Method and apparatus for manufacturing adhesive patch

A method for continuously manufacturing adhesive patches, the adhesive patches each including a support having a pressure-sensitive adhesive agent layer on one surface of the support, and a release sheet releasably attached thereto, the release sheet including a weakened part for easily dividing the release sheet into two parts, and a pinching piece forming sheet fixed to the release sheet and positioned on and covering the weakened part of the release sheet, the pinching piece forming sheet having non-fixed pinching pieces, and a weakened part formed at a position corresponding to the weakened part of the release sheet,

• the method comprising:
• a first step of forming the support with the pressure-sensitive adhesive agent layer, comprising:
• unwinding a first continuous web of a support material having stretching properties from a first original roll, and
• adhering a pressure-sensitive adhesive agent on the support material;
• a second step of continuously fixing pinching piece forming sheet material on release sheet material, comprising:
• unwinding a second continuous web of the release sheet material from a second original roll,
• unwinding a third continuous web of the pinching piece sheet forming material from a third original roll,
• temporarily accumulating the release sheet material and the pinching piece forming sheet material in a first accumulation device (128) located upstream from a press type heat-sealing device, wherein the first accumulation device comprises a plurality of guide rollers (132) and a set of movable rollers (134),
• continuously feeding the release sheet material and the pinching piece forming sheet material to the press type heat-sealing device and superposing and fixing two portions of the pinching piece forming sheet material on the release sheet material by heat-sealing, wherein the two fixed portions are capable of dispersing a tensile force applied to the adhesive patch, and temporarily accumulating the fixed release sheet material and the pinching piece forming sheet material in a second accumulation device (130) located downstream from the press type heat-sealing device and continuously feeding the fixed release sheet and pinching piece forming sheet materials to the downstream side, wherein the second accumulation device comprises a second plurality of guide rollers (132) and a second set of movable rollers (134);
• a third step of continuously forming the weakened parts (20) in the fixed release sheet and pinching piece forming sheet materials, comprising:
• forming a weakened part in the release sheet material and a corresponding weakened part (22) in the pinching piece forming sheet material, wherein the two fixed portions are positioned on a right side and a left side of the weakened parts, wherein the weakened parts are divisible when the tensile force is applied to the adhesive patch;
• a fourth step of continuously forming a laminated body, comprising:
• releasably adhering the pinching piece forming sheet material fixed on the release sheet material to the support material with the pressure-sensitive adhesive agent on the support material;
• and
• a fifth step of forming the adhesive patch, comprising:
• cutting out the laminated body to a predetermined size.