JP6025327B2 - Method for manufacturing absorbent article - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, incontinence pads, and diapers.

  In a method for manufacturing an absorbent article having a stretchable member, a stretchable gather member having high stretchability by stretching a stretchable member having a stretched elastic member fixed to a sheet with a pair of tooth groove rolls. Techniques for obtaining are known. For example, in Patent Document 1, as a method of manufacturing a diaper, a stretched elastic member is joined to a sheet with a hot melt adhesive to obtain a composite sheet, and the composite sheet is stretched in the direction of expansion and contraction of the elastic member. In this state, the portion of the composite sheet where the elastic member is disposed is engaged between a pair of tooth groove rolls having tooth grooves engaged with each other, and the elastic member is stretched in the expansion and contraction direction with respect to the portion. The technology to apply is described. According to this technology, the stretchable gather member provided at the peripheral opening around the legs and the waist has a large stretch when stretched in the stretch direction of the elastic member, and has high stretchability that is easy to stretch with a small force Can be.

  On the other hand, although not related to the stretching process of the elastic member, Patent Document 2 has a laminate formed by joining a top sheet and an absorbent body via a hot-melt adhesive and has a convex part for forming a groove. A groove forming step of forming the groove by passing between an embossing roll and a backup roll disposed opposite thereto is provided. In the groove forming step, the embossing roll is heated and the backup roll is heated to 70 ° C. or higher. The manufacturing method of the absorbent article which performs groove formation by these both rolls in the heated state is described. Patent Document 2 describes that by heating the roll, it is possible to prevent the hot melt adhesive that oozes from the absorber side when the roll is pressed from being wound around the roll.

JP 2010-148537 A JP 2005-218648 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, when the portion of the composite sheet where the elastic member is disposed is stretched with a tooth groove roll, the hot melt adhesive may ooze out from the portion bitten by the tooth groove roll. . The exuded hot melt adhesive has a strong adhesive force at room temperature, so that it easily adheres to the teeth of the tooth gap roll, and the height and width of the tooth may change depending on the hot melt adhesive that has adhered.

  Therefore, the problem of the present invention is that the hot melt adhesive can be prevented from adhering to the teeth, and the absorbent article having the elastic gather member can be stably and continuously produced, and the elastic member can be prevented from peeling off from the sheet. An object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for an absorbent article.

  As a result of diligent study to solve the above problems, the present inventors surprisingly performed the stretching process after joining the elastic member continuous body to the sheet while maintaining the continuous state of the elastic member. It has been found that the disadvantage that the elastic member is peeled off from the sheet is less likely to occur.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above knowledge, and comprises a substantially vertically long absorbent main body comprising a liquid-retaining absorbent body and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body, and the absorbent body. Each of the both sides along the longitudinal direction of the adhesive main body is a method for producing an absorbent article provided with an elastic gather member that is arranged to extend in the longitudinal direction and has elasticity in the longitudinal direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
A pair of tooth gaps having tooth grooves that mesh with each other at a portion of the continuous body of the elastic member in which the continuous body of the elastic member is disposed in a state in which the continuous body of the elastic member is extended in the expansion and contraction direction of the elastic member. Obtain a continuous body of stretchable gather members that are bitten between rolls and stretched in the stretch direction of the elastic member with respect to the portion,
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
The said subject is solved by providing the manufacturing method of the absorbent article which performs the said extending | stretching process in the state which heated the said tooth gap roll.

The present invention also provides a substantially vertically long absorbent main body comprising a liquid retaining absorbent and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent, and both sides along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body. A stretchable gathering member that is disposed so as to extend in the direction to each part and has stretchability in the direction, and an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
Conveying means for conveying a continuous body of belt-shaped sheets along a conveying path;
Supply means for supplying a continuous body of elastic members;
A coating means for applying a hot melt adhesive to each of the continuous body of the belt-like sheet and the continuous body of the elastic member;
A stretchable member that joins the continuous body of the belt-like sheet to the continuous body of the stretched elastic member, and thereby joins the continuous body of the beltlike sheet in a stretched state to the continuous body of the stretchable member to obtain a continuous body of stretchable members. Forming means;
It has tooth spaces that mesh with each other, bites a portion of the continuum of elastic members where the continuum of elastic members is arranged, and stretches the portions in the direction of expansion and contraction of the elastic members to expand and contract A pair of tooth space rolls forming a continuous body of gather members;
An extension supply means for supplying the continuous member of the elastic member while extending the elastic member in the elastic direction between the pair of tooth space rolls;
The tooth gap roll provides an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus provided with heating control means.

Furthermore, this invention is a manufacturing method of the expansion-contraction gathering member which has a stretching property in a predetermined | prescribed direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
A pair of tooth gaps having tooth grooves that mesh with each other at a portion of the continuous body of the elastic member in which the continuous body of the elastic member is disposed in a state in which the continuous body of the elastic member is extended in the expansion and contraction direction of the elastic member. It is bitten between rolls, and the part is stretched in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic member to obtain a continuous body of expansion / contraction gather members.
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
It provides the manufacturing method of an expansion-contraction gather member which performs the said extending | stretching process in the state which heated the said tooth gap roll.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the absorption which can prevent the adhesion of a hot melt adhesive to a tooth | gear, can manufacture the absorbent article which has an expansion-contraction gather member stably continuously, and can prevent peeling of the elastic member from a sheet | seat. A method and apparatus for manufacturing a functional article are provided.

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a skin contact surface side of a sanitary napkin which is an example of an absorbent article manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a cross section taken along line II of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a part of the extendable gather member in the sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus used in the first embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a stretching process performed on a continuous body of elastic members. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state in which a stretching process is performed on a continuous body of elastic members. FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 7C are diagrams schematically showing a procedure of a method for manufacturing an expandable gather member. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus used in the second embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 of a sanitary napkin which is another example of the absorbent article manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus used in the third embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention. FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11C are diagrams schematically illustrating another procedure of the method for manufacturing the stretchable gather member. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a method for obtaining the stretching ratio in the example of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the operation time in the production of the stretchable gather member and the stretch ratio of the member.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The method of the present invention relates to the production of absorbent articles having stretchable gathers. Examples of absorbent articles to which the present invention is applied include sanitary napkins, diapers, panty liners, incontinence pads, and the like. Examples of the stretchable gather member include gathers around the legs, a leak-proof wall having a standing function and a leak-proof function, and the like.

  1 to 3 show a sanitary napkin 1A as an example of an absorbent article to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the napkin 1 </ b> A is disposed on the back side of the wearer from the excretory part facing part A disposed opposite to the excretion part (vaginal opening) of the wearer when worn and the excretion part facing part A when worn And a rear part B. Further, the napkin 1A has an adhesive part (not shown) for fixing the napkin 1A to an undergarment or an absorbent article support on the non-skin contact surface.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the napkin 1 </ b> A is a substantially vertically long absorbent main body including a liquid retaining absorbent body 4 and a surface sheet 2 disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body 4. 10, a pair of leak-proof walls 5A, 5A as elastic gather members that are arranged on both sides along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body 10 and extend in this direction and have elasticity in this direction. And the back surface sheet 3 arrange | positioned at the non-skin contact surface side of the absorber 4 is provided.

  The top sheet 2 forms a skin contact surface of the napkin 1A, and is within a region between both side portions along the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent body 4 in the width direction Y of the napkin. On the other hand, the back sheet 3 forming the non-skin contact surface of the napkin 1A covers the whole area of the non-skin contact surface of the absorbent body 4 and further extends along the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent body 4 as shown in FIG. Side flap portions 6 are formed extending outward from both side edges. As shown in FIG. 1, the side flap portion 6 has a pair of wing portions 7 and 7 in the excretory portion facing portion A and a pair of rear flap portions 8 and 8 in the rear portion B.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the absorber 4 includes a lower-layer absorber 40 having a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners in plan view, a narrower width than the lower-layer absorber 40, and the lower-layer absorber 40. The upper layer absorber 41 which protrudes to the skin contact surface side of the central part in the width direction Y of the upper layer is provided. On the skin contact surface of the napkin 1 </ b> A, a linear groove portion 9 is formed in which the top sheet 2 and the absorber 4 are integrally recessed toward the back sheet 3. The groove portion 9 includes a continuous annular outer groove portion 9A extending in the longitudinal direction X, and substantially arc-shaped groove portions 9B, 9C, and 9D positioned inside the groove portion 9A. The inner grooves 9B, 9C, 9D extend in the width direction of the napkin 1A. The grooves 9B, 9C, 9D are located in this order from the front to the rear of the napkin 1A. The groove 9B is curved in a convex shape toward the front side of the napkin 1A. The grooves 9C and 9D are curved in a convex shape toward the rear side of the napkin 1A. The left and right ends of each of the grooves 9B, 9C, 9D are connected to the outer groove 9A or are separated from the outer groove 9A by a predetermined distance. The positions of the vertices of the grooves 9B, 9C, 9D are located on the vertical center line (not shown) of the napkin 1A.

  The upper layer absorbent body 41 exists between the groove 9B and the groove 9C and extends at two places between the groove 9C and the groove 9D so as to extend in the longitudinal direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the leak-proof wall 5 </ b> A includes a single strip-shaped sheet (sheet for leak-proof wall formation) 50 having a certain width in the width direction Y, and an elastic member disposed in an extended state on the strip-shaped sheet 50. And includes a base wall portion 51 and an elastic member placement portion 53 that is connected to the upper end portion of the base wall portion 51 and in which the elastic member 15 is placed and fixed in an extended state. . In the leak-proof wall 5A, the band-shaped sheets 50 and 50 facing each other and the elastic member 15 and the band-shaped sheet 50 are joined to each other. The sheet for forming a leak-proof wall refers to a sheet having water repellency used for forming a leak-proof wall.

  The base wall part 51 is joined to the skin contact surface 2a of the topsheet 2 above the absorbent body 4, and an upright part 52 that stands up toward the wearer's skin when wearing the joint part 13 as a starting point. have. A portion of the base wall portion 51 other than the standing portion 52 is wound down along the side portion along the longitudinal direction X of the absorber 4, and a part of the portion extends outward in the width direction Y from the side portion. The back sheet 3 is overlapped and joined. Moreover, the joint part 13 of the base wall part 51 (standing part 52) and the surface sheet 2 is linear in a plan view, and extends substantially along the longitudinal direction X to the leakage prevention wall 5A (absorbent body 10). It extends over.

  The elastic member arrangement | positioning part 53 is extended over the substantially full length of the longitudinal direction X of the absorptive main body 10, as shown in FIG. A plurality of elastic members 15 extending in the longitudinal direction X are bonded and fixed to the belt-like sheet 50 in the stretched state in the elastic member arranging portion 53, and elastic elasticity is imparted. Matches X. Each of the plurality of elastic members 15 is disposed over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent main body 10. The elastic member arrangement portion 53 is formed in a planar shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 by arranging a plurality of elastic members 15 extending in the longitudinal direction X at predetermined intervals in the width direction Y. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the elastic member placement portion 53 protrudes outward in the width direction Y from the upper end portion of the standing portion 52 (base wall portion 51), and together with the standing portion 52, FIG. In a cross-sectional view along the width direction Y as shown in FIG. In each of the pair of leak-proof walls 5A and 5A, the elastic member 15 is disposed in an expanded state between the two belt-like sheets 50 and 50 that are bent and face each other, constituting the elastic member disposing portion 53. The two belt-like sheets 50 and 50 are joined by an adhesive (not shown). The leak-proof wall 5A on one side uses a single belt-like sheet 50, and the elastic member 15 is located between the two belt-like sheets 50, 50 by being folded into two layers as shown in FIG. The form of the leak-proof wall 5A is not limited to this, and instead of bending one belt-like sheet 50, two belt-like sheets may be used and the elastic member 15 may be joined therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic member placement portion 53 is fixed to the absorbent main body 10 at the front end portion and the rear end portion in the longitudinal direction X of the leak-proof wall 5A, respectively, and the end fixing portion 54 (front end portion) A fixing portion 54a and a rear end fixing portion 54b) are formed.

  In the leak-proof wall 5 </ b> A, a belt-like sheet 50 constituting a portion (elastic member placement portion 53) placed in an extended state is stretched in the expansion / contraction direction (longitudinal direction X) of the elastic member 15. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the belt-like sheet 50 constituting the upper surface 53 a of the elastic member arrangement portion 53 bulges upward in the elastic member arrangement portion 53 toward the upper side (the skin side of the wearer). A large number of ridge-like ridges 20 are formed, and the belt-like sheet 50 constituting the lower surface 53b of the elastic member arrangement portion 53 protrudes in a convex shape downward (opposite to the wearer's skin side). A large number of ridge-like ridges 21 are formed. The large number of ridges 20, 21 in the elastic member arrangement portion 53 extend in the width direction Y orthogonal to the expansion / contraction direction (longitudinal direction X) of the elastic member 15, and the individual ridges 20, 21 are in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body 10. Many gathers are formed so as to form a regular line along X.

  Next, the first embodiment of the method for manufacturing an absorbent article according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking the method for manufacturing the sanitary napkin 1A described above as an example.

  In the manufacturing method of the sanitary napkin 1A of the first embodiment, the elastic member continuum 15 ′ extending in one direction is joined to the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ with a hot melt adhesive under the stretched state. The elastic member continuous body 5a ′ extending in the direction is obtained, and the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ in the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ is disposed in a state where the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ is extended in the elastic direction of the elastic member. The portion thus formed is engaged between a pair of tooth groove rolls 80 and 81 having tooth grooves that mesh with each other, and the stretch member is stretched in the expansion and contraction direction of the elastic member to form a stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′. And obtaining a step of cutting the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′ to a predetermined length.

  FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus for the sanitary napkin 1A. As shown in FIG. 4, the manufacturing apparatus 60A includes a conveying means (not shown) for the elongated belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′, a supplying means (not shown) for the elastic member continuous body 15 ′, and an adhesive coating. Engineering means 61 and 62 are provided. The manufacturing apparatus 60A also serves as a stretchable member continuum forming means for bending the joining roll 65, the guide member (not shown), and the strip-like sheet continuum 50 ′ for joining the elastic member continuum 15 ′ to the strip-like sheet continuum 50 ′. Means 71 and the like are provided. In addition to these, the manufacturing apparatus 60A includes a folding means 72 for the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′, tooth gap rolls (clamping bodies) 80 and 81 as stretching means, a cut roll 91 and an anvil roll 92 as cutting means. I have.

  As the folding means 71, 72 (and the folding means 73, 74, 75 described later), a known apparatus that can be used for folding this type of sheet can be used as appropriate (for example, in the earlier application of the present applicant). (See JP-A-2003-33391, JP-A-2004-180787, etc.). As an example of the bending means, the guide member is configured to include a guide member that defines the width of the conveyance path of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ to be bent, a suction means that sucks the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ under negative pressure, and the like. However, what is provided so that the conveyance path | route of strip | belt-shaped sheet | seat continuous body 50 'may become narrow gradually toward the downstream of a conveyance direction (MD) is mentioned. By using the bending means having such a configuration, the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is conveyed along the conveyance path provided with the guide member, so that the band-shaped sheet continuous body 50 ′ has a width direction (CD) from the conveyance path defined by the guide member. ) Can be bent to the inside of the CD.

  The pair of tooth groove rolls 80 and 81 has tooth grooves extending in the roll axis direction (CD) and meshing with each other on the peripheral surface portions. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a highly elongated portion 82 in which the tooth grooves are formed is formed in the entire peripheral surface portion of the pair of tooth groove rolls 80 and 81. Between the high stretched portions 82 and 82 of both rolls 80 and 81 meshed with each other, the stretched workpiece (the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′) is stretched in the MD.

  As shown in FIG. 6, teeth 82 a having a predetermined height H are formed in the high extension portion 82, and when the high extension portions 82 of the pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 are engaged with each other. Further, the tooth gaps of both rolls are engaged with each other at a predetermined engagement depth D.

  The meshing depth D (see FIG. 6) between the high-stretched portions 82 of each of the pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 increases the stretch ratio of the stretched workpiece, and gives good stretchability to the stretched workpiece. Further, although it depends on the material of the stretched workpiece, it is preferably 0.5 mm or more, particularly preferably 0.5 to 10 mm. As shown in FIG. 6, the engagement depth D of the pair of tooth groove rolls 80, 81 is a length in which adjacent teeth 82 a, 82 a overlap when the tooth groove rolls 80, 81 are engaged with each other and rotated.

  Moreover, as for the high extension | extension part 82 of the tooth gap roll 80,81, the pitch P (refer FIG. 6) of an adjacent tooth | gear becomes like this. Preferably it is 0.5-20 mm, More preferably, it is 0.5-10 mm. The width W of each tooth 82a (see FIG. 6, maximum width) is preferably less than 1/2 of the pitch P, and the height H of the tooth 82a (see FIG. 6) is preferably 0.5 to. 20 mm, more preferably 0.5 to 10 mm. When the shape of the tooth groove in each of the tooth groove rolls 80 and 81 satisfies such a condition, the stretched workpiece (extensible gather member continuous body 5A ′) supplied between the both tooth groove rolls 80 and 81 is used. , High extensibility can be imparted.

  The tooth pitch refers to the distance between the centerline of one tooth and the centerline of the adjacent tooth. The tooth width of the tooth gap roll refers to the width of one tooth. The width of the teeth 82a may be uniform over the height direction of the teeth, or may be a trapezoidal shape that narrows from the root of the tooth toward the tip, or a rectangular shape, a triangular shape, etc. Also good. The height of the teeth of the roll refers to the length from the root to the tip of the teeth. The width W of the tooth 82a is the width of the root of the tooth 82a.

  In addition to the teeth 82a, general gears defined in JIS B1701 are attached to the roll shafts of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 as driving gears. Then, the driving gears mesh with each other and rotate, so that both rolls 80 and 81 rotate synchronously even if the teeth 82a of both rolls 80 and 81 do not directly contact each other.

  The gap between the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 through which the workpiece is passed can be set appropriately and precisely, and the draw ratio of the workpiece can be easily changed by controlling the gap. . One of the pair of tooth gap rolls is provided with an elevating function (not shown) using a cylinder or the like, so that the clearance can be easily controlled. Although not shown in the figure for fine adjustment of the gap, a wedge or the like can be used. In the illustrated example, the tooth gap roll is configured by integrating the tooth gap portion and the roll, but it may be configured by segmenting only the tooth gap portion. The segmentation of the tooth gap portion is a structure in which only the tooth groove portion can be detachably attached to the peripheral surface portion of the roll as a separate member. If the tooth gap portion is segmented, it becomes easy to adjust the meshing depth of the tooth gap, change the draw ratio, change the drawing pattern, and the like. Moreover, even if the blade is worn out, it can be easily replaced by preparing spare parts, so that the downtime can be shortened and the equipment cost can be reduced. As yet another configuration, a sleeve structure may be employed. Even with the sleeve structure, the equipment cost can be reduced as well.

  Further, the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 are provided with temperature control means capable of heating the peripheral surface (the surface of the high extension portion 82) to a predetermined temperature and maintaining the state. Specifically, a plurality of heating means (for example, a cartridge heater) embedded in each of both rolls, a temperature measuring means, and the like are provided.

  The sanitary napkin 1A of the first embodiment can be manufactured using a manufacturing apparatus 60A shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, first, an elastic member continuum is formed by a merging means such as a merging roll 65 while a long belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ is conveyed by a conveying means (not shown) along the conveying path. 15 ′ is joined to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′. As a result, four thread-like elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ are arranged and fixed on one surface of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ in an elongated state at substantially equal intervals along the longitudinal direction thereof. Before placing the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ on the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′, an adhesive is applied to a predetermined position of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ by the coating means 61 and bonded to the elastic member continuous body 15 ′. In order to apply the agent by the coating means 62, the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ is fixed at the predetermined position by arranging the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ at the predetermined position. In this way, the four elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ are joined to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ in an expanded state by the adhesive (see FIG. 7A).

  Next, the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ joined with the elastic member continuum 15 ′ is bent by using the bending means 71, and the four elastic pieces obtained by joining the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ to the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′. The member continuous body 15 ′ is bent so as to be included (see FIG. 7B). The folding of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ by the bending means 71 (first folding) is performed by folding the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ in two in the width direction (CD). A stretchable member continuous body 5a ′, which is a workpiece, is formed. As shown in FIG. 7 (b), in the stretchable member continuum 5a ′, a superposed part 50c in which both side portions along the longitudinal direction (MD) of the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ are overlapped, and two layers facing each other. The elastic member continuous body arrangement | positioning part 53 'formed by pinching and fixing the multiple (4 pieces) elastic member continuous body 15' between these strip | belt-shaped sheet | seat continuous bodies 50 'and 50' is formed.

Next, the stretchable member continuous body 5a 'folded in half as shown in FIG. 7B is supplied between the pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 while being folded in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. Then, substantially the entire stretchable member continuum 5a ′ including the elastic member continuum arrangement portion 53 ′ is stretched to obtain a stretchable gather member continuum 5A ′. Supply of the stretchable member continuous body 5a 'between the two rolls 80, 81 includes supply nip rolls 93a, 93b arranged on the upstream side of the MD across the two rolls 80, 81, and a predetermined speed nip roll arranged on the downstream side. 94a and 94b are used while applying a certain tension to the stretchable member continuous body 5a ', and these nip rolls constitute an extension supply means in the apparatus 60A. As in the present embodiment, when the processing region of the stretching process covers substantially the entire width direction of the elastic member continuous body 5a ′, the rotation of the nip rolls 94a and 94b disposed on the downstream side of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 is performed. By setting the speed to a speed faster than the rotation speed of the supply nip rolls 93a and 93b arranged on the upstream side, the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ can be more stably conveyed.
Between the two rolls 80 and 81, the substantially entire stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ including the elastic member continuous body arranging portion 53 ′ is stretched in the stretchable direction (MD) of the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ by the conveying tension. Thus, it is bitten between the high extension portions 82 and 82. The forming component of the sheet in the bitten portion is stretched or broken to be appropriately broken, and plastic deformation of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ constituting the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ occurs. The elastic member continuous body arrangement | positioning part 53 'which expresses extensibility in the expansion-contraction direction of elastic member continuous body 15' is formed in expansion-contraction gather member continuous body 5A 'obtained by this.

  The stretching process is performed in a state where at least one of the rolls 80 and 81, preferably both, is heated by the heating control means. Therefore, even if the hot melt adhesive oozes out on the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ by being bitten by both the rolls 80 and 81, the hot melt adhesive is in contact with the peripheral surfaces of the both rolls 80 and 81. It becomes a molten state and it becomes difficult to adhere to the teeth of both rolls 80 and 81. For this reason, the height and width of the teeth are changed by the hot melt adhesive adhered, the amount of stretching of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is increased, and the phenomenon in which the stretching ratio increases with continuous production is suppressed, and the sanitary napkin 1A Can be stably produced continuously. Moreover, the trouble of cleaning the hot melt adhesive adhering to both rolls 80 and 81 can be saved. When both the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 are heated, the peripheral surface temperature of each roll need not be set to the same temperature, and may be different temperatures.

  In an object to be stretched (that is, the stretchable member continuous body 5a '), the elastic member 15 is joined to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50' in the shape of the continuous body 15 '. Therefore, even if the stretched portion of the elastic member continuum 15 ′ is once peeled off from the strip-like sheet continuum 50 ′ by heating, there are portions joined to the strip-like sheet continuum 50 ′ before and after the portion. Since it exists, this part is easy to return to the state joined with sheet | seat continuous body 50 'with the extended state. For this reason, in the manufacturing method of this embodiment, even if the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 are heated, the problem that the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ is peeled off from the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is unlikely to occur.

It is preferable that the peripheral surface temperature of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 at the time of stretching is equal to or higher than a temperature 20 ° C. lower than the softening point T _S of the hot melt adhesive used for fixing the elastic member continuous body 15 ′. By setting such a temperature, the adhesive strength of the hot melt adhesive can be lowered to such an extent that adhesion of the hot melt adhesive to the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 can be reliably prevented. Softening point T _S refers to softening point measured based on the ring and ball method of JIS-K-2207.

The adhesive strength that is low enough to reliably prevent the hot melt adhesive from adhering to the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 is, for example, preferably 0.2 kg / cm ² or less, and more preferably 0.1 kg / cm ^2. cm ² or less. The adhesive force of the hot melt adhesive with respect to the peripheral surface temperature of the tooth space roll can be regarded as the value of the adhesive force measured by the following method.

<Measurement method of adhesive strength>
The measurement of the adhesive force is performed using a probe tack test method. Specifically, the adhesive strength is measured using a probe tack tester manufactured by Tester Sangyo Co., Ltd. The probe in the testing machine includes a heater and a sensor for temperature measurement. A cradle is installed on the other side of the probe, and an OPP tape piece (1 cm × 1 cm) is fixed on the cradle. A hot melt adhesive having a basis weight of 30 gsm is attached to the OPP tape piece. The whole surface is coated. An OPP tape coated with a probe and a hot melt adhesive under the conditions that the probe temperature is set to a predetermined value, the probe tip diameter is 4.5 mm, the crimping speed is 0.5 cm / sec, and the crimping load is 1 kg. Crimp the piece. The crimping time is 1 sec. After the pressure bonding, the peeling strength is measured under the condition of the peeling speed of 0.5 cm / sec and is defined as the adhesive force (kg / cm ² ) with respect to the set temperature.

  Further, the upper limit of the peripheral surface temperature of each of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 is the melting point of the (resin) of the material constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body from the viewpoint of preventing curing of the belt-like sheet continuous body constituting the stretchable gather member continuous body. It is preferable to make it lower, and it is still more preferable to make it 20 degrees or more lower than the melting point of the resin constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body. The melting point of the resin constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body here refers to the melting point of the resin having the lowest melting point among the plurality of resins when there are a plurality of resins constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body. The case where there are a plurality of resins constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body means, for example, the case where the belt-like sheet continuous body is made of a composite fiber made of a plurality of resins or a case of being made of a plurality of fibers.

  In addition, the arrangement | positioning location of the elastic member continuous body 15 'in the strip | belt-shaped sheet | seat continuous body 50' which receives an extending | stretching process has raised slightly by presence of the elastic member continuous body 15 '. For this reason, the teeth 82a of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 abut on the raised portion of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 'during stretching, and do not substantially abut on the portion between the elastic member continuous bodies 15'. Therefore, in the manufacturing method of the first embodiment, the area where the hot melt adhesive oozes is small as compared with the case where the sheet not bonded with the elastic member continuous body is stretched.

  Further, in the stretched belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′, there are portions where the basis weight is relatively lowered by the stretching processing, and the hot melt adhesive is particularly likely to ooze out from the portion where the basis weight is low. The stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′ obtained by the stretching process has a convex wrinkle shown in FIG. 3 due to the presence of the elastic member continuous body 15 ′. It tends to be located on the side wall portion instead of the apex portion of the heel. For this reason, the hot melt adhesive that has oozed out is difficult to be exposed on the surface of the stretchable gather member manufactured by the manufacturing method of the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the stretched member continuous body 5a 'is stretched in the stretched direction (MD) of the elastic member, and the portion where the elastic member continuous body 15' is disposed is stretched. Here, “the state in which the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ is extended in the stretchable direction of the elastic member” means that the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ in the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ (the elastic member continuous portion of the stretched portion). When the elastic member is joined and fixed to the belt-like sheet continuous body constituting the elastic member continuous body 5a 'by the body 15') being pulled by a conveying tension or the like (hereinafter also referred to as a joint elongation ratio). ), And the belt-like sheet continuous body constituting the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ is extended or not. Here, the elongation rate substantially the same as the bonding elongation rate includes from a slightly smaller elongation rate to a slightly larger elongation rate than the bonding elongation rate. It is preferable to be in the range of 5 to 1.5 times.

  After the stretching process, the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A 'in a folded state as shown in FIG. 7B is bent using the bending means 72 as shown in FIG. 7C. The folding gather member continuous body 5A 'is bent (second bending) by the bending means 72 by bending the elastic member continuous body arranging portion 53' to one surface side of the overlapping portion 50c. Although not shown, in the device 60A, a pair of stretchable gather member continuums 5A ′ bent as shown in FIG. 7 (b) is a belt-like sheet continuum 50 so that the elastic member continuum arrangement portions 53 ′ face each other. The folding means 72 transfers the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion 53 'of each of the pair of stretchable gather member continuous bodies 5A' to the skin contact in the overlapping portion 50c. Bend to the contact side. The nip rolls 95a and 95b arranged on the downstream side of the bending means 72 play a role of pulling the workpiece to be folded downstream of the folding process. This also applies to nip rolls 93a, 93b, 96a, 96b, 97a, 97b, 98a, and 98b arranged downstream of each bending means shown in FIG. 4 and FIGS. 8 and 10 described later.

  Thereafter, the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′ (leakproof wall 5A continuous body) is joined to a continuous body of other constituent members of the napkin 1A excluding the leakproof wall 5A. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the stretchable gather member continuum 5 </ b> A ′ is joined to the topsheet continuum 2 ′ by a predetermined means (not shown). Next, the absorber intermittent body 4 'is joined to the composite body of the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A' and the surface sheet continuous body 2 'obtained by the joining by a predetermined means (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the absorber intermittent body 4 ′ is formed by sandwiching an absorber continuous body 4 a ′ composed of deposits of absorber raw materials between a cut roll 99 a and an anvil roll 99 b and cutting it to a predetermined length. The individual absorbent bodies 4 are arranged intermittently in the transport direction (MD). Furthermore, the back sheet continuous body 3 is formed on the composite of the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′, the top sheet continuous body 2 ′, and the absorber intermittent body 4 ′ obtained by the above-mentioned joining by a predetermined means (not shown). 'Join. As a result, a composite 1 'of the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A', the top sheet continuous body 2 ', the absorber intermittent body 4', and the back sheet continuous body 3 'is obtained. The top sheet continuous body 2 ′ and the back sheet continuous body 3 ′ are joined together by an adhesive or fusion around the absorber intermittent body 4 ′.

  The cut roll 91 as a cutting means has a cutting blade on the peripheral surface, and the anvil roll 92 is smooth on the peripheral surface. When the composite 1 'is cut into a predetermined length by the rotation of both rolls 91 and 92, the intended sanitary napkin 1A is obtained.

The respective forming materials used in the manufacturing process described above will be described. As the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ constituting the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′, for example, a nonwoven fabric, a resin sheet, an elastomer material, a sheet composite material containing an elastomer, or the like is used. be able to. Nonwoven fabrics are particularly preferred from the viewpoints of extensibility, flexibility, and feel. Furthermore, when using for leak-proof wall formation like the said manufacturing process, the nonwoven fabric which has water repellency is preferable. Usable non-woven fabrics include, for example, spunbonded non-elastic fibers, meltblown non-woven fabrics, SMS non-woven fabrics that combine spunbond and meltblown, air-through non-woven fabrics, heat roll non-woven fabrics, spunlace non-woven fabrics, air-laid non-woven fabrics, resins The thing by various manufacturing methods, such as a bond nonwoven fabric, is mentioned. Examples of the material of the fibers constituting the usable nonwoven fabric include synthetic resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and acrylic.
From the viewpoint of reducing the fiber gap and further preventing the hot melt adhesive from oozing out, it is preferable to use a spunbond nonwoven fabric or an SMS nonwoven fabric.

Further, as the elastic member continuous body 15 ', a known material conventionally used for this type of diaper can be used without any particular limitation. Examples of the material include synthetic rubbers such as styrene-butadiene, butadiene, isoprene and neoprene, natural rubber, EVA, SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene), SEBS (styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene), and SEPS (styrene-ethylene). -Propylene-styrene), stretchable polyolefin, polyurethane and the like. As its form, it can be appropriately selected from a thread shape, a belt shape, a ribbon shape, a film shape, a net shape, and the like, and the area of the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion where the hot melt adhesive easily oozes out in the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′. From the viewpoint of reducing the size, a thread shape is preferable.
Examples of the adhesive used for joining the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ and the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ include styrene (SIS, SBS, SEBS) and polyolefin hot melt adhesives. Moreover, it is preferable to use what has a softening point of 70-150 degreeC as a hot-melt-adhesive.

  In addition, as various members (continuous materials such as the top sheet 2, the back sheet, and the absorber 4) used for manufacturing the absorbent article, various known materials that are conventionally used for this type of diaper are particularly limited. Can be used.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the absorbent article of the 2nd and 3rd embodiment is demonstrated. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The description of the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above is appropriately applied to components that are not particularly described.

  FIG. 8 shows a manufacturing apparatus 60B used in the manufacturing method of the second embodiment. In the first embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention using the manufacturing apparatus 60A, a stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ bent as shown in FIG. 7B is stretched using a pair of tooth groove rolls 80 and 81. Then, the stretchable gather member continuum 5A ′ obtained by the stretching process was folded using the folding means 72 as shown in FIG. 7C, but the absorbent article was manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus 60B. In the method, as shown in FIG. 8, a bending means 72 is used, and a stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ bent as shown in FIG. 7C is stretched using a pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81. . According to the second embodiment, the sanitary napkin 1A can be stably obtained as in the first embodiment.

  The manufacturing method of a 3rd embodiment replaces with the sanitary napkin 1A mentioned above, and manufactures the sanitary napkin 1B shown in FIG. In the following description of the sanitary napkin 1B, components different from the sanitary napkin 1A described above will be mainly described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. The description of the sanitary napkin 1A is applied as appropriate to the components not described.

The leak-proof wall 5A of the sanitary napkin 1A was erected in a substantially inverted L shape in a cross-sectional view along the width direction Y, whereas the leak-proof wall 5B of the sanitary napkin 1B was an upright portion in the cross-sectional view. 52 and the elastic member placement portion 53 stand so as to form a substantially T-shape.
Specifically, the leakage preventing wall 5B of the napkin 1B has an elastic member arrangement portion (planar portion) 53, as shown in FIG. 9, that extends from the upper end portion of the upright portion 52 (base wall portion 51) in the width direction Y. In addition to the outer elastic member arrangement portion 53B extending substantially horizontally, the inner elastic member arrangement portion 53A extends substantially horizontally from the upper end inward in the width direction Y, and both are integrated. It is formed in a flat shape. The outer elastic member arrangement part is provided between two opposing belt-like sheets 50, 50 formed by bending one belt-like sheet, and the inner elastic member arrangement part is provided with four elastic members 15. Are arranged and joined in an extended state. Moreover, parts other than the standing part 52 in the base wall part 51 of the leak-proof wall 5B are wound down along the side part along the longitudinal direction X of the absorber 4 (lower layer absorber 40), and also that part absorbs. It is interposed between the body 4 (the lower layer absorbent body 40) and the back sheet 3, and is fixed by a known joining means such as an adhesive or heat seal.

  The method for manufacturing the sanitary napkin 1B can be performed as follows using the manufacturing apparatus 60C shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, while the continuous belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is transported by a transporting means (not shown) along the transporting path, the merging means causes the continuous belt-shaped sheet continuous body 50 ′ on the one surface. In addition, two thread-like elastic member continuous bodies 15 'are arranged and fixed in an extended state at substantially equal intervals along the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the two elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ are bonded to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ in an expanded state by the adhesive.

  Next, the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is encapsulated by using the bending means 73 so as to enclose the two elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ joined to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′. (See FIG. 11A). The folding gather member continuous body 5B ′ is folded (first folded) by the folding means 73 by bending one side portion 50a along the longitudinal direction (MD) of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ inward in the width direction (CD). Thereafter, the one side portion 50a is further bent outward in the width direction, whereby the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is bent in a Z shape as shown in FIG.

  Next, on the surface of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 'on which the two elastic member continuous bodies 15' are fixed, four thread-like shapes are arranged at approximately equal intervals along the two elastic member continuous bodies 15 '. The elastic member continuous body 15 ′ is disposed and fixed in an extended state. An adhesive is applied to the four elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ by the coating means 63 before being supplied onto the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′.

  Subsequently, the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is bent using the bending means 74 so as to enclose the six elastic member continuous bodies 15 ′ joined to the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ (see FIG. 11B). ). The folding gather member continuous body 5B ′ is folded (second folded) by the folding means 74 by the other side portion 50b (one side folded by the first folding) along the longitudinal direction (MD) of the strip-shaped sheet continuous body 50 ′. The side portion opposite to the portion 50a) is folded inward in the width direction (CD) and overlapped with the one side portion 50a to form the overlapping portion 50c of both side portions 50a and 50b. The elastic member continuous body arrangement | positioning part 53 'formed by pinching | interposing and fixing the multiple (six) elastic member continuous body 15' between the strip | belt-shaped continuous sheet | seats 50 'and 50' of 2 layers which oppose each other is formed.

  The belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ bent as shown in FIG. 11B is bent as shown in FIG. 11C using the bending means 75. The folding of the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ (third bending) by the bending means 75 is performed by inverting the elastic member continuous body arranging portion 53 ′ to the opposite side via the overlapping portion 50c, whereby the elastic member The stretchable member continuous body 5b ′, which is the stretched product of the present embodiment, is formed in which the continuous body arranging portion 53 ′ is positioned above the overlapping portion 50c.

In this way, the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ is bent so as to include the elastic member continuous body 15 ′, and the elastic member continuous body 5 b ′ in a bent state as shown in FIG. Supply between 80 and 81 to perform stretching.
Since the process after extending | stretching process to elastic member continuous body 5b 'is the same as that of a 1st embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the third embodiment, instead of subjecting the stretchable member continuous body 5b ′ folded as shown in FIG. 11 (c) to the drawing process, the folding means 74 is bent as shown in FIG. 11 (b). The elastic member continuous body 5b ′ is stretched using a pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 to form the elastic member continuous body arranging portion 53 ′, and then the stretchable gather member continuous body 5B obtained by the stretching process. 'May be bent using the bending means 75 as shown in FIG.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the preferable embodiment, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment and the said embodiment. For example, in the first to third embodiments, the stretchable gather member continuum obtained by stretching is joined to other constituent members of a sanitary napkin, and the stretchable gather member continuum obtained by joining and the stretched gather member continuum The composite 1 ′ with a continuous body of other constituent members was cut to a predetermined length. Instead, the stretchable member continuum before being stretched is joined to other constituent members of the sanitary napkin, and the stretchable member continuum obtained by the joining and the continuum of the other constituent members. The stretched member continuous body in the composite body may be stretched, and then the composite body after the stretching process may be cut into a predetermined length.

  In the first to third embodiments, the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ joined with the elastic member continuous body is folded in the width direction so as to enclose the elastic member continuous body, and the two layers opposed by the folding are folded. The elastic member continuous body 5a 'or 5b' was obtained by joining the elastic member continuous body between 50 'and 50'. However, the belt-like sheet continuum 50 'joined with the elastic member continuum 15' is joined with another belt-like sheet continuum to join the elastic member continuum between the two belt-like sheet continuums. By doing so, you may obtain the continuous body of an expansion-contraction member.

  Moreover, in FIG.7 (b) and FIG.11 (b), although the strip | belt-shaped sheet | seat continuous body was bent so that the superposition | polymerization part with which the side parts were overlapped was formed, it is not necessarily required. For example, in the first and second embodiments, instead of bending the belt-like sheet continuous body as shown in FIG. 7B, only a part of the belt-like sheet continuous body in the width direction is folded into two layers. Alternatively, the elastic member continuous body may be sandwiched and fixed to form the elastic member arrangement portion, and the base wall portion of the leak-proof wall may be formed of a single belt-like sheet.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the entire stretched member continuous body 5a ′ or 5b ′ is stretched in the width direction (CD). However, in the present invention, the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ or It is only necessary that the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion 53 ′ of 5b ′ is stretched, and the portion to which the stretching process is performed is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ or 5b ′, in addition to the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion 53 ′, a part of the base wall 51 in the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ or 5b ′, specifically, bonding Standing portion 52 (upper portion of base wall portion 51) positioned on the skin side of the wearer from the joint portion 13 when worn with reference to the portion 13 (joint portion with the topsheet 2 located above the absorber 4). ) Is stretched, and the portion of the base wall portion 51 other than the standing portion 52 (the lower portion of the base wall portion 51) may not be stretched.

  In the first to third embodiments described above, the stretchable member continuous body 5a 'or 5b' is continuously stretched in the longitudinal direction. However, on the assumption that the elastic member continuum is stretched, the stretchable member continuum 5a 'or 5b' may be intermittently stretched. By such an intermittent stretching process, the portion of the leak-proof wall 5A or 5B that includes the end fixing portion 54 and is located further outward in the longitudinal direction X (the longitudinal end portion of the leak-proof wall). You may make it not perform a extending | stretching process to the part to comprise.

  Further, the tooth grooves of the pair of substantially cylindrical tooth groove rolls are not provided in the entire circumferential surface in the circumferential direction and the roll axial direction (width direction) of the tooth groove roll, and need to be drawn in the work piece to be drawn. It may be partially provided on the peripheral surface in accordance with this part. For example, when a tooth gap is provided in a part of the width direction of the tooth groove roll and the tooth gap processing region in the belt-like sheet continuous body is limited to the arrangement position of the elastic member continuous body, most of the belt-like sheet continuous body is not stretched. . For this reason, a non-woven fabric such as spunbond that hardly generates elongation is used as the continuous belt-like sheet, and the rotational speed of the nip roll arranged on the downstream side of the tooth gap roll is supplied on the upstream side of the tooth groove roll. If it is set to the same speed as the rotational speed of the nip roll, more stable conveyance is possible.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[Example 1]
The elastic member continuous body 5a ′ was obtained by a method substantially similar to the method for producing the sanitary napkin of the first embodiment, and the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ was stretched. Specifically, four elastic member continuums 15 ′ are stretched through a hot melt adhesive on the belt-like sheet continuum 50 ′ [the elastic member continuum 15 ′ is 1.4 times the natural length. After joining in a stretched state (a state with an elongation rate of 140%)], a stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ shown in FIG. The width L1 (see FIG. 7B) in the width direction (CD) of the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion 53 ′ is 10 mm, and the width L2 in the width direction (CD) of the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ at the time of stretching (see FIG. 7). (See (b)) was 40 mm.
The stretchable member continuous body 5 a ′ was stretched by a pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81. The heating temperature of each of the tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 during the drawing process was 90 ° C. The stretching ratio of the stretched portion at each time point after 1, 10 and 30 minutes from the start of operation of the stretching device comprising the pair of tooth gap rolls 80 and 81 was measured by the method described later.
As the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′, a spunbonded nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 30 g / m ² was used. The constituent fiber of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric was a core-sheath type composite fiber in which the core component was polypropylene, the sheath component was polyethylene, and the content ratio of both components was 50:50. The melting point of the resin constituting the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′ was 125 ° C. Four thread rubbers were used as elastic members to be arranged and fixed on the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′. As the hot melt adhesive, a styrene-butadiene copolymer having a softening point of 94 ° C. was used. The stretching process of the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ is a state in which the four rubber threads constituting the stretchable member continuous body 5a ′ are stretched (a state in which the thread rubber is stretched at substantially the same stretch rate as that at the time of joining). It carried out in. Various conditions in the drawing process are as follows. The meshing depth of the tooth gap in the drawing apparatus (depth corresponding to the symbol D in FIG. 6): 1.0 mm, the pitch of adjacent teeth (distance corresponding to the symbol P in FIG. 6): 2.0 mm, Width (corresponding to the symbol W in FIG. 6, the length in the stretching direction): 0.5 mm, the conveyance speed: 150 m / min.

The stretch ratio of the elastic member continuous body 5a ′ was measured as follows.
First, the stretchable member continuum 5a ′ before being stretched was previously marked with a roll stamper for each reference length (100 mm). When the elapsed time from the start of operation of the stretching apparatus is measured with a timer, each time from the start of operation (hereinafter referred to as the operation time) has elapsed from the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′ obtained by the stretching process. A cut piece was obtained as a stretched portion of the film. Each of the cut pieces is obtained by cutting the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ′ obtained by stretching so as to include two continuous marks in the width direction with a longitudinal length of 300 mm. To identify the stretched part at the time when each operation time has elapsed, a tape indicating the elapsed time is affixed to the belt-like continuous sheet for each elapsed time, and the tape indicating each elapsed time after the operation is stopped. The stretched part was specified by collecting the pasted part.
Moreover, the cut piece similar to the said cut piece was cut out also from elastic member continuous body 5a 'before extending | stretching process.
As shown in FIG. 12, a load of 100 gf is applied to each cut piece through a roll, and the length along the elastic member (hereinafter referred to as “mark”) between the two consecutive marks in the state where the load is applied. (Referred to as the inter-space length). The inter-mark length measured in the cut piece before the drawing process was defined as a reference length L0, and the inter-mark length measured in the cut piece after the drawing process was designated as a post-stretching length L1.
The stretch ratio for each operation time was determined by the following formula.
Stretch rate (%) = [(L1-L0) / L0] × 100

[Comparative Example 1]
Stretch processing is performed on the elastic member continuum 5a ′ with a normal tooth gap roll, and a cut piece that is a stretched portion at the time when 1, 5, 15, 25 minutes have elapsed from the start of operation of the stretching device, Except that the mesh depth of the tooth gap was set to 0.7 mm, the stretching ratio for each operation time was determined in the same manner as in Example 1.

  About Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, the drawing ratio obtained with respect to each operation time is shown in the graph of FIG. In FIG. 13, in the plots of Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 indicated by black squares and triangles, the plot position of Comparative Example 1 is 1 minute behind Example 1 in order to make the graph easier to see. It is shifted. It can be seen that in the stretching process of Comparative Example 1, the stretching ratio increases with the passage of operating time, whereas in the stretching process of Example 1, the stretching ratio is stable. Further, in the stretchable gather member continuous body 5A ', the elastic member continuous body 15' was not peeled off from the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 'due to the stretching process. From this, according to the manufacturing method of the absorbent article in the embodiment, the absorbent article having the stretchable gather member can be stably and continuously produced, and the elastic member continuous body 15 ′ is peeled off from the belt-like sheet continuous body 50 ′. It can be seen that this can also be prevented.

1A, 1B Sanitary napkin (absorbent article)
2 Top sheet 3 Back sheet 4 Absorber 5A, 5B Leak-proof wall (expandable gather member)
5A ′, 5B ′ Stretchable gather member continuum 5a ′, 5b ′ Stretchable member continuum 10 Absorbent body 15 Elastic member 15 ′ Elastic member continuum 20, 21 襞 50 Band-shaped sheet (sheet for forming a leak-proof wall)
50 'belt-like sheet continuous body 51 base wall part 53 elastic member arrangement | positioning part (plane-shaped part, stretched part to be processed)
60A, 60B, 60C, 60D Sanitary napkin manufacturing apparatus 61, 62, 63 Adhesive coating means 71, 72, 73, 74, 75 Bending means 80, 81 Tooth gap roll 82a Tooth 91 Cut roll 92 Anvil roll

Claims (9)

A longitudinally long absorbent main body comprising a liquid-retaining absorbent body and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body, and a longitudinal side of each side along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body. It is a method for producing an absorbent article that is arranged so as to extend in a direction and includes an elastic gather member having elasticity in the longitudinal direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
In a state where the continuum of the elastic members is extended in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic member, the portion of the continuum of the elastic members where the continuum of the elastic member is disposed extends in the roll axis direction on each peripheral surface portion. And it is made to interpose between a pair of tooth space rolls which have a tooth space which meshes mutually, and obtains a continuum of the expansion and contraction gather member which gave extension processing to the expansion and contraction direction of the elastic member to the portion,
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
In the step of obtaining the continuous member of the elastic member, the continuous member of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous member of the elastic member is folded in the width direction so as to enclose the continuous member of the elastic member, and is opposed to the two by the folding. By joining the continuous member of the elastic member between the layers, a superposed portion in which both side portions along the longitudinal direction of the continuous member of the belt-like sheet are overlapped, and a continuous member of the two layers of the belt-like material facing each other To obtain a continuum in which an elastic member continuum arrangement portion is formed by sandwiching and fixing the continuum of elastic members therebetween, and then placing the elastic member continuum arrangement portion in the continuum on one surface side of the overlapping portion Bend,
The stretching process is carried out with the rotational speed of the nip roll disposed on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll in a state where the tooth groove roll provided with a tooth groove in a part of the width direction is heated . A method for manufacturing an absorbent article, which is set to the same speed as the rotation speed of a supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side, and is limited to the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion . A longitudinally long absorbent main body comprising a liquid-retaining absorbent body and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body, and a longitudinal side of each side along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body. It is a method for producing an absorbent article that is arranged so as to extend in a direction and includes an elastic gather member having elasticity in the longitudinal direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
In a state where the continuum of the elastic members is extended in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic member, the portion of the continuum of the elastic members where the continuum of the elastic member is disposed extends in the roll axis direction on each peripheral surface portion. And it is made to interpose between a pair of tooth space rolls which have a tooth space which meshes mutually, and obtains a continuum of the expansion and contraction gather member which gave extension processing to the expansion and contraction direction of the elastic member to the portion,
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
In the step of obtaining the continuous body of the elastic member, the continuous body of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous body of the elastic member is bent inward in the width direction at one side portion along the longitudinal direction of the continuous belt-like sheet body. Thereafter, the belt-like sheet continuous body is folded in a Z-shape so as to enclose the continuous body of the elastic member by further folding the one side portion outward in the width direction, and 2 The elastic member continuum is joined between the layers, and then another elastic member along the elastic member continuum is formed on the surface of the belt-like sheet continuum on which the elastic member continuum is fixed. The continuous body is placed and fixed in an elongated state, and then the other side portion along the longitudinal direction of the belt-like sheet continuous body is folded inward in the width direction and overlapped with the one side portion, and the overlapping portions on both side portions are overlapped. By forming, between the belt-like sheet continuous body of two layers facing each other A continuous body in which an elastic member continuous body arrangement portion is formed by sandwiching and fixing a plurality of continuous members of the elastic member is obtained, and then the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion in the continuous body is obtained by the polymerization. The elastic member continuous body arrangement part is positioned above the overlapping part by inverting to the opposite side through the part,
The stretching process is carried out with the rotational speed of the nip roll disposed on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll in a state where the tooth groove roll provided with a tooth groove in a part of the width direction is heated . A method for manufacturing an absorbent article, which is set to the same speed as the rotation speed of a supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side, and is limited to the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion . The continuum of the stretchable gather member is joined to the continuum of other constituent members of the absorbent article,
The manufacturing method of the absorbent article of Claim 1 or 2 which cut | disconnects the composite_body | complex of the continuous body of the said expansion-contraction gather member obtained by this joining and the continuous body of the said other structural member to predetermined length. The continuum of the elastic members is joined to the continuum of other constituent members of the absorbent article,
The stretching process is performed on the continuum of the stretchable member in the composite body of the continuum of the stretchable member and the continuum of the other constituent members obtained by the joining,
The manufacturing method of the absorbent article of Claim 1 or 2 which cut | disconnects the said composite body after this extending process to predetermined length. Using a sheet for forming a leak-proof wall as a continuous body of the belt-like sheet,
The manufacturing method of the absorbent article as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4 which manufactures a leak-proof wall using the said expansion-contraction gather member. A substantially vertically long absorbent body comprising a liquid-retaining absorbent body and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body; and both sides along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body, A stretchable gathering member arranged to extend in a direction and having stretchability in the direction, and an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
Conveying means for conveying a continuous body of belt-shaped sheets along a conveying path;
Supply means for supplying a continuous body of elastic members;
A coating means for applying a hot melt adhesive to each of the continuous body of the belt-like sheet and the continuous body of the elastic member;
A stretchable member that joins the continuous body of the belt-like sheet to the continuous body of the stretched elastic member, and thereby joins the continuous body of the beltlike sheet in a stretched state to the continuous body of the stretchable member to obtain a continuous body of stretchable members. Forming means;
Each peripheral surface portion has a tooth groove that extends in the roll axis direction and meshes with each other, and a portion of the continuum of the elastic members in which the continuum of the elastic member is disposed is bitten into the elastic member. A pair of tooth gap rolls that are stretched in the stretching direction to form a continuous body of stretchable gather members,
A nip roll arranged downstream of the pair of tooth space rolls, and a feed nip rolls disposed on the upstream side of the tooth groove rolls, between the tooth spaces rolls, a continuous body of the elastic member, the elastic Extending supply means for supplying while extending in the expansion and contraction direction of the member,
The elastic member forming means folds the continuous body of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous body of the elastic member in the width direction so as to enclose the continuous body of the elastic member, and between the two layers opposed by the folding. By joining the continuous member of the elastic member, the elastic portion is formed between the overlapping portion of the belt-like sheet continuous body along the longitudinal direction, and the two continuous layers of the belt-like sheet opposite to each other. A first bending means for obtaining a continuum in which an elastic member continuum arrangement portion is formed, sandwiching and fixing a continuum of members;
Second bending means for bending the elastic member continuum arrangement portion in the continuum to one surface side of the overlapping portion;
The tooth gap roll is provided with a heating control means and a tooth groove is provided in a part of the width direction, and the rotational speed of the nip roll arranged on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll is determined by the rotation speed of the tooth groove roll. The absorbent article is configured so that the stretching process is limited to the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion under a state where the rotational speed of the supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side is set to the same speed . manufacturing device. A method for producing a stretchable gather member having stretchability in a predetermined direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
In a state where the continuum of the elastic members is extended in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic member, the portion of the continuum of the elastic members where the continuum of the elastic member is disposed extends in the roll axis direction on each peripheral surface portion. And it is made to bite between a pair of tooth space rolls having tooth spaces that mesh with each other, and for this portion, the elastic member is stretched in the stretching direction to obtain a continuous body of stretchable gather members,
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
In the step of obtaining the continuous member of the elastic member, the continuous member of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous member of the elastic member is folded in the width direction so as to enclose the continuous member of the elastic member, and is opposed to the two by the folding. By joining the continuous member of the elastic member between the layers, a superposed portion in which both side portions along the longitudinal direction of the continuous member of the belt-like sheet are overlapped, and a continuous member of the two layers of the belt-like material facing each other To obtain a continuum in which an elastic member continuum arrangement portion is formed by sandwiching and fixing the continuum of elastic members therebetween, and then placing the elastic member continuum arrangement portion in the continuum on one surface side of the overlapping portion Bend,
The stretching process is carried out with the rotational speed of the nip roll disposed on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll in a state where the tooth groove roll provided with a tooth groove in a part of the width direction is heated . A method for producing a stretchable gather member, which is set to the same speed as the rotation speed of a supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side, and is limited to the elastic member continuous body placement portion . A substantially vertically long absorbent body comprising a liquid-retaining absorbent body and a surface sheet disposed on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent body; and both sides along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body, A stretchable gathering member arranged to extend in a direction and having stretchability in the direction, and an absorbent article manufacturing apparatus comprising:
Conveying means for conveying a continuous body of belt-shaped sheets along a conveying path;
Supply means for supplying a continuous body of elastic members;
A coating means for applying a hot melt adhesive to each of the continuous body of the belt-like sheet and the continuous body of the elastic member;
A stretchable member that joins the continuous body of the belt-like sheet to the continuous body of the stretched elastic member, and thereby joins the continuous body of the beltlike sheet in a stretched state to the continuous body of the stretchable member to obtain a continuous body of stretchable members. Forming means;
Each peripheral surface portion has a tooth groove that extends in the roll axis direction and meshes with each other, and a portion of the continuum of the elastic members in which the continuum of the elastic member is disposed is bitten into the elastic member. A pair of tooth gap rolls that are stretched in the stretching direction to form a continuous body of stretchable gather members,
A nip roll arranged downstream of the pair of tooth space rolls, and a feed nip rolls disposed on the upstream side of the tooth groove rolls, between the tooth spaces rolls, a continuous body of the elastic member, the elastic Extending supply means for supplying while extending in the expansion and contraction direction of the member,
The elastic member forming means includes
In the step of obtaining the continuous body of the elastic member, the continuous body of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous body of the elastic member is bent inward in the width direction at one side portion along the longitudinal direction of the continuous belt-like sheet body. Thereafter, the belt-like sheet continuous body is folded in a Z-shape so as to enclose the continuous body of the elastic member by further folding the one side portion outward in the width direction, and 2 First folding means for joining the continuum of elastic members between the layers;
On the surface of the belt-like sheet continuum, another elastic member continuum is placed and fixed along the elastic member continuum on the surface to which the elastic member continuum is fixed. The other side portions along the longitudinal direction of the sheet continuous body are folded inward in the width direction and overlapped on the one side portion to form a superposed portion on both sides, thereby forming two continuous layers of the belt-like sheets facing each other. A second bending means for obtaining a continuous body in which an elastic member continuous body arrangement portion is formed by sandwiching and fixing a continuous body of a plurality of elastic members between the bodies;
A third bending means for positioning the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion above the overlapping portion by inverting the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion of the continuous body to the opposite side via the overlapping portion; Prepared,
The tooth gap roll is provided with a heating control means and a tooth groove is provided in a part of the width direction, and the rotational speed of the nip roll arranged on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll is determined by the rotation speed of the tooth groove roll. The absorbent article is configured so that the stretching process is limited to the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion under a state where the rotational speed of the supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side is set to the same speed . manufacturing device. A method for producing a stretchable gather member having stretchability in a predetermined direction,
A continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction is joined to a continuous body of belt-like sheets under a stretched state by a hot melt adhesive to obtain a continuous body of elastic members extending in one direction,
In a state where the continuum of the elastic members is extended in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic member, the portion of the continuum of the elastic members where the continuum of the elastic member is disposed extends in the roll axis direction on each peripheral surface portion. And it is made to bite between a pair of tooth space rolls having tooth spaces that mesh with each other, and for this portion, the elastic member is stretched in the stretching direction to obtain a continuous body of stretchable gather members,
Cutting the continuous body of the stretchable gather members into a predetermined length;
In the step of obtaining the continuous body of the elastic member, the continuous body of the belt-like sheet joined to the continuous body of the elastic member is bent inward in the width direction at one side portion along the longitudinal direction of the continuous belt-like sheet body. Thereafter, the belt-like sheet continuous body is folded in a Z-shape so as to enclose the continuous body of the elastic member by further folding the one side portion outward in the width direction, and 2 The elastic member continuum is joined between the layers, and then another elastic member along the elastic member continuum is formed on the surface of the belt-like sheet continuum on which the elastic member continuum is fixed. The continuous body is placed and fixed in an elongated state, and then the other side portion along the longitudinal direction of the belt-like sheet continuous body is folded inward in the width direction and overlapped with the one side portion, and the overlapping portions on both side portions are overlapped. By forming, between the belt-like sheet continuous body of two layers facing each other A continuous body in which an elastic member continuous body arrangement portion is formed by sandwiching and fixing a plurality of continuous members of the elastic member is obtained, and then the elastic member continuous body arrangement portion in the continuous body is obtained by the polymerization. The elastic member continuous body arrangement part is positioned above the overlapping part by inverting to the opposite side through the part,
The stretching process is carried out with the rotational speed of the nip roll disposed on the downstream side of the tooth groove roll in a state where the tooth groove roll provided with a tooth groove in a part of the width direction is heated . A method for producing a stretchable gather member, which is set to the same speed as the rotation speed of a supply nip roll disposed on the upstream side, and is limited to the elastic member continuous body placement portion .

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