JP4372672B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an absorbent article such as a panty liner, a sanitary napkin, and an incontinence pad.

Absorbent articles such as panty liners (corimono sheets), sanitary napkins, and incontinence pads exhibit their performance sufficiently by being placed at an appropriate position in relation to the excretory part of the wearer.
By the way, in recent years, absorbent articles of various sizes are commercially available depending on the amount of excretory liquid to be absorbed. For the purpose of absorbing a relatively small amount of liquid, for example, the length is 14 to 17 cm and the width is 4 Relatively small absorbent articles such as ˜7 cm are also commercially available. In particular, in the case of a cage sheet, a length of about 14 cm and a width (maximum width) of about 6 cm are mainly commercially available.

  Such a small absorbent article is good from the viewpoint of improving the feeling that it is difficult to hit the crotch as long as it is accurately applied to the center part of the underwear and does not feel that it is attached. Furthermore, it is advantageous from the viewpoint of reducing raw materials and improving portability. However, on the other hand, because it is often fixed to shorts with one hand, it is fixed in a state inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the shorts or is easily fixed at a position shifted from an appropriate position. There's a problem. Moreover, even if it can fix to a suitable position, there exists a problem that excretion liquid leaks from an absorbent article and stains shorts and clothes by producing a shift | offset | difference or twist during wearing.

  Even if the purpose is to absorb a small amount of liquid, a relatively large absorbent article is used, and instead the overall thickness is reduced to prevent such problems to a certain extent, and the feeling of wearing is reduced. However, it is not possible to reduce raw materials and improve portability, and it is not possible to make the whole thin enough to improve the feel.

  Patent Literature 1 describes an absorbent article in which a colored material is arranged under an aperture surface material so that the color can be seen from the surface material side through the aperture of the surface material. No. 2 describes an absorbent article in which a pattern printed on a material disposed under the surface material is visible from the surface material side. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes an absorbent article in which a part of the absorbent article is transparent.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-299825 International Publication No. 2004/006818 Pamphlet Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2003-527928

  In the absorbent article described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, when the absorbent article is fixed to a crotch part or the like of a shorts, the stitches and side edges before and after the crotch part are hidden by the absorbent article. The absorbent article cannot be fixed at an appropriate position such as shorts with reference to the relative positional relationship between the front and rear seams and side edges of the crotch part. Moreover, in the absorbent article described in Patent Document 3, the seam and side edges before and after the crotch part are made transparent mainly for the purpose of making the wing part inconspicuous when viewed from the outside of the underwear. There is no description of a specific configuration that enables positioning based on the relative positional relationship with the section.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that can be easily positioned when fixed to shorts and the like, can be accurately placed at an appropriate position, and can prevent the shorts and the like from being contaminated with excretory fluid. There is.

  The present invention achieves the above object by providing an absorbent article comprising a main body portion having a liquid holding layer and a leak-proof layer and a transparent or translucent peripheral portion surrounding the main body portion. It is.

  The absorbent article of the present invention can be easily positioned when fixed to shorts and the like, can be accurately placed at an appropriate position, and can prevent the shorts and the like from being contaminated with excretory fluid.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a panty liner (cage sheet) 1 as one embodiment of the present invention is a transparent or semi-transparent body part 2 positioned at the center and surrounding the body part 2. It consists of a peripheral part 5. The main body portion 2 has an oval shape. Although the outer shape of the peripheral part 5 is also substantially oval, the vicinity of the central part in the longitudinal direction is slightly narrow.
The main body 2 is formed by laminating the liquid holding layer 3 and the leak-proof layer 4 and is capable of absorbing the liquid from the skin contact surface side so as not to leak the liquid. An adhesive portion 7 for fixing the article is formed on the non-skin contact surface of the main body portion 2.

The liquid retaining layer 3 in this embodiment is composed of a hydrophilic nonwoven fabric, more specifically, a multilayer nonwoven fabric 3 in which a first fiber layer 31 and a second fiber layer 32 are laminated and partially joined. ing.
The multilayer nonwoven fabric 3 includes a first fiber layer 31 including a latent crimpable fiber that is three-dimensionally crimped, and a latent crimpable fiber that does not include the latent crimpable fiber or the latent crimpable fiber from the first fiber layer 31. The second fiber layer 32 is included at a low content, and the first and second fiber layers 31 and 32 are partially integrated by heat fusion. This laminated nonwoven fabric is a state in which the first fiber layer forming material and the second fiber layer forming material are laminated with each other, and both are partially heat-sealed by heat or ultrasonic embossing, etc. After the intermediate body in which 33 was formed in a dispersed state was produced, the intermediate body was subjected to a heat treatment, and the first fiber layer forming material was thermally contracted. On the second fiber layer side, a large number of independent protrusions 34 or continuous protrusions are formed to form an uneven shape. As such a laminated nonwoven fabric, for example, the three-dimensional sheet material described in JP-A-2002-187228 can be preferably used. The laminated nonwoven fabric is rendered hydrophilic by a hydrophilic treatment with a hydrophilizing oil after completion of the fiber stage or the nonwoven fabric.

  The latent crimpable fiber is a fiber that can be handled in the same manner as a conventional nonwoven fabric fiber before being heated, and has a property that a helical crimp is developed and contracted by heating at a predetermined temperature. is there. The latent crimpable fiber includes, for example, an eccentric core-sheath type composite fiber or a side-by-side type composite fiber containing two types of thermoplastic polymer materials having different shrinkage rates as components. Examples of the thermoplastic polymer material include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, and polyamides.

  As the liquid holding layer 3, a laminate of a liquid permeable top sheet and a liquid holding absorber can be used instead of the multilayer nonwoven fabric 3. As the surface sheet, non-woven fabrics, perforated films, laminates thereof and the like obtained by various production methods can be used. As the absorber, a fiber aggregate such as pulp fiber or a combination of this and a water-absorbing polymer can be used. Further, as the absorbent body, absorbent sheets such as absorbent paper, dry pulp sheets, stacked sheet-like pulp webs, absorbent polymer sheets (composed of nonwoven fabric, paper, superabsorbent polymer, etc.) can be used. Such an absorbent sheet can also form a liquid holding layer alone.

  As a material for forming the leak-proof layer 4, various sheet materials conventionally used as a back sheet for absorbent articles such as panty liners and sanitary napkins can be preferably used. For example, a polyethylene film, a polypropylene film, a polyester film, etc. can be used. A highly water-resistant sheet such as an SMS nonwoven fabric can also be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral portion 5 in the present embodiment is formed by bonding a transparent or translucent sheet material 51 to the peripheral portion of the main body portion 2. Specifically, a sheet material 51 having an opening substantially similar to the outer shape of the main body portion 2 at the center is placed on the main body portion 2 so that the peripheral edge of the opening and the peripheral edge of the main body portion 2 overlap each other. Overlap, at a position slightly inside the periphery of the main body portion 2, these are integrally integrated by performing a joining process by heat embossing. A portion indicated by reference numeral 52 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a portion subjected to heat embossing. Accordingly, the peripheral portion 5 exists on the front, rear, left and right of the main body portion 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet material 51 constituting the peripheral portion 5 is visible through the sheet material 51 through the seams 61 and 62 of the shorts, the fingers positioned on the back side of the sheet 51, and the like.

Transparent or degree of translucency of the peripheral portion is preferably the back black lightness L _B was measured as follows is 0 to 25, particularly preferably 5 to 15.
[Measurement method of back black lightness L _B]
The “back black lightness L _B ” defined in the present application refers to the lightness L value indicated by the absorbent sheet with the standard black plate on the back in the Lab color system, and the value is small in the range of 0 to 100. The closer to the L value of the standard black plate, the higher the transparency of the absorbent sheet.
In general, it means that the lower the lightness L, the blacker the color. Therefore, in order to define a highly transparent substance, the same “back white lightness Lw” using a standard white plate is defined. Although it is perfectly possible to show that the brightness L is high in white (the brightness changes depending on the background color), in the absorbent article according to the present application, the appearance is generally white (the brightness is high). Thus, it can be defined only by the back black lightness L _B.
For this measurement, a standard color difference meter can be used in a predetermined manner. In the present application, a color difference meter SE2000 manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Co., Ltd. and an attached standard black plate were used for the measurement.

The sheet material 51 constituting the peripheral portion 5 is preferably made of a leak-proof sheet from the viewpoint of preventing shorts and the like from being soiled with excreta.
The leak-proof sheet is a sheet having a property of hardly allowing liquid to permeate, and a liquid-impermeable sheet, a water-repellent sheet, a sheet having a certain degree of liquid retention, or the like can be used.

  Examples of liquid-impermeable sheets include: (1) Non-woven fabric made of various heat-fusible fibers that have not been hydrophilized; for example, heat-fusible fibers are polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and a combination of any of these. Nonwoven fabrics having a basis weight of about 12 to 45 formed using air-through, heat rolls, spunbonds, spunlaces, etc., can be used as the method for producing the nonwoven fabrics. Transparent and flexible film, for example, a single layer or composite layer sheet made of polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), etc., and a sheet that has been embossed or perforated (for improved feel) (Basis weight 25-45) and spunbond-meltblown combination (SMS, SMMS, etc.) It is possible to have.

  As a sheet having a certain degree of liquid retention, a nonwoven fabric (basis weight) in which hydrophilic fibers, for example, hydrophilic fibers such as hydrophilic heat-bonded fibers or rayon, cotton, etc., are mixed with a part of the nonwoven fabric fibers of (1) above. The amount of about 12 to 45) is used as it is, or it is combined by laminating the transparent and flexible film of the above (2) to various nonwoven fabrics made of various heat-fusible fibers subjected to hydrophilic treatment, or by lamination. A sheet (total basis weight of about 20 to 50) or the like can be used.

  Among the various materials described above, it is preferable to use a liquid-impermeable sheet made of the nonwoven fabric of (1) above from the viewpoints of softness, good feeling of being slatted, transparency, and cost. From the viewpoint, it is preferable to use a nonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 20 to 40 manufactured by an air-through or heat roll method, or a spunbond, SMS, or SMMS having a basis weight of 10 to 30.

The panty liner 1 of the present embodiment has a longitudinal direction and a width direction as shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. It is used by being fixed on the skin contact surface of the portion 6.
According to the panty liner 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the panty liner 1 is fixed to the crotch portion 6 of the shorts, the seams 61 and 62 before and after the crotch portion 6 are passed through the transparent or translucent peripheral portion 5. Since the side edge portions 63 and 63 can be seen, positioning can be easily performed with reference to a relative positional relationship between them, and the panty liner 1, particularly the main body portion 2, can be positioned at an appropriate position of the shorts. Can be fixed easily.
Further, once fixed, the peripheral portion is transparent or translucent and is not conspicuous, and only the small main body is conspicuous, so that the psychological burden on the user can be reduced as in the case of ultra-compact products.

Further, unlike the case of only the main body portion 2, the peripheral portion 5, preferably the portions located at the front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the panty liner 1 in the peripheral portion 5 are picked with both hands as shown in FIG. Since it can fix to the crotch part 6, the panty liner 1 can be reliably fixed to a suitable direction, without making it incline with respect to the front-back direction of shorts.
Further, the presence of the peripheral portion 5 prevents the panty liner 1 disposed on the shorts from rotating or swaying on the shorts, and the liquid is excreted at a position removed from the main body portion 2. Even if it moves outward from the main body portion 2, it is possible to prevent the shorts and clothes from becoming dirty.

Moreover, when the peripheral part 5 does not exist, the peripheral part of the main body part 2 is pushed up by the shorts and rises, which may stimulate the wearer and cause discomfort. The presence makes it difficult for the peripheral portion of the main body portion 2 to stand up, so that a sense of discomfort due to such a cause can be prevented. In addition, although the peripheral part of the peripheral part 5 may stand up, the peripheral part 5 is more flexible than the main body part 2 and hardly causes a sense of incongruity.
From the viewpoint of ensuring such an effect, the adhesive part 7 for fixing the panty liner formed on the non-skin contact surface of the main body part 2 extends from the periphery of the main body part 2. It is preferable to reach the peripheral portion 5. The adhesive portion 7 preferably extends outward from both side edges in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 2, and more preferably extends outward in the entire circumference of the peripheral edge of the main body portion 2. The extending width of the adhesive portion 7 can be, for example, more than 0 mm to 20 mm.

  Further, the adhesive portion 7 is preferably formed continuously from the main body portion 2 to the peripheral portion 5. Continuing from the main body part 2 to the peripheral part 5, it can follow the attached underwear well without causing inappropriate bending near the boundary between the main body part 2 and the peripheral part 5. Can do. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is more preferable that the adhesive portion 7 extends to the front, rear, left and right peripheral portions of the main body portion 2. The adhesive portion 7 can be formed using various known adhesives.

  Furthermore, when the peripheral part 5 does not exist, both side parts of the crotch part 6 may be deformed so as to wrap the both side edges of the main body part 2, which may cause a sense of incongruity or body fluid may permeate the crotch part and lead to leakage. However, the presence of the peripheral portion 5 makes it difficult for such deformation of the crotch portion 6 to occur, so that a sense of incongruity due to such a cause can be prevented.

The present invention is particularly useful for absorbent articles in which the area of the main body portion 2 is relatively small. As such an absorbent article, for example, an article having an area of the main body portion 2 of 12 to 70 cm ² can be cited. In this case, the ratio of the area of the peripheral portion 5 to the area of the main body portion 2 (the latter / the former) ) Is preferably 0.2-9. This ratio is particularly preferably 0.6 to 5.0 from the viewpoint of reliably obtaining the effect that the user is not worried about leakage and does not feel uncomfortable wearing visually.

  Further, the present invention is particularly useful for an absorbent article that is used by being mounted on the crotch portion 6 of the shorts so as not to protrude from both side edges 63 and 63 of the crotch portion 6 like the panty liner 1. . For example, in an absorbent article having a wing part that is used by being folded along both side edges of the crotch part, an appropriate mounting position is easily understood in the first place in relation to the wing part and its bending position, and the longitudinal direction is determined. There is almost no fear that the panties will be tilted and fixed from the front-rear direction.

The preferred dimensions of each part in the panty liner 1 of the present embodiment are as follows.
Total length L in the longitudinal direction: 60 to 250 mm, particularly 100 to 200 mm.
The length L1 in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion is 40 to 170 mm, particularly 50 to 120 mm.
Ratio of the length L1 to the total length L: 25 to 85%, particularly 55 to 75%.
Peripheral length L2 in the longitudinal direction: 20 to 210 mm, especially 50 to 120 mm.

Maximum dimension in the width direction (maximum width) W: 40 to 140 mm, particularly 45 to 80 mm.
Length W1 of the main body portion in the width direction: 20 to 70 mm, particularly 25 to 55 mm.
Ratio of the length W1 to the maximum width W: 15 to 85%, particularly 55 to 75%.
Minimum length W2 of the peripheral part in the width direction: 5 to 120 mm, particularly 20 to 50 mm.
Distance from the main body side edge to one product side edge in the center of the product: 5 to 80 mm, particularly 10 to 40 mm.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was mainly demonstrated, the absorbent article of this invention is not restrict | limited to said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention, various deformation | transformation are possible.
For example, like a panty liner 1 ′ shown in FIG. 4, a transparent or translucent sheet material 41 is used as a sheet constituting a part of the main body portion 2, and the sheet material 41 is extended from the main body portion 2. The peripheral part 5 can also be formed. In the panty liner 1 ′ shown in FIG. 4, a transparent or translucent sheet material 41 is used as the sheet material 41 constituting the leak-proof layer 4, and the extending portion 51 is a transparent or translucent peripheral portion. 5 is constituted. Further, the adhesive portion 7 of the main body portion 2 is divided into left and right portions, but each of the left and right portions is continuously formed from the main body portion 2 to the peripheral portion 5 in the width direction of the panty liner 1 ′. In the longitudinal direction of the panty liner 1 ′, it is continuously formed from the main body portion 2 to the peripheral portion 5. In the longitudinal direction of the panty liner 1 ′, the adhesive portion 7 has a length that can be accommodated in the main body portion 2. In the width direction, the adhesive portion is continuously formed from the main body portion 2 to the peripheral portion 5. The part 7 can also be provided.
Further, the main body portion 2 and the peripheral portion 5 can be formed into an oblong shape, a rectangle, a square, an ellipse, an egg shape, or the like.
Furthermore, the peripheral part can also use the part extended from the crotch outer edge of the underwear as a flap or wing.

  The absorptive article of the present invention may be a panty liner, a sanitary napkin, an incontinence pad, or the like.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a panty liner as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the XX cross section of FIG. 1 with a part thereof omitted. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the panty liner of FIG. 1 is fixed to the crotch portion of the shorts. FIG. 4 is a view (corresponding to FIG. 2) showing a panty liner as another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1,1 'panty liner 2 body part 3 laminated nonwoven fabric (liquid holding layer)
4 Leak-proof layer 5 Peripheral part 6 Crotch part 7 Adhesive part

Claims (4)

It consists of a main body portion having a liquid holding layer and a leak-proof layer, and a transparent or translucent peripheral portion surrounding the main body portion,
The liquid holding layer is composed of a multilayer nonwoven fabric,
The multilayer nonwoven fabric includes a first fiber layer containing a latent crimpable fiber that is three-dimensionally crimped, and a latent crimpable fiber that does not contain a latent crimpable fiber or a lower content than the first fiber layer. The first and second fiber layers are partially integrated by thermal fusion, and the first fiber layer side is arranged facing the leak-proof layer side. On the second fiber layer side, a large number of independent convex portions or continuous convex portions are formed, and an uneven shape is formed,
The said peripheral part is an absorptive article formed by joining a transparent or translucent leakproof sheet which has an opening in the central part around the above-mentioned multilayer nonwoven fabric . The non-skin adhesive portion is formed of an absorbent article for fixing the contact surface of the body portion, the adhesive portion according to claim 1 Symbol mounting extending from the periphery of the body portion and reaches the peripheral portion Absorbent articles. The area of the body portion is 12～70Cm ^2, the ratio of the area of the peripheral portion to the area of the body portion (latter / the former) is absorbent of claim 1 or 2, wherein 0.2 to 0.9 Goods. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the absorbent article is used by being placed on a crotch part of a short so as not to protrude from both side edges of the crotch part.