JP7516280B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, panty liners, and incontinence pads, and more specifically to absorbent articles in which a core embossed groove is formed on the skin side of the absorbent body, centered around the area corresponding to the body fluid discharge area, and high density areas are formed in which the density of the absorbent body is increased in specified areas.

Various absorbent bodies have been developed that have recesses on the non-skin side of the skin-facing absorbent body to prevent leakage of bodily fluids and improve fit when worn.

For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses an absorbent article in which both ends of an absorbent body are bent toward the body along the entire length of the length at a pair of fold lines that sandwich a widthwise center line, and both sides of each fold line are held opposite each other, and when both ends of the absorbent body are bent toward the body, the both ends of the absorbent body are spaced apart from each other in the width direction, and a recess is provided in the region between the two fold lines of the absorbent body, extending to at least the center of the absorbent body in the length direction.

Patent Document 2 below discloses an absorbent article in which the absorbent body is made up of an upper absorbent body and a lower absorbent body, a slit is formed in the upper absorbent body that penetrates the front and back of the absorbent article in the longitudinal direction, and an embossed groove is formed in the lower absorbent body in the direction in which the slit extends, corresponding to the position where the slit is formed, and when the slit is contracted in the width direction by pressure from both sides in the width direction of the absorbent article toward the width direction center when worn, the part of the lower absorbent body that straddles the slit is folded in the width direction with the embossed groove as a flexible axis, forming an inner slit folded part that is folded back within the slit.

Patent document 3 below discloses an absorbent core in which dense embossing is applied near the center, where the absorbent body needs to absorb and disperse bodily fluids most, and sparse embossing is applied to the front and rear portions, so that the embossing forms a continuous pattern overall.

Furthermore, the following Patent Document 4 discloses an absorbent article in which a core press is formed on at least the surface of the absorbent body facing the top sheet, which is recessed toward the back sheet side and compresses the thickness of the absorbent body in the thickness direction, and a pair of left and right compressed grooves are formed along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article on at least both sides of the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion area, and a highly absorbent part with a higher absorption capacity per unit area than other parts is formed at least between the left and right compressed grooves of the absorbent body.

JP 2020-179301 A JP 2020-103406 A JP 2004-16373 A JP 2019-150344 A

However, with the absorbent articles described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, when the absorbent article is worn for a long period of time, when the legs are crossed while sitting, when the legs are moved back and forth while walking, when turning over in bed, etc., the position of the absorbent article may shift, causing bodily fluids to not be absorbed in the intended position, or the absorbent article to become twisted. Furthermore, when the absorbent article becomes twisted, the fit of the absorbent article to the body decreases, and there is a risk of excreted bodily fluids leaking.

Therefore, the main objective of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that reduces twisting while being worn, easily follows the movement of the legs, and prevents leakage of bodily fluids.

In order to solve the above problems, in a first aspect, a liquid-permeable top sheet is provided that is disposed on the skin side of the absorbent body,
A core embossed groove is formed on the skin side of the absorbent body by recessing the absorbent body toward the non-skin side while forming a space between the top sheet and the absorbent body, and the core embossed groove comprises a front V-shaped core embossed groove and a rear V-shaped core embossed groove, which are arranged at least at the front and rear parts of a region corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion area, respectively, and have a planar shape tapering toward the front and rear end sides of the absorbent article,
The absorbent article is characterized in that in a region corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion area, at least the front and rear portions of which are surrounded by the core embossed groove, the top sheet is positioned along the skin side of the absorbent, and a high density portion in which the density of the absorbent is relatively high is formed.

In the first aspect, the core embossed groove formed on the skin side of the absorbent body is formed in a V-shape with a tapered planar shape toward the front and rear ends of the absorbent article at least in the front and rear parts of the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion area, so that the absorbent body is easily deformed along the V-shape of the core embossed groove, and the absorbent body is easily able to follow the movement of the legs.

In addition, a high density portion with a relatively high density of the absorbent is formed in the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid discharge area, at least the front and rear portions of which are surrounded by the core embossed groove, so that the absorbent in the area corresponding to the body fluid discharge area is highly rigid, and twisting during wear can be reduced. Furthermore, since the high density portion is formed in the area surrounded by at least the front and rear portions of the core embossed groove, the body fluid absorbed in the high density portion is then diffused along the core embossed groove toward the widthwise center of the front and rear regions of the absorbent, so that the body fluid is diffused over a wide range of the absorbent, and leakage of the body fluid from the end of the absorbent can be prevented. In addition, since the top sheet is arranged along the skin side of the absorbent in the high density portion, body fluid is easily transferred from the top sheet to the absorbent, and leakage of body fluid along the top sheet is also less likely to occur.

In a second aspect, the absorbent article according to claim 1 is provided, in which the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are connected or spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the absorbent article.

In the second aspect, when the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are connected and arranged, an approximately diamond-shaped core embossed groove is formed as a whole, which can reliably prevent leakage of bodily fluids in the width direction. On the other hand, when the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are arranged spaced apart in the front-rear direction, the high-density portion prevents twisting of the absorbent body in the area corresponding to the bodily fluid discharge area, while the absorbent body is more likely to deform along the core embossed groove in the front and rear parts, making it easier to follow the movement of the legs.

As a third aspect, the absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2 is provided, in which one or both of the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are provided at a distance in the front-rear direction of the absorbent article.

In the third aspect, one or more V-shaped core embossed grooves are provided at the front and rear of the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid discharge area. For example, in an absorbent article that is formed long at the rear, multiple rear V-shaped core embossed grooves can be provided at intervals in the front-rear direction of the absorbent article to more reliably prevent leakage of body fluids to the rear.

As a fourth aspect, the absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided, in which the high density portion and the core embossed groove are connected or spaced apart.

In the fourth aspect, the high density portion may be connected to the core embossed groove or may be spaced apart from the high density portion as long as the high density portion does not extend outside the core embossed groove. However, it is particularly preferable to connect the high density portion to the core embossed groove, since this makes it easier for bodily fluids absorbed in the high density portion to diffuse along the core embossed groove.

As a fifth aspect, the absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is provided, in which the thickness of the absorbent body in the high density portion is approximately equal to or smaller than that of the portion in which the core embossed groove is not provided.

In the fifth aspect, the means for forming the high density portion is either a first means in which the basis weight of the absorbent body in the portion where the high density portion is provided is made higher than that of the other portion, and this high basis weight portion is depressed by squeezing from the surface side of the top sheet to make it approximately the same thickness as the portion where the core embossed groove is not provided, or a second means in which the basis weight of the absorbent body in the portion where the high density portion is provided is made higher or the same as that of the other portion as described above, and the top sheet and absorbent body are depressed together by squeezing from the surface side of the top sheet to make it thinner than the portion where the core embossed groove is not provided. This makes the density of the absorbent body in the high density portion higher, reliably increasing its rigidity and making it less likely to twist.

As a sixth aspect, the absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is provided, in which a low density portion having a lower density than the high density portion is formed within the region in which the high density portion is formed.

In the sixth aspect, a low-density section having a lower density than the high-density section is formed within the region in which the high-density section is formed, making it easier for the absorbent body to absorb body fluids through the low-density section.

As explained above in detail, the present invention reduces twisting while being worn, makes it easier for the garment to follow leg movements, and helps prevent leakage of bodily fluids.

1 is a partially cutaway development view of a sanitary napkin 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an absorbent body 4 in which a core embossed groove 10 is formed. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a first means for forming a high density portion 13. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a second method for forming a high density portion 13. FIG. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a sanitary napkin 1 according to a modified example. FIG. 11 is a plan view of a sanitary napkin 1 according to a modified example. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a sanitary napkin 1 provided with a low compression portion 14. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 9.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[Basic structure of sanitary napkin 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, the sanitary napkin 1 according to the present invention comprises a liquid-impermeable back sheet 2 made of a polyethylene sheet or the like and placed on the non-skin side; a liquid-permeable top sheet 3 placed on the skin side and allowing menstrual blood, vaginal discharge, and the like (hereinafter collectively referred to as body fluids) to quickly permeate therethrough; an absorbent body 4 made of cotton-like pulp or synthetic pulp and placed between the two sheets 2, 3; and side sheets 7, 7 provided on both sides of the skin-contacting side over almost the entire length in the front-to-rear direction, and around the periphery of the absorbent body 4, the outer edges of the back sheet 2 and the top sheet 3 are joined at the top and bottom edges by a joining means such as hot melt adhesive, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, etc., and at both side edges, the back sheet 2 and the side sheet 7 extending laterally beyond the absorbent body 4 are joined by a joining means such as hot melt adhesive, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, etc., to form flap portions without the absorbent body 4 being interposed. In order to maintain the shape of the absorbent body 4 and improve diffusion, the absorbent body 4 may be surrounded by an envelope sheet made of crepe paper, nonwoven fabric, etc. Also, a second sheet having approximately the same shape as the topsheet 3 may be disposed between the topsheet 3 and the absorbent body 4 and adjacent to the non-skin side of the topsheet 3.

The structure of the sanitary napkin 1 will be described in further detail below.
The back sheet 2 is made of a sheet material such as polyethylene that is at least water-proof, but it is preferable to use a material that is moisture-permeable in order to prevent stuffiness. As the water-proof and moisture-permeable sheet material, a microporous sheet obtained by melt-kneading an inorganic filler in an olefin resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene to form a sheet, and then stretching it in a uniaxial or biaxial direction is preferably used. On the non-skin side (outer surface) of the back sheet 2, one or more adhesive layers (not shown) are formed along the front-rear direction of the napkin, so that the sanitary napkin 1 is fixed to the underwear when worn on the body. The back sheet 2 may be made of a polylaminated nonwoven fabric obtained by laminating a plastic film and a nonwoven fabric.

Next, the surface sheet 3 is preferably made of a nonwoven fabric with or without holes. The material fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric can be synthetic fibers such as olefins such as polyethylene or polypropylene, polyesters, polyamides, regenerated fibers such as rayon or cupra, and natural fibers such as cotton. Nonwoven fabrics obtained by appropriate processing methods such as spunlace, spunbond, thermal bond, meltblown, and needle punch can be used. Of these processing methods, the spunlace method is excellent in terms of flexibility and drapeability, and the thermal bond method is excellent in terms of bulk and high compression recovery. When a large number of through holes are formed in the surface sheet 3, body fluids are quickly absorbed and the surface sheet has excellent dry touch. The fibers of the nonwoven fabric can be either long or short fibers, but it is preferable to use short fibers to give the surface a towel-like texture. In addition, in order to facilitate embossing, it is preferable to use olefin fibers such as polyethylene or polypropylene with a relatively low melting point. In addition, composite fibers such as core-sheath fibers, side-by-side fibers, and split fibers, which have a core made of fibers with a high melting point and a sheath made of fibers with a low melting point, can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the top sheet 3 has a large number of openings 8, 8... formed at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction and width direction of the napkin. The openings 8 are preferably provided in an area excluding the high density portion 13 described in detail later, but they may be formed on the entire surface of the top sheet 3, or may not be formed at all. The planar shape of the openings 8 can be any planar shape, such as a circle, an oval, an ellipse, or a polygon. The openings 8... may be arranged in a staggered pattern as shown in FIG. 1, or in a regular lattice pattern.

The absorbent 4 interposed between the back sheet 2 and the top sheet 3 is composed of, for example, cotton-like pulp and a water-absorbing polymer. The water-absorbing polymer is mixed, for example, as granular powder, into the pulp constituting the absorbent. Examples of the pulp include chemical pulp obtained from wood, cellulose fibers such as dissolving pulp, and artificial cellulose fibers such as rayon and acetate. Coniferous pulp, which has a longer fiber length, is more suitable in terms of function and cost than hardwood pulp. The absorbent 4 is preferably manufactured using stacked pulp to provide flexibility, but may also be an airlaid absorbent that can reduce bulk. The absorbent 4 may be surrounded by a wrapping sheet (not shown) made of crepe paper, nonwoven fabric, etc., to maintain its shape and improve diffusion.

Synthetic fibers may also be mixed into the absorbent 4. The synthetic fibers may be, for example, polyolefins such as polyethylene or polypropylene, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate, polyamides such as nylon, or copolymers of these. They may also be a mixture of two of these. Composite fibers such as core-sheath fibers with a high melting point fiber as the core and a low melting point fiber as the sheath, side-by-side fibers, and split fibers may also be used. In the case of hydrophobic fibers, it is desirable to use synthetic fibers that have been surface-treated with a hydrophilizing agent so that they have affinity for body fluids.

In the illustrated example, the width of the top sheet 3 is approximately the same as the width of the absorbent body 4, and it only covers the absorbent body 4. Outside of this is a side sheet 7 that is separate from the top sheet 3. Specifically, the side sheet 7 is made of a nonwoven fabric material that has been appropriately treated to be water repellent or hydrophilic depending on the purpose of preventing the penetration of menstrual blood or vaginal discharge, or improving the feel against the skin.

The side sheet 7 may be made of natural, synthetic or regenerated fibers and processed by an appropriate method, but preferably, a nonwoven fabric with a high basis weight is used to enhance the ability to conceal body fluids. Specifically, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric with a basis weight of 13 to 23 g/ ^m2 , and a water-repellent nonwoven fabric coated with a silicone, paraffin or alkylchromic chloride water repellent is preferably used to reliably prevent the penetration of body fluids.

The side sheets 7 are bonded from the widthwise middle portion to the outer edge of the back sheet 2 with an adhesive such as hot melt, and the laminated sheet portions of the side sheets 7 and the back sheet 2 form side flap portions on both sides of the absorbent body 4 without the absorbent body 4 being interposed. On the other hand, the inner side portions of the side sheets 7 are bonded to the absorbent body 4 side (the skin side of the top sheet 3) in a state of being laminated on the skin side of the top sheet 3 in the illustrated example, but they may be folded in the width direction and an elastic stretchable member may be disposed in the front-rear direction in this folded portion to form a three-dimensional gather standing on the skin side. In addition, the sanitary napkin 1 in the illustrated example does not have wing-shaped flaps protruding laterally on both sides, but wing-shaped flaps that are folded back so as to wrap around the outside of the crotch portion of the shorts when worn on the shorts may be provided on both sides of the portion corresponding to the wearer's body fluid discharge portion H, protruding laterally from the side flap portions.

[Core embossed groove, high density area]
1 to 3, in the sanitary napkin 1 according to the present invention, a core embossed groove 10 is formed on the skin side of the absorbent body 4 by recessing the absorbent body 4 toward the non-skin side while forming a space between the absorbent body 4 and the topsheet 3. This core embossed groove 10 is composed of a front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and a rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12, which are arranged at least at the front and rear portions of a region corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion portion H, and have planar shapes that taper toward the front and rear ends of the sanitary napkin 1.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in the sanitary napkin 1, the top sheet 3 is disposed along the skin side of the absorbent body 4 in the area that corresponds to the wearer's body fluid discharge area H and is surrounded at least at the front and rear by the core embossed groove 10, and a high density area 13 is formed in which the density of the absorbent body 4 is relatively high.

In this way, the core embossed groove 10 formed on the skin side of the absorbent body 4 is composed of a front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and a rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12, which are tapered in planar shape toward the front and rear ends of the sanitary napkin 1, at least in the front and rear parts of the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid discharge area H. Therefore, along the V-shape of the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12, i.e., with the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 as flexible axes, the front and rear sides of the absorbent body 4 are easily bent and deformed in an oblique direction, and are easily able to follow the movement of the wearer's legs when they move back and forth. As a result, the sanitary napkin 1 is less likely to twist while being worn, and the surface of the sanitary napkin 1 is maintained in close contact with the wearer's body fluid discharge area H, preventing leakage of body fluids.

In addition, a high density portion 13 with a relatively high density of the absorbent 4 is formed in the area corresponding to the wearer's body fluid discharge area H, at least in the front and rear portions surrounded by the core embossed groove 10. This high density portion 13 increases the rigidity of the absorbent 4 in the area corresponding to the body fluid discharge area H, reducing twisting during wear. This allows the surface of the sanitary napkin 1 to remain in close contact with the wearer's body fluid discharge area H, preventing leakage of body fluids.

Furthermore, since the high density portion 13 is formed in an area surrounded at least at the front and rear by the core embossed groove 10, the body fluid that is absorbed in the high density portion 13 and then diffuses around the absorbent body 4 diffuses along the core embossed groove 10, which has a tapered planar shape as it moves toward the front and rear ends of the sanitary napkin 1, making it easier for the body fluid to diffuse toward the widthwise center of the front and rear regions of the absorbent body 4, preventing leakage of the body fluid from the ends of the absorbent body 4.

In addition, in the high density portion 13, the top sheet 3 is arranged along the skin side of the absorbent 4, so that bodily fluids can easily transfer from the top sheet 3 to the absorbent 4, and leakage of bodily fluids along the top sheet 3 is also less likely to occur. On the other hand, because a space is formed between the core embossed groove 10 and the top sheet 3, it is possible to reduce the return of bodily fluids diffusing within the absorbent 4 along the core embossed groove 10 to the surface side of the top sheet 3.

The core embossed groove 10 and the high density portion 13 will be described in more detail below.
The core embossed groove 10 is formed by compressing the absorbent body 4 from the skin side, thereby compressing and indenting either the absorbent body 4 alone or the absorbent body 4 together with an envelope sheet arranged on the skin side, and by placing a top sheet 3 on the skin side of the absorbent body 4 in which the core embossed groove 10 is formed, a space is formed between the core embossed groove 10 and the top sheet 3.

The front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 are each formed in a V-shaped planar shape that extends diagonally outward in the width direction from the center of the width direction of the front and rear end sides of the sanitary napkin 1 toward the center of the wearer's body fluid discharge area H. Each line segment of the V shape is preferably straight as in the illustrated example, but may also be formed in a planar shape such as a curve that bulges slightly inward or outward in the width direction.

The front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 include grooves formed in planar shapes that are linearly symmetrical in the front-rear direction with respect to a widthwise line W passing through approximately the center of the area corresponding to the wearer's bodily fluid discharge area H. This allows the front and rear regions to easily follow the movement of the legs around the center of the bodily fluid discharge area H, and allows bodily fluids absorbed by the absorbent body 4 to be spread over a wide area in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interior angle θ of the V-shaped portions of the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 is 20 to 90°, preferably 30 to 60°.

The core embossed groove 10 is provided independently in the middle of the absorbent body 4, without reaching the outer edge of the absorbent body 4. In addition, it is provided independently without connecting to or branching off from other compressed parts or high density parts other than the high density part 13.

The front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 may be arranged in a connected state in the front and rear as shown in FIG. 1, or may be arranged in a spaced state in the front and rear as shown in FIG. 4. When these core embossed grooves 11 and 12 are arranged in a connected state in the front and rear, as shown in FIG. 1, a core embossed groove 10 having a generally rhombus closed planar shape is formed, as a result, the periphery of the bodily fluid discharge part H is surrounded by the core embossed groove 10, so that leakage of bodily fluids in all directions, especially in the width direction, can be reliably prevented. On the other hand, when these core embossed grooves 11 and 12 are arranged in a spaced state in the front and rear, the high density part 13 prevents twisting of the absorbent body 4 in the part corresponding to the bodily fluid discharge part H of the wearer, while the absorbent body is more likely to deform along the core embossed grooves 11 and 12 in the front and rear parts, and is more likely to follow the movement of the legs.

The front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 are provided on the front and rear sides, one each, or multiple grooves spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the sanitary napkin 1, with the widthwise line W passing through the center of the area corresponding to the wearer's bodily fluid discharge area H as the boundary. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4(A), one front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and one rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 are provided on the widthwise line W as the boundary. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4(B), multiple (two) rear V-shaped core embossed grooves 12 are provided spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the sanitary napkin 1. In this way, in a sanitary napkin 1 with a total length of 25 cm or more and formed long on the rear side so as to widely cover the wearer's buttocks groove, it is preferable to provide multiple rear V-shaped core embossed grooves 12. In a configuration in which a plurality of front V-shaped core embossed grooves 11 and/or rear V-shaped core embossed grooves 12 are provided at intervals in the front-to-rear direction of the sanitary napkin 1, at least the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 closest to the bodily fluid discharge section H are formed in a shape that is line-symmetrical with respect to the width direction line W.

When the core embossed grooves 11, 12 are provided in multiple positions on the front and/or rear side of the widthwise line W, it is preferable to arrange the adjacent core embossed grooves 11, 11 or 12, 12 so that they overlap in the width direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 4(B), among the multiple rear V-shaped core embossed grooves 12, 12, the rear part of the core embossed groove 12 near the widthwise line W is inserted into the V-shaped space from the front end of the core embossed groove 12 adjacent to the rear side. As a result, when the body fluid diffused along the core embossed groove 12 on the side close to the body fluid discharge portion H diffuses further rearward from the tapered tip, it becomes easier to diffuse along the core embossed groove 12 adjacent to the outside thereof, and the body fluid is diffused toward the center of the width direction of the absorbent body, so that leakage of the body fluid can be more reliably prevented.

Next, the high density portion 13 will be described. The high density portion 13 is formed by compressing at least the top sheet 3 and the absorbent 4 together from the surface side with the top sheet 3 laminated on the skin side of the absorbent 4, and recessing the non-skin side. In the area where the high density portion 13 is formed, the top sheet 3 is arranged along the skin side of the absorbent 4. That is, as in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, when the high density portion 13 is composed of a recessed portion where the skin side of the absorbent 4 is recessed toward the non-skin side more than other areas, the top sheet 3 is arranged to be recessed along this recessed portion.

The high density portion 13 is formed so that the thickness of the absorbent body 4 is approximately equal to or smaller than that of the portion where the core embossed groove 10 is not provided. To form the high density portion 13 with a thickness approximately equal to that of the portion where the core embossed groove 10 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 5, the basis weight of the absorbent body 4 in the portion where the high density portion 13 is provided is made higher than that of the other portions, and this high basis weight portion is depressed by squeezing from the surface side of the top sheet 3 to make it approximately equal to the thickness of the absorbent body 4 in the portion where the core embossed groove 10 is not provided.

In order to form the high density portion 13 with a smaller thickness than the portion where the core embossed groove 10 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 6, the basis weight of the absorbent body 4 in the portion where the high density portion 13 is provided is made the same as that of the other portion, or, as shown in FIG. 5 above, the basis weight of the absorbent body 4 in the portion where the high density portion 13 is provided is made partially higher than that of the other portion, and the top sheet 3 and the absorbent body 4 are integrally depressed by squeezing from the surface side of the top sheet 3, resulting in a thickness smaller than that of the absorbent body 4 in the portion where the core embossed groove 10 is not provided.

By providing the high density portion 13 using any of the methods described above, the absorbent body 4 in the high density portion 13 is reliably densified, increasing the rigidity of this portion and making it less likely to twist when worn.

The high density portion 13 is formed in an area including the part corresponding to the wearer's bodily fluid discharge area H, and is preferably provided in an area including all of the wearer's bodily fluid discharge area H.

The high density portion 13 is formed in an area surrounded at least at the front and rear by the core embossed groove 10, and as long as it does not extend outside the core embossed groove 10, the high density portion 13 and the core embossed groove 10 may be connected or spaced apart. The high density portion 13 and the core embossed groove 10 being connected and arranged means that the part of the absorbent body 4 compressed by the core embossed groove 10 and the part of the absorbent body 4 densified by the high density portion 13 are adjacently arranged or overlapped without the absorbent body 4 not densified by the core embossed groove 10 and the high density portion 13 being arranged. On the other hand, the high density portion 13 and the core embossed groove 10 being spaced apart means that the absorbent body 4 not densified is interposed between the part of the absorbent body 4 compressed by the core embossed groove 10 and the part of the absorbent body 4 densified by the high density portion 13.

If the high density portion 13 and the core embossed groove 10 are not connected but arranged apart, a relatively sparse absorbent will be interposed between relatively dense absorbents, which may reduce the diffusibility of bodily fluids from the high density portion 13 to the core embossed groove 10. For this reason, from the viewpoint of improving the diffusibility of bodily fluids from the high density portion 13 to the core embossed groove 10, it is preferable to arrange the high density portion 13 and the core embossed groove 10 in a connected state.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the core embossed groove 10 is formed in a generally diamond-shaped closed planar shape, the high density portion 13 is preferably formed along the inner edge of the core embossed groove 10 and at a predetermined length on both sides of the center of the wearer's bodily fluid discharge area H, forming a generally hexagonal planar shape. This makes it easier for bodily fluids absorbed in the high density portion 13 to diffuse forward and backward through the core embossed grooves 10 that connect to both sides of the high density portion 13.

The planar shape of the high density portion 13 can be formed in any shape within the area surrounded at least at the front and rear by the core embossed groove 10. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the high density portion 13 is inscribed in the core embossed groove 10 formed in a substantially diamond-shaped closed planar shape, and is formed in a planar shape with both side edges formed of curves that bulge outward in the width direction, and with the front and rear end edges formed of straight lines extending in the width direction. In this way, by forming both side edges of the high density portion 13 with curves that bulge outward in the width direction, the high density portion 13 can easily fit the shape of the wearer's body fluid discharge area H, improving wearability and improving the efficiency of absorbing body fluids.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12 are separated in the front-to-rear direction, and within the range enclosed by the front-to-rear lines L, L passing through both side edges of the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12, both side portions of the front and rear ends are connected to the front V-shaped core embossed groove 11 and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove 12, respectively, and both side edges are formed of curves that bulge inward in the width direction, and the front and rear ends are formed in a planar shape consisting of straight lines extending in the width direction. By forming the high density portion 13 in such a planar shape, the body fluid absorbed in the high density portion 13 is prevented from diffusing outward in the width direction from the high density portion 13, and the body fluid that reaches both side edges of the high density portion 13 diffuses along the curved side edges toward the front and rear ends, and then further diffuses in the front and rear direction along the core embossed grooves 10 that connect to both sides of the front and rear ends, so leakage of body fluid from both sides of the absorbent body 4 can be more reliably prevented.

The high density portion 13 may be an area that is almost uniformly densified over the entire surface, or, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, a low density portion 14 having a lower density than the high density portion 13 may be formed in the area where the high density portion 13 is formed. The density of the low density portion 14 may be almost the same as that of the absorbent body except for the core embossed groove 10, or may be higher than that, as long as it is lower than the high density portion 13. By providing the low density portion 14, bodily fluids are easily absorbed into the absorbent body 4 through the low density portion 14. The low density portion 14 is preferably bulged toward the skin side from the high density portion 13, and when the high density portion 13 is formed recessed toward the non-skin side from the skin side of other regions as shown in Fig. 10, it is preferable to form it so that it is almost the same height as the skin side of other regions. In addition, the planar shape of the low density portion 14 is preferably formed in a line extending in the width direction as shown in Fig. 9, and it is preferable to form one line or multiple lines spaced apart in the front-rear direction. It may also be formed with intermittent lines that are separated in the width direction, as shown in FIG. 9(B).

1...sanitary napkin, 2...back sheet, 3...top sheet, 4...absorbent body, 7...side sheet, 10...core embossed groove, 11...front V-shaped core embossed groove, 12...rear V-shaped core embossed groove, 13...high density section, 14...low density section

Claims (6)

An absorbent body and a liquid-permeable top sheet arranged on the skin side of the absorbent body,
A core embossed groove is formed on the skin side of the absorbent body by recessing the absorbent body toward the non-skin side while forming a space between the top sheet and the absorbent body, and the core embossed groove comprises a front V-shaped core embossed groove and a rear V-shaped core embossed groove, which are arranged at least at the front and rear parts of a region corresponding to the wearer's body fluid excretion area, and have a planar shape tapering toward the front and rear end sides of the absorbent article,
An absorbent article characterized in that in a region corresponding to the wearer's bodily fluid excretion area, at least the front and rear portions of which are surrounded by the core embossed groove, the top sheet is positioned along the skin side of the absorbent, and a high density portion in which the density of the absorbent is relatively high is formed. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are connected or spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the absorbent article. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one or both of the front V-shaped core embossed groove and the rear V-shaped core embossed groove are provided in a single groove or multiple grooves spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the absorbent article. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the high density portion and the core embossed groove are connected or spaced apart. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the thickness of the absorbent body in the high density portion is approximately equal to or smaller than that of the portion in which the core embossed groove is not provided. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a low density portion having a lower density than the high density portion is formed within the region in which the high density portion is formed.

Images