G.d.m, Inc.

Università Degli Studi Di Bergamo

Sca Hygiene Products Ab

Matteo Piantoni

Valerio Soli

Marco Rosani

Alberto Perego

Federico Tordini

Gabriele Pastrello

Andrea Duchini

Alessandro Zavalloni

Federico Toscani

Massimo Pallavera

Aldo Fusar Poli

Davide Russo

Luca Pedretti

Luca Aiolfi

Gabriele Resmini

Luca Bugini

Maurizio Spatti

Aldo Fusarpoli

Mauro Pietralunga

Giacomo Noferini

Robert Perneborn

Paolo Carrara

Stefano Nanni

Alessandro Saccomani

Diego Sacchi

Giuseppe Poli

Andrea Biondi

Enrico Campagnoli

Luca Borderi

Marcus Lehto

Gianluca Parisini

Anders Norder

Göran Forsbring

Francesco Giardini

Federica Alberti

Goeran Forsbring

Davide Guarnieri

Francesco Passarotto

Andrea Frigeni

Gino Lissani

Piero Pacini

An apparatus for mutually welding at least two elements of an absorbent sanitary item, including a supporting structure, a first welding member including a first welding surface, and a second welding member including a second welding surface. The second welding member is movable with respect to the first welding member between a non-operating position, in which the second welding surface is spaced apart from the first welding surface to allow at least two elements of the absorbent sanitary item to be positioned above the first welding surface, and a welding position, in which the second welding surface is in contact with the first welding surface to allow welding the at least two elements. One of the welding members includes a yielding coupling element configured to allow a relative displacement between the first and second welding surfaces as a result of the mutual contact between the second and first welding members.

Apparatus and method for mutually welding at least two elements of an absorbent sanitary item

An ultrasonic welding system and method for making welds on a strip made of polymeric material. The system includes a supporting structure, N welding equipment mounted thereon, and a processor. Each N welding equipment includes a pair of welding heads made of a sonotrode, including a sonotrode welding surface, and an anvil, including an anvil welding surface. One of the two welding heads is movable with respect to the other between a non-operating position and a welding position. A control member is operatively associated with the sonotrode and configured to vibrate the sonotrode at a nominal ultrasonic vibration frequency and to detect a current value of the vibration frequency. A vibration sensor is mounted on the movable welding head. The processor monitors the alignment condition between the sonotrode welding surface and the anvil welding surface by cooperating with the control member and with the vibration sensor.

Ultrasonic welding system

A line for the production of diaper pants including at least one absorbent pad and a plurality of elastic bands, forming a pants-like structure; the production line includes a first forming unit for forming a composite web from which said absorbent pads are obtained, a second unit for forming elastic bands for forming said elastic bands and an assembly line for assembling the pads and the elastic bands to construct the diaper pants; the assembly line includes a plurality of processing units, each including a computerized command and control unit and a computerized high level control unit in communication with the computerized command and control units in the assembly line; the high level control unit is configured to impart to each computerized command and control unit at least one control signal for the respective processing unit as a function of the size of the diaper pants being produced in the production line.

Line and process for the production of nappy pants

A folding apparatus for a continuous web for production of absorbent hygiene articles and intended to be folded into a 'V' or “U” shape in first and second longitudinal portions along a folding line parallel to a feeding line. A folding section includes a contact unit extending along the feeding line and defining the folding line. First and second guides are positioned on opposite sides of the contact unit and respectively have first and second sliding surfaces. The first and second sliding surfaces extend in a helical fashion along the feeding line, each having a respective infeed section, where the web is not folded, and a respective outfeed section, positioned downstream of the respective infeed section according to a web feeding direction, where the web is folded in two and has the first portion and the second portion set at an angle to each other.

Folding apparatus for a continuous web

A method for forming and folding an absorbent sanitary article includes the steps of preparing a continuous, multilayer web and feeding it in a feed direction, applying a succession of absorbent pads, spaced from each other, on the continuous, multilayer web, folding the absorbent pads on the continuous multilayer web, temporarily fastening the folded absorbent pads to the continuous, multilayer web, making a succession of lines of weakness in the continuous, multilayer web between consecutive absorbent articles, folding a first flap of each absorbent article towards the corresponding absorbent pad, folding a second flap of each absorbent article towards the corresponding absorbent pad; folding the first flap or the second flap includes tearing the continuous, multilayer web at the lines of weakness, thereby separating the absorbent articles.

Method for forming and folding absorbent sanitary articles

A method and apparatus for depositing discrete elements on a support element. The discrete elements may be separated from each other or joined to form a continuous web. The discrete elements are fed into a pick-up station defined at a rotor which includes circumferentially adjacent pick-up members. Each discrete element is associated with a respective pick-up member having a first orientation with respect to a respective second axis of rotation. Each pick-up member is moved along the rotation direction towards a release position downstream with an at least partially accelerated or decelerated motion. Each pick-up member is rotated about the respective second axis of rotation until it takes, at the release position, a second orientation. Each discrete element is released on a support element at the release position. Each pick-up member is subsequently moved towards the pick-up station with an at least partially decelerated or accelerated motion.

Method and apparatus for depositing discrete elements on a support element

A rotary welding device which includes a rotary part rotating about its axis of rotation, one or more supporting elements for supporting a continuous strip, specifically a strip of nappies, supported by the rotary part, and a plurality of welding units, mounted on the rotary part, for welding the continuous strip; each welding unit is configured to pass from a non-operating position to an operating position and vice versa; each welding unit includes a respective welding tip and a respective anvil element which is movable relative to the welding tip; each welding unit includes respective first movement means configured to drive the anvil element in rotation relative to the welding tip from an initial position, where the anvil element is angularly spaced from the welding tip, to a final position, where the surface of the welding tip and the surface of the anvil element are parallel and aligned with each other along the same axis, and vice versa.

Rotary welding device

A method for forming an absorbent pad including a first layer, a second layer and an absorbent material interposed between the first and the second layer and arranged according to a spreading pattern Mhaving at least one channel which is free of absorbent material, includes a step of feeding a first web, intended to form the first layer of the pad; a step of feeding a second web, intended to form the second layer of the pad; a step of spreading the absorbent material on the first web according to the spreading pattern M; a step of spreading an adhesive on the first web according to a gluing pattern; a step of welding the first web and the second web according to a welding pattern Mincluding at least one welding zone at the channel on the pad.

Apparatus and method for forming an absorbent pad

An apparatus for forming an absorbent pad for an absorbent sanitary article having a zone free of absorbent material to define a channel of the pad includes a forming drum, a first feed system for feeding a first web, a second feed system for feeding a second web, a spreader for spreading the absorbent material on the drum; a joining system for joining the first and second webs to define the channels. A first dispenser forms on the first web a layer of first adhesive substance according to a spreading pattern having zones free of the first adhesive substance corresponding to the channels. A second dispenser dispenses a second adhesive substance, whose adhesive force is greater than an adhesive force of the first adhesive substance, on the second web according to a pattern having a layer placed at a zone free of the first adhesive substance.

A device for applying pieces to absorbent articles includes a supporting shaft rotating an axis; anvils rotating about the axis; a cutting unit operating with an anvil contact surface defining a cutting station for cutting a web into pieces; pads, each having a retaining surface for a piece, are moved about the axis for conveying a piece from the cutting station to a releasing station for release onto a substrate. Each pad rotates for varying the orientation from the cutting station, where the larger side of the pad is parallel to a feed of the web, to the releasing station, where the larger side of the pad is transversal to the feed of the receiving substrate, and vice versa. Each pad translates parallel to the pad axis, away from and towards the shaft axis. Each pad has an oscillating movement about its own axis.

Device for processing and applying pieces for making absorbent articles

A rotary device for welding a continuous web comprises a rotary unit rotating about a respective axis and welding units for welding the web mounted, angularly spaced, on the rotary unit. A movement device varies a radial position of the welding units. First and second supporting elements supporting the web are disposed, respectively, upstream and downstream of respective ones of the welding units, to keep the web tensioned when the respective welding unit is at an operating position. The first and second supporting elements are supported by a load-bearing structure connected to the welding units in such a way that a radial movement of the welding units corresponds to a movement of the first and second supporting elements towards and away from the axis.

Rotary welding device and related method

A folding apparatus for a continuous web being fed in a plant for the production of hygienic absorbent articles and intended to be folded into a 'V' or 'U' shape in a first and in a second longitudinal portion according to a longitudinal folding line parallel to a feeding line of the continuous web comprises a folding section including a first and a second power-driven, movable suction belt and an adjusting system for adjusting a relative position of the longitudinal edges of the continuous web once it has been folded; the adjusting system is configured to adjust the position of the first belt and/or of the second belt depending on at least a first information sent by the first sensor to the computerised control unit.

A device for applying segments of absorbent articles includes a cutting station for cutting a continuous web into segments and an applicator station for applying each segment on a respective absorbent article. A plurality of carrier units, each includes a pad for retaining and transferring a segment from the cutting station to the applicator station. The pad fully rotates about a main axis to transfer the segment from the cutting station to the applicator station and return to the cutting station and, from the cutting station to the applicator station, rotates at least 90&#xb0; about its axis of rotation to orient the segment transverse to the feed direction of the absorbent article. A first movement member moves one or more first carrier units about the main axis and a second movement member moves one or more second carrier units separately from the first carrier units about the main axis.

Device for applying segments of absorbent articles

A rotary device for welding a continuous web includes a rotary element, support elements for supporting the web, supported by the rotary element, and a plurality of welding units for welding the web. Each welding unit passes from a non-operating position to an operating position and vice versa, and includes a first movement device for commanding a relative rotation of an anvil element relative to a welding tip and a second movement device for moving the anvil element relative to the welding tip such that a contact surface of the anvil element and a contact surface of the welding tip make contact with a portion of the web in a zone between them, and vice versa. First and second drive mechanisms drive the first and second movement devices. The first and second drive mechanisms are configured to vary a positioning of the welding tip relative to the axis.

Rotary device for welding a continuous web

A method for forming an absorbent article including a first absorbent core and a second absorbent core which are superposed on each other, includes feeding a first supporting web along a first feed path in a first feed direction; placing a succession of first absorbent cores on the first supporting web at a preset spacing; feeding a second supporting web along a second feed path in a second feed direction; placing a succession of second absorbent cores on the second supporting web at the preset spacing; coupling the first supporting web to the second supporting web such that each first absorbent core is coupled to a corresponding second absorbent core in a composite web including the succession of first absorbent cores and the succession of the second absorbent cores interposed between the first supporting web and the second supporting web.

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Albino, Italy

Matteo Piantoni