The present invention relates to replacement of devices in a wearable article manufacturing equipment.
In recent years, frames for supporting devices have been modularized in wearable article manufacturing equipment. The modularized frame is arranged in a plural number or in a great number, as disclosed in the following patent documents. The devices supported by the respective frames produce wearable articles in a continuous manner. Each module includes a base, a pair of pillars, and one set of upper and lower panels (see the patent documents 1 and 2 listed below). The disclosure of the following patent documents is herein entirely incorporated.
The respective upper and lower panels are tightened to a pair of pillars by bolts, for example. Each panel is configured as one unit so that a processing section and a driving section are attached to a front face and a back face, respectively. In order to change the size for example, each unit is removed from the pillars together with the respective panels and is replaced.
[The First Patent Document] PCT/US2001/003188 (
[The Second Patent Document] JP2005-200177 (Front page)
However, in the case of the invention of the above document 1, the load of an upper panel is supported by a lower panel. Thus, in order to replace the first processing section and/or the driving section attached to the lower panel, a step was required, prior to the removal of the lower panels from a pair of pillars, to remove the upper panel from the pair of pillars, thus requiring a long time to replace the unit.
It is an objective of the present invention to replace a device of a wearable article manufacturing equipment in a simple manner.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a panel attachment structure for a wearable article manufacturing equipment, the equipment including:
In this panel attachment structure, a first unit 10 including the lower panel 1, the first processing section 11, and the first driving section 12 is replaced in a manner as described below.
Specifically, this replacement method includes:
As described above, the first processing section 11 and/or the first driving section 12 of the lower panel 1 can be replaced while the upper panel 2 is supported by the support section 5 in the state of being fixed to the pair of pillars 4. Thus, devices of a wearable article manufacturing equipment can be replaced in a simple manner.
In
In
Preferably, the support sections 5 are spacers 5 each fixed to an intermediate part of each of the pair of pillars, the intermediate part positioned between each of the upper parts and each of the lower parts; and
In this case, the spacer 5 provides the space Δ between the lower panel 1 and the upper panel 2, thus allowing the lower panel 1 to be easily pulled from the pillars 4 to the front side.
Preferably, the support sections 5 are spacers 5 each fixed to each of the pair of pillars 4; and
In this case, each corner of the lower end of the upper panel 2 is abutted to the upper end of each spacer, thus easily providing the space Δ.
Preferably, the upper panel 2 includes a lower-end first corner 201;
In this case, the spacers engaged with the respective notches allow the panels to be easily positioned, and provide the space Δ in an even easier manner.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a replacement unit 6 for replacing the first processing section 11 or the first driving section 12 according to claim 1, the replacement unit 6 including:
The method of the present invention uses the replacement unit 6 to replace the lower panel 1, the first processing section 11, and the first driving section 12. The method includes:
Even in this case, while the upper panel 2 is fixed to the pair of pillars 4, the first processing section 11 and/or the first driving section 12 of the lower panel 1 can be replaced. Thus, a device of a wearable article manufacturing equipment can be replaced in a simple manner.
In particular, the use of this replacement unit allows, even when the second unit 20 including the upper panel 2 is attached to the pillar 4, the first unit 10 to be pulled to the front side, thereby replacing the first unit 10 with the substitute first unit 10A as a substitute.
In this method, the wording “the base functioning as a platform” intends to express a situation where the carriage is stopped while close to the base and means that the base functions as a platform for the carriage.
Preferably, as the substitute first unit 10A,
In the present invention, the device that needs to be replaced is mainly the first processing section. When only a first processing section—a part of a first unit—is attempted to be replaced without replacing a lower panel and a first driving section, it requires a high skill and a lot of time to replace the first processing section due to the following steps: the lower panel is removed from pillars; the first processing section is removed from the removed lower panel; and a substitute first processing section, as a substitute for the removed first processing section, is attached to the removed lower panel at a wearable article production plant.
Thus, it is generally preferred to entirely replace the entire first unit integrated to include not only the first processing section but also the first driving section and the lower panel. In this way, replacing the first unit with a substitute first unit becomes even easier.
However, in order to reduce the cost of a device, it is acceptable to replace only the first processing section.
Any feature illustrated and/or depicted in conjunction with one of the aforementioned embodiment(s) or the following example(s) may be used in the same or similar form in one or more of the other embodiments or other examples, and/or may be used in combination with, or in place of, any feature of the other embodiments or examples.
The present invention will be understood more clearly from the following description of preferred examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Note however that the examples and the drawings are merely illustrative and should not be taken to define the scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention shall be defined only by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals denote like components throughout the plurality of figures.
The following section will describe one example of the present invention based on the drawings.
In
As shown in
The base 3 of
In
The upper panel 2 and a lower panel 1 are provided along the vertical plane and are arranged to be mutually separated so that the upper panel 2 is positioned directly above the lower panel 1. The lower panel 1 is fixed to one lower part of one of the pillars 4 and another lower part of another one of the pillars 4 in a removable manner by a plurality of bolts 50. The upper panel 2 is fixed to one upper part of one of the pillars 4 and another upper part of another one of the pillars 4 in a removable manner by a plurality of other bolts 50.
Each of the upper and lower panels 1 and 2 is configured so that one side edge of one panel is fixed along one pillar 4 and the other side edge is fixed along another pillar 4 separated from the one pillar 4 in the horizontal direction.
The support section 5 functioning as a spacer is fixed to the intermediate part between the upper part and the lower part of the pillar 4 by a plurality of still other bolts 50. This spacer 5 is intended to be abutted to a part of the lower end of the upper panel 2 to secure the space Δ between the lower panel 1 and the upper panel 2. Specifically, the spacer 5 is provided between the upper panel 2 and the lower panel 1 so as to support the load of the upper panel 2.
For example, as shown in
As shown in
Note that the panels 1 and 2 having a substantially-rectangular shape include notches corresponding to the spacer 5. Specifically, the upper panel 2 includes notches at both corners of its lower edge. On the other hand, the lower panel 1 includes notches at both corners of its upper edge.
For example, as shown in
On the other hand, the second notch 52 is formed in at least one of a second lower-end corner 202 of the upper panel 2 and a second upper-end corner 102 of the lower panel 1. The second upper-end corner 102 is opposed to the second lower-end corner 201. Another one of the spacers 5 is engaged with the second notch 52.
In this example, as shown in
As shown in another example of
Each frame unit U may include a front face door, a back face door, and a ceiling board.
As shown in
Each of the processing sections 11 and 21 may be a die cut roller, an anvil roll, or a conveyor for example. On the other hand, each of the driving sections may be a servo motor to drive a roll to rotate, or a gear to transmit the driving force of a main motor of the entire equipment to the processing section.
This manufacturing equipment may be a manufacturing equipment for a wearable article such as a disposable diaper or disposable shorts, or sanitary products, for example.
In
Next, the following section will describe the replacement unit 6 of the first unit 10 of
In
The carriage 60 is movable relative to the base 3 and transfers the first unit 10 via the base 3 as a platform. Note that the carriage 60 may have four casters 68, for example.
In the state where the carriage 60 is close to the base 3 functioning as a platform, the pair of guides 61 horizontally extends towards the lower panel 1, and protrudes from the carriage 60 as shown in
As shown in
In
Note that an adjuster (not shown) may be provided that adjusts the height of the slider 62 in the up-and-down direction.
Next, the following section will describe a method of replacing only the first unit 10 while the second unit 20 is attached to the frame-like frame 7.
Hereinafter, this example will be described with regard to the replacement method using the replacement unit 6.
First, the substitute first unit 10A shown in gray in
The substitute first unit 10A is configured so that: the substitute lower panel 1A as a substitute for the lower panel 1 is attached to:
Here, the substitute lower panel 1A of
The substitute lower panel 1A of
The substitute first processing section 11A may be intended to process an article that has a different size from an article processed by the first processing section 11, or may have a different structure, or may have a similar structure having the same size. In other words, the substitute first processing section 11A may be any one so long as the substitute first processing section 11A can be replaced with the first processing section 11 as a part of the manufacturing equipment.
The substitute first driving section 12A may be intended to process an article that has a different size from an article processed by the first driving section 12, or may have a differed structure, or may have a similar structure having the same size. In other words, the substitute first driving section 12A may be any one so long as the first driving section 12A can be replaced with the first driving section 12 as a part of the manufacturing equipment.
The following respective steps are performed while the upper panel 2 provided directly above the lower panel 1 is fixed to the pair of pillars 4.
After the preparation of the substitute first unit 10A, as shown in
To perform this removal, first, as shown in
After the approaching step of
Thereafter, the remaining bolts 50 by which the lower panel 1 of
Thereafter, as shown in
In this manner, the existing first unit 10 shown in
Thereafter, as shown in
Specifically, as shown in
After the approaching step, as shown in
After the transfer, the substitute first unit 10A of
Thereafter, as shown in
In this manner, as a substitute for the first unit 10 of
Incidentally, in the embodiment, the second panel 2 was attached with the second processing section 21 and the second driving section 22. However, the second panel 2 may be attached with a free roller, a shaft, or another not-driven device. When a not-driven device is provided on the front face 2f of the second panel 2, the second panel 2 may not include a penetration hole.
As described above, preferred examples have been described with reference to the drawings. However, various changes and modifications may be clear for those skilled in the art in view of this specification, within an obvious scope.
For example, the spacer 5 may be welded to the pillar 4 or may be fixed to the pillar 4 by one bolt.
A notch corresponding to the spacer 5 may be provided only in one panel of the upper and lower panels.
Thus, such changes and modifications will be interpreted as being within the scope of the present invention determined based on the claims.
The present invention can be applied to wearable articles such as a disposable diaper or shorts, as well as absorbing articles such as sanitary products.
1: Lower panel 101: First corner 102: Second corner
2: Upper panel 201: First corner 202: Second corner
1
f,2f: Front face 1b,2b: Back face
10: First unit 11: First processing section 12: First driving section
20: Second unit 21: Second processing section 22: Second driving section
3: Base 30: Upper face 31: Leg section
4: Pillar 40: Concave section
5: Support section (spacer) 50: Bolt 51: First notch 52: Second notch 5H: Insertion hole
6: Replacement unit 60: Carriage 61: Guide 62: Slider 63: Sliding plate
64: Horizontal section 65: Perpendicular section 66: Roller 67: Flange 68: Caster
7: Frame-like frame 70: Beam
Δ: Space
U: Frame unit
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2017-218960 | Nov 2017 | JP | national |
This is a divisional application under 35 USC § 121 of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/759,131, filed on Apr. 24, 2020, which is a National Stage under 35 USC § 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2018/040968, filed on Nov. 5, 2018, which claims priority under 35 USC § 119 to Japanese Application No. 2017-218960, filed Nov. 14, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6273165 | Gundersen | Aug 2001 | B1 |
8321049 | Healey et al. | Nov 2012 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
H04-96891 | Aug 1992 | JP |
H06-2750 | Jan 1994 | JP |
H06-13774 | Jan 1994 | JP |
H09-232776 | Sep 1997 | JP |
H10-505246 | May 1998 | JP |
2005-200117 | Jul 2005 | JP |
2007-044349 | Feb 2007 | JP |
01-56523 | Aug 2001 | WO |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report Issued in PCT/JP2018/040968 dated Jan. 29, 2019. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220275815 A1 | Sep 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16759131 | US | |
Child | 17750312 | US |