Granted Patent
B2
US 12,616,617 · App. 16/717,186 · Granted May 5, 2026
Apparatus and method of manufacturing an elastic composite structure for an absorbent sanitary product
Inventors:
Robert Earl Andrews (Sheboygan, WI); David Edward Schuette (Kiel, WI); Jeffrey Wayne Fritz (Plymouth, WI); Justin Marshall Lafferty (Sheboygan, WI)
Assignee:
Curt G. Joa, Inc.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for manufacturing an elastic composite structure for an absorbent sanitary product includes at least one structure that guides web layers in a machine direction, an elastic thread combiner that combines a plurality of elastic threads to form a combined elastic thread assembly, and a bonding unit. The bonding unit bonds the web layers together via a bond pattern that includes bond lines that each have at least one pair of adjacent bonds, which anchor the combined elastic thread assembly within a passage defined by a pair of adjacent bonds in each of the plurality of bond lines. The passage is narrower than the combined elastic thread assembly in a non-tensioned state and wider than one of the plurality of elastic threads in a non-tensioned state.
Claims (17)
1 . A method of manufacturing an elastic composite structure comprising:
positioning an elastic thread assembly between a first web layer and a second web layer, the elastic thread assembly comprising a plurality of unbonded multifilament elastic threads;
bonding the first web layer to the second web layer via a bond pattern comprising a plurality of bond lines having pairs of adjacent bonds;
anchoring the elastic thread assembly within a passage formed between the first web layer and the second web layer, the passage defined between facing edges of pairs of adjacent bonds in the plurality of bond lines;
feeding the plurality of unbonded multifilament elastic threads under tension in a machine direction toward an ultrasonic bonding assembly; and
combining together a subset of the plurality of unbonded multifilament elastic threads upstream of the ultrasonic bonding assembly so that the elastic thread assembly is now combined,
wherein the facing edges are spaced apart by a distance that is smaller than an overall diameter of the elastic thread assembly in a non-tensioned state and that is larger than a strand diameter of the plurality of elastic threads in a non-tensioned state.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
positioning a second elastic thread assembly between the first web layer and the second web layer, wherein the second elastic thread assembly comprises a plurality of elastic threads; and
anchoring each of the elastic thread assemblies within a respective passage formed between the first web layer and the second web layer; each respective passage defined between facing edges of pairs of adjacent bonds in the plurality of bond lines.
3 . The method of claim 1 further comprising ultrasonically bonding the
first web layer to the second web layer to form the bond pattern.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising forming the bond pattern using a rotary anvil having a face with a plurality of welding lines defined thereon, each welding line of the plurality of welding lines comprising a plurality of evenly spaced projections.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising feeding the elastic thread assembly under tension in a machine direction; and
wherein anchoring the elastic thread assembly within the passage comprises anchoring the elastic thread assembly between facing edges of the pairs of adjacent bonds that are oriented non-parallel to the machine direction.
6 . The method of claim 1 further comprising combining together the subset of the plurality of elastic threads within a feeder device of a creel.
7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising combining together the subset of the plurality of elastic threads within a guide roller.
Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
Recorded Dec 17, 2019
From: ANDREWS, ROBERT EARL; SCHUETTE, DAVID EDWARD; FRITZ, JEFFREY WAYNE; LAFFERTY, JUSTIN MARSHALL
To: CURT G. JOA, INC.
Reel/Frame 051307/0127 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application
62786609
· Dec 31, 2018
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