JP4275050B2 - Absorber manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an absorbent body manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an absorbent body by sucking and depositing an absorbent material into an accumulation recess.

In Patent Document 1, as an apparatus for continuously producing absorbent fiber products, a rotating drum having a plurality of concave portions for accumulation on the outer peripheral surface, and a raw material supplied by scattering raw material fibers on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum And an apparatus for continuously producing a molded body by sucking and depositing the supplied raw material fibers into each accumulation recess and sequentially releasing the deposited material from each accumulation recess. Has been.
However, in this manufacturing apparatus, since the entire bottom surface of the concave portion for accumulation is sucked uniformly, it is not possible to efficiently manufacture fiber products having partially different heights and densities.

  In Patent Document 2, as a method for partially producing a high basis weight deposit, a concave portion having a specific shape is provided in a part of a flat plate on which a fiber material is deposited so that a high pressure is applied to the concave portion. A technique in which the lower part of the recess is devised is disclosed.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-142 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-206071

  According to the method of Patent Document 2, the basis weight of the portion corresponding to the concave portion having a specific shape can be increased. However, every time the design of the absorber is changed, a large-scale operation such as replacement of the flat plate is required. Yes, it was not possible to respond flexibly to changes in the design of the absorber. In addition, it is impossible to switch and manufacture a plurality of types of absorbers having different designs at regular intervals.

  Therefore, the objective of this invention is providing the manufacturing apparatus of the absorber which can manufacture the multiple types of absorber from which a design differs efficiently and economically.

  The present invention supplies absorptive material in a scattered state to a rotating drum having a collecting recess on the outer peripheral surface having a number of suction holes on the bottom surface, and depressurizes the space located on the back side of the bottom surface. The absorbent material is sucked and deposited in each accumulation recess by the suction force from the suction holes generated in this way, and the deposited material is released from the accumulation recesses in order to produce an absorber. An apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent body according to claim 1, wherein a rectifying plate is provided in a space located on a back surface side of the bottom surface portion so that a distance between the rectifying plate and the bottom surface portion can be increased or decreased. The above object is achieved by providing a manufacturing apparatus for an absorbent body.

  According to the absorber manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of types of absorbers with different designs can be manufactured efficiently and economically.

The absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is an apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent body for sanitary goods such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins. As shown in FIG. A rotary drum 2 provided with a recess 3 on the outer peripheral surface, raw material supply means 4 for supplying pulp fibers 41 and a water-absorbing polymer 42 as absorbent materials to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum 2 and a back surface of the bottom surface portion A decompression mechanism (not shown) for decompressing the inside of the space 21 located on the side, and a discharge mechanism (not shown) for sequentially releasing the deposit (absorber) 5 deposited in each of the accumulation recesses 3. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating drum 2 has a cylindrical shape with both ends open, and a plurality of accumulation recesses 3 are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface thereof. The rotary drum 2 is configured to rotate in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 with its central axis as the rotation axis. The openings at both ends of the rotating drum 2 are hermetically sealed by the fixed walls 22 and 23.

  The raw material supply means 4 includes a pulp fiber 41 supply device 41a, a water-absorbent polymer 42 supply device 42a, and an air flow generated in the pulp fiber 41 and the water-absorbent polymer 42 supplied from both supply devices. A transport duct 43 that transports toward the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum 2 is provided. As the supply devices 41a and 42a and the transport duct 43, known ones can be used.

  The pressure reducing mechanism includes an exhaust pipe 6 connected to the fixed wall 23 and a dust collecting fan (not shown) connected to the exhaust pipe 6. By this decompression mechanism, the inside of the space 21 located on the back surface side of the bottom surface portion 31 of the accumulation recess 3 is maintained at a negative pressure. The absorbent materials 41 and 42 supplied in a state are sucked and deposited in the respective accumulation recesses 3.

  The discharge mechanism includes a positive pressure chamber 71 formed by partitioning a part of the internal space of the rotary drum 2 by a partition, a blower mechanism and the like (not shown) for maintaining the positive pressure chamber 71 at a positive pressure, It consists of a suction box 72 that promotes the transition to the belt conveyor.

In the manufacturing apparatus 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rectifying plate 8 is provided in a space 21 located on the back surface side of the bottom surface portion 31 of the accumulation recess 3.
The rectifying plates 8 are provided on both sides of the rotating drum in the width direction, and are arranged so as to extend along the circumferential direction of the rotating drum.
As shown in FIG. 1, the rectifying plate 8 in the present embodiment is divided into a plurality of small plates 81, 82, 83, and 84 in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum. By being divided into small plates, the curved state of the plate 8 as an aggregate is changed to a concentric circular arc centered on the central axis of the rotating drum 2 regardless of the distance from the bottom surface 31 of the accumulation recess 3. It can be set as the same curved state. Each of the small plates 81, 82, 83, and 84 is made of a metal plate that is curved into a curved surface.

  The rectifying plate 8 is provided so that the distance L (see FIG. 2) between the bottom surface portion 31 of the accumulation recess 3 can be increased or decreased. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the small plates 81, 82, 83, 84 constituting the rectifying plate 8 is fixed to one end portion of a rod-shaped support body 85 bent in an L shape. The other end side of the support body 85 is inserted through a long hole 86 formed in the fixed wall 22 or 23 so as to extend radially. A female screw portion is formed at the other end portion of the support body 85, and a flange portion 87 is formed further inside (one end portion side). The support body 85 is fixed to the fixed wall 22 (23) by screwing a nut 88 through a washer to a female screw part and fastening the peripheral part of the long hole 86 with a flange part 87 and a washer. The small plates 81, 82, 83, and 84 can easily adjust the distance L between the bottom surface portion 31 by loosening the nut 88 and then moving the support body 85 along the long hole 86. it can.

In order to manufacture the absorber using the above-described manufacturing apparatus, the rotating drum 2 is rotated at a constant speed in the direction of arrow A, and the inside of the space 21 located on the back side of the portion where the raw material is deposited in the accumulation recess 3 is formed. A negative pressure is applied to each suction hole, and an air flow is generated in the duct 43 of the raw material supply means 4 so that the raw material can be conveyed in a scattered state.
When the raw materials are introduced into the duct 43 by the raw material supply means 4, they are scattered and supplied toward the rotary drum 3, and they are sucked and deposited in the respective accumulation recesses 3.

At this time, if the rectifying plate 8 is moved forward so that the bottom surface portion 31 of the concave portion 3 for accumulation passes through the proximity portion of the rectifying plate 8 as shown in FIG. Only a relatively small suction force is generated in the suction holes in the portion passing through the plate 8, while a relatively large suction force is generated in the suction holes in the portion passing between the left and right rectifying plates 8.
Thereby, even if the bottom surface portion 31 is a flat surface having no irregularities (strictly speaking, a curved surface curved in an arc shape), the portion A where a large amount of the absorbent material 41, 42 is deposited on the bottom surface portion 31. As a result, a relatively small amount of the absorbent material 41, 42 is generated, and a non-deposited portion B is generated. Thus, it is possible to easily manufacture the absorbent body 5 in which the basis weight of the absorbent material is partially different.

On the other hand, when the rectifying plate 8 is moved backward so that the bottom surface portion 31 of the concave portion 3 for accumulation passes away from the rectifying plate 8 as shown in FIG. The difference between the suction forces generated in the suction holes between the portion passing over the rectifying plate 8 and the portion passing between the left and right rectifying plates 8 is small enough to be ignored.
Thereby, the absorbent materials 41 and 42 are deposited substantially uniformly on the bottom surface portion 31, and an absorbent body having a uniform basis weight of the absorbent material can be manufactured.

Thus, according to the absorber manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment, the basis weight of the absorbent material is substantially the same as that of the absorbent body 5A in which the basis weight of the absorbent material is partially different by simply moving the rectifying plate 8 forward and backward. Both with the uniform absorber 5B can be manufactured easily.
Moreover, in the apparatus of this embodiment, since the advance / retreat of the rectifying plate 8 can be continuously changed in any number of stages, when manufacturing the absorbent body 5A having a partially different basis weight of the absorbent material, It is also possible to adjust the basis weight difference as appropriate.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described in detail, this invention can be suitably changed in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
For example, the rectifying plate 8 may not be divided in the drum circumferential direction as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the rectifying plate 8 is disposed so as to extend to a certain length in the drum circumferential direction. When it is moved back and forth toward the bottom surface, the degree of bending changes accordingly, and in any part, it can be in a curved state similar to a concentric arc centering on the central axis of the rotating drum 2. FIG. 5 shows an example of the long hole 86 provided to enable such bending.

In addition to the rectifying plates 8 arranged on both sides in the drum width direction as shown in FIG. 2, the rectifying plates 8 may be arranged in the center portion in the drum width direction. In this case, if the central rectifying plate is brought close to the bottom surface portion of the concave portion for accumulation while the left and right rectifying plates are largely separated from the bottom surface portion, an absorber having a large amount of accumulation on both the left and right side portions can be obtained. Further, in place of the rectifying plates 8 arranged on both sides in the drum width direction, when the rectifying plates are arranged in the center portion in the drum width direction, if the rectifying plates 8 are moved forward, the accumulation amount on both the left and right side portions is increased. If many absorbers are obtained and the flow straightening plate 8 is moved backward, an absorber having a relatively uniform deposition amount can be obtained.
As described above, according to the apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of types of absorbers having different absorbent basis weight distributions in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the absorber (the drum width direction) are manufactured using the same apparatus. be able to.

Further, the rectifying plates arranged in the center in the drum width direction can be appropriately selected within a range of about 1 to 5. The number of the rectifying plates divided in the drum circumferential direction is not limited to four, and can be appropriately selected within a range of about 2 to 10.
Further, the rectifying plate may be advanced and retracted using a hydraulic cylinder or a mechanical advancing and retracting mechanism.

As the absorbent material, only one of the fiber material and the water-absorbing polymer may be supplied and deposited.
As the water-absorbing polymer, various known polymers can be used without particular limitation. For example, sodium polyacrylate, (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymer, sodium polyacrylate cross-linked product, (starch-acrylic) Acid) graft copolymer, (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymer and saponified product thereof, polyaspartic acid and the like. Further, as the fiber material, various known materials can be used without particular limitation. For example, hydrophilic fibers such as pulp fiber, rayon fiber, cotton, and cellulose acetate can be used. These include polyethylene, Polyolefin fibers such as polypropylene, condensation fibers such as polyester and polyamide, and vinyl monomer polymer fibers such as vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate may be mixed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of an absorbent body manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the rotating drum in the apparatus of FIG. 1 cut along a plane passing through its central axis. FIG. 2 (a) shows the flow straightening plate close to the bottom surface portion 31 of the accumulation recess 3. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a state in which the rectifying plate is separated from the bottom surface portion 31 of the accumulation recess 3. FIG. 3 is a view showing a part of the side surface of the rotating drum of the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main part of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in the apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus of absorber 2 Rotating (stacking) drum 21 The space located in the back surface side of the bottom face part of the accumulation recessed part 3 Recessed part 31 Bottom part 4 Raw material supply mechanism

Claims (2)

Absorbing material is supplied in a scattered state to a rotating drum having a collecting recess on the outer peripheral surface having a number of suction holes on the bottom surface portion, and the space located on the back surface side of the bottom surface portion is decompressed and generated. The absorbent material is sucked and deposited in each accumulation recess by the suction force from the suction holes, and the deposited material is released from the accumulation recesses in order to manufacture an absorber. An absorber manufacturing apparatus,
An apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent body, wherein a rectifying plate is provided in a space located on the back side of the bottom portion so that the distance between the rectifying plate and the bottom portion can be increased or decreased. The absorber manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying plate is divided into a plurality of parts in a circumferential direction of the rotating drum.