GB2399278A

GB2399278A - Pant comprising hump in crotch portion

Info

Publication number: GB2399278A
Application number: GB0404404A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lina Strand Backman; Camilla Elfsberg
Original assignee: SCA Hygiene Products AB
Current assignee: Essity Hygiene and Health AB
Priority date: 2003-02-28
Filing date: 2004-02-27
Publication date: 2004-09-15
Also published as: SE0300533D0; GB0404404D0

Abstract

A pair of underpants comprises at least one hump 12 in its crotch portion. The hump portion is intended to hold up an absorbent article, such as a panty liner, sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard against the body of the user. The hump may be detachable or permanently attached to the pant. It may be placed in a pocket (11, Fig 6a) or attached to the crotch portion using attachment means (18, Fig 7) such as glue, hook and loop fastening tape or seams.

Description

TITLE

Pant intended to be used in conjunction with an absorbent article

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a pant to be used in conjunction with an absorbent article, such as a panty liner, a sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard.

BACKGROUND

Different types of smaller absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, panty liners or incontinence guards, commonly have a similar shape and function and are placed in a pant of any type, such as for example an underpart, a panty or the like, upon use.

Usually, the absorbent article is attached to the underpart by glue or by means of any other attachment means arranged on the under side of the article. In order to avoid leakage, it is important that the underpart properly fits tight in the crotch portion of the user such that the absorbent article contacts the lower abdomen of the user by the pressure provided by the underpart against the body of the user. Conventional absorbent articles of this type have an essentially elongated shape with a length direction and a width direction and have two long sides, two short sides, a first end part intended to be facing forwards on the user and a second end part intended to be facing backwards on the user The article has an upper side, which is intended to be facing towards the user during use, and an under side, which is intended to be facing away from the user.

Suitably, the absorbent article comprises a liquid permeable top sheet arranged on its upper side such that it faces towards the user during use and a liquid impermeable back sheet on the under side. An absorption body is arranged between the top sheet and the back sheet. Usually, the article is of uniform thickness over its complete length and width and sanitary napkins are today often not thicker than three to five millimetres. Panty liners are normally thinner than sanitary napkins, since they are not intended for absorbing as big amounts of liquids as sanitary napkins. There are a large number of different shapes of incontinence guards having different length, width and thickness.

A problem during use of absorbent articles of this type is that they may leak, since there is a risk that menstruation fluid, urine or other body fluids are not completely absorbed by the article but force their way out at the side of the article or the underpart of the user. The risk of leakage is especially high when the user is lying down, for example, during use of sanitary napkins in the night-time. A leakage may also be perceived as very unpleasant or embarrassing for the user, since there is then a risk that leaking fluids are absorbed by the garments of the user. Thus, a consequence of a leakage may be that the underpart, the pant or the bedclothes of the user are ruined. One way of reducing the risk of leakage is to provide the articles with liquid barriers, wings or the like that prevent that liquid forces its way out outside the side edges of the article. This type of solutions are not always working satisfactory, since there is still a risk of leakage if the pant is not properly attached to the user. Examples of articles having barriers are given in the document WO 96120678 A1 and examples of wings in the documents US 5,489,283 A and US 6,004,8g3 A. Another way of reducing the risk of leakage is to provide the absorbent article with a hump on the surface of the article which improves the bearing of the surface of the article on the body of the user. An absorbent article having such a hump is described in the document NO 98/22062 A1. The hump is arranged between a liquid permeable top sheet and a liquid impermeable back sheet and has such a structure that it is shape preserving in the transverse direction of the article in wet as well as dry state.

Furthermore, the hump has a shape permanence such that it is not deformed in the transverse direction by the forces acting on the hump during use of the article. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the hump may be formed of a form element of, for example, a stiff plastic material. Absorbent articles having humps have also been described in the publications EP 0 335 252 A2 and EP 0 335 253 A1.

Some of the existing disadvantages of absorbent articles being provided with humps or deformation elements are that they take up much room both during transport and storage and that they are expensive and more complicated to produce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned problems and to provide a safe use of absorbent articles where the risk of leakage is minimized. During use of traditional absorbent articles in an underpart, a good bearing of the article on the body of the user is often not ensured. A consequence of this is that the absorbent article does not contact the lower abdomen of the user to a sufficient extent, whereby a risk arises that menstruation fluid, urine or other body fluids are not completely absorbed by the article but leaks out at the side of the pant.

By using a specially shaped pant, preferably an underpart, in conjunction with an absorbent article, such as a panty liner, a sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard, the risk of leakage may be minimized at the same time as the user is not limited to using only a special type of absorbent article.

The pant in accordance with the present invention, which is intended to be used in conjunction with a smaller absorbent article, such as a panty liner, a sanitary napkin or an incontinence guard, is characterized by that it is provided with a hump in its crotch portion. During use of such a pant having a hump in conjunction with an absorbent article, a sufficiently high pressure against the lower abdomen of the user is created, which ensures a good bearing of the article on the user. In that way it is possible to eliminate the problems described above.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A pant of the type mentioned in the introduction has been achieved by the present invention, which pant essentially overcomes the problems mentioned above. The pant may be an underpart, either a disposable underpart or a non-disposable underpart, within the scope of the invention.

The pant, preferably an underpart, in accordance with the present invention has a front portion and a rear portion, where the front portion is attached to the rear portion in the side portions and the crotch portion of the underpart. Suitably, in order for the underpart to stay up properly around the waist of the user and for providing a soft and flexible closure around the waist and the legs of the user, its waist opening and leg openings are elastic. The fabric, or parts of the fabric, in the front and rear portions may also be elastic in order for the underpart to fit tight around the body. On the inner side of the underpart, a strengthening portion in the form of an extra layer of fabric may be arranged in order for the underpart to be extra durable where the wear is the highest and in order to protect the outer fabric in the crotch portion.

In order for an absorbent article, which is placed in the crotch portion of the underpart, so fit tightly against the lower abdomen of the user, the underpart is provided with a hump. The hump is arranged in that portion of the underpart in which the absorbent article is attached, i e in the crotch portion, and consists of a material body or a so-called form element, which provides a thicker dimension of the underpart in the crotch portion.

By attaching an absorbent article over the form element, a good sealing against the lower abdomen of the user may be achieved by traditional types of sanitary napkins, panty liners or incontinence guards. i The form element has a three-dimensional shape and has its extension in a length direction, a width direction and a height direction, where the different directions on the whole are arranged with a right angle in relation to each other. The height of the form element may vary along both the length and the width directions. The extension of the i form element may also vary depending on the type of pant that it is to be used in.

The form element may either be permanently or detachably attached to the pant. A permanently attached form element may for example be glued, sewed or thermobonded to the inner side of the pant in the crotch portion. Another possibility is to place the form element in the pocket which is formed between the fabric of the pant and the fabric of! the strengthening portion. A detachable form element may for example be attached in the crotch portion of the underpart by means of glue, hooks and loops or press studs.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the form element is detachably enclosed in a pocket between the outer fabric of the pant and a strengthening portion having an opening towards the rear portion of the pant. The front edge of the strengthening portion is attached jQ the front portion and its sides at the leg openings. A cover in the form of a fabric layer overlaps the strengthening portion and forms in that way a pocket opening, 1' through which the form element may be introduced into or taken out of the pocket. The rear portion of the cover is, in similar way as the strengthening portion, attached in the rear portion of the pant and along the crotch openings. The form element is secured during use of the pant by the overlap.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the form element is either permanently or detachably attached in the crotch portion of the pant only in the areas of the front and rear portions of the form element.

Another possibility is to shape the form element as a shell or covering produced of a shape-preserving sheet material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FI:iURES

The invention will in the following be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments which are shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a pant seen from the front.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the inner side of a pant, where the side portions of the front and rear parts are not attached to each other.

Figure 3 shows a view of the pant seen from the side.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of a form element in accordance with the invention i seen from the side.

Figure 5 shows the form element in figure 4 seen from above.

Figure 6a-b show another preferred embodiment of the pant seen from the side and i from above.

Figure 6c shows the pant in conjunction with the form element from the side.

Figure 7 shows a further preferred embodiment of the form element.

Figure B shows a sanitary napkin seen from above.

Figure 9 shows a cross-section along the line IX-IX through the sanitary napkin in figure e.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES AND EMBODIMENTS IN MORE DETAIL 5!

The term pant for use in conjunction with an absorbent article in accordance with the present invention refers to a garment, which is arranged to be worn nearest the body of a user and to fit tight around this one at least in the crotch portion of the user, such as for example an underpart or a panty does. Suitably, the pant is shaped of an elastic material such that it stays up on the user and adjusts its shape after the body of the user. That the pant fits tight around the user is important, since it is to hold up an absorbent article against the lower abdomen of the user. It is possible to shape the model of the pant in different ways within the scope of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of an underpart or a panty is shown in the figures 1-3. In accordance with this embodiment, the underpart consists of a front portion 1 and a rear portion 2. The front portion 1 is attached to the rear portion 2 in the side portions 3 and the crotch portion 4 of the underpart, for example by side seams 5 and crotch seam 6, respectively. The pant has a length direction 20 and a width direction 2l, see figure 2. In order for the underpart to stay up properly around the body of the user and in order to provide for a soft and flexible closure around the waist and the legs of the user, its waist opening 7 and leg openings 8 are provided with waist elastic 9 and leg elastic 10, respectively. Both the leg and the waist elastics may for example consist of elastic means arranged along the edge of the openings or in channels along the openings. The elastic means may in known way be in the form of elastic threads or bands, for example rubber or elastic bands, which are stretched to some degree when the user wears the underpart on the body such that a contractive force provides that the garment stays up. Suitably, the fabric in the front portion 1 and the rear portion 2 is also elastic in order for the underpart to fit tight around the body. Examples of suitable fabric materials are elastic cotton materials, cotton stretch materials, silk, viscose, Iycra, polyester, polyamide, elastane or different forms of material mixtures. On the inner side of the underpart a strengthening portion 11 in the form of an extra layer of fabric may be arranged in order for the underpart to be extra durable where the wear is the highest and in order to protect the outer fabric in the crotch portion 4.

In order for an absorbent article, which is placed in the crotch portion of the underpart, to fit tight against the lower abdomen of the user, the underpart is provided with a hump 12, see figures 2 and 3. The hump 12 is arranged in that portion of the underpart in which the absorbent article is attached, i e in the crotch portion, and consists of a material body or a so-called form element, which provides a thicker dimension of the underpart in the crotch portion. Humps in absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, have the advantage that a very good contact of the article with the lower abdomen of the user is provided, in particular in the area of the lower abdomen in which menstruation fluid is discharged. A disadvantage is that the articles take up much room. They are also expensive to produce. By instead placing a form element 12 in the underpart and then attach an absorbent article over the form element, a good sealing, which is similar to that achieved by humps within the article itself, against the lower abdomen of the user may be achieved by traditional types of sanitary napkins, panty liners or incontinence guards. The form element, which preferably has a resilient action towards the body of the user, may be shaped of a plurality of different suitable materials, such as stiff plastic materials, cellular plastic, wadding, cotton, down, air-filled cushions or the like. It is also possible to use different types of materials for a form element, for example, it may be produced of a covering of plastic material, a fabric material or the like, which is filled with liquid, cellular plastics, wadding, granulated material of different types or the like. Other types of materials that are possible to use for such form elements are different gel materials being enclosed in a covering of for example plastic material. The form element may both be disposable such that it is disposed after each use or non-disposable such that it may be used repeatedly.

The form element 12 has a three-dimensional shape and has its extension in a length direction 30, a width direction 31 and a height direction 32, where the different directions on the whole are arranged at a right angle in relation to each other, see figures and 5.

When the form element is attached in the pant, the length direction 30 and the width direction 31 of the form element correspond to the length and width directions 20, 21 of the pant itself. Preferably, the form element has Its greatest extension in the length direction in order to be fit to the crotch portion of the user in the most suitable way. The height of the form element may vary along both the length and the width directions Suitably, the form element is higher in the rear portion than in the front portion. In the same way, the width of the form element may vary and, suitably, the form element is thinner in the width direction at its rear portion than in its front portion in order for the fitting to be as good as possible. The extension of the form element may vary depending on the type of pant that it is to be used in, but suitably the length 40 of the form element is within the interval 25-300 mm, preferably 30-80 mm, the width 41 of the form element is within the interval 10-50 mm, preferably 15-30 mm and the height 42 of the form element is within the interval 2-40 mm, preferably 4-10 mm. The mentioned dimensions relate to the longest extension of the form element 12 in respective directions, see figures 4 and 5. Furthermore, the Form element 12 has an upper side 13 intended to be facing towards the lower abdomen of the user during use of the pant and an under side 14 which faces towards the crotch portion 4 of the pant.

The form element 12 may either be permanently or detachably attached to the pant. A permanently attached form element may for example be glued, sewed or thermobonded to the surface of the inner side of the pant in the crotch portion. Another possibility is to place the form element in the pocket, which is formed between the fabric of the pant and the fabric of the strengthening portion 11. In that way, the form element is enclosed between the fabric sheets and protected against leakage. It is also possible to attach the form element within the pocket by for example glue. A detachable form element may for example be attached in the crotch portion of the pant by means of glue, press studs, friction means or hook and loop. Suitably, one of the parts of the hook and loop is then arranged on the form element and the other part on the inner side of the pant.

Alternatively, the inner side of the pant may be made of a fabric or the like against which a nook may attach. The advantage of arranging the form element detachable is that the 1i same form element may be used for a plurality of different pants and that it is easier to clean both the form element and the pant.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment, see figures 6a-6c, the form element is detachably enclosed within a pocket between the outer fabric of the pant and a strengthening portion having an opening 16 towards the rear portion. The front edge of the strengthening portion is attached in the front portion 1 and its sides at the leg openings 8 by, for example, seams A cover 15 in the form of a fabric sheet overlaps the strengthening portion 11 and forms in that way a pocket opening through which the form element may be introduced into or removed out of the pocket. The rear portion of the cover is, in a similar way as the strengthening portion, attached in the rear portion 2 and along the crotch openings 8 by, for example, seams. By the overlap, the form element is secured during use of the pant and may then easily be removed upon washing or storage of the pant. It is within the scope of the invention also possible to arrange the opening of the pocket towards the front portion or towards the side. It is also possible to shape the pocket of only one part by omitting the cover portion 15. Then the strengthening portion should be made that big that it covers the complete form element and the pocket opening may suitably be constructed such that it is sealable with hooks and loops, buttons or press studs. A detachable form element may be shaped in a plurality of different ways with different lengths, heights and widths. If a detachable form element is shaped such that it has a varying extension in length, height or width, it may be turned in different directions by the user such that the fitting will be as good as possible.

In accordance with a further preferred embodiment, see figure 7, the form element 12 is either permanently or detachably attached in the crotch portion of the pant only in the areas of the front and rear portions of the form element. The attachment may, for example, be performed by means of attachment means 18 in the form of glue, hooks and loops, seams or the like. In that way a groove 17 is formed between the under side 14 of the form element and the pant. During use of absorbent articles having wings it is with this shape possible to fold in the wings of the article into the groove such that the wings end up against the under side 14 of the form element. The advantage of a shape of this type is that the wings may not be seen from the outer side of the pant and that the movability of the user increases if the article follows the movements of the form element during use of the pant.

Another possibility is to shape the form element as a shell or a covering made of a shape-preserving sheet material, such as for example rigid plastic material, rigid paper, cardboard, a rigid nonwoven material, laminates of different materials or the like It is suitable that a form element in accordance with this embodiment is that shape preserving, at least in its width direction, that the hump withstands the compressive forces that arises on the form element from the thighs of the user without being deformed to a far too high degree.

It is also possible to provide the pant with two or more form elements, which may be detachably or permanently attached in the same way as described above. The form elements may then be placed at different places in the pant and not only in the crotch portion.

Absorbent articles for use in this type of underpart are panty liners, sanitary napkins or incontinence guards. In the following, a thin and formable sanitary napkin suited for the underpart will be described in more detail.

The sanitary napkin 101 in figures 8 and 9 has an essentially elongated shape with a length direction 108 and a width direction 109 and has two long sides 102, 103, two short sides 104, 105, a first end portion 106 intended to be facing forwards on the user and a second end portion 107 intended to be facing backwards on the user. The sanitary napkin has an upperside 110, which during use is intended to be facing towards the user and an under side 111 intended to be facing away from the user.

The sanitary napkin comprises a liquid permeable top sheet 112 arranged on the upper side such that it faces towards the user during the use and a liquid impermeable back sheet 113 on the under side. An absorption body 114 is arranged between the top sheet 112 and the back sheet 113. Suitably, the top sheet and the back sheet are connected to the absorption body by thermobonding or glue. The top sheet 112 and the back sheet 113 may have the same extension in the length and width directions as the absorption body 114, see figures 8 and 9. It is also possible to shape the sanitary napkin such that the top sheet 112 and the back sheet 113 have a greater extension than the absorption body 114 Then the top sheet and the back sheet are connected to each other in the area outside the absorption body around the periphery of the absorption body, whereby side seams are formed around the edge of the sanitary napkin. During production of the sanitary napkin, the different layers may be compressed during the therrnobonding or gluing by an embossed roll, for example, around the edge of the sanitary napkin. It is also possible to emboss a pattern in the article during the production.

In figure 9, a cross-section through the sanitary napkin in figure 8 along line IX-IX is shown. Attachment means in the form of pressure- sensitive glue 115 is arranged on the under side of the sanitary napkin. The glue 115 may cover the complete under side, be applied in parallel strings along the under side or be applied on the under side in another suitable pattern, such as for example in a checked pattern or in spots. A detachable protective layer 116 is arranged over the glue 115 and the protective layer 116 is removed by the user before application of the sanitary napkin in the undergarments of the user. The protective layer 116 may, for example, be a so-called release paper, which may consist of a paper layer being coated with silicone.

The top sheet 112 is that sheet of the sanitary napkin that faces towards the user. The top sheet is liquid permeable and sees to that the liquid that,s to be absorbed by the article may penetrate into the underlaying sheet in an effective way. Preferably, the top sheet 112 consists of a material having properties such as dryness and softness during use of the absorbent article, since it should be comfortable for the user when it bears on the body. It is desirable that the sheet has a soft and textilelike surface, which remains dry upon repeated wettings too. The top sheet may, for example, consist of a nonwoven material having a soft and smooth surface such as, for example, a spunbond of polypropylene flares, a meltblown material or a bonded carded fibre nateriai. In order to keep the surface closest to the skin of the user dry, a hydrophobic nonwoven material being perforated may be used. The apertures form openings in the sheet, which are bigger than the cavities between the fibres in the material. In that way, liquid may be l directed down through the perforated openings in the top sheet down to the underlying absorbent body. Other examples of materials in the top sheet may for example be; perforated films of plastic material, such as perforated polyethylene film, a laminate of a perforated film of plastic material and a nonwoven or a laminate of two or more l nonwoven sheets. Is

Preferably, the back sheet 113 consists of a liquid impermeable material, since the purpose of it is to prevent liquid from being transported out through the back sheet of the article. The back sheet 113 may, for example, be produced of a thin liquid impermeable film of plastic material or of a material that itself is liquid permeable and then coated by a sheet of plastic material, resin or any other liquid impermeable material. Thus, the back sheet 113 may consist of any material that fulfiis the criterion of liquid impermeability such that leakage from the under side is prevented and that has enough flexibility and kindness to the skin for the purpose. Examples of suitable; materials are plastic films of polyethylene, polyester or polypropylene, nonwoven and laminates of nonwoven and plastic films. A back sheet consisting of a laminate of a liquid l impermeable sheet of plastic material facing towards the absorbent body and a nonwoven facing towards the undergarments of the user provides a leakage safe barrier sheet with textile sense. It is also possible to shape the back of the sanitary napkin with a breathable back sheet of for example SMS (spunbond-meltblown-spunbond), of a breathable film of plastic material of for example polyethylene or of a laminate consisting of sheets of the same or different breathable materials.

The purpose of the absorbent body 114 is to absorb liquid and it is suitably produced of one or more sheets of, for example, cellulose mass, absorbent synthetic fibres or mixtures of natural fibres and synthetic fibres. Preferably, the absorbent body 114 consists of a cellulose mass or a so-called airlaid, i e an air laid cellulose body. It is also possible to admix so-called super-absorbents in the absorbent body. A super-absorbent is a polymer having capability to absorb several times its own weight of liquid. The absorbent body 114 may also comprise further components such as shape-stabilizing means, liquid distributing means or binders. It is also possible to use different types of absorbent foam materials in the absorbent article. The absorbent body may be treated chemically or physically in order to change the absorption properties. For example, it is possible to provide an absorbent sheet with compressions in order to direct the liquid flow in the absorbent body. It is also possible to enclose the absorbent sheet or the absorbent sheets in a covering of, for example, tissue material.

An inlet sheet may be arranged between the top sheet and the absorbent body. The S purpose of the inlet sheet is to draw liquid into the absorbent article and to transport the liquid down to the absorbent body 114. The inlet sheet may, for example, be of a nonwoven material having low density.

The sanitary napkin has essentially a uniform thickness along its completelength and width with a thickness, which suitably is within the interval 3-5 mm. The sanitary napkin l may also be provided with wings arranged along the long sides 102, 103. ; During use of an absorbent article, for example a sanitary napkin of the above described type, in a pant in accordance with the invention, the article is placed in the crotch portion of the pant on top of the form element 12 itself. The glue arranged on the under side of the article causes the article to be secured in the pant.

In the foregoing, only one type of pant in accordance with the present invention has bee described. Alternatively, the pant may be shaped of only one piece of fabric. It is also possible to shape the pant of several joined pieces of fabric in known way. Nor does the pant need to be shaped as a conventional panty or underpart as long as one or several form elements may be placed in its crotch portion. It may for example be shaped as a traditional panty, an underpart with long, half-long or short legs or as a string panty.

The invention is not to be considered as being limited to the embodiments above, since these are only Intended to clarify the invention. It is also possible to combine characteristics from different embodiments with each other within the scope of the invention. 11'

Claims

Claims 1. A pant, preferably an underpart or a panty, intended to be used

in conjunction with a smaller absorbent article, such as a panty liner, a sanitary napkin or an s incontinence guard, characterized in, that the pant is provided with at least one hump (12) in its crotch portion (4).
2. A pant according to claim 1, characterized in, that the hump (12) consists of one or more form elements having a three-dimensional shape intended to hold up I the absorbent article against the body of the user.
3. A pant according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that the form element (12) is detachably attached to the pant. I
4. A pant according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that the form element (12) is permanently attached to the pant.
A pant according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in, that the form element (12) is placed in a pocket formed of the material in the crotch portion (4) of the pant and of a strengthening portion (11).
6. A form element intended to be used in conjunction with a pant according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in, that the length (40) of the form element is within the interval 25-300 mm, preferably 30-80 mm, the width (41) of the form ' element is within the interval 10-50 mm, preferably 15-30 mm, and the height I (42) of the form element is within the interval 2-40 mm, preferably 4-10 mm.