JP7708657B2 - Manufacturing method of elastic laminate - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for producing an elastic laminate that forms a ring-shaped structure that is stretchable in the circumferential direction and can be used as a component of various articles that require elasticity.

A separate type of pants-type absorbent article is known, which is equipped with an absorbent pad section including an absorbent core that absorbs and retains bodily fluids, and an annular holder section (waistband) that is placed around the wearer's waist and holds the absorbent pad section against the wearer's crotch, and is configured so that the absorbent pad section can be attached and detached from the holder section. The holder section is typically mainly made of an elastic laminate in which multiple sheets are laminated, such as an elastic sheet that is elastic in the circumferential direction and a fastening sheet for the holder section (e.g., a female member of a mechanical hook-and-loop fastener).

Patent Document 1 describes a method for manufacturing separate-type pants-type disposable diapers, which includes the steps of transporting a continuous body of the front body of the holder section and a continuous body of the back body in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval, arranging the absorbent pad section so as to straddle both continuous bodies being transported, folding the absorbent pad section in half in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction) to overlap both continuous bodies, cutting both overlapping strips to a predetermined length at predetermined locations in the transport direction, and joining both ends formed by the cut to form the holder section. Patent Document 2 describes a method for forming the holder section by folding a strip-shaped sheet member that is long in one direction in half.

In addition, in the manufacturing method of absorbent articles, there has been a demand for minimizing waste parts (trims) that are not used in the product and are generated by cutting sheet-like substrates such as nonwoven fabrics during the manufacturing process. Patent Document 3 describes a manufacturing method of absorbent articles that can meet such demands, in which an elastic belt material having a configuration in which an elastic member is sandwiched between two webs in a stretched state in the longitudinal direction of the webs is divided into two in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction so that convex portions and concave portions appear alternately in the longitudinal direction to obtain a first elastic belt material and a second elastic belt material, and after separating both belt materials in the width direction, both belt materials are shifted in phase in the longitudinal direction so that the respective convex portions and concave portions are in phase with each other, and then an absorber is placed so as to straddle both belt materials.

JP 2003-175066 A JP 2013-188424 A JP 2009-273922 A

A typical non-separate pants-type disposable diaper comprises an absorbent body including a top sheet, a back sheet, and an absorbent body interposed between the two sheets, and an outer body which is an elastic laminate arranged on the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body and which is an integrated front body and rear body. In the manufacturing process of such diapers, a continuous outer body structure in which a plurality of such outer bodies are connected in one direction in an unfolded state is conveyed in the same direction, while the absorbent body is placed on the continuous outer body structure, and then the continuous outer body structure is folded in half together with the absorbent body in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and the front body side and the rear body side of the continuous outer body structure are overlapped. In this case, the folding of the continuous outer body structure in two is easy because the relatively rigid absorbent body serves as the folding starting point, and the creases formed tend to be clear and neat. In contrast, the holder part, which is an elastic laminate, does not have an absorbent body, so if it is to be manufactured in the same way as the outer body by folding a continuous elastic sheet in half, in which the front and back body are integrated, problems will arise such as the continuous sheet being difficult to fold because it has no fold start point, and even if it can be folded, it will not be possible to obtain a clean crease. There is no technology yet available that can stably manufacture an elastic laminate that does not have a fold start point, such as the holder part.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a technology that can stably produce elastic laminates.

The inventors of the present invention have investigated various methods for continuously producing an elastic laminate such as the holder section by stacking elastic sheets that do not have a relatively high rigidity and easy-to-fold member such as an absorbent body, and have found that, rather than folding a continuous sheet containing the elastic sheet in half in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction to produce an elastic laminate, it is effective in stably producing an elastic laminate to divide the continuous sheet into two in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, rotate one or both of the two divided continuous sheets produced by the division around the conveying direction so that the orientation of both divided continuous sheets in the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction is the same, and then overlap the two divided continuous sheets to produce an elastic laminate.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned findings, and is a method for producing an elastic laminate comprising a first elastic sheet having elasticity in one direction, and a second elastic sheet overlaid on one side of the first elastic sheet and having elasticity in the one direction, wherein the two elastic sheets are joined to each other at a pair of joints formed at both ends in the one direction, and are not joined to each other in the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints, and the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints can form a ring-shaped structure having elasticity in the circumferential direction.
One embodiment of a manufacturing method for an elastic laminate of the present invention includes a dividing step of conveying an original sheet including a continuous band-like elastic sheet that is continuous in one direction and stretched in that one direction in a conveying direction, cutting the original sheet in half in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and along a planned cutting line that meanders about a center line extending parallel to the conveying direction, thereby dividing the original sheet into a first continuous sheet in which a plurality of first elastic sheets are connected in the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet in which a plurality of second elastic sheets are connected in the conveying direction.
One embodiment of the manufacturing method for an elastic laminate of the present invention includes a rotation step in which, while conveying the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet in the conveying direction, one or both of the continuous sheets are rotated around the conveying direction so that the cut edges of both continuous sheets at the intended cutting line face the same direction.
One embodiment of the manufacturing method for an elastic laminate of the present invention includes a lamination step in which the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet are overlapped with the cut edge portions of both continuous sheets aligned in phase with each other in the conveying direction to obtain a continuous laminate.
One embodiment of the method for producing a stretchable laminate of the present invention includes a joining step of intermittently forming the joints in the continuous laminate in the conveying direction.
One embodiment of the method for producing a stretchable laminate of the present invention includes a sheet-cutting step of cutting the continuous laminate in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction to obtain sheets of the stretchable laminate.
Other features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention are described below.

The manufacturing method of the elastic laminate of the present invention allows for the stable production of high-quality elastic laminates.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of one embodiment of a stretchable laminate (a holder portion of a pants-type disposable diaper) produced by the production method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view that shows a schematic cross-section taken along line II in FIG. 1 (a cross-section along the width direction and thickness direction of the elastic laminate shown in FIG. 1). FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a pants-type disposable diaper using the elastic laminate shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway schematic plan view of the skin-facing side of the diaper shown in FIG. 3 in an unfolded and stretched state. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a schematic example of a stretch sheet (outer layer sheet) according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a manufacturing apparatus used to manufacture the elastic laminate shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along line II-II in FIG. 6 (a cross section along the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and the thickness direction of the raw sheet precursor). FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view that typically shows a cross section along a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and in a thickness direction of the original sheet manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a production line (second production section) for the elastic laminate in the production apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an overview of an example of a series of steps from dividing an original sheet to obtaining a continuous laminate in the manufacturing method of the present invention, in which FIG. 10(a) is a schematic plan view of an original sheet before the dividing step in the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 10(b) is a schematic plan view of two continuous sheets obtained by the dividing step, FIG. 10(c) is a schematic plan view showing the phase alignment of the two continuous sheets in the conveying direction, and FIG. 10(d) is a schematic plan view of a continuous laminate obtained by overlapping the two continuous sheets. FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 of another embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus for a stretchable laminate that can be used to carry out the manufacturing method of the present invention. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing one embodiment of an apparatus that can be used to carry out the rotating step in the manufacturing method of the present invention, where FIG. 12A is a schematic top view of the apparatus, and FIG. 12B is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus. FIG. 13 is a plan view that illustrates an example of a lamination step in the manufacturing method of the present invention.

The present invention will now be described based on preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are essentially schematic, and the ratios of the dimensions may differ from the actual ones.

1 and 2 show an elastic laminate 1, which is one embodiment of an elastic laminate manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention. The elastic laminate 1 comprises a first elastic sheet 1A having elasticity in one direction, specifically the longitudinal direction of the elastic laminate 1 indicated by the symbol Y in the figure, and a second elastic sheet 1B overlapped on one side of the sheet 1A and having elasticity in the direction Y. The two sheets 1A and 1B are joined to each other at a pair of joints 9, 9 formed at both ends in the direction Y, and are not joined to each other in the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints 9, 9, and the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints 9, 9 can form a ring-shaped structure having elasticity in the circumferential direction.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the elastic laminate 1 is used as a holder section 17 which is a component of a pants-type disposable diaper 10, which is a type of pants-type absorbent article. As shown in Figure 4, the diaper 10 has a vertical direction (direction X) extending from the wearer's abdomen side through the crotch area to the back side, and a horizontal direction (direction Y) perpendicular to the vertical direction, and is equipped with an absorbent pad section 11 including an absorbent core 14 which absorbs and retains bodily fluids, and an annular holder section 17 (elastic laminate 1) which is disposed around the wearer's waist and holds the absorbent pad section 11 against the wearer's crotch area.
Direction X is the width direction (short direction) of the elastic laminate 1 (sheets 1A, 1B) and also the vertical direction of the diaper 10, and direction Y is the longitudinal direction of the elastic laminate 1 (sheets 1A, 1B) and also the horizontal direction of the diaper 10.

The absorbent pad section 11 is configured to be detachable from the holder section 17. That is, the absorbent pad section 11 and the holder section 17 are separate members before the diaper 1 is used. When the diaper 1 is used, the fastening tape 16 of the absorbent pad section 11 is fastened to the target tape 7 of the holder section 17 to join the two together, forming a pants-type diaper having a pair of joints 9, 9, a waist opening WH, and a pair of leg openings LH, LH, as shown in FIG. 3. The joints 9 of the holder section 17 correspond to the side seals of a typical non-separate pants-type disposable diaper. In this embodiment, the joints 9 are linear and extend along the X direction, and extend over the entire length of the elastic laminate 1 in the X direction.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the absorbent pad section 11 includes a liquid-permeable top sheet 12 arranged relatively close to the wearer's skin, a liquid-impermeable, poorly liquid-permeable or water-repellent back sheet 13 arranged relatively far from the wearer's skin, and an absorbent core 14 arranged between the two sheets 12, 13. These members constituting the absorbent pad section 11 are integrated with each other by a known joining means such as an adhesive. The absorbent pad section 11 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and when the diaper 10 is worn, its longitudinal direction coincides with the direction X as shown in Figure 4. A pair of leak-proof cuffs 15, 15 are arranged on both sides of the absorbent pad section 11 along the direction X, which stand up against the wearer's skin when the diaper 10 is worn. Each leak-proof cuff 15 includes a leak-proof cuff forming sheet 150 that forms the main body of the leak-proof cuff 15, and an elastic member 151 fixed to the sheet 150 in a stretched state in the direction X. On the inner surface (skin-facing surface) of each of the two ends of the absorbent pad portion 11 in the X direction, fastening tape 16 is arranged to connect the absorbent pad portion 11 to the holder portion 17.

The elastic laminate 1 constituting the holder section 17 is mainly composed of a laminate of a first elastic sheet 1A and a second elastic sheet 1B. Both sheets 1A, 1B have the same shape and dimensions in a plan view as shown in FIG. 1, and in the elastic laminate 1, both sheets 1A, 1B are overlapped with their respective contours aligned. The elastic laminate 1 is formed symmetrically with respect to a horizontal centerline (not shown) that bisects the elastic laminate 1 in direction Y and extends in direction X.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the elastic laminate 1 (sheets 1A and 1B) has a pair of longitudinal ends X1 and X2 extending in the direction Y. The longitudinal end X1, which is the upper end when the holder part 17 is worn, is a straight line parallel to the direction Y in a plan view, whereas the longitudinal end X2, which is the lower end when the holder part 17 is worn, forms a convex portion that is almost entirely convex toward the longitudinal end X1 (toward the inside of the direction X) in a plan view.

The first elastic sheet 1A and the second elastic sheet 1B each include an outer body 2 that forms the outer surface (non-skin-facing surface) of the elastic laminate 1, and a reinforcing sheet 5 that forms the inner surface (skin-facing surface) of the elastic laminate 1.
In this specification, the "skin-facing surface" refers to the surface of the absorbent article or its constituent parts (absorbent pad portion, holder portion, etc.) that faces the wearer's skin when the absorbent article is worn, and the "non-skin-facing surface" refers to the surface of the absorbent article or its constituent parts that faces the side opposite the skin when the absorbent article is worn.
2, in this embodiment, the exterior body 2 includes an outer layer sheet 3 that forms the outer surface of the elastic laminate 1, and an inner layer sheet 4 that is superimposed on the inner surface of the sheet 3, and is mainly a laminate of both sheets 3, 4. Both sheets 3, 4 are joined together and integrated by a joining means such as an adhesive or fusion.
As shown in Fig. 2, the exterior body 2 (sheets 3 and 4) is folded back on the longitudinal end X1 side of the elastic laminate 1 toward the inner side, so that a folded-back portion 20 extending from the longitudinal end X1 along the direction X is formed on the inner surface (skin-facing surface) of both sheets 1A and 1B. The folded-back portion 20 and the exterior body 2 facing it are joined to each other by a joining means such as an adhesive or fusion. As shown in Fig. 2, the reinforcing sheet 5 is disposed at a position spaced a predetermined distance in the direction X from the folded-back portion 20 of the exterior body 2. The length of the reinforcing sheet 5 in the direction Y is the same as that of the exterior body 2 (sheets 3 and 4), but the length of the reinforcing sheet 5 in the direction X is shorter than that of the exterior body 2 (sheets 3 and 4). The vertical end 5a of the reinforcing sheet 5 on the folded-back portion 20 side (the upper end when the holder portion 17 is worn) is straight and parallel to the direction Y in a planar view, and the vertical end 5b of the reinforcing sheet 5 on the opposite side to the folded-back portion 20 side (the lower end when the holder portion 17 is worn) together with the outer casing 2 constitutes the vertical end X2 of the elastic laminate 1, and has a convex portion that is convex toward the vertical end X1 in a planar view.
Nonwoven fabrics manufactured by various methods, resin films, and the like can be used for the outer layer sheet 3, inner layer sheet 4, and reinforcing sheet 5 that constitute the exterior body 2. Specific examples of nonwoven fabrics that can be used for the sheets 3, 4, and 5 include spunbond nonwoven fabrics, air-through nonwoven fabrics, and needle-punched nonwoven fabrics, and they may have a single-layer structure or a laminate structure in which one or more types of nonwoven fabrics are laminated.

The outer layer sheet 3 is a stretchable sheet stretched in one direction, specifically in the longitudinal direction of the stretchable laminate 1 or in the transverse direction of the diaper 10, in the Y direction, and has stretchability in the Y direction. The stretchable sheet is obtained by stretching an unstretched sheet such as a nonwoven fabric. The stretching process is typically carried out by using a processing means equipped with a pair of grooved rolls on the periphery of which the interlocking grooves are provided along the direction of the rotation axis, and by rotating the rolls to supply the unstretched sheet to the interlocking portions. By such stretching process, the unstretched sheet is formed with high basis weight portions having a relatively high basis weight and low basis weight portions having a relatively low basis weight alternately in the feeding direction (MD), and the unstretched sheet becomes a stretched sheet having stretchability in the MD. The stretchable sheet can be produced, for example, according to the method described in JP 2009-61743 A.

Figure 5 shows a stretch sheet 3A, which is a preferred example of the outer layer sheet 3. The stretch sheet 3A has two opposing fiber sheets 31, 32 and a plurality of elastic filaments 33 arranged between the two fiber sheets 31, 32 and extending in one direction (direction Y) without crossing each other. The plurality of elastic filaments 33 are joined to the stretchable fiber sheets 31, 32 in a substantially unstretched state over their entire longitudinal length.

Both fiber sheets 31, 32 are stretchable in the direction (direction Y) in which elastic filaments 33 extend. Here, "stretchable" includes (1) the case where the constituent fibers of fiber sheets 31, 32 themselves stretch, and (2) the case where the constituent fibers themselves do not stretch, but the fiber sheets 31, 32 as a whole stretch because fibers bonded at intersections become separated, the three-dimensional structure formed by multiple fibers due to bonding between fibers, etc., changes structurally, or constituent fibers break.

The fiber sheets 31, 32 may each be a nonwoven fabric made of short fibers. Examples of nonwoven fabric include air-through nonwoven fabric, heat-rolled nonwoven fabric, spunlace nonwoven fabric, spunbond nonwoven fabric, and meltblown nonwoven fabric. The sheets 31, 32 may be the same or different. Here, "the same" means that the manufacturing process, the type of constituent fibers, the fiber diameter and length of the constituent fibers, and the thickness and basis weight of the fiber sheet are all the same for the two contrasting fiber sheets. If even one of these is different, the contrasting fiber sheets are "different" from each other.

The elastic filament 33 is made of, for example, a thermoplastic elastomer or rubber. In particular, when a thermoplastic elastomer is used as a raw material, it can be melt-spun using an extruder in the same way as a normal thermoplastic resin, and the elastic filament obtained in this way is easy to heat-seal, making it suitable for the stretch sheet 3A. That is, an example of a preferred elastic filament 33 is an elastic filament formed by stretching an elastic resin in a molten or softened state. The bonding between such a preferred elastic filament 33 and the fiber sheets 31, 32 is achieved by fusing the constituent fibers (non-elastic fibers) of both sheets 31, 32 to the elastic filament 33 in a state where they are embedded in the elastic filament 33, and is not achieved by using an adhesive such as a hot-melt adhesive. Therefore, there is no adhesive between the fiber sheets 31, 32 and the elastic filament 33 bonded thereto.

The inner layer sheet 4 and the reinforcing sheet 5 may each be a stretchable sheet that has stretchability in the Y direction, or a non-stretchable sheet that has no stretchability. Typically, both sheets 4 and 5 are non-stretchable sheets.

In this embodiment, the first elastic sheet 1A and the second elastic sheet 1B each further include a functional sheet 6 in addition to the reinforcing sheet 5 as a sheet forming the inner surface (skin-facing surface) of the elastic laminate 1. In the present invention, the functional sheet 6 is intended to impart various functions to the holder portion 17, and in this embodiment, the functional sheet 6 is intended to absorb and retain sweat of the wearer, and is disposed so as to come into contact with the skin of the wearer.
In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the functional sheet 6 is disposed so as to straddle the folded-back portion 20 of the exterior body 2 and the reinforcing sheet 5 in the direction X, and as shown in Fig. 4, the functional sheet 6 has a shape that is long in one direction (specifically, a rectangular shape) in a plan view, and extends continuously over the entire length of both sheets 1A, 1B in the direction Y with its longitudinal direction coinciding with the direction Y. The length of the functional sheet 6 in the direction X is shorter than that of both sheets 1A, 1B.
The functional sheet 6 having a sweat absorbing function is not particularly limited as long as it is a sheet capable of absorbing sweat, but typically, nonwoven fabrics produced by various manufacturing methods are used. Specific examples of nonwoven fabrics that can be used as the functional sheet 6 having a sweat absorbing function include air-through nonwoven fabrics, spunbond nonwoven fabrics, spunlace nonwoven fabrics, airlaid nonwoven fabrics, meltblown nonwoven fabrics, and needle punch nonwoven fabrics, and may also be composite nonwoven fabrics in which two or more types of nonwoven fabrics are laminated.

In this embodiment, the first elastic sheet 1A and the second elastic sheet 1B each include a target tape 7 disposed on the outer surface (non-skin facing surface) of the outer layer sheet 3. The target tape 7 is a fastening destination for the fastening tape 16 (see FIG. 4 ) provided on the absorbent pad section 11, and the reason why the absorbent pad section 11 is configured to be freely attachable to and detachable from the holder section 17 is due to the fastening tape 16 provided on the absorbent pad section 11 and the target tape 7 provided on the elastic laminate 1 as the holder section 17.
1, the target tape 7 has a shape that is long in one direction (specifically, a rectangular shape) in a plan view, and extends continuously over the entire length of each of the sheets 1A, 1B in the direction Y with its longitudinal direction coinciding with the direction Y. Furthermore, the length of the target tape 7 in the direction X is shorter than that of both sheets 1A, 1B, and the center of the target tape 7 in the direction X is positioned closer to the longitudinal end X2 than the centers of both sheets 1A, 1B in the direction X.

In the present invention, the configurations of the fastening tape 16 and the target tape 7 are not particularly limited, provided that the absorbent pad portion 11 is detachable from the holder portion 17. For example, the fastening tape 16 may be configured to have an adhesive portion formed by applying an adhesive or the like to a tape base material, and the fastening tape 16 may be adhered to the target tape 7 via the adhesive portion.
In this embodiment, mechanical hook-and-loop fasteners are used as the fastening tape 16 and the target tape 7. The term "mechanical hook-and-loop fastener" used here refers to a fastener that is a set of a surface member with hook-shaped protrusions on one surface and a surface member with pile-shaped protrusions on one surface. A specific example of a mechanical hook-and-loop fastener is Magic Tape (registered trademark). The fastening tape 16 includes a male member of a mechanical hook-and-loop fastener, and typically includes a tape substrate made of a resin film, woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, or the like, on the surface of which a number of protruding engagement members are arranged. The target tape 7 includes a female member of a mechanical hook-and-loop fastener, and typically includes a number of loop members arranged on the surface of the substrate sheet.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of elastic members 8 are arranged between the exterior body 2 (inner layer sheet 4) and the reinforcing sheet 5, and between the folded portion 20 and the exterior body 2 facing it, so as to be stretchable in the direction Y. As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of elastic members 8 extend over the entire length of both sheets 1A and 1B in the direction Y, and are arranged intermittently in the direction X. Each elastic member 8 is fixed to the sheets 4 and 5 that contact the elastic member 8 by adhesive. When the holder portion 17 is worn, the contraction of the elastic members 8 forms a plurality of folds (gathers) on the surfaces of both sheets 1A and 1B that extend in a direction intersecting the elastic members 8 (direction X). The number and arrangement of the elastic members 8 are not particularly limited, and can be set appropriately in consideration of the fit of the holder portion 17 to the wearer's body, etc.

Next, the manufacturing method of the elastic laminate of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the manufacturing method of the elastic laminate 1 (holder portion 17) described above. Figure 6 shows a manufacturing apparatus 70 used to implement the manufacturing method of the elastic laminate 1. The manufacturing apparatus 70 includes a first manufacturing section 71 which carries out the manufacturing process of the raw fabric sheet 90, and a second manufacturing section 72 which manufactures the elastic laminate 1 (holder portion 17) using the continuous belt-like raw fabric sheet 90 manufactured in the first manufacturing section 71. In the second manufacturing section 72, the following steps are carried out: cutting the raw sheet 90 along a planned cutting line CL (see FIG. 10(a)) extending in the conveying direction MD to divide the raw sheet 90 into a first continuous sheet 91 and a second continuous sheet 92 (division step); rotating one or both of the sheets 91, 92 around the conveying direction MD (rotation step); overlapping the sheets 91, 92 to obtain a continuous laminate 93 (lamination step); forming the joint 9 in the continuous laminate 93 (joining step); and cutting the continuous laminate 93 to obtain a single elastic laminate 1 (single-leaf step).

The method for producing the elastic laminate 1 of this embodiment includes, prior to the dividing step, a process for producing a raw sheet 90 which is divided into two in the cross conveyance direction CD in the dividing step. The process for producing the raw sheet 90 will be described below.
The raw sheet 90 is a continuous strip-shaped sheet including a continuous strip-shaped stretch sheet stretched in one direction, and in this embodiment, a continuous strip-shaped outer layer sheet 3, more specifically, a continuous strip-shaped stretch sheet 3A (see Figure 5), is used as the stretch sheet.
The conveying direction MD coincides with the longitudinal direction (continuous direction) of the original sheet 90 (stretch sheet 3A), and the conveying orthogonal direction CD, which is perpendicular to the conveying direction MD, coincides with the width direction (short direction) of the original sheet 90 (stretch sheet 3A).

In the first manufacturing section 71, as shown in FIG. 6, a continuous strip of an inner layer sheet 4 (first raw material sheet) is arranged on one side (the upper side in the illustrated embodiment) of the stretch sheet 3A being transported in the transport direction MD so as to overlap with a planned cutting line CL (see FIG. 10(a)) described later, and a pair of continuous strip of target tapes 7, 7 (second raw material sheet) are arranged on both sides of the planned cutting line CL on the other side (the lower side in the illustrated embodiment) of the stretch sheet 3A in the transport perpendicular direction CD, to obtain a continuous strip of raw sheet precursor 80, and further, the sheets 3A, 4, 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 are joined together.
In this embodiment, the length (width) of the inner layer sheet 4 in the cross direction CD is the same as or longer than that of the stretch sheet 3A, while the length (width) of the target tape 7 in the cross direction CD is shorter than that of the stretch sheet 3A.
The sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 are joined together by a joining means 73 provided in the first manufacturing section 71. A device conventionally used for joining sheets of this type can be used as the joining means 73. In this embodiment, the joining means 73 includes a melting means 730 such as an ultrasonic horn that heats and melts the workpieces (sheets 3A, 4, and 7), and a receiving roll 731, and is configured to be able to melt the workpieces supplied between the opposing peripheral surfaces of the melting means 730 and the receiving roll 731 while applying pressure to them.

In the present invention, the sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 may be joined together in a plurality of steps or simultaneously.
When the sheets are joined in a plurality of steps, for example, a method of joining the stretch sheet 3A and the inner layer sheet 4 (first raw material sheet) at their intended joining locations and then joining the stretch sheet 3A and the target tape 7 (second raw material sheet) at their intended joining locations can be adopted, or a method of joining in the reverse order can be adopted. In either case, to implement the method, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of (e.g., two) joining means 73 along the conveying direction MD in correspondence with the plurality of (e.g., two) joining steps.
In contrast, in this embodiment, the sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 are joined simultaneously. That is, the raw sheet precursor 80 is introduced into a single joining means 73, and all of the intended joining locations are joined in a single joining process by the single joining means 73. This makes it possible to carry out the method with fewer steps and simpler processing equipment than in a method in which the sheets are joined in multiple steps, and can further improve manufacturing efficiency.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, after the sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 are joined together by the joining means 73, a plurality of elastic members 8 are arranged and fixed in a stretched state stretched to a predetermined stretch rate on the elastic member arrangement surface (the surface on the inner layer sheet 4 side in the illustrated embodiment) of the raw sheet precursor 80 being transported in the transport direction MD. Before the elastic members 8 are arranged on the elastic member arrangement surface and/or the elastic members 8, an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive is applied by an adhesive applicator (not shown), and the elastic members 8 are arranged on the elastic member arrangement surface, whereby the elastic members 8 are joined and fixed to the raw sheet precursor 80.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, in the manufacturing process of the raw sheet 90, both side edge portions 80S, 80S along the conveying direction MD of the raw sheet precursor 80 are folded back to one side of the raw sheet precursor 80 (to the inner layer sheet 4 side in the illustrated embodiment) to form a pair of folded back portions 20, 20 and a folded back portion non-existent portion 21 located between the pair of folded back portions 20, 20 (folding process). As described above, the folded back portion 20 forms one side edge portion of the elastic laminate 1 in the longitudinal direction Y (the lateral direction Y of the holder portion 17). By forming the one side edge portion by folding back the sheet in this way, the appearance of the elastic laminate 1 is improved, and the appearance of the holder portion 17 (diaper 10) can be further improved.

In the folding step, any of the sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the raw sheet precursor 80 may be folded, but as shown in FIG. 7, it is preferable to fold the stretch sheet 3A and the inner layer sheet 4 (first raw material sheet) (without folding the target tape 7). The stretch sheet 3A is more likely to meander during transportation than the other sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor 80, and if the stretch sheet 3A meanders during the manufacturing process of the stretch laminate 1, this may lead to a deterioration in the appearance and functionality of the resulting stretch laminate 1. By folding the stretch sheet 3A and the inner layer sheet 4 in the folding step, such inconveniences can be effectively prevented.

In the folding process, it is preferable to fold back both side edges 80S, 80S of the original sheet precursor 80 to one side of the original sheet precursor 80 (the inner layer sheet 4 side in the illustrated embodiment) using the elastic member 8 arranged inside the folded portion 20 as a reference. As described above, in the manufacturing process of the original sheet 90, after joining the sheets 3A, 4, and 7 constituting the original sheet precursor 80, the elastic member 8 is arranged in the portion (both side edges 80S, 80S of the original sheet precursor 80) on the inner layer sheet 4 (first raw sheet) side surface of the original sheet precursor 80 where the folded portion 20 is to be formed. Since the elastic member 8 arranged in this way extends linearly along the conveying direction MD, in the folding process, the both side edges 80S, 80S of the original sheet precursor 80 are folded back using the elastic member 8 as a reference, so that the folded portion 20 with a neat crease can be formed.

In this embodiment, in the manufacturing process of the raw sheet 90, as shown in FIG. 6, a continuous belt-shaped reinforcing sheet 5 (third raw sheet) is arranged in the folded-back portion non-existing portion 21 on the inner layer sheet 4 (first raw sheet) side of the raw sheet precursor 80 so as to overlap with the planned cutting line CL. This increases the rigidity of the folded-back portion non-existing portion 21 in the raw sheet 90, so that the cut edge portions 91a, 92a (see FIG. 10(b)) of the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 obtained by cutting the raw sheet 90 along the planned cutting line CL in the dividing process are effectively prevented from being turned over during the subsequent transportation of both sheets 91, 92, and manufacturing efficiency can be further improved.

In this embodiment, in the manufacturing process of the raw sheet 90, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, a pair of continuous belt-like functional sheets 6 (fourth raw sheet) are arranged on the surface of the raw sheet precursor 80 on the side of the inner layer sheet 4 (first raw sheet) so as to overlap the boundary 22 between the pair of folded portions 20, 20 and the reinforcing sheet 5 (third raw sheet). This results in a continuous belt-like raw sheet 90 in which the stretch sheet 3A and the first to fourth raw sheet sheets 4 to 7 are laminated. The boundary 22 between the folded portion 20 and the reinforcing sheet 5 is the gap between the folded portion 20 and the reinforcing sheet 5 as shown in FIG. 8, and is a portion in which the number of sheets stacked in the direction X of the stretch laminate 1 is relatively small. As described above, in this embodiment, the joint 9 (see FIG. 1) extends over the entire length of the stretch laminate 1 in the direction X, and overlaps with the boundary 22. If the joint 9 exists so as to straddle the portion in which the number of sheets stacked is different, there is a concern that the bonding strength of the joint 9 will vary. However, as mentioned above, by overlapping the reinforcing sheet 5 at the boundary 22 where the number of laminated sheets is relatively small, such concerns can be eliminated, and the bonding strength of the joint 9 can be made constant over its entire length in the longitudinal direction.

The continuous belt-like raw fabric sheet 90 produced in the first production section 71 in the above manner is then transported to the second production section 72 and used to produce the elastic laminate 1. Figure 9 shows a schematic configuration of the second production section 72, and Figure 10 shows the state of the raw fabric sheet 90 and other processed materials in each section of the second production section 72.

In the second manufacturing section 72, first, the original sheet 90 is transported with its continuous direction being the transport direction MD, and cut along a planned cutting line CL (see Figure 10 (a)) extending in the transport direction MD, thereby dividing the original sheet 90 into a first continuous sheet 91 and a second continuous sheet 92 (division process).
The dividing step is performed by a cutting means 74 provided in the second manufacturing section 72. A device conventionally used for cutting this type of sheet can be used as the cutting means 74. In this embodiment, the cutting means 74 includes a cutter roll 740 having a blade for cutting the sheet, and a receiving roll 741.

10A, the planned cutting line CL meanders about a center line 90L that bisects the original web sheet 90 in the cross-transport direction CD and extends parallel to the transport direction MD. In the illustrated embodiment, the planned cutting line CL meanders symmetrically with respect to the center line 90L, and therefore the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 are in a symmetrical relationship with respect to the planned cutting line CL. The planned cutting line CL is typically a virtual line and is not provided on the original web sheet 90 so as to be visible to the naked eye, but may be provided so as to be visible.
In this embodiment, the cutting line CL has a shape in which a convex portion convex on one side of the conveyance cross direction CD and a convex portion convex on the other side are alternately arranged in the conveyance direction MD in a plan view as shown in Fig. 10(a). The shape of the cutting line CL in a plan view is not particularly limited, provided that the cutting line CL meanders with respect to the center line 90L as a reference, and does not have to meander symmetrically with respect to the center line 90L as shown in Fig. 10(a). The shape of the cutting line CL in a plan view may be, for example, a shape in which the convex portion is trapezoidal in a plan view, such that the contour line is made up of only straight lines, or a shape in which the contour line is S-shaped, such that the contour line is made up of only curved lines, or a shape in which straight lines and curved lines are mixed.

The first continuous sheet 91 has a configuration in which the first stretchable sheet 1A is connected in one direction (the conveying direction MD), and the second continuous sheet 92 has a configuration in which the second stretchable sheet 1B is connected in one direction (the conveying direction MD). The first continuous sheet 91 has, as a pair of edges extending in the conveying direction MD, a non-linear cut edge portion 91a and a linear edge portion 91b caused by cutting the original sheet 90 at the planned cutting line CL. The second continuous sheet 92 has, as a pair of edges extending in the conveying direction MD, a non-linear cut edge portion 92a and a linear edge portion 92b caused by cutting the original sheet 90 at the planned cutting line CL. The non-linear cut edges 91a, 92a form the longitudinal end X2 of the elastic laminate 1 (the lower end of the holder section 17 when worn), and the linear edges 91b, 92b form the longitudinal end X1 of the elastic laminate 1 (the upper end of the holder section 17 when worn) (see Figure 1, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 9, the second manufacturing unit 72 has a conveying path 910 for the first continuous sheet 91 and a conveying path 920 for the second continuous sheet 92, and both conveying paths 910, 920 are independent of each other over a predetermined distance.

After the dividing process, the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 are conveyed in the conveying direction MD on the conveying paths 910, 920, while one or both of the sheets 91, 92 are rotated (twisted) around the conveying direction MD so that the cut edges 91a, 92a at the planned cutting lines CL of the sheets 91, 92 face in the same direction (rotation process).

6, in this embodiment, one side of the conveyance orthogonal direction CD is the operation side (hereinafter also referred to as the "OP side") of a manufacturing apparatus 70 used to implement the manufacturing method for the elastic laminate 1, and the other side of the conveyance orthogonal direction CD is the drive side (hereinafter also referred to as the "DR side") of the manufacturing apparatus 70, with the first continuous sheet 91 located on the OP side and the second continuous sheet 92 located on the DR side. The OP side is the side where an operator who operates the manufacturing apparatus 70 is located, and the DR side is the side where many of the driving devices for operating each part of the manufacturing apparatus 70 are located.
As described above, in the rotating step, one or both of the sheets 91, 92 may be rotated around the conveyance direction MD so that the cut edge 91a of the first continuous sheet 91 and the cut edge 92a of the second continuous sheet 92 face in the same direction, and although the direction in which the cut edge 91a, 92a faces after the rotating step may be either the OP side or the DR side, the DR side is preferred as shown in Fig. 10(b) . This is because the rotation and movement of the sheets 91, 92 can be performed smoothly and accurately. That is, the rotation step and the stacking step, which is the next step, are typically performed by acquiring position information using a detection means (not shown) such as a sensor installed on the OP side, and rotating and moving both sheets 91 and 92 based on the position information, and since the linear edges 91b and 92b are more easily detected by the detection means than the nonlinear cut edges 91a and 92a, and the position information is more accurate and easier to handle, it is preferable that the linear edges 91b and 92b always face the OP side during the rotation step and the stacking step, in other words, it is preferable that the nonlinear cut edges 91a and 92a always face the DR side. Therefore, in the rotation step, it is preferable that the cut edges 91a and 92a of both sheets 91 and 92 face the DR side.

In this embodiment, in order to orient the cut edges 91a, 92a of both sheets 91, 92 to the DR side in the rotating step, the second continuous sheet 92, whose cut edge 92a faces the OP side immediately after the dividing step, is rotated 180 degrees around the conveying direction MD. On the other hand, the first continuous sheet 91, whose cut edge 91a faces the DR side immediately after the dividing step, is not rotated around the conveying direction MD.
9, the conveying path 920 of the second continuous sheet 92 is provided with a sheet rotation area 75 that rotates the second continuous sheet 92 180 degrees around the conveying direction MD during conveying, and the sheet rotation area 75 has a plurality of cylindrical conveying rolls 750 as sheet rotating means intermittently arranged in the conveying direction MD with their axial directions aligned with the conveying cross direction CD. The conveying rolls 750 in the sheet rotation area 75 are arranged such that the angles between their axial directions and the horizontal direction (vertical direction) are different from one another, and the angles increase or decrease from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveying direction MD (from the left side to the right side in FIG. 9). The second continuous sheet 92 is conveyed in the conveying direction MD through the sheet rotation area 75 configured in this way, and is rotated 180 degrees around the conveying direction MD.
The number of transport rolls 750 arranged in the sheet rotation region 75 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately adjusted depending on the rotation angle of the sheet, etc. The sheet rotating means is also not particularly limited, and any known rotating means capable of rotating the sheet around the transport direction during transport can be appropriately used.

Other embodiments of the rotation process are shown in Figures 11 and 12. In the other embodiments described below, configurations different from the above embodiment (the embodiment shown in Figure 9) will be mainly described, and similar configurations will be given the same reference numerals and description will be omitted. For configurations not specifically described in the embodiments described below, the description of the above embodiment will be applied as appropriate.
9, only one of the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 (specifically, the sheet 92) is rotated 180 degrees around the conveying direction MD in the rotating step, but both sheets 91, 92 may be rotated. For example, as shown in Fig. 11, both sheets 91, 92 may be rotated 90 degrees around the conveying direction MD to match the orientations of the cut edges 91a, 92a of both sheets 91, 92. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 11, a sheet rotation area 75 in which a plurality of conveying rolls 750 are arranged is provided in each of a conveying path 910 for the first continuous sheet 91 and a conveying path 920 for the second continuous sheet 92, and one sheet 91 is rotated 90 degrees around the conveying direction MD, and the other sheet 92 is rotated 90 degrees around the conveying direction MD in the opposite direction to the one sheet 91, and then both sheets 91, 92 are merged. Reference numeral 751 in FIG. 11 denotes a turn bar for changing the conveying direction of the sheets 91 and 92 .
9 includes a plurality of transport rolls 750 arranged at intervals in the transport direction MD, but may instead include a plurality of turn bars 751 as shown in Fig. 12. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 12, two turn bars 751 are arranged to cross each other, so that the second continuous sheet 92 can be rotated 180 degrees around the transport direction MD over a shorter distance than in the embodiment shown in Fig. 9.

In the method for producing the elastic laminate 1, after or during the rotation step, the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 are overlapped as shown in FIG. 10(d) by aligning the phase of the cut edges 91a, 92a of both sheets 91, 92 in the conveying direction MD as shown in FIG. 10(c) to obtain a continuous laminate 93 (lamination step).
In the plan view shown in Fig. 10, the cut edges 91a and 92a are wavy lines in which convex portions and concave portions are alternately arranged in the conveying direction MD, and if the distance in the conveying direction MD between the tops of two adjacent convex portions is one pitch, the cut edges 91a and 92a are shifted by 0.5 pitches in the conveying direction MD immediately after the division step (before the phase alignment of the cut edges 91a and 92a in the conveying direction MD) (see Figs. 10(a) and 10(b)). In the stacking step, the phase alignment between the cut edges 91a and 92a in the conveying direction MD is eliminated, and the sheets 91 and 92 are stacked to form a continuous stack 93 in which the contours of the sheets 91 and 92 match. The continuous laminate 93 has a pair of edges 93a, 93b extending in the machine direction MD (longitudinal direction), one of which, the non-linear cut edge 93a, is formed by an overlapping portion of the non-linear cut edges 91a, 92a of both sheets 91, 92, forming a non-linear longitudinal direction X2 of the elastic laminate 1, and the other, linear edge 93b, is formed by an overlapping portion of the linear edges 91b, 92b of both sheets 91, 92, forming a linear longitudinal direction X1 of the elastic laminate 1.

The method of the phase alignment is not particularly limited, and various methods can be adopted. In this embodiment, in order to align the phase, the conveying path 910 of the first continuous sheet 91 and the conveying path 920 of the second continuous sheet 92 are made different in length, as shown in FIG. 9. More specifically, the conveying path 910 of the first continuous sheet 91, which is not rotated around the conveying direction MD in the rotation process, is set longer than the conveying path 920 of the second continuous sheet 92, so that the phases of the cut edges 91a and 92a of both sheets 91 and 92 in the conveying direction MD are aligned at the joining position of both conveying paths 910 and 920 (the position where the continuous laminate 93 is formed).

In the lamination process, as shown in FIG. 13, it is preferable to overlap the first continuous sheet 91 and the second continuous sheet 92 by aligning the folded portions 20 of the sheets, i.e., by aligning the linear edges 91b and 92b in a plan view, as shown in FIG. 13. By using the linear edges 91b and 92b as a reference when overlapping the sheets 91 and 92 in this way, it becomes easier to obtain position information by the detection means described above compared to using the non-linear cut edges 91a and 92a as a reference, and therefore the sheets 91 and 92 can be overlapped more smoothly and with higher accuracy.

In the second manufacturing section 72, after the continuous laminate 93 is formed as described above, joints 9 (see FIG. 1) are intermittently formed in the continuous laminate 93 in the conveying direction MD by a joining means not shown (joining process), and further, the continuous laminate 93 with the joints 9 formed therein is cut in the conveying direction perpendicular to the conveying direction CD while being conveyed in the conveying direction MD (singling process), thereby continuously producing single sheets of the elastic laminate 1.
In the joining process, the joint 9 is formed between a pair of edges along the conveying direction MD of the continuous laminate 93, more specifically, between the edge 93a on the non-linear cut edge portion 91a, 92a side of both continuous sheets 91, 92 (the edge portion on the convex portion side of the continuous laminate 93) and the edge 93b on the linear edge portion (non-cut edge portion) 91b, 92b side of both continuous sheets 91, 92.

The elastic laminate 1 (holder portion 17) is mainly composed of sheets such as the elastic sheet 3A (outer layer sheet 3), inner layer sheet 4, and reinforcing sheet 5, which have relatively low rigidity and are unlikely to become folding points, and does not contain components such as absorbents in absorbent articles, which have relatively high rigidity and are likely to become folding points. Therefore, if the manufacturing process for the elastic laminate 1 included a process of folding the raw sheet precursor 80 (an elastic laminate consisting of a front body and a back body integrated together) containing the sheets 3A, 4, and 5 in half in the perpendicular transport direction CD, there is a concern that the folding will not be stable, making it difficult to fold and difficult to obtain clean creases. In contrast, the manufacturing method of the present invention described above does not fold such an absorbent-free stretchable sheet (raw sheet precursor 80) in half, but instead divides the stretchable sheet in two in the conveying direction CD, and rotates one or both of the divided sheets (sheets 91, 92) around the conveying direction MD to overlap each other. This eliminates the problems caused by folding a stretchable sheet with no fold origin, and enables the stable production of a high-quality stretchable laminate 1.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the raw sheet 90 includes sheets other than the stretch sheet 3A, but it may be composed of only the stretch sheet 3A.

The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment of the present invention.
＜1＞
A method for producing an elastic laminate comprising: a first elastic sheet having elasticity in one direction; and a second elastic sheet overlapping one side of the first elastic sheet and having elasticity in the one direction, the first elastic sheet and the second elastic sheet being joined to each other at a pair of joints formed at both ends in the one direction, the first elastic sheet and the second elastic sheet being not joined to each other at a portion sandwiched between the pair of joints, the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints being capable of forming a ring-shaped structure having elasticity in a circumferential direction,
a dividing step of dividing an original sheet including a continuous belt-like stretchable sheet that is continuous in one direction and stretched in the one direction, into a first continuous sheet including a first stretchable sheet in the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet including a second stretchable sheet in the conveying direction, the first stretchable sheet being divided into two equal parts in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, the cutting line meandering about a center line extending parallel to the conveying direction, while the original sheet is conveyed in the one direction as a conveying direction, and the cutting line is divided into two equal parts in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet including a first stretchable sheet in the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet in which a plurality of the second stretchable sheets are connected in the conveying direction;
a rotating step of rotating one or both of the first and second continuous sheets around the conveying direction while conveying the first and second continuous sheets in the conveying direction so that cut edges of the first and second continuous sheets at the intended cutting lines face the same direction;
a lamination step of overlapping the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet such that the cut edge portions of both continuous sheets are aligned in phase with each other in the conveying direction to obtain a continuous laminate;
a joining step of intermittently forming the joints in the continuous laminate in the conveying direction;
and a sheet-cutting step of cutting the continuous laminate in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction to obtain sheets of the elastic laminate.
＜2＞
One side of the conveyance direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance is an operation side of a manufacturing device used to carry out the manufacturing method of the elastic laminate, and the other side of the conveyance direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance is a drive side of the manufacturing device,
The method for producing an elastic laminate described in <1>, wherein in the rotating step, one of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet is rotated 180 degrees around the conveying direction so that the cut edge of each of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet faces the drive side.
＜3＞
The method for producing an elastic laminate described in <1> or <2>, wherein in the joining step, the joint is formed between a pair of edges of the continuous laminate along the conveying direction (more specifically, between an edge of the both continuous sheets on the side of the cut edge and an edge on the opposite side to the edge).

＜4＞
A manufacturing step of the raw sheet is included before the dividing step,
In the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, a continuous strip of a first raw material sheet is arranged on one side of the stretch sheet being transported in the one direction so as to overlap with the planned cutting line, and a pair of continuous strips of a second raw material sheet is arranged on both sides of the planned cutting line on the other side of the stretch sheet in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction, to obtain a raw sheet precursor, and further, the sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor are joined together.
＜5＞
The method for producing an elastic laminate according to <4> above, wherein the sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor are joined together at the same time.
＜6＞
The manufacturing process of the raw sheet includes a folding process for folding back both side edge portions of the raw sheet precursor along the conveying direction to one side of the raw sheet precursor to form a pair of folded back portions on both sides of the folded back portion-free portion of the raw sheet precursor in the conveying direction perpendicular to the conveying direction.
＜７＞
The method for producing an elastic laminate according to <6>, wherein in the folding back step, the elastic sheet and the first raw material sheet are folded back.
＜8＞
In the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, after the sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor are joined together, an elastic member is placed in the area where the folded portion is to be formed on the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet.
＜9＞
The method for producing an elastic laminate described in <8>, in the folding process, both side edge portions of the raw sheet precursor along the conveying direction are folded back toward the one surface side of the raw sheet precursor, based on the elastic member arranged inside the folded back portion.
＜10＞
In the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, a continuous belt-shaped third raw sheet is placed in the non-folded portion of the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet so as to overlap the planned cutting line. The method for manufacturing an elastic laminate described in any one of <6> to <9>.
<11>
In the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, a pair of continuous belt-like fourth raw sheet sheets are arranged on the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet so as to overlap the boundary between the pair of folded-back portions and the third raw sheet.
＜12＞
The method for producing a stretchable laminate according to any one of <6> to <11>, wherein in the lamination step, the folded-back portions of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet are aligned with each other to overlap each other.

1 Stretchable laminate 1A First stretchable sheet 1B Second stretchable sheet 2 Outer body 20 Folded portion 21 Non-folded portion portion 22 Boundary between folded portion and reinforcing sheet (third raw material sheet) 3, 3A Outer layer sheet (stretchable sheet)
31, 32 Fiber sheet 33 Elastic filament 4 Inner layer sheet (first raw material sheet)
5 Reinforcing sheet (third raw material sheet)
6. Functional sheet (fourth raw material sheet)
7 Target tape (second raw material sheet)
Reference Signs List 8 Elastic member 9 Joint section 10 Pants-type disposable diaper 11 Absorbent pad section 12 Top sheet 13 Back sheet 14 Absorbent core 15 Leak-proof cuff 16 Fastening tape 17 Holder section 70 Manufacturing device for stretchable laminate 71 First manufacturing section 72 Second manufacturing section 73 Joining means 74 Cutting means 75 Sheet rotation area 80 Raw sheet precursor 90 Raw sheet 91 First continuous sheet 91a Cut edge portion of first continuous sheet 92 Second continuous sheet 92a Cut edge portion of second continuous sheet 93 Continuous laminate CL Planned cutting line

Claims (10)

A method for producing an elastic laminate comprising: a first elastic sheet having elasticity in one direction; and a second elastic sheet overlapping one side of the first elastic sheet and having elasticity in the one direction, the first elastic sheet and the second elastic sheet being joined to each other at a pair of joints formed at both ends in the one direction, the first elastic sheet and the second elastic sheet being not joined to each other at a portion sandwiched between the pair of joints, the portion sandwiched between the pair of joints being capable of forming a ring-shaped structure having elasticity in a circumferential direction,
a dividing step of dividing an original sheet including a continuous belt-like stretchable sheet that is continuous in one direction and stretched in the one direction, into a first continuous sheet including a first stretchable sheet in the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet including a second stretchable sheet in the conveying direction, the first stretchable sheet being divided into two equal parts in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, the cutting line meandering about a center line extending parallel to the conveying direction, while the original sheet is conveyed in the one direction as a conveying direction, and the cutting line is divided into two equal parts in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet including a first stretchable sheet in the conveying direction and a second continuous sheet in which a plurality of the second stretchable sheets are connected in the conveying direction;
a rotating step of rotating one or both of the first and second continuous sheets around the conveying direction while conveying the first and second continuous sheets in the conveying direction so that cut edges of the first and second continuous sheets at the intended cutting lines face the same direction;
a lamination step of overlapping the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet such that the cut edge portions of both continuous sheets are aligned in phase with each other in the conveying direction to obtain a continuous laminate;
a joining step of intermittently forming the joints in the continuous laminate in the conveying direction;
A sheeting process of cutting the continuous laminate in the conveying direction perpendicular to the conveying direction to obtain a sheet of the elastic laminate,
A manufacturing step of the raw sheet is included before the dividing step,
In the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, a continuous strip of a first raw material sheet is placed on one side of the stretch sheet being transported in the one direction so as to overlap the planned cutting line, and a pair of continuous strips of a second raw material sheet are placed on both sides of the planned cutting line on the other side of the stretch sheet in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction, to obtain a raw sheet precursor, and further the sheets that make up the raw sheet precursor are joined together in a manufacturing method of a stretch laminate. One side of the conveyance direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance is an operation side of a manufacturing device used to carry out the manufacturing method of the elastic laminate, and the other side of the conveyance direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance is a drive side of the manufacturing device,
2. The method for producing an elastic laminate according to claim 1, wherein in the rotating step, one of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet is rotated 180 degrees around the conveying direction so that the cut edge of each of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet faces the drive side. The method for producing an elastic laminate according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor are bonded to each other simultaneously. The manufacturing process of the raw sheet includes a folding process for folding back both side edge portions of the raw sheet precursor along the conveying direction to one side of the raw sheet precursor to form a pair of folded back portions on both sides of the folded back portion-free portion of the raw sheet precursor in the conveying orthogonal direction. The manufacturing method of the elastic laminate according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The method for producing a stretchable laminate according to claim 4 , wherein in the folding back step, the stretch sheet and the first raw material sheet are folded back. 6. The method for producing an elastic laminate according to claim 4 or 5, wherein in the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, after the sheets constituting the raw sheet precursor are joined together, an elastic member is placed in the area where the folded portion is to be formed on the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet . The method for manufacturing an elastic laminate described in claim 6, wherein in the folding process, both side edge portions of the raw sheet precursor along the conveying direction are folded back toward the one surface side of the raw sheet precursor, based on the elastic member arranged inside the folded back portion . The method for producing an elastic laminate according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein in the raw sheet manufacturing process, a continuous belt-shaped third raw sheet is placed in the non-folded portion of the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet so as to overlap the planned cutting line. The method for manufacturing an elastic laminate described in claim 8, wherein in the manufacturing process of the raw sheet, a pair of continuous belt-shaped fourth raw sheet is placed on the surface of the raw sheet precursor facing the first raw sheet so as to overlap the boundary between a pair of the folded-back portions and the third raw sheet. The method for producing an elastic laminate according to any one of claims 4 to 9 , wherein in the lamination step, the folded-back portions of the first continuous sheet and the second continuous sheet are aligned with each other to overlap each other.