Patent ID: 9713552
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: A41B,A61F

Claim:
1. A method for producing a wearing article that comprises a main body adapted to extend from a front abdominal region to a rear dorsal region via a crotch region of a wearer, and a side panel for covering a lateral surface of a waist region of the wearer, comprising: a developed module preparing step of preparing a developed module that comprises the main body, and at least two side panel segments extending from at least one of front and rear end portions of the main body, laterally in respective opposite directions; a suction-holding section preparing step of preparing a first suction-holding section having a first suction-holding surface capable of suction-holding a forward surface of the main body in the developed module, and a second suction-holding section having a second suction-holding surface capable of suction-holding a rearward surface of the main body in the developed module; a suction-holding section positioning step of positioning the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section in such a manner that the first suction-holding surface and the second suction-holding surface are aligned side-by-side while facing a same side; a suction-holding step of, after the suction-holding section positioning step, suction-holding the forward surface of the main body in the developed module by the first suction-holding surface, and suction-holding the rearward surface of the main body in the developed module by the second suction-holding surface; a half-folding step of, after the suction-holding step, closing the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section in such a manner that the first suction-holding surface and the second suction-holding surface face each other, thereby folding the main body in half; and a temporarily joining step of externally heating and/or pressing superimposed portions of the developed module half-folded by the half-folding step, thereby releasably joining the superimposed portions of the developed module, wherein in the temporarily joining step, a temporarily joining portion provided in at least one of the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section is brought into contact with the superimposed portions of the developed module during a period of performing the half-folding step, thereby releasably joining the superimposed portions of the developed module, the temporarily joining portion comprises a protruding element protruding from at least one of the first suction-holding surface and the second suction-holding surface, the protruding element including a distal end surface parallel to the at least one of the first suction-holding surface and the second suction-holding surface, a counterpart suction-holding section other than one suction-holding section includes a surface parallel to a counterpart suction-holding surface of the counterpart suction-holding section among the first suction-holding surface and the second suction-holding surface, the one suction-holding section being a suction-holding section provided with the protruded element among the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section, in the suction-holding section positioning step, the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section are positioned in such a manner that the distal end surface of the protruding element and the surface of the counterpart suction-holding section face a same side, in the half folding step, the first suction-holding section and the second suction-holding section are closed in such a manner that the distal end surface of the protruding element and the surface of the counterpart suction-holding section face each other, and in the temporarily joining step, the superimposed portions of the developed module are compressed between the distal end surface of the protruding element and the surface of the counterpart suction-holding section by closing the first suction-holding section and the second suction holding section in the half-folding step, thereby the main body is folded in half while releasably joining the superimposed portions of the developed module.