CN116350429A

CN116350429A - Underpants type absorbent article and absorbent article package

Info

Publication number: CN116350429A
Application number: CN202111621842.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 穆沁一; 马雪琪
Original assignee: Unicharm Corp
Current assignee: Unicharm Corp
Priority date: 2021-12-28
Filing date: 2021-12-28
Publication date: 2023-06-30
Also published as: WO2023127549A1

Abstract

The invention provides a pants-type absorbent article having a hem which is uniform in shape and beautiful, and an absorbent article package. An underpants type absorbent article (1) comprising: an absorbent body (10) having an absorbent core (11); and a waistline member (20) which has stretchability in the left-right direction and which has skin side sheets (22, 23) and a non-skin side sheet (21), wherein the waistline portion (20 f) on one side in the front-rear direction has an outer sheet (30) laminated on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet, and the outer sheet has: a sheet joining part (31) which joins the non-skin side sheet; and a sheet non-joined portion adjacent to the sheet joined portion in the up-down direction, having a predetermined width in the left-right direction, and not joined to the non-skin side sheet, the portion of the absorbent core located on one side and the sheet non-joined portion not having a portion overlapping when viewed in the front-rear direction in the extended state.

Description

Underpants type absorbent article and absorbent article package

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pant-type absorbent article and an absorbent article package.

Background

Conventionally, in a pants-type (shorts-type) absorbent article having an absorbent main body and a waistline member, there is known an absorbent article in which a sheet member is provided on a surface (non-skin side surface) of the waistline member to improve the functionality in use. For example, patent document 1 discloses the following technique: by providing the belt-like member on the surface (non-skin side surface) of the waist region of the pants-type disposable diaper, the fit at the waist can be improved, and the diaper after use can be fixed in a rolled state so that the portion soiled with excrement is not exposed.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2000-102560

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In recent years, there has been a demand for improvement in the design of absorbent articles by users, and a technique of providing a sheet member as described in patent document 1 and making the sheet member look like a hem has been attracting attention in order to bring the pants-type absorbent article close to the appearance of underwear. In this case, it is important to make the sheet member look like a beautiful hem by forming wrinkles of uniform size. However, in the waistline region of the pants-type absorbent article, the portion overlapping the absorbent main body has higher rigidity than other portions, and is difficult to stretch in the left-right direction. In addition, due to the influence of such a poor rigidity, it is difficult to form a uniform and beautiful hem as the whole waistline region, and thus it is possible to make the pants-type absorbent article look like underwear.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pants-type absorbent article having a hem that is uniform in shape and beautiful.

Solution for solving the problem

The main means for achieving the above object is an underpants type absorbent article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, comprising: an absorbent body having a liquid-absorbent core; and a waistline member having stretchability in the left-right direction and having a skin side sheet and a non-skin side sheet, wherein the waistline portion on one side in the front-back direction has an outer sheet laminated on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet, and the outer sheet has: a sheet joining portion joined to the non-skin-side sheet; and a sheet non-joined portion adjacent to the sheet joined portion in the up-down direction, having a predetermined width in the left-right direction, and not joined to the non-skin-side sheet, the portion of the absorbent core located on the one side and the sheet non-joined portion not having a portion overlapping when viewed in the front-rear direction in an elongated state.

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

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a pants-type absorbent article having a hem that is uniform in shape and beautiful.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sanitary napkin 1 according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sanitary napkin 1 in an unfolded and extended state.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of section A-A of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the absorbent body 10.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the absorbent body 10.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure in a case where the pants-shaped sanitary napkin 1 is cut near the center in the lateral direction.

Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing modification 1 of the sanitary napkin 1.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing modification 2 of the sanitary napkin 1.

Fig. 9A to 9D are diagrams for explaining a folding method when the sanitary napkin 1 is packaged.

Fig. 10A to 10C are views for explaining a method of packaging the sanitary napkin 1 in a folded state.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the sanitary napkin 2 in an unfolded and extended state.

Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sanitary napkin 2 in an unfolded and extended state.

Description of the reference numerals

1. Sanitary napkins (embodiment 1: panty type sanitary napkins, panty type absorbent articles); 2. sanitary napkins (embodiment 2: underpants type sanitary napkins, underpants type absorbent articles); 1a, waist opening; 1b, leg circumference openings; 10. an absorbent body; 10ef, upper end (front side); 10eb, upper end (rear side); 11. an absorbent core; 11ef, upper end (front side); 11eb, upper end (rear side); 12. a top sheet; 13. a second sheet; 14. a negative; 15. a side panel; 15t, end; 17. a high-density portion; 20. a waistline member (composite sheet); 20f, front waist portion; 20ef, upper end (front side); 20b, a rear waist portion; 20eb, upper end (rear side); 20cf, neutral position; 20we, side joint; 21. a non-skin side sheet; 22. skin side sheet (stretchable sheet); 23. skin side sheet (stretchable sheet); 25. a waist upper end elastic member (1 st elastic member); 26. a waist elastic member; 27. a skin side sheet; 28. a skin side sheet; 30. an outer sheet (front folded portion); 31. a sheet joining portion; 32. a sheet non-joining portion; 33. temporarily fixing the joint; 34. a sheet member; 35. an elastic member (2 nd elastic member); 40. a rear-side folded portion; 41. a rear sheet joining portion; 42. a rear side sheet non-joined portion; 50. an absorber elastic member; 51. a central absorbent elastic member; 52. two side absorber elastic members; 60. a fusion joint; 110. packaging materials; 111. 1 st packaging material joint; 112. a 2 nd packaging material joint; GERs, waist elastic region; CL, central location.

Detailed Description

At least the following matters are clarified from the description of the present specification and the drawings.

An underpants type absorbent article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, comprising: an absorbent body having a liquid-absorbent core; and a waistline member having stretchability in the left-right direction and having a skin side sheet and a non-skin side sheet, wherein the waistline portion on one side in the front-back direction has an outer sheet laminated on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet, and the outer sheet has: a sheet joining portion joined to the non-skin-side sheet; and a sheet non-joined portion adjacent to the sheet joined portion in the up-down direction, having a predetermined width in the left-right direction, and not joined to the non-skin-side sheet, the portion of the absorbent core located on the one side and the sheet non-joined portion not having a portion overlapping when viewed in the front-rear direction in an elongated state.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, since the underpants type absorbent article is not overlapped with the absorbent core having high rigidity, a rigidity difference is less likely to occur in a region where one side (front side) of the waistline member is overlapped with the sheet non-joined portion. Therefore, when the waistline member is contracted, the sheet non-joined portion is uniformly contracted, and a hem having a uniform and elegant shape can be easily formed.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the portion of the absorbent main body located on the one side and the sheet non-joined portion have no overlapping portion when viewed in the front-rear direction in the extended state.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, the absorbent core is not overlapped with the other members constituting the absorbent main body, and therefore, the rigidity difference is less likely to occur in the region where the waist member overlaps the sheet non-joined portion on one side (front side). Therefore, when the waistline member is contracted, the sheet non-joined portion is uniformly contracted, and a hem having a uniform and elegant shape can be easily formed.

In this underpants type absorbent article, it is preferable that the waist member includes a plurality of waist elastic members that extend and retract in the left-right direction, and that the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction is longer than the distance between centers of two adjacent waist elastic members in the up-down direction in the extended state.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, since the length of the sheet non-joined portion is longer than the distance between the centers of the waist elastic members, the wrinkles (ruffles) formed by the sheet non-joined portion appear larger than the wrinkles formed in the waist members, and the ruffles are easily noticeable. This can improve the appearance of the pants-type absorbent article.

In the pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that an elastic member is not provided at the sheet non-joined portion.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, since the contraction force generated by the elastic member does not directly act on the sheet non-joined portion, the sheet non-joined portion is easily deformed freely. Thus, when the waist member is contracted in the left-right direction, the wrinkles formed in the non-joined portion of the sheets are formed in a soft and natural shape, and thereby beautiful ruffles are easily formed.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the sheet joining portion is provided with a 1 st elastic member that stretches in the left-right direction, and the sheet non-joining portion is provided with a 2 nd elastic member that stretches in the left-right direction, and that stress when the 2 nd elastic member is stretched by a unit length is smaller than stress when the 1 st elastic member is stretched by a unit length.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, when the waist member is contracted, the non-joined portion of the sheet is gradually contracted at the portion where the 2 nd elastic member is provided, whereby wrinkles can be forcibly formed. In this case, since the expansion and contraction force of the 2 nd elastic member is weak, the wrinkles (ruffles) formed at the non-joined portion of the sheets can be made larger than the wrinkles formed at the joined portion of the sheets. Therefore, the shape of the hem can be easily controlled, and thus a hem having a uniform and elegant shape can be easily formed.

In the pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that an elastic region having stretchability in the left-right direction is provided in a region of the waist member in the extended state, the region being opposed to the sheet non-joined portion in the front-rear direction.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, since one side (elastic region) of the surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction has stretchability and the other side (sheet non-joined portion) does not have stretchability, wrinkles are easily formed on the other side when one side is contracted. Therefore, a hem having a uniform and elegant shape is easily formed at the non-joined portion of the sheets.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the sheet non-joined portion has a lower rigidity than the waist member in a region opposed to the sheet non-joined portion in the front-rear direction.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion has a lower rigidity than the waistline member, and therefore, when the waistline member is contracted, the sheet non-joined portion disposed at a portion opposed to the waistline member is more likely to be deformed than the waistline member, and therefore, a uniform and elegant hem is likely to be formed.

In the pants-type absorbent article, the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the vertical direction in the extended state is preferably 5mm or more and 25mm or less.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, by making the length of the sheet non-joined portion 5mm or more, it is possible to suppress such a situation: wrinkles (ruffles) formed at the non-joined portions of the sheets are less noticeable and thus difficult to distinguish from other wrinkles formed at the surface of the waistline member. Further, by setting the length of the sheet non-joined portion to 25mm or less, such a situation can be suppressed: the sheet non-joined portion sags downward due to its own weight, so that it is difficult to form the hem stereoscopically.

In the pants-type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion is preferably formed of a single sheet member.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion is easily deformed, and a fold-like fold (hem) having soft texture is easily formed when the waist member is contracted, as compared with the case where two or more sheet members are stacked on the sheet non-joined portion. Thereby, a uniform and elegant hem is more easily formed.

In the pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that at least one of the skin side sheet and the non-skin side sheet is folded back from the skin side to the non-skin side at an upper end of the one side of the waist member, thereby forming the outer sheet.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, it is possible to reduce the work of preparing additional material for forming the outer sheet and joining the outer sheet with the waist portion. Further, the elastic member can be disposed at the folded portion and the sheet joining portion can be formed, so that the process of manufacturing the pants-type absorbent article can be made efficient. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and man-hour of the pants-type absorbent article can be reduced.

In the pants-type absorbent article, the one side is preferably a front side in the front-rear direction.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, a hem is formed on the abdomen side of the wearer, and the hem is easily visually confirmed by the user (wearer). Further, when the pants-type absorbent article is taken out from the package, the hem is disposed on the front side of the pants-type absorbent article, and the presence of the hem can be easily known at a glance, so that a good impression can be given to the user as in the case of highly-designed underwear.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the pants-type absorbent article has a back-side folded portion formed by folding back at least either one of the skin-side sheet and the non-skin-side sheet from the non-skin side to the skin side at an upper end of the back side in the front-back direction of the waist member, and at least part of the back-side folded portion overlaps the absorbent main body in the up-down direction.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, the upper edge of the rear side of the absorbent body can be prevented from directly pressing against the skin of the wearer, and discomfort and annoyance to the wearer can be prevented. Further, by covering the rear upper end portion of the absorbent body with the rear folded portion, leakage of excreta such as menstrual blood from the rear side of the absorbent body (rear leakage) can be suppressed.

In the pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the back folded portion has a back sheet non-joined portion whose back side in the front-back direction is not joined to at least either one of the waist member and the absorbent main body, and that the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction is longer than the length of the back sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction in the extended state.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, a relatively large hem is formed at the front side of the pants-type absorbent article by the sheet non-joined portion, so that the design of the appearance is improved. Further, since the rear-side sheet non-joined portion is relatively small at the rear side, friction with the skin of the wearer is less likely to occur, and thus, uncomfortable feeling to the wearer can be suppressed.

In the pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that a plurality of compressed portions are provided in the outer sheet so as to be dispersed at a predetermined pitch, the plurality of compressed portions being formed by compressing the outer sheet in the thickness direction, and in the extended state, the sheet non-joined portion has a length in the up-down direction longer than the pitch of the compressed portions.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, since a plurality of small compressed portions (embossments) are arranged on the surface of the outer sheet (sheet non-joined portion), the bending start point is easily formed by the compressed portions, and the sheet non-joined portion is easily deformed. Thus, a more natural and soft hem can be easily formed.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the waist member has a front waist portion and a rear waist portion, a pair of side joining portions joining the front waist portion and the rear waist portion are provided at both end portions in the left-right direction, and the sheet non-joining portion is continuous between the pair of side joining portions in the left-right direction.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion can be freely deformed over a wide range from one end side to the other end side in the left-right direction, and therefore, when the sheet non-joined portion is contracted, the formed wrinkles tend to be more natural in shape, and a hem having soft texture can be formed.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the waist member has a front waist portion and a rear waist portion, a pair of side joining portions joining the front waist portion and the rear waist portion are provided at both end portions in the left-right direction, and a plurality of temporary fixing joining portions joining the waist member and the sheet non-joining portion are provided at predetermined intervals between the pair of side joining portions in the left-right direction.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, when the non-joined portion of the sheet is contracted to form a fold-like fold (hem), the outer sheet is temporarily fixed at uniform intervals, whereby the contracted width of the non-joined portion of the sheet is easily made uniform. Thereby making it possible to easily form a hem of uniform shape.

In this underpants type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion is preferably provided at a position above a middle position between the upper end of the waistline member and the upper end of the absorbent core in the up-down direction.

According to such a pants-type absorbent article, the sheet non-joined portion is less susceptible to the absorbent core having higher rigidity than in the case where the sheet non-joined portion is disposed below the intermediate position, and a hem having a more uniform shape is easily formed. In addition, since the hem is formed at a position close to the waist opening, the hem is easily noticeable, and thus is easily visually confirmed by the user.

In this pants-type absorbent article, it is preferable that the length of the sheet non-joined portion is equal to or longer than the length of the sheet joined portion in the extended state.

According to such an underpants type absorbent article, when the waist member is contracted in the left-right direction, the area of the portion of the outer sheet which is not easily contracted (sheet non-joined portion) is larger than the area of the portion which is easily contracted (sheet joined portion), and therefore, large wrinkles (ruffles) are easily formed in the outer sheet. This makes it easy to bring the pants-type absorbent article close to the appearance of underwear.

An absorbent article package is formed by packaging the pants-type absorbent article in a folded state with a packaging material, wherein the package is preferably performed in a state in which at least part of a non-skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion is in contact with the packaging material.

According to such an absorbent article package, the package is carried out in a state where at least part of the non-skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion is in contact with the packaging material, whereby shaping in a state where the hem is rolled up as a whole can be suppressed. Therefore, when the user opens the absorbent article package, a uniform and beautiful hem is easily formed.

In the absorbent article package, it is preferable that the package is carried out in a state where at least part of the skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion is in contact with the packaging material.

According to such an absorbent article package, the package is performed in a state where a part of the skin-side surface of the non-joined portion of the sheet is in contact with the packaging material, whereby the hem can be prevented from being crushed in the thickness direction as a whole. Therefore, when the user opens the absorbent article package, a uniform and beautiful hem is easily formed.

= = embodiment= = = =

As an example of the pant-type (pants-type) absorbent article according to the embodiment of the present invention, a pant-type sanitary napkin 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "sanitary napkin 1") will be described.

Basic structure of sanitary towel 1

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sanitary napkin 1 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the sanitary napkin 1 in an unfolded and extended state. Fig. 3 is a schematic view of section A-A of fig. 2.

The "extended state" of the sanitary napkin 1 refers to a state in which the sanitary napkin 1 as a whole (the entire product) is extended to be wrinkle-free by extending the elastic members (for example, the skin-

side sheets

22 and 23, the absorber elastic members 50, and the like) included in the sanitary napkin 1, specifically, a state in which the sanitary napkin 1 is extended to a size that matches or approximates the size of the individual members constituting the sanitary napkin 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the sanitary napkin 1 has "up-down direction", "left-right direction", and "front-back direction" which are orthogonal to each other. As shown in fig. 3, the sanitary napkin 1 has a "thickness direction" which is a direction in which the respective members are stacked. One of the vertical directions, which is the waist side of the wearer in the state where the wearer wears the sanitary napkin 1, is referred to as "upper side", and one of the vertical directions, which is the crotch side of the wearer, is referred to as "lower side". In the front-rear direction, one of the front and rear directions, which is the abdomen side of the wearer when worn, is referred to as the "front side", and one of the rear sides, which is the back side of the wearer, is referred to as the "rear side". In the thickness direction, the side that contacts the skin of the wearer in the state where the sanitary napkin 1 is worn by the wearer is referred to as the "skin side", and the opposite side is referred to as the "non-skin side".

In addition, in the unfolded state shown in fig. 2, the sanitary napkin 1 has a "longitudinal direction" and a "transverse direction" that are orthogonal to each other. The "longitudinal direction" is a direction along the up-down direction in the pants-type sanitary napkin, and the "transverse direction" is a direction along the left-right direction in the pants-type sanitary napkin.

The sanitary napkin 1 of the present embodiment includes: a liquid-absorbent main body 10 that absorbs a liquid such as menstrual blood; and a waistline member 20 which is an exterior member disposed on the non-skin side of the absorbent main body 10 and is disposed on the waistline of the wearer when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn.

(absorbent body 10)

Fig. 4 is a top view of the absorbent body 10. Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the absorbent body 10. As shown in fig. 2, the absorbent body 10 of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view along the vertical direction of the sanitary napkin 1 in the longitudinal direction (corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body 10). As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the absorbent main body 10 includes an absorbent core 11 along the longitudinal direction (up-down direction), a top sheet 12 disposed on the skin side of the absorbent core 11, a second sheet 13 disposed between the top sheet 12 and the absorbent core 11, a back sheet 14 disposed on the non-skin side of the absorbent core 11, and a side sheet 15 disposed on the non-skin side of the back sheet 14.

The absorbent core 11 is a member for absorbing and retaining a liquid such as menstrual blood, and is formed of a liquid-absorbent fiber such as pulp fiber mixed with a Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP), for example. The absorbent core 11 may be covered with a liquid-permeable sheet member (core wrap sheet) such as tissue paper or nonwoven fabric.

The top sheet 12 is a liquid-permeable sheet member that can be brought into contact with the skin of the wearer when worn, and is formed of, for example, a hydrophilic hot air nonwoven fabric, a spunbond nonwoven fabric, or the like. The top sheet 12 allows excreted menstrual blood or the like to pass through from the skin side to the non-skin side in the thickness direction and is absorbed by the absorbent core 11, and also suppresses the rewet of menstrual blood or the like from the absorbent core 11 to the skin side (so-called rewet).

The second sheet 13 is a sheet member having substantially the same function and structure as the top sheet 12, and is laminated on the non-skin side surface of the top sheet 12. In the sanitary napkin 1, the width of the second sheet 13 in the left-right direction is longer than the width of the top sheet 12 in the left-right direction.

The backsheet 14 is a breathable and liquid-impermeable sheet member for suppressing leakage of liquid such as menstrual blood absorbed by the absorbent core 11 to the outside, and is formed of, for example, a resin film or the like.

The side sheet 15 is a sheet member laminated on the non-skin side of the back sheet 14, and is made of a hydrophobic nonwoven fabric such as a hot air nonwoven fabric. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the side sheets 15 extend outward in both lateral directions (lateral directions) of the absorbent core 11, and are folded at both end portions in the lateral directions of the absorbent main body 10 toward the skin side in the thickness direction, and the folded end portions 15t are disposed closer to the skin side than the absorbent core 11 and the top sheet 12. By disposing the

end portions

15t, 15t of the side sheet 15 on both side portions in the lateral direction of the skin side of the absorbent core 11 (top sheet 12), when menstrual blood or the like moves in the lateral direction along the surface of the top sheet 12, the movement of the menstrual blood or the like can be blocked by the

end portions

15t, 15 t. That is, when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the

end portions

15t, 15t of the side sheet 15 function as leakage preventing walls, and side leakage such as menstrual blood can be suppressed. Further, a part of the backsheet 14 may be folded toward the skin side of the absorbent core 11 (topsheet 12) together with the side sheet 15.

The absorbent body 10 is provided with a high-density portion 17, and the absorbent core 11 has a higher density than the surrounding portion in the high-density portion 17. The high-density portion 17 is formed by compressing each member constituting the absorbent main body 10 in the thickness direction. As shown in fig. 4, the high-density portion 17 of the present embodiment is formed in a curve by arranging a plurality of dot-like compressed portions. By providing such a high-density portion 17, the liquid-absorbent fibers of the absorbent core 11 can be prevented from being scattered and the shape thereof can be prevented from being deformed. When the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the high-density portion 17 serves as a bending start point, and thus the absorbent core 11 is easily deformed three-dimensionally according to the shape of the wearer's body, and is easily fitted to the wearer's body.

Further, the absorbent body 10 is provided with a plurality of absorber elastic members 50 that extend and retract in the longitudinal direction (up-down direction). The absorbent elastic member 50 is formed of, for example, elastic threads, and is disposed in a state of being elongated in the longitudinal direction (up-down direction) on the non-skin side of the absorbent core 11 (between the backsheet 14 and the side sheet 15 in fig. 5). In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, there are provided a pair of central absorbent elastic members 51 disposed at the central portion in the left-right direction and a total of six absorbent elastic members 50 of two pairs of both side absorbent elastic members 52 disposed at both end portions in the left-right direction. The extension ratios of the absorber elastic members 50 (51, 52) are preferably set to about 2.7 to 3.2 times, respectively. Further, "elongation rate" of the elastic member means: after a certain length of the elastic member in the stretched state was measured, the measured certain length was cut, and the elastic member alone was formed using an organic solvent or the like, and after the organic solvent was air-dried for 24 hours, the length of the elastic member in the natural state was measured, and a division calculation was performed to obtain a value. When the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the absorbent core 11 is easily pushed up from the non-skin side to the skin side in the thickness direction by the stretchability exhibited by the absorbent elastic member 50, and the absorbent main body 10 (absorbent core 11) is easily fitted to the body of the wearer. That is, the absorbent main body 10 can be easily attached to the crotch of the wearer, and excretory fluid such as menstrual blood can be prevented from leaking.

(waist member 20)

The waistline member 20 is a composite sheet formed by stacking a plurality of sheet members. The waistline member 20 of the present embodiment includes a non-skin-side sheet 21 and skin-side sheets 22 and 23 (see fig. 3). In the following description, for convenience, a portion of the waistline member 20 that is located on the front side (the abdomen side) of the center position CL in the longitudinal direction is also referred to as a front waistline portion 20f, and a portion that is located on the rear side (the back side) of the center position CL is referred to as a rear waistline portion 20b.

The non-skin side sheet 21 is a non-stretchable sheet member disposed on the non-skin side of the waist member 20, and is formed of, for example, a spunbond nonwoven fabric, an SMS nonwoven fabric, or the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in the plan view of fig. 2, the non-skin-side sheet 21 has a shape in which the central portion (the portion including the central position CL) in the longitudinal direction is narrowed inward in the left-right direction.

The skin-side sheet 22 is a stretchable sheet member (stretchable sheet) laminated on the skin side of the non-skin-side sheet 21 on the front side (abdomen side) in the longitudinal direction, and is formed of, for example, stretchable nonwoven fabric. "stretchable nonwoven fabric" means a nonwoven fabric of the type: comprises stretchable fibers having stretchability and stretchable fibers having stretchability lower than that of the stretchable fibers, and is subjected to a suitable stretching treatment such as gear stretching. In the skin-side sheet 22 of the present embodiment, a fiber of a polyurethane-based elastomer, which is one type of thermoplastic elastomer having elasticity, can be used as the stretchable fiber, and a fiber of polypropylene (PP), which is a polyolefin-based resin, which is one type of thermoplastic resin having non-elasticity, can be used as the stretchable fiber.

The skin-side sheet 22 is joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21 by a plurality of welded portions 60 (see fig. 2) arranged in accordance with a predetermined pattern, whereby stretchability is imparted to at least the front waist portion 20f in the lateral direction. That is, in the front waist portion 20f, a "waist elastic region GER" having stretchability in the left-right direction is formed in a region where the skin side sheet 22 is disposed. In the present embodiment, the welded portion 60 is formed by using a known joining means such as ultrasonic welding. The welded portion 60 shown in fig. 2 is formed by a pattern in which points having a rectangular shape with one side of about 0.2mm to 0.8mm are regularly arranged at a pitch of about 1mm to 3mm, but the shape and arrangement pattern of the welded portion 60 are not limited to the example of fig. 2. In addition, a different pattern of the welded portion 60 may be formed in each region of the waistline member 20. For example, a welded portion 60 having a different pattern from that of the other region may be formed in the region overlapping the absorbent main body 10.

The skin-side sheet 23 is a stretchable sheet member laminated on the skin side of the non-skin-side sheet 21 at the rear side (back side) in the longitudinal direction. The skin side sheet 23 has the same structure as the skin side sheet 22. That is, the skin-side sheet 23 is formed of stretchable nonwoven fabric, and is joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21 by a plurality of welded portions 60 (see fig. 2) that are dispersed. Thus, in the region of the rear waist portion 20b where the skin-side sheet 23 is disposed, a "waist elastic region GER" having stretchability in the left-right direction is formed similarly to the front waist portion 20 f.

A front folded portion 30 (see fig. 3) formed by folding the non-skin side sheet 21 from the skin side to the non-skin side at an upper end 20ef in the up-down direction (front end in the longitudinal direction) is formed in the front side waistline portion 20f of the waistline member 20. Further, an elastic member 25 at the upper end portion of the elastic string or the like is provided between the front folded-back portion 30 in the thickness direction and the non-skin-side sheet 21 so as to be stretchable in the left-right direction. By providing such a waist upper end elastic member 25, the fitting property of the front side (abdomen side) of the waist opening 1a can be improved, and the positional displacement of the waist member 20 can be suppressed when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn.

In the sanitary napkin 1, the front folded-back portion 30 corresponds to the "outer sheet 30" laminated on the non-skin side (outer) surface of the front waist portion 20 f. The outer sheet 30 is joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21 by an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive applied to the outer peripheral surface of the upper end elastic member 25. That is, the outer sheet 30 (front folded portion 30) has a sheet joining portion 31 joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21 of the front waist portion 20f at a portion where the waist upper end elastic member 25 is provided. However, the adhesive forming the sheet joining portion 31 may be directly applied to a predetermined region of the outer sheet 30 or the non-skin-side sheet 21, instead of being applied to the waist-upper end elastic member 25.

The outer sheet 30 (front folded portion 30) has a sheet non-joined portion 32 at a portion adjacent to the sheet joined portion 31 in the up-down direction, and the sheet non-joined portion 32 is not joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21. The sheet non-joined portion 32 has a predetermined width in the left-right direction, and in the sheet non-joined portion 32, the outer sheet 30 is deformable independently of the waistline member 20 (front waistline portion 20 f). When the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the sheet non-joined portion 32 deforms to form a large fold-like fold when the waist member 20 is contracted in the left-right direction, thereby giving the appearance of having a hem around the waist as shown in fig. 1. Details of the hem formed by the sheet non-joined portion 32 will be described later.

Further, a temporary fixing joint portion 33 may be provided at the lower end portion of the outer sheet 30, and the temporary fixing joint portion 33 may be used to temporarily fix the outer sheet 30 to the front waistline portion 20f. In fig. 2, a plurality of spot-like temporary fixing joining portions 33 are provided at positions higher than the lower end of the outer sheet 30 by a predetermined distance (for example, about 4 mm) upward, with a predetermined interval W33 therebetween in the left-right direction, and the temporary fixing joining portions 33 are joined to the outer sheet 30 (sheet non-joining portion 32) and the front waistline portion 20f. The temporary fixing and joining portion 33 is a portion where sheet members facing each other in the thickness direction (the outer sheet 30 and the non-skin-side sheet 21 in this case) are spot-joined to each other by using a known adhesive means or welding means so as to be peelable by a human force. By providing such a temporary fixing engagement portion 33, it is possible to suppress such a situation: in the process of producing the sanitary napkin 1 and in the process of circulating the produced sanitary napkin 1 in the market, the whole sheet non-joined portion 32 is rolled up, and it is difficult to form a beautiful hem.

The temporary fixing joint 33 may have a shape other than a dot shape as shown in fig. 2. For example, a plurality of temporary fixing joints 33 formed in a linear shape in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) may be arranged with a predetermined interval W33 therebetween in the left-right direction. In addition, in the case where there is another means for suppressing the rolling-up of the sheet non-joined portion 32, the temporary fixing joined portion 33 may not necessarily be provided.

In the present embodiment, the outer sheet 30 (front folded portion 30) is formed by folding back a part of the non-skin side sheet 21 at the upper end 20ef of the front waist portion 20f and laminating it on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet 21, but the outer sheet 30 may be a sheet member different from the non-skin side sheet 21. That is, the outer sheet 30 may be formed by laminating separate sheet members (nonwoven fabric or the like) on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet 21 and joining the sheet members locally.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 3, a rear folded portion 40 formed by folding the non-skin side sheet 21 from the non-skin side to the skin side at an upper end 20eb in the up-down direction (rear end in the longitudinal direction) is formed in the rear waist portion 20b of the waist member 20. In the back folded portion 40, a part of the skin-side sheet 23 may be folded back together with the non-skin-side sheet 21. In the back folded portion 40, a plurality of elastic members 25 are provided between the

skin side sheets

23, 23 folded back at the upper end 20eb in the thickness direction, in a manner that can extend and retract in the left-right direction, like the front waist portion 20 f. By providing such a waist upper end elastic member 25, the fitting property of the rear side (back side) of the waist opening 1a can be improved, and the positional displacement of the waist member 20 can be suppressed when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn.

The rear folded portion 40 has a rear sheet joining portion 41 joined to at least either one of the rear waistline portion 20b and the absorbent main body 10 at the rear side (back side) in the front-back direction (thickness direction). In addition, a rear sheet non-joined portion 42 is provided at a portion adjacent to the rear sheet joined portion 41 in the up-down direction, and the rear sheet non-joined portion 42 is not joined to at least any one of the rear waistline portion 20b and the absorbent main body 10.

When the sanitary napkin 1 having a panty shape is formed, the absorbent main body 10 and the waist member 20 are folded in half in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) from the unfolded state shown in fig. 2, with the central position CL in the longitudinal direction (indicated by a single-dot chain line in fig. 2) as a folded position. In this folded state, the lateral joint portion 20we is formed by joining the lateral (left-right) both ends 20fe, 20fe of the front side waist portion 20f overlapped in the front-rear direction and the lateral (left-right) both ends 20be, 20be of the rear side waist portion 20b by a known joining means such as sealing welding. Thus, the doubled waist member 20 (waist portion 20f and waist portion 20 b) is connected in a loop shape on the front side (abdomen side) and the rear side (back side), and one waist opening 1a and a pair of

leg hole openings

1b, 1b are formed as shown in fig. 1, thereby forming the pants-type (shorts-type) sanitary napkin 1.

< concerning hem formed in sanitary towel 1 >

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a structure in a case where the pants-shaped sanitary napkin 1 is cut near the center in the lateral direction. In fig. 6, each member (waistline member 20, etc.) constituting the sanitary napkin 1 is in an extended state. As described above, in the sanitary napkin 1 of the present embodiment, the outer sheet 30 (front folded portion 30) is laminated on the non-skin side surface (non-skin side sheet 21) of the front waist portion 20 f. A part of the outer sheet 30 is joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21 via the sheet joining portion 31, but the sheet non-joining portion 32 adjacent to the sheet joining portion 31 in the up-down direction is not joined to the non-skin-side sheet 21, and becomes a so-called dry edge. Therefore, when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the front waist portion 20f having stretchability by the waist elastic region GER is contracted in the left-right direction, whereas the sheet non-joined portion 32 is less likely to contract in the left-right direction, and a plurality of puckered gathers are formed, giving the appearance of a hem.

In the sanitary napkin 1 of the present embodiment, the front-side waist portion 20f does not overlap with the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 at the front-side portion of the absorbent core 11 when viewed in the front-back direction (thickness direction). That is, as shown in fig. 6, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is disposed at an upper side in the up-down direction than the upper end 11ef of the front side of the absorbent core 11. Thus, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is easily formed with beautiful and uniform wrinkles (ruffles).

The rigidity of the region overlapping the absorbent core 11 in the front side waistline portion 20f is higher than the rigidity of the region not overlapping the absorbent core 11. Therefore, when the front waistline portion 20f is contracted in the left-right direction, the region overlapping the absorbent core 11 is less likely to contract than the region overlapping the absorbent core 11. Therefore, in the case where the sheet non-joined portion 32 is provided in the region overlapping the absorbent core 11 in the front side waistline portion 20f, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is also difficult to contract in the left-right direction in this region, and thus it is difficult to form a beautiful hem. Further, since a difference in rigidity occurs between the region overlapping the absorbent core 11 and the region not overlapping the absorbent core 11, the amount of shrinkage varies, and therefore, it may be difficult to form a uniform hem.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, in the front side waistline portion 20f, the absorbent core 11 is not disposed at a portion overlapping the sheet non-joined portion 32 when viewed in the front-back direction (thickness direction), and a difference in rigidity is less likely to occur at this portion. Therefore, when the front waistline portion 20f is contracted in the left-right direction, the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 (front folded-back portion 30) is easily contracted equally, and a uniform and elegant hem is easily formed. This can improve the design and aesthetic appearance of the sanitary napkin 1.

In the sanitary napkin 1, the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 and the absorbent main body 10 do not overlap in the front side waist portion 20f when viewed in the front-rear direction (thickness direction). That is, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is disposed at an upper side in the up-down direction than the front upper end 10ef of the absorbent main body 10 (see fig. 6). The absorbent main body 10 includes constituent members such as a top sheet 12 and a bottom sheet 14 in addition to the absorbent core 11 (see fig. 3, etc.). Therefore, in the front waist portion 20f, even in the region that does not overlap the absorbent core 11, but overlaps the top sheet 12 or the like, the rigidity is higher than in the region that does not overlap the absorbent main body 10 at all. Therefore, when the absorbent main body 10 (top sheet 12, etc.) and the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 overlap, it may be difficult to form a uniform hem for the same reasons as described above.

In the present embodiment, when viewed in the front-rear direction (thickness direction), not only the absorbent core 11 but also any other member (topsheet 12, etc.) constituting the absorbent main body 10 are not disposed at the portion of the front side waist portion 20f that overlaps the sheet non-joined portion 32. Therefore, when the front side waistline portion 20f is contracted in the left-right direction, the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 is less susceptible to the difference in rigidity, so that a uniform and elegant hem is more easily formed.

In addition, an elastic member (for example, an elastic member 35 shown in fig. 8, which will be described later) is not provided at the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30. Since the contraction force generated by the elastic member does not directly act on the sheet non-joined portion 32, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is easily deformed freely. Accordingly, when the front waist portion 20f is contracted in the left-right direction, for example, when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the wrinkles formed in the sheet non-joined portion 32 are soft and natural, and a beautiful hem is easily formed. Thus, the design and aesthetic appearance of the sanitary napkin 1 can be further improved.

In addition, in the region of the waist member 20 (front waist portion 20 f) facing the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 in the front-back direction (thickness direction) when the sanitary napkin 1 is in the extended state, an elastic region having stretchability in the left-right direction is provided. In fig. 3 and 6, a waist elastic region GER formed by the skin-side sheet 22 is provided in a region of the front waist portion 20f that faces the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the front-back direction (thickness direction). Since one side (elastic region GER) of the opposing surfaces has stretchability and the other side (sheet non-joined portion 32) does not have stretchability, wrinkles are likely to be formed on the other side (sheet non-joined portion 32) when the one side (elastic region GER) is contracted. It is easier to form a uniform and elegant hem at the sheet non-joined portion 32.

It is also preferable that the sheet non-joined portion 32 has a lower rigidity than the waistline member 20 (front side waistline portion 20 f) in the region opposed to the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the front-rear direction (thickness direction). If the rigidity of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is low, the sheet non-joined portion 32 disposed at a portion opposed to the waist member 20 is more likely to be deformed than the waist member 20 when the waist member 20 is contracted, and therefore, a hem is likely to be formed. As shown in fig. 6, in the sanitary napkin 1 of the present embodiment, at least two sheet members, that is, the skin-side sheet 22 and the non-skin-side sheet 21, are disposed at a portion of the front waist portion 20f that faces the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the thickness direction. Therefore, the sheet non-joined portion 32 has a lower rigidity than the front side waistline portion 20f, and the sheet non-joined portion 32 is easily deformed freely, so that a uniform hem is easily formed.

In the sanitary napkin 1 shown in fig. 6, the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 is formed of one sheet member (nonwoven fabric). Therefore, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is easily deformed as compared with the case where two or more sheet members are stacked on the sheet non-joined portion 32, and thus, when the waist member 20 (front waist portion 20 f) is contracted, a fold-like fold having soft texture is easily formed on the sheet non-joined portion 32. Whereby a uniform and elegant hem is easily formed.

In the sanitary napkin 1 in the extended state, it is preferable that the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) is set to 5mm or more and 25mm or less. If the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is shorter than 5mm, the wrinkles (ruffles) formed in the sheet non-joined portion 32 are small and hardly noticeable, and are hardly distinguished from other wrinkles formed in the surface of the waistline member 20 (front waistline portion 20 f). On the other hand, if the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is longer than 25mm, there is a risk that: the sheet non-joined portion 32 sags downward due to its own weight, so that it is difficult to form a hem stereoscopically. In contrast, by setting the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 to 5mm or more and 25mm or less, when the waistline member 20 (the front waistline portion 20 f) is contracted, a hem of an appropriate size can be easily formed stereoscopically. This makes it possible to easily visually confirm a beautiful hem.

In the sanitary napkin 1, the non-skin side sheet 21 is folded back downward (front folded portion 30 is formed) at the upper end 20ef of the front waist portion 20f, thereby forming the outer sheet 30 (sheet non-joined portion 32). According to such a configuration, in the manufacturing process of the sanitary napkin 1, the work of preparing additional material (sheet member) for forming the outer sheet 30 and joining the front waistline portion 20f can be reduced. Further, by sandwiching and joining the waist upper end elastic member 25 between the non-skin side sheet 21 and the front folded-back portion 30 in the thickness direction, the sheet joining portion 31 and the like can be simply formed, and the manufacturing process of the sanitary napkin 1 can be made efficient. That is, the manufacturing cost and man-hour of the sanitary napkin 1 can be reduced.

In the sanitary napkin 1, an outer sheet 30 (sheet non-joined portion 32) is provided on the front side in the front-rear direction, that is, on the front side waistline portion 20f of the waistline member 20. Therefore, when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, a hem is formed on the abdomen side of the wearer, so that the hem is easily visually confirmed by the user (wearer). In addition, when the sanitary napkin 1 is taken out from the package at the stage of use, the hem is disposed on the front side of the sanitary napkin 1, so that the presence of the hem can be easily known at a glance, and a good impression such as that of highly designed underwear can be given to the user.

On the other hand, in the sanitary napkin 1, the non-skin side sheet 21 (and the skin side sheet 23) is folded back toward the skin side and downward at the upper end 20eb of the rear waist portion 20b, thereby forming the rear folded-back portion 40. In addition, the lower end portion of the rear folded portion 40 is arranged to overlap with the rear upper end 10eb of the absorbent main body 10 when viewed in the front-rear direction (thickness direction). Therefore, when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the rear folded portion 40 is present between the rear upper end 10eb of the absorbent main body 10 and the skin (buttocks) of the wearer. This can suppress the edge of the upper end portion (upper end 10 eb) of the absorbent body 10 from being directly pressed against the skin of the wearer, and thus makes it less likely that the wearer will feel uncomfortable or uncomfortable due to the hardness of the edge portion of the absorbent body 10. Further, by covering the rear upper end 10eb of the absorbent main body 10 with the rear folded portion 40, it is possible to suppress leakage of excreta such as menstrual blood from the upper end 10eb to the outside (so-called back leakage) by moving to the rear side along the absorbent main body 10.

In addition, in the case where the sanitary napkin 1 has the structure shown in fig. 6, it is preferable that the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the front folded-back portion 30 (outer sheet 30) in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) is longer than the length L42 of the rear sheet non-joined portion 42 of the rear folded-back portion 40 in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) (L32 > L42). As described above, if the length L32 of the non-joined portion 32 of the front (abdomen) sheet of the sanitary napkin 1 is short, the hem may be less noticeable. In addition, if the rear sheet non-joined portion 42 is long on the rear side (back side) of the sanitary napkin 1, there is a risk that: when the rear sheet non-joined portion 42 is rolled up and the wearer moves his or her body while wearing the sanitary napkin 1, the rear sheet non-joined portion 42 and the skin (buttocks) of the wearer rub against each other, thereby giving the wearer a sense of discomfort. In contrast, by setting L32 > L42, a relatively large hem is formed at the front side (abdomen side) of the sanitary napkin 1 by the sheet non-joined portion 32, and the design of the appearance is improved. Further, the rear-side (back-side) sheet non-joined portion 42 is relatively small, and is less likely to rub against the skin of the wearer, so that the wearer can be prevented from feeling uncomfortable.

In addition, a plurality of embossments (compressed portions) formed at the time of manufacturing the nonwoven fabric are dispersed on the surface of the non-skin-side sheet 21 constituting the waistline member 20. For example, in the process of producing a spunbond nonwoven fabric, the following treatments are performed: the web formed by stacking long fibers is subjected to embossing such as thermocompression bonding, and compressed in the thickness direction, thereby being combined into a sheet shape. The embossments (compressed portions) formed at this time are usually arranged such that dots (not shown) of a predetermined shape having a rectangular shape or a circular shape are arranged adjacently at a pitch of about 0.5mm to 3 mm.

In the sanitary napkin 1, the length L32 (5 mm or more) of the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the up-down direction is longer than the pitch (0.5 mm to 3 mm) of the embossing (compressed portion) provided at the stage of manufacturing the nonwoven fabric as described above. According to this structure, since a plurality of fine embossments are arranged on the surface of the nonwoven fabric constituting the outer sheet 30 (the sheet non-joined portion 32), the embossments can be easily used to form the bending starting points, and the sheet non-joined portion 32 can be easily deformed. Thus, a more natural and soft hem can be easily formed.

Further, in the region between the pair of side joining portions 20we, 20we (20 fe, 20 be) provided at both end portions in the left-right direction of the waistline member 20, a plurality of temporary fixing joining portions 33 are provided at predetermined intervals W33 in the left-right direction, and the temporary fixing joining portions 33 join the sheet non-joining portions 32 of the non-skin-side sheet 21 and the outer sheet 30. By temporarily fixing the outer sheet 30 to the waistline member 20 by the temporary fixing joining portion 33, the rolling up of the entire sheet non-joining portion 32 can be suppressed. Further, when the sheet non-joined portion 32 (the outer sheet 30) is contracted in the right-left direction along with contraction of the waistline member 20 to form a fold-like crease (hem), the sheet non-joined portion 32 is temporarily fixed at uniform intervals, whereby the contraction width of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is easily made uniform. That is, in the sheet non-joined portion 32, a plurality of regions of equal intervals (W33) divided by two temporary fixing joined

portions

33, 33 adjacent in the left-right direction are arranged in the left-right direction, so that it is possible to suppress such a situation: when the divided regions contract and deform, wrinkles having extremely different widths in the left-right direction are formed. Thereby, a hem having a uniform shape can be easily formed.

On the other hand, the temporary fixing joint 33 may not be provided in the waistline member 20. That is, the sheet non-joined portion 32 may be continuous between the pair of side joined portions 20we, 20we provided at both end portions in the left-right direction of the waistline member 20. In this case, since the outer sheet 30 (the sheet non-joined portion 32) can be freely deformed over a wide range from one end side to the other end side in the left-right direction, the wrinkles formed when the sheet non-joined portion 32 is contracted easily take a more natural shape, and a hem having soft texture can be formed.

The sheet non-joined portion 32 is disposed at a position above the intermediate position 20cf between the upper end 20ef of the front waist portion 20f and the upper end 11ef of the front side of the absorbent core 11 in the up-down direction (see fig. 6). Therefore, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is less susceptible to the absorbent core 11 having higher rigidity than in the case where the sheet non-joined portion 32 is disposed at a position lower than the intermediate position 20cf, so that a hem of uniform shape is easily formed. In addition, since the hem is formed near the upper end portion of the front side waistline portion 20f near the waistline opening 1a of the sanitary napkin 1, the hem is easily noticeable and is easily visually confirmed by the user. This makes it easy to bring the sanitary napkin 1 close to the appearance of underwear.

In the outer sheet 30, the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the up-down direction is preferably equal to or greater than the length L31 of the sheet joined portion 31 in the up-down direction (l32+.l31). In the outer sheet 30, if the length L31 of the sheet joining portion 31 is assumed to be longer than the length L32 of the sheet non-joining portion 32, there is a risk that: when the waistline member 20 is contracted in the left-right direction, the area of the contracted portion in the outer side sheet 30 joined by the sheet joining portion 31 becomes large, so that the hem formed is also small and easily contracted. In contrast, if the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is equal to or greater than the length L31 of the sheet joined portion 31, when the waist member 20 is contracted in the left-right direction, the area of the portion (sheet joined portion 31) of the outer sheet 30 that is easily contracted becomes equal to or less than the area of the portion (sheet non-joined portion 32) that is not easily contracted, and accordingly, large ruffles are easily formed. This makes it easy to bring the sanitary napkin 1 close to the appearance of underwear.

< modification >

Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing modification 1 of the sanitary napkin 1, and corresponds to fig. 6. In modification 1 shown in fig. 7, the outer sheet 30 provided on the non-skin side of the front waist portion 20f is composed of a sheet member 34 different from the non-skin side sheet 21. That is, the outer sheet 30 is not formed by the front folded portion 30 formed by folding the non-skin side sheet 21 to the non-skin side at the upper end 20ef of the front waist portion 20f, but the outer sheet 30 is formed by the separate sheet member 34.

The sheet member 34 (outer sheet 30) is joined to the non-skin side surface (non-skin side sheet 21) of the front waist portion 20f via the sheet joining portion 31. In modification 1, for example, as in the case described with reference to fig. 3 and the like, the sheet joining portion 31 can be formed by an adhesive applied to the surface of the waist upper end elastic member 25. In addition, a sheet member 34 (outer sheet 30) and a sheet non-joined portion 32 where the non-skin-side sheet 21 is not joined are formed in the region adjacent to the sheet joined portion 31 in the up-down direction. When the waist member 20 is contracted, such as when the sanitary napkin 1 is worn, the sheet non-joined portion 32 forms a fold like a fold, and thus, the appearance of the hem is exhibited in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

In fig. 7, the sheet joining portion 31 is formed on the upper end portion side in the up-down direction of the sheet member 34 (the outer sheet 30), and the sheet non-joining portion 32 is formed on the lower end portion side, but the arrangement of the sheet non-joining portions 32 may be different. For example, the sheet non-joined portion 32 may be formed on the upper end portion side of the sheet member 34 (the outer sheet 30), or the sheet non-joined portion 32 may be formed on both end portions in the up-down direction.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing modification 2 of the sanitary napkin 1, and corresponds to fig. 6. In modification 2 shown in fig. 8, an elastic member 35 such as an elastic thread extending and contracting in the left-right direction is provided at the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30. Specifically, after the non-skin side sheet 21 is folded back to the non-skin side at the upper end 20ef of the front waist portion 20f, the outer side sheet 30 is folded back again to the skin side at the lower end 30et of the front folded back portion 30, thereby forming a double-layered structure, and the elastic member 35 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the double-layered structures. However, when the elastic member 35 is disposed at the sheet non-joined portion 32, the outer sheet 30 may not necessarily have a double-layer structure.

In the modification 2 of fig. 8, the elastic member 35 is arranged such that the elastic member 35 provided in the sheet non-joined portion (as "the 2 nd elastic member") exhibits a lower expansion force than the elastic member 25 provided in the waist upper end portion of the sheet joined portion 31 (as "the 1 st elastic member"). That is, the elastic member 35 (the 2 nd elastic member) is set such that the stress per unit length of the elastic member 35 (the 2 nd elastic member) is smaller than the stress per unit length of the waist upper end elastic member 25 (the 1 st elastic member). For example, the magnitude of the expansion force exhibited by the elastic member 35 can be adjusted by setting the thickness of the elastic thread constituting the elastic member 35 to about half the thickness of the elastic thread constituting the waist upper end elastic member 25 and setting the expansion magnification of the elastic member 35 to about half the expansion magnification of the waist upper end elastic member 25.

By disposing the elastic member 35 (the 2 nd elastic member) having low stretchability in the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30, the shape of the fold-like folds (ruffles) formed in the sheet non-joined portion 32 can be easily controlled. For example, when the waist member 20 is contracted in the left-right direction, the sheet non-joined portion 32 is gradually contracted at the portion where the elastic member 35 (the 2 nd elastic member) is provided, whereby wrinkles can be forcibly formed. At this time, the sheet non-joined portion 32 provided with the 2 nd elastic member is less likely to shrink than the sheet joined portion 31 provided with the 1 st elastic member, and therefore, the wrinkles (ruffles) formed in the sheet non-joined portion 32 can be made larger than the wrinkles formed in the sheet joined portion 31. In this way, by appropriately adjusting the magnitude of the expansion and contraction force of the elastic member 35 (the 2 nd elastic member) with respect to the waist-upper-end elastic member 25 (the 1 st elastic member), the magnitude of the formed wrinkles can be changed, and therefore, a hem of a desired shape (size) can be easily formed.

< packaging for sanitary towel 1 >

The sanitary napkin 1 is manufactured as a package (also referred to as "individual package") individually packaged with a predetermined packaging material in a state of being folded small, and is distributed on the market in a state (not shown) in which one or a plurality of individual packages are enclosed. The package of sanitary napkin 1 (absorbent article package) will be described below.

Fig. 9A to 9D are diagrams for explaining a folding method when the sanitary napkin 1 is packaged. Fig. 10A to 10C are views for explaining a method of packaging the sanitary napkin 1 in a folded state.

When folding the sanitary napkin 1 for packaging, first, as shown in fig. 9A, the sanitary napkin 1 is disposed on a plane such that the rear side (rear waistline portion 20 b) in the front-rear direction of the sanitary napkin 1 faces vertically upward. Then, the two side portions in the left-right direction of the waistline member 20 are folded from the outside to the inside by a pair of 1 st folding lines F11, F12 along the up-down direction (longitudinal direction). At this time, as shown by the arrow in fig. 9A, the waistline member 20 is folded such that the rear waistline portion 20b is on the inner side in the thickness direction. The 1 st bending lines F11 and F12 do not need to be parallel to the vertical direction, and may be inclined to some extent.

Next, as shown in fig. 9B, the waist member 20 and the absorbent main body 10 are folded in half in the up-down direction by the 2 nd folding line F2 along the left-right direction. The sanitary napkin 1 thus folded is in a compact folded state having a substantially rectangular shape as shown in fig. 9C. In the folded sanitary napkin 1, the rear waist portion 20b is folded inward and the front waist portion 20f is exposed outward (toward the atmosphere).

Fig. 9D shows the folded sanitary napkin 1 shown in fig. 9C as seen from the opposite side (front side). Fig. 9D shows such a state that: the hem formed by the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30 is partially exposed to the outside at the upper end portion of the sanitary napkin 1 in the folded state.

The sanitary napkin 1 in a folded state is individually packaged by a packaging material 110, and the packaging material 110 is composed of a predetermined sheet member such as a nonwoven fabric or a film. When packaging the sanitary napkin 1, as shown in fig. 10A, the sanitary napkin 1 in a folded state is placed near the central portion of the packaging material 110. At this time, the sanitary napkin 1 in a folded state is arranged to overlap the packaging material 110 so that the surface of the hem (sheet non-joined portion 32) shown in fig. 9D is exposed and the packaging material 110 are opposed. Then, the pair of wrapping material bending lines FS1 and FS2 along the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) bend both side portions of the wrapping material 110 in the left-right direction from the outside to the inside, and thereby wrap the sanitary napkin 1 inside.

Next, as shown in fig. 10B, the two side portions in the left-right direction of the folded packaging material 110 are joined to each other at portions overlapping in the thickness direction by the 1 st packaging material joining portion 111 along the up-down direction. Further, both ends of the packaging material 110 in the up-down direction are joined by a pair of 2 nd packaging

material joining portions

112, 112 along the left-right direction. The sanitary napkin 1 thus folded is packaged by the packaging material 110 to form a package (individual package) of the sanitary napkin 1. The sanitary napkin 1 in the individually packaged state is not allowed to enter foreign substances or the like by the packaging material 110, so that the sanitary napkin 1 is not easily damaged during distribution and the absorption performance is not easily deteriorated. That is, deterioration in quality and performance of the sanitary napkin 1 can be suppressed in the period before the individual package is taken by the user and opened.

Fig. 10C is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the D-D cross-section of fig. 10B. As shown in fig. 10C, in the package of the sanitary napkin 1, a part of the sheet non-joined portion 32 (hem) of the outer sheet 30 is disposed in contact with the packaging material 110. In this state, at least part of the non-skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is preferably in contact with the packaging material 110. In the case where the entire skin side surface of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is assumed to be in contact with the packaging material 110, the sanitary napkin 1 is packaged in a state where the sheet non-joined portion 32 is rolled up as a whole. In this case there is the following risk: the package of the sanitary napkin 1 is shaped in a rolled state during distribution, and it is difficult to form a uniform and beautiful hem when the user unseals the package.

In contrast, when the sheet non-joined portion 32 is packaged in a state where at least part of the non-skin-side surface is in contact with the packaging material 110, shaping in a state where the hem is rolled up as a whole can be suppressed. Therefore, when the user opens the package of the sanitary napkin 1, a uniform and beautiful hem is easily formed.

However, in this case, the sanitary napkin 1 may be packaged in a state where a part of the skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is in contact with the packaging material 110. That is, the wrapping may be performed in a partially rolled state of the hem. In the case of packaging in a state where the entire non-skin side surface of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is in contact with the packaging material 110, the hem is easily shaped in a state where it is not rolled up at all. In this case there is the following risk: the hem collapses and is difficult to open, thereby making it difficult to form a three-dimensional hem when unsealed. In contrast, when the package is carried out in a state where a part of the skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is in contact with the packaging material 110, the entire hem is prevented from being crushed in the thickness direction, and a uniform and elegant hem can be easily formed.

= = 2 nd embodiment= = = =

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the sanitary napkin 2 according to embodiment 2 in an expanded and extended state, and corresponds to fig. 2 according to embodiment 1. Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sanitary napkin 2 in an expanded and extended state, and corresponds to fig. 3 of embodiment 1. In the sanitary napkin 2 of embodiment 2, the partial structure of the waistline member 20 is different from that of the sanitary napkin 1 of embodiment 1, and the structure other than the waistline member 20 is substantially the same as that of the sanitary napkin 1. The following describes the different parts from the sanitary napkin 1.

In the waist member 20 of the sanitary napkin 2, the

skin side sheets

27 and 28 are provided on the skin side in the thickness direction of the non-skin side sheet 21, and a plurality of waist

elastic members

26 and 26 … … such as elastic threads are provided between the non-skin side sheet 21 and the

skin side sheets

27 and 28 in the thickness direction.

The waist elastic member 26 is joined between the non-skin side sheet 21 and the

skin side sheets

27, 28 in a state of extending in the left-right direction, and is provided in plurality at a predetermined interval in the up-down direction. The stretchability exhibited by the waistline elastic member 26 imparts stretchability in the left-right direction to the waistline member 20. That is, in the waistline member 20 of the sanitary napkin 2, a "waistline elastic region GER" is formed by the waistline elastic member 26. In the sanitary napkin 2, the expansion ratio when the waist elastic member 26 is attached to the waist member 20 is preferably adjusted so that the expansion force per unit area of the waist elastic region GERs in the sanitary napkin 2 is equal to the expansion force per unit area of the waist elastic region GERs in the sanitary napkin 1.

The skin-side sheet 27 is a member corresponding to the skin-side sheet 22 of the sanitary napkin 1, but is formed of a nonwoven fabric having no stretchability (or little stretchability), unlike the skin-side sheet 22. Similarly, the skin-side sheet 28 is a member corresponding to the skin-side sheet 23 of the sanitary napkin 1, and is formed of a nonwoven fabric having no stretchability (or little stretchability). Specifically, the nonwoven fabric is composed of components such as PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and does not have components having stretchability such as polyurethane.

The waist member 20 of the sanitary napkin 2 is also provided with an outer sheet 30, and the outer sheet 30 has a sheet joining portion 31 and a sheet non-joining portion 32, similarly to the sanitary napkin 1. In the sanitary napkin 2 in the extended state, it is also preferable that the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 in the up-down direction is longer than the center-to-center distance P26 between the waist

elastic members

26, 26 adjacent in the up-down direction (corresponding to the pitch in the up-down direction of the waist elastic members 26) (L32 > P26).

In the sanitary napkin 2, when the waist member 20 is contracted in the left-right direction, a plurality of wrinkles having a length P26 in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) are formed on the surface of the waist member 20. If the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is assumed to be shorter than the length P26 of the gather formed in the waistline member 20, the gather formed in the waistline member 20 is larger than the gather (hem) formed by the sheet non-joined portion 32, and the hem may be less noticeable. In contrast, in the sanitary napkin 2, the length L32 of the sheet non-joined portion 32 is longer than the center-to-center distance P26 of the waist elastic members 26, and therefore, the wrinkles (ruffles) formed by the sheet non-joined portion 32 appear to be larger than the wrinkles formed in the waist member 20, so that the ruffles are easily noticeable. Thereby enabling the appearance of the sanitary napkin 2 to be improved.

= = other= =

The above-described embodiments are provided to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. It will be apparent that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and equivalents thereof are included in the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the pant-type sanitary napkin 1 has been described as an example of a pant-type (pants-type) absorbent article, but the present invention can also be applied to other pant-type absorbent articles other than sanitary napkins. For example, a pants-type (pants-type) diaper, a pants-type (pants-type) absorbent pad, or the like may be used.

In the above embodiment, the following examples are described: the outer sheet 30 is provided on the non-skin side surface of the front waist portion 20f by the front folded portion 30 formed by folding the non-skin side sheet 21 back to the non-skin side at the upper end of the front waist portion 20f and the separate sheet member 34. Further, a hem is formed in the front waistline portion 20f by the sheet non-joined portion 32 of the outer sheet 30. On the other hand, in the rear waist portion 20b, an independent sheet member (nonwoven fabric or the like) may be laminated on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet 21 and partially joined thereto, or the like, to thereby form the outer sheet 30 (not shown) similar to the front waist portion 20 f. The outer sheet 30 in the rear waistline portion 20b has the same structure as the outer sheet 30 in the front waistline portion 20f, and thus a hem having a uniform and elegant shape can be formed on the rear side (back side) of the sanitary napkin 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the waist upper end elastic member 25 is provided between the non-skin-side sheet 21 and the outer sheet 30 (front folded-back portion 30) at the front waist portion 20f (abdomen side) (see fig. 6 and the like), but may be provided between the non-skin-side sheet 21 and the skin-side sheet 22. The waist upper end elastic member 25 is provided between the skin-

side sheets

23, 23 folded back at the upper end portion 20eb (see fig. 6 and the like) in the rear waist portion 20b (back side), but may be provided between the non-skin-side sheet 21 and the skin-side sheet 23.

Claims

1. An underpants type absorbent article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, comprising: an absorbent body having a liquid-absorbent core; and a waistline member having stretchability in the lateral direction and having a skin side sheet and a non-skin side sheet, characterized in that,

the waist portion on one side in the front-rear direction has an outer sheet laminated on the non-skin side surface of the non-skin side sheet,

the outer sheet has:

a sheet joining portion joined to the non-skin-side sheet; and

a sheet non-engaging portion adjacent to the sheet engaging portion in the up-down direction, having a predetermined width in the left-right direction, and not engaging with the non-skin-side sheet,

The portion of the absorbent core located on the one side and the sheet non-joined portion do not have overlapping portions when viewed in the front-rear direction in an elongated state.

2. The pant-type absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent member comprises,

the portion of the absorbent main body located on the one side and the sheet non-joined portion do not have overlapping portions when viewed in the front-rear direction in an elongated state.

3. The pant-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the absorbent article comprises,

the waistline member includes a plurality of waistline elastic members that extend and retract in the left-right direction,

in the extended state, the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction is longer than the center-to-center distance between the two waist elastic members adjacent in the up-down direction.

4. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 3,

an elastic member is not provided at the sheet non-joined portion.

5. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 3,

a 1 st elastic member extending and contracting in the left-right direction is provided at the sheet joining portion,

A 2 nd elastic member extending and contracting in the left-right direction is provided at the sheet non-joint portion,

the stress when the 2 nd elastic member is elongated by a unit length is smaller than the stress when the 1 st elastic member is elongated by a unit length.

6. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 5,

in the region of the waistline member in the extended state, which is opposed to the sheet non-joined portion in the front-back direction, an elastic region having stretchability in the left-right direction is provided.

7. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 6,

the sheet non-joined portion has a lower rigidity than the waist member in a region opposite to the sheet non-joined portion in the front-rear direction.

8. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 7,

the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the vertical direction in the extended state is 5mm or more and 25mm or less.

9. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 8,

the sheet non-joining portion is constituted by a sheet member.

10. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 9,

at least either one of the skin-side sheet and the non-skin-side sheet is folded back from the skin side to the non-skin side at the upper end of the one side of the waistline member, thereby forming the outer sheet.

11. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 10 wherein the absorbent article comprises,

the one side is a front side in the front-rear direction.

12. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 11 wherein the absorbent article comprises,

the pants-type absorbent article has a back-side folded portion formed by folding back at least either one of the skin-side sheet and the non-skin-side sheet from the non-skin side to the skin side at an upper end of the back side in the front-back direction of the waist member,

at least part of the rear folded portion overlaps the absorbent main body in the up-down direction.

13. The pant-type absorbent article of claim 12 wherein the absorbent article comprises,

the rear folded back portion has a rear sheet non-joined portion whose rear side in the front-rear direction is not joined with at least either one of the waistline member and the absorbent main body,

In the extended state, the length of the sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction is longer than the length of the rear side sheet non-joined portion in the up-down direction.

14. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 13,

the outer sheet is provided with a plurality of compressed portions at a predetermined pitch, the plurality of compressed portions being formed by compressing the outer sheet in the thickness direction,

in an elongated state, the length of the sheet non-engaging portion in the up-down direction is longer than the pitch of the compressed portion.

15. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 13,

the waistline member has a front waistline portion and a rear waistline portion,

a pair of side joining portions joining the front side waistline portion and the rear side waistline portion are provided at both end portions in the left-right direction,

in the left-right direction, the sheet non-joined portion is continuous between the pair of side joined portions.

16. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 13,

in the left-right direction, a plurality of temporary fixing engaging portions that engage the waistline member and the sheet non-engaging portion are provided at predetermined intervals between the pair of side engaging portions.

17. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 16,

the sheet non-joined portion is provided at a position above an intermediate position of an upper end of the waistline member and an upper end of the absorbent core in the up-down direction.

18. The pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 17,

in the extended state, the length of the sheet non-joined portion is equal to or longer than the length of the sheet joined portion.

19. An absorbent article package comprising a package material for wrapping the pant-type absorbent article according to any of claims 1 to 18 in a folded state,

packaging is performed in a state where at least part of the non-skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion is in contact with the packaging material.

20. The absorbent article package of claim 19, wherein the absorbent article package,

packaging is performed in a state where at least part of the skin-side surface of the sheet non-joined portion is in contact with the packaging material.