Absorbent article manufacturing apparatus and method for modifying manufacturing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016228301-A1
Application number	US-201415029626-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 22, 2014
Priority date	Oct 18, 2013
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus includes: a first conveying route that is arranged in a straight line along a first direction in plan view; a plurality of processing devices that process an intermediate product of an absorbent article that is conveyed along the first conveying route; and a heating unit that restores bulk of a non-woven fabric through heating the non-woven fabric by blowing hot air onto the non-woven fabric while conveying the non-woven fabric along a direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous, the non-woven fabric being a strip shape and serving as a part of the absorbent article. In a case where a direction that intersects the first direction in plan view is set as a second direction, the heating unit is arranged in one of a position that is directly above the first conveying route and a position that is displaced from the first conveying route to the second direction.

First claim

1 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a first conveying route that is arranged in a straight line along a first direction in plan view; a plurality of processing devices that process an intermediate product of an absorbent article that is conveyed along the first conveying route; and a heating unit that restores bulk of a non-woven fabric through heating the non-woven fabric by blowing hot air onto the non-woven fabric while conveying the non-woven fabric along a direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous, the non-woven fabric being a strip shape and serving as a part of the absorbent article, in a case where a direction that intersects the first direction in plan view is set as a second direction, the heating unit being arranged in one of a position that is directly above the first conveying route and a position that is displaced from the first conveying route to the second direction, wherein the heating unit has a case member equipped with an entrance for the non-woven fabric and an exit for the non-woven fabric, one of an entrance-side portion and an exit-side portion of the case member has a blast opening that blasts the hot air into a space inside the case member toward another one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion, and the other one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion has a discharge port that discharges, from the case member, the hot air that has flowed while being in contact with one surface of both surfaces of the non-woven fabric.

2 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the heating unit is arranged in a position that is displaced from the first conveying route to the second direction, and the non-woven fabric that has been heated with the heating unit and whose bulk has been thus restored is conveyed in the second direction along a second conveying route and is input to the first conveying route.

3 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the heating unit is arranged directly above the first conveying route, and a conveying route of the non-woven fabric in the heating unit is oriented along a horizontal direction.

4 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a cooling unit that cools the non-woven fabric that has been heated with the hot air, before the non-woven fabric is input to the first conveying route, wherein the cooling unit has a case member equipped with an entrance for the non-woven fabric and an exit for the non-woven fabric, one of an entrance-side portion and an exit-side portion of the case member has a blast opening that blasts cooling wind into a space inside the case member toward another one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion, and the other one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion has a discharge port that discharges, from the case member, the wind that has flowed while being in contact with one surface of both surfaces of the non-woven fabric.

5 . A method for modifying a manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an absorbent article by processing an intermediate product of the absorbent article using a plurality of processing devices, the intermediate product being conveyed along a first conveying route that is arranged in a straight line along a first direction in plan view, the method comprising:
setting a direction that intersects the first direction in plan view as a second direction; and arranging a heating unit in one of a position that is directly above the first conveying route and a position that is displaced from the first conveying route to the second direction, the heating unit restoring bulk of a non-woven fabric through heating the non-woven fabric by blowing hot air onto the non-woven fabric while conveying the non-woven fabric along a direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous, the non-woven fabric being a strip shape and serving as a part of the absorbent article, wherein the heating unit includes a case member equipped with an entrance for the nonwoven fabric and an exit for the nonwoven fabric, one of an entrance-side portion and an exit-side portion of the case member has a blast opening that blasts the hot air into a space inside the case member toward another one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion, and the other one of the entrance-side portion and the exit-side portion has a discharge port that discharges, from the case member, the hot air that has flowed while being in contact with one surface of both surfaces of the non-woven fabric.

6 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Unicharm Corp

Inventors

• Hayashi Tomoki
• Oyama Hidetaka
• Okuda Jun
• Mitsuno Satoshi

Classifications

• A61F13/15699

  Forming webs by bringing together several webs, e.g. by laminating or folding several webs, with or without additional treatment of the webs · CPC title

• A01K1/0107

  Cat trays; Dog urinals; Toilets for pets · CPC title

• A61F13/15203

  Properties of the article, e.g. stiffness or absorbency (chemical aspects A61L15/00) · CPC title

• A01K1/0157 Primary

  Mats; Sheets · CPC title

• D06C7/00 Primary

  Heating or cooling textile fabrics · CPC title