JP5989188B1 - Method for producing shaped nonwovens for absorbent articles - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for producing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles, wherein a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch is produced at high speed from the nonwoven fabric. A method of manufacturing a shaped nonwoven fabric 7 for an absorbent article, comprising preheating a nonwoven fabric 3 to be shaped, and a pair of preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped. Including the step of shaping the pre-heated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped by passing between the shaping members 17 and forming the shaped nonwoven fabric 7. The shape member 19 includes a plurality of pins 21a including a plurality of protrusions 19a and a plurality of concave grooves 19b, and the second shaping member 21 is disposed so as to mesh with the concave grooves 19b. The non-woven fabric 7 provided and shaped is provided in (i) a plurality of ridges 105, (ii) a plurality of groove portions 107 having a groove bottom portion 109, and (iii) a groove bottom portion 109 of the groove portion 107. Are intermittently disposed on the second surface 103 side, A method comprising a plurality of recesses 111 having a bottom 113. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing shaped nonwovens for absorbent articles.

A method for producing a nonwoven fabric having various properties from a nonwoven fabric is provided.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes a surface sheet of an absorbent article in which various physical properties required for the surface sheet of the absorbent article such as fit, texture, dry feeling, and soft feeling are improved, and a method for producing the surface sheet. Has been.

  In paragraph [0061] of Patent Document 1, “The surface sheet of the present invention can be produced by mechanically opening the nonwoven fabric as described above. More specifically, along the conveyance direction of the nonwoven fabric. , Between a pin roll (first pressing die) having a plurality of convex pins having a pyramid or conical shape in a row and arranged in multiple rows, and the multi-row convex pins It is described that a surface sheet having the above structure can be manufactured by interposing the non-woven fabric between a ridge roll (second pressing mold) having a ridge portion to be performed.

  Further, in paragraph [0063] of Patent Document 1, “In this case, when the pin roll is heated to 60 to 260 ° C. and used, the nonwoven fabric comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the convex pin (that is, from the surface to the above) By partially softening or partially melting the non-woven fabric that extends toward the back surface and forms the apertures) by heat, the density of the peripheral edge at the lower end of the apertures is made higher than that of other portions (in particular, That is, the sheet thickness can be reduced).

JP-A-8-302555

However, in Patent Document 1, since the pin roll is heated to a high temperature and the non-woven fabric contacting the convex pin peripheral portion is partially softened or partially melted by heat, the lower end peripheral portion of the non-woven fabric is easily cured. Therefore, when the skin comes into contact with the nonwoven fabric described in Patent Document 1, particularly when pressed and contacted in the thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric, or when the skin is slid in the plane direction of the nonwoven fabric, the lower peripheral edge The hard part of this hits the skin, and the touch of the nonwoven fabric is greatly impaired. Moreover, in the method described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to partially melt the nonwoven fabric, and thus it is difficult to manufacture the nonwoven fabric at high speed.
As mentioned above, this indication aims at providing the method of manufacturing the shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles which manufactures the nonwoven fabric which is excellent in the touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

  The present disclosure is a method of manufacturing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles having a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side having thermoplastic resin fibers Preheating the non-woven fabric to be shaped, and preheating the non-woven fabric to be shaped between a pair of shaping members comprising a first shaping member and a second shaping member. The first surface and the second surface are passed through the second shaping member and the first shaping member, respectively, thereby shaping the nonwoven fabric to be shaped and forming the shaped nonwoven fabric. In the pair of shaping members, the first shaping member includes a plurality of protruding ridges extending in one direction and a plurality of concave grooves disposed between the plurality of protruding ridges. The shaping member is arranged intermittently along the one direction and arranged so as to mesh with each of the plurality of grooves. A plurality of pins including a tip portion, and the shaped nonwoven fabric is formed by the following (i) to (iii); (i) extending in the one direction and projecting to the first surface side, (Iii) a plurality of groove portions having a groove bottom portion extending in the one direction and recessed in the second surface side between the plurality of flange portions; and (iii) the plurality of groove portions; The present invention has found a method comprising a plurality of recesses provided at the groove bottom of each of the groove portions, intermittently disposed in the one direction, recessed on the second surface side, and having a bottom portion. .

  The method for producing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles of the present disclosure produces a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a manufacturing apparatus 1 used in the method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an essential part enlarged perspective view schematically showing the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part schematically showing the arrangement of the pins 21 a of the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the pin 21 a of the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing meshing of the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a shaped nonwoven fabric 7 manufactured by the method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a partially broken perspective view schematically showing the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 manufactured by the method according to the first embodiment. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. FIG. 9 is a view for explaining holes in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a peripheral wall portion in one direction.

The present disclosure relates to the following aspects.
[Aspect 1]
A method for producing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles having a first side and a second side, comprising:
A step of preheating a non-woven fabric to be shaped having a first surface and a second surface and including thermoplastic resin fibers, and the pre-heated non-woven fabric to be shaped, the first shaping member and the second shaping material The non-woven fabric to be shaped is passed between a pair of shaped members provided with shaped members by passing the first side and the second side in contact with the second shaped member and the first shaped member, respectively. Forming a shaped nonwoven fabric,
Including
In the pair of shaping members, the first shaping member includes a plurality of protruding ridges extending in one direction and a plurality of concave grooves arranged between the plurality of protruding ridges, and the second shaping member. The member includes a plurality of pins including a tip portion, which is disposed intermittently along the one direction and is arranged to mesh with each of the plurality of concave grooves,
The shaped nonwoven fabric has the following (i) to (iii):
(I) A plurality of flanges extending in the one direction and projecting to the first surface side;
(Ii) a plurality of groove portions having a groove bottom portion extending in the one direction and recessed in the second surface side between the plurality of flange portions; and (iii) each of the plurality of groove portions. A plurality of recesses provided at the groove bottom, intermittently disposed in the one direction, recessed on the second surface side, and having a bottom:
A method as described above, comprising:
The method described in Aspect 1 has an effect of producing a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 2]
The plurality of flanges are formed by the plurality of protrusions, the plurality of recesses are formed by the tip portions of the plurality of pins, and the plurality of grooves are formed along the plurality of grooves. The method according to aspect 1.
The method described in the aspect 2 has an effect of producing a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 3]
In the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the first shaping member and / or the second shaping member are heated to a shaping temperature: T _S (° C.), and the shaping temperature: T _S (° C. ) And the melting point of the thermoplastic resin fiber: T _M (° C.)
T _M −60 <T _S <T _M +30
The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein
Since the shaping | molding nonwoven fabric is low in the step which forms the shape nonwoven fabric, the method of aspect 3 has an effect which manufactures the nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 4]
In the step of the preheater, the nonwoven fabric to be the vehicle, preheating temperature: T _P is brought into contact with the preheated member heated to (° C.), preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) and, of the thermoplastic resin fibers melting point: T _M (° C) has the following relationship:
T _M −60 <T _P <T _M
The method of embodiment 3, wherein
In the method of aspect 4, in the step of preheating, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is preheated at a predetermined temperature, so that the shaping temperature can be lowered. Therefore, the method of aspect 4 has an effect which manufactures the nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 5]
The shaping temperature: T _S (° C.) and the preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) have the following relationship:
−20 ≦ T _S −T _P ≦ + 20
The method according to embodiment 4, wherein
In the method according to aspect 5, since the difference between the preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) and the shaping temperature: T _S (° C.) is within a predetermined range, in the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, The time for adjusting the temperature of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped to a desired range can be shortened. Therefore, the method of aspect 5 has an effect which manufactures the nonwoven fabric excellent in the touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 6]
Each of the plurality of pins includes a flat surface at the tip of the tip, and in the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the flat surface is the preheated second surface of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the bottom portion of the concave portion is formed so as to be in parallel with the concave portion.
The method according to aspect 6 includes a flat surface at the tip of the tip of the pin, and the flat surface forms the bottom of the shaped nonwoven fabric recess, so that the bottom of the recess has a hole. Hateful. Therefore, the method of aspect 6 has the effect that the shaped nonwoven fabric is excellent in rigidity.

[Aspect 7]
Each of the plurality of pins further includes a pair of tapered surfaces adjacent to the one direction with the flat surface sandwiched between the tip portions, and the pair of tapered surfaces is the tip in the one direction. The method according to aspect 6, wherein the portion is arranged to be tapered toward the tip.

  In the method according to aspect 7, the tip portion includes a pair of tapered surfaces adjacent to the flat surface in one direction, and the tip portion is arranged to be tapered. A hole is unlikely to be formed in the peripheral wall in one direction of the recess. In addition, when the pair of tapered surfaces of the second shaping member pushes the nonwoven fabric to be shaped in the direction of the first shaping member, the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric is performed at high speed. Even so, the concave portion is easily shaped into a desired shape. Therefore, the method described in the aspect 7 has an effect of producing a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at a high speed.

[Aspect 8]
Immediately before being shaped by the pair of shaping members, the conveyance speed of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped is the shape of the shaped nonwoven fabric immediately after being shaped by the pair of shaping members. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the method is faster than the conveyance speed.
In the method according to aspect 8, since the conveyance speed of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped is faster than the conveyance speed of the shaped nonwoven fabric, the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped is a pair of shaping At the member, it becomes difficult to deform in the conveying direction, and the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped can be shaped stably. Therefore, the method described in the aspect 8 has an effect of stably producing a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 9]
The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein the fiber density at the bottom of the recess is higher than the fiber density of the collar.
The method according to the ninth aspect has an effect of manufacturing a shaped nonwoven fabric having excellent rigidity from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 10]
The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the thermoplastic resin fiber is not fused at the bottom of the recess.
In the method according to aspect 10, since the plastic resin fiber at the bottom of the concave portion of the shaped nonwoven fabric is not fused, the shaped nonwoven fabric is excellent in touch. Therefore, the method described in the aspect 10 has an effect of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 11]
In the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is broken and stretched between the pin and the ridge in the other direction orthogonal to the one direction. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein a hole is formed in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the concave portion by extending and breaking at a rate greater than or equal to the rate.
In the method described in the aspect 11, the hole is formed in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the concave portion of the shaped nonwoven fabric. As a result, when the user slides the first surface of the shaped non-woven fabric, the user feels smoothness, and the hole is difficult to touch the skin, so it is difficult to feel uncomfortable or foreign matter. Therefore, the method described in the aspect 11 has an effect of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 12]
In the step of forming the shaped non-woven fabric, the non-woven fabric to be shaped is stretched between the two adjacent pins in the one direction above the plastic deformation elongation rate of the non-woven fabric to be shaped and the elongation at break. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 11, wherein the unidirectional peripheral wall portion of the concave portion is not broken by extending to less than a rate.
In the method according to aspect 12, the peripheral wall portion in one direction of the concave portion of the shaped nonwoven fabric is not broken. As a result, the rigidity of the shaped nonwoven fabric is improved. Therefore, the method described in the aspect 12 has an effect of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric excellent in rigidity from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 13]
The pair of shaping members are a pair of shaping rolls, and the first shaping member and the second shaping member rotate in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped, respectively. The method as described in any one of aspects 1-12 which is a 1st shaping roll and a 2nd shaping roll which have an axis | shaft.
In the method according to aspect 13, the first shaping member and the second shaping member are a first shaping roll and a second shaping roll, respectively. Therefore, the method of aspect 13 has an effect which manufactures the nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at high speed.

[Aspect 14]
The first shaping roll includes the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of concave grooves on the outer peripheral surface thereof, the second shaping roll includes the plurality of pins on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the one direction. The method according to aspect 13, wherein is the transport direction.
In the method according to Aspect 14, the first shaping roll and the second shaping roll have a predetermined structure. Therefore, the method according to the fourteenth aspect has an effect of producing a non-woven fabric excellent in touch at high speed from the non-woven fabric.

[Aspect 15]
The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 14, wherein the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is an air-through nonwoven fabric or a spunbonded nonwoven fabric.
The method described in the aspect 15 has an effect of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric excellent in touch from a nonwoven fabric at a high speed.

  Hereinafter, the method of manufacturing the shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles of this indication is demonstrated using drawing. In the present specification, the “method for producing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles” may be simply referred to as “method”.

  1 to 5 are diagrams for explaining a method of manufacturing a shaped nonwoven fabric for an absorbent article according to one of the embodiments of the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as “first embodiment”). It is. FIGS. 6-8 is a figure for demonstrating the shaped nonwoven fabric manufactured by the method according to 1st Embodiment. FIGS. 6-8 is a figure explaining the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 manufactured by the method according to 1st Embodiment.

Specifically, FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a manufacturing apparatus 1 used in the method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an essential part enlarged perspective view schematically showing the pair of shaping rolls 19 and 21. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part schematically showing the arrangement of the pins 21 a of the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the pin 21a of the second shaping roll 21, and FIG. 4B is a one-way D _O (conveying direction MD) of the pin 21a of the second shaping roll 21. It is sectional drawing. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing meshing of the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21. FIG. 5 corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 3 when the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21 are engaged with each other.
6 to 8 are a plan view, a partially broken perspective view, and a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, schematically showing the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 manufactured by the method according to the first embodiment, respectively. It is sectional drawing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 1 shapes the nonwoven fabric 3 to be shaped into a roll, and unwinds the unwoven fabric 3 to be shaped toward the conveying direction MD. A preheating device 11 for preheating the nonwoven fabric 3 to be heated, and a shaping device 17 for shaping the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped and forming the shaped nonwoven fabric 7.

  The preheating device 11 includes a pair of preheating rolls, that is, a first preheating roll 13 and a second preheating roll 15, and the nonwoven fabric 3 to be shaped is wound around the rotating first preheating roll 13 and preheated. Thereafter, the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is transferred to the rotating second preheating roll 15 and preheated.

The shaping device 17 includes a pair of shaping rolls, that is, an upper first shaping roll 19 and a lower second shaping roll 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the first forming roll 19, extending in one direction D _O (conveyance direction MD), a plurality of protruding ridge 19a, disposed between the plurality of protruding ridge 19a, the one-way D _O A plurality of concave grooves 19b extending in the (conveying direction MD), and the second shaping roll 21 is intermittently disposed along one direction D _O (conveying direction MD) and each of the plural concave grooves 19b. And a plurality of pins 21 a including the tip 23 arranged so as to mesh with each other. The plurality of pins 21 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 21 b of the second shaped part roll 21.

The plurality of protrusions 19a and the plurality of concave grooves 19b are alternately arranged in the other direction D _A (width direction CD) orthogonal to the one direction D _O (conveying direction MD).
In the first embodiment, the one direction D _O and the other direction D _A are parallel to the transport direction MD and the width direction CD, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of pins 21 a are intermittently, specifically, the pitch P _{M in} one direction D _O (the conveyance direction MD, the circumferential direction of the second shaping roll 21). Are arranged almost linearly. The plurality of pins 21a are also arranged at a pitch P _W that does not contact the ridge 19a of the first shaping roll 19 in the direction D _A (width direction CD, width direction of the second shaping roll 21). Furthermore, the plurality of pins 21 a are arranged in a staggered manner on the outer peripheral surface 21 b of the second shaping roll 21.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pin 21 a includes a flat surface 25 at the tip 23 a of the tip 23. In the shaping step, the flat surface 25 comes into contact with the preheated second surface 103 of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, and forms the bottom 113 of the recess 111 in the shaped nonwoven fabric. The pin 21 a further includes a pair of tapered surfaces 27, 27 adjacent to the one direction D _O with the flat surface 25 interposed therebetween at the distal end portion 23. The pair of tapered surfaces 27, 27 are arranged at an angle such that the tip 23 is tapered toward the tip 23a in one direction D _O.
The pair of tapered surfaces 27 also have a substantially triangular shape, and the width decreases as the distance from the flat surface 25 increases.

In order to produce the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 using the production apparatus 1, a step of preheating the nonwoven fabric 3 to be shaped unwound from the unwinding device 9, and a preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped 5 is formed to form a shaped nonwoven fabric 7.
In this specification, “the step of preheating the nonwoven fabric to be shaped” may be simply referred to as “preheating step”, and “the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric” is referred to as “the shaping step”. May be called.

  In the preheating step, the non-woven fabric 3 to be shaped, which has been unwound from the unwinding device 9 and conveyed in the conveying direction MD, is turned into a pair of rotating preheating rolls (first preheating roll 13 and Preheating is performed by sequentially contacting the outer peripheral surface of the second preheating roll 15).

  In the shaping step, the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped was passed between the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21 rotating while meshing in the shaping device 17 and preheated. The non-woven fabric 5 to be shaped is shaped by stretching between the protruding ridges 19a and concave grooves 19b of the upper first shaping roll 19 and the pins 21a of the lower second shaping roll 21 that are meshed with each other. Shape. In carrying out the shaping step, the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21 are set so that the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is stretched non-uniformly to facilitate shaping. It is preferable to heat.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 has the following configurations (i) to (iii).
(I) A plurality of flanges 105 extending in one direction D _O and protruding toward the first surface 101 side.
(Ii) A plurality of groove portions 107 having a groove bottom portion 109 that extends in one direction D _O and is recessed toward the second surface 103 between the plurality of flange portions 105.
(Iii) A plurality of concave portions 111 provided at each groove bottom portion 109 of the plurality of groove portions 107, intermittently arranged in one direction D _O , recessed toward the second surface 103 side, and having a bottom portion 113.

The upper first shaping roll 19 brings the ridge 19a into contact with the preheated second surface 103 of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, and the contacting portion is in the direction of the lower second shaping roll 21. By pushing into, the collar portion 105 is shaped.
The lower second shaping roll 21 brings the plurality of pins 21a arranged in a line in one direction D _O (conveying direction MD) into contact with the preheated first surface 101 of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, The portion of the pin 21 a that is in contact with the tip 23 is pushed into the concave groove 19 b of the upper first shaping roll 19. As a result, in the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, the portion that is in contact with the tip 23 of the pin 21a is strongly pushed into the groove 19b and shaped, and the recess 111 having the bottom 113 is formed. It is formed. Moreover, the groove part 107 is formed along the recessed groove 19b among the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped.

  Moreover, the recessed part 111 has the bottom part 113 formed by the part which was contacting with the front-end | tip part 23 of the pin 21a, and the surrounding wall part 115. FIG. The peripheral wall portion 115 connects the groove portion 107 and the bottom portion 113, and is in a direction perpendicular to the one direction with the one-way peripheral wall portion 115a that exists in one direction in which the flange portion 105 and the groove portion 107 extend. And a peripheral wall 115b in the other direction that exists in the other direction.

  In addition, the bottom part 113 of the recessed part 111 is in the state in which the upper first shaping roll 19 and the lower second shaping roll 21 are preheated and bite the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped during shaping. The tip portion 23 of the pin 21a, specifically, the flat surface 25 of the tip portion 23a of the tip portion 23 is formed by pushing the preheated contact portion of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped into the concave groove 19b. . Therefore, the bottom part 113 has a higher fiber density than other parts, for example, the top part of a collar part, and is excellent in rigidity. Therefore, the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 is excellent in rigidity due to the bottom 113 of the recess 111.

  In the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, the portion of the tip 23 of the pin 21a that is in contact with both end portions in the other direction (width direction CD) is located below the nonwoven fabric 3 to be shaped by the ridge 19a. The thermoplastic resin fiber is broken by the tension generated when the pin 21a is pushed in the direction of the first shaping roll 19 and the pin 21a is pushed in the direction of the first shaping roll 19 and has a broken end portion 125. The broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 is formed.

  As a result, a hole 117 including the broken end portion 125 of the broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 is formed in the concave portion 111. Note that some of the thermoplastic resin fibers remain in a state of being spanned over the internal space 119 of the hole 117, and some of the broken end portions 125 of the broken thermoplastic resin fibers 123 are formed in the internal space. It will be in the state extended to 119. The hole 117 is formed in the peripheral wall 115b in the other direction.

The groove bottom portion 109 of the groove portion 107 is provided with a plurality of concave portions 111 that are located on the second surface 103 side of the groove bottom portion 109 of the groove portion 107 and provided with a bottom portion 113 and provided intermittently in one direction D _O. Yes. Each of the plurality of recesses 111 includes a standing wall-shaped peripheral wall 115 extending toward the second surface 103 in a state of being continuous with the groove bottom 109, and a bottom 113 provided on the lower end side of the peripheral wall 115. .

  Each of the plurality of recesses 111 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space having an opening having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, a peripheral wall portion 115, and a bottom portion 113. Each of the plurality of recesses 111 protrudes toward the second surface 103 side of the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 and is independent of the other recesses 111.

Further, the peripheral wall portion 115 is provided with a pair of one-way peripheral wall 115a extending along the other direction D _A, and 115a, a pair in the other direction of the peripheral wall portion 115b which extends along the one direction D _O, and 115b ing. The pair of peripheral wall portions 115a and 115a in one direction are disposed at positions facing each other, and the pair of peripheral wall portions 115b and 115b in the other direction are disposed at positions facing each other.

  Each of the peripheral wall portions 115b in the other direction is formed with a hole 117 that penetrates the peripheral wall portion 115b in the other direction and communicates with the second surface 103 of the shaped nonwoven fabric 7. The hole 117 is formed at a position from the bottom 113 in the peripheral wall 115a in one direction. Each of the peripheral walls 115a in one direction does not have the hole 117, and each of the peripheral walls 115a in one direction is directly connected to the bottom 113 at the lower end side.

The hole 117 includes an internal space 119 formed by breaking the thermoplastic resin fiber without melting the thermoplastic resin fiber contained in the shaped nonwoven fabric 7.
More specifically, in the internal space 119 of the hole 117, among the thermoplastic resin fibers of the shaped nonwoven fabric 7, a broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 having a broken end portion 125 formed by breakage. Its broken end 125 is included. Therefore, the internal space 119 of the hole 117 does not have a portion where the thermoplastic resin fiber is cured by melting, and is a part of the flexible thermoplastic resin fiber or a break formed by the breakage of the thermoplastic resin fiber. It is formed by a broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 having an end portion 125. Thereby, even if the user's skin touches the internal space 119 of the hole 117, since there is no thermoplastic resin fiber cured by melting, it is difficult to feel the hardness and roughness of the nonwoven fabric.

Here, the broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 is a part of the thermoplastic resin fiber that forms the peripheral wall portion 115b in the other direction, and the thermoplastic resin fiber is physically pulled or physically pulled. It is provided with a break end portion 125 formed by cutting and breaking.
Therefore, the broken end portion 125 does not increase in the fiber diameter because the end portion of the fiber is melted and rounded as in the case where the thermoplastic resin fiber is melted. There is almost no change in diameter. As a result, even when the user's skin touches the internal space 119 of the hole 117, it is difficult to remember, feel uncomfortable due to fiber catching, and the like.

In the internal space 119 of the hole 117, a part of the thermoplastic resin fibers 127 of the thermoplastic resin fibers are bridged. Further, some of the broken thermoplastic resin fibers 123 are in a state in which the broken end portion 125 extends into the internal space 119 of the hole 117.
Therefore, in the internal space 119 of the hole 117, the thermoplastic resin fiber 127 spanned in the internal space 119 and a part of the extended fiber are mixed and completely opened. It is not a space.

  The shaped nonwoven fabric 7 has a hole 117 having an internal space 119 formed in the peripheral wall 115b in the other direction of the recess 111 without melting the thermoplastic resin fiber. Therefore, the degree of freedom of movement of the collars 105 and the fibers of the collars 105 is increased, and the tensile force of the collars 105 is relaxed by the holes 117 and the entire collars 105 are softened. It feels soft when pressed in the thickness direction, and feels smooth when the skin is slid in the plane direction of the nonwoven fabric.

  The hole portion 117 of the recess 111 has an internal space 119 formed without melting the fiber, and the internal space 119 includes a broken end portion 125 of the broken thermoplastic resin fiber 123 formed by breaking, Does not include parts cured by melting. Thereby, the shaped nonwoven fabric 7 has an excellent softness (softness in the thickness direction) and an excellent rough feeling (smoothness in the planar direction), and gives a soft feel to the skin.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the means for preheating the non-woven fabric to be shaped in the pre-heating step is not particularly limited. For example, as in the first embodiment, the non-woven fabric to be shaped is pre-heated member, specifically, The nonwoven fabric to be shaped can be preheated by winding it around a preheating roll. Alternatively, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped may be preheated by spraying a heated fluid, for example, heated air, onto the nonwoven fabric to be shaped. From the viewpoint of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric at high speed, it is preferable to perform a preheating step using a preheating member.

In the preheating step, the preheating temperature of the preheating member and the heated fluid: T _P (° C.) is equal to the melting point of the thermoplastic resin fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric to be shaped: T _m (° C.), preferably T _M − 60 <T _P <T _M , more preferably T _M −40 <T _P <T _M −5, and even more preferably T _M −30 <T _P <T _M −10. This is from the viewpoint of performing shaping at high speed in the subsequent shaping step. From the viewpoint of carrying out the shaping step at high speed, the preheating temperature is preferably close to the melting point of the thermoplastic resin fibers, but if the preheating temperature is too high, the thermoplastic resin fibers are fused and shaped. Nonwoven fabrics tend to be hard.
In the case where the thermoplastic resin fiber or the like includes a plurality of types of thermoplastic resins, for example, when it is a composite fiber, the melting point is the thermoplastic resin having the lower melting point among the plurality of types of thermoplastic resins. Of the melting point.

  In the method of the present disclosure, in the shaping step, the pair of shaping members that shape the preheated non-woven fabric to be shaped include a plurality of ridges in which the first shaping member extends in one direction, and a plurality of ridges. The second shaping member is disposed intermittently along one direction and is arranged so as to mesh with each of the plurality of concave grooves. As long as a plurality of pins are provided, their shapes are not particularly limited. For example, the pair of shaping members may have a ridge, a concave groove, a pin and the like on a planar substrate. When the pair of shaping members is a pair of shaping rolls, the shaped nonwoven fabric can be produced at high speed.

  In the method of the present disclosure, in the shaping step, it is preferable to heat the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped. This is from the viewpoint of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric at high speed. In order to heat the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped, it is preferable to heat one or both of the first shaping member and the second shaping member.

From the above point of view, the first shaping member and / or the second shaping member, shaping temperature: T _S are heated in (° C.), shaping temperature: T _S and (° C.), the thermoplastic resin Between the melting points of the fibers: T _M (° C.), preferably T _M −60 <T _S <T _M +30, more preferably T _M −40 <T _S <T _M +10, and even more preferably T _M the relationship of _M -30 <T _S <T _M is satisfied.

In the method of the present disclosure, it is preferably −20 ≦ T _S −T _P ≦ + 20, more preferably −10, between the shaping temperature: T _S (° C.) and the preheating temperature: T _P (° C.). ≦ T _S −T _P ≦ + 10 and more preferably −5 ≦ T _S −T _P ≦ + 5. By doing so, in the shaping step, the time for adjusting the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped to the shaping temperature can be shortened, and the shaped nonwoven fabric can be produced at high speed. Considering that the temperature of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped decreases from the preheating step to the shaping step, the preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) is the shaping temperature: T _S (° C.). It may be higher.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the pitch of the ridges of the first shaping member (pit groove pitch) can be appropriately set depending on the desired performance of the shaped nonwoven fabric, but the shaped nonwoven fabric excellent in touch is used. From the viewpoint of formation, the pitch of the ridges (pit groove pitch) is preferably 0.25 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and still more preferably 0.75 to 2. 0 mm.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the height of the ridge of the first shaping member (the height from the root to the tip of the ridge) can be set as appropriate depending on the desired performance of the shaped nonwoven fabric, but the touch is excellent. From the viewpoint of forming a shaped nonwoven fabric, the height of the ridge is 0.25 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and still more preferably 1.0 to 2. 5 mm.

In the method of the present disclosure, the biting depth between the first shaping member and the second shaping member is preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and more preferably 1.0 to 2.0 mm. When the biting depth is less than 0.5 mm, it becomes difficult to form the ridge and the groove in the shaped nonwoven fabric, and when the biting depth exceeds 3.0 mm, the wrinkle of the shaped nonwoven fabric The part is high and the groove part becomes deep, and the strength of the shaped nonwoven fabric tends to decrease.
In the present specification, the biting depth is a height between the tip of the ridge of the first shaping member and the tip of the pin of the second shaping member, as indicated by D in FIG. Means.

In the method of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of pins preferably includes a flat surface at the distal end of the distal end portion. This is because, in the shaped nonwoven fabric, the bottom portion of the concave portion is less likely to have a hole, and the fiber density of the bottom portion of the concave portion is higher than the fiber density of the collar portion, and the shaped nonwoven fabric is excellent in rigidity. In that case, the area of the flat surface can be appropriately set depending on the desired performance of the shaped nonwoven fabric, but it is preferably 0.1 to 1 from the viewpoint of forming a shaped nonwoven fabric excellent in touch. .0mm ^2, and more preferably it has an area of 0.2 to 0.8 mm ^2.

  In the method of the present disclosure, it is preferable that each tip portion of the plurality of pins includes a flat surface and the pair of tapered surfaces described above. This is because, in the shaped nonwoven fabric, it is difficult to form a hole in the circumferential wall portion in one direction of the recess. In addition, the pair of tapered surfaces of the second shaping member pushes the nonwoven fabric to be shaped in the direction of the first shaping member, so that the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric is performed at high speed. Even if it exists, it is because a recessed part is easy to be shaped in a desired shape. The pair of tapered surfaces are preferably adjacent in one direction with a flat surface in between. This is because a hole is not formed in the peripheral wall in one direction of the recess.

  The angle formed by each of the pair of tapered surfaces and the flat surface is preferably 30 to 60 °, and more preferably 40 to 50 °. This is from the viewpoint of shaping the concave portion into a desired shape at high speed, and from the viewpoint of not providing the peripheral wall portion of the concave portion in the direction in which the pair of tapered surfaces are arranged.

  The pair of tapered surfaces preferably have a width that decreases with distance from the flat surface. For example, the tapered surfaces preferably have a substantially triangular shape, a substantially trapezoidal shape, or the like. This is because in the shaped nonwoven fabric, holes are less likely to be formed in the peripheral wall portion in one direction of the recess.

  The method of the present disclosure includes a pair of shaping members, i.e., a first shaping member including a plurality of protrusions extending in one direction, and a plurality of concave grooves disposed between the plurality of protrusions, The shaping is performed by a second shaping member including a plurality of pins including a tip portion, which is arranged intermittently along one direction and arranged to mesh with each of the plurality of concave grooves. By manufacturing a shaped nonwoven fabric using the pair of shaping members, the pair of shaping members are not easily worn by the nonwoven fabric to be shaped, and the shaped nonwoven fabric is formed over a long period of time and at high speed. Can be manufactured.

In the method of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the fiber density at the bottom of the concave portion of the shaped nonwoven fabric is higher than the fiber density at the heel, more specifically, the fiber density at the top of the heel. This is because the shaped nonwoven fabric is excellent in rigidity.
Moreover, in the method of this indication, it is preferable that the thermoplastic resin fiber is not melt | fused in the bottom part of the recessed part of the shaped nonwoven fabric. From the viewpoint of touch.

In the method according to the first embodiment, the hole is formed in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the recess. However, in the method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the hole portion is not formed in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the recess.
In the method according to the first embodiment, the peripheral wall portion in one direction of the concave portion is not broken, that is, the hole portion is not formed in the peripheral wall portion in one direction, but in the method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, A hole is formed in the peripheral wall in one direction of the recess.

The peripheral wall portion of the recess, that is, the peripheral wall portion in one direction and / or the peripheral wall portion in the other direction is formed as follows, and the hole portion is adjusted as follows.
Fig.9 (a) is a figure which shows the nonwoven fabric 5 which should be shape | molded immediately before shaping, and is sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. FIG.9 (b) is the figure which shows the nonwoven fabric 5 which should be preshaped in the state which the 1st shaping roll 19 and the 2nd shaping roll 21 meshed | engaged, and is a cross section corresponding to FIG. . As shown in FIG. 9A, the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped has a point 131 in contact with the edge of the tip 19aa of the ridge 19a in the other direction D _A (width direction CD). And a distance L from the point 132 in contact with the edge of the tip 23 of the pin 21a. In the state where the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21 are engaged, as shown in FIG. 9B, the distance L between the points 131 and 132 of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is: , Distance: L ′.

  It should be preheated by adjusting the height and pitch of the ridges of the first shaping roll, the pin height of the second shaping roll, the biting depth of the pair of shaping rolls, etc. The elongation rate (L ′ / L ratio) in the other direction of the nonwoven fabric can be adjusted to form the peripheral wall portion, hole, and the like in the other direction of the recess.

Specifically, the elongation rate (L ′ / L ratio) in the other direction of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is elongated to a preheated plastic deformation elongation rate of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped and less than the breaking elongation rate. Thereby, the peripheral wall part of the other direction which does not have a hole is formed in a recessed part. Moreover, by extending the elongation rate in the other direction of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped (ratio of L ′ / L) to a preheated elongation rate of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped, the hole is formed in the recess. The peripheral wall part of the other direction which has is formed.
Note that if the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is stretched below its plastic deformation elongation rate, that is, in the range of elastic deformation, at least a recess is hardly formed in the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped. This is because the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is restored to its original shape.
In addition, the plastic deformation elongation rate and break elongation rate of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped can be estimated by performing a tensile test of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped at the shaping temperature.

Fig.10 (a) is a figure which shows the nonwoven fabric 5 which should be shaped immediately before shaping, and is sectional drawing in the XX cross section of FIG. FIG.10 (b) is a figure which shows the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 which should be shaped in the state which the 1st shaping roll 19 and the 2nd shaping roll 21 meshed | engaged, in the XX cross section of FIG. It is sectional drawing. As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped has a point 133 in contact with the edge of the tip 23 of the pin 21a in one direction D _O and the tip of the adjacent pin 21a. A distance M from the point 134 in contact with the edge of the portion 23 is provided. In a state where the first shaping roll 19 and the second shaping roll 21 are engaged with each other, as shown in FIG. 10B, the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is pulled downward by the ridge 19a. Therefore, the distance: M between the points 133 and 134 of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is extended to the distance: M ′.

  Preheated shaping by adjusting the height and pitch of the pins of the second shaping roll, the height and pitch of the ridges of the first shaping roll, the biting depth of the pair of shaping rolls, etc. By adjusting the unidirectional elongation rate (M ′ / M ratio) of the nonwoven fabric to be formed, the peripheral wall portion and the hole portion in one direction of the concave portion can be formed.

Specifically, the unidirectional elongation rate (M ′ / M ratio) of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is elongated to a preheated plastic deformation elongation rate of the nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped and less than the breaking elongation rate. Thus, a unidirectional peripheral wall portion having no hole is formed in the recess. Further, by extending the unidirectional elongation rate (M ′ / M ratio) of the non-woven fabric to be shaped to be higher than the pre-heated non-woven fabric 5 to be shaped to be broken, the hole is formed in the recess. A peripheral wall portion in one direction is formed.
Note that if the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is stretched below its plastic deformation elongation rate, that is, in the range of elastic deformation, at least a recess is hardly formed in the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped. This is because the preheated nonwoven fabric 5 to be shaped is restored to its original shape.
In addition, the plastic deformation elongation rate and break elongation rate of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped can be estimated by performing a tensile test of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped at the shaping temperature.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the conveyance speed of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped immediately before being shaped by the pair of shaped members is shaped immediately after being shaped by the pair of shaped members. It is preferably faster than the conveyance speed of the nonwoven fabric, more preferably more than 0% and not more than 5%, and still more preferably more than 1% and not more than 3%. By doing so, the preheated non-woven fabric to be shaped becomes difficult to deform in the conveying direction at the pair of shaping members, and the pre-heated non-woven fabric to be shaped can be stably shaped. it can.

In the method of the present disclosure, the shaped nonwoven fabric is preferably 0.25 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and still more preferably 0.75 to 2.0 mm collar ( Groove pitch). When the pitch is less than 0.25 mm, in the formed nonwoven fabric, the height of the ridge and the groove is reduced, the contact area with the skin due to the heel is not reduced so much, and the touch may be lowered. . When the pitch is more than 5.0 mm, it is difficult to obtain a soft touch due to the heel portion and the groove portion.
In the first shaping member, the pitch can be formed by adjusting the pitch of the plurality of protrusions to the above range.

In the method of the present disclosure, the shaped nonwoven fabric is preferably 0.25 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and still more preferably 0.75 to 2.0 mm. It is preferable to have the height of the ridge groove (the distance from the groove bottom portion of the groove portion to the top portion of the ridge portion). When the height of the ridge groove is less than 0.25 mm, it is difficult to obtain a soft touch due to the ridge portion and the groove portion, and when the height of the ridge groove exceeds 5.0 mm, the ridge portion and the groove portion are easily crushed. It becomes difficult to obtain a soft touch.
The height can be achieved by the height of the ridge of the first shaping member, the height of the pin of the second shaping member, the biting depth of the pair of shaping members, and the like.

  In the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a recess, when the user touches the first surface of the shaped nonwoven fabric, the groove bottom portion of the groove portion hardly touches the skin. When the user touches the first surface of the shaped nonwoven fabric, the shaped nonwoven fabric is easier to touch the user in the order of the buttock and then the groove bottom of the groove, but the heel is most flexible. Therefore, it is preferable that there are more opportunities for the buttock to touch the user than the groove bottom, and from the viewpoint of flexibility, it is preferable that the contact area touching the skin is small. Therefore, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a recessed part, the groove bottom part of a groove part becomes difficult to touch a user, and a user becomes easy to feel a softness | flexibility to the shaped nonwoven fabric.

  In addition, by providing the concave portion at the groove bottom portion of the groove portion, when the user touches the first surface of the shaped nonwoven fabric, the concave portion is difficult to touch the user, and the user feels uncomfortable and foreign matter due to the concave portion. Difficult to remember.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the shaped nonwoven fabric is preferably 0.05 to 2.0 mm, more preferably 0.075 to 1.5 mm, and even more preferably 0.1 to 1.0 mm in height of the recess. (Distance from the bottom of the recess to the groove bottom of the groove). When the height is less than 0.05 mm, it is difficult to ensure the rigidity of the bottom, and the strength in the thickness direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric tends to be insufficient. When the height exceeds 2.0 mm, the strength in the thickness direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric tends to decrease.

  The height of the recesses described above has a ratio of preferably 10-80%, more preferably 15-70%, and even more preferably 20-60% of the height of the ridges described above. When the ratio is less than 10%, there may be a case where a space for forming the hole in the peripheral wall cannot be secured. When the said ratio exceeds 80%, the thickness of the surrounding wall part of a recessed part will become thin, the intensity | strength will fall, the surrounding wall part of a recessed part will become fuzzy easily, and the touch of the shaped nonwoven fabric may fall.

  In the method of the present disclosure, the shaped non-woven fabric is preferably 0.25-5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5-3.0 mm, and even more preferably 0.75-2.0 mm in one recess. Has a length in the direction. Similarly, in the method of the present disclosure, the shaped non-woven fabric is preferably 0.25-5.0 mm, more preferably 0.5-3 mm, and even more preferably 0.75-2.0 mm, It has a length in the other direction. This is from the viewpoint of the effect of the recess.

  In the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the concave portion, the shaped nonwoven fabric is 0.25 to 5.0 mm, more preferably 0.8 mm. The hole has a length in one direction of 5 to 3.0 mm, and more preferably 0.75 to 2.0 mm. If the length in the one direction is less than 0.25 mm, the flexibility of the recess may be insufficient, and sufficient flexibility of the collar may not be ensured. If the length in one direction is more than 5.0 mm, the hole is large, the peripheral edge thereof is easily fuzzed, and the touch of the nonwoven fabric may be lowered.

  Similarly, in the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the recess, the shaped nonwoven fabric is preferably 0.1 to 5.0 mm, More preferably, the hole has a length in the thickness direction of 0.25 to 3.0 mm, and more preferably 0.5 to 2.0 mm. When the length in the thickness direction is less than 0.1 mm, the flexibility of the concave portion cannot be ensured, and the flexibility of the collar portion may not be ensured. When the length in the thickness direction is more than 5.0 mm, the peripheral edge of the hole is likely to fluff, and the touch of the nonwoven fabric may be lowered.

  In the method of the present disclosure, if the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the recess, the flexibility of the collar portion, more specifically, the flexibility of the nonwoven fabric in the thickness direction of the collar portion And the flexibility when the skin is slid in the plane direction (particularly the other direction) of the nonwoven fabric is improved, and a smooth feel can be obtained. As a result, excellent hardness and softness (excellent softness in the thickness direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric) and excellent rough feeling in the other direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric (shaped) The non-woven fabric that has been shaped by imparting both the smoothness of the nonwoven fabric in the planar direction (particularly in the other direction) has excellent softness and coarseness and has a soft touch.

  In the method of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the shaped nonwoven fabric does not break the peripheral wall portion in one direction of the concave portion. By doing so, when the skin is slid in one direction of the nonwoven fabric, that is, in the direction in which the ridges or grooves extend, the step due to the presence of the recess is less likely to be caught on the skin, and the shaped nonwoven fabric is in one direction. This is because smoothness is ensured. That is, the circumferential wall portion in one direction is continuous with the groove bottom portion of the groove portion and the bottom portion of the concave portion, and is integrated seamlessly. Therefore, when the user slides the skin in one direction of the nonwoven fabric, It is easy to move the skin smoothly along the buttocks and grooves without feeling the difference in level. Thereby, the smoothness to the one direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric which utilized the softness | flexibility of the collar part and the softness | flexibility of a fiber is securable.

In the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall in the other direction of the recess, the hole is provided at a position from the bottom of the peripheral wall in the other direction of the recess. Is preferred. This is to reduce the chance of the hole touching the skin and making it difficult to remember a sense of incongruity and foreign matter by moving the hole as far as possible from the heel and the groove bottom of the groove.
Thereby, the smoothness at the time of making skin slide in the plane direction of a nonwoven fabric can be ensured more.

  In the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the recess, a part of the thermoplastic resin fiber is bridged and lowered in the internal space of the hole. Is preferred. Even if the user's skin touches the hole, the thermoplastic resin fiber spanned in the internal space reduces the difference in feel between the peripheral wall and bottom of the recess and the hole, This is because it makes it difficult to remember a sense of incongruity. That is, since the thermoplastic resin fiber spanned in the internal space of the hole portion does not completely penetrate the hole portion to reach the second surface of the nonwoven fabric, the level difference between the peripheral wall portion and the bottom portion and the hole portion Becomes smaller in tactile sensation. As a result, the touch becomes relatively smooth and the user is less likely to feel uncomfortable.

  In the method of the present disclosure, when the shaped nonwoven fabric has a hole in the peripheral wall in the other direction of the recess, the hole is preferably 1 to 50%, more preferably 1.5 to 35%. And more preferably has an open space porosity of 2.5-20%. When the hole area ratio is less than 1%, the hole area ratio is low, and it becomes difficult to impart flexibility to the heel and heel fibers, and it becomes difficult to impart flexibility to the heel area. When the opening ratio is 50% or more, the strength of the peripheral wall portion provided with the hole portion is likely to be low, and the boundary between the peripheral portions of the hole portion may be easily understood on the touch.

In the method of the present disclosure, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is not particularly limited as long as it includes thermoplastic resin fibers, and various nonwoven fabrics can be used. Examples of the nonwoven fabric to be shaped include air-through nonwoven fabric, spunbond nonwoven fabric, point bond nonwoven fabric, spunlace nonwoven fabric, needle punched nonwoven fabric, melt blown nonwoven fabric, and combinations thereof (for example, SMS).
In addition, when the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is a spunbond nonwoven fabric, the embossed part that heat-seals the thermoplastic resin fibers constituting the spunbond nonwoven fabric breaks in the shaping step, and the shaped nonwoven fabric is An opening is provided around the embossed portion (preferably adjacent to the embossed portion).

Examples of the thermoplastic resin fibers include those usually used in the art, such as single fibers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and graft polymers of PE and PP. The fiber which consists of is mentioned. From the viewpoint of producing a shaped nonwoven fabric at high speed, a thermoplastic resin fiber having a low melting point, such as polyethylene, is preferred.
Examples of the above-mentioned composite fibers include core-sheath fibers, side-by-side fibers, and island / sea fibers.

In the method of the present disclosure, the non-woven fabric to be shaped usually has a basis weight of 10 to 100 g / m ² , preferably 15 to 75 g / m ² , and more preferably 20 to 50 g / m ² . Moreover, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped usually has a thickness of 0.1 to 5 mm, preferably 0.5 to 3 mm, and more preferably 0.8 to 2 mm.

In this specification, the thickness (mm) of a nonwoven fabric is measured as follows.
FS-60DS [measurement surface 44 mm (diameter), measurement pressure 3 g / cm ² ] manufactured by Daiei Kagaku Seiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd. is prepared. The five different parts are pressurized, the thickness of each part after 10 seconds of pressure is measured, and the average value of the five measured values is taken as the thickness of the nonwoven fabric.

In the first embodiment, the hole portion 117 of the recess 111 is provided a pair in the other direction of the peripheral wall portion formed along the one direction D _O, in the process according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the hole Are provided on a pair of peripheral walls in one direction formed along one direction.
Moreover, in 1st Embodiment, although the hole part 117 is arrange | positioned in the position from the bottom part 113 in the surrounding wall part of the recessed part 111, in the method of this indication, the position in particular of a hole part is not restrict | limited, It is in arbitrary positions. Can be arranged.

In the first embodiment, a part of the thermoplastic resin fibers 127 of the thermoplastic resin fibers are bridged in the internal space 119 of the hole 117. However, in the method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the holes There may not be any fibers that span the internal space of the part.
In 1st Embodiment, although the recessed part 111 is formed in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, in the method of this indication, the shape of a recessed part is arbitrary, For example, cylindrical shape, prismatic shape, etc. are mentioned.

  In the first embodiment, the ridge 105 extends continuously in one direction of the shaped nonwoven fabric 7, but in the method of the present disclosure, the ridge may extend intermittently in one direction. . In that case, it is preferable that a recessed part is provided in the groove bottom part of the groove part pinched | interposed into the part where the collar part is continuing. As a result, it becomes easier for the buttocks to touch the skin and it is difficult to contact the recesses, so that it is more difficult to remember a foreign object feeling and a sense of discomfort due to the recesses.

  The shaped nonwoven fabric produced by the method of the present disclosure is used as an outer surface of a back sheet such as a top sheet, a leak-proof wall, or the like of absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, urine pads, and panty liners. Used.

[Production Example 1]
An air-through nonwoven fabric was prepared as a nonwoven fabric to be shaped. The air-through nonwoven fabric was formed from two layers, an upper layer and a lower layer. The upper layer was formed from a core-sheath composite fiber (core: PET, sheath: PE, fineness: 2.8 dtex, fiber length: 44 mm), and the basis weight was 20 g / m ² . The lower layer was formed from a core-sheath type composite fiber (core: PET, sheath: PE, fineness: 2.2 dtex, fiber length: 44 mm), and the basis weight was 10 g / m ² .

  The air-through nonwoven fabric was passed through the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 was formed. Note that the temperatures of the preheating step and the shaping step were both 100 ° C., and the conveyance speed was about 250 m / min.

[Production Example 2]
A manufacturing example except that instead of the second shaping roll 21 provided with the pin 21a, a shaping roll having the same shape as the upper first shaping roll 19, that is, a shaping roll having a ridge and a concave groove was used. In the same manner as in No. 1, the shaped nonwoven fabric No. 2 was formed. In the shaping apparatus used in Production Example 2, the nonwoven fabric was shaped by meshing the protruding ridges and grooves of the upper shaping roll with the recessed grooves and ridges of the lower shaping roll. . The biting depth of the pair of shaping rolls was the same as in Production Example 1.

[Example 1 and Comparative Example 1]
Shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1 and no. Two surface properties and compression properties were evaluated.
The surface characteristics were evaluated using an automated surface tester KES-FB4 AUTO-A manufactured by Kato Tech Co., Ltd. Specifically, by sliding a terminal to which a weight of 25 g was applied on a sample of 100 mm × 100 mm at a speed of 1.0 mm / second, an average friction coefficient: MIU, its standard deviation: MMD, surface Roughness average deviation: SMD (μm) was evaluated. The terminal had a size of 10 mm × 10 mm and was wound with a piano wire having a diameter of 0.5 mm.

The compression characteristics were evaluated using an automated compression tester KES-FB3 AUTO-A manufactured by Kato Tech Co., Ltd. Specifically, the compression characteristics were evaluated by compressing the sample between steel plates having circular planar terminals with an area of 200 mm ² . The compression speed was 50 sec / mm, and the maximum compression load was 50 gf / cm ² . Regarding the recovery process, the compression characteristics were measured at the same speed, and the linearity LC of the compression characteristic curve obtained from the measurement, the compression work WC (gf · cm ² ), and the compression recovery rate RC (%) were obtained. .
The results are shown in Table 1. For comparison, Table 1 shows the surface characteristics and compression characteristics of the air-through nonwoven fabric as the nonwoven fabric to be shaped.

As can be seen from Table 1, the shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1 is shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1; Compared with No. 2, MIU (average coefficient of friction) is small in both the one direction in which the ridge and the groove extend, and the other direction, and the shaped nonwoven fabric No. It can be seen that 1 is smooth.
In the other direction, the value of SMD (average deviation of the surface roughness) is the shaped nonwoven fabric No. No. 1 is shaped nonwoven fabric No. Higher than 2 and shaped non-woven fabric No. 2 It means that the unevenness of the surface of 1 is large. Therefore, shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1 means that the surface is smooth in the other direction, although the surface irregularities are large.
From Table 1, shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1 is shaped nonwoven fabric No. 1. It can be seen that the value of the work of compression WC is smaller than 2, and it is easy to feel softness in the thickness direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 3 Nonwoven fabric which should be shaped 5 Preheated nonwoven fabric which should be shaped 7 Shaped nonwoven fabric 9 Unwinding device 11 Preheating device 13 1st preheating roll 15 2nd preheating roll 17 Shaping device 19 1st shaping Form roll 19a Protruding edge 19aa Tip 19b Concave groove 21 Second shaping roll 21a Pin 21b Outer peripheral surface 23 Tip 23a Tip 25 Flat surface 27 Tapered surface 101 First surface 103 Second surface 105 Gutter 107 Groove 109 109 Groove bottom 111 Recessed part 113 Bottom part 115 Peripheral wall part 115a Peripheral wall part 115b in one direction Peripheral wall part in other direction 117 Hole MD Transport direction CD width direction

Claims (15)

A method for producing a shaped nonwoven fabric for absorbent articles having a first side and a second side, comprising:
A step of preheating a non-woven fabric to be shaped, comprising a first surface and a second surface and comprising thermoplastic resin fibers; and preheating the non-woven fabric to be shaped into a first shaping member and a second shaping material. The non-woven fabric to be shaped by passing the first surface and the second surface so as to contact the second shaped member and the first shaped member, respectively, between a pair of shaped members provided with the shaped member Forming a shaped nonwoven fabric,
Including
In the pair of shaping members, the first shaping member includes a plurality of protrusions extending in one direction, and a plurality of concave grooves arranged between the plurality of protrusions, and a second shaping member The member includes a plurality of pins including a tip portion, which is disposed intermittently along the one direction and is arranged to mesh with each of the plurality of concave grooves,
The shaped nonwoven fabric has the following (i) to (iii):
(I) A plurality of flanges extending in the one direction and projecting to the first surface side;
(Ii) a plurality of groove portions having a groove bottom portion extending in the one direction and recessed in the second surface side between the plurality of flange portions; and (iii) each of the plurality of groove portions. A plurality of recesses provided at the groove bottom, intermittently arranged in the one direction, recessed on the second surface side, and having a bottom:
The method comprising the steps of:   The plurality of flanges are formed by the plurality of protrusions, the plurality of recesses are formed by the tip portions of the plurality of pins, and the plurality of grooves are formed along the plurality of grooves. The method of claim 1. In the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the first shaping member and / or the second shaping member is heated to a shaping temperature: T _S (° C.), and the shaping temperature: T _S (° C. ) And the melting point of the thermoplastic resin fiber: T _M (° C.)
T _M −60 <T _S <T _M +30
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: In the step of preheating, the excipients to be nonwoven, preheating temperature: T _P is brought into contact with the preheated member heated to (° C.), preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) and the melting point of the thermoplastic resin fibers: T _M (° C) has the following relationship:
T _M −60 <T _P <T _M
The method of claim 3, wherein: The shaping temperature: T _S (° C.) and the preheating temperature: T _P (° C.) have the following relationship:
−20 ≦ T _S −T _P ≦ + 20
The method of claim 4, wherein:   Each of the plurality of pins includes a flat surface at the tip of the tip, and in the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the flat surface is the second surface of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bottom portion of the concave portion is formed in contact with the concave portion in parallel.   Each of the plurality of pins further includes a pair of tapered surfaces adjacent to the one direction with the flat surface sandwiched between the tip portions, and the pair of tapered surfaces is the tip in the one direction. The method according to claim 6, wherein the portion is arranged to taper toward the tip.   Immediately before being shaped by the pair of shaping members, the conveyance speed of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped is that of the shaped nonwoven fabric immediately after being shaped by the pair of shaping members. The method as described in any one of Claims 1-7 which is faster than a conveyance speed.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a fiber density of a bottom portion of the concave portion is higher than a fiber density of the flange portion.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the thermoplastic resin fiber is not fused at the bottom of the recess.   In the step of forming the shaped nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is broken and stretched between the pin and the ridge in the other direction orthogonal to the one direction. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a hole is formed in the peripheral wall portion in the other direction of the concave portion by extending and breaking at a rate higher than the rate.   In the step of forming the shaped non-woven fabric, the non-woven fabric to be shaped is stretched between the two adjacent pins in the one direction and at least the plastic deformation elongation rate of the non-woven fabric to be shaped and the elongation at break. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the unidirectional peripheral wall portion of the concave portion is not broken by extending less than the rate.   The pair of shaping members are a pair of shaping rolls, and the first shaping member and the second shaping member are each rotated in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the preheated nonwoven fabric to be shaped. The method as described in any one of Claims 1-12 which is a 1st shaping roll and a 2nd shaping roll which have an axis | shaft.   The first shaping roll includes the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of concave grooves on the outer peripheral surface thereof, the second shaping roll includes the plurality of pins on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and the one-way. The method according to claim 13, wherein is the transport direction.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the nonwoven fabric to be shaped is an air-through nonwoven fabric or a spunbond nonwoven fabric.