JP7608722B2 - Method for packaging absorbent articles and package for absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for packaging absorbent articles and a package for absorbent articles.

Methods for enclosing packaged items in packaging bodies have been disclosed (e.g., Patent Documents 1-3).

Patent No. 5383093 Patent No. 5238291 Patent No. 6149098

For example, a sticker bearing information about a campaign for absorbent articles may be affixed to the packaging. However, if the sticker is affixed to the inside surface of the packaging, there is a risk that the sticker will come off if the absorbent article is pushed into the packaging while being pressed against the inside surface of the packaging.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a technology that prevents the peeling of a seal when an absorbent article is placed in a package with a seal attached.

To solve the above problem, the present invention provides a packaging method in which a seal is affixed to a portion of a packaging body having an opening, facing the opening, and the absorbent article is pushed into the storage space of the packaging body through the opening.

In detail, the present invention is a method for packaging absorbent articles, which involves packaging an absorbent article to be worn under the crotch of a wearer in a package whose width direction is the x-axis direction, thickness direction is the y-axis direction, and depth direction is the z-axis direction, and includes a pushing step of expanding an internal storage space that communicates with an opening of a substantially rectangular package whose one side is open in the z-axis direction, and pushing the absorbent article, compressed in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction, from the opening into the storage space expanded in the z-axis direction so that the size of the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction is equal to or smaller than the size of the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded storage space, and a seal is affixed to the inner surface portion that forms the storage space facing the opening.

The method may further include a processing step of processing a perforation for opening the package on the inner surface facing the opening and on which the seal is affixed, and the seal may be affixed to an area adjacent to the opening created by the perforation.

In addition, in the processing step, the perforations may be provided to surround a specified portion, and the sticker may be affixed to the specified portion.

In addition, in the pressing process, the absorbent article is stacked in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction and compressed as a whole, and the size of the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the compressed absorbent article as a whole may be approximately the same as the size of the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded storage space.

The sticker may also have rounded corners.

The above-mentioned method for packaging absorbent articles may further include a compression step in which the absorbent article sent to the pushing step is compressed in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction so that the absorbent article is equal to or smaller than the cross-sectional size of the expanded storage space perpendicular to the z-axis direction.

The packaging may also have an indicator on the outer surface at a location corresponding to the sticker, indicating the location where the sticker is attached.

Also, the absorbent article packaging may be an absorbent article that is to be worn under the crotch of a wearer, with the width direction being the x-axis direction, the thickness direction being the y-axis direction, and the depth direction being the z-axis direction, and that is to be used to package an absorbent article. The absorbent article packaging may be provided with an opening that is open on one side in the z-axis direction, a storage space that is connected to the opening and that stores the absorbent article, and a seal that is attached to an inner surface that forms the storage space. The storage space is expanded, and the absorbent article is compressed in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction so that the size of a cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction is equal to or smaller than the size of a cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded storage space. The seal faces the opening, and is attached to an adjacent region of a portion where the portions that form the packaging are sealed by heat welding, and the portion to which the seal is attached is not heat-welded to other portions that form the packaging, and is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped.

The packaging of the absorbent article described above may further include a perforation for opening the packaging on the inner surface facing the opening and on which the seal is affixed, and the seal may be affixed to an area adjacent to the opening provided by the perforation.

The perforations may also be provided to surround a specific portion, and the sticker may be affixed to the specific portion.

The sticker may also have rounded corners.

In addition, the packaging for the absorbent article may further include an indicator that indicates the position of the sticker on the outer surface of the packaging at a location that corresponds to the sticker.

The above-mentioned method for packaging absorbent articles and packaging body for absorbent articles can provide a technology that prevents the peeling of a seal when an absorbent article is placed in a packaging body to which a seal is affixed.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an outline of a bag body according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flow chart showing a packaging procedure in which diapers are placed inside a bag and packaged. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a state in which the openings of a bag housing diapers stacked in a folded state are welded. FIG. 4 shows an example of a schematic of a conventional bag body. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an indicator showing the position where the sticker is attached. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for inserting a diaper into a bag.

Hereinafter, absorbent articles according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the configurations of the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments.

<Embodiment>
1 shows an example of the outline of a bag 1 according to this embodiment. The bag 1 is formed of a translucent film. The bag 1 has an opening 2 and a storage space 4 that communicates with the opening 2 and stores a tape-type disposable diaper 3 therein. In this embodiment, the direction in which the diaper 3 is inserted from the opening 2 into the storage space 4 is defined as the z-axis direction. The width direction of the opening 2 is defined as the x-axis direction, and the thickness direction of the opening 2 is defined as the y-axis direction.

The number of diapers 3 placed in the storage space 4 is not just one, but multiple diapers folded in the x-axis direction and stacked. Here, the bag body 1 is a part of the "package" of the present invention. The diaper 3 is also an example of the "absorbent article worn under the crotch of the wearer" of the present invention. The length of the stacked diapers 3 in the x-axis direction is slightly longer than the length of the storage space 4 in the x-axis direction.

The bag body 1 is sealed by heat welding an end 9 in the z-axis direction of the inner surface 6 facing the opening 2 to an end 11 in the z-axis direction of the inner surface 10 facing the opening 2. A perforation 8 is provided in a U-shape extending in the z-axis direction on the inner surface 6 facing the opening 2 of the bag body 1, adjacent to the end 9. The perforation 8 is processed on the inner surface 6 to open the sealed bag body 1. The bag body 1 also has a seal 5, which is attached to a portion of the inner surface 6 located at the tip in the z-axis direction, in an area adjacent to the end 9, surrounded by the perforation 8. The seal 5 is fan-shaped, and the campaign information for the diaper 3 is printed on its surface. The campaign information is, for example, a QR code (registered trademark) that records the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a website on which the campaign information for the diaper 3 is described. Additionally, the inner surface 6 and the inner surface 10 are examples of the "inner surface that forms the storage space facing the opening" of the present invention.

The material from which seal 5 is made is a material that does not melt at the temperature at which end 9 and end 11 are heat-welded. In other words, if an attempt is made to heat-weld the portion of inner surface 6 to which seal 5 is affixed with inner surface 10 by mistake, seal 5 will not melt, resulting in poor welding between inner surface 6 and inner surface 10.

Next, the steps of the packaging method in which the diapers 3 are placed inside the bag 1 and packaged will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flow chart showing the packaging steps in which the diapers 3 are placed inside the bag 1 and packaged. In addition, steps in the packaging steps described below can be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

(Step S101)
In step S101, a member for expanding the storage space 4 is first inserted into the bag 1. Then, the diapers 3, which are folded and stacked in the x-axis direction, are inserted into the bag 1 through the opening 2 into the expanded storage space 4. Here, the length of the stacked diapers 3 in the x-axis direction is slightly longer than the length of the opening 2 in the x-axis direction. Thus, the stacked diapers 3 in the folded state are compressed in the x-axis direction and pushed into the storage space 4 through the opening 2. That is, when pushed, a force acts in a direction in which the outer surface of the diaper 3 and the surface forming the bag 1 that forms the storage space 4 are pressed against each other. In addition, the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the compressed diaper 3 is substantially the same as the cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded storage space 4. Here, step S101 is an example of the "pushing step" of the present invention.

(Step S102)
In step S102, after the diapers 3 are pushed into the bag 1, the films forming the outer periphery of the opening 2 are thermally welded together. Fig. 3 shows a schematic example of the state in which the opening 2 of the bag 1 containing the diapers 3 stacked in a folded state is welded together. In this manner, the opening 2 is sealed and the diapers 3 are packaged in the bag 1.

In addition, when the diapers 3 stored in the storage space 4 are to be removed from the outside after the opening 2 is closed, the portion with the sticker 5 attached is pinched from the outside of the bag body 1. In this way, the portion with the perforation 8 is broken. The diapers 3 can be removed one by one from the broken opening. Here, the perforation 8 is elongated and U-shaped, so that many diapers 3 are prevented from spilling out at once. In addition, the sticker 5 is attached to the area adjacent to the opening created by the breaking of the perforation 8. Therefore, when the user removes the diapers 3 from the opening, the sticker 5 is also exposed to the outside. Therefore, the user can easily find the sticker 5 and can easily peel it off.

Figure 4 shows an example of the outline of a conventional bag body 21. The bag body 21 has an opening 22, similar to the bag body 1. The size of the stacked diapers 3 is slightly longer than the storage space 24 in the x-axis direction. Therefore, the folded stacked diapers 3 are compressed in the x-axis direction and pushed through the opening 22 into the storage space 24 inside the bag body 21.

The bag 21 also includes a seal 25. However, the seal 25 is adhered to the inner surface 27 of the bag 21. In the case of such a bag 21, the diaper 3 pressed into the bag 21 comes into contact with the seal 25 and rubs against it, and therefore, for example, there is a possibility that the seal 25 may peel off from the inner surface 27 during transport.

<Action and effect>
According to the packaging method for diapers 3 of this embodiment, the seal 5 is located on the inner surface 6 facing the opening 2, not on the inner surface 7 that contacts the diaper 3 when stored, and is attached to a portion that does not contact the diaper 3. Therefore, even if an external force acts on the diaper 3 when it is transported from a factory to a home, for example, the seal 5 is prevented from peeling off. In addition, the possibility that the seal 5 will peel off from the inner surface 6 due to contact and rubbing with the diaper 3 is also prevented. Even if the seal 5 peels off during transportation, since the seal 5 is attached at a position that does not contact the diaper 3, the seal 5 is prevented from adhering to the diaper 3. In addition, according to the packaging method for diapers 3 of this embodiment, the diapers 3 are taken out one by one from the opening generated by breaking the portion where the perforation 8 is processed. Therefore, the degree of rubbing of the diaper 3 with the inner surface forming the storage space 4 when the diaper 3 is taken out is reduced. In other words, when the diaper 3 is taken out, the sticker 5 is prevented from peeling off from the inner surface 6 due to friction between the diaper 3 and the sticker 5 .

In addition, according to the packaging method for diapers 3 according to this embodiment, when removing the diapers 3 from the sealed bag body 1, the portion to which the seal 5 is attached is pinched from the outside of the bag body 1. Here, the portion to be pinched is made harder and thicker because the seal 5 is attached. Therefore, the portion to be pinched (the film of the bag body 1 surrounded by the perforation 8) is prevented from breaking before the portion where the perforation 8 is processed breaks. In addition, the seal 5 is attached to the portion located at the tip in the z-axis direction of the portion surrounded by the perforation 8. Therefore, the tip portion in the z-axis direction of the portion where the perforation 8 is processed breaks first. Then, the portion where the perforation 8 is processed in the -z-axis direction from the broken portion is broken. In other words, the portion where the perforation 8 is processed can be broken reliably, and an opening for removing the diaper 3 can be made as desired.

In addition, when the inner surface 6 and the inner surface 10 are sealed by heat welding, it is possible that the end 9 and the end 11 are not heat-welded to each other, but rather that the end 9 and the end 11 are heat-welded to each other by mistake at the portion of the inner surface 6 where the seal 5 is attached and the portion of the inner surface 10, which are adjacent to the end 9. Furthermore, it is possible that the diaper 3 is heat-welded in a state where it is pinched between the inner surface 6 and the inner surface 10. However, according to the packaging method for the diaper 3 according to the present embodiment, since the seal 5 is made of a material that does not melt at the welding temperature, in the above-mentioned case, the inner surface 6 and the inner surface 10 are poorly welded. Therefore, the bag body 1 is not sealed and opens. In other words, it is easy to find the sealing failure. In addition, the bag body 1 is also prevented from being sealed with the diaper 3 pinched. Therefore, it is easier to find the defective product than when the defective product is found from the outside with the diaper 3 pinched. Therefore, the shipment of the defective product is prevented.

<Other Modifications>
In the above embodiment, the seal 5 is attached to the portion surrounded by the perforation 8 of the inner surface 6, but it may be attached to other portions of the inner surface 6 or to the inner surface 10. However, it is preferable that the portion to which the seal 5 is attached is a position that does not come into contact with the diaper 3 when the bag body 1 containing the diaper 3 is packed, for example, in a cardboard box. By attaching the seal 5 to such a position, peeling of the seal 5 due to friction between the seal 5 and the diaper 3 when the diaper 3 is taken out is suppressed. Furthermore, even if the seal 5 is peeled off due to sliding between the seal 5 and another inner surface, it is possible to suppress the peeled seal 5 from adhering to the diaper 3.

The location where the seal 5 is affixed may be, for example, a side portion of the inner surface 6 in the z-axis direction. However, even when the seal 5 is affixed in this way, it is preferable that the seal 5 is affixed at a position that does not come into contact with the diaper 3 when the bag body 1 containing the diaper 3 is packed, for example, in a cardboard box. By affixing the seal 5 at such a position, peeling of the seal 5 due to friction between the seal 5 and the diaper 3 when the diaper 3 is taken out is suppressed. Even if the part where the seal 5 is affixed is folded and the seal 5 is peeled off, it is possible to suppress the peeled seal 5 from adhering to the diaper 3. The location where the seal 5 is affixed is not limited to these positions, and the seal 5 may be affixed at a position on the inner surface facing the opening 2 that does not come into contact with the diaper 3 contained in the storage space 4.

In the above embodiment, the perforations 8 are U-shaped, but they may be connected in a circumferential manner. The seal 5 does not have to be provided in the area surrounded by the perforations 8, and may be provided in the area adjacent to the opening created by breaking the part where the perforations 8 are processed. The perforations 8 do not have to be provided.

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the seal 5 is made of a material that does not melt at the temperature at which the ends 9 and 11 are heat-sealed, but the thickness of the seal 5 itself may be such that a heat-sealing device cannot be used. In other words, even with such a seal 5, if the part of the inner surface 6 to which the seal 5 is affixed and the part of the inner surface 10 are accidentally about to be heat-sealed, the inner surface 6 and the inner surface 10 will be poorly welded. As a result, the bag body 1 will open without being sealed. In other words, it will be easier to find the sealing defect.

In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which a QR code for the URL of a website on which campaign information is written is printed on the surface of the sticker 5, but the surface of the sticker 5 is not limited to a QR code and may have text printed with the campaign information. Also, the surface of the sticker 5 may have a QR code and text with the campaign information printed on it. Also, information other than the campaign information may be written on the surface of the sticker 5.

In addition, while the outer shape of the sticker 5 on the diaper 3 as described above is sector-shaped, the outer shape of the sticker 5 is not limited to sector-shaped and may be any shape that can display information.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a bag made of a translucent film is used as an example of the packaging body, but the shape of the packaging body is not limited to the example in the above embodiment, and may be any shape capable of packaging the diaper 3.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the stacked diapers 3 are compressed and tucked in the x-axis direction, but the stacked diapers 3 may also be compressed and tucked in the y-axis direction.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the diapers 3 are placed in the bag 1 while being folded and stacked, but the diapers 3 may be placed in the specified packaging body in an unstacked state, or may be placed in the specified packaging body in an unfolded state.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a tape-type disposable diaper is exemplified as the diaper 3, but the present invention can also be applied to other types of absorbent articles. Examples of such absorbent articles include various types of absorbent articles with gathers, such as pants-type disposable diapers, urine pads, and light incontinence pads, as well as flat absorbent articles without gathers.

In the above embodiment, the seal 5 has four corners with sharp corners as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, but the seal 5 may have rounded corners. If the corners of the seal 5 are rounded, the possibility of the corners of the seal 5 breaking through the bag body 1 can be minimized. In other words, if the corners of the seal 5 are rounded, for example, when a consumer who has purchased diapers 3 removes multiple diapers 3 from the bag body 1, even if the thin film constituting the bag body 1 is folded or bent around the seal 5 and the corners of the seal 5 come into contact with the film, the corners of the seal 5 will not damage the film.

Although the above embodiment does not mention the design of the outer surface of the bag body 1, the bag body 1 may have, for example, a display portion on the outer surface corresponding to the seal 5, which indicates the position where the seal 5 is attached. The display portion may be anything that indicates the position where the seal 5 is attached. Examples of the display portion that indicates the position where the seal 5 is attached include a printed display on the surface of the bag body 1, a viewing window that takes advantage of the transparency of the film that constitutes the bag body 1, unevenness formed by embossing the film that constitutes the bag body 1, and various other things.

Figure 5 shows an example of an indicator showing the attachment position of sticker 5. For example, as shown in Figure 5, if an attachment position indicator 28 is provided on the surface of bag body 1, a consumer who has purchased diapers 3 can see the attachment position of sticker 5 showing campaign information, etc. from the outer surface of bag body 1. Therefore, a bag body 1 provided with attachment position indicator 28 can reduce the possibility that a consumer who has purchased diapers 3 will accidentally damage sticker 5 when, for example, opening bag body 1.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the method of compressing the diaper 3 when placing the diaper 3 in the bag body 1 was not mentioned in detail, but the diaper 3 can be pushed into the bag body 1 while being compressed, for example, by the following method.

6 is a diagram showing an example of a method for inserting the diapers 3 into the bag body 1. When inserting the diapers 3 into the bag body 1, for example, the bundle of diapers 3 is compressed by a compression pusher 29 in front of the opening 2 of the bag body 1, and the diapers 3 are pushed into the bag body 1 by a push-in pusher 30. When the diapers 3 are pushed into the bag body 1 from the opening 2 by the push-in pusher 30 in a state compressed by the compression pusher 29, the diapers 3 are released from the compression by the compression pusher 29 and expand. However, since the diapers 1 have already entered the bag body 1, the diapers 3 released from the compression by the compression pusher 29 are in close contact with the inner surface of the bag body 1 and are held in the bag body 1 in a state of being restrained by the bag body 1. The process of pushing and compressing the diapers 3 by the compression pusher 29 corresponds to an example of the "compression process" referred to in this application.

In this embodiment, as described above, the seal 5 is located on the inner surface 6 inside the bag 1, which faces the opening 2. Therefore, when the diaper 3 is pushed into the bag 1 using such a pusher, even if the diaper 3 comes into contact with the seal 5, no force acts on the seal 5 in a direction that peels the seal 5 off from the inner surface 6. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the diaper 3 is pushed into the bag 1 using such a pusher, the seal 5 can be kept attached in the specified attachment position.

1. Bag body: 2. Opening: 4. Storage space: 5. Seal: 6. Inner surface: 7. Inner side: 8. Perforation: 9. End: 10. Inner surface: 11. End: 21. Bag body: 22. Opening: 24. Storage space: 25. Seal: 27. Inner surface: 28. Attachment position indication: 29. Compression pusher: 30. Push-in pusher

Claims (12)

A method for packaging an absorbent article, comprising packaging an absorbent article to be worn between the crotch of a wearer in a package having an x-axis direction as a width direction, a y-axis direction as a thickness direction, and a z-axis direction as a depth direction, the method comprising the steps of:
a pushing step of expanding an internal storage space of the package having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with one side open in the z-axis direction, the internal storage space being in communication with the opening, and pushing an absorbent article compressed in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction into the expanded storage space from the opening in the z-axis direction so that the size of a cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction is equal to or smaller than the size of a cross section perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded storage space,
In the pushing step, the absorbent article is pushed into the storage space so that the absorbent article does not come into contact with a sticker attached on the opposite side of a surface on which information is printed in a predetermined portion surrounded by a perforation provided for opening the package , the sticker being a portion of an inner surface forming the storage space facing the opening.
A method for packaging absorbent articles. The method further includes a processing step of processing a perforation for opening the package on an inner surface facing the opening and to which the seal is attached,
The seal is attached to an area adjacent to the portion that opens due to the perforation.
The method for packaging absorbent articles according to claim 1. In the processing step, the perforations are provided so as to surround a predetermined portion,
The sticker is attached to the predetermined portion.
The method for packaging absorbent articles according to claim 2. In the pushing step, the absorbent articles are stacked in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction and compressed as a whole, and a size of a cross section of the compressed absorbent article as a whole perpendicular to the z-axis direction is smaller than a size of a cross section of the expanded storage space perpendicular to the z-axis direction.
A method for packaging an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The seal has rounded corners.
A method for packaging an absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The method further includes a compression step of compressing the absorbent article sent to the pushing step in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction so that the absorbent article is equal to or smaller than a cross-sectional size of the expanded storage space perpendicular to the z-axis direction.
A method for packaging absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The packaging body has an indication portion for indicating a position of the sticker on an outer surface of the packaging body at a portion corresponding to the sticker.
A method for packaging absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A package for an absorbent article, the package having a width direction in an x-axis direction, a thickness direction in a y-axis direction, and a depth direction in a z-axis direction, the package packaging an absorbent article to be worn between the crotch of a wearer,
An opening having one surface open in the z-axis direction;
a storage space communicating with the opening and storing the absorbent article;
A sticker having a surface opposite to the surface on which information is printed attached to a portion of the inner surface that forms the storage space,
the absorbent article is accommodated in the accommodation space in a state compressed in at least one of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction such that a cross-sectional size perpendicular to the z-axis direction when the accommodation space is expanded is equal to or smaller than a cross-sectional size perpendicular to the z-axis direction of the expanded accommodation space,
The inner surface portion is a position that does not come into contact with the absorbent article,
The seal is attached to a predetermined portion adjacent to the opening and adjacent to a portion where the portions forming the package are sealed by thermal welding, the portion being surrounded by a perforation provided for opening the package ;
The portion to which the seal is affixed is not heat-sealed to other portions forming the package,
It is roughly a rectangular parallelepiped.
A package for absorbent articles. The package further includes a perforation for opening the package on an inner surface facing the opening and to which the seal is attached.
The seal is attached to an area adjacent to the portion that opens due to the perforation.
The absorbent article package according to claim 8. The perforations are provided so as to surround a predetermined portion,
The sticker is attached to the predetermined portion.
The absorbent article package according to claim 9. The seal has rounded corners.
A package for an absorbent article according to any one of claims 8 to 10. The packaging body further includes an indicator for indicating a position where the seal is attached, at a portion of the outer surface of the packaging body corresponding to the seal.
A package for an absorbent article according to any one of claims 8 to 11.

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