JP4533083B2 - Disposable absorbent article and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a disposable absorbent article and a method for producing the same.

  In the disposable absorbent article, the absorbent body insertion portion applied to the wearer's crotch sandwiched the absorbent body between the outer dressing located on the opposite side of the skin surface and the inner dressing located on the skin side. Some have a structure. Note that at least a portion of the outer covering that sandwiches the absorber is liquid-impermeable, and at least a portion of the inner covering that sandwiches the absorber is liquid-permeable.

  As a conventional disposable absorbent article of this type, a hot melt adhesive is applied in a striped manner by a contact coating method on the entire surface of the inner covering located on the skin surface side, and the inner covering, the absorbent body, and the outer covering There is something that is glued.

  In addition, as another conventional disposable absorbent article, there is one in which the entire inner surface is bonded with a hot melt adhesive applied by a non-contact coating method.

  However, in the configuration in which the inner material is bonded by a hot melt adhesive applied in a stripe pattern by a contact coating method, the inner material can be bonded securely, but the hot melt adhesive is solid. The streaked application portion that has been painted and the streaky non-application portion that has not been applied at all occur alternately, causing unevenness in the liquid absorption performance of the absorber insertion portion, leading to performance degradation. Along with this, there is a decrease in the feeling of touch.

  In addition, in the configuration in which the inner material is bonded using the hot melt adhesive applied by the above-described non-contact coating method, the hot melt adhesive can be uniformly applied to the inner material, but absorption that requires adhesive strength is required. Adhesion is insufficient at the lateral periphery of the body insertion portion, and problems such as liquid leakage and strength reduction are likely to occur.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the liquid absorption performance and the touch feeling of the absorbent body insertion portion, and ensure that the inner and outer clothing materials in the lateral peripheral portion of the absorbent body insertion portion are secured. Disclosed is a disposable absorbent article that can be bonded and a method for manufacturing the same.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the invention of claim 1, it is a disposable absorbent article having an absorbent body insertion portion applied to the wearer's crotch, wherein the absorbent body insertion portion is opposite to the skin surface side. An outer covering positioned on the skin surface side, an absorbent body sandwiched between the outer covering and the inner covering, and the inner covering is arranged in a lateral direction. In the first region located in the center, the absorber and the outer covering material are bonded to each other by a hot melt adhesive applied by a non-contact coating method, and the second and second regions located on both the left and right sides of the first region. In the region 3, the absorber and the outer covering are bonded by a hot melt adhesive applied by a contact coating method.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the disposable absorbent article according to the first aspect of the invention, in the non-contact coating method, the hot melt adhesive discharged from the discharge portion is applied while being controlled by the discharge air. Processing is performed.

  Moreover, in invention of Claim 3, in the disposable absorbent article which concerns on invention of Claim 1 or 2, in the said contact application system, application | coating process in the state in which the application part which applies a hot-melt-adhesive is in contact with the application surface Is done.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the disposable absorbent article according to the second aspect of the invention, the hot melt adhesive applied to the first region by the non-contact application method is a rubber-based hot melt adhesive. An agent is used.

  The invention of claim 5 is a method for manufacturing a disposable absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hot melt adhesive is applied by the non-contact application method and the contact application method. In the step of applying to the surface, the coating process by the contact coating method is performed prior to the coating process by the non-contact coating method.

<Terminology>
In the present specification, the “disposable absorbent article” is a concept including a disposable diaper and a urine absorbing pad.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the first region where the inner packaging material of the disposable absorbent article is located in the center in the lateral direction, the absorbent body and the absorbent body are coated with the hot melt adhesive applied by the non-contact coating method. In the second and third regions, which are bonded to the outer covering and located on the left and right sides of the first region, are bonded to the absorber and the outer covering by the hot melt adhesive applied by the contact coating method. In addition, it is possible to reliably bond the inner covering and the outer covering at the peripheral portion in the lateral direction of the absorber insertion portion while improving the liquid absorption performance and the touch feeling of the absorber insertion portion.

  According to the non-contact coating method according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the coating process is performed while the discharge mode of the hot melt adhesive discharged from the discharge portion is controlled by the discharge air, the hot melt adhesive is discharged. The form can be easily controlled, and the hot melt adhesive can be applied uniformly.

  According to the contact coating method according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the coating process is performed in a state where the coating portion for coating the hot melt adhesive is in contact with the coating surface, the hot melt adhesive is applied to a desired portion. Can be applied reliably.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the rubber-based hot melt adhesive is excellent in flexibility, the discharge form of the adhesive can be easily controlled by the discharge air when applied by the non-contact coating method. Can do.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, since the coating process by the contact coating method is performed prior to the coating process by the non-contact coating method, the coating part is in contact with the coating surface during the coating process by the contact coating method. It is possible to prevent the application state of the hot melt adhesive applied by the non-contact application method from being deteriorated.

<Overall explanation>
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disposable diaper that is a disposable absorbent article according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a flat-type disposable diaper will be described. However, in a similar manner, the present invention is a pants-type disposable diaper, where a diaper and a diaper cover are integrated. You may apply to the tape-type (open type) disposable diaper which has a structure, or the urine picking pad etc. which are mounted | worn inside a diaper or underpants.

  This disposable diaper 1 is of a flat type as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is used by being applied to the wearer's crotch using attachment means such as a diaper cover. Moreover, since this disposable diaper 1 is a flat type, the whole disposable diaper becomes the absorber insertion part substantially. In addition, the code | symbol X in FIG. 1 has shown the horizontal direction (left-right direction seeing from a wearer), and the code | symbol Y has shown the vertical direction (front-back direction seeing from a wearer).

  This disposable diaper 1 includes an absorbent body 3 that absorbs excrement, an outer dressing (back sheet) 5 that is located on the opposite side of the skin surface, and an inner dressing 7 that is located on the skin side. As shown in FIG. 3, the absorber 3 is sandwiched between the outer covering 5 and the inner covering 7.

  The absorbent body 3 is, for example, a paper sheet such as tissue paper or a coated sheet such as a liquid-permeable nonwoven sheet obtained by mixing a granular polymer absorber with a hydrophilic fiber aggregate layer such as pulverized pulp fiber or cellulose fiber. Wrapped and formed into a flat shape.

  The outer covering 5 is impervious to at least a portion sandwiching the absorber 3. In the present embodiment, the entire outer covering 5 is composed of a water-repellent nonwoven fabric or a resin sheet.

  The inner covering 7 is liquid-permeable at least at a portion sandwiching the absorber 3. In the present embodiment, the inner covering 7 includes a liquid-permeable top sheet 11 and two liquid-impermeable side sheets 13L and 13R. More specifically, the top sheet 11 is made of a liquid-permeable nonwoven fabric or the like, and the side sheets 13L and 13R are made of a nonwoven fabric or the like that has air permeability and water repellency.

  The top sheet 11 is arranged in a band shape along the vertical direction Y in the center of the horizontal direction X, and the side sheets 13L and 13R are arranged in a band shape along the vertical direction Y on both the left and right sides of the top sheet 11. The side sheets 13L and 13R are arranged so that a part thereof overlaps with the left and right side edges of the top sheet 11 from the skin surface side, and the side sheets 13L and 13R are overlapped on the top sheet 11. Thus, the three-dimensional gathers 15L and 15R are formed. The free ends of the three-dimensional gathers 15L and 15R are joined in a substantially tubular shape by a joining means 19 such as ultrasonic welding (or heat welding) while enclosing an elastic member 17 such as rubber. The top sheet 11 and the side sheets 13L and 13R are joined at the left and right ends of the top sheet 11 by a joining means 21 such as a hot melt adhesive.

<Inner equipment joining structure>
In the disposable diaper 1 configured as described above, the inner covering 7 and the outer covering 5 are joined as follows.

  The inner covering 7 has hot melt adhesives 23 and 25 applied to the surface opposite to the skin surface of the inner covering 7 in a state where the top sheet 11 and the side sheets 13L and 13R are bonded in advance (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 6), the absorber 3 and the outer covering 5 are bonded.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the first region B1 located at the center in the lateral direction X of the inner covering 7 is absorbed by the rubber-based hot melt adhesive 23 applied by the non-contact coating method. Bonded to the body 3 and the outer covering 5. In addition, the second and third regions B2 and B3 located on the left and right sides of the first region B1 of the inner covering 7 are absorbed by the absorber 3 and the outer covering by the hot melt adhesive 25 applied by a contact coating method. 5 and bonded.

  Such 1st thru | or 3rd area | regions B1-B3 are set so that the inner side covering 7 may be cut | disconnected in the vertical direction Y longitudinally. In the present embodiment, the lateral width of the first region B1 is set to be approximately equal to the width of the constricted portion of the absorber 3 having a substantially gourd shape in plan view, but is not limited thereto. The second and third regions B2 and B3 cover the remaining region of the inner covering 7 such that one side edge thereof slightly overlaps the left and right side edges of the first region B1. Is set to In the present embodiment, the first region B1 and the second and third regions B2 and B3 are partially overlapped. However, as a modification, the regions B1 to B3 are not overlapped with each other. May be set.

  In the first region B1, as shown in FIG. 5, the hot melt adhesive 23 is spirally applied by a non-contact application method, whereby a plurality of spiral application patterns extending along the vertical direction Y are substantially striped. It is formed in a shape. For example, the lateral width C1 of each spiral application pattern is set to 5 to 20 mm (for example, 15 mm), and the interval D1 between the application patterns is set to 5 mm, for example. As a modified example, another spiral application pattern may be provided so as to close a gap between the application patterns.

  In the second and third regions B2 and B3, as shown in FIG. 6, the hot melt adhesive 25 is applied in a stripe shape by a contact application method, and a plurality of solid streaks extending along the vertical direction Y are formed. The coating pattern is formed in a stripe shape. For example, the width C2 of each coating pattern is set to 1 to 3 mm, and the pitch E1 is set to 2 to 10 mm.

  Although there is no particular limitation on the application method of the hot melt adhesive for the outer covering 5, in this embodiment, the hot melt adhesive is applied in the longitudinal direction Y to the skin side surface of the outer covering 5 by the contact application method. It is applied in an extending stripe shape. Then, the hot melt adhesive bonds the outer covering 5 to the absorber 3 and the inner covering 7.

<Application process of hot melt adhesive>
Next, the application process of the hot melt adhesives 23 and 25 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the outer covering 5 and the inner covering 7 are supplied to the bonding portion 31 of the production line in a state of being continuously connected in the longitudinal direction Y.

  The hot melt adhesive 25 is first applied to the inner covering 7 by the contact type application device 33 in the second and third regions B2 and B3 on the surface opposite to the skin surface side. Subsequently, the hot-melt adhesive 23 is applied to the first region B1 on the same surface by the non-contact type application device 35 on the downstream side in the transport direction of the contact type application device 33. The inner covering 7 to which the adhesives 23 and 25 are applied is supplied to the bonding unit 31.

  In the contact-type coating device 33, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the application part 37 for applying the hot melt adhesive 25 is in contact with the application surface of the inner covering 7 (between the application surface and the application part 37. (Including a state where a slight gap exists).

  Further, in the non-contact type coating apparatus 35, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the discharge form (discharge direction) of the hot melt adhesive 23 discharged from the discharge unit 41 in a thread shape is discharged from the plurality of air discharge units 43. The hot melt adhesive 23 is applied spirally by being controlled by the air. At this time, since the hot melt adhesive 23 is made of rubber having excellent flexibility, the discharge form of the adhesive 23 can be easily controlled by the discharge air.

  The hot melt adhesive is applied to the outer covering 5 by the contact-type coating device 45 on the skin surface side. After the coating process, the inner covering 7 is supplied to the bonding unit 31. Note that the contact-type coating device 45 has a basic structure substantially similar to that of the contact-type coating device 33.

  The coating process by these devices 33, 35, 45 is performed while conveying the outer covering 5 and the inner covering 7.

  Thus, the outer covering 5 and the inner covering 7 subjected to the coating process of the adhesives 23, 25, etc. are supplied to the bonding section 31 so as to sandwich the absorber 3 inserted by a conveying device (not shown). Then, a bonding process is performed. When the bonding is completed, the disposable diaper 1 continuously supplied to a cutting unit (not shown) is separated from each other, and the outer edges of the outer covering 5 and the inner covering 7 are cut into a predetermined shape. The outer shape of the diaper 1 is adjusted.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the first region B1 where the inner covering 7 is located at the center in the lateral direction X, the absorbent 3 is absorbed by the hot melt adhesive 23 applied by the non-contact coating method. In the second and third regions B2 and B3, which are bonded to the outer covering 5 and located on the left and right sides of the first region B1, the absorber 3 and the outer side by the hot melt adhesive 25 applied by the contact coating method. Since it is bonded to the dressing 5, it is possible to reliably bond the inner dressing and the outer dressing in the peripheral part in the lateral direction X of the disposable diaper 1 while improving the liquid absorption performance and feel of the disposable diaper 1. .

  Further, according to the non-contact coating method according to the present embodiment, the hot melt adhesive 23 is applied while the discharge form of the hot melt adhesive 23 discharged from the discharge portion 41 is controlled by the discharge air. The discharge form can be easily controlled, and the hot melt adhesive 23 can be uniformly applied.

  In addition, according to the contact application method according to the present embodiment, the application process is performed in a state where the application part 37 for applying the hot melt adhesive 25 is in contact with the application surface of the inner covering 7. 25 can be reliably applied to a desired part.

  Further, since the rubber-based hot-melt adhesive 23 is excellent in flexibility, the discharge form of the adhesive 23 can be easily controlled by the discharge air when applied by a non-contact application method.

  In addition, since the application process of the adhesive 25 by the contact application method is performed before the application process of the adhesive 23 by the non-contact application method, the application part 37 applies the inner covering 7 during the application process by the contact application method. It is possible to prevent the application state of the hot melt adhesive 23 applied by the non-contact application method in contact with the surface from being deteriorated.

<Modification>
10 (a) to 10 (c) show modified examples of the application pattern of the hot melt adhesive 23 applied to the first region B1 of the inner covering 7 by the non-contact application method. 10 (a) to 10 (c) show sawtooth, omega, and fine fiber coating patterns, respectively. There are also cases where the saw-toothed and omega-shaped coating patterns are collectively referred to as a zigzag pattern. Moreover, the fine fiber-shaped application pattern of FIG.10 (c) is obtained, for example by the coating device 51 shown in FIG. That is, in this apparatus 51, the hot melt adhesive 23 that is discharged from the discharge port 53 in a substantially interdigital shape along the lateral direction X is caused by the air discharged from the air discharge port 55 provided near the discharge port 53. It is applied while being dispersed in a fiber form.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the hot-melt-adhesives 23 and 25 were apply | coated to the inner surface material 7, as a modification, in the state which bonded the absorber 3 to the outer surface material 5, the outer surface material 5 is attached. And you may make it apply | coat the hot-melt-adhesives 23 and 25 to the skin surface side of the absorber 3. FIG.

It is a top view of the disposable diaper which is the disposable absorbent article which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state before bonding an absorber, an outer surface material, and an inner surface material. It is a top view for demonstrating the 1st thru | or 3rd area | region which performs application | coating of a hot-melt-adhesive separately. It is a figure which shows the spiral application pattern of the hot-melt-adhesive apply | coated non-contact. It is a figure which shows the striped application pattern of the hot-melt-adhesive apply | coated by contact. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing process of the disposable diaper of FIG. It is a figure which shows the partial structure of a contact-type coating device. It is a figure which shows the partial structure of a non-contact-type coating device. FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C are diagrams showing modifications of the application pattern of FIG. It is a figure which shows the partial structure of the coating device for implement | achieving the coating pattern of FIG.10 (c).

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disposable diaper, 3 absorber, 5 Outer material, 7 Inner material, 11 Top sheet, 13L, 13R Side sheet, 15L, 15R Three-dimensional gather, 17 Elastic member, 19, 21 Joining means, 23, 25 Hot melt adhesion Agent, 31 Bonding unit, 33 Contact coating device, 35 Non-contact coating device, 37 Coating unit, 41 Discharging unit, 43 Air discharging unit, 45 Contact coating device, 51 Coating device, B1 First region, B2 2nd area, B3 3rd area, X horizontal direction, Y vertical direction

Claims (5)

A disposable absorbent article having an absorbent insert applied to the wearer's crotch,
The absorber insertion part is
An outer covering located on the opposite side of the skin surface;
An inner covering located on the skin side;
An absorbent body sandwiched between the outer covering and the inner covering;
With
The inner covering is
In the first region located in the center in the lateral direction, the absorbent body and the outer covering are bonded by a hot melt adhesive applied by a non-contact coating method,
The second and third regions located on the left and right sides of the first region are bonded to the absorber and the outer covering material by a hot melt adhesive applied by a contact coating method. Disposable absorbent article. The disposable absorbent article according to claim 1,
In the non-contact application method, the disposable absorbent article is characterized in that the application process is performed while the discharge form of the hot melt adhesive discharged from the discharge portion is controlled by the discharge air. The disposable absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2,
In the contact application method, the disposable absorbent article is characterized in that the application process is performed in a state where the application part for applying the hot melt adhesive is in contact with the application surface. The disposable absorbent article according to claim 2,
A disposable absorbent article in which a rubber-based hot melt adhesive is used as the hot melt adhesive applied to the first region by the non-contact application method. A method for producing a disposable absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In the step of applying the hot melt adhesive to the application surface by the non-contact application method and the contact application method, the application process by the contact application method is performed before the application process by the non-contact application method. A method for manufacturing a disposable absorbent article.

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