JP2019024607A - Absorbent article - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an absorbent article capable of improving fitness by facilitating bending in a compression groove in an absorber.SOLUTION: An absorbent article 10 comprises a liquid-permeable front surface sheet 14, a liquid-impermeable rear surface sheet 12, and an absorber 13 disposed between the liquid-permeable front surface sheet 14 and the liquid-impermeable rear surface sheet 12. The absorber 13 is provided with plural compressed and formed recesses 20 are formed. The recesses 20 include an area in which a basis weight is lower than that of a portion in which the recesses 20 are not formed in the absorber 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an absorbent article having a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body disposed therebetween.

  Conventionally, absorbent articles such as disposable diapers (hereinafter also simply referred to as “diapers”) in which discharged body fluid (hereinafter also simply referred to as “body fluids”) is guided to an absorber and absorbed are widely known. The absorbent body is obtained by wrapping an absorbent main body mainly composed of pulp and a super absorbent polymer (hereinafter also referred to as “SAP”) with a covering member such as tissue or nonwoven fabric. This absorbent body is thicker than the top sheet or the back sheet, and may not be easily bent to fit the wearer's skin.

  Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a disposable diaper that is formed with a plurality of compressed grooves in the absorbent body and is easily bent and bent in the compressed grooves, thereby improving fit to the wearer's skin. Yes.

JP2015-016218A

  However, in the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1, since the compressed groove is formed by compressing the absorbent body, the bottom portion and the side wall portion of the compressed groove are hardened with high density. There was a risk that the ease of bending could not be realized.

  The objective of this invention is providing the absorbent article which can improve fitting property by making it easy to bend in the pressing groove of an absorber including the said aspect.

  An absorbent article according to the present invention is an absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet. The absorber is provided with a plurality of recesses formed by compression, and the plurality of recesses are provided with a region lower than the basis weight of a portion of the absorber where the recess is not formed. It is a feature.

  According to this invention, since the area | region with a low basic weight is provided in a recessed part, as a result of becoming soft and becoming easy to bend in the area | region, it becomes possible to improve the fitting property of an absorbent article.

In the external appearance of an example of the diaper which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, it is the perspective view seen from the front side. It is a disassembled perspective view of the diaper shown in FIG. It is the top view which looked at the diaper of an extension state concerning one embodiment of the present invention from the top sheet side. It is the top view which looked at the absorber based on one Embodiment of this invention from the top sheet side, and is a figure for demonstrating an example of the recessed part formation area in which the several recessed part was formed. It is a VV direction sectional view in Drawing 3.

  An embodiment of an absorbent article according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. However, the present invention is not limited to the aspect of the present embodiment.

  First, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a deployable disposable diaper will be described below.

<Main configuration of diapers>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a diaper according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the front side. The diaper 10 according to the present embodiment is a deployable disposable diaper, and includes a front body region 10F, a back body region 10R, and a crotch region 10C that connects the front body region 10F and the back body region 10R. Moreover, the waist periphery opening part 10W which surrounds a wearer's waist part with the front body area | region 10F and the back body area | region 10R at the time of wear is formed. Similarly, a pair of left and right leg openings 10L that surround the thighs of the wearer's legs are formed by the lower ends of the front body region 10F and the back body region 10R and the crotch region 10C.

  When worn, the front body region 10F is positioned on the wearer's ventral side, and the back body region 10R is positioned on the wearer's back side. The crotch region 10C covers the wearer's crotch when worn, and the wearer's legs are respectively passed through the pair of left and right leg openings 10L. Therefore, the leg-hole opening 10L is located anywhere from the base of the wearer's legs to around the thigh.

  The imaginary line P extends through the crotch part from the abdomen side to the back side in the central part of the diaper. Specifically, for example, if the imaginary line P is defined with the waist side of the diaper as the upper side and the crotch side as the lower side, the phantom line P extends along the diaper surface and in the vertical direction, and passes through the crotch part on the back side. Also extends in the vertical direction.

  The left and right end edges of the back body region 10R of the cover sheet 11 located outside the diaper 10 are overlapped with the left and right end edges of the front body region 10F when worn, and are connected to form a leg opening 10L. A pair of left and right fastening tapes 10A to be obtained is bonded. The fastening tape 10A is bonded to the front patch sheet 10B adhered on the cover sheet 11 in the front body region 10F so as to be repeatedly peelable.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the diaper 10 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the extended diaper 10 as viewed from the top sheet 14 side according to one embodiment of the present invention. . The absorber 13 in FIG. 2 and the diaper 10 in FIG. 3 are shown partially broken for convenience of explanation.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the diaper 10 according to the present embodiment includes, in order from the outside, a cover sheet 11 formed of a thin nonwoven fabric in order to obtain a good touch, and a back sheet (back sheet) having liquid impermeability. 12, an absorbent body 13, a liquid-permeable top sheet (surface sheet) 14, and a pair of side sheets 15.

  The absorber 13 is provided with a plurality of recesses 20 formed by compression. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a region where a plurality of recesses 20 are formed (a recess formation region N <b> 1 described later) exists on the surface of the absorber 13. That is, a plurality of recesses 20 are formed in a part of the recess forming region N1. As shown in FIG. 3, by forming the concave portion 20, the concave portion 20 is easily bent and the fit of the diaper 10 can be improved. Furthermore, in this embodiment, although details will be described later, the plurality of recesses 20 are provided with regions lower than the basis weight (weight per unit area) of the absorbent body 13 where the recesses 20 are not formed. The absorbent body 13 is softer and easier to bend than the case, and the fit of the diaper 10 is improved. In addition, since the concave portion 20 is continuously formed, air can pass through to the ventral side or the back side, and air permeability can be ensured. In addition, the discharged body fluid can be quickly diffused and can be efficiently absorbed by the absorber 13 using the absorber 13 as a whole.

  In the present invention, the plurality of recesses 20 are physical forms formed by overlapping a plurality of recesses 20 as a plurality of structural units in addition to a plurality of individual recesses 20 that are not physically continuous with each other. It is also a concept that includes those that are consecutive. Examples of the structural unit include, but are not limited to, a straight line and a continuous curve having no bend (corner) in the middle thereof.

  Adhesive is applied to the surface where the top sheet 14 and the absorbent body 13 are in contact, and the concave portion 20 is formed by, for example, pressing a laminated body of the absorbent body 13 and the top sheet 14 (hereinafter also referred to as “absorbing portion”). Provided. This pressing is performed by, for example, an embossing roll. Thereby, the top sheet 14 and the absorber 13 are engaged with each other and integrally joined in the entire recess 20 extending from the bottom surface (bottom wall) to the wall surface (side wall) of the recess 20. The thickness (the thickness of the absorbing portion) made of the top sheet 14 and the absorber 13 in the bottom portion of the recess 20 is preferably about 1/2 to 1/7 of the thickness when not compressed. More preferably, it is about 1/4 to 1/7. With this configuration, since the top sheet 14 and the absorber 13 are integrally formed, even when the top sheet 14 and the absorber 13 are firmly joined, the top sheet 14 is difficult to peel off, and the absorber 13 swells after urination The top sheet 14 is in a state along the groove, and the groove is maintained.

  Returning to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a pair of notches 11 </ b> N serving as leg opening portions 10 </ b> L are formed on the left and right sides of the crotch region 10 </ b> C of the cover sheet 11. Between the cover sheet 11 and the pair of side sheets 15, a pair of rubber threads 16 for forming a leg gather is bonded in an extended state.

  The top sheet 14 is composed of a nonwoven fabric having liquid permeability. The back sheet 12 is bonded to the cover sheet 11, and the absorber 13 is disposed between the back sheet 12 and the top sheet 14, and the top sheet 14 is bonded to the back sheet 12 through the absorber 13. . Further, in the backsheet 12, an area corresponding to the upper end portion of the back body area 10 </ b> R extends along the width direction of the backsheet 12, and is elastic for giving a wearer an appropriate wearing feeling around the waist. Sheet 10D is joined.

  The absorbent body 13 of this embodiment located under the top sheet 14 is obtained by coating an absorbent core 17 mainly made of pulp and SAP with a covering member (core wrap) 18 such as tissue or nonwoven fabric. The seam formed by wrapping the absorbent core 17 with the covering member 18 is, for example, formed on the upper surface of the absorbent body 13 and extending in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. The absorbent body 13 of this embodiment has an elongated shape so as to extend from the front body, the crotch, and the back body. And the absorber 13 is divided into three parts into the back body part M1, the crotch part M2, and the front body part M3 as shown in FIG. 4 mentioned later. Here, assuming that the front body part M3 to the back body part M1 are the front and back (up and down) directions, and the direction perpendicular to the front and back part M1 is the left and right direction, the absorbent body 13 of the present embodiment is a rectangular having different front and rear (up and down) left and right lengths. (In FIGS. 2 and 3, the front and rear (up and down) lengths are longer than the left and right lengths). In addition, the shape of the absorber 13 of this embodiment is not restricted to this, For example, the thing of the substantially square whose front and back (upper and lower) left and right lengths are comparable, and the corner | angular of the front and rear (up and down) end are rounded off Various shapes such as an elliptical shape extending in the front-rear direction (up and down) and a circular shape are included. Moreover, a pair of notch parts which make | form arc shape may be formed in the crotch part M2 of the absorber 13 so as to correspond to a pair of leg periphery opening part 10L. In addition, in the diaper 10 which concerns on this embodiment, although the absorber 13 wrapped with the coating | coated member 18 is used, the absorbent article which concerns on this invention uses the absorptive core 17 which is not wrapped with the coating | coated member 18. FIG. May be.

  In the present embodiment, a pair of hydrophobic side sheets 15 forming a three-dimensional gather are provided on the left and right side edges in the width direction of the top sheet 14. The pair of side sheets 15 is a member that rises along the left and right side edges of the absorbent body 13 when worn, and prevents lateral leakage of the discharged body fluid. Cutout portions 15N are formed at the outer edge portions of the pair of side sheets 15 in the same shape as the pair of cutout portions 11N of the cover sheet 11. In each of the pair of side sheets 15, a rubber thread 19 as a three-dimensional gather stretchable material is arranged in an expanded state in a form in which the inner edge portion is folded and gripped toward the absorber 13. The pair of side sheets 15 rises toward the wearer's skin contact direction when the rubber thread 19 contracts. The three-dimensional gather can employ a known configuration used in conventional disposable diapers. For example, it can be formed by sandwiching and fixing a stretched three-dimensional gather elastic material between the layers of the water repellent sheet.

<Recess formation area>
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the absorbent body 13 as viewed from the top sheet 14 side according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a region of the absorbent body 13 in which a plurality of recessed portions 20 are formed (hereinafter referred to as “recessed portion forming region”). It is a figure for demonstrating an example. 5 is a cross-sectional view in the VV direction in FIG. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, the high density of the absorber 13 is expressed by the density of dots.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of recesses 20 are formed in the absorber 13, and the plurality of recesses 20 form a lattice pattern as a whole. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of recesses 20 are formed on the surface of the absorber 13 so as to extend in an oblique lattice shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the imaginary line P on the absorber 13 extends from the upper end of the front body portion M3 toward the lower end of the back body portion M1, and the imaginary line P In the case of an elongated shape, it extends in the longitudinal direction. Each of the plurality of recesses 20 is inclined to the left and right with respect to the virtual line P.

  The recessed portion forming region can be, for example, a substantially rectangular region extending in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body 13 so as to be in contact with both end portions of the plurality of recessed portions 20 (left and right end portions of the recessed portion 20 in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, this rectangular region can be represented by a recess forming region N <b> 1 as an absorption portion region where the recess 20 is formed. A region other than the recess formation region N1 (that is, a region where the recess 20 is not formed) is defined as a recess non-formation region N2. With this configuration, the non-recessed region N2 serves as a weir, and the body fluid that has traveled through the recess 20 can be dammed (or the body fluid is weakened), thereby preventing side leakage. It becomes. In the present embodiment, the shape of the recess forming region N1 is substantially rectangular. However, various shapes such as a polygon, a circle, and an ellipse can be adopted as long as the effect of the present invention is exhibited. In the present embodiment, the recessed portion forming region N1 is not formed up to the end in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) of the absorbing portion of the diaper 10, but is longitudinal in the center (up and down direction in FIG. 4). It is formed in a band shape along. However, the present invention does not limit the position and size of the recess forming region N1, and for example, the embodiment in which the recess forming region N1 is not formed up to the end in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4) of the absorber 13. Moreover, the aspect formed to the said edge part is also accept | permitted. When the recessed portion forming region N1 is not formed up to the end portion in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent body 13, since the recessed portion non-formed region N2 is formed at the longitudinal end portion of the absorbent body 13, body fluid travels through the recessed portion 20 and causes dorsoventral leakage. Can be deterred. On the other hand, when the recessed portion forming region N1 is formed up to the end portion of the absorbent body 13, it is possible to improve air permeability and prevention of stuffiness. In addition, in this embodiment, although the range in which the recessed part formation area N1 is provided covers the front body part M3, the crotch part M2, and the back body part M1, it is not restricted to this, For example, only the crotch part M2 There may be.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4 of the present embodiment, the recess forming region N1 is formed by connecting the ends located on the outermost side (the edge side of the absorber 13) of the plurality of recesses 20 in a straight line in order. In addition to being a rectangular region that includes a plurality of recesses 20, it can also be defined as follows. That is, when a virtual circle having a specific diameter is placed on the surface of the absorber 13 in plan view, when at least a part of the range of the circle overlaps at least a part of the recess 20, A portion below the circle (the portion of the absorber 13 that overlaps the circle in plan view (and thus includes the thickness direction)) is defined as a part of the recess forming region N1. The entirety of the recess forming region N1 includes at least the recess 20 when the virtual circle is moved all over the surface of the absorber 13 in a range overlapping with at least a part of the absorber 13 in plan view. It is equal to the sum of the range of circles that overlap part. Here, the diameter of the circle can be selected from a range of 20 to 30 mm, for example, and can be set to 20 mm or 30 mm, for example. However, depending on the case, the basis weight of each region of the absorbent body 13 may be designed after selecting from a range of 5 to 50 mm without being limited to a value within this range.

  The recess 20 is preferably formed in the central region of the absorbent body 13 from the viewpoint of the liquid diffusibility, air permeability, and fit properties described above. Therefore, the plurality of recesses 20 are preferably formed in the central region of the absorber 13. Here, the central region of the absorbent body 13 of the present invention refers to a region that first comes into contact with a liquid such as urine and the vicinity thereof. In addition, the center area | region of the absorber 13 can be changed with the wearer's physique, sex, etc. of an absorbent article. Typically, the central region of the absorber 13 is a region that can be sequentially arranged in the longitudinal direction of the absorber when the absorber 13 is virtually simply divided into three equal parts from the front end to the rear end. It can be set as the center area of. The division ratio may be set to 1/3: 1/3: 1/3 as described above for the front end: center: rear end, but is not limited to this, for example, 1/5 to 2/5: 1. It can also be set to the range of / 5 to 1/2: 1/5 to 2/5, and there is no particular limitation. Specifically, the form of 1/5: 3/5: 1/5 and the form of 2/5: 1/5: 2/5 are mentioned. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the central region of the absorber 13 is indicated by regions M2 and N1 where the crotch portion M2 and the recess forming region N1 overlap. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of recesses 20 are formed in the central region M <b> 2 · N <b> 1. The case where it is not formed is acceptable.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the basis weight of the absorbent core 17 in which the recess 20 is formed is lower than the basis weight of the absorbent core 17 in which the recess 20 is not formed. As a result, as described above, the plurality of recesses 20 are provided with regions lower than the basis weight of the portion of the absorber 13 where the recesses 20 are not formed. By this aspect, since the density of the absorber 13 in which the recessed part 20 was formed becomes low, it becomes soft in the recessed part 20, and it is easy to bend. Therefore, since it becomes easy to follow a wearer's movement, the fit nature of diaper 10 can be improved. Further, since the concave portion 20 becomes soft, the touch is also improved. In this embodiment, the area | region lower than the basic weight of the part in which the recessed part 20 is not formed among the absorbers 13 is provided in all the several recessed parts 20, However, In this invention, it is a part among several recessed parts 20 May be formed. In particular, since the region having a low basis weight is provided in the plurality of recesses 20 formed in the central region M2 · N1 of the absorbent body 13, it is possible to ensure ease of bending in the crotch portion M2.

  In this invention, the basic weight of each area | region or each part of the absorber 13 means the value which remove | divided the total weight of the absorber 13 which exists in the specific area | region by the area of the area | region. Here, the basis weight of a specific area is lower than the basis weight of another area, and the basis weight value calculated in the above manner for a specific area was calculated in the same manner for the other area. It means lower than the basis weight value.

In the present embodiment, as described above, in the absorbent body 13, the basis weight of the absorbent body 13 portion where the concave portion 20 is formed is lower than the basic weight of the absorbent body 13 portion where the concave portion 20 is not formed. In order to effectively demonstrate the effects of the present invention, the inventor has a preferred range of the basis weight of the absorbent core 17 of the absorbent body 13 portion where the recess 20 is not formed is 90 g / m ² to 300 g / m ² . The preferred range of the basis weight of the absorbent core 17 in the absorbent body 13 portion where the recess 20 is formed is 63 g / m ² to 270 g / m ² , and the recess relative to the basis weight of the absorbent core 17 where the recess 20 is not formed. It has been found that a suitable range of the basis weight ratio of the absorbent core 17 formed with 20 is 70% to 90%.

The absorption part of the diaper 10 which concerns on this embodiment is formed by the following processes (1) to (6), for example. The absorbent mat (representing the absorbent core 17 that does not include the covering member 18 in the description of this process) is formed by mixing pulp and powdery SAP and spraying them onto the filters of two forming drums, for example. The
(1) First, an absorbent mat having a constant thickness is prepared by the first forming drum.
(2) Next, an absorbent mat was created by the second forming drum so as not to deposit pulp or SAP absorbent material in the portions corresponding to the plurality of recesses 20, and was produced in step (1). Laminate on absorbent mat. Thus, a predetermined absorbent mat is created.
(3) Thereafter, the predetermined absorbent mat is wrapped by the covering member 18, and the covering member 18 and the absorbent mat are bonded together by hot melt or the like, thereby creating the absorbent body 13.
(4) Cut the prepared absorbent body 13 into the size of one diaper.
(5) The top sheet 14 is laminated on the cut absorber 13.
(6) The top sheet 14 and the absorbent body 13 are combined, and the portions corresponding to the plurality of concave portions 20 are compressed by an embossing roll to form the concave portions 20 in the absorbent body 13.

  Conventionally, if the weight of the absorbent body is generally large, flexibility will be lost or extra thickness will be produced, so that the fit at the time of wearing will be lost, and multiple compressed grooves are formed in the absorbent body And there existed an absorptive article which aimed at improvement in the fit nature to a wearer's skin by making it easy to bend in the pressing slot.

  However, in such an absorbent article, since the compressed groove is formed by compressing the absorbent body, the bottom portion and the side wall portion of the compressed groove are hardened with high density, and are assumed to be bent. There was a risk that ease could not be realized.

  When the compressed groove is formed in the absorbent body, the top sheet or the like located in an upper layer than the absorbent body bites into the groove, and the top sheet or the like tends to be in a tight tension state. About the bottom part of a pressing groove, since it exists in a low position compared with the location which is not compressed, it does not touch a wearer's skin directly, but there is a possibility of touching the shoulder part of a pressing groove. At the shoulder of the compressed groove, the top sheet and the absorbent body are pulled and fixed in a tightly stretched state, so that the powdery SAP in the absorbent body hits the top sheet, and the feeling of SAP's firmness can be transmitted as a touch There was sex.

  According to this embodiment, since the basis weight of the absorber is reduced in the recess, the side wall portion and the bottom portion including the shoulder portion of the recess are softened, and are easily bent at the recess, thereby improving the fit of the absorbent article. It becomes possible to make it. Moreover, since the shoulder part of a recessed part becomes soft, it does not become rugged in the shoulder part of a recessed part, and a wearer's usability can be improved. In other words, since the original basis weight of the absorbent core in the squeezed portion is relatively low compared to the portion that is not squeezed, even if the density of the absorbent core is increased by squeezing, the squeezed portion of the absorbent core The flexibility in the is improved, and the above-mentioned feeling of stickiness is less likely to occur. Here, from the viewpoint of improving the fit, it is conceivable to reduce the overall weight of the absorbent core in order to soften the absorbent body. However, according to the present embodiment, the amount of SAP is reduced more than this configuration. Since it can be increased, the absorbency is good.

<Others>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications described in various places, and appropriate changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, the structure of the diaper according to the above-described embodiment or a modification thereof is not limited to the unfolded type as described above, and even a diaper including a configuration of an absorbent article as defined in the claims. Any configuration may be used. For example, the present invention can be applied to a pants-type disposable diaper, a urine pad, and the like.

  In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment or its modification is applicable not only to diapers for infants but also to various absorbent articles such as diapers for adults and urine pads.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the recessed part formation area N1 is provided in the top sheet 14 side of the absorber 13, it is not restricted to this. For example, the recessed portion forming region N1 is provided on the back sheet 12 side of the absorbent body 13, or the recessed portion forming region N1 is provided on the top sheet 14 side and the back sheet 12 side (both surfaces of the absorbent body 13) of the absorbent body 13. May be.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the several recessed part 20 is continuously formed in the surface of the absorber 13, the diagonal lattice-like arrangement pattern is completed, but it is not restricted to this. For example, the plurality of recesses 20 may be intermittently formed on the surface of the absorber 13, and the array pattern of the recesses 20 is, for example, a polygonal array pattern such as a triangle or a hexagon, a linear shape, or a curved shape Alternatively, various arrangement patterns such as a pattern in which wavy ones are arranged in parallel may be used.

M1 Rear body part M2 Inseam part M3 Front body part M2, N1 Central region N1 Concave formation region N2 Concave non-formation region 10 Diaper 10A Fastening tape 10B Front patch sheet 10F Front body region 10R Rear body region 10C Inseam region 10W Waist circumference opening 10L Leg opening 11 Cover sheet 11N, 15N Notch 12 Back sheet (Back sheet)
13 Absorbent body 14 Top sheet (surface sheet)
15 Side sheets 16, 19 Thread rubber 17 Absorbent core 18 Cover member 20 Recess

Claims (4)

An absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet,
The absorber is provided with a plurality of recesses formed by compression,
The absorbent article, wherein the plurality of recesses are provided with regions lower than the basis weight of a portion of the absorbent body where the recesses are not formed.   The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of recesses are formed in a central region of the absorber.   The absorbent article according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of recesses formed in the central region are provided with regions lower than the basis weight of a portion of the absorbent body where the recesses are not formed.   The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of recesses form a lattice pattern as a whole.

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