JPH09110019A - Folding method of article and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately fold at a high speed at least one edge of a bag-form article like disposable underpants which are laterally arranged and continuously transferred to produce them. SOLUTION: This folding device is provided with a release means against the support of articles by a pair of holding means 4a, 4b supporting bag-form bodies from the outside with a distance between the front and rear parts while continuously feeding the bag-form bodies arranged laterally, so as to pass through mutual holding means 4a, 4b at the folding guides 11, 21 which freely approach the edge of article supported by the holding means 4a, 4b installed at the side of the feeding track of the articles or separate therefrom and at the downstream side of folding guide 21. At least one of right and left edge of the bag-form article is folded so as to contain it between the front part of the bag-form body and the rear part thereof by use of this device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is typified by cloth pants and disposable pants for adults and children.
The present invention relates to a method and a device for folding a bag-shaped article which is continuous in the circumferential direction, and in particular, at least one ear part of a bag-shaped article manufactured by continuously arranging a plurality of pieces in the lateral direction and continuously running the front and rear portions of the bag-shaped body. Fold to store between,
The present invention relates to an article folding method and a folding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hereinafter, disposable pants will be described as a typical example of a bag-shaped article, but the article applied to the present invention is not limited to this, and cloth clothing and plastic packaging bags described later are used. It is also applicable to such as.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory front view showing an example of the disposable pants P. The disposable pants P are mainly composed of a back sheet 8, an absorber 9, and a top sheet 10, and are formed in a substantially hourglass shape. These laminates are folded back and forth, and both side edges thereof are adhered at joining lines 7 to form a substantially pentagonal shape. A body opening A1 is formed in the upper part, and a pair of leg openings A is formed in the lower part.
2, A2 are formed.

The back sheet 8 is generally a laminated sheet including at least one liquid-impervious leak-proof sheet (including one liquid-impervious sheet), and has a body opening A1. Elastic bodies (a plurality of elastic yarns or band-shaped tapes, etc.) 6a and 6c are respectively attached to the periphery of the leg and the periphery of the leg openings A2 and A2 to enhance the adhesion to the skin. Gathers are formed. In addition, the elastic body 6a
An elastic body (a plurality of elastic yarns in the illustrated example) 6b is attached to the lower part of the body substantially in parallel with the elastic body 6a, so as to further enhance the adhesion around the trunk.

[0005] Absorber 9 is made of pulp fiber, super absorbent resin,
What mixed the thermoplastic resin etc., and heat-processed this and improved the shape retention of the absorber 9 by the said thermoplastic resin is used widely. Further, since the top sheet 10 promptly guides urine and the like to the absorbent body 9, a liquid-permeable synthetic resin fiber non-woven fabric or the like is used, and urine leakage at the roots of the legs is prevented on both sides of the upper surface. A rising gather (not shown) may be provided for this purpose.

By the way, in stacking a plurality of the disposable pants P having the above configuration and storing them in a packaging bag,
When attempting to wrap the product in the expanded shape as shown in FIG. 5, the width and length of the packaging bag must be set large. In addition, the outer shape of the bag after storing the pants is distorted, and handling is inconvenient. For this reason, a configuration in which disposable pants are folded into a shape as shown in FIG. 6 is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-828.

In this folding structure, the left and right ears S, S of the disposable pants P shown in FIG. 5 are pushed between the front part F and the rear part B of the disposable pants at the positions of the dashed lines K, K. , S are stored so as to be hidden between the front part F and the rear part B, and FIG.
The disposable pants P are folded into a substantially square shape as shown in FIG. In this folding, the absorber 9 has a front portion F and a rear portion B.
Are merely folded and cannot be bent otherwise, so that there is an advantage that the overall thickness does not increase, the plane area of the disposable pants P is reduced, and the size of the packaging bag is not bulky.

As another example of a structure which is folded to the same size as the plane area shown in FIG. 6, one ear S is stored between the front F and the rear B of the disposable pants as shown in FIG. In addition, there is an example in which the other ear part S is folded back to the outside of the rear part B (or the front part F) of the disposable pants P. Further FIG.
In an example in which only one ear S is accommodated between the front F and the rear B and folded (at least one ear S is folded outside the front F or the rear B of the disposable pants). 6), the plane area is larger than that of the example of FIG. 6, but if the stored ears are alternately stacked on the left and right sides, the ears can be exactly stored in the rectangular parallelepiped packaging bag.

[0009]

By the way, considering the actual process relating to the above-mentioned folding structure, if a method of manufacturing disposable pants by arranging them in the vertical direction (in a direction continuing to the trunk opening and the crotch part), for example, the folding method is used. In this case, only a bar-shaped or bent-plate-shaped folding guide is provided on the side of the disposable pants running in a row in the front-rear direction, and the ears are provided by the fixedly provided folding guide.
It can be folded as shown in FIG. 8 and does not have any adverse effect on the running speed.

However, since the disposable pants P need to have elastic members 6a and 6b attached to the trunk in an extended state,
The method of continuously producing disposable pants P in a horizontal direction is exclusively adopted. The so-called side-by-side method
The continuous feeding is performed in a state where the adjacent pants are connected to each other at the joining line 7 shown in FIG. 6, and the disposable pants are cut off by cutting between the adjacent joining lines 7, 7 in the final step. However, this side-by-side method has a serious problem in actual operation in order to fold the ears S, S as shown in FIGS.

In other words, since the folding operation of the ears must be performed at a speed synchronized with the running speed of the disposable pants or a speed higher than that, if the running speed is increased in the folding step, accurate folding cannot be performed. .
Increasing the execution speed of the folding process is very difficult industrially, and the problem is that the speed of the folding process controls the overall production speed, resulting in a very low production efficiency.

[0012] Here, it is conceivable to cut disposable pants continuously produced in the horizontal direction individually and then change the direction in the vertical direction. In this method, however, the production line is bent and arranged at the final process site. And the occupied area of the machine increases, resulting in waste of installation of factory equipment. Furthermore, in this method, a speed reduction due to a change in direction is expected.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for folding at least one ear of a bag-shaped article such as disposable pants, which is produced by continuously running side by side, at a high speed and accurately. And a folding device.

[0014]

According to the method of folding an article of the present invention, bag-shaped articles are arranged side by side and fed continuously, and at least one of the left and right ears of the article is attached to the bag-shaped main body. A method of folding an article to be folded between a front part and a rear part, wherein the front part and the rear part of the bag-shaped main body of the article are supported, and a gap is formed between the front part and the rear part. While pressing the horn into the gap, shrinking the gap, and overlapping the front part and the rear part with the ear part sandwiched in the center.

[0015] While pushing the other ear into the gap formed between the front and rear portions of the bag-shaped body, the gap between the front and rear portions is reduced, and the front and rear portions are sandwiched between the ear portions at the center. A step of folding, and a step of folding the remaining other ear to the outside of the front or rear part of the bag-shaped body,
Are all preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention.

According to the folding device of the present invention, the bag-shaped articles are arranged side by side and continuously fed, and at least one of the left and right ears of the bag-shaped articles is moved between the front part and the rear part of the bag-shaped body. A folding device for folding articles so as to be stored in the bag-shaped body, wherein a pair of holding means for supporting a front portion and a rear portion of the bag-shaped body from outside are provided facing each other, and a side portion of an article feeding locus. In the fold guide, which can approach and separate from the ear of the article held by the holding means,
The present invention has a gist in that a holding release unit that is disposed so as to pass between the holding units and releases the support of the article by the holding unit is provided on a lower side of the folding guide.

The holding means is constituted by applying a suction airflow to a conveyor belt having a large number of ventilation holes, and a gap formed between the holding members is such that at least one of the holding members holds the other. By moving the member forward and backward, a folding device configured to enlarge and reduce the gap between the holding members, or the gap formed between the holding members is moved from the upper side in the article feeding direction. The present invention also provides a folding device that is configured to gradually expand and then gradually reduce inward, and that the holding releasing means releases the holding by preventing the suction airflow of the holding means from acting on the article. included.

Further, the folding guide is disposed so that at least its tip reaches the ear of the article to be fed, and is driven to rotate in one direction, and moves forward and backward along the feeding trajectory of the article. Any of those configured to be swingable so as to move can be employed. The folding guide is
Two arrangements are provided on the upper side and the lower side in the article feeding direction, the upper folding guide is a rotary drive type, and the lower folding guide is an advance / retreat moving type, and
One folding guide is provided at the upper side of the article feeding direction, and a pair of transport mechanisms facing each other at an interval, and can advance in a direction intersecting the article feeding locus on the front side of the transport mechanism. Any of the arrangements provided on the lower side of the holding and releasing means, which is a device for folding back the ear portion, which comprises a simple folding mechanism, is a preferred embodiment of the device of the present invention.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the following description, disposable pants will be described in detail as an example of a bag-shaped article, but articles in the present invention include clothes such as cloth pants and shirts, paper and plastic. It may be a packaging bag made of a product or the like. Further, "the front part and the rear part of the disposable pants" indicate "the overlapping part in the bag-shaped main body", and "the left and right ears of the disposable pants" indicate "the left and right side parts of the bag-shaped main body".

In the method of folding articles according to the present invention, the disposable pants which are continuously fed side by side are separated from each other, and the front and rear portions of the disposable pants are first maintained while maintaining the feeding direction and the feeding speed. Are respectively supported by holding means. As the holding unit, a unit using a suction air flow described later, a mechanical supporting unit (a unit using a fine hook member or a gripping mechanism, or the like) is used. When the front portion and the rear portion are vertically overlapped, the lower portion naturally descends due to gravity, so that only the upper portion may be supported.

The disposable pants, whose front and rear portions are respectively supported by the holding means, are moved in the directions in which the front and rear portions are separated from each other, and a gap is formed between the front and rear portions. The left and right ears are extended in this separating direction. At this time, both the left and right ears may be extended at the same time, or one side may be extended alternately, or only one side may be extended.

While the ears extended in the above step are pushed between the front and rear parts by the folding guide, the gap is reduced and at least one ear is housed between the front and rear parts. As will be described later, the folding guide is configured to swing or rotate a bar or plate to advance and retreat, or to use an advance / retreat mechanism such as a rodless cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, and further, to eject pressurized air. Are adopted (they may be selectively combined). The means for reducing the gap may be any of those simply releasing the holding means or those forcibly bringing the front part and the rear part close to each other.

While the other ear part is being pushed into the gap formed between the front part and the rear part of the bag-shaped body, the gap between the front part and the rear part is reduced, and the front part is sandwiched between the front part and the front part. The folding method including the step of superimposing the rear portion is to store and fold both the left and right ear portions of the held disposable pants simultaneously or with a slight time interval between the front portion and the rear portion. . In addition, the folding method including the step of folding the other remaining ear portion to the outside of the front or rear portion of the bag-shaped body, the other ear portion is folded to the outside of the front or rear portion of the disposable pants, the folding method and It folds into an equivalent planar shape.

The folding device of the present invention is simply composed of holding means, folding guides, and holding releasing means. The holding means is disposed so as to face the continuously running disposable pants (however, in the case of a holding means using gravity, it may be only the upper side), and supports the front and rear outer surfaces of the pants. As the holding means, a perforated drum for applying a suction air flow, a perforated conveyor belt,
A hook member such as one using a perforated flat plate or the like (holes may be provided over the entire outer surface, intermittent holes may be provided), or a mechanical hook-and-loop mushroom-type fastener (Using the nonwoven fabric on the outer surface of the disposable pants as a loop member), or those having mechanical means for gripping the front and rear portions of the pants from the body opening, etc. Support while feeding in the direction.

Further, the holding means is provided with a structure for advancing and retreating or moving in a direction intersecting with the feeding track of the disposable pants so that the front part and the rear part of the pants can be forcibly separated and approached. Is recommended. Disposable pants supported by the holding means by this configuration,
When the front part and the rear part are separated from each other, the gap is widened and a folding guide described later easily enters the gap, and the ear part connecting the front part and the rear part can be easily pushed into the gap. This folding is preferably performed while reducing the gap, and the ear portion is held in the gap until the front portion and the rear portion overlap.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the push-in guide (usually formed of a bar or a plate) is configured to advance and retreat toward the ears of the running disposable pants, and to perform the insertion and removal within the gap. As a means for moving, a mechanism that swings or rotates is desirable. In addition, a structure in which the cylinder is advanced and retracted by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder or a cam mechanism, or a structure in which a high-pressure air jet is applied to the ear portion to perform the pushing may be used.

Further, after at least one of the ears is accommodated between the front and rear portions of the pants, the holding means releases the support to the outer surface of the pants and releases the disposable pants in a normal state. Preferably, means are provided at the last stage of the folding device. The holding release means is selected according to the type of the holding means.For example, when the suction air flow is used as the holding means, the area where the suction air flow acts is cut off by a separator, or the supply of the suction air flow itself is stopped. To release the support. If it is a mechanical holding means, open the support part,
Or means to retreat or forcibly peel off,
It may be provided separately.

As the holding means, it is preferable to use a conveyor belt having a traveling belt with a large number of holes formed thereon. If a duct for applying a suction air flow is provided at a predetermined position facing the belt, the suction belt may be used. The outer surface of the disposable pants can be supported at the belt portion where the air flow is applied, and if the suction air flow is cut off at the end point position, the disposable pants can be adopted as a holding release means. The conveyor belt is not limited to a perforated structure, but may be a mesh structure.
Furthermore, the number of holes and the positions of the holes can be set arbitrarily.For example, the holes are arranged along the entire surface of the conveyor belt, and the holes are opened in accordance with the running pitch of the disposable pants to reduce excess air flow. The groups may be arranged intermittently.

If the conveyor belts facing each other are arranged obliquely (either one or both) so that the interval gradually increases in the upper part, the disposable pants supported between them can be The front and rear portions are moved away from each other, thereby widening the gap. Conversely, if these conveyor belts are obliquely arranged on the lower side so as to gradually narrow the interval, the front and rear portions of the disposable pants can be close to each other.

The folding guide may have a rod-like or plate-like structure. When this folding guide rotates in one direction, a part of the rotation trajectory abuts on the left or right ear of the disposable pants held, and the front and rear portions of the pants with the ears. Can be pushed into. This folding guide is designed to rotate in the same direction along the running direction when folding the ear on the upper side of the pants running direction, and to rotate in reverse to the direction of running pants when folding the lower side of the ear. Let

It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a rod-shaped or plate-shaped folding guide is swung so that the leading end thereof moves forward and backward along the running locus of the pants. That is, the ears of the disposable pants held by the forward swing are pushed between the front part and the rear part of the pants, and are retracted from the running locus by the backward swing so as not to interfere with the running of the disposable pants. This swinging folding guide can be applied to either the upper or lower hand in the running direction of the disposable pants.

In a preferred arrangement of the folding guide, a folding guide such as a rod that rotates along the running direction is disposed on the upper side in the running direction of the disposable pants, and the folding guide is arranged in the same direction (the running direction of the pants). In the part that rotates, the rotation speed is slightly higher than the running speed, and the ears are moved between the front and the rear (the speed can be set arbitrarily because it is just a rotation). A movable folding guide is provided, the folding guide is applied to the running ear, and the folding guide is housed between the front part and the rear part. At the same time as the housing is retracted, the guide is retracted along the running direction (at a speed higher than the running speed). ), The folding guide does not interfere with the running of other disposable pants. According to this arrangement, both the left and right ears can be reliably accommodated between the front part and the rear part of the disposable pants without the folding guide hindering the running of the disposable pants.

In order to achieve a folding structure in which one ear part of the disposable pants is stored between the front part and the rear part, and the other ear part is folded back to the outer surface of the front part or the rear part, the following configuration is used. adopt. That is, a one-way rotating type or sliding type folding guide is provided on the upper side in the running direction of the disposable pants, and the ear folding device is also used on the lower side of the holding release means. This folding device comprises a conveyer (or a conveying drum or a combination thereof) provided to face each other, and an ear-folding mechanism provided on the upper side of the conveyor, and the ear-folding mechanism is used for running disposable pants. A high-pressure gas (compressed air), a bar, or the like is pressed toward the ear, and only the ear is displaced in a direction intersecting the running direction of the disposable pants. The displaced ears are displaced from the feed locus of the disposable pants and are fed in a state of being superimposed on the front or rear outside of the disposable pants between the lower conveyors, and consequently one ear part Are folded back outwardly from the front or rear.

[0034]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A folding method and a folding device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the folding device M for disposable pants according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, on the right side of the apparatus M, conveyor belts 5a and 5b for introducing disposable pants are vertically opposed to each other. On the lower side, a perforated conveyor belt 3 is suspended by guide rolls 31 to 34 and is forcibly driven as holding means for the upper part (front part or rear part) of the pants. The conveyor belt 3 is moved at its lower part in the same direction as the running direction of the disposable pants. Further, a suction air flow duct 30 is provided facing the part of the conveyor belt 3 in the lower part thereof with an opening at the lower part, and this suction air flow passes through many holes formed in the conveyor belt 3 and passes therethrough. It acts on one outer surface of the front part or the rear part of the passing disposable pants, and makes it adhere to and support the surface of the conveyor belt 3.

Further below, two conveyor belts 4a and 4b are disposed obliquely as other holding means.
The conveyor belt 4a on the upper side of the running of the disposable pants is stretched by guide rolls 43, 44 and 44 and is forcibly driven, and is disposed so as to gradually descend from the upper side to the lower side. A suction air flow duct 41 is provided with an open top. Therefore, the interval between the conveyor belt 3 and the conveyor belt 4a is configured to gradually increase from the upper side to the lower side. If the conveyor belt 4a is configured to be able to change the inclination angle, the inclination angle can be changed according to the size of the traveling disposable pants. In addition, the conveyor belt 4a may be configured to forcibly swing.

On the other hand, the conveyor belt 4b is constructed so as to be stretched on guide rolls 45, 46, 46 and is forcibly driven, and a suction air flow duct 41 having an open upper portion faces the upper portion of the conveyor belt 4b. It is provided as follows. The conveyor belt 4b is disposed so that the interval between the conveyor belt 3 and the conveyor belt 3 gradually decreases from the upper side to the lower side. In addition, it is preferable that the conveyor belt 4b also be configured to be able to swing up and down around the guide roll 45 by the height adjusting mechanism 49 from the viewpoint that it can correspond to the size of the product. Further, the conveyor belt 4b may be configured to use a crank mechanism or the like to forcibly move (reciprocate, swing, or reciprocate).

The disposable pants fed from between the conveyor belts 5a and 5b are supplied between the belts 3 and 4a (4b), and the front outer surface and the rear outer surface of the pants act on the ducts 30, 41 and 41, respectively. The conveyed suction air flow closely supports the surfaces of these conveyor belts, and the gap formed between the front part and the rear part gradually increases in accordance with the inclination of the conveyor belts 4a and 4b. Thereafter, the duct 3 is gradually reduced again and acts as a holding release means.
The support of the disposable pants is released at the left end of 0 (on the conveyor belt 3 side) and the left end of the duct 41 (on the conveyor belt 4b side).

Between the conveyor belts 3 and 4b, guide rods 11 and 21 are provided on the side of the running locus of the disposable pants as folding guides that can move forward and backward. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide rod 11 is formed of a straight plate material, and its root portion is fixed to the rotary drive shaft 12 connected to the drive shaft 13 via the gear 12a, and rotates in the direction of a chain line arrow. It has a moving structure.
A cam 16 is provided on the rotary drive shaft 12 and the arm member 1
5 is in contact with the roller 15d at the tip of the short portion 15a. The arm member 15 is supported by a support shaft 14, and its long portion 15
The tip of b is a protrusion 22a of the support shaft 22 via the arm 23.
Linked to Also, a portion 15c of the arm member short portion 15a
Is connected to the tension spring 17 and the roller 15d of the short portion 15a
Is always in contact with the displacement surface of the cam 16.

The guide rod 21 is formed of a plate material bent in a U-shape, and its base is fixed to a support shaft 22.
The protruding portion 22a of the support shaft 22 is connected to the arm 23 as described above. When the rotation drive shaft 12 rotates, the cam 16,
Through the arm member, the arm 23, and the support shaft 22, the guide rod 21 swings in synchronization with the rotation of the guide rod 11 as shown by a chain line arrow (during one rotation of the guide rod 11, the guide rod 21 (One reciprocation between the positions 21a is indicated by a broken line). The rotation of the rotation drive shaft 12 is controlled by the conveyor belts 3 and 4.
The rotation speeds of the rotary drive shaft 12 are set in synchronization with the driving speeds of the conveyor belts a and 4b.

The lower side of the conveyor belt 4a is connected to a crank mechanism 48 so that the entire conveyor belt swings around the axis of the guide roller 43. The reciprocating movement of this swing (reciprocating movement between the position indicated by the solid line and the position indicated by the broken line 4a1) is set so as to reciprocate once in synchronization with each passing of the disposable pants, and the front portion and the rear portion of the disposable pants are set. In the state in which the interval of is maximized, it is transferred to the lower conveyor belt 4b.

The folding method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in (a), the outer surface of the front portion F of the disposable pants P is supported on the conveyor belt 3 by suction airflow acting through a large number of holes 3A in the conveyor belt 3, and the outer surface of the rear portion B is similarly set on the conveyor belt. 4b, and is supported in close contact with the surface thereof (the same support is performed on the conveyor belt 4a). That is, the ear portions S ₁ formed on the left and right of the disposable pants P,
While extending pull the S ₂ from the vertical moving into the outline arrows direction (forming a gap between the front F and rear B).

Next (b), the while pressing the guide rod 11 in the arrow direction (pants traveling in the same direction) with respect to one ear portion S ₂ which is extended vertically, it Push between the front F and back B of the pants. Since this time interval of the conveyor belt 3,4b comes gradually narrowed, the step of superimposing the front and rear while pushing the ear portion S ₂ is performed. When the folding is completed in this step, the vehicle travels to the position of the holding releasing means where the suction air flow does not act, and the support by the holding means is released, one ear of the disposable pants P can be folded.

In addition to this, as shown in FIG.
Move the guide rod 21 from the left side along the arrow direction
Ear S of lower side₁ To the front F
Push in between rear B. At this time, the guide rod 21 stops.
Even if you do, the ear S₁ Is
It freely enters between the front and rear parts. And this intrusion
When this is completed, as shown in FIG.
Is retracted in the direction of the arrow. The evacuation speed at this time depends on
Discarded pants P get caught on this guide rod 21
Is the same as the running speed of the pants,
Must be faster. Guide rod 11
Is the running track of the pants according to the running of the disposable pants P
Since the guide rod 11 is retracted from the trace,
The speed is equal to or faster than the running speed
It should be set as follows. Ear S ₁ , S_Two Folding
After the end, the suction releasing means
If the pulling action is removed from the conveyor belts 3 and 4b,
Disposable pants are no longer supported and sent to the next process without any problems
I can put it out.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another folding apparatus and method according to the present invention. On the lower side of the conveyor belt 4b, a pair of transport conveyor belts 52, 52 facing each other up and down with an interval substantially equal to the thickness of the disposable pants P, are provided.
Is provided as a transport mechanism, and a compressed air injection pipe 50 is disposed between the transport conveyor belt 52 and the conveyor belt 3 as an ear-folding mechanism. This compressed air injection pipe 5
0 is provided with a linear or hole-shaped (in this case, linearly arranged in the width direction of the conveyor belt) injection nozzle, and is transferred from the conveyor belts 3, 4b to the conveyor belts 52, 52. The compressed air is ejected intermittently or continuously toward the ears of the disposable pants P to be used.

A rotating folding guide 11 is provided on the side of the conveyor belts 3 and 4b.
When the disposable pants pass between 4b, one ear of the pants P (the right part in FIG. 3) is folded between the front and the rear of the pants (see FIG. 3), and the remaining ears S are compressed air jets. A gap G formed between the conveyor belt 4b and the conveyor belt 52 when passing below the pipe 50
Is displaced. The main body of the disposable pants P having a relatively hard absorber is fed between the conveyor belts 52, 52 without being affected by the compressed air. Accordingly, the belts are drawn into the transport conveyor belts 52, 52 in a state of being folded (folded) out of the pants body. as a result,
The ears S, S of the disposable pants P are folded in the state as shown in FIG. 8 and sent out from between the conveyor belts 52, 52 to the next process site. The compressed air injection pipe 50 may be replaced with a configuration in which a rod-shaped or plate-shaped mechanical guide that moves forward and backward is pressed against the ear S.

The folding method and folding device of the present invention are not limited to disposable pants for children or adults,
In addition, disposable absorbent articles such as disposable diapers and napkins having a flat or hourglass shape, clothing such as pants and shirts made of cloth, and packaging bags made of paper or plastic film are also applicable.

[0047]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bag-shaped articles are continuously run in a state of being arranged side by side, and at least one ear portion of the articles is securely inserted between the front part and the rear part of the article. Can be stored. Further, if the configuration of claim 2 is added, both the left and right ear portions can be stored between the front and rear portions of the article. Further, according to the configuration of claim 3, one of the ears can be folded so as to be stored between the front part and the rear part of the article, and the other ear part can be folded so as to be folded outside the front part or the rear part. became.

According to the device of the fourth aspect, while forming a gap such that the front part and the rear part are separated from each other, the ear part connecting the front part and the rear part can be accurately guided into the gap by the folding guide. Thus, the inconvenience of lowering the traveling speed of articles produced continuously in the lateral direction and the inconvenience that the folding device is arranged non-parallel to the production line are not caused.

According to the device of the fifth aspect, the front part and the rear part of the article can be surely separated from each other, and the extended ear part can be reliably folded so as to bridge between them. Further, according to the structure of the sixth aspect, the article can reliably support the front and rear outer surfaces thereof while traveling, and can separate and approach them. According to claim 7, since the folding guide for guiding the ears of the article between the front part and the rear part has a simple structure that only needs to be driven to rotate, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from becoming large-scale and expensive. According to the configuration of claim 8, it is possible to fold the ear portion on the lower side of the traveling where it is difficult to retract the folding guide.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in an article traveling in the lateral direction, the left and right ear portions can be reliably folded without hindering traveling, and the upper and lower folding guides can be moved synchronously. According to the configuration of claim 10, one of the ears of the article is folded so as to be stored between the front part and the rear part, and the other ear part is securely out of the front part or the rear part. The product can be folded back so that the article can be folded compactly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory side cutaway view of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A to 3D are side explanatory views showing a folding step. FIGS.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory perspective view showing another embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory front view and a sectional view of the disposable pants.

6A and 6B are front and cross-sectional explanatory views showing a folded state of the disposable pants of FIG.

7 is an explanatory front view and a sectional view showing a folded state of the disposable pants in FIG. 5;

8 is an explanatory front view and a sectional view showing a folded state of the disposable pants in FIG.

[Explanation of Codes] 3, 4a, 4b Conveyor belts 6a, 6b, 6c Elastic body 8 Backsheet 9 Absorber 10 Topsheet 11, 21 Guide rod 12 Rotation drive shaft 14, 22 Spindle 15 Arm member 16 Cam 23 Arm 30 , 41 Suction airflow duct 50 Compressed air jet pipe 52 Conveyor conveyor belt B Rear part F Front part P Disposable pants S, S ₁ , S ₂ Ear part

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An article folded in a manner such that bag-shaped articles are arranged side by side and continuously fed, and at least one of left and right ears of the article is stored between a front part and a rear part of a bag-shaped body. In the folding method, a step of supporting the front part and the rear part of the bag-shaped main body of the article and forming a gap between them, while pushing at least one ear into the gap,
A method of folding the article, comprising the steps of: reducing the gap to overlap the front portion and the rear portion with the ear portion sandwiched in the center. 2. A front-to-back portion, wherein the other ear portion is pushed into a gap formed between the front portion and the rear portion of the bag-shaped body, and the gap between the front portion and the rear portion is reduced to sandwich the ear portion at the center. 2. The method of folding an article according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: superimposing a rear portion with the rear portion. 3. The method of folding an article according to claim 1, further comprising the step of folding back the other ear to the outside of the front or rear part of the bag-shaped body. 4. An article folded in a manner such that bag-shaped articles are arranged side by side and fed continuously, and at least one of the left and right ears of the article is stored between the front part and the rear part of the bag-shaped body. Wherein a pair of holding means for supporting the front and rear portions of the bag-shaped body from outside are provided facing each other, and the holding means is provided on the side of the article feeding locus by the holding means. Folding guides are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from the ears of the placed article so as to pass between the holding means, and the holding releasing means for releasing the support of the article by the holding means is provided by the folding means. An article folding device provided on a lower side of a guide. 5. The holding means is constituted by applying a suction airflow to a conveyor belt having a large number of ventilation holes, and a gap formed between the holding members is such that at least one of the holding members is the other. The article folding device according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to expand and reduce a gap between the holding members by moving forward and backward with respect to the holding members. 6. The holding means is constituted by applying a suction airflow to a conveyor belt having a large number of ventilation holes, and a gap formed between the holding members is from the upper side to the lower side in the article feeding direction. The article according to claim 4, wherein the article is configured to be gradually expanded and then gradually reduced, and that the holding releasing means releases the holding by preventing the suction airflow of the holding means from acting on the article. Folding device. 7. The article according to claim 4, wherein the folding guide is arranged so that at least its tip reaches the ear of the article to be fed, and is driven to rotate in one direction. Folding device. 8. The folding guide is provided so that at least the tip thereof reaches the ear of the article to be fed, and is swingable so as to advance and retreat toward a feeding locus of the article. An apparatus for folding an article according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein: 9. Two folding guides are provided on the upper side and the lower side of the article feeding direction, and the folding guides on the upper side are arranged such that at least their tips reach the ears of the articles to be fed. , Is driven to rotate in one direction along the article feeding direction, and the folding guide on the lower side is arranged such that at least its tip reaches the ear of the article, and moves back and forth toward the article feeding locus. The apparatus for folding an article according to any one of claims 4 to 6, which is configured to be swingable. 10. A folding guide is provided one at a position upstream of the article feeding direction, intersects a pair of conveying mechanisms formed at intervals and facing each other, and intersects an article feeding locus on the near side of the conveying mechanism. 9. The folding device for an article according to claim 4, wherein a folding device for the ear portion, comprising a folding mechanism that can advance in the direction, is provided on the lower side of the holding release means.