Kenji Takeuchi, Kanonji, Japan; and Taizo Horiwaki, Kanonji, Japan.
Assigned to Unicharm Corporation, Ehime, Japan.

Filed: 5/31/13
Issued: 4/18/17

A method for manufacturing absorbent articles, comprising: an elastic member disposition step of feeding an elastic member with the elastic member being swung along a cross direction crossing a conveyance direction of a sheet-shaped continuum constituting an absorbent article, and disposing a part of the elastic member on the continuum to which an adhesive is applied; a guiding step of conveying the elastic member and the continuum so as to be taken along an outer periphery by a guide mechanism with a guide mechanism shaft being a center of swivel rotation; an elastic member pressing step of pressing the elastic member disposed outer side in a cross direction than the continuum of the elastic member that is disposed in a predetermined wavy shape by a swinging mechanism; a cutting step of cutting the elastic member conveyed by the guiding mechanism between an outside pressing mechanism and the continuum in the cross direction; a joining step of conveying the elastic member and the continuum that are supplied from the guiding mechanism so as to be taken along an outer periphery by a joining mechanism with a joining mechanism shaft being the center of swivel rotation, and conveying a sheet member supplied onto an end portion of the continuum from a sheet supply mechanism, in the cross direction of the continuum, wherein the joining mechanism has: a first joining roll having an outer periphery on which an end portion in the cross direction of the continuum and the sheet member are disposed, and rotating with the joining mechanism shaft being the center of swivel rotation; and a second joining roll having an outer periphery on which a region other than the end portion in the cross direction of the continuum is disposed, and rotating with the joining mechanism shaft being the center of swivel rotation, the outer periphery of the first joining roll is made of an elastic member, the continuum is conveyed so that a tangential direction of a deviation point at which the continuum is spaced from the guiding mechanism and a tangential direction of an arrival point at which the continuum reaches the joining mechanism is coincident with each other, a radius of swivel rotation of the outer periphery of the first joining roll is greater than a radius of swivel rotation of the outer periphery of the second joining roll, and the joining mechanism comprises a driving mechanism that rotationally drives only the second joining roll of the first joining roll and the second joining roll so that rotational speeds of the first joining roll and the second joining roll are different from each other.