US20170119590A1 - Apparatus and method for forming and securing discrete components to moving webs - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for forming and securing discrete components to moving webs Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20170119590A1 US20170119590A1 US15/335,539 US201615335539A US2017119590A1 US 20170119590 A1 US20170119590 A1 US 20170119590A1 US 201615335539 A US201615335539 A US 201615335539A US 2017119590 A1 US2017119590 A1 US 2017119590A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- web
- cuff
- ear
- operator side
- drive side
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
- A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
- A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
- A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
- A61F13/15804—Plant, e.g. involving several steps
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
- A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
- A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
- A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
- A61F13/15699—Forming webs by bringing together several webs, e.g. by laminating or folding several webs, with or without additional treatment of the webs
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
- A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
- A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
- A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
- A61F13/15707—Mechanical treatment, e.g. notching, twisting, compressing, shaping
- A61F13/15723—Partitioning batts; Cutting
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
- A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
- A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
- A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
- A61F13/15756—Applying tabs, strips, tapes, loops; Knotting the ends of pads
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
- A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
- A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
- A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
- A61F13/15764—Transferring, feeding or handling devices; Drives
Definitions
- the invention disclosed herein relates to an apparatus and methods for forming disposable products such as diapers at very high speeds, while automatically scheduling certain aspects of production, including material loading, splicing, reloading.
- the present invention relates to affixing no-waste ear webs to cuff webs. While the description provided relates to diaper manufacturing, the apparatus and method are easily adaptable to other applications.
- diapers comprise an absorbent insert or patch and a chassis, which, when the diaper is worn, supports the insert proximate a wearer's body. Additionally, diapers may include other various patches, such as tape tab patches, reusable fasteners and the like.
- the raw materials used in forming a representative insert are typically cellulose pulp, tissue paper, poly, nonwoven web, acquisition, and elastic, although application specific materials are sometimes utilized. Usually, most of the insert raw materials are provided in roll form, and unwound and applied in continuously fed fashion.
- a diaper multiple roll-fed web processes are typically utilized.
- the cellulose pulp is unwound from the provided raw material roll and de-bonded by a pulp mill.
- Discrete pulp cores are created using a vacuum forming assembly and placed on a continuous tissue web.
- super-absorbent powder may be added to the pulp core.
- the tissue web is wrapped around the pulp core.
- the wrapped core is debulked by proceeding through a calender unit, which at least partially compresses the core, thereby increasing its density and structural integrity.
- the tissue-wrapped core is passed through a segregation or knife unit, where individual wrapped cores are cut.
- the cut cores are conveyed, at the proper pitch, or spacing, to a boundary compression unit.
- the poly sheet is prepared to receive a cut core.
- poly sheet material is usually provided in roll form.
- the poly sheet is fed through a splicer and accumulator, coated with an adhesive in a predetermined pattern, and then presented to the boundary compression unit.
- a two-ply top sheet may also be formed in parallel to the core formation.
- Representative plies are an acquisition layer web material and a nonwoven web material, both of which are fed from material parent rolls, through a splicer and accumulator.
- the plies are coated with adhesive, adhered together, cut to size, and presented to the boundary compression unit. Therefore, at the boundary compression unit, three components are provided for assembly: the poly bottom sheet, the core, and the two-ply top sheet.
- a representative boundary compression unit includes a profiled die roller and a smooth platen roller.
- the nip of the rollers properly compresses the boundary of the insert.
- a string of interconnected diaper inserts provided at the output of the boundary compression unit is a string of interconnected diaper inserts.
- the diaper inserts are then separated by an insert knife assembly and properly oriented, such as disclosed in co-pending U.S. Application No. 61/426,891, owned by the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. At this point, the completed insert is ready for placement on a diaper chassis.
- a representative diaper chassis comprises nonwoven web material and support structure.
- the diaper support structure is generally elastic and may include leg elastic, waistband elastic and belly band elastic.
- the support structure is usually sandwiched between layers of the nonwoven web material, which is fed from material rolls, through splicers and accumulators.
- the chassis may also be provided with several patches, besides the absorbent insert. Representative patches include adhesive tape tabs and resealable closures.
- the process utilizes two main carrier webs; a nonwoven web which forms an inner liner web, and an outer web that forms an outwardly facing layer in the finished diaper.
- the nonwoven web is slit at a slitter station by rotary knives along three lines, thereby forming four webs.
- One of the lines is on approximately the centerline of the web and the other two lines are parallel to and spaced a short distance from the centerline.
- the effect of such slitting is twofold; first, to separate the nonwoven web into two inner diaper liners.
- One liner will become the inside of the front of the diaper, and the second liner will become the inside of the back of that garment.
- two separate, relatively narrow strips are formed that may be subsequently used to cover and entrap portions of the leg-hole elastics.
- the strips can be separated physically by an angularly disposed spreader roll and aligned laterally with their downstream target positions on the inner edges of the formed liners. This is also done with turn bars upon entrance to the process.
- an adhesive is applied to the liners in a predetermined pattern in preparation to receive leg-hole elastic.
- the leg-hole elastic is applied to the liners and then covered with the narrow strips previously separated from the nonwoven web.
- Adhesive is applied to the outer web, which is then combined with the assembled inner webs having elastic thereon, thereby forming the diaper chassis.
- an adhesive is applied to the chassis. The chassis is now ready to receive an insert.
- strands of elastic are held by a non-woven layer that is folded over itself and contains the elastics within the overlap of the non-woven material.
- the non-woven is typically folded by use of a plow system which captures the elastics within a pocket, which is then sealed to ensure that the elastics remain in the cuff.
- the insert To assemble the final diaper product, the insert must be combined with the chassis.
- the placement of the insert onto the chassis occurs on a placement drum or at a patch applicator.
- the inserts are provided to the chassis on the placement drum at a desired pitch or spacing.
- the generally flat chassis/insert combination is then folded so that the inner webs face each other, and the combination is trimmed.
- a sealer bonds the webs at appropriate locations prior to individual diapers being cut from the folded and sealed webs.
- waste minimization is a goal in web processing applications. Indeed, due to the rate at which web processing machines run, even minimal waste can cause inefficiencies of scale. In present systems, waste materials are recycled. However, the act of harvesting recyclable materials from defective product is intensive.
- the resulting discrete ear pieces however, due to the trapezoidal pattern of the ears, alternate between a correct orientation and an incorrect (reversed) orientation.
- the reversed ear is required to be rotated 180° into the correct orientation such that the ears and associated tape present a left ear and a right ear on the diaper.
- Two ear turner assemblies can be provided, to rotate every other ear applied to the right side of the product, and every other ear applied to the left side of the product. In this manner, for a single product, one of the two ears will have been rotated 180°.
- the ear rotating apparatus provides an elegant and efficient solution for using no-waste ear webs, the industry could benefit from an alternative approach.
- the invention is directed to a cost effective and efficient solution for aligning and affixing no-waste ear webs to cuff webs.
- FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of a process according to the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a schematic of an apparatus configured to perform the process shown in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a cuff spreader according to the present as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a LYCRA® fiber infeed and a cuff folder according to the present as indicated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a back ear die cut unit according to the present invention as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a drive side back ear attachment to a cuff web according to the present invention as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 6B is a top plan view of the drive side back ear shown in FIG. 6A folded as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 7A is a top plan view of an operator side back ear attachment to a cuff web according to the present invention as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 7B is a top plan view of the operator side back ear of FIG. 7A folded as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- FIG. 8A is a top plan view of a potential drive side and operator side ear/cuff web alignment as indicated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 8B is a top plan view of a drive side and operator side ear/cuff web alignment as indicated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the ear/cuff webs and a top sheet combined according to the present invention as indicated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 1 shows a process 10 for attaching drive side and operator side back ears 40 A, 40 B to respective drive side and operator side cuff webs 50 A, 50 B according to the present invention.
- arrows provided throughout the drawings are representative of machine direction.
- the cuff web 50 is preferably first fed through an accumulator (not shown) to provide a surplus of the cuff web 50 to enhance splicing of cuff web material without having to reduce the speed of the machinery.
- the cuff web 50 then goes through a dancer (not shown) to control the tension of the cuff web 50 and a web guide (not shown) to position the cuff web 50 .
- the cuff web 50 proceeds through a cuff slitter 20 to cut the cuff web 50 into a drive side cuff web 50 A and an operator side cuff web 50 B and through a cuff spreader 22 to spread the drive side cuff web 50 A and the operator side cuff web 50 B (see also FIG. 3 ).
- each of the cuff webs 50 A, 50 B and LYCRA® fiber strands 60 are introduced from a LYCRA® fiber infeed 26 along a first side portion 52 of each cuff web 50 A, 50 B.
- the LYCRA® fiber infeed 26 is positioned between the cuff webs 50 A, 50 B, wherein the first side portion 52 of each cuff web 50 A, 50 B is adjacent to the LYCRA® fiber infeed 26 .
- a cuff folder 24 folds each respective first side portion 52 to enclose the LYCRA® fiber strands 60 (see also FIG. 4 ).
- a process of forming a drive side back ear 40 A and an operator side back ear 40 B is provided concurrently with the process of forming the cuff webs 50 A, 50 B disclosed above.
- the back ear web 40 is preferably configured in a no-waste orientation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 , wherein, the back ears 40 A, 40 B are provided in an alternating trapezoidal pattern formed by a back ear die cut unit 28 .
- tape 70 is attached 72 to each back ear 40 A, 40 B and folded 74 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- the back ears 40 A, 40 B are preferably formed into the trapezoidal no-waste shape on a trapezoidal die unit 28 .
- the back ears 40 A, 40 B are then processed through a combination of transfer rolls (not shown) to a bonding roll (not shown) and finally to the respective cuff web 50 A, 50 B.
- every back ear 40 A is gathered and sent to the operator side, and every back ear 40 B is gathered and sent to the drive side. This can be done as shown in FIGS. 110-112 of U.S. Pat. No. 9,433,538.
- the distance between the respective ears 40 A, 40 B from a first ear distance 34 to a second ear distance 36 is also shown in FIG. 1 .
- the second ear distance 36 being greater than the first ear distance 36 .
- the back ear die cut unit 28 be physically located above the top edge of the drive side cuff web 50 A.
- the drive side back ear 40 A is shown attached to the drive side cuff web 50 A.
- the attachment of the drive side back ear 40 A at this point is preferably carried out through a mechanical or pressure tack bonding process.
- the drive side cuff web 50 A is generally pre-aligned and ready to receive the drive side back ear 40 A from the back ear die cut unit 28 . This placement eliminates the need to have the drive side cuff web 50 A shifted and realigned into position with the drive side back ear 40 A and reduces the number of steps required to attach the back ears 40 A, 40 B to the cuff webs 50 A, 50 B.
- the drive side back ear 40 A is folded 44 A and tacked 54 A as shown in FIG. 6B .
- the tacking 54 A may be accomplished by any means now known or later developed. Non-limiting examples include tacking with adhesive, ultrasonic bonding, or applied pressure.
- FIGS. 7A and 7B show the operator side back ear 40 B being attached to the operator side cuff web 50 B. Because the back ear die cut unit 28 is positioned in-line with the drive side cuff web 50 A and the operator side back ears 40 B are oriented in the opposite direction as the drive side back ears 40 A, the operator side cuff web 50 B must be realigned in a first shift 46 and oriented in a manner to properly receive the operator side back ears 40 B.
- the first shift 46 is preferably carried out with at least a turn bar assembly (not shown).
- the first shift 46 requires the operator side cuff web 50 B to be moved off of the process center line 32 to receive the operator side back ear 40 B.
- the attachment 42 B of the operator side back ear 40 B at this point is preferably carried out through a mechanical or pressure tack bonding process and occurs approximately 90° from the attachment of the drive side back ear 40 A. Similar to the drive side back ear 40 A, the operator side back ear 40 B is folded 44 B and tacked 54 B after being attached 42 B to the operator side cuff web 50 B.
- the operator side cuff web 50 B is then realigned in a second shift 48 to be spaced a predetermined distance from the drive side cuff web 50 A, with the process center line 32 between and equidistant to each cuff web 50 A, 50 B.
- the second shift 48 is preferably carried out with at least a turn bar assembly (not shown).
- the two cuff webs 50 A, 50 B, with attached back ears 40 A, 40 B, are thereby positioned to be attached 82 ( FIG. 1 ) to a topsheet 80 .
- the back ears 40 A, 40 B, attached to the respective drive side cuff web 50 A and the operator side cuff web 50 B may be out of alignment, defining a gap 90 ( FIG. 8A ). Therefore, prior to attachment to the topshee. 80 , the drive side and operator side cuff webs 50 A, 50 B are preferably processed through a back ear web compensator 30 which will adjust and compensate any difference between the drive side and operator side cuff webs 50 A, 50 B to align their respective back ears 40 A, 40 B, if needed.
- the combination proceeds down the process line to be combined with other elements of the garment, including, but not limited to, an absorbent core 84 and front ears 86 .
Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/248,896, filed 30 Oct. 2015.
- The invention disclosed herein relates to an apparatus and methods for forming disposable products such as diapers at very high speeds, while automatically scheduling certain aspects of production, including material loading, splicing, reloading. In particular, the present invention relates to affixing no-waste ear webs to cuff webs. While the description provided relates to diaper manufacturing, the apparatus and method are easily adaptable to other applications.
- Generally, diapers comprise an absorbent insert or patch and a chassis, which, when the diaper is worn, supports the insert proximate a wearer's body. Additionally, diapers may include other various patches, such as tape tab patches, reusable fasteners and the like. The raw materials used in forming a representative insert are typically cellulose pulp, tissue paper, poly, nonwoven web, acquisition, and elastic, although application specific materials are sometimes utilized. Usually, most of the insert raw materials are provided in roll form, and unwound and applied in continuously fed fashion.
- In the creation of a diaper, multiple roll-fed web processes are typically utilized. To create an absorbent insert, the cellulose pulp is unwound from the provided raw material roll and de-bonded by a pulp mill. Discrete pulp cores are created using a vacuum forming assembly and placed on a continuous tissue web. Optionally, super-absorbent powder may be added to the pulp core. The tissue web is wrapped around the pulp core. The wrapped core is debulked by proceeding through a calender unit, which at least partially compresses the core, thereby increasing its density and structural integrity. After debulking, the tissue-wrapped core is passed through a segregation or knife unit, where individual wrapped cores are cut. The cut cores are conveyed, at the proper pitch, or spacing, to a boundary compression unit.
- While the insert cores are being formed, other insert components are being prepared to be presented to the boundary compression unit. For instance, the poly sheet is prepared to receive a cut core. Like the cellulose pulp, poly sheet material is usually provided in roll form. The poly sheet is fed through a splicer and accumulator, coated with an adhesive in a predetermined pattern, and then presented to the boundary compression unit. In addition to the poly sheet, which may form the bottom of the insert, a two-ply top sheet may also be formed in parallel to the core formation. Representative plies are an acquisition layer web material and a nonwoven web material, both of which are fed from material parent rolls, through a splicer and accumulator. The plies are coated with adhesive, adhered together, cut to size, and presented to the boundary compression unit. Therefore, at the boundary compression unit, three components are provided for assembly: the poly bottom sheet, the core, and the two-ply top sheet.
- A representative boundary compression unit includes a profiled die roller and a smooth platen roller. When all three insert components are provided to the boundary compression unit, the nip of the rollers properly compresses the boundary of the insert. Thus, provided at the output of the boundary compression unit is a string of interconnected diaper inserts. The diaper inserts are then separated by an insert knife assembly and properly oriented, such as disclosed in co-pending U.S. Application No. 61/426,891, owned by the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. At this point, the completed insert is ready for placement on a diaper chassis.
- A representative diaper chassis comprises nonwoven web material and support structure. The diaper support structure is generally elastic and may include leg elastic, waistband elastic and belly band elastic. The support structure is usually sandwiched between layers of the nonwoven web material, which is fed from material rolls, through splicers and accumulators. The chassis may also be provided with several patches, besides the absorbent insert. Representative patches include adhesive tape tabs and resealable closures.
- The process utilizes two main carrier webs; a nonwoven web which forms an inner liner web, and an outer web that forms an outwardly facing layer in the finished diaper. In a representative chassis process, the nonwoven web is slit at a slitter station by rotary knives along three lines, thereby forming four webs. One of the lines is on approximately the centerline of the web and the other two lines are parallel to and spaced a short distance from the centerline. The effect of such slitting is twofold; first, to separate the nonwoven web into two inner diaper liners. One liner will become the inside of the front of the diaper, and the second liner will become the inside of the back of that garment. Second, two separate, relatively narrow strips are formed that may be subsequently used to cover and entrap portions of the leg-hole elastics. The strips can be separated physically by an angularly disposed spreader roll and aligned laterally with their downstream target positions on the inner edges of the formed liners. This is also done with turn bars upon entrance to the process.
- After the nonwoven web is slit, an adhesive is applied to the liners in a predetermined pattern in preparation to receive leg-hole elastic. The leg-hole elastic is applied to the liners and then covered with the narrow strips previously separated from the nonwoven web. Adhesive is applied to the outer web, which is then combined with the assembled inner webs having elastic thereon, thereby forming the diaper chassis. Next, after the elastic members have been sandwiched between the inner and outer webs, an adhesive is applied to the chassis. The chassis is now ready to receive an insert.
- In diapers it is preferable to contain elastics around the leg region in a cuff to contain exudates for securely within the diaper. Typically, strands of elastic are held by a non-woven layer that is folded over itself and contains the elastics within the overlap of the non-woven material. The non-woven is typically folded by use of a plow system which captures the elastics within a pocket, which is then sealed to ensure that the elastics remain in the cuff.
- Most products require some longitudinal folding. It can be combined with elastic strands to make a cuff. It can be used to overwrap a stiff edge to soften the feel of the product. It can also be used to convert the final product into a smaller form to improve the packaging.
- To assemble the final diaper product, the insert must be combined with the chassis. The placement of the insert onto the chassis occurs on a placement drum or at a patch applicator. The inserts are provided to the chassis on the placement drum at a desired pitch or spacing. The generally flat chassis/insert combination is then folded so that the inner webs face each other, and the combination is trimmed. A sealer bonds the webs at appropriate locations prior to individual diapers being cut from the folded and sealed webs.
- As in many manufacturing operations, waste minimization is a goal in web processing applications. Indeed, due to the rate at which web processing machines run, even minimal waste can cause inefficiencies of scale. In present systems, waste materials are recycled. However, the act of harvesting recyclable materials from defective product is intensive.
- Some diaper forming techniques are disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 12/925,033 which is incorporated herein by reference. As described therein, a process wherein a rotary knife or die, with one or more cutting edges, turns against and in coordination with a corresponding cylinder to create preferably trapezoidal ears. Ear material is slit into two lanes, one for a left side of a diaper and the other for a right side of a diaper. Fastening tapes are applied to both the right and the left ear webs. The ear material is then die cut with a nested pattern on a synchronized vacuum anvil.
- The resulting discrete ear pieces however, due to the trapezoidal pattern of the ears, alternate between a correct orientation and an incorrect (reversed) orientation. The reversed ear is required to be rotated 180° into the correct orientation such that the ears and associated tape present a left ear and a right ear on the diaper.
- To accomplish the reversal of the ear pattern, discrete ear pieces are picked up at the nested ear pitch by an ear turner assembly that will expand to a pitch large enough for ears to be unnested and allow clearance for every other ear to be rotated. The rotated ears are then unnested and into the correct orientation.
- Two ear turner assemblies can be provided, to rotate every other ear applied to the right side of the product, and every other ear applied to the left side of the product. In this manner, for a single product, one of the two ears will have been rotated 180°.
- Although the ear rotating apparatus provides an elegant and efficient solution for using no-waste ear webs, the industry could benefit from an alternative approach.
- Provided are methods and an apparatus for minimizing waste and improving quality and production in web processing operations in a high speed, small footprint environment. In particular, the invention is directed to a cost effective and efficient solution for aligning and affixing no-waste ear webs to cuff webs.
-
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of a process according to the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a schematic of an apparatus configured to perform the process shown inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a cuff spreader according to the present as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a LYCRA® fiber infeed and a cuff folder according to the present as indicated inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a back ear die cut unit according to the present invention as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 6A is a top plan view of a drive side back ear attachment to a cuff web according to the present invention as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 6B is a top plan view of the drive side back ear shown inFIG. 6A folded as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 7A is a top plan view of an operator side back ear attachment to a cuff web according to the present invention as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 7B is a top plan view of the operator side back ear ofFIG. 7A folded as indicated inFIGS. 1 and 2 . -
FIG. 8A is a top plan view of a potential drive side and operator side ear/cuff web alignment as indicated inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 8B is a top plan view of a drive side and operator side ear/cuff web alignment as indicated inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the ear/cuff webs and a top sheet combined according to the present invention as indicated inFIG. 2 . - Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structures. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention.
-
FIG. 1 shows aprocess 10 for attaching drive side and operator side backears side cuff webs - Prior to reaching the process shown in
FIG. 1 , thecuff web 50 is preferably first fed through an accumulator (not shown) to provide a surplus of thecuff web 50 to enhance splicing of cuff web material without having to reduce the speed of the machinery. Thecuff web 50 then goes through a dancer (not shown) to control the tension of thecuff web 50 and a web guide (not shown) to position thecuff web 50. - The
cuff web 50 proceeds through acuff slitter 20 to cut thecuff web 50 into a driveside cuff web 50A and an operatorside cuff web 50B and through acuff spreader 22 to spread the driveside cuff web 50A and the operatorside cuff web 50B (see alsoFIG. 3 ). - Once separated, adhesive (not shown) is applied to each of the
cuff webs ® fiber strands 60 are introduced from a LYCRA® fiber infeed 26 along afirst side portion 52 of eachcuff web ® fiber infeed 26 is positioned between thecuff webs first side portion 52 of eachcuff web ® fiber infeed 26. Acuff folder 24 folds each respectivefirst side portion 52 to enclose the LYCRA® fiber strands 60 (see alsoFIG. 4 ). - Preferably, concurrently with the process of forming the
cuff webs ear 40A and an operator side backear 40B is provided. Theback ear web 40 is preferably configured in a no-waste orientation as shown inFIGS. 1 and 5 , wherein, theback ears unit 28. - Prior to being attached to the drive side and operator
side cuff webs tape 70 is attached 72 to eachback ear FIGS. 1 and 2 . Theback ears trapezoidal die unit 28. Theback ears respective cuff web back ear 40A is gathered and sent to the operator side, and everyback ear 40B is gathered and sent to the drive side. This can be done as shown in FIGS. 110-112 of U.S. Pat. No. 9,433,538. - The distance between the
respective ears first ear distance 34 to asecond ear distance 36 is also shown inFIG. 1 . Thesecond ear distance 36 being greater than thefirst ear distance 36. - Although not specifically shown in the Figures, it is preferable that the back ear die cut
unit 28 be physically located above the top edge of the driveside cuff web 50A. - Looking now to
FIGS. 6A and 6B , and as provided inFIGS. 1 and 2 , the drive side backear 40A is shown attached to the driveside cuff web 50A. The attachment of the drive side backear 40A at this point is preferably carried out through a mechanical or pressure tack bonding process. - The drive
side cuff web 50A is generally pre-aligned and ready to receive the drive side backear 40A from the back ear die cutunit 28. This placement eliminates the need to have the driveside cuff web 50A shifted and realigned into position with the drive side backear 40A and reduces the number of steps required to attach theback ears cuff webs - Preferably, after the drive side back
ear 40A is attached 42A to the driveside cuff web 50A, the drive side backear 40A is folded 44A and tacked 54A as shown inFIG. 6B . The tacking 54A may be accomplished by any means now known or later developed. Non-limiting examples include tacking with adhesive, ultrasonic bonding, or applied pressure. -
FIGS. 7A and 7B , and as provided inFIGS. 1 and 2 , show the operator side backear 40B being attached to the operatorside cuff web 50B. Because the back ear die cutunit 28 is positioned in-line with the driveside cuff web 50A and the operator side backears 40B are oriented in the opposite direction as the drive side backears 40A, the operatorside cuff web 50B must be realigned in afirst shift 46 and oriented in a manner to properly receive the operator side backears 40B. Thefirst shift 46 is preferably carried out with at least a turn bar assembly (not shown). - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , thefirst shift 46 requires the operatorside cuff web 50B to be moved off of theprocess center line 32 to receive the operator side backear 40B. Theattachment 42B of the operator side backear 40B at this point is preferably carried out through a mechanical or pressure tack bonding process and occurs approximately 90° from the attachment of the drive side backear 40A. Similar to the drive side backear 40A, the operator side backear 40B is folded 44B and tacked 54B after being attached 42B to the operatorside cuff web 50B. - The operator
side cuff web 50B is then realigned in asecond shift 48 to be spaced a predetermined distance from the driveside cuff web 50A, with theprocess center line 32 between and equidistant to eachcuff web second shift 48 is preferably carried out with at least a turn bar assembly (not shown). The twocuff webs back ears FIG. 1 ) to atopsheet 80. - Due to the repositioning and shifting of the operator
side cuff web 50B, more of the operatorside cuff web 50B travels through theprocess 10 prior to receiving the operator side backear 40B than does the driveside cuff web 50A prior to receiving the drive side backear 40A. The operatorside cuff web 50B will always be behind the driveside cuff web 50A by the difference in distance the operatorside cuff web 50B travels through theprocess 10. Thus, portions of thecuff web 50 that are adjacent prior to undergoing theprocess 10 are never reunited with same adjacent portion by the time they are attached to thetopsheet 80. - In some instances, because of the different paths taken by the drive
side cuff web 50A and the operatorside cuff web 50B through the process, theback ears side cuff web 50A and the operatorside cuff web 50B, may be out of alignment, defining a gap 90 (FIG. 8A ). Therefore, prior to attachment to the topshee. 80, the drive side and operatorside cuff webs ear web compensator 30 which will adjust and compensate any difference between the drive side and operatorside cuff webs back ears - After the combination of the
topsheet 80, the driveside cuff web 50A with attached drive side backear 40A, and the operatorside cuff web 50B with attached operator side backear 40B is completed, the combination proceeds down the process line to be combined with other elements of the garment, including, but not limited to, anabsorbent core 84 andfront ears 86. - The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.
Claims (2)
Priority Applications (1)
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US15/335,539 US9642753B1 (en) | 2015-10-30 | 2016-10-27 | Apparatus and method for forming and securing discrete components to moving webs |
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US201562248896P | 2015-10-30 | 2015-10-30 | |
US15/335,539 US9642753B1 (en) | 2015-10-30 | 2016-10-27 | Apparatus and method for forming and securing discrete components to moving webs |
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US20170119590A1 true US20170119590A1 (en) | 2017-05-04 |
US9642753B1 US9642753B1 (en) | 2017-05-09 |
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US15/335,539 Expired - Fee Related US9642753B1 (en) | 2015-10-30 | 2016-10-27 | Apparatus and method for forming and securing discrete components to moving webs |
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EP (1) | EP3162338A1 (en) |
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US11148901B2 (en) | 2018-09-20 | 2021-10-19 | Curt G. Joa, Inc. | Apparatus and method for application of discrete material segments to running web material |
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US9433538B2 (en) * | 2006-05-18 | 2016-09-06 | Curt G. Joa, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for application of nested zero waste ear to traveling web and formation of articles using a dual cut slip unit |
US9622918B2 (en) * | 2006-05-18 | 2017-04-18 | Curt G. Joe, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for application of nested zero waste ear to traveling web |
US9566193B2 (en) * | 2011-02-25 | 2017-02-14 | Curt G. Joa, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for forming disposable products at high speeds with small machine footprint |
ITTO20110287A1 (en) | 2011-03-31 | 2011-06-30 | Fameccanica Data Spa | PROCEDURE FOR CARRYING OUT HYGIENIC HEALTH ARTICLES WEARABLE IN GUISA DI MUTANDINA PROVIDED WITH SIDE PANELS AND ITS ARTICLE |
ITMI20111956A1 (en) | 2011-10-27 | 2013-04-28 | G F A Di Mandotti Angelo & C Snc | METHOD AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE APPLICATION OF TRAPEZOIDAL ELASTIC ALI WITH A SKELETON OF A DIAPER PANEL |
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2016
- 2016-10-27 US US15/335,539 patent/US9642753B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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