JP2007215804A - Absorbent article - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an absorbent article capable of satisfying the preferences of various types of users and reducing mental burdens such as a depressed feeling and the feeling of repulsion during use and exchange. <P>SOLUTION: The absorbent article is provided with a surface sheet 2, a back surface sheet 3 and an absorbent 4 interposed between both sheets. The absorptive article 1 is provided with patterns and/or characters hidden by being covered with a hiding sheet 21 in a natural state before its use, and the patterns and/or characters are made recognizable from a using surface or a non-using surface in the expanded state of the absorbent article 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinence pads.

  Absorbent articles typified by disposable pants diapers are known in which symbols such as animals and characters are displayed on non-use surfaces in order to enhance the preference and design effect for infants and guardians.

  Furthermore, in order to attract the interest of infants and the like, a configuration has been proposed in which the design changes from when the diaper is not worn to when the diaper is worn (see Patent Document 1). In this proposed diaper, the design changes only slightly due to the expansion and contraction of the gathers, and it does not attract children's attention.

  In order to attract the attention of infants who have developed intelligence to some extent and reduce the burden of labor when changing diapers, there is also a configuration in which hidden patterns are exposed when spread when wearing disposable diapers. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). However, with this proposed diaper, if the pattern is spread out, the infant loses interest before wearing it, or conversely, the diaper turns into a toy, and the burden of labor when changing diapers is reduced. It is not always reduced.

  On the other hand, in an absorbent article used by an adult woman represented by a sanitary napkin, there has been proposed a type that stretches so as to fit the individual body shape (see Patent Document 3). From the viewpoint of sex, the design was not devised.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-104172 JP 2004-105476 A Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-508225

  In the case of disposable diapers, in the case of disposable diapers, not only infants but also adults such as caregivers and elderly people are users, and in the case of sanitary napkins and incontinence pads, the user is a woman or a healthy person. In addition, when it cannot be worn alone, a guardian, a caregiver or the like assists or replaces and works, and a user who is not actually worn becomes a user. By the way, it is well known that the user feels a mental burden such as depression and disgust when using or replacing absorbent articles. However, the technique of the above-mentioned reference focuses on infants. In a situation where there are various users, the preference is not satisfied particularly for adults, and when the change is shown by complicated folding, the operation of the user is complicated.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that eliminates the above-described drawbacks of the prior art, satisfies the user's preference, and does not impose a burden on operability.

  The present invention relates to an absorbent article having a top sheet and a back sheet, and an absorbent body interposed between both sheets, wherein the absorbent article is concealed by covering with a concealment sheet in a natural state before use. And / or a character, and the object is achieved by providing an absorbent article in which the design and / or character can be recognized from a use surface or a non-use surface in an extended state of the absorbent article. .

  According to the present invention, by extending the absorbent article, a concealed design and / or character can appear and be recognized as a large change without burdening the user with operability. It is possible to satisfy the taste of various types of users, thereby reducing a mental burden such as a feeling of depression or disgust of the user or an assistant when using the absorbent article.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a pants-type disposable diaper (hereinafter also simply referred to as a diaper), which is an embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention, in a natural state before use. The top view which separated and expanded the diaper shown in FIG. 1 by the side seal part is shown. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the diaper 1 includes an absorbent main body 10 including a top sheet 2, a back sheet 3, and a liquid-retaining absorbent 4 interposed between the two sheets. And an exterior body 5 that is positioned on the outer side (non-skin contact surface side) of the main body 10 and that bonds and fixes the absorbent main body 10. In the diaper 1, both side edges of the abdominal side portion A arranged on the wearer's abdominal side and both side edges of the back side portion B arranged on the back side are joined to each other to wear the waist opening 7 and the pair of diapers 1. Leg openings 8 and 8 are formed to form a pants shape. A crotch part C is formed between the ventral part A and the back part B. The joining of both side edges is specifically the joining of the exterior bodies 5 and is joined to each other by a known joining means such as a heat seal, a high frequency seal, or an ultrasonic seal to form a side seal portion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the diaper 1 has an hourglass shape in which both side edges of the crotch portion C are curved inwardly in an arc shape, and the central portion in the longitudinal direction is bound inward as a whole. The outer package 5 has an hourglass-like outer shape that matches the outer shape of the diaper. The top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 have a substantially rectangular plan view shape having an outer dimension larger than that of the absorber 4, and extend outward from both side edges and both end edges of the absorber 4, respectively. Are joined to each other at the extending portion.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, the absorptive main body 10 has a vertically long rectangular shape, the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body 10 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the diaper 1, and extends from the ventral side A to the back side B of the diaper 1. It is joined to the exterior body 5 at a predetermined location by a known joining means such as an adhesive or heat seal so as to be located at the center in the width direction of the body 5. In the present embodiment, the outer body 5 is joined to the both sides and both ends of the absorbent main body 10 and the crotch part C at positions where they contact each other.

  As the absorbent main body 10, those normally used in the technical field can be used without particular limitation, and the constituent material is not particularly limited. The surface sheet 2 is liquid permeable, and a non-woven fabric, an apertured film, or a composite sheet thereof can be used, and preferably has hydrophilicity. The back sheet 3 is liquid impervious (including poorly permeable), and can use a film, a water-repellent nonwoven fabric, or the like, and more preferably has moisture permeability. The absorbent body 4 is liquid-retaining, and can be a mixed fiber of fluff pulp and superabsorbent polymer particles, an absorbent sheet carrying the absorbent polymer with a nonwoven fabric or paper, and the like.

  The exterior body 5 is composed of two sheet materials. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the exterior body 5 is composed of a laminate of an outer layer sheet 51 and an inner layer sheet 52. The outer layer sheet 51 forms the outermost surface of the diaper 1. The inner layer sheet 52 is disposed adjacent to the outer layer sheet 51 on the inner surface side of the diaper 1. Both the outer layer sheet 51 and the inner layer sheet 52 are made of a water-repellent nonwoven fabric. The outer layer sheet 51 and the inner layer sheet 52 have the same contour at the side edges, but the shapes in the longitudinal direction are different. Specifically, the outer layer sheet 51 has an extending portion extending in the front-rear direction from the front and rear end edges of the inner layer sheet 52, and each of the extending portions has an absorbent main body 10 on the inner layer sheet of the exterior body 5. Is fixed to the absorbent main body 10 side so as to cover the front and rear ends of the absorbent main body 10. The end edge of the extended extension portion extends beyond the front and rear end edges of the absorbent body 4 and reaches the top of the absorbent body 4. As a result, end flaps extending in the front-rear direction from the front-rear edge of the absorber 4 are formed in the diaper 1.

  On the end flap, a plurality of elastic members 71 extending in the width direction of the diaper 1 are arranged in a stretched state at a predetermined interval. As a result, an annular waist gather that is substantially continuous over the entire circumference of the waist opening 7 is formed. In addition, a plurality of elastic members 81 are disposed in the leg openings 8 and 8 along the edge of the openings in an extended state. Aside from these elastic members, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of pieces extending in the width direction of the diaper 1 are provided in the waist circumference D located between the waist opening 7 and the leg openings 8, 8. The elastic members 91 are arranged at a predetermined interval. The elastic member 91 is disposed and fixed in a stretched state so that elastic stretchability is expressed at least at a portion outward in the width direction from both side edges of the absorber 4, and at least at a portion where the absorber 4 exists. It is not disposed at the central portion in the width direction in a state where elastic stretchability is exhibited. Each of the elastic members 71, 81, 91 is sandwiched and fixed between the outer layer sheet 51 and the inner layer sheet 52 constituting the exterior body 5.

  As shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, in the absorptive main body 10, a pair of solid guard 6 extended in a longitudinal direction is formed in the right-and-left both sides. The three-dimensional guard 6 has a free end 6A on the inner side in the width direction of the absorbent main body 10 and a fixed end 6B (rising base end) on the outer side. In the vicinity of the free end 6A, an elastic member 61 is disposed so as to be freely stretchable. On the other hand, an elastic member may be provided on the fixed end 6 </ b> B so as to expand and contract, so that the wearability with the body can be improved when the diaper 1 is worn.

  As each elastic member, a natural or synthetic elastomer material can be used. As the solid guard, a water-repellent nonwoven fabric is preferably used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the diaper 1 is provided with a pattern P on the abdominal side A, and the pattern P includes a character “Omikuji”. The diaper 1 can be extended in the lateral direction (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4). When the diaper 1 is extended in the lateral direction by attaching or attaching the diaper 1 as shown in FIG. The letter Q (Daiyoshi) concealed in a natural state before extension appears and becomes visible. Moreover, the diaper 1 can be expanded and contracted, and if the expansion | extension of a horizontal direction is stopped and it returns to a natural state, the character Q will be concealed and will not be visually recognized.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pattern P and the letter Q are formed on two sheets disposed so as to overlap each other between the absorbent main body 10 on the abdominal side A and the inner layer sheet 52 of the exterior body 5. The pattern P is formed on the first outer sheet 21 and the character Q is formed on the second sheet 22 located inside the first sheet. The 1st sheet | seat 21 and the 2nd sheet | seat 22 are the same magnitude | sizes, both sheets are a little larger than the width | variety of the absorptive main body 10, and also from the inner side direction of the front side edge part of the absorptive main body 10 of the abdominal part A. It has a length that extends to the crotch C. The first sheet 21 is joined to the exterior body 5, and the second sheet 22 is joined to the exterior body 5 via the first sheet 21. Specifically, in the ventral side portion A of the trunk periphery D, both side portions of the first sheet 21 and the second sheet 22 are laterally outward of the absorbent main body 10 and the elastic member 91 is present so as to be stretchable. Is joined to the exterior body 5, and is joined to the exterior body 5 on the inner side of the joint portion between the front end portion of the absorbent main body 10 and the exterior body 5. Thus, the 1st sheet | seat 21 which is a concealment sheet | seat is joined with the exterior body 5 which is a material which can be extended | stretched and also has a stretching property.

  Moreover, as shown to Fig.5 (a), the slit part or the notch line is formed in the 1st sheet | seat 21 so that the pattern P may be longitudinally cut. As shown in FIG. 5B, the character Q formed on the second sheet 22 is formed at a position overlapping the pattern P and the slit portion. When the diaper 1 is viewed from the surface of the exterior body 5 that is a non-use surface, the letter Q formed on the second sheet 22 is hidden by the first sheet 21 and cannot be visually recognized. Therefore, the first sheet 21 is a concealment sheet that conceals the letter Q.

  By extending the diaper 1 laterally as shown in FIG. 4, the exterior body 5 (inner layer sheet 52) is expanded, and the first sheet 21 joined to the exterior body 5 is pulled between the joint portions. As shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, it slides in the pulling direction and opens at the slit portion or the notch portion, the second sheet 22 appears, and the letter Q formed on the second sheet 22 is exposed. It becomes visible. Thus, the 1st sheet | seat 21 which is a concealment sheet slides in conjunction with expansion | extension of an absorbent article, and makes the concealed character Q visually recognized, but as FIG. The letter Q can be visually recognized as appears. In addition, the 2nd sheet | seat 22 is comprised from the film or nonwoven fabric which has a stretching property, and does not inhibit the expansion | extension of the exterior body 5. FIG.

  In a state where the outer package 5 that is in a natural state of the absorbent article is not extended, the first sheet 21 is bonded to the outer package 5 and disposed in the absorbent article.

  The diaper 1 can be extended by each elastic member, and can be contracted from an extended state to an almost original state, that is, has elasticity. Therefore, when the lateral extension to the exterior body 5 is eliminated, the exterior body 5 contracts to the original position, whereby the first sheet 21 also moves and the opened slit portion or notch portion is closed, and the letter Q Is also hidden by the first sheet 21 so that it cannot be visually recognized.

  The 1st sheet 21 and the 2nd sheet 22 are constituted from a nonwoven fabric or a resin film, and when a pattern and a character are formed by printing, a smooth thing is preferred from a viewpoint of printability. Further, the first sheet 21 is preferably opaque by blending titanium oxide or the like from the viewpoint of concealment of characters and other patterns formed in the lower layer, but the pattern formed on the first sheet 21 If the character or the character in the lower layer can be concealed by the character, it may be translucent. When stretchability is required for the second sheet 22, it is preferable to use a resin film or a nonwoven fabric containing an elastomer component, a laminate sheet of a nonwoven fabric and a film, or the like in view of printability.

  Printing of characters and designs on the sheet can be performed by ordinary methods such as ink jet and screen printing. Ink used for printing includes water-insoluble inks such as nitrocellulose-based inks, polyamide-based inks, acryl-based inks and dye-type inks, and water-soluble inks such as maleic acid resin-based inks and acrylic water-based inks. Can be mentioned.

  In the present embodiment, the first sheet 21 is a slit portion or a notch portion, but an overlapping portion may be formed using two sheets so as to be opened by extension. In the case of the notch, the ease of incorporating the first sheet 21 into the diaper 1 is improved, and in the case where the overlapping portion is formed, the concealability of the lower layer character or another pattern is excellent.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the second sheet 22 is not provided with slits or notches in the first sheet 21, and the first sheet 21 simply moves, The symbol may be recognized. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the first sheet 21 has a pattern P of a gift box, and the second sheet 22 has a pattern Q of a present doll. As the sheet 21 moves, it can be visually recognized as a doll appears from the gift box. In this case, the 1st sheet | seat 21 is an area | region which expresses the elasticity of the exterior body 5, is fixed in one area | region of the width direction outer side of the absorptive main body 10, and is not fixed in the other area | region. The second sheet 22 is not bonded to the first sheet 21 and is bonded to the back sheet 3 of the absorbent main body 10.

  Thus, the second sheet 22 may be bonded to the back sheet 3 on the exterior body 5 side of the absorbent main body 10 without being bonded to the first sheet 21. In this case, the stretchability of the second sheet 22 is not particularly necessary. Moreover, you may provide the character Q directly in the pattern P applicable location of the non-skin contact surface of the absorptive main body 10, ie, the back surface sheet 3, without using the 2nd sheet | seat 22. FIG.

    Moreover, although the extending | stretching direction was demonstrated in the horizontal direction, the diaper which can be expand | extended or expanded / contracted to the vertical direction or the vertical / horizontal direction may be sufficient. In this case, the arrangement of the elastic members is changed, or a material that expands and contracts is selected and manufactured as a constituent material of the exterior body 5.

  The exterior body 5 is provided with stretchability by arranging an elastic member between the two layers of sheets. However, when the sheet itself uses a material having stretchability, the elastic member does not need to be placed.

  The pants-type disposable diaper 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a fortune-telling, and as shown in FIG. 4, a letter Q written as “Daikichi” as a fortune appears from below the symbol P, which is a fortune-telling card, by extension. As for the letter Q, not only Daikichi but also a plurality of kinds of characters related to fortune such as Kokichi and Nakakichi are prepared, and one kind of letter is arranged in one diaper. Thus, when using the diaper 1, the letter Q describing the fortune appears. The user or caregiver can enjoy fortune-telling today or during use, look forward to the next use, or facilitate communication. In addition, it is expected that the user can train the weakened muscles by actively performing the extension by himself, especially in the elderly and disabled persons.

  The symbols and characters formed on the first sheet 21 and the second sheet 22 are arbitrarily changed according to the user's preference.

  Next, what applied this invention to the sanitary napkin (henceforth only a napkin) which is one Embodiment of an absorbent article is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sanitary napkin according to an embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a view obtained by extending FIG. 7 in the longitudinal direction, which is the longitudinal direction. The same points as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. For the points that are not particularly described, the description of the above-described embodiment is applied as appropriate.

  A sanitary napkin 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a top sheet 2, a back sheet (not shown), and a liquid-retaining absorbent 4 interposed between the two sheets. The top sheet 2 has liquid permeability, and the back sheet has liquid impermeability (including poor permeability). The top sheet 2 and the back sheet extend outward from the absorber 4 around the absorber, and both sheets are joined at the extended portion. A non-slip adhesive (not shown) for fixing to the underwear is disposed on the non-skin contact surface. As shown in FIG. 7, leakproof sheets 23 are arranged on the front and rear edges of the sanitary napkin to improve leakproofness. The leak-proof sheet 23 is fixed on the top sheet 2 on the use surface side of the sanitary napkin 10, and in detail, is fixed to the joint between the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3.

  The napkin 40 has extensibility, can be extended in the longitudinal direction of the user, which is the longitudinal direction, and can be arranged according to the user's body. As shown in FIG. 8, the napkin 40 is elongated in the longitudinal direction, which is the longitudinal direction, and is fixed to the crotch portion of the undergarment while maintaining the stretched state by an anti-slip adhesive. Further, the napkin 40 preferably has stretchability in order to facilitate fine adjustment of the position and size and to improve fit. In addition, when it has elasticity, if the fixing force of a slip prevention adhesive is designed to be larger than the contraction force, the fixing property to the underwear is improved.

  In order to elongate the sanitary napkin, at least the top sheet and the back sheet need to be stretchable, and in order to stretch, both sheets need to be stretchable. It is preferable that the absorbent body is made of a material that can be stretched or stretched on a sheet surrounding the material mixed with pulp and a water-absorbing polymer, and the material constituting the absorbent body is also stretchable and stretchable of a sanitary napkin. More preferably, it is made of a material that does not impede. For the sanitary napkin, for example, the materials described in JP-A-2005-233792 are preferably used.

  Although the design and characters are not formed on the leak-proof sheet 23, the design R is formed on the surface sheet 2 covered with the leak-proof sheet 23 or its lower layer, and in this embodiment, the absorber 4 It is formed on the surface sheet 2 side. As shown in FIG. 8, by extending the napkin 40, the leak-proof sheet 23, which is a shielding sheet, slides so that a part of the pattern R drawn on the absorber 4 can be seen through the top sheet 2. If the extension continues further, the entire flower pattern R can be visually recognized.

  In the napkin 40, the symbol R gives the user information regarding the extended state. In a state where a part of the pattern R can be visually recognized, it indicates that the stretch limit is approached, and in a state where the flower pattern is completely visible, it indicates the stretch limit. About the relationship between the visual recognition state of the pattern R and expansion | extension, it describes in a package etc. and notifies a user in advance. Alternatively, instead of the pattern R, the characters “extension limit” may be displayed.

  The leak-proof sheet 23 does not need extensibility, but when extensibility is present, it is preferable that the extensibility is lower than other constituent materials. Moreover, it is preferable that it is opaque from a viewpoint of concealability. The leak-proof sheet 23 may be provided with a design in order to improve the design.

  The sanitary napkin 40 according to the present embodiment is improved in design by the pattern R, and can reduce a mental burden in a depressed time. In addition, the user can be informed of the extension limit, and the napkin 40 can be prevented from being damaged by trying to extend beyond the limit.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the preferable embodiment, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment. For example, in the said embodiment which is a diaper, although it applied to the underpants type disposable diaper, an unfolded type diaper may be sufficient. Moreover, although demonstrated for elderly people, you may apply to the diaper for infants, and the shorts type | mold napkin for women by devising a pattern and a character. In the said embodiment which is a sanitary napkin, it is applicable similarly to an incontinence pad or a sheet of a cage.

  In FIG. 7, the leak-proof sheet 23 is fixed on the top sheet 2, but it may be positioned between the top sheet 2 and the absorber 4 to shield the design of the absorber 4. In this case, it joins between the surface sheet 2 and the back surface sheet 3 in the front-back direction edge part of the sanitary napkin.

It is a perspective view which shows the natural state of the disposable diaper which is one Embodiment of the absorbent article of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the expansion | deployment state of the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the principal part sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows typically the state which extended | stretched FIG. 1 to the horizontal direction. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that the pattern and the character concealed by the concealment sheet by expansion | extension about the same embodiment appear, (a) is principal part sectional drawing before expansion | extension, (b) is the principal part plane before expansion | extension. FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of a main part that has been extended, and FIG. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that the pattern and the character concealed by the concealment sheet by extension appear about another embodiment, (a) is principal part sectional drawing before expansion | extension, (b) is the principal part before expansion | extension. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view of the main part that has been extended, and FIG. 3D is a plan view of the main part that has been extended. It is a perspective view which shows the natural state of the sanitary napkin which is one Embodiment of the absorbent article of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically the state which expanded FIG. 7 to the longitudinal direction.

Explanation of symbols

1 disposable diaper (absorbent article)
2 Top sheet 3 Back sheet 4 Absorber 5 Exterior body 10 Absorbent body 21 First sheet (concealment sheet)
22 Second sheet 23 Leak-proof sheet (concealment sheet)
40 Sanitary napkins (absorbent articles)

Claims (6)

An absorbent article having a top sheet and a back sheet, and an absorbent body interposed between both sheets,
The absorbent article has a pattern and / or characters concealed by the covering of the concealment sheet in a natural state before use of the absorbent article, and the pattern and / or character is transferred from a use surface or a non-use surface in an extended state of the absorbent article. Absorbent article made recognizable.   The concealment sheet is fixed to an extensible sheet constituting a use surface or a non-use surface of the absorbent article, and the concealment sheet slides in conjunction with the extension of the absorbent article, so that the design and / or The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the characters are exposed to be recognized.   The stretchable sheet constituting the non-use surface of the absorbent article is an exterior body provided outside the back sheet, and the concealment sheet is joined to the inner surface side of the exterior body. The absorbent article as described.   The said concealment sheet has a slit part or a notch part, The absorbent article in any one of Claims 1-3 which a slit part or a notch part opens by extending | stretching an absorbent article.   The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the concealment sheet is bonded to a longitudinal end portion on the use surface side. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the absorbent article is stretchable.

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