JP4526470B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to absorbent articles such as incontinence liners and sanitary napkins.

Conventionally, in absorbent articles such as incontinence liners, side leakage of the absorbent core is covered with a water-repellent nonwoven fabric to prevent side leakage.
For example, as a conventional sanitary napkin, the back sheet arranged on the non-skin contact surface side of the absorbent core is extended to the left and right, and the extended portion is located on the skin contact surface side of the absorbent core It is known to wind up to a top sheet and project the rolled-up portion further toward the wearer's skin side to make a leak-proof wall (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
However, the leak-proof wall of these sanitary napkins is not sufficiently upright when the absorbent article packaged in a folded state is taken out of the packaging material, and the upright state is stable during wearing. In some cases, it does not recover as it falls on the top sheet and does not function sufficiently as a leak-proof wall.

JP-A-55-52758 JP 58-67258 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that is excellent in the standing property of a water-repellent nonwoven fabric, that the standing state is stably maintained, and that has excellent leakage prevention properties.

  The present invention relates to an absorbent article comprising a top sheet, a back sheet, and an absorbent core interposed between the two sheets, wherein the water-repellent nonwoven fabric is formed on the top sheet on each side in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. Each of the water-repellent nonwoven fabrics is compressed together with the surface sheet and integrated with the surface sheet at a position inside the side edge of the absorbent article and outside the side edge of the absorbent core. The surface sheet is made of a non-woven fabric having a large number of heat-sealed portions, and the fibers constituting the non-woven fabric are at least on the skin-facing surface side of the non-woven fabric. A protruding portion is formed to protrude, and the water-repellent nonwoven fabric has an outer portion and / or an inner portion of the compression integrated portion as a base point of the outer end portion and / or the inner end portion of the compression integrated portion. Worn as Projects toward the skin side direction, by providing an absorbent article is obtained by achieving the above object.

  According to the absorbent article of the present invention, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric is excellent in standing property, the standing state is stably maintained, and excellent leakage prevention property is obtained.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an incontinence liner 1 as an embodiment of the absorbent article of the present invention includes a liquid-permeable top sheet 2 and a liquid-impermeable (including poorly permeable) back sheet 3. And an absorbent core 4 disposed between the two sheets 2 and 3.
Both the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 have a shape that substantially matches the plan view shape of the incontinence liner 1, and are joined to each other by a hot-melt adhesive 6 outside the peripheral edge of the absorbent core 4. ing. The absorbent core 4 and the back sheet 3 are also fixed by the adhesive 6.
Water repellent nonwoven fabrics 5 and 5 are arranged on the surface sheet 2 in each of both sides in the longitudinal direction of the incontinence liner 1. The water-repellent nonwoven fabrics 5 and 5 are respectively disposed along the longitudinal direction of the incontinence liner 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is compressed together with the surface sheet 2 in a portion inside the side edge 11 of the incontinence liner 1 and outside the side edge 41 of the absorbent core 4 so as to be integrated with the surface sheet 2. The compressed integrated part 51 is provided. The distance between the side edge 11 of the incontinence liner 1 and the compression integrated part 51 and the distance between the side edge 41 of the absorbent core 4 and the compression integrated part 51 are the excretory part facing part ( In the longitudinal central part), it is preferably at least 1 mm.
In the compression integrated part 51 in this embodiment, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is compressed together with the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 and integrated with these both sheets.

  For example, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the surface sheet 2 are compressed and integrated by, for example, combining a water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and a surface sheet 2 or a laminate in which the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5, the surface sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 are laminated in this order. This is performed by compressing and compressing between both rolls in a heat embossing apparatus provided with an embossing roll having a predetermined pattern of irregularities on the surface and an anvil roll having a smooth surface. This heat embossing can be performed by heating one or both of an embossing roll and an anvil roll.

The compression integration is preferably performed in a state where an adhesive (not shown) is interposed between the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the surface sheet 2 in the portion to be compressed and compressed. By using an adhesive together, the adhesion between the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2 is further improved. In this case, the adhesive interposed between the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2 can be applied to either or both of the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2.
In addition to the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2, when the back sheet 3 is compressed and integrated at the same time, the adhesive 6 is also applied between the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 in the portion to be compressed. It is preferable to intervene.
In the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the left and right compression integrated portions 51 formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction are simultaneously compressed on the front and rear end portions of the incontinence liner 1 and compressed by the topsheet 2 and the backsheet 3. Together with the integrated portion 52, an annular seal portion is formed along the periphery of the incontinence liner 1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the topsheet 2 in the incontinence liner 1 is composed of a nonwoven fabric 20 having a large number of heat-sealing portions 23, and the fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric between the heat-sealing portions 23 are at least of the nonwoven fabric. A large number of raised portions 24 are formed so as to protrude to the skin facing surface side (the surface side facing the wearer's skin when using the absorbent article).

The nonwoven fabric 20 which comprises the surface sheet 2 is demonstrated in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the nonwoven fabric 20 has a two-layer structure including an upper fiber layer 21 and a lower fiber layer 22 adjacent thereto. The upper fiber layer 21 is composed of a fiber assembly. The lower fiber layer 22 is composed of an aggregate of fibers of a different type and / or blend from the fibers constituting the upper fiber layer 21. The upper fiber layer 21 and the lower fiber layer 22 are partially joined by a large number of heat-sealed portions 23 formed by embossing.

  The heat-sealing part 23 is small and discretely formed discontinuously, and forms a staggered arrangement pattern as a whole. The heat-sealing part 23 is consolidated and has a smaller thickness and a higher density than other parts of the nonwoven fabric 20. The upper fiber layer 21 and the lower fiber layer 22 are integrated in the thickness direction by the heat fusion part 23. Although the heat fusion part 23 in this embodiment is circular, the shape of the heat fusion part 23 may be an ellipse, a triangle, a rectangle, or a combination thereof. Further, the heat fusion part may be formed in a continuous shape, for example, a linear shape such as a straight line or a curved line.

In the nonwoven fabric 20, the fiber which comprises this protrudes in the thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric 20 between the heat-fusion parts 23 (skin contact surface side). As a result, a large number of raised portions 24 are formed on the skin contact surface side of the nonwoven fabric. On the surface of the nonwoven fabric 20 on the absorbent core 4 side, the portion having the heat-sealed portion 23 is slightly recessed as compared to the surrounding area.
The raised portion 24 is composed of the upper fiber layer 21. In the nonwoven fabric 20 used in the present embodiment, a large number of substantially square regions having the heat fusion portions 23 at the four corners are formed. In each region, the upper fiber layer 21 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown, it protrudes to form a raised portion 24. The raised portion 24 in the present embodiment has a dome shape, and the inside thereof is filled with fibers constituting the fiber layer. The heat fusion part 23 is a concave part relative to the raised part 24.

  It is preferable that the thickness T of the part which has the protruding part 24 of the nonwoven fabric 20 is 1.0 mm or more, More preferably, it is 1.2-3.5 mm, Most preferably, it is 1.5-3.0 mm. Further, the thickness T of the portion having the raised portions 24 is preferably 2.0 times or more, more preferably 3.0 to 8.0 times, particularly preferably 3. times the thickness t of the heat-sealed portion 23. 5 to 5.0 times. The thickness T and the thickness t are measured by observing the longitudinal section of the nonwoven fabric 20 with a microscope.

  The lower fiber layer 22 in the nonwoven fabric 20 used in the present embodiment includes latent crimpable fibers in which crimps are expressed. The latent crimpable fiber in which crimps are expressed is in a coiled crimped state. The latent crimpable fiber preferably has a fineness of about 1 to 7 dtex. 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 thereof include those described in JP-A-9-296325 and Japanese Patent No. 2759331. As an example of two types of thermoplastic polymer materials having different shrinkage rates, for example, a combination of an ethylene-propylene random copolymer (EP) and polypropylene (PP) is preferably exemplified. The latent crimpable fiber in which crimps are expressed is preferably contained in the lower fiber layer 22 in an amount of 50% by weight or more, particularly 70 to 90% by weight from the viewpoint of the formation of the raised portion 24. The lower fiber layer 22 may be composed of 100% latent crimpable fibers in which crimps are developed. When the lower fiber layer 22 contains fibers other than the latent crimpable fibers in which crimps are expressed, the fibers include heat fusion that does not substantially shrink at the crimp start temperature of the latent crimpable fibers. For example, an attached fiber may be used. Specifically, a heat-fusible fiber that has heat-shrinkability but does not substantially heat-shrink at the crimp start temperature of the latent crimpable fiber, or a heat-fusible fiber that does not substantially have heat-shrinkability. (Hereinafter, these fibers are collectively referred to as non-heat-shrinkable fused fibers).

  The upper fiber layer 21 includes non-heat-shrinkable fused fibers. Specifically, the upper fiber layer 21 is preferably composed of a core-sheath type or side-by-side type heat fusion composite fiber. The upper fiber layer 21 may contain latent crimpable fibers contained in the lower fiber layer 22. Thereby, the recoverability when the raised portion 24 formed from the upper fiber layer 21 is compressed becomes high. In addition, the recoverability when the upper fiber layer 21 is extended in the plane direction is improved. From these viewpoints, the amount of the latent crimpable fibers contained in the upper fiber layer 21 is preferably 3 to 50% by weight, particularly 10 to 30% by weight.

The lower fiber layer 22 is preferably hydrophilized from the viewpoint of smooth liquid permeation. Similarly, the upper fiber layer 21 is preferably subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. In this case, the lower fiber layer 22 preferably has a degree of hydrophilicity greater than that of the upper fiber layer 21. This makes it even more difficult for wetback to occur. Examples of the hydrophilization treatment include a method of imparting a hydrophilizing agent to the fiber surface or kneading the hydrophilizing agent into the fiber. Further, as a means for increasing the hydrophilicity of the lower fiber layer 22 over the upper fiber layer 21, fibers having a water absorption property (cellulose fiber, cotton, rayon, etc.) may be mixed into the lower fiber layer 22.
The nonwoven fabric 20 used in the present embodiment is formed by laminating an upper fiber layer 21 and a lower fiber layer 22 and partially heat-pressing both of them by embossing to form a heat-sealed portion 24, and then by heat treatment, This is obtained by shrinking the latent crimpable fibers in the layer 2. Due to the contraction of the lower fiber layer 2, the upper fiber layer 21 is raised to form a raised portion 24.

In the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is compressed together with the top sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 in the compression integrated part 51 and integrated with these both sheets. As shown in FIG. 2, by using the nonwoven fabric 20 having the raised portion 24 and excellent in elastic recovery in the thickness direction, a portion 53 outside the compression integrated portion 51 in the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 as shown in FIG. Projecting toward the skin side of the wearer starting from the outer end 51a of the compression integrated portion 51, and the inner portion 54 of the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 from the compression integrated portion 51 is compressed. It protrudes toward the wearer's skin side from the inner end 51b of the integrated portion 51 as a base point.
As shown in FIG. 2, the outer portion 53 preferably protrudes obliquely upward outward in the width direction of the incontinence liner 1, as shown in FIG. 2. The inner portion 54 preferably protrudes obliquely upward in the center direction in the width direction of the incontinence liner 1.

According to the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the inner portion 54 of the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 protrudes toward the skin side of the wearer due to the above-described action. A pocket space is formed between the back sheet 3 to prevent the liquid from moving and to capture the liquid. The pocket space is not easily crushed during wearing, and even if it may be partially crushed, Excellent recoverability. Therefore, excellent leakage prevention properties can be obtained.
In particular, in the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, each water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is fixed to the compression integrated portion 51 in a folded state, and the bag-shaped side is Since the inner portion 54 is formed from the compression integrated portion 51, the rigidity of the inner portion 5 is increased, the pocket space is larger and more stable, and the leakage preventing effect is further improved. .

  Thus, according to the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 stands up well without providing the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 with an elastic member along the longitudinal direction of the incontinence liner 1. Therefore, the elastic member strongly presses the skin and does not adversely affect the skin. In addition, when the elastic member is arranged, in the folded and packaged state, the elastic member is in a stretched state. Therefore, the product is contracted by the elastic member, and the individual package is inflated to increase the thickness. Although the portability may be increased, the incontinence liner 1 according to the present embodiment does not have to be provided with an elastic member, so that the portability is excellent.

  From the viewpoint of forming a sufficiently large pocket space, the width of the inner portion 54 of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 (width in a direction parallel to the width direction of the absorbent article, from the inner end portion 51b to the protrusion direction tip 54b). (Measured along the surface of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5) is preferably 1 mm or more, and more preferably 3 to 10 mm.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner portion 54 of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is fixed at the front and back ends in the longitudinal direction of the incontinence liner 1 on the surface sheet 2 inside the compression integrated portion 51. It is preferable that As a result, the inner portion 54 is prevented from falling outside, and the function of the pocket space is more stably maintained. In the present embodiment, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is fixed on the topsheet 2 at the longitudinal front and rear end portions of the incontinence liner 1 by the compression integrated portions 55 and 56 formed in the same manner as the compression integrated portion 51. ing.

  In the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the outer portion 53 of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 protrudes toward the wearer's skin side by the same action as the inner portion 54. Even when the liquid moves laterally over the inner portion 54, the liquid is dammed in the vicinity of the compression integrated part 51 and hardly reaches the side edge of the incontinence liner. Therefore, a further excellent leakage prevention effect can be obtained.

  From the viewpoint of improving the leakage preventing effect by the outer portion 53 of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5, the width of the outer portion 53 of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 (the width in the direction parallel to the absorbent article width direction, the outer end portion 51a). (Measured along the surface of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5) is preferably 1 mm or more, and more preferably 1 to 10 mm.

  Further, when both the outer portion 53 and the inner portion 54 of the compression integrated portion 51 are erected as in the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, the inner portion 54 is larger than the width of the outer portion 53. The width is preferably large from the viewpoint of high leakage prevention effect. The ratio of the widths of the outer portion 53 and the inner portion 54 is preferably the former: the latter = 1: 0.2 to 1: 0.9.

  Further, in the incontinence liner 1 of the present embodiment, a hot melt adhesive (not shown) is interposed between the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 3 in the compression integrated portion 51, and the The aqueous nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 3 are joined by both joining by pressure compression and joining by an adhesive. By the combined use of the hot melt adhesive, the integration of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5, the top sheet 2, and the back sheet 3 becomes stronger, and the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5 stands up more reliably. Even when the compression integrated part 51 is compressed and integrated only with the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2, a hot-melt adhesive is provided between the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 3. By interposing, the integration of the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the surface sheet 2 in the compression integrated portion becomes stronger, and the standing property of the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 is improved. When only the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 and the top sheet 2 are compressed when the compression integrated part 51 is formed, the compression integrated part is preferably integrated with the back sheet 3 by the adhesive 6. Thereby, the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5, the top sheet 2, and the back sheet 3 can be integrated. Even in that case, the same effect as the case where the laminated body of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric 5, the top sheet 2, and the back sheet 3 is compression-integrated is exhibited. As the hot-melt adhesive, various known ones conventionally used for incontinence liners, sanitary napkins, disposable diapers and the like can be used without particular limitation.

The formation material of each part of the incontinence liner 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As a material for forming the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5, a crimping treatment is applied to an unstretched yarn obtained by melt spinning a thermoplastic resin or a stretched yarn obtained by stretching the unstretched yarn, if necessary. Non-woven fabric obtained by point-bonding short fibers obtained by cutting with heat, an adhesive, or the like, or entangled with water flow, needles, etc., that is, wet method, dry method, span lace method, or spunbond Nonwoven fabrics formed by the method can be used. Moreover, the nonwoven fabric directly shape | molded by the melt blown or the spun bond molding method can also be used.
As the undrawn yarn or drawn yarn, a single fiber or a composite fiber formed from polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or the like can be used. As the composite fiber, a core-sheath type composite fiber, a parallel type composite fiber, or a splittable composite fiber that is divided into a plurality of fibers by heat or external force can be used. As the core-sheath type composite fiber, a polyolefin system in which the combination of the core component and the sheath component is PET / PE, PP / PE, or PET / PP (the former represents the core component and the latter represents the sheath component). A core-sheath type composite fiber is mentioned.
Among non-woven fabrics composed of composite fibers, non-woven fabrics composed of core-sheath type composite fibers using high elastic resin as the core and low elasticity and / or low melting point resin as the sheath are excellent in texture and elasticity, and are also productive. It is particularly suitable because of its high safety and low cost.

As a material for forming the back sheet 3 and the absorbent core 4, various known materials conventionally used for incontinence liners, sanitary napkins, disposable diapers and the like can be used without particular limitation.
For example, as a material for forming the back sheet 3, a polyethylene film, a polypropylene film, a polyester film, or the like can be used. These films may be provided with fine holes for air permeability. Moreover, a highly water-resistant nonwoven fabric such as an SMS nonwoven fabric can be used. Moreover, as the absorptive core 4, the fiber aggregate which consists of hydrophilic fibers, such as a pulp fiber, or what made this hold | maintain a superabsorbent polymer is mentioned. Such an absorbent core 4 may be coated with a tissue, a breathable and water-permeable nonwoven fabric, or the like. Moreover, the absorptive sheet etc. of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 8-246395 can also be used.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in addition to the incontinence liner, the absorbent article of the present invention may be a sanitary napkin, a liner for cages, and the like. The incontinence liner is used for absorption of urine and is disposed in the crotch portion of the shorts in the same manner as the sanitary napkin.
Moreover, only the part 53 outside the compression integrated part 51 in the water repellent nonwoven fabric 5 may protrude toward the wearer's skin side, or only the part 54 inside the compression integrated part 51 is the wearer. You may protrude toward the skin side. Further, the compression integrated portion can be formed by melt processing by high-frequency vibration or integrated processing only by compression instead of heat embossing.

It is a top view which shows the state which looked at the incontinence liner as one Embodiment of this invention from the surface sheet side. It is an expanded sectional view which shows typically the XX sectional view of FIG. It is a perspective view (only a part is shown) which shows the surface sheet used for the incontinence liner of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the YY line cross section of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Incontinence liner (absorbent article)
2 Surface sheet 20 Non-woven fabric 23 Heat-sealed portion 24 Raised portion 3 Back sheet 4 Absorbent core 5 Water-repellent nonwoven fabric 51 Compression integrated portion 51a Outer end portion 51b Inner end portion 53 Portion 54 outside compression integrated portion Compression integration Inside part

Claims (4)

An absorbent article comprising a top sheet, a back sheet and an absorbent core interposed between the two sheets,
A water-repellent nonwoven fabric is disposed on the top sheet in each of both sides in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article,
Each of the water-repellent nonwoven fabrics has a compression integrated portion that is compressed together with the surface sheet and integrated with the surface sheet at a site inside the side edge of the absorbent article and outside the side edge of the absorbent core. And
The surface sheet is made of a nonwoven fabric having a large number of heat-sealed portions, and the fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric between the heat-fused portions protrude at least on the skin-facing surface side of the nonwoven fabric to form a raised portion. ,
The compression integrated portion is formed at the front and rear end portions in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article, and together with the compression integrated portion of the topsheet and the backsheet, an annular seal portion along the periphery of the absorbent article Forming
The water-repellent nonwoven fabric, the absorbent the compressed integral part than the outer portion及beauty in side portion provided from the side edge on the outside of the site of the core, the outer end of the compressed integral part及beauty in It protrudes toward the wearer's skin side from the side edge,
The water repellent nonwoven fabric is not provided with an elastic member along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article,
In the water-repellent nonwoven fabric, the inner portion of the compression integrated portion provided at a portion outside the side edge of the absorbent core is the front and rear end portions in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. It is fixed face down on the inner surface sheet,
The water-repellent nonwoven fabric has a compression integrated portion for fixing the inner portion of the water-repellent nonwoven fabric on the top sheet, and the compression integrated portion satisfies the following conditions (1) to (3) : Goods.
(1) It forms in the center part side of the longitudinal direction of this absorptive article rather than the above-mentioned compression integrated part formed in the longitudinal direction end part of the above-mentioned absorbent article.
(2) It is formed in parallel with the compression integrated portion with a space between it and the compression integrated portion provided at a portion outside the side edge of the absorbent core.
(3) It forms outside the edge part of the center part side of the width direction of the said absorbent article in the said inner part in the said water-repellent nonwoven fabric. The water-repellent nonwoven fabric, an absorbent article of the previous width of the inner portion than the portion of the Kisotogawa is greater, according to claim 1, wherein. The water-repellent nonwoven fabric, with the folded, the and from the side edges of the absorbent core is secured to the compression integrated portion provided outside the site, the side which is in a bag shape, the compressed integral part The absorbent article of Claim 1 or 2 which comprises the inner part. The adhesive agent is interposed between the said water-repellent nonwoven fabric and the said surface sheet in the said compression integrated part provided in the site | part outside the side edge of the said absorptive core, The any one of Claims 1-3 Absorbent articles.

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