JPH0436023B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a so-called disposable diaper that does not require a separate diaper cover. More specifically, the present invention relates to the diaper, which can be used for both infants and adults, but is particularly suitable for adults who are bedridden due to incontinence or illness. (Prior Art) In disposable diapers that do not require a separate diaper cover, it is an important issue to prevent the leakage of excrement from the wearer's crotch area. An elastic member that expands and contracts in the length direction of the diaper is provided to compress the wearer's thighs and create a seal with the outside.However, in order to fully demonstrate the sealing function, it is necessary to Compression must be even and tight. However, in general, disposable diapers use absorbent materials with relatively low flexibility as their constituent materials for economical reasons, which impedes the elastic member's ability to expand and contract, and as a result, the seal by the elastic member It is believed that the functions are not fully demonstrated. Therefore, based on this view, as a solution to the problem that the elastic member's expansion and contraction function is inhibited,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-40267 discloses a disposable diaper in which a highly flexible side flap is formed on the outside of an absorbent body, and an elastic member is attached to the side flap at a sufficient distance from the outside edge of the absorbent body. In addition, a disposable diaper is provided in which a part of the exterior member (top sheet and back sheet) covering the absorbent body is provided with a flexible part that does not adhere to the absorbent body, and an elastic member is attached to the flexible part.
-10050, respectively. In addition, as a solution to the problem that the sealing function of the elastic member is obstructed by the movement of the absorber or the wearer's thighs, the opposing sides of the backsheet are folded back inward, and an elastic member is attached to the free end of the folded part. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-25741 proposes a disposable diaper in which an elastic member is attached to the absorbent body so that the elastic member can move freely relative to the absorbent body. Incidentally, as far as the present inventors know, the above-mentioned known technology is a typical one that shows a solution to the problems in disposable diapers having an elastic member, particularly for making the sealing function of the elastic member effective.
You could say that. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, despite the teachings of the above-mentioned known techniques, it is not possible to effectively prevent leakage of excrement, particularly excrement liquid, from the wearer's crotch in a disposable diaper having an elastic member. This is extremely difficult to construct, and this is well known to those skilled in the art. There may be various reasons for this, but the research results of the present inventors and the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
According to the teaching of No. 25741, the factors that adversely affect the sealing function of the elastic member are the shape of the human body from the waist to the groin and abdomen where the diaper is worn, and the shape conditions that the diaper must meet in order to perform its function. This is contrary to the above. The human body is wide at the hips, extremely narrow at the groin, and suddenly widens again at the abdomen. Generally, this body shape is seen in adults,
For example, in the case of an adult, the width of the buttocks in contact with the bed in a supine position is approximately 6 to 8 times the width of the groin region, while in the case of infants, the former is approximately twice the width of the latter. Therefore, in the buttocks, it is desirable that the absorbent body of the diaper having a predetermined thickness be formed as wide as possible. Such a configuration is desirable because it not only improves the ability to receive and absorb excrement in the buttocks area, but also prevents an uncomfortable level difference between the lower buttocks and the bed in the supine position. On the other hand, the absorbent body of the diaper in the crotch area is desirably formed narrowly in order to be positioned as naturally as possible in the crotch area. However, since excrement is concentrated in the diaper in the groin area, the diaper is formed as wide as possible to improve the ability to receive and absorb excrement in the groin area. It is desirable that the sealing function is formed so as to fully exhibit its sealing function. These contradictory demands can be relatively easily satisfied in a flexible cloth diaper that uses a diaper cover by gathering the diaper at the crotch area and using the elasticity of the diaper cover to make a close contact. Disposable diapers that consist of a relatively rigid absorbent body and a relatively inelastic plastic backsheet are difficult to satisfy. By the way, looking at the diapers disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-40267 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-10050, in the case where the absorbent body in the crotch area of the diaper is not narrowly formed, the crotch area is narrower than the wearer's. The absorbent body is strongly compressed and gathered in the crotch area against the rigidity of the absorbent body, and due to the rigidity of the absorbent body bent into an irregular shape, complex stress, folds, and wrinkles occur, and the elastic member also applies stress accordingly. As a result, the contact force against the body becomes uneven and unstable, and the elastic member does not act effectively, that is, at right angles to the surface of contact with the skin. In general, the stiffness of an absorbent body depends on itself or in response to the movement of the wearer.
The elastic member is moved away from a region that should be in close contact with it or brought into unstable contact with it. Therefore, the sealing function of the elastic member cannot be fully demonstrated. Furthermore, in the case where the absorbent body of the diaper is formed narrowly in the crotch region, if a relatively large amount of excrement, especially excrement liquid, is excreted, the absorbent body does not have the required absorption capacity and speed, causing leakage. In this aspect, if the crotch area is formed to be larger than a certain width, substantially the same drawbacks as in the above aspect will occur. On the other hand, the diaper disclosed in JP-A No. 59-25741 is aimed at solving problems similar to those of the two known techniques mentioned above, and can be evaluated to some extent. However, the opposite sides of the backsheet are folded inward, and the distance between the inner free ends of the folded portions (the elastic members are attached to the free ends) is equal to the width of the central part (inseam area) of the absorbent body. It is said that it is preferable that the shape be formed so as to substantially match the . Therefore, it is restricted to form a diaper with a wide crotch area in order to improve the ability to absorb excrement, and this diaper essentially has the drawbacks of the above-mentioned known diapers in which the crotch area is formed narrowly. Furthermore, since the amount and rate of excretion per adult diaper is far greater than that of infants, diapers for adults need to have a sufficiently large absorption capacity in the crotch area and a sufficiently high absorption rate. Since adults have larger individual differences in body size and shape than infants, it is necessary to be highly adaptable to these differences. However, this problem has not been effectively solved by the above-mentioned known techniques and other known techniques related to disposable diapers. Therefore,
Even if a diaper exhibits relatively good performance when the wearer is used in an upright position, it may exhibit extremely unstable performance when used in the supine or lateral position, especially in the latter position. As can be understood from the description of the above-mentioned known technology, the solution for ensuring that the elastic member fully exhibits the sealing function when wearing a disposable diaper is mainly based on the rigidity of the absorber relative to the elastic member. The aim has been to configure the structure in a way that prevents the movement of objects from causing negative effects. It is no exaggeration to say that this has become common knowledge or a fixed idea regarding disposable diapers having elastic members. Contrary to such conventional common sense or fixed idea, the present invention provides that the elastic member is fixed directly or indirectly to the upper part of the absorbent body in the crotch region at an interval narrower than the width between the opposite side edges of the absorbent body in the width direction. The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems by configuring it so that it is arranged in Therefore, according to the present invention, improvements are made that can improve the suitability, sealability, and adaptability to individual differences in physique and figure in the crotch region of the wearer, thereby increasing the leakage prevention of excrement. disposable diapers can be provided. (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes at least an absorbent body, a water-impermeable backsheet on which the absorbent body is placed, and an absorbent body integrally formed on opposite sides in the width direction of the backsheet. The upper part of the absorbent body is located at an opposing position on the upper part of the absorbent body facing inward for a predetermined distance in the same direction from opposite side parts of the absorbent body in the width direction so that the central area of the upper part is not covered over a predetermined width, and is located in a longitudinal direction. a water-impermeable side sheet secured at the ends;
The present invention is based on a disposable diaper that includes stretchable elastic parts that are arranged in the length direction of the diaper at positions opposite to each other in the width direction and that form gears in the arrangement parts, and is characterized by the following points. That is, the feature is that the side sheet is provided with the stretchable elastic part on the inner side in the width direction, and the stretchable elastic part is fixed to the upper part of the absorbent body in the stretched state. be. Further, the present invention will be explained based on the illustrated embodiments as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, the diaper has first and second tape fasteners 11a extending outward from the waist in the rear region.
11b is extended and assembled by fixing the free ends of the first and second tape fasteners 11a, 11b to the front region. Known pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes are used as the first and second tape fasteners 11a and 11b. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the diaper includes a water-permeable top sheet 12 and an impermeable back sheet 1.
3, and an absorbent body 14 enclosed between the two sheets. The absorbent body 14 of the diaper shown in FIG. 2 is formed in a rectangular shape, and the absorbent body 14 of the diaper shown in FIG.
4a is formed. The top sheet 12, back sheet 13, and absorbent body 14 are made of materials that are used in conventional disposable diapers. Generally, the top sheet 12 is made of nonwoven fabric or porous plastic film, and the back sheet 13 is made of plastic film or waterproofed material. The absorbent body 14 is made of a non-woven fabric mainly made of flat pulp, preferably one in which superabsorbent polymer particles are mixed. Further, the absorbent body 14 is covered with tissue paper or a hydrophobic net-like sheet from the upper surface to the lower surfaces on both sides, and preferably is a molded product that is substantially integrated in the completed state of the diaper. It is configured to exist as. However, the present invention does not particularly care about the materials of these constituent members. The diaper shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
4, the back sheet 13 has impermeable side sheets 15a and 15b which extend so that the upper central region of the absorbent body 14 is not covered over a predetermined width. are doing. In the diaper shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a top sheet 12 and a back sheet 13 are integrally joined to each other on both sides facing each other in the width direction, and the diaper is extended between the bottom surface of the top sheet 12 and the top surface of the absorbent body 14. It has water-impermeable side sheets 15c and 15d. The side sheets 15c and 15d are made of the same material as the back sheet 13, for example. Side seats 15a, 15b, 15c, 15
d is bonded and fixed to the back sheet 13 and/or the top sheet 12 at its longitudinal ends. Side seats 15a, 1 shown in FIGS. 4 and 6
Elastic members 16a and 16c made of a plurality of string-like rubbers are elastic members 5c that extend and contract along their inner lines in the width direction.
(In the present invention, the elastic member may be referred to as an elastic portion) is attached in a stretched state by adhesive means such as a hot melt adhesive. Figure 5,
The side sheets 15b and 15d shown in FIG. 7 are made of a thin highly flexible plastic film that is made thermoplastic and exhibits elasticity when heat treated, and the inner edges in the width direction are treated with the elastic portion 16 that expands and contracts.
b, 16d are given. Plastic films having such properties have been proposed as elastic members for conventional disposable diapers, such as Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 144601/1983, US Patent No. 3819401,
What is disclosed in the same No. 3912565 etc. can be used. Also, the side seats 15a, 1
Needless to say, as a means for imparting stretch elasticity to the portions 5b, 15c, and 15d, a hot melt adhesive that exhibits stretch elasticity in a cured state can be applied to the portions. Thus side seats 15a, 15b, 15
c, elastic portion 16a provided on the inner edge of 15d,
16b, 16c, and 16d are the absorbent body 14 in the stretched state.
It is fixed to the upper surface or the lower surface of the top sheet 12. As this fixing means, the side seat 15
In the case of elastic members 16a, 16c that are separate from a, 15c, the elastic members 16a, 16c are attached to the side sheet 15.
a, 15c is used, or a separately prepared adhesive is used, and on the other hand,
side sheets 15a, 15d and elastic portion 16b,
If 16d and 16d are made of the same material, a separately prepared adhesive is used. If the elastic part is fixed to the immovable part of the diaper in this way, from the conventional common sense or fixed idea mentioned above, the elastic part will not affect the rigidity of the absorbent body or the non-stretchability of the side sheet or the top sheet. Some readers may have doubts that the material may not be able to fully exert its contractile force due to its nature, but such doubts are based on the fact that the material is not able to fully exert its contractile force in relation to the rigidity of the absorbent body. This problem can be solved by using it as an elastic member.
Incidentally, if superabsorbent polymer particles are used in addition to flat pulp as the absorbent body, the absorbent body can be constructed to be relatively thin and have low rigidity, and as will be understood from what will be described later. According to the present invention, the elastic portion is located at the base of the thigh, which is relatively less affected by the wearer's body movements, and is therefore made of a material that does not have a particularly strong contractile force. can also perform the required functions. In the diaper shown in FIG. 8, a water-impermeable side sheet 15e is located on the upper surface of the top sheet 12, and an elastic member 16e attached to the inner edge of the side sheet 15e is fixed to the upper surface. It goes without saying that this embodiment can also be configured as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 after being modified as necessary. As representatively shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the opposing side sheets 15a, that is, the side sheet 1
The width W ₁ of the central region of the upper surface of the absorbent body 14 that is not covered by 5a is 50 to 320 mm, preferably 100 to 300 mm, and the width between the inner edge and outer edge of the side sheet 15a, that is, the effective width W of the side sheet 15a ₂ is preferably 15 mm or more. As shown in FIG. 2, the side sheet 15a is preferably provided over the entire length of the diaper, but it is sufficient if it is provided at least in the crotch area, and preferably the elastic member 16a is also provided in the crotch area. provided. The top sheet 12 and the back sheet 13 are joined together at their outer peripheries by means of hot melt adhesive or welding, and the absorbent body 14 is also attached to the back sheet 13 or/and the top sheet 1.
2. being fixed relatively immovably by said means to
Same as traditional disposable diapers. (Function) In the diaper of the present invention, the elastic portion (symbol 1
As described above, the side sheet (represented by reference numeral 6a) is attached to the inner edge of the side sheet (represented by reference numeral 15a) extending over the upper part of the absorbent body 14, and is also fixed to the upper part of the absorbent body 14. Therefore, when putting the diaper on the wearer, the elastic portion 1
The line portion of the absorbent body 14 to which the elastic portion 6a is fixed is strongly drawn toward the body by the contraction force of the elastic portion 16a, and moves from the thigh to the base of the thigh. on the other hand,
Since the portion outside the elastic line portion strongly presses against the thigh during the movement process, the diaper, especially the absorbent body 14, will eventually form an approximately Ω-shape with the elastic line portion as a ridge in the front crotch area. It will be bent (see Figure 12). The outer portion, which is bent in this way and pressed into contact with the thigh, exhibits a good sealing function in combination with the elastic wire portion, and this is maintained stably, so that it does not become loose due to body movements. Never move. (Example) As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, an absorbent body 22 is formed by covering a matte 20 of flat pulp (floss-like or pulverized pulp) with a water-permeable sheet 21 from the upper surface to the lower surfaces of both sides. 22 is covered with an impermeable back sheet 23 from the lower surface to both upper surfaces, and the folded portion of the back sheet is used as a side sheet 24. An elastic member 26 is attached to the inner edge of the side sheet with hot melt adhesive 25, and the upper surface is covered with a water permeable top sheet 27. The diaper of the present invention was prepared by covering the diaper with The elastic member 26 is formed by pressing the entire upper surface of the absorbent body 22 at 7 kg/cm ² at the stage where the lower surface of the absorbent body 22 is covered with the back sheet 23 and both upper surfaces of the absorbent body 22 are covered with the side sheets 24. It was fixed to the upper surface of the absorber 22 using an adhesive 25. Further, the absorbent body 22 and the back sheet 23 and the back sheet 23 and the top sheet 27 were bonded together using a hot melt adhesive 28. In addition, the diaper has W ₁ of 260 in Figure 9.
When mm・W ₂ is 40mm (Example 1), W ₁ is 200mm・
W ₂ is 70mm (Example 2), W ₁ is 140mm, W ₂ is 100mm
(Example 3). On the other hand, as Comparative Example 1, as shown in FIG. 13, a diaper was prepared under substantially the same conditions as the diaper of the present invention except that the side sheet 24 was not provided and the width of the top sheet and back sheet was 400 mm. Created. In addition, as comparative example 2, the first
As shown in Figure 4, a diaper was produced under substantially the same conditions as the diaper of the present invention, except that the center part of the absorber was formed into an hourglass shape, and the narrowest width was 240 mm. Other structural conditions of the Examples and Comparative Examples were as follows. Absorber: Size 740 x 340 mm, Weight 250/m ² , Stiffness by Taber method (JISP8125) Length 6.2 g cm, Width 6.2 g cm Back seat: Size 800 x 350 mm (excluding side seat width) ), 30 μm thick polyethylene film Top sheet: Size 800 x 340 μm, weight 25
g/ ^m2 , binder-free non-woven fabric made of polyester fibers and sweat-absorbing polyester fibers Elastic members: 4 pieces of rubber thread cut into 45cm lengths at an elongation rate of 300% on one side of the diaper, synthetic rubber SR manufactured by Nippon Elastic Co., Ltd. −45 (45
Count) The performances of the Examples and Comparative Examples were as shown in the following table. For absorption tests in the lateral and supine positions, the test diaper was attached to a device that incorporated an artificial excretion mechanism into a human body model made based on the body shape of a bedridden elderly person.
Artificial urine was injected at a constant rate while tilted at an angle corresponding to the lateral or supine position of a human body, and the amount absorbed until leakage occurred was measured. In addition, the numerical value showing the absorption amount test result shows the average of 5 times.

[Table] When wearing the diaper of the example,
As described in the section of the above-mentioned operation and as shown in FIG. 12, the line portion where the elastic member is located is located at the thigh root of the human model and is bent into an approximately Ω shape. (Effects of the Invention) Since the diaper of the present invention has the above-described structure and function, it can be bent into an approximately Ω shape and pressed against the wearer's thigh base and thigh to provide a sufficient seal. Since it performs its function and maintains its condition stably, it can be used in either the lying or supine position, even if the wearer moves, or even when a relatively large amount of excrement is produced. However, leakage can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, even if there are individual differences in the physique and body shape of the wearer, the absorbent body can be given any size and shape to accommodate these and have the required absorption capacity. Therefore,
In particular, it is extremely useful as a diaper for adults who excrete a larger amount of body fluid than infants and for adults such as bedridden elderly and sick people.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of a diaper according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway exploded plan view, FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway exploded plan view showing another embodiment, and FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 2, Figures 5, 6, and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along line 4-4 in Figure 2, and Figure 8 is a partially cutaway view. FIG. 9 is a developed plan view showing another aspect, FIG. 10 is a developed plan view showing the embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a partial enlarged schematic diagram showing fixing means for the elastic member and the absorbent body; FIG. 12 is a front view showing the diaper of the present invention in a fitted state; FIGS. 13 and 14; FIG. The figure is a developed plan view of a comparative diaper. 12... Top sheet, 13... Back sheet, 14... Absorber, 15a (b, c, d, e)
...Side seat, 16a (b, c, d, e)...
...Elastic part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. At least an absorbent body, a water-impermeable backsheet on which the absorbent body is placed, and an absorbent body integrally connected to a widthwise opposite side of the backsheet in the same direction from the widthwise opposite side of the absorbent body. an impermeable side sheet located at an opposing position on the upper part of the absorbent body facing inward by a predetermined distance so that the central region of the upper part is not covered over a predetermined width, and fixed at the longitudinal end; and In a disposable diaper, the side sheet is provided with the stretchable elastic portions on the inner side in the width direction thereof, and the stretchable elastic portions are arranged in the length direction at opposite positions and create gathers in the arranged portions, and . The diaper, wherein the stretchable elastic portion is fixed to the upper part of the absorbent body in a stretched state. 2. A water-permeable top sheet that covers the top surface of the absorbent body and is joined to the backsheet at least at a peripheral edge, and the side sheet is located between the top surface of the absorbent body and the bottom surface of the top sheet. The diaper according to item 1. 3. The diaper according to claim 1, further comprising a water-permeable top sheet that covers the upper surface of the absorbent body and is joined to the back sheet at least at a peripheral edge, and the side sheets are located on the upper surface of the top sheet. . 4. The diaper according to claim 1, wherein the side sheets are provided by folding back widthwise opposite sides of the back sheet. 5. The diaper according to claim 1, wherein the side sheet is formed separately from the back sheet and is integrally joined thereto. 6. The diaper according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent body exists as a substantially integrated molded product whose upper surface is fixedly covered with a water-permeable sheet. 7. The opposing interval between the opposing side sheets or the width of the central region of the absorbent body not covered by the opposing side sheets is at least 50 mm, and the width between the inner edge and outer edge of each side sheet is at least 50 mm.
The diaper according to claim 1, which has a diameter of 15 mm. 8. The diaper according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable elastic portion is provided by an elastic member stretched over the side sheet. 9. The diaper according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent body is fixed to the back sheet and/or the top sheet.