Absorbent-article sheet member manufacturing apparatus

An absorbent-article sheet member manufacturing apparatus comprising:

• a supply cylinder having a cylinder outer surface that is a generally cylindrical surface centered on a rotation axis oriented in a horizontal direction, having a plurality of supply holes that are a plurality of recessed supply portions arrayed in a circumferential direction in said cylinder outer surface, and for rotating about said rotation axis in a predetermined rotation direction;
• a particle filling part for housing particles of an absorbent material or a deodorant material above said supply cylinder and successively filling said plurality of supply holes with particles through a particle filling opening that faces said cylinder outer surface;
• a half cover part that extends from said particle filling opening to a lower part of said supply cylinder in said rotation direction to cover part of said cylinder outer surface of said supply cylinder;
• a first sheet conveying roller disposed below said supply cylinder and in close proximity to a lowermost part of said supply cylinder, said first sheet conveying roller having a first roller outer surface that is a generally cylindrical surface centered on a first central axis oriented in an axial direction that is parallel to said rotation axis, and for rotating about said first central axis in an opposite direction to said rotation direction to convey a first sheet member that is a continuous sheet along said first roller outer surface;
• a second sheet conveying roller disposed forward of said lowermost part of said supply cylinder in said rotation direction and in close proximity to said supply cylinder and said first sheet conveying roller, said second sheet conveying roller having a second roller outer surface that is a generally cylindrical surface centered on a second central axis oriented in said axial direction, and for rotating about said second central axis in the same direction as said rotation direction to convey a second sheet member that is a continuous sheet along said second roller outer surface and to layer said second sheet member on said first sheet member;
• a particle collision surface that extends from said cylinder outer surface in between said lowermost part of said supply cylinder and said second sheet conveying roller, and that is separated rearwardly from said second sheet conveying roller in said rotation direction, said particle collision surface being disposed so as to collide with some of said particles that are emitted forward in said rotation direction of said supply cylinder from said supply holes that have passed said half cover part and to guide the colliding particles onto said first sheet member;
• and
• a sheet bonding part for bonding said first sheet member, on which particles are supplied from said supply cylinder, to said second sheet member, which is layered on said first sheet member by said second sheet conveying roller,
• wherein said particle collision surface is an inclined surface that is inclined forward in said rotation direction with respect to a vertically downward direction across the entire surface of said particle collision surface;
• a pair of side wall parts disposed on both sides, in said axial direction, of a group of supply holes in said cylinder outer surface that are exposed between a lower end of said half cover part and said particle collision surface,
• wherein each side wall part of said pair is provided in close proximity to said cylinder outer surface and continuously from said lower end of said half cover part to said particle collision surface, and extends downward from said cylinder outer surface;
• wherein said half cover part, said particle collision surface, and said pair of side wall parts are included in an integral member.