Patents by Inventor Makoto Ichikawa

Makoto Ichikawa has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9044357
    Abstract: A diaper includes front and rear waist members and a crotch member. The front and rear waist members are respectively formed with first narrowly-spaced elastic zones, widely-spaced elastic zones and second narrowly-spaced elastic zones adjacent one to another. Front and rear ends of the crotch member are bonded to respective sides of the front and rear waist members so that the crotch member's front and rear ends may positionally correspond to the second narrowly-spaced elastic zones. Cover sheets are attached to the side of the crotch member to cover the crotch member's front and rear ends respectively. A length dimension of the cover sheet in the longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than those of the front and rear waist members and a length dimension of the cover sheet in the transverse direction is substantially equal to those of the front and rear waist members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Patent number: 8956338
    Abstract: A wearing article has crotch-elastic elements extending in a longitudinal direction. Front and rear waist members and the crotch member are bonded one another by front and rear bonded regions. The front bonded region is contoured by first and second ends and both side edges obliquely extending in the longitudinal direction so as to intersect with the first and second ends and, outboard of the both side edges in a transverse direction, non-bonded regions in which the crotch member and the front waist member are not bonded to each other are defined. Front waist-elastic elements extend between both side edges of the front waist member. The crotch-elastic elements extend from a front end to a rear end of the crotch member in the longitudinal direction. In the front bonded region, the front waist-elastic elements and the crotch-elastic elements substantially intersect one another and interlock with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Uni-Charm Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama
  • Publication number: 20140332436
    Abstract: A disposable wearing article adapted to restrict a possibility that the article might become locally bulky and a packaged assembly of such disposable wearing articles. A diaper (1) has front and rear waist panels (20, 30) defining front and rear waist regions (2, 3), respectively, and an intermediate panel (40) defining parts of the front and rear waist regions and a crotch region (4). The diaper (1) is folded on itself substantially in a flat condition so that inner sheets (24, 34) of the front and rear waist panels (20, 30) may face each other, respectively, and an inner sheet of the intermediate panel (40) may face itself. Specifically, the diaper (1) is folded on itself along a first fold line (81) at least partially corresponding to an imaginary transverse center line (Q-Q).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2012
    Publication date: November 13, 2014
    Inventors: Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa, Kunihiko Katsuragawa, Kazuo Ukegawa
  • Patent number: 8776484
    Abstract: A form-fill-seal machine is adapted to manufacture a bag having a gusset section, and includes a conveying part, a plurality of splitters and an inward-folding member. The conveying part is configured and arranged to convey a tubular packaging material. The splitters extend along a conveyance direction of the tubular packaging material to contact with the tubular packaging material from an interior side. The inward-folding member has a pressing part including a plurality of contacting portions that are three-dimensionally arranged to generally correspond to a shape of the gusset section. The inward-folding member is configured and arranged to press the contacting portions of the pressing part from an external side of the tubular packaging material against an outer surface of a gusset formation area of the tubular packaging material located between the splitters to form the gusset section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Ishida Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masashi Kondo, Makoto Ichikawa
  • Publication number: 20140171892
    Abstract: A disposable absorbent article includes a crotch inner sheet lying on a skin-facing surface, a crotch outer sheet lying on a non-skin-facing surface and a liquid-absorbent structure interposed between these inner and outer sheets. In this diaper, a total luminous transmittance from the outer sheet through the liquid-absorbent structure to the inner sheet is in a range of 15% to 65%. The liquid-absorbent structure has a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction and a thickness direction W and includes a first sheet and a second sheet overlapping each other and absorbent polymer particles interposed between these first and second sheets. Absorbing regions where the absorbent polymer particles are present and sealing regions where the absorbent polymer particles are not present are arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction. The first sheet and the second sheet are bonded in the sealing regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Publication number: 20140142531
    Abstract: Disposable wearing articles having a liquid-absorbent structure which is sufficiently thin to ensure a comfortable wear feeling and adapted to eliminate the possibility that the appearance of the absorbing region after absorption of the bodily fluids might be visually recognized from the outside. A liquid-absorbent structure including absorbent materials is attached to a chassis by means of a liquid-absorbent structure bonding region formed on a skin-facing side. The liquid-absorbent structure bonding region includes opposite end bonding zones serving to fix first and second end segments of the liquid-absorbent structure and opposite lateral bonding zones serving to fix opposite lateral segments of the liquid-absorbent structure and a central non-bonding region is defined by a region surrounded by the opposite end bonding zones and the opposite lateral bonding zones.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2012
    Publication date: May 22, 2014
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Patent number: 8689531
    Abstract: A bag making and packaging machine includes a conveying unit, a transverse sealing mechanism, and a gusset forming mechanism. The conveying unit is configured and arranged to continuously convey a tubular packaging material. The transverse sealing mechanism has a pair of sealing jaws configured and arranged to revolvingly move while following annular loci to seal the tubular packaging material in a transverse direction with respect to a conveyance direction of the tubular packaging material. The gusset forming mechanism has a pair of folding members configured and arranged to be pressed against side portions of the tubular packaging material to form gussets in the side portions of the tubular packaging material while the folding members move along the conveyance direction of the tubular packaging material before the transverse sealing mechanism seals the tubular packaging material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Ishida Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Kiyoshi Miyazaki, Masashi Kondo, Makoto Ichikawa, Takahiro Yasuda
  • Patent number: 8684989
    Abstract: A wearing article having a front waist region that is provided along a pair of opposite side edges with first fastening members, and a rear waist region provided along a pair of opposite side edges with second fastening members for engaging the first fastening members. Each of the second fastening members is formed with an uneven structure having a plurality of crests extending in a transverse direction and spaced one from another in a longitudinal direction. When the uneven structure comes into contact with the first fastening member, the resulting engagement is extremely weak and the uneven structure can be easily disengaged from the first fastening member. The uneven structure may be unfolded in the longitudinal direction and put in close contact with the first fastening member to achieve firm engagement over an area as large as possible between the flattened uneven structure and the first fastening member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2014
    Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Naoto Ohashi
  • Patent number: 8668680
    Abstract: A disposable wearing article includes a liquid-absorbent structure that is adapted to be spaced from the wearer's skin to protect the wearer's skin from being soiled with body waste. A crotch member defining parts of front and rear waist regions and a crotch region has a front end lying in the front waist region and a rear end lying in the rear waist region wherein at least one of the front and rear ends defines non-bonded regions in an intermediate zone as viewed in the transverse direction X of the crotch member and is attached to the outer surface of an elastic waist panel by the intermediary of square U-shaped bonded regions opening toward the crotch region. In areas defining the non-bonded regions, body waste retaining space(s) are formed between the elastic waist panel and the crotch member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2014
    Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Hiroki Yamamoto, Kazuo Ukegawa, Akihide Ninomiya
  • Publication number: 20140031782
    Abstract: A disposable wearing article adapted to prevent body exudates from leaking sideways beyond leg-opening peripheries and to prevent the wearer's body from being soiled with body exudates. Front and rear waist regions are elastically contractible at least in a transverse direction and a crotch region is provided in laterals with a pair of lateral elastic regions which are elastically contractible in a longitudinal direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Publication date: January 30, 2014
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Publication number: 20130338623
    Abstract: Embodiments of this invention provide a disposable wearing article facilitating even an aged person having relatively weak forth to pull a waist-opening periphery in the transverse direction to widen the waist-opening to a desired size, despite this and the waist region should not slip down during use of the wearing article. Waist elastic elements (36) are stretched in the transverse direction X at a stretch ratio in a range of about 2.5 to about 3.0 and having fineness in a range of about 800 to about 1000 dtex, a dimension between the waist elastic elements (36) adjacent in the transverse direction X is in a range of about 5.5 to about 6.0 mm and each of waist elastic regions (38) in which the waist elastic elements (36) are present has a tensile stress at a moment of 255% stretching in the transverse direction X in a range of about 4.5 to about 6.0N/35 mm and a tensile stress at a moment of 167% stretching in the transverse direction is in a range of about 1.7 to about 2.1N/35 mm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Publication date: December 19, 2013
    Applicant: Unicharm Corporation
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Kinoshita, Maiko Suzuki, Kazuya Fujimoto, Yusuke Kawakami, Makoto Ichikawa, Nobuhiro Tagawa
  • Publication number: 20130304011
    Abstract: A disposable wearing includes a crotch chassis having a liquid-impervious sheet. The crotch chassis has a main region and opposite lateral portions lying outboard of the main region in the transverse direction and provided with leg elastic elements extending in the longitudinal direction. The opposite lateral portions respectively have fold lines extending in the longitudinal direction, outer side zones lying outboard of the respective fold lines in the transverse direction and inner side zones lying inboard of the respective fold lines in the transverse direction. The outer side zones of the respective lateral portions are folded inward and fixed to the associated inner side zones via associated bond zones extending in the longitudinal direction to form a pair of elastic lateral portions having folded back regions, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2012
    Publication date: November 14, 2013
    Inventors: Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Patent number: 8545473
    Abstract: A wearing article having a front waist region provided along a pair of opposite side edges with first fastening members, and a rear waist region provided along a pair of opposite side edges with second fastening members adapted to be engaged with the associated first fastening members. Each of the second fastening members is formed with an uneven structure having a plurality of crests extending in a transverse direction and spaced one from another in a longitudinal direction. A degree of engaging force between the uneven structure and the first fastening member is extremely weak and the uneven structure can be easily disengaged from the first fastening member. The uneven structure may be unfolded in the longitudinal direction and put in close contact with the first fastening member to achieve firm engagement over an area as large as possible between the flattened uneven structure and the first fastening member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Uni-Charm Corporation
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Naoto Ohashi
  • Patent number: 8522516
    Abstract: A packaging machine includes a packaging machine main body, a film transport unit, a former and a former insertion guide assembly. The film transport unit is coupled to the packaging main body to transport a film from a first end part of the packaging main body towards a second end part of the packaging main body opposite from the first end part. The former is disposed in the second end part of the packaging main body to form the film transported by the film transport unit into a cylindrical shape and to direct the film downwards. The former insertion guide assembly is configured and arranged to guide the former to a predetermined position in the second end part of the packaging machine main body while the former is rotated from a lateral side of the packaging machine main body when the former is mounted to the packaging machine main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2013
    Assignee: Ishida Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Masashi Kondo
  • Publication number: 20130226124
    Abstract: A disposable pull-on wearing article includes a waist panel having a skin-facing side and non-skin-facing side and a crotch panel connected to the waist panel. The crotch panel includes a crotch inner sheet lying on the skin-facing side, a crotch outer sheet lying on the non-skin-facing side, a pair of side flaps and a pair of end flaps extending along opposite side edges and opposite end edges of the inner and outer sheets, respectively, and paired sets of leg elastics extending along the opposite side edges in a longitudinal direction. Crossover regions of longitudinally opposite end portions of the side flaps and transversely opposite lateral portions of the end flaps are folded onto the skin-facing side and the crossover regions define nonexistent regions in which none of the elastics exists and the nonexistent regions are attached to the front panel of the waist panel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2012
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Kunihiko Katsuragawa, Kazuo Ukegawa, Akihide Ninomiya
  • Publication number: 20130226119
    Abstract: An absorbent article is formed by interposing superabsorbent polymer particles between overlapping two sheets. The pad-shaped absorbent article is composed of superabsorbent polymer particles bonded to the sheet with a hot melt adhesive, absorbing areas where the sheets are not bonded and sealing areas where the sheets are bonded together and surrounding the absorbing areas. Opposed two adjacent bonding areas of the absorbing areas have the sealing areas in between and facing edges which has the sealing areas in between. One of the facing edges is defined by a wavy line having crest and trough portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kunihiko Katsuragawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa
  • Publication number: 20130218115
    Abstract: An absorbent article having a pad configuration, including superabsorbent polymer particles. Superabsorbent polymer particles are interposed between opposed surfaces of first and second layers overlapping with each other to form an absorbent article. The article includes an absorbing region and a sealing region. In the absorbing region, the superabsorbent polymer particles are bonded to the second layer with a hot melt adhesive. In the sealing region, the first layer and the second layer are joined to each other to surround the absorbing region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2011
    Publication date: August 22, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kunihiko Katsuragawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa
  • Publication number: 20130184666
    Abstract: A disposable wearing article for reducing uncomfortable feeling of stiffness to a wearer includes a bodily fluid absorbent structure extending from front and rear waist regions to a crotch region. At least one of front and rear end portions of an intermediate panel is attached to a skin-facing side of an elastic waist panel by the intermediary of attachment zones except middle zones of the intermediate panel in a transverse direction. Between non-attachment zones provided in a middle of the intermediate panel as viewed in the transverse direction X and the elastic waist panel, middle void spaces are formed. The bodily fluid absorbent structure has a sheet shape formed of super-absorbent polymer particles wrapped with a liquid-pervious sheet. At least one of front and rear ends of the bodily fluid absorbent structure lies in the middle void spaces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2011
    Publication date: July 18, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kenichi Sasayama, Makoto Ichikawa, Kunihiko Katsuragawa
  • Publication number: 20130172841
    Abstract: Disclosed is a disposable pants-type wearing article improved to prevent panels joined to one another from being peeled off from each other. A disposable pants-type wearing article includes a front panel 7, a rear panel 8 and a intermediate panel 6 joined to respective outer surfaces of these two panels 7, 8. Opposite lateral portions 34 of the intermediate panel 6 are formed by joining a pair of sheets together with a second hot melt adhesive 62. Zones coated with the second hot melt adhesive 62 include high density coated zones 72 formed by relatively large application quantity per 1 m2 and low density coated zones 71 formed by relatively small application quantity per 1 m2. Opposite end regions 36, 37 of the intermediate panel 6 joined to the front panel 7 and the rear panel 8 are at least partially formed with the high density coated zones 72.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: July 4, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Hiroki Yamamoto, Kazuo Ukegawa, Akihide Ninomiya
  • Publication number: 20130123736
    Abstract: A diaper includes front and rear waist members and a crotch member. The front and rear waist members are respectively formed with first narrowly-spaced elastic zones, widely-spaced elastic zones and second narrowly-spaced elastic zones adjacent one to another. Front and rear ends of the crotch member are bonded to respective sides of the front and rear waist members so that the crotch member's front and rear ends may positionally correspond to the second narrowly-spaced elastic zones. Cover sheets are attached to the side of the crotch member to cover the crotch member's front and rear ends respectively. A length dimension of the cover sheet in the longitudinal direction is set to be smaller than those of the front and rear waist members and a length dimension of the cover sheet in the transverse direction is substantially equal to those of the front and rear waist members.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2011
    Publication date: May 16, 2013
    Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Makoto Ichikawa, Kenichi Sasayama, Kunihiko Katsuragawa