A web has a series of cut outs that define bridging portions therebetween. A method for folding the web includes providing the web to a first conveyor, folding the web about a folding wheel to define a folded edge that extends through the series of cut outs, transferring the web to a second conveyor having an included angle of 15 to 40 degrees in relation to the first conveyor, folding the web about a folding bar to maintain the folded edge, and spanning at least one cut out with the folding bar and contemporaneously contacting at least two bridge portions with the folding bar to maintain the folded edge of the web about the folding bar as the web passes the folding wheel edge.

An absorbent article has a wrapping sheet wrapping an absorbent body including an intermediate part located on one side of front face side and back face side of the body and both side parts folded back to the other side of the body from the intermediate part. Distal ends of the both side parts are overlapped on the other side of the body to form a connecting portion. A whole part of an internal surface of the wrapping sheet faces the body and is bonded to an external surface of the body through hot melt adhesives. A usage amount of the hot melt adhesives bonds the wrapping sheet and the body together and is larger at least in a region of both end portions in a width direction on the other side of the body than on the one side of the body.

A product including a feminine hygiene pad provided in a folded configuration within an individualized package is disclosed. The pad is folded separately of the package and contained within the package. The pad may include a backsheet adhesive coversheet including a section of polymeric film adhered to an outward-facing side of the backsheet of the pad, and a deposit of backsheet adhesive disposed between the backsheet adhesive coversheet and the backsheet, the backsheet adhesive coversheet and the backsheet adhesive being selected and adapted such that the backsheet adhesive coversheet may be peeled away from the pad to expose the backsheet adhesive without substantial damage to a remainder of the pad, and such that the backsheet adhesive remains substantially in place and adhered to the backsheet following peeling away of the backsheet adhesive coversheet.

In the present invention, an elastic resin material having a thermoplastic elastic resin is extruded into a sheet shape on a die and made to have a thickness that varies along the width direction, and then is cooled, to a temperature in which the elastic resin material elastically deforms, to form a sheet body that varies in thickness along the width direction, and a stretchable sheet is formed by laminating and joining base sheets. The sheet body includes at least two first and second regions adjacent to each other in the width direction, and the thicknesses of the second regions are greater than that of the first regions. In a wearable article, the stretchable sheet is disposed so that at least a portion of the second regions is closer to an opening around a body or an opening around a leg of the disposable wearable article than the first regions.

An absorbent article has an absorbent body obtained by mixing and accumulating fibers and high absorbent polymer particles. A wrapping sheet includes an intermediate part located on a front face side of the absorbent body and both side parts folded back to a back face side of the absorbent body from the intermediate part. Distal ends of the both side parts of the wrapping sheet are overlapped on the back face side of the absorbent body to form a connecting portion. A total weight of the high absorbent polymer particles is larger than a total weight of the fibers in the absorbent body. A content rate of the high absorbent polymer particles of the absorbent body increases stepwise or continuously from the back face side toward the front face side.

A method for production of disposable hygienic absorbent articles, the method comprising advancing in a first direction a continuous length of a substantially homogeneous elastic laminate web having a maximum elastic extensibility in the first direction of at least 40% under a peak load F.sub.p; maintaining said substantially homogeneous elastic laminate web under a tensioning load F.sub.t in the first direction during the advancing, the tensioning load F.sub.t satisfying the condition: 0.03 F.sub.pF.sub.t0.25 F.sub.p; attaching individual absorbent cores to the substantially homogeneous elastic laminate web while maintaining said substantially homogeneous elastic laminate web under the tensioning load F.sub.t; and severing the substantially homogenous elastic laminate web into individual disposable hygienic absorbent articles.

A device for folding a web for producing absorbent sanitary articles along at least one longitudinal fold line parallel to its feed direction includes two diverting elements positioned on opposite sides of the web one after the other, to operate in succession on respective lateral portions of the web and allow transversal folding of one lateral portion on the other and both on the web. Each diverting element has a diverting surface which is used for folding and which is equipped with a plurality of holes to emit jets of air under pressure at a tangent to the diverting surface, directed transversely to the feed direction of the web along the same direction as the direction along which the two lateral portions are transversely folded by the diverting surface and defining between the latter and the web a laminar fluid bed.

A method for manufacturing an absorbent article including a topsheet, a backsheet, a core, a discrete barrier member, a first cuff, and a second cuff. A barrier substrate may be cut into a discrete barrier member including a leading edge portion, an opposing trailing edge portion, and a central portion therebetween. The discrete barrier substrate may be transferred onto a folding roll. A first cuff substrate and a second cuff substrate may be advanced onto the folding roll such that the discrete barrier substrate may be disposed on at least a portion of the first cuff substrate and the second cuff substrate. The discrete barrier member may include a fold between the leading edge portion and the trailing edge portion. A topsheet substrate may associate with at least a portion of the discrete barrier member, the first cuff substrate, and the second cuff substrate.

An apparatus for forming and applying a pleated core wrap includes a feeding mechanism configured to feed a continuous web of material in a machine direction and a pleating unit configured to form one or more continuous folds in the continuous web of material, so as to form a continuous pleated web of material with a portion of the web of material overlapped in a cross-machine direction. A core-forming drum receives the continuous pleated web of material, the core-forming drum including at least one depression provided on an outer circumferential surface thereof, the depression having a floor having one or more inserts protruding radially outward therefrom. A vacuum system provided a vacuum to the depression that is communicated through the floor to suction the continuous pleated web of material down into the depression, with regions of the continuous pleated web of material separating upon being suctioned down into the depression.

An apparatus for forming a wrapped absorbent structure feeds a continuous web layer onto a depression of a core-forming drum, with absorbent material deposited onto the continuous web layer and into the depression and another continuous web layer being applied over the continuous web layer and the absorbent material to enclose the absorbent material therebetween. A pleating system forms one or more folds in one or both of the continuous web layers, with each fold being a continuous fold running in the machine direction so as to form a pleated web layer having portions overlapped in a cross-machine direction. An attachment means forms substantially temporary bonds in the overlapped portions of the pleated web layer that have a bond strength great enough to maintain the continuous fold in the wrapped absorbent core during forming of the wrapped absorbent structure and when the absorbent material is in a substantially dry state.