CA2290183A1 - Feminine hygiene article - Google Patents

Abstract

A feminine hygiene product having an absorbent pad in a spheroidal shape is useful for absorbing fluids such as menses and urine released by the feminine urogenital system. The product is deployed at the vaginal os and is held in place by lateral pressure of the labia and surrounding body tissue. The product can be used alone or in conjunction with a separate, external pad. The novel feminine hygiene product is very comfortable for the user.

Description

FEWNE HYGIENE ARTICLE
FIE1:,D OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to sanitary pads for absorbing fluids such as menses, blood and urine released from the body of a woman.
s BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Feminine hygiene products have been designed to intercept and collect fluids released by the female anterior urogenita.l system for sanitary disposal.
Traditionally, such products have been classified arr~ong several broad categories, namely, absorbent tampons, externally worn sanitary napkins and interlabial pads.
Tampons are generally elon;~ated structures that are inserted into the vagina.
Advantageously, a tampon intercepts the menses before the fluid can escape the vaginal orifice. Thus the fluid is retained inside the tampon and does not contact external body tissue. Due to the heightened sensitivity of the vaginal tissue, many women find that tampons are irritating and uncomfortable to wear. Tampons present the disadvantage that it is difficult to tell whew the absorbent is near capacity and needs to be replaced. If a tampon is removed early, it is not suitable for redeployment. Rather a new tampon must be inserted Furthermore, tampons have been associated with toxic shock syndrome which can lead to such serious adverse conditions as infection, sterility and death.
Externally worn sanitary navpkins are basically absorbent pads worn outside the body and are intended to absorb menses after the fluid passes the vaginal orifice.
Because the wet face of the pad contacts the; body, external pads can be uncomfortable to wear. They also are bulky which makes their presence apparent through certain clothing, especially form fitting clothing. ~~dditionally, many modern external pads are attached to undergarments with a releaseable adhesive. While intended to keep the pad in place, this '_' ~ mechanism can actually move tlhe pad out of position and to leak if the undergarment moves.

The third category of hygiene products differs from the others by catching menses near the os of the vagina. This is typically accomplished by inserting an elongated pad of absorbent material at least partially into the vestibule.
U.S. 5,672,165 discloses a rnenstrual hygiene product that has an interlabial insert formed by folding a pad of absorbent material three times and includes panels orthogonal to the insert. The insert is placed in the vestibule to occlude menstrual flow. U.S.
5,484,429 discloses an interlabi<~l sanitary pad which has a fluid pickup module adapted to fit into the labia minors. area and an absorbent containing capacity module positioned outside the labia minors. Fluid wicking fibers in both modules carry fluid from the pickup module to the capacity module.
A feminine hygiene article disclosed in U.S. 5,290,262 is basically a hybrid of the tampon and external pad types of sanitary products. The article has a nonabsorbent flexible sheath which inserts into the vagina and an external pad to be placed against the labia majors.
1 p Conventional interlabial sanitary articles have a significant portion of absorbent material disposed outside the body. Both before and after fluid is absorbed, this portion is a source of irritation and discomfort to the wearer. There remains a need for a comfortable feminine hygiene product that occludes and absorbs menstrual fluid flow without penetrating deeply into the vagina and does not have the undesirable ~0 characteristics of traditional hygiene products.
Accordingly, there is now provided a feminine hygiene article comprising a spheroidal interlabial pad of absorbent material. The pad can be deployed alone or in conjunction with a conventional external sanitary napkin. Thus, there also is provided a feminine hygiene article comprising a spheroids! pad of absorbent material adapted to be worn ?5 interlabially and a sanitary napkin detached from the pad and adapted to be worn outside the labia.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the novel feminine hygiene article.
Fig. 2A is a sketch of the cross section of a low aspect ratio elliptical spheroid according to the present invention.
S Fig. ZB is a sketch of the cross section of a low aspect ratio oval spheroid according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an elevation view of an embodiment of the novel feminine hygiene article which includes a thread for expeditious removal of the article after use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The feminine hygiene article of the present invention is a pad 2 of absorbent material in the shape of a spheroid 4 as see in Fig. 1. The terms "spheroid" and "spheroidal" mean that the shape can be appro:~imately spherical as well as exactly spherical. Thus, it is not critical that all points on the sur.Face 6 be precisely the same distance from the center 7 provided that the article has a generally spherical appearance. Reasonable deviations from perfectly spherical shape are dictated by the absorbent material which normally cannot be fabricated to precise dimensions. In view that the absorbent material preferably is of a nonwoven fabric construction, the pad is likely to have a textured surface comprising randomly spaced and irregularly sized peaks and valleys. Additionally, the pad is not rigid but rather is compressible which also is due to the nature of the material of construction The compressibility of the pad allows the novel article to conform to the shape of the vaginal os of each particular user so as to maximize sealing ability without causing discomfort. Hence it i~~ contemplated that the spheroid shape is defined in the relaxed, quiescent state of the pad prior to use.
It is further contemplated that the spheroid shape encompasses other low aspect ratio, ~S non-spherical three dimensional geometries. The term "aspect ratio" means the ratio of the length of a charactf;ristic major axis of a cross section of the spheroid divided by the length of a characteristic minor axis. These features are illustrated in Fig.
2A with respect to an elliptical spheroid, i.e., a low aspect ratio ellipsoid. The cross section of this three dimensional article is an ellipse 22 defined by major axis 23 and minor axis 24. Other low aspect ratio geometries contemplated to be encompassed within the meaning of the term spheroid of this invention include oval and hemi-spheroidally-ended, cylindrical shapes ("blunt cylinders"). The cross section of an oval spheroid is defined by a major axis 25 and multiple minor axes 26 and 27 seen in Fig. 2B. For a geometry having multiple minor s axes, the aspect ratio is defined by the lengths of the major axis and the smallest minor axis.
By "low aspect ratio" is meant that the aspect ratio is preferably in the range of about 1 to about 1.25 Thus ellipsoid:., ovals and blunt cylinders which are nearly spherical are contemplated to fall within the definition of this invention.
l0 The feminine hygiene article can be sized to match the size of the wearer.
More particularly, the article should b~e larger than the vaginal os to assure an adequate seal.
Although a larger pad will have a greater capacity, the pad should not be so large as to be uncomfortable to the user. Preferably, the size of the novel feminine hygiene article will be defined by the diamcaer of the spheroid being in the range of about 1-3 cm, and more 1 s preferably in the range of about 1 5 - 2.5 cm. With respect to non-spherical geometries, the defining diameter i~; the major axis of the pad.
It is additionally advantageous to employ a pad of about 2 cm diameter. This size reduces the bulk of the feminine: hygiene article to the extent that it can be rendered toilet tlushable. A tlushable feminine hygiene pad facilitates disposal of the used product but has 20 heretofore been unattainable because large size causes the pad to clog the plumbing of the sewage system. Use of a pad according to the novel design permits the size to kept small enough that used pads may be disposed of by toilet flushing. The pads can be rendered more readily flushable by using biodegradable, water resorbable materials for the absorbent of the pad Such mai:erials are chosen to cause the pad to decompose or ~s dissolve at speed which achieves decomposition in the sewage system but not while being worn by the user.
Any of the well known absorbent components of conventional feminine hygiene products should be suitable for use as the absorbent material in this invention. The basic characteristics of the absorbent material are compressibility, ability to conform to the 30 shape of the user's urogenital cavity, and capability to absorb and hold body fluids draining from the female urogenital system. The absorbent material also should not irritate the user The pad can be fabricated from a single web of nonwoven absorbent material, for example by sculpting a spheroid;al block from the web. The pad can also be made by s folding and compressin,one or more absorbent material sheets to form a spheroidal structure. The folded and compressed sheets can be maintained in the desired geometry by using an adhesive or by stitcl-ung around and/or through the pad with sewing thread.
In a preferred embodiment, the novel feminine hygiene article 30 includes a cover 32 primarily to preserve the spheroid shape of the pad prior to use. The cover should be soft, I 0 pliant and not irritating to the user. The cover can be made from a variety of structures including woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, netting, and porous film and foam.
Materials useful for making these structures include natural fibers, such as wood or cotton fibers, synthetic compositions, such as polypropylene or polyester, or combinations of natural and synthetic materials.
In another preferred embodiment, the outer surface of the cover or the outer surface of the pad, if uncovered, is rendered hydrophyllic. The hydrophyllicity of the cover material is characterized by the capabilit~~ to transfer menses through the cover and into the absorbent material at a higher rate than would occur if the cover were not hydrophyllic.
The surface can be made hydrophyllic by applying surface active agent from among those ?0 well known in the art fir this purpose. Of course, the surface active agent should not be irritating to the user.
In another aspect, the feminine hygiene article of this invention can include a thread 34 securely attached to the pad. The length of the thread is not critical but preferably should be about 0.5 - 3 inches. When the pad is deployed, the thread is allowed to extend outside the vagina. At the appropriate time to remove or replace a saturated pad, the user can easily withdraw the usf;d pad by pulling the string.
In use, the femininE: hygiene: article is placed at the vaginal os of the user. Due to the pliant nature of the absorbent rriaterial, the pad readily conforms to the shape of urogenital cavity. However, the spheroidal shape provides sufficient bulk that the pad is held in place 30 by lateral pressure exerted by opposing labia and surrounding body tissue.
Deployment is made easy by virtue of the spherical or nearly spherical shape of the pad.
That is, placing the pad in a particular orientation is not critical. In deployed position, the pad effectuates a pressure seal against ohe vaginal os thereby completely blocking outward flow. It intercepts menstrual flow which is absorbed within the pad.
s The spheroidal interlabial pa.d of this invention can be used alone or in combination with an additional sanitary napkin detached from the pad and adapted to be worn outside the labia. At times of maximum menstrual flow, the user can wear an external pad for extra protection against rapid saturation of the spheroidal pad. Women who customarily prefer to use external pads as the sole means of absorbing menstrual flow are expected to find that simultaneous use of the novel feminine hygiene article in conjunction with an external pad will be beneficial. By intercepting menstrual flow at the vaginal os, the novel spheroidal pad prevent, the sensation of dripping caused by the sometimes dropwise flow of menses from the vagina onto the top of the external pad. This dripping sensation, which may be likened to a faucet slowly dripping onto a wet sponge, can be very I ~ unpleasant. The spheroidal pad alone should be very effective when menstrual flow is reduced, especially toward completion of menstruation. The feminine hygiene article of this invention in addition to the various beneficial attributes previously mentioned, is thus seen to be exceptionally comforrtable for the user.
Although specific forms of t:he invention have been selected for illustration in the drawings, and the preceding description is drawn in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention, this description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined in the claims.

Claims (7)

1. A feminine hygiene article comprising a spheroidal interlabial pad of absorbent material.

2. The article of claim 1 in which the interlabial pad is spherical.

3. The article of claim 1 in which the interlabial pad has a diameter of about cm.

4. The article of claim 3 in which the diameter is about 1.5 - 2.5 cm.

5. The article of claim 1 which consists essentially of the absorbent material encased within a fluid permeable cover.

6. The article of claim 5 which further consists essentially of a thread extending outwardly from the cover.

7. A feminine hygiene article comprising a spheroidal pad of absorbent material adapted to be worn interlabially and a sanitary napkin detached from the pad and adapted to be worn outside the labia.