CONTINUOUS PACKING PRODUCT OF ABSORBENT ARTICLES, EXTERIOR SHEETS, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING CONTINUOUS PACKING PRODUCT OF ABSORBENT ARTICLES
A continuous packing product of an absorbent article has a plurality of packing bodies are continuous with the absorbent article being packed by means of an exterior sheet and the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin, and a second resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a melting point higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer. A bonded region configured to partition the packing unit by means of thermal bonding is formed on the exterior sheet. The second resin layer is laminated on the first resin layer in at least the bonded region and the thermoplastic resin configuring the second resin layer is soluble in a solvent.
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The present invention relates to a continuous packing product, of absorbent articles, in which a continuous plurality of packing units which include the absorbent articles are provided. BACKGROUND ART
In general absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins are sold in a manner in which a predetermined quantity of the absorbent articles are contained in a package which is formed by employing an exterior sheet such as a resin film.
In addition, it is widely known, mainly among developing countries that packing bodies for individually packing absorbent articles on one-by-one piece basis are sold in the manner of a continuous packing product in which a continuous plurality of packing units are provided in a longitudinal direction. A demander can purchase any required number of absorbent articles by separating a desired number of packing units from the continuous package of packing units. In addition, since the plurality of packing units that are continuous in the longitudinal direction can be sold while these packing bodies are hooked in an appropriate location in shop, it is convenient where there is limited space in a shopping facility. Patent Document 1 describes a continuous packing unit of absorbent articles in which packing units for individually housing the absorbent articles are continuous in plurality.
CITATION LIST Patent Literature[PTL 1] International Patent Application Publication No. 02/094678
SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical ProblemHowever, conventional continuous packaging of absorbent articles has entailed the following problem. That is, since the continuous packing unit houses the absorbent articles therein on one-by-one piece basis, a large number of packing bodies are formed in comparison with packaging which contains some tens of absorbent articles. Therefore, an improvement in productivity of packing bodies is required.
For example, as such a method of manufacturing a continuous packaging of absorbent articles, the absorbent articles are continuously packed by means of exterior sheets, and then, the exterior sheets are thermally bonded to form a plurality of packing bodies which are continuous. In an attempt to improve productivity in such a manufacturing method, it is considered to reduce bonding time of the exterior sheet. However, if the bonding time is reduced, heat may not be sufficiently transmitted to the exterior sheet, and bonding faults may occur.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous packing product of absorbent articles, which are efficiently produced while preventing an occurrence of a fault in thermal bonding; a method of manufacturing a continuous packing product of absorbent articles which are adapted to manufacture the continuous packing unit of the absorbent articles; and exterior sheets for forming the continuous packing product of absorbent articles.
Solution to ProblemThe first feature of the present invention is summarized in that A continuous packing product of absorbent articles in which a plurality of packing units are continuous, with one or more absorbent articles being packed in each unit by means of an exterior sheet, wherein: the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin; and a second resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a melting point higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer; the exterior sheet comprises a thermally bonded product partition region configured to partition the packing product into packing units; the second resin layer is laminated on the first resin layer in at least the bonded region; and the thermoplastic resin of the second resin layer is soluble in a solvent.
The second feature of the present invention is summarized in that A continuous packing product of absorbent articles comprising a plurality of packing units which are individually packed by means of an exterior sheet, wherein: the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of polyethylene; a second resin layer which is formed by applying a solution obtained by dissolving polyamide in a solvent; and a print layer which is disposed between the first resin layer and the second resin layer; and a thermally bonded partition region configured to partition the packing units by means of thermal bonding is formed on the exterior sheet.
The third feature of the present invention is summarized in that An exterior sheet provided with a partition region configured to pack continuously disposed absorbent articles and separately partition the absorbent articles by means of thermal bonding, wherein: the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin; and a second resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a melting point higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer; the second resin layer is laminated on the first resin layer in at least the partition region; and the thermoplastic resin configuring the second resin layer is soluble in a solvent.
The fourth feature of the present invention is summarized in that A method of manufacturing a continuous packing product of absorbent articles, comprising: a first step of, in a resin film formed of a thermoplastic resin, forming an exterior sheet by applying a solution which is obtained by dissolving in a solvent a thermoplastic resin with a melting point which is higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the resin film; a second step of continuously disposing absorbent articles each on the resin film of the exterior sheet; a step of folding the exterior sheet and the absorbent article along a direction which is orthogonal to a continuous direction in which the absorbent articles are continuous, and then, wrapping the absorbent article by means of the exterior sheet; and a fourth step of partitioning the exterior sheet having the absorbent article wrapped thereby, by means of thermal bonding, and then, continuously forming a plurality of packing units by which the absorbent articles are packed.
Advantageous Effects of InventionAccording to characteristics of the present invention, there can be provided a continuous packing product of absorbent articles which are efficiently produced while preventing an occurrence of a fault in thermal bonding. That is, productivity of the continuous packing product of the absorbent articles can be improved.
Next, an embodiment of a continuous packing product 1 of absorbent articles 10, according to the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings that follows, the same or similar constituent elements are designated by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be kept in mind that the drawings are merely schematic and rates of dimensions each are different from an actual one. Therefore, specific dimensions or the like should be determined in consideration of the following description. In addition, portions whose dimensional interrelations or rates are different from each other can be included in the drawings as well.
First, a schematic structure of a continuous packing product 1 of the absorbent articles 10 (hereinafter, referred to as the continuous packing product 1) will be described with reference to
Partition units 5 for partitioning the absorbent articles that are wrapped by the exterior sheets 3 on a one-by-one piece basis are formed at the continuous packing product 1. Each of the partition units 5 is formed by a bonded region 3C of the exterior sheet 3 (refer to
In addition, a cutoff line unit 4 to which perforation processing is applied is formed at the partition unit 5, and packing bodies 2 can be separated from the continuous packing product 1 according to a required number of absorbent articles 10.
Since polyethylene is comparatively low in melting point among thermoplastic resins (for example, in comparison with polypropylene), it is possible for resin layer 31 to have a difference in melting point to a resin forming the second resin layer 32. Therefore, when thermal bonding is done, only the first resin layer 31 can be melted without melting the second resin layer 32. In addition, since polyethylene UV-resistance (ultraviolet-ray resistance), it is possible to prevent degradation due to the UV of the absorbent articles that are housed therein.
The second resin layer 32 is a thermoplastic resin having a higher melting point than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer, and may be formed of a resin which is soluble in solvent. The second resin layer is formed of a thermoplastic resin which is insoluble by means of thermal bonding, and is adapted to thermally resist and protect the first resin layer 31 without being melted at the time of thermal bonding. Polyamide such as nylon or imide can be exemplified as a material for the second resin layer 32.
Any solvent may be employed as long as it melts the thermoplastic resin forming the second resin layer 32, and a hydrocarbon having its boiling point of 150 degrees or less can be exemplified. Solvents include, but are not limited to, hexane, xylene, toluene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, isopropanol, butanol, and methyl ethyl ketone.
The print layer 33 is disposed between the first resin layer 31 and the second resin layer 32. A method of forming the print layer is not limited. For example, the print layer 33 may be formed by means of a printing method such as flexographic printing, a sink printing or the like, or alternatively, may be formed by blowing ink through spraying. In addition, by providing the print layer 33, visible light can be hardly transmitted, and then, the absorbent articles 10 that are housed therein can be hardly visually recognized from the outside of the exterior sheets 3.
The exterior sheet 3 is disposed so that the second resin layer 32 configures an outside face 7B of the exterior sheet 3 and the first resin layer 31 configures an inside face 7A of the exterior sheet 3. Thermal bonding is done from the outside face side of the exterior sheet 3, whereby the first resin layer 31 is melted, the exterior sheet 3 of a bonding region 3C is bonded therewith, and the partition region 5 is formed.
In addition, as shown in
Specifically, the exterior sheet 3 is disposed at the side of the back face 6B of the absorbent article 10, and then, at least a part of the back face 6B of the absorbent article 10 is fixed to the inside face 7A of the exterior sheet 3. The back face 6B of the absorbent article 10 and the inside face 7A of the exterior sheet 3 are fixed to each other via an adhesive unit 14 and an adhesive unit 15. The absorbent article 10 and the exterior sheet 3 that are fixed to each other by means of the adhesive unit 14 and the adhesive unit 15 are folded into three together along a folding direction D1 toward the side of the surface 6A which is a skin contact surface of the absorbent article 10.
The absorbent article 10 and the exterior sheet 3 are folded together, whereby an overlap region 21 (refer to
A bonding region 22 (refer to
The partition region 5 that corresponds to the bonded region 3C of the exterior sheet 3 is at each end part of the packing bodies 2 in a continuous direction D2 in which the packing bodies 2 are continuous. Since the partition region 5 is adhesively bonded by means of thermal bonding of the exterior sheet 3, the absorbent article 10 is established in a sealed sanitary state.
Next, a method of manufacturing a continuous packing product 1, according to the embodiment, will be described. Herein, in particular, a method of manufacturing exterior sheets 3 and a continuous packing product 1 will be mainly described. Other portions such as the absorbent articles 10 can be manufactured in accordance with well known manufacturing methods.
In the print layer forming step S10, as shown in
In the second resin layer forming step S20, as shown in
In the absorbent article placement process S30, as shown in
A folding step S40 has the first folding step S41 shown in
In the second folding step S42, the exterior sheet 3 and the absorbent article 10 are lifted from the opposite side from that of the first folding step S41, and then, are folded together toward the centerline CL in the folding direction D1. By means of this step, the overlap region 21 (
In the exterior sheet bonding step S50, as shown in
In the packing product forming step S60, as shown in
In a cutoff line part forming step S70, perforation forming process is performed at the partition unit 5. By the perforation forming process, a cutoff line part 4 which is capable of individually cutting off the packing body 2 can be formed. The steps S10 to S70 described above are executed, whereby a continuous packing product 1 is completed.
As has been described above, according to the continuous packing product 1 of the embodiment, since the second resin layer 32 is formed by dissolving the thermoplastic resin forming the second resin layer 32 in a solvent and then applying the melted resin, the second resin layer 32 can be thinly formed in comparison with the first resin layer 31 which is a resin film. Therefore, heat of thermal bonding is easily transmitted to the first resin layer 31, a heating time of thermal bonding is reduced, and productivity can be improved. Further, since transmission efficiency of the heat to the first resin layer is improved without increasing the heating temperature of thermal bonding, it is possible to prevent melting of the second resin layer 32 constituting the outside face 7B of the exterior sheet 3 due to a rise of the heating temperature and then prevent the melted resin from adhering to a bonding jig.
As an example, melting points of the straight chain-like low-density polyethylene and low density polyethylene which form the first resin layer 31 are about 110 degrees Celsius, and a melting point of nylon forming the second resin layer 32 is about 160 degrees Celsius to 170 degrees Celsius, and since a difference in the melting points are 50 degrees Celsius or more, only the first resin layer 31 can be melted without melting the second resin layer 32 in a thermal bonding, and the sealing property of the first resin layer 31 can be maintained.
As has been described above, while the contents of the present invention were disclosed through the embodiment of the present invention, it should not be understood that the discussion and drawings forming a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, a variety of alternative embodiments, examples, and operational techniques would be self-evident to one skilled in the art.
Exterior sheets according to exemplary modifications will be described with reference to
As shown in
Further, the second resin layer 32 is laminated in the full region of the print layer 33, whereby the print layer 33 can be protected by the second resin layer 32. In order to visually recognize the print layer 33 from the outside of the packing unit 2, it is desirable to configure the print layer 33 so as to be visually discernable from the side of the second resin layer 32 forming the outside face 7B of the exterior sheet 3. Specifically, the second resin layer 32 may be formed of a transparent or semitransparent material.
An exterior sheet 3, as shown in
In an exterior sheet 3, as shown in
While, in the exemplary modification shown in
In a modification, as shown in
Next, a packing unit according to an exemplary modification will be described with reference to
In addition, while, in the embodiment of the present invention, one absorbent article was housed in a packing unit, two or more absorbent articles may be configured so as to be housed in a packing unit.
Further, the absorbent article of the present invention may be a panty liner (a vaginal discharge sheet), an incontinent pad or the like other than the above absorbent article.
Thus, it is a mater f course that the present invention encompasses a variety of embodiments or the like, which are not described herein. Therefore, technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the specific matters of the invention according to the claims that are reasonable from the foregoing description.
Embodiments, and variations of any aspect of the invention, may be such that an absorbent article and exterior sheet in a packing unit are folded in at least a first direction which is orthogonal to the continuous direction of the packing product.
Embodiments may be such that the absorbent article and exterior sheet are also folded in the opposite direction to the first orthogonal direction to form an overlap region.
A method of manufacturing a continuous package may, in any aspect, include a step of folding the exterior sheet and the absorbent article along a direction which is orthogonal to a continuous direction in which the absorbent articles are continuous, and then, wrapping the absorbent article by means of the exterior sheet.
They may further include a step which the exterior sheet and absorbent article are also folded in a second orthogonal direction opposite to the first orthogonal direction to form an overlap portion.
The above features and steps may be used in any embodiments or aspects of the invention.
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. A continuous packing product of absorbent articles in which a plurality of packing units are continuous, with one or more absorbent articles being packed in each unit by means of an exterior sheet, wherein:
- the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin; and a second resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a melting point higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer;
- the exterior sheet comprises a thermally bonded product partition region configured to partition the packing product into packing units;
- the second resin layer is laminated on the first resin layer in at least the bonded region; and
- the thermoplastic resin of the second resin layer is soluble in a solvent.
11. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 10, wherein:
- the packing units individually contain the absorbent articles.
12. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 10, wherein:
- the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer is polyethylene; and
- the thermoplastic resin forming the second resin layer is polyamide.
13. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 10, wherein a print layer to which printing is applied is formed at a side of the second resin layer of the first resin layer.
14. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 11, wherein a print layer to which printing is applied is formed at a side of the second resin layer of the first resin layer.
15. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 12, wherein a print layer to which printing is applied is formed at a side of the second resin layer of the first resin layer.
16. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 13, wherein:
- the print layer is formed between the first resin layer and the second resin layer, and is visually discernable from an outside of the second resin layer.
17. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 14, wherein:
- the print layer is formed between the first resin layer and the second resin layer, and is visually discernable from an outside of the second resin layer.
18. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 15, wherein:
- the print layer is formed between the first resin layer and the second resin layer, and is visually discernable from an outside of the second resin layer.
19. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 13, wherein:
- the print layer is intermittently formed, and is not laminated on the first resin layer in the bonded region.
20. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 14, wherein:
- the print layer is intermittently formed, and is not laminated on the first resin layer in the bonded region.
21. The continuous packing product of absorbent articles, according to claim 15, wherein:
- the print layer is intermittently formed, and is not laminated on the first resin layer in the bonded region.
22. A continuous packing product of absorbent articles comprising a plurality of packing units which are individually packed by means of an exterior sheet, wherein:
- the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of polyethylene; a second resin layer which is formed by applying a solution obtained by dissolving polyamide in a solvent; and a print layer which is disposed between the first resin layer and the second resin layer; and
- a thermally bonded partition region configured to partition the packing units by means of thermal bonding is formed on the exterior sheet.
23. An exterior sheet provided with a partition region configured to pack continuously disposed absorbent articles and separately partition the absorbent articles by means of thermal bonding, wherein:
- the exterior sheet has: a first resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin; and a second resin layer which is formed of a thermoplastic resin with a melting point higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the first resin layer;
- the second resin layer is laminated on the first resin layer in at least the partition region; and
- the thermoplastic resin configuring the second resin layer is soluble in a solvent.
24. A method of manufacturing a continuous packing product of absorbent articles, comprising:
- a first step of, in a resin film formed of a thermoplastic resin, forming an exterior sheet by applying a solution which is obtained by dissolving in a solvent a thermoplastic resin with a melting point which is higher than that of the thermoplastic resin forming the resin film;
- a second step of continuously disposing absorbent articles each on the resin film of the exterior sheet;
- a step of folding the exterior sheet and the absorbent article along a direction which is orthogonal to a continuous direction in which the absorbent articles are continuous, and then, wrapping the absorbent article by means of the exterior sheet; and
- a fourth step of partitioning the exterior sheet having the absorbent article wrapped thereby, by means of thermal bonding, and then, continuously forming a plurality of packing units by which the absorbent articles are packed.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 28, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 26, 2013
Applicant: UNICHARM CORPORATION (Shikokuchuo-shi, Ehime)
Inventors: Hiroyuki Harada (Kagawa), Ryuji Okano (Kagawa), Yusuke Kosako (Kagawa), Kazuya Nishitani (Kagawa)
Application Number: 13/823,373
International Classification: B65D 85/16 (20060101); B65B 5/02 (20060101);