CA1302986C - Method and apparatus for attaching elastic member to wearable articles - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
In the manufacture of disposable clothing such as diapers, elastic waistbands are attached to respective longitudinal ends of diapers while stretched in transversely extended condition. The diapers are arranged in end-to-end relation as a continuous of diaper precursors which is fed past a transfer station. A continuous sheet of plastic is coated on one side with adhesive except adjacent longitudinal edges thereof and the leading end is rpeatedly severed transversely into successive individual plastic members which are then spaced apart and progressively stretched into extended condition while being fed one-by-one to the transfer station where the coated side is applied by a transfer drum to the web thereby transferring the elastic members at predetermined spacings to the web. The elastic members are then severed into two pieces while also severing through the web in a single cutting action to define adjacent ends of diapers with respective pieces of plastic members attached in extended condition.

Description

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HOD AND ~PPAR~T~IS FOR AT~ACH:r~lG EI~ASTIC M~BER ~O WE;P,~B~E
ARTICL~S .

FI~ST~D OF ~IIEI I~t~EtN~IOM
~e inv~ntion r~lat~ to a met~Lod snd axl ~pparatue ~ar attachi tlc xnember~ tc~ ~lspc~al:)~a weu~bl~ artic~ nd mor~
par1;loularly concerns ~ method and an appar~tus ~or attachlng elastic mel~lbers to dl~posabl-3 wearabl~ ar~lcl~g ~3uch as a disposa~le diaper or tra~ning pants for babies.

~AC~G~OUND OF THE INVEN~ION
Vari~u~ methods and apparatuses ~or ~ttachin~ stla member~
~o leg~oontact~ng por~lons of dlsposable wear~ble article~ suoh as di~po~abl~ diapers ~xe known.
In the pri~r t~chnlques, th~ article~ are generally manuf actured by a proces~ wh~ch includq~ the st~ps of:
~eding a c: ontinuou web whlch ls a ~as~ material ox p~ecur60r o~ an article ~long ~h~ m~nu~cturing line, ~eeding a con~inuous elastic member to ~he continuous we~ whil~a s~retching th~3 con~lnuous el~stlc Inembar t.o an ex~ended condition in th~ ~eeding ~irec~ion oE the continuou~ web, at~a~hing the elas ic melllber in th~ ext~nded cor~di~ n 1;~ th~ continuo~us web wi~h adhesiv~2 ~o that ~ laYered continuous str~p c~mprLsing tne ¢c~n~inuoug elas~ia mem~er arld the oontinuou:~s we~ i~ obtained, ~nd ~evering th~ continuous ~ri~ at prede~ermin~d dist~nce~ ~long transverse ~e~ræ;~ance ~x~s ~o obtaln individual ar~;cles.

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, Methods and apparatuses ~or a~tachirlg elastlc ~emher to a walst b~nd zon~ o~ po~abl~ article~ ~r~ al~o known, ~owevex, in tllos~
technlgues, in colltrast, gen~rally, a COrltinUQu~ elastk: member ~a~
to b0 stretch~d, no~ in tl~e longitudinal ~e~din~ dir~ction o~ the web, but in the transYers~ dir~ction thar~o~ and 'aut into the prede~erminéd ~engl;h~ when in ~e exterlded condit~.on.
The r-a6pQative indivldual ~Ia~tic m~mber~ abtain~d ~hereby wer~
~tached 13Y adhe~iYe to extend i~ ~he transv~3rse direction o~ he continuou~ web.
}~ow~rel, dif~lcultles have been ~n~ount~red ln handling the ~lastla me~n~ers at th0 high s~s~d~ nec~ssary ~o~ economic ma~s production and a~tachlng ~hem ~o 't;ha web which 1~ also being ~ed at a hlgh ~peed. An appropriate ~o1ut~on ~or ~uch hlgh ~p~d harldllng has not yet been propo~e~

OBJ~cTS OF ~E INV~TIOt~ . ;
An object of thë invention is to provide a method a~d an apparatus for e~fectively attaching at a high speed an elastic mem~er to ~ waist .... . . . . .
band zone of an article which is also handled at a high speed and to a continuouq ~eb o~ bas~ matorla1 ~ precursor oE the arkicle.
A further object o~ the ~n~ lon i~ to provide an ~pparatus whlch i~ of re1a~ive1y ~imple ~nd inexpensivz construc~ion and yet whi~h ~ re1iab1e ~nd can be read~ ly a~seml~1ed into an ~xl~ting artic1e p~oduction line ~o oper~te at the ~ery ~igh ~p~ed~3 ne<;:essaxy ~or moro oconomlc ma$s production.

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~ 3~2g~1~6 SUMI~LARY 0~ E I~VENTIOI~
According ~o one a~pe~t of the invention, therq ls provlded a method ~or attac~ing ~n ela~tic member to a weara~le art~cle, ~hic~ metnod comprises the steps o~ feeding a continuou~ ela~tic sheet of pred~termined width ~rom a ~upply to a cuttin~ statioP;
coa~ing an ad~esive on on~ surface o~ the cont~nuous elastic sheet except ad~acent oppo~ite longitud~nal edge porkion~ thereo~ during the feeding step;repeat~dly cutting, at th~ cutting ~ation, ths contlnuous elas~ia ~ et along a severance axis ext~nding transversely ther~of to form successive individual el~stlc members o~ p~edete~mine~ lengths:~eeding the individual elastic mqmbers sa ~ormed from the cu~ting station to a trans~er station while ~pacing the ~las~ia me~bers a predet~rmined ~i~tance apa~t ln ~ feedinq direction thereo~;s~re~ching each elas~ic member to an extended condition ln tlle transverse direction thereof:~eeding a GontinUoUS
~eb ~$ articl~ precursors in end-to-end relation p~st ~e t~an~fex s~ation;applying, at ~he transferring station, ~he coated sid~ o~
each elastic member to the continuous web o~ article precursors at predetermined interval~ in a longitudina1 direc~ion o~ th~
continuou~ web while maintaining each elastic ~smber stretched in ~xtended con~ition in t~ transverse direction of the c~nt~nuou~ web during such ~pplication there~y to attaah e~ch elastic member to the qontinuous web; and,repeatedly severing the continuou~ web alony ~everanca axis ex~endi~g tr~ns~er~ly of ~he ~e~ding direc~lon o~
~h~ ~e~ to ~ep~r~te ~ucce~sive indi~i~ual articles f~om the we~.

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Handling ls ~here~y :eac~ a~ed as only the individual elas~ic members are ~tretched, in oontra~t with thQ prior requiremerlt ~o ~retch continuously an ela~tlc sheet o~ ~xterlde.d lengt~, Advanta0eou~1y, each ~lastlc me~bar is progre~ively str~tched in tne transvers~ direction ~hile being ~ed tow~rds tl~e tran~;fer sta~ion thereby gradually increasing the tran~v~rse dimension o~ tha ela~lc member during t~e ~e~3ding.
The progres~ive ~tre~ching of ~he indivi~ual 6tlasti~ memPer~
gradually to incre~se thei~ extended tran~verse length as t~y are fed toward~ the we~ o~ ar~icle precursors faclll~ate~ a smoo~h, continuous and stable operatlon with minimal vibration important ~or reliable operatlon of a con~inuou~ proo~s runs~ing a~ a high speed.
The ~everance a.xi~ pass~ through pred~termined po~ion~ 0~ ~he resp~cti~fe elastic member~ to ~ep~rate each elastic member ln~o two piece~ in the f eeding dlrection wlth the plec~ on the respective a~acent ends ~ ~uccessive axtlcles.
T~e step of s~vsring the web:to re~ove individual artlcl~s therefrom by severlng on an axis ~nrough the ela$tic member results in a simplification in operation as only a single cut fs required both tO form a wai~and ~t adjacent ends o~ successive articl~s and to sepa~ate the individual article~ ~rom th~ web.
According to another aspect o~ the invention, an apparatus for attaching an elastic member to a wearable article:comprises a cut~ing station; m~an~ for ~eeding A contlnuous ~lastia ~hee~ o~
predetermin~d wi~th from ~ ~upply ~o the cutting statlo~ and continl~ously applying an ~dhesiYe coating on one ~urface o~ t~e .
sl~stic ~heet exca~ ~d~acen~ longitudin~l edge po~tioni thereo~;

- ` ~3~ il6 cutting means at the cutti~g station ~or successlvely ~o~lng individual elastic member~ by repeatedly cutting the continuous alastic s~eet along a severanc~ axls extending i~ a tran~vers~
direc~ion thereo~; tr~ns~er means; ~eed means ex~endi~g ~rom the c~tt1ng stat;on ~o the tr~n~er Tnsan~ for ~eed~ng the s~cc~ss~ely ~ormed ela~ic me~bers from the cutting means to the transfer means w~ile spac~ng the ela~tic mem~ers a predet~r~ine~ dis~anc~ apart in t~e fee~ing dire~ti~n ~hereo~; means for ~tretchin~ each elastic ~ember to an extended condi~ion ln the transverse directi~n;
mean~ ~or feeding ~ contlnuous web o~ articie ~recursors in ~nd-to-end relation pa~t the tran~fer me~ns; tne trans~er me~ns being arranged to apply the coated surfac~ of each elastlc member to ths continuous w~b o article precursorq at predetermined in~erYals in a longitudinal direction o~ the contlnuou~ web dur~ng the fe~ding .
of the web while maintaining the elastic member stretched in extended condl~ion ~ n ~he tr~n~Yerse dir~ction of the continuous web thereby to attach each elas ic me~ber to the continuou~ web; a~d, means *or repeatedly severln~ t~e con~inuous we~ along a severanc~
axls extendin~ transversely o~ th~ web to separat~ successiv~
individual articles ~rom the web.
The means for severiny th~ con~lnuou~ web is advantageously mounted so t~at the severanGe axis extands through a pr~d~tarmined portion o~ the ~ucc~sslve respeo~lve elastic member~ ~h~eby ~o separat~ ~a~h elastlc memb~r int~ two pieces in ~e ~eeding dlr~ction o~ the continuoug web~ which pieces are on re~pec~i~e ~djacent ~n~s of suc~essive individual articles.

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The feedinq, spacing ~ind str~tchin~7 me~ns p~ef~r~bly comprl6es f lrs~ and second elastic member ~ripping means ar~anged to grip respective opposite transversa ends o~ the sllc~es~ive individual.
ela~tic members; msan~ movln~ resp~c:tiv~3 grlpping m~3an~ ~long divergent ~eed paths extending ~rom the s~vering mean~3 ~o the transf er means thereby prog~e~sively to str~tch the elas~ic ~embers ln the tran~verse directior~ during ~uch feedin~ movement to increase graduall~ the tran~vers~ dimensions of the ~I.astic members.
MorQ specific~lly, the feeding, spaclng and ~tretchinsJ means .~ay compr~e flxs~ and sec:ond pairs of roller~; ~irs~ an~l ~econd !?airs o~ endless belts moun~ed around the re~pe~iv~ pair~; of roller~ :~or ~lven mo~ nent thereby~ ~he roller~ o~ each pAir }:~ing spaced apart in the ~eeed dir~ction an~ located adj~c~nt ths s~verin~
means and the tran~er means re~pe~tively; means on tha roll~rs ~o main~in the ~elts of each pair extending spaced apart in di~rergen.
relation ~s the~ ~x~end ln t~e feed di~ection from the severing means to the transf~r means with the belt~ of the fixE~t pair div~rsing at the ~alne angle as the,~el~s~of tht3 s~cond pair: the ~irst and second ~airs of rollers being driven respec~tively in ~pposite rotational ~n~es and arranged w~tn r~spective ~orwar:lly clrlven portion~ o~ the belts of the first pair 0~ belts ex~ndinq in the ~eed direc~ion allgned with and ad~acen~ ~orwardly driven portions of ~ho r~3spectiv~ belts o~ th~ sscond pair so that respective bel~s of the ~irst pair cooper~te with respective belts of t~e second pair to grip hetween them the ends o~ t~e elastic members tllereby to feed successive elastic: membe~s from the cutting ~ta~ion to the tran~fer s~ation while progr~ssively stxe~ching ~n~

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elastic me~*r~ in the ~ansverse-dir~ction during ~uch fee~ing movem~n~ .
ThQ str6~tching and feedin~ apparatu~ i~ o~ re3l ~ively ~impl0 cons~ruo~ion with minimum vibration requ~ rlng e~bstan~ially no reciprocating parts, and can readily be assembled to or integrated with an a~ticle product~ on line~

BRIEF DESCRIP'rION OP THE D~IN~S
An exampl~ o~ apparatu~ for per~orming ~he methoc~ ac:cording tc;
tha invention is ~hown in l:h~ ~ccompanyin~ drawing~ in which:
Fi~ure ~ i~ a plan view partially bro)cen ~way o~ a disposabl~
diaper, an exampl~ o~ a wearabl~ artlal~ manu~acture~ by the meth~d and appa~a~u~ aa~ordlng ~o the invention~
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a part o~ the apparatus irlc~rporating means ~o~ applying an adhesive to a continuou~ el~tic sheet and ~or severing the elastic sh~et to p~ovi~e successi~re individllal elastlc mem~ers:
Eigure 3 i a p~rspecti~e view of a part- o~ the apparatus ~or stretch~ng and tran~ferring ~aid individual elastic members;
Figure 4 i9 a schemat:ic top plan vieW æhowin~ an upper part o~ ~he pc~rtion o~ apPara~us ~own in Fi 0ure 3 s ure 5 is ~ sld~ elev~tion showing, schem~tically, a po~ion o~
the app~ratus adhegively ~ecurin~ succe~sive elastic members ~o a con~inuous web v~ article precu~sors wound around a drum;
Figur~ ~ is a plan view o~ th~ web carrying $he elas~ic member~;
and, ~lgure 7 i~ a side elevation of a ~uit~ble wQb severing d~vic~ oi~
~nown typf3.

DESCRIP~ION OF SPECI~IC EX~MP~E
A~ ~hown in Figur~ 1~ a d~po~a~l~ diap~r compri~ a mol~ture pervlous t:op sheet 1~ a molstuxe impe~vious ba~k shee-t 2 and an absor~en~ ~c7re 3 interposed betweQn ~ot~ ~hest~O Elastlc memb~rs S
~or leg-cor~tacting are secur~cl by adh~ssiv~ in sld~ i~laps 4 wh~ch extend longitudinally of ~he diap~r whil~ b~ing stretcll-3d in a n ex~ended condition in the longitudinal dix~ction. ~ach longitudlnally extendin~ sid~-1ap 4 is de~in~d by o~erl~E;ping edge portion3 of bo~h sh~ets 1 an~ 2 ~hich exterld lal;~rally beyond longi~udin~l edye~ o~ t;]~lQ ab~orbqnt aore 3~ ~1A5l;iC members 7, fvrming waistban~l~, are se~ure~ l~y adhesive in~o lat~xally ~xtend~ ng flap 6 while being stretched in an extended condition in the -trans~
verse direction, each lateral end flap belng formed by overlapping portions of the ~ee~s 1 and 2 whlch Qxtend longitudinally beyond the lataral edg~s of th~ ab~orbent core. T~p~ fastener~ 8 are provided on the back sheet at the interse~tions of one laterally ..... . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . .. ....
ex~endlnq end Elap and th~ lonyitudinally ex~ending ~ide ~laps.
As shown in Figur~ 2, a ~upply roll carries a contlnuous ela~tia ~heet 77 of predete~mlned width an~ whioh i~ preEera41y mad~
o~ a polyu~ethane foam. Th~ con~inuou~ ~lastic ~heet i~ drawn .
throug~ and be~ween a pair o~ ~ip rollers 12 and 14, nip rolle~ 14 having a cu~tin~ knif 13 incorpo~ated the~eon, while an adhesiY~
applicato~ provid~d ~0 a~ply hot-melt adhe~ A to ~ne ~ur~ace o~ th~ continu~u~ ela~tic sheet With ~h~ axceptlon Of ~hose 8 .

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portions of the surface a~iacent the longitudinally extending edg~
portion~. The ~dhesiv~ co~ting A may be applisd in a con~lnuous, intermittent ox dotted ~orm.
During it~ passag~ ~etween the pair o~ nlp rollers 12 and 14, the leading end o~ the elastic she~t 77 is repeatedly cut along a transversely extending severance line by th~ kni~ 13 formin~
succas~ive individual ela~tic me~ber6 of predetermined l~ngth~. The pertphe~al ~urface o~ th~ ~ll~r 14 i~cca~ed wlth silicon resi~ ~o pre~ent adhesive 8 ~rom clinging ~heret~. A ~uction devi~ lS i5 dispos~d betwesn the rollex 10 and the pair o~ rollers lZ, 14 to preven~ wandering or meanderin~ o~ the elastio sheet 77, and provide~ su~icient for~e ~o hold the elastic sheet while per~itting tne elastic ~heet ~o be ~ed.
A pair o~ stretching an~ ~eeding devic2~ T1~ ~ a~e arr~nged downstream of the rollers 1~ as shown in Figure 3. Th~ devic~ ~1 has a linear velocity whi~h ls tne same as that of the ~evice T2 but higher than the circumferential linear velo~lty of th~ rollers 12, 14. The devic~ T1 include~ a dri~en roller 16 disposed in close proximi~y to the rollers 12, ~4, a driving roller 17 located dqwnstrea~n o~ the driven roller 16, and }~elt~ l~A~ 18B mounted around the roller~; 16 an~ 17 . The belts l~A, 18B each have a 'J-shaped cross-section and engage V-shaped groove 16i~, 16B and l~A, 17B ex~endin~ ~xound th~ ~irczumference of the rollers 1~ ~nd 17, respectively .
The V-shaped grooves o~ ~oth rollers 16 and 17 are ~or~ned on ~:heir respec:tive ~ircum~erentially extending surfaces at loc~tlons adja~-ent ~heir ~id~ e~ges and the spacing between thQ grooves 17A

9~a6 and 17~ i~ greater than ~chat between grooves 16A and 16~S so ~hat th~
~stance between th6~ belt~; 18A, 181~ progxesslYely increases ~s ~hey ex~nd ~rom ~oller 1~ to roller 17. The device T2 is disposed on an upper surfac:s or slde de~ined by ~h6~ d~vic~ ~l and ~c;mprises a driven rolle~ 1~ arranged dowrt tream both o~ ~h~3 roller 16 and ~he nip roller~ 12 and 14, a drum-shaped dri~ring roller 20 located ~own~tream of the roll~r 19 and up~tream o~ the ~ller l~, and belt3 21A and 21B mounted around ~he roller~ 1~ and 20. The belts ~lA and 21 B eac:h also have a ~-shaped crosR-section wh~h i~ similar to that o~ the }:elt~ 18A and 18EI ~nd ~ngage V-shap~d qxc10ves l~A, lgB
and 20A, 20~ ~ormed on the r~speotive circumferentially extending ~ur~aces ad~acent the sid~ edge~ o~ th~ rollers 1~ and 20 respective~ y. The dlstanc:~ between the groov~ 19 A, l9B is less than tha~ between ~he g~oove~ 20A, 2~B ~o 'ch~t ths belt~ 21A, ~lB
progressilJely diverge as they extend ~rom the rolle~ l~ to the roller 2û and l:he relative separations o~ the grooves l9A, l9E~ ~d 20A, ~OB is c~tosen so that the belts 21A, 21B dive~ge a~ tne sam~
angle as b~lts 18A, 18B to lie adjacent--belts 18A, 188 through~ut their length ~n tne feed dixec~on. A pair o~ sucti~n deYices are ~rovided inside th~ ~oller 20 (no~ shown) and have active ducts 22A, 22~ expo~ed at opposed portions o~ ~he circumferential surfac~ of the rollex ~a. Th~ ~uc~Lon du~ 22A ls locate~ between the grooves 20A, 20B and ths suction duc~s 22B are arranged a~ opposite sides o~ :
the suction ~u~ce ~2A out~ide t~e groove~ 21A, 21B~ Drum rolle~
ha~ing such suction devices are w~ll Xnown and thus ~urther details t~e~eof are not inaluded herein. A plur~lity of guid~ roller 23 each having a V-shaped groove ~re arranged between ~o~w~r~ and 1~
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return portions of belt~ 18~, 18B and adjacent and above the ~orward portion o~ bel~s 21A, 21B at predetermined location~ in their direction o~ move~ent to en~ure ~table running o~ the belts in gripping ~n~agement with th~ elastic m~m~exs whl~e maintaining a predeter~ined clearance there~e~ween.
A suction device 24 is disposed und~rneat~ an area where the individual elastic members 7 severea from the strip exit and are withdxawn from the nip roller~ 12~ 14, such suction device providin a suction forc~ su~ficient to hold an individual elasti~ member while permltting the elas~ic member when gripped by the belts 18~, 18~ and the bl3lts ~lA, 2~L~ to be ~ed.
The ~uction d~vic~ 24 loca~e~ the ~lasti~ mem~er on a forw~rdly running portion 0~ the moving bsltg 18A, 18B and, lmmediately the~eafter, as a r~ult of the ~orward movement o~ the belts, the longitudin~l edg~ portion~ of t~e elastie mem~er 7 on whic~ adhesive A is not applied, i~ trapped betwaen the belts 18A, 18B and ~elts-21A, 21B respectively ~o b~ gripped and ~ed the~eby. At thls tim~, 'he preceding elastic membex 7 has ~een~spaced apar~ ~rom a subsequent elastic member 7 in the ~eed direction by a predetermined amoun~ a~ the belt~ 18A, 18B/ 21A, ~lB have ~ higher linear Yelooi~y t~an the circumferentlal linear vel~ci~y of t~e nip rollers 12, 14.
The ~pacing of ~uccessive elastic members ~orr~sponds to tha sp~ci~g re~ulred ~o o~ain s~nchronous registration ~f successiYe members with the suctlon ducts 22A, ~2B of t~e rot~ting ~ller 20. As a result o~ the divergenc~ of the b~lts in khe feed d~r~ction, suc~essive ela~tlc m~mber~ are str~tch~d in th~ tran~ers~ dirècti~n ~o ~n ext~nded condi~ion o~ predetermined transverse dimension ~3~

durin~ their travel to roller 20. Th~ extended elastic memb~rs ~ynchronou~ly rQgi~t~r with 'che ~uction duct~; 22A, 2aB o~ th~
rotating roller 2û such ~ t a c~ntral portion o~ ~n uncoated ~;urface o~ ea~h ~emb~r ~ace~, and 1~ h~ld by,, th~ ~ct~on dUCt Z2A, while uncoated 6ide ed~e~ are held by e;UCl:i.OIl ~UC;:~6 22Bo A~ sho~n ln Figur~ 5, a drum-~hape~ r~ller 25 havin~ a continu~us web def ining back she~ 2, ( or the precursor of the a~icle~ ), extending around i~ circum~erential ~ur~ace i~ mounte~;
ad jacen~ and ln opposed ~elatlon to the clrcum~erential ~ur~c~a o~
~he ~oller 20 so ~hat ~dhe~ive coa'ced ~ur~ac:~3 o~ ~3uccea91v~ olastic~
meml~ers held on the suction ducts 22A, 22~ contact, adhe:r~ to and ~re ther~by transfsrred ~o the backin~ sheet, at whlch ins~ant the ~uation ac~ian o~ the suctlon duct~ 22A, 22~ h41d~ ng the elas~c member is st~ppe~. As ~ xe~ult, a~ awn in ~igure~ 5 an~ 6, the elastic mem~ers ~e adh~ively attac~ed to the back sheet 2 on the roller at prede~ermined interv~l~ around its c~r~um~erenc~, that is, in the longi~udinal ~eeding~ directlon of tha back sheet while ~eing ~tretched ln ~xtended condl~ion in tne tran~verse dlrection thereo~
It should Pe no~ed that th~ interv~l or ~p~olllg between the elas~ic mem}~ers tran~rred to the web can l~e altered by ad justing the relative c~rcum~erential ~inear vslocities o~ the roller 2Q and the roller ~!5a Although not shown in the drawings, the back sheet 2 includes other article me~bers such as said continuous top sheet~
said core interposed between the back sheet and top sheet r and said longitudin~lly extendirlg or continuou~ ela~tic members, there3~y 2~6 Pormlng a continuous ~trip o~ individual articles ln end-to-end relatlon~ ~he conti~u~us strip is then ~e~red along a ~everance axis exten~ing transv~rsely through tha ce~t~r o~ ~ucc~siv~ :
resp~ctLv~ elastiG memb~r~ peratlon o~ the ~evering nlp ~hown in Figure 7, which is 6imilar i~ design to ~hat sh~n in Figure 2, a~d is mo~n~ed downstr~am o~ th~ roll~r 25, both ~separating the individ~al articl~s fro~ ~ho strip and provlding porti~ns of th~
bi~ected elastic member sim~ltaneou61y at wal~t~an~ poxtion~ of adjacsn~ articl~s by ~nly a ~ingl~ cutting strok~.
Although, i~ embodiment o~ ths inYen~ion~ ~he qlas~!c me~bers are applied to the back sheet, it is obvious that the ela~tia memb~r can ~ applied to a con~inuous we~ ~e~inin~ tbe top sheet.
~ n the above described example oE a method and an apparatus for attaching an elastic member to a wearable article, individual elastlc members ar~ obt~ined by ~epe~tedly cutting tne leadin~ end of a continuous elastic ~heet in the transver~e direction after an adhesive coating is applled there~o and the individual ela~tic member~ axe stretched to p~edete~mlned extend~d length~ in ~h~
transverse direotlon and a~tached to a continuous web conætituting a par~ or. a precursor of ~he weara~le articles at a predetermined interval~ alon~ the weh. Tnus tn~ production llna ~o~ the ~ontLnuou~-elas~ic sheet and indiYidual elastic me~ers can ~e A~ran~ed on ~he same line which produce~ the o~her member6 ~on~ti~utin~ t~e ar~icle enabllng a relativs increas~ in speed o bo~h prod~Gtion lines So tnat articles ha~ing ela~i¢ members wh$~h extend at right angl~s to 13 . .

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the longitudinal dimen~i~n~ oE tne articles c~n be manu~a~ured at a lower cost.
In a~dition, only a ~ingle cut i~ nec~s~axy bo~h to divide the elas~ic memb~rs to form two waistband portions, ono on sach o~
ad~acen~ end~ o~ respeGti~e artiale~ and to ~3ep~rate ~ucce~lv~
articles ~rom the continuous web.
The a~p~ratus a~co~ding i~ of ralatively imple c~n~tructlon and can ~ easily assembled to th~ ar~icle manu~acturing llne.

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Claims (4)

1. An apparatus for attaching an elastic member to a wearable article, which apparatus comprises:
a cutting station;
means for feeding a continuous elastic sheet of predetermined width from a supply to the cutting station and continuously applying an adhesive coating on one surface of the elastic sheet except adjacent longitudinal edge portions thereof;
cutting means at the cutting station for successively forming individual elastic members by repeatedly cutting the continuous elastic sheet along a severance axis extending in a transverse direction thereof;
transfer means for the elastic members;
feeding, spacing and stretching means for feeding the successively formed elastic members from the cutting means to the transfer means while spacing the elastic members a predetermined distance apart in the feeding direction thereof and stretching each elastic member to an extended condition in the transverse direction comprising;
first and second pairs of rollers;
first and second pairs of endless belts mounted around the respective pairs of rollers for driven movement thereby;
the rollers of each pair being spaced apart in the feed direction and located adjacent the cutting means and the transfer means respectively;
means on the rollers to maintain the belts of each pair extending spaced apart in divergent relation as they extend in the feed direction from the cutting means to the transfer means with the belts of the first pair diverging at the same angle as the belts of the second pair;
the first and second pairs of rollers being driven respectively in opposite rotational senses and arranged with respective forwardly driven portions of the belts of the first pair of belts extending in the feed direction aligned with an adjacent forwardly driven portions of the respective belts of the second pair so that respective belts of the first pair cooperate with respective belts of the second pair to grip between them the ends of the elastic members thereby to feed successive elastic members from the cutting station to the transfer means while progressively stretching the elastic members in the transverse direction during such feeding movement;
means for feeding a continuous web of article precursors in end-to-end relation past the transfer means; the transfer means comprising:
a roller of the second pair of rollers, which roller is located adjacent the continuous web of article precursors and includes means to receive elastic members released from the belts and releasably to hold such elastic members in extended condition transversely of the continuous web of article precursors and to press the coated surfaces of the elastic members so held successively against the web at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal direction of the continuous web during the feeding of the web thereby to transfer and to attach each elastic member to the continuous web; and, means for repeatedly severing the continuous web along a severance axis extending transversely of the web to separate successive individual articles from the web.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the means for cutting the continuous web is mounted so that the severance axis extends through a predetermined portion of the successive respective elastic members thereby to separate each elastic member into two pieces in the feeding direction of the continuous web, which pieces are on respective adjacent ends of successive individual articles.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the web feeding means comprises a rotating drum around which the web extends.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the web feeding means comprises a rotating drum around which the web extends.