Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/51—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators characterised by the outer layers
  • A61F13/511—Topsheet, i.e. the permeable cover or layer facing the skin
  • A61F13/512—Topsheet, i.e. the permeable cover or layer facing the skin characterised by its apertures, e.g. perforations

Definitions

• TITLE A LIQUID PERMEABLE SURFACE MATERIAL FOR AN ABSORBENT ARTICLE, AND A METHOD FOR ITS MANUFACTURE
• the invention relates to a liquid permeable surface material for an absorbent article such as a diaper, an incontinence protector, a sanitary napkin, or similar, comprising a flexible, skin-friendly material layer, and exhibiting at least one penetrating opening.
• the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the surface material, and an article having the surface material.
• absorbent articles such as, primarily, incontinence protectors for grown-up incontinent persons
• absorbent articles such as, primarily, incontinence protectors for grown-up incontinent persons
• the emptying of the bladder is often both fast and sudden, resulting in a considerable risk of discharged urine flowing on the outer surface of the surface layer and running out over the edges of the incontinence protector instead of penetrating the surface layer and being absorbed by the absorption body.
• the surface material according to the invention is characterized primarily in that it has at least one opening which is formed by a slit in the material, wherein the slit has two longitudinal edges, and wherein elongated elastic means are pre-tensionally arranged on both sides of the slit, substantially perpendicularly to the edges of the slit, whereby the elastic means act contractingly on the material on both sides of the slit so that the edges of the slit are pulled apart and the contracted material exhibits wrinkles extending substantially parallel to the slit.
• the surface material has a plurality of openings formed by a row of slits arranged substantially parallel to each other.
• the elastic means are here arranged between the slits and extend along the row of slits substantially perpendicularly to the edges of the slits, whereby the material between the slits is wrinkled and the edges of the slits are pulled apart.
• the length of the slits can vary between the different rows. It is further possible to vary the length of the slits within one single row.
• the mutual distance between the slits of two different rows can be different, as well as the mutual distance between the slits along one and the same row. It is also possible to vary the pre-tension of the elastic means between the different rows as well as within the same row. Obviously, the distance between different rows can also vary across the surface of the layer. It is further possible, if desirable, to arrange the elastic means and the slits along one or more curve-shaped rows.
• absorbent articles of the intended type practically without exception have a smaller dimension in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction, the risk of leakage is greatest at the longitudinal side edges.
• the use of the surface material according to the invention substantially reduces the risk of edge leakage, partly because the liquid is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the product, and partly because liquid flow in the transverse direction is counteracted.
• an absorbent article having two end portions, and an intermediate crotch portion
• elastic means and openings in the liquid permeable cover layer substantially only within the area which is situated at the crotch portion of the article.
• the size and location of the crotch portion in the longitudinal direction of the article cannot be specified in absolute terms, since they may vary somewhat depending on different factors such as the shape of the article, the relevant category of use, how the product is applied inside the users underwear and the body shape of the user.
• the degree of wrinkling in the surface layer may conveniently be controlled by varying the tension in the elastic means and by varying the distance between the openings in the material layer. With increased tension in the elastic means and with an increasing distance between the openings a larger degree of wrinkling is achieved. Since a heavy wrinkling is advantageous for the liquid receiving capacity of the article and for the liquid dispersion in the article, the formation of wrinkles should be most pronounced within the area of the article which is intended to be primarily wetted by the body fluid. This thus coincides with the area of the surface layer of the article which should be provided with the largest number of openings and/or the largest openings.
• Fig 1. of the drawings shows a material layer with affixed elastic means.
• Fig. 3 shows a completed surface material.
• Fig. 4 shows how the surface material will look when it is applied to an incontinence protector.
• Fig. 5 shows a further embodiment of an incontinence protection having a surface material according to the invention.
• the material layer 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a thin layer of skin friendly, flexible material.
• Suitable materials for this purpose are, for example, perforated or unperforated plastic films, textile or plastic nets, or non-woven textile materials, henceforth called non-woven material.
• conventional textile materials manufactured, for example, by weaving or knitting can, of course, be used if this is deemed suitable.
• the material layer 1 is shown as a part of a continuous web of material.
• Elongate elastic means 2 are pre-tensioned and arranged transversely across the web of material.
• the elastic means 2 may, for example, consist of elastic threads, ribbons, or bands of elastic non-woven material, nettings, films or similar.
• elastic means consisting of two or more parallel elastic ribbons or threads are within the scope of the invention.
• the web of material is shown in a flat condition, i.e. with the elastic means stretched out. During the manufacturing of the surface material, the web of material is kept stretched out whilst applying the elastic means 2.
• the stretching out is achieved by some form of known stretching means, such as clamps, pins or the like.
• the stretching means are not shown in the drawings.
• the elastic means 2 can be affixed to the material layer 1 by gluing, or by welding with heat or ultrasonic sound. It is further conceivable that the elastic means are laminated between two layers which together form the web of material.
• the web of material is provided with a plurality of longitudinal slits 3.
• the slits 3 are arranged in rows 4 transversely across the web of material 1 and are oriented so that each slit 3 is arranged perpendicularly over a transverse elastic means 2.
• the web of material 1 and the elastic means 2 are kept stretched out, so that the web of material is flat when the slits 3 are formed.
• the slits 3 can be formed in numerous different ways, for example by cutting using edge rollers, using ultrasonic sound, high pressure water jets, or by heating the material.
• the elastic means are simultaneously cut, so that they are divided into a number of short sections 5 between the slits 3.
• Fig. 3 the stretching out of the web of material 1 has ceased, whereby the elastic means 2 have contracted. In this way the portions of the material lying between the slits are wrinkled.
• the contraction of the elastic means 2 also results in the edges of the slits 3 being pulled apart so that the slits 3 are widened in the transverse direction of the material layer 1, and assume the shape of oval or, more or less, rhombic openings 3'.
• the incontinence protector 10 shown in Fig. 4 comprises a liquid-permeable surface layer 11 according to the invention, a liquid impermeable surface layer 12, and an absorption body 13 enclosed between the surface layers 11, 12.
• the liquid-impermeable surface layer 12 may consist of a liquid-impermeable plastic film, a non-woven layer which has been coated with a liquid barrier material, or some other flexible material layer which resists liquid penetration.
• the barrier layer 12 has a certain degree of breathability, i.e. it allows the passage of water vapour.
• the two surface materials 11, 12 have a somewhat larger extension in the plane than the absorption body 13 and extend some distance beyond the edges of the absorption body 13 along all of its periphery.
• the surface layers are mutually connected within the protruding casing edge 14, for example by gluing or welding with heat or ultrasonic sound.
• the absorption body 13 can be of any conventional kind. Examples of commonly used absorption materials are cellulose wadding, tissue layers, highly absorbing polymers, absorbing foam materials, absorbing non-woven materials and the like. Mixtures of materials as well as absorption bodies constructed of layers of material of different kinds and with different properties are also known.
• the incontinence protector 10 is hour glass shaped, with wider end portions 16, 17 and a narrower crotch portion 18 located between the end portions 16, 17.
• the crotch portion 18 is the portion of the incontinence protector 10 which is intended, during use, to be placed in the user's crotch and serves as a receiving surface for the body fluid which is secreted to the incontinence protector 10.
• the incontinence protector further exhibits two transverse end edges 19, 20, and two longitudinal side edges 21, 22 running between the end edges 19, 20.
• the liquid permeable surface layer 11 preferably consists of a liquid permeable material layer, such as a non-woven layer, or a perforated plastic film.
• Elongate elastic means 2 are affixed to the surface layer and run transversely over it between the side edges 21, 22 of the incontinence protector 10. Suitable elongate elastic means 2 are, as earlier mentioned, elastic ribbons or threads.
• the elastic means 2 are only arranged within the crotch portion 18 of the incontinence protector, while the end portions 16, 17 are without elastic means 2. In case a liquid impermeable layer has been used as surface layer, only the crotch portion 18 will be liquid permeable after slitting. The end portions 16, 17 will then function as barriers to leakage out of the front- and rear portions 16, 17 of the incontinence protector.
• the elastic means 2 extend all the way out to the side edges 21, 22 of the incontinence protector. It may then be advantageous to treat the elastic means 2 so that they lose their elasticity within the area of the protruding casing edge 14. Such a treatment may, for example, be performed chemically or by using heat. It is, furthermore, possible to avoid an elastic contraction of the cover edge 14 by using a sealing glue along the edge 14 which allows the elastic means 2 to contract and creep inwards in the direction towards the absorption body 13, after being cut at the side edges 21,22.
• the surface layer 11 further exhibits a plurality of slits 3 arranged in transverse rows 4 which coincide with the extension of the elastic means 2.
• a slit 3 should be understood to mean a penetrating, longitudinal opening in the surface layer.
• a slit is typically a cut in the material, i.e. an opening which has only a length dimension but no width dimension, but also slot-shaped openings, i.e. openings having a certain, but in comparison to the length of the opening small, width dimension, are intended to be covered by the concept of a slit.
• the slits 3 run perpendicularly across the elastic means 2 and divide them into several short pieces in the transverse direction of the incontinence protector.
• the slits 3 are somewhat longer, preferably between 5-10 mm in length, than at parts of the crotch portion 18 located closest to the end portions 16, 17 of the incontinence protector 10 where the slits are between 2-7 mm in length.
• the centrally situated slits are arranged with a larger mutual spacing along the elastic means 2 than the slits closest to the end portions 16, 17.
• the elastic means 2 are affixed to the surface layer 11 with a larger degree of pre-tensioning within the area closest to the transverse center line 23 of the incontinence protector, whereby their contracting influence on the surface layer 11 is largest within this area.
• the surface layer will attain the appearance shown in Fig. 4.
• the openings 3' in the surface layer 11, which are formed when the elastic means 2 contract and the slits are widened, are larger at the central part of the crotch portion 18 than at those parts of the crotch portion 18 which are located close to the end portions 16, 17. Furthermore, the wrinkling between the openings 3' in the surface layer 11 is larger within the central part of the crotch portion 18. This is partly due to the fact that the amount of material which can be wrinkled between the slits 3 is larger, partly because the contracting force is larger within this area.
• the wrinkles, or channels, 24 run along the side edges 21, 22 of the incontinence protector, they furthermore act as barrier means which prevent the spreading of fluid in the transverse direction. Further, this condition contributes greatly to minimizing the risk of leakage of body fluid past the side edges 21, 22 of the incontinence protector.
• transverse elastic means 2 At the end portions 16, 17 of the incontinence protector.
• incontinence protectors of this type are, namely, that they should be as discreet as possible to wear and preferably be possible to conceal under ordinary clothes. Because the end portions 16, 17 do not have elastic means, the surface material 11 is not wrinkled, leaving the end portions 16, 17 flat and thinner than the crotch portion 18 of the incontinence protector.
• FIG. 5 there is shown an incontinence protector 10 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
• the protector 10 is of the same general construction as the incontinence protector 10 shown in Fig. 4, wherefore the corresponding structural elements have been assigned the same numerals.
• the incontinence protector in Fig. 5 differs, however, from the incontinence protector of Fig.
• the surface material according to the invention is only present in the shape of a material strip 25 between the two transverse edges 19, 20 of the incontinence protector.
• the material strip 25 extends along the full length of the incontinence protector 10 and has the same width as the width of the absorption body 13 at the transverse mid line 23 of the protector 10.
• pieces 26, 27 of another sheet of material are arranged, and are firmly attached to the material strip using any known method. Accordingly, these material pieces 26, 27, form together with the material strip 25 the liquid permeable surface layer 11 of the incontinence protector 10.
• the material pieces 26, 27, arranged on both sides of the material strip 25, extend past the edges of the absorption body 13 and are joined within the protruding parts 14 to corresponding protruding parts 14 of the liquid-impermeable cover layer 12 of the incontinence protector 10.
• the material pieces 26, 27 arranged along the side edges 21, 22 can be made from any suitable cover material.
• cover material for example, different types of nonwoven material, as well as perforated or unperforated plastic films, nettings, laminates of plastic film and nonwoven, or similar can be used.
• a material is chosen which is soft and pleasant against the skin of the user and which allows ventilation between the skin and the material surface.
• the material pieces 26, 27 may, furthermore, have a lower liquid permeability than the centrally arranged material strip 25, whereby they act as liquid barrier means to prevent leakage of body fluid out of the absorption body 13 along the side edges 21, 22.
• the surface material according to the invention as a material strip 25 only, the consumption of the comparatively expensive surface material can be minimized.
• the elastic means 2 stretch out into and wrinkle the cover parts 14 which are located outside the absorption body 13 of the incontinence protector 10.
• the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 requires an additional manufacturing step, during which the separate material pieces 26, 27 along the side edges are affixed to the central material strip 25.
• the central material strip 25 is arranged on an undivided, continuous material layer which forms the material pieces 26, 27 along the side edges 21, 22.
• a material layer thus extends beneath the material strip 25, between this and the absorption body 13 and outwardly on each side of the material strip 25, and forms the edge parts 14 connected to the liquid-impermeable cover layer 12.
• the material strip 25 is affixed on the additional material layer with the elastic means 2 pre-stretched, and that the slits 3 which divide the elastic means 2 are formed through both the material strip 25 and the additional material layer after the lamination has been performed.
• a surface material according to the invention is particularly advantageous when it is used in connection with absorbent articles intended to be held by, and affixed inside, a pair of underpants.
• absorbent articles intended to be held by, and affixed inside, a pair of underpants.
• Such products lack special edge leakage barriers at the side edges. The risk of edge leakage has therefore been rather high with earlier known such articles.
• the surface material according to the invention however, a liquid barrier effect is achieved through the wrinkling, at the same time as the fluid is dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the article, so that the absorbing capacity of the article is better put to use.
• the invention should, however, not be considered to be limited to such use, but the surface material is also suitable for use on childrens diapers, and different types of body-encompassing diapers for heavily incontinent grown ⁇ up persons.
• the elastic means may be attached onto the surface of the surface material which is intended to be facing a user, but are preferably attached onto the surface which is facing away from the user. The risk of chafing and irritation of the user's skin is thus minimized.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20401591

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (14)

Families Citing this family (31)

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• 1996
  • 1996-02-28 SE SE9600765A patent/SE9600765L/ not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1997
  • 1997-02-19 AU AU21080/97A patent/AU2108097A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-02-19 GB GB9703476A patent/GB2310606B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-02-19 WO PCT/SE1997/000270 patent/WO1997031601A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-02-19 NZ NZ330970A patent/NZ330970A/xx unknown
  • 1997-02-19 TR TR1998/01632T patent/TR199801632T2/xx unknown
  • 1997-02-19 JP JP9530444A patent/JP2000505339A/ja active Pending
  • 1997-02-19 EP EP97906366A patent/EP0884992A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1997-02-25 CO CO97010014A patent/CO4810378A1/es unknown
  • 1997-02-25 PE PE1997000135A patent/PE59198A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-02-25 ZA ZA9701612A patent/ZA971612B/xx unknown
  • 1997-02-26 TW TW086102329A patent/TW332149B/zh active
  • 1997-02-26 TN TNTNSN97041A patent/TNSN97041A1/fr unknown
• 1998
  • 1998-02-28 HK HK98101589A patent/HK1002550A1/xx not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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