JP6950603B2 - Absorbent article - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an absorbent article for suppressing destruction of a core wrap sheet or a top sheet during body fluid absorption.

Conventionally, absorbent articles such as disposable diapers (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “diapers”) that induce the discharged body fluid (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “body fluid”) to be absorbed by an absorber are widely known. The absorbent body is obtained by wrapping an absorbent core mainly composed of pulp and a super absorbent polymer (hereinafter, also referred to as “SAP”) with a core wrap sheet such as tissue or non-woven fabric. This SAP swells when it absorbs body fluids, and the swelling stretches the core wrap sheet that encloses the absorbent core, which in turn stretches the top sheet and back sheet, and these stretched parts are thin. It becomes easy to destroy. If the core wrap sheet, top sheet, or back sheet is destroyed, the SAP may pop out, reducing absorption and impairing texture.

Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, a core wrap sheet wrapping the absorbent core is extended outward in the width direction to allow swelling of the absorbent core in the extended portion, thereby allowing the core to absorb body fluids. Absorbent articles that suppress the destruction of wrap sheets and top sheets are disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 5712621

However, in the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1, since the core wrap sheet extends outward in the width direction, the length of the sheet member sandwiching the core wrap sheet in the width direction also increases. There was a risk that the product cost would increase due to the increase in the size of the absorbent article. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the absorbent article for dealing with the swelling of the absorbent core during the absorption of body fluids.

An object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article capable of allowing swelling of an absorbent core during body fluid absorption and maintaining a compact shape.

The absorbent article according to the present invention comprises an absorbent body composed of an absorbent core including an absorbent material that swells by absorbing a liquid and a core wrap sheet wrapping the absorbent core. The core wrap sheet is an absorbent article to be provided, and the core wrap sheet is a swelling permitting portion capable of defining a space allowing the swelling of the absorbent material, and is the core wrap sheet among the sheets constituting the absorbent article. It is characterized in that it is configured to include a swelling allowance portion, which is housed in a folded state between the sheet facing the sheet and the absorbent core.

According to the present invention, since the core wrap sheet defines a space that allows the swelling of the absorbent material, it is possible to prevent the core wrap sheet and the top sheet from being destroyed when the absorbent core absorbs the body fluid. Further, since the core wrap sheet is stored in a folded state, the size of the absorbent article can be suppressed to a size that is not much different from that of the conventional product, and the product cost can be suppressed.

It is a perspective view seen from the front side in the appearance of an example of the diaper which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view of the diaper shown in FIG. It is a top sheet view of the stretched diaper which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the absorber according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the top sheet side. It is sectional drawing of the diaper which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the sectional view in the VV direction in FIG. 3, (b) is the enlarged view of the swelling allowance part shown in (a). It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the state which allows the swelling of an absorbable core after body fluid absorption which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is an absorber before absorbing body fluid, (b) is The absorber after absorbing the body fluid is shown. It is a sectional view in the VV direction in FIG. 3 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the absorbent article according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. However, the present invention is not limited to the aspects of the present embodiment. In the scope of the patent claim, the specification or the drawing, the direction extending from the ventral side to the dorsal side of the wearer of the absorbent article through the inseam is defined as the longitudinal direction, and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is defined as the width direction for absorption. The normal direction of the front surface or the back surface of the sex article is the thickness direction. These longitudinal, width, and thickness directions are orthogonal to each other. The absorbent article according to the present invention has the longitudinal direction, the width direction, and the thickness direction.

First, a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a deployable disposable diaper will be described below.

<First Embodiment>
<Main composition of diapers>
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an example of a diaper according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front side. The diaper 10 according to the present embodiment is a deployable disposable diaper, and has a front body region 10F, a back body region 10R, and an inseam region 10C connecting the front body region 10F and the back body region 10R. Further, at the time of wearing, the front body area 10F and the back body area 10R form an opening 10W around the waist that surrounds the waist portion of the wearer. Similarly, a pair of left and right leg-circumferential openings 10L that surround the thighs of both legs of the wearer are formed by the lower end of the front body region 10F and the back body region 10R and the inseam region 10C.

When worn, the front body area 10F is located on the ventral side of the wearer, and the back body area 10R is located on the back side of the wearer. When worn, the inseam region 10C covers the wearer's inseam, and the wearer's legs are passed through the pair of left and right leg-circumferential openings 10L. Therefore, the leg circumference opening 10L is located at any of the thighs from the bases of both legs of the wearer.

The virtual line P extends from the ventral side to the dorsal side in the central part of the diaper through the inseam part. Specifically, for example, if the waist side of the diaper is defined as the upper side and the inseam side as the lower side, the virtual line P extends along the surface of the diaper and in the vertical direction, and on the back side via the inseam portion. Also extends in the vertical direction.

At the left and right end edges of the back body area 10R of the cover sheet 11 located on the outside of the diaper 10, when worn, they are overlapped with the left and right end edges of the front body area 10F and connected to form an opening 10L around the legs. A pair of left and right fastening tapes 10A to be obtained are adhered to each other. The fastening tape 10A is repeatedly peelably joined to the front patch sheet 10B adhered to the cover sheet 11 of the front body region 10F.

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the diaper 10 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the stretched diaper 10 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the top sheet 14 side. The absorber 13 in FIG. 2 and the diaper 10 in FIG. 3 are shown in a partially broken state for convenience of explanation.

As shown in FIG. 2, the diapers 10 in the present embodiment are, in order from the outside, a cover sheet 11 formed of a thin non-woven fabric in order to obtain a good feel, and a liquid-impermeable back sheet (back sheet). It has a laminated structure in which 12, an absorber 13, a liquid-permeable top sheet (surface sheet) 14, and a pair of side sheets 15 are laminated.

A pair of notch portions 11N forming an opening around the leg 10L are formed on both the left and right sides of the inseam region 10C of the cover sheet 11. A pair of rubber threads 16 for forming gathers around the legs are adhered between the cover sheet 11 and the pair of side seats 15 in an stretched state.

The top sheet 14 is made of a liquid-permeable non-woven fabric or the like. The back sheet 12 is joined to the cover sheet 11, the absorber 13 is arranged between the back sheet 12 and the top sheet 14, and the top sheet 14 is joined to the back sheet 12 via the absorber 13. .. That is, the diaper 10 of the present embodiment includes a top sheet 14 on the skin contact side and a back sheet 12 on the skin non-contact side arranged so as to sandwich the absorber 13 from above and below. Further, in the diaper 10 of the present embodiment, the skin contact surface side of the absorber 13 is covered with the top sheet 14, and the skin non-contact surface side of the absorber 13 is covered with the back sheet 12. Further, of the back sheet 12, the region corresponding to the upper end portion of the back body region 10R extends along the width direction of the back sheet 12 and has elasticity to give the wearer an appropriate feeling of wearing around the waist. Sheet 10D is joined.

The absorber 13 of the present embodiment, which is located under the top sheet 14, has an absorbent core 17 composed mainly of an absorbent material such as SAP that swells by absorbing pulp or liquid, and is made of a tissue or a non-woven fabric. It is wrapped with a core wrap sheet 18 such as. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 described later, the core wrap sheet 18 includes an upper core wrap sheet 18a and a lower core wrap sheet 18b that sandwich and wrap the absorbent core 17 from above and below. In the present embodiment, the core wrap sheet 18 is composed of two sheets, but in the present invention, the core wrap sheet may be composed of three or more sheets. Further, the upper layer core wrap sheet 18a may be integrally formed or may be composed of a plurality of sheets.

The upper core wrap sheet 18a has hydrophilicity. Here, the term "hydrophilic" refers to a property in which the contact angle formed by the liquid surface with the solid surface is small, and generally refers to a liquid surface smaller than 90 °. For example, the upper core wrap sheet 18a and the lower core wrap sheet 18b can be subjected to a hydrophilic treatment to provide desired hydrophilicity. On the other hand, "hydrophobicity" refers to a property in which the liquid surface forms a large contact angle with the solid surface, and generally refers to one having a larger contact angle than 90 °. In the present embodiment, the hydrophilicity of the lower core wrap sheet 18b is lower than that of the upper core wrap sheet 18a. With this configuration, the discharged body fluid permeates the hydrophilic upper layer core wrap sheet 18a on the skin contact side and is rapidly guided to the absorbent core 17, while the core wrap sheet 18 does not contact the skin. It is possible to realize the liquid stopping effect on the surface side. In the present invention, the lower core wrap sheet 18b may be hydrophobic.

In the present embodiment, although details will be described later, the core wrap sheet 18 is configured to include a swelling allowance portion 20 capable of defining a space that allows swelling of the absorbent material.

As shown in FIG. 4 described later, the absorber 13 of the present embodiment is divided into three categories: a back body portion M1, an inseam portion M2, and a front body portion M3. A pair of arc-shaped notches 17N are formed in the portion of the absorbent core 17 corresponding to the inseam portion M2 so as to correspond to the pair of leg-circumferential openings 10L. As a result, the absorbent core 17 has an hourglass shape. In the present invention, the shape of the absorbent core 17 is not limited to this, and may be an elongated shape in the longitudinal direction so as to extend to the front body, the inseam, and the back body, and the length in the longitudinal direction and the width direction may be long. It may have various shapes such as a substantially square shape having a similar degree, a shape having rounded corners at the end in the longitudinal direction, an elliptical shape extending in the longitudinal direction, and a circular shape.

A pair of hydrophobic side sheets 15 forming three-dimensional gathers are provided on the left and right side edges of the top sheet 14 in the width direction of the present embodiment. The pair of side seats 15 are members that stand up along the left and right side edges of the absorber 13 when worn to prevent lateral leakage of the discharged body fluid. Notch portions 15N are formed on the outer edge portions of the pair of side seats 15 in the same shape as the pair of notch portions 11N of the cover sheet 11. On each of the pair of side seats 15, the thread rubber 19 as the three-dimensional gather elastic material is arranged in a stretched state so that the inner edge portion thereof is folded back toward the absorber 13 and gripped. When the thread rubber 19 contracts, the pair of side seats 15 stand up in the direction of contact with the wearer's skin. The three-dimensional gather can adopt a known configuration used for conventional disposable diapers. For example, it can be formed by sandwiching and fixing a three-dimensional gather elastic material in a stretched state between layers of a water-repellent sheet.

<Swelling tolerance part>
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the absorber 13 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the top sheet 14 side. Further, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the diaper 10 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 5 (a) is a cross-sectional view in the VV direction in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 (b) is a swelling tolerance shown in FIG. 5 (a). It is an enlarged view of the part 20.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the core wrap sheet 18 has a swelling allowance portion 20. As shown in FIG. 5A, the swelling allowance portion 20 includes the back sheet 12 and the top sheet 14 constituting the diaper 10, the sheets 12 and 14 facing the core wrap sheet 18, and the absorbent core 17. It is housed in a folded state between. The swelling allowance portion 20 is formed by allowing the core wrap sheet 18 to have a margin larger than the portion that wraps the absorbent core 17. In the present embodiment, the swelling allowance portion 20 has a so-called gusset shape. When the swelling allowance portion 20 is housed in a folded state, the absorber 13 is housed in the space between the top sheet 14 and the back sheet 12 without any gap.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the upper core wrap sheet 18a is a pair of first layers folded inward along the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the widthwise end of the absorbent core 17. The lower core wrap sheet 18b has one folded portion 18fa, and the lower core wrap sheet 18b has a pair of second folded portions 18fb that are folded inward along the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the end portion in the width direction of the absorbent core 17. Further, the swelling allowable portion 20 includes a joint portion 21 that joins the first folded portion 18fa and the second folded portion 18fb to each other at the inner end portion in the width direction, and the first folded portion 18fa and the second folded portion 18fb. 22 is not joined. As shown in FIG. 5B, the non-joint portion 22 is arranged outside the formed position of the joint portion 21 in the width direction.

In FIGS. 4 and 5A, L is the length in the width direction of the absorber 13, and L1 is the first folded portion 18fa (or the second folded portion) on the left side of the core wrap sheet 18 from the widthwise end on the left side of the absorber 13. The length to the end of the portion 18fb), L2 is the length from the widthwise end on the right side of the absorber 13 to the end of the first folded portion 18fa (or the second folded portion 18fb) on the right side of the core wrap sheet 18. Represent each. In order to exert the effect of the present invention, the preferable range of the lengths L, L1 and L2 is 80 mm to 150 mm for the length L and 10 mm to 30 mm for the lengths L1 and L2. In the present embodiment, the lengths L1 and L2 are equal, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the lengths L1 and L2 may be different from each other.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view for explaining how the absorbent core 17 is allowed to swell after absorbing the body fluid according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 (a) shows the absorber 13 before absorbing the body fluid. FIG. 6B shows the absorber 13'after absorbing the body fluid.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), it is understood that the swelling allowance portion 20 allows the swelling of the absorbent core 17'after body fluid absorption.

Conventionally, when SAP absorbs body fluid, it swells, and when the swelling stretches the core wrap sheet, top sheet, and back sheet that wrap the absorbent core, and the stretched part is destroyed, the SAP pops out and absorbs power. In view of the possibility of deterioration or impairing the texture, for example, in Patent Document 1, a core wrap sheet wrapping an absorbent core is extended outward in the width direction, and the extending portion thereof is absorbent. An absorbent article that suppresses the destruction of the core wrap sheet and the top sheet during the absorption of body fluid by allowing the swelling of the core is disclosed.

However, in the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1, since the core wrap sheet extends outward in the width direction, the length of the sheet member sandwiching the core wrap sheet in the width direction also increases. There was a risk that the product cost would increase due to the increase in the size of the absorbent article.

According to the present embodiment, since the core wrap sheet 18 defines a space that allows the swelling of the absorbent material, the core wrap sheet 18 and the top sheet 14 are less likely to be destroyed when the absorbent core 17 absorbs the body fluid. It will be possible. Further, since the core wrap sheet 18 is housed in a folded state, the size of the diaper 10 can be suppressed to a size that is not much different from that of the conventional product, and the product cost can be suppressed. Further, it is possible to improve the absorption performance and promote the prevention of SAP leakage at the time of body fluid absorption while maintaining the performance of the conventional diaper.

<Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment of the present invention, unlike the first embodiment, the swelling allowable portion 20'is formed by forming the folded portion of the core wrap sheet 18 into a bellows shape. This configuration makes it possible to allow swelling of the absorbent core after absorption of body fluids.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 3 according to the present embodiment. Among the elements constituting the absorbent article according to the present embodiment, those having the same function are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

According to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the core wrap sheet 18 and the top sheet 14 from being easily destroyed when the absorbent core 17 absorbs the body fluid, and the size of the diaper 10 is conventionally changed. It is possible to keep the product cost down by keeping it to the same size as the product. Further, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the absorption performance and promote the prevention of SAP leakage at the time of body fluid absorption while maintaining the performance of the conventional diaper.

<Others>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications described everywhere, and appropriate modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, the structure of the diaper according to each of the above embodiments or modifications thereof is not limited to the above-mentioned deployable type, and even a diaper including a structure of an absorbent article specified in the claims. Any configuration may be used. For example, the present invention can be applied to pants-type disposable diapers, urine pads, and the like.

In addition, each of the above embodiments or modifications thereof is applicable not only to diapers for infants but also to various absorbent articles such as diapers for adults and urine pads.

Further, in each of the above embodiments or a modification thereof, two core wrap sheets 18 of the upper layer core wrap sheet 18a and the lower layer core wrap sheet 18b are used to form a swelling allowable portion. Instead, the swelling allowance portion may be formed by one core wrap sheet or three or more core wrap sheets. In the case of one core wrap sheet, for example, by forming a swelling allowable portion on only one side of the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the absorber 13, the effect of the present invention of allowing swelling of the absorbent core 17 is realized. Can be done. Further, in each of the above embodiments or a modification thereof, swelling allowable portions are provided in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the absorber 13, but this is not limited to this in the present invention, and for example, the core wrap sheet 18 is the upper core. When formed by two layers of the wrap sheet 18a and the lower core wrap sheet 18b, the upper core wrap sheet 18a is folded near the center in the width direction of the absorber 13 on the skin contact surface side (or the skin non-contact surface side). A swelling allowance portion may be provided by forming the swelling portion.

L Length in the width direction of the absorber L1 Length from the widthwise end on the left side of the absorber to the end of the folded part on the left side of the core wrap sheet L2 Folded part on the right side of the core wrap sheet from the widthwise end on the right side of the absorber Length to the end M1 Back body part M2 Inseam part M3 Front body part 10 Diaper 10A Fastening tape 10B Front patch sheet 10F Front body area 10R Back body area 10C Inseam area 10W Waist circumference opening 10L Leg circumference opening 11 Cover Sheet 11N, 15N, 17N Notch 12 Back sheet (back sheet)
13 Absorber 14 Top sheet (surface sheet)
15 Side sheet 16, 19 Thread rubber 17 Absorbent core 18 Core wrap sheet 18a Upper core wrap sheet 18b Lower core wrap sheet 18fa First folded part 18fb Second folded part 20, 20'Swelling allowable part 21 Joint part 22 Non-joined part

Claims (4)

An absorbent core composed of a longitudinal direction extending from the ventral side of the wearer through the inseam to the dorsal side, a width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and an absorbent material that swells by absorbing liquid. An absorbent article comprising an absorber composed of a core wrap sheet that wraps the absorbent core.
The core wrap sheet is a swelling permitting portion capable of defining a space that allows swelling of the absorbent material, and is a sheet constituting the absorbent article that faces the core wrap sheet. It is configured to include a swelling allowance that is housed in a folded state between the absorbent core .
The core wrap sheet is composed of an upper core wrap sheet and a lower core wrap sheet that sandwich and wrap the absorbent core.
The upper core wrap sheet has a pair of first folded portions that are folded inward along the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the widthwise end of the absorbent core.
The lower core wrap sheet has a pair of second folded portions that are folded inward along the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the widthwise end of the absorbent core.
The swelling allowable portion is a joint portion in which the first folded portion and the second folded portion are joined to each other at an inner end portion in the width direction, and the first folded portion and the second folded portion are joined to each other. a non-bonded portion which is not, the absorbent article than said formed position of the joint portion is located outside of the width direction, is configured to include a non-joined portion, the characterized Rukoto. The upper core wrap sheet has hydrophilicity and is
The absorbent article according to claim 1 , wherein the lower layer core wrap sheet has a lower hydrophilicity than the upper layer core wrap sheet. The absorbency according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the swelling allowance portion is formed by allowing the core wrap sheet to have a margin equal to or larger than a portion that wraps the absorbable core. Goods. Further provided with a front surface sheet on the skin contact side and a back surface sheet on the non-skin contact side arranged so as to sandwich the absorber.
Claims 1 to 1, wherein when the swelling allowance portion is housed in the folded state, the absorber is housed in a space between the front surface sheet and the back surface sheet without any gap. The absorbent article according to any one of 3.

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