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JP-7855665-B2 - Method for assembling a laminate of absorbent materials

JP7855665B2JP 7855665 B2JP7855665 B2JP 7855665B2JP-7855665-B2

Inventors

  • タナー、ローリー、ウィリアムズ
  • ウルミッシュ、ポパトラル、ダラル
  • トッド、ダグラス、レンザー
  • ジェフリー、ロジアク
  • ミゲル、エンジェル、カバレロ
  • ウーベ、シュナイダー

Assignees

  • ザ プロクター アンド ギャンブル カンパニー

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20241118
Priority Date
20200625

Claims (6)

  1. A chassis (120) comprising a top sheet (124), a back sheet (126), and an absorbent core (128) disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet, The lug portion (130) is joined to the chassis, A laminate (10) comprising a first nonwoven fabric (12) and a second nonwoven fabric (16), and an elastomer material (14) sandwiched between the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric, wherein the laminate (10) further comprises a plurality of ultrasonic bonding portions (31), and here, The elastomer material has a maximum dimension Y in the stretching direction, The elastomer material defines a primary region (18) which includes an elastic region (32) and one or more non-stretched zones (34), The elastic region has a maximum dimension X in the stretching direction, and the one or more non-stretching zones have a total lateral width Wd. The ratio of Wd to Y is 0.3 or less. A method for assembling the laminate of an absorbent article including an ear portion (130), A step of providing a first substrate (202) and a second substrate (210), wherein each of the first substrate and the second substrate comprises a first surface (204, 212) and an opposing second surface (206, 214), and defines a width in the transverse direction. The steps include wrapping the first surface of the first substrate onto the outer peripheral surface (404) of the anvil (402), A step of advancing an elastic material (208) into a spreader mechanism (412), wherein the spreader mechanism includes an engaging portion (419), The spreader mechanism includes the step of stretching the elastic material in the transverse direction to a first elongation (E1), A step of advancing the elastic material from the spreader mechanism to the anvil, wherein the anvil comprises an operating vacuum zone (415) having a maximum width Wv in the transverse direction, the maximum width Wv being divided into a first portion (452) and a second portion (454), the first portion being arranged inside the engaging portion in the transverse direction in a relationship overlapping with the engaging portion, the first portion having a width VZi in the transverse direction, and the second portion having a width VZo in the transverse direction, where VZi is greater than VZo, The steps include positioning the elastic material by bringing it into contact with the second surface of the first substrate on the anvil, The steps include: positioning the first surface of the second substrate in contact with the elastic material, and advancing the second substrate so that the second surface of the first substrate is positioned on the anvil; A method comprising the step of ultrasonically bonding the first substrate to the second substrate while the elastic material is positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate.
  2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion comprises one or more radially protruding nubs (428).
  3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anvil comprises a plurality of apertures (414) fluidly connected to a vacuum source within the operating vacuum zone.
  4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ratio of VZi to VZo is greater than 5.
  5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the anvil comprises a configurable tube (460) that is in fluid communication with the outer surface of the anvil via a radially extending connector (466), and the method further comprises the step of using the configurable tube to provide the working vacuum zone.
  6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the anvil has a maximum width Wa in the transverse direction, and the maximum width Wv of the operating vacuum zone is 20% or less of the maximum width Wa of the anvil.

Description

This invention relates to an absorbent article having a stretchable laminate, such as a stretchable ear portion or waistband. It has long been known that conventional absorbent articles (e.g., diapers, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene pads) offer the advantage of receiving and containing urine and/or other bodily excretions (e.g., feces, menstruation, mixtures of feces and urine, mixtures of menstruation and urine, etc.). For effective containment of bodily excretions, the article needs to fit snugly around the wearer's waist and legs. Manufacturers often utilize stretchable areas within articles, such as stretchable side panels (i.e., ear sections), to help achieve a comfortable fit. When worn, the stretchable ear sections allow the article to extend around the wearer's buttocks and waist, securely fastening the product while allowing for comfortable movement. To further secure the product around the wearer, fastening systems are typically attached to the ear sections. Stretchable ear sections are typically laminations of a covering material (e.g., nonwoven fabric) and an elastomer material. Similarly, waistbands may include stretchable laminations of nonwoven fabric and elastomer material, and can help absorbent articles fit snugly around the wearer's waist. It is common practice to hold one or more edges of the elastomer material during the fabrication or activation of a laminate. That is, while the material may move in the machine direction, the edges may be "held" for a period of time, approaching or against the anvil or other surface, to help move each layer in the desired direction and/or to prevent each layer from moving from its desired position. For example, when forming a gathered laminate, the elastomer material may be stretched more than the coverstock layer during lamination. The machine may hold one or more edges of the elastomer material against the anvil during stretching, resulting in those edges not being stretched. To hold the elastomer material as needed, the manufacturer must hold a fairly large portion. However, the held portion of the elastomer material may not contribute to the elongation of the final laminate. In other words, the unstretched elastomer material within the held area does not contribute to the elongation of the laminate to the same extent as the stretched portion. Therefore, the manufacturer cannot efficiently utilize the most expensive component of the laminate, namely the elastomer material. This is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary laminate according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a plan view of an exemplary laminate according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is an exemplary exploded perspective view of an ear portion according to another non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic side view of an apparatus for assembling an elastic laminate according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a top view of the device along line 4B-4B in Figure 4A.This is a left side view of the device along line 4C-4C in Figure 4B.This is a detailed diagram of the spreader mechanism in Figure 4C, taken along line 4D-4D.This is a detailed view of the radially protruding nub on the outer rim of the disc.Figure 4B is a detailed view of the anvil along the line 4F-4F.This is a schematic side view of a device that operates to assemble an elastic laminate according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is the left side of the device along the line 5B-5B in Figure 5A.This is a top view of the device along line 5C-5C in Figure 5B.This is a schematic front view of a device that operates to stretch an elastomer material, according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic front view of an apparatus used for stretching an elastomer material according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic perspective view of an anvil according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic perspective view of the anvil in Figure 7A, with its internal components exposed to show a constructible tube according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.This is a schematic side view of a device that operates to assemble an elastic laminate.This is a top view of the first substrate advancing through the folding device shown in Figure 8A, along line 8B-8B.This is a schematic plan view of an exemplary absorbent article according to one non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The absorbent article is shown in a flat, unshrinked state.This is a schematic plan view of an exemplary ear portion according to a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. The ear portion is shown in a relaxed state.This is a schematic perspective view of a grip suitable for use in the ear extension test method described herein.This is a schematic perspective view