Patent GB-1520658-A (GB)
Title: Forming and assembling tampons
IPC: A61F13/20
Filed: 1975-12-03
Abstract: 1520658 Tampon assembly PROCTER & GAMBLE CO 3 Dec 1975 [10 Dec 1974] 49704/75 Heading A5R Tampons, initially in the form of cylindrical sacks, filled with pieces of foam material and provided at one end with a withdrawal string, have their ends opposite the strings inverted to form a rasette shape, the tampons then being compressed radially and located into a two part inserter. The inversion compression and location take place at equally spaced heads around a rotatable turret. At each head Fig. 19, a feeder wheel brings up inner inserter portions 14 and fixed rails are used to push the portions into vertical holders 125, a grabber rod, 37 for the tampon string them moving through the portion to retain it in place. Centre inserted portions 8 are similarly fed to each head and are retained by jaws 123 to one side of a compression cone 122. The tampon sacks 4 are received from a transfer wheel and have their strings 6 grabbed by the rod 37, after it has passed through the cone. The sack is pulled by the rod from the transfer wheel as the rod moves down through the cone to orientate the string vertically. An annular inversion chamber 120 moves towards the sack in the cone and a hollow inversion tube 121 moves further downwards until it contacts the sack whereupon vacuum within this tube centres the sack. The chamber then moves downwards again until it contacts the sack and vacuum applied thereto causes inversion of the sack. The sack is now compressed by the rod pulling on the string and drawing the sack down, through the cone and into a compression chamber 124 whereupon the string is released. The cone is then moved sideways to bring the outer inserter portion in line with the chamber 124. An assembly rod 126 moves upwardly to force the inner inserter portion to push the tampon into the outer portion and to locate the inner portion in the outer portion. The compression chamber then opens outwardly so that the assembly of tampon and inserter can be discharged.  The feeder wheels, Fig. 13, for the inserter portions are rotatable tangentially with respect to the turret and are at an angle of 45. Each wheel has spaced inner and outer discs 83, 83a with the inserter portions held by sets of slots, the portions being fed into the slots horizontally and discharged vertically. Stripper rods are positioned to engage the portion and displace them from the slots onto the turret heads. The inverter portions are conveyed to the feed wheels through pneumatic tubes 23. The cylindrical tampon sacks are received by the turret head from a transfer wheel, Fig. 5, which comprises upper and lower discs 30, 31 mounted for joint rotation about spaced axes 32, 33, one disc being larger than, the other and positioned so that their peripheries are in vertical alignment at a point remote from the turret. Each disc has sets of jaws about its periphery, one set being operable by cams and connected to operate the other set. The tampon sacks are feed to the transfer wheel, from apparatus 1 on which they are formed, at the position of vertical alignment of the discs and held by the jaws. As the sacks move round, with the discs and the disc peripheries separate the withdrawal strings 6 are held taut and are available for grasping by the rods 37 of the turret heads. Any tampon sack not removed from the transfer wheel is stripped from the discs. The turret, Fig. 20, has a fixed base 130 mounting a vertical shaft 132 on which a drive wheel 133 is rotatably located and engaged by a timing belt 135. Each head 22 is secured to disc 136 and 138 at its upper and lower ends respectively. A central support 131 mounts cam tracks 141-147 which control the operation of the various components of the heads and which also mounts vacuum and air pressure conduits. The head components are connected with blocks which slide up and down rods 150 and mount rollers which engage the cam tracks.