi-finished product P5. Thereby, the second semi-finished product P5 to which the release sheet is attached is formed. The second semi-finished product P5 with the release sheet is fed from the conveyor belt 194 to the peripheral sealing device 200. [

Next, in the peripheral sealing apparatus 200, the second semi-finished product P5 is supplied between the heating roll 201 and the anvil roll 202 and is heated by the heating roll 201 to heat the absorbent article 2) so that the edges are opened. Thereby forming a second semi-finished product P5 which is heat-sealed. The inside of the heat seal contains an absorber. The thermally-sealed second semi-finished product P5 is conveyed to the expansion device 210. [

Next, in the expansion device 210, the second semi-finished product P5 conveyed from the peripheral sealing device 200 is fed between a pair of wider rolls 211, 212 of a plurality of sets, Is slightly expanded in each of the plural sets of wafers (211, 212) in the transverse direction, and the gap (3S) is appropriately cut. Whereby the second semi-finished product P5 can be smoothly expanded and contracted reliably. The second semi-finished product P6 is conveyed to the flap fixing unit 220 by the conveyor belt 213. [

Next, in the flap fixing part forming device 220, the continuous release sheet FT on the continuous sheet wound on the roll WR6 is adhered on one surface with an adhesive (fixing part) And cut to a predetermined size by a cutter roll 221 and an anvil roll 222 to form a release sheet. The release sheet is fed between the anvil roll 222 and the pressing roll 223. [ Between the anvil roll 222 and the pressing roll 223, the second semi-finished product P5 is conveyed from the conveyance belt 213. [ Between the anvil roll 222 and the pressing roll 223, the release sheet is pressed and adhered to the upper surface of the second semi-finished product P5. Thereby, the second semi-finished product P6 is formed (Fig. 7 (b)). The second semi-finished product P6 is conveyed to the peripheral cutting device 230 by the conveyor belt 224. [

The second semi-finished product P6 is individually cut by the cutting edge of the cutter roll 231 while being conveyed while being sucked to the outer peripheral surface of the anvil roll 232 in the peripheral cutting device 230, The second semi-finished product P7, that is, the absorbent article 70, which is separated into the shape of the absorbent article 2 is formed. The absorbent article 70 is transferred from the anvil roll 232 to the transfer device 240.

The step of cutting the second semi-finished product P6 into the shape of the absorbent article 2 is carried out by cutting the topsheet 4 (continuous topsheet TS) and the backsheet 5 (continuous backsheet BS) It can be regarded as a cutting process to cut into product shape.

Next, with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 7 (C), the packaging step executed in the packaging unit 400E will be described. The continuous packaging sheet HS on the continuous sheet wound on the roll WR7 in the transfer device 240 is wound on the transfer roll 242 with an adhesive applied on one side by an adhering device 244. [ On the other hand, the second semi-finished product P7 conveyed from the peripheral cutting device 230 is conveyed while being sucked to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roll 241 and transferred to the transfer roll 242. On the transfer roll 242, one surface of the continuous package sheet HS is pressed on the upper surface of the second semi-finished product P7 and the continuous package sheet HS is bonded to the second semi-finished product P7. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 7 (c), the second semi-finished product P7 with the continuous wrapping sheet HS is formed. The second semi-finished product P7 with the continuous wrapping sheet (HS) is conveyed to the folding device 250 in the conveying direction by the conveying belt 243. Thereafter, the second semi-finished product P7 (= absorbent article 70) with the continuous wrapping sheet (HS) is folded by a folding device (not shown) into a form of individual packaging.

Thus, the packaged absorbent article 2 is produced.

However, the method of manufacturing the absorbent article of the present embodiment is not limited to the above method as long as it includes a method of manufacturing an absorbent body that forms an absorbent body having a smaller dimension in the conveying direction than the dimension in the transverse direction.

Next, the shape of the absorber continuum 50 formed in the fiber-optic device 110 will be described.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the absorber continuum 50, and the absorber continuum 50 includes a main body portion 50a and an edge portion 50b. The main body portion 50a is a band-shaped portion surrounded by two outer edges 57 and 57 on a straight line parallel to each other in the conveying direction of the absorber continuum 50 and extending in the conveying direction. The edge portion 50b is a portion extending outwardly from an end portion in the transverse direction of the main body portion 50a and has an imaginary outer edge 57 and a curved line extending substantially in the conveying direction of the absorber continuum 50 And is surrounded by the outer edge 51 of the convex portion. In the present embodiment, the edge portions 50b are formed at both end portions in the transverse direction of the main body portion 50a.

The edge portion 50b includes the convex curved region 52 and the concave curved region 53. [ The convex curved region 52 has an outer edge 51c curved convexly toward the outside in the transverse direction. The concave curved region 53 has a curved outer edge 51d curved concavely with respect to the outer side in the transverse direction. Therefore, the outer edge 51 can be regarded as a roughly curved line connecting the outer edge 51c of the convex shape and the outer edge 51d of the concave shape alternately. The boundary point 54 between the convex curved region 52 and the concave curved region 53, that is, the boundary point 54 between the outer edge 51c and the outer edge 51d is the same as the boundary point 34. [

When the absorber continuum 50 is cut in the transverse direction in order to cut one absorber in the cutting step, the absorber 55 (absorber 3) in the carrying direction in the concave curvature region 53, In the transverse direction. The position of the cutting is set so as to pass through the concave curved region 53. For example, assuming that the outer edges 56 and 56 in the figure are located, the range defined by the outer edges 56 and 56 is one The absorber 55, that is, the absorber 3 is formed. The concave curved region 53 is divided into the concave curved region 53b on the upstream side and the concave curved region 53a on the downstream side and the outer edge 51d is divided into the outer edge 51b And the outer edge 51a on the downstream side. The region surrounded by the outer edges 56 and 56 and the outer edges 57 and 57 serves as the main body portion 30a and the region surrounded by the outer edges 51a, 51c, and 51b and the outer edges 57 The area becomes the edge portion 30b. The convex curved region 52 and the concave curved regions 53a and 53b correspond to the convex curved region 32 and the concave curved regions 33a and 33b, respectively.

The action of the absorber continuum 50 having such a shape will be described.

The absorbent article of the absorbent article generally has an arcuate edge portion that extends outwardly from the end portion in the longitudinal direction end portion. The edge portion is formed for the reason that the absorption amount is increased as compared with the rectangular absorber having no edge portion, and the edge portion is adapted to the outer shape of the rectangular elliptical shape or the long elliptical shape of the front and back. And the end portion thereof has a shape that is line-symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal centerline. The reason is that, when the edge portion is asymmetric with respect to the longitudinal center line, it is possible to give the impression to the consumer that it is only a defective product. As a manufacturing method of the absorber, there is used a method of preparing a strip-like absorber continuum in which the absorber is connected in the carrying direction and cutting it in the transverse direction at a dimension interval of one absorber while conveying the absorber continuum in the carrying direction .

9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a method of manufacturing an absorber. In this example, an absorber having a rectangular shape with a rounded corner will be described. As shown in Fig. 9 (a), in the manufacturing method, the absorber continuum 150 is first prepared. The absorber continuum 150 has a band-like shape in which the outer edges 156 of the end portions in the width direction of the absorber 155 are connected to each other in the transport direction. Then, the absorber continuum 150 is cut in the transverse direction at the cut position 157 (157a or 157b) set for each interval of the dimension of one absorber 155 while the absorber continuum 150 is conveyed in the conveying direction.

Here, when the position of the cutout position 157a and the position of the outer edge 156 substantially overlap with each other as in the left part of Fig. 9A, the absorber 103a (Fig. 9 Outer edges 136a and 131a) have a rectangular shape with an appropriate rounded corner. This shape is line symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center line Cx passing through the apex TP1 of the outer edge 131a1.

However, when the position of the cutout position 157b and the outer edge 156 are shifted as shown in the right part of Fig. 9 (a), the absorber 103b manufactured as shown in Fig. 9 (c) The edges 136b and 131b have a shape in which an unnecessary portion is added to one end side in the width direction and a part of the other end side is defected in a rectangular shape having rounded corners. This shape is asymmetric with respect to the longitudinal center line Cx passing through the apex TP1 of the outer edge 131b. In addition, a portion G1 of the adjacent absorber edge portion is added at the end portion in the longitudinal direction of one end in the width direction. The portion (G1) of the edge of the edge is a peculiar shape and is very conspicuous and emphasizes an asymmetrical shape. The consumer who views the asymmetric absorber 103b over the surface sheet can be considered to recognize the absorptive article as a defective product even if there is no problem with the absorption performance.

10 is a diagram schematically showing another example of a method of manufacturing an absorber. In this example, an absorber having a shape in which the bow shape is slightly extended from the short side of the rectangle will be described. In this case, as shown in Fig. 10 (a), the absorber continuum 150 is prepared and the absorber continuum 150 is transported in the transport direction, and the size of the absorber 155 And cut in the transverse direction at the cut position 157 (157a or 157b) set for each interval.

Here, when the position of the cutout position 157a and the position of the outer edge 156 almost overlap with each other as shown in the left part of Fig. 10A, the absorber 103a (Fig. 10 The outer edges 136a and 131a have appropriate shapes extending from the short side of the rectangle to the small side of the rectangle. The position and the shape of the outer edge 131a1 of the arcuate shape and the positions and the length of the outer edges 131a2 and 131a3 on both sides of the arcuate outer edge 131a1 are set such that the top TP1 of the arcuate outer edge 131a1 And is symmetrical about the longitudinal center line Cx passing therethrough.

However, when the position of the cut position 157b and the outer edge 156 are shifted as shown in the right part of Fig. 10 (a), the absorber 103b manufactured as shown in Fig. 10 (c) The edges 136b and 131b have an asymmetric shape in which the arcuate outer edge 131b1 is closer to the left and the outer edge 131b2 is shorter and the outer edge 131b3 is longer . In this case, since there is no unique shape such as a part G1 of a very prominent extension portion as shown in Fig. 9 (c), it can be considered that the asymmetric shape is less conspicuous. However, the human eye generally tends to strongly recognize the difference in the length of the straight line in the lateral direction. Here, in the absorber 103b of Fig. 10C, the outer edge 136b is the reference, and the length of the straight line of the outer edge 131b2 and the length of the straight line of the outer edge 131b3 are The difference between the lengths of both is easily recognized by the consumer. That is, the outer edge 131b2 and the outer edge 131b3 are asymmetric, and consequently the outside edge 131b1 of the bow shape is asymmetrically recognized by the consumer. The consumer who views the asymmetric absorber 103b over the surface sheet can be considered to recognize the absorptive article as a defective product even if there is no problem with the absorption performance.

11 is a diagram schematically showing another example of a method of manufacturing an absorber. This example is basically the same as the example of Fig. However, this is different from the example of Fig. 10 in that the height of the convex portion of the arched shape in the shape of the absorber is higher. In this case, when the positions of the cut position 157b and the outer edge 156 are shifted, the absorber 103b (the outer edges 136b and 131b) manufactured as shown in Fig. 11C, The side edge 131b1 is asymmetrical to the left, the outer edge 131b2 is short, and the outer edge 131b3 is long. In this case, similarly to the case of Fig. 10C, the outer edge 136b of the absorber 103b serves as a reference, and the length of the straight line of the outer edge 131b2 and the length of the outer edge 131b3, The difference between the lengths of both of them is easily recognized by the consumer. In addition, when there is a convex shape that is generally symmetrical, the human eye tends to recognize the top of the convex shape as the center of the whole. In the absorber 103b of Fig. 11 (c), since the height in the longitudinal direction of the outer edge 131b1 of the arcuate shape is high, the position of the apex TP1 should be located in the center of the width direction of the absorber 103b . Therefore, not only the outer edge 131b2 and the outer edge 131b3 are regarded as an asymmetrical shape but also the top edge 131b2 of the arcuate outer edge 131b1, which should be in the center of the width direction of the absorber 103b TP1 is not at the center thereof. The consumer who views the asymmetric absorber 103b over the surface sheet can be considered to recognize the absorptive article as a defective product even if there is no problem with the absorption performance.

The displacement between the cutting position 157b and the outer edge 156 in the above description of Figs. 9 to 11 is based on the manufacturing method of the absorber forming the absorber having the dimension smaller in the transport direction than the dimension in the transverse direction , That is, in a manufacturing method of a cross flow in which the width direction of the absorber is the transport direction. Since the dimension in the width direction of the absorber is smaller than the dimension in the length direction, defective products are liable to be generated in the absorber when positional displacement occurs in the cross-flow manufacturing method. Particularly, in the absorber and the absorbent article of the present embodiment, since the absorber extends in the longitudinal direction, it is necessary to manufacture the absorber in the cross flow direction, so that positional deviation is likely to occur.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the shape of the absorber is as shown in Fig. 3, and thus the shape of the absorber continuum is as shown in Fig. 12 is a diagram schematically showing a method of manufacturing the absorber. As shown in Fig. 12 (a), in the manufacturing method, first, the absorber continuum 50 is prepared. The absorber continuum 50 has a band-like shape in which the outer edges 56 of the end portions in the width direction of the absorber 55 are connected to each other in the carrying direction. Then, the absorber continuum 50 is cut in the transverse direction at the cut position 57 (57a or 57b) set for each interval of the dimension of one absorber 55 while the absorber continuum 50 is conveyed in the conveying direction.

Here, when the positions of the cut position 57a and the outer edge 56 substantially overlap with each other as in the left part of Fig. 12A, the absorber 3a manufactured as shown in Fig. And a concave curve-convex curve-concave curve in the longitudinally opposite ends of the rectangle in this order (Fig. 3). That is, two outermost edges 36a, 36a on the straight line parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction of the absorber 3a and an outer edge 31a on the curved concave-convex-concave curve along the substantially width direction And has an enclosed shape. This shape is line-symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center line Cx passing through the apex portion TP2 of the outer edge 31a.

12 (a), even if the positions of the cut position 57b and the outer edge 56 are shifted from each other, the absorber 3b produced as shown in Fig. 12 (c) The outer edge 31b of the outer surface 3b is continuously arranged along the width direction (conveying direction) like a concave-convex-concave. It can be considered that the apex TP2 of the convex curve is visible on the outer edge 31b of the absorber 3b and is recognized as the center in the width direction of the absorber 3b. However, in practice, a consumer who has seen a continuous shape of concave-convex-concave recognizes it as a part of a continuous pattern and is not aware of the concept of center. Therefore, it is unnecessary to know where the center in the width direction is at the outer edge 31b of the absorbent body 3b. In other words, by the visual effects of the convex curved region 32 and the concave curved regions 33a and 33b on the outer edge 31b of the absorbent body 3b, the width of the absorbent body 3b in the width direction The center can be made to leave no impression to the consumer. Thereby, the position of the cutting in the carrying direction deviates and the top portion TP2 of the convex curved region 32 is not positioned at the center of the conveying direction (width direction) of the absorbent body and the longitudinal center line Cx , It is possible to make it difficult for the consumer to recognize the positional deviation. Thereby, it is possible to make it difficult for the consumer to think that the absorbent article is defective, and to prevent the quality of the absorbent article from being damaged.

As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorber in which the absorber continuum 50 has the shape shown in Fig. 6 and forms an absorber having a smaller dimension in the conveying direction than the dimension in the transverse direction, the absorber continuum is formed along the transverse direction It is possible to make it difficult for the consumer to recognize the positional deviation even if the position of the cutting is shifted.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. 13 is a view showing a preferred form of the absorber according to the present embodiment. It is preferable that the outer edge 51c of the convex curve region 52 is formed of a convex curve or a convex curve and a straight line. It is preferable that the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53 is formed by a concave curved line or a concave curved line and a straight line. At this time, at the outer edge (outline line) 51c of the convex curved region 52, the angle? At which the tangent of an arbitrary point t11 and the tangent of another arbitrary point t12 intersect is 150 degrees or more, 210 DEG or less. The angle? At which the tangent of the arbitrary point t21 and the tangent of the arbitrary point t22 intersect is 150 degrees or more at the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53, 210 DEG or less. As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorber in this manner, the degree of convex curvature and concave curvature in the convex curved region 52 and the concave curved region 53 can be made small and gentle by having the above configuration. As a result, when the absorber 3 is formed, it is possible to prevent the center of the width direction W at the edge portion in the longitudinal direction L of the absorber 3 from further impression. The tops TP0 and TP2 of the convex curved regions 32 and 52 are positioned at the center of the width direction W of the absorber 3 The top portion TP0 of the convex curved region 32 can be made hard to be seen as the center of the absorbent body 3 or the top portion TP0 of the convex curved region 32 can be made It can be made inconspicuous. That is, even if the position of the cutting is deviated, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. 14 is a view showing another preferred form of the absorbent body according to the present embodiment. The radius of curvature R2 of an arbitrary point t23 of the outer edge 51c of the concave curved region 53 of the absorber continuum 50 is set to be equal to the radius of curvature R2 of the outer edge of the convex curved region 52 Is preferably larger than the curvature radius R1 of an arbitrary point t13 of the curved line (outline line) 51c. In the method of manufacturing the absorber as described above, the change of the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53 has the above-described structure, and the change in the outer edge 51c in Fig. As a result, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, it can be seen that there is no difference in the shape relative to the case where the position is not shifted, thereby making it difficult to recognize the positional shift.

(Outline line) 51c of the convex curved region 52 and the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53 in the preferred embodiment of the present embodiment It is preferable that the radius of curvature at an arbitrary point in the longitudinal direction of the absorber 3 is A or more and 3A or less with A as the dimension in the carrying direction (width direction W) As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorber as described above, in each of the outer edge (outline line) 51c of the convex curve region 52 and the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53, The degree of convex curvature or concave curvature in convex curvature region 52 and concave curvature region 53 can be made smaller and more gradual. Thereby, when the absorber 3 is formed, the center in the width direction W (conveying direction) of the absorber 3 can be prevented from being further impressed. On the other hand, by making the radius of curvature equal to or less than 3A, the convex curvature at the top of the convex curved regions 52 and 32 can have a degree of roundness to some extent. Thereby, when the absorber 3 is formed, it is possible to secure a sufficient edge portion of a sufficient size. By them, it is possible to combine the difficulty of recognizing the positional deviation and the high absorption performance.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. 15 is a view showing another preferred form of the absorbent body according to the present embodiment. (Boundary point 54) between the outer edge (outline line) 51c of the convex curved region 52 and the outer edge (outline line) 51d of the concave curved region 53, The distance in the transverse direction between the most concave position (bottom portion) of the concave curved region 53 and the imaginary line VL is defined as the concave dimension d2 with respect to the parallel virtual line VL, The concave dimension d2 in the transverse direction is smaller than the convex dimension d1 when the distance in the transverse direction between the most convex position (the apex portion) of the virtual line VL and the imaginary line VL is the convex dimension d1 desirable. Since the concave curvature of the concave curved region 53 is small in this method of manufacturing the absorber as described above, the concave curved region 53 is formed in the vicinity of the center of the concave curved region 53 in the carrying direction, The change in the dimension in the transverse direction becomes smaller with respect to the change in the position in the transport direction. Therefore, even if the position of cutting is shifted to the upstream side or the downstream side in the carrying direction, the change in the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent core 3 in the concave curved region 53 is small and is not noticeable. Can be hardly recognized by the consumer.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. 16 is a view showing another preferred embodiment of the absorbent body according to the present embodiment. The outer edge 51d of the concave curved region 53 is formed by a circular arc of a circle S2 having a center O2 on the outer side of the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum 50 ) And the arc of the ellipse S2 having the focal point F02 outside the end edge in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum 50 (Fig. 16 (b)). The outer edge 51c of the convex curved region 52 has an arc of a circle S1 having a center O1 inside the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum 50 (Fig. 16A) having a focal point F01 and a focal point S1 (Fig. 16 (b) having a focal point F01 inside the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum 50). As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorber in this manner, the degree of concave or convex curvature in the concave curved region 53 and the convex curved region 52 can be made small and gentle by having the above configuration. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body 3 in the width direction (conveying direction) from being left with an impression. Thereby, even if the position of the cutting in the cutting step is shifted, the peaks TP0 and TP2 of the convex curved regions 32 and 52 are hardly seen as the center of the width direction (conveying direction) of the absorber 3 , Or the top TP0 (TP2) thereof can be made inconspicuous. That is, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. 17 is a view showing another preferred form of the absorbent body according to the present embodiment. The ratio of the minimum dimension (Lmin) to the maximum dimension (Lmax) in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum (50) is preferably 0.8 to 0.95. The ratio between the maximum dimension Lmax in the transverse direction (near the top of the convex curved region 52) and the minimum dimension Lmin (in the vicinity of the bottom of the concave curved region 53) 1, the degree of convex curvature and the degree of concavity curvature in the convex curved region 52 and the concave curved region 53 can be made small and moderate. As a result, when the absorbent body 3 is formed, it is possible to prevent the center of the absorbent body 3 in the width direction W (conveying direction) from further impression. The tops TP0 and TP2 of the convex curved regions 32 and 52 are positioned at the center of the width direction W of the absorber 3 The tops TP0 and TP2 of the convex curved regions 32 and 52 can be made hard to be seen as the center of the absorbent body 3 or the convex curved regions 32 and 52 It can be made inconspicuous at the apex portion TP0 (TP2). That is, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional deviation can be hardly recognized. When the ratio is smaller than 0.8, the convex curved region becomes too large, and the top portion thereof becomes easy to be recognized as the center of the absorber. On the other hand, if the above ratio is larger than 0.95, the edge portion becomes too flat and the shape of the absorbent body becomes almost rectangular.

It is preferable that the outer edge 51 of the end edge in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum 50 (outer contour line) 51 has a sinusoidal wave or a composite wave of a plurality of sinusoidal waves in a preferred form of this embodiment . In this method of manufacturing the absorber as described above, since the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum 50, that is, the outer edge 51 has the shape of a sinusoidal wave or a synthetic wave thereof, in the cut absorber 3, The waveform image can remind the consumer of the continuous shape and make the end in the longitudinal direction L appear to have no center in the width direction W (conveying direction). Therefore, even if the position of the cutting is shifted, the positional shift can be hardly recognized.

In the present embodiment, as a preferable form, a processing step is further provided between the preparation step and the cutting step, in which a predetermined processing is performed for each region to be an absorber in the absorber continuum 50. The processing step includes, for example, a pressing step in which the absorber continuum 50 is pressed to adjust the thickness (or the fiber density), or a pressing step in which a gap (slit) is formed in the absorber continuum 50, And a crevice forming process that enables the creep. Since the rigidity and elongation of the continuous absorber body 50 change due to their processing steps, the position of the continuous absorber continuum 50 in the transport direction is more likely to occur in subsequent steps. Thus, in the manufacturing method of this absorber, it is possible to make it difficult to recognize the positional deviation including the positional deviation occurring in the machining step, by performing such a machining step before the cutting step.

In another preferred embodiment of the present embodiment, the preparation step is a step of arranging the absorber material continuum in which the absorber material (for example, a redispheric material) which is the material of the absorber 3 in a strip- It is preferable to further include a forming step of forming the absorber continuum 50 by cutting it so as to have the shapes of the curved region 53 and the convex curved region 52. [ For example, a cutting apparatus in which a cutter roll and an anvil roll are disposed face to face is used. The cutter roll has teeth which are capable of cutting the absorber material continuum so that the transverse end edge of the absorber material continuum has the shape of the concave curved region 53 and the convex curved region 52. In this method of manufacturing the absorber, the absorber continuum 50 can be relatively easily obtained by using the above configuration. Thereby, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more easily exhibited.

In the present embodiment, as a preferred embodiment, the preparation step is a forming process in which the absorber material, which is the material of the absorber, is deposited on a pattern plate having a shape corresponding to the concave curved region and the convex curved region in the cross- As shown in FIG. As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorber, the absorber material 50 can be relatively stably obtained by stacking the absorber material on the pattern plate 112. Thereby, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more stably exhibited.

In the method of manufacturing the absorbent article of the present embodiment, the absorbent article 3 is obtained by performing the above-described manufacturing method of the absorbent body to obtain the absorbent body 3 (TS) and the backsheet 5 (continuous backsheet BS) are laminated on the outer edge 31a of the end edge in the transverse direction of the absorbent 3 formed in the cutting step, The outer surface of the topsheet 4 (continuous topsheet TS) and the outer edge of the transversely opposite edge of the backsheet 5 (continuous backsheet BS) (Continuous continuous topsheet TS) and backsheet 5 (continuous backsheet BS) into a product shape. In general, when the distance between the outer edge of the end portion in the longitudinal direction (transverse direction) of the absorber and the outer edge of the end portion in the longitudinal direction (transverse direction) of the surface sheet is constant when the absorber is laminated with the surface sheet, When both end portions are in a shape resembling each other or parallel to each other, the positional deviation of the end portion of the absorber may be noticeable. In the method of manufacturing the absorbent article, the distance between the outer edges of the absorbent article is not constant. Thereby, the positional deviation of the absorber can be made more difficult to recognize.

In the method of manufacturing an absorbent article of the present embodiment, as a more preferred embodiment, the laminating step includes a surface sheet laminating step of laminating the topsheet (continuous topsheet TS) on the absorbent body 3 immediately after the cutting step, An embossing step for embossing the laminate of the absorber 3 and the topsheet (continuous topsheet TS) immediately after the topsheet laminating step is further provided. In general, the displacement of the embossed portion in the width direction in the absorber is easily perceived by the consumer in relation to the position of the side edge in the width direction of the absorber. Thus, in this method of manufacturing an absorbent article, it is possible to prevent the position deviation from becoming larger through other steps by performing the step of laminating the surface sheet and the step of embossing the laminate immediately after the cutting step, It is possible to more reliably exhibit the effects that can be difficult.

In the method of manufacturing the absorbent article of the present embodiment, as the more preferable embodiment, only the topsheet 4 is present on the skin side of the absorbent article 3. In general, when the absorptive article has only the surface sheet on the skin side of the absorber, the consumer tends to visually recognize the shape of the absorber through the surface sheet. In such a case, the consumer can easily recognize the positional deviation of the absorber. Therefore, in this method of manufacturing an absorbent article, even in such a case, the effect of making it difficult to recognize the positional deviation can be more remarkably exerted by applying the present manufacturing method.

In the method of manufacturing the absorbent article according to the present embodiment, when the absorbent article 2 is completed, the direction in which the absorbent article 2 becomes the width direction W (direction in which the stretchability is relatively lowered) 50 and the continuous carrier sheet CS and the stretchable continuous sheet such as the continuous topsheet TS or the continuous backsheet BS in a direction in which the extensibility is low, And the absorber member and the stretchable continuous sheet are transported. As a result, the absorber member and the stretchable continuous sheet have relatively low stretchability in the transport direction, so that it is possible to suppress stretching when each absorber member and the stretchable continuous sheet are pulled in the transport direction during transport. As a result, in the processing step of the absorber member and the stretchable continuous sheet, the processing position in the transport direction can be stabilized, and when the absorbent article is finally finished, the product is distorted or the size irregularity is caused .

3: absorber
50: absorber continuum
50b:
52: convex curved region
53: concave curved region

Claims (14)

A method of manufacturing an absorbent article for an absorbent article,
A preparation step of preparing an absorber continuum in which the material of the absorber extends in a strip,
And a cutting step of cutting the absorber continuum along the transverse direction so as to form an absorber having a smaller dimension in the transport direction than the dimension in the transverse direction perpendicular to the transport direction while transporting the absorber continuum in the transport direction,
Wherein the transversely opposite edge portions
A convex curved region having a convexly curved outer edge with respect to an outer side in the transverse direction,
And a concave curved region having an outer edge curved concavely with respect to an outer side in the transverse direction,
The convex curved region and the concave curved region are alternately arranged along the transport direction,
Wherein the cutting step includes a step of cutting the absorber continuum in the concave curved region. The method according to claim 1,
The outline of the convex curved region is formed of a convex curve or a convex curve and a straight line,
Wherein the outer contour of the concave curved region is formed by a concave curved line or a concave curved line and a straight line,
Wherein an angle at which a tangent line of an arbitrary point intersects a tangent line of an arbitrary point crosses an outer contour line of the convex curve region and an outer contour line of the concave curved region is not less than 150 degrees and not more than 210 degrees. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the outline of the concave curved region includes a circle arc having a center on the outer side of the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum and an arc of an ellipse having a focal point on the outer side of the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum Comprising at least one,
Wherein the outline of the convex curved region includes a circle arc having a center inside the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum and an arc of an ellipse having a focal point inside the transverse direction end edge of the absorber continuum And at least one of them. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein a radius of curvature of an arbitrary point of an outer contour line of the concave curved region in the absorber continuum is larger than a radius of curvature of an arbitrary point of an outer contour line of the convex curved region. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein a radius of curvature at an arbitrary point in each of the outline of the convex curved region and the outline of the concave curved region is A or more and 3A or less with respect to the dimension in the carrying direction of the absorber . 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the ratio of the minimum dimension to the maximum dimension in the transverse direction of the absorber continuum is 0.8 to 0.95. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
A distance between the most concave position of the concave curved region and the transverse direction of the virtual line is defined as a distance between the outermost line of the convex curved region and the contour line of the concave curved region, And the concave dimension in the transverse direction is smaller than the convex dimension when the distance between the most convex position of the convex curved region and the imaginary line in the transverse direction is a convex dimension. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the outline of the transverse end edge of the absorber continuum has a shape of a sinusoidal wave or a composite wave of a plurality of sinusoidal waves. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Further comprising a machining step of performing a predetermined machining for each of the areas to become the absorber in the absorber continuum between the preparing step and the cutting step. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the preparation step is a step of cutting the absorber material continuum in which the absorber material as the material of the absorber extends in a strip in the carrying direction so that the transverse end edges have the shape of the concave curved region and the convex curved region, And a forming step of forming an abrasive film on the substrate. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the preparing step comprises a step of forming the absorber material by depositing an absorber material as a material of the absorber on a pattern plate having a shape corresponding to the concave curved region and the convex curved region in the cross- Further comprising the steps of: A process for producing an absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A lamination step of laminating the topsheet and the backsheet on the absorbent body;
Wherein a distance between the outer edge of the transverse end edge portion of the absorbent body formed in the cutting step and the outer edge of the transverse edge portion of the topsheet and the backsheet is not constant, And a cutting step of cutting the backsheet into a product shape. 13. The method of claim 12,
In the laminating step,
A surface sheet laminating step of laminating a surface sheet on the absorber immediately after the cutting step,
Further comprising an embossing step of embossing the laminate of the absorbent body and the topsheet immediately after the topsheet laminating step. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein only the topsheet is present on the skin side of the absorbent article.

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