CN106456405B

CN106456405B - Disposable diaper having a disposable diaper

Info

Publication number: CN106456405B
Application number: CN201580027464.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 矶贝友美; 三宅真纪; 坂口智
Original assignee: Eunija Co Ltd
Current assignee: Eunija Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-05-27
Filing date: 2015-04-24
Publication date: 2019-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 2035-04-24
Also published as: KR20170009827A; BR112016023784A2; JP2015223255A; CN106456405A; WO2015182307A1; AU2015265150B2; JP6343495B2; MY168986A; AU2015265150A1; KR101911758B1

Abstract

A disposable diaper having a longitudinal direction and a width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, the disposable diaper comprising: a central belt-like region comprising an absorbent body for absorbing liquid; side flaps located on both sides in the width direction of the central band-shaped region; and the belt-shaped leg surrounding elastic piece stretches along the length direction and is arranged on the side wing piece. The end edge part of the lateral outside of the side wing panel is provided with the following snake-shaped parts: in the serpentine portion, convex portions that are convex toward the widthwise outer side and concave portions that are concave toward the widthwise inner side are alternately repeated in the longitudinal direction, and the leg-surrounding elastic pieces are disposed on the widthwise inner sides of the concave portions of the side flaps.

Description

Disposable diaper having a disposable diaper

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a disposable diaper.

Background

Conventionally, an open-type disposable diaper (open-type disposable diaper) has been widely used. In this open type disposable diaper, the side flaps are provided with fastening tapes, and the front portion (referred to as the abdominal side portion or the front portion of the body) is provided with target tapes to be joined to the fastening tapes. Such an unfolded type disposable diaper is widely used because of easy wearing and taking off, particularly for newborns, infants and young children.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-212212

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-138702

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-230256

Patent document 4: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 158573 (2013)

Patent document 5: international publication No. 2013/077360

Disclosure of Invention

problems to be solved by the invention

in the unfolding type disposable diaper, wearing and taking-off are easy, however, fitting of leg hole portions may become a problem when the diaper is worn. For example, when a diaper is allowed to be worn by infants, young children, and the like, there may be cases where: in order to prevent the excrement excreted in the diaper from leaking to the outside through the leg openings of the diaper, the fastening tape is fastened tightly so that a gap is not easily formed between the leg openings of the diaper and the legs of the wearer. In this case, the leg-surrounding portions of the diaper are easily bitten into the wearer's skin, cause discomfort when the wearer moves his/her legs, and may cause deterioration in the tactile sensation of the skin. Furthermore, in the case of a newborn with sensitive skin, tightening fixation of the legs causes deterioration of the blood flow of the infant, thereby causing swelling, and also causes discomfort.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a disposable diaper having a good skin feel in leg-surrounding portions.

Means for solving the problems

An aspect of the present invention is a disposable diaper having a longitudinal direction and a width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, the disposable diaper including: a central belt-like region comprising an absorbent body that absorbs liquid; side flaps located on both sides in the width direction of the central band-shaped region; and a belt-like leg-surrounding elastic sheet provided to the side flap and stretchable in the longitudinal direction, the side flap having a serpentine portion at an end edge portion on the outer side in the width direction: in the serpentine portion, a convex portion that protrudes outward in the width direction and a concave portion that is concave inward in the width direction are alternately repeated in the longitudinal direction, and the leg-surrounding elastic pieces are disposed inward in the width direction of the concave portions of the side flaps.

Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the specification and the accompanying drawings.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, a disposable diaper having a good skin feel in the leg hole portions can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an unfolded plan view of the diaper 1.

Fig. 2A to 2C are exploded explanatory views of portions of the diaper 1. Fig. 2A is an exploded explanatory view of the front portion 3. Fig. 2B is an exploded explanatory view of the crotch portion 5. Fig. 2C is an exploded explanatory view of the rear portion 7.

fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the positioning posture.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the diaper 1 is worn.

Fig. 5 is a side view showing the manner in which the diaper 1 is worn.

Fig. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating the configuration of the side flap 14.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the end edge portion 14Lg of the side flap 14.

Detailed Description

At least the following matters will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

a disposable diaper having a longitudinal direction and a width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, the disposable diaper comprising:

A central belt-like region comprising an absorbent body that absorbs liquid;

side flaps located on both sides in the width direction of the central band-shaped region; and

A belt-like leg-surrounding elastic piece provided to the side flap and stretchable in the length direction,

The outer edge portion in the width direction of the side flap has a serpentine portion: in the serpentine portion, convex portions convex outward in the width direction and concave portions concave inward in the width direction are alternately repeated in the longitudinal direction, and

The leg hole elastic piece is disposed on the inner side in the width direction of the recess of the side flap.

According to this disposable diaper, a disposable diaper having a good skin feel in the leg hole portions can be provided.

in the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that the leg hole elastic pieces are linearly arranged along the longitudinal direction.

According to this disposable diaper, since the leg-surrounding elastic sheet is in a parallel positional relationship with the end edge portions of the side panels in the crotch portion, the stretching force applied by the leg-surrounding elastic sheet can be uniformly applied to the end edge portions of the side panels. In this way, the problem of local areas fixed to the end edge portions of the side flaps becoming tight is unlikely to occur.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that a distance in the width direction between the convex portion and the concave portion is larger than a distance between the concave portion and an outer end portion in the width direction of the leg-surrounding elastic sheet.

According to this disposable diaper, the stretching force of the leg hole elastic pieces is not easily directly applied to the edge portions of the side flaps that form the leg hole openings, the concave portions and the convex portions easily retain their respective shapes, and the meandering shape of the edge portions is easily maintained even when the diaper is worn. In this way, the force acting on the end edge portions of the side flaps is dispersed, and a good skin feel can be achieved while imparting stretchability without impairing the fittability of the leg hole openings.

In the above disposable diaper, preferably, the side flap has: a front portion positioned on a ventral side of a wearer when the disposable diaper is worn by the wearer; a rear portion located on a back side of a wearer; and a crotch portion located between the front portion and the back portion; and is

In the crotch portion of the side flap, a distance between two of the convex portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction is constant.

According to this disposable diaper, the force is easily applied equally to each of the convex portion and the concave portion. This makes it difficult to cause a problem that a local area fixed to the end edge portion of the side flap becomes tight.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that a maximum distance among distances between two of the convex portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction in the rear portion of the side flap is wider than a distance between two of the convex portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction in the crotch portion of the side flap.

According to this disposable diaper, since the curve of the edge portion that contacts the buttocks of the wearer is smoothed in the rear region of the side flap, a good skin feel can be achieved by softening the skin feel of the buttocks.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that a length of the rear portion of the side flap in the width direction is longer than a length of the crotch portion of the side flap in the width direction.

According to this disposable diaper, the area of the side flaps that covers the hips of the wearer in the area of the rear portion when the diaper is worn is widened, and therefore, wearing comfort can be achieved.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that the absorbent body has a pair of gathers having a lower basis weight of the liquid absorbent material than the other portion on each of the front side and the back side in the longitudinal direction of the crotch portion, and

The rear portion of the side flap is an area located on the longitudinal direction rear side of the fold portion provided on the longitudinal direction rear side of the crotch portion.

According to this disposable diaper, the width of the side flap is narrowed toward the front portion in the longitudinal direction of the rear fold (dart portion), and the width of the side flap is widened toward the rear portion of the side flap. Thus, the wearer can easily move his/her legs toward the front side in the longitudinal direction, and the hip of the wearer can be restrained from protruding beyond the side flaps on the rear side.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that a front end portion in the longitudinal direction of the leg-surrounding elastic sheet and a rear end portion in the longitudinal direction of the leg-surrounding elastic sheet are located at the same position in the width direction.

according to this disposable diaper, since the stretching force is likely to act uniformly on the edge portions of the side flaps, the fixing force of the leg hole portions is suppressed from being locally high, and thus a good skin feel is likely to be achieved. Further, even when the diaper is worn upside down, the force can be applied equally to the end edge portions without impairing the function of the diaper.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that the side flap has a liquid-permeable front sheet arranged on the skin side of the wearer, a back sheet arranged on the non-skin side of the wearer, and a liquid-impermeable leakage preventing sheet arranged between the front sheet and the back sheet, and that the side flap is configured to have a liquid-permeable front sheet arranged on the skin side of the wearer, and that the leakage preventing sheet is configured to be impermeable to liquid

The outer end of the leakproof sheet in the width direction is positioned at the inner side of the concave part of the side wing sheet in the width direction.

According to this disposable diaper, since the leakproof sheet, which is made of a hard material of the fabric and easily deteriorates in the tactile sensation of the skin, is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the end edge portions of the side flaps, the area of the end edge portions is kept soft, and the tactile sensation of the leg hole portions when the diaper is worn can be improved.

In the above disposable diaper, it is preferable that the side flap has a cutout portion formed by a curved line protruding inward in the width direction at the front end portion and the rear end portion in the longitudinal direction.

According to the disposable diaper, since the cut-out portion is provided, the corner portion of the side flap hardly contacts the abdomen of the wearer, and the skin feel of the waist can be improved.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings

< basic Structure of Disposable diaper 1 >

The disposable diaper 1 of the present embodiment (hereinafter simply referred to as a diaper 1) is a disposable diaper that is intended mainly for newborns, infants, and young children as wearers, and is preferably used in low-birth-weight infants having a body weight of 3000g or less, particularly preferably in low-birth-weight infants having a body weight of less than 2500 g. It should be noted that low-birth-weight infants include not only low-birth-weight infants (less than 2500g of body weight), but also very low-birth-weight infants (less than 1500g of body weight), as well as ultra-low-birth-weight infants (less than 1000g of body weight).

Fig. 1 is an unfolded plan view of the diaper 1. Fig. 2A to 2C are exploded explanatory views of portions of the diaper 1. Fig. 2A is an exploded explanatory view of the front portion 3. Fig. 2B is an exploded explanatory view of the crotch portion 5. Fig. 2C is an exploded explanatory view of the rear portion 7.

The diaper 1 of the present embodiment is a so-called open-type disposable diaper, and as shown in fig. 1, the diaper 1 has a front portion 3, a crotch portion 5, and a rear portion 7. The front portion 3 is a portion located on the front portion (ventral side, front portion of the body) of the wearer. Further, the rear portion 7 is a portion located at the rear of the wearer (back side, back of the body). The crotch portion 5 is a portion located between the front portion 3 and the rear portion 7.

In the following description, as shown in fig. 1, each direction is defined. In other words, a direction from the front portion 3 toward the rear portion 7 is referred to as a "product longitudinal direction L", and a direction orthogonal to the product longitudinal direction L is referred to as a "product width direction W". CL shown in fig. 1 is a line showing the center of the diaper 1 in the product longitudinal direction L. As shown in fig. 2, a direction perpendicular to the product longitudinal direction L and the product widthwise direction W is referred to as a "thickness direction", a side where the skin of the wearer is located is referred to as a "skin side", and an opposite side is referred to as a "non-skin side".

The diaper 1 has a central belt-like region 12, side flaps 14, leg side gathers 16, and a waist gather 18. Each of the pair of side flaps 14 is mounted with a securing strap 30.

The central band-shaped region 12 is a band-shaped region located at the center in the product widthwise direction W and configured with the front portion 3, the crotch portion 5, and the rear portion 7 (see fig. 1). The central belt-like region 12 is a portion that absorbs and retains liquid such as urine excreted by the wearer. The central band-like region 12 has a longitudinal shape (a shape along the product longitudinal direction L) including an absorbent body 21 having liquid retention properties. The central band-shaped region 12 mainly includes an absorber 21, a front sheet 22, a leakage-preventing sheet 23, and a back sheet 24 (see fig. 2A to 2C).

The absorbent body 21 is a member made by laminating liquid absorbent materials capable of absorbing excrement such as urine, and the absorbent body 21 is disposed over the front portion 3, the crotch portion 5, and the rear portion 7. The area occupied by the absorber 21 is shown as the shaded area in fig. 1. The absorber 21 has a hourglass shape in which the width of the center portion in the product longitudinal direction L is narrowed. However, the shape of the absorber 21 is not limited to the shape shown in fig. 1, and may be a simple rectangle. Further, the absorber 21 may be provided at least in the crotch portion 5. The absorber 21 is disposed between the front sheet 22 and the leakage-preventing sheet 23. As the liquid absorbent material constituting the absorbent body 21, for example, liquid absorbent fibers such as pulp fibers and liquid absorbent particulates such as super absorbent polymers can be used. Further, a liquid-absorbent material other than the liquid-absorbent fibers and the liquid-absorbent particulates may be used.

the crotch portion 5 of the absorbent body 21 has a pair of gathers 211f formed near the front portion 3 at both ends in the product widthwise direction W. Similarly, a pair of fold portions 211b are formed at the rear portions 7 of both end portions in the product widthwise direction W. The fold portions 211f and 211b are narrow portions that are missing in a substantially bell shape as shown in fig. 1. It should be noted that the shapes of the fold portions 211f and 211b are not limited to the shapes shown in fig. 1. Further, the absorbent body 21 may not be missing at the fold portions 211f and 211b, but the basis weight of the liquid absorbent raw material in the fold portions 211f and 211b may be smaller than that of the other portions of the absorbent body 21. For example, the basis weight of the liquid absorbent material in the fold portion 211f and the fold portion 211b may be 1/3 or less of the basis weight of the other portions. Further, the rigidity of the absorber 21 in the fold portion 211f and the fold portion 211b is lower than that in other portions. In this way, the absorbent body 21 can be easily folded in the fold region, and also can be easily deformed into a three-dimensional circular shape to fit the wearer's body (crotch portion), and the fitting property when the diaper 1 is worn can be improved.

It should be noted that, in the case of the diaper 1, the position of the crotch portion 5 is set so that the center portion of the wearer's groin and the center portion of the crotch portion 5 match. The center of the wearer's groin is the center of the base of the leg and is a position that is offset to the front side of the center position CL in the product longitudinal direction L of the diaper 1 (see fig. 1). Since the center portion of the crotch portion 5 is positioned on the front side of the center position CL of the diaper 1, the wearer can easily move his/her legs to the front side (ventral side), and further the area of the rear portion 7 of the diaper 1 can be made relatively wide, thereby enabling the buttocks of the wearer to be sufficiently covered.

The topsheet 22 is a liquid permeable member disposed on the skin side of the absorbent body 21. The leakproof sheet 23 is a liquid impermeable member disposed on the non-skin side of the absorbent body 21. The back sheet 24 is a member (exterior sheet) constituting the non-skin-side exterior of the diaper 1, and is made of, for example, nonwoven fabric. The back sheet 24 is disposed on the non-skin side of the leakproof sheet 23 (see fig. 2A to 2C).

In the crotch portion 5 of the central band-like region 12, the stretch film 25 is disposed between the absorbent body 21 and the back sheet 24. The stretch film 25 is a member that imparts stretchability to the central band-shaped region 12 of the crotch portion 5. In the present embodiment, the stretch film 25 is attached so as to extend in the product longitudinal direction L. In this way, the stretch film 25 shows a contractive force in the product longitudinal direction L with respect to the crotch portion 5 in the central band-like region 12. When the diaper 1 is worn, the crotch portion 5 contracts in the product longitudinal direction L, and thus the central band-like region 12 is three-dimensionally deformed into a circular shape by the fold portions 211f and 211b to fit the wearer's body. In this way, the central band-like region 12 is maintained in a shape surrounding the crotch of the wearer, so that the fitting property of the diaper 1 is improved, and leakage of excrement to the outside of the diaper 1 can be easily suppressed.

The side flaps 14 are portions located on both sides of the central band-shaped region 12 in the product widthwise direction W. The side flaps 14 are formed over the front portion 3, the crotch portion 5, and the rear portion 7 (see fig. 1). The length (width) of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W in the crotch portion 5 is narrower than the length (width) of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W in the front portion 3 and the rear portion 7. The length Wb of the rear portion 7 of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W is longer than the length Wf of the front portion 3 of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W (see fig. 1). Each side flap 14 of the pair of side flaps 14 is provided with a leg gather portion 15 (leg hole stretch portion) which stretches and contracts in the product longitudinal direction L.

The side flap 14 is mainly constituted by a skin side sheet 26 and a back sheet 24 (see fig. 2A to 2C). The skin side sheet 26 is a member formed over the front portion 3, the crotch portion 5, and the back portion 7 on the skin side, and is made of, for example, nonwoven fabric. The skin side sheet 26 is a member constituting the leg side gather portion 16 (three-dimensional gather portion), and the outer portion of the skin side sheet 26 (the portion outside the joining portion 26A of the thick chain line in fig. 1) constitutes the side flap 14.

The elastic sheet 27 is disposed between the skin side sheet 26 and the back sheet 24 of the side flap 14. The elastic sheet 27 is a belt-like member that stretches in the product longitudinal direction L, and is a member that imparts stretchability to the leg hole openings when the diaper 1 is worn. In other words, the elastic sheet 27 is a leg-surrounding elastic sheet for fitting the leg-surrounding portion of the diaper 1 to the legs of the wearer. Further, the elastic sheet 27 imparts stretchability to the skin side sheet 26 and the back sheet 24 of the crotch portion 5, thus constituting the leg gather portions 15. The elastic sheet 27 is made of, for example, nonwoven fabric.

The leg side gather 16 is a three-dimensional gather that prevents liquid from leaking from gaps around the legs. The pair of leg side gathers 16 are formed along the product longitudinal direction L over the front portion 3, the crotch portion 5, and the back portion 7 (see fig. 1). The leg side gather portions 16 are formed so as to cover both edges of the central band-shaped region 12 on the inner side of the side flap 14.

The leg side gather portion 16 is mainly constituted by a portion on the inner side of the skin side sheet 26 (see fig. 2). The inner edge of the skin side sheet 26 of the crotch portion 5 has elasticity due to the rubber thread or the like. The skin side sheet 26 is joined to a joint portion 26A (thick chain line in fig. 1) between the central band-shaped region 12 and the side sheet 14 along the product longitudinal direction L. The region of the skin side sheet 26 on the inner side of the joined portion 26A constitutes the leg side gather portion 16 (three-dimensional gather portion) with the joined portion 26A as a support point.

The waist gather portion 18 is a waist stretchable portion (see fig. 1) arranged along the product widthwise direction W in the rear portion 7. In the rear portion 7, the waist gather film 28 is disposed between the absorbent body 21 and the backsheet 24 (see fig. 2C). The waist gather film 28 is a belt-like stretchable member that stretches and contracts in the product widthwise direction W. The waist gather film 28 imparts stretchability to, for example, the backsheet 24, thus constituting the waist gather portion 18. The waist gather film 28 has a length in the product widthwise direction W longer than the absorbent body 21. Therefore, the waist gather portion 18 is formed to protrude outward in the product widthwise direction W from the absorbent body 21. It should be noted that the waist gather portion 18 is not necessarily provided.

The fixing tape 30 is attached to the side flap 14 in the rear portion 7 (refer to fig. 1). The fastening tape 30 is attached by a portion of the fastening tape 30 being sandwiched between the skin side sheet 26 and the back surface sheet 24 constituting the side flap 14 (see fig. 2C).

The target tape 29 is provided on the front portion 3 (see fig. 1). The target tape 29 is disposed on the non-skin side of the back sheet 24 in the front portion 3 (see fig. 2A). The target tape 29 is a member capable of being engaged with the fixing tape 30, and the tape is formed of a nonwoven fabric. The target tape 29 constitutes a target area to which the fixing tape 30 is joined. It should be noted that instead of disposing the target tape 29 on the non-skin side of the back sheet 24, the target area may be formed on a nonwoven fabric which is the outermost layer of the back sheet 24.

The fastening tape 30 is joined to the target tape 29, thus wearing the diaper 1. It should be noted that the fixing tape 30 may also be joined to another fixing tape 30 as described later.

The product length in the product longitudinal direction L of the diaper 1 for a low-weight infant in the present embodiment (the dimension of the product in an extended state without wrinkles in the longitudinal direction) is in the range of 210mm to 330 mm. For example, the product length of the diaper 1 for low birth weight infants having a weight of less than 2500g is 310 mm. The product length of the diaper 1 for very low birth weight infants having a weight of less than 1500g is 270 mm. The product length of the diaper 1 for ultra-low birth weight infants having a weight of less than 1000g is 230 mm.

Further, the waist size of the diaper 1 for a low-weight infant in the present embodiment is in the range of 160mm to 295 mm. It should be noted that the waist size is a size in a state where the end of one fastening tape 30 is matched to the end of the side flap 14 side of the hook sheet region C of the other fastening tape 30 and in a state where the product is stretched without wrinkles. In other words, the dimension is a dimension of the product in a state elongated in the width direction. For example, the waist size of the diaper 1 for low birth weight infants is 273.5mm and the waist size of the diaper 1 for very low birth weight infants having a weight of less than 1500g is 220 mm.

< wearing of diaper 1 >

In the unfolding type disposable diaper, it is important to improve the fittingness of the leg-surrounding opening portions and the waist-surrounding opening portions so that excrement such as urine is prevented from leaking to the outside when the diaper is worn. In particular, as shown in fig. 3, in the case where the wearer is a low-weight infant, it may be desirable that the back of the infant is bent into a C-shape, and the legs are held in a posture of being strongly flexed into an M-shape. This posture is close to the posture of the fetus in the mother (fetal-shaped flexion posture) and is a posture that makes it easy to keep the baby still, and is also referred to as "positioning posture". It should be noted that, in fig. 3, although the positioning posture in the prone posture is shown, the lateral posture and the supine posture are also possible. In this positioning posture, a gap is likely to occur in the leg hole portions of the diaper.

Therefore, sufficient fitting property is required so that no gap is generated in the leg hole portions. In this regard, in the diaper 1, the fitting property is improved by adjusting the fixing position of the fixing tape when worn. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the diaper 1 is worn. Fig. 5 is a side view showing the manner in which the diaper 1 is worn.

When wearing an open-type disposable diaper, in a normal case, a general way is to: the diaper is fixed around the waist of the wearer by engaging a pair of fixing tapes 30 provided at both end portions (rear protruding portions 14b described later) of the rear portion 7 of the side flap 14 with corresponding target tapes 29 provided at the non-skin side of the front portion 3 of the central belt-like region 12. On the other hand, in the diaper 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, one of the fastening tapes 30 (the left side fastening tape 30 in fig. 4) can be engaged with the target tape 29, and the other fastening tape 30 (the right side fastening tape 30 in fig. 4) can be further engaged on the preceding fastening tape 30. As described above, the diaper 1 is configured such that the length Wb in the product widthwise direction W of the rear portion 7 of the side flap 14 is longer than the length Wf in the product widthwise direction W of the front portion 3 (Wb > Wf), and the tape fasteners 30 easily extend around the front portion 3 side (the abdominal side of the wearer), and thus easily allow one of the tape fasteners 30 to overlap and engage with the other tape fastener 30 as shown in fig. 4. In this way, by joining the fastening tapes 30 to each other, the central belt-like region 12 and the rear portion 7 side of the side flap 14 become in a state of being fully stretched to the front portion 3 side, and the fit of the waist opening and the leg opening is improved. Therefore, a gap is not easily generated in the leg hole portion. As a matter of course, the fixing tapes 30 may not be engaged with each other when the diaper 1 is worn, but the left and right fixing tapes 30 are engaged with the target tapes 29, respectively.

On the other hand, the fitting property at the leg hole openings of the diaper 1 is improved, and the leg hole openings are more tightly fixed to the legs of the wearer. In the example of fig. 5, the side flaps 14 forming the leg hole openings are stretched to the abdominal side of the wearer (the front portion 3 side of the diaper 1), thus enhancing the fixing force in the leg hole openings. When the wearer moves her/his legs in this state, the end portions of the side flaps 14 are easily bitten into the groin portions of the wearer with the area of the crotch portion 5 (the area shown by the hatched portion in fig. 5) as the center, and the skin feel of that portion may deteriorate. In the case of a low-weight infant with sensitive skin, the tightening fixation of the inguinal region causes the infant's blood flow to deteriorate, causing swelling, and also causing discomfort.

Thus, in the diaper 1 of the present embodiment, the side flaps 14 are configured to improve the fit when worn and achieve a good skin feel in the leg hole portions. The detailed structure of the side flap 14 will be described below.

< construction of side flap 14 >

Fig. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating the structure of the side flap 14 of the present embodiment. As described above, the side flaps 14 of the present embodiment are longitudinal portions along the product longitudinal direction L, and are configured with the skin side sheet 26 and the back sheet 24. The front portion 3 of the side flap 14 has a front projecting portion 14f projecting outward in the product width direction W in the region. Further, a cutout portion 14fR that is curved so as to protrude inward in the product widthwise direction W is formed on the front portion side of the front protruding portion 14f in the product longitudinal direction L. Similarly, the region of the rear portion 7 of the side flap 14 has a rear protruding portion 14b that protrudes toward the outside in the product width direction W. The rear protruding portion 14b is provided with a fastening tape 30 (see fig. 1), and the rear protruding portion 14b is fastened by the fastening tape 30 so as to overlap the front protruding portion 14f at the waist of the wearer. Further, a cutout portion 14bR that is curved so as to protrude inward in the product widthwise direction W is formed on the rear side of the rear protruding portion 14b in the product longitudinal direction L.

The outer end region of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W between the front projecting portion 14f and the rear projecting portion 14b is formed by an end edge portion 14Lg that forms a leg opening of the diaper 1. The end edge portion 14Lg in the present embodiment is formed over the front portion 3 to the rear portion 7 with the crotch portion 5 as the center, and has a meandering shape in which a plurality of convex portions that protrude outward in the product width direction W and a plurality of concave portions that are concave inward in the product width direction W are alternately repeated in the product longitudinal direction L. In fig. 6, a plurality of convex portions 145a and a plurality of concave portions 145b are formed in the crotch portion 5 of the end edge portion 14 Lg. Similarly, the front portion 3 of the end edge portion 14Lg is formed with a plurality of protrusions 143a and a plurality of recesses 143b, and the rear portion 7 of the end edge portion 14Lg is formed with a plurality of protrusions 147a and a plurality of recesses 147 b.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the end edge portion 14Lg of the side flap 14. The end edge portion 14Lg has five protrusions 145a and five recesses 145b in the area of the crotch portion 5. The convex portion 145a and the concave portion 145b each have a gentle curve with a predetermined curvature, are so-called R-shapes, and are formed with a curvature of approximately 6mm to 10mm, for example. In the present embodiment, the five convex portions 145a are formed with the same curvature, and the five concave portions 145b are also formed with the same curvature. In other words, the convex portion and the concave portion formed in the region of the crotch portion 5 each have the same shape. The convex portion 145a and the concave portion 145b are arranged in a linear positional relationship along the product longitudinal direction L. In other words, in the crotch portion 5 region of the end edge portion 14Lg, the vertex positions of the five concave portions 145b are respectively at the same position in the product widthwise direction W, and are located on the same straight line along the product longitudinal direction L as shown in fig. 7. Similarly, the vertex positions of the five protrusions 145a are respectively at the same position in the product width direction W, and are located on the same straight line along the product length direction L. In this way, the end edge portions 14Lg form a serpentine shape in the crotch portion 5 along the product longitudinal direction L. In fig. 7, the apex portion of the convex portion 145a and the apex portion of the concave portion 145b are formed to maintain a distance We therebetween with respect to the product width direction W. The length of We is, for example, approximately 2 mm. Further, the distances (intervals) La5 between two adjacent projections 145a in the product length direction L are all the same. In other words, the end edge portion 14Lg in the crotch portion 5 has a meandering pitch La 5.

It should be noted that the shapes, sizes, arrangement numbers, and the like of the convex portions 145a and the concave portions 145b are not limited to the examples shown in fig. 6 and 7, and may be appropriately changed according to the difference in the sizes of the target wearer and the diaper 1. Further, the sizes of two convex portions 145a adjacent in the product longitudinal direction L or the sizes of two concave portions 145b adjacent in the product longitudinal direction L may be different from each other.

In fig. 6, two protrusions 143a and two recesses 143b are formed in the area of the front portion 3 of the end edge portion 14 Lg. The convex portion 143a and the concave portion 143b have substantially the same configuration as each of the convex portion 145a and the concave portion 145 b. However, in the region of the front portion 3, the serpentine shape in which the convex portions 143a and the concave portions 143b are formed does not necessarily have to be along the product longitudinal direction L. In other words, the end edge portion 14Lg may be inclined or curved with respect to the meandering shape of the product longitudinal direction L. In the region of the front portion 3, a distance (interval) between two adjacent projections 143a in the product longitudinal direction L is denoted by La3 (see fig. 7).

In the region of the rear portion 7 of the end edge portion 14Lg, three convex portions 147a and three concave portions 147b are formed. In this region, the end edge portion 14Lg is formed in a meandering shape that is inclined with respect to the product longitudinal direction L and that widens outward in the product widthwise direction W as it approaches the rear portion side in the product longitudinal direction L. In other words, the width of the side flap 14 is made wider toward the rear side in the product longitudinal direction L of the rear-side fold portion 211b formed by the absorbent body 21. This is for widening the area of the side flaps 14 that covers the buttocks of the wearer in the area of the rear portion 7 when the diaper 1 is worn. In the diaper 1, the crotch portion 5 is set at a position that matches the middle of the wearer's groin, and the fold portion 211b is provided at a position near the rear portion of the crotch portion 5. Thus, the width of the side flap 14 becomes narrower on the front portion side of the fold portion 211b in the product longitudinal direction L, and the width of the side flap 14 becomes wider on the rear portion side of the side flap 14, so that the wearer can easily move his/her legs on the front portion side (the region of the crotch portion 5), and the hip portion of the wearer can be suppressed from protruding beyond the rear portion side (the region of the rear portion 7) of the side flap 14.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 7, the three convex portions 147a and the three concave portions 147b provided in the region of the rear portion 7 have different shapes (curvatures and sizes), respectively. Then, the maximum interval of the distance (interval) between two adjacent convex portions 147a is denoted by La 7.

the elastic sheet 27 is disposed inside the end edge portion 14Lg of the side flap 14 in the product widthwise direction W. The elastic sheet 27 has a predetermined length (width) in the product widthwise direction W, is a belt-shaped stretchable member stretchable in the product lengthwise direction L, and is formed of, for example, a stretchable nonwoven fabric or the like as described above. As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the elastic sheet 27 of the present embodiment is disposed on the inner side in the product width direction W than the concave portion 145b formed in the crotch portion 5 of the end edge portion 14 Lg. Then, the elastic sheet 27 is joined to the skin side sheet 26 or the like in a state of being stretched in the product longitudinal direction L, thereby generating stretchability in the product longitudinal direction L with respect to the end edge portions 14Lg of the side flaps 14. Therefore, when the diaper 1 is worn, the stretching force acts in the direction in which the leg hole openings are contracted.

The elastic sheet 27 is linearly arranged along the product longitudinal direction L. In other words, the elastic sheet 27 is disposed substantially parallel to the end edge 14Lg of the side panel 14 in the crotch portion 5. In fig. 7, the distance between the position of the recess 145b of the end edge portion 14Lg and the position of the outer end of the elastic sheet 27 in the product widthwise direction W is represented by the distance Ws. The length of Ws is for example approximately 1 mm. Although details will be described later, the elastic member is disposed in the diaper 1 so as to be spaced apart from the end edge portions 14Lg, and therefore the skin feel of the leg hole portions when the diaper 1 is worn can be made more comfortable.

the elastic sheet 27 is linearly arranged along the product longitudinal direction L, and means that the front end and the rear end of the elastic sheet 27 are located at substantially the same position in the product widthwise direction W. With this configuration, when the diaper 1 is worn, the elastic sheet 27 is in a state of extending from a position where the ventral side and the back side of the wearer face each other toward the groin of the wearer. Then, the elastic sheet 27 contracts substantially uniformly along the leg hole openings of the diaper 1, and therefore the elastic sheet 27 easily allows the contraction force to act uniformly on the leg hole openings. In this way, the fixation of the leg hole openings of the diaper 1 is suppressed from becoming locally tight, which makes it easy to obtain a good skin feel.

The elastic sheet 27 is joined to the skin side sheet 26 on the skin side in the thickness direction and to the leakproof sheet 23 on the non-skin side in the thickness direction. The leakproof sheet 23 is a member for preventing urine and the like excreted in the diaper 1 from permeating to the non-skin side, and the leakproof sheet 23 is joined to the elastic sheet 27, so that a gap is hardly generated therebetween. This makes it easy for the leakage-preventing sheet 23 to suppress leakage of excrement such as urine from the leg-surrounding portions when the diaper 1 is worn.

< feel of skin in leg hole of diaper 1 >

subsequently, the influence of the configuration of the side flap 14 on the skin feel of the leg-surrounding portions of the diaper 1 will be described.

It has been described that in the diaper 1, the fitting property when the diaper 1 is worn can be improved by joining the fastening tapes 30 to each other as shown in fig. 4, whereby the fastening force in the leg hole portions becomes large accordingly. In the conventional diaper, a linear elastic member such as a rubber thread or the like is generally used as an elastic member that imparts stretchability to the leg hole portions. Therefore, in the case where the fixation of the leg-surrounding portions is tight, the pressure applied to the legs of the wearer is increased, which causes an increase in the sense of incongruity or discomfort when worn. On the other hand, in the diaper 1, the belt-like elastic sheet 27 having a predetermined width is used as the elastic member of the leg hole portion, and thus the fixing force applied to the legs of the wearer can be easily dispersed. In other words, by reducing the pressure by widening the area where the fixing force acts on the legs of the wearer, biting into the leg-surrounding portions can be suppressed and discomfort can be prevented from being easily applied to the wearer.

Further, by making the elastic sheet 27 into a belt-like shape, it is possible to prevent a gap from being easily generated between the leg hole opening portions and the legs of the wearer when the diaper 1 is worn. For example, in the case where the wearer is a low-weight infant and the infant is caused to adopt a positioning posture as shown in fig. 3, the shape of the leg hole opening portion of the diaper 1 is complexly deformed. Thus, in the case where the elastic member provided in the leg hole opening portion is a linear member such as a rubber thread, the member cannot completely fit a complicated deformation, and therefore a gap may be easily generated in the leg hole portion. On the other hand, in the diaper 1, by using the belt-like elastic member such as the elastic sheet 27, the contact area of the leg hole opening portion and the wearer's leg is widened, and therefore even in the case where the leg hole opening portion is deformed complicatedly, the elastic member can easily follow the deformation, which makes it difficult to generate a gap in the leg hole portion.

In the diaper 1, the end edge portion 14Lg is formed in a meandering shape with the crotch portion 5 of the side flap 14 as the center, so that the uncomfortable feeling when wearing the diaper can be reduced. In the conventional diaper, the end edge portions forming the leg hole opening portions are generally cut straight or depicted as gentle curves having small curvatures. Since the edge portions are portions that are "edges" that directly contact the skin of the wearer in the leg-hole openings of the diaper 1, when the almost straight edges are pressed against the skin, the shape of the edge portions tends to leave traces, thereby giving the wearer a feeling of discomfort and discomfort. On the other hand, the end edge portion 14Lg of the diaper 1 has a meandering shape having projections and recesses in the product widthwise direction W, and therefore the length of the end edge portion is longer than that in the case of a straight shape. This disperses the force applied to the end edge portion 14Lg, and the trace does not easily remain on the skin of the wearer.

In the present embodiment, the elastic sheet 27 that allows the stretching force to act on the leg hole opening is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the end edge 14Lg of the side flap 14, so that the stretching force hardly affects the edge of the end edge 14 Lg. For example, in the case where the three sheets, which are joined and overlapped in a state where the elastic sheet is sandwiched between the skin side sheet 26 and the back surface sheet 24, are cut into a meandering shape and thereby a stretching force is allowed to act on the convex and concave portions of the end edge portion 14Lg, the end edge portion 14Lg may not maintain the meandering shape. Specifically, by allowing a contractive force in the product longitudinal direction L to act on the edge portions of the end edge portions 14Lg when the diaper is worn, the projections and the recesses stand up in the thickness direction, and the difference between the projections and the recesses is reduced due to contraction of the projections, so that the meandering shape cannot be maintained in some cases. When the meandering shape cannot be maintained, the force acting on the end edge portion 14Lg is not easily dispersed, and therefore, the edge mark is easily put on the skin of the wearer. On the other hand, in the diaper 1, as shown in fig. 7, the gap Ws is provided between the concave portion 145b of at least the end edge portion 14Lg and the elastic sheet 27. In other words, the diaper 1 is configured such that the stretching force of the elastic sheet 27 does not easily act directly on the end edge portion 14 Lg. This makes it easy to allow the concave and convex portions to maintain the respective shapes and to maintain the meandering shape even when the diaper 1 is worn. Further, in the diaper 1, the distance We in the product widthwise direction W between the convex portion 145a and the concave portion 145b is made longer than Ws (We > Ws). In other words, a certain degree of space is secured between the convex portion 145a of the end edge portion 14Lg and the elastic piece 27. By providing this space, at least a part of the convex portion 145a is less susceptible to the effect of the stretching force of the elastic sheet 27 than a part of the concave portion 145b, and the uneven shape is more easily maintained. Therefore, when the diaper 1 is worn, the meandering shape can be maintained while the stretchability, which does not impair the fitting property of the leg hole openings, is applied to the end edge portions 14 Lg. Therefore, a good skin feel can be achieved.

Then, in the crotch portion 5 region of the end edge portion 14Lg, the respective pitches (shown by the interval La5 in the product longitudinal direction L in fig. 7) between the convex portions and the concave portions are made equal, so that the stretching force exerted by the elastic sheet 27 acts uniformly. In this way, the tension is suppressed from being locally high at a part of the convex portion 145a or the concave portion 145b, and the problem of being fixed tightly to the local region of the leg-surrounding portion is unlikely to occur when the diaper 1 is worn. In addition, in the diaper 1, the elastic sheet 27 is linearly arranged along the product longitudinal direction L and is in a parallel positional relationship with the end edge portion 14Lg, and therefore the diaper 1 has a structure in which a force is easily applied to the end edge portion 14Lg uniformly.

On the other hand, in the region of the rear portion 7 of the end edge portion 14Lg, the pitch La7 between the convex and concave portions is made wider than La 5. As described above, in the rear portion 7, the side flaps 14 are widened outward in the product widthwise direction W, so that the area covering the buttocks of the wearer is large, and additionally, the stretching force applied by the elastic sheet 27 is not allowed to easily act on the end edge portions 14 Lg. Therefore, in the area of the rear portion 7, the feel of the skin when wearing the diaper is less likely to deteriorate even when the pitch La7 between the convex portions and the concave portions is increased as compared with the area of the crotch portion 5. In contrast, by making the pitch La7 between the convex and concave portions larger, the curve of the edge portion that contacts the buttocks of the wearer becomes smooth, and therefore the skin feel at the buttocks can be made soft.

In the diaper 1, the outer end of the leakproof sheet 23 in the product width direction W is positioned inward of the end edge 14Lg of the side flap 14 in the product width direction W. In other words, the predetermined space is provided between the end edge portion 14Lg of the side flap 14 and the outer end portion of the leakproof sheet 23 in the product width direction W. In the case of fig. 6, the outer edge of the leakproof sheet 23 in the product width direction W is arranged near the middle part of the elastic sheet 27 in the product width direction W. Since the leakproof sheet 23 is a liquid-impermeable member having water-repellency, the fabric of the material is hard and the skin feel is easily deteriorated as compared with the skin side sheet 26 and the back sheet 24 made of nonwoven fabric or the like. When the leakproof sheet 23 is arranged in the region of the end edge portion 14Lg of the side flap 14, the leg hole portion of the diaper 1 becomes hard and the wearer can feel uncomfortable. However, in the present embodiment, the leakage-preventing sheet 23 is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the end edge portions 14Lg, and therefore the area of the end edge portions 14Lg is kept soft by, for example, nonwoven fabric constituting the skin-side sheet 26 and the back sheet 24, and the skin feel of the leg-surrounding portions when the diaper 1 is worn can be comfortable.

Further, deterioration in the tactile sensation of the skin in the waist (abdomen) of the wearer can be suppressed by the cutout 14fR provided in the front protruding portion 14f and the cutout 14bR provided in the rear protruding portion 14b in the side panel 14. In the case where the low-weight infant, which is the target wearer of the diaper 1, takes the positioning posture as shown in fig. 3, both end portions in the product longitudinal direction L of the side flaps 14 are positioned just to fit the abdomen. At this time, if the shape of the end portion is sharp, the corner portions of the side flaps 14 contact the abdomen of the wearer, thereby deteriorating the tactile sensation of the skin. In the diaper 1, the cutout portion 14fR or 14bR is provided at the end portion so that the corner portion of the side flap 14 does not contact the abdomen, thereby improving the tactile sensation of the skin. It should be noted that the cutaway portions 14fR and 14bR protrude inward, and therefore the fabric is inhibited from protruding at the end portions when the diaper 1 is worn. For this reason, the skin feel at the waistline can be further improved.

The term "other" means

The above embodiments are for the convenience of understanding the present invention, and are not intended to limit the explanation of the present invention in any way. The present invention may be changed and modified without changing the gist thereof, and needless to say, the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

When wearing the diaper 1 described in the above embodiments, the diaper 1 is generally fixed to the waist (of the wearer) by providing the front portion 3 on the ventral side and the rear portion 7 on the dorsal side. On the other hand, the diaper 1 can be worn by providing the front portion 3 of the diaper 1 on the back side and the rear portion 7 on the abdomen side. In other words, the diaper 1 may also be worn in a front-back reversed manner.

In the case where the wearer is a low weight infant, it may be desirable to try a "minimum handling" that does not touch the infant as much as possible and thus does not apply stress. In the minimum treatment, for example, it is necessary that not only does the excrement not leak from the disposable diaper but also the stable posture is not changed as much as possible when the diaper is changed. Therefore, when a low-weight infant as a wearer takes a prone position as shown in fig. 3, it is necessary to wear the diaper 1 without moving the body as much as possible. In this case, the diaper is preferably worn without changing the posture in the following manner: the diaper 1 is worn by turning the diaper 1 back and forth and the fixing tape 30 is engaged and fixed on the back side of the low-weight infant.

in the diaper 1, the elastic sheet 27 having stretchability applied to the leg hole openings is linearly arranged along the product longitudinal direction L, and the position of the end portion on the front portion 3 side and the position of the end portion on the rear portion 7 side of the elastic sheet 27 are at the same position in the product widthwise direction W. Therefore, when the diaper 1 is worn with the front and back of the diaper 1 reversed, the stretching force applied by the elastic sheet 27 acts uniformly on the leg hole openings, and therefore the feel of the leg hole portions of the diaper 1 does not deteriorate. In other words, when the diaper 1 is worn with the front and back of the diaper 1 reversed, the functions described in the above embodiments are not easily impaired. Therefore, in the diaper 1, both minimal handling when worn and good skin feel (particularly, skin feel in the leg-surrounding portions) can be achieved.

description of reference numerals

1 Disposable diaper (diaper)

3 front part, 5 crotch part, 7 back part

12 central banded region

14 side panel

14b rear projection, 14bR cutout

14f front projection and 14fR cutout

14Lg end edge part

143a, 145a, 147a convex parts

143b, 145b, 147b recesses

15 leg gather portion

16 leg side gather portion, 18 waist gather portion

21 absorbent body, 211f fold, 221b fold

22 front surface sheet and 23 anti-leakage sheet

24 Back sheet (outer sheet) and 25 stretch film

26 skin side sheet, 26A joint

27 elastic sheet

28 waist pleat film, 29 target belt

30 fixing belt

Claims

1. A disposable diaper having a longitudinal direction and a width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction, the disposable diaper comprising:

A central belt-like region comprising an absorbent body that absorbs liquid;

A leg surrounding expansion part which is arranged on the side wing panel and expands and contracts along the length direction,

The leg hole stretch units are disposed on the inner side in the width direction of the concave portions of the side flaps,

the side flap has: a front portion positioned on a ventral side of a wearer when the disposable diaper is worn by the wearer; a rear portion located on a back side of a wearer; and a crotch portion located between the front portion and the back portion; and is

a distance between two of the convex portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction is constant in the crotch portion of the side flap,

the maximum distance among the distances between two of the projections adjacent in the length direction at the rear portion of the side flap is wider than the distance between two of the projections adjacent in the length direction at the crotch portion of the side flap.

2. The disposable diaper according to claim 1,

The leg hole stretch units are linearly arranged along the longitudinal direction.

3. The disposable diaper according to claim 1 or 2,

The distance in the width direction between the convex portion and the concave portion is larger than the distance between the concave portion and the outer end portion in the width direction of the leg hole stretch portion.

4. The disposable diaper according to claim 1,

The length in the width direction of the rear portion of the side flap is longer than the length in the width direction of the crotch portion of the side flap.

5. The disposable diaper according to claim 4,

The absorbent body has a pair of gathers each having a lower basis weight of a liquid absorbent material than the other portion on each of the front and back sides in the longitudinal direction of the crotch portion, and

6. The disposable diaper according to claim 1,

The front end portion in the longitudinal direction of the leg hole stretch unit and the rear end portion in the longitudinal direction of the leg hole stretch unit are located at the same position in the width direction.

7. The disposable diaper according to claim 1,

The side flap has a liquid-permeable front sheet arranged on the skin side of the wearer, a back sheet arranged on the non-skin side of the wearer, and a liquid-impermeable leakage preventing sheet arranged between the front sheet and the back sheet, and the side flap has a first surface layer and a second surface layer

8. The disposable diaper according to claim 1,

The side flap has a cutout portion formed by a curved line protruding inward in the width direction at a front end portion and a rear end portion in the longitudinal direction.