Disposable undergarment forming apparatus and method of forming same

A disposable undergarment forming apparatus for forming a plurality of disposable undergarments, the apparatus comprising:

• a core former positioned to form a stream of elongate undergarment cores traveling along a path of travel, said core former including a mat securer positioned to secure each of a plurality of elongate undergarment mats to a sheet of a polymeric material, a stand-up leg gather former positioned downstream from said mat securer for forming stand-up leg gathers on the polymeric sheet, and a first separator positioned downstream from said stand-up leg gather former for separating the stream of undergarment cores into a plurality of individual undergarment cores;
• an elastic waistband former positioned adjacent said core former for forming elongate elastic waistbands;
• a combiner positioned downstream from said core former and positioned to receive the elongate elastic waistbands from said elastic waistband former for combining the elongate elastic waistbands with the plurality of individual undergarment cores to thereby form a chain of a plurality of undergarments;
• a folder positioned downstream from said combiner for folding each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain, said folder including a core folder for folding each of the cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain and an undergarment side folder positioned downstream from said core folder for side folding each of the folded cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• a side connector positioned downstream from said folder for side connecting at least the waistbands of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• a second separator positioned downstream from said side connector for separating the plurality of undergarments of the chain into a plurality of individual disposable undergarments;
• and
• side-entry stacking means positioned downstream from said second separator for receiving the plurality of individual disposable undergarments from a side-entry position and for stacking the plurality of disposable undergarments.

A disposable undergarment forming apparatus for forming a plurality of disposable undergarments, the apparatus comprising:

• core forming means for forming a stream of elongate undergarment cores traveling along a path of travel, said core forming means including mat securing means for securing a lower surface of each of a plurality of intermittently-spaced elongate undergarment mats to an upper surface of a sheet of a polymeric material traveling along the path of travel so that side peripheries of the intermittently-spaced elongate undergarment mats are positioned generally parallel to side peripheries of the polymeric sheet, core elastic applying means positioned downstream from said mat securing means for applying strips of elongate elastic material to the upper surfaces of the side peripheries of the polymeric sheet adjacent and generally parallel to the intermittently-spaced elongate undergarment mats, and first separating means positioned downstream from said core elastic applying means for separating the stream of elongate undergarment cores into a plurality of individual elongate undergarment cores;
• core orienting means positioned downstream from said core forming means for orienting each of the plurality of individual elongate undergarment cores from a position having a lengthwise extent positioned in the direction of the path of travel to having the lengthwise extent positioned transverse the path of travel;
• elastic waistband forming means positioned adjacent said core orienting means and positioned to form two continuous strips of elongate elastic material extending along the path of travel for forming elongate elastic waistbands;
• combining means positioned downstream from said core orienting means and positioned to receive the two continuous strips of elongate elastic material from said elastic waistband forming means along the path of travel for respectively combining each of the two elongate elastic strips of material so as to be secured to the respective side peripheries of each of the plurality of individual elongate undergarment cores traveling along the path of travel to thereby form a chain of a plurality of undergarments joined by the elongate elastic waistbands;
• folding means positioned downstream from said combining means for folding each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain, said folding means including a waistband folder for folding the continuous strips of material forming the waistbands of the chain, a core folder positioned downstream from said waistband folder for bi-folding each of the cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain so that the two continuous strips of waistband material are positioned adjacent and in close relation to each other, and an undergarment side folder positioned downstream from said core folder for side folding each of the bi-folded cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• side connecting means positioned downstream from said folding means for intermittently connecting at least portions of the two continuous strips of waistband material extending between each of the plurality of cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain to form side peripheries of individual undergarments, said side connecting means including at least a side sealer positioned to ultrasonically and connectively seal the intermittent portions of the waistband material of the chain;
• and
• second separating means positioned downstream from said side connecting means for separating the connective seal of the portions of the continuous strips of waistband material of the chain into a plurality of individual disposable undergarments.

A method of forming a plurality of disposable undergarments, the method comprising:

• securing a pair of continuous strips of elastic waistband material to each of a plurality of individual undergarment cores so as to form a chain of a plurality of individual undergarments;
• folding the cores of each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• side folding the folded cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• connecting side peripheries of at least the waistband of each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• and
• separating the chain of the plurality of undergarments into individual disposable undergarments.

A method of forming a plurality of disposable undergarments, the method comprising:

• forming elastic waistband material by dividing a continuous sheet of non-woven material into a plurality of continuous strips and combining strips of elastic material with the plurality of continuous strips of non-woven material so as to form a pair of continuous strips of elastic waistband material;
• securing the elastic waistband material extending along a path of travel to each of a plurality of elongate undergarment cores having a lengthwise extent positioned transverse to the path of travel so as to form a chain of a plurality of individual undergarments;
• folding each of the pair of continuous waistband strips;
• folding the cores of each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• side folding the folded cores of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• connecting side peripheries of at least the waistband of each of the plurality of undergarments of the chain;
• separating the chain of the plurality of undergarments into individual disposable undergarments;
• positionally orienting the plurality of separated individual disposable undergarments from a generally vertical orientation to a generally horizontal orientation;
• receiving the plurality of separated individual disposable undergarments from a side-entry position;
• and
• stacking the plurality of received individual disposable undergarments into a predetermined stack.