Disposable garments, and method and apparatus for making

Abstract

Disposable garments of the training pants variety include a cuff which is rolled inwardly from the plane of each leg opening. The rolled cuff feature is obtained during production by stretching a unitary elastic sheet across the machine web in a direction lateral to the direction of manufacture, and then cutting leg openings through the elastic sheet and an adjacent outer web. The machinery for manufacturing the garments includes various features which facilitate the manufacture of this garment, including a reciprocating cutting knife and an associated accumulating conveyor for providing a reciprocal motion into the reciprocal knife. The manufacturing apparatus also includes features for maintaining core pads in the desired alignment, and various other features.

That which is claimed:  
     
         1 . A method for making disposable garments, the method comprising the steps of: 
 conveying a carrier layer having a pair of opposing edges positioned to extend along a direction of manufacture;    disposing a plurality of elongate absorbent pads positioned in spacedapart relation on the carrier layer between the pair of opposing edges with a direction of elongation extending transverse to the direction of manufacture;    forming a plurality of openings in the carrier layer, each of the plurality of openings positioned between respective adjacent pads and defining a leg hole associated with each adjacent pad;    folding the carrier layer and the pads positioned thereon generally into two halves extending along a fold line positioned intermediate the pair of opposing edges and generally parallel with the direction of manufacture;    joining the two halves together along a plurality of seam lines, two adjacent seam lines extending generally transverse to the direction of manufacture between respective adjacent pads so as to intersect each of the plurality of openings and pair of opposing edges; and    severing the carrier layer into a plurality of individual garment units between said adjacent seam lines.    
     
     
         2 . The method recited in  claim 1  further comprising the step of forming 
 the carrier layer prior to the step of disposing the elongated absorbent pads onto the carrier layer.  
 
     
     
         3 . The method recited in  claim 2  wherein the carrier layer forming step comprises conveying a liquid impervious liner along the direction of manufacture.  
     
     
         4 . The method recited in  claim 3 ,_wherein the carrier layer forming step further comprises conveying non-woven inner and outer liquid permeable layers along the direction of manufacture, the liner and each of the plurality of pads being positioned between the non-woven inner and outer layers, and the method further comprising the steps of: 
 adhering each of the plurality of elongate pads to the liner; and    adhering the non-woven inner and outer layers to opposing sides of the liner.    
     
     
         5 . The method recited in  claim 4 , wherein the outer non-woven layer includes a dimension transverse the direction of manufacture which is greater than a corresponding dimension of the liner and a corresponding dimension of the inner non-woven layer so, that the outer non-woven layer defines edge portions extending beyond respective pairs of edges of the liner and the inner non-woven layer, and wherein the carrier layer forming step further comprises: 
 folding the edge portions of the outer non-woven layer, said edge portions including said pair of opposing edges, respectively so as to overlie the edges of the inner non-woven layer respectively; and  
 adhering the folded edge portions of the outer non-woven layer to the respective edges of the inner non-woven layer.  
 
     
     
         6 . The method recited in  claim 5  wherein the folding the edge portions step comprises the steps of: 
 providing a fold roller having outwardly tapered ends, a lateral dimension of each tapered end corresponding to the dimension of the edge portions of the outer non-woven layer;  
 passing the non-woven inner and outer layers under the fold roller under sufficient tension to cause each edge portion of the outer non-woven layer to conform to the shape of the adjacent tapered end and thereby exit the roller with each edge portion of the outer non-woven layer extending upwardly from a remainder of the liner and the inner non-woven layer; and  
 engaging each raised edge portion immediately downstream from the fold roller and positioning each raised edge portion so as to overlie the edges of the inner non-woven layer.  
 
     
     
         7 . The method recited in  claim 5  further comprising the step of elasticizing the edges of the non-woven inner and outer layers to form a waistband.  
     
     
         8 . The method recited in  claim 7  wherein the leg hole forming step defines an edge about each leg hole, and further comprising the step of elasticizing the edge of each of the leg holes.  
     
     
         9 . The method recited in  claim 8  wherein the step of elasticizing the edge of each of the leg_holes comprises the steps of: 
 stretching a plurality of strips of elastic material;  
 depositing at least one of the plurality of strips of the stretched elastic material on the carrier layer adjacent the leg holes; and 
 depositing at least one of the plurality of strips of the stretched elastic material along the edge of each of the leg holes.  
 
 
     
     
         10 . The method recited in  claim 8  wherein the step of elasticizing the edge of each of the leg_holes comprises the steps of: 
 longitudinally stretching each of a plurality elastic strips by gripping without penetrating at least one of its ends;  
 passing each of the plurality of stretched elastic strips and the liner one with respect to the other while continuing the stretching step; and  
 securing each of the plurality of stretched elastic strips to the liner.  
 
     
     
         11 . The method recited in  claim 10  wherein the stretching step further comprises pinching without penetrating at least one of the ends of each of the plurality_of elastic strips against a roller surface, and then rotating the roller surface at an outwardly skewed angle.  
     
     
         12 . The method recited in  claim 11  wherein the pinching step comprises pressing a continuous belt against the roller surface with the at least one of the ends of each of the plurality of elastic strips positioned between the belt and the roller surface.  
     
     
         13 . The method recited in  claim 10  wherein the longitudinally stretching step comprises: 
 passing a continuously web of the elastic material to a cutting means and cutting the web into a plurality of elastic strips;  
 continuously transferring the plurality of elastic strips from the cutting means to a pair of spaced apart, continuously rotating rollers; positively engaging each end portion of each elastic sheet length to a corresponding one of the spaced rollers without penetrating the elastic sheet length; and  
 stretching each elastic sheet length during rotation of the rollers.  
 
     
     
         14 . The method recited in  claim 13  wherein the transferring step comprises engaging each of the plurality of elastic strips to a moving transfer surface having a lateral width less than a dimension between portions of the spaced rollers, and less than the dimension of a elastic strip positioned across the transfer surface.