Pressing apparatus associated with an absorbent article, and pressing method

A method of pressing an absorbent article which comprises:

• providing an absorbent article comprising a fibrous continuous sheet, a fluid-impermeable continuous sheet and a plurality of absorbent bodies sandwiched between the fibrous continuous sheet and the fluid-impermeable continuous sheet with a thermoplastic adhesive;
• passing the absorbent article in a continuous direction of the fibrous continuous sheet through a roller gap between a pair of rollers that are driven and rotate with outer circumferential surfaces thereof facing each other, so that the fibrous continuous sheet, the fluid-impermeable continuous sheet and the plurality of absorbent articles are sandwiched and pressed between the outer circumferential surfaces of the pair of rollers;
• heating only one roller of the pair of rollers that is positioned on a side of the fibrous continuous sheet and contacts the fibrous continuous sheet so as to keep a temperature of the outer circumferential surface of the roller within a range from 70° C. to 120° C.;
• and
• wherein
• the thermoplastic adhesive is ejected from a nozzle of an adhesive application device between the fibrous continuous sheet and the article plurality of absorbent articles,
• the thermoplastic adhesive is made to be substantially in a cohesive state just before reaching the roller gap by making a temperature of the thermoplastic adhesive fall to 40° C. to 60° C. just before reaching the roller gap,
• the one roller of the pair of rollers that is positioned on a side of the fibrous continuous sheet is heated with a heating mechanism,
• the heating mechanism includes a heating element inserted in a receiving hole of the one roller,
• the receiving hole receives the heating element along a rotational shaft of the one roller and is formed so that a center of the receiving hole corresponds to the rotational shaft.