JP5420881B2 - Irregular sheet manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an uneven sheet. Moreover, this invention relates to the manufacturing method of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat using this manufacturing apparatus.

  As a method for producing a concavo-convex sheet having concavo-convexity on at least one side, the first sheet-like material is bitten into the meshing portions of the first and second rolls where the concavo-convex shape of the peripheral surface is meshed with each other The first sheet-like material is shaped with unevenness, and the second sheet-like material is superimposed on the peripheral surface of the first roll while the first sheet-like material is held in an uneven-shaped shape, A method is known in which a sheet-like material is joined to a first sheet-like material located on a convex portion of a first roll (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the first sheet-like material in a state where the irregular shape is formed is held by suction from the peripheral surface of the roll, and in this state, the first sheet-like material is held. In addition, since the second sheet-like material is conveyed to the portion where it is overlapped, the energy consumption at the time of manufacture tends to be relatively large.

JP 2005-111908 A

  The objective of this invention is providing the manufacturing apparatus of the uneven | corrugated sheet which eliminates the fault at the time of manufacturing the conventional composite uneven | corrugated sheet mentioned above, and the manufacturing method of an efficient uneven | corrugated sheet using the same.

The present invention, the peripheral surface and a first roll having a shape of irregularities, a second roll having the concavo-convex shape to the profiles and going on irregularities of the first roll on the peripheral surface, the first A third roll that heats and presses a sheet-like material positioned on the convex portion of the roll and sandwiches it between the convex portions, and a locking material is disposed in the concave portion of the first roll , The locking material is mechanically engageable with a non-woven fabric, and the locking material is provided on the tooth surface on the inner side from the pitch circle of the gear constituting the first roll. The object is achieved by providing an apparatus for producing a concavo-convex sheet that is not provided on the tooth surface outside the circle .

  The present invention also relates to a method for producing a concavo-convex sheet using the apparatus for producing a concavo-convex sheet, wherein the first sheet-like material is bitten into a meshing portion between the first roll and the second roll. The first sheet-like material is formed into an uneven shape, and a part of the first sheet-like material pushed into the recess of the first roll is locked to the locking material provided in the recess. The second sheet-like material is superimposed on the first roll while the first sheet-like material is held in an unevenly shaped state on the peripheral surface of the first roll. The manufacturing method of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat joined to the 1st sheet-like material located on a part is provided.

  According to the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the concavo-convex sheet of the present invention, the concavo-convex sheet can be efficiently manufactured, and the energy consumption during manufacture can be reduced.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
First, an example of the concavo-convex sheet manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
The principal part enlarged view of an example of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus of this invention is shown by FIG. The concavo-convex sheet manufactured according to the present embodiment is suitably used as the topsheet 1 disposed on the skin contact surface of an absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a disposable diaper.
The surface sheet 1 shown in FIG. 1 is composed of two sheet-like objects. The topsheet 1 has an upper layer 2 as a first sheet-like material directed to the skin side of the wearer and a lower layer 3 as a second sheet-like material arranged on the absorber side. The upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3 are typically composed of various nonwoven fabrics and films. As a nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric manufactured by the card | curd method, the spun bond nonwoven fabric, the melt blown nonwoven fabric, the spunlace nonwoven fabric, the needle punch nonwoven fabric etc. are mentioned, for example. When a film is used, it is preferable to perforate the film to provide a large number of holes so that the liquid can be permeated.

  The upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3 are partially joined at a number of joints 4. The upper layer 2 protrudes toward the wearer's skin side at a portion other than the joint portion 4 to form a convex portion 5. The inside of the convex part 5 is hollow.

  In the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the convex portion 5 is rectangular. Further, the convex portion 5 is a flat rectangular parallelepiped or truncated quadrangular pyramid having rounded ridge lines as a whole. On the other hand, the joint 4 is also rectangular.

  The convex portions 5 and the joint portions 4 are arranged alternately and in a row in one direction. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the convex portions 5 and the joint portions 4 are alternately arranged along the X direction in the figure to form a row. This direction coincides with the flow direction in the manufacturing process of the topsheet 1 and also coincides with the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article when the topsheet 1 is incorporated into the absorbent article or a direction perpendicular thereto. The row | line | column which consists of the convex part 5 and the junction part 4 is arrange | positioned at multiple rows over the Y direction in FIG.

  In the topsheet 1, when paying attention to any one convex portion in one row, in the left and right rows adjacent to the row, no convex portion is located at a position adjacent to the one convex portion. . “No convex part is located adjacent to one convex part” means that when one convex part is focused, the convex part is not located at the same position in the adjacent row. I mean. That is, in the Y direction in FIG. 1, it means that the convex portions are not arranged so that the convex portions between adjacent rows are completely connected. Therefore, both a part of a convex part and a part of junction part may exist in the position adjacent to one convex part, or only a junction part may exist. If the convex portions are arranged so as to be completely connected in the Y direction, a convex portion that apparently extends in the Y direction is formed, and in this case, the liquid flows out along the long convex portion. It becomes easy to cause liquid leakage.

  In the present embodiment, in two adjacent rows, the joint portions are arranged so as to be shifted by a half pitch. Therefore, when attention is paid to any one joint portion in one row, the one joint portion is a closed concave portion formed by being surrounded by convex portions on the front and rear sides and the right and left sides. That is, the joints are arranged in a staggered pattern. Accordingly, the convex portions are similarly arranged in a staggered pattern.

  By arranging the convex portion 5 and the joint portion 4 in this manner, liquid leakage is prevented extremely effectively in the absorbent article including the topsheet 1. In detail, when the top sheet 1 is used as a top sheet of a disposable diaper, for example, a diaper for a low-age infant who excretes loose stool, which is a highly viscous excrement, the following effects are exhibited. Since soft stool has a high viscosity, it is generally difficult to permeate the surface sheet quickly and stays on the surface sheet and tends to cause a lateral flow. On the other hand, according to the surface sheet of the present embodiment, the soft stool is trapped in the closed recess formed by being surrounded by the protrusion 5, so that the lateral flow is less likely to occur and is captured. As a result, the downward movement (that is, the absorber direction) is promoted. As a result, leakage of soft stool is prevented. Moreover, since the convex part 5 has a hollow inside, it has a concealing effect that the color of soft stool absorbed by the absorbent body is reduced when viewed from the surface sheet side. These effects are also exhibited when the topsheet 1 of the present embodiment is used as a topsheet for a sanitary napkin for absorbing menstrual blood, which is excrement having high viscosity, as with loose stool.

The manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of the concavo-convex sheet of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment surrounds the first roll 11 having a concavo-convex shape on the peripheral surface, and the concavo-convex shape having a mesh shape with the concavo-convex shape of the first roll 11. A second roll 12 on the surface and an anvil roll 14 (third roll) are provided. The 1st roll 11 and the 2nd roll 12 are arrange | positioned so that the uneven | corrugated | grooved part of each peripheral surface may mesh | engage. The first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14 are arranged such that the top of the convex portion of the peripheral surface of the first roll 11 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the anvil roll 14.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the first roll 11. The first roll 11 is composed of a first gear 11a and a second gear 11b made of spur gears of the same module, and these gears are concentrically attached to a rotating shaft (not shown) to form a roll. Formed. The first gear 11a and the second gear 11b have the same tooth tip diameter and the same tooth width. As for the 1st gearwheel 11a and the 2nd gearwheel 11b, the uneven | corrugated | grooved part has shifted | deviated by the half pitch in the circumferential direction.

  The teeth of the first and second gears 11a and 11b form the convex portion 17 of the first roll 11, respectively, and the inter-tooth portions of the first and second gears 11a and 11b are the first and second teeth, respectively. A recess 15 of the roll 11 is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a locking member 16 is provided in the recess 15 of the first roll 11, more specifically, on the tooth surfaces of the gears 11 a and 11 b constituting the first roll 11. It is arranged.
The locking member 16 can mechanically lock a part of the sheet-like material pushed into the recess 15 by biting the sheet-like material between the first roll 11 and the second roll 12. Is.
In the present embodiment, particles made of a material such as metal, ceramics, or plastic are sprayed onto the tooth surfaces of the gears 11a and 11b by thermal spraying to form a large number of minute protrusions on the tooth surfaces.

From the viewpoint of providing a locking member 16 that can lock a part of the sheet-like material, the thermal spraying is preferably performed under the following conditions.
The surface on which minute protrusions (locking materials) are formed by thermal spraying is in accordance with JIS B0601-1994 in terms of surface roughness in terms of easy catching on the nonwoven fabric when a fiber sheet such as a nonwoven fabric is used as the sheet-like material. The prescribed maximum height Ry is preferably 80 μm or more. The upper limit of the maximum height Ry cannot be generally stated even for the surface state of the sheet fiber, but is, for example, 180 μm.

As shown in FIG. 5, the locking member 16 includes a position intersecting the tooth tip circle C <b> 12 of the second roll 12 on the tooth surface of the gear constituting the first roll 11, and the tooth root side thereof. And over the tooth tip side. By providing the locking member 16 in this way, the locking of the sheet-like material is further ensured.
Moreover, as for the locking material 16, it is preferable that the distribution range in the radial direction of the 1st roll 11 is 20% or more with respect to the distance from the tooth bottom of a gear to a tooth tip, and is 30-50%. It is more preferable.
The locking member 16 in the present embodiment is provided on the inner tooth surface (tooth base surface) from the pitch circle of the gear constituting the first roll 11, while the outer tooth surface (tooth end) from the pitch circle. Is not provided on the surface. Further, the locking member 16 is not provided on the tooth bottom.

  Although the structure of the first roll 11 has been mainly described above, the second roll 12 also has the same structure as the first roll 11 except that the locking material 16 is not provided.

  The manufacturing method of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat using the manufacturing apparatus which has the above structure is demonstrated. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper layer 2 is fed out from the original fabric 2 ′ of the upper layer 2. Separately, the lower layer 3 is fed out from the raw material 3 ′ of the lower layer 3. The upper layer 2 that has been fed out is engaged with the meshing portion of the first roll 11 and the second roll 12 to form the irregularities on the upper layer 2. At this time, a part of the upper layer 2 pushed into the concave portion 15 of the first roll 11 by the convex portion 17 of the second roll 12 is locked to the locking material 16 disposed in the concave portion 15. As a result, the upper layer 2 formed with irregularities is stably held in a state of being in close contact with the peripheral surface of the first roll 11, and in this state, is conveyed to the junction with the lower layer 3.

  Next, under the state where the upper layer 2 is continuously held on the peripheral surface of the first roll 11, as shown in FIG. Is pressed between the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14. At this time, both the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14 or only the anvil roll 14 are heated to a predetermined temperature. As a result, the upper layer 2 located on the convex portion of the first roll 11, that is, on the gear teeth, is joined to the lower layer 3 by heat fusion. Instead of joining the upper layer 2 and the lower layer 3 by heat fusion, these layers may be joined by bonding with an adhesive or ultrasonic bonding.

The top sheet 1 shown in FIG. 1 is obtained by the above method.
According to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, unlike the technique described in Patent Document 1 described in the section of the prior art, the upper layer 2 is formed by the locking material 16 without providing a suction mechanism in the first roll. Can be prevented from rising from the peripheral surface of the first roll 11, and as a result, a concavo-convex sheet having a desired concavo-convex shape can be produced.

By maintaining the concavo-convex shape of the concavo-convex shaped sheet-like material with a locking material, the structure of the first roll 11 is simplified, and suction equipment such as a blower is not required, so the manufacturing apparatus is simplified as a whole. Thus, energy consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to provide a suction path or the like necessary for suction inside the first roll, the strength of the roll can be increased, and for example, the pressure at the time of sealing with the anvil roll can be increased. Is possible.
Furthermore, compared to the case where suction holes are provided in the tooth bottom of the gear, the distance between the teeth in the circumferential direction of the roll can be shortened, and a spacer or the like is arranged between the gear and the gear so that suction is performed from between the gears. Compared with the case of performing, the pitch of the convex part of the axial direction of a roll can be shortened. Thus, according to the apparatus and method of this embodiment, it is also easy to manufacture an uneven sheet having a fine uneven pitch.

  In the above-described embodiment, as the mechanism for holding the unevenly shaped sheet on the peripheral surface of the first roll 11, only the locking material 16 is provided without providing suction equipment. In addition, a suction mechanism can be used in combination. As the suction mechanism, various conventionally known ones can be used. For example, the method described in Patent Document 1 described above can be used in combination. Even when both locking by the locking material and suction by suction are used together, the suction force can be weakened compared to the case of holding by the suction mechanism alone, and a suction path is provided in the first roll. The diameter of the suction path can be reduced. Accordingly, even when the suction mechanism is used in combination, by providing the locking member, the manufacturing apparatus can be simplified, energy consumption can be reduced, the strength of the roll can be increased, and the uneven pitch can be reduced.

  The surface sheet 1 obtained as described above is used for absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinence pads. Absorbent articles generally have a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable or water-repellent back sheet, and a liquid-retaining absorbent disposed between both sheets. Further, the obtained sheet is used for applications other than the top sheet of the absorbent article, for example, the back sheet of the absorbent article, the base material sheet of the fastening tape in the disposable diaper provided with the fastening tape, and the landing tape with which the fastening tape is engaged. It can also be used as a base sheet for the wing in a sanitary napkin equipped with a wing, a panel material for a loop member of a mechanical fastener, a cleaning sheet, a wiping sheet, and the like.

The sheet 1 (surface sheet) after being joined between the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14 is peeled off from the first roll 11 and conveyed to the next step. The content of the next process is not particularly limited. Examples of the next step include a step of winding the topsheet 1 in a roll shape, a step of laminating and bonding with other components of the absorbent article, a step of cutting the topsheet 1 and the like.
From the viewpoint of improving the peelability from the first roll 11, the locking member disposed in the concave portion 15 of the first roll 11 has a front in the rotational direction of the roll 11 as shown in FIG. 6. A difference in surface roughness is given to the tooth surface 15f facing and the tooth surface 15b facing rearward in the rotational direction so that the tooth surface 15f facing front is smoother than the tooth surface 15b facing rearward (so as not to be rough). It is preferable to provide it as follows.

  Further, from the viewpoint of improving the peelability from the first roll 11, the sheet 1 (surface sheet) after being joined between the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14 is from between both the rolls 11 and 14. It is preferable that the conveyance direction of the sheet 1 to be led out and conveyed is inclined toward the anvil roll 14 with respect to the plane P2 perpendicular to the plane P1 connecting the centers of the two rolls 11.14. In the conveying direction of the sheet 1 that is led out and conveyed between both the rolls 11 and 14, the inclination angle θ (inclination angle toward the anvil roll 14 side, see FIG. 7) with respect to the plane P2 is 10 to 90 degrees, particularly 30 degrees. The above is preferable.

  Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving the peelability from the first roll 11, the sheet 1 (surface sheet) after joining between the peripheral surface of the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14 is composed of both rolls 11, The upper layer 2 before being introduced between the first roll 11 and the anvil roll 14, for example, by making the sheet conveying speed after being led out between 14 higher than the peripheral speed of both rolls 11, 14, and / or the like. It is preferable to apply a tension larger than the tension applied to the lower layer 3 to the sheet after being led out between the two rolls 11 and 14.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first and second gears 11a and 11b in the first roll 11 are arranged so that the pitches of the concavo-convex parts are shifted from each other by a half pitch, but are arranged at a pitch other than the half pitch. It may be. Alternatively, in the first roll 11, the teeth of the first gear 11a and the second gear 11b are arranged in parallel to the rotation axis direction of the roll, and the uneven portions along the rotation direction of the roll are alternately arranged in the entire width direction of the roll. It may be formed continuously. In this case, a concavo-convex sheet in which convex portions and concave portions extending in the same direction are alternately formed is obtained.

  In the embodiment, the two types of gears 11a and 11b are alternately arranged in the axial direction. However, as shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, the two first gears 11a and these gears It is also possible to form a set of gear groups with a single second gear 11b positioned therebetween, and to form the first roll 11 by fixing a plurality of sets of the gear groups in the axial direction of the roll.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the locking material 16 was provided in both of two tooth surfaces located in the front and back of each tooth base of the gearwheels 11a and 11b, it can also be provided only in any one. Moreover, the male member of a mechanical surface fastener etc. can also be used as a locking material.
Moreover, the manufacturing apparatus of this invention makes a 1st sheet-like material bite into the meshing part of a 1st roll and a 2nd roll, and shape | molds the 1st sheet-like material uneven | corrugated, and bites at the time of biting The first sheet is placed on the peripheral surface of the first roll by locking a part of the first sheet-like material pushed into the recess of the first roll with the locking member provided in the recess. The three-dimensional shape of the first sheet-like material formed with unevenness is stabilized (fixed) by holding the shape as it is formed with unevenness, and heating in that state for a predetermined time or cooling after heating. Thus, an uneven sheet made only of the first sheet-like material may be manufactured.

  The thickness of the convex and concave portions of the concavo-convex sheet can be appropriately determined according to the specific use of the concavo-convex sheet, and is not particularly limited. However, when used as a top sheet of an absorbent article, the thickness ( The ratio (T5 / T4) of the thickness (maximum thickness) T5 in the convex portion 5 to the minimum thickness (T4) can be 1 to 100, for example, and preferably 3 to 60.

It is a perspective view which expands and shows the principal part of an example of the uneven | corrugated sheet manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus of the uneven | corrugated sheet of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the 1st roll in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the principal part cross section by the plane perpendicular | vertical to the rotating shaft of the 1st roll in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows typically a principal part cross section by the plane perpendicular | vertical to the rotating shaft of both rolls which shows a mode that a sheet-like object is unevenly shaped with the 1st and 2nd roll in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Surface sheet (concave sheet)
2 Upper layer (first sheet)
3 Lower layer (second sheet)
4 Joining part 5 Convex part 11 1st roll 11a 1st gear 11b 2nd gear 12 2nd roll 14 Anvil roll (3rd roll)
15 Roll recess 16 Locking material 17 Roll protrusion

Claims (4)

A first roll having a concavo-convex shape on the peripheral surface, a second roll having a concavo-convex shape meshing with the concavo-convex shape of the first roll, and a convex portion of the first roll A third roll that heats and pressurizes the sheet-like material positioned above the convex portion, and a locking member is disposed in the concave portion of the first roll ,
The locking material is mechanically engageable with the nonwoven fabric,
The engaging material is provided on the tooth surface on the inner side from the pitch circle of the gear constituting the first roll, but is not provided on the tooth surface on the outer side from the pitch circle . The uneven | corrugated sheet manufacturing apparatus of Claim 1 in which the said latching material is not provided also in the tooth bottom of the gearwheel which comprises a 1st roll . The manufacturing apparatus of the uneven | corrugated sheet | seat of Claim 1 or 2 with which the latching material is not provided in the 2nd roll . It is a manufacturing method of a concavo-convex sheet using a concavo-convex sheet manufacturing device given in any 1 paragraph of Claims 1-3,
The first sheet-like material is bitten into the meshing portion of the first roll and the second roll to form the first sheet-like material, and the first sheet-like material is pushed into the concave portion of the first roll. The first sheet-like material is held on the peripheral surface of the first roll in an unevenly shaped state by locking a part of the sheet-like material of 1 with a locking material provided in the recess. A method for producing a concavo-convex sheet, in which the second sheet-like material is superposed and the second sheet-like material is joined to the first sheet-like material located on the convex portion of the first roll.

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