GB2035092A

GB2035092A - Absorbent article

Info

Publication number: GB2035092A
Application number: GB7933831A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Current assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Priority date: 1978-09-28
Filing date: 1979-09-28
Publication date: 1980-06-18
Also published as: FR2437203B1; GB2110539B; PT70239A; CH643133A5; DE2938360A1; GB2035092B; ATA629979A; CA1177633A; NL7907203A; IT1120594B; IT7950402A0; GR71661B; BR7906189A; DK405279A; IE48950B1; AT385183B; IE791853L; GB2110539A; ES254648U; FR2437203A1

Abstract

An absorbent article (10) comprising, a liquid pervious top sheet (14), a backing sheet (16) of fluid pervious material, an absorbent pad (12) intermediate the top and backing sheets, and a coating (50) of breathable adhesive substantially covering a front surface (38) of the backing sheet (16) facing the pad (12) to define a liquid repellent barrier for liquids received in the pad (12). The backing sheet (16) also preferably has a pair of opposed end sections (48) extending past the end edges (42) of the top sheet and having a coating of adhesive (50) on the front surface, and a pair of release sheets (52) covering the adhesive on the end sections. The article is useful as a surgical dressing, as a disposable diaper or a sanitary napkin, particularly for absorbing aqueous body fluids. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Absorbent article The present invention relates to absorbent articles, and more particularly to surgical dressings, disposable diapers, and sanitary napkins.

The typical manner of dressing a wound subsequent to surgery, such as in the abdominal region, is as follows. First, a primary dressing, such as a guaze sponge is placed by the attendant over the wound. Next, an absorbent dressing, termed a secondary dressing, is placed over the primary dressing, and is secured in place. In use, body fluids pass through the primary dressing into the secondary dressing for absorption and retention therein.

Although such a dressing procedure has been used for many years, the prior secondary dressings do not provide an adequate barrier against passage of liquid completely through the secondary dressing, particularly if pressure is applied to the secondary dressing during use. Once liquid passes completely through the secondary dressing, "termed liquid strike through", the liquid provides a ready path for passage of bacteria through the dressing to the wound with possible deleterious results to the patient. However, it is not sufficient to merely place a liquid impervious barrier over the dressing to prevent "strike through", since the dressing must have the capability of passing water vapour and gas through the dressing to permit the wound to breathe and promote healing, and usual liquid impervious barriers prevent such breathing.Also, prior dressing have required an excessive amount of time for their application to the patient, resulting in inconvenience to the hospital personnel.

Other absorbent articles such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins are conventionally provided with liquid (usually water)-impervious backsheets and it is desirable that these articles also have "breathability" for improved comfort.

A A feature of the present invention is to provide an improved absorbent article of sim piified construction.

The articles of the present invention comprise, a liquid pervious top sheet, a backing sheet of fluid pervious material, an absorbent pad intermediate the top and backing sheets, and a coating of breathable liquid repellent adhesive substantially covering a front surface of the backing sheet facing the pad. The backing sheet preferably has a pair of opposed end sections extending past end edges of the top sheet, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive on a front surface of the end sections. The absorbent article is also preferably provided with a pair of release sheets releasably attached to the adhesive on the end sections.

The liquid repellent adhesive on the backing sheet facing the pad provides a liquid repellent barrier for liquids received in the pad and minimizes the possibility of "liquid strike through" of body fluids during the use of the absorbent device. The adhesive is also breath- able to permit passage of air therethrough and in the case of a surgical dressing, to promote healing of the patient's wound.

The coated backing sheet is also substantially impervious to passage of bacteria therethrough. Thus, a dressing in accordance with this invention minimizes the possibility of contamination by bacteria to the patient's wound.

A feature of the invention is that the adhesive contacts and stabilizes the pad when wetted during use.

In a preferred embodiment of an article according to the invention, removable release sheets are provided on the end sections of the backing sheet to permit convenient attachment of the dressing to the patient through use of the end sections.

A further feature of the present invention is that absorbent articles and in particular surgical dressings may be constructed in a simplified and inexpensive manner.

The invention may be put into practice in a number of ways and two embodiments will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a back plan view of a surgical dressing in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a front plan view of the dressing of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and Figure 5 is a sectional view at one end of a disposable diaper in accordance with the present invention.

Figs. 1 to 4 show a surgical dressing generally designated 10 having an absorbent pad 12, a liquid pervious top sheet 14, and a backing sheet 16 of liquid pervious material. The pad 12 has a front surface 18, a back surface 20, a pair of side edges 22, and a pair of end edges 24 connecting the side edges 22. The pad 12 may be constructed from any suitable material, such as a mass of loosely formed cellulose fibres formed by comminuting wood pulp, .ermed wood fluff in the art.

The front or top sheet 14 has a front surface 26 for facing the patient during use of the dressing, and a back surface 28 facing the pad 12. The top sheet 14 also has a pair of opposed side edges 30 defining side margins 32 (see Fig. 4) extending past the side edges 22 of the pad 12, and a pair of opposed end edges 34 connecting the side edges 30 and defining a pair of opposed end margins 36 extending past the end edges 24 of the pad 12. The top sheet 14 may be made of a polyester-rayon non-woven material, such as micrexed Novonette (Regist ered Trade Mark) SP 117, available from The Kendall Company, Boston, Massachusetts.

The backing sheet 16 has a front surface 38 facing toward the pad 12, and a back surface 40 facing away from the patient dur ing use of the dressing. The backing sheet 16 has a pair of opposed side edges 42 defining a pair of opposed side margins 44 extending past the side edges 22 of the pad 12 (see Fig.

4), and a pair of end edges 46 connecting the side edges 32 and defining a pair of opposed end sections 48 extending past both the end edges 24 of the pad and the end edges 34 of the top sheet 14, with the end section 48 extending substantially the width of the dressing (see Fig. 3). The backing sheet 16 may suitably be constructed of the non-woven material previously identified in connection with the top sheet 14.

The backing sheet 16 also has a layer or coating of liquid repellent, breathable adhesive 50 substantially covering the front surface 38 of the backing sheet 16 including the front surface of the backing sheet end sections 48. A suitable adhesive of this type comprises an acrylic based adhesive on a tape, such as Tenderskin No. 1596 (Registered Trade Mark) available from The Kendall Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Thus, the adhesive 50 forms a liquid repellent barrier over the back surface 20 of the pad 12 in order to minimize the possibility of "liquid strike through" of body fluids during the use of the dressing, and provides a barrier against passage of bacteria to minimise the possibility of contamination to the patient's wound during the use of the dressing.The adhesive and backing sheet 16 permit passage of air therethrough, such that the dressing allows the patient's skin to breathe promoting healing of the patient's wound. Further, the adhesive 50 may be used to bond the side margins 32 of the top sheet 14 to the side margins 44 of the backing sheet 16, in addition to the end margins 36 of the top sheet 14 to the inner portions of the backing sheet end sections 48. The adhesive 50 also contacts the back surface 20 of the pad 12 in order to stabilize the pad when it is wetted during use of the dressing. As shown, the dressing has a pair of release sheets 52 of suitable type releasably attached to and covering the adhesive 50 on the backing sheet end sections 48.Thus, the release sheets 52 may be peeled from the end sections 48 of the backing sheet 16 to expose the underlying adhesive 50 and permit convenient securement of the dressing to the patient by the end sections 48 during placement of the dressing on the patient.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the backing sheet 16 of the dressing has a suitable adhesive which provides a liquid repellent barrier for the dressing, and stabil izes the dressing pad during use. The adhesive on the backing sheet also may be utilized to secure the top and backing sheets together, and the backing sheet end sections and associated adhesive provide a convenient medium for attaching the dressing to the patient during placement, thus eliminating the need for separate tape strips or securing devices. It will also be apparent that a dressing in accordance with the present invention may be constructed in a simplified manner and at a reduced cost by merely spreading adhesive on the backing sheet and securing the components of the dressing together.

The present invention is also applicable to disposable diapers and sanitary napkins wherein there are present at least the basic elements of a pervious top sheet, a backing sheet and an absorbent means between said other two elements. Generally, in these structures, the backing sheet has been a liquid impervious member such as a film of polyethylene. In all of these structures the present invention is applicable by substituting the breathable, liquid repellent adhesive-coated fluid pervious back sheet shown herein for the liquid impervious backsheets heretofore used.

Examples of suitable structures can be found in U.S. patents 4,047,531; 4,050,462; 4,054,1414,055,180; 4,055,184; 5,057,0614,072,151; 4,090,515; 4,090,5164,100,922 and 4,108,179.

Fig. 5 represents a diaper 60 in a box pleated configuration having a fluid pervious back sheet 62, carrying a layer or coating of liquid repellent, breathable adhesive 64 similar to 50 in Fig. 3, a fluid pervious top sheet 66 and an absorbent pad therebetween (not shown). The diaper is preferably of a generally hour-glass shape. A suitable tape fastener 68 is shown adjacent the side edges 70 attached to the front surface 72 of the diaper. A tape release sheet 74 is also shown attached to the diaper front surface. The fastener 68 has one end 76 secured to the diaper back sheet and a securement portion 78 releasably attached to the release sheet 74. Tabs 80 at the ends 82 are provided for releasing the fastener for use. The diaper is preferably provided with the opposed edges having elastic means in at least the crotch region of the diaper and the elastic means is preferably attached to the backing sheet.

Claims

1. An absorbent article comprising, a liquid pervious top sheet, a backing sheet of fluid pervious material, an absorbent pad intermediate the top and backing sheets, and a coating of breathable liquid repellent adhesive substantially covering a front surface of the backing sheet facing the pad.

2. An article as claimed in claim 1, in which the top sheet includes a pair of opposed end edges, the backing sheet having a pair of opposed end sections extending past the end edges of the top sheet, the end sections including an adhesive on the front surface, and a pair of release sheets releasably attached to the said adhesive on the end sections.

3. An article as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the marginal edges of the backing and top sheets are secured together around the periphery of the pad by the said adhesive.

4. An article as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the top sheet comprises a non woven material.

5. An article as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, in which the backing sheet comprises a non-woven material.

6. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the pad comprises cellulose fibres.

7. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the adhesive contacts the back surface of the pad.

8. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the adhesive comprises an acrylic based adhesive.

9. A surgical dressing comprising, a liquid pervious top sheet having a pair of opposed end edges, a backing sheet of liquid pervious material having a pair of end sections extending past the end edges of the top sheet, an absorbent pad intermediate the backing and top sheets, an adhesive on a front surface of the end sections, and a pair of release sheets releasably attached to the adhesive on the said end sections.

10. A dressing as claimed in claim 9, in which the end sections extend substantially the width of the dressing.

11. A surgical dressing substantially as specifically described herein with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.

12. An article as claimed in claim 1, in the form of a disposable diaper in a boxpleated configuration.

13. An article as claimed in claim 1, in the form of a disposable diaper in a generally hour-glass shape.

14. A disposable diaper as claimed in claim 12 or 13, in which the opposed edges have elastic means in at least the crotch region of the diaper.

15. A disposable diaper as claimed in claim 14, in which the elastic means is attached to the backing sheet.

16. A disposable diaper substantially as specifically described herein with reference to Fig. 5.