Absorbent article manufacturing apparatus and absorbent article manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016237609-A1
Application number	US-201415029251-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 22, 2014
Priority date	Oct 18, 2013
Publication date	Aug 18, 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; 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; and a second conveying route that conveys the non-woven fabric in a second direction that intersects the first direction in plan view, the non-woven fabric having been restored of the bulk through heating with the heating unit the non-woven fabric being input to the first conveying route via the second conveying route.

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; 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; and a second conveying route that conveys the non-woven fabric in a second direction that intersects the first direction in plan view, the non-woven fabric having been restored of the bulk through heating with the heating unit, the non-woven fabric being input to the first conveying route via the second conveying route.

2 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the heating unit is arranged in a position that does not overlap with the first conveying route in plan view.

3 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the non-woven fabric, after having been conveyed upward, is conveyed in the second direction with the second conveying route to directly above the first conveying route, and is input to the first conveying route from upward of the first conveying route.

4 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , 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.

5 . An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the case member has inside an upward facing route that conveys the non-woven fabric upward, the non-woven fabric reaches to directly above the first conveying route from the upward facing route and via the second conveying route, and the non-woven fabric is input to the first conveying route from above the first conveying route, in the upward facing route inside the case member, the blast opening of the heating unit blasts the hot air upward.

6 . 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.

7 . An absorbent article manufacturing method comprising:
conveying an intermediate product of an absorbent article along a first conveying route that is arranged in a straight line along a first direction in plan view; processing the intermediate product that is conveyed along the first conveying route using a plurality of processing devices; restoring bulk of a non-woven fabric through heating the non-woven fabric by blowing hot air onto the non-woven fabric with a heating unit, 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; and inputting the non-woven fabric to the first conveying route, via a second conveying route that conveys the non-woven fabric in a second direction that intersects the first direction in plan view, the non-woven fabric having been restored of the bulk through heating with the heating unit.

Assignees

• Unicharm Corp

Inventors

• Okuda Jun
• Mitsuno Satoshi

Classifications

• A01K1/0157

  Mats; Sheets · CPC title

• D06C7/00 Primary

  Heating or cooling textile fabrics · CPC title

• A61F13/15804

  Plant, e.g. involving several steps · CPC title

• D04H1/70

  characterised by the method of forming fleeces or layers, e.g. reorientation of fibres · CPC title

• A61F13/15764 Primary

  Transferring, feeding or handling devices; Drives · CPC title