CN116249506A

CN116249506A - Pants-type absorbent article and method for producing same

Info

Publication number: CN116249506A
Application number: CN202180064514.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 飞田隆广; 小林贤司; 塚本祐贵
Original assignee: Kao Corp
Current assignee: Kao Corp
Priority date: 2020-12-07
Filing date: 2021-11-30
Publication date: 2023-06-09
Also published as: WO2022124145A1; JP7075469B1; JP2022090542A

Abstract

At least a part of an opening edge part (LA) along a leg opening part (LH) of a pants-type absorbent article (1) is constituted by an outer body (10) having a laminate part (70), and the laminate part (70) includes a first stretchable sheet (11), a second non-stretchable sheet (12), and a third non-stretchable sheet (13). The first sheet (11) is joined to the second sheet (12) in an elongated state, and the third sheet (13) is joined to either the first sheet (11) or the second sheet (12) in an elongated state of the first sheet (11). The laminated portion (70) in the opening edge portion (LA) is formed in a shape that is warped and folded back toward the non-skin-facing surface side with the opening end (LS) of the leg opening portion (LH) as a free end.

Description

Pants-type absorbent article and method for producing same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pants-type absorbent article and a method for manufacturing the same.

Background

The pants-type absorbent article generally includes an absorbent main body having an absorbent core, and an outer body joined to the absorbent main body, and has a pants-type form including a waist opening and a pair of leg openings. The outer body of the pants-type absorbent article has an elastic member for imparting stretchability to the outer body, and the elastic member is composed of a laminate of a plurality of sheets for holding and fixing. For example, patent document 1 describes a pants-type absorbent article having an outer case made up of three sheets. The outer package of the absorbent article is configured to have a first sheet member and a second sheet member welded to each other at intervals by a plurality of welded portions; and a step of disposing an elastic member between a surface of the second sheet member opposite to the first sheet member and the third sheet member, and bonding the second sheet member and the third sheet member to each other with an adhesive. By this manufacturing method, a laminated portion is formed in the exterior body by laminating the first sheet member, the second sheet member, and the third sheet member in this order from the skin side to the non-skin side in the thickness direction of the exterior body. This document describes that the pants-type absorbent article having such a structure can realize reinforcement of the outer body that is soft and does not break the elastic member.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: european patent application publication No. 03560464 specification

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from the abdomen side of a wearer to the back side via a crotch portion and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the pants-type absorbent article being divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch portion, an abdomen side portion disposed closer to the abdomen side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and a back side portion disposed closer to the back side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and having an absorbent main body including an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining body fluid, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent main body, wherein a pair of side seal portions, a waist opening portion, and a pair of leg opening portions are formed by joining together both side portions of the outer body in the abdomen side portion and the back side portion along the longitudinal direction.

Preferably, the outer case includes a lamination portion including a stretchable first sheet, a non-stretchable second sheet, and a non-stretchable third sheet along at least a part of an opening edge portion of the leg opening portion.

Preferably, the first panel is joined to the second panel in the extended state and the third panel is joined to either the first panel or the second panel in the extended state of the first panel.

Preferably, the laminated portion in the opening edge portion is formed in a shape that the opening end of the leg opening portion is folded back to the non-skin-facing surface side with the free end.

The present invention also relates to a method for producing a pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from the abdomen side of a wearer to the back side via a crotch portion and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the pants-type absorbent article being divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch portion, an abdomen side portion disposed closer to the abdomen side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and a back side portion disposed closer to the back side of the wearer than the crotch portion, the pants-type absorbent article comprising an absorbent main body having an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining body fluid, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent main body, wherein the abdomen side portion and the back side portion are joined to each other at both side portions of the outer body along the longitudinal direction to form a pair of side seals, a waist opening, and a pair of leg openings.

Preferably, the laminate manufacturing step includes a step of joining a first stretchable material to a second non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction while being transported in one direction in an elongated state, and a step of joining a third non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction to the first material or the second material while maintaining the elongated state of the first material, thereby manufacturing a laminate of the outer case having a laminated portion formed by laminating the three materials.

Preferably, the method further includes an absorbent body placement step of placing the absorbent bodies at intervals along the transport direction on one surface of the laminate sheet of the outer package transported in one direction while maintaining the stretched state of the first material.

Preferably, the method further includes a laminate cutting step of cutting the laminate sheet of the outer cover at a predetermined cutting portion in a shape corresponding to the shape of the leg opening in a region between the absorbent bodies adjacent to each other in the transport direction.

Preferably, in the laminate cutting step, the laminate of the outer package is cut so that at least the lamination portion exists in the planned cutting portion.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a pants-type diaper according to an embodiment of the pants-type absorbent article of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a developed plan view schematically showing a skin-facing surface (the side on which the absorbent body is disposed) in the developed and extended state of the diaper shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the diaper shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partially cut-away perspective view schematically showing an example of the first sheet of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the diaper shown in figure 1 taken along the line V-V.

Fig. 6 (a) and (b) are schematic views showing an arrangement pattern of a joining portion for joining a first sheet and a second sheet constituting an outer body in the pants-type diaper shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing a process for manufacturing the diaper shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part of the laminated sheet manufacturing process in the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part of the laminate cutting step in the manufacturing step shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the shape of a planned cutting portion in the laminate cutting step in the manufacturing step shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view showing a process subsequent to the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of a main part of another embodiment of the laminated sheet manufacturing process in the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7 (corresponding to fig. 8).

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of a main part (corresponding to fig. 8) showing still another embodiment of the laminated sheet manufacturing process in the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of a main part (corresponding to fig. 8) of still another embodiment of the laminated sheet manufacturing process in the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7.

Detailed Description

In the case of producing a pants-type absorbent article according to the method described in patent document 1, there is a possibility that the outer body itself becomes soft, but there is room for improvement in the fit between the leg openings and the body of the wearer of the pants-type absorbent article. The reason for this is that the fit between the leg opening and the wearer's body is mainly achieved by contraction of the threadlike elastic member disposed along the leg opening, but there is a limit to improvement in fit due to such a method.

In addition, in the case of manufacturing a pants-type absorbent article according to the method described in patent document 1, it is difficult to prevent the occurrence of uncomfortable feeling caused by the contact of the end edge of the outer body, for example, the end edge of the leg opening portion, with the skin of the wearer. This is because, in the production method of the pants-type diaper, the leg opening is usually formed by cutting the laminate sheet of the outer cover, and the cut portion is left intact, and no special treatment is applied to the portion to reduce the uncomfortable feeling when the portion is in contact with the skin of the wearer.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a pants-type absorbent article and a method for manufacturing the same, which can eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings below, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are basically schematic representations, and there are cases where the ratio of the dimensions and the like are different from the actual ratio.

The pants-type absorbent article of the present invention has a longitudinal direction (direction indicated by reference numeral "X" in the figure) corresponding to the front-back direction of the wearer, that is, the direction extending from the abdomen side to the back side through the crotch, and a transverse direction (direction indicated by reference numeral "Y" in the figure) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the longitudinal direction is a direction along the longitudinal direction of the pant-type absorbent article or the longitudinal direction of its constituent members (e.g., absorbent body), and the transverse direction is a direction along the transverse direction of the pant-type absorbent article or the transverse direction of its constituent members.

The pants-type absorbent article of the present invention is divided into: a crotch portion (a portion indicated by "B" in the drawing) disposed in the crotch of the wearer and including a excretory portion facing portion (not shown) facing the excretory portion of the wearer such as the penis; a side portion (a portion denoted by reference numeral "a") of the abdomen (front side) of the wearer located closer to the crotch; and 3 parts which are arranged closer to the back side (rear side) of the wearer than the crotch part (part denoted by reference character "C" in the figure).

A pants-type absorbent article of the present invention comprises: an absorbent main body (a member denoted by reference numeral "2" in the figure) including an absorbent core (not shown) that absorbs and retains body fluid; and an outer body (member denoted by reference numeral 10 in the figure) disposed on the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent main body, wherein the abdomen-side portion and the back-side portion are joined to each other along both side portions (portion denoted by reference numeral 10S in the figure) of the outer body in the longitudinal direction to form a pair of side seal portions (portion denoted by reference numeral S in the figure), a waist-opening portion (portion denoted by reference numeral WH in the figure), and a pair of leg-opening portions (portion denoted by reference numeral LH in the figure).

Fig. 1 to 3 show a pants-type diaper 1 as an embodiment of the pants-type absorbent article of the present invention, and the diaper 1 has the above-described structure.

In the present specification, the "skin-facing surface" refers to a surface of the absorbent article or a component thereof (e.g., the absorbent body) that faces the skin side of the wearer when the absorbent article is worn, that is, a surface that is relatively close to the skin of the wearer, and the "non-skin-facing surface" refers to a surface of the absorbent article or a component thereof that faces the opposite side of the skin side when the absorbent article is worn, that is, a surface that is relatively far from the skin of the wearer. The term "during wearing" as used herein refers to a state in which a normal proper wearing position, that is, a correct wearing position of the absorbent article is maintained.

The abdomen-side portion a is a part of the front body portion F of the diaper 1, and the back-side portion C is a part of the back body portion R of the diaper 1. The crotch portion B is present in a region from the front body F to the rear body R across the longitudinal center line CLx in the longitudinal direction X. The longitudinal centerline CLx is an imaginary straight line extending in the transverse direction Y bisecting the diaper 1 in the developed and elongated state shown in fig. 2 in the longitudinal direction X. The term "developed and extended state" as used herein refers to a state in which the diaper 1 is cut at the side seal S to form a developed state, and the diaper 1 in the developed state is extended to a state in which the elastic members of each portion are extended to a designed size (the same size as when the elastic members are extended to a planar shape in a state in which the influence of all the elastic members is removed).

The abdomen-side portion a and the back-side portion C are typically portions located at the same positions as the side seal S in the longitudinal direction X, and are waist portions that are disposed on the waist of the wearer when the diaper 1 is worn. The crotch portion B is typically a part of both side portions 10S of the outer body 10 along the longitudinal direction X, and includes regions in which open ends LS, LS serving as notches for forming the leg openings LH, LH are formed.

In the present invention, the abdomen-side portion a, the crotch portion B and the back-side portion C may be regions in which the diaper 1 in the developed and elongated state is trisected in the longitudinal direction X.

In the present embodiment, the absorbent main body 2 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and is disposed in the central portion of the outer body 10 in the lateral direction Y so that its longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction X of the diaper 1, and extends from the abdomen side portion a to the back side portion C in the longitudinal direction X. The contour of the absorbent body 2 in plan view substantially matches the contour of the absorber 5, more specifically, the contour of a core-in-package (not shown) forming the outer surface of the absorber in plan view. The absorbent body 2 and the outer body 10 are joined by an adhesive.

The absorbent main body 2 includes a liquid-permeable front sheet 3 disposed in a position relatively close to the skin of the wearer, a liquid-impermeable or water-repellent (in other words, leak-proof) back sheet (not shown) disposed in a position relatively far from the skin of the wearer, and an absorber 5 disposed between the two sheets.

The absorbent body 5 includes an absorbent core (not shown) capable of absorbing and retaining body fluid, and a core wrap (not shown) covering the outer surface of the absorbent core including the skin-facing surface and the non-skin-facing surface.

These members constituting the absorbent main body 2 are integrally formed with each other by a known joining method such as an adhesive.

As the above-described members constituting the absorbent main body 2, members commonly used in such an absorbent article can be used without particular limitation. For example, various nonwoven fabrics, apertured films, and the like can be used as the front sheet 3, and a resin film, a laminate of a resin film and a nonwoven fabric, and the like can be used as the back sheet. The absorbent core is typically composed mainly of a water-absorbent material, and the water-absorbent material contains 1 or more kinds of fibrous materials such as wood pulp and water-absorbent polymers. The core sheet has liquid permeability and is typically formed of paper, nonwoven fabric, or the like.

In the present embodiment, the outer body 10 is disposed over a side portion a of the waist portion as the front body F, a side portion C of the waist portion as the rear body R, and a crotch portion B sandwiched between the side portion a and the side portion C, as shown in fig. 2. In the developed and extended state of the diaper 1 shown in fig. 2, the outer body 10 has a rectangular shape in which both end regions in the longitudinal direction X constituting the abdomen side portion a and the back side portion C have a length in the transverse direction Y longer than the longitudinal direction X, and in the central region in the longitudinal direction X constituting the crotch portion B, a pair of open ends LS, LS which are part of the outer body 10 along both

side portions

10S, 10S in the longitudinal direction X are curved in an arc shape protruding toward the center in the transverse direction Y, and the outer body 10 as a whole has an hourglass shape.

In the present embodiment, a waist gather is formed at an end portion in the longitudinal direction X of each of the abdominal portion a and the back portion C, that is, at a waist end portion. The waist gather is constituted by an outer body 10 and a plurality of waist gather forming elastic members 7 fixed to the outer body 10. The plurality of elastic members 7 extend in the lateral direction Y, respectively, and are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction X. The waist gather is produced by disposing and fixing the elastic member 7 in a state of being stretched in the lateral direction Y at a portion where two layers of the second sheet 12 are overlapped, which is formed by folding over an extension portion 12E of the second sheet 12, which will be described later, constituting the outer body 10, and then releasing the elastic member 7 from the stretched state. By contraction of the elastic members 7, the substantially continuous annular waist gather is formed over the entire circumference of the diaper 1.

In the present embodiment, leg gathers are formed along the opening ends LS of the pair of leg openings LH, respectively. The leg gathers are composed of an outer body 10 and leg gather forming elastic members 8 fixed to the outer body 10. The elastic member 8 is disposed only on the front body F of the diaper 1. Specifically, the elastic member 8 is disposed so as to straddle the abdomen portion a and the crotch portion B of the front body F. The leg gathers are produced by fixing the elastic member 8 in an extended state between a second sheet 12 and a third sheet 13, which will be described later, constituting the outer body 10, and then releasing the elastic member 8 from the extended state. The leg gathers are formed in the region of the front body F in the opening edge portion of the leg opening portion LH by contraction of the elastic member 8. The number of the elastic members 8 may be 1 or more.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a pair of

leakage preventing cuffs

6, 6 that stand up toward the skin of the wearer when the diaper 1 is worn are disposed on both side portions of the absorbent main body 2 in the longitudinal direction X. Each of the leakage preventing cuffs 6 includes a leakage preventing cuff forming sheet 60 constituting a main body of the leakage preventing cuff 6, and an elastic member 61 fixed to the sheet 60 in an elongated state in the longitudinal direction X. The elastic member 61 is disposed at the free end of the leakage preventing cuff forming sheet 60.

In the leakage preventing cuff 6 configured as described above, the leakage preventing cuff 6 is raised toward the skin side of the wearer by the contraction force of the elastic member 61 when the diaper 1 is worn. By the leakage preventing cuff 6 standing up at the time of wearing the diaper 1 in this way, leakage of body fluid such as urine excreted by the wearer to the outside in the lateral direction Y, so-called side leakage, due to diffusion of the body fluid in the front sheet 3 can be effectively prevented.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the leakage preventing cuffs 6 are disposed continuously along the side portions of the absorbent body 2 in the longitudinal direction X over substantially the entire length of the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent body 2, and the length of the leakage preventing cuffs 6 (leakage preventing cuff forming sheet 60) in the longitudinal direction X is substantially equal to the length of the absorbent body 2 in the longitudinal direction X.

As the leakage-preventing cuff forming sheet 60, a material used as a material of the leakage-preventing cuff in such an absorbent article is not particularly limited, and a material having liquid repellency or water repellency and air permeability is preferable, and for example, a single-layer or multi-layer water repellent nonwoven fabric, a laminate of a resin film and a nonwoven fabric, or the like can be used.

As the material of the various elastic members in the diaper 1 represented by the elastic member 61 and the

elastic members

7 and 8, various known elastic materials commonly used in such an absorbent article can be used without particular limitation unless otherwise specified, and examples thereof include synthetic rubbers such as styrene-butadiene, isoprene and chloroprene, natural rubber, EVA, stretchable polyolefin and polyurethane. As the form of the elastic member, a thread-like (filament rubber or the like) or a band-like (rubber strip or the like) elastic member having a rectangular, square, circular, polygonal shape or the like in cross section, a multifilament-like elastic member or the like can be preferably used.

The outer body 10 includes a first sheet 11 disposed on a side relatively far from the skin (or the absorber 5) of the wearer, and a second sheet 12 disposed on a side relatively near to the skin (or the absorber 5) of the wearer. The two

sheets

11, 12 are joined to each other via various joining means to be integrated. The first sheet 11 constitutes the outermost surface of the outer body 10 on the abdomen side portion a and the back side portion C of the diaper 1. The first sheet 11 is not disposed in the crotch portion B in a range spaced apart from the center (longitudinal center line CLx) of the diaper 1 in the longitudinal direction X by a predetermined distance, and only the second sheet 12 is disposed as a constituent member of the outer body 10. In the portion of the outer body where only the second sheet 12 is disposed, the second sheet 12 can form the outer surface of the diaper 1.

As shown in fig. 3, the second sheet 12 is formed of 1 continuous sheet, whereas the first sheet 11 is formed of a plurality of sheets each independently provided, specifically, a ventral first sheet 110 forming a ventral portion a (more specifically, a region sandwiched by a pair of side seals S, S of the ventral portion a), and a dorsal first sheet 111 forming a dorsal portion C (more specifically, a region sandwiched by a pair of side seals S, S of the dorsal portion C). The first abdominal side sheet 110 and the first back side sheet 111 extend from the abdominal side portion a or the back side portion C to the crotch portion B, respectively.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the first abdominal side sheet 110, the first back side sheet 111, and the second sheet 12 have

extension portions

11E and 12E extending outward from the end portions of the elastic member 7 in the longitudinal direction X. The extending

portions

11E and 12E are folded toward the elastic member 7 to cover the end portions of the absorbent main body 2 in the longitudinal direction X. The extending

portions

11E and 12E folded toward the elastic member 7 are bonded to other members (the second sheet 12, the absorbent main body 2, the leakage preventing cuff forming sheet 60, and the elastic member 7) opposing the extending

portions

11E and 12E by an adhesive. The length (length in the X direction) of the extension portion 12E of the second sheet 12 is longer than the length (length in the X direction) of the extension portion 11E of each of the abdominal side first sheet 110 and the back side first sheet 111.

The following description of the first sheet 11 is applicable to both the abdominal side first sheet 110 and the back side first sheet 111 unless otherwise specified.

The outer case 10 has a third sheet 13 in addition to the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12. The third sheet 13 is present across the entire region of the front body F in the lateral direction Y of the outer body 10 so as to straddle the abdomen-side portion a and the crotch portion B. In the exterior body 10, the third piece 13 constitutes the innermost surface of the exterior body 10 at the portion where the third piece is arranged.

The entire area of the third sheet 13 overlaps the second sheet 12 when the package 10 is viewed in plan. In addition, the entire area of the third sheet 13 overlaps the entire area of the first sheet 11 or overlaps a portion of the first sheet 11, or a portion of the third sheet overlaps the entire area of the first sheet 11, or overlaps a portion of the first sheet 11.

The first sheet 11 has stretchability in the transverse direction Y. In the present embodiment, the first sheet 11 includes an stretchable sheet having stretchability in the lateral direction Y, and the abdomen-side first sheet 110 and the back-side first sheet 111 are each the stretchable sheet. The first sheet 11 may include a sheet other than the stretchable sheet (for example, a non-stretchable sheet) having stretchability in the transverse direction Y, on the premise that the stretchable sheet has stretchability in the transverse direction Y.

In the present invention, "having stretchability in the transverse direction" means specifically that the maximum elongation in the transverse direction Y of the sheet (for example, the first sheet 11) is preferably 50% or more.

The "maximum elongation" as referred to herein is the elongation when the object to be measured (for example, the first sheet 11) is elongated to a length that is not stretchable (i.e., a length immediately before breaking of the material occurs), and is obtained by the following expression (1).

Maximum elongation (%) = { (length after elongation-length before elongation)/length before elongation } ×100 … (1)

The measurement of the maximum elongation can be performed by the following procedure. In a natural state (contracted state of the elastic member) of the measurement object of the absorbent article, marks with a distance of 50mm are marked in the Y direction, and the distance between the marks is measured as "length before extension". Next, the object to be measured is stretched in the stretching direction until immediately before the object to be measured breaks the material, and the interval between the marks in such stretched state is measured as "length after stretching". Then, the maximum elongation is calculated by substituting these measured values into the above formula (1). In addition, a measurement object may be cut out from the absorbent article as a measurement sample for measurement.

As the stretchable sheet constituting the first sheet 11, for example, (1) stretchable nonwoven fabric in which stretchable fiber layers are integrated with both sides or one side of an elastic fiber layer, (2) stretchable nonwoven fabric in which stretchable fiber layers are integrated with both sides or one side of a mesh-like elastic sheet, (3) stretchable nonwoven fabric in which stretchable fiber layers are integrated with both sides or one side of an elastic sheet formed of an elastic film, (4) stretchable nonwoven fabric in which a large number of elastic filaments arranged so as not to extend in one direction across each other are integrated with stretchable fiber layers, and the like can be used.

The term "extensible fiber layer" as used herein includes not only a fiber layer that can be extended before being integrated with an elastic material, but also a fiber layer that can be extended by machining or the like after being integrated with an elastic material.

As a method of integrating the elastic fiber layer and the stretchable fiber layer, for example, a method of laminating them and interlacing fibers by a hydroentanglement method, an air flow method, or the like, and a method of bonding them by hot embossing, an adhesive, ultrasonic waves, or the like can be exemplified.

Fig. 4 shows a first sheet 11A, which is a preferable example of the first sheet 11 (the first abdominal side sheet 110 and the first back side sheet 111). The first sheet 11A corresponds to the stretchable nonwoven fabric of (4) above. The first sheet 11A has a structure in which filaments of elastic filaments are sandwiched between extensible fiber layers mainly composed of inelastic fibers, and is integrated. That is, the first sheet 11A is constituted by including 2

fibrous sheets

16 and 17 as the fibrous layers, and an elastic member 18 as the elastic filaments arranged between the two

sheets

16 and 17. The stretchable nonwoven fabric having such a structure can be produced, for example, by the method described in japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2009-61743.

The 2

sheets

16 and 17 constituting the first sheet 11A are each extensible sheets. The

sheets

16, 17 are stretchable in the same direction as the extending direction (lateral direction Y) of the elastic member 18. By extensible is meant: (1) the constituent fibers of

sheets

16, 17 themselves extend; and (2) when the constituent fibers themselves are not elongated, but the fibers bonded at the intersections by mechanical processing or the like are separated from each other, or when the three-dimensional structure formed of a plurality of fibers by bonding the fibers to each other or the like is structurally changed, or the constituent fibers are torn, the

entire sheets

16 and 17 are elongated.

The elastic member 18 is an elastic filament formed by stretching an elastic resin in a melted or softened state. The plurality of elastic members 18 are continuously arranged over the entire length of the first sheet 11A (the outer body 10) in the lateral direction Y. The plurality of elastic members 18 are arranged so as to extend in one direction (the lateral direction Y) without intersecting each other. The elastic member 18 is joined to the 2

sheets

16, 17 in a substantially non-stretched state. The joining of the elastic member 18 and the

fiber sheets

16, 17 is performed by welding with the elastic member 18 in a state where the constituent fibers (inelastic fibers) of the two

sheets

16, 17 are buried in the elastic member 18, instead of using an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive. Therefore, no adhesive exists between the fiber sheets 16 and 17 (stretchable fiber layers mainly composed of inelastic fibers) and the elastic members 18 joined thereto.

The first sheet 11A is stretchable in the same direction as the extending direction (lateral direction Y) of the elastic member 18. The stretchability of the first sheet 11A is exhibited by the elasticity of the elastic member 18. When the first sheet 11 is stretched in the same direction as the extending direction of the elastic member 18, the elastic member 18 and the

fibrous sheets

16, 17 are elongated. And when the stretching of the first sheet 11A is released, the elastic member 18 contracts, and as it contracts, the

fiber sheets

16, 17 return to the state before stretching. In addition, since the first sheet 11A is provided with an extension margin by locally breaking the bonds between the fibers of the fiber sheet 16 and the fiber sheet 17 at the time of manufacturing thereof, when the first sheet 11A is stretched in the same direction as the extending direction (lateral direction Y) of the elastic member 18, the sheet 11A is stretched in the lateral direction Y with little shrinkage, so-called tenter.

The 2

fibrous sheets

16 and 17 constituting the first sheet 11A may be nonwoven fabrics of staple fibers, respectively. Examples of the nonwoven fabric include a hot air nonwoven fabric, a hot rolled nonwoven fabric, a spun-laced nonwoven fabric, a spun-bond nonwoven fabric, and a melt blown nonwoven fabric. The two

sheets

16, 17 may be of the same kind or of different kinds from each other. The "same type of sheet" as used herein refers to sheets having the same thickness and grammage as each other, and the manufacturing process of the sheet, the type of constituent fibers of the sheet, the fiber diameter and length of the constituent fibers, and the like. In the case where at least 1 of them is different, i.e. "different kinds of sheets". The elastic member 18 (elastic filament) is an elastic member made of, for example, a thermoplastic elastomer, rubber, or the like. In particular, when a thermoplastic elastomer is used as a raw material, the thermoplastic elastomer may be melt-spun by an extruder similarly to a usual thermoplastic resin, and the elastic filaments thus obtained are easily heat-fused and therefore suitable for the first sheet 11A.

The grammage of the first sheet 11 (the grammage of the laminated structure in the case where the first sheet 11 is the laminated structure like the first sheet 11A described above) is not particularly limited, and is preferably 20g/m ² The above is more preferably 30g/m ² Above, and preferably 60g/m ² Hereinafter, more preferably 55g/m ² The following is given.

In the present embodiment, the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 are both non-stretchable sheets. The second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 may be configured to include sheets other than the non-stretchable sheet on the premise of non-stretchability. The second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 are typically made of non-stretchable sheets.

The maximum elongation in the transverse direction Y of the non-stretchable second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 is preferably less than 50%, but may be 0%.

As the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13, nonwoven fabrics, resin films, and the like obtained by various methods can be used, and examples of nonwoven fabrics include spunbond nonwoven fabrics, hot air nonwoven fabrics, and needled nonwoven fabrics. The second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 may have a single-layer structure, or may have a laminated structure in which 2 or more sheets are laminated.

The grammage of the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 (the grammage of the laminated structure in the case where the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 are laminated structures) is not particularly limited, and is preferably 13g/m independently ² The above is more preferably 15g/m ² Above, and preferably 30g/m ² Hereinafter, more preferably 25g/m ² The following is given.

As shown in fig. 3, the exterior body 10 includes: a portion constituted only by the second sheet 12 (i.e., crotch portion B); only the portions constituted by the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12 (i.e., the portions in the vicinity of the waist opening WH in the abdominal portion a and the back portion C); and a portion constituted by the first sheet 11, the second sheet 12, and the third sheet 13 (i.e., a portion from the abdomen side portion a to the crotch portion B in the front body portion F). Hereinafter, the portion constituted by the three sheets of the first sheet 11, the second sheet 12, and the third sheet 13 is referred to as "lamination portion 70".

The lamination portion 70 is a portion from the abdomen portion a to the crotch portion B in the front body portion F, and corresponds to a portion along the leg opening LH where the elastic member 8 for forming leg gathers is disposed. In other words, as shown in fig. 5, at least a part of the opening edge portion LA along the leg opening portion LH (specifically, a part of the opening edge portion LA on the front body F side) is constituted by the exterior body 10 having the lamination portion 70.

With the above-described structure of the laminated portion 70, in the natural state of the exterior body 10 (i.e., the relaxed state after the first sheet 11 is released from the extended state), the laminated portion 70 is formed in a shape that is warped and folded back toward the non-skin-facing surface side with the open ends LS of the leg opening portions as free ends, as shown in fig. 5. The reason why the laminated portion 70 is folded back to the non-skin-facing surface side is because the ease of shrinkage when the first sheet 11 is released from the stretched state and the laminated portion 70 is shrunk is different from that of the third sheet 13. In detail, since the first sheet 11 has stretchability and the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 are non-stretchable, the laminated portion 70 is easily shrunk on the first sheet 11 side, while being less easily shrunk on the third sheet 13 side. As a result, the laminated portion 70 is likely to be warped and folded back toward the first sheet 11 side, as the bimetal is warped and folded back by the difference in expansion coefficient. Further, by disposing the elastic member 8, the lamination portion 70 is warped and folded back to a greater extent by the contraction force of the elastic member 8.

According to the diaper 1 of the present embodiment in which the laminated portion 70 is formed in a shape that is folded back to the non-skin-facing side, the leg opening portion and the wearer's body are improved in fitting because the double structure in which the laminated portion 70 is folded back along the opening edge portion LA of the leg opening portion LH is formed. Further, since the folded portion 70 is in contact with the wearer's body with a certain width, the tightening force due to the contraction of the leg opening is dispersed, and functions like an air cushion, and the skin of the wearer is less likely to be marked with tightening. This effectively suppresses the occurrence of skin problems. Further, the laminated portion 70 is folded back to the non-skin-facing surface side, and the open ends LS of the leg opening portions are separated from the skin of the wearer, so that discomfort caused by the contact of the open ends LS with the skin of the wearer is less likely to occur.

In the lamination portion 70, as shown in fig. 5, the first sheet 11 is joined to the second sheet 12 in its extended state. At the same time, the third sheet 13 is joined to the second sheet 12 in the state where the first sheet 11 is elongated. The opposing regions of both the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12 are partially joined to each other by a plurality of joining portions 71. On the other hand, the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 are joined to each other over substantially the entire surface of the region where the two are opposed to each other by an adhesive 72 such as a hot melt adhesive. An elastic member (not shown) for forming leg gathers is disposed between the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 in an extended state. The "substantially entire surface bonding" means that the area of the opposing region of the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 is preferably 50% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more, still more preferably 98% or more, bonded. With this configuration, when the first sheet 11 is contracted, the third sheet 13 is easily followed, and further, the warp-folded-back is performed.

From the viewpoint of making the above effects more remarkable, the warp and back width W (see fig. 5) of the lamination portion 70 is preferably 1mm or more, more preferably 3mm or more. Further, the diameter is preferably 20mm or less, more preferably 15mm or less. The warp folding width W is preferably 1mm or more and 20mm or less, more preferably 3mm or more and 15mm or less.

The warp and folding width W of the lamination portion 70 is measured as follows. In a natural state (contracted state of the elastic member) of the measurement object of the diaper 1, a point from the upper portion of the buckling folding portion to the buckling folding width becomes maximum is measured with a scale.

From the same point of view, in the laminated portion 70, it is preferable that the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12 are partially joined at intervals in the longitudinal direction X and the transverse direction Y of the diaper 1. Fig. 6 (a) and (b) schematically show a state in which the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12 are joined in a scattered manner by a plurality of joining portions 71. In the arrangement pattern shown in fig. 6 (a), a plurality of rows of the joined portions 71 are arranged along the longitudinal direction X of the diaper 1, and a plurality of rows of the joined portions 71 are arranged along the lateral direction Y. That is, the joint portions 71 are arranged at intersections of the lattices extending in the longitudinal direction X and the lateral direction Y, respectively. On the other hand, in the arrangement pattern shown in fig. 6 (b), the joint portions 71 are arranged in an interlaced lattice.

In the case of the arrangement pattern shown in fig. 6 (a), the pitch Xp of the joint portions 71 adjacent in the longitudinal direction X and the pitch Yp of the joint portions 71 adjacent in the lateral direction Y are each independently 1mm or more, particularly preferably 3mm or more, further preferably 15mm or less, particularly preferably 30mm or less.

In the case of the arrangement pattern shown in fig. 6 (b), the pitch P between the closest joint portions 71 is preferably 1.5mm or more, particularly preferably 4.5mm or more, further preferably 20mm or less, particularly preferably 40mm or less.

In the lamination portion 70, the sum of the areas of the joining portions 71 is preferably 0.3% or more, more preferably 0.5% or more, and still more preferably 10% or less, more preferably 20% or less, relative to the area of the lamination portion 70, in order to join the first sheet 11 and the second sheet 12. By forming the joint portion 71 in such a ratio, the laminated portion 70 can be smoothly warped and folded back.

While the circular joint portion 71 is shown in fig. 6 (a) and (b), the shape of the joint portion 71 is not limited to this, and other shapes than a circle may be used, for example, a polygonal shape such as a triangle or a quadrangle, an ellipse or a star, or a combination thereof may be used.

Further, from the same viewpoint, as shown in fig. 2, the angle θ formed between the tangent TL of the opening end LS at the lamination portion 70 and the transverse direction Y of the diaper 1 is preferably 1 degree or more, more preferably 10 degrees or more, and still more preferably 20 degrees or more, in the opening edge portion LA of the leg opening portion. The angle θ is preferably less than 90 degrees, more preferably 80 degrees or less, and still more preferably 70 degrees or less. The angle θ is preferably 1 degree to 90 degrees, more preferably 10 degrees to 80 degrees, and still more preferably 20 degrees to 70 degrees.

If at least 1 of the open ends LS of the lamination portion 70 satisfies the above-described range of the angle θ, the lamination portion 70 is smoothly warped and folded with the open ends LS as free ends, and if all the positions of the open ends LS of the lamination portion 70 satisfy the above-described range of the angle θ, the lamination portion 70 is more smoothly warped and folded with the open ends LS as free ends.

Next, a preferred method for manufacturing the diaper 1 according to the above embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 7. As shown in fig. 7, the first blanks 11', 11' in the form of two rows of strips are fed continuously from a blank roll (not shown) in parallel with a predetermined distance therebetween, and are fed in one direction.

At the same time, the second and third blanks 12' and 13' are continuously fed from blank rolls (not shown) and conveyed in the same direction as the conveying direction of the first blank 11 '.

The first blank 11' is the material of the first sheet 11 in the diaper 1. In addition, the second blank 12 'and the third blank 13' are the materials of the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13, respectively, in the diaper 1. The first blank 11' is therefore stretchable. On the other hand, the second blank 12 'and the third blank 13' are both non-stretchable materials. The first blank 11' has stretchability along its conveying direction.

Comparing the widths of the first blank 11', the second blank 12' and the third blank 13', the width of the second blank 12' is the widest, and the widths of the first blank 11' and the third blank 13' are narrower than the width of the second blank 12 '. The relationship between the width of the first material 11 'and the width of the third material 13' is not particularly limited.

The two rows of first blanks 11 'and second blanks 12' are joined at a joint 100. Specifically, the first material 11 'is joined to the second material 12' conveyed in the same direction while being conveyed in one direction in an elongated state. Each first blank 11 'is arranged at each side edge of the second blank 12'. Each first blank 11 'is located further inside than the side edge of the second blank 12'. The joining section 100 includes an ultrasonic joining device 101 and an anvil roll 102 disposed at a position opposed thereto. The joining of the two blanks 11', 12' based on the joining portion 100 preferably takes place using a partial joining. As a preferable mode of the partial joining, a mode in which the first material 11 'and the second material 12' are intermittently and partially joined in the conveying direction and the direction orthogonal thereto can be exemplified. A plurality of joint portions are formed by the partial joining. The arrangement pattern of the joint portions is shown in fig. 6 (a) and (b) described above, for example. In fig. 6 (a) and (b), the Y direction shown in these figures corresponds to the conveying direction of the first material 11 'and the second material 12'.

The first material 11 'is a material having stretchability in the conveying direction thereof, and the first material 11' can be manufactured by a known method. For example, the first material 11' can be manufactured by: (1) A step of joining a plurality of elastic filaments to a sheet so as to extend in one direction in a non-stretched state to obtain a composite material; and (2) a step of supplying the composite material between a pair of mutually engaged spline rollers having a ridge portion and a groove portion extending in the axial direction alternately in the circumferential direction, and stretching the composite material to impart stretchability to the composite material. The first material 11 'thus manufactured may be joined to the second material 12'.

Through the above operation, the laminate 103 of the first material 11 'and the second material 12' is formed. The side edge of the laminate 103 is a side edge located on the outer side in the width direction of the second blank 12'.

Next, the third material 13' is joined to the laminate 103. Specifically, while maintaining the stretched state of the first material 11', the third material 13' conveyed in the same direction as the conveying direction of the laminate 103 is joined to the second material 12' in the laminate 103. Thus, the laminate sheet 104 of the exterior body having the laminated portion formed by laminating the three blanks, i.e., the first blank 11', the second blank 12', and the third blank 13', is manufactured. In the laminate 104, each side edge thereof coincides with each side edge of the second blank 12'. Hereinafter, the process of producing the laminate sheet 104 of the exterior body is also referred to as "laminate sheet production process".

In the laminate manufacturing process, the second material 12 'and the third material 13' are joined by applying a hot melt adhesive (not shown) to substantially the entire surface of the surface facing the second material 12 'among the 2 surfaces of the third material 13', and adhering the two materials 12', 13' with the adhesive. The meaning of "substantially full face" is as previously described.

Fig. 8 shows an example of a joining region when the second material 12 'and the third material 13' are joined by an adhesive. The area indicated by hatching in this figure is applied with adhesive and the two blanks 12', 13' are joined. In this figure, reference numeral 8 is an elastic member for forming leg gathers. Reference numeral 105 denotes a position of a portion to be cut, which is to be cut in a laminate cutting step described later. As can be seen from this figure, the two blanks 12', 13' are joined at least substantially over the entire surface of the two blanks 12', 13' in the region where the elastic member 8 is present.

When the third blank 13 'is joined to the second blank 12', the elastic member 8 for forming leg gathers is arranged in an elongated state between the two blanks 12', 13'. The elastic member 8 is disposed at a position along the predetermined position of the leg opening LH in the laminate sheet 104 of the package. For this purpose, as shown in fig. 7, the elastic member 8 is disposed in an elongated state between the second material 12 'and the third material 13' while being regularly rocked in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The means for swinging the elastic member 8 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction thereof can be any means known in the art without particular limitation.

The laminate sheet 104 of the exterior body is manufactured by joining the first blank 11', the second blank 12', and the third blank 13 '. As shown in fig. 7, the absorbent body 2 is manufactured in advance separately from the manufacturing, and an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive is applied (not shown) to the absorbent body 2. The absorbent body 2 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the transport direction, and joined to the laminate sheet 104 of the outer package. This step is also referred to as an "absorbent body placement step". When the absorbent body 2 and the laminate sheet 104 are joined, the front and back surfaces of the laminate sheet 104 are reversed so that the absorbent body 2 is disposed on the surface side of the laminate sheet 104 where the third blank 13' is located. The absorbent bodies 2 are arranged on the laminate sheet 104 at intervals along the conveyance direction of the laminate sheet 104.

The joining of the absorbent body 2 and the laminate sheet 104 of the outer cover in the absorbent body placement step can be performed using, for example, an adhesive as described above. In this case, the adhesive may be applied to the entire surface of the opposing surface of the absorbent body 2 and the laminate sheet 104, or the adhesive may be applied locally to the opposing surface to join the absorbent body 2 and the laminate sheet 104 locally.

Next, as shown in fig. 7, in the region between the absorbent bodies 2 adjacent in the conveying direction, the laminate sheet 104 of the outer cover is cut at the cut scheduled portion 105 in a shape corresponding to the shape of the leg opening portion LH. This step is referred to as a "laminate cutting step". In the laminate cutting step, leg openings LH are formed along the elastic members 8 at positions near the elastic members 8 in the laminate 104 on which the outer package of the absorbent main body 2 is disposed. The laminate cutting step can be performed by a rotary cutter, a laser cutter, or the like, in the same manner as in the method for manufacturing such an article in the related art.

In the laminate cutting step, as shown in fig. 9, the laminate 104 of the outer package is cut so that at least three laminate sites 70 of the blanks 11', 12', 13' are present in the planned cutting portion 105. At this time, the first material 11' constituting the laminate sheet 104 of the outer package is in an elongated state. When the laminate sheet 104 is cut at the planned cutting portion 105 including the laminate portion 70 in this state, the first blank 11' is released from the extended state by the cutting, and the laminate portion 70 in the laminate sheet 104 is contracted so as to warp and fold the planned cutting portion 105 as a free end, as shown in fig. 9. As a result, in the finally obtained diaper 1, the laminated portion 70 at the opening edge portion of the leg opening portion is formed in a shape of a warp-folded (see fig. 5). In the present embodiment, since the first material 11' forms the outer surface of the diaper 1, the warping and folding back of the laminated portion 70 occurs toward the non-skin-facing surface side.

In the lamination portion 70 existing in the scheduled cutting portion 105, when not only the first material 11 'and the second material 12' are laminated but also the third material 13 'and the second material 12' are joined, warpage and folding back of the lamination portion 70 become more remarkable. For this purpose, as shown in fig. 9, it is preferable that the third material 13 'is joined to the second material 12' at the lamination portion 70 existing in the planned cutting portion 105, for example, by a hot melt adhesive 72.

In the region where the lamination portion 70 is present among the planned cutting portions 105 of the laminated sheet 104 of the exterior body, the planned cutting portions 105 are formed so that the angle θ between the tangent TL to the planned cutting portions 105 and the conveyance direction MD of the laminated sheet 104 is preferably set to 1 degree or more, more preferably to 10 degrees or more, and even more preferably to 20 degrees or more, as shown in fig. 10, from the viewpoint of making the warpage of the lamination portion 70 more remarkable. The angle θ is preferably set to less than 90 degrees, more preferably to 80 degrees or less, and even more preferably to 70 degrees or less. The angle θ is preferably set to 1 degree or more and less than 90 degrees, more preferably set to 10 degrees or more and 80 degrees or less, and still more preferably set to 20 degrees or more and 70 degrees or less.

If the above-described range of the angle θ is satisfied at least at 1 of the portions 105 to be cut of the laminated portion 70, the laminated portion 70 is smoothly warped and folded around the open end LS as a free end, and if the above-described range of the angle θ is satisfied at all the positions of the portions 105 to be cut of the laminated portion 70, the laminated portion 70 is more smoothly warped and folded around the open end LS as a free end.

Next, the laminate sheet 104 of the package is folded in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the laminate sheet 104) thereof. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7, the laminate sheet 104 of the outer case is folded over so as to cover both longitudinal end portions of the absorbent body 2 at both

side portions

104a, 104a in the conveyance direction, and the both longitudinal end portions of the absorbent body 2 are fixed, and then the laminate sheet 104 is folded in half in the width direction together with the absorbent body 2. Thus, a diaper continuous body 1' was obtained. When the waist gather 104a is folded, an elastic member (not shown) for forming waist gathers can be supplied in an extended state.

The diaper continuous body 1' includes a laminate sheet 104 of an outer body in which a front body side and a rear body side are overlapped, and an absorbent main body 2 fixed to the laminate sheet 104 at a distance. The diaper continuous body 1' and the laminate sheet 104 of the outer case have a scheduled formation portion of the side seal S, that is, a scheduled division portion 106, between the absorbent

main bodies

2, 2 in the conveyance direction. In the planned division section 106, the front body side and the rear body side of the laminate sheet 104 of the outer cover are directly overlapped without the absorbent main body 2 interposed therebetween.

Next, a pair of side seals S, S are formed in the planned division portion 106 in the diaper continuous body 1 'manufactured in this manner, and after formation of the side seals S, S or together with formation of the side seals S, S, a pants-type absorbent article cutting process is performed in which the diaper continuous body 1' (specifically, the laminate 104 of the outer cover) is divided in the width direction thereof in the planned division portion 106. Through this step, each targeted diaper 1 is manufactured. In addition, the extended state of the diaper continuous body 1' is released by this step, and the opening edge portions of the leg opening portions of the diaper 1 are largely warped and folded back toward the non-skin-facing surface side.

For the formation of the side seal S and the division of the diaper continuous body 1' of the division scheduled portion 106, for example, the apparatus and method described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2013-256109 can be used.

In the diaper 1 thus manufactured, as shown in fig. 5, a laminated portion 70 along the opening edge portion LA of the leg opening is formed in a shape that is folded back with the opening end LS of the leg opening as a free end toward the non-skin-facing surface side. According to the diaper 1 having such a shape, the fit of the leg opening portion to the body of the wearer is improved. Moreover, marks due to tightening of the leg openings are not easily generated on the skin of the wearer. Further, since the open ends LS of the leg opening portions are separated from the skin of the wearer, discomfort due to contact of the open ends LS with the skin of the wearer is less likely to occur.

Additional steps may be performed on the obtained diaper 1. For example, as shown in fig. 11, a rotation step of rotating each divided diaper 1 by 90 degrees with respect to the transport direction D while transporting the diaper 1 so that the longitudinal direction X of the diaper 1 coincides with the transport direction D may be performed.

The diaper 1 conveyed in the state where the longitudinal direction X matches the conveyance direction D is rotated, and then the respective flap portions 15, 15 of the diaper 1, which are positioned outside the absorbent main body 2 in the lateral direction Y, are folded onto the absorbent main body 2. This step is performed for the purpose of accommodating the diaper 1 in the package. As shown in fig. 11, the flaps 15, 15 may be folded on the same side of the diaper 1 or on different sides (not shown).

As described above, in the diaper 1, since the opening edge portions of the leg opening portions are folded back in a state of being warped toward the non-skin-facing surface side, the folded back opening edge portions tend to become starting points of the folding of the flap portions 15, 15 when the flap portions 15, 15 are folded, and the folded state of the flap portions 15, 15 is stabilized due to this structure.

The diapers 1 in which the flap portions 15 and 15 are folded are conveyed while maintaining their state. The diaper 1 in the conveyed state is folded in half along the virtual folding line L extending in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The diaper 1 thus folded is packed in the next step.

Next, another embodiment of the present manufacturing method will be described with reference to fig. 12 to 14. Only points different from the embodiments shown in fig. 7 to 11 will be described with respect to the embodiments shown in fig. 12 to 14, and the description with respect to the embodiments shown in fig. 7 to 11 can be applied appropriately with respect to points not specifically described. In fig. 12 to 14, the same components as those in the embodiment shown in fig. 7 to 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Fig. 12 illustrates another example of the joining region when the second material 12 'and the third material 13' are joined by an adhesive. The area indicated by hatching in this figure is applied with adhesive joining the two blanks 12', 13'. As can be seen from this figure, the third material 13 'is coated with an adhesive over its entire area, and the entire surface of the third material is bonded to the opposing surface of the second material 12'.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 13, as in the embodiment shown in fig. 12, the adhesive is applied to the entire area of the third material 13', and the entire surface opposite to the second material 12' is joined. However, unlike the embodiment shown in fig. 12, the elastic members 8 for forming leg gathers are not rocked in the width direction of the laminate sheet 104 of the outer package, but are arranged linearly along the conveyance direction MD of the laminate sheet 104. The elastic member 8 is disposed in a region where the second material 12 'and the third material 13' are joined by an adhesive.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 14, the elastic members 8 for forming leg gathers are not used. In addition, although the first blanks 11 'having stretchability are conveyed in parallel in two rows in the present embodiment, the first blanks 11' having a wide width are conveyed in one row in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, unlike the previous embodiments, the elastic member 8 is not disposed in the lamination portion 70 where the three blanks, i.e., the first blank 11', the second blank 12', and the third blank 13', are laminated, and the warp and the folding back of the lamination portion 70 are sufficiently exhibited.

The present invention has been described based on preferred embodiments thereof, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the case of the outer case 10 of the above embodiment, the lamination portion formed by the first sheet 11, the second sheet 12, and the third sheet 13 is provided in the front body portion F, but the lamination portion may be provided in the rear body portion R instead of or in addition to this configuration. When the lamination portion is provided in the rear body R, the elastic member 8 may be disposed between the second sheet 12 and the third sheet 13 in the lamination portion.

In the above embodiment, the lamination portion is formed by laminating the first sheet 11, the second sheet 12, and the third sheet 13 in order in the exterior body 10, but instead of this configuration, the lamination portion may be formed by laminating the second sheet 12, the first sheet 11, and the third sheet 13 in order. In this case, the second sheet 12 can constitute the outermost surface of the exterior body 10. The elastic member 8 may be disposed in an extended state along the leg opening LH between the third sheet 13 and the first sheet 11.

Specifically, in the manufacturing process shown in fig. 7, the third material 13 'is joined to the second material 12', but the third material 13 'may be joined to the first material 11' instead of this structure. In this case, the elastic member 8 is arranged in an extended state while being swung between the first material 11 'and the third material 13' along the formation scheduled position of the leg opening portion LH. In this case, it is preferable that the third material 13 'is laminated with the first material 11' and the second material 12 'is joined with the first material 11' at the lamination portion 70 where the scheduled cutting portion 105 of the laminate sheet 104 of the exterior body exists.

The present invention further discloses the following pants-type absorbent article and a method for producing the same, with respect to the above-described embodiments.

<1>

A pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from the abdomen side of a wearer to the back side via a crotch portion and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the pants-type absorbent article being divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch portion, an abdomen side portion disposed closer to the abdomen side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and a back side portion disposed closer to the back side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and having an absorbent main body including an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining body fluid, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent main body, wherein both side portions of the outer body in the abdomen side portion and the back side portion along the longitudinal direction are joined to each other to form a pair of side seals, a waist opening, and a pair of leg openings,

at least a part of the opening edge portion along the leg opening portion is constituted by the exterior body having a lamination portion including a first sheet having stretchability, a second sheet having non-stretchability, and a third sheet having non-stretchability,

the first panel is joined to the second panel in an extended state, and the third panel is joined to either the first panel or the second panel in an extended state of the first panel,

The laminated portion in the opening edge portion is formed in a shape that the opening end of the leg opening portion is folded back to the non-skin-facing surface side with the opening end as a free end.

<2>

The pants-type absorbent article according to <1> above, wherein,

the second sheet and the third sheet are joined, and an elastic member is disposed between the two sheets in an elongated state along the leg opening portion, or,

the first sheet and the third sheet are joined, and an elastic member is disposed between the two sheets in an elongated state along the leg opening.

<3>

The pant-type absorbent article according to the above <1> or <2>, wherein,

the second sheet is joined with the third sheet, and

the second panel is joined to substantially the entire surface of the opposing regions of the two panels of the third panel.

<4>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <3>, wherein,

the first sheet and the second sheet are partially joined at a distance in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction of the pants-type absorbent article.

<5>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <4>, wherein,

an angle θ formed between a tangent line of the opening edge portion of the leg opening portion at the opening end of the layered portion and a lateral direction of the pants-type absorbent article is 1 degree or more and less than 90 degrees.

<6>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <5>, wherein,

leg wrinkles are formed along the open ends of the leg openings.

<7>

The pants-type absorbent article according to <6> above, wherein,

the leg gathers are composed of the outer body and leg gather forming elastic members fixed to the outer body.

<8>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <7>, wherein,

the waist puckering elastic member is fixed to the outer body,

the first sheet includes a first abdominal-side sheet constituting the abdominal-side portion and a first back-side sheet constituting the back-side portion,

the first and second front and back side panels have extending portions extending outward from longitudinal end portions of the elastic member,

the extending portion is folded toward the elastic member to cover the longitudinal end portion of the absorbent body.

<9>

The pants-type absorbent article according to <8> above, wherein,

the length of the extension of the second sheet is longer than the length of the extension of each of the first abdominal side sheet and the first back side sheet.

<10>

The pant-type absorbent article according to <8> or <9>, wherein,

the first panel is stretchable in the transverse direction,

The ventral first sheet and the dorsal first sheet are respectively stretchable sheets.

<11>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <10>, wherein,

the third piece forms the innermost surface of the outer body at the position where the third piece is arranged in the outer body.

<12>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <11>, wherein,

the first sheet comprises 2 fibrous sheets and an elastic member arranged between the two sheets,

the 2 fibrous sheets are each stretchable and stretchable in the same direction as the extending direction of the elastic member.

<13>

The pants-type absorbent article according to <12> above, wherein,

the elastic members are elastic filaments formed by stretching an elastic resin in a melted or softened state, are continuously arranged over the entire length of the first sheet in the transverse direction, and are arranged so as to extend in one direction without intersecting each other.

<14>

The pant-type absorbent article according to any of the above <1> to <13>, wherein,

the area of the opposing region of the second sheet and the third sheet is preferably 50% or more, more preferably 90% or more, still more preferably 95% or more, still more preferably 98% or more, bonded.

<15>

A method for manufacturing a pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from a wearer's abdomen to a back side via a crotch and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the pants-type absorbent article being divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch, an abdomen portion disposed closer to the wearer's abdomen than the crotch, and a back portion disposed closer to the wearer's back than the crotch, and having an absorbent body including an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining bodily fluids, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body, wherein both side portions of the outer body in the abdomen portion and the back portion along the longitudinal direction are joined to each other to form a pair of side seals, a waist opening, and a pair of leg openings, the method comprising:

a laminate manufacturing step of joining a first stretchable material to a second non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction while being transported in one direction in an elongated state, and subsequently joining a third non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction to the first material or the second material while maintaining the elongated state of the first material, thereby manufacturing a laminate of the outer case having a laminated portion formed by laminating the three materials;

An absorbent body placement step of placing the absorbent bodies at intervals along a transport direction on one surface of a laminate of the outer package transported in one direction while maintaining an elongated state of the first blank; and

a laminate cutting step of cutting the laminate sheet of the outer package at a predetermined cutting portion in a shape corresponding to the shape of the leg opening portion in a region between the absorbent bodies adjacent to each other in the transport direction,

in the laminate cutting step, the laminate of the outer package is cut so that at least the lamination portion exists in the cutting scheduled portion.

<16>

The method according to <15> above, wherein,

in the laminate manufacturing step, an elastic member is disposed in an elongated state between the second material and the third material or between the first material and the third material along a predetermined position for forming the leg opening.

<17>

The method according to <15> or <16>, wherein,

in the laminate cutting step, the laminate is cut so that the planned cutting portion of the laminate of the exterior body has at least the lamination portion where the third material and the first material or the second material are joined.

<18>

The method according to any one of <15> to <17>, wherein,

in the laminate cutting step, the predetermined cutting portion is formed in a shape such that an angle θ formed between a tangent line of the predetermined cutting portion and a conveying direction of the laminate sheet is 1 degree or more and less than 90 degrees in a region where the predetermined cutting portion exists among the predetermined cutting portion of the laminate sheet of the exterior body.

<19>

The method according to any one of <15> to <18>, wherein,

in the laminate manufacturing step, the third material is joined to the second material.

<20>

The method according to <19> above, wherein,

in the laminate manufacturing step, a hot-melt adhesive is applied to substantially the entire surface of the second material out of the 2 surfaces of the third material, which surface is opposite to the second material, and the second material and the third material are bonded to each other by the adhesive.

<21>

The method according to any one of <15> to <20>, wherein,

in the laminate manufacturing step, the first and second blanks are partially joined with a gap therebetween in the conveying direction and in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

<22>

The method according to any one of <15> to <21>, which comprises:

A step of folding the laminate sheet of the exterior body in half in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction after the laminate sheet cutting step; and

and a pants-type absorbent article cutting step of forming a side seal at a predetermined division portion in the laminate sheet of the folded-in-half outer cover, and cutting the laminate sheet of the outer cover at the predetermined division portion after or simultaneously with the formation of the side seal to obtain a single pants-type absorbent article.

<23>

The method of manufacturing according to <22> above, comprising:

a rotating step of rotating the pants-type absorbent article obtained in the pants-type absorbent article cutting step by 90 degrees with respect to a transport direction so that a longitudinal direction of the pants-type absorbent article matches the transport direction;

a step of folding each flap portion of the pants-type absorbent article, which is located laterally outward of the absorbent main body, onto the absorbent main body; and

and a folding step of folding the pants-type absorbent article with the flap portion folded in two along a virtual folding line extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

<24>

The method according to any one of <15> to <23>, wherein,

A plurality of elastic filaments are joined to a sheet in such a manner as to extend in one direction in a non-elongated state to obtain a composite material,

a first material is produced by supplying the composite material between a pair of cogging rolls alternately having a ridge portion and a groove portion extending in the axial direction and meshing with each other, stretching the composite material, imparting stretchability to the composite material,

the first blank is joined to the second blank.

Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, a pants-type absorbent article having a leg opening portion with a shape that is warped and folded back as compared with the conventional art and a method for manufacturing the same can be provided.

Claims

1. A pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from a stomach side of a wearer to a back side via a crotch portion and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch portion, a stomach side portion disposed closer to the stomach side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and a back side portion disposed closer to the back side of the wearer than the crotch portion, and having an absorbent main body including an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining body fluid, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent main body, wherein both side portions of the outer body in the stomach side portion and the back side portion along the longitudinal direction are joined to each other to form a pair of side seals, a waist opening, and a pair of leg openings, the pants-type absorbent article being characterized in that:

At least a part of the opening edge portion along the leg opening portion is constituted by the outer body having a lamination portion including a first sheet having stretchability, a second sheet having non-stretchability, and a third sheet having non-stretchability,

the laminated portion in the opening edge portion is formed in a shape that is warped and folded back toward the non-skin-facing side with an opening end of the leg opening portion as a free end.

2. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 1, wherein:

3. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 1 or 2, wherein:

the second sheet is joined with the third sheet, and

4. A pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

The first sheet and the second sheet are locally joined at a spacing in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction of the pants-type absorbent article.

5. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

an angle θ formed between a tangent line of the opening edge portion of the leg opening portion at the opening end of the lamination portion and a lateral direction of the pants-type absorbent article is 1 degree or more and less than 90 degrees.

6. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein:

leg gathers are formed along the open ends of the leg openings.

7. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 6, wherein:

the leg gathers are configured by including the outer body and a leg gather forming elastic member fixed to the outer body.

8. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein:

the waist puckering elastic member is fixed to the outer body,

the first sheet includes a ventral first sheet constituting the ventral portion and a dorsal first sheet constituting the dorsal portion,

the first and second abdominal side sheets and the first and second back side sheets have an extension portion extending outward from the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the elastic member,

9. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 8, wherein:

10. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 8 or 9, wherein:

the first panel is stretchable in the transverse direction,

11. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein:

in the portion of the exterior body where the third sheet is disposed, the third sheet constitutes the innermost surface of the exterior body.

12. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein:

the 2 fibrous sheets are each an extensible fibrous sheet and are extensible in the same direction as the extending direction of the elastic member.

13. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 12, wherein:

14. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein:

more than 50% of the area of the opposing regions of the second and third sheets are joined.

15. A method for manufacturing a pants-type absorbent article having a longitudinal direction extending from a wearer's abdomen to a back side via a crotch and a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the pants-type absorbent article being divided into a crotch portion disposed in the crotch, an abdomen portion disposed closer to the wearer's abdomen than the crotch, and a back portion disposed closer to the wearer's back than the crotch, and having an absorbent body including an absorbent core for absorbing and retaining bodily fluids, and an outer body disposed on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body, wherein both side portions of the outer body in the abdomen portion and the back portion along the longitudinal direction are joined to each other to form a pair of side seals, a waist opening, and a pair of leg openings, the method comprising:

a laminate manufacturing step of joining a first stretchable material to a second non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction while being transported in one direction in an elongated state, and subsequently joining a third non-stretchable material which is transported in the same direction to the first material or the second material while maintaining the elongated state of the first material, thereby manufacturing a laminate of the outer package having a laminated portion formed by laminating the three materials;

An absorbent body placement step of placing the absorbent bodies at intervals along a transport direction on one surface of a laminate of the outer package transported in one direction, while maintaining the elongated state of the first blank; and

in the laminate cutting step, the laminate of the outer package is cut so that at least the lamination portion exists in the planned cutting portion.

16. The method of manufacturing as set forth in claim 15, wherein:

17. The method of manufacturing as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein:

in the laminate cutting step, the laminate is cut so that at least the lamination portion where the third material and the first material or the second material are joined is present in the planned cutting portion of the laminate of the exterior body.

18. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that:

in the laminate cutting step, the laminate sheet is formed so that an angle θ formed between a tangent line of the predetermined cutting portion and a conveyance direction of the laminate sheet is 1 degree or more and less than 90 degrees in a region where the lamination portion exists among the predetermined cutting portion of the laminate sheet of the exterior body.

19. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that:

20. The method of manufacturing as set forth in claim 19, wherein:

in the laminate manufacturing step, a hot-melt adhesive is applied to substantially the entire surface of the 2 surfaces of the third material that faces the second material, and the second material and the third material are bonded to each other by the adhesive.

21. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein:

22. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, comprising:

23. The manufacturing method according to claim 22, comprising:

a rotation step of rotating the pants-type absorbent article obtained in the pants-type absorbent article cutting step by 90 degrees with respect to a conveyance direction so that a longitudinal direction of the pants-type absorbent article matches the conveyance direction;

and a folding step of folding the pants-type absorbent article in a state in which the flap portion is folded, in two along a virtual folding line extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

24. The manufacturing method according to any one of claims 15 to 23, wherein:

A plurality of elastic filaments are joined to a sheet in a non-elongated state in such a manner as to extend in one direction to obtain a composite material,

a first material is produced by supplying the composite material between a pair of cogging rolls alternately having a ridge portion and a groove portion extending in the axial direction and meshing with each other in the circumferential direction, stretching the composite material, imparting stretchability to the composite material,

the first blank is joined to the second blank.