JP7534845B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates primarily to absorbent articles such as urine pads, incontinence pads, disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and panty liners, and in particular to absorbent articles in which the skin barrier function is improved by probiotics before bodily fluids are discharged, and the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent is only expressed after bodily fluids are discharged.

It has long been known that the excretion of bodily fluids such as urine and menstrual blood removes the sebum film and alkalizes the pH of the skin surface, resulting in the proliferation of the bad bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and a relative decrease in the good bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis, which can cause skin problems and produce a foul odor.

As a technique for preventing the pH of the skin surface from becoming alkaline, the following Patent Document 1 discloses that the pH of the surface material is made weakly acidic by using, as the surface material of an absorbent article, fibers to which a fiber treatment agent that exhibits weak acidity and contains oleic acid derived from natural fats and oils, a polyoxyalkylene adduct of natural fats and oils, and its fatty acid ester is attached.

However, in the patent document 1 below, the fibers are not antibacterial treated, so bacterial growth cannot be suppressed, and ammonia continues to be generated due to the decomposition of urea by bacteria contained in urine, so the pH continues to rise and the skin surface cannot be maintained at a slightly acidic state. As a result, the skin surface falls into an environment where bad bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and pathogenic bacteria can easily grow, and the good bacteria that are resident on the skin are lost, which could cause skin problems.

On the other hand, a technology is also known in which an antibacterial agent is provided on the surface material of an absorbent article to suppress the proliferation of bacteria contained in body fluids such as urine and menstrual blood, thereby reducing skin troubles and suppressing bad odors. For example, the following Patent Document 2 discloses an antibacterial sheet that includes an antibacterial composition and a sheet-like substrate to which the antibacterial composition is attached, in which the antibacterial composition includes a thermoplastic water-soluble polymer that is solid at room temperature and dissolves in body fluids, and an antibacterial agent.

JP 2018-35458 A JP 2008-142464 A

However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, when the antibacterial composition-attached surface is used as the surface material of an absorbent article, the antibacterial agent attached to the fiber surface of the surface material is constantly in contact with the skin surface, and this may kill the normal skin bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is a beneficial bacteria that grows on the skin surface, and may cause a decrease in the skin barrier function.

Thus, before body fluids are excreted, when an antibacterial agent comes into contact with the skin, it reduces the number of good bacteria that normally reside on the skin, preventing the improvement of the skin barrier function through probiotics (microorganisms that have a positive effect on the human body) and increasing the risk of skin problems, so it is better for the antibacterial agent's antibacterial effect not to function. On the other hand, after body fluids are excreted, the environment becomes favorable for the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus, a bad bacterium that has a negative effect on the skin, so it is necessary to enable the antibacterial agent to exert its antibacterial effect of killing this bad bacteria.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that minimizes the loss of activity of the beneficial bacteria that normally reside on the skin before bodily fluids are discharged, and that allows the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent to be exerted only when the environment becomes one in which harmful bacteria increase after bodily fluids are discharged.

In order to solve the above problems, in a first aspect, a liquid-permeable top sheet that forms a skin contact surface is provided, an antibacterial agent is kneaded into fibers that constitute the top sheet, and the surface of the fibers is covered with a fiber treatment agent,
The top sheet is composed of a skin-side sheet arranged on the skin side and a non-skin-side sheet arranged on the non-skin side,
The skin side sheet has an antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers constituting the skin side sheet, and the surfaces of the fibers are covered with a fiber treatment agent, and the fiber treatment agent does not contain an antibacterial agent so that the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent does not work before urination,
The non-skin side sheet has an antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers constituting the non-skin side sheet, and the surfaces of the fibers are covered with a fiber treatment agent containing the antibacterial agent,
an organic antibacterial agent having high solubility in body fluids is used as the antibacterial agent contained in the fiber treatment agent covering the surface of the fibers of the non-skin side sheet, and an inorganic antibacterial agent is used as the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers of the non-skin side sheet;
The absorbent article is characterized in that , upon contact with body fluids, in the skin-side sheet, the fiber treatment agent falls off from the surface of the fibers, and the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers is exposed on the fiber surface, and in the non-skin-side sheet, the organic antibacterial agent contained in the fiber treatment agent covering the surface of the fibers of the non-skin-side sheet is detached from the fibers together with the fiber treatment agent, mixed with body fluids, and flows off.

In the first aspect, in the skin-side sheet constituting the top sheet, an antibacterial agent is kneaded into the fibers and the surfaces of the fibers are covered with a fiber treatment agent, so that before the discharge of bodily fluids, the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers is prevented from coming into direct contact with the skin by the fiber treatment agent covering the surfaces of the fibers, while after the discharge of bodily fluids, the fiber treatment agent is eluted and dropped from the fiber surfaces upon contact with the bodily fluids, and the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers is exposed on the surfaces of the fibers, so that the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent can be exerted. Thus, in this absorbent article, the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers is exposed and its antibacterial effect can be exerted only when an environment in which bad bacteria increase is created after the discharge of bodily fluids, while before the discharge of bodily fluids, the surfaces of the fibers kneaded with the antibacterial agent are covered with the fiber treatment agent, so that the loss of activity of normal skin bacteria, which are good bacteria on the skin surface, due to the antibacterial agent is minimized, and the skin barrier function can be improved by probiotics, thereby reducing the risk of skin troubles.

In a second aspect, an absorbent article is provided in which the fiber treatment agent is a hydrophilizing agent.

In the second aspect, by using a hydrophilizing agent as the fiber treatment agent, the fiber treatment agent dissolves quickly in body fluids upon contact with the body fluids and is easily removed from the fiber surface, making it easier for the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers to be exposed after the body fluids are discharged.

As explained above in detail, according to the present invention, the activity of the normal skin bacteria (good bacteria) is minimized before the discharge of body fluids, and the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent can be exerted only when the environment becomes one in which bad bacteria increase after the discharge of body fluids.

1 is a partially cutaway development view of a urine absorption pad 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. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the fiber 10 before the body fluid is discharged, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the fiber 10 after the body fluid is discharged. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the skin side sheet 3A and the non-skin side sheet 3B. FIG. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a fiber showing a conventional form before and after discharge of bodily fluids, respectively.

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

[An example of the basic structure of a urine pad]
As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the urine absorption pad 1 according to the present invention is mainly composed of a leakproof sheet 2 made of a polyethylene sheet or the like, a top sheet 3 which forms a surface that comes into contact with the wearer's skin and allows urine and the like to quickly permeate through, an absorbent body 4 interposed between these two sheets 2, 3, an exterior sheet 5 which covers the outermost surface (the surface not in contact with the skin) of the urine absorption pad 1, and side nonwoven fabrics 6, 6 which form a pair of left and right three-dimensional gathers BS, BS having approximately the side edges of the absorbent body 4 as their upright base ends and protruding toward the skin within a predetermined section in the front-to-rear direction including at least the wearer's urination opening, and around the periphery of the absorbent body 4, the outer edges of the leakproof sheet 2, the top sheet 3 and the exterior sheet 5 are joined together by a joining means such as hot melt adhesive, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, etc., and also, at both side edges, the leakproof sheet 2, the top sheet 3, the exterior sheet 5 and the side nonwoven fabric 6 which extend laterally beyond the absorbent body 4 are joined together by a joining means such as hot melt adhesive, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, etc.

The structure of the urine pad 1 will be described in more detail below.
The leak-proof sheet 2 is made of a sheet material such as polyethylene that is at least water-proof, but in recent years, there has been a trend to use a material that is moisture-permeable in order to prevent stuffiness. As this water-proof/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 the sheet in a uniaxial or biaxial direction is preferably used. The leak-proof sheet 2 may be a polylaminated nonwoven fabric obtained by laminating a plastic film and a nonwoven fabric.

The absorbent 4 interposed between the leakproof sheet 2 and the top sheet 3 is composed of, for example, cotton-like pulp and a highly absorbent polymer. The highly absorbent polymer is mixed, for example, as granular powder, into the pulp that constitutes the absorbent 4. 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. In terms of functionality and cost, softwood pulp, which has longer fibers, is more suitable for use than hardwood pulp.

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.

The superabsorbent polymer includes "powder" in addition to "particles". The superabsorbent polymer can be used as it is with the particle size used for this type of absorbent article, and it is desirable that the average particle size is 1000 μm or less, preferably the particle size before water absorption is 106 μm or more, and more preferably 99% by weight or more of the total, and particularly 150 to 850 μm. The average particle size before water absorption is preferably about 250 to 500 μm. In addition, it is desirable that the average particle size of the superabsorbent polymer after water absorption is three times or more than the average particle size before water absorption, specifically 500 μm or more. The average particle size of the superabsorbent polymer before water absorption means the particle size at 50% of the integrated value in the weight-based particle size distribution. In this case, the weight-based particle size distribution is measured in accordance with JIS Z8815-1994. That is, sieves having an inner diameter of 150 mm and a depth of 45 mm and having openings of 710 μm, 500 μm, 300 μm, 150 μm and 106 μm are stacked with the narrower opening sieve facing down, 50 g of the measurement sample is placed on the top sieve with the widest opening of 710 μm, and sieved for 10 minutes in a sieve vibrator, the weight of the measurement sample remaining on each sieve is measured, and the weight percentage of the measurement sample remaining on each sieve based on the weight of the initial measurement sample is calculated.
The basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer can be appropriately determined according to the absorption amount required for the application of the absorbent body 4. Therefore, although it cannot be generally stated, it can be set to 50 to 350 g/ ^m2 . If the basis weight of the polymer is less than 50 g/ ^m2 , it becomes difficult to ensure the absorption amount. If it exceeds 350 g/ ^m2 , not only will the effect be saturated, but the excess of the superabsorbent polymer will cause a gritty and uncomfortable feeling.

The absorbent body 4 preferably has a ratio of superabsorbent polymer to the total weight of pulp and superabsorbent polymer of 5 to 90% by weight, and particularly 30 to 70% by weight. If the ratio of superabsorbent polymer is less than 5% by weight, the water absorption capacity may be insufficient. On the other hand, if it is more than 90% by weight, the gritty feel (grainy feel) of the superabsorbent polymer will be felt strongly, and the feeling of use will be reduced.

In order to maintain the shape and improve diffusion, it is preferable that at least the skin side and non-skin side of the absorbent body 4 are covered with an enveloping sheet 9 made of crepe paper or nonwoven fabric. When an enveloping sheet 9 is provided to cover the absorbent body 4, the enveloping sheet 9 is interposed between the top sheet 3 and the absorbent body 4. When the enveloping sheet 9 is made of crepe paper, the enveloping sheet 9, which has excellent absorbency, quickly diffuses body fluids and prevents the body fluids absorbed by the absorbent body 4 from returning back. To envelop the absorbent body 4 with the enveloping sheet 9, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, a single enveloping sheet 9 may be folded over to roll up both side edges of the absorbent body 4, or the skin side and non-skin side of the absorbent body 4 may be covered with separate sheets.

It is preferable to form leg-around cut lines 4a, 4a on both sides of the absorbent body 4, which are curved lines that bulge inward in the width direction. By providing the leg-around cut lines 4a, 4a, the fit around the legs when worn is improved, preventing leakage of bodily fluids, and reducing the feeling of stiffness, improving the fit. The position of the leg-around cut lines 4a, 4a in the longitudinal direction is arbitrary, but it is preferable to provide them in the longitudinal center as shown in Figure 1. The shape of the curve is also arbitrary, and in the illustrated example, they are formed in an arc shape.

The exterior sheet 5 covers the outer surface (non-skin contact surface) of the leakproof sheet 2, giving the outer surface of the urine pad 1 a cloth-like appearance and texture. The exterior sheet 5 is preferably made of nonwoven fabric. The material fibers can be synthetic fibers such as olefins, polyesters, and polyamides, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, regenerated fibers such as rayon and cupra, and natural fibers such as cotton, and can be produced using the spunlace method, spunbond method, thermal bond method, air-through method, needle punch method, etc. However, long fiber nonwoven fabrics such as spunbond nonwoven fabric, SMS nonwoven fabric, and SMMS nonwoven fabric are preferred because they can achieve both texture and strength.

The nonwoven fabric forming the exterior sheet 5 may be used in one piece or in a stack of multiple pieces, and when multiple pieces are stacked, it is preferable to fix the nonwoven fabrics to each other with an adhesive such as hot melt. When using a nonwoven fabric, the fiber weight is preferably 10 to 50 g/ ^m2 , and more preferably 15 to 30 g/ ^m2 .

One or more temporary fastening layers (not shown) may be formed on the unused side (outer surface) of the exterior sheet 5, so that the urine pad 1 can be fixed to underwear, disposable diapers, etc. when worn on the body. The temporary fastening layer may be a mechanically bonded hook material or an adhesive. The temporary fastening layer may be provided as needed, and need not be provided in particular.

In the illustrated example, the exterior sheet 5 is slightly wider than the absorbent body 4, and both sides extend to the skin side of the topsheet 3 so as to wrap around the side edges of the leakproof sheet 2 and the topsheet 3, and the outer side of the topsheet 3 in the width direction is provided with side nonwoven fabrics 6 extending from the surfaces of both sides of the topsheet 3 on the outer surface side of the exterior sheet 5 extending to the skin side, specifically, side nonwoven fabrics 6 made of nonwoven fabric material that has been appropriately treated to be water repellent or hydrophilic depending on the purpose of preventing the penetration of urine, etc. or improving the feel against the skin. Such side nonwoven fabrics 6 can be made of natural fibers, synthetic fibers, recycled fibers, etc. and formed by an appropriate processing method, but it is preferable to use nonwoven fabrics with reduced basis weight to provide breathability in order to eliminate stiffness and prevent stuffiness. Specifically, it is desirable to use a nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 8 to 23 g/ ^m2 , and in order to reliably prevent the penetration of body fluids, a water-repellent treated nonwoven fabric coated with a silicone-based, paraffin-based, or alkylchromic chloride-based water repellent agent is preferably used.

The inner side portion of the side nonwoven fabric 6 is folded almost twice, and inside this double sheet, one or more thread-like elastic stretch members 7, 7... (three in the illustrated example) are arranged in the middle of the height direction, fixed at both ends or at appropriate positions in the longitudinal direction. As shown in Figure 3, this double sheet portion is folded once outward at the front and rear ends and laminated and bonded to the absorbent body 4, so that a pair of three-dimensional gathers BS, BS standing up against the skin are formed in a left and right pair within a predetermined section in the front and rear direction that includes at least the wearer's urination opening, as shown in Figure 2.

[Surface sheet]
The surface sheet 3 is preferably a nonwoven fabric with or without holes. As the material fiber constituting the nonwoven fabric, synthetic fibers such as olefin-based fibers such as polyethylene or polypropylene, polyester-based fibers, polyamide-based fibers, polyacrylic acid-based fibers, etc. are preferable, and nonwoven fabrics obtained by appropriate processing methods such as spunlace method, spunbond method, thermal bond method, meltblown method, needle punch method, etc. can be used. Among these processing methods, the spunlace method is excellent in terms of flexibility and drapeability, and the thermal bond method is excellent in terms of bulkiness 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 may be either long fibers or short fibers, but it is preferable to use short fibers to give the texture of towel cloth. In addition, in order to facilitate embossing, it is preferable to use olefin-based fibers such as polyethylene or polypropylene with a relatively low melting point. In addition, it is also possible to suitably use composite fibers such as core-sheath type fibers having a fiber with a high melting point as the core and a fiber with a low melting point as the sheath, side-by-side type fibers, and split type fibers.

In the urine absorption pad 1 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4(A), an antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded into the fibers 10 constituting the top sheet 3, and the surface of the fibers 10 is covered with a fiber treatment agent 12. As shown in FIG. 4(B), upon contact with body fluids, the fiber treatment agent 12 falls off from the surface of the fibers 10, and the antibacterial agent 11 is exposed on the surface of the fibers 10.

Specifically, before the body fluid is discharged, as shown in Fig. 4(A), the surface of the fiber 10 into which the antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded is covered with the fiber treatment agent 12, so that the antibacterial agent 11 kneaded into the fiber 10 by the fiber treatment agent 12 does not come into direct contact with the skin. In contrast, after the body fluid is discharged, when the body fluid passes through the top sheet 3, the fiber treatment agent 12 attached to the surface of the fiber 10 constituting the top sheet 3 falls off from the surface of the fiber 10 due to contact with the body fluid, and the antibacterial agent 11 is exposed on the surface of the fiber 10. Since the antibacterial agent 11 is supported by being kneaded inside the fiber 10, it remains supported in the fiber 10 and exerts its antibacterial effect by coming into contact with the wearer's skin. In this way, in this urine absorbing pad 1, the fiber treatment agent 12 that covers the surface of the fiber 10 into which the antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded falls off from the surface of the fiber 10 upon contact with bodily fluids. Therefore, the antibacterial agent 11 kneaded into the fiber 10 is exposed and its antibacterial effect can be exerted only when an environment in which bad bacteria increase occurs after the discharge of bodily fluids. On the other hand, before the discharge of bodily fluids, the surface of the fiber 10 into which the antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded is covered by the fiber treatment agent 12, so the loss of activity of the good bacteria, which are resident skin bacteria, on the skin surface is minimized by the antibacterial agent 11, and the skin barrier function can be improved by probiotics, reducing the risk of skin troubles.

In contrast, in conventional absorbent articles equipped with antibacterial agents, as shown in FIG. 6, the surface of the fibers to which the fiber treatment agent is attached is coated with the antibacterial agent in such a way that the antibacterial agent is overcoated on the fiber treatment agent. Therefore, before the body fluid is discharged, the antibacterial agent comes into direct contact with the skin, killing the beneficial bacteria that normally reside on the skin and reducing the skin barrier function. After the body fluid is discharged, the antibacterial agent and fiber treatment agent are washed away by the body fluid, and no antibacterial agent remains on the top sheet, which can lead to the generation of bad odors from the body fluid absorbed by the top sheet or the body fluid attached to the wearer's skin.

In addition, as mentioned above, in conventional absorbent articles equipped with antibacterial agents, the surface of the fibers to which the fiber treatment agent is attached is coated with an antibacterial agent in such a way that the antibacterial agent is applied over the fiber treatment agent, and there is a risk that the overcoated antibacterial agent will inhibit the effect of the fiber treatment agent and deteriorate the absorption performance. In contrast, in the urine absorption pad 1 according to the present invention, the antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded into the fibers 10, so it does not inhibit the effect of the fiber treatment agent 12 and does not deteriorate the absorption performance.

Generally, when an inorganic antibacterial agent is kneaded into fibers and processed, the antibacterial agent is exposed in places on the fiber surface, so it is more preferable for the fiber treatment agent 12 to cover the entire surface of the fibers 10. However, for the following two reasons, it is not necessary for the fiber treatment agent 12 to cover the entire fiber surface.
(1) If the antibacterial agent 11 exposed on the fiber surface is covered with the fiber treatment agent 12, the antibacterial agent covered with the fiber treatment agent 12 will not come into direct contact with the skin surface, and therefore will not be effective.
(2) If at least a portion of the antibacterial agent 11 exposed on the fiber surface is covered with the fiber treatment agent 12, the effectiveness of the antibacterial agent can be limited to a certain degree compared to when the antibacterial agent 11 is completely exposed.

The antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent 11 exposed after urination is preferably such that the antibacterial activity value as stipulated in JIS L 1902 (bacterial liquid absorption method) is 2.0 or more.

The antibacterial agent 11 is incorporated into the fibers 10 by kneading the agent during spinning according to a known manufacturing method. Specifically, the antibacterial agent 11 is pre-mixed with the raw resin for manufacturing the nonwoven fabric, and the raw resin is spun to produce the nonwoven fabric. The material for the fibers 10 may be any of synthetic, semi-synthetic, and natural fibers, but acetate and rayon fibers, which can be kneaded during spinning and are highly hydrophilic, are preferred. From the standpoint of antibacterial durability and cost, it is preferable that the amount of the antibacterial agent 11 kneaded into the fibers 10 be 0.1 to 20% by weight of the weight of the fibers 10.

The antibacterial agent 11 may be inorganic antibacterial agents such as gold, silver, copper, platinum, iron, or zinc, or organic antibacterial agents such as benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, or cetylpyridinium chloride. However, it is preferable to use inorganic antibacterial agents that are less water-soluble than organic antibacterial agents. By using an inorganic antibacterial agent that is poorly soluble in water, the antibacterial agent 11 is reliably retained in the fiber 10 from which the fiber treatment agent 12 has fallen off, without being eluted into body fluids.

The fiber treatment agent 12 is applied to the surface of the fiber 10 by coating the surface of the constituent fibers of the nonwoven fabric produced by various methods in a conventional manner. Any known method can be used for coating without restriction, and examples of the coating method include the curtain spray method, slot coat method, spiral spray method, beat method, gravure coat method, and die coater method.

The fiber treatment agent 12 may be any known treatment agent used to improve the properties of fibers, such as a hydrophilizing agent that enhances hydrophilicity to body fluids or a softening agent that improves the feel on the skin. However, in the urine pad 1 according to the present invention, it is preferable to use a hydrophilizing agent so that the fiber treatment agent 12 is easily dissolved in body fluids.

As the hydrophilizing agent, taking into consideration safety for the human body and safety during the manufacturing process, it is preferable to use nonionic surfactants such as higher alcohols, higher fatty acids, and alkylphenols to which ethylene oxide has been added, anionic surfactants such as alkyl phosphate ester salts (octyl, dodecyl type), and alkyl sulfate salts, and nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters, and sorbitan fatty acid esters, either alone or in mixtures. The amount of the agent applied varies depending on the required performance, but it is usually desirable to use about 0.1 to 2.0% by weight, and especially about 0.2 to 1.0% by weight, based on the dry weight of the target sheet.

The hydrophilizing agent is preferably one that has been hydrophilized so that its hydrophilicity is easily reduced by contact with water (one that has regular hydrophilicity). Therefore, it is not preferable to use a substance that does not easily come off from the fiber surface even when it comes into contact with water, such as polyglycerin fatty acid ester, polyether-polyester block copolymer, polyether modified silicone, or fatty acid ester of ethylene oxide-added polyhydric alcohol. By using a hydrophilizing agent that has regular hydrophilicity, the hydrophilizing agent is more likely to come off from the fiber when it comes into contact with body fluids, and the fiber becomes hydrophobic after it comes off, making it less likely to wet back (return), and preventing body fluids containing bad bacteria absorbed into the absorbent from returning to the surface.

Next, modified examples of the top sheet 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the top sheet 3 may be composed of a skin-side sheet 3A arranged on the skin side and a non-skin-side sheet 3B arranged on the non-skin side, and the skin-side sheet 3A may be configured such that an antibacterial agent 11 is kneaded into the fibers 10 of the skin-side sheet 3A and the surface of the fibers 10 is covered with a fiber treatment agent 12, and the non-skin-side sheet 3B may be configured such that an antibacterial agent 15 is kneaded into the fibers 14 of the skin-side sheet 3A and the surface of the fibers 14 is covered with a fiber treatment agent 16 containing an antibacterial agent 17. It is preferable to use the aforementioned inorganic antibacterial agent, which is unlikely to wash off when it comes into contact with body fluids, as the antibacterial agent 11 kneaded into the fibers 10 of the skin-side sheet 3A and the antibacterial agent 15 kneaded into the fibers 14 of the non-skin-side sheet 3B.

The fiber treatment agent 12 that covers the surface of the fibers 10 of the skin-side sheet 3A comes into direct contact with the skin when worn, so it is preferable not to mix the fiber treatment agent 12 with an antibacterial agent to prevent the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent from functioning before urination. On the other hand, the fiber treatment agent 16 that covers the surface of the fibers 14 of the non-skin-side sheet 3B does not come into direct contact with the skin when worn, so it is preferable that it contains an antibacterial agent 17. This allows the antibacterial agent content to be increased throughout the top sheet 3, and it can adequately cope with situations where a large amount of urine is excreted, creating an environment conducive to the proliferation of harmful bacteria.

As the antibacterial agent 17 contained in the fiber treatment agent 16 that covers the surface of the fibers 14 of the non-skin side sheet 3B, it is preferable to use an organic antibacterial agent that is highly soluble in body fluids. The antibacterial agent 17 contained in this fiber treatment agent 16 is detached from the fibers 14 together with the fiber treatment agent 16 upon contact with body fluids, and is mixed with the body fluid and flows down. Therefore, if the antibacterial agent 17 is organic, it is easily dissolved in body fluids and easily diffuses into the absorbent body 4 together with the body fluids, so that the antibacterial effect can be spread throughout the entire body fluid absorbed by the absorbent body 4. On the other hand, it is preferable that the antibacterial agent 15 kneaded into the fibers 14 of the non-skin side sheet 3B is inorganic, so that it does not elute from the fibers 14 even upon contact with body fluids and does not reduce the antibacterial effect of the entire top sheet 3.

The skin-side sheet 3A and the non-skin-side sheet 3B may be a single nonwoven fabric made by carding and fusing different raw materials into layers to form the top sheet 3, or they may be made into a laminated sheet material by producing nonwoven fabrics separately from each raw material and layering and bonding these nonwoven fabrics as necessary (a two-layer laminated sheet material in which the skin-side sheet 3A forms the top sheet 3 and the non-skin-side sheet 3B forms a second sheet adjacent to the non-skin side of the top sheet 3).

Reference Signs List 1: Urine pad, 2: Leak-proof sheet, 3: Top sheet, 4: Absorbent body, 5: Outer sheet, 6: Side nonwoven fabric, 7: Thread-like elastic and stretchable member, 9: Encapsulating sheet, 10: Fiber, 11: Antibacterial agent, 12: Fiber treatment agent , 14: Fiber, 15: Antibacterial agent, 16: Fiber treatment agent, 17: Antibacterial agent

Claims (2)

The garment is provided with a liquid-permeable top sheet that forms a skin contact surface, an antibacterial agent is kneaded into fibers that constitute the top sheet, and the surface of the fibers is covered with a fiber treatment agent,
The top sheet is composed of a skin-side sheet arranged on the skin side and a non-skin-side sheet arranged on the non-skin side,
The skin side sheet has an antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers constituting the skin side sheet, and the surfaces of the fibers are covered with a fiber treatment agent, and the fiber treatment agent does not contain an antibacterial agent so that the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent does not work before urination,
The non-skin side sheet has an antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers constituting the non-skin side sheet, and the surfaces of the fibers are covered with a fiber treatment agent containing the antibacterial agent;
an organic antibacterial agent having high solubility in body fluids is used as the antibacterial agent contained in the fiber treatment agent covering the surface of the fibers of the non-skin side sheet, and an inorganic antibacterial agent is used as the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers of the non-skin side sheet;
This absorbent article is characterized in that , upon contact with body fluids, in the skin-side sheet, the fiber treatment agent falls off from the surface of the fibers, and the antibacterial agent kneaded into the fibers becomes exposed on the fiber surface, and in the non-skin-side sheet, the organic antibacterial agent contained in the fiber treatment agent covering the surface of the fibers of the non-skin-side sheet detaches from the fibers together with the fiber treatment agent, mixes with the body fluid, and flows off. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the fiber treatment agent is a hydrophilizing agent.

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