Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/551—Packaging before or after use
  • A61F13/55105—Packaging before or after use packaging of diapers
  • A61F13/55115—Packaging before or after use packaging of diapers characterized by the features before use, e.g. how are the diapers folded or arranged in a package
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
  • A61F13/15707—Mechanical treatment, e.g. notching, twisting, compressing, shaping
  • A61F13/15747—Folding; Pleating; Coiling; Stacking; Packaging
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
  • A61F13/15764—Transferring, feeding or handling devices; Drives
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/15577—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing
  • A61F13/15804—Plant, e.g. involving several steps
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B35/00—Supplying, feeding, arranging or orientating articles to be packaged
  • B65B35/30—Arranging and feeding articles in groups
  • B65B35/50—Stacking one article, or group of articles, upon another before packaging
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B5/00—Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
  • B65B5/06—Packaging groups of articles, the groups being treated as single articles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B63/00—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged
  • B65B63/04—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged for folding or winding articles, e.g. gloves or stockings
  • B65B63/045—Auxiliary devices, not otherwise provided for, for operating on articles or materials to be packaged for folding or winding articles, e.g. gloves or stockings for folding garments, e.g. stockings, shirts
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
  • B65D75/52—Details
  • B65D75/54—Cards, coupons or other inserts or accessories
  • B65D75/56—Handles or other suspension means
  • B65D75/563—Integral handles or suspension means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/07—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for compressible or flexible articles

Definitions

• the present invention relates to packages of absorbent sanitary articles and has been developed with particular attention paid to its possible application to pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles that can be worn like pants.
• a typical example of absorbent sanitary articles of this sort is represented by the nappies for babies commonly referred to as "training pants”.
• the solution adopted in a practically uniform way by all manufacturers of the sector has been that of producing the above products in the ' form of elements having a generally hourglass shape, with a central body, in which there is a composite absorbent structure designed to absorb body fluids, which comprises a front region, a rear region, and a groin region comprised between them, and front and rear side panels, which extend laterally.
• the product is worn bestowing thereon a general U shape and bringing the median stretch of the central body as far as the area in which the legs of the user are inserted.
• the side panels are extended around the waist of the user connecting the mutually opposite distal side edges thereof via appropriate fastening means, which may even be repositionable so as to be able to close the product around the body of the user.
• the pre-closed product can be obtained in such a way as to be tearable (according to the criteria illustrated precisely in the document No. 5 US-A-4 610 680) , or else enabling the pre-closed product to be opened -along the sides of the waistline, i.e., in a position corresponding to what can be defined as "side flaps", or side panels, as mentioned previously, (as in the case of nappies of a traditional 0 type, packaged and sold in the open condition) , and possibly also re-closed, for example envisaging the use of adhesive labels or stickers, of buttons, of sets of press-studs or, according to a particularly successful solution, envisaging the use of microhook fastening 5 structures (also referred to as "Velcro fasteners").
• the use of the above fastening elements must be adapted to the need, already referred to previously, to enable the training pant to be produced and packaged in the closed condition so that it can be worn as a normal pair of pants.
• the aforesaid products are sold in packages that comprise a container of a typically parallelepipedal shape, made for example of flexible sheet material, such as paper or polymeric film.
• the package typically contains a plurality of absorbent sanitary articles of the training-pant type, appropriately folded and arranged alongside one another in an orderly pile so that each article lies in a plane substantially parallel to two opposite walls of the container.
• the articles can be arranged in the container in a generally compressed form.
• An important aspect in packaging of absorbent sanitary articles provided in the pre-closed condition, with particular reference to the introduction of the aforesaid articles in an orderly pile inside the container regards positioning of the pairs of front and rear side panels joined together along the respective distal side edges. According to a known technique, each pair of panels is folded in bellows fashion inside the nappy, in the case in point inside the central body typically folded on itself .
• said fold is more complex to perform on a production line for manufacturing said articles, in particular in view of the typical production rates at an industrial level.
• said operation of folding in bellows fashion is liable to subject the side panels that have been joined together to excessive stresses, which could lead to deformation of and damage to the connection between the aforesaid panels to the point of weakening it and rendering it less resistant to the normal stresses during use of the article, possibly causing, in the most serious cases, yielding of the connection itself.
• This undesirable effect may arise both in the case of permanent fastening means and in the case where the fastening means can be opened and closed more than once.
• the operation of folding in bellows fashion may cause a misalignment of the respective side panels, with possible formation of undesirable creases through the above fastening structures, and consequent stressing and deformation of said structures, for example the microhooks, with corresponding weakening of the fastening system itself.
• the pairs of side panels connected to one another along the respective distal edges can be folded against the outer surface of the article, typically both of the pairs against the outer surface of the rear region, or against the outer surface of the front region.
• the articles are then typically gathered in an orderly pile, as described previously, possibly compressed, and inserted, with means in themselves known, in the container to form a package .
• the object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement that will be able to ensure a truly satisfactory solution to the problems set forth previously .
• the above object is achieved thanks to a package of pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles, and to a method and an apparatus for obtaining the aforesaid package, which have the characteristics specified in the ensuing claims .
• FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a package of absorbent sanitary articles as described herein;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an absorbent sanitary article as described herein;
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the article of Figure 2, in a folded configuration, as contained in the package;
• Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line I-I of Figure 2;
• Figure 5 is a side view of any absorbent sanitary article represented in Figures 1-3 and 6-8;
• - Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line II-II of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 5, illustrating an alternative embodiment of the arrangement of the absorbent sanitary articles in the package of Figure 1 ;
• FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 4, illustrating another alternative embodiment of the arrangement of the sanitary articles
• Figure 9 is an overall perspective view, similar to that of Figure 1, of an alternative embodiment of a package of absorbent sanitary articles;
• FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of a further alternative embodiment of a package of absorbent sanitary articles.
• FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of an apparatus for producing a package of sanitary articles as described herein.
• the pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles of the type currently referred to as "training pants” are designated as a whole by the reference number 1.
• the sanitary articles are designated by the reference number 1' in the splayed-out configuration, and by the reference number 1 in the folded configuration.
• the article 1, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, is made up of a central body 2, provided in which is an absorbent structure designed to absorb the body fluids, which comprises a front region 3 that defines a front waist edge 4, a rear region 5 that defines a rear waist edge 6, and a groin region 7 that connects said front and rear regions 3, 5.
• the article 1 has a general U- shaped or V-shaped configuration, as illustrated in Figure 2 when the groin region 7 of the central body 2 (also referred to as "crotch region" of the article) is brought as far as the area in which the legs of the user will be inserted during use.
• the central body 2, and more precisely the front region 3, rear region 5, and groin region 7 of the central body 2 have respective longitudinal edges 8, an inner surface 9, and an outer surface 10 opposite to the inner surface.
• the article 1 further comprises front side panels 11 that extend outwards in a transverse direction, i.e., in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the article 1, as far as respective distal edges 12, from each longitudinal edge 8 of the front region 3.
• the article 1 comprises rear side panels 13 that extend in a transverse direction as far as respective distal edges 14, from each longitudinal edge 8 of the rear region 5.
• the front side panels 11 are each connected to the respective rear side panel 13 along the respective distal edges 12 and 14 to form a pre-closed sanitary article 1.
• the front side panel 11 and rear side panel 13 connected together form a pre-closed, i.e., closed, annular waist portion so that the article 1 assumes a general shape that resembles the typical shape of normal pants.
• the article is in this way -suited to being worn by a user, with the central body 2 that extends over and around the crotch region, or groin region, of the user, whilst the waist portion formed by the front region 3, by the rear region 5, and by the front and rear side panels 11, 13 connected at their mutually opposite distal edges 12, 14 surrounds the waist of the user.
• the sanitary article 1 may typically comprise:
• topsheet an inner sheet (namely, internal with respect to the normal conditions of use of the article 1) permeable to liquids, usually referred to as "topsheet” (TS) ;
• an outer sheet or laminate (namely, external with respect to the normal conditions of use of the article 1) usually referred to as "backsheet” (BS); and - an absorbent structure (AS) for absorbing the body fluids, enclosed, i.e., sandwiched, between the aforesaid topsheet and backsheet.
• backsheet usually referred to as "BS”
• AS absorbent structure
• the sanitary article 1 may further comprise other characteristic elements that contribute to increasing the features of wearability and absorbance of the article itself, such as for example the elastic formations for the legs 20 that contribute to getting the article to adhere to the body of the user and also the cuffs or elasticated sides (not illustrated for simplicity in Figure 1) arranged at the sides of the absorbent structures with the function of lateral containment of the body fluids.
• other characteristic elements that contribute to increasing the features of wearability and absorbance of the article itself, such as for example the elastic formations for the legs 20 that contribute to getting the article to adhere to the body of the user and also the cuffs or elasticated sides (not illustrated for simplicity in Figure 1) arranged at the sides of the absorbent structures with the function of lateral containment of the body fluids.
• the elastic or elasticized formations may be typically arranged centrally along the waist edges of the article, with the purpose of ensuring adherence of the waist portion of the article around the waist of the user.
• connection/fastening means designated by 22.
• the aforesaid connection/fastening means may be permanent, possibly being produced according to any one of the known techniques, such as, for example, using adhesives, heat-sealing, or thermomechanical or ultrasound welding.
• the connection/welding means may be obtained so as to be tearable so that it is possible to open the article along the sides to facilitate removal thereof .
• connection/welding means may be provided, according to a known technique, so as to be openable and re-closeable , in order to enable, for example, their repositioning so as to improve " the wearability of the article.
• the aforesaid connection/fastening means may be formed by re-closeable sets of fasteners of the microhook (or hook-and-loop) type, of the sort commonly referred to as "Velcro fasteners", arranged accordingly along the distal edges 12, 14 of the front side panels 11 and rear side panels 13 of the article 1.
• Velcro fasteners re-closeable sets of fasteners of the microhook (or hook-and-loop) type, of the sort commonly referred to as "Velcro fasteners"
• the absorbent sanitary articles 1 are typically sold in a package, like the one illustrated by way of example in Figure 1 and designated by 30.
• the above package comprises a container 31 of a generally parallelepipedal shape, as illustrated, which may be made of a suitable material, for example a flexible sheet material such as paper or, in a preferred embodiment, a polymeric film.
• the container comprises two side walls 32, two end walls 33, a top wall 34, and a bottom wall 35, typically with the two side walls, the two end walls, the top and bottom walls, respectively, mutually parallel, as illustrated.
• the container 1 may moreover typically comprise a strap or handle 36 to facilitate carrying thereof .
• the container 31 of the package 30 contains a plurality of pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles 1 in the folded configuration illustrated in Figures 3, 4, and 5, and arranged alongside one another in an orderly pile.
• Each pre-closed absorbent sanitary article 1 is located in the container 1 in a folded configuration, where each front side panel 11 and respective rear side panel 13 connected thereto along the respective distal edges 12 and 14 are folded against the outer surface of the front region 3 or of the rear region 5 of the article 1.
• the front side panel 11 and rear side panel 13 can be folded against the outer surface of the front region 3 of the pre- closed absorbent sanitary article 1.
• the sanitary articles 1 may be typically arranged within the container 31 in the aforesaid orderly pile so that each article 1 lies in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of two mutually opposite walls of the container 31.
• the articles 1 in the orderly pile lie in a plane parallel to the plane of the end walls 33 of the container 31.
• the orderly pile of absorbent sanitary articles 1 contained in the container 31 comprises a first end article 40 and a second end article 41, which, as illustrated in Figure 1, and likewise, in Figures 6 to 8, are respectively adjacent to each end wall 33 of the container 31.
• each end absorbent sanitary article 40, 41 of said pile is oriented so as to turn the folded front and rear side panels 11, 13 towards the respective adjacent absorbent sanitary article.
• both of the end articles 40, 41 of the pile of sanitary articles 1 turn only the outer surface 10 of the central body 2 towards the respective inner facing surface of the container 31, namely, in the example illustrated in Figure 6, the inner surface of the two side walls 33.
• Said arrangement facilitates formation of a package 30 of sanitary articles according to the present invention in so far as, for example, it reduces any possibility of jamming and misalignment of the articles 1, or also formation of undesirable creases therein, in the step of filling of the container 31, typically obtained by means of methods known to persons skilled in the sector, in particular in the case where the sanitary articles 1 are introduced in compressed form in the container 31 in at least one orderly pile.
• all the absorbent sanitary articles 1 of the orderly pile may moreover be oriented in the same way as the first end absorbent sanitary article 40, i.e., in other words, with the front and rear side panels 11, 13 folded towards the right-hand side of the container 31 as viewed in Figure 6, with the exception of the second end article 41 oriented so as to present the front and rear panels 11, 13 folded towards the left-hand side of the container 31.
• the package 30 of sanitary articles 1 comprises a number n of articles 1 arranged in at least one orderly pile, the plurality of articles 1 being set so as to form n/2 pairs of sanitary articles 1 immediately adjacent to one another, which turn the respective folded front and rear panels 11, 13 towards one another.
• This embodiment offers the further benefit of presenting a particularly orderly arrangement that can be applied to an even number of sanitary articles 1, in addition to the advantages already described previously with reference to the present invention.
• the sanitary articles 1 of a package 30 according to the present invention can be arranged in one or more orderly piles so that the respective groin regions 7 of the individual sanitary articles 1 all face one and the same wall of the container 31, for example the bottom wall 35, as illustrated in Figures 6 and 7.
• the groin regions 7 of the individual sanitary articles 1 can face mutually opposite walls of the container 31, for example typically the top wall 34 and bottom wall 35, as illustrated by way of example in Figure 8.
• a package 30 may comprise a plurality of sanitary articles 1 arranged within a container 31 in at least one orderly pile so that the groin regions 7 of the articles 1 alternately face mutually opposite walls of said container 31, for example typically alternately the top wall 34 and the bottom wall 35 of the container 31, as illustrated in Figure 8.
• the groin regions 7 of the articles 1 alternately face mutually opposite walls of said container 31, for example typically alternately the top wall 34 and the bottom wall 35 of the container 31, as illustrated in Figure 8.
• Figure 8 shows a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, comprising a package 30. of sanitary articles 1 with a plurality of articles 1 constituted by a number n of articles 1, arranged in at least one orderly pile in such a way that in n/2 pairs of articles 1 immediately adjacent to one another said articles turn the respective folded front and rear panels 11, 13 towards one another. Moreover, the groin regions 7 of the articles 1 alternately face the top wall 34 and the bottom wall 35 of the container 31.
• the package 30 of the present invention may also comprise, in further embodiments, more than one orderly pile of sanitary articles within the container 31.
• the plurality of sanitary articles 1 may be arranged in two mutually parallel orderly piles, for example set alongside one another in a direction perpendicular to the side walls 32 of the container 31, as illustrated in Figure 9, or else set alongside one another in a direction perpendicular to the top and bottom walls 34 and 35 of the container 31, in effect set on top of one another, as illustrated in Figure 10.
• Figure 11 shows an apparatus 50 for the formation of a package 30 of pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles 1, of the type illustrated by way of example in Figure 1, and described previously, which typically comprises a container 31 of a parallelepipedal shape that contains a plurality of pre-closed absorbent sanitary articles 1 in the folded configuration, arranged alongside one another in an orderly pile.
• the apparatus 50 comprises conveyor means 52, designed to convey along a path of feed A a continuous flow of pre-closed sanitary articles 1' in the splayed-out configuration, typically coming from a production line (not illustrated) and corresponding to the sanitary article 1 described previously and illustrated in Figure 2, and in Figures 3, 4, 5 in the folded configuration.
• the above articles designated by the number 1' and illustrated separately in the insert I of Figure 11 for greater clarity, are conveyed with the respective longitudinal axes parallel to the path of feed A, and typically coinciding therewith.
• the conveyor means 52 may typically comprise belt carriages, for example, as illustrated in Figure 11, a top carriage and a bottom carriage equipped with appropriate motor means (not illustrated) capable of bestowing on the belt of the top carriage and the belt of the bottom carriage a linear speed of advance equal to that of the flow of sanitary articles 1' in the path of feed A.
• the two, top and bottom, carriages of the conveyor means 52 may be typically provided with mechanical means, in themselves known, which are able to grip the conveyedsanitary articles 1' between them.
• one or both of the belts may be of the suction or vacuum type; i.e., they may have their surface permeable to air, which, being connected to a source of subatmospheric pressure, with means in themselves known, is able to increase the total gripping force that can be applied to the sanitary articles 1' by the conveyor means 52.
• each pre-closed sanitary article 1' conveyed in the splayed-out configuration comprises a front region 3, a rear region 5, and a groin region 7 that connects the front and rear regions, said regions in turn presenting respective longitudinal edges 8.
• Each article 1' further comprises front side panels 11 that extend in a transverse direction, as far as respective distal edges, from the respective longitudinal edges 8 of the front region 3, and rear side panels 13, which extend in a transverse direction, as far as respective distal edges, from the respective longitudinal edges 8 of the rear region 5.
• Each front side panel 11 is connected to the respective rear side panel 13 along the respective distal edges to form each individual pre-closed absorbent sanitary article 1'.
• the apparatus 50 comprises a diverting mechanism 70, designed to receive said continuous flow of sanitary articles 1' from the conveyor means 52.
• the diverting mechanism 70 comprises two suction belt conveyors 71, 72 facing one another, designed to pick up selectively, by suction, sanitary articles 1' from the continuous flow and to convey them on respective conveyor means 73 and 74 along alternative paths of feed A' and A", which in general may be typically parallel to the path of feed A.
• Each suction belt conveyor 71, 72 comprises respective vacuum systems 75, 76, designed to carry out said selective picking-up of articles 1' from the continuous flow fed by the conveyor means 52.
• the vacuum systems 75, 76 are typically associated to a control device (not illustrated in Figure 11 for simplicity of representation) , which actuates them selectively according to information on the count of the sanitary articles 1 that are to be subsequently formed in an orderly pile comprising a predetermined number thereof, to be inserted in a container 31 to form a package 30 according to the present invention.
• the apparatus 50 comprises a folding mechanism 77,
• each conveyor means 73, 74 designed to fold the front side panels 11 and the respective rear side panels 13 connected thereto of each sanitary article 1'.
• the folding mechanism 77 is able to fold the front side panels 11 and the respective rear side panels 13 connected thereto against the outer surface 10 of the rear region 5 of a sanitary article 1' conveyed along the path of feed A" by the conveyor means 73, as illustrated schematically in the insert II of Figure 11.
• the folding mechanism 78 is designed to fold the front side panels 11 and the respective rear side panels 13 connected thereto against the outer surface 10 of the front region 3 of a sanitary article 1' conveyed along the path of feed A' by the conveyor means 74, as illustrated schematically in the insert III of Figure 11.
• Said folding mechanisms 77, 78 are designed to form sanitary articles in the folded configuration 1, in the two configurations described.
• each mechanism 77 , 78 may be obtained in a known way.
• each mechanism 77 , 78 may be typically constituted by two tunnels having a helical conformation, s-et at the outer sides along the respective conveyor means 73, 74 and designed to receive the front and rear side panels 11, 13 connected together as described, and to fold them, respectively, against the outer surface of the rear region 5 or against the outer surface of the front region 3 of each sanitary article 1' .
• the sanitary articles in the folded configuration 1 coming from the conveyor means 73, 74, downstream of the respective folding mechanisms 77, 78, are received by means 80 designed to reunite them in a single continuous flow, and to convey them along a path of feed B, which can substantially constitute the ideal continuation of the original path of feed A, as illustrated by way of example in the embodiment represented in Figure 11.
• the means 80 may be constituted, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 11, by two belt conveyors 81, 82 set facing one another, designed to take the sanitary articles in the folded configuration 1 once they have been released from the respective conveyor means 73, 74. According to a technique in itself known, one or both of the belt 13
• conveyors 81, 82 may be of the suction type, connected to a source of subatmospheric pressure, with means in themselves known and not illustrated in Figure 11 in order to increase the overall gripping force exerted by the belt conveyors 81, 82 on the above articles 1.
• the apparatus 50 Downstream of the means 80, the apparatus 50 further comprises means for the formation of an orderly pile of a predetermined number of sanitary articles in the folded configuration 1, and subsequently means for introduction of said orderly pile into a container of a generally parallelepipedal shape, for example as illustrated in Figure 1 and identified by the number 31, to form a package 30 of absorbent sanitary articles according to the present invention.
• the above means may be obtained using techniques in themselves known and are not illustrated in Figure 11 for simplicity of representation. All the conveyor means of the apparatus 50 of Figure 11 may be typically equipped with appropriate motor means (not illustrated), capable of bestowing on the sanitary articles 1', 1 conveyed a linear speed of advance in the respective paths of feed A, A', A", B that typically may be constant and the same in said respective paths of feed.
• the selective actuation of the vacuum systems 75, 76 of the diverting mechanism 70 may be typically obtained according to the total number of sanitary articles 1 that are to be formed in the orderly pile to be inserted into the container 31 to form the package 30 of the present invention, and according to the respective orientation that the articles 1 must present in said package.
• selective actuation of the vacuum systems 75, 76 enables formation of orderly piles of sanitary articles 1 like the ones illustrated schematically in Figures 6 and 7, appropriately combining together, to form respective orderly piles, sanitary articles 1 taken by means of the diverting mechanism 70 from the continuous incoming flow fed by the conveyor means 52 and processed selectively by the folding means 77 and 78 so as to obtain the desired orientation of said articles 1 in the resulting orderly pile .
• the apparatus 50 may moreover comprise means for varying further the orientation of the sanitary articles 1 in the resulting orderly pile, for example by rotation through 180° about an axis perpendicular to the plane of conveyance of the articles 1' in the splayed-out configuration or 1 in the folded configuration selected from the continuous flow, respectively, upstream of the diverting mechanism 70 or else downstream of the mechanism 80.
• the groin regions 7 of respective articles 1 face opposite walls of the container 31.
• the means for further orientation of the sanitary articles are designed to act alternately on half of the articles 1' or 1 of the continuous flow, so that in the resulting orderly pile within the package 30 the groin regions 7 of the articles 1 are arranged alternately so as to face opposite walls of the container 31, typically for example the top wall 34 and the bottom wall 35, as illustrated in Figure 8.
• the means for further orienting the sanitary articles are designed to act on the continuous flow of sanitary articles 1 in the folded configuration, and are hence typically comprised in said apparatus 50 downstream of the means 80.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Botany (AREA)
• Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)
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