Absorbent article manufacturing apparatus and absorbent article manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9903058-B2
Application number	US-201415029251-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2014
Priority date	Oct 18, 2013
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

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

The invention claimed is:

1. An absorbent article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a first conveying route arranged along a first direction in a plan view;
a plurality of processing devices configured to process an intermediate product of an absorbent article that is conveyed along the first conveying route;
a heating unit configured to restore 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 configured to convey the non-woven fabric in a second direction that intersects the first direction in the plan view,
wherein
the heating unit is arranged upstream of an intersection point of the first and second conveying routes, for inputting the non-woven fabric from the second conveying route into to the first conveying route after the bulk of the non-woven fabric has been restored by the heating unit,
the first and second conveying routes are horizontal,
the heating unit has a case member including first and second open portions opposing each other in the direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous,
one open portion of the first and second open portions has a blast opening configured to blast the hot air into a space inside the case member toward the other open portion of the first and second open portions,
the other open portion of the first and second open portions has a discharge port configured to discharge, from the case member, the hot air that has flowed inside the case member while being in contact with one surface of two surfaces of the non-woven fabric, and
the blast opening is configured to blast the hot air at an acute angle of inclination relative to the one surface of the non-woven fabric.

2. The 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 the plan view.

3. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an upward facing route which is vertical,
wherein the apparatus is configured to
convey the non-woven fabric, from the upward facing route, to reach a position directly above the first conveying route via the second conveying route, and
input the non-woven fabric to the first conveying route from above the first conveying route.

4. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an upward facing route which is vertical and passes through the space inside the case member,
wherein
the apparatus is configured to
convey the non-woven fabric, from the upward facing route, to reach a position directly above the first conveying route via the second conveying route, and
input the non-woven fabric to the first conveying route from above the first conveying route, and

the blast opening of the heating unit is configured to blast the hot air upward along the upward facing route.

5. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a cooling unit configured to cool the non-woven fabric that has been heated by the heating unit, before the non-woven fabric is input to the first conveying route, wherein
the cooling unit has a further case member including third and fourth open portions opposing each other in the direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous,
one open portion of the third and fourth open portions has a further blast opening configured to blast cooling air into a space inside the further case member toward the other open portion of the third and fourth open portions, and
the other open portion of the third and fourth open portions has a further discharge port configured to discharge, from the further case member, the cooling air that has flowed inside the further case member while being in contact with one surface of the two surfaces of the non-woven fabric.

6. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the acute angle of inclination is in a range of 0° to 30°.

7. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a turn bar arranged at the intersection point of the first and second conveying routes to convert the non-woven fabric, which is conveyed horizontally at the second conveying route, to be conveyed horizontally at the first conveying route.

8. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the blast opening is configured to blast the hot air upward, along the upward facing route in which the non-woven fabric is conveyed, to reduce an upward tension that is applied to the non-woven fabric.

9. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the case member includes a partitioning member dividing the space inside the case member into an outgoing route space and a return route space for conveying the non-woven fabric, and
the partitioning member is configured to prevent the hot air from travelling between the outgoing route space and the return route space.

10. The absorbent article manufacturing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
the blast opening is arranged in the partitioning member and is a slit elongated in the first direction.

11. An absorbent article manufacturing method, comprising:
conveying an intermediate product of an absorbent article along a first conveying route arranged along a first direction in a plan view;
processing, by a plurality of processing devices, the intermediate product that is conveyed along the first conveying route;
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 the plan view,

wherein
the heating unit is arranged upstream of an intersection point of the first and second conveying routes to input the non-woven fabric from the second conveying route into the first conveying route after the bulk of the non-woven fabric has been restored by the heating unit,
the first and second conveying routes are horizontal,
the heating unit has a case member including first and second open portions opposing each other in the direction in which the non-woven fabric is continuous,
one open portion of the first and second open portions has a blast opening, which blasts the hot air into a space inside the case member toward the other open portion of the first and second open portions,
the other open portion of the first and second open portions has a discharge port, which discharges, from the case member, the hot air that has flowed inside the case member while being in contact with one surface of two surfaces of the non-woven fabric, and
the blast opening blasts the hot air at an acute angle of inclination relative to the one surface of the non-woven fabric.

Assignees

• Unicharm Corp

Inventors

• Okuda Jun
• Mitsuno Satoshi

Classifications

• A01K1/0157

  Mats; Sheets · 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

• A61F13/15804

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

• D06C7/00 Primary

  Heating or cooling textile fabrics · CPC title