CN113660919A

CN113660919A - Method for manufacturing absorbent article

Info

Publication number: CN113660919A
Application number: CN202080027537.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 矢野尊敬; 清水常男
Original assignee: Unicharm Corp
Current assignee: Unicharm Corp
Priority date: 2019-04-09
Filing date: 2020-04-06
Publication date: 2021-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-06
Also published as: WO2020209219A1; JP7038078B2; CN113660919B; JP2020171421A

Abstract

The method for manufacturing the absorbent article (10) includes a 1 st conveyance step (S20) for conveying the belt continuum (80C), an application step (S23) for providing a pair of side joint regions (SBR), a cutting step (S30) for cutting the belt continuum (80C) to which the adhesive is applied, a 2 nd conveyance step (S40) for conveying the waist belt (80) to the main body continuum (11C), and a joining step (S50) for joining the waist belt (80) to the main body continuum (11C) via the adhesive. The 1 st conveying step (S20) includes a circumferential conveying step (S26) of conveying the continuous body (80C) in the circumferential direction (CID) using the rotary drum device (130) in a state where the continuous body (80C) is held by at least one of the plurality of holding sections (132) such that each of the side joining regions (SBR) of the pair of side joining regions (SBR) overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes (135). In the cutting step (S30), the continuous belt body (80C) that spans at least two holding sections (132) of the plurality of holding sections (132) by conveyance in the circumferential direction (CID) is cut. In the 2 nd conveying step (S40), the waist belt (80) is conveyed to the main body continuous body (11C) while maintaining the state in which each of the side joining regions (SBR) of the pair of side joining regions (SBR) overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes (135).

Description

Method for manufacturing absorbent article

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an absorbent article.

Background

Patent document 1 discloses an absorbent article having a waist belt disposed on the skin surface side of a skin sheet and having stretchability in the width direction (see, for example, patent document 1).

In the absorbent article of patent document 1, the waist band is joined to the skin surface sheet with an adhesive, thereby forming a space that opens toward the crotch region side. This space functions as a pocket for accommodating excrement that has moved to the waist opening side, and leakage of excrement from the waist opening can be suppressed.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: U.S. patent publication No. 2018/71155

Disclosure of Invention

Since the waist band is stretchable, when the waist band is joined to the skin panel, the waist band may be wrinkled or twisted due to contraction. Therefore, the waist band may not be joined to the skin panel in a desired shape.

The sheet constituting the waist belt includes a continuous sheet continuous body, and the waist belt is manufactured by cutting the belt continuous body having stretchability. When this cutting is performed, a force is applied to the belt continuous body, and the position of the manufactured waist belt is sometimes displaced. This may cause the waist belt to be joined to the skin side sheet in a misaligned state.

It would be desirable to have a method of making an absorbent article that can bond a waist belt to a skin panel as desired.

In one aspect, a method of manufacturing an absorbent article includes a front-back direction, a width direction orthogonal to the front-back direction, a skin surface sheet, a waist band arranged on the skin surface side of the skin surface sheet and having stretchability in the width direction, and a pair of side joining regions arranged on both outer sides of the waist band in the width direction with respect to a center in the width direction, the pair of side joining regions being configured to join the waist band and the skin surface sheet together with an adhesive. The method for manufacturing the absorbent article comprises the following steps: a continuous belt body having stretchability, the continuous belt body including a continuous belt sheet body formed by continuously connecting belt sheets constituting the waist belt; applying the adhesive to the continuous band to provide the pair of side joint regions; cutting the continuous tape body coated with the adhesive; conveying the waist belt obtained by cutting the belt continuous body to a main body continuous body including a sheet continuous body in which sheets constituting the skin surface sheet are continuous; and joining the waist belt to the main body continuous body with the adhesive when the waist belt is transferred to the main body continuous body. The step of conveying the belt continuous body includes a step of conveying the belt continuous body in a circumferential direction while holding the belt continuous body by at least one of the plurality of holding portions so that each of the side bonding regions of the pair of side bonding regions overlaps with at least one of the plurality of suction holes, using a rotary drum (text ドラム) device having the plurality of holding portions in which the plurality of suction holes are formed. In the step of cutting the continuous ribbon, the continuous ribbon that has been conveyed in the circumferential direction so as to straddle at least two of the plurality of holding portions is cut. In the step of conveying the waist belt, the waist belt is conveyed to the main body continuous body while maintaining a state in which each of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an absorbent article according to the embodiment, as viewed from the skin surface side.

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the 2A-2A section of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view taken along line B-B shown in fig. 1 in an extended state.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a worn state of the absorbent article 10 with reference to the cross section shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view for explaining the waist belt in an extended state.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of the absorbent article.

Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the rotary drum device.

Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view showing the rotary drum device.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the holding portion.

Fig. 10 is (one of) a schematic view showing a method of manufacturing an absorbent article.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view (two) showing a method of manufacturing an absorbent article.

Detailed Description

(1) Brief description of the embodiments

At least the following matters will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

In one aspect, a method of manufacturing an absorbent article includes a front-back direction, a width direction orthogonal to the front-back direction, a skin panel, a waist band arranged on a skin surface side of the skin panel and having stretchability in the width direction, and a pair of side joining regions arranged on both outer sides of the waist band in the width direction with respect to a center in the width direction, the pair of side joining regions being provided with an adhesive for joining the waist band and the skin panel. The method for manufacturing the absorbent article includes the steps of: a continuous belt body having stretchability, the continuous belt body including a continuous belt sheet body formed by continuously connecting belt sheets constituting the waist belt; applying the adhesive to the continuous tape member to form the pair of side joint regions; cutting the continuous tape body coated with the adhesive; conveying the waist belt obtained by cutting the belt continuous body to a main body continuous body including a sheet continuous body in which sheets constituting the skin surface sheet are continuous; and joining the waist belt to the main body continuous body via the adhesive when the waist belt is transferred to and from the main body continuous body. The step of conveying the belt continuous body includes a step of conveying the belt continuous body in a circumferential direction while holding the belt continuous body by at least any one of the plurality of holding portions so that each of the side joining regions of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least any one of the plurality of suction holes, using a rotating drum device having a plurality of holding portions in which a plurality of suction holes are formed. In the step of cutting the continuous ribbon, the continuous ribbon that has been conveyed in the circumferential direction so as to straddle at least two of the plurality of holding portions is cut. In the step of conveying the waist belt, the waist belt is conveyed to the main body continuous body while maintaining a state in which each of the side joining regions of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

Since the air permeability of the side joining region is reduced by the adhesive, a portion of the continuous belt body that does not overlap the joining region (hereinafter referred to as a non-joined overlapped portion) is more likely to be absorbed than a portion of the continuous belt body that overlaps the side joining region (hereinafter referred to as a joined overlapped portion). Therefore, by holding the belt continuous body and the waist belt so that each of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes, the pair of joined and overlapped portions can be strongly sucked. This makes it difficult for the pair of engaging and overlapping portions to move, and the pair of engaging and overlapping portions can be fixed. Since the pair of engaging superimposed portions need to be shrunk together due to the partial shrinkage between the pair of engaging superimposed portions, the partial shrinkage between the pair of engaging superimposed portions can be suppressed also by fixing the pair of engaging superimposed portions. Therefore, although the belt continuum and the waist belt have stretchability, in the step of conveying the belt continuum and the step of conveying the waist belt, the contraction of the belt continuum and the waist belt can be suppressed, and the waist belt can be bonded to the skin surface sheet as desired.

Further, the belt continuous body is conveyed in the circumferential direction until it straddles at least two of the holding portions, and therefore the portion of the belt continuous body extending in the circumferential direction receives a force in a direction toward the rotation center of the rotating drum device. Therefore, the belt continuous body conveyed in the circumferential direction is pressed against the holding portion, and a strong frictional force acts between the portion of the belt continuous body extending in the circumferential direction and the holding portion, thereby further suppressing contraction of the belt continuous body. This makes it possible to cut the continuous belt body while the continuous belt body is firmly fixed to the holding portion, and to suppress the holding position of the waist belt from shifting with the cutting.

Since the waist belt is conveyed to the main body continuous body while maintaining the state in which each of the side joining regions of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes, the waist belt can be joined to the skin side sheet while maintaining a state in which the waist belt is firmly held. This enables the waist band to be joined to the skin surface sheet as desired.

According to a preferred aspect, the belt continuum includes a plurality of sheet layers formed by overlapping the belt sheet continuum in a thickness direction, and in the step of conveying the belt continuum, the belt continuum is taken up by the rotary drum device such that a sheet layer having a high stretching force, out of the sheet layer disposed outermost on one side in the thickness direction and the sheet layer disposed outermost on the other side in the thickness direction, is brought into contact with the holding portion.

Since the belt continuous body is more strongly adsorbed as the belt continuous body approaches the holding portion, the belt continuous body can be conveyed while being strongly adsorbed by taking the belt continuous body with the rotary drum device so that the holding portion is brought into contact with the sheet layer having a high stretching force, that is, the sheet layer which is easily contracted. This can suppress the shrinkage of the belt continuum during the conveyance.

According to a preferred aspect, the continuous belt body includes a plurality of sheet layers formed by overlapping the continuous belt sheet body in a thickness direction, and in the step of conveying the continuous belt body, the continuous belt body is taken up by the rotary drum device so that a belt joining region where adjacent sheet layers are joined to each other among the plurality of sheet layers overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

Since the air permeability of the tape joining region is reduced, a portion that does not overlap the tape joining region as compared with a portion that overlaps the tape joining region can be strongly sucked. Therefore, the belt continuum and the waist belt can be further firmly held by overlapping the suction hole and the belt engagement region.

According to a preferred aspect, in the step of conveying the waist belt, the holding portion is rotated by 90 degrees about a rotation axis along a radial direction of the rotary drum device up to a junction point of the waist belt.

The direction of the waist belt can be rotated 90 degrees until the waist belt is connected to the main body continuum. Therefore, in the arrangement of the apparatus, even if the arrangement direction of the manufactured waist belt deviates from the desired arrangement by 90 degrees, the conveying direction of the belt continuous body and the conveying direction of the main body continuous body can be overlapped in the orthogonal direction.

According to a preferred aspect, the waist belt has a non-stretchable region extending inward in the width direction from the end edge in the width direction, and the non-stretchable region is not joined to the elastic member having stretchability, and in the step of conveying the waist belt, the waist belt is conveyed in a state where the non-stretchable region overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

In the non-stretch region, since contraction due to the elastic member does not occur, it is difficult to form wrinkles at the end portions of the waist band. Therefore, the waist band can be maintained in a state of being close to the suction holes over the entire end portion (non-stretchable region) of the waist band, and the waist band can be easily and strongly sucked. This can suppress contraction of the waist band, and the waist band can be bonded to the skin surface sheet as desired.

According to a preferred aspect, the holding portion has an abutment surface that abuts against the belt continuum, the abutment surface has a center abutment surface and an outer abutment surface, the center abutment surface is disposed at a center in a conveying direction of the belt continuum, the outer abutment surface is disposed so as to sandwich the center abutment surface in the conveying direction, the plurality of suction holes are formed, a friction coefficient of the outer abutment surface is higher than a friction coefficient of the center abutment surface, and the belt continuum is taken up by the rotating drum device so that the outer abutment surface abuts against the belt continuum in a step of conveying the belt continuum.

Thus, the belt continuous body and the waist belt are less likely to contract due to friction than the center contact surface at the outer contact surface, and the pair of joint overlapped portions can be further fixed. This allows the belt continuous body and the waist belt to be further firmly held, and the waist belt can be bonded to the skin surface sheet as desired.

According to a preferred aspect, the holding portion has an abutment surface that abuts against the belt continuum, the abutment surface has a center abutment surface and a pair of outer abutment surfaces, the center abutment surface is disposed at a center in a conveying direction of the belt continuum, the pair of outer abutment surfaces are disposed so as to sandwich the center abutment surface in the conveying direction, and the plurality of suction holes are formed, and the pair of outer abutment surfaces are inclined toward a rotation axis side of the rotating drum device with respect to the center abutment surface, so that a pair of corner portions are provided between the pair of outer abutment surfaces and the center abutment surface. In the step of conveying the belt continuous body in the circumferential direction, the belt continuous body is conveyed in the circumferential direction so as to straddle each of the pair of corner portions.

The belt continuous body is strongly held by the suction holes at the pair of outer abutment surfaces, and the belt continuous body spans each of the pair of corner portions, so as to be strongly pressed against the holding portion at the corner portions. As a result, a strong frictional force acts between the belt continuum and the corner portion (holding portion), and the contraction of the belt continuum is further suppressed. Thereby, the belt continuous body is firmly fixed to the holding portion.

(2) Schematic structure of absorbent article

An example of an absorbent article manufactured by the method for manufacturing an absorbent article according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. It should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the ratio of the respective dimensions and the like are different from the actual case. Therefore, specific dimensions and the like should be determined with reference to the following description. In addition, the drawings may include portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios from each other.

The absorbent article 10 is a belt-type disposable diaper. Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an absorbent article according to the embodiment, as viewed from the skin surface side. Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the 2A-2A section of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1. In the schematic cross-sectional view shown in fig. 2, the respective members are shown separately in the thickness direction T for the convenience of explanation, but in an actual product, the respective members are in contact in the thickness direction T. Fig. 1 and 2 show an absorbent article in an extended state. The extended state in the present specification is a state in which the absorbent article 10 is extended to a state in which no wrinkle is formed. In the natural state in the present specification, the absorbent article 10 contained in the package is taken out from the package and left for 24 hours in an atmosphere of 20 ℃ ± 2 ℃ and a relative humidity of 60% ± 5% RH. Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the front-back direction of the absorbent article in an extended state. Fig. 3A is a schematic sectional view taken along line 3A-3A shown in fig. 1 in an extended state. Fig. 3B is a schematic sectional view taken along line 3B-3B shown in fig. 1 in an extended state. Fig. 4 is a view showing a worn state of the absorbent article 10 with reference to the cross section shown in a of fig. 3. BL shown in fig. 4 represents a line of the body of the wearer. Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view for explaining the waist belt in an extended state. Fig. 5 a is a schematic plan view of the 1 st sheet layer 811 described later as viewed from the skin surface side. Fig. 5B is a schematic plan view of the 2 nd sheet layer 812 described later as viewed from the skin surface side. Fig. 5C is a schematic plan view of a 3 rd sheet layer 813 described later, as viewed from the skin surface side.

The absorbent article 10 has a front-rear direction L and a width direction W orthogonal to the front-rear direction L. The front-back direction L is defined by a direction extending to the front side and the back side of the body. In other words, the front-rear direction L is a direction extending in the front-rear direction in the unfolded absorbent article 10. In addition, the absorbent article 10 has a thickness direction T. The thickness direction T extends toward the skin surface side T1 on the wearer side and the non-skin surface side T2 on the side opposite to the skin surface side T1.

The absorbent article 10 has a front body surrounding region S1, a rear body surrounding region S2, and a crotch region S3. The front waistline region S1 is a region opposed to the front waistline (abdomen) of the wearer. The rear body area S2 is an area opposing the rear body (back) of the wearer, and includes an area for carrying the body (buttocks) when the absorbent article 10 is worn. The crotch region S3 is a region located in the crotch of the wearer and disposed between the front body surrounding region S1 and the rear body surrounding region S2. Therefore, the crotch region S3 is disposed between the two peripheral regions including the front peripheral region S1 and the rear peripheral region S2. The crotch region S3 is a region where the leg hole openings 65 arranged around the legs of the wearer are provided. The leg hole opening 65 is a portion recessed inward in the width direction W from the outer edge of the absorbent article 10.

The absorbent article 10 is composed of a main body 11 and a waist belt 80. The main body 11 is configured by a member disposed closer to the non-skin surface side T2 than the lumbar belt 80. Thus, the main body portion 11 is constituted by a member other than the waist belt 80 among the members constituting the absorbent article 10. In the present embodiment, the main body portion 11 (absorbent article 10) includes an absorbent core 31, a skin-facing sheet 20, a non-skin-facing sheet 25, waist elastic members 45, and fastening tapes 90.

The absorbent core 31 contains absorbent material such as comminuted pulp or superabsorbent polymers (SAP) or mixtures of these. The absorbent core 31 may be covered by a core sheet, not shown. The core sheet may be composed of a paper towel or an SMS nonwoven fabric.

As shown in fig. 2, the skin sheet 20 is positioned on the skin surface side T1 with respect to the absorbent core 31. The skin-facing sheet 20 covers the absorbent core 31 and is disposed over the entire absorbent article 10. The skin panel 20 may include a front panel 21 and a pair of side panels 22. In the absorbent article having the core sheet, the skin-facing sheet 20 is a sheet positioned closer to the skin surface side T1 than the core sheet.

The topsheet 21 may be disposed across the center of the absorbent core 31 in the width direction W. The pair of side sheets 22 may be configured to cover both outer sides of the front sheet 21. The front sheet 21 and the side sheet 22 may be made of a liquid-permeable sheet such as a nonwoven fabric or an apertured plastic film.

The non-skin surface sheet 25 is positioned closer to the non-skin surface side T2 than the absorbent core 31. The non-skin facing sheet 25 covers the absorbent core 31 and is disposed throughout the absorbent article 10 as a whole. The non-skin-facing sheet 25 may include a back sheet 23 and an exterior sheet 24. In the absorbent article having the core sheet, the non-skin surface sheet 25 is a sheet located closer to the non-skin surface side T2 than the core sheet.

The back sheet 23 is a liquid-impermeable sheet, and may be formed by joining a breathable resin film to a polyethylene sheet, a laminated nonwoven fabric mainly composed of polypropylene or the like, a breathable resin film, or a nonwoven fabric such as spunbond or spunlace. The exterior sheet 24 may be provided on the non-skin surface side T2 of the back sheet 23. The outer sheet 24 may be made of a liquid-permeable nonwoven fabric.

The waist elastic member 45 is an elastic member disposed in at least the rear body region S2 and having stretchability in the width direction W. The absorbent article 10 fits around the waist by contraction of the waist elastic member 45 when worn. The waist elastic members 45 may be provided between the side sheet 22 and the back sheet 23 and between the side sheet 22 and the exterior sheet 24. The waist elastic member 45 may be formed of a substantially rectangular stretch panel which stretches in the width direction W. The waist elastic members 45 may be joined between the absorbent core 31 and the non-skin surface sheet 25 or between the skin surface sheet 20 and the non-skin surface sheet 25 in a state of being extended in the width direction W.

The fastening tape 90 is provided in the rear body surrounding region S2. The fastening strip 90 has a base portion 92 and a joining portion 93. At least a portion of the base 92 is joined between the skin surface sheet 20 and the non-skin surface sheet 25 and extends outward in the width direction W from the skin surface sheet 20 and the non-skin surface sheet 25. The coupling portion 93 is provided on the base portion 92 and detachably fixed to a target portion 95 (see fig. 1). The fastening tape 90 extends in the width direction W in the rear body surrounding region S2, and is fixed to the target portion 95 to hold the absorbent article 10 on the body of the wearer. The target portion 95 is disposed in the front surrounding region S1, and is configured to be fixed by the fastening tape 90.

The waist belt 80 is disposed on the skin surface side T1 of the skin sheet 20 (see fig. 2 and 3). The waist belt 80 has stretchability in the width direction W. The waist belt 80 may be disposed in at least one of the front torso-surrounding region S1 and the rear torso-surrounding region S2. In the present embodiment, the waist belt 80 is disposed in the rear body surrounding region S2. The waist belt 80 is joined to the skin sheet 20 (main body portion 11) by an adhesive (joint portion 83). The front end edge of the waist belt 80 may be positioned inward of the front end edge of the absorbent article 10 in the extended state of the absorbent article 10 (see fig. 1), or may overlap the front end edge of the absorbent article 10.

The waist belt 80 may have a plurality of sheet layers 81 and belt elastic members 82, the sheet layers 81 may be configured by overlapping belt continuous bodies 80C (belt sheets) described later in the thickness direction T, and the belt elastic members 82 may be joined to at least one of the sheet layers 81.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of slices 81 are constituted by the 1 st slice 811, the 2 nd slice 812, and the 3 rd slice 813. The plurality of sheet layers 81 are configured from the same tape sheet by folding back the same tape sheet.

The 1 st sheet 811 is disposed on the skin surface side T1 of the plurality of sheets 81. The 2 nd slice layer 812 is disposed between the 1 st slice layer 811 and the 3 rd slice layer 813. The 3 rd sheet layer 813 is disposed on the position closest to the non-skin surface side T2 among the plurality of sheet layers 81. The 1 st sheet layer 811 is disposed outermost on one side in the thickness direction T, and the 3 rd sheet layer 813 is disposed outermost on the other side in the thickness direction T.

The belt elastic member 82 is a member that stretches and contracts in the width direction W. The belt elastic member 82 is formed of a linear or belt-like elastic member. The belt elastic member 82 is fixed to the sheet layer 81 in a state of being extended in the width direction W. Thus, the waist belt 80 has stretchability in the width direction W. In an embodiment, the belt elastic member 82 is fixed to the non-skin surface side T2 of the 3 rd sheet layer 813. In the present embodiment, the belt elastic member 82 is composed of the 1 st to 4 th belt elastic members 821 to 824.

The plurality of sheets 81 are joined by a joining portion 83. Specifically, the 1 st sheet layer 811 is joined to the skin face sheet 20 by the 1 st joining portion 831. In addition, the 1 st sheet layer 811 and the 2 nd sheet layer 812 are joined by a 2 nd joining part 832. The 2 nd sheet layer 812 and the 3 rd sheet layer 813 are joined by a 3 rd joint 833. Thus, the joint 83 may be constituted by a joint (1 st joint 831) that joins the waist band 80 (1 st sheet 811) to the skin-face sheet 20 and a joint 83 (2 nd joint 832 and 3 rd joint 833) that joins the waist bands 80 to each other.

The absorbent article 10 has a joining region BR where the skin-facing sheet 20 (main body portion 11) and the waist belt 80 are joined together. The joining region BR is constituted by the 1 st joining portion 831. The joining region BR has a center joining region CBR and a pair of side joining regions SBR (see a in fig. 5). The center joining region CBR is a region where an adhesive for joining the waist band 80 and the skin sheet 20 is applied to the center of the waist band 80 in the width direction W. The pair of side joining regions SBR are regions to which an adhesive for joining the waist band 80 to the skin surface sheet 20 is applied on both outer sides in the width direction W of the center in the width direction W of the waist band 80. As the adhesive, for example, a Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA) can be used. The center of the waist belt 80 in the width direction W is a region having a predetermined width including the center of the waist belt 80 in the width direction W. The center of the waist belt 80 in the width direction W may be defined by the width of the housing space AS described later. The region outside the housing space AS in the width direction W may be a side joining region SBR.

The absorbent article 10 (waist belt 80) has a belt engagement region BBR where the waist belts 80 are joined to each other. Thus, the tape joining region BBR is a region where adjacent sheet layers 81 of the plurality of sheet layers 81 are joined to each other. In the present embodiment, the tape bonding region BBR includes a 1 st tape bonding region BBR1 in which the 1 st sheet layer 811 and the 2 nd sheet layer 812 are bonded to each other by the 2 nd bonding portion 832, and a 2 nd tape bonding region BBR2 in which the 2 nd sheet layer 812 and the 3 rd sheet layer 813 are bonded to each other by the 3 rd bonding portion 833.

The waist belt 80 has an extensible region STR having extensibility and a non-extensible region NSTR having no extensibility. As shown in fig. 2 and C of fig. 5, in the width direction W, the region where the belt elastic members 82 are disposed is the stretchable region STR, and the region where the belt elastic members 82 are not disposed is the non-stretchable region NSTR. The non-stretchable region NSTR is a region of the waist belt 80 extending inward in the width direction W from the end edge 80E in the width direction W, and is a region not joined to the belt elastic member 82. In addition, since the belt elastic member 82 is engaged with the 3 rd sheet layer 813, the stretchability of the 3 rd sheet layer 813 is higher than that of the 1 st sheet layer 811.

The stretching force of each sheet layer 81 can be measured, for example, by the following method. The length H0 in the width direction W of the effective length portion of the sheet layer 81 in a state where the sheet layer 81 is maximally extended in the front-rear direction L to such an extent that wrinkles generated in the sheet layer 81 are no longer recognizable is measured. Next, the length H1 in the width direction W of the sheet 81 in the natural state is measured. Then, the contraction force of the sheet layer 81 can be calculated from the "contraction force H1/H0".

AS shown in fig. 4, the absorbent article 10 is formed with a space (storage space AS) opening toward the crotch region S3 side. The waist belt 80 has elasticity, and therefore, when the main body portion 11 is separated from the body of the wearer, the portion of the waist belt 80 that is not joined is separated from the skin surface sheet 20. The storage space AS functions AS a pocket for storing excrement that has moved to the waist opening 66 side. This can suppress leakage of excrement from the waist opening 66. The waist opening 66 is a portion that is formed by the rear end edge and the front end edge of the absorbent article 10 and surrounds the waist in a state where the fastening tape 90 is fixed to the target portion 95.

(3) Structure of absorbent article manufacturing apparatus

Next, the structure of the manufacturing apparatus 100 for the absorbent article 10 will be described with reference to fig. 6 to 9. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a manufacturing process of the absorbent article. Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the rotary drum device. Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view showing the rotary drum device.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the holding portion. Fig. 9 a and 9B are schematic diagrams of the holding portion 132 as viewed from the suction surface side. Fig. 9C is a schematic cross-sectional view of the holding portion 132. Fig. 9B shows a state in which the holding portion 132 holds the waist belt 80. Fig. 9C shows a state in which the holding portion 132 holds the belt continuous body 80C.

As shown in fig. 6, the manufacturing apparatus 100 of the absorbent article 10 may have a joining device 110, a folding device 120, a rotating roller device 130, and a cutting device 140.

The engaging device 110 is a device for providing the engaging portion 83. The engaging device 110 may have a 1 st engaging device 111 for providing a 1 st engaging portion 831, a 2 nd engaging device 112 for providing a 2 nd engaging portion 832, and a 3 rd engaging device 113 for providing a 3 rd engaging portion 833.

The bending device 120 is a device for bending the tape continuous body 80C (tape sheet). The bending device 120 may have a 1 st bending device 121 and a 2 nd bending device 122. The rotary drum device 130 includes a rotary drum 131 and a plurality of holding portions 132 in which a plurality of suction holes 135 are formed.

The rotary drum device 130 is a device that conveys the continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80 in the circumferential direction CID by rotating with reference to the rotating shaft 131A. The rotary drum device 130 picks up the belt continuous body 80C at the pick-up point P1 to the holding portion 132, and conveys the belt continuous body 80C along the CID in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum 131 as the rotary drum 131 rotates. The rotary drum device 130 conveys the waist belt 80 obtained by cutting the belt continuous body 80C in the circumferential direction CID, and delivers the waist belt 80 to the main body continuous body 11C described later at the junction point P2.

The rotary drum device 130 rotates the holding portion 132 about a rotation axis 132A along the radial direction RD of the rotary drum 131 to switch the direction of the waist belt 80. The rotary drum 131 may have a rotation mechanism inside the rotary drum 131. Specifically, the rotary drum 131 can rotate the holding portion 132 by 90 degrees by the rotation mechanism while the holding portion 132 is being conveyed to the main body continuous body 11C. In addition, the rotary drum 131 may rotate the holding portion 132 by 90 degrees by the rotation mechanism while the holding portion 132 is conveyed to the pickup point P1.

The holding portion 132 holds the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80. The holding portion 132 is provided on the outer circumference of the rotary drum 131.

The holding portion 132 has an abutment surface 133 that abuts against the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80. The abutment surface 133 may have a central abutment surface 133A and a pair of outer abutment surfaces 133B. The center contact surface 133A is disposed at the center in the conveyance direction MD1 (specifically, the conveyance direction MD1 at the pickup point P1) of the belt continuous body 80C. The outer contact surface 133B is disposed so as to sandwich the center contact surface 133A in the conveyance direction MD1, and has a plurality of suction holes 135 formed therein.

The holding portion 132 has at least two or more suction holes 135. In the present embodiment, 4 suction holes 135 are formed in each outer contact surface 133B, and the holding portion 132 has 8 suction holes 135. The belt continuous body 80C disposed on the holding portion 132 is sucked from the plurality of suction holes 135, whereby the belt continuous body 80C is sucked to the holding portion 132.

The holding portion 132 may have a close-fitting-improving member. The holding portion 132 may have a contact enhancing member, and the contact surface 133 of the holding portion 132 may be subjected to, for example, a concave-convex treatment, a pearskin surface treatment, a coating treatment of teflon (registered trademark), silicon, or the like. The contact surface 133 subjected to the above-described treatment may have a high coefficient of friction by the contact enhancing member, and fine irregularities for hooking fibers (the belt continuous body 80C/the waist belt 80) may be formed on the contact surface 133. By performing the above-described processing on the outer contact surface 133B of the holding portion 132, the friction coefficient of the outer contact surface 133B can be higher than that of the center contact surface 133A.

The pair of outer contact surfaces 133B are inclined toward the rotation shaft 131A of the rotary drum device 130 with respect to the center contact surface 133A, and a corner 136 may be provided between the pair of outer contact surfaces 133B and the center contact surface 133A. The angle θ of the corner 136 (the angle θ formed by the central contact surface 133A and the outer contact surface 133B) is less than 180 degrees when viewed along the direction of the rotation shaft 131A of the rotary drum device 130 (see C in fig. 9).

The cutting device 140 is a device that cuts the continuous belt body 80C. The cutting device 140 may have a cutter knife for cutting the belt continuum 80C.

(4) Method for manufacturing absorbent article

Next, a method for manufacturing an absorbent article will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 11. Fig. 10 is (one of) a schematic view showing a method of manufacturing an absorbent article. Fig. 11 is a schematic view (two) showing a method of manufacturing an absorbent article. Fig. 10 and 11 are schematic views of the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80 as viewed from above in the transverse direction TD. Fig. 6, 10, and 11 show a part of a process for manufacturing the absorbent article 10. In fig. 10 and 11, the cutting line CL cut by the cutting device 140 is shown by a phantom line.

A direction in which a component in the manufacturing process is conveyed is referred to as a conveyance direction MD, a direction intersecting the conveyance direction is referred to as an intersecting direction CD, and a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction MD and the intersecting direction CD is referred to as a transverse direction TD. The direction in which the components of the lumbar belt 80 are conveyed is denoted as the conveyance direction MD1, and the direction in which the components of the main body portion 11 are conveyed is denoted as the conveyance direction MD 2.

In addition, as for a method not described in the present embodiment, an existing method can be used. The following manufacturing method is an example, and the manufacturing method can be performed by other manufacturing methods.

As shown in fig. 6 and 10, the method of manufacturing the absorbent article 10 may include a belt forming process S10, a 1 st conveyance process S20, a cutting process S30, a 2 nd conveyance process S40, and a joining process S50. In the present embodiment, the method of manufacturing the absorbent article 10 includes the coating steps S21, S23, and S25 and the folding steps S22 and S24, which are performed in parallel with the first conveying step S20. The 1 st conveyance step S20 includes a circumferential conveyance step S26.

The belt continuous body 80C is formed in the belt forming process S10. The belt elastic member continuous body 82C and the belt sheet continuous body 81C can be joined to each other while conveying the belt sheet continuous body 81C formed by a continuous sheet, thereby forming the belt continuous body 80C.

In the tape piece continuous body 81C, a 1 st piece portion 811p corresponding to the 1 st piece layer 811, a 2 nd piece portion 812p corresponding to the 2 nd piece layer 812, and a 2 nd piece portion 812p corresponding to the 3 rd piece layer 813 are arranged in the cross direction CD. The 3 rd piece portion 813p is located between the 1 st piece portion 811p and the 2 nd piece portion 812p in the cross direction CD.

The belt elastic member continuous body 82C is disposed on the 3 rd sheet portion 813 p. The belt elastic member continuous body 82C is continuous in the conveyance direction MD1 and is intermittently arranged in the cross direction CD. Thereby, the belt continuous body 80C has stretchability in the conveyance direction MD 1. In the present embodiment, the belt elastic member continuous body 82C extends in the conveyance direction MD1 across the cutting line CL.

In order to join the continuous belt sheet body 81C and the continuous belt elastic member body 82C, an adhesive may be applied to the continuous belt sheet body 81C or the continuous belt elastic member body 82C. The continuous belt elastic member 82C may be coated with an adhesive in the vicinity of the cutting line CL so as not to be joined to the continuous belt sheet 81C (sheet layer 81). Thus, in the cutting step S30, the non-stretching region NSTR can be provided.

The belt sheet may be formed of a nonwoven fabric or a liquid impermeable film. The belt elastic member continuous body 82C may be constituted by a linear or belt-shaped elastic member.

In the 1 st conveying step S20, the continuous body 80C is conveyed. The following steps are performed while conveying the continuous body 80C.

In the coating step S21, the adhesive is applied to the tape continuous body 80C to provide the 2 nd tape bonding region BBR 2. Specifically, the 3 rd joining device 113 may apply the adhesive to the 2 nd sheet portion 812p so that the pair of 3 rd joining portions 833 are provided between the pair of cutting lines CL with a space in the conveyance direction MD 1. The 3 rd bonding device 113 may apply the adhesive in such a manner that the adhesive extends in the cross direction CD. Further, the continuous belt elastic member 82C and the continuous belt sheet 81C may be joined by the applied adhesive.

In the folding step S22, the continuous belt body 80C is folded with a fold line along the conveyance direction MD1 as a base point. Specifically, the 2 nd bending device 122 folds the continuous tape body 80C so that the 2 nd sheet portion 812p is disposed above the 3 rd sheet portion 813 p. Thereby, the 2 nd piece portion 812p overlaps with the 3 rd piece portion 813p in the thickness direction T (the transverse direction TD). Further, the belt elastic member continuous body 82C is sandwiched between the 2 nd piece portion 812p and the 3 rd piece portion 813 p. The 2 nd piece portion 812p and the 3 rd piece portion 813p are joined by an adhesive to provide a 3 rd joint portion 833.

In the coating step S23, the adhesive is applied to the tape continuous body 80C to provide the 1 st tape bonding region BBR 1. Specifically, the 2 nd joining device 112 may apply the adhesive to the 2 nd sheet portion 812p in such a manner that a pair of 2 nd joining portions 832 are provided between a pair of cutting lines CL with a space in the conveyance direction MD 1. The 2 nd bonding device 112 may apply the adhesive in such a manner that the adhesive extends in the cross direction CD.

In the folding step S24, the continuous belt body 80C is folded with a fold line along the conveyance direction MD1 as a base point. Specifically, the 1 st bending device 121 folds the continuous tape body 80C so that the 1 st sheet portion 811p is disposed above the 2 nd sheet portion 812 p. Thereby, the 1 st sheet portion 811p and the 2 nd sheet portion 812p overlap in the transverse direction TD (thickness direction). Further, a 2 nd joining portion 832 is provided by joining the 1 st sheet portion 811p and the 2 nd sheet portion 812p with an adhesive.

In the application step S25, the adhesive is applied to the continuous tape member 80C to provide the bonding region BR. Specifically, in the coating step S25, the center bonding region CBR and the pair of side bonding regions SBR can be provided. The 1 st engaging device 111 may apply an adhesive to the 1 st sheet portion 811p in such a manner that the 1 st engaging portion 831 is provided between the pair of cutting lines CL.

In the circumferential transport step S26, the continuous body 80C is transported along the circumferential CID using the rotating drum device 130.

The rotary roller device 130 picks up the belt continuous body 80C at a pick-up point P1. When the belt continuous body 80C is taken in, the rotary drum device 130 holds the belt continuous body 80C by at least any one of the plurality of holding portions 132 such that each of the side joining regions SBR of the pair of side joining regions SBR overlaps with at least any one of the plurality of suction holes 135 (see fig. 9B and 9C).

As shown in fig. 9C, the continuous belt body 80C includes a plurality of sheet layers 81 formed by overlapping the continuous belt sheet body 81C in the thickness direction T. The belt continuous body 80C may be taken up by the rotary drum device 130 so that the 3 rd sheet layer 813 having a high stretching force out of the 1 st sheet layer 811 disposed outermost on one side in the thickness direction T and the 3 rd sheet layer 813 disposed outermost on the other side in the thickness direction T comes into contact with the holding portion 132.

In addition, the belt continuous body 80C may be taken in by the rotary roller device 130 in such a manner that the belt joining region BBR where adjacent sheets of the plurality of sheets 81 are joined to each other overlaps at least any one of the plurality of suction holes 135. As shown in C of fig. 9, the 1 st tape engagement region BBR1 may overlap the plurality of suction holes 135, or the 2 nd tape engagement region BBR2 may overlap the plurality of suction holes 135.

The rotary drum device 130 picks up the continuous belt body 80C so that the outer contact surface 133B contacts the continuous belt body 80C.

The rotary drum device 130 conveys the belt continuous body 80C along the circumferential direction CID while holding the belt continuous body 80C. As shown in fig. 8, by causing the rotary drum device 130 to convey the belt continuous body 80C along the circumferential direction CID, the belt continuous body 80C straddles the two holding portions 132.

As shown in C of fig. 9, the belt continuum 80C may be conveyed along the circumferential CID in such a manner that the belt continuum 80C straddles the pair of corners 136.

In the cutting step S30, the continuous tape body 80C is cut by the cutting device 140. Specifically, as shown in fig. 8, the cutting device 140 cuts the continuous belt body 80C that spans at least two holding portions 132. The waist belt 80 is obtained by cutting the belt continuous body 80C.

Further, the cutting device 140 may cut the continuous belt body 80C after the continuous belt body 80C crosses over the 3 holding portions 132. The cutting device 140 may wind the continuous belt body 80C around the rotary drum device 130 at a predetermined angle α (e.g., 90 degrees) or more and then cut the continuous belt body 80C. Here, a straight line connecting the rotation shaft 131A and the front end of the belt continuum 80C is referred to as a 1 st straight line, and a straight line connecting the rotation shaft 131A and the rear end of the portion of the belt continuum 80C wound around the rotary drum device 130 is referred to as a 2 nd straight line. As shown in fig. 8, the predetermined angle α can be defined by an angle formed by the 1 st line and the 2 nd line.

The cutting device 140 may cut the continuous belt body 80C in the cross direction CD, thereby cutting the continuous belt elastic member body 82C. Thus, the belt elastic members 82 (belt elastic member continuous body 82C) which are not joined to the belt sheet continuous body 81C (sheet layer 81) can be contracted to provide the non-stretchable region NSTR. Specifically, in a region from the end edge 80E of the waist belt 80 in the width direction W (the front end edge of the belt elastic member continuous body 80C) to a portion joined to the belt elastic member 82 (the belt elastic member continuous body 82C), the stretching force of the belt elastic member 82 (the belt elastic member continuous body 82C) is not applied to the sheet layer 81 any more, and the non-stretching region NSTR can be provided.

In the 2 nd conveying step S40, the waist belt 80 is conveyed to the main body continuous body 11C. Specifically, the waist belt 80 is conveyed to the main body continuous body 11C while maintaining a state in which each of the side joining regions SBR of the pair of side joining regions SBR overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes 135.

The lumbar belt 80 can be conveyed in a state where the non-stretch region NSTR overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes 135.

The rotary drum device 130 may rotate the holding portion 132 by 90 degrees around a rotation axis 132A along a radial direction RD of the rotary drum device 130 up to a junction point P2 (see fig. 11) of the lumbar belt 80.

In the joining step S50, the waist belt 80 is joined to the main body continuous body 11C via the adhesive at a joining point P2 where the waist belt 80 is joined to the main body continuous body 11C. Specifically, the rotary drum device 130 joins the waist belt 80 to the sheet continuous body (skin-side sheet 20) of the main body continuous body 11C at the joining point P2 via the 1 st joining portion 831 (adhesive).

The main body continuous body 11C includes a sheet continuous body in which sheets constituting the skin surface sheet 20 are continuous. The main body 11 may be continuous in the front-rear direction L to form a main body continuous body 11C. The absorbent article 10 can be obtained by processing the main body continuous body 11C joined to the waist belt 80 by cutting or the like.

As described above, in the method of manufacturing the absorbent article 10, the air permeability of the side joining region SBR is reduced by the adhesive, and therefore, a portion of the belt continuous body 80C that does not overlap the joining region BR (hereinafter referred to as a non-joined overlapped portion) is more likely to be absorbed than a portion of the belt continuous body 80C that overlaps the side joining region SBR (joined overlapped portion 85 in fig. 2). Therefore, by holding the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80 so that each of the side joining regions SBR of the pair of side joining regions SBR overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes 135, the pair of joined overlapped portions 85 can be strongly sucked. Thereby, the pair of the engaging overlapped portions is hard to move, and the pair of the engaging overlapped portions 85 can be fixed. Since the pair of engaging superimposed portions 85 are also required to be shrunk together due to the partial shrinkage between the pair of engaging superimposed portions 85, the partial shrinkage between the pair of engaging superimposed portions 85 can also be suppressed by fixing the pair of engaging superimposed portions 85. Therefore, although the belt continuum 80C and the waist belt 80 have stretchability, in the 1 st conveying step S20 and the 2 nd conveying step S40, the contraction of the belt continuum and the waist belt can be suppressed, and the waist belt can be bonded to the skin panel 20 (main body continuum 11C) as desired.

Further, the belt continuum 80C is conveyed along the circumferential CID until it straddles over at least two holding portions 132, and therefore the portion of the belt continuum 80C extending along the circumferential CID receives a force in the direction toward the rotation center (the rotation shaft 131A) of the rotating drum device 130. Therefore, the belt continuum 80C conveyed by the CID in the circumferential direction is pressed against the holding portion 132, and a strong frictional force acts between the portion of the belt continuum 80C extending by the CID in the circumferential direction and the holding portion 132, thereby further suppressing shrinkage of the belt continuum 80C. This enables the belt continuous body 80C to be cut in a state where the belt continuous body 80C is firmly fixed to the holding portion 132, and thus, the holding position of the waist belt 80 can be prevented from shifting with cutting.

Since the waist band 80 is conveyed to the main body continuous body 11C while maintaining the state in which each of the side joining regions SBR of the pair of side joining regions SBR overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes 135, the waist band 80 can be joined to the skin surface sheet 20 while keeping the waist band 80 firmly held. This enables the waist band 80 to be joined to the skin panel 20 as desired.

Further, since the belt continuous body 80C is sucked more strongly as it approaches the holding portion 132, the belt continuous body 80C can be conveyed while being sucked strongly by taking the belt continuous body 80C by the rotary drum device 130 so that the holding portion 132 is brought into contact with the easily shrinkable sheet layer which is the 3 rd sheet layer 813 having a high stretching force out of the 1 st sheet layer 811 and the 3 rd sheet layer 813 disposed outermost in the thickness direction T. This can suppress the contraction of the belt continuous body 80C during conveyance.

Further, since the air permeability of the tape bonding region BBR is reduced, a portion not overlapping the tape bonding region BBR can be strongly sucked compared to a portion overlapping the tape bonding region BBR. Therefore, the belt continuum 80C and the waist belt 80 can be further firmly held by overlapping the suction holes 135 with the belt engagement region BBR (the 1 st belt engagement region BBR1 and the 2 nd belt engagement region BBR 2).

In the above-described manufacturing method, the arrangement direction of the waist belt 80 can be rotated by 90 degrees until the waist belt 80 is transferred to the main body continuous body 11C. Therefore, in the arrangement of the apparatus, even if the arrangement direction of the manufactured waist belt deviates from the desired arrangement by 90 degrees, the conveyance direction MD1 of the belt continuous body 80C and the conveyance direction MD2 of the main body continuous body 11C overlap in the transverse direction TD. Thus, the configuration of the apparatus can be made compact.

In the non-stretch region NSTR, since contraction due to the belt elastic member 82 (belt elastic member continuous body 82C) does not occur, it is difficult to form wrinkles at the end portions of the waist belt 80. Therefore, in the above-described manufacturing method, since the waist belt 80 is conveyed in a state where the non-stretchable region NSTR overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes 135, the waist belt 80 can be maintained in a state of being close to the suction holes over the entire surface of the end portion (non-stretchable region NSTR) of the waist belt 80, and the waist belt 80 can be easily and strongly sucked. This can suppress contraction of the waist band 80, and can join the waist band 80 to the skin surface sheet 20 (main body continuous body 11C) as desired.

Further, the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80 are less likely to contract due to friction than the center contact surface 133A at the outer contact surface 133B. Therefore, the rotary drum device 130 can further fix the pair of joint overlapped portions 85 by picking up the belt continuous body 80C so that the outer contact surface 133B contacts the belt continuous body 80C. This allows the belt continuous body 80C and the waist belt 80 to be further firmly held, and the waist belt can be bonded to the skin surface sheet 20 (main body continuous body 11C) as desired.

Further, the belt continuous body 80C is strongly held by the suction holes 135 at the pair of outer abutment surfaces 133B, and the belt continuous body 80C straddles each corner 136 of the pair of corners 136, and is strongly pressed against the holding portion 132 at the corner 136. As a result, a strong frictional force acts between the belt continuous body 80C and the corner 136 (the holding portion 132), and the contraction of the belt continuous body 80C is further suppressed. Thereby, the belt continuous body 80C is firmly fixed to the holding portion 132.

(5) Other embodiments

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the present specification. The present invention can be implemented in modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the claims. Therefore, the description in the present specification is for the purpose of illustration and description, and does not have any restrictive meaning to the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the waist belt 80 is disposed in the rear body surrounding region S2, but the present invention is not limited to this. The waist belt 80 may be disposed in the front waistline region S1, or may be disposed in both the front waistline region S1 and the rear waistline region S2.

In the absorbent article 10 described above, the waist belt 80 is constituted by a plurality of sheets 81, but may be constituted by 1 sheet 81. In this case, the coating steps S21 and S23 and the folding steps S22 and S24 are not performed. The application step S25 is performed to join the waist belt 80 to the main body continuous body 11C.

In the above-described manufacturing method, the waist belt 80 is bonded to each other with an adhesive, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The joining of the waist belt 80 may be performed by welding such as sonic sealing, heat sealing, or the like. In this case, the step of welding the waist bands 80 (the sheet layers 81) may be performed after the folding steps S22 and S24 instead of the coating steps S21 and S23.

In the above-described manufacturing method, the non-stretch region NSTR is provided in the vicinity of the cutting line CL without joining the belt elastic member 82 (belt elastic member continuous body 82C) to the belt sheet continuous body 81C, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The belt elastic member 82 (belt elastic member continuous body 82C) may be joined from the end edge 80E of the waist belt 80. In this case, in order to reduce the contraction force in the region overlapping the suction hole 135, the belt elastic member 82 (belt elastic member continuous body 82C) may be cut at predetermined intervals in a predetermined region of the waist belt 80 extending inward in the width direction W from the end edge 80E. The predetermined region is, for example, a region from the end edge 80E of the waist band 80 to the inner end in the width direction W of the side joining region SBR. Thereby, in the predetermined region overlapping the suction hole 135, the contraction force of the belt elastic member 82 is reduced, and therefore the waist belt 80 (belt continuous body 80C) is easily and strongly sucked. Therefore, in the circumferential conveying step S26 and the 2 nd conveying step S40, the waist belt 80 (belt continuous body 80C) can be firmly fixed to the holding portion 132. As a result, the waist band 80 can be bonded to the skin surface sheet 20 (main body continuous body 11C) as desired without wrinkles or twisting.

In the above-described embodiment, the absorbent article 10 is a tape-type disposable diaper, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The absorbent article 10 may be a pants-type disposable diaper.

The structures of the methods of manufacturing the absorbent article 10 according to the above-described embodiment and the other embodiments can be combined as appropriate.

In addition, the entire contents of japanese patent application No. 2019-074171, filed 2019, 4, 9 are incorporated by reference in this specification.

Description of the reference numerals

10. An absorbent article; 11C, a body continuum; 20. a skin patch; 80. a waist belt; 80C, belt continuum; 81. a sheet layer; 81C, a belt sheet continuum; 130. a rotating drum device; 132. a holding section; 133. an abutting surface; 133A, a central abutment surface; 133B, an outer abutment surface; 135. a suction hole; BBR, tape junction area; BR, a bonding region; CID and circumferential direction; MD, conveying direction; NSTR, non-stretch region; p2, junction; RD, radial; SBR, side bonding region; STR, stretch region; t, the thickness direction; t1, skin surface side; w, width direction.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an absorbent article, wherein,

the absorbent article has a front-back direction, a width direction, a skin panel, a waist band, and a pair of side joint regions,

the width direction is orthogonal to the front-rear direction,

the waist belt is disposed on the skin surface side of the skin surface sheet and has stretchability in the width direction,

the pair of side joining regions have an adhesive disposed on both outer sides of the waist band in the width direction with respect to the center in the width direction to join the waist band and the skin surface sheet,

the method for manufacturing the absorbent article comprises the following steps:

a continuous belt body having stretchability, the continuous belt body including a continuous belt sheet body formed by continuously connecting belt sheets constituting the waist belt;

applying the adhesive to the continuous band to provide the pair of side joint regions;

cutting the continuous tape body coated with the adhesive;

conveying the waist belt obtained by cutting the belt continuous body to a main body continuous body including a sheet continuous body in which sheets constituting the skin surface sheet are continuous; and

joining the waist belt to the main body continuous body with the adhesive when the waist belt is transferred to the main body continuous body,

the step of conveying the belt continuous body includes a step of conveying the belt continuous body in a circumferential direction while holding the belt continuous body by at least any one of the plurality of holding portions so that each of the side joining regions of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least any one of the plurality of suction holes, using a rotating drum device having a plurality of holding portions in which a plurality of suction holes are formed,

cutting the continuous belt body that has been conveyed in the circumferential direction so as to straddle at least two of the plurality of holding portions in the step of cutting the continuous belt body,

in the step of conveying the waist belt, the waist belt is conveyed to the main body continuous body while maintaining a state in which each of the pair of side joining regions overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

2. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to claim 1,

the belt continuous body has a plurality of sheet layers configured by overlapping the belt sheet continuous body in a thickness direction,

in the step of conveying the belt continuous body, the belt continuous body is taken up by the rotary drum device such that a sheet layer having a high stretching force, out of the sheet layer disposed outermost on one side in the thickness direction and the sheet layer disposed outermost on the other side in the thickness direction, is in contact with the holding portion.

3. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

in the step of conveying the belt continuous body, the belt continuous body is taken up by the rotary roller device so that a belt joining region where adjacent sheet layers are joined to each other among the plurality of sheet layers overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

4. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein,

in the step of conveying the waist belt, the holding portion is rotated by 90 degrees around a rotation axis along a radial direction of the rotary drum device up to a junction point of the waist belt.

5. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the waist belt has a non-stretchable region which is a region of the waist belt extending inward in the width direction from an end edge in the width direction and is not joined to the elastic member having stretchability,

in the step of conveying the waist belt, the waist belt is conveyed in a state where the non-stretchable region overlaps at least one of the plurality of suction holes.

6. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the holding portion has an abutment surface that abuts the belt continuous body,

the contact surface has a central contact surface and an outer contact surface,

the central contact surface is disposed at the center in the conveying direction of the belt continuous body,

the outer contact surface is disposed so as to sandwich the central contact surface in the transport direction, and has the plurality of suction holes formed therein,

the outer contact surface has a higher coefficient of friction than the center contact surface,

in the step of conveying the belt continuous body, the belt continuous body is taken up by the rotary drum device so that the outer contact surface is in contact with the belt continuous body.

7. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the contact surface has a central contact surface and a pair of outer contact surfaces,

the pair of outer abutment surfaces are arranged so as to sandwich the central abutment surface in the transport direction, and the plurality of suction holes are formed,

the pair of outer abutment surfaces are inclined toward the rotation axis of the rotary drum device with respect to the center abutment surface, so that a pair of corner portions are provided between the pair of outer abutment surfaces and the center abutment surface,

in the step of conveying the belt continuous body in the circumferential direction, the belt continuous body is conveyed in the circumferential direction so as to straddle each of the pair of corner portions.