JP7477429B2 - Mask manufacturing apparatus and mask manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mask manufacturing device and a mask manufacturing method made of nonwoven fabric that is used, for example, for home and medical (including dental and surgical) purposes, covers the mouth and nose of the wearer, prevents the inhalation of external dust, pollen, droplets, etc., and prevents the wearer from spreading droplets. In particular, the present invention relates to a mask manufacturing device and a mask manufacturing method that perform, in a continuous series of steps and equipment, the manufacture of the nonwoven fabric and the manufacture of the mask by processing the nonwoven fabric into a mask.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conventional mask made of multiple layers of nonwoven fabric is produced by unwinding and stacking nonwoven fabric sheets from multiple nonwoven fabric rolls in which sheet-like nonwoven fabric is wound into rolls, gathering and folding the sheets, crimping and cutting designated edges, and then attaching ear straps to the designated edges.
That is, in the conventional mask manufacturing, each nonwoven fabric used in the mask is a ready-made product manufactured separately in each nonwoven fabric manufacturing facility at a nonwoven fabric manufacturing factory, and the nonwoven fabric manufactured in each nonwoven fabric manufacturing facility is wound into a roll and transported in the form of a roll of nonwoven fabric raw material to a mask manufacturing (processing) factory where the mask manufacturing facility is located. Then, in the mask manufacturing (processing) facility, the nonwoven fabric is unwound from each nonwoven fabric raw material roll and stacked on a conveyer, and a mask is formed through a predetermined processing process. In other words, the conventional mask manufacturing (processing) device has a process of unwounding nonwoven fabric from a nonwoven fabric raw material roll and laminating it, but does not have a facility for manufacturing nonwoven fabric.

Publication No. 3-254762

Therefore, in conventional mask manufacturing, when considering the series of steps from making nonwoven fabric from resin raw materials to processing it to manufacture masks, the nonwoven fabric manufactured at the nonwoven fabric manufacturing factory is rolled up and transported to the mask manufacturing (processing) factory where the mask manufacturing (processing) equipment is located, resulting in a large loss in energy and cost, and low production efficiency. Furthermore, considering the manufacturing equipment for each nonwoven fabric from manufacturing the nonwoven fabric used for masks to assembling it into rolls of raw fabric, and the equipment for unrolling and stacking the nonwoven fabric from each roll of raw fabric and processing it as required to manufacture masks, a large amount of space is required. For this reason, even if new nonwoven fabric manufacturing lines and mask manufacturing (processing) lines were to be installed in response to a sudden increase in demand for masks, it would take time because they are large-scale.

In addition, conventional methods for manufacturing (processing) masks from raw nonwoven fabric rolls are premised on the strength, thickness, basis weight, and other properties of the nonwoven fabric that can be wound onto the raw fabric roll, and the properties of the nonwoven fabric that can be used for masks are limited to those that allow it to be wound onto a raw fabric roll, and there are also limitations to reducing the basis weight or thickness of the nonwoven fabric to improve texture or reduce pressure loss.

The present invention aims to provide a mask manufacturing device and a mask manufacturing method that can save energy and reduce costs from the manufacturing process of a mask from raw materials such as resin, and also allows for greater freedom in designing mask characteristics.

The mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 1 has a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming section that forms a web by a spunbond method, and then heat-welds the fibers of the spunbond web with a hot embossing roller to continuously form a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section that continuously forms and laminates a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer by a meltblowing method, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section that forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method, and heat-welds the fibers of the spunbond web with a hot embossing roller to continuously form and laminate a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, The long side end processing unit continuously welds the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated in this order, and then the cutting unit cuts the long nonwoven fabric laminate in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the short side end processing unit welds the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both side ends in the longitudinal direction of the individual cut nonwoven fabric laminates, and also welds a pair of ear hook members.

The spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming section converts thermoplastic resin into continuous long fibers (filaments) by melt spinning using the spunbond method, continuously collects the continuous long fibers on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor to form a web, and uses a hot embossing roller to weld and bond the fibers of the web together to continuously form a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer made of continuous long fibers that spread out over a surface, i.e., in a long strip (band).

The melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section spins thermoplastic resin from a die having multiple nozzles by melt-blowing, and draws and thins the resin by blowing a high-temperature air current at high speed during spinning. The drawn and thinned ultra-fine resin fibers are collected and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer placed on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor, thereby forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer made of long fibers of finite length that spread out in a planar shape continuously, i.e., in a long strip (band-like) shape, on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer. The air current (gas) blown during blow spinning is usually air, but it is also possible to use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

Furthermore, the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section converts a thermoplastic resin into continuous long fibers (filaments) by melt spinning using a spunbonding method, and continuously collects the continuous long fibers on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven layer placed on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor to form a web, and then uses a heat embossing roller to weld and bond the fibers of the web together to continuously form and laminate a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer made of continuous long fibers that spread out over a surface, i.e., in a long strip (band) shape, on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer.

The long side end processing unit continuously welds all of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are stacked in this order.
The above welding may be any method such as high-frequency welding, heat welding, ultrasonic welding, etc., as long as it can firmly join all of the layers of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer together.

The cutting section cuts the long nonwoven fabric laminate with the specified ends welded in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, i.e., cuts the length of the long nonwoven fabric laminate into individual, approximately rectangular nonwoven fabric laminates. For example, a rotary cutter or a laser cutter can be used as the cutting means.

The short side end processing section welds all layers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both longitudinal ends of the individual nonwoven fabric laminates that have been cut into a substantially rectangular shape, and also places and welds a pair of ear hook members there. The welding at this time may be high-frequency welding, heat welding, ultrasonic welding, or the like.

The pair of ear-hook members are to be hung around the ears of the user, and may be, for example, a string or nonwoven fabric made of elastic polyurethane (including spandex, etc.), polyester, latex (natural rubber), etc. When made of string, both ends in the length direction cut to a predetermined length are welded to both ends in the vertical direction (width direction perpendicular to the length direction) of the nonwoven fabric laminate. When made of nonwoven fabric, the substantially linear base end side of the nonwoven fabric cut into a predetermined ring shape is welded to the width of each end in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate. The welds of the pair of ear-hook members may be on the surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer or on the surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer.
In addition, the welding of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, and the welding of the pair of ear hook members may be performed at both longitudinal end portions of the nonwoven fabric laminate, together with the welding of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, or the nonwoven fabric layers may be welded first and then the pair of ear hook members may be welded thereto.

The mask manufacturing apparatus of the invention of claim 1 further has a shaping section which cuts both ends of the laminate of the first spunbond nonwoven layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to their longitudinal direction before the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is laminated.
The shaping section is a section in which the ends of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer are cut at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the laminate, thereby aligning the width dimensions of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

The mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 2 further includes a nose wire arrangement section that arranges a nose wire on one end side of the top surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer that is continuously formed in a long shape, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a folding section that folds back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate and stores the nose wire within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side, and seals the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate by welding the folded back ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate with the long side end processing section.

The nose wire arrangement portion is configured such that nose wires cut to a predetermined length are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric layer on one end side of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric layer.
The nose wire (also called a nose fitter) is used to fit the nonwoven fabric laminate of the mask to the wearer's nose, and is a deformable, elongated, plate-like or rod-like wire made of a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or a metal such as aluminum.

The folded-back portion is formed by folding back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate, and accommodating the nose wire within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side.
Then, in the long side end processing section, the end of the portion folded back by the fold-back section is welded, and by this welding, the nose wire is sealed within the folded width at the end on the nose wire arrangement side.

The mask manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a pleat forming section for forming pleats in the long nonwoven fabric laminate before cutting.
The pleat forming section forms pleats consisting of a plurality of folds in the long nonwoven fabric laminate by making creases extending in the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate and folding the laminate along the creases.

The method for manufacturing a mask according to the invention of claim 4 includes a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming step, in which a web is formed by a spunbond method, and then the fibers of the spunbond web are thermally welded with a hot embossing roller to continuously form a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape; a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step, in which a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is continuously formed and laminated in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer by a meltblowing method; and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step, in which a web is formed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method, and the fibers of the spunbond web are thermally welded with a hot embossing roller to continuously form and laminate a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer. In a long side end processing step, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are continuously welded at both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are stacked in this order, and in a cutting step, the long nonwoven fabric laminate is cut in a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, in a short side end processing step, all layers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are welded at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of each of the cut individual nonwoven fabric laminates, and a pair of ear hook members are also welded.

The spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming process is a process in which a thermoplastic resin is turned into continuous long fibers (filaments) by melt spinning using the spunbond method, the continuous long fibers are continuously collected on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor to form a web, and the fibers of the web are fused and bonded using a hot embossing roller to continuously form a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer made of continuous long fibers that spread out over a surface, i.e., in a long strip (band).

The melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating process involves spinning a thermoplastic resin from a die with multiple nozzles by the melt-blowing method, drawing and thinning the resin by blowing a high-temperature air current at high speed during spinning, and collecting and laminating the drawn and thinned ultra-fine resin fibers on the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer placed on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor, thereby continuously forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer made of long fibers of finite length that spread out over a surface on the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, i.e., in a long strip (band). The air current (gas) blown during blow spinning is usually air, but it is also possible to use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

The spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating process is a process in which a thermoplastic resin is turned into continuous long fibers (filaments) by melt spinning using a spunbonding method, the continuous long fibers are continuously collected on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven layer placed on a moving capture surface such as a belt conveyor to form a web, and a hot embossing roller is used to weld and bond the fibers of the web to form a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer made of continuous long fibers that spread out over a surface, that is, in a continuous, long (strip) shape, on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer.

The long side end processing step is a step of continuously welding all layers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated in this order.
The above welding may be any method such as high-frequency welding, heat welding, ultrasonic welding, etc., as long as it can firmly join all of the layers of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer together.

The cutting process is a process of cutting the long nonwoven fabric laminate, which has been welded at a predetermined end, in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction. For example, a rotary cutter or a laser cutter can be used as the cutting means.

The short side end processing step is a step of welding all layers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both side ends perpendicular to the length direction of the individual nonwoven fabric laminates that have been cut into a substantially rectangular shape, and also of placing and welding a pair of ear hook members. The welding at this time may be any of high frequency welding, heat welding, ultrasonic welding, etc.

The pair of ear-hook members are to be hung around the ears of the user, and may be, for example, a string or nonwoven fabric made of elastic polyurethane (including spandex, etc.), polyester, latex (natural rubber), etc. When made of string, both ends in the length direction cut to a predetermined length are welded to both ends in the vertical direction (width direction perpendicular to the length direction) of the nonwoven fabric laminate. When made of nonwoven fabric, the substantially linear base end side of the nonwoven fabric cut into a predetermined ring shape is welded to the width of each end in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate. The welds of the pair of ear-hook members may be on the surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer or on the surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer.
Here, the welding of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, and the welding of the pair of ear hook members may be performed by welding the pair of ear hook members together with the welding of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both side ends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate, or the nonwoven fabric layers may be welded first and then the pair of ear hook members may be welded thereto.

The mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 4 further includes a shaping step of cutting both ends of the laminate of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step and the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step.
The shaping process is a process of aligning the width dimensions of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the laminate of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by cutting both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the laminate.

The mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 5 further includes a nose wire arrangement step of arranging a nose wire on one end side of the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer formed continuously in a long shape, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a folding step of folding back both end portions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate to contain the nose wire within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side, and the long side end processing step of welding the folded back end portions of the long nonwoven fabric laminate to seal the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate.

The nose wire arrangement process is a process of arranging nose wires cut to a predetermined length at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric layers on one end side of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.
The nose wire (also called a nose fitter) is used to fit the nonwoven fabric laminate of the mask to the wearer's nose, and is a deformable, elongated, plate-like or rod-like wire made of a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or a metal such as aluminum.

The folding process is a process of folding back both ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, so that the nose wire is contained within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side.
In the long side end processing process, the end of the portion folded back in the folding process is welded, and the welding seals the nose wire within the folded width at the end on the nose wire arrangement side.

The mask manufacturing method according to the invention of claim 6 further comprises a pleat forming step of forming pleats in the long nonwoven fabric laminate between the long side end processing step and the cutting step.
The pleat forming step is a step of forming pleats consisting of a plurality of folds by making creases in the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate and folding the laminate along the creases.

According to the mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 1, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming section forms a web by a spunbond method and continuously forms a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape by heat embossing, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer by a meltblown method and laminates it, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method and continuously forms a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by heat embossing, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method and continuously forms a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by heat embossing, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method and continuously forms a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by heat embossing, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method and continuously forms a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a ... heat embossing, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section forms a web on the meltblown nonwoven A long side end processing section welds all layers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in the longitudinal direction, a cutting section cuts the welded long nonwoven fabric laminate at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a short side end processing section welds the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the individual nonwoven fabric laminate cut into a substantially rectangular shape, and also welds a pair of ear hanging members. This produces a mask having a substantially rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are stacked, and a pair of ear hanging members attached to both left and right ends in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate.

According to the mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 1, first, a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is formed, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is directly formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is directly formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer. The nonwoven fabric layer is continuously formed in a long shape by integrating the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layer, and the long side end of the nonwoven fabric laminate is welded, cut to a predetermined length, and the short side end and ear hook members are welded to produce a mask. That is, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer. The nonwoven fabric production process and lamination process are integrated, and the nonwoven fabric production and the mask production by processing the nonwoven fabric are performed in a series of continuous processes and equipment without winding up the nonwoven fabric.

Therefore, since the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers are integrated, it is possible to reduce the energy consumption and the cost of manufacturing the nonwoven fabrics and processing them to manufacture the mask, compared to the conventional mask manufacturing method in which each nonwoven fabric is manufactured separately and wound into a roll, and the nonwoven fabric wound on the original roll is unrolled and laminated. In addition, by directly forming a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and directly forming a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated, so it is possible to construct a mask with a nonwoven fabric layer that is low in basis weight and thin and not suitable for winding. This allows for a high degree of freedom in designing the mask characteristics.

According to the mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 1 , since the first spunbond nonwoven layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer before lamination of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer have a shaping section that cuts both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first spunbond nonwoven layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, the widths of the first spunbond nonwoven layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in the perpendicular direction to the longitudinal direction can be made uniform. Therefore, since it is not necessary to control the width dimensions of the nonwoven fabric layers by precise and detailed design of the arrangement interval, aperture, etc. of the nozzles forming the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer , it is easy to design the spinning .

According to the mask manufacturing device of the invention of claim 2, the upper surface of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer formed continuously in a long shape has a nose wire arrangement section that arranges a nose wire on one end side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a fold-back section that folds back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate by a predetermined width and accommodates the nose wire within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side, and the folded back ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate are welded by the long side end processing section to seal the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate, thereby obtaining a mask that has an improved fit around the wearer's nose due to the nose wire in addition to the effect of claim 1.

According to the mask manufacturing apparatus of the invention of claim 3 , pleats are formed in the long nonwoven fabric laminate before cutting by the pleat forming section, so that in addition to the effects described in claim 1 or claim 2 , a mask is obtained that is flat and does not take up space when stored, but when worn, the pleats unfold to become three-dimensional, forming a space between the wearer's face and the mask.

According to the mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 4 , in the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming step, a web is formed by a spunbond method, and a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is continuously formed in a long shape by thermal embossing; in the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is continuously formed in a long shape by a meltblown method on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer and laminated; in the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step, a web is formed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is continuously formed in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by thermal embossing; and in the long side end welding step, a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated. In a cutting process, the welded long nonwoven fabric laminate is cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, and in a short side end processing process, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are welded at both longitudinal ends of each of the individual nonwoven fabric laminates cut into a substantially rectangular shape in a short side end processing process, and a pair of ear hanging members are welded to obtain a mask having a substantially rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are stacked, and a pair of ear hanging members attached to both longitudinal left and right ends of the nonwoven fabric laminate.

According to the method for manufacturing a mask according to the invention of claim 4 , first, a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is formed, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is directly formed and laminated thereon, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is directly formed and laminated thereon. The mask is manufactured by welding the long side end of the nonwoven fabric laminate formed continuously in a long shape by integrating the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layer, cutting it to a predetermined length, and welding the short side end and the ear hook member. That is, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer is formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is formed and laminated thereon. The nonwoven fabric production process and the lamination process are integrated, and the nonwoven fabric production and the mask production by processing the nonwoven fabric are performed in a series of continuous processes and equipment without winding the nonwoven fabric.

Therefore, since the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers are integrated, it is possible to reduce energy consumption and costs from the production of nonwoven fabrics to processing and manufacturing masks, compared to conventional mask manufacturing in which each nonwoven fabric is produced separately and wound into a roll, and the nonwoven fabric wound on the original roll is unrolled and laminated. In addition, by directly forming a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and directly forming a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated, so it is possible to construct a mask with a nonwoven fabric layer that is low in basis weight and thin and not suitable for winding. This allows for a high degree of freedom in designing the characteristics of the mask.

According to the mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 4 , between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step and the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step, a shaping step is provided in which both ends of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer thereon are cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, so that the width dimensions of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction can be made uniform. Therefore, since there is no need to control the width of the nonwoven fabric layers by precise and detailed design such as the arrangement interval and aperture of the nozzles forming the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer , the design of spinning is made easier.

According to the mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 5 , the method includes a nose wire arrangement step of arranging a nose wire on one end side of the upper surface of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, which is continuously formed in a long shape, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a folding step of folding back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate by a predetermined width and storing the nose wire within the folded back width on the nose wire arrangement side, and the folded back ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate are welded in the long side end processing step to seal the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate, thereby obtaining a mask in which the nose wire improves the fit around the wearer's nose in addition to the effect of claim 4 .

According to the mask manufacturing method of the invention of claim 6 , in the pleat forming process, pleats are formed in the long nonwoven fabric laminate before cutting. Therefore, in addition to the effects described in claim 4 or claim 5 , a mask is obtained that is flat and does not take up space when stored, but when worn, the pleats unfold to become three-dimensional, forming a space between the wearer's face and the mask.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of a mask manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process for manufacturing a mask according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a mask obtained by the mask manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the mask shown in FIG. 3 with the pleats spread out. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the configuration of the mask shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the embodiments, the same symbols and the same reference characters shown in the drawings indicate parts having the same or corresponding functions, and therefore, redundant explanations thereof will be omitted here.

First, a mask manufacturing apparatus 1 and a manufacturing method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference mainly to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 that forms a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating unit 20 that forms and laminates a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating unit 50 that forms and laminates a second spunbond nonwoven layer 101c on the meltblown nonwoven layer 101b, a long side end processing unit 60 that folds back and welds both side ends perpendicular to the conveying direction of the laminate 101P of the nonwoven fabrics, a cutting unit 80 that cuts into individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101, and a short side end processing unit 90 that welds both side ends in the length direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 together with a pair of ear hook members 105.

That is, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 2, in this embodiment, first, a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is formed in a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming process (step S10), then, in a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating process (step S20), a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and then, in a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating process (step S50), the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a. A second spunbond nonwoven layer 101c is formed and laminated on top, and in the long side end processing step (step S60), both side ends of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P perpendicular to the conveying direction are folded back and welded, and then in the cutting step (step S80), it is cut into individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101, and in the short side end processing step (step S90), both side end portions in the length direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 are welded together with a pair of ear hook members 105 to produce the mask 100.

In the mask manufacturing device 1 of this embodiment, the spunbond nonwoven layer forming section 10 arranged on the most upstream side forms the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a by the spunbonding method, and is composed of a spunbond web forming section 11 that forms a spunbond web by spinning and stretching molten resin and accumulating it on the net conveyor NC1, and a thermal embossing section 12 that partially welds the fibers of the spunbond web formed on the net conveyor NC1 by thermal embossing.

The spunbond web forming section 11 has, for example, a hopper _H1 to which rice-grain-shaped resin pellets having a diameter of about 3 to 5 mm are supplied, an extruder _S1 which melts and extrudes the raw material resin pellets supplied to the hopper _H1 , a nozzle section _N1 which sprays the molten resin extruded from the extruder _S1 , and an ejector _E1 which collects and cools the resin continuously sprayed from the nozzle section _N1 as continuous long fiber spinning and continuously sprays it toward a net conveyor (collector) _NC1 . The spinning conditions for forming the spunbond web are appropriately set depending on the desired properties of the mask 1, etc.
The hot embossing section 12 also has a pair of hot embossing rollers R1 having the same diameter, the pair being made up of a hot embossing projection roller on which projections of a predetermined shape are arranged in a predetermined pattern, and a hot smooth roller having a _specific curvature surface.

The raw material for the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a to be supplied to the hopper _H1 may be, for example, a polyolefin-based resin such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or poly-1-butene; a polyester-based resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); a polyamide-based resin; nylon, vinylon, aramid, acrylic, or polystyrene; or other thermoplastic resin. A single resin may be used, or a mixture of multiple types may be used. In particular, polyolefin-based resins are preferred, and polypropylene is suitable for the mask 100 because it is lightweight, has good processability, and forms soft long fibers.

Thus, in the spunbond web forming section 11, the raw material resin pellets supplied to the hopper _H1 are extruded in a molten state from the extruder _S1 , spun into fibers by the nozzle section _N1 , and further stretched by the ejector _E1 . The fibers are then accumulated in a web-like form on the net conveyor _NC1 to form a spunbond web (also called fleece).
At this time, the movement of the net belt of the net conveyor NC ₁ causes the spunbond web to be continuously formed into a long shape (strip shape) on the net conveyor NC _1. The spunbond web transported by the net conveyor NC ₁ passes between a pair of thermal embossing rollers R ₁ of the thermal embossing processing section 12, that is, a thermal embossing convex roller and a thermal smoothing roller, whereby the resin fibers are partially thermally fused together by embossing with the thermal embossing rollers R ₁ , thereby giving the web unevenness.

Thus, in the spunbond nonwoven layer forming section 10, a web is formed by the spunbond method in the spunbond web forming section 11, and in the thermal embossing section 12, the spunbond web is thermally embossed by the thermal embossing roller _R1 to thermally bond the resin fibers together, thereby forming a sheet-like spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

The spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a formed by the spunbonding method, that is, by stretching and spreading the spun resin filaments and accumulating them on the net conveyor NC ₁ , is made of continuous long fibers (filaments). The average fiber diameter of the continuous long fibers is, for example, about 10 to 30 μm, and the basis weight of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is preferably 5 to 50 g/ ^m2 , more preferably 8 to 50 g/ ^m2 .
In particular, in the case of thermal fusion of resin fibers using the thermal embossing roller _R1 , the continuous fibers made of synthetic resin have self-fusion bonding points (thermal fusion points), i.e., embosses, which bond the continuous fibers together, suppressing longitudinal and lateral elongation and increasing strength and shape stability, while apart from the thermal fusion parts, the fibers are accumulated in a state where they can move freely between each other, and since no adhesive is used, a soft texture can be ensured overall.

In the spunbond web forming section 11, if necessary, a suction section that sucks air into the inside by a pressure reducing means may be provided below the net conveyor _NC1 below the ejector _E1 , and an air pump may be used to suck air downward from the upper surface of the net conveyor _NC1 , making it easier for the spun continuous resin fibers to gather on the upper surface of the net conveyor _NC1 .
In addition, when implementing the present invention, the pair of heat rollers _R1 can form a protrusion having a height of 1/2 for each roller. In this case, however, it is necessary to make the rotation timing the same.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, first, continuous long fibers obtained by melting and spinning raw synthetic resin in the spunbond web forming section 11 of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 are directly accumulated on the net conveyor _NC1 to form a spunbond web, and then the spunbond web is thermally embossed by the thermal embossing roller _R1 of the thermal embossing section 12 to bond and adhere the fibers of the spunbond web to each other, thereby forming a thermally embossed sheet-like first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

That is, in this embodiment, first, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer formation process (step _S10) is carried out, which includes a spunbond web formation process in which long fibers obtained by melting and spinning raw material resin chips are deposited on a net conveyor NC1 to form a spunbond web, and a thermal embossing process in which the spunbond web is thermally embossed with a thermal embossing roller _R1 to bond and adhere the fibers of the spunbond web to each other, thereby obtaining a thermally embossed sheet-like first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

In addition, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is provided with a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 20 downstream of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10.
The melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating unit 20 uses a melt-blowing method, that is, converts the extruded molten resin into ultrafine fibers using high-speed hot air and blows the fibers onto the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on the surface of a rotating collector roll _C2 , thereby forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b directly on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

The melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 20 includes a hopper _H2 to which rice-grain-shaped resin pellets having a diameter of about 3 to 5 mm are supplied, an extruder _S2 that melts and extrudes the raw resin pellets supplied to the hopper _H2 , a metering pump P that continuously measures and sends out the molten resin extruded from the extruder _S2 , a hot air heater h that heats air and an air path L that sends heated compressed air, and a die D having a nozzle that spins the molten resin sent out from the metering pump P and simultaneously blows hot air from the air path L at high speed to spun the resin into ultrafine fiber-like yarns and blows them toward a rotating collector roll _C2 .

The raw material of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b supplied to the hopper _H2 is, for example, a polyolefin-based material such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or poly-1-butene; a polyester-based material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); a polyamide-based material, a polystyrene-based material, nylon, vinylon, aramid, or acrylic; or a thermoplastic resin. A single resin may be used, or a mixture of multiple types of resin may be used. In particular, polyolefin-based materials are preferred, and polypropylene is suitable for the mask 100 because it is lightweight, has good processability, and forms soft long fibers.

Preferably, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b uses the same resin as the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101b described below. This improves the weldability. That is, when welding resins with significantly different melting temperatures (melting points), if the temperature is raised to the melting temperature of the resin with the higher melting temperature, the resin with the lower melting temperature may become brittle due to overheating, while at a low temperature, the ends of all layers may not be sufficiently integrated by welding and may become easily peeled off. If all layers are made of the same resin, the ends of all layers can be sufficiently integrated by welding and are less likely to tear or peel off. However, when implementing the present invention, the resins of each layer may be different.

The spinning conditions for forming the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b are appropriately set according to the desired characteristics of the mask 1, and the diameter of the nozzle mouthpiece of the die D is set, for example, within the range of 0.05 mm to 0.4 mm, the spacing between the multiple small holes is set, for example, within the range of 0.01 to 6 mm, the discharge rate of a single hole is set, for example, within the range of 0.2 g/min to 1 g/min, the temperature of the air blown during spinning is set, for example, within the range of 200 to 500° C., and the air pressure is set, for example, within the range of 0.1 to 6 kgf/cm ² .

Therefore, in the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section 20, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is placed on the rotating collector roll _C2 , and the raw material pellet-like resin supplied to the hopper _H2 is extruded in a molten state from the extruder _S2 into the die D using the metering pump P, spun out from the nozzle of the die D, and then turned into ultrafine fibers by high-temperature and high-speed hot air from the air path L heated by the heater h, and blown toward the rotating collector roll _C2 . As a result, ultrafine fibers are accumulated in a web-like form on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on the rotating collector roll _C2 to form and laminate the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b. At this time, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is continuously formed and laminated in a long shape on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a by the rotational movement of the rotating collector roll _C2 . In particular, in the melt-blowing method in which spun resin fibers are blown toward a rotating collector roll _C2 by a high-velocity air current, the long fibers (filaments) accumulate on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on the rotating collector roll _C2 and become entangled with each other. In addition, some of the fibers fuse together and self-adhere, so that the fibers bond and adhere to each other without the need for thermal embossing, and a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is formed and laminated on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

The melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed by such a melt-blowing method, i.e., by blowing the spun resin fibers with a high-temperature, high-velocity air current and accumulating them on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on a rotating collector roll _C2 , is made of long fibers (filaments) of finite length, and the average fiber diameter of the ultrafine fibers is, for example, about 0.5 to 10 μm. The basis weight of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is preferably 5 to 50 g/ ^m2 , more preferably 8 to 50 g/ ^m2 .

At this time, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, in order to prevent the residual heat of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a thermally embossed in the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 from welding and fusing the continuous fibers of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the ultrafine fibers of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated thereon by accumulating ultrafine fibers, and to prevent the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b from being inseparably joined together, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit ₂₀ is disposed with a sufficient gap between it and the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10, and a predetermined distance is set between the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 20.

In the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section 20, if necessary, a suction section (suction section) that sucks air into the inside by a pressure reducing means may be provided inside the rotating collector roll _C2 , and an air pump may be used to suck air from the face side of the rotating collector roll _C2 toward the center, making it easier to collect the spun and ultra-thin fibers on the rotating collector roll _C2 .
In the above description, the ultrafine fibers are sprayed onto the drum-shaped rotating collector roll _C2 , but in carrying out the present invention, the ultrafine fibers may be collected on a horizontal net conveyor, as in the formation of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c. That is, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a may be placed on a horizontal net conveyor, and the ultrafine fibers may be sprayed onto the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a on the belt.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the raw synthetic resin is melted and spun in the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit ₂₀ , and then high-temperature hot air is blown onto it at high speed to turn it into ultrafine fibers, which are then accumulated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on the surface of the rotating collector roll C2, thereby forming and laminating a sheet-like melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

That is, in this embodiment, a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step (step _S20) is carried out in which molten resin is extruded, ultra-thinned by high-speed hot air, and then sprayed onto the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a placed on the surface of a rotating collector roll C2, thereby forming and laminating a sheet-like melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

Here, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a shaping section 30 having a pair of rollers _R3 and a cutting machine 31 that cuts predetermined ends of the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is disposed downstream of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section 20.

The shaping section 30 has a pair of rollers _R3 of the same predetermined diameter, and passes the two-layer laminate of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated thereon between the pair of rollers _R3 to smooth the two-layer laminate and make the thickness uniform.
Furthermore, the shaping section 30 has a cutter 31 equipped with a cutting blade such as a roller cutter downstream of the pair of rollers _R3 , and cuts both side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (transport direction) of the two-layer laminate placed on a predetermined transport table to a predetermined width along the longitudinal direction by the cutter 31. The strip-shaped cut pieces at this time are wound up in a roll by a roll-shaped recovery machine (not shown) and recovered, and may be separated into a melt-blown nonwoven fabric and a spunbonded nonwoven fabric, melted, and reused as raw material.

In the above-mentioned melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section 20, ultra-thin fibers are blown onto the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a with high-speed hot air to form and laminate the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b. Depending on the design of the nozzle of the die D and the conditions of the high-temperature and high-speed air flow, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b may spread in the width direction and protrude more easily than the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a. Therefore, after smoothing the two-layer laminate by the shaping section 30, both side ends perpendicular to the length direction (transport direction) of the two-layer laminate are cut by a cutter 31 to a predetermined width, so that the widths of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated thereon are made uniform, improving the appearance of the finished product.

In particular, even if the widths of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 10b formed and laminated thereon in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are not made the same by precise and detailed design control of the spinning conditions in the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer forming section 10 and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section 20, such as the nozzle arrangement interval and nozzle diameter, the two-layer laminate is smoothed by providing such a shaping section 30, and then both side ends in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (transport direction) of the two-layer laminate are cut to a predetermined width by a cutter 31, so that the widths of the two layers can be made the same and the appearance can be improved, thereby facilitating the design of spinning in the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer forming section 10 and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section 20.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the two-layer laminate of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 102b formed thereon is smoothed by roller processing using a pair of rollers _R3 in the shaping section 30, and further, both ends of the two-layer laminate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are cut to a predetermined width by the cutting machine 31, thereby shaping the laminate to a predetermined constant width.

That is, in this embodiment, after the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step (step S20), a shaping step (step S30) is carried out, which includes a roller processing step in which the two-layer nonwoven fabric laminate of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is smoothed by a pair of rollers _R3 , and a cutting step in which both longitudinal side end portions of the two-layer laminate are cut to a predetermined width by a cutting machine 31, thereby shaping both layers, the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated thereon, to a predetermined constant width.

Furthermore, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a nose wire placement section 40 is provided downstream of the shaping section 30, which places a nose wire 104 cut to a predetermined length on the upper surface of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.
In this embodiment, nose wire 104 is a long, flat plate made of a plastically deformable polyolefin resin such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or poly-1-butene, or made of a metal.

In the nose wire placement section 40, a long nose wire 104 is unwound from a wire roll 41 on which the nose wire 104 is wound in a roll shape, and the unwound long nose wire 104 is cut to a predetermined length, for example, about 8 cm to 14 cm, by a wire cutter in the wire cutting and placement section 41. The cut nose wire 104 of a predetermined length is then placed at a predetermined interval on one end side of the upper surface of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a in a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal direction (transport direction). That is, the length direction of the nose wire 104 and the longitudinal direction of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b are aligned, and the nose wire 104 is placed at a predetermined interval on one end side of the upper surface of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b. The position of the nose wire 104 at this time is a predetermined position where the nose wire 104 fits within the width of the folded end when the end is folded back a predetermined width at the folding portion 61 described below.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the nose wire placement unit 40 aligns the length direction of the nose wire 104 cut to a predetermined length with the longitudinal direction of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and places the nose wire 104 at a predetermined interval on one end side of the upper surface of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (transport direction).

In other words, in this embodiment, after the shaping process (step S30), a nose wire placement process (step S40) is carried out in which the nose wire 104 is placed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the nose wire 104 cut to a predetermined length is formed on the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and placed at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the laminated meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, at one end side perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

In the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a spunbond nonwoven layer forming and laminating unit 50 for forming and laminating a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is disposed downstream of the nose wire placement unit 40.
This spunbond nonwoven layer forming and laminating unit 50 forms and laminates a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c by a spunbonding method directly on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b which has been formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and like the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 described above, is composed of a spunbond web forming and laminating unit 51 which forms a spunbond web by spinning, stretching, and accumulating molten resin, and a thermal embossing unit 52 which partially welds the spunbond web by thermal embossing.

Like spunbond web forming section 11, spunbond web forming/laminating section 51 has a hopper _H1 to which rice-grain-shaped resin pellets having a diameter of about 3 to 5 mm are supplied, an extruder _S5 which melts and extrudes the raw material pellets supplied to hopper _H1 , a nozzle section _N5 which sprays the molten resin extruded from extruder _S5 , and an ejector _E5 which collects the resin continuously sprayed from nozzle section _N5 as continuous long fiber spun yarns, cools it, and continuously sprays it toward a net conveyor (collector) _NC5 .
In addition, similar to the thermal embossing unit 12, the thermal embossing unit 52 has a pair of heat rollers R5 of the same predetermined diameter, which are a heat embossing convex roller on which convex portions of a predetermined shape are arranged in a predetermined pattern _, and a heat smoothing roller having a specific curvature surface.

The raw material for the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is, for example, a polyolefin such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), or poly-1-butene; a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); or a thermoplastic resin such as polyamide, nylon, vinylon, aramid, acrylic, or polystyrene. A single resin may be used, or multiple types may be mixed. Polyolefins are preferred, and polypropylene is particularly suitable for the mask 100 because it is lightweight, easy to process, and forms soft long fibers.

In particular, in this embodiment, spunbond web forming unit 11 and spunbond web forming/laminating unit 51 share a hopper _H1 to which raw material is supplied, and the raw material for first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101b is the same as the raw material for second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. This allows the device to be made more compact, and by using the same raw material for first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101b and second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, the interlayer adhesion of nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is improved, making it less likely to tear or peel off.
However, when implementing the present invention, it is also possible to use different raw material resins by providing separate hoppers for the spunbond web forming unit 11 and the spunbond web forming/laminating unit 51. The spinning conditions for forming the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are appropriately set according to the desired properties of the mask 100. The spinning conditions may be the same as or different from those for forming the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

Therefore, in the spunbond web forming section 51, a two-layer laminate of a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is placed on the net conveyor _NC5 , and the raw material resin pellets supplied to the hopper _H1 are extruded in a molten state from the extruder _S5 , spun in the nozzle section _N5 , and further stretched by the ejector _E5 . The resulting material is accumulated in a web form on the upper surface of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b of the laminate placed on the net conveyor _NC5 , thereby forming and laminating a spunbond web (also called fleece) directly on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b.
At this time, the spunbond web is continuously formed and laminated in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b by the movement of the net belt of the net conveyor NC _5. Then, the laminate of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the spunbond web transported by the net conveyor NC ₅ passes between a pair of heat embossing rollers R ₅ of the heat embossing processing section 52, that is, a heat embossing convex roller and a heat smoothing roller, whereby the resin fibers of the spunbond web are partially heat-fused together by embossing with the heat embossing rollers R ₅ , thereby imparting unevenness to the web.

In this embossing process using the heated roller _R5 , the pressure and temperature are set such that even if the resin fibers of the spunbond web are welded by the embossing of the convex parts, they will not be welded to the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and bonded together as a single unit.

In this manner, in spunbond nonwoven layer forming and laminating section 50, spunbond web forming and laminating section 51 forms and laminates a spunbond web directly on meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and further, the spunbond web is thermally bonded by thermal embossing using thermal embossing roller _R5 of thermal embossing section 51, thereby forming a sheet-like second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed and laminated on first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

The second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c formed by such a spunbonding method, that is, by stretching and spreading the spun resin filaments and accumulating them on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, is also made of continuous long fibers (filaments) like the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a. The diameter of the continuous fibers is, for example, 10 to 30 μm, and the basis weight of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is preferably 5 to 50 g/m ² , more preferably 8 to 50 g/m ² . The basis weight may be the same as or different from that of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101.
In particular, in the case of thermal fusion of resin fibers using the thermal embossing roller _R5 , the continuous fibers made of synthetic resin have self-fusion bonding points (thermal fusion points), i.e., embosses, which bond the continuous fibers together, suppressing longitudinal and lateral elongation and increasing strength and shape stability, while apart from the thermal fusion parts, the fibers are accumulated in a state where they can move freely between each other, and since no adhesive is used, a soft texture can be ensured overall.

In the spunbond web forming and laminating section 51, if necessary, a suction section that sucks air into the inside by a pressure reducing means may be provided below the net conveyor _NC5 below the ejector _E5 , and an air pump may be used to suck air from the upper surface of the net conveyor _NC5 downward, making it easier for the spun continuous resin fibers to gather on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, continuous long fibers obtained by melting and spinning the raw synthetic resin in the spunbond web formation and lamination unit 51 of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer formation and lamination unit 50 are accumulated directly on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b placed on the net conveyor _NC5 to form a spunbond web, and then the fibers of the spunbond web are bonded and adhered together by thermal embossing using the thermal embossing roller _R5 of the thermal embossing unit 52 to form and laminate a thermally embossed sheet-like second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b.

That is, in this embodiment, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step (step S50) is carried out, which includes a spunbond web forming and laminating step in which long fibers obtained by melting and spinning raw material resin chips are deposited on first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b placed on net conveyor _NC5 to form and laminate a spunbond web, and a thermal embossing step in which the spunbond web is thermally embossed with thermal embossing roller _R5 to bond and adhere the fibers of the spunbond web to each other, thereby forming and laminating a thermally embossed sheet-like second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, to obtain a three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101P in which first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated in this order. At this time, the three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, in which the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated in this order, is not welded together and laminated into an integrated layer (composite integrated layer), but even if there is partial thermal bonding, the layers are not fused and are in a laminated state that can be separated freely.

In the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a long side end processing unit 60 is disposed downstream of the spunbond nonwoven fabric forming and laminating unit 50, which welds both side ends of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.
The long side end processing unit 60 of this embodiment has a folding unit 61 that folds back both end portions in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (conveyance direction) of the three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is formed by stacking the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c in that order, and a long side end welding unit 62 that uses the folded back end portions (corresponding to the long side end portions 106a shown in Figure 3) to thermally press-bond both end portions (long side end portions 106a) on both sides in the direction (width direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P.

At the folded-back portion 61, both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are folded back, for example, by a width of about 5 mm to 18 mm to reinforce the ends. At this time, the end of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P on the side where the nose wire 104 is arranged is folded back to include the width of the nose wire 104, and the nose wire 104 is contained within the folded width. The folded width of the ends may be the same at both opposing ends, or the folded width may be wider at the end on the side where the nose wire 104 is arranged.

In the long side end welded portion 62, the folded-back portions of both side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are welded by ultrasonic waves, high frequency waves, or heat (hot air, hot plate, etc.). Here, the both side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P welded by the long side end welded portion 62 correspond to the long side ends 106a, 106b of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 in the substantially rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the finished mask 100 shown in Fig. 3. That is, the welded portion corresponds to the welded lines 106 of the long side ends 106a, 106b of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 in the substantially rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the finished mask 100 shown in Fig. 3. For example, by welding the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P in a perforated (dot-like) manner along the longitudinal direction thereof with an ultrasonic welding machine, perforated (dot-like) welding lines 106 are formed at the long side ends 106a and 106b of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, as shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the perforated (dot-like) welding lines 106 along the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are usually formed in multiple rows at a predetermined interval. For example, at the folded end 106a on the side where the nose wire 104 is arranged, the nose wire 104 is welded in multiple rows in a perforated manner so as to sandwich both sides in the width direction thereof so that the nose wire 104 does not shift out of position. As a result, the nose wire 104 sandwiched between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c is fixed in the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P. Depending on the length of nose wire 104, both sides of nose wire 104 in the longitudinal direction may also be partially welded to prevent displacement in the longitudinal direction.
However, in this embodiment, since the nose wire 104 is disposed on the upper surface of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and then the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is formed, the nose wire 104 can be partially heat-bonded to the nonwoven fabric layers between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c by the residual heat of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, the formation of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and the heat of the thermal embossing process during lamination, making it difficult for the nose wire 104 to shift out of position. Therefore, even if the nose wire 104 is not welded in a multiple row perforation shape so as to sandwich both sides in the width direction and length direction, the nose wire 104 is difficult to shift out of position, which eliminates the discomfort caused by the nose wire 104 being shifted out of position and improves the fit to the wearer's nose.

Therefore, in the long side end processing section 60, the folding back section 61 folds back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, and in particular, the end on the nose wire 104 arrangement side is folded back to include the width of the nose wire 104, and further, the long side end welding section 62 welds both folded back ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P. At this time, the nose wire 104 is sealed between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c by welding the folded back ends including the width direction of the nose wire 104. Note that these folding back and welding are performed continuously in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the folding back section 61 of the long side end processing section 60 folds back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is made up of three layers, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and then the long side end welding section 62 welds each of the folded back both end portions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P. At this time, in this embodiment, the end portion on the nose wire 104 arrangement side is folded back to include the width of the nose wire 104, and the folded back end portion is welded to seal the nose wire 104 between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c.

That is, in this embodiment, the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is made up of three layers, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, has both ends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof folded back, and the long side end welding process (step S60) is performed to weld both ends of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P folded back in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In particular, the end on the nose wire 104 arrangement side is folded back to include the width of the nose wire 104, and then the folded back portions are welded to seal the nose wire 104 between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c.

Furthermore, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a pleat forming section 70 is disposed downstream of the long side end processing section 60 .
The pleat forming section 70 of the present embodiment includes a pleat forming machine 71 that continuously forms pleats 107 (see FIG. 3) along the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is made of three layers, a first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and has both ends in the width direction welded together, and a roller R ₇ that holds down the pleats 107 to fix the folds of the pleats. The pleat forming machine 71 forms a plurality of folds in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, and folds the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P along the folds to form, for example, three to six pleats (folds) 107. The nonwoven fabric laminate 101P on which the pleats 107 have been formed is passed through the roller R ₇ to fix the folds of the pleats 107.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the pleat forming machine 71 of the pleat forming section 70 inserts pleats 107 into the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P consisting of three layers, namely, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and further, the folds of the pleats 107 are fixed by the roller _R7 .

That is, in this embodiment, pleats 107 are inserted into nonwoven fabric laminate 101P consisting of three layers, namely, first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and a pleat forming step (step S70) is carried out in which the folds of pleats 107 are fixed by passing roller _R7 through nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, thereby forming pleats 107 in nonwoven fabric laminate 101P.

When implementing the present invention, the number of folds (pleats) of the pleats 107, the width of the pleat overlap, the direction of the pleats, etc. are not particularly limited, and they may be formed in the same direction on each front or back surface, the number of pleats may be different between the top and bottom, the direction of the pleats may be different between the top and bottom, or the middle pleat may be formed wide and the pleats on both the top and bottom may be formed narrow.

In the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a cutting unit 80 that cuts the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P to a length is disposed downstream of the pleat forming unit 70.
The cutting section 80 of this embodiment has a cutting machine 81 such as a roller cutter equipped with a blade for cutting the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, and the length of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which consists of three layers, namely, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and in which pleats 107 are formed, is cut by the cutting machine 81 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction to form individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 which are approximately rectangular in shape and have predetermined dimensions.

In this manner, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the cutter 81 of the cutting section 80 cuts the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is made up of three layers, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the conveying direction), to obtain individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 having a substantially rectangular shape of predetermined dimensions.

That is, in this embodiment, a cutting process (step S80) is performed to cut the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, which is made up of three layers, the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (the conveying direction) at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, thereby obtaining individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 having a substantially rectangular shape of predetermined dimensions by cutting the length of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101P.

Here, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the formation of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the formation and lamination of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, the formation and lamination of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, the arrangement of the nose wire 104, the shaping of the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, the welding of the long side ends (106a, 106b), and the cutting of the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are a series of operations that flow continuously in a single location, that is, they are a series of operations, and the individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 obtained by cutting in the cutting section 80 are transferred to the short side end processing section 90 arranged downstream by any transfer means having a base such as a conveyor. During this time, the arrangement of the individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 is turned 90 degrees and transferred to the short side end processing section 90 arranged downstream of the cutting section 80.

The short side end processing section 90 of this embodiment has an ear loop member placement section 91 that places string-shaped ear loop members 105 on both longitudinal ends of the individual nonwoven fabric laminates 101 obtained by cutting, and a short side end welding section 92 that welds both longitudinal ends of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 together with the ear loop members 105.

In the ear hook member placement section 91, the ear hook member 105 is unwound from the string roll 91a, which is wound in a roll, and the unwound ear hook member 105 is cut to a predetermined length, for example, about 10 cm to 20 cm, by a string cutter in the string cutting and placement section 91b. The cut ear hook member 105 is then placed on the upper surface of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, i.e., the upper surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, at each end in the length direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, i.e., each short side end 108a (see Figure 3), so as to span the top and bottom (width direction). That is, at each longitudinal end (each short side end 108a) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 that has been cut into a substantially rectangular shape, both longitudinal ends of the string-like ear hook member 105 are arranged at the top and bottom ends of the width direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, and are arranged to form a ring shape with respect to the nonwoven fabric laminate 101. Here, in this embodiment, the string-like ear hook member 105 is, for example, a stretchable rubber string (elastic string) such as a round rubber band or a flat rubber band.

In the short edge welding portion 92, both ends in the length direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, i.e., the short edge 108a, are welded by ultrasonic waves, high frequency waves, or heat (hot air, hot plate, etc.). The welding at this time corresponds to the welding line 108 on the short edge 108 side of the approximately rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the finished mask 100 shown in FIG. 3. For example, by welding in a perforated (dot-like) manner along the width direction (short direction) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 using an ultrasonic welding machine, a perforated (dot-like) welding line 108 is formed at the end edge 108a of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 as shown in FIG. At this time, the perforated (dot-like) welding lines 108 along the width direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 are formed in multiple rows at predetermined intervals. In particular, in this embodiment, the short side end 108a of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is welded together with both longitudinal ends of the string-shaped ear hook member 105 disposed there. That is, the string-shaped ear hook member 105 is also welded to the short side end 108a of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101. In this embodiment, the ear hook member 105 is welded to the surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c.

In this manner, in the short side end processing section 90 of this embodiment, both longitudinal ends of the string-like ear hook member 105 cut to a predetermined length by the ear hook member placement section 91 are placed on each longitudinal end (short side end 108a) side of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, and the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 are welded together with the ear hook member 105 at their respective short side ends 108a by the short side end welding section 92.

That is, in this embodiment, the short side end processing step (step S90) is performed, which includes an ear-hook member placement step in which the string-like ear-hook members 105 cut to a predetermined length are placed on the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, and a short side end welding step in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 are welded to the short side end 108a of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, and the ear-hook members 105 are welded to the short side end 108a of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101.

This results in a mask 100 having a three-layered nonwoven fabric laminate 101 made of a first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and a pair of string-shaped ear loop members 105 welded to the short side end portions 108a on both sides of the length (left-right direction) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101.

That is, the mask 100 obtained by the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 7. The mask 100 of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular nonwoven fabric laminate 101 (mask body) formed by stacking three layers, namely, a first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and a pair of ear loop members 105 attached to the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 by welding to the upper and lower ends of the short side end portion 108a on both sides in the length direction (left and right direction) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 so as to form a ring shape. The length of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is, for example, about 10 mm to 21 mm, and the width is, for example, about 6 to 11 mm.

The nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the mask 100 of this embodiment is welded by multiple rows of perforated welding lines 106 at the long side ends 106a, 106b, which are both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and is also welded by multiple rows of perforated welding lines 108 at the short side ends 108a, which are both ends in the longitudinal direction, and the peripheries of the three layers, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, are joined to each other by welding.

In particular, in the mask 100 of this embodiment, the nose wire 104 is disposed between the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on the long side end portion 106a side, which is one end side perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, and is sealed between the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c by the weld lines 106 formed on both sides of the nose wire 104 in the width direction.
Therefore, the plastic deformation of the nose wire 104 allows the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 to fit to the shape of the wearer's nose, preventing the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 from shifting when worn and improving the wearing comfort. The plastic deformation of the nose wire 104 allows the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 to fit to the shape of the wearer's nose, making it difficult for gaps to form around the wearer's nose, which can better prevent the intrusion of dust, pollen, droplets containing bacteria, viruses, etc. from the outside and can also better prevent the wearer's droplets from spreading. Furthermore, it can also prevent glasses from fogging up due to breath leaking upward through a gap between the mask 100 and the nose.

At this time, the long side end 106a of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 on which the nose wire 104 is arranged is folded back, for example, by a width of about 10 mm to 18 mm to include the width of the nose wire 104, thereby increasing the strength of the end. Therefore, even if the nose wire 104 is deformed, the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is prevented from being torn and exposed.

Furthermore, in the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the mask 100 of this embodiment, pleats 107 are formed by folding along multiple folds extending in the length direction, so that the pleats 107 are folded before use or when stored as shown in Figures 3 and 4, while when used, the pleats 107 can be spread out and made three-dimensional as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Therefore, while it is a space-saving device that does not take up much space before use or when stored, when worn, it is three-dimensionally deformed to create a space between the wearer's face and the mask, making it difficult for the wearer's mouth to touch the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, making it easier to breathe and talk.

The nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the mask 100 of this embodiment has a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c arranged on its front and back sides, i.e., on the outer surface side, and a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b arranged between the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. The first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c arranged on the front and back sides and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b arranged therebetween are freely separable from each other except for the welded periphery.

In particular, in this embodiment, a spunbond web is first formed and then thermally embossed to form the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and then a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is formed and laminated thereon. Therefore, the continuous fibers of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the ultrafine fibers of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b can be partially thermally bonded to each other by the residual heat generated when the ultrafine fibers are blown with high-temperature hot air during the formation of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a spunbond web is formed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and then thermally embossed to form and laminate the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. Therefore, the ultrafine fibers of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the continuous fibers of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c can be partially thermally bonded to each other by the heat transfer during the thermal embossing. However, because the thermal bonding is partial, when in use, the movement of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, for example the movement of the pleats 107 to spread, opens up spaces between the layers except for the welded periphery, allowing the layers to be separated from each other. In other words, even if there is partial thermal bonding, the layers are not fused together and are in a separable laminated state. In a mask 100 in which layers are joined together by partial thermal bonding like this, it is possible to improve shape retention and reduce bulk.

In the manufacture of the mask 100 of this embodiment, the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c formed after the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is softer than the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, so the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is the design surface side, i.e., the outer surface side, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is the contact surface with the wearer's face, i.e., the inner surface side, and the string-shaped ear hook member 105 is welded to the surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. However, when implementing the present invention, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is the inner surface side that contacts the wearer's face, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is the outer surface side that is the design surface, and the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 may be inverted before the ear hook member 105 is placed, and the string-shaped ear hook member 105 may be welded to the surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a.

As described above, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment for manufacturing such a mask 100 first forms a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, directly forms and laminates a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and further directly forms and laminates a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101b. By directly manufacturing and laminating the nonwoven fabric from spinning, i.e., by continuously manufacturing and laminating the nonwoven fabric from spinning to forming and laminating the nonwoven fabric without winding the nonwoven fabric, the energy consumption and cost from manufacturing the nonwoven fabric to processing it and manufacturing the mask are reduced and production efficiency is improved compared to conventional mask manufacturing in which the nonwoven fabric is manufactured separately and wound into a roll, and the nonwoven fabric wound on the original roll is unwound and laminated. In addition, since the process from spinning to forming and laminating the nonwoven fabric is continuous, a small-scale, space-saving line facility is sufficient, and it is possible to install it in a short time, making it easy to respond to a sudden increase in demand for masks.

Furthermore, according to the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is directly formed on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is directly formed on the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, so that the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated, so that the mask 100 can be constructed even with a low basis weight and thin nonwoven fabric that is unsuitable for winding. That is, even if the nonwoven fabric layer has a low basis weight that causes breakage or wrinkles when wound, it can be constructed as a layer of the nonwoven fabric laminate that constitutes the mask 100 according to the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, so that the texture can be improved by the low basis weight, and the pressure loss can be reduced, that is, the breathability can be improved, and the breathability when worn can be reduced, thereby improving the comfort of the mask 100.
Therefore, the characteristics and configuration of the nonwoven fabric forming the mask 100 are not limited to characteristics that take into account the winding of the nonwoven fabric, which increases the degree of freedom in designing the characteristics of the mask.

In particular, in the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the formation of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the formation and lamination of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, the formation and lamination of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, the arrangement of the nose wire 104, the shaping of the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P, the welding and cutting of the long side end portions (106a, 106b) are a series of operations that flow continuously at a single location, that is, they are a series of operations, and since the formation speed of the meltblown nonwoven fabric is generally slower than the formation of the spunbond nonwoven fabric, the formation and lamination of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b are the rate-limiting steps. Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the formation speed of the spunbond nonwoven fabric is slower than that of the conventional single nonwoven fabric production in which only the spunbond nonwoven fabric is produced and wound into a roll, so that the texture of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c can be improved. That is, the fibers of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c are dispersed evenly, resulting in excellent uniformity and quality. Since the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c, which have excellent texture, are disposed on the front and back sides of the mask 100, it is possible to improve the texture and comfort of the mask 100. Furthermore, since the texture of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c is improved, the strength is improved, making it possible to reduce the basis weight and make the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c thinner. In other words, a predetermined strength can be ensured even if the basis weight of the spunbonded nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c is reduced and made thinner. Furthermore, the reduction in basis weight and the reduction in thickness make it possible to reduce costs, and also improve the texture and comfort of the mask 100. Furthermore, the reduction in bulk makes it possible to reduce the transportation and storage costs of the mask 100.

As described above, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming unit 10 that forms a web by the spunbond method and continuously forms the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a in a long shape by heat embossing, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 20 that continuously forms and laminates the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer 101a by the meltblown method, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 50 that forms a web by the spunbond method on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and continuously forms and laminates the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b by heat embossing, and a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating unit 50 that forms a web by the spunbond method on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and continuously forms and laminates the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b. A long side end processing unit 60 welds the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c at both side ends (long side ends 106a, 106b) in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated, and the long side end processing unit 60 welds the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P with the welded ends at a constant interval in the longitudinal direction in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The cutting section 80 cuts the nonwoven fabric in the direction of the cutting edge, and the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c are welded to both ends (short side ends 108a) of the length direction of the individual nonwoven fabric laminate 101 obtained by cutting, and the short side end processing section 90 welds the ear hook members 105 to both ends (short side ends 108a) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 in the length direction.

Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing device 1 of this embodiment, first, a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is formed, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is directly formed and laminated thereon, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is directly formed and laminated thereon. The formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers are integrated to form a continuous long-length nonwoven fabric laminate 100P, and the opposing long side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the nonwoven fabric laminate 100P are laminated. 106a, 106b are welded and then cut to a specified length, and then the opposing short side end portions 108a in the longitudinal direction are welded, and the ear hook members 105 are also welded thereto, to produce a mask 100 having a three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101 consisting of a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and a pair of ear hook members 104 attached to both sides in the longitudinal direction.

In other words, the mask manufacturing device 1 of this embodiment forms and layers a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and then forms and layers a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on top of that, integrating nonwoven fabric formation and layering, and performing nonwoven fabric production and mask manufacturing by processing the nonwoven fabric in a continuous series of steps and equipment without winding up the nonwoven fabric.

Thus, according to the mask manufacturing device 1 of the present embodiment, the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers are integrated, so that compared to the conventional manufacturing in which each nonwoven fabric is manufactured separately and wound into a roll, and the nonwoven fabric wound on the original roll is unrolled and laminated, it is possible to reduce the energy consumption from manufacturing the nonwoven fabric to processing it to obtain a mask, that is, to save energy and reduce costs. In addition, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is directly formed on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is directly formed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, so that the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated, so that a nonwoven fabric layer with a low basis weight and thinness that is not suitable for winding can also be constructed. As a result, the properties and configuration of the nonwoven fabric that forms the mask are not limited to properties that take into account how the nonwoven fabric is wound, allowing for greater freedom in designing the mask's properties.

Furthermore, in the mask manufacturing device 1 of this embodiment, the formation and lamination of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b are the rate-limiting steps, and the formation speed of the spunbond nonwoven fabric is slower than in conventional devices that manufacture a single spunbond nonwoven fabric from spinning to nonwoven fabric formation and winding, in other words, devices that manufacture at high speed, so the texture of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c can be improved. This makes it possible to improve the texture and comfort of the mask 100. In addition, the improved texture of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c improves their strength, making it possible to reduce the basis weight and make the spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c thinner.

Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing device 1 of this embodiment, since it is not limited to the characteristics of the nonwoven fabric layer that take into account the winding characteristics onto the original roll, it is possible to reduce the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric and make it thinner. Furthermore, by improving the texture of the spunbond nonwoven fabric, it is possible to reduce the basis weight and make it thinner. Therefore, it is possible to improve the texture and comfort of the mask 100 and reduce costs.

The mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment also includes a nose wire arrangement unit 40 that arranges a nose wire 104 on the upper surface of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b that is continuously formed in a long shape, on one end (long side end 106a) side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and a long nonwoven fabric laminate 102 that is made up of three layers of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c. Both ends of nonwoven fabric laminate 101P perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are folded back, and the end (long side end 106a) on the nose wire 104 arrangement side has a folded back portion 61 that contains the nose wire 104 within the folded back width, and the folded back ends (long side end portions 106a, 106b) of nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are welded by long side end welding portion 62 of long side end processing portion 60, thereby sealing nose wire 104 within nonwoven fabric laminate 101.
Therefore, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment can obtain a mask 100 with a nose wire 104. With this mask 100 having the nose wire 104, when worn, the nose wire 104 can be deformed to correspond to the shape of the wearer's nose, making it difficult for a gap to occur around the wearer's nose. Therefore, the fit around the wearer's nose can be improved.

Furthermore, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a shaping section 30 that cuts both ends of the first spunbond nonwoven layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b thereon before the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is laminated, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first spunbond nonwoven layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b thereon.
Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the shaping unit 30 can match the widths of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and there is no need to precisely and precisely design the spacing and aperture of each nozzle that forms the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b to control the widths of these nonwoven fabric layers to match, making it easier to design the spinning of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b.

Furthermore, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a pleat forming section 70 that forms pleats 107 in the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P consisting of three layers, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, before being cut by the cutting section 80, so that a mask 100 is obtained in which pleats 107 are formed in the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 consisting of three layers, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. Therefore, according to the mask 100 of this embodiment, before use or during storage, it is flat and does not take up space, but when worn, the pleats 107 can be spread to cover a wide range of the face, and since it has a three-dimensional shape, a space is formed between the wearer's face and the mask 100, making it difficult for the wearer's mouth to come into contact with the mask 100.

In addition, the above embodiment includes a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming process (step S10) in which a web is formed by a spunbond method and a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is continuously formed in a long shape by heat embossing, a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating process (step S20) in which a meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is continuously formed in a long shape by a meltblown method on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer 101a and laminated, a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating process (step S50) in which a web is formed by a spunbond method on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is continuously formed in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b by heat embossing, and a long nonwoven fabric in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated. A long side end processing step (step S60) of welding the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c at both side ends (long side ends 106a, 106b) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the laminate 101P, and a cutting step (step S80) of cutting the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P with the welded ends at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are welded to both ends (short side ends 108a) of the individual nonwoven fabric laminate 101 obtained by cutting, and the short side end processing step (step S90) is performed to weld the ear hook members 105 to both ends (short side ends 108a) of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 in the length direction. This invention can also be considered as a method for manufacturing a mask that includes this step.

Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing method of this embodiment, first, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a is formed, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is directly formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is directly formed and laminated on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a. The nonwoven fabric laminate 100P is continuously formed in a long shape by integrating the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers, and the opposing long side ends 106a, 106b perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are welded and then cut to a predetermined length. Furthermore, the opposing short side ends 108a in the longitudinal direction are welded, and the ear hook members 105 are also welded thereto, thereby manufacturing a mask 100 having a three-layer nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and a pair of ear hook members 105 attached to both sides in the longitudinal direction.

That is, the mask manufacturing method of this embodiment involves forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b on a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, and then forming and laminating a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c on top of that. The nonwoven fabric and lamination are integrated, and the nonwoven fabric is manufactured and the mask is manufactured by processing the nonwoven fabric in a continuous series of steps and equipment without winding up the nonwoven fabric.

Thus, according to the mask manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the formation and lamination of the nonwoven fabric layers are integrated, so that compared to the conventional manufacturing method in which each nonwoven fabric is manufactured separately and wound into a roll, and the nonwoven fabric wound on the original roll is unrolled and laminated, it is possible to reduce the energy consumption from manufacturing the nonwoven fabric to processing it to obtain a mask, that is, to save energy and reduce costs. In addition, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is directly formed on the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101c, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is directly formed on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, so that the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c are laminated, so that a nonwoven fabric layer with a low basis weight and thinness that is not suitable for winding can also be constructed. As a result, the properties and configuration of the nonwoven fabric that forms the mask are not limited to properties that take into account how the nonwoven fabric is wound, allowing for greater freedom in designing the mask's properties.

Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the mask of this embodiment includes a nose wire arrangement process (step S40) in which nose wire 104 is arranged on one end (long side end 106a) of meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b formed continuously in a long shape on the upper surface of the layer, the end being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the layer; and a folding process in which both ends of long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P made of three layers of first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, which are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, are folded back, and nose wire 104 is contained within the folded width at the end (long side end 106a) on the nose wire 104 arrangement side. In the welding process of the long side end processing process (step S60), the folded back ends (long side ends 106a, 106b) of nonwoven fabric laminate 101P are welded to seal nose wire 104 within nonwoven fabric laminate 101.
Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing method of this embodiment, a mask 100 with a nose wire 104 is obtained. According to the mask 100 having this nose wire 104, when worn, the nose wire 104 can be deformed to correspond to the shape of the wearer's nose, making it difficult for a gap to occur around the wearer's nose. Therefore, the fit around the wearer's nose can be improved.

In the manufacturing of the mask 100 of the above embodiment, the nose wire 104 is disposed between the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. That is, the nose wire 104 is disposed on the upper surface of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and then the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is formed. This allows the nose wire 104 to be partially thermally bonded to the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c by the residual heat of the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, the formation of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and the heat of the thermal embossing process during lamination, making it difficult for the nose wire 104 to be displaced. This makes it possible to eliminate the discomfort caused by the displacement of the nose wire 104 and improve the fit to the wearer's nose.
However, when carrying out the present invention, the nose wire 104 may be disposed on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a before the formation and lamination of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the nose wire 104 may be disposed between the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b. In particular, when collecting ultrafine fibers on a horizontal net conveyer similar to that used in the formation of the spunbond nonwoven fabric layers 101a and 101, even if the nose wire 104 is disposed on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and then the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is formed, the nose wire 104 disposed can be held at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a without shifting before the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is formed, so that the effect of preventing the nose wire 104 from shifting can be obtained by partial heat bonding similar to that described above. In addition, a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c may be formed on top of the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and after lamination, a nose wire 104 may be placed on the upper surface of the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, and then the nose wire 104 may be fixed so as to be sandwiched by folding back the end portion.

Furthermore, the mask manufacturing method of this embodiment includes a shaping process (step S30) of cutting both ends of the first spunbond nonwoven layer 101a and the meltblown nonwoven layer 101b thereon in a direction perpendicular to their longitudinal direction before the second spunbond nonwoven layer formation/lamination process (step S50).
Therefore, according to the mask manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the widths of first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction can be made to match by the shaping process (step S30), and there is no need to control the widths of both layers to match by precise and detailed design of the arrangement spacing, aperture, etc. of each nozzle that forms first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, which makes it easier to design the spinning of first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b.

In the above embodiment, the folding process folds back both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the three-layer long nonwoven fabric laminate 101, which is made up of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c, by the folding back section 61, so that the width of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is unified and the edges in the width direction are shaped. However, when implementing the present invention, after forming and stacking the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer 101c on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, the width is cut before folding back both side ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, i.e., a cutting section may be provided separately to cut both side ends to a predetermined width. This improves the finish and appearance of the folded back ends.

In addition, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a pleat formation process (step S70) in which pleats 107 are formed in the long nonwoven fabric laminate 101P consisting of three layers, namely, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c, before the cutting process (step S80), so that a mask 100 is obtained in which pleats 107 are formed in the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 consisting of three layers, namely, the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. Therefore, the mask 100 with these pleats 107 is flat and space-saving before use or when stored, but when worn, the pleats 107 can be spread out to cover a wide area of the face, and because it has a three-dimensional shape, a space is created between the wearer's face and the mask 100, making it difficult for the wearer's mouth to come into contact with the mask 100.

Furthermore, when implementing the present invention, depending on the strength of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101, when welding its long side end portions 106a, 106b and short side end portion 108a, a reinforcing strip of nonwoven fabric may be folded and placed so as to sandwich the end portions of the nonwoven fabric laminates 101P, 101, and the end portions of the nonwoven fabric laminates 101P, 101 may be welded together with the reinforcing nonwoven fabric to reinforce the laminate.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a rubber cord was used as the ear hook member 105, but when implementing the present invention, the ear hook member 105 may be made of nonwoven fabric that has been punched into a predetermined ring shape. The nonwoven fabric for the ear hook member 105 may be made of, for example, a thermoplastic synthetic fiber with a basis weight of about 1 to 7 dtex, and elastically stretchable with a basis weight of about 10 to 80 g/ ^m2 .

In the above embodiment, the mask 100 has a three-layer laminate structure in which the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b is disposed between the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c disposed on the front and back sides. However, when the present invention is implemented, the number of layers of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 is not limited to a three-layer structure, and may be four or more layers, as long as the structure has a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b between the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c. For example, the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b between the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101a and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101c is not limited to one layer, and may be two or three layers, so that the entire nonwoven fabric laminate 101 has a four- or five-layer structure. This can improve the filter effect. In addition, when implementing the present invention, after forming and laminating the melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer 101b, electret processing (charging processing) may be performed. This can also improve the filter effect.

In addition, when implementing the present invention, the mask manufacturing apparatus 1, the mask manufacturing method, and the configuration, materials, manufacturing process, etc. of other parts of the mask 100 are not limited to those described in the above embodiment. Also, the numerical values given in the above embodiment indicate appropriate values suitable for implementation, and therefore slight changes to the numerical values do not negate the implementation.
For example, the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 to which the ear hooks 105 of the mask 100 are attached has a crimping line or welding line in a straight or arc shape to hold down the pleats 107, which makes it difficult for a space or gap to form between the wearer's face and the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 at both ends, thereby improving the fit. The corners of the nonwoven fabric laminate 101 of the mask 100 may be given a curvature. This reduces the sense of incongruity and discomfort felt when the corners come into contact with the wearer's face. The present invention is not limited to the manufacture of household and medical (including dental and surgical) masks, but can also be applied to dust masks.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Mask manufacturing apparatus 10 Spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming section 20 Meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section 30 Shaping section 40 Nose wire arrangement section 50 Spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating section 60 Long side end processing section 70 Pleats forming section 80 Cutting section 90 Short side end processing section 100 Mask 101 Nonwoven fabric laminate 101a First spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 101b Meltblown nonwoven fabric layer 101c Second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer 104 Nose wire 105 Ear hook member 107 Pleats 106a, 106b Long side end 108a Short side end

Claims (6)

a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming section for forming a web by a spunbond method and continuously forming a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape by thermal embossing;
a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section for continuously forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer by a melt-blowing method;
a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating section for forming a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method, and continuously forming and laminating a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by thermal embossing;
A long side end processing unit that welds the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated;
a cutting unit that cuts the long nonwoven fabric laminate at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction;
and a short side end processing section for welding the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in the length direction of the cut individual nonwoven fabric laminate , and also for welding a pair of ear hook members.
The mask manufacturing apparatus further comprises a shaping unit that cuts both ends of the first spunbond nonwoven layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof before the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer is laminated . The mask manufacturing device according to claim 1 further comprises a nose wire arrangement section for arranging a nose wire on one end side of the top surface of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer formed continuously in the long shape, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a folded-back section in which both ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the long nonwoven fabric laminate are folded back and the nose wire is contained within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side, and the folded-back both ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate are welded by the long side end processing section to seal the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate. 3. The mask manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pleat forming section for forming pleats on the long nonwoven fabric laminate before cutting. a spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming step of forming a web by a spunbond method and continuously forming a first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape by thermal embossing;
A melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating step of continuously forming and laminating a melt-blown nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape on the first spunbond web nonwoven fabric layer by a melt-blowing method;
A spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming and laminating process is a process of forming a web on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer by a spunbond method, and then thermally embossing the web to continuously form and laminate a second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer on the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer in a long shape;
A long side end processing step of welding the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of a long nonwoven fabric laminate in which the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer are laminated;
a cutting step of cutting the long nonwoven fabric laminate at regular intervals in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction;
and a short side end processing step of welding the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, and the second spunbond nonwoven fabric layer at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cut individual nonwoven fabric laminate , and also welding a pair of ear hook members.
The method further comprises a shaping step of cutting both ends of the first spunbond nonwoven fabric layer and the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer thereon in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction between the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step and the spunbond nonwoven fabric layer forming/laminating step. A mask manufacturing method. The method for manufacturing a mask according to claim 4 further includes a nose wire arrangement step of arranging a nose wire on one end side of the upper surface of the first spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer, the meltblown nonwoven fabric layer, or the second spunbonded nonwoven fabric layer formed continuously in the long shape, in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof, and a folding step of folding back both ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof and storing the nose wire within the folded width on the nose wire arrangement side, and the folded back ends of the long nonwoven fabric laminate are welded in the long side end processing step to seal the nose wire within the long nonwoven fabric laminate. 6. The method for manufacturing a mask according to claim 4, further comprising a pleat forming step of forming pleats in the long nonwoven fabric laminate between the long side end processing step and the cutting step.

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