Process for manufacturing a sheet member forming a part of disposable garment

Abstract: A web (21) intended to be used a topsheet (2) or a backsheet (3) defining front (6) and rear sections (7) and a crotch section (8) extending therebetween in a disposable garment (1) is continuously fed in its longitudinal direction, and a width of the web (21) is divided in two halves (21A, 21B) along a longitudinally extending cutting line (22) describing a curve approximate to a sine curve in and thus two webs (21A, 21B) are obtained. These two webs (21A, 21B) are transversely spaced from each other by a predetermined dimension and one of these two webs is longitudinally shifted relatively to the other by ½ period. Thereafter, these two webs (21A, 21B) are jointed together in their overlapping regions (23, 24). The two webs thus jointed together is cut for every period (L) with each pair of such overlapping regions (23, 24) lying in the middle of this period. The invention can thereby provide the topsheet (2) or the backsheet (3) without any waste pieces cut therefrom.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a sheet member intended to be used as a topsheet or a backsheet forming a part of a disposable garment such as a disposable diaper, training pants, incontinence pants and the like. There have been proposed various disposable garments such as disposable diapers, training pants and incontinence pants having a front section, a rear section and a crotch section extending therebetween. In general, such garment comprises a skin-contactable topsheet, a skin-noncontactable backsheet and optionally a liquid-absorbent core disposed therebetween. In these sheets, the crotch section has transversely opposite side edges thereof curved inward with respect to the garment to improve a fitness around the wearer's legs and the sheets as a whole present a sandglass-shape in unfolded states thereof. The topsheet or backsheet in such sandglass-shape can be obtained by cutting off substantially semicircular pieces from transversely opposite long sides of a rectangular nonwoven fibrous sheet or plastic film. However, these semicircular pieces of sheets are usually discarded as waste pieces and material is correspondingly wasted. In view of the problem as mentioned above, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a process for manufacturing a sheet member intended to be used as a topsheet or a backsheet forming a part of a disposable garment allowing transversely opposite side edges of a crotch section of the garment to be curved inward with respect to the garment and thereby to obtain a sandglass-shaped topsheet or backsheet without any wasteful use of material. The state of the art comprises processes in which disposable absorbent garments are manufactured without waste, e.g. in EP-A-396050, in which a continuous first web is cut longitudinally along a sine-like curve. After that, the two halves are offset longitunally with respect to each other so that the concave edges and the convex edges of the first and second partial webs are positioned opposite and aligned to each other, respectively. Then, the two halves are bonded to a second web, thereby forming a compound web. After that, the two halves of the first web are spread out to the outer sides. The compound web is then cut along parallel transversal lines in order to obtain the disposable garment. This process requires the supply of a second continuous web, the bonding together of the two halves to both edges of said second web, and the spreading out of said two halves. Document EP-A-539032 is describing an absorbent product, which is formed by bonding together two halves of a continuous web, which is cut along a central longitudinal, sine-like curve. After cutting, the two halves are reassembled, by bonding them together along the straight longitudinal edges of the two halves, so that a compound web is formed with the patterned sine-like edges on the outside of said compound web. This requires the two halves to be spaced transversally over a distance larger than the amplitude of said sine-like curve, before being bonded together. This process requires the two halves to be crossed and realigned before bonding them together along their straight longitudinal egdes. The object set forth above is achieved, according to the invention, by a process for manufacturing a sheet member intended to be used as a topsheet or a backsheet forming a part of front and rear sections of a disposable garment having the front section, the rear section and a crotch section of the garment extending between the front and rear sections, the crotch section having transversely opposite side edges curved inward with respect to the garment, the process for manufacturing the sheet member at least comprising the steps of: a. continuously feeding a web intended to form the topsheet or the backsheet in a longitudinal direction thereof; b. dividing a width of the web in two halves along a cutting line continuously extending in the longitudinal direction and describing a curve approximate to a sine curve defined by a predetermined period and amplitude; c. shifting any one half of the divided web relatively to the other half in said longitudinal direction by odd times of 1/2 of said period; d. transversely spacing the two halves of the web from each other by a dimension which is equal to or less than said amplitude;e. integrally jointing the two halves of the web after the steps c and d in overlapping regions thereof; and f. cutting the two halves of the web along transversal cutting lines each provided for every period with each pair of the overlapping and jointed regions lying in the middle of each said period. The process according to the invention can be useful not only for manufacturing the backsheet as in the embodiment as described above but also for manufacturing the topsheet. These topsheet and backsheet may be not only those employed in the flat type disposable diaper as in the illustrated embodiment but also those employed in the other garments such as shorts-type disposable diaper, training pants and incontinent pants. According to the inventive process for manufacturing topsheet or backsheet of garment, the web continuously fed is divided in two halves along the cutting line describing the longitudinally extending sine curve and one of the two halves of the web is shifted relatively to the other half longitudinally as well as transversely so as to form the curved edges intended to surround the wearer's legs, respectively. Accordingly, the process of the invention produces no waste pieces of a cut web. Securing of the elastic members performed along the cutting line advantageously facilitates placement of the elastic members extending along the edges adopted to surround the wearer's legs and also extending across the crotch section simply by jointing the front and rear sections to each other. Furthermore, the elastic members to be laid along front and rear halves of the edge around each legopening, respectively, can be secured to the web by oscillating these elastic members together in the same direction along the cutting line. In this way, means for placement of the elastic members can be correspondingly simplified in comparison with the conventional technique by which the elastic members must be oscillated in different directions. Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a diaper as partially broken away; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a backsheet as partially broken away; and Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for manufacturing the backsheet, the process going through steps (A), (B) and (C). Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a diaper 1 as viewed from its rear side and as partially broken away, in which the diaper 1 comprises a liquid-permeable topsheet 2 made of nonwoven fibrous sheet, a liquid-impermeable backsheet 3 made of plastic film and a liquid-absorbent core 4 disposed therebetween. The diaper 1 has a front section 6, a rear section 7 and a crotch section 8 extending therebetween. The topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3 are jointed to each other along portions thereof extending outwards beyond a peripheral edge of the core 4. Transversely opposite side edges of the crotch section 8 are curved inward with respect to the diaper 1 to define edges 9 of respective leg-openings. Along the respective leg-openings' edges 9 and along an upper end of the rear section there are provided elastic members 12, 13, respectively, so as to be disposed between the topsheet 2 and backsheet 3 and to be secured in a longitudinally extended state thereof to an inner surface of the topsheet 2 and/or the backsheet 3. The elastic member 12 associated with the leg-openings further extends across the crotch section 8, i.e., between the respective leg-openings' edges 9, as will be described later more in detail. A pair of tape fasteners 14 extend outwards from transversely opposite side edges of the rear section 7. The backsheet 3 shown by Fig. 2 in a perspective view as partially broken away comprises a front sheet 16 forming the front section 6 and approximately a front half of the crotch section 8 extending from the front section 6, on one hand, and a rear sheet 7 forming the rear section 7 and approximately a rear half of the crotch section 7, on the other hand. These two sheets 16, 17 overlap each other in a longitudinally middle region of the crotch section 8 and are integrally jointed to each other along an adhesive line 18 continuously extending across the diaper 1 to assume a sandglass-like shape. The topsheet 2 is made of a single sheet of nonwoven fibrous sheet which is identical to the backsheet 3 with respect to the shape and size thereof, while the topsheet 2 is not illustrated in detail. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for continuously manufacturing the backsheet 3, the process going through steps (A), (B) and (C). At the step (A), continuous uncut film 21 adapted to form the backsheet 3 is longitudinally fed from a source roll thereof. The uncut film 21 passes a cutter (not shown) adapted to oscillate at an amplitude W in a transverse direction thereof and a period L in a longitudinal direction thereof along a continuous cutting line 22 describing a curve approximate to a sine curve. The uncut film 21 is thus cut at a transversal middle thereof in two halves, i.e., film strips 21A and 21B which longitudinally extend, respectively. In this regard, it should be understood that, before the uncut film 21 is provided with the cutting line 22, continuous elastic members 12A, 12B may be secured in a longidutinally extended state thereof to the uncut film 21 so as to extend parallel to the predetermined cutting line 22 on either side thereof, as shown by Fig. 3, by using a traverse technique which is known from the disclosure of U.S. patent No. 5,147,487, issued to Nomura et al, which is adapted to place the elastic members on the backsheet along the curve approximate to a sine curve. These elastic members 12A, 12B form together at the final step the previously mentioned elastic member 12 associated with the leg-openings. At the step (B), the film strips 21A, 21B are transversely spaced from each other by a predetermined dimension D 1 . The dimension D 1 is controlled to be equal to or less than the amplitude W. At the step (C), one of the film strips 21A and 21B is longitudinally shifted relatively to the other by one half period L/2 or odd times thereof so that regions 23 of the film strip 21A in the proximity of respective crests of the cutting line 22 (Refer to the step B) may overlap regions 24 of the film strip 21B in the proximity of respective troughs of the cutting line 22. In these overlapping regions 23, 24, the film strips 21a and 21B are jointed together by respective jointing lines 18. To achieve such jointing, one of these film strips 21A, 21B may be applied with hot melt adhesive to form the linear adhesive lines 18 or may be heat-sealed to each other. After these film strips 21A, 21B have been jointed together, each pair of the regions 23, 24 associated with each other in which the film strips 21A, 21B have been jointed together lies at a middle of each period L of the cutting line 22. The film strips 21A, 21B are successively cut along transversal cutting lines 26 (indicated by broken lines) each provided for every period L to obtain individual backsheets 3 one of which is shown by Fig. 2. In this regard, it should be understood that, at the step (C), a liquid-absorbent core 27 indicated by an imaginary line may be placed on the film strips 21A, 21b, then a web of nonwoven fibrous sheet adapted to form the topsheet 2 may be placed on the core 27 and the film strip 21A may be jointed to the film strip 21B around the core 27 before the cutting lines 26 are formed. In the individual backsheet 3 obtained through the steps (A), (B) and (C), oblique edges extending between the respective pairs of adjacent crests and troughs of the cutting line 22 describing the curve approximate to the sine curve define the curved edges 9 intended to surround the wearer's legs, respectively. The continuous elastic members 12A, 12B forming together the elastic member 12 associated with the respective leg-openings extend along the cutting line so that, in the individual backsheet 3, these elastic members 12A, 12B extend across the crotch section 8 as will be seen in Fig. 2 and also intersect each other in the proximity of transversely opposite side edges of the crotch section 8. Though not shown, the film strips 21A, 21B having the elastic members 12A, 12B secured thereto are held by appropriate means to prevent the film strips from being wrinkled due to contraction of these elastic members 12A, 12B and 13A. Materials employed for the topsheet 2 and backsheet 3 of this invention are not limited to those employed by the above described embodiment in reference with the accompanying drawings. For example, it is also possible to employ porous plastic film as material for the topsheet 2 and to employ nonwoven fibrous sheet or laminate of nonwoven fibrous sheet and plastic film as material for the backsheet 3. Each of the elastic members 12A, 12B may comprise a plurality of elastic elements.

Claims: A process for manufacturing a sheet member intended to be used as a topsheet (2) or a backsheet (3) forming front (6) and rear (7) sections of a disposable garment (1) comprising the front section (6), the rear section (7) and a crotch section (8) extending therebetween, the crotch section (8) having transversely opposite side edges (9) curved inwards with respect to the garment, the process for manufacturing the sheet member at least comprising the steps of : a. continuously feeding web (21) intended to form the topsheet (2)or backsheet (3) in a longitudinal direction thereof; b. dividing a width of the web in two halves (21A, 21B) along a cutting line (22) continuously extending in said longitudinal direction and describing a curve approximate to a sine curve defined by a predetermined period (L) and amplitude (W); c. shifting any one half (21A) of the divided web relatively to the other half (21B) in said longitudinal direction by odd times of one half of said period (L); d. transversely spacing the two halves (21A, 21B) of the web; e. integrally jointing the two halves (21A, 21B) of the divided web (21) after the steps c and d in overlapping regions (23, 24) thereof; and f. cutting the two halves (21A, 21B) of the divided web (21) along transversal cutting lines (26) each provided for every period (L) with each pair of the overlapping and jointed (23, 24) regions lying in the middle of each period (L), said process being characterised in that the two halves (21A, 21B) are transversely spaced away from each other, this transversal spacing having a dimension which is lower than or equal to the amplitude (W) of said sine curve, and in that the two halves (21A , 21B) are jointed in the overlapping regions (23, 24) at the sine-like shaped side of the web (21). A process according to claim 1, wherein elastic members (12A, 12B) are secured in a longitudinally extended state thereof to the web (21) parallel to said cutting line (22) on either side thereof before the width of the web (21) is cut in two halves (21A, 21B) along said cutting line (22).

Inventors: IGAUE TAKAMITSU, OTSUBO TOSHIFUMI, SASAKI TORU, IGAUE, TAKAMITSU, OTSUBO, TOSHIFUMI, SASAKI, TORU
Applicants: UNI CHARM CORP, UNI-CHARM CORPORATION
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A61F13
IPC codes: A61F13, A61F5