JP3017340B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an absorbent article, and more particularly to an absorbent article used for infants, adults or incontinent persons, for example, a disposable diaper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various leak-proofing mechanisms have been proposed for a crotch portion of a disposable diaper. For example, JP-B-52-40267, JP-A-54-115939, JP-A-52-120045, and JP-A-52-10045.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-89602 discloses a disposable diaper in which gathers are provided in advance along side edges of the disposable diaper, and the diaper is brought into close contact with a wearer's crotch portion to prevent leakage.

In recent years, there has been proposed a disposable diaper having side flaps provided on a side flap thereof. For example, JP-A-62-250201 and JP-A-62-153331 disclose that a side wall (fold) in the longitudinal direction of a side flap forming a so-called three-dimensional gather is folded inward to form a pocket. A disposable diaper in which the excrement accommodation property is improved by forming a diaper is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-223303 discloses that the folds are turned outward to form the shape of the buttocks of the wearer. A disposable diaper in which the pockets suitable for the disposable diaper are improved by forming a pocket portion suitable for the diaper is disclosed.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned 2)
Disposable diapers having various types of folds have the following problems. The disposable diaper with the folded part folded down like the former certainly has a pocket part formed inward and is effective when excrement is stored, but the pocket is worn while wearing. Has been crushed,
Has little effect. On the other hand, disposable diapers with the folded parts outwardly, like the latter, form outward pockets that match the shape of the wearer's buttocks, but do not have excellent excrement storage characteristics. Did not.

[0005] In any of these prior art, as shown in FIG. 6, the width of the fold portion 30 is a uniform,
Both ends in the longitudinal direction are fixed to the entire surface of the diaper main body. One side edge of the fold portion 30 is used as a fixed edge portion, and an elastic member (first elastic member) 31 is provided on the other side edge. The fold 30 is arranged as a free edge and parallel to the longitudinal center line 14 of the disposable diaper 32. For this reason, when the disposable diaper 32 is in a free state, the elastic member 31 contracts, and the disposable diaper 32 is curved into a U-shape. On the other hand, when the distance from the fixed edge in the crotch region shrinks beyond the width of the fold portion 30, the elastic member 31 serves to raise the fixed edge upward.

Furthermore, because, the also added various physical limitations when fold portion 30 is erected, as shown in FIG. 5,
It is difficult for the fixed edge portion 30E and the free edge portion 30D of the fold portion 30 to stand in a substantially vertical state, and the inclined edge is inclined obliquely.
Thus, there is a problem that the fold portion 30 inclined at an angle is easily crushed. To solve such a problem, it is conceivable to raise the elasticity of the elastic member 31 so that the fold 30 is reliably erected. However, merely increasing the elasticity reduces the size of the diaper and further damages the wearer's skin. There is an inconvenience.

[0007] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a fold that is surely stood up and is not easily crushed.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a body having a liquid-permeable topsheet, a liquid-impermeable backsheet, an absorber located between the two sheets, and a topsheet of the body. Provided on the side, extending along the longitudinal direction of the main body, and a pair of folds forming a three-dimensional gather, in the absorbent article, the pair of folds are provided symmetrically in the longitudinal center line, One side edge along the longitudinal direction of the main body is fixed as a fixed edge, and the other side facing the fixed edge is a free edge, and the free edge has a first edge.
The elastic member is disposed, also of the fold portion is in a natural state in the deployed state of the absorbent article, at least in the crotch region, between the fixed edge and the free edge is caused <br A slack portion is formed in the vertical direction, and the slack portion is formed.
So that it stands almost perpendicular to the main body
To provided further the fold portion, the absorbent article, characterized in that provided so as to be in a state of that beat wipe loosened state where the slack portion during longitudinal extent is formed in the body The above object has been achieved by providing the above.

[0009]

The absorbent article of the present invention has a natural state of folds.
A slack portion that is slackened in the upright direction in the portion, and
The folds fall down in a loose state when the main body is elongated in the longitudinal direction
Therefore , according to the absorbent article of the present invention, the folds are relaxed when the absorbent article is stretched in the longitudinal direction with the front and rear ends at the time of mounting.
The diaper is easily applied to the wearer since the diaper is easily formed and falls down. On the other hand, when the diaper is worn, the elastic member disposed at the free edge of the fold exerts its stretching force to move the body to the U-shaped position.
It is formed in a curved shape of a letter shape and at the same time erects a fold arranged along the longitudinal direction of the body.

[0010] In addition, the fold having such a slack portion allows the fold to be easily erected and the erected fold to be less likely to collapse. Further, in order to various physical limitations acting on fold portion by slack is removed, the slack portion
The fold portion having can be vertically into erected to the diaper body. The slack portion is in a state that joined the body pressure to fold portion relaxes the stress, since it does not affect the stretching force of the elastic member, to prevent there leakage fold portion is still standing state. Further, the height (the height of the weir) when the folds stand can be freely and easily designed.

[0011]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail. In this embodiment, a disposable diaper for infants will be described as an example of an absorbent article.

The disposable diaper 1 according to the present embodiment comprises a liquid-permeable top sheet 2 and a liquid-impermeable back sheet 3.
And a main body 1A having an absorber 4 located between the two sheets, and a pair of pairs provided on the top sheet 2 side of the main body 1A and extending along the longitudinal direction of the main body 1A to form a three-dimensional gather. A pair of folds 5 and 5, wherein the pair of folds 5 and 5 are symmetrically provided at a longitudinal center line 14, and
One side edge (fixed edge) 5 along the longitudinal direction of the main body 1A
E and 5E are fixed to the top sheet 2, and the other side edge (one side edge inside the fold) facing the fixed edges 5E and 5E.
Part) is a free edge 5D, 5D
A first elastic member 6 is disposed on D and 5D . Ma
In addition, the folds 5, 5 are in the unfolded state of the disposable diaper 1.
In the natural state in the state, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), at least in the crotch region, the fixed edge 5E, 5E and the free edge 5D, loosened portions 5 between the 5D is slack in the electromotive standing direction
F, 5F are formed, during the longitudinal extent of且one upper SL body 1A, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), characterized in that a state that defeat wipe loosened state.

FIG. 1 shows a disposable diaper 1 according to this embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which all the elastic elements of FIG. 1 are extended. As shown in FIG. 1, when the disposable diaper 1 is in an extended state, the diaper main body 1 </ b> A A pair of waist flaps 10 extended to each
A, 10B, and a pair of side flaps 9, 9 extending outward in the width direction from both side edges in the longitudinal direction of the absorber 4, and a pair of side flaps on the body side surface of the top sheet 2. The folds 5, 5 are joined and fixed.

[0014] Incidentally, FIG. 1及beauty Figure 3 are those all exhibited extended state of the disposable diaper according to the present invention, fold portion 5 in contact-free <br/> one natural state, FIGS. 2 and 4 As shown in FIG. 5, a slack portion 5F is formed.

[0015] The top sheet 2 is provided with an absorbent 4
A liquid-permeable sheet having a feel close to that of underwear is preferable, and such a liquid-permeable sheet is preferably, for example, a woven fabric, a nonwoven fabric, a porous film, or the like. Further, a method of applying a hydrophobic compound such as a silicone oil agent or paraffin wax to the peripheral portion of the top sheet 2 or a method of applying a hydrophilic compound such as an alkyl phosphate ester in advance and washing the peripheral portion with warm water is used. By performing the water repellent treatment, leakage due to bleeding of urine or the like in the peripheral portion may be prevented.

As the back sheet 3, a liquid-impermeable sheet having a moisture-permeable property that transmits a stretched vapor obtained by adding a filler to a thermoplastic resin, or a material having a feeling similar to underwear, for example, a highly water-repellent material A nonwoven fabric, a composite material of a film and a nonwoven fabric, a composite material of a film and a woven fabric, or the like is used. The absorber 4 is preferably made mainly of fibrillated pulp and combined with a high-molecular-weight water-absorbing polymer, and is preferably a mixture of a thermoplastic resin, a cellulose fiber, and a high-molecular-weight water-absorbing polymer that has been subjected to heat treatment. .
The location of the high-molecular-weight water-absorbing polymer may be any of the upper layer, the middle layer, and the lower layer of the absorber 4, and may be a mixture with the defibrated pulp. In recent years, polymer sheets and the like have been used. The shape is preferably an hourglass shape adapted to the shape of the wearer, but may be rectangular.

The side flaps 9, 9 are integrally formed by superimposing the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3,
The second elastic members 7, 7 are stretched between the two sheets. It is preferable that the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 have substantially the same dimensions, but either one of them may be formed longer. The diaper main body 1A is formed in a vertically elongated substantially quadrangular shape, and an arc-shaped concave notch 9A is formed on both side edges. Also, disposable diapers 1
In addition, when worn, the abdominal part 11 located on the abdomen of the wearer
And a dorsal part 12 located on the dorsal side, the abdominal part 11 is located below in FIG. 1, and the dorsal part 12 is located above. A crotch 13 is formed between the abdomen 11 and the back 12. The crotch portion 13 is a portion including the above-described recessed portion 9A.

Side flaps 9, 9 on the back side 12
, Tape fasteners 23, 23 are attached. It is preferable that an elastic member is attached to the center portion in the width direction of the tape fastener 23, 23 in order to improve the fit around the waist. For the same purpose, a third elastic member may be stretched in the width direction on the waist flaps 10A and 10B.

The pair of folds 5, 5 extend from the back waist flap 10A to the abdomen waist flap 10B along the longitudinal center line 14 of the diaper main body 1A. The folds 5, 5 are provided symmetrically with respect to each other with the center line 14 interposed therebetween, and the back waist flap 10A
5A and ventral waist flap 10B
At the end 5C, the entire surface thereof is joined and fixed to the top sheet 2, and further, the folds 5, 5
Is fixed to the top sheet 2 as a fixed edge 5E at one side edge along the extending direction. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the points on the crotch 13 side where the first elastic members 6 and 6 are disposed in the base end portion 5A and the end portion 5C are referred to as a base end point 21 and an end point 22, respectively. .

The pair of folds 5, 5 are most separated from each other at the base ends 5A, 5A and the end parts 5C, 5C, and gradually become narrower from the base end 5A and the end part 5C to the position of the crotch area. The positions of the flaps 9 are formed at equal intervals, that is, in a substantially parallel shape, and are arranged in a curved shape as a whole. At positions facing each other, the outside is fixed edges 5E and 5E, and the inside facing each other is free edges 5D and 5D. A first elastic member 6 is stretched over the free edges 5D, 5D. That is, each first elastic member 6 is
The diaper body 1 is arranged in a curved shape as a whole, and
A is not arranged substantially parallel to the center line 14 of A over its entire length.

The folds 5, 5 are formed by stretching first elastic members 6, 6 on a sheet member.
It is preferably hydrophobic and preferably breathable. The entire width of each fold 5 is constant, and each first elastic member 6 is stretched linearly along the free edge 5D of the fold 5 while being wrapped in a sheet member. The first elastic member 6 is
Preferably, between the base end 5A and the end 5C, it is elastically fixed in a continuously stretchable state.

The width L ₁ of each fold 5 is preferably 1
0 mm to 150 mm, particularly preferably 20 mm to 5 mm.
0 mm. The width L ₁ is a dimension of the extended state to the free edge 5D from the fixed edge 5E. The height of the fold portion 5 and 5 in the upright state, the height L ₂ of the weir in other words, the slack portion 5
It depends on the degree of slack of F and can be set arbitrarily. By the height L ₂ of the weir and any of, for men, women, for low age children, it is possible to design appropriate diaper to each such a high age children.

The degree of slack in the slack portion 5F is determined by the width L ₁
The ratio between the height L ₂ of the weir can be represented by L ₂ / L _1. The L ₂ / L ₁ is, as shown in (a) of FIG. 4, folds
In a state where the portion 5 stands up without a slack portion, it is 1 and in a natural state shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. Particularly preferably, it is 0.5 to 0.8. If it is smaller than 0.4, the slack will be too large to be easily crushed and the pocket will not be sufficiently opened. On the other hand, if the ratio is larger than 0.9, almost no slack is obtained, so that it is difficult to prevent the object from being easily erected and crushed, which is the object of the present invention.

When the diaper main body 1A is elongated in the longitudinal direction, the folds 5 fall down in a loose state as shown in FIG. 4B. Further, it is preferable that the disposition positions of the folds 5, 5 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the disposable diaper 1 coincide with the width direction. This arrangement enables continuous high-speed production.

The first and second elastic members 6 and 7 include:
Not only a thread-like elastic member but also a tape-like elastic member,
Flat rubber may be used. 150% as the elastic member
It is particularly preferable that the stretching stress at the time of elongation is 100 g or less, and an absorbent stretchable fiber may be used. As a method of joining and bonding the folds 5 and 5 to the top sheet 2, a method known in the art can be used. The method is not limited to a hot-melt adhesive, and various methods such as ultrasonic welding and heat welding can be used. Things are available.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the diaper 1 in which the folds 5, 5 are in a non-extended state only in the width direction.
First elastic member 6 arranged at free edge 5D of each fold 5
Is positioned in a straight line connecting the base end points 21 and end points 22, on the other hand, the fold portion 5,5 of the crotch portion 13, FIG. 4
As shown in (b), a slack portion 5F is formed. In this case, the first elastic members 6, 6 include a base end 5A and a terminal end 5C.
Try to pass the shortest distance between Here, the base point 21
A straight line connecting the end point 22 and the imaginary line 20 is defined as an imaginary line 20 indicating the direction in which the elastic members 6 extend. In addition, in FIG.
Free edges when 5, 5 are extended in the width direction
Is indicated by a dotted line.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the disposable diaper 1 of the present embodiment is worn, FIG.
And put it in a natural state curved into a U-shape as shown in FIG. 2 and place it on the crotch of the infant, with the back part 12 on the back of the infant and the abdomen 11 on the ventral side of the infant. After that, the tape is adhered to the back sheet 3 on the abdominal side with the tape fastener 23 on the back side.

In the natural state, as shown in FIG. 2 , the first elastic members 6, 6 pull the free edges 5D of the folds 5, 5 so as to shrink the longitudinal direction thereof, so that the diaper main body 1A is U-shaped. To form a curve. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4C, the free edges 5D, 5D on which the first elastic members 6, 6 are arranged are arranged.
The folds 5, 5 with D positioned above can be erected substantially perpendicular to the topsheet 2 and maintain that state. The first elastic members 6, 6
When the distance and the fixed edge 5E overlap with each other and the distance in the width direction becomes 0, the fold 5 can form a weir making the most of the slack 5F.

[0029] As apparent from comparison with FIG. 5 showing in FIG. 4 (c) and conventional upright state of the fold portion, fold portion 5 according to the present invention, all as compared to the structure of a conventional fold portion Work flexibly and efficiently in directions. In addition, the slack portion 5 of the fold portion 5
F, i.e., by changing the total width L _1, it is possible to easily change the height of the weir, while the elastic member 6,
Since the interval between the 6 virtual imaginary lines 20, 20 does not become narrow,
At the time of wearing, the excretion point of the wearer does not protrude from the pocket portion, and the fold portion 5 can be easily designed.

The pockets 24 (see FIG. 2) are formed between the top sheet 2 and the free edge 5D in the folds 5, 5 in this embodiment. The pocket part 24 is
It has a function of retaining urine and stool excreted from the wearer until the disposable diaper 1 is removed from the wearer, and works effectively against sudden urine and stool. The fixed edges 5E, 5E of the folds 5, 5 in order to absorb some or all of the retained excrement by the absorber 4 arranged in the pocket.
Is preferably arranged above the vicinity of the side edge of the absorber 4. Each fixed edge 5E is disposed between the longitudinal center line 14 of the disposable diaper 1 and the outer side to the longitudinal side edge of the disposable diaper 1. The side flaps 9, 9 have a second
When the elastic members 7, 7 are arranged, the disposable diaper 1
Is disposed between the longitudinal center line 14 and the outer edge of the elastic members 7, 7 outside.

[0031]

[0032]

[0033]

[0034]

In the disposable diaper 43 according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the sheets forming the folds 5, 5 are integrated with the side flaps 9, 9. The first elastic member 6 is arranged in a curved shape. And when it is in a free state, a slack portion 5F is formed between the free edge portion 5D and the fixed edge portion 5E. In the fourth embodiment, the amount of the slack portion 5F is the largest at the center of the crotch 13 and the smallest at both ends.
Such uneven distribution of the slack portions 5F facilitates segmentation of the diaper design.

According to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , the disposable diaper 44 forms the slack portion 5F by folding the fold portions 5, 5 to form a pleat portion. Since the base end point 21 and the end point 22 are joined on the fixed edge 5E, the imaginary telescopic line 20 substantially overlaps the fixed edge 5E. Also in the disposable diapers 43 and 44 of the third and fourth embodiments, the disposable diaper 1 described above is used.
The same effect can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the absorbent body is fixed to the fold 5 by the fixed edge 5.
E and the free edge 5D may be interposed. In such a case, the fold 5 provided with the absorber forms a pocket, thereby further improving the excrement accommodating property of the disposable diaper. Can be improved. When the absorber is interposed in the fold portion 5 as described above, it is preferable that the absorber be hydrophilic over a part or the entire area.

[0038]

According to the absorbent article of the present invention, the folds can be reliably raised and hardly collapsed. In addition, the slack portion allows a pocket portion to be easily formed in the fold portion, and leakage of excrement can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of a disposable diaper according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in a state where the diaper is extended in all directions.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the disposable diaper shown in FIG. 1 in a free state.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where the disposable diaper shown in FIG. 1 is extended only in a longitudinal direction.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an upright state of a fold portion of the disposable diaper of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an upright state of a fold portion of a conventional disposable diaper .
FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a conventional disposable diaper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 41, 43, 44 Disposable diaper (absorbent article) 2 Top sheet 3 Back sheet 4 Absorber 5 Fold 5D Free edge (other side edge) 5E Fixed edge (one side edge) 5F Loose section 6 First elastic member

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-62-250201 (JP, A) JP-A-2-174845 (JP, A) JP-A-2-107249 (JP, A) JP-A-4-200543 (JP) JP-A-3-202054 (JP, A) JP-A-3-165761 (JP, A) JP-A-3-121069 (JP, A) JP-A-2-291858 (JP, A) JP JP-A-54-115939 (JP, A) JP-A-52-120045 (JP, A) JP-A-57-89602 (JP, A) JP-A-62-223303 (JP, A) A) Japanese Utility Model Hei 2-91524 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 62-153311, JP (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-40267 (JP, B2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) ) A61F 13/54 A61F 5/44 A61F 13/15

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main body having a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorber located between the two sheets, a main body provided on the top sheet side of the main body, In an absorbent article having a pair of folds extending along the longitudinal direction and forming a three-dimensional gather, the pair of folds are provided symmetrically at a longitudinal centerline,
One side edge along the longitudinal direction of the main body is fixed as a fixed edge, and the other side edge facing the fixed edge is a free edge, and a first elastic member is provided on the free edge. slack is arranged, also, the fold portion is in a natural state in the deployed state of the absorbent article, which at least in the crotch region, but between the fixed edge and the free edge is loosened to cause standing direction Part is formed , and with the slack part formed,
Provided so as to stand substantially vertically, further, the fold portion, said at longitudinal extent of the body slack
As a state that defeat wipe loosened state viewed portion is formed
An absorbent article characterized by being provided . 2. The absorbent body according to claim 1, wherein the main body is provided with a second elastic member along a longitudinal direction of the main body, outside the fold portion in a lateral direction of the main body. Products. Wherein the fixed edge of the fold portion is claim 1, wherein the center line definitive in <br/> longitudinal direction of the body, that is located between the side edges of the absorbent body Or the absorbent article according to 2. 4. The fold portion wherein the first elastic member is located above the absorber at least in the crotch region in a state where the absorbent article is extended only in the longitudinal direction. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3.