Takahiro Shimada, Osaka, Japan.
Assigned to Zuiko Corporation, Osaka, Japan.

Filed: 12/19/13
Issued: 9/10/19

A disposable diaper folding method for a disposable diaper having a main body portion that extends from a front belly part to a back part via a crotch part of a wearer when the disposable diaper is worn and a pair of side portions that joins together a front part and a rear part of the main body portion folded in half based on a crease, the method comprising: a separating step of moving a first belt and a second belt in a state in which the front part of the main body portion is attracted by one of the first belt and the second belt and the rear part of the main body portion is attracted by the other of the first belt and the second belt and separating the front part and the rear part of the main body portion from each other while conveying the disposable diaper along a predetermined conveying path by a movement of the first belt and the second belt, the first belt and the second belt being arranged so as to face each other across the conveying path for the disposable diaper and separate from each other as the first belt and the second belt move to a downstream side of the conveying path; and a folding step of folding the respective side portions inward between the front part and the rear part of the main body portion, which are separated from each other, wherein the separating step conveys the disposable diaper along the conveying path such that the crease precedes a portion of the main body portion other than the crease in a state in which the main body portion is attracted by at least one of the first belt and the second belt only in a range other than a non-attracting range thereof covering from the crease to a predetermined position in a longitudinal direction along the conveying path, thereby separating the front part and the rear part of the main body portion from each other while separating the main body portion from the at least one of the first and second belt in the non-attracting range, each of the first belt and the second belt has a plurality of attracting regions, each of which is restricted in a range corresponding to a size of the front part or the rear part of the one main body portion in the longitudinal direction along the conveying path and is provided so as to be spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction along the conveying path, and the separating step moves both of the belts such that a cycle of the attracting regions of the first belt and a cycle of the attracting regions of the second belt coincide with each other.