JP2001258936A - Absorptive article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an absorptive article having an appearance giving a favorable impression. SOLUTION: In this absorptive article 1 having a front layer 2, a rear layer 3, and an absorption layer 4, the layer 4 contains a colored functional material which imparts a prescribed function to the article 1 and is colored in a prescribed color in such a degree that the color of the layer 4 diminishes the color of the functional material and can be recognized visibly when the article 1 is viewed from the front layer 2 side or rear layer 3 side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an absorbent article, and more particularly to an absorbent article particularly preferably used as a sanitary napkin, vaginal sheet, disposable diaper and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A functional material having various functions such as a deodorizing function, an antibacterial function, and a heating function is contained in an absorbent article such as a sanitary napkin or a disposable diaper. It is known that various functions are imparted to a sexual article. Most of the functional materials are black, brown,
It is colored, such as yellow. Therefore, when such a colored functional material is contained in an absorbent article, the user tends to give a negative impression such as unsanitary or old-fashioned, and there is a problem in appearance.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article having a good appearance impression. The present invention also provides
An object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article having a high concealing property of a colored functional material. Another object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that can prevent the functional material from falling off.

[0004]

The present invention relates to an absorbent article having a liquid-permeable surface layer, a liquid-impermeable back layer, and a liquid-retentive absorbing layer interposed between both layers. Contains a colored functional material that imparts a predetermined function to the absorbent article, and the absorbent layer has the function described above when the absorbent article is viewed from the surface layer side or the back layer side. The above object has been achieved by providing an absorbent article which is colored in a predetermined color so as to reduce the color of the conductive material and to make the color of the absorbing layer visible.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. In FIG.
FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the sanitary napkin according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of the absorbent body in the sanitary napkin shown in FIG. 3
Fig. 1 shows the structure of the absorbent in the sanitary napkin shown in Fig.
A sectional view taken along the line III is shown.

The sanitary napkin 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
A topsheet 2 which has a vertically long shape and forms a liquid-permeable surface layer, a backsheet 3 which forms a liquid-impermeable back layer, and a liquid interposed between the topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3 It has an absorber 4 as a holding absorbing layer. The top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 extend outward from the peripheral edge of the absorber 4, and the two sheets 2, 3 are joined by a predetermined joining means at the extended portion, and hold the absorber 4. I have.

On the outer surface of the back sheet 3, an adhesive layer (not shown) for fixing the napkin 1 to the wearer's clothes is formed. This pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is made of a release paper (not shown).
And is protected until the napkin 1 is used. As the top sheet 2, various nonwoven fabrics, perforated ones, perforated films, and the like are used. In the present embodiment, a perforated nonwoven fabric is used. As the back sheet, a film made of a thermoplastic resin and having or not having moisture permeability is used. As the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and the release paper, those similar to those used for conventional napkins can be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the absorbent body 4 has an absorbent sheet 4a as an absorbent section which is folded in a C-shape so that the right and left sides thereof overlap each other, and the entire upper and lower surfaces of the absorbent sheet 4a. A colored sheet 4b as a colored layer to be coated. Similar to the absorption sheet 4a, the coloring sheet 4b
Is also folded into a C-shape so that the left and right sides overlap. As shown in FIG. 3, the front and rear ends of the absorbing sheet 4a are sealed by joining the opposing colored sheets 4b in a bag shape by a predetermined joining means. As described above, the entire absorption sheet 4a is covered with the coloring sheet 4b, and there is no portion exposed to the outside.

A shielding sheet 5 as an intermediate layer is disposed between the absorber 4 and the top sheet 2 so as to cover the entire upper surface of the absorber 4.

Thus, in the napkin 1 of the present embodiment, the absorbent sheet 4a of the absorbent body 4 contains a fiber material, particles of a highly absorbent polymer, and particles of a functional material. The absorbent sheet 4a is configured such that particles of the superabsorbent polymer and particles of the functional material are three-dimensionally dispersed and arranged between the fiber materials in the sheet made of the fiber material. More specifically, the functional material particles have a structure in which the functional material particles are bonded and fixed to the fiber material via the superabsorbent polymer particles. This effectively prevents the particles of the superabsorbent polymer and the particles of the functional material from falling off. The absorbent sheet 4a having such a structure is disclosed in, for example, the international publication W of the applicant's earlier application.
The details are described in page 00, line 5 to page 6, line 12 of 00/04938.

The functional material provides the napkin 1 with a predetermined function. Such functions include, for example, a deodorizing / deodorizing function, an antibacterial function, an aroma function, a water absorption holding function, a heating function, and the like.

The functional material has a color such as black, brown or yellow. In the present specification, the term “color” means a color other than white, and includes both chromatic and achromatic colors. As a functional material exhibiting such a color,
Examples include, but are not limited to, black activated carbon particles used for deodorization and deodorization, and black or brown iron powder used for warming. In the present embodiment, black activated carbon particles are used as the functional material, and the absorption sheet 4a has an appearance in which black spots are scattered on a white background due to the activated carbon particles.

The colored sheet 4b that covers the upper and lower surfaces of the absorbing sheet 4a is colored in a predetermined color, in this embodiment, a color different from the color of the functional material, and has a color. The meaning of the color is as described above, and therefore, in order to increase the concealing property in the conventional absorbent article, for example, by mixing a white colorant such as titanium oxide in the back sheet to make the back sheet opaque, the coloring of the present invention Not included in the concept. Further, when the napkin 1 is viewed from the top sheet 2 side or the back sheet 3 side, the absorbent sheet 4b is colored so as to reduce the color of the functional material and to such an extent that the color of the colored sheet 4b is visible. ing. As described above, the absorbent sheet 4a
Since it has an appearance in which black spots are scattered on a white background, if the absorber 4 is composed of only this, the napkin 1 will be replaced with the top sheet 2
When viewed from the side, the black spots are seen through and cause a decrease in the impression of the appearance of the napkin 1, but by using the colored sheet 4b colored to the above-described degree,
The black point is hidden and the color due to the black point is reduced,
The impression of the appearance of the napkin 1 is prevented from lowering. Further, depending on the coloring method, a pattern may be formed on the napkin 1.
Is given a design property and added value is added. In addition, in the present embodiment, as described above, the absorption sheet 4a is entirely covered with the coloring sheet 4b, and there is no site exposed to the outside. The particles of the superabsorbent polymer and the particles of the functional material are more effectively prevented from falling off.

The colored sheet 4b has a L-based color system of L = 20-80, especially 30-60, a = -50-
50, especially -40 to 10, b = -50 to 50, especially -4
It is preferable to be colored so that 0 to 10 and ΔE (H) = 20 to 80, particularly 30 to 50. These values were measured using a color difference meter SZ- # 80 (trade name) manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd., reflection 1, measurement diameter 30 mmφ, light source C / 2,
It is measured under the condition that the black pressing plate Lab = (6, 0, 0).

The coloring sheet 4b is made of a paper, a pulp sheet, or a non-woven fabric made of a fiber material, and the coloring material 4b is colored to give a predetermined color. Examples of the fiber material include natural fibers or regenerated fibers having a hydrophilic surface such as pulp, rayon, and cotton, and synthetic fibers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and polyamide. When the fiber material is a hydrophilic natural fiber or a regenerated fiber, the fiber material can be colored by adsorbing a coloring agent such as a dye on the surface of the fiber material. On the other hand, when the fiber material is a synthetic fiber, a master batch of a coloring agent such as a pigment is kneaded in advance into a resin constituting the synthetic fiber, and the fiber material is colored by spinning the fiber from the resin. can do. When a core-sheath type synthetic fiber is used, the core is preferably colored.

In order to form the colored sheet 4b from the fiber material, various nonwoven fabric manufacturing methods such as a wet papermaking method, a dry papermaking method, a spunbond method, a spunlace method and a heat bond method can be used. In particular, when a nonwoven fabric is used as the colored sheet 4b, the nonwoven fabric formed by a heat bonding method using a core-sheath fiber whose core portion is colored is preferable. When the colored sheet thus obtained is not hydrophilic or has a low degree of hydrophilicity, it is preferable to perform a predetermined hydrophilic treatment.

The shielding sheet 5 is made of a material such as paper, pulp sheet, and non-woven fabric, and has liquid permeability.
When the material is not hydrophilic or has a low degree of hydrophilicity, it is preferable to perform a predetermined hydrophilic treatment. Also,
The shielding sheet 5 is white or colorless, and has such a light transmittance that the color of the absorber 4, that is, the color of the colored sheet 4 b is visible when the napkin 1 is viewed from the top sheet 2 side. When the shielding sheet 5 is not provided, the color of the absorber 4 is visually recognized through the top sheet 2 having relatively high light transmittance, and in some cases, gives the user a bright impression. This is especially true when the color of the absorber 4 is directly visually recognized through the perforations formed in the top sheet as in the present embodiment. On the other hand, by using the shielding sheet 5, the color of the absorber 4 is alleviated, giving the user a soft pastel-like impression. Further, in some cases, it is difficult to finely adjust the color when the absorber 4 is colored, but the use of the shielding sheet 5 facilitates the adjustment.

The degree of color transmittance of the shielding sheet 5 is such that the color of the absorber 4 is L = 5 to 50, a = -50 to 50, b = -50.
When ５０50, the color of the absorber 4 measured through the top sheet 2 of the napkin 1 is L = 50 to 95, a =
-20 to 20, b = -20 to 20, especially L = 70 to 9
5, a = −10 to 10, b = −10 to 10, ΔE
It is preferable that (H) = 5 to 20, particularly 7 to 15.

The shielding sheet 5 has a bulk softness of 3 from the viewpoint of preventing the fitting property and the feeling of the napkin 1 from deteriorating due to the rigidity of the napkin 1 becoming excessively high.
-100 cN, particularly preferably 5-30 cN. Bulk softness is measured by the following method.

<Method of Measuring Bulk Softness> The shielding sheet 5 is cut into a rectangular shape such that the length in the length direction corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the napkin 1 is 140 mm and the length in the width direction is 30 mm ( For the sake of measurement, the front and rear ends in the longitudinal direction may be semicircular or trapezoidal. The cut-out rectangular shielding sheet 5 is formed into a cylinder (the overlapping portion at both ends is about 5 mm) so that its length direction is the circumferential direction.
And the staples are overlapped [Max Co., Ltd.
No. 10-1M needle], two cylindrical portions are fixed at 10 mm intervals to obtain a cylindrical measurement sample having a height of 30 mm. The obtained measurement sample was subjected to a Tensilon compression tester (“RTM-2” manufactured by Toyo Baldwin Co., Ltd.).
5 "), and compressed by a compression plate in the axial direction of the cylinder at a compression speed of 10 mm / min. The initial position of the compression plate is about 32 mm, which is slightly larger than the initial sample width. The sample is compressed to a position where the measurement sample width (height) becomes 15 mm, and the average value of the maximum stress values (n = 3) is defined as the value of bulk softness.

The back sheet 3 of the napkin 1 of the present embodiment is colored in the same hue as the color of the absorber 4, that is, the color of the colored sheet 4b. Thereby, the absorber 4
And the back sheet 3 are harmonized, and the appearance impression when the napkin 1 is viewed from the top sheet 2 side is further improved. Further, when the napkin 1 is viewed from the back sheet 3 side, an effect of shielding the functional material also occurs.

The degree of coloring of the back sheet 3 is such that the value of ΔE (H) with the colored sheet 4b is 0 to 35, particularly 5 to 20, so that the appearance impression of the napkin 1 is further improved. It is preferable from the point of doing.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the upper and lower surfaces of the absorbing sheet 4a are covered with the colored sheet 4b, but only the upper surface of the upper and lower surfaces of the absorbing sheet 4a may be covered with the colored sheet 4b. Only one may be coated. Covering the upper surface of the absorbent sheet 4a with the colored sheet 4b is effective in that when the absorbent article of the present invention is applied to a sanitary napkin or a vagina sheet, the impression to the user becomes good. Covering the lower surface of the absorbent article with the colored sheet 4b is effective when the absorbent article of the present invention is applied to a disposable diaper or an incontinence pad.

In the above embodiment, the entire upper and lower surfaces of the absorbent sheet 4a are covered with the colored sheet 4b. However, each surface may be partially covered with the colored sheet 4b.

In the above embodiment, the absorber 4
Consisted of a portion containing the functional material (ie, the absorbent sheet 4a) and a portion colored (ie, the colored sheet b), but instead of the functional material, May be colored at the site where is contained, and the entire absorber may be colored in a predetermined color. Further, by using the colored fiber material for a part of the fiber material constituting the absorber 4, the entire absorber 4 may be colored in a predetermined color.

Further, in the above embodiment, the back sheet 3 is colored to have substantially the same hue as the color of the absorber 4, but the back sheet 3 may not be colored.

The absorbent article of the present invention is not limited to sanitary napkins but can be applied to vaginal discharge sheets, disposable diapers, incontinence pads and the like.

[0028]

According to the absorbent article of the present invention, the color of the colored functional material contained in the absorber is concealed and the appearance impression is improved. In particular, by covering the functional material with a colored sheet, the functional material is effectively prevented from falling off.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a sanitary napkin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an absorbent body II in the sanitary napkin shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II.

FIG. 3 shows an absorbent body II in the sanitary napkin shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-III.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sanitary napkin (absorbent article) 2 Top sheet 3 Back sheet 4 Absorber 4a Absorbent sheet 4b Colored sheet 5 Shielding sheet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuyuki Kigada 2606 Kabane-cho, Akaga-cho, Haga-gun, Tochigi Pref. (72) Inventor Minoru Nakanishi 2606 Kabane-cho, Akabane-cho, Haga-gun, Tochigi Pref. F term (reference) 3B029 BA05 BA17 4C003 AA02 4C098 AA09 CC03 CE06 DD03 DD05

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An absorbent article having a liquid-permeable front layer, a liquid-impermeable back layer, and a liquid-retentive absorbent layer interposed between the two layers, wherein the absorbent layer is provided on the absorbent article. Contains a colored functional material that imparts the function of, the absorbent layer reduces the color of the functional material when the absorbent article is viewed from the front layer side or the back layer side. And an absorbent article colored in a predetermined color such that the color of the absorbing layer is visible. 2. The absorption layer contains a fibrous material as one of its main constituent materials, and a colorant is adsorbed on the surface of the fibrous material, or a colorant is contained in the fibrous material. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the absorbing layer is colored. 3. A liquid-permeable intermediate layer is provided between the absorbent layer and the surface layer, and the intermediate layer is provided when the absorbent article is viewed from the surface layer side. 3. The light-transmitting material of claim 1 or 2, wherein the light-transmitting property is such that the color of the color is visible.
The absorbent article according to the above. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the absorbing layer has an absorbing portion containing the functional material, and a colored layer located on the upper or lower surface of the absorbing portion and colored in a predetermined color. The absorbent article according to any one of the above. 5. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the back layer is colored to have substantially the same hue as the color of the absorbing layer.