Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Patent
1997-06-20
1998-07-14
Johnstone, Adrienne C.
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
2402, 156163, 156164, 156217, 156226, 156227, 156264, 156269, 1563084, 156443, 156538, 156539, 156543, 156566, 1565801, 604396, A41B 912, A61F 1315, B32B 3104, B32B 3120
Patent
active
057798311
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method of making an undergarment having side seams from a substantially two-dimensional web, the web having two longitudinal sides and a first transverse edge extending transversely to the longitudinal sides.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
From EP-A-0 187 728 (Heran) a disposable absorbent article is known having manually tearable side seams. The seams may be butt-type seams or overlapping side seams.
WO 93/09742 describes an absorbent article having overlapping ultrasonically-bonded side seams.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing an undergarment, in particular an absorbent article, having strong side seams, wherein the sealing areas can be accurately positioned in a sealing configuration in a reproducible manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing an undergarment, in particular a disposable absorbent article, having side seams which can be easily manually separated.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for producing an undergarment having aesthetically looking side seams while producing little trim and operating at high speeds.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for producing an undergarment having an elasticized waist providing accurate process control and small variability in the placement of the side seams.
It is a further method to provide an apparatus for carrying out the above method, which apparatus is of relatively simple construction, and allows high-speed formation of the side seams.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The method according to the invention comprises the steps of:
transporting the web in a substantially flattened position on a transport means along a transport trajectory,
cutting the web along a second transverse edge to form a two-dimensional pre-form, the pre-form comprising the first and the second transverse edge of the web and two longitudinal edges, each longitudinal edge having two waist sections and a crotch section located intermediate the waist sections, a sealing area being located adjacent and inboard of each waist section,
gripping the pre-form adjacent each waist section with gripping means in four gripping areas, the gripping areas being located near each sealing area,
jointly rotating at least the gripping means which hold the gripping areas in the region of the first transverse edge around a first axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to the transverse edges of the pre-form to place the first transverse edge generally parallel and opposite to the second transverse edge,
superimposing the sealing areas which are located along the same longitudinal side in a contacting relationship,
joining the superimposed sealing areas in a sealing means, thus forming the absorbent article, and
releasing the absorbent article from the gripping means.
The method according to the invention doubles over the pre-form along its transverse center line and accurately places the sealing areas of the pre-form in a superimposed relationship. The method involves a controlled handover of the pre-form from the transport means to a folding-and-sealing unit, wherein the position of each sealing area during all phases of the transport step and the handover step is dearly defined. This allows for high speed formation of the undergarment's side seams with little process variability. This is especially important in case the transverse edges of the pre-form are elasticated and therefore need to be confined to a stretched state in all phases of the transport- and sealing process.
The seams that are formed can be butt-type seams, which are made by superimposing the sealing areas in the region of the first waist sections with their interior sides onto the interior sides of the sealing areas in the region of the second waist sections. For the butt-type side seams, the sealing areas in the region of each waist section are located on the same side of the pre-form.
In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the inv
REFERENCES:
patent: 3604015 (1971-09-01), Dove
patent: 5626711 (1997-05-01), Herrmann
Cummings Theodore P.
Johnstone Adrienne C.
Miller Steven W.
Rasser Jacobus C.
The Procter & Gamble & Company
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for making an undergarment having overlappi does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for making an undergarment having overlappi, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for making an undergarment having overlappi will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1878090