JP7319085B2 - absorbent article - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to absorbent articles.

In the case of absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, it is proposed to color the constituent members such as the exterior body that forms the non-skin facing surface from the viewpoint of making the appearance look like underwear and from the viewpoint of improving the visibility of the indicator. It is For example, Patent Document 1 describes an absorbent article in which each of the front waist region, the rear waist region, and the crotch region includes a member such as a backsheet having a visible surface imparted with a predetermined color. It is

In Patent Document 2, a first region located at the outer end in the front waist region, a second region located at the inner end, a third region located between these regions, and a front in the crotch region It has a fourth region located on the side of the waist region and in which the leg elastics are arranged, and a fifth region surrounded by the second region and the fourth region, and the first region is located in the other region. The fifth area has the highest color density when viewed from the outside, and the fifth area has the lowest color density when viewed from the outside compared to the other areas. A wearing article is described that is positioned in a fifth region that is not open.

Patent Document 3 discloses an elastic film stretchable structure in which a first sheet layer, a second sheet layer exposed on the outer surface of the product, and an elastic film disposed between these sheets are laminated and joined, Part or all of the second sheet layer in the region having the elastic film stretchable structure is a nonwoven fabric colored in a color other than white, and at least a portion of the elastic film overlapping the colored portion of the second sheet layer , a disposable wearable article having a predetermined color is described.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-507386 JP 2016-010519 A JP 2017-225508 A

The outer packaging of disposable diapers usually has a laminated structure composed of a plurality of nonwoven fabrics. Since the non-woven fabric is a sheet material with high light transmittance, the color of the exterior body differs between the portion overlapping other constituent members in the thickness direction and the portion not overlapping other constituent members. may look different. In the absorbent articles described in Patent Literatures 1 to 3, the color appearance of the entire outer covering lacks uniformity, so it is difficult to obtain an underwear-like appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

The present invention comprises an absorbent body having a liquid-retaining absorbent body, and an outer covering disposed on the non-skin facing side of the absorbent body,
The exterior body is configured by laminating two or more nonwoven fabrics including a first nonwoven fabric and a second nonwoven fabric, at least the first nonwoven fabric contains fibers kneaded with a coloring material, and the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric are laminated. At least one of the second nonwovens has a printed area colored by printing,
The printing is similar in color to that of the first nonwoven fabric and is applied to areas that do not overlap with the absorbent body to provide an absorbent article.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the absorbent article which has uniform appearance of the color of the whole exterior body and has the appearance like underwear is provided.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an underpants-type disposable diaper that is an embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the skin-facing surface side of the diaper shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the abdominal portion of the diaper shown in FIG. 1 and its vicinity. FIG. 4 is a partially broken exploded perspective view (equivalent to FIG. 2) showing a diaper of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view (equivalent to FIG. 3) of the abdominal portion of the diaper shown in FIG. 4 and its vicinity. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing both sides of a sheet forming an outer package in another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view (equivalent to FIG. 6) showing both sides of a sheet forming an outer package in still another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a plan view (equivalent to FIG. 6) showing both sides of a sheet forming an outer package in still another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on its preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show an underpants-type diaper 1A, which is a first embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. The diaper 1A has a longitudinal direction X corresponding to the wearer's front-rear direction and a width direction Y orthogonal thereto. The diaper 1A has a crotch portion B and an abdominal side portion A and a back side portion C extending in the longitudinal direction X from the front and back of the crotch portion B. As shown in FIG. The diaper 1A includes a liquid-retentive absorbent body 23 extending in the longitudinal direction X from the abdominal side A to the back side C. As shown in FIG. The crotch portion B is a portion arranged between the crotch portion of the wearer when the diaper 1A is worn. The ventral part A is a part arranged on the wearer's ventral side, i.e., the front side, relative to the crotch part B when the diaper 1A is worn. The dorsal side portion C is a portion arranged on the wearer's dorsal side, that is, on the rear side of the crotch portion B when the diaper 1A is worn.

The diaper 1A comprises an absorbent body 2 having a liquid-retentive absorbent body 23 and an outer body 3 arranged on the non-skin facing side of the absorbent body 2 . In the exterior body 3, both side edge portions AS and CS along the longitudinal direction X of the ventral portion A and the dorsal portion C are joined to each other by a known joining means such as an adhesive, heat sealing, or ultrasonic sealing. there is Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the diaper 1A includes a pair of side seal portions 36, 36, a waist opening WH through which the wearer's torso is passed, and a pair of leg openings through which the wearer's lower legs are passed. Parts LH and LH are formed.

The absorbent main body 2 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, extends in the longitudinal direction X from the abdominal part A to the dorsal part C, and the longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction X of the diaper 1A in the unfolded and stretched state. , and arranged at the central portion in the width direction Y of the exterior body 3 . The absorbent main body 2 is joined to the exterior body 3 with an adhesive. The "unfolded and stretched state" of the diaper 1A means that the diaper 1A is separated at the side seal portions 36 to be put into a stretched state, and the elastic members of each part of the diaper 1A in the stretched state are stretched to the design dimensions (the influence of the elastic members is completely removed). It means the state in which it is expanded until it becomes the same dimension as when it is expanded in a flat state in the excluded state).

The absorbent body 2 comprises a liquid-permeable top sheet 21 forming a skin-facing surface, a liquid-impermeable or liquid-sparingly permeable or water-repellent back sheet 22 (not shown) forming a non-skin facing surface, and both A liquid-retaining absorbent 23 is interposed between the sheets 21 and 22, and these are integrated by a known bonding means such as an adhesive. Various non-woven fabrics, perforated films, etc. can be used as the top sheet 21, and resin films, laminates of resin films and non-woven fabrics, etc. can be used as the back sheet 22. FIG. The absorbent body 23 has an absorbent core 23a. The absorbent core 23a is, for example, a pile of hydrophilic fibers such as cellulose such as pulp, a mixed pile of hydrophilic fibers and absorbent polymer, a pile of absorbent polymer, and two absorbent sheets. It is composed of a laminated structure or the like in which an absorbent polymer is carried between them. At least the skin-facing surface of the absorbent core 23a may be covered with a liquid-permeable core-wrap sheet, or the entire surface including the skin-facing surface and the non-skin-facing surface may be covered with the core-wrap sheet. good. As the core wrap sheet, for example, a thin paper made of hydrophilic fibers, a liquid-permeable nonwoven fabric, or the like can be used.

As used herein, the term "wearer's front-rear direction" refers to a direction extending from the wearer's ventral side to the dorsal side via the groin. In addition, the “skin-facing surface” refers to the surface of the absorbent article or its constituent members (for example, the absorbent main body) that faces the wearer's skin when the absorbent article is worn, that is, the side that is relatively close to the wearer's skin. , and the "non-skin facing surface" is the side of the absorbent article or its constituent members that is opposite to the skin side when the absorbent article is worn, that is, the side that is relatively far from the wearer's skin. . The term "when worn" as used herein means a state in which the absorbent article is maintained in a proper wearing position, i.e., in a state in which the absorbent article is displaced from the wearing position. does not include

In the diaper 1A, a pair of leak-proof cuffs 24, 24 made of liquid-resistant or water-repellent and air-permeable sheet materials are provided on both left and right sides of the skin-facing surface of the absorbent main body 2 along the longitudinal direction X. is provided. In the vicinity of the free end of each leak-preventing cuff 24, one or more thread-like elastic members for forming a leak-preventing cuff are arranged in a stretched state. The leakage-preventing cuff 24 stands up at least at the crotch portion B by contracting the elastic member arranged in a stretched state when the diaper 1A is put on, thereby allowing excreted fluid such as urine to flow outward in the width direction Y. prevent

The outer body 3 forms the outer shape of the diaper 1A, that is, the outer shape of the abdominal portion A, the crotch portion B, and the back portion C, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the exterior body 3 has a rectangular shape in which the length in the width direction Y is longer than the length in the longitudinal direction X in the ventral side A and the dorsal side C in a plan view in an unfolded and extended state, In the crotch portion B, both side edges along the longitudinal direction X, that is, a pair of leg edges LS, LS are constricted inward in the width direction Y to form an hourglass shape.

The exterior body 3 is configured by laminating two or more sheets of nonwoven fabric. As shown in FIG. 2, the exterior body 3 of the present embodiment includes an outer layer sheet 31 that forms the outer surface of the diaper 1A, that is, the non-skin facing surface, and an inner layer sheet 32 that is arranged to face the skin facing side of the outer layer sheet 31. Laminated. These two nonwoven fabrics have substantially the same shape and size in plan view. In addition, the exterior body 3 includes a plurality of thread-like or belt-like elastic members 33 and 34 arranged in a stretched state between the sheets 31 and 32 . The outer layer sheet 31 and the inner layer sheet 32 are joined by a known joining means such as an adhesive. As the outer layer sheet 31 and the inner layer sheet 32, various types of materials that are conventionally used as an exterior body in this type of absorbent article can be used without particular limitation. For example, as the outer layer sheet 31 and the inner layer sheet 32, nonwoven fabrics produced by various manufacturing methods such as spunbonded nonwoven fabrics, air-through nonwoven fabrics, and needle-punched nonwoven fabrics can be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, one or a plurality of leg elastic members 33 for forming leg gathers are arranged in a stretched state on leg edge portions LS that form opening edges of the pair of leg openings LH, LH. As a result, substantially continuous annular leg gathers are formed at the opening edges of the pair of leg openings LH, LH. Illustration of leg elastic members is omitted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 described later.

In the waist region D1 arranged around the wearer's waist in each of the abdominal part A and the back part C, a plurality of waist elastic members 34 are stretched in the width direction Y and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction X at predetermined intervals. It is placed intermittently. The waist region D1 is a region between the pair of side seal portions 36, 36 in the width direction Y, and is a region extending outward in the longitudinal direction X from the edge of the absorbent body 23 in the longitudinal direction X. It is arranged around the wearer's waist and its vicinity in the state. The waist elastic member 34 extends over substantially the entire length in the width direction Y of the exterior body 3 in the waist regions D1 of the abdominal portion A and the back portion C. As shown in FIG. Since the waist elastic member 34 is arranged in such a manner that its elastic stretchability is exhibited, in the waist region D1, an annular waist gather that is substantially continuous over the entire circumference of the waist opening WH is formed. be done.

A region D2 between each side edge in the longitudinal direction X of the absorber 23 and each side seal portion 36, which is a region closer to the crotch portion B than the waist region D1 in each of the abdominal portion A and the back portion C. Also, a plurality of waist elastic members 34 are stretched and intermittently arranged in the longitudinal direction X at predetermined intervals. The region D2 is also referred to as a waist region D2. On the other hand, in the region of the outer body 3 that overlaps with the absorbent body 2, the waist elastic member 34 is cut or the like so as not to exhibit elastic stretchability. As the elastic members 33 and 34, elastic materials such as natural rubber, polyurethane resin, foamed urethane resin, and hot-melt elastic members are preferably formed into a thread shape (thread rubber) or band shape (flat rubber). be done.

The exterior body 3 includes a first nonwoven fabric and a second nonwoven fabric, and of the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric, at least the first nonwoven fabric includes fibers kneaded with a coloring material. . That is, the first nonwoven fabric exhibits a color by including fibers kneaded with a coloring material. Hereinafter, the fiber into which the coloring material is kneaded is also referred to as "colored fiber". A colored fiber is obtained by kneading a coloring material into a resin that constitutes the fiber. The first non-woven fabric has a single color without pattern on both sides. Even if some color unevenness occurs in the first nonwoven fabric, it is included in "one color without pattern" as long as the hues are similar. Hue will be described later.

Among the plurality of sheets forming the exterior body 3, the nonwoven fabric containing colored fibers is the first nonwoven fabric, and the nonwoven fabric containing no colored fibers is the second nonwoven fabric. For example, when the exterior body is configured by laminating three nonwoven fabrics, and only one of the nonwoven fabrics contains colored fibers, the exterior body is composed of one first nonwoven fabric and two nonwoven fabrics. and a second nonwoven.

At least one of the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric has a printed region E1 colored by printing. Specifically, at least one of the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric has a region E1 colored by printing and a non-printed region on one surface. Hereinafter, the area colored by printing is also referred to as "printed area", and the area not subjected to printing is also referred to as "non-printed area". A nonwoven fabric having a printed area is obtained by printing a sheet member forming the exterior body 3 by a known method. The printing is applied in a color similar to that of the first nonwoven fabric. “Similar color” means colors of the same system and having the same or similar hues. Whether or not the hues are similar is confirmed by the following method.

H (hue) of each pixel in the color digital image of the first nonwoven fabric and the printed area is measured using image analysis software (eg, "Image J" manufactured by Wayne Rasband). H (hue) is an average step value when expressed in 256 steps from 0 to 255 by an 8-bit signal. If the difference between the average step value of H (hue) in the first nonwoven fabric and the average step value of H (hue) in the printed area is within a difference of ±20 points, it is determined that “the hues are similar”. The H (hue) returns to the original color after one cycle, and an average H (hue) step value of 0 and an H (hue) average step value of 255 mean that the hue is very close. For example, if the average step value of H (hue) is 5, and the hue is close to it, it means that the average step value of H (hue) is 241-255 or 0-25.

In the exterior body composed of two nonwoven fabrics, the outer layer sheet 31 and the inner layer sheet 32, one of the two sheets may be the first nonwoven fabric and the other the second nonwoven fabric. In the exterior body 3 of this embodiment, the outer layer sheet 31 is made of a first nonwoven fabric containing colored fibers, and the inner layer sheet 32 is made of a second nonwoven fabric having a printed area E1. In the second nonwoven fabric of the present embodiment, the printed region E1 is provided in a portion of the waist region D1 other than the overlapped portion of the extending portion described later, and in the waist region D2. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the diaper 1A, the print area E1 and the absorbent body 23 do not overlap in the thickness direction of the diaper 1A. On the other hand, the non-printing area F and the absorbent body 23 overlap in the thickness direction of the diaper 1A. Hereinafter, in the exterior body 3, the portion where the absorber overlaps is also referred to as "absorber overlapping portion", and the portion where the absorber does not overlap is also referred to as "absorber non-overlapping portion". In the absorber non-overlapping portion, the portion where the number of laminated sheets of the sheet members constituting the exterior body 3 and other sheet members is the smallest compared to the portion where the number of laminated sheets is the smallest is also referred to as a "sheet overlapping portion". Moreover, in the exterior body 3, the absorbent body overlapping portion and the sheet overlapping portion are also referred to as “member overlapping portions”. Moreover, in the exterior body 3, parts other than the member overlapping portion are also referred to as “member non-overlapping portions”.

When an absorbent article such as a diaper is worn, the skin of the wearer is covered with the absorbent body 23 in the absorbent overlapping portion, so that when the outer surface of the absorbent article is viewed, the color of the wearer's skin is different. Hard to see through. Therefore, when the first nonwoven fabric containing colored fibers is placed in the absorbent overlapping portion, the original color of the first nonwoven fabric, that is, the background color of the first nonwoven fabric, is clearly visible. On the other hand, in the absorber non-overlapping portion, the wearer's skin color can be seen through the outer surface of the exterior body 3, so that the first nonwoven fabric and the wearer's skin color are mixed and visually recognized. As a result, the background color of the first nonwoven fabric does not appear in the absorber non-overlapping portion, and the background color may appear dull. In particular, when the absorber 23 is visually recognized as white, the background color of the first nonwoven fabric appears more clearly in the absorber overlapping portion, so that the difference in color tone between the absorber overlapping portion and the absorber non-overlapping portion becomes significant. As a result, the sense of unity of color in the non-skin facing surface of the exterior body 3 is lost. On the other hand, in the diaper 1A of the present embodiment, the printed area E1 having a color similar to the color of the first nonwoven fabric is superimposed on the background color of the first nonwoven fabric in the absorbent body non-overlapping portion, so that the wearer can The skin color of the first non-woven fabric is seen through and is difficult to see, and the background color of the first nonwoven fabric in the non-overlapping portion of the absorber is seen darker. Such an effect is hereinafter also referred to as a color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion. As a result, the color of the non-overlapping portion of the absorber that is visually recognized approaches the color of the overlapping portion of the absorber, so that the color of the non-skin-facing surface of the outer package 3 is unified, and the diaper 1A has an underwear-like appearance. be able to.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer body 3 has an extending portion extending outward from the waist opening end of the diaper 1A. In the present embodiment, the extending portion is composed of an outer layer extending portion 31a in which the outer layer sheet 31 extends outward from the waist opening end. The waist opening end is the end of the waist region D1 on the waist opening side. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer layer extending portion 31a is folded back toward the skin facing surface of the diaper 1A and positioned at the peripheral edge of the waist opening in the waist region D1. As a result, the outer body 3 has a laminated portion in which three sheets are laminated in the peripheral portion of the waist opening. In this laminated portion, the inner layer sheet 32 is positioned between the outer layer sheet 31 and the outer layer extending portion 31a. In the exterior body 3 of the present embodiment, the portion where the extending portion and the sheet members 31 and 32 constituting the exterior body 3 overlap to increase the number of laminated sheets is the above-described sheet overlapping portion, which is an absorber. A portion of the non-overlapping portion where the extending portions do not overlap is the above-described member non-overlapping portion. In the inner layer sheet 32 of the present embodiment, that is, the second nonwoven fabric, printing is applied to a region other than the extending portion and a region other than the region overlapping the extending portion in plan view. In the present embodiment, the second nonwoven fabric does not have the extending portion, so the printing is applied to the area of the second nonwoven fabric other than the area overlapping the extending portion in plan view. That is, in the present embodiment, the print area E1 does not overlap the sheet overlapping portion where the outer layer extension portion 31a is laminated. In the absorbent body non-overlapping portion, the sheet overlapping portion tends to have a different color depth when viewed from the outer surface of the diaper 1 than the color depth of the region where the number of laminated sheets is small. On the other hand, in the diaper 1 of the present embodiment, the printed area E1 overlaps the area other than the sheet overlapping part, so that the difference in color density between the sheet overlapping part and the other area in the absorber non-overlapping part is can be made smaller. That is, the waist area D1 on the non-skin-facing surface of the outer body 3 and the other areas can be given a sense of unity in color.

From the viewpoint of improving the sense of uniformity of color in the exterior body 3 by further reducing the difference between the color in the absorbent body overlapping portion and the color in the absorbent body non-overlapping portion, the printed area E1 and the first printed area E1 in the second nonwoven fabric are printed. The color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the base color of the nonwoven fabric is preferably 5 or less, more preferably 4 or less. From the viewpoint of further improving the color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion, the lower limit value of the color difference is preferably 1.2 or more. The color difference (ΔE ^* value) is measured by the following method. The "ground color of the first nonwoven fabric" is the color of the first nonwoven fabric that appears due to the presence of fibers kneaded with the coloring material.

[Method for measuring color difference (ΔE ^* value)]
As the color difference meter, a simple spectral color difference meter NF333 (trade name) manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd. can be used. In the "L ^* a ^* b ^* color system" defined in JIS Z 8729, L ^* indicates brightness, a ^* and b ^* indicate the direction of color, a ^* is approximately in the direction of red, and -a ^* . indicates the substantially green direction, b ^* indicates the substantially yellow direction, and -b ^* substantially the blue direction. ΔE ^* is a value obtained by the following formula (1).
ΔE ^* = [(ΔL ^* ) ² + (Δa ^* ) ² + (Δb ^* ) ² ] ^1/2 (1)
ΔL ^* , Δa ^* , Δb ^* are the differences in the L ^* , a ^* , b ^* values between the two colors, respectively. For example, ΔL ^* is calculated by ΔL ^* =L ^* ₂ −L ^* ₁ .
In this measurement method, a stapler type ND110 sensor with a diameter of 4 mm is attached, an O-ring (small) is used at the tip of the sensor, and measurement is performed with a light source of C/2 and a viewing angle of 2°. The measurement is performed by taking out the first nonwoven fabric and the nonwoven fabric having the printed area from the outer packaging of the diaper, and pressing the tip of the sensor against the colored portions of these nonwoven fabrics. At this time, the color difference of the first nonwoven fabric or the nonwoven fabric having a printed area is measured while being placed on white paper. If the first nonwoven has printed areas, the color difference is measured in the non-printed areas. The white paper has an L ^* value of 90 to 100, an a ^* value of −1 to +1, and ^{a b* value} of −1 to +1 in the L*a ^* b ^* color system. The measurement is performed 10 times, and the average is used as the measured value. In this specification, each value represented by the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system shall be measured by this measurement method.

From the viewpoint of further reducing the difference between the color shade in the absorbent overlapping portion and the color shade in the absorbent non-overlapping portion, the L ^* a ^* b ^* color specification between the printed region E1 in the second nonwoven fabric and the background color of the first nonwoven fabric. The lightness difference (ΔL ^* ) in the system is preferably 5 or less, more preferably 4 or less. From the viewpoint of further improving the color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion, the lower limit value of the color difference is preferably 1.2 or more.

From the same point of view as above, the printed area E1 in the second nonwoven fabric and the background color of the first nonwoven fabric have the L ^* a ^* b ^* color specification on the condition that the color difference (ΔE ^* ) is within the range described above. Each value in the system is preferably within the following range.
The L ^* value of the print area E1 is preferably 50 or more and 100 or less, more preferably 60 or more and 90 or less. The a ^* value of the print area E1 is preferably −100 or more and 100 or less, more preferably −70 or more and 70 or less. The b ^* value of the print area E1 is preferably −100 or more and 70 or less, more preferably −70 or more and 40 or less.
The first nonwoven fabric has a background color L ^* value of preferably 60 or more and 100 or less, more preferably 65 or more and 100 or less. The a ^* value of the ground color of the first nonwoven fabric is preferably −100 or more and 100 or less, more preferably −70 or more and 70 or less. The b ^* value of the ground color of the first nonwoven fabric is preferably −100 or more and 70 or less, more preferably −70 or more and 40 or less.

In the exterior body 3 of the present embodiment, the skin-facing surface of the inner layer sheet 32 and the skin-facing surface of the outer layer extending portion 31a constitute the inner surface of the exterior body 3, and the non-skin facing surface of the outer layer sheet 31 is the exterior body 3. form the exterior. The inner layer sheet 32 has a printed area E1 and a non-printed area F on its non-skin facing surface. 2 and FIG. 4, which will be described later, show the printing areas E1 and E2 formed on the non-skin-facing surface of the inner layer sheet 32 in a see-through state for ease of explanation. From the viewpoint of further suppressing the transfer of the print color to the wearer's skin and clothes in the printed area E1 and further suppressing the deterioration of the touch due to the printed area E1 coming into contact with the skin, the exterior body 3 is made non-toxic. It is preferable that areas other than the non-skin-facing surface of the non-woven fabric constituting the skin-facing surface and areas other than the skin-facing surface of the non-woven fabric constituting the skin-facing surface of the outer package 3 are printed. That is, it is preferable that the printed area E1 is not arranged at a position where it can be directly viewed from the outer surface or the inner surface of the exterior body 3 . For example, when the non-woven fabric having the printed area E1 constitutes at least part of the non-skin facing surface of the exterior body 3, the non-woven fabric is printed on the area other than the non-skin facing surface of the exterior body 3. is preferred. Further, when the nonwoven fabric having the printed area E1 constitutes at least part of the skin-facing surface of the exterior body 3, the nonwoven fabric may be printed on a region other than the skin-facing surface of the exterior body 3. preferable.

From the viewpoint of further suppressing the visibility of the skin color in the member non-overlapping portion, the second nonwoven fabric having a printed area is a nonwoven fabric made of white fibers and printed on one surface. is preferred. From the same viewpoint as above, the white fiber has an L ^* value of 88 to 92, an a ^* value of −2 to 2, and a b ^* value of −2 to 2 in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system. is preferred. The color of this white fiber is the color of the non-printing area F in the second nonwoven fabric.

Next, another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-7. As long as there is no contradiction, the description of the first embodiment is appropriately applied to the second to fourth embodiments described below. In FIGS. 4 to 7, configurations similar to those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the embodiment.

4 and 5 show a diaper 1B, which is a second embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention. In the diaper 1B, the outer body 3 has an inner layer extending portion 32a in which the inner layer sheet 32 extends outward from the waist opening end as the extending portion described above. As shown in FIG. 5, the inner layer extending portion 32a is folded back toward the skin facing surface of the diaper 1B and positioned at the peripheral edge of the waist opening in the waist region D1. As a result, the outer body 3 has a laminated portion in which three sheets are laminated in the waist opening peripheral portion of the waist region D1, and the laminated portion serves as a sheet overlapping portion. In this laminated portion, the skin-facing surface of the inner layer sheet 32 faces the non-skin-facing surface of the inner layer extending portion 32a. In this embodiment, the skin-facing surface of the inner layer sheet 32 and the skin-facing surface of the inner layer extending portion 32a form the inner surface of the exterior body 3 . In the present embodiment, in the inner layer sheet 32, which is the second nonwoven fabric, the printed region E2 is applied to a region other than the inner layer extending portion 32a and a region other than the region overlapping the inner layer extending portion 32a in plan view. It is That is, the print area E2 is formed in a portion other than the sheet overlapping portion where the absorbent body overlapping portion and the inner layer extending portion 32a are laminated.

As shown in FIG. 4, the print area E2 in this embodiment is arranged in an area other than the area where the inner layer extension part 32a overlaps and an area other than the area where the absorber 23 overlaps. In these areas, the ink densities are partially different, resulting in the appearance of color densities. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, in the print area E2, the ink density increases from the inner position in the width direction Y toward the outer position. With such a configuration, the boundary between different colors becomes difficult to see, so that the sense of uniformity of the color of the exterior body 3 is further improved.

The print area E2 in this embodiment has a low density area 42 with relatively low ink density and a high density area 44 with relatively high ink density. The low-density region 42 is a region in which the color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the ground color of the first nonwoven fabric in the printed region E2 is preferably 3 or less, and the high-density region 44 is , the color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the ground color of the first nonwoven fabric is preferably more than 3. The low density region 42 is located around the non-printing region F overlapping the absorbent overlapping portion of the second nonwoven fabric. The high-density regions 44 are arranged on both sides of the low-density region 42 in the width direction Y, respectively. The high-density region 44 is separated in the width direction Y with the non-printing region F overlapping the absorbent overlapping portion and the low-density region 42 interposed therebetween.

From the viewpoint of further improving the sense of unity of the color tone of the exterior body 3, the dimensions of the low-density area 42 and the high-density area 44 in the printing area E2 are preferably within the following ranges.
The length L3 (see FIG. 4) in the longitudinal direction X of each of the low density region 42 and the high density region 44 is preferably 100% or more of the length L1 (see FIG. 4) in the longitudinal direction X of the absorber 23. , more preferably 103% or more, more preferably 130% or less, more preferably 125% or less, more preferably 100% or more and 130% or less, more preferably 105% or more and 125% or less.
The length L3 (see FIG. 4) in the longitudinal direction X of each of the low density region 42 and the high density region 44 is preferably 560 mm or more, more preferably 577 mm or more, and preferably 728 mm or less, more preferably 672 mm or less. Yes, preferably 560 mm or more and 728 mm or less, more preferably 577 mm or more and 672 mm or less.
The length W3 in the width direction Y of the low-density region 42 (see FIG. 4) is preferably 20% or more, more preferably 23% of the length W in the width direction Y of the exterior body 3 (see FIG. 4). or more, preferably 50% or less, more preferably 45% or less, more preferably 20% or more and 50% or less, more preferably 23% or more and 45% or less.
The length W4 in the width direction Y of the high-density region 44 (see FIG. 4) is preferably 22% or more, more preferably 25% of the length W in the width direction Y of the exterior body 3 (see FIG. 4). or more, preferably 40% or less, more preferably 38% or less, more preferably 22% or more and 40% or less, more preferably 22% or more and 38% or less.
The length W3 (see FIG. 4) in the width direction Y of the low-density region 42 is preferably 110 mm or more, more preferably 127 mm or more, and is preferably 330 mm or less, more preferably 290 mm or less, and is preferably 110 mm. 330 mm or less, more preferably 127 mm or more and 290 mm or less.
The length W4 (see FIG. 4) in the width direction Y of the high-density region 44 is preferably 120 mm or more, more preferably 138 mm or more, and is preferably 265 mm or less, more preferably 250 mm or less, and more preferably 120 mm. 265 mm or less, more preferably 138 mm or more and 250 mm or less.

From the viewpoint of further improving the uniformity of the color shade of the exterior body 3, the color difference in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system between the portion with the lowest ink density in the printing area E2 and the background color of the first nonwoven fabric is preferably is 3 or less, more preferably 2.5 or less. From the viewpoint of further improving the color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion, the lower limit value of the color difference is preferably 1.2 or more. The portion with the lowest ink density in the print area E2 is the portion with the lightest color in the print area E2, and can be visually confirmed.

The color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system between the portion with the lowest ink density and the portion with the highest ink density in the printing region E2 is preferably 1.2 or more and 3 or less, and more preferably. is 1.2 or more and 2.5 or less. The portion of the printing region E2 with the highest ink density is the portion of the printing region E2 with the darkest color, and can be visually confirmed. The color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system between the portion with the highest ink density and the ground color of the first nonwoven fabric is the difference between the printed area E1 in the first embodiment and the first nonwoven fabric. The color difference (ΔE ^* ) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the ground color is preferably within the preferred range.

The printing area E2 of this embodiment is composed of two areas, a low density area 42 with relatively low ink density and a high density area 44 with relatively high ink density. In the region E2, the ink density may continuously increase from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction Y. Alternatively, the print area E2 may have a plurality of areas with different ink densities, and the plurality of areas may be arranged side by side from the inner side to the outer side in the width direction Y in descending order of ink density, thereby increasing the ink density. It may be increased stepwise.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show both sides of the sheet forming the exterior body 3 for each of the third to fifth embodiments of the present invention. In the first and second embodiments described above, the second nonwoven fabric has the printed areas E1 and E2, but as in the third to fifth embodiments, the first nonwoven fabric has the printed areas. You may have In the third embodiment, the outer layer sheet 31 is a first nonwoven fabric containing colored fibers, and has a printed region E3 in the non-overlapping portion of the absorbent body, which is the surface facing the skin of the sheet. On the other hand, the inner layer sheet 32 is a second non-woven fabric made of white fibers, and the non-skin facing surface and the non-skin facing surface of the non-woven fabric are not printed (see FIG. 6). In the fourth embodiment, the outer layer sheet 31 is a second nonwoven fabric made of white fibers, and the skin-facing surface and non-skin-facing surface of the nonwoven fabric are not printed. On the other hand, the inner layer sheet 32 is a first non-woven fabric containing colored fibers, and has a printed area E4 in a non-skin-facing surface of the sheet that does not overlap with the absorber (see FIG. 7). In the fifth embodiment, the outer layer sheet 31 is a first nonwoven fabric containing colored fibers, and has a printed region E3 in the non-overlapping portion of the absorbent body, which is the surface facing the skin of the sheet. On the other hand, the inner layer sheet 32 is a second non-woven fabric made of white fibers, and has a printed area E1 in a non-skin-facing surface of the sheet that does not overlap with the absorber (see FIG. 8). In this manner, even in a mode in which the first nonwoven fabric has the print areas E3 and E4, the color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion is exhibited. In particular, from the viewpoint of further improving the color correction effect, it is preferable that both the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric have printed areas as in the fifth embodiment.

From the viewpoint of further improving the color correction effect in the absorber non-overlapping portion, when the first nonwoven fabric has a printed region, the printed region in the first nonwoven fabric has a base color of L ^* Either one or both of the color difference (ΔE ^* ) and the lightness difference (ΔL ^* ) in the a ^* b ^* color system is preferably 5 or less, more preferably 4 or less, and the lower limit thereof is preferably 1.2. That's it. The color difference (ΔE ^* value) and lightness difference (ΔL ^* ) are measured by the above-mentioned [color difference (ΔE ^* value) measuring method].

From the same point of view as above, in the printed regions E3 and E4 of the first nonwoven fabric, on the condition that the color difference (ΔE ^* ) is within the range described above, each value in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system is It is preferably within the same range as the printed area on the second nonwoven fabric.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified as appropriate. For example, in the above-described first to fifth embodiments, the print area was arranged in addition to the absorbent overlapping portion and the sheet overlapping portion. It is good if there is
In the first to fifth embodiments described above, the print area is arranged in the entire member non-overlapping portion, but instead of this, the print area may be arranged in a part of the member non-overlapping portion.
The diapers 1A and 1B of the first and second embodiments described above have the outer layer extending portion 31a and the inner layer extending portion 32a as the extending portions, respectively. It does not have to have an outlet.
The first nonwoven fabric may have printed areas with partially different ink densities, as in the second embodiment described above. In this case, the printed area of the first nonwoven fabric can have various configurations in the printed area E2 of the second embodiment described above.

1A, 1B Pants-type disposable diaper (absorbent article)
2 Absorbent Main Body 21 Top Sheet 22 Back Sheet 23 Absorber 3 Outer Body 31 Outer Layer Sheet 31a Outer Layer Extension 32 Inner Layer Sheet 32a Inner Layer Extension 33 Leg Elastic Member 34 Waist Elastic Member 42 Low Density Region 44 High Density Region A Belly Side portion B Crotch portion C Back side portion D1 Waist region D2 Waist region E1, E2, E3, E4 Print region F Non-print region X Longitudinal direction Y Width direction

Claims (7)

comprising an absorbent body having a liquid-retaining absorbent body and an exterior body disposed on the non-skin facing side of the absorbent body,
The exterior body is configured by laminating two or more nonwoven fabrics including a first nonwoven fabric and a second nonwoven fabric, and at least the first nonwoven fabric contains fibers kneaded with a coloring material,
At least one of the first nonwoven fabric and the second nonwoven fabric has a printed area colored by printing,
The absorbent article, wherein the printing has a color similar to that of the first nonwoven fabric and is applied only to a region that does not overlap with the absorbent body. the exterior body has an extension portion extending outward from the waist opening end,
The extending portion is folded back on the skin-facing surface side,
The absorbent according to claim 1, wherein in the nonwoven fabric having the printed region, the printing is applied to a region other than the extending portion and a region other than a region overlapping with the extending portion in plan view. sexual goods. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first nonwoven fabric has the printed area, and the printed area has a color difference of 5 or less in L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the background color of the first nonwoven fabric. absorbent article. 4. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second nonwoven fabric has the printed area, and the printed area has a color difference of 5 or less in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the background color of the first nonwoven fabric. The absorbent article according to claim 1. When the non-woven fabric having the printed area constitutes at least a part of the non-skin-facing surface of the outer packaging, the non-woven fabric has the printing applied to a region other than the non-skin-facing surface of the outer packaging,
2. When the nonwoven fabric having the printed area constitutes at least part of the skin facing surface of the outer packaging, the nonwoven fabric has the printing applied to a region other than the skin facing surface of the outer packaging. 5. The absorbent article according to any one of -4. 6. The second nonwoven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second nonwoven fabric has the printed region, and the second nonwoven fabric is a nonwoven fabric made of white fibers and printed on one surface. absorbent article. In the printed area, the ink density increases from the inner side position toward the outer side position in the width direction of the absorbent article, and the lowest ink density portion in the printed area and the first 7. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the nonwoven fabric has a color difference of 3 or less in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system from the ground color of the nonwoven fabric.

Images