Method for producing cleaning member, and system for producing cleaning member

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10098516-B2
Application number	US-201314655971-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2013
Priority date	Dec 29, 2012
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

A method of continuously producing a cleaning member obtained from a multilayer web that includes at least a fiber bundle and a non-woven fabric, includes the following steps: preparing a guide member provided with a pair of width-adjusting members having a predetermined interval therebetween; conveying a fiber bundle through the pair of width-adjusting members of the guide member to adjust the width of the fiber bundle strip so as to match the aforementioned interval; forming the multilayer web by overlaying the fiber bundle, the width of which has been adjusted, on the non-woven fabric; and joining the fiber bundle and non-woven fabric.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of continuously producing a cleaning member from a multi-layer web comprising at least a belt-shaped fiber bundle and a belt-shaped nonwoven fabric, the belt-shaped fiber bundle comprising an opened fiber bundle, the method comprising:
preparing a guide member provided with a pair of width-adjusting members having a predetermined spacing therebetween, each width-adjusting member of the pair of width-adjusting members having an upper end, a lower end, and a contact area,
conveying the belt-shaped fiber bundle, in a machine direction, through the pair of width-adjusting members of the guide member while sides of the belt-shaped fiber bundle are in contact with the contact areas of the pair of width-adjusting members so as to reduce a width of the belt-shaped fiber bundle to coincide with the predetermined spacing between the pair of width-adjusting members,
stacking the width-adjusted belt-shaped fiber bundle on the belt-shaped nonwoven fabric to form the multi-layer web, and
connecting the stacked belt-shaped fiber bundle and belt-shaped nonwoven fabric of the multi-layer web,
wherein
in each width-adjusting member of the pair of the width-adjusting members, the upper end is located upstream of the lower end in the machine direction,
each width-adjusting member of the pair of width-adjusting members has a rod shape elongated in an axial direction crossing the machine direction,
the guide member further includes a supporting member connecting the lower ends of the pair of width-adjusting members, and
in said conveying, the belt-shaped fiber bundle is conveyed on the supporting member.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the pair of width-adjusting members has curved surface parts in the contact areas in contact with the sides of the belt-shaped fiber bundle.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the guide member further includes a height-adjusting member that connects the upper ends of the pair of width-adjusting members.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising conveying the opened fiber bundle in a loose state.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein
in said conveying the opened fiber bundle, the opened fiber bundle is conveyed continuously at a constant speed, and
the belt-shaped nonwoven fabric is conveyed in an intermittent manner and an average speed of conveyance of the belt-shaped nonwoven fabric approximately coincides with the constant speed at which the opened fiber bundle is continuously conveyed.

6. The method according to claim 4 , wherein, in said conveying the opened fiber bundle, the opened fiber bundle is conveyed in a relaxed or sagged state.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in said connecting the stacked belt-shaped fiber bundle and belt-shaped nonwoven fabric, the stacked belt-shaped fiber bundle and belt-shaped nonwoven fabric are melt-bonded together.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising cutting the multi-layer web into individual cleaning members.

Assignees

• Unicharm Corp

Inventors

• Takahashi Shigetomo
• Goto Hiroaki
• Matsumoto Takayuki
• Yamashita Yuji

Classifications

• D02J1/18

  Separating or spreading · CPC title

• D01D11/02

  Opening bundles to space the threads or filaments from one another · CPC title

• D01D10/0436

  while in continuous movement (forwarding filamentary material B65H51/00) · CPC title

• B65H57/26

  Supports for guides · CPC title

• B65H57/02

  Stationary rods or plates · CPC title