Folding Pant-Like Garments Using a Trough for Consistent Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for folding pant-like disposable absorbent garments result in inconsistent and unpredictable folding, leading to bulging stacks, unstable packaging, and potential damage to the absorbent core, which affects the quality and performance of the products.
Innovation Solution
A method involving folding the garment along specific transverse and longitudinal lines while using a trough to position the waist center region, allowing the waist side regions to be folded over it, ensuring consistent and controlled folding, even in high-speed manufacturing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional folding methods are used to increase manufacturing speed, then productivity is improved, but folding consistency deteriorates resulting in bulging stacks and packaging instability
Solution Approach 1:
A folding trough is introduced as an intermediary device between the garment and the folding action. The trough provides a standardized recess that guides and constrains the folding process, ensuring that each garment is folded in the same location and manner regardless of manufacturing speed variations. This mediator device eliminates the variability inherent in conventional direct folding methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment is preliminarily positioned with its waist center region placed in the trough before the actual folding action occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that the fold line is consistently located and that subsequent folding actions produce uniform results. The trough pre-establishes the geometric constraints needed for consistent folding.
2Productivity
If rapid folding is performed to maintain high production rates, then productivity is improved, but garment quality deteriorates due to creases and cracks in the absorbent core
Solution Approach 1:
The trough acts as a protective intermediary during the folding process. By confining the fold to the trough's recess, the folding action is localized and controlled, preventing excessive stress from being applied to the absorbent core. The trough's geometry ensures that folds occur at safe locations away from the core's vulnerable areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The folding action is localized to specific regions defined by the trough's geometry. The fold line is constrained to follow the trough's contours, ensuring that folding occurs in locations that minimize damage to the absorbent core. This localized control of fold placement protects the core's structural integrity while maintaining production speed.
3Device complexity
If inconsistent folding occurs to simplify the manufacturing process, then device complexity is reduced, but packaging stability deteriorates resulting in unstable shelves and poor consumer perception
Solution Approach 1:
The trough serves as a simple intermediary device that provides geometric constraints without requiring complex mechanisms. The trough's recess geometry alone is sufficient to guide the folding action and ensure consistent results, maintaining packaging stability while adding minimal complexity to the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The trough pre-establishes the folding geometry through its fixed recess structure. This preliminary geometric constraint ensures that all subsequent folding actions produce consistent, stable packages suitable for retail shelving, while the trough itself remains a relatively simple component that does not significantly increase device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of folding a pant-like disposable absorbent garment includes providing a garment defining first and second waist side regions, a waist center region positioned therebetween, and a crotch region longitudinally below the waist center region. In particular embodiments, the method further includes folding the garment along a transversely extending fold line so as to bring the crotch region into superposed relation with the waist center region; providing a trough having a floor and first and second side walls; placing the waist center region in the trough; and, while the garment is in the trough, folding the garment along longitudinally extending first and second fold lines so as to position the first and second waist side regions, respectively, over the waist center region. The first and second fold lines are adjacent the first and second side walls, respectively.