JPH10109821A - Sheet folding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a natural return even if a sheet is placed out of a guide by disturbance, and stably-fold one of two sheets conveyed in an overlapped condition. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a main folding guide 1, and auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 mounted ahead of the main folding guide, and is formed so that the inner edges of non-woven cloths 14, 14 for gathering may be passed through between the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guide 5 for folding. Guide plates 8, 8 consisting of metallic thin plate are jointed to the main folding guide 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet folding apparatus and, more particularly, to a sheet folding apparatus for forming a folded portion on one of two sheets conveyed continuously. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a production line for napkins and the like, two sheets of a surface material and a nonwoven fabric for gathers are superimposed and continuously conveyed, and in the course of the conveyance, an inner edge of the nonwoven fabric for gathers is turned over. A sheet folding device is used.

This type of sheet folding apparatus includes a trapezoidal main folding guide and an auxiliary guide provided in front of the main folding guide. The inner edge of the nonwoven fabric for gathers is folded back by passing between the auxiliary guide and the main folding guide while being conveyed in a targeted manner.

[0004]

In the conventional sheet folding device, the guide portion is composed of only the main folding guide and the auxiliary folding guide, and the guide for regulating the left and right directions with respect to the sheet conveying direction is provided. not exist.
Therefore, if a change in the tension or other disturbance occurs during the conveyance of the sheet, the sheet is displaced, comes off the main folding guide, and the folding becomes impossible. For this reason, the conventional apparatus has a problem that the folding of the sheet is unstable and lacks high-speed stability.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a high-speed stability in which a sheet can be spontaneously returned even if it comes off the guide due to disturbance, and one of the conveyed sheets can be stably and reliably folded. An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent sheet folding device.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A main folding guide; and an auxiliary folding guide provided in front of the main folding guide. The second folding guide overlaps the second sheet on the first sheet and continuously transports the second sheet. In a sheet folding apparatus in which an edge is passed between the main folding guide and the auxiliary folding guide to be folded, a leading end of the main folding guide on a side where the first and second sheets are fed out. A guide plate made of a thin metal plate is connected so that the tip is located at least in front of a position where the auxiliary folding guide is provided, and the first and second sheets are guided by the guide plate. The object has been achieved by providing a sheet folding apparatus characterized by the following.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sheet folding apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the first sheet is a surface material, and the second sheet is a nonwoven fabric for gathers. Thereby, the above object has been achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the guide plate is
The object is achieved by providing a sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sheet folding apparatus is formed of a metal sheet integrated with the main folding guide.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary guide formed of a roll, a rod, or a plate is provided on a side portion of the main folding guide, and the main folding guide is connected to the guide plate. The above object has been achieved by providing a sheet folding apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, which is arranged so as to be flush with the lower surface of the guide.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a sheet folding apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the sheet folding apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a napkin using a first sheet as a surface material and a second sheet as a nonwoven fabric for gathers.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet folding device of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the sheet folding device of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1.

The sheet folding apparatus of the present embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guide 5 provided in front of the main folding guide 1 are provided. The inner non-woven fabrics 14, 14 are gathered so that the inner edges 14a, 14a of the non-woven fabrics 14, 14 are passed between the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guide 5 while being continuously conveyed. This is a sheet folding device.

The sheet folding apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail. 1 and 2, the main folding guide 1 serves to fold the inner edges 14a, 14a of the gather nonwoven fabrics 14, 14, and the flat portion 2
And a guide portion 3 refracted from the flat portion 2 at a desired inclination angle θ.

The angle of the inclination angle θ is preferably 10 degrees to 60 degrees. If it exceeds 90 degrees, the frictional resistance at the bent portion increases (paper dust or the like is generated). If it is less than 5 degrees, the distance required for folding back becomes longer (space is required). Note that 0
The angle is not possible, and in the present embodiment, the angle of the inclination angle θ is set to 20 degrees.

The flat portion 2 has a substantially rectangular planar shape. On the other hand, the guide portion 3 has a substantially trapezoidal shape in which both side edges 3a, 3a are inclined so as to extend rearward, and has a shape having projections 4, 4 projecting to both sides at a rear end portion. . The main folded guide 1 including the flat portion 2 and the guide portion 3 having such a shape is used to divide the flat portion 2 into the surface material 1.
5 and the nonwoven fabric for gathers 14 are arranged toward the side (upstream side) where the nonwoven fabric 14 is fed.

Further, in front of the main folding guide 1, the inner edges 14 of the gather nonwoven fabrics 14, 14 are also formed.
A pair of auxiliary folding guides 5 and 5 having an elongated triangular shape for functioning to fold the a and 14a are provided.
These auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 are provided in front of the main folding guide 1 at predetermined intervals on the left and right sides, with the sharp-edged portions 5 a having sharpened tips facing both sides of the flat portion 2 of the main folding guide 1. Are located.

The auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 are
As shown in FIG. 2, the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers are opposed to each other with a gap sufficient to allow the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers to run between the flat portions 2. Note that these auxiliary folding guides 5, 5
Is attached to a fixed portion of a device (not shown) so as not to interfere with sheet conveyance.

On both sides of the main folding guide 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the material is held on the same plane as the bent portion of the main folding guide 1, so that tension applied to the material at the bent portion of the material is obtained. And auxiliary guides 7, which are formed of cylindrical rolls, are provided for stabilizing the sheet and for stabilizing the folding. That is, the auxiliary guides 7, 7
Are provided on both sides of the main folding guide 1 at positions corresponding to the boundary between the flat portion 2 and the guide portion 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary guides 7, 7 are connected to a lower surface of the main folding guide 1 at a connecting portion where a guide plate to be described later is connected to the flat portion 2 of the main folding guide 1. They are arranged so as to be on the same plane. The auxiliary guides 7, 7 are made flush with the lower surface of the main folding guide 1 in order to minimize the difference in tension between the material passing through the lower surface of the main folding guide 1 and the material passing through the lower surface of the auxiliary guides 7, 7. It is.

In the sheet folding apparatus according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the metal folding guide 1 is attached to the leading end of the main folding guide 1 on the side where the first and second sheets are fed out. A pair of thin guide plates 8, 8 are connected. Such guide plates 8, 8
It serves to stably transport the surface material 15 and the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers to the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guides 5, 5, and is formed as a long plate-like body.

The guide plates 8 and 8 are connected at their base ends to the lower surface of the flat surface 2 of the main folding guide 1 by bonding or welding or the like, so that the surface material 15 and the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers are connected. The leading end is located toward the upstream side where it is conveyed. In the present embodiment, the front end positions of the guide plates 8 and 8 are located forward of the position at which the surface material 15 is fed out and rearward of the position at which the one nonwoven fabric 14 for gathers is fed.

In the sheet folding apparatus, the guide rolls 10 and 11 for supplying the gather nonwoven fabrics 14 and 14 to the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guides 5 and 5 are provided by the guide plate 8. ,
8 is provided on the upper surface side. Further, the guide rolls 12 for supplying the surface material 15 to the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 are provided by the guide plates 8, 8, respectively.
Is provided on the lower surface side. Therefore, the gather nonwoven fabric 14 supplied by the guide rolls 10 and 11,
14 is supplied from the upper surface side of the guide plates 8, 8, while the surface material 15 is supplied from the lower surface side of the guide plates 8, 8.

In the sheet folding apparatus, a pair of pressure rolls 13, 13 for intermittently heat-sealing the gathered nonwoven fabrics 14, 14 and the surface material 15 are provided. . Such a press roll 1
3 and 13 are provided between the guide roll 12 for supplying the surface material 15 and the auxiliary folding guides 5 and 5.
5 and the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers are vertically arranged so as to sandwich the same.

The inner edges 14 of the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers are formed by the sheet folding apparatus constructed as described above.
The return of a and 14a is as follows. As shown in FIG. 3, the gather nonwoven fabrics 14, 14 supplied to the folding device are formed by bonding upper and lower nonwoven fabrics 16, for example, by a heat welding portion 17, and inside the overlapping inner edges. This is a configuration in which an elastic material 18 such as rubber is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gather nonwoven fabric 14 is guided by guide rolls 10 and conveyed along the upper surface of the guide plate 8, and the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 is conveyed. Similarly, the other gather non-woven fabric 14 is guided by the guide roll 11 and is also conveyed along the upper surface of the guide plate 8 to pass between the main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guides 5 and 5. Is transported in parallel with the gathered nonwoven fabric 14. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
2 and is conveyed along the lower surfaces of the guide plates 8 and 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, the nonwoven fabrics 14 for gathers and the surface material 15 supplied from above and below, respectively, with the guide plates 8,
The main folding guide 1 and the auxiliary folding guide 5,
5 is conveyed.

Then, each of the gather nonwoven fabrics 1
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner edges 14 a, 14 a of the four, 14 enter the gap 6 between the auxiliary folding guides 5, 5 and the main folding guide 1, and are folded while passing therethrough. That is, the inner edges 14a, 14a of the gather nonwoven fabrics 14, 14 are first folded outward by the oblique sides 5b, 5b of the auxiliary folding guide 5, as shown in FIG. And the folded back portion 20 is
While being guided by the auxiliary guides 7, 7, they enter the lower surface of the guide portion 3 along the side edges 3 a, 3 a of the main turn-up guide 1, where the turn-up portion 21 is formed as shown in FIG.

During the above operation, the gathered nonwoven fabrics 14 and 14 and the surface material 15 (hereinafter, referred to as a sheet member) integrated due to, for example, a change in tension applied to the sheet or other disturbances are moved from the main folding guide 1 to the left or right. Even if it comes off, since the guide plates 8, 8 are connected to the end of the main folding guide 1, the sheet body immediately returns to its original position immediately.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the sheet body is regulated in the vertical and horizontal directions by the pair of guide plates 8 and 8, so that the sheet body is displaced in the horizontal and vertical directions due to disturbance or the like. Is also returned to the normal position by the guide plates 8. Therefore, even if there is a disturbance, the inner edge 1 of the gather nonwoven fabrics 14
4a and 14a can be reliably folded back, and the folding can be performed at high speed.

The sheet having the folded portion 21 formed thereon is continuously wound under a constant tension by a winding device (not shown) disposed behind the main folding guide 1. ing.

The sheet folding apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet folding apparatus according to the present invention is described as an apparatus for manufacturing a napkin, but may be used as an apparatus for manufacturing a diaper or the like. In short, the present invention can be applied to a sheet in which two sheets are continuously stacked and conveyed, and the inner edge of one of the sheets is folded back.

In the above-described embodiment, the guide plates 8, 8 made of a thin metal plate are connected to the tip of the main turn guide 1. However, the guide plates 8, 8 are made of a thin metal plate integrated with the main turn guide 1. It may be configured. In such a case, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, cylindrical rolls are used as the auxiliary guides 7 and 7. However, a similar effect can be obtained by using a rod-shaped or plate-shaped guide instead. The point is, if you can guide the folded part 20,
This is because it is not limited to rolls.

In the above embodiment, the guide plate 8
Although the leading end of 8 is positioned near the guide roll 11 for guiding one of the gather nonwoven fabrics 14, a similar effect can be obtained at least immediately before entering the auxiliary folding guides 5, 5.

In the above embodiment, two guide plates 8, 8 are used, but a single wide guide plate may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, two sheets are folded at the same time. However, according to the sheet folding apparatus of the present invention, one sheet can be folded similarly. It is.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the sheet folding apparatus of the present invention, the two folded sheets are joined by connecting the thin metal plate to the main folding guide. Guided by the guide plate, the sheet naturally returns to its original position immediately even if it tries to disengage from the main folding guide due to disturbance, so that even if there is disturbance, it is possible to form a stable folded part on one sheet In addition, since disturbance can be absorbed, high-speed operation is possible, and productivity is also improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet folding apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a sheet folding apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main folding guide 5 Auxiliary folding guide 7 Auxiliary guide 8 Guide plate 14, 14 Nonwoven fabric for gathers (2nd sheet) 15 Surface material (1st sheet)

Claims (4)

[Claims] A main folding guide; and an auxiliary folding guide provided in front of the main folding guide.
The inner edge of the second sheet is passed between the main folding guide and the auxiliary folding guide to be folded while the second sheet is superimposed on the first sheet and continuously conveyed. In the sheet folding apparatus, the metal sheet is arranged such that the leading end of the main folding guide on the side where the first and second sheets are fed out is located at least forward of a position where the auxiliary folding guide is provided. Wherein the first and second sheets are guided by the guide plates. 2. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the first sheet is a surface material, and the second sheet is a gather nonwoven fabric. 3. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, wherein the guide plate is formed of a thin metal plate integral with the main folding guide. 4. An auxiliary guide formed of a roll, a rod, or a plate is provided on a side portion of the main folding guide at the same plane as a lower surface of the main folding guide at a connection portion with the guide plate. The sheet folding device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein