CN110636822B

CN110636822B - Method and apparatus for manufacturing package

Info

Publication number: CN110636822B
Application number: CN201880030503.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 佐伯达也
Original assignee: Unicharm Corp
Current assignee: Unicharm Corp
Priority date: 2017-08-30
Filing date: 2018-05-22
Publication date: 2023-01-31
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-22
Also published as: JP2019041844A; CN110636822A; WO2019044062A1; JP7085324B2

Abstract

The method for manufacturing a package is characterized by comprising: a conveying step of conveying a continuous sheet (7 a) on which display elements are repeatedly formed by a first conveying section (41) and a second conveying section (42); a merging step of sequentially merging the absorbent articles at a merging position (Pj) located between the first conveying section (41) and the second conveying section (42); a folding step of folding the continuous sheet (7 a); and a cutting step in which the continuous sheet (7 a) is cut to generate a package (7 p), wherein in the conveying step, the first conveying speed of the first conveying unit (41) and the second conveying speed of the second conveying unit (42) are respectively increased or decreased according to the deviation information of the display elements, and the control is performed in the conveying control such that the continuous sheet (7 a) joins the absorbent articles at the standard position of the continuous sheet (7 a) such that the second conveying speed is increased when the first conveying speed is increased and the second conveying speed is decreased when the first conveying speed is decreased.

Description

Method and apparatus for manufacturing package

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a package.

Background

Sanitary napkins, which are an example of absorbent articles, are offered on the market in the form of a package body that is individually packaged in a so-called triple-folded state.

Documents of the prior art

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2012-95807

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

For example, a package in which a sanitary napkin is individually packaged in a package sheet in a state of being folded into three folds is produced as follows.

The packaging sheet is a continuous sheet on which patterns such as illustrations, trade names, and patterns are usually repeatedly and continuously printed, and the packaging sheet is conveyed in a conveying direction by an appropriate conveying unit such as a conveying roller. On the other hand, the sanitary napkin is conveyed toward a position where the sanitary napkin is joined to the continuous sheet by an appropriate conveying section such as a conveyor, and the sanitary napkin is intermittently placed at a predetermined standard position of the pattern of the continuous sheet at the joining position.

After the sanitary napkin is arranged on the continuous sheet, both ends in the width direction of the continuous sheet are respectively folded inward by a method described in, for example, patent document 1 to form a continuous sheet in a three-folded state, a seal portion is formed in the continuous sheet in the three-folded state, and the continuous sheet is cut to produce a package.

Here, the print pitch of the patterns printed on the continuous sheet is not necessarily constant, and may vary depending on various factors. If the variation occurs, it is difficult to place the sanitary napkin at a standard position of the pattern of the continuous sheet. If the position of the sanitary napkin placed is deviated from the standard position, the entire package is poor in appearance.

Therefore, in order to manufacture a package having a good appearance, it is necessary to perform positioning for placing the sanitary napkin at a standard position when the printing pitch is changed. As a method of this positioning, a method of adjusting the extension state of the continuous sheet is considered. That is, the method of aligning the sanitary napkin so that the sanitary napkin is joined at a standard position of the continuous sheet by adjusting the stretch of the continuous sheet at the printing pitch of the continuous sheet.

However, with this method, since the stretch of the continuous sheet is adjusted at a print pitch, the continuous sheet has a possibility of fluttering (japanese: 12400, 12383, 1238812367. Further, when the continuous sheet shakes, the continuous sheet cannot be folded completely in the folding step, and the entire package becomes poor in appearance.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to enable production of a package having a good appearance.

Means for solving the problems

The main invention for achieving the above object is a method for manufacturing a package body obtained by packaging an absorbent article with a packaging sheet, characterized in that,

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises the following steps:

a conveying step of conveying a continuous sheet, which is a material of the packaging sheet (Japanese: resources), and on which display elements are repeatedly formed in a continuous direction, in the conveying direction by a first conveying portion and a second conveying portion;

a joining step of joining the absorbent article to the continuous sheet being conveyed in sequence at a joining position located between the first conveying section and the second conveying section;

a folding step of folding the continuous sheet so as to wrap the joined absorbent article; and

a cutting step of cutting the folded continuous sheet between the adjacent absorbent articles to produce the package,

in the conveyance step, the conveyance control of the continuous sheet is performed so that the absorbent articles merge at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first conveyance speed at which the first conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet and a second conveyance speed at which the second conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element,

in this conveyance control, the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased, and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased.

Further, a package manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a package obtained by packaging an absorbent article with a packaging sheet,

the package manufacturing apparatus includes:

a first conveying section and a second conveying section that convey a continuous sheet that is a material of the packaging sheet and on which display elements are repeatedly formed in a continuous direction in the conveying direction;

a joining device that joins the absorbent articles in sequence with the continuous sheet being conveyed at a joining position between the first conveying section and the second conveying section;

a folding portion that folds the continuous sheet so as to wrap the joined absorbent article;

a cutting device that cuts the folded continuous sheet between the adjacent absorbent articles to produce the package; and

and a conveyance control unit that performs conveyance control of the continuous sheet such that the absorbent articles merge at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first conveyance speed at which the first conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet and a second conveyance speed at which the second conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element, and that performs control such that the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the specification and drawings.

Effects of the invention

The present invention can produce a package having a good appearance.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a schematic plan view of a sanitary napkin 1 as an example of an absorbent article, and fig. 1B is a cross-sectional view B-B in fig. 1A.

Fig. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the sanitary napkin 1 disposed on the package sheet 7, fig. 2B is a schematic plan view of a package 7p formed by packaging the sanitary napkin 1 with the package sheet 7, and fig. 2C is a schematic plan view of the package 7p as viewed from the opposite side of fig. 2B.

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a process of producing a package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of the production line LM of the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of the continuous sheet 7a of the packaging sheet.

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the tape application device 71.

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the seal cutting device 91.

Fig. 8 is a schematic side view of a production line LM according to modification 1.

Fig. 9 is a schematic side view of a production line LM of modification 2.

Detailed Description

At least the following matters will be clear from the description of the present specification and the drawings.

A method for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged in a packaging sheet, characterized in that,

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises the following steps:

a conveying step of conveying a continuous sheet, which is a material of the packaging sheet and in which display elements are repeatedly formed in a continuous direction, in the conveying direction by a first conveying portion and a second conveying portion;

a folding step of folding the continuous sheet in the folding step to wrap the joined absorbent article; and

a cutting step of cutting the folded continuous sheet between adjacent absorbent articles to produce the package,

in the above-mentioned conveying step, the conveying step,

performing transport control of the continuous sheet so that the absorbent articles are joined at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first transport speed at which the first transport unit transports the continuous sheet and a second transport speed at which the second transport unit transports the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element,

in the conveyance control, the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased, and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased.

By the above-described method for producing a package, a package having a good appearance can be produced.

On the basis of the method for manufacturing the packaging body, it is preferable that,

in the conveyance control, control is performed to maintain a ratio of the first conveyance speed to the second conveyance speed constant.

By using such a package manufacturing method, a package having a more excellent appearance can be manufactured.

On the basis of the method for manufacturing the package, it is preferable that,

the cutting step is a seal cutting step of cutting and sealing the folded continuous sheet between the adjacent absorbent articles,

in the conveyance control, the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed are controlled to match each other,

in the above-mentioned sealing and cutting-off process,

a seal cutting device having a rotating portion and a seal cutting portion provided in the rotating portion, the rotating portion being rotated to intermittently bring the seal cutting portion into contact with the continuous sheet to seal and cut the continuous sheet,

position adjustment is performed by controlling the phase of the rotating part to change so that the seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position,

the deviation information of the display element is obtained by an image pickup device,

estimating the amount of deviation of the seal cutting position from the standard position based on the acquired deviation information,

the control is executed according to the estimated deviation amount, and the position adjustment is performed.

By using such a package manufacturing method, a package having a more excellent appearance can be manufactured. Further, the seal cutting can be performed at an appropriate position of the continuous sheet based on the accurate deviation information obtained by the imaging device, and the fraction defective can be reduced.

the second conveying unit is located at a position downstream of the first conveying unit in the conveying direction,

in the above-mentioned sealing and cutting-off process,

changing a transport path of the continuous sheet from the second transport unit to the seal cutting device by a path changing unit to change a path length of the transport path,

the position of the continuous sheet is adjusted so that the seal cutting position becomes a standard position by controlling the path length to be changed.

By the above-described method for manufacturing a package, the continuous sheet can be cut and sealed at an appropriate position, and the defective rate can be reduced.

the path changing unit is located downstream in the conveying direction from a folding unit that performs the folding step.

In the above-described method for manufacturing a package, since there is no fear that the position adjusted by the path changing section is displaced by folding the continuous sheet, the seal cutting can be performed at an appropriate position of the continuous sheet, and the defective fraction can be reduced.

the second conveying unit is located on the downstream side of the first conveying unit in the conveying direction,

the method for manufacturing a packaging body includes a tape-bonding step of bonding a tape member to the folded continuous sheet by a tape-bonding device located upstream of the seal-cutting device in the conveying direction,

in the above-mentioned tape-bonding process,

changing a path of the continuous sheet from the second conveying unit to the tape sticking apparatus by a path changing unit to change a path length of the path,

the position of the tape is adjusted so that the tape-sticking position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position by controlling the change of the path length.

With the above-described method for manufacturing a package, the tape member can be attached to an appropriate position of the continuous sheet, and a package having a good appearance can be manufactured.

in the above-mentioned sealing and cutting-off process,

the position of the seal cutting position on the continuous sheet is adjusted so as to be a standard position by controlling the phase of the rotating portion to be changed.

By the above-described method for manufacturing a package, the continuous sheet can be cut at an appropriate position by sealing, and the defective fraction can be reduced.

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises a tape adhering step in which a tape adhering device is arranged to adhere a tape member to the folded continuous sheet, the tape adhering device being positioned upstream in the conveying direction of the seal cutting device and comprising a rotating portion and a tape adhering portion provided in the rotating portion,

in the above-mentioned tape-bonding process,

the rotating part of the tape adhering device intermittently contacts the adhesive tape adhering part with the continuous sheet by rotating to adhere the adhesive tape member,

the position of the tape is adjusted by controlling the phase of the rotating part to be changed so that the tape-sticking position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position.

in the conveying step, the continuous sheet is conveyed in the conveying direction by the first conveying section, the second conveying section, and a third conveying section located on a downstream side in the conveying direction from the first conveying section and the second conveying section,

in the above-mentioned sealing and cutting-off process,

the third conveying unit is controlled without being interlocked with the first conveying unit and the second conveying unit, and the position of the continuous sheet is adjusted so that the seal cutting position is at the standard position.

By the above-described method for manufacturing a package, the continuous sheet can be seal-cut at an appropriate position, and the defective fraction can be reduced.

the third conveying unit is located on a downstream side in the conveying direction of the folding unit that performs the folding step.

With the above-described method of manufacturing a package, there is no fear that the position adjusted by the third conveying section is displaced by folding of the continuous sheet, and therefore, seal cutting can be performed at an appropriate position of the continuous sheet, and the defective rate can be reduced.

in the above-mentioned tape-bonding process,

the third conveying unit is controlled without being interlocked with the first conveying unit and the second conveying unit, and the position of the continuous sheet is adjusted so that the tape bonding position is set to the standard position.

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

estimating a deviation amount of the seal cut position from the standard position based on the acquired deviation information,

the position adjustment is performed by executing the control according to the estimated deviation amount.

With the above-described package manufacturing method, the seal cutting can be performed at an appropriate position on the continuous sheet based on the accurate deviation information obtained by the imaging device, and the defective fraction can be reduced.

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

the cumulative conveying amount of the continuous sheet is obtained,

estimating a deviation amount of the seal cutting position from the standard position based on the obtained accumulated feed amount,

By using such a package manufacturing method, a package having a good appearance can be manufactured without the imaging device.

the path length of the continuous sheet transport path from the folded portion to the seal-cut portion is shorter than the path length of the continuous sheet transport path from the merging position to the folded portion.

With the above-described package manufacturing method, a package having a good appearance can be manufactured in a production line in which the path length of the conveying path of the continuous sheet from the folding portion to the seal-cut portion is shorter than the path length of the conveying path of the continuous sheet from the junction position to the folding portion.

A package manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged by a packaging sheet,

the package manufacturing apparatus includes:

a joining device that joins the absorbent article and the continuous sheet being conveyed in sequence at a joining position between the first conveying section and the second conveying section;

a folding section that folds the continuous sheet to wrap the joined absorbent article;

a cutting device that cuts the folded continuous sheet between adjacent absorbent articles to produce the package; and

and a conveyance control unit that performs conveyance control of the continuous sheet so that the absorbent articles merge at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first conveyance speed at which the first conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet and a second conveyance speed at which the second conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element, and performs control so that the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased.

With the package manufacturing apparatus, a package having a good appearance can be manufactured.

The present embodiment

The method for producing a package of absorbent articles and the package producing apparatus 20 of the present embodiment are used in the line LM for the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1. That is, in the present embodiment, the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1 as the absorbent article is manufactured based on the manufacturing method. That is, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the package 7p obtained by packaging the sanitary napkin 1 with the packaging sheet 7 is manufactured (the package manufacturing apparatus 20 of the present embodiment).

Fig. 1A is a schematic plan view of the sanitary napkin 1, and fig. 1B is a sectional view B-B in fig. 1A. Fig. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the sanitary napkin 1 disposed on the packaging sheet 7, fig. 2B is a schematic plan view of a package 7p formed by packaging the sanitary napkin 1 with the packaging sheet 7, and fig. 2C is a schematic plan view of the package 7p as viewed from the opposite side of fig. 2B.

As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the sanitary napkin 1 includes, for example, a liquid-permeable top sheet 2 such as a nonwoven fabric, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 4 such as a film, and an absorbent body 3 such as pulp fibers interposed between these

sheets

2, 4 to absorb excrement. These

sheets

2 and 4 are larger than the absorbent body 3, and are bonded to each other at the portions protruding from the absorbent body 3, whereby the absorbent body 3 is held between these

sheets

2 and 4.

The planar shape of the sanitary napkin 1 is a substantially rectangular shape having a longitudinal direction and a width direction (hereinafter also referred to as a short side direction), and depending on the case, a pair of

wing guard portions

1w, 1w protruding outward in the width direction may be provided at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction of the sanitary napkin 1, as in the present embodiment.

When the sanitary napkin 1 is used, the

flap sections

1w, 1w are folded back to the back sheet 4 side to sandwich underwear in cooperation with the back sheet 4, and are bonded and fixed to the underwear. Therefore, the

adhesives

5a and 5a are applied to the surfaces of the

wing portions

1w and 1w to be brought into contact with underwear at the time of folding. The adhesives 5b, 5b for the same purpose are also applied to the surface of the back sheet 4 to be brought into contact with underwear when the sanitary napkin 1 is used.

In order to maintain the adhesive force of the adhesives 5a and 5B until the sanitary napkin 1 is used, protective sheets 6a and 6B are provided in the application regions of the adhesives 5a and 5B so as to cover the application regions, as shown in fig. 1B and 2A. Specifically, at the time before use, in a state where the pair of

wing sections

1w, 1w are folded toward the top sheet 2, a single protective sheet 6a is provided over the wing sections 1w, whereby the

adhesives

5a, 5a of the

wing sections

1w, 1w are protected (fig. 2A). On the other hand, the protective sheet 6B is provided on the application region of the adhesives 5B, 5B of the back sheet 4 so as to cover substantially the entire surface of the application region, thereby protecting the adhesives 5B, 5B (fig. 1B).

Before use, the sanitary napkin 1 is in the form of a package 7p in which the package sheet 7 is individually packaged, as shown in fig. 2A and 2B. That is, first, as shown in fig. 2A, the sanitary napkin 1 disposed in alignment with each other in the longitudinal direction on the package sheet 7 in the form of a substantially rectangular single sheet having a plane dimension larger than that of the sanitary napkin 1 is in a state of being three-folded in the longitudinal direction together with the package sheet 7, and in the three-folded state of fig. 2B, the short side portion 7S of the package sheet 7 is fixed to the package sheet 7 with the adhesive of the tape member 8, and the portions of the package sheet 7 facing each other are welded to each other at the pair of long side portions 7Lg, 7Lg of the package sheet 7 to form the

seal portions

7j, 7j.

In the above-described mounted state, the protective sheet 6b of the sanitary napkin 1 may be bonded and fixed to the packaging sheet 7 at a plurality of positions, and in this example, the protective sheet 6b of the sanitary napkin 1 is bonded and fixed to the packaging sheet 7 at three positions (not shown) in the longitudinal direction of the packaging sheet 7.

Examples of the packaging sheet 7 include thermoplastic resin films such as Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and nonwoven fabrics having thermoplastic resin fibers such as PE fibers and PP fibers.

As shown in fig. 2C, a design G having a design for appearance is printed on the packaging sheet 7 as an example of the design. In detail, pattern G has insets IL, IL \8230; \8230ofa plurality of flowers, insets IL, IL \8230; \8230ofa plurality of flowers, combined to form a pattern G. In this way, the flower pattern G is printed over substantially the entire surface of one surface of the package 7p. Examples of the printing method of the pattern G include gravure printing, flexo printing, and inkjet printing.

As shown in fig. 3, first, the package sheet 7 is conveyed in the conveying direction in the form of a continuous sheet 7a along the conveying direction (that is, the continuous sheet 7a is a material of the package sheet 7). Then, the sanitary napkins 1 that are fed in line at the sanitary napkin feed pitch in the feeding direction are merged at the merging position Pj in the feeding direction. Then, at the merging position Pj in the transport direction, the sanitary napkins 1 transported in the transport direction at the sanitary napkin transport pitch are merged. At this time, the sanitary napkin 1 is in a finished state, that is, the

wing portions

1w, 1w are folded as shown in fig. 2A, and the protective sheets 6a, 6b are also in a mounted state. As shown in fig. 3, each sanitary napkin 1 is transported in a so-called cross-flow posture in which the width direction (short-side direction) of the sanitary napkin 1 is oriented in the transport direction.

At the joining position Pj, the plurality of

sanitary napkins

1, 1 are sequentially placed on the upper surface of one surface of the continuous sheet 7a of the packaging sheet in the transport direction by the joining device 25 at the position Pj, and each sanitary napkin 1 is fixed to the continuous sheet 7a by an adhesive (not shown).

Then, the continuous sheet 7a on which the sanitary napkin 1 is placed passes through a position of the folding device 61 (corresponding to a folding portion) in the transport direction, and the continuous sheet 7a is triple-folded in the width direction by the folding device 61 at the time of the passage. That is, the one end portion 7ae1 and the other end portion 7ae2 in the width direction of the continuous sheet 7a are folded inward in the width direction. In addition, the sanitary napkin 1 is also triple folded at this time.

Then, the continuous sheet 7a in the three-folded state passes through the position of the tape application device 71 in the transport direction, and the tape member 8 is applied to the continuous sheet 7a so as to straddle the end portions 7ae1 and 7ae2 overlapped vertically in the thickness direction by the device 71 at the time of the passage. The continuous piece 7a is fixed in a three-folded state by the tape member 8.

Then, the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1 is produced from the continuous sheet 7a by forming the

seal portions

7j, 7j on the continuous sheet 7a and cutting the continuous sheet, and the formation and cutting of the

seal portions

7j, 7j may be performed simultaneously or separately. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, a seal cutting device 91 is used which simultaneously forms and cuts the

seal portions

7j, 7j. In the present embodiment, when the sanitary napkin 1 passes through the position of the apparatus 91 in the transport direction, the apparatus 91 performs the heat welding process on a predetermined seal cut position 7an on the continuous sheet 7a where the non-existing portion of the sanitary napkin 1 does not exist in the transport direction and the continuous sheet 7a is adjacent to each other in the transport direction, as shown in fig. 3. In addition, in this way, the portions of the continuous sheet 7a that are overlapped vertically in the thickness direction are integrally joined by welding, and a pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j are formed in line in the conveying direction. At this time, the continuous sheet 7a is cut at a predetermined cutting position Pc between the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j in the front and rear in the transport direction by the device 91, thereby producing a package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1.

In the present embodiment, the path length of the transport path of the continuous sheet 7a from the folding device 61 to the seal cutting device 91 is shorter than the path length of the transport path of the continuous sheet 7a from the merging position Pj to the folding device 61.

Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of a production line LM of the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1.

The production line LM includes a napkin supply system L1 that supplies the napkins 1, a wrapping sheet supply system L7a that supplies the continuous sheet 7a of the wrapping sheet, and a processing system Lk that performs appropriate processing on the continuous sheet 7a of the wrapping sheet joined to the napkins 1.

In each of the systems L1, L7a, and Lk, an appropriate conveying device such as a belt conveyor or a conveying roller is disposed. For example, a first conveying device 41 (corresponding to a first conveying section), a second conveying device 42 (corresponding to a second conveying section), and a third conveying device 43 (corresponding to a third conveying section) described later belong to the above conveying devices. Then, the transport target object such as the continuous sheet 7a or the sanitary napkin 1 is transported in the transport direction by these transport devices. Incidentally, examples of the belt conveyor include a normal belt conveyor having an endless belt driven to revolve as a conveying surface, and an air-suction belt conveyor having an adsorption function on an outer peripheral surface of the endless belt.

In addition, the line LM is set with a CD direction (direction passing through the paper surface in fig. 4) as the width direction of the line LM. In this example, the CD direction is oriented in the horizontal direction, but the CD direction is not limited to this. In this example, vertical directions and horizontal front-back directions are set as two directions orthogonal to the CD direction, and the conveying direction of the continuous sheet 7a of the package sheet 7 is oriented in a direction defined by both the vertical direction and the front-back direction depending on the position in each conveying direction. The width direction of the continuous sheet 7a is parallel to the CD direction. When a direction orthogonal to the CD direction and the conveyance direction is defined as a Z direction, the Z direction is parallel to the thickness direction of the continuous sheet 7a.

Sanitary napkin supply system L1

The napkin supply system L1 (corresponding to a merging device) sequentially merges the napkins 1 with the continuous sheet 7a being transported at a merging position Pj between the first transport device 41 and the second transport device 42 (corresponding to a merging step). That is, the napkin supply system L1 (merging device) includes a napkin condition changing device 21 and a joining device 25, the napkin condition changing device 21 receives the napkin 1 in the finished condition conveyed from the previous step and conveys the napkin 1 while changing the condition of the napkin 1 to a condition suitable for packaging, and the joining device 25 is disposed at the merging position Pj and joins the napkin 1 to the continuous sheet 7a of the packaging sheet.

The sanitary napkin state changing device 21 changes the orientation and pitch of the sanitary napkins 1. First, the sanitary napkin 1 is fed from an upstream process in a state where the longitudinal direction of the sanitary napkin 1 is oriented in the transport direction. The device 21 thus changes the transport pattern of the sanitary towel 1 from a longitudinal flow to a transverse flow suitable for packaging. That is, the sanitary napkin 1 is oriented 90 ° so that the longitudinal direction of the sanitary napkin 1 is oriented in the CD direction. And, the feeding pitch of the napkin 1 is reset (japanese: 1252200124831248112481.

The joining device 25 receives the napkin 1 from the napkin state changing device 21 by the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum 26 and holds the napkin 1 by suction or the like. Then, the rotary drum 26 is driven to rotate, the sanitary napkins 1 are conveyed at the sanitary napkin conveying pitch, the sanitary napkins 1 are pressed against the upper surface of one surface of the continuous sheet 7a at the merging position Pj, and the sanitary napkins 1 are joined to the continuous sheet 7a with the adhesive.

Here, the driving rotation operation of the rotary drum 26 is performed based on the synchronization signal. The synchronization signal is a signal formed by repeatedly outputting unit signals, and each unit signal is a rotation angle signal formed by rotation angle values of 0 ° to 360 °. Then, the joining device 25 deals with the transport operation of the napkin transport pitch as a unit processing operation. That is, the synchronization signal is transmitted to a servo motor (not shown) as a driving source of the rotary drum 26, and the position is controlled so as to rotate by a rotation angle corresponding to the napkin transport pitch in accordance with a unit signal of the synchronization signal. Thereby, the rotary drum 26 conveys the napkin 1 in the conveying direction at the napkin conveying pitch every time the unit signal is output. The tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91, which will be described later, also have a unit processing operation to be repeatedly performed for each sanitary napkin 1, but the unit processing operation and the unit signal are associated with each other in a one-to-one correspondence by position control.

Further, the synchronization signal is generated by an appropriate control unit (not shown) such as a sequencer or a computer. That is, the control unit includes a processor and a memory, and a program for generating the synchronization signal is stored in the memory in advance. The processor reads the program from the memory and executes the program, thereby repeatedly generating a unit signal of the synchronization signal. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the synchronization signal may be generated by a circuit, or the synchronization signal may be generated by detecting, with an appropriate detector, a unit processing operation that is repeatedly performed on each sanitary napkin 1 by another device serving as a base. For example, a rotary die cutting roll (japanese: 1252540125801251248012412459124 (124) 124124 (12540), 1241241258379 (125402512525125) \ 124 (1254023), not shown) for detecting a rotary action of the rotary die cutting roll, and a rotary encoder (not shown) for detecting a rotary action of the rotary die cutting roll, which outputs the unit signal every time 1 sanitary napkin is punched out by interlocking with the rotary action of the cutting roll.

Packaging sheet supply system L7a

As shown in fig. 4, the packaging sheet supply system L7a includes the feeding device 31, a first conveying device 41 located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the feeding device 31, and a second conveying device 42 located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the first conveying device 41.

The continuous sheet 7a on which the patterns G are printed in advance at a predetermined print pitch in the continuous direction in a separate factory or the like is carried into the line LM as a material roll 7ac wound in the continuous direction. Here, when the continuous sheet 7a on which the pattern G is printed at a predetermined printing pitch is wound around the material roll 7ac, the printing pitch is deviated, and the continuous sheet 7a fed by the feeding device 31 is in a state in which the pattern G is printed at a pitch of the printing pitches P12 and P23 \8230 \8230inthe continuous direction as shown in a schematic plan view of fig. 5.

The patterns G of the continuous sheet 7a fed by the feeding-out device 31 are not constant at the printing pitches P12, P23 \ 8230; \8230;, so the first and second conveyor devices 41 and 42 are adjusted to carry (join) the sanitary napkin 1 at the standard position of the patterns G of the continuous sheet 7a. At the joining position Pj, the sanitary napkin 1 is arranged on the continuous sheet 7a by the joining device 25 and joined to the continuous sheet 7a.

The

respective devices

31, 41, and 42 of the packaging sheet supply system L7a will be described below.

(1) Feeding device 31

As shown in fig. 4, the feeding device 31 is for feeding the continuous sheet 7a from the roll 7ac, and includes a rotation shaft 31a along the CD direction, a servo motor (not shown) as a driving source for rotationally driving the rotation shaft 31a, and a tension controller 35 for adjusting the tension of the continuous sheet 7a fed from the rotation shaft 31 a. Then, in a state where the rotation shaft portion 31a is inserted into a through hole provided in the center of the roll 7ac and the roll 7ac is supported by the rotation shaft portion 31a, the continuous sheet 7a is fed from the roll 7ac by driving and rotating the rotation shaft portion 31 a.

(2) First conveyor 41 and second conveyor 42

The first conveying device 41 and the second conveying device 42 cooperatively convey the continuous sheet 7a in the conveying direction (corresponding to the conveying step).

As shown in fig. 4, the first conveying device 41 includes a roller 41r that rotates around a rotation axis along the CD direction and a servomotor (not shown) as a drive source that drives and rotates the roller 41 r.

The second conveying device 42 is configured such that the endless belt 42b is wound around a pair of

rollers

42r and 42r arranged at a distance in the front and rear in the conveying direction. At least one roller 42r of the pair of

rollers

42r, 42r has a servo motor (not shown) as a driving source for driving and rotating. Thereby, as shown in fig. 4, the endless belt 42b makes a turn on a substantially oblong orbit that is long in the conveying direction. A plurality of suction holes (not shown) are formed in the belt surface 42s of the endless belt 42 b. Suction from these suction holes generates suction force on the belt surface 42 s. Thus, the endless belt 42b is moved while the lower surface of the continuous sheet 7a is sucked and held on the belt surface 42s, and the continuous sheet 7a is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveying direction.

In addition, the merging position Pj of the napkin 1 is located between the first conveyor 41 and the second conveyor 42. In the present embodiment, the first conveying device 41 corresponds to the nearest conveying unit on the upstream side in the conveying direction from the merging position Pj. The second conveying device 42 corresponds to the nearest conveying unit on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the merging position Pj, and is located between the merging position Pj and the folding device 61.

The first conveyor 41 and the second conveyor 42 feed the continuous sheet 7a in conjunction. In the feeding, a first transport speed at which the first transport device 41 transports the continuous sheet 7a and a second transport speed at which the second transport device 42 transports the continuous sheet 7a are increased or decreased, respectively, so that the napkin 1 is placed (merged) at a standard position of the pattern G on the continuous sheet 7a. That is, based on the deviation information of alignment marks (1252472\1247912540\125101254012463) M (which alignment marks M are repeatedly formed in the continuous direction on the continuous sheet 7 a), the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed are respectively increased or decreased, and conveyance control of the continuous sheet 7a is performed so that the sanitary napkins 1 are merged at the standard position of the continuous sheet 7a. Then, the transport speed of the continuous sheet 7a is adjusted so that the standard position of the pattern G on the continuous sheet 7a is located at the joining position Pj at the timing when the napkin 1 is disposed at the joining position Pj based on the synchronization signal. Then, at the merged position Pj, as shown in fig. 5, the sanitary napkins 1 are placed and joined to the continuous sheet 7a at the standard positions corresponding to the patterns G.

Conventionally, as a strategy for bringing (placing) the sanitary napkin into contact with the standard position, a strategy for actively stretching the continuous sheet has been adopted. That is, as a method of positioning for placing the sanitary napkin at the standard position when the print pitch is varied, a method of adjusting the stretch of the continuous sheet at the print pitch of the continuous sheet (the adjustment of the stretch is performed by two conveying devices in the same manner as in the present embodiment) and positioning so that the sanitary napkins are joined at the standard position of the continuous sheet is performed. However, in this case, the following problem may occur.

That is, when the conveyance adjustment of the continuous sheet is performed at the printing pitch, the degree of stretching of the portion of the continuous sheet corresponding to a certain printing pitch (referred to as a first printing pitch) and the degree of stretching of the portion of the continuous sheet corresponding to the next printing pitch (referred to as a second printing pitch) are different from each other. For example, it sometimes happens that the stretch of the portion of the continuous sheet corresponding to the first print pitch increases, while the stretch of the portion of the continuous sheet corresponding to the second print pitch next to it decreases. When these portions pass through the two conveying devices, the stretched state is released, but at this time, the portion stretched largely and the portion stretched less interact with each other (that is, the portion stretched more and the portion stretched less), and the continuous sheet may be shaken at the boundary between these portions. When the rattling occurs, the package cannot be folded by a worker in the folding step, and the appearance of the whole package is poor.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased, and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased. That is, the control of bringing the sanitary napkins 1 together (placing them) at the standard position is performed while minimizing the stretch of the continuous sheet 7a between the first transport device 41 and the second transport device 42. Therefore, a package having good appearance can be produced.

In the present embodiment, control is performed to maintain the ratio of the first conveyance speed to the second conveyance speed constant. With the above-described conveyance control, as a control object, the first conveyance device 41 and the second conveyance device 42 perform control for bringing (placing) the sanitary napkin 1 to the standard position so as not to cause different stretching of the continuous sheet 7a between the first conveyance device 41 and the second conveyance device 42 (the degree of stretching is the same between the first printing pitch and the second printing pitch). Therefore, a package with a better appearance can be manufactured.

In particular, in the present embodiment, control is performed such that the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed are equal in magnitude. That is, as a control object, control is performed to join the napkin 1 at the above-described standard position so as not to stretch the continuous sheet 7a between the first conveyor 41 and the second conveyor 42, and therefore, the above-described chattering can desirably not occur. Therefore, a package with a better appearance can be manufactured.

The adjustment of the conveyance speed to the standard position described above is specifically realized as follows using an imaging device 47 such as a CCD camera and a control unit 48 (corresponding to a conveyance control unit) such as a computer shown in fig. 4.

First, as shown in fig. 5, a substantially rectangular alignment mark M (corresponding to a display element) is printed in advance in a separate factory or the like on the continuous sheet 7a in association with each pattern G. In addition, the alignment marks M are set in the printing pitches P12 and P23 \8230 \ 8230 \ in the same manner as the pattern G is set in the offset state, and in the printing pitches P12 and P23 \8230 \ 8230 \. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the imaging device 47 images the continuous sheet 7a at the upstream position P47 (hereinafter also referred to as the imaging position P47) in the conveying direction of the first conveying device 41 to generate image data of the continuous sheet 7a, but here, the imaging device 47 receives the above-described synchronization signal. Thus, the imaging operation is performed every time the rotation angle value of the synchronization signal matches a predetermined rotation angle value recorded in advance in the memory of the imaging device 47.

Then, the control unit 48 analyzes the image data transmitted from the imaging device 47 by binarization processing or the like to acquire information on the amount of deviation between the position of the alignment mark M on the continuous sheet 7a and the reference position. Here, the reference position is a position where the above-described alignment mark M based on the napkin transport pitch is originally located when a state in which the pattern G is printed in the continuous sheet 7a in the continuous direction in advance in a separate factory or the like is taken as a reference based on a predetermined print pitch in which the pattern G is printed in the continuous direction in advance. In this example, the information of the reference position on the image data is recorded in advance in the memory of the control unit 48. Thus, for example, the position of the alignment mark M on the image data is acquired by binarization processing or the like, and the amount of deviation between the position and the reference position on the image data is calculated as information of the amount of deviation of the position.

Then, the first conveying device 41 and the second conveying device 42 adjust the first conveying speed and the second conveying speed of the continuous sheet 7a based on the information of the deviation amount (the first conveying speed and the second conveying speed are adjusted in a state of being matched as described above) so that the deviation amount disappears at the merging position Pj. For example, when the information on the deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located downstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit 48 causes the first conveyance device 41 and the second conveyance device 42 to set the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed to be lower than the current values by the adjustment amounts obtained by multiplying the deviation by the predetermined gain, respectively, and when the information indicates that the alignment mark M is located upstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit sets the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed to be higher than the current values by the adjustment amounts obtained by multiplying the deviation by the predetermined gain, respectively.

In addition, as shown in fig. 4, in the present embodiment, the adhesive application device 51 applies an adhesive for bonding the sanitary napkin 1 to the continuous sheet 7a side. The adhesive is applied intermittently for each unit signal based on the synchronization signal, and the timing is adjusted according to the amount of deviation. This enables the adhesive to be applied accurately to each position on the continuous sheet 7a where each sanitary napkin 1 is to be disposed.

About the processing system Lk

As shown in fig. 4, in the processing system Lk, the continuous sheet 7a to which the wrapping sheet of the sanitary napkin 1 is joined is conveyed in the conveying direction, but the conveying of the continuous sheet 7a is performed by the first conveying device 41 and the second conveying device 42 described above, and also by the third conveying device 43 provided in the processing system Lk. In the present embodiment, the conveying speed of the third conveying device 43 is controlled so as to coincide with the first conveying speed and the second conveying speed.

The processing system Lk includes a folding device 61, a tape application device 71, and a seal cutting device 91 (corresponding to a cutting device), which are arranged in this order in the conveying direction.

The folding device 61 folds the continuous sheet 7a to wrap the combined sanitary napkin 1 (corresponding to a folding process). The tape application device 71 is positioned upstream in the conveying direction from the seal cutting device 91, and applies the tape member 8 to the folded continuous sheet 7a (corresponding to a tape application step). The seal-cutting device 91 cuts the folded continuous sheet 7a between the adjacent sanitary napkins 1, and performs sealing (corresponding to the cutting step and the seal-cutting step). In addition, the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91 are basically driven based on the synchronization signal.

The

respective apparatuses

61, 71, and 91 are explained below.

(1) Folding device 61

The folding device 61 includes suitable folding members (not shown) such as plate members and roller members on both sides in the CD direction. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, when the continuous sheet 7a to which the package sheet of the sanitary napkin 1 is joined passes through the position of the folding member, the folding member comes into contact with the continuous sheet 7a, and the both end portions 7ae1, 7ae2 in the width direction of the continuous sheet 7a are folded inward in the width direction together with the sanitary napkin 1. Thus, the continuous sheet 7a is in a three-folded state together with the napkin 1.

(2) Tape application device 71

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the tape application device 71.

The tape application device 71 includes a rotary drum 72 (corresponding to a rotary unit) and a servomotor (not shown), the rotary drum 72 being capable of rotating about a rotary shaft along the CD direction with an outer peripheral surface 72s facing the conveyance path of the continuous sheet 7a in the three-folded state, the servomotor serving as a drive source for driving and rotating the rotary drum 72. Then, by generating suction force on the outer peripheral surface 72s of the rotary drum 72 by suction or the like, a plurality of

tape members

8, 8 \8230 \ 8230 \ (the holding portion holding the tape member 8 corresponds to a tape adhering portion) are held in the outer peripheral surface 72s in the rotation direction Dc72 in a state of being aligned at a tape member conveyance pitch. When the respective tape members 8 are conveyed to a relative position P7a (corresponding to a tape applying position) facing the continuous sheet 7a in the three-fold state by the rotation of the rotary drum 72 and the respective tape members 8 pass through the position P7a, the respective tape members 8 are bonded to the continuous sheet 7a based on the adhesive of the respective tape members 8, whereby the tape members 8 are delivered from the outer peripheral surface 72s of the rotary drum 72 to the continuous sheet 7a. That is, the rotary roller 72 rotates to intermittently bring the holding portion into contact with the continuous sheet 7a, thereby adhering the adhesive tape member 8.

The rotation operation of the rotary drum 72 is performed based on the synchronization signal. That is, the servomotor of the rotary drum 72 is position-controlled so that the position of the outer peripheral surface 72s at which the adhesive tape member 8 is sucked and held is at the command position in the rotation direction Dc72 indicated by the synchronization signal. Then, basically, the tape member 8 arranged on the outer peripheral surface 72s at the tape member conveyance pitch is conveyed in the rotation direction Dc72 at the rotation angle of the unit processing operation every time the unit signal of the synchronization signal is output.

As described above, the continuous sheet 7a is conveyed by the first conveyor 41 and the second conveyor 42 of the package sheet supply system L7a so that the sanitary napkins 1 are merged at the standard position of the continuous sheet 7a (under control of merging the sanitary napkins 1 at the standard position). Since the continuous sheet 7a is connected from the packaging sheet supply system L7a to the processing system Lk, the conveyance of the continuous sheet 7a in the processing system Lk is also based on (influenced by) this control. Therefore, when the tape member 8 disposed at the tape member conveyance pitch on the outer circumferential surface 72s of the rotary drum 72 described above is conveyed in the rotation direction Dc72 at the rotation angle of the tape member conveyance pitch based on the synchronization signal, the tape member 8 may deviate from the standard position even if it is to be bonded to the continuous sheet 7a.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position adjustment is performed such that the tape attaching position on the continuous sheet 7a becomes the standard position by the control of changing the phase of the rotary drum 72. By this position adjustment, the tape member 8 can be attached to an appropriate position of the continuous sheet 7a, and a package 7p having a good appearance can be manufactured.

Information on the amount of positional deviation of the alignment mark M of the folded continuous piece 7a in the conveyance direction from the reference position, which is the position to be originally located, is obtained, and the timing at which the rotary drum 72 feeds the tape member 8 to the relative position P7a is shifted from the timing indicated by the synchronization signal based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. In addition, the timing shift processing described above is realized as follows using an imaging device 81 such as a CCD camera and a control unit 82 such as a computer (fig. 4) in the same manner as in the case of the above-described package sheet supply system L7 a.

As shown in fig. 5, registration marks M are printed on the continuous sheet 7a at the above-described printing pitches P12 and P23 \8230 \ 8230, and the image pickup device 81 picks up an image of the continuous sheet 7a between the folding device 61 and the rotary cylinder 72 of the tape sticking device 71 to generate image data of the continuous sheet 7a, but here, the image pickup device 81 receives a synchronization signal. Thus, the imaging operation is performed every time the rotation angle value of the synchronization signal matches a predetermined rotation angle value recorded in advance in the memory of the imaging device 81.

Then, the control section 82 analyzes the image data transmitted from the imaging device 81 by binarization processing or the like, obtains information of the amount of deviation of the position of the alignment mark M from the reference position on the continuous sheet 7a based on the tape member conveyance pitch, and calculates the information of the amount of deviation of the position as described above.

Then, the command position in the rotation direction Dc72 indicated by the synchronization signal is corrected based on the information of the amount of deviation of the position. For example, when the information on the amount of deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located at the downstream position in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit 82 increases the command position by the amount of adjustment obtained by multiplying the amount of deviation by the predetermined gain, and when the information on the amount of deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located at the upstream position in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit decreases the command position by the amount of adjustment obtained by multiplying the amount of deviation by the predetermined gain. That is, the positional adjustment is performed by acquiring the deviation information of the display element by the imaging device 81, estimating the deviation amount from the standard position based on the acquired deviation information, and executing the control based on the estimated deviation amount.

(3) Seal cutting device 91

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of the seal cutting device 91. Fig. 7 also shows a partially enlarged view of the apparatus 91.

As described above, the seal cutting device 91 forms the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j by heat-sealing the portion 7an between the

sanitary napkins

1, 1 adjacent to each other in the transport direction on the continuous sheet 7a in the three-folded state, that is, the predetermined seal cut position 7an which is the non-existing portion of the sanitary napkin 1 where the sanitary napkin 1 is not present on the continuous sheet 7a, and cuts the continuous sheet 7a at the position between the pair of seal portions 7j, thereby producing the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1.

The apparatus 91 includes a pair of upper and

lower rollers

91u and 91d rotatable about a rotation axis along the CD direction, and a servomotor (not shown) as a drive source for rotationally driving the pair of

rollers

91u and 91 d.

A pair of convex portions 91up and 91up (corresponding to seal cutting portions) are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 91u (corresponding to a rotating portion) at predetermined angles such as 90 ° in the rotating direction Dc91 in accordance with the shapes of the pair of

seal portions

7j and 7j, and a cutting blade 91uc (corresponding to a seal cutting portion) is provided between the pair of convex portions 91up and 91 up. On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 91d is shaped to receive the pair of convex portions 91up, 91up and the cutting blade 91uc, and in the present embodiment, is shaped to have a pair of convex portions 91dp, 91dp for receiving and a receiving blade (japanese: receiver 123699. The rotation of the

rollers

91u and 91d is basically performed based on the above-described synchronization signal. That is, basically, the servo motor is controlled in position so that the positions of the pair of convex portions 91up, 91up and the cutting blade 91uc are set to the command positions in the rotation direction Dc91 indicated by the synchronization signal. Then, each time a unit signal of the synchronization signal is output, the pair of projections 91up, 91up and the cutting blade 91uc are rotated so as to face the seal cut position 7an which is a non-existing portion of the sanitary napkin 1 on the continuous sheet 7a, and as a result, the package 7p of the sanitary napkin 1 is generated. That is, the upper roller 91u rotates to intermittently bring the projections 91up, 91up and the cutting blade 91uc into contact with the continuous sheet 7a, thereby sealing and cutting the continuous sheet 7a.

However, as in the case of the tape application device 71 described above, even if the seal cutting device 91 is controlled based on the synchronization signal, it is difficult to accurately form the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j at the standard position of the seal cutting position 7an and cut at the position between the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as in the case of the tape bonding apparatus 71, information on the amount of positional deviation of the alignment mark M of the continuous sheet 7a from the reference position which is the position to be originally located is obtained, and the timing of forming the sealing portions 7j and the timing of cutting the continuous sheet 7a are shifted from the timings indicated by the synchronization signals based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. See below for details.

In the present embodiment, the position is adjusted by controlling the phase change of the upper roller 91u (and the lower roller 91 d) so that the seal cutting position 7an on the continuous sheet 7a becomes the standard position. Therefore, the continuous sheet 7a can be seal-cut at an appropriate position, and the defective rate can be reduced. The information on the amount of positional deviation described above is also used as the same information as that used in the tape splicing device 71 described above, and the control unit 82 (fig. 4) performs positional control of the rotational operation of the upper roller 91u (and the lower roller 91 d) based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. That is, the command position in the rotation direction Dc91 indicated by the synchronization signal is corrected based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. More specifically, the control unit 82 increases the command position by an adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation by a predetermined gain when the information on the deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located downstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, and decreases the command position by an adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation by the predetermined gain when the information on the deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located upstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position. In addition, this makes it possible to accurately form the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j at the standard position of the seal cut position 7an and cut the

seal portion

7j, 7j at a position between the pair of

seal portions

7j, 7j. That is, the positional adjustment is performed by acquiring the deviation information of the positioning mark M by the imaging device 81, estimating the deviation amount of the seal cut position 7an from the standard position based on the acquired deviation information, and executing the control based on the estimated deviation amount.

Modification example 1

The main differences from the present embodiment (fig. 4) are, as shown in fig. 8, (1) that the path changing unit 101 is disposed between the image pickup device 81 and the tape application device 71, and (2) that commands from the control unit 82 such as a computer are output to the path changing unit 101 instead of being output to the two points of the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91. The other configuration is approximately the same as that of the present embodiment described above. Therefore, the differences between the two will be mainly described below, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

The path changing unit 101 includes a gauge (not shown), an actuator (not shown), 1 pair of fixed

rollers

102 and 102, and a movable roller 103 located between the fixed

rollers

102 and 102.

The 1 pair of fixed

rollers

102, 102 rotate about a rotation axis along the CD direction. The movable roller 103 moves in a predetermined direction (vertical direction in fig. 8) and rotates about a rotation axis along the CD direction. The meter is an encoder or the like, and detects the position in the predetermined direction and outputs position information. The actuator moves the movable roller 103 in a predetermined direction.

Then, the continuous sheet 7a is wound around such a manner that one side in the thickness direction of the continuous sheet 7a in the three-folded state is in contact with the fixed rollers 102 and the other side in the thickness direction is in contact with the movable roller 103, thereby forming a loop of the continuous sheet 7a. The movable roller 103 moves in a predetermined direction to adjust the loop size, and as a result, the transport path length is adjusted.

As described above, even if the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91 are controlled only by the synchronization signal, it is difficult to apply and seal-cut the tape member 8 to the standard position. Therefore, in the modification 1, as described above, information on the amount of positional deviation of the alignment mark M of the continuous sheet 7a from the reference position, which is the position to be originally located, is acquired, and the tape-bonding, seal-cutting of the continuous sheet 7a is performed at the standard position by adjusting the conveyance path length based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. See below for details.

In the modification 1, the path changing unit 101 changes the path length of the continuous sheet 7a from the second conveying device 42 to the seal cutting device 91 by changing the conveying path of the continuous sheet 7a, and performs position adjustment by controlling the change of the path length so that the seal cutting position 7an on the continuous sheet 7a becomes the standard position. The information on the amount of positional deviation described above is also used as the same information as the information used above, and the control unit 82 moves the movable roller 103 by an actuator (not shown) that moves the position in a predetermined direction based on the information on the amount of deviation to control the position of the movable roller 103, and adjusts the length of the conveyance path so that the amount of deviation is eliminated. More specifically, when the information on the amount of deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located downstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit 82 moves the movable roller 103 by an adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the amount of deviation by a predetermined gain so as to make the conveyance path length longer than the current value, and when the information on the amount of deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located upstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, the control unit 82 moves the movable roller 103 by an adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the amount of deviation by a predetermined gain so as to make the conveyance path length shorter. In addition, the tape member 8 can be bonded and sealed and cut at the standard position of the continuous sheet 7a.

That is, the tape member 8 can be attached to an appropriate position of the continuous sheet 7a, and the package 7p having a good appearance can be manufactured. Further, the continuous sheet 7a can be cut in a sealed manner at an appropriate position, thereby reducing the defective rate.

Further, it is preferable that the path changing unit 101 is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the folding device 61 that performs the folding process, so that there is no fear that the position adjusted by the path changing unit 101 is deviated by folding of the continuous sheet 7a.

Modification example 2

Fig. 9 is a schematic side view of a production line LM according to modification 2.

The main differences from the present embodiment (fig. 4) are, as shown in fig. 9, (1) that the third conveyance device 43 is not controlled so that the conveyance speed matches the second conveyance device 42, and (2) that the command of the control unit 82 such as the computer is output to the third conveyance device 43, not to the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91. The third conveying device 43 includes an endless belt 43b, a belt surface 43s, a pair of

rollers

43r and 43r arranged at a distance in the front and rear of the conveying direction, and a servomotor (not shown) provided on at least one roller 43r of the pair of rollers 43r and serving as a driving source for driving and rotating. In addition, the third conveying device 43 conveys the continuous sheet 7a by the same method as the second conveying device 42. Therefore, differences from the present embodiment will be mainly described below, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

As described above, even if the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91 are controlled only by the synchronization signal, it is difficult to apply and seal-cut the tape member 8 to the standard position. Therefore, in the modification 2, as described above, information on the amount of positional deviation of the alignment mark M of the continuous sheet 7a from the reference position, which is the position to be originally located, is acquired, and the tape bonding and seal cutting of the continuous sheet 7a is performed at the standard position by adjusting the third conveying speed of the third conveying device 43 not in cooperation with the second conveying device 42 based on the information on the amount of positional deviation. See below for details.

In the modification 2, the third conveyor 43 is controlled not to be interlocked with the first conveyor 41 and the second conveyor 42, and the position is adjusted so that the seal cutting position 7an on the continuous sheet 7a becomes the standard position. The information on the amount of positional deviation described above is also used as the same information as the information used above, and the control unit 82 adjusts the third conveyance speed based on the information on the amount of deviation so that the amount of deviation is eliminated. More specifically, the control unit 82 decreases the adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation by the predetermined gain by the third conveyance speed when the information on the deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located downstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position, and increases the adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation by the predetermined gain by the third conveyance speed when the information on the deviation indicates that the alignment mark M is located upstream in the conveyance direction from the reference position. In addition, the tape member 8 can be bonded and sealed and cut at the standard position of the continuous sheet 7a.

Further, it is preferable that the third conveying device 43 is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the folding device 61 that performs the folding step, so that there is no fear that the position adjusted by the third conveying device 43 is shifted by folding the continuous sheet 7a.

Modification 3

The main difference from the present embodiment (fig. 4) is that (1) the imaging device 81 is not provided. The other configuration is approximately the same as that of the present embodiment described above. Therefore, the differences between the two will be mainly described below, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

As described above, even if the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91 are controlled only by the synchronization signal, it is difficult to apply and seal-cut the tape member 8 to the standard position. Therefore, in the 3 rd modification, the cumulative length (corresponding to the cumulative feeding amount) of the continuous sheet 7a fed from the second feeding device feeding position P42 to the seal cutting device 91 and the information of the amount of deviation from the length of the path length of the conveying path on the production line from the second feeding device feeding position P42 to the seal cutting device 91 are acquired, and based on the information of the amount of deviation in the length, the position adjustment is performed by controlling the phase change of the rotary drum 72 and the upper roller 91u (and the lower roller 91 d) so that the tape-sticking/seal-cutting position on the continuous sheet 7a becomes the standard position, and the second feeding device feeding position P42 is the position at which the second feeding device 42 feeds the continuous sheet 7a to the downstream side in the conveying direction. That is, the accumulated feed amount of the continuous sheet 7a is acquired, the deviation amount of the seal cutting position 7an from the standard position is estimated based on the acquired accumulated feed amount, and the position adjustment is performed by executing the control based on the estimated deviation amount. See below for details.

At a certain timing when the napkin 1 is disposed at the joining position Pj, the first transport speed and the second transport speed are increased or decreased so that the napkin 1 joins at the standard position of the continuous sheet 7a, and the transport of the continuous sheet 7a is controlled. That is, the conveying speed is increased or decreased at a certain timing during the conveyance of the continuous sheet 7a. In other words, it can be said that the conveyance of the continuous sheet 7a is controlled by increasing or decreasing the feed length (the integrated value of the first conveyance speed) of the first conveyance device 41 and the feed length (the integrated value of the second conveyance speed) of the second conveyance device 42. That is, the cumulative feed amount can be obtained by accumulating the feed length of the second feeding device 42 every time the control is performed at the above-described certain timing. Specifically, the cumulative length of the second conveyor 42 fed from the second conveyor feeding position P42 to the seal-cutting position 7an on the continuous sheet 7a subjected to the seal-cutting process becomes the cumulative conveying amount.

Then, the control unit 82 calculates the deviation amount between the accumulated conveyance amount and the path length of the conveyance path on the production line from the second conveyance device delivery position P42 to the seal cutting device 91, which is recorded in advance in the memory of the control unit 82.

Then, based on the information of the amount of deviation, the position of the rotating operation of the rotary drum 72 and the upper roller 91u (and the lower roller 91 d) is controlled. That is, the command positions in the rotational directions Dc72 and Dc91 indicated by the above-described synchronization signals are corrected based on the information of the amount of positional deviation. More specifically, the control unit 82 increases the adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation amount by the predetermined gain by the command position when the deviation amount information indicates that the "cumulative transport amount is shorter than the transport path length on the production line", and decreases the adjustment amount obtained by multiplying the deviation amount by the predetermined gain by the command position when the deviation amount information indicates that the "cumulative transport amount is longer than the transport path length on the production line". In addition, the tape member 8 can be bonded and sealed at a standard position of the continuous sheet 7a.

That is, the tape member 8 can be attached to an appropriate position of the continuous sheet 7a, and the package 7p having a good appearance can be manufactured. Further, the continuous sheet 7a can be cut at an appropriate position by sealing, and the defective rate can be reduced.

In addition, according to the above-described method for manufacturing a package, the package 7p having a good appearance can be manufactured without the imaging device 81.

Other embodiments

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and needless to say, the present invention includes equivalents thereof. For example, the following modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the continuous sheet 7a is printed with design patterns G for design and also with alignment marks M. The alignment mark M corresponds to a "display element". However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the pattern G may be used instead of the alignment mark M.

In the above-described embodiment, the alignment marks M as the display elements in fig. 5 are formed on the continuous sheet 7a by printing, but the formation of the display elements is not limited to this. For example, the display element may be formed by pressing the continuous sheet 7a in the thickness direction to form a plurality of dot-shaped concave portions or a plurality of linear concave portions.

In the above-described embodiment, the sanitary napkin 1 shown in fig. 1A is exemplified as an example of the absorbent article, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as it is an article that absorbs excrement from a wearer. For example, it may be a disposable diaper or a diaper.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the first conveying device 41 has the roller 41r, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first conveying devices 41 may be respectively configured by belt conveyors. That is, for example, instead of the roller 41r, a configuration may be used in which a pair of rollers and an endless belt wound around the pair of rollers are provided, and one surface of the continuous sheet 7a is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt to convey the continuous sheet 7a.

In the above-described embodiment, the information on the deviation amount of the alignment mark M is acquired using the imaging device 47 and the control unit 48 shown in fig. 4, but a specific example of a device capable of acquiring the information includes an image sensor CV-5000 (manufactured by keyence corporation). However, the present invention is not limited to this.

In the above-described embodiment, the same control method is used for controlling the positions of the tape application device 71 and the seal cutting device 91, but the present invention is not limited to this. The respective devices may be controlled by a separate method (for example, the tape application device 71 is controlled by the path changing unit 101, and the seal cutting device 91 is controlled by the phase of the rotating unit).

In the above embodiment, the seal cutting step is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. The sealing step and the cutting step may be two separate steps.

Description of the reference numerals

1. Sanitary napkins (absorbent articles); 1w and a wing part; 2. a topsheet; 3. an absorbent body; 4. a back sheet; 5a, an adhesive; 5b, adhesive; 6a, a protective sheet; 6b, a protective sheet; 7. packaging the sheets; 7Lg, long side part; 7S, short edge part; 7a, packaging a continuous sheet of sheet; 7ac, roll of material; 7ae1, end; 7ae2, end; 7an, seal cut position on the continuous sheet; 7j, a seal part; 7p, a package; 8. an adhesive tape member; 20. a packaging body manufacturing device; 21. a sanitary napkin state changing device (an orientation changing device and a pitch changing device); 25. an engaging device; 26. rotating the drum; 31. a sequential payout device; 31a, a rotation shaft; 35. a tension controller; 41. a first conveying device; 41r, roller; 42. a second conveying device; 42r, rollers; 42b, an endless belt; 42s, belt surface; 43. a third conveying device; 43r, roller; 43b, an endless belt; 43s, belt surface; 47. a camera device; 48. a control unit; 51. an adhesive coating device; 61. a folding device; 62. a rising guide member; 63. folding the guide portion; 64. a movement restriction guide member; 71. a tape application device; 72. rotating the drum; 72s, outer peripheral surface; 81. a camera device; 82. a control unit; 91. a sealing and cutting device; 91u, an upper roller; 91uc, a cutter; 91up, convex; 91d, lower roller; 91dp, convex part; 91dc, receiving knife; 101. a path changing unit; 102. a fixed roller; 103. a movable roller; LM, production line; l1, a sanitary towel supply system; l7a, a packaging sheet supply system; lk, processing system; lb, a broken line; G. pattern making; IL, inset; m, alignment marks (display elements); pj, convergence position; p7a, tape position; p42, a second conveyor delivery position; pc, cut-off position; p47, imaging position; p12, printing space; p23, printing pitch; p34, printing pitch; dc72, direction of rotation; dc91, direction of rotation.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged in a packaging sheet, characterized in that,

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises the following steps:

a conveying step of conveying a continuous sheet, which is a material of the packaging sheet and in which display elements are repeatedly formed in a continuous direction, in the conveying direction by a first conveying unit and a second conveying unit;

a coating step of applying an adhesive for bonding the absorbent article to the continuous sheet;

a folding step of folding the continuous sheet to wrap the joined absorbent article; and

in the above-mentioned conveying step, the conveying step,

performing transport control of the continuous sheet so that the absorbent articles are joined at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first transport speed at which the first transport unit transports the continuous sheet and a second transport speed at which the second transport unit transports the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display elements,

the conveyance control is controlled such that the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased,

in the application step, the timing of applying the adhesive is adjusted using the offset information of the display element,

in the seal cutting step, a path length of the continuous sheet from the second conveying unit to the seal cutting device is changed by a path changing unit to change the path length of the continuous sheet, and position adjustment is performed by control for changing the path length so that a seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position,

in the seal cutting step, an accumulated feed amount of the continuous sheet is acquired, an amount of deviation of a seal cutting position from the standard position is estimated based on the acquired accumulated feed amount, and the position adjustment is performed by executing the control for changing the path length based on the estimated amount of deviation.

2. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

3. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 2,

in the conveyance control, control is performed to match the first conveyance speed and the second conveyance speed in magnitude,

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

position adjustment is performed by controlling the phase of the rotating portion to be changed so that the seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position,

acquiring the deviation information of the display element by using an image pickup device,

the control is executed in accordance with the estimated deviation amount, thereby performing the position adjustment.

4. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

the path changing unit is located downstream in the conveying direction of a folding unit that performs the folding step.

5. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

the second conveying unit is located on the downstream side in the conveying direction from the first conveying unit,

the method for manufacturing a packaging body includes a tape-bonding step of bonding a tape member to the folded continuous sheet by a tape-bonding device located upstream in the conveying direction from the seal cutting device,

in the tape-bonding process, the adhesive tape is bonded,

changing a conveying path of the continuous sheet from the second conveying section to the tape application device by a path changing section to change a path length of the conveying path,

the position of the tape is adjusted by changing the path length so that the tape attaching position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position.

6. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

a seal cutting device having a rotating portion and a seal cutting portion provided in the rotating portion, the rotating portion being rotated to intermittently bring the seal cutting portion into contact with the continuous web to seal and cut the continuous web,

7. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

the method for manufacturing a packaging body includes a tape-bonding step in which a tape-bonding device bonds a tape member to the folded continuous sheet, the tape-bonding device being positioned upstream in the conveying direction from the seal cutting device and including a rotating portion and a tape-bonding portion provided in the rotating portion,

in the tape-bonding process, the adhesive tape is bonded,

the rotating part of the tape adhering device intermittently contacts the tape adhering part with the continuous sheet by rotating to adhere the tape member,

8. A method for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged in a packaging sheet, characterized in that,

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises:

in the conveyance step, the conveyance control of the continuous sheet is performed so that the absorbent articles are joined at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first conveyance speed at which the first conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet and a second conveyance speed at which the second conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element,

the cutting step is a seal cutting step of cutting and sealing the folded continuous sheet between the adjacent absorbent articles, the second transport unit is located on the downstream side in the transport direction of the first transport unit, the seal cutting step is a seal cutting step of changing a transport path of the continuous sheet from the second transport unit to a seal cutting device by a path changing unit to change a path length of the transport path, performing position adjustment by control for changing the path length so that a seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position, the seal cutting step is a step of acquiring an accumulated transport amount of the continuous sheet, estimating a deviation amount of the seal cutting position from the standard position based on the acquired accumulated transport amount, and performing the control for changing the path length based on the estimated deviation amount to perform the position adjustment,

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

the third conveyance unit is controlled without being interlocked with the first conveyance unit and the second conveyance unit, and position adjustment is performed such that a seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position.

9. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 8,

10. A method for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged in a packaging sheet, characterized in that,

the method for manufacturing the packaging body comprises the following steps:

in the tape-bonding process, the adhesive tape is bonded,

the third conveying unit is controlled without being linked with the first conveying unit and the second conveying unit, and position adjustment is performed so that a tape bonding position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position.

11. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

in the above-mentioned seal-cutting step,

estimating the amount of deviation of the seal cut position from the standard position based on the acquired deviation information,

the control is executed in accordance with the amount of deviation estimated, thereby performing the position adjustment.

12. The method of manufacturing a package according to claim 1,

the path length of the transport path of the continuous sheet from the folded portion to the seal-cut portion is shorter than the path length of the transport path of the continuous sheet from the merging position to the folded portion.

13. A package manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a package in which an absorbent article is packaged by a packaging sheet,

the package manufacturing apparatus includes:

an application device that applies an adhesive for joining the absorbent article to the continuous sheet;

a folding portion that folds the continuous sheet to wrap the absorbent article after the confluence;

a conveyance control unit that performs conveyance control of the continuous sheet such that the absorbent articles merge at a standard position of the continuous sheet by increasing or decreasing a first conveyance speed at which the first conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet and a second conveyance speed at which the second conveyance unit conveys the continuous sheet, respectively, based on the deviation information of the display element, and that performs control such that the second conveyance speed is increased when the first conveyance speed is increased and the second conveyance speed is decreased when the first conveyance speed is decreased,

the coating device adjusts the coating timing of the adhesive by using the deviation information of the display element,

the cutting device cuts and seals the folded continuous sheet between the adjacent absorbent articles, the second conveying unit is located on the downstream side of the first conveying unit in the conveying direction, the cutting device changes a conveying path of the continuous sheet from the second conveying unit to the seal cutting device by a path changing unit to change the path length of the conveying path, and performs position adjustment by control for changing the path length so that the seal cutting position on the continuous sheet becomes a standard position,

the position adjustment is performed by acquiring an accumulated conveyance amount of the continuous sheet, estimating a deviation amount of a seal cutting position from the reference position based on the acquired accumulated conveyance amount, and executing the control for changing the path length based on the estimated deviation amount.