The present application claims priority upon Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-000203 filed on Jan. 6, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to manufacturing apparatuses of tampons and manufacturing methods of tampons.
2. Related Art
A tampon which is a sanitary product generally has a bullet shaped absorber that absorbs bodily fluids such as menstrual blood and a removal string that extends out from a rear end of the absorber. Such a tampon is manufactured by sewing a removal string to a sheet absorber made by wrapping hydrophilic fiber such as rayon and cotton with a liquid permeable sheet, and then pressure molding the sheet absorber into a bullet shape (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2008-302115).
After the absorber has been inserted inside a vagina and has been used, a user of the tampon pulls the removal string to remove the absorber from inside the vagina. At that time, in the case that the removal string comes off from the absorber, the absorber cannot be removed from inside the vagina.
An advantage of some aspects of the present invention is that it is possible to suppress a tampon in which a removal string can easily come off from the absorber from being provided to a user.
An aspect of the invention is a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon that has an absorber that absorbs bodily fluids and a removal string to remove the absorber from inside a vagina, the manufacturing apparatus of a tampon including:
Other features of the present invention will be made clear through the present specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
At least the following matters will become clear through the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon that has an absorber that absorbs bodily fluids and a removal string to remove the absorber from inside a vagina, the manufacturing apparatus of a tampon comprising:
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the tampon in which an occurrence of defective sewing has been detected can be excluded, and the tampon in which the removal string can come off easily from the absorber can be suppressed from being provided to user.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the removal string can be appropriately sewn to the absorber, and the defective sewing can be detected during sewing, and the defective sewing can be detected more accurately.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the tampon in which the occurrence of the defective sewing has detected can be excluded, and the tampon in which the removal string can come off easily from the absorber can be suppressed from being provided to a user.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, a shipped stitch during sewing can be detected.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the defective sewing can be detected more accurately.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the tension sensor can measure the tension of the upper thread stably without inhibiting the up and down movement of the thread take up lever, and can measure the tension of the upper thread in a position as near as possible to the position of occurrence of the detective sewing.
A manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, wherein
According to such a manufacturing apparatus of a tampon, the tampon in which an occurrence of defective sewing has been detected can be excluded, and the tampon in which the removal string can come off easily from the absorber can be suppressed from being provided to a user.
Further, a manufacturing method of a tampon that has an absorber that absorbs bodily fluids and a removal string to remove the absorber from inside a vagina, the manufacturing method of a tampon comprising:
According to such a manufacturing method of a tampon, the tampon in which an occurrence of defective sewing has been detected can be excluded, and the tampon in which the removal string cent come off easily from the absorber can be suppressed from being provided to a user.
In a manufacturing method of the tampon 1, first a laminated body made by laminating absorbent sheets that absorb the bodily fluids (for example, a hydrophilic fiber sheet of rayon, cotton and the like) is covered on both surfaces with a liquid permeable sheet (for example, a polyester spun bonded nonwoven fabric), is cut out into a feather shape, and a sheet absorber 2b is manufactured. As shown in a left diagram in
Then, the sheet absorber 2b is compression molded into a ballet shape so that the surface side attached with the removal string 3 becomes the inside, and the absorber 2a is manufactured. Thus, the tampon 1 is shaped such that the removal string 3 is not exposed from the absorber 2a and extends out from a rear end of the absorber 2a. Then, the tampon 1 that has been manufactured is housed inside an applicator that is for inserting the tampon 1 inside the vagina, is wrapped, and provided to a user.
===Defective Sewing between Absorber and Removal String===
As an example of defective sewing, as shown in
As other examples of defective sewing, as shown in
As described above, when defective sewing occurs during sewing of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3, and the removal string 3 is in a state where it can easily come off from the absorber 2a, the removal string 3 come off from the absorber 2a when the user of the tampon 1 pulls the removal string 3 to remove the absorber 2a from inside the vagina. In that case, the absorber 2a cannot be removed from inside the vagina. Thus, with the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the tampon 1 of this embodiment, defective sewing between the absorber 2a (sheet absorber 2b) and the removal string 3 is detected. As a result, the tampon 1 that has been detected to have defective sewing can be excluded, and the tampon 1 in which the removal string 3 easily comes off from the absorber 2a can be suppressed from being provided to a user.
===Detection of Defective Sewing between Absorber and Removal String===
As described above, in the manufacturing method of the tampon 1, first a continuous body 2c of the sheet absorbers, which is a laminated body laminated with absorbent sheets that is covered on both surfaces with a liquid permeable sheet, is manufactured. As shown in
It should be noted that, the sewing unit 20 continuously sews one removal string 3, with respect to the sheet absorbers 2b that are transported in the transporting direction with intervals between the sheet absorbers without stopping. Thus, the interval in the transporting direction between the sheet absorbers 2b transported to the sewing unit 20 needs to be made equal to or longer than the length of the removal string 3 that extends out from the rear end of the absorber 2a of the tampon 1. Then, a transporting speed V2 of a second belt conveyor 13 and a third belt conveyor 14 in the downstream side in the transporting direction is made faster than a transporting speed V1 of a first belt conveyor 11 in an upstream side in the transporting direction than the rotary die cutter 12. In this way, the sheet absorber 2b that has been cut can be separated in the transporting direction.
The sewing unit 20 includes a sewing machine 21, a pair of press belt conveyors 22a and 22b, a thread supplying portion 23, an upper thread tension sensor 24, and a controlling portion 25, and the thread supplying portion 23, the upper thread tension sensor 24, and the controlling portion 25 correspond to a defective sewing detecting portion. The sheet absorber 2b that is transported with the second and the third belt conveyors 13 and 14 is sandwiched between a downstream side end portion of the third belt conveyor 14 and the pair of the press belt conveyors 22a and 22b, and transported to a workbench 21a of the sewing machine 21. On the workbench 21a, the sheet absorber 2b is transported to the downstream side in the transporting direction at a constant speed with the pair of the press belt conveyors 22a and 22b.
As shown in
It should be noted that, one removal string 3 is sewn continuously with respect to the plurality of the sheet absorbers 2b that are transported with intervals in between the sheet absorbers in the transporting direction. Then, the removal string 3 is sewn to the sheet absorber 1b and transported to the downstream side in the transporting direction, thus is fed from a supply source (not shown) of the removal string 3, and supplied onto the sheet absorber 2b. Then, the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 are sewn in a state where the removal string 3 is applied with tension along the longitudinal direction of the removal string 3, thus the removal string 3 can be appropriately sewn along the longitudinal direction of the sheet absorber 2b (tampon 1).
The thread supplying portion 23 includes a thread supplying portion 23 for an upper thread and a thread supplying portion for a lower thread (not shown), and since they have the same configuration, the thread supplying portion 23 for the upper thread is explained as an example. The thread supplying portion 23 tor the upper thread is for supplying the upper thread 4a to the sewing machine 21, and as shown in
Further, the speed of the upper thread 4a supplied to the sewing machine 21, namely, the amount (length) of the upper thread 4a supplied to the sewing machine 21 per unit time is measured with the speed sensor 234. It should be noted that, by providing the speed sensor 234 more to the downstream side than the upstream side tension sensor 233, and by the speed sensor 234 measuring the speed of the upper thread 4a that is regulated so that the tension is constant, the speed of the upper thread 4a can be measured more accurately. Further, as the speed sensor 234, there is, for example, a rotary encoder having a roller which is wrapped around with the upper thread 4a, a rotary scale that rotates integrally with the roller and is formed with slits at constant intervals in the circumferential direction, a light-emitting device and a light receiving device. With the rotary encoder, the rotation angle per unit time is obtained by whether or not the light receiving device has received the light from the light-emitting device that has passed through the slits. Thus, according to the rotation angle per such unit time, the speed of the upper thread 4a supplied to the sewing machine 21 can be measured. The speed sensor 234 is not limited to the rotary encoder however, as long as the device can measure the speed of the upper thread 4a.
The sewing machine 21 is for sewing together the sheet absorber 2a and the removal string 3, and the sewing machine is a general-purpose industrial sewing machine that can perform double loop stitching. As shown in
Further, with the manufacturing apparatus of the tampon 1, due to problems such as in view of design, and hygiene, the supply source (stand mechanism 231) of the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b are in some cases arranged separate from the sewing machine 21. Thus, with only the upper thread tension regulator 21c and the lower thread regulator 21g that are provided to the sewing machine 21, which are operated manually by regulator knobs, it is difficult to regulate the tension of the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b. Thus, the feeding roller 232 and the upstream side tension sensor 233 are provided in between the supply sources of the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b and the sewing machine 21, and the tension supplied to the sewing machine 21 is preferably kept constant. In that way, the seam tightness can be made stable, and the defective sewing due to poor tightening of the seam as shown in the above described
The upper thread tension sensor 24 is provided to the sewing machine 21 later, and measures the tension of the upper thread 4a between the upper thread tension regulator 21c and the thread take up lever 21f. As a specific example of the upper thread tension sensor 24, as shown in
The sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 that are sewn together with the sewing unit 20 having the above configuration are thereafter transported to a step in which the removal string 3 is cut for each product of the tampon 1, and to a step of pressure molding the sheet absorber 2b into a bullet shape.
It should be noted that, the thread 4 also breaks when cutting the removal string 3 for each product of the tampon 1, but in the case of the double loop stitching, the stitch easily comes undone to the downstream side (a side where the sewing is started) in the transporting direction, and becomes harder to come undone to the upstream side (a side where the sewing is ended) in the transporting direction. Thus, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Then, in this embodiment, the controlling portion 25 having the sewing unit 20 obtains the measurement result of the upper thread tension sensor 24, during sewing of the sheen absorber 2b said the removal string 3 (T1, T2), and detects the skipped stitch (defective sewing), based on the tension of the upper thread 4a (thread) of the sewing machine 21 that sews together the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3.
Specifically, the controlling portion 25 compares the maximum value of the tension of the upper thread 4a within a predetermined period t and a first threshold value V1, and further compares the tension of the upper thread 4a and a second threshold value V2 that is lower than the first threshold value V1. Then, as shown in
It should be noted that, contrary to the comparison with the second threshold value V2, in which occurrence of the skipped stitch is detected in the case where the tension of the upper thread 4a becomes lower than the second threshold value V2 for even one moment, in the comparison with the first threshold value V1, the maximum value of the tension of the upper thread 4a and the first threshold value V1 are compared within the predetermined period t. When this predetermined period t is set to be lower than one period in the tension change of the upper thread 4a, a timing in which the tension of the upper thread 4a becomes a maximum value is not included within that period t, and there is a possibility of a faulty detection of occurrence of the skipped stitch when the skipped stitch has not occurred. Thus, the predetermined period t is preferably set to at least a length equal to or greater than one period in the periodical change of the tension of the upper thread 4a. On the other hand, when the predetermined period t is set too long, it becomes difficult to specify a position where the period has occurred in which the maximum value of the tension of the upper thread 4a is smaller than the first threshold value V1. Thus, there is a possibility that the tampon in which the skipped stitch has occurred will not be accurately detected. Then, in this embodiment, the predetermined period, t is the length of approximately two periods in the periodical change of the tension of the upper thread 4a.
The detecting method of the skipped stitch with the tension of the upper thread 4a is not limited to the above method, and for example, a third threshold value which is a little higher than the second threshold value V2may be set, and in the case where the tension of the upper thread 4a becomes smaller than the third threshold value two times in a row, the skipped stitch may be detected. Further, in the case where both the case that the maximum value of the tension of the upper thread 4a within the predetermined period t becomes smaller than the first threshold value V1 and the case that the tension of the upper thread 4a becomes smaller than the second threshold value V2, the skipped stitch may be detected. Further, as described above, compared to the first period T1 in which the overlapping section of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 are sewn together, the second period T2 in which the section of only the removal string 3 is sewn becomes lower than the maximum value of the tension of the upper thread 4a, and the first period T1 and the second period T2 may also detect the skipped stitch with the same threshold values V1, V2. In that way, the detection of the skipped stitch with the controlling portion 23 may be easily performed.
Further, in this embodiment, as shown in
Further,
Then, when the tension change of the upper thread 4a is larger compared to the tension change of the lower thread 4b, the difference between the tension during occurrence of the skipped stitch and the tension during the normal time is also larger with the upper thread 4a than the lower thread 4b. Then, in this embodiment, the tension of the lower thread 4b is not measured, and the controlling portion 25 detects the shipped stitch based on the tension of the upper thread 4a. In this way, the skipped stitch can be accurately detected, while lessening the sensor that measures the tension of the lower thread 4b, and making the process of the controlling portion 25 easier. It is not limited to the above however, and the skipped stitch may be detected by providing the sensor that measures the tension of the lower thread 4b to the sewing machine 21, and based on both the tension of the upper thread 4a and the tension of the lower thread 4b, or the shipped stitch may be detected based on only the tension of the lower thread 4b.
Further, the controlling portion 25 detects the skipped stitch based on the tension of the upper thread 4a measured with the upper thread tension sensor 24 provided between the upper thread tension regulator 21c and the thread take up lever 21f of the sewing machine 21. In this way, by providing the upper thread tension sensor 24 between the upper thread tension regulator 21c and the thread take up lever 21f, the upper thread tension sensor 24 can measure the tension of the upper thread 4a stably, without inhibiting the up and down movement of the thread take up lever 21f. Further, since the tension of the upper thread 4a can be measured in the sewing portion, namely, a position as close as possible to the position in which the defective sewing occurred, the skipped stitch can be detected even more accurately. It is not limited to this however, and for example, the upper thread tension sensor 24 may be provided in a position near to the upstream side than the upper thread tension regulator 21c.
Up to here, detection of the skipped stitch based on the tension of the upper thread 4a has been explained, and defective sewing other than the skipped stitch can be detected based on the tension of the upper thread 4a. For example, as shown in
With the sewing unit 20 of this embodiment, as described above, after the tension of the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b fed from each supply source is regulated to be predetermined values, with the feeding roller 232, the upstream side tension sensor 233, and the controlling portion 25, in between each supply source (stand mechanism 231) of the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b, the speed at which the upper thread 4a and the lower thread 4b are supplied to the sewing machine 21 is measured with the speed sensor 234. It should be noted that, the feeding roller 232, the upstream side tension sensor 233, and the controlling portion 25 combined together correspond to a tension regulating portion. Then, during sewing of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 (T1, T2), the controlling portion 25 obtains the measurement result of the speed sensor 234, and detects defective sewing based on such measurement result.
As shown in
In this way, in this embodiment, based on the measurement result of the upper thread tension sensor 24 and the speed sensor 234, the defective sewing during sewing of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 is defected. In other words, the defective sewing is detected along the longitudinal direction of the removal string 3, and in a state with tension applied to the removal string 3. In this way, the removal string 3 is appropriately sewn along the longitudinal direction of the sheet absorber 2b, and the defective sewing between the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 can be quickly detected. Thus, the manufacturing can be quickly stopped when the defective sewing is detected, and thus the waste amount of the material due to defective sewing can be lessened.
In the above embodiment, the upper thread tension sensor 24 is provided to the sewing machine 21, and the defective sewing is detected based on the tension of the upper thread 4a, but it is not limited to this. For example, a defective sewing detecting portion having a camera (for example, a CCD camera) and an image processing portion may be provided to the downstream side of the sewing unit 20, and based on an image data taken with the camera of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3, the image processing portion may detect the defective sewing.
For example, in the case that the skipped stitch occurs in the part of only the removal string 3, as shown in
Further by making the color of the thread 4 different with respect to the color of the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 (generally white), a part corresponding to the thread 4 can be extracted, from the image data taken with the camera. In particular, the color of the irradiating light and the color of the thread 4 are preferably set so that the irradiating light that is irradiated to the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 from the same side as the camera can be absorbed by the thread 4. In this way, a difference between a reflecting light amount from the sheet absorber 2b and the removal string 3 and the reflecting light amount from the thread 4 becomes large, and the part corresponding to the thread 4 can be more accurately extracted from the image data. With the data of the thread 4 extracted in this way, for example, in the case that the seam is long, occurrence of the skipped stitch (
In this way, in the case of detecting defective sewing based on the image data taken with the camera, the defective sewing is preferably detected long the longitudinal direction of the removal string 3, in a state of applying tension to the removal string 3. In that way, the thread 4 (
Further, as described above, the defective sewing can be detected based on the measurement result of the speed sensor 234. Thus, it is not limited to detecting the defective sewing based on the tension of the thread 4, and the defective sewing may be detected based on only the measurement result of the speed sensor 234. Further, it is not limited to providing the sensor that measures the tension of the thread 4 to detect defective sewing to the sewing machine 21, and for example, the defective sewing may be detected based on the measurement result of the upstream side tension sensor 233 having the thread supplying portion 23 that supplies the thread 4 to the sewing machine 21.
The above embodiments are to facilitate understanding of this invention, and should not be interpreted to limit this invention in any way. Further, it is needless to say that this invention may be changed or modified without departing from the scope thereof, and this invention includes its equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014-000203 | Jan 2014 | JP | national |