FR2756728A3 - absorbent article, e.g. pantie liner - Google Patents

Abstract

Absorbent article (10), used to absorb and retain body fluids, has an upper permeable layer (11), a lower impermeable layer (12) and an intermediate absorbent layer (13) in a sandwich structure. Wings (14) are along the long sides, and a sealing seam (15) is around the periphery. When the wings (14) are opened out, the absorbent layer or the sealing seam is pressed with a longitudinal joint line (20) to form a guide channel for the body fluids (32) and a barrier wall (33) along the inside of each wing (14).

Description

"Absorbent article with stop action
and fluid guidance "
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an absorbent article with an action of stopping and guiding a fluid. The absorbent article may be a sanitary napkin or a diaper provided under the crotch of a user to absorb body fluid with a reliable sealing action.

 Figure 33 shows a conventional absorbent article 10, which includes a fluid permeable top sheet 11, a fluid impervious bottom sheet and an absorbent member 13 sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet. A flap 14 is disposed on each lateral side of the absorbent article. A peripheral seal 15 is formed along the periphery of the absorbent element 13. The flaps 14 and the peripheral seal 15 are formed by welding the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12. In general, the flaps 14 can be folded back on themselves to cover the outside face of the crotch portion of an undergarment and 'attach to it by adhesive plates 17.

Another adhesive plate 16 is placed under the underside of the absorbent article 10 to fix it on the inside of the crotch portion of the undergarment. As a result, the absorbent article 10 is securely retained on the crotch portion without displacement after being worn.

 Conventional flaps serve only to fix the absorbent article, but do not provide any lateral sealing function. Consequently, in some other conventional absorbent articles, two sealing walls are arranged on two lateral sides of the article to prevent lateral leakage.

When the article is worn under the genitals of the human body, the excreted body fluid will first flow over the center of the absorbent element 13 and then towards two ends of this element. Without good sealing walls, body fluid will leak to the outside of the two lateral sides of the absorbent article. Even if the absorbent article is equipped with sealing walls, the sealing walls are often flattened by the human body and lose their sealing function. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 34, in an improved absorbent article, the absorbent element 13 is formed with a central channel for guiding the fluid 21 and by branches 22 at its two ends. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 35, each lateral side of the absorbent element 13 is formed with a fluid guide channel 23, from which it follows that the body fluid can be guided along the channels towards the two ends of the absorbent element 13. Such a measure has only a guiding and distributing action on the fluid, while it cannot guarantee that no lateral leakage will take place, in particular in the case of a large amount of body fluid excreted at night.

 Several patents relating to the present invention are cited as follows.

 1. US Patent No. 4,608,047 (Attachment 1) describes an absorbent article with curved channels for guiding the fluid on the two lateral sides of the absorbent member to distribute the body fluid to the two ends of the absorbent member.

 2. US Patent No. 4,285,343 (Attachment 2) describes an absorbent article with longitudinal seams between the absorbent member and the flaps. The seams serve as a fold line to facilitate folding of the flaps.

 3. US Patent No. 3,575,174 (Attachment 3) describes an absorbent article formed with peripheral seams serving as a fluid guide channel for guiding and distributing the body fluid.

 4. US Patent No. 4,589,876 (Attachment 4) describes an absorbent article in which each flap is formed with a central longitudinal seam serving as a fold line.

 5. US Patent No. 2,721,554 (Attachment 5) describes an absorbent article with transverse channels for guiding the fluid at both ends to prevent body fluid from leaking out of these two ends.

 According to the preceding arrangements, the channels or seams for guiding the fluid are arranged on the absorbent article to guide and distribute the body fluid towards the two ends of the absorbent element so as to avoid lateral leakage, or leakage towards the forward or backward. However, no conventional absorbent article is arranged with seams between the flaps and the absorbent element to obtain both a lateral sealing action and a function of guiding and distributing the fluid.

Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 210504 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2-61000, Filed 8
June 1990) describes a sanitary napkin in which the flap can be folded in the opposite direction as shown in FIGS. 36 to 38. In FIG. 36, the flaps 3A are first folded towards the absorbent element 2 and then folded towards the outside to form points folded in opposite direction 2B on the two lateral sides of the absorbent element 2 (as shown in Figure 37). The points folded in the opposite direction 2B are fixed at adjacent points 3B by thermal fusion or adhesion. The peripheral seal 3C at two ends of the flaps 3A is not fused as shown in FIG. 38.

It can be seen from Figures 36 to 38 that the inner edges of the flaps 3A are completely welded to the lateral sides of the absorbent element without forming a channel or pocket. A channel structure is formed only along the peripheral sealing edge 3C to guide the body fluid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article with a fluid stopping and guiding action, comprising a fluid permeable upper sheet, a fluid impermeable lower sheet and an absorbent member sandwiched between the top sheet and bottom sheet. A flap is disposed on each lateral side of the absorbent article. A peripheral seal is formed along the periphery of the absorbent article. After the flaps have been folded once inward or twice inward and outward, the absorbent member or the peripheral seal is pressed with a longitudinal joining line along a inside folding edge of each flap. The junction line can be a straight or curved line, continuous or discontinuous.

Alternatively, only the two ends of the inner edge of the flap are sealed by two sections of junction line. After the flap has been folded over to cover the outside of the crotch portion of an undergarment, the inside edge of the flap is formed with a fluid guide channel and a barrier wall, from where it As a result, the body fluid is guided to flow along the fluid guide channel and to be distributed towards the two ends of the absorbent element. The barrier wall serves to prevent body fluid from leaking laterally.

 In the case where the two ends of the inner edge of the flap are sealed by two sections of junction line, the middle portion of the flap will be formed in a pocket as a receptacle for body fluid, so as to reliably assume a function of sealing.

According to the preceding arrangement, the present invention has the following three advantages 1. The body fluid is guided along the channels of
fluid guidance and quickly distributed to
two ends of the absorbent element without being con
center at the center of it.

2. Body fluid is prevented by the ar walls
stop fleeing outside through the lateral sides of
the absorbent element.

3. In the case where the middle portion of the flap is shaped
even with a pocket, the pocket is used to receive effec
body fluid and keep it from leaking
outside by the lateral sides of the element
absorbent.

The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention
Figure 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention
Figures 4 to 6 are perspective views of one side of the absorbent article of the present invention, in which the joint line is a continuous line;
Figures 7 to 9 are perspective views of one side of the absorbent article of the present invention, in which the junction line is dotted;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention
Figure 11 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention
Figure 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention
Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along line AA of Figure 10
Figure 14 is a sectional view taken along line BB of Figure 10;
Figure 15 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of Figure 11;
Figure 16 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of Figure 12;
Figures 17 to 22 are top views of the absorbent article of the present invention;
Figure 23 is a front view showing that the absorbent article of the present invention is disposed in the crotch portion of the undergarment;
Figure 24 is a sectional view taken along the line EE in Figure 23;
Fig. 25 is a perspective view showing that the absorbent article of the present invention is disposed in the crotch portion of the undergarment;
Figure 26 is a sectional view showing that the absorbent article of Figure 1 is disposed under the genitals of the human body;
Figure 27 is a sectional view showing that the absorbent article of Figure 2 is disposed under the genitals of the human body;
Figure 28 is a sectional view showing that the absorbent article of Figure 3 is disposed under the genitals of the human body;
Figure 29 is a perspective view of another aspect of the absorbent article of the present invention;
Figure 30 is a front view of the absorbent article of Figure 29, in which one of the flaps is in the stretched state;
Figure 31 is a perspective view showing that the absorbent article of Figure 29 is disposed in the crotch portion of the undergarment;
Figure 32 is a sectional view showing that the absorbent article of Figure 29 is disposed under the genitals of the human body;
Figure 33 is a basic structure of a conventional absorbent article;
Figure 34 is a perspective view of another conventional absorbent article i
Figure 35 is a perspective view of another conventional absorbent article;
Figure 36 is a plan view of another conventional absorbent article
Figure 37 is a sectional view taken along line AA of Figure 36; and
FIG. 38 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 36.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED ACHIEVEMENTS
Referring now to Figure 1. The absorbent article 10 of the present invention comprises a fluid permeable top sheet 11, a fluid impervious bottom sheet 12 and an absorbent member 13 sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet . A flap 14 is disposed on each lateral side of the absorbent article 10. The flap is formed by welding the top sheet 11 and the bottom sheet 12. A peripheral seal 15 is formed along the periphery of the element absorbed. The peripheral seal 15 is also formed by welding the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12. In general, the flaps 14 can be folded backwards to cover the outer face of the crotch portion of an undergarment. so as to reliably retain the absorbent article 10 on the inner face of the crotch portion without displacement after being worn.

 The feature of the present invention lies in that, after the flaps 14 have been folded inwards, the base section of each flap 14 is pressed with a joining line 20 which can be formed under high fusion pressure , such as thermal fusion or ultrasonic fusion. There are three embodiments of the junction line 20 on the absorbent element 13, as follows. According to a first embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the junction line is formed on the absorbent element 13 after the flap 14 has been folded once. In a second embodiment, the junction line is formed on the absorbent element 13 after the flap 14 has been folded twice, as shown in FIG. 2. In a third embodiment, the junction line is formed on the seal device 15 after the flap 14 is folded once, as shown in FIG. 3. Thanks to the above arrangements, the flaps 14 can prevent any lateral leakage and guide the fluid.

 Each of the above three embodiments includes three modifications. To facilitate the description, only the first embodiment is shown by way of example in FIGS. 4 to 6, in which only the right flap is shown for the reason that the left flap has the same shape and the same structure as the right flap . After the flap 14 has been folded once inward, the absorbent member is formed with a junction line 20, which may be a straight line 21 (Figure 4), a curved outward line 22 (Figure 5) or a line curved inward (Figure 6).

 The above junction line 20 is a continuous line. However, as a variant, the junction line 20 can be a dotted or segmented line, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9. In FIG. 7, the junction line 20 is a straight dotted line 21 formed on the absorbent element 13 In Figure 8, the junction line 20 is a dotted line curved outwardly 22, while in Figure 9, the junction line 20 is a dotted line curved inwardly 23. The segmented line is similar to the dotted line and will not be described in further detail below.

 FIG. 10 shows a junction line 20 different from the previous ones; the junction line 20 is formed on the absorbent element 13 or on the peripheral seal 15 after the flap 14 has been folded once or twice. Each end of the flap 14 is welded by a junction line section 24, from which it follows that the two ends of the flap 14 are fixed, while the middle portion of the flap remains free. Consequently, after the flap 14 has been folded outwards, the middle portion will form a gutter 31 in the form of a pocket along each longitudinal edge of the absorbent article 10.

 Alternatively, as seen in FIG. 11, after the flap 14 has been folded twice, each end of the flap 14 of the absorbent element 13 is welded by a section of junction line 24 ', from where it results that the two ends of the flap 14 are fixed, while the middle portion of the flap remains free. Consequently, after the flap 14 has been folded outwards, the middle portion will form a gutter 31.

 In FIG. 12, after the flap 14 has been folded once, each end of the flap 14 on the peripheral seal 15 is welded by a section of junction line 24 ", from which it follows that the two ends of the flap 14 are fixed, while the middle portion of the flap remains free, therefore, after the flap 14 has been folded outwards, the middle portion will form a gutter 31.

 Figure 13 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 10; after the flap 14 has been folded inwards, the flap 14 is welded to the absorbent element 13 by a junction line 24 and is then folded outwards to form a fluid guide channel 32 and a wall stop 33.

This will be described in more detail with reference to Figure 26.

 Figure 14 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of Figure 10, in which, after the flap 14 has been folded inward, since the middle portion of the flap 14 is not welded by the line of junction, after the flap has been folded outward once again, a gutter 31 forms.

In the case where the flap 14 is folded inward over a greater width, after welding by the junction line 24, the gutter 31 will have a greater width. Consequently, the width of the gutter 31 is closely related to the width of the inwardly folded flap 14 and the position of the junction line 24. However, the width W1 of the gutter 31 is proportional to the distance W2 between the junction line 24 and the edge of the absorbent element 13.

In other words, the wider W2, the wider W1 will be.

Conversely, the smaller W2, the smaller W1 will be.

 Figure 15 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of Figure 11, in which, after the flap 14 has been folded inward and then folded outward, the flap 14 is welded to the member absorbent 13 by a junction line 24. Consequently, after having been folded outwards, a fluid guide channel 32, a stop wall 33 and a stop block 34 are formed as will be described more in detail with reference to Figure 27.

 Figure 16 is a sectional view taken along the line DD of Figure 12, in which, after the flap 14 has been folded inward, the flap 14 is welded to the peripheral seal 15 by the junction line 24, from which it follows that a fluid guide channel 32 and a stop wall 33 are formed, as will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 28.

 Figures 17 to 22 are top views of the present invention. In order to facilitate the illustration, two embodiments of the junction lines will be explained by way of example. Each design includes three basic welding measurements. In FIG. 17, after the flap 14 has been folded once inward, each of its ends is welded to the absorbent element 13 by a section of junction line 24. In FIG. 18, after the flap 14 has been folded twice, each of its ends is welded to the absorbent element 13 by a section of junction line 24 '. In FIG. 19, after the flap 14 has been folded once inward, each of its ends is welded to the peripheral seal 15 by a section of junction line 24 ".

 In Figure 20, after the flap 14 has been folded inward once, the flap 14 is welded to the absorbent member 13 by a straight junction line 21. In Figure 21, after the flap 14 has been folded twice, the flap 14 is welded to the absorbent element 13 by a straight junction line 21 '.

In FIG. 22, after the flap 14 has been folded once inwards, the flap 14 is welded to the peripheral seal 15 by a straight junction line 21 ".

 Figure 23 is a front view of an undergarment 40 in which the present absorbent article is disposed. After the absorbent article 10 has been placed on the inside of the crotch portion 41 of the undergarment 40, the flaps 14 are folded over to cover the outside of the crotch portion 41. The underside of the bottom sheet of absorbent article 10 is disposed with an adhesive agent so that absorbent article 10 can be attached to the inside of crotch portion 41.

Furthermore, the underside of the flaps 14 can be fixed under the exterior face of the crotch portion 41 by adhesive plates.

 Figure 24 is a sectional view taken along the line EE of Figure 23, in which the absorbent article 10 is placed in the crotch portion 41 of the undergarment 40 with the flaps 14 folded inwardly to cover the outer face of the crotch portion 41. After the flap 14 has been folded inwards, a longitudinal gutter 31 (or fluid guide channel 32) is formed. The folded edge of the flap 14 along the junction line is formed with a stop wall 33, whereby the body fluid will flow along the gutter 31 or the fluid guide channel 32 to spread longitudinally in the direction of the two ends of the absorbent element 13. The stop wall 33 serves to prevent any lateral leakage of the bodily fluid.

 Figure 25 shows the application of the absorbent article of Figure 10. The absorbent article 10 is placed in the crotch portion 41 of the undergarment 40, with the flaps 14 folded inwardly folded across the edges side 42 thereof to cover the outer face of the crotch portion 41. The flap 13 is folded once inwardly and is welded to the absorbent element 13 by two sections of junction line 24 at the two ends, so that the middle portion of the flap 14 is formed with a gutter 31. Consequently, after the body fluid has flowed into the gutter 31, the body fluid will be guided to circulate along the gutter 31 in the direction of its two ends. Because the flap 14 is impermeable to the fluid, the body fluid is prevented from leaking out through the side edges of the absorbent article 10.

 Figure 26 shows the application of the absorbent article of Figure 1 on the genitals 50 of the human body; the underside of the absorbent element 10 is fixed to the surface of the crotch portion 41 of the undergarment by an adhesive plate 16, while the flaps 14 are folded inwardly across the side edges 42 of the crotch portion 41 to be fixed on the outer face of the crotch portion 41 by the adhesive plates 17. After the flaps 14 have been folded inwards, the adhesive plates 17 cause the flaps 14 to be stretched in direction of the outer edges of the crotch portion 41 so as to present the fluid guide channel 32 along the inner edge of each flap 14. Furthermore, the stop wall 33 is formed on the inner edge of the flap 14 Thanks to the fluid guide channel 32, the body fluid is distributed towards the two ends of the absorbent element 13. The stop wall 33 serves to prevent the body fluid from leaking laterally.

 Figure 27 shows the application of the absorbent article of Figure 2 on the genitals 50 of the human body; a stop block 34 is formed on the inner side of each flap 14 and the fluid guide channel 32 and the stop wall 33 are formed under the stop block 34. Thanks to the fluid guide channel 32 , the body fluid is distributed towards the two ends of the absorbent element 13. The stop block 34 serves to prevent the body fluid from leaking laterally.

 Figure 28 shows the application of the absorbent article of Figure 3 on the genitals 50 of the human body; the fluid guide channel 32 and the stop wall 33 are formed on the inside of each flap 14. Thanks to the fluid guide channel 32, the body fluid is distributed towards the two ends of the absorbent element 13. The barrier wall 33 serves to prevent body fluid from leaking laterally.

 Figure 29 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which, after the flap 14 has been folded twice, the two ends of the flap are welded to form two terminal blocks 25. As a result, an opening 35 and a long gutter 36, as well as a stop wall 37, are formed on the inner edge of the flap 14. The opening 35 allows body fluid to enter the long gutter 36, while the long gutter 36 serves to receive the fluid and guide it to distribute it towards its two ends. The barrier wall 37 serves to prevent body fluid from leaking laterally.

 As seen in Figure 30, the flap of the above absorbent article 10 has a different design from that of the previous embodiment. In FIG. 30, only one flap 14 of the absorbent article 10 is stretched, while the other flap 14 'is folded twice and welded at its two ends. The flap 14 has a wider section 141 and a narrower section 142. The wider section 141 is connected to the outer edge of the peripheral seal 15 by a long fold line 143. The narrower section 142 is connected to the outer edge of the wider flap 141 by a long fold line 144. The wider and narrower sections, 141, 142, are arranged symmetrically. When folding the flap 14, the fold line 143 serves as the initial fold line, while the fold line 144 serves as the second fold line. The two ends of the flap 14 are finally welded to form two terminal blocks 25.

The terminal blocks 25 weld only the wider section 141 to the absorbent element 13 or the peripheral seal 15, while the narrower section 142 is thus not welded.

 Referring to Figure 31, after the flaps 14 have been folded over to cover the outside of the crotch portion 41, the flap 14 is subjected to a tensile force to form a long longitudinal gutter 36 and a wall d stop 37.

When placed under the genitals of the human body, as shown in FIG. 32, the long gutter 36 serves as a receptacle for guiding the body fluid and distributing it towards the two ends. The barrier wall 37 serves to prevent body fluid from leaking laterally.

 It should be understood that the foregoing description and the drawings are only used to illustrate certain embodiments of the present invention, and are in no way intended to limit their scope.

Any variation and deviation from the above description and the drawings should be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (13)

 1. Absorbent article (10) having a fluid stopping and guiding action, comprising an upper fluid-permeable sheet (11), a lower fluid-impermeable sheet (12) and an absorbent member (13) sandwiched between the top sheet and the bottom sheet, a flap (14) disposed on each lateral side of the absorbent article, a peripheral seal (15) being formed along the periphery of the absorbent article, said absorbent article ( 10) being characterized in that, after the flaps (14) have been folded outwards, the absorbent element (10) or the peripheral seal (15) is pressed with a longitudinal joining line (20) the along an interior folding edge of each flap, the junction line (20) defining a fluid guide channel (32) and a barrier wall (33) along the interior edge of each flap.  2. Absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein, after the flap (14) has been folded inward once, the inner edge of the flap is welded to the absorbent member by the junction line (24) to forming a fluid guide channel (32) and a stop wall (33).  3. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein, after the flap has been folded inward and outward twice, the inner edge of the flap is welded to the absorbent member by the joining line (24 ) to form a fluid guide channel (32), a stop wall (33) and a stop block (34).  4. Absorbent article according to claim 1, in which, after the flap (14) has been folded inward once, the inner edge of the flap is welded to the peripheral seal (15) by the junction line ( 24) to form a fluid guide channel (32) and a stop wall (33).  5. Absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line (20) is a straight line (21).  6. absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line (20) is an outwardly curved line (22).  7. Absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line (20) is an inwardly curved line (23).  8. Absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line is a continuous line.  9. absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line is a dotted line.  10. Absorbent article according to one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the junction line is a segmented line.  11. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein, after the flap (14) has been folded inward once, the two ends of the inner edge of the flap are welded to the absorbent member (13) by two sections junction line (24), whereby a middle portion of the flap is formed with a gutter (31) and the inner edge of the flap is formed with a barrier wall (33).  12. Absorbent article according to claim 1, in which, after the flap has been folded inward and outward twice, the two ends of the inner edge of the flap are welded to the absorbent element (13) by two sections of junction line, from which it follows that a middle portion of the bat bat is formed with a gutter (31) and that the inner edge of the flap is formed with a stop wall (33) and a block d '' stop (34).  13. The absorbent article as claimed in claim 1, in which, after the flap has been folded once inward, the two ends of the inner edge of the flap are welded to the peripheral seal (15) by two sections of line of junction, where it follows that a middle portion of the flap is formed with a gutter (31) and that the inner edge of the flap is formed with a stop wall (33).