Patent ID: 8323167

Claim:
A method for facilitating an alignment of first and second side panel portions of a pants-type diaper whilst feeding a pants-type diaper precursor in a machine direction through a processing apparatus, said pants-type diaper precursor comprising a leading edge region, a trailing edge region and first and second side edge regions, each of said first and second side edge regions having said first side panel portion at said leading edge region and said second side panel portion at said trailing edge region, the method comprising the steps of: providing a flat continuous web having a predetermined width in the cross-machine direction, the cross-machine direction being perpendicular to the machine direction; temporarily securing said continuous web to a first conveyor arrangement of said processing apparatus whilst substantially maintaining said predetermined width of the continuous web; securing said side panel portions to said continuous web; securing elastic elements under tension in the cross-machine direction to selected regions of said continuous web whilst substantially maintaining said predetermined width of the continuous web, said selected regions corresponding at least to said trailing edge region of said pants-type diaper precursor; severing said continuous web whilst substantially maintaining said predetermined width of the continuous web to thereby form a plurality of said pants-type diaper precursors; advancing said pants-type diaper precursor towards a folding unit at which said leading edge region is released from said first conveyor arrangement; bringing said first and second side panel portions into overlapping relationship; transferring said pants-type diaper precursor to a second conveyor arrangement at which said trailing edge region is temporarily secured to said second conveyor arrangement, and forming seams along edge margins of said first and second side panel portions to thereby form a pants-type diaper, wherein said step of securing elastic elements under tension in the cross-machine direction to selected regions of said continuous web whilst substantially maintaining said predetermined width of the continuous web is carried out so as to provide a pants-type diaper in which a force difference is present between the force necessary to cause the trailing edge region to attain said predetermined width and the force necessary to cause the leading edge region to attain said predetermined width, with the force for the trailing edge region being greater than the force for the leading edge region.