JP7093151B2 - Absorbent article - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an absorbent article having improved absorbability of excreted body fluid.

Generally, absorbent articles include tape-stopping type disposable diapers, light incontinence pads, urine absorbing pads, pants-type disposable diapers, etc., and these absorbent articles are used according to the need for care in excretion of the wearable person. It is appropriately selected and used. These absorbent articles are composed of a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body arranged between the two sheets. By adopting such a configuration, body fluids such as urine permeate through the top sheet of the absorbent article and are absorbed by the absorber, and are prevented from leaking to the outside by the back sheet.

Here, in the case of the absorbent article, various measures have been conventionally taken in order to improve the wearing feeling to the wearer and prevent the leakage of excrement. For example, in Patent Document 1, a central slit extending in the longitudinal direction is formed at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the absorber, and side slits extending in the longitudinal direction are formed at both ends of the central slit, and the central slit and the side slits are formed. Disclosed are absorbent articles that allow the absorber to bend at the formation position of. Further, Patent Document 2 includes an absorbent article having a pair of side slits extending in the longitudinal direction and a central slit as a bending guide slit extending to the waist region between the pair of side slits. Is disclosed. In these absorbent articles, by forming three slits in the absorbent body, the periphery of the slits is bent when worn, and the convex portion formed by the bending is in close contact with the excrement opening and is formed by the bending. The excrement is held in the recess, and contact between the excrement and the wearer's skin can be avoided.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-014726 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-346439

By the way, in general, in an absorbent article, when the highly absorbent polymer constituting the absorber absorbs the body fluid and swells, the swollen highly absorbent polymer blocks the diffusion path of the body fluid in the absorbing body. There was a problem that the absorption rate of body fluid decreased. Such a problem tends to become apparent when a pearl type high absorbent polymer is used as compared with the case where a crushed type high absorbent polymer is used. When the absorption rate of the body fluid is reduced in this way, the body fluid excreted by the second and subsequent excretion cannot be rapidly absorbed, which may lead to leakage of the body fluid. In particular, in the case of wearing in a sitting position where pressure is applied to the absorbent article as compared with the case of wearing in the recumbent position, the second time in the absorbent article in which the diffusivity of the body fluid is reduced after absorbing the body fluid once. When the body fluid is absorbed by the subsequent excretion, the body fluid is likely to leak. In addition to this, when the excretion position is displaced due to movement such as when using a wheelchair, or when pressure is generated due to movement, body fluid leakage is more likely to occur.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even body fluids excreted from the second time onward can be rapidly diffused and absorbed, and the absorbent article is under pressure. It is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which is less likely to cause leakage of body fluid even when the body fluid is excreted.

In view of the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have conducted diligent research. As a result, the absorber is composed of at least two layers of layered absorbers, and the absorber is provided with a central slit extending in the longitudinal direction and is located on the uppermost layer of the layered absorbers on the top sheet side. It has been found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by providing a pair of side slits on both sides of the central slit only in the layered absorber to be used, and the present invention has been completed. Specifically, the present invention provides the following.

(1) The first aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article having a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorber arranged between the top sheet and the back sheet. The absorber is composed of at least two layers of the layered absorber, and the absorber has a central slit extending in the longitudinal direction at the center in the width direction of the absorber, and is among the layered absorbers. Only in the layered absorber located on the uppermost layer on the top sheet side, a pair of side slits arranged in parallel with the central slit are formed on both sides of the central slit, and the pair of side slits are formed in the width direction of the central slit. The dimension is 20 mm or more and 35 mm or less, the width direction dimension of the side slit is 10 mm or more and 20 mm or less, and the longitudinal dimension of the central slit (24) formed in the absorber (23) is 145 mm or more. It is an absorbent article having a length of 315 mm or less and having a lengthwise dimension of the side slit (25) formed in the upper layer absorber (231) of 95 mm or more and 200 mm or less .

(2) The second aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (1), characterized in that the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the central slit is larger than the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the side slit. It is something to do.

(delete)

(3) The third aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (1) or (2), wherein the absorber is composed of three or more layers of layered absorbers. be.

In the absorbent article of the present invention, the absorber is composed of at least two layers of layered absorbers, has a central slit extending in the longitudinal direction at a substantially central portion in the width direction, and is located in the uppermost layer on the top sheet side. The layered absorber has side slits arranged substantially parallel to the central slit on both sides of the central slit. Therefore, even when the highly absorbent polymer in the absorber swells due to the absorption of body fluid by the first excretion, the central slit formed in the absorber and the layered absorber located in the uppermost layer on the top sheet side. Since the body fluid diffuses and permeates into the inside of the absorber through the side slits formed in, the leakage of the body fluid can be effectively prevented even in the second and subsequent excretion, and the side slit is the top. Since it is formed only on the layered absorber located on the uppermost layer on the sheet side, it is possible to effectively prevent the leakage of the body fluid even when the body fluid is excreted under pressure on the absorbent article. ..

It is a top view of the absorbent article of this invention. It is a drawing which shows the BB sectional view in FIG. It is a figure which shows the test apparatus for evaluation of the repetition absorption rate. It is a drawing which shows the test apparatus for the leakage evaluation under a load, and is (a) schematic plan view, (b) perspective view, (c) side view. It is a graph which shows the result of the repeated absorption rate evaluation.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Absorbable article>
In the description of the present specification, when the absorbent article 1 is worn, it means at least one of the time when the absorbent article 1 is attached and the time after the absorbent article 1 is attached. The longitudinal direction of the absorbent article 1 is a direction extending in front of and behind the wearer when the absorbent article 1 is worn, and is a direction indicated by reference numeral Y in the drawing. Further, the width direction of the absorbent article 1 is a direction laterally or orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and is a direction indicated by reference numeral X in the drawing. Further, the body-side surface is the surface of the front and back surfaces of each member such as the absorber 23 that is arranged on the wearer's skin side when worn, and the clothing-side surface is the surface of each member such as the absorber 23. Of the front and back sides, this is the side that faces the wearer's skin side when worn. Body fluid refers to the liquid excreted from the body such as urine, blood, and water in loose stool. Further, the use of the absorbent article 1 is not particularly limited, and generally, regardless of whether it is for infants or adults, a tape-stop type disposable diaper, a pants-type disposable diaper, a urine absorbing pad, a light incontinence pad, etc. It may be a sanitary product or the like.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the absorbent article 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. The absorbent article 1 includes a liquid-permeable top sheet 21 arranged on the body side surface, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 22 arranged facing the top sheet 21, and a top sheet 21 and a back sheet 22. It is provided with an absorber 23 arranged between the two.

Further, the absorbent article 1 has a pair of elastic members 26a for three-dimensional gathers on the top sheet 21 along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article 1 in order to prevent lateral leakage of the body fluid excreted by the user. A three-dimensional gather 26 may be provided. The outer end of the three-dimensional gather 26 in the width direction of the absorbent article 1 is fixed to the back sheet 22, the inner end thereof is fixed to the top sheet 21, and the center thereof is a free end not fixed to the top sheet 21. A three-dimensional gather sheet 26b is arranged. By providing the elastic member 26a for three-dimensional gathers along the longitudinal direction, the three-dimensional gathers 26 have uprightness and can be deformed according to the body shape of the wearer. As the elastic member 26a for three-dimensional gathers, for example, a polyurethane thread, a strip-shaped polyurethane film, a thread-shaped or strip-shaped natural rubber, or the like is used, and as the three-dimensional gather sheet 26b, water repellency or impermeable formed of hydrophobic fibers is used. Liquid non-woven fabrics, for example, spunbond non-woven fabrics, melt-blow non-woven fabrics, composite non-woven fabrics in which spunbond / melt-blow / spunbond are laminated, and the like are used.

[Top sheet]
The top sheet 21 may be formed of a base material having a liquid permeability that allows the body liquid to move to the absorber. For example, a non-woven fabric such as an air-through non-woven fabric, a thermal bond non-woven fabric, or a spunbond non-woven fabric, or a thermal bond / spunbond. It is formed of a material such as a composite non-woven fabric in which the above is laminated, an open film such as an open polyethylene film, a foamed film such as polyethylene foam and urethane foam, or a composite sheet in which these are laminated. Further, the surface of the top sheet 21 may be embossed or perforated in order to improve the liquid permeability. As a method for performing these embossing and drilling processes, known methods can be carried out without limitation. Further, in order to reduce irritation to the skin, the top sheet 21 may contain a lotion, an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory component, a pH adjuster, an antibacterial agent, a moisturizer and the like. Further, from the viewpoint of strength and workability, the basis weight of the top sheet 21 is preferably 18 g / m ² or more and 40 g / m ² or less. The shape of the top sheet 21 is not particularly limited, but may be any shape that covers the absorber 23, which is required to guide the body fluid to the absorber 23 so as not to leak.

[Backsheet]
The back sheet 22 may be formed by using a base material having a liquid impermeable property so that the body fluid held by the absorber 23 does not wet the clothes, and a resin film or a resin film and a non-woven fabric are laminated. It is formed from a material such as a composite sheet. The non-woven fabric used for the composite sheet is not particularly limited in the manufacturing method, and examples thereof include spunbonded non-woven fabrics, melt-blow non-woven fabrics, composite non-woven fabrics in which spunbond / melt-blow, spunbond / melt-blow / spunbond are laminated, and composite materials thereof. Can be mentioned. Examples of the resin film include polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, polypropylene, and a composite film of polyethylene and polypropylene.

From the viewpoint of strength and workability, the basis weight of the back sheet 22 is preferably 15 g / m ² or more and 40 g / m ² or less. Further, in order to prevent stuffiness at the time of mounting, it is preferable that the back seat 22 is provided with air permeability. In order to provide the back sheet 22 with breathability, for example, a filler may be blended in the resin film of the base material, or the back sheet 22 may be embossed. Calcium carbonate can be mentioned as the filler, and a known method can be used without limitation as the blending method.

[Absorber]
The absorber 23 preferably contains an absorbent fiber as a base material and a highly absorbent polymer (SAP). The absorbent fiber is not particularly limited as long as it is generally used for absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, disposable diapers and urine absorbing pads. For example, fluff pulp, cotton, rayon, acetate, tissue, absorbent paper and hydrophilic fiber. Rayon and the like can be mentioned. Among these, it is preferable to use fluff pulp from the viewpoint of absorbability. Examples of such fluff pulp include wood pulp (for example, B-BKP such as Southern pine and Douglas fur), synthetic fiber, polymer fiber, non-wood pulp and the like defibrated into cotton. It is preferable that the absorbent fiber of the absorber 23 has a basis weight of 150 g / m ² or more and 350 g / m ² or less as a whole so as not to impair the absorption performance and the touch.

The highly absorbent polymer of the absorber 23 is not particularly limited as long as it can absorb body fluids and prevent backflow, and is a sodium polyacrylate-based, polyaspartate-based, (starch-acrylic acid) graft. Those formed from materials such as a copolymer, a (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymer, a (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymer and a saponified product thereof can be used. Among these, sodium polyacrylate is preferable from the viewpoint of the amount of absorption per weight. The amount of SAP of the absorber 23 is preferably 150 g / m ² or more and 250 g / m ² or less, and 15% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less, so as not to impair the absorption performance and the touch. The content is preferably.

In the absorber 23, the morphology of the absorbent fiber and the SAP may be one formed by mixing SAP particles in the absorbent fiber, or a SAP sheet in which SAP particles are fixed between the absorbent fibers. preferable. The basis weight of the entire absorber 23 is preferably 400 g / m ² or more and 500 g / m ² or less. Further, for the purpose of preventing leakage of SAP particles and stabilizing the shape of the absorber 23, it is preferable to wrap the absorber 23 in a carrier sheet. The base material of the carrier sheet may be any one having hydrophilicity, and examples thereof include hydrophilic non-woven fabrics such as tissue, absorbent paper, and air-laid non-woven fabric. When a plurality of carrier sheets are provided, the base materials of the carrier sheets may be the same or different.

(Layered absorber)
In the absorbent article 1 of the present invention, the absorber 23 is composed of at least two layers of layered absorbers. Here, the absorber 23 may be composed of a layered absorber having three or more layers of an upper layer absorber, an intermediate layer absorber, and a lower layer absorber, but in the following description, for the sake of brevity. Assuming that the absorber 23 is composed of two layers of the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232 as shown in FIG. 2, the configuration of the absorber 23 and each layered absorber shall be described.

(Central slit)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the absorber 23 has a central slit 24 extending in the longitudinal direction at a substantially central portion in the width direction thereof. In other words, the central slit 24 is provided in the absorber 23 in which all of the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232 are integrated, and the position of the central slit 24 of the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232 are provided. The position of the central slit 24 is substantially the same. By providing such a central slit 24, the body fluid that has reached the absorber 23 is held in the central slit 24, and the absorber is held from the wall surfaces of the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232 that form the contour of the central slit 24. Body fluid will diffuse toward the inside of 23. As a result, even if the highly absorbent polymer in the absorber 23 has already absorbed the body fluid and is in a swollen state, the body fluid can be diffused through the central slit 24, so that the rapid diffusion of the body fluid is guaranteed. , Leakage of body fluid can be prevented.

(Side slit)
As shown in FIG. 2, in the absorbent article 1 of the present invention, only in the upper layer absorber 231 which is the layered absorber located in the uppermost layer on the top sheet 21 side among the layered absorbers, both of the central slits 24 are provided. A pair of side slits 25 arranged substantially parallel to the central slit 24 are formed on the side. That is, although the pair of side slits 25 are formed in the upper layer absorber 231 but not in the lower layer absorber 232, the layered absorber is formed between the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232. If it is further provided, it is not formed on the layered absorber. By adopting such a configuration, in a state where the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232 are laminated, the wall surface of the upper layer absorber 231 forming the contour of the side slit 25 in the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber A dent is formed by the upper surface of the 232 on the top sheet 21 side, and the body fluid held in the dent is rapidly diffused into the upper layer absorber 231 and the lower layer absorber 232. Since the side slit 25 is formed only in the upper layer absorber 231 to effectively prevent the leakage of the body fluid even when the body fluid is excreted, especially when the absorbent article 1 is under pressure. Can be done.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the longitudinal dimension of the central slit 24 formed in the absorber 23 is larger than the longitudinal dimension of the side slit 25 formed in the upper layer absorber 231. By adopting such a configuration, more body fluid can be retained in the central slit 24 located in the central portion of the absorber 23 in which the body fluid is excreted. The longitudinal dimension of the central slit 24 formed in the absorber 23 is preferably 145 mm or more and 315 mm or less, and the longitudinal dimension of the side slit 25 formed in the upper layer absorber 231 is 95 mm or more and 200 mm or less. It is preferable to have. By setting the dimensions of the central slit 24 and the side slit 25 in the longitudinal direction within the above range, the central slit 24 and the side slit 25 hold an excessive amount of body fluid while effectively improving the absorption rate of body fluid. It is possible to effectively prevent the leakage of body fluid due to the above.

The widthwise dimension of the central slit 24 formed in the absorber 23 is preferably larger than the widthwise dimension of the side slit 25 formed in the upper layer absorber 231. By adopting such a configuration, more body fluid can be retained in the central slit 24 located in the central portion of the absorber 23 in which the body fluid is excreted. The widthwise dimension of the central slit 24 formed in the absorber 23 is preferably 20 mm or more and 35 mm or less, and the widthwise dimension of the side slit 25 formed in the upper layer absorber 231 is 10 mm or more and 20 mm or less. It is preferable to have. By setting the dimensions of the central slit 24 and the side slit 25 in the width direction within the above range, the central slit 24 and the side slit 25 hold an excessive amount of body fluid while effectively improving the absorption rate of body fluid. It is possible to effectively prevent the leakage of body fluid due to the above.

<Manufacturing method of absorbent articles>
As a method for producing the absorbent article 1, a well-known method can be adopted. For example, (A) absorbent fibers are stacked together with a highly absorbent polymer to form an absorbent mat, and the absorbent 23 is formed. Step, (B) Step of fixing and integrating the top sheet 21 and the three-dimensional gather 26 with the hot melt adhesive, (C) Apply the hot melt adhesive to the inside of the top sheet 21, the three-dimensional gather 26, and the back sheet 22. (D) In the step of coating, (D) a step of arranging a top sheet 21 on the upper part of the absorber 23 and a back sheet 22 on the lower part of the absorber 23, and fixing and integrating each component, (E). Examples thereof include a manufacturing method including a step of cutting a semi-finished product of the absorbent article 1 to the product size by a cutter device and separating the individual absorbent article 1. When molding the absorber 23 of the absorbent article 1 in the present invention, the upper layer absorber 231 provided with the central slit 24 and the side slit 25, and the central slit 24 are provided, and the side slit 25 is provided. The layered absorbers including the lower layer absorber 232 that has not been formed may be laminated to form the absorber 23 having the central slit 24 and the side slits 25.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples. The present invention is not limited to the examples shown below.

<Example 1>
(Making absorbent articles)
Prepare an absorbent mat in which 20 g of fluff pulp crushed and defibrated from a pulp sheet and 8 g of a highly absorbent polymer are stacked, cut into a length of 400 mm and a width of 200 mm, and a central slit and a side slit are formed. An upper layer absorber provided as shown in Table 1 was prepared. Similarly, an absorber mat obtained by stacking 10 g of fluff pulp and 5 g of a highly absorbent polymer was prepared, cut into a length of 400 mm and a width of 100 mm, and a lower absorber having only a central slit was prepared. A urine absorbing pad having a length of 500 mm and a width of 300 mm was prepared by using the absorber in which the upper layer absorber and the lower layer absorber were laminated, and used as a sample of Example 1. The central slit has a length of 200 mm and a width of 20 mm, the side slit has a length of 120 mm and a width of 15 mm, an air-through non-woven fabric (basis weight 20 g / m ² ) is used as the top sheet, and a breathable polyethylene film is used as the back sheet. (Basis weight 35 g / m ² ) was used. The repeated absorption rate of the obtained urine absorbing pad, the leak evaluation under load, and the sticky sensory evaluation at the time of wearing by a wheelchair user were carried out according to the following. The obtained results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

<Comparative Examples 1 to 3>
A point where the central slit was not formed in the lower layer absorber (Comparative Example 1), a point where the central slit and the side slit were not formed in the absorber (Comparative Example 2), and a side slit was formed in the lower layer absorber. An absorbent article was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the central slit and the side slit were provided in the entire absorber (Comparative Example 3), and each evaluation item was evaluated.

[Repeat absorption rate]
As shown in FIG. 3, the urine collecting pad is fixed in a state of being spread on a horizontal smooth surface, an acrylic plate is placed on the urine collecting pad, and a pressure of 30 g / cm ² is applied from a cylinder having an inner diameter of 30 mm. 150 mL of physiological saline was injected at one time, and the time until the liquid level was absorbed by the urine absorbing pad was measured. Then, after leaving it for 3 minutes, 150 mL of physiological saline was injected again, and the time was measured in the same manner. This was repeated 5 times. The results are shown in Table 1 and FIG.

[Leakage evaluation under load]
As shown in FIG. 4, the urine collecting pad was fixed in a state of being spread on a horizontal smooth surface, an acrylic plate was placed on the urine collecting pad, and the urine collecting pad was tilted by 20 degrees. With a maximum pressure of 150 g / cm ² applied locally to the acrylic plate with a weight of 20 kg, the cylinder with an inner diameter of 30 mm connected to the acrylic plate is displaced by 30 mm from the center of the urine collecting pad in the width direction. 150 mL of physiological saline was injected at one time. After that, water injection was repeated at 5-minute intervals, the number of urine collecting pads in which leakage occurred each time was recorded, and the average value of the number of injections until leakage occurred was calculated. The results are shown in Table 2.

[Sensory evaluation of stickiness when worn by wheelchair users]
With the cooperation of eight panelists who use wheelchairs in their daily lives, we performed a sticky sensory evaluation when wearing a urine absorbing pad. After attaching the urine absorbing pad with the central slit and side slit, inject 150 mL of physiological saline 3 times from the tube near the urination port at intervals of 5 minutes, and after 1 hour after the injection is completed, it becomes sticky. A sensory evaluation was performed. Each urine collecting pad was ranked according to the following criteria. The results are shown in Table 3.
○ 6 or more and 8 or less out of 8 responded that they were not sticky △ 3 or more and 5 or less out of 8 responded that they were not sticky × 1 or 2 out of 8 responded that they were not sticky No one answered that it was not sticky

As can be seen from Table 1, by providing a central slit penetrating the upper layer absorber and the lower layer absorber and a side slit penetrating the upper layer absorber, even when the physiological saline solution is repeatedly injected, the physiological saline solution is provided. It was possible to suppress the decrease in absorption rate. Such an effect was not observed when the central slit and the side slit were provided only in the upper layer absorber, or when the central slit and the side slit were not provided. Further, as can be seen from Table 2, in the case where the lower layer absorber is not provided with the central slit by providing the side slit penetrating only the upper layer absorber in addition to the central slit penetrating the upper layer absorber and the lower layer absorber. Leakage of physiological saline was effectively prevented as compared with the case where the central slit and the side slit were not provided and the case where the side slit penetrating the upper layer absorber and the lower layer absorber was provided.

Further, as can be seen from Table 3, the urine absorbing pad provided with the central slit in the upper and lower absorbers and the side slit only in the upper absorber can be used even when physiological saline is repeatedly injected when using a wheelchair. It was hard to feel sticky.

1 Absorbent article 21 Top sheet 22 Back sheet 23 Absorber 231 Upper layer absorber 232 Lower layer absorber 24 Central slit 25 Side slit 26 Three-dimensional gather 26a Elastic member for three-dimensional gather 26b Three-dimensional gather sheet Y Longitudinal direction X Width direction

Claims (3)

An absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorber disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet.
The absorber consists of at least two layers of layered absorbers.
The absorber has a central slit extending in the longitudinal direction in the central portion in the width direction of the absorber, and the central portion of the layered absorbers is limited to the layered absorber located in the uppermost layer on the top sheet side. A pair of side slits arranged in parallel with the central slit are formed on both sides of the slit.
The widthwise dimension of the central slit is 20 mm or more and 35 mm or less, and the widthwise dimension of the side slit is 10 mm or more and 20 mm or less.
The longitudinal dimension of the central slit (24) formed in the absorber (23) is 145 mm or more and 315 mm or less, and the longitudinal dimension of the side slit (25) formed in the upper layer absorber (231) is. , 95 mm or more and 200 mm or less,
Absorbent article. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the central slit is larger than the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the side slit. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the absorber is composed of three or more layers of layered absorbers.

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