Method and Apparatus for High-Speed Cross-Folding of Absorbent Sanitary Products

Zachary J. Giffey, Plymouth, WI; and Scott A. Roehrborn, Sheboygan, WI.
Assigned to Curt G. Joa, Inc., Sheboygan Falls, WI.

Filed: 12/27/19
Issued: 1/16/24

A method for folding discrete absorbent sanitary products, the method comprising: providing a first folding station; providing a second folding station downstream from the first folding station; providing a belt-type inverted main conveyor configured to transport discrete absorbent sanitary products at a constant speed in a machine direction across each of the first and second folding stations, the sanitary products to be folded at the first and second folding stations; providing a sloping compression conveyor between the first folding station and the second folding station, the sloping compression conveyor positioned beneath the inverted main conveyor; the sloping compression conveyor sloping in a downward direction from the first folding station toward the second folding station; conveying, by the inverted main conveyor, an absorbent sanitary product in a pad-down inverted orientation in a machine direction along the inverted main conveyor; performing a first folding of the absorbent sanitary product at the first folding station, the first folding occurring at a first folding location of the absorbent sanitary product located between a leading edge and a midsection of the absorbent sanitary product; the sloping compression conveyor configured to receive the folded absorbent sanitary product from the first folding station and maintain the absorbent sanitary product in a folded state against the inverted main conveyor; performing a second folding of the absorbent sanitary product at the second folding station, the second folding occurring at a second folding location of the absorbent sanitary product located between a midsection and a trailing edge of the absorbent sanitary product; wherein performing each of the first folding and the second folding at the respective folding stations further comprises: engaging the absorbent sanitary product with a first drum and rotating the absorbent sanitary product in a first rotational direction; contacting the absorbent sanitary product with one or more folding fingers traveling in the machine direction, and traveling at a same speed as the inverted main conveyor; engaging the absorbent sanitary product with a rotating member adjacent to the first drum and downstream therefrom in the machine direction, the rotating member rotating in the first rotational direction; and folding the absorbent sanitary product over the one or more folding fingers via rotation of the rotating member in the first rotational direction.