An absorbent member manufacturing method of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an absorbent member (100) for an absorbent article and including synthetic fibers (10b) and hydrophilic fibers (10a). The method involves: a transporting step of transporting the hydrophilic fibers (10a) and a plurality of sheet fragments (10bh) to an accumulating depression (41) by using a duct (3); an accumulating step of accumulating, in the accumulating depression (41), the plurality of sheet fragments (10bh) and the hydrophilic fibers (10a), and obtaining an accumulation (100a) which is a constituent member of the absorbent member (100); and a depression forming step of forming a depression (100e) in the accumulation (100a) by applying pressure to a portion thereof. In the transporting step, the sheet fragments (10bh) and the hydrophilic fibers (10a) are brought into contact with one another in an airflow created inside the duct (3), and the sheet fragments (10bh) and the hydrophilic fibers (10a) are transported by the airflow in a dispersed and airborne state in which the sheet fragments and the hydrophilic fibers are mixed.

There are disposed, in a width direction of an anvil roll, a plurality of first projections for producing joint portions where a pair of sheets are jointed to each other; each of the first projections extends in a circumferential direction of the anvil roll and includes a carrying groove carrying an elastic member while the elastic member has entered in the groove; and between one first projection and another first projection adjacent to each other in the width direction, at least one receiving part for receiving the pair of sheets is arranged.

An absorbent member manufacturing method of the invention is a method for manufacturing an absorbent member (100) for an absorbent article and including synthetic fibers (10b). The method involves: a cutting step of cutting a continuous synthetic fiber sheet (10bs) at predetermined lengths in a first direction and a second direction intersecting with the first direction, and forming sheet fragments (10bh) including the synthetic fibers (10b); a transporting step of transporting the formed sheet fragments (10bh) to an accumulating portion (41); and an accumulating step of accumulating, in the accumulating portion (41), the sheet fragments (10bh) transported in the transporting step, and obtaining an accumulation (100a) which is a constituent member of the absorbent member (100).

A folding device for a disposable hygiene article includes: a first conveying portion along a first path; a second conveying portion along a second path extending in a direction intersecting with the first path; a folding mechanism to fold the disposable hygiene article between the first and second conveying portions; a driving mechanism connected to the folding component, to drive the folding component by performing reciprocating linear motion along the direction of the second path between a folding and retracted positions; and a guiding mechanism in an extension direction of the first path or by using the first path as a reference, a front end portion of the article to an opposite side of the second conveying portion. The driving mechanism includes at least one pulley directly connected to a servo motor and a synchronous belt wrapped around the outer circumference of the pulleys in a looping path.

An absorbent article includes: a first sheet-like member; a second sheet-like member; an elastic member that is inserted along a lateral direction between a pair of mutually-opposing facing surfaces of the first sheet-like member; joining portions that join the pair of mutually-opposing facing surfaces and that are spaced apart in the lateral direction; and side-seal sections that are disposed at each lateral end portion of the absorbent article. The joining portions are disposed on two sides of the elastic member in a vertical direction, which intersects the lateral direction and a front-rear direction, so that the elastic member is sandwiched and pressed between the joining portions.

A sheet conveying device includes: a holding mechanism configured to hold suction members; and a driving device including a rotary shaft which is rotatable about a second axis parallel to the first axis and a connecting mechanism configured to connect the rotary shaft and suction members to each other; and a support mechanism configured to support the holding mechanism and the drive device. The connecting mechanism is connected to the suction members in a state where the suction members are movable in a radial direction of the circle about the first axis. The support mechanism supports the holding mechanism and the drive device such that the holding mechanism and the drive device are relatively movable from each other in a direction orthogonal to the first axis.

A absorbent member manufacturing method of the invention is a method for manufacturing an absorbent member (100) including synthetic fibers (10b). The method involves: a transporting step of transporting a plurality of sheet fragments (10bh) including synthetic fibers (10b) to an accumulating depression (41) by using a duct 3; an accumulating step of accumulating, in the accumulating depression (41), the plurality of sheet fragments (10bh) transported in the transporting step, and forming an accumulation (100a′) which is a constituent member of the absorbent member (100); and a pressing step of pressing the accumulation (100a′) over its entirety in the thickness direction.

A configurable cutting and transfer apparatus includes a cutter mechanism to cut an incoming web of material into a plurality of discrete articles and a transfer mechanism operable with the cutter mechanism to transfer and rotate the discrete articles from a web receiving location to an article placement location. The transfer mechanism includes a drive shaft rotatable about a transfer axis, a carriage plate mounted to the drive shaft so as to rotate therewith about the transfer axis, and a segmented puck wheel comprising a plurality of carriage units securable to, and repositionable on, the carriage plate so as to rotate therewith to travel along a transfer path about the transfer axis from the web receiving location to the pad placement location, each of the carriage units including a puck operable to provide a rotating and re-pitching of the articles between the web receiving location and the pad placement location.

The methods herein relate to assembling an elastic laminate with a first elastic material and a second elastic material bonded between first and second substrates. During assembly, an elastic laminate may be formed by positioning the first and second substrates in contact with stretched central regions of the first and second elastic materials. The elastic laminates may include two or more bonding regions that may be defined by the various layers or components of the elastic laminate that are laminated or stacked relative to each other. In some configurations, a first plurality of ultrasonic bonds are applied to the elastic laminate to define a first bond density in the first bonding region, and a second plurality of ultrasonic bonds are applied to the elastic laminate to define a second bond density in the second bonding region, wherein the second bond density is not equal to the first bond density.

A method for manufacturing an absorbent article, said method comprising guiding a first sheet material along a rotating member, wherein a surface of said rotating member is provided with a pattern with at least one suction zone and at least one non-suction zone; applying an absorbent material on said first sheet material on the rotating member; locally removing the absorbent material applied on at least one attachment portion of the first sheet material located above the at least one non-suction zone, such that at least one remaining portion of the first sheet material located above the at least one suction zone is covered with absorbent material and substantially no absorbent material is present on the at least one attachment portion; applying a second sheet material on top of the absorbent material on the first sheet material.