JPH10314217A - Tubular absorber and absorber product having it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase absorbing capacity while being a thin type, and hold a stable shape even before absorbing liquid and after absorbing it by forming a sheet-like support body composed of a fiber web into a tube shape so that a surface to support a high polymer absorber becomes the inside. SOLUTION: A sheet-like support body 1 is molded so as to have a closed ring-shaped cross section, and is formed into a tube shape by being joined by an adhesive in a butting part of its both edge parts, and a high polymer absorber (SAP) 2 is almost uniformly carried over the whole area of its inner peripheral surface. Or both edge parts of the sheet like support body 1 are joined together by the adhesive 3 together with a reinforcing sheet 4 arranged in the butting part of both edge parts of the sheet-like support body 1. Or a flat sheet-like support body 1 where the SAP 2 is carried on one surface is formed in a cylindrical shape by putting a surface to carry the SAP 2 on the inside only in its one end part, and the mutually opposing both side edges are superposed on each other in a proper width, and are adhered together in this superposed part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an absorbent having the ability to absorb a large amount of liquid compared to its own volume, a disposable diaper for infants or adults, and a female physiology using this absorbent. It relates to an absorbent product such as a product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Absorbent cores used for absorbent products such as disposable diapers for absorbing moisture and body fluid have been mainly composed of fluffy wood pulp and so-called polymer absorbents. (Hereinafter abbreviated as “SAP”). However, in recent years, in order to improve the efficiency of logistics, the efficiency of shelves at retail stores, and to save resources, conventional relatively bulky absorbent products
Social demands for thinner and more compact are increasing, and accordingly, it is desired to reduce the size of the absorber core itself.

[0003] As a means for making the absorbent core compact and thinner, in the case of a combination of pulp and SAP, the ratio of SAP having a water absorption capacity approximately 2 to 10 times higher than that of pulp even under load is increased. On the contrary, if the ratio of pulp is reduced, it becomes thinner and more compact, and ultimately SAP
If a 100% structure is adopted, it should be possible to pursue a thin layer and compactness as much as possible.

[0004]

On the other hand, on the other hand, SAP
As the ratio increases, the so-called “gel blocking phenomenon” based on the properties of the SAP occurs in the process of absorbing the liquid, and the absorbent product does not function with the calculated efficiency. Therefore, at present, SAP / pulp = 1/1 The configuration before and after is limited, and it is an extremely difficult technical subject to take SAP / pulp = 3 or more, or to further increase the SAP ratio to obtain a pulp press structure close to 100% SAP. Here, the term "pulp press" is used collectively to refer to those having a pulp to SAP ratio of less than around 1, according to concepts generally applied in the art. Further, as the ratio of the SAP increases, it becomes more difficult to maintain the bonding relationship with the pulp, and there is another problem that the SAP drops off during transportation or use and moves from a predetermined position.

[0005] For an absorber having the same thickness, the absorption capacity per unit area of the absorber is mainly determined by the absolute amount of SAP existing in the unit area. There is a limit to the absolute amount of SAP that can be achieved, and this limits the upper limit of the absorption capacity of the absorber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to further improve the absorption capacity of a conventional sheet-shaped absorber, to have a very large absorption capacity despite being thin, and to maintain a stable form before and after liquid absorption. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved absorber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent product using such an improved absorbent material.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a sheet-like support made of a fibrous web and a particulate or fibrous polymer absorbent supported on one surface of the sheet-like support are provided. And wherein the sheet-like support is formed in a tubular shape such that the surface supporting the polymer absorber is on the inside.

That is, the tubular absorber of the present invention has
By forming the sheet-like support supporting the AP into a tubular shape, a highly absorbent structure having a novel three-dimensional structure having a swelling space for SAP as an internal structure of the absorber is formed. ing.

[0010] Due to such a structure, the tubular absorber of the present invention has an absolute amount of SAP existing in a unit area of about twice as large as that of the absorber having a planar structure, and the absorption per unit area. The ability also increases about twice. Further, in the absorbent of the present invention, since the SAP is supported in a state of being attached to the inner wall of the tubular sheet-shaped support, a sufficiently large swelling space is secured, and the SAP is allowed to reach its maximum absorption capacity. Even when the liquid has absorbed and swollen, the flexible properties of the entire absorbent body are maintained.

Various developments have been made on sheet-shaped absorbers, but in order to fully exhibit the function of the absorber as a function of an absorbent product, it is necessary to absorb the liquid like underwear before absorbing the liquid. It is necessary to provide a sufficient expansion space so as not to hinder swelling during absorption. The present invention provides an absorber that sufficiently satisfies such requirements and exhibits excellent absorption performance in combination with the liquid diffusibility of the sheet-like support.

The present invention further provides an absorbent product in which a tubular absorbent made of a highly absorbent structure having a three-dimensional structure as described above is arranged as an absorbent core in a desired absorption region.

The tubular absorbent of the present invention exhibits a flat or flat state when it is not swelled and an extremely thin state in which a hollow tube is crushed, and when swelled by absorbing moisture, it causes an increase in volume due to swelling of SAP. Then, the inner space is filled with the SAP, and the tubular absorber expands so as to have a substantially circular cross section as a whole and rises.

In the absorbent product of the present invention, a single tubular absorbent may be arranged in the absorbent region, but more preferably, a plurality of tubular absorbents are arranged in parallel. In the latter case, the structure is more stable and more flexible, and can follow the body movement of the wearer of the absorbent product well.

[0015] The polymer absorber abbreviated as SAP is
Generally, it is a partially crosslinked water-swellable polymer such as cargiquine methylcellulose, polyacrylic acid and salts thereof, polyethylene oxide and polyacrylamide, or a copolymer of isobutylene and maleic acid.
Also included are cross-linked amino acids of biodegradable polyaspartic acid, and microbial superabsorbent polymers that are culture products from Alcaligenes Latus. As SAP products, various shapes such as particles, granules, films, and nonwovens have been developed, and all of them can be used in the present invention.

[0016]

1 (A), 1 (B), 1 (C) and 1 (D) schematically show the simplest forms of a tubular absorber of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a tubular sheet-like support, and reference numeral 2 denotes an SAP supported on the sheet-like support 1 only on the inner wall surface. FIG. 1 (A)
In the tubular absorbent body shown in FIG. 1, the sheet-like support 1 is formed so as to have a cross section in the form of a closed ring. To form a tube, and SAP2 is carried almost uniformly over the entire inner peripheral surface thereof. In FIG. 1 (B), a reinforcing sheet 4 is arranged at abutting portions of both edges of the sheet-shaped support 1, and both edges of the sheet-shaped support 1 are joined together with the reinforcing sheet 4 by an adhesive 3. I have. The tube-shaped absorber shown in FIG. 1 (C) has a flat sheet-like support 1 carrying SAP2 on one surface, and a cylindrical shape with the surface carrying SAP2 inside only at one end. By molding, the opposing side edges are overlapped with each other with an appropriate width, and glued at the overlapping portion using an adhesive 3, a tubular portion is formed at the end of the flat absorber. .
In the tubular absorber of FIG. 1 (D), SAP 2 does not exist at the side edge located outside, and thus the adhesive 3 is directly adhered to the surface of the sheet-like support 1.

As the sheet-like support usable in the present invention, substantially any sheet material made of a fibrous web can be used as long as it is liquid-permeable and does not have pores large enough to allow SAP particles to pass through. All can be used. Examples include melt blown nonwovens, foam extruded nets, melt extruded high fibrillated nets, spunbonded nonwovens, carded web nonwovens, spunlaced nonwovens, or any combination thereof.

The basic role of this sheet-like support is SA
SAP that stably supports P and swells when absorbing water
Is to prevent leakage and separation to the outside of the tubular absorber, but if necessary, select another suitable material or shape of the sheet-shaped support so that it plays another role. Can also. For example, by selecting a cellulose-based fiber or a blend thereof as a fiber constituting the sheet-shaped support, the supported SA is selected.
It is possible to enhance the effect of diffusing the liquid into P. As another example that provides another effect, the sheet-like support itself can be extended by the water-absorbing swelling force of the SAP by using an easily extensible nonwoven fabric that can be extended with a small force on the sheet-like support. become. By utilizing such an effect, the liquid absorption capacity of the SAP can be maximized, and the diameter of the tubular absorber in the non-absorbed state can be reduced. A reduction in the size of the body product is achieved.

In this specification, “extensibility” refers to
It means a property that can be easily extended with a small force in at least one direction.

As an example of the nonwoven fabric having such performance, a spunbond having a bi-component structure, as previously proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-59862, is used. There is a non-woven fabric having a cross-sectional structure as shown in FIG. 3 by stretching and heat setting according to the method described above. This nonwoven fabric has a property of being easily elongated in one direction only. In FIG.
The preferred range of H is 0.2 to 2 mm, and L is 1 to 5 mm.

As another example of the nonwoven fabric, there is a partially laminated nonwoven fabric of a highly elastic net and a fibrous web as previously proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-345410. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this laminated nonwoven fabric is provided on both sides of a net 7 in which the longitudinal and lateral stretchable filaments 5 and 6 are orthogonally joined at their intersections.
A structure in which the same or different types of webs 8 and 9 are laminated, and these are joined along a joining line 10 parallel to each other;
Again, it has the property of easily extending greatly only in one direction orthogonal to the coupling line 10.

The SAP may be in the form of fibers or particles, and is supported on a sheet-like support by a generally known method.

The SAP can be supported on a support formed in a sheet shape in advance, but it is also possible to introduce the SAP into the sheet support during the production of the sheet support. Such a composite structure is formed, for example, by forming a heat-meltable synthetic fiber staple and a fibrous SAP into a card web;
After laminating P and short fibrous easily meltable fibers, they can be fixed by heat treatment; or by impregnating an acrylic acid monomer into a nonwoven web, followed by polymerization and crosslinking reaction. The surface of the carried SAP may be exposed, but may be covered with a tissue or the like that does not hinder the permeability.

In the present invention, SAP is used for the sheet-like support.
A more preferable method for obtaining a composite carrying the compound is a method previously proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-333520. Briefly, according to this method, the sheet-like composite suppresses the swelling of the water-swellable solid, and hydrates the hydratable microfibrillar fine fibers obtained from cellulose or a cellulose derivative. A water-swellable solid and microfibril-like fine fibers are dispersed in a dispersing medium comprising a mixed solvent of a water-compatible organic solvent and water that can be dispersed, and the resulting dispersion is placed on a sheet-like support. And then dried.

The sheet-like composite obtained by this method has, for example, a structure as schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 6A, reference numeral 11 denotes a sheet-like support, 12 denotes SAP, and 13 denotes SAP12 particles,
The microfibrillar fine fibers bonded to the sheet-like support 11 are shown. Since this sheet-like composite can be formed as an extremely thin sheet having a thickness of about 1 mm, it can be easily formed into a tube as shown in FIG. Suitable as.

FIG. 7A is different from the tubular absorber shown in FIG. 7B in which SAP12 particles are distributed at a substantially uniform density.
To form a sheet-like composite having a structure in which these clusters are arranged in an appropriate distribution, and the sheet-like composite is wound into a tube with the surface carrying the SAP12 particles inside. Thus, the tubular absorber shown in FIG. 7B is formed.

In the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7, the sheet-shaped support is formed into a tube shape by directly joining the both side edges thereof to each other, but as shown in FIG. The two side edges are separated from each other at a slight interval in a state where they are formed in a shape, and another sheet material 14 may be connected by the adhesive 3 so as to close the slit.

In the specific figures described above and hereinafter, for ease of understanding, the tubular absorber is shown as a circle or an ellipse or a slightly bulged shape similar thereto. Before absorbing and swelling the liquid, the tubular absorber often takes a flattened form.

The tubular absorbent having the structure as described above can be incorporated as a single absorbent core or as a plurality of groups into an ordinary absorbent product as an absorbent core. It is advantageously used in a form linked to a sheet constituting a body product. For example, one tubular absorber, or a plurality of mutually parallel arranged tubular absorbers, can be used in the absorption zone of an absorbent product.
The absorbent core is connected to a liquid-permeable inner sheet or a leak-proof outer sheet on the side of the absorbent product in contact with the skin.

FIG. 9 shows a disposable diaper as an absorbent product of the present invention thus constituted. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 100 denotes a main body of the absorbent product. As shown in FIG. 10, the main body 100 is composed of a liquid-permeable inner sheet 120 and a liquid-impermeable outer sheet 130, and its absorption zone And 3 arranged parallel to each other
Two tubular absorbers 101, 102 and 103 are accommodated. The tubular absorbers 101, 102 and 103 are in this example a liquid-impermeable outer sheet 130
Are connected by an adhesive 104 such as a hot melt adhesive.

FIG. 11 shows the structure of another absorbent product according to the present invention in a cross section similar to FIG. In this example, the inner sheet 120 is connected to the outer sheet 130 by an adhesive 105 on both sides of each tubular absorber.

In the example of FIG. 12, the tubular absorber 102 located at the center has a wider width than the tubular absorbers 101 and 103 located on both sides thereof, so that both edges thereof are adjacent to each other. Absorbers 101 and 1
03 overlies the edge.

In the example of FIG. 13, each tubular absorber 10
The relative width relationship between 1, 102 and 103 is the same as that shown in FIG.
01 and 103 are the tubular absorbers 10 located at the center.
2, the inner edges of each of which overlap above the edges of the central tubular absorber 102 respectively.

The absorbent product of the present invention having the absorbent core having the structure shown in FIGS. 9 to 13 exhibits high absorption performance due to the excellent absorption capacity of the above-mentioned tubular absorber. In particular, in a configuration in which each tubular absorber partially overlaps with another adjacent tubular absorber as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the amount of SAP per unit area can be increased. Greater absorption performance can be expected. For example, FIG. 14 shows a state in which the tubular absorbers 101, 102, and 103 absorb liquid and swell in the configuration of FIG. 10 to FIG.
In the third example, each tubular absorber may also be connected to the inner sheet 120 to stabilize its position.

In the absorbent product of the present invention, the absorbent core disposed in the absorbent zone may be constituted by only a plurality of tubular absorbents as described above. As shown in FIG.
06.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 16, elongated tubular absorbers 107 are arranged in parallel, and a tape 108 made of a flexible sheet such as a non-woven fabric extending along the outer edge of each tubular absorber is attached. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that is different. This tape 108 allows the liquid arriving at the absorption zone to reach the tubular absorber 107 and improves the feel by interposing between the surface of the tubular absorber and the skin.

The number or size of the tubular absorbents provided in the absorbent zone of the absorbent product can be arbitrarily selected depending on factors such as the form and use of the absorbent product or desired absorption performance. The selection of these items is easy for those skilled in the art.

In the above description and figures, the tubular absorber has been described as having a substantially elliptical cross section, but prior to absorbing liquid, the tubular absorber may be, for example, as shown in FIG. As such, it usually has a flat shape with a small thickness. If the sheet-like support 1 is a single layer,
The perimeter of the cross section is constant irrespective of the shape of the cross section. If the perimeter of this cross section is long, SAP
As SAP2 swells and increases in size as the area provided to carry 2 increases,
The thickness, or height, of the tubular absorber increases. 18 to 21 show the sheet-like support 1 for such a purpose.
Shows an example in which a gusset is provided. In the example of FIG. 18, the gusset 110 is provided on the upper surface of the tubular absorber, and in FIGS. 19 to 21, they are provided on both side edges of the tubular absorber. In FIG. 20, both side edges where the gusset 110 is provided are heat-sealed portions 11 at opposite portions.
Cell 11 more connected by 1 and partitioned from other parts
2 are formed.

In the tubular absorber of the present invention, the sheet-like support may be made of any sheet material as long as it is liquid-permeable and has a certain degree of flexibility and tear strength. The preferred sheet material is a nonwoven sheet as described above, but a nonwoven with a composite structure as shown in FIG. 22 is also advantageously used. This composite nonwoven fabric may be a spunbond nonwoven fabric 201 made of a synthetic fiber such as polypropylene or the like and a staple fiber 202 made of one or more kinds of PET or rayon compounded by means such as hydroentanglement. Good. In such a composite nonwoven fabric, since the spunbonded nonwoven fabric 201 functions as an inner sheet, and as shown in FIG. 23, the SAP2 particles can be firmly held on the surface of the staple fiber, the absorbent core is formed by the inner sheet. No need to cover.

FIG. 24 shows the sheet-like absorber 200 of FIG.
Is formed into a tubular shape, connected to an outer sheet 11 of the absorbent product by an adhesive 104, and provided with leg gathers 203 made of a liquid impermeable sheet on both sides thereof. Each leg gather 20
3, one side edge is connected to the outer sheet 11, and the other side edge is opposed to the edge of the other leg gather 203 at an appropriate distance. The central part is located.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

[0043]

【Example】

Example 1 A microfibril-like fine fiber (manufactured by Daicel Industries, trade name “Selish KY100G”)
It was dispersed in a mixed solvent of OH / water = 70/30 to prepare a dispersion having a concentration of 0.6%. SAP (Mitsubishi Chemical, trade name "US40") 40
0 g was added and stirred, and the microfibrillated fine fibers and S
A co-dispersed slurry with AP was prepared.

A 30 g / m ² nonwoven fabric made of cellulose (trade name “TCF # 40” manufactured by Nimura Chemical Co., Ltd.)
3)) is applied to one entire surface, and after desolvation, dried.
A sheet-shaped absorber was obtained. The thickness of this sheet-shaped absorber was about 0.6 mm, and the SAP content was 150 g / m ² .

This sheet-shaped absorber was set to 350 mm × 25
Cut to a size of 0 mm, and then as shown in FIG.
At a position 75 mm from both edges, the absorbent body is bent with the surface on which the SAP is applied inward, and this is absorbed by an adhesive 301 at both bent edges as shown in FIG. The tubular absorber 300 was connected to the transparent sheet 302. The thickness of the thus obtained tubular absorber 300 was about 1.3 mm including the liquid impermeable sheet 302.

A total of 400 cc of physiological saline was applied twice on the sheet absorber side of the tubular absorber twice in 200 cc increments.
The swelling test was performed by pouring. As a result, two minutes after pouring the first 200 cc, the tube expanded into a tube having an oval cross section of about 6 mm in thickness, and the second 200 cc was poured.
Two minutes after pouring the cc, the thickness increased to about 12 mm.

(Example 2) A nonwoven fabric (manufactured by Oji Paper, trade name "Texel") obtained by entanglement of pulp with a PP / PE bicomponent spunbond nonwoven fabric by a high-pressure jet water flow is prepared.

On the other hand, a commercially available biocellulose gel is
It was dispersed in a mixed solvent of OH / water = 60/40 to prepare a dispersion having a concentration of 0.3%. SAP (Mitsubishi Chemical, trade name "US40") 400 per liter of this dispersion
g and stirred, and the microfibrillated fine fibers and SA
A co-dispersion slurry with P was prepared.

This co-dispersed slurry was line-coated on one surface of the above nonwoven fabric at intervals of 5 mm into a plurality of strips having a width of 7 mm, and after removing the solvent, dried to obtain a sheet-shaped absorbent. The thickness of this sheet-shaped absorber is about 0.8 mm, S
AP content was 125 g / m ^2.

[0050] This sheet-shaped absorber is made of 350 mm x 25 mm.
Then, the sheet was cut to a size of 0 mm, and then, with the surface on which the SAP was held facing inside, the sheet was bent so as to have a flat cylindrical shape as shown in FIG.
03 to form a tubular absorber 300.
The thickness of the tubular absorber thus obtained was about 2 mm.

A physiological saline solution was added to the tubular absorber.
The swelling test was performed by pouring a total of 400 cc twice in 00 cc increments. As a result, two minutes after pouring the first 200 cc, it expands into a tube having an elliptical cross section with a thickness of about 10 mm, and two minutes after the second pouring of 200 cc, the thickness becomes about 20 mm. Increased.

Example 3 18 g / m ² PP spunbond nonwoven fabric and PET staple fiber (3d × 51 m)
m) 60% and rayon staples (1.5d × 35
mm) 30 g / m ² mixed fiber web by the card method consisting of 40%. The card web was placed on the spunbonded nonwoven fabric and subjected to a high-pressure water flow treatment to prepare a composite structure nonwoven fabric having the structure shown in FIG.

The co-dispersed slurry of the microfibrillar fine fibers and SAP used in Example 1 was applied to the composite structure nonwoven fabric, dried after removing the solvent, and only one surface was coated.
Spunbonded nonwoven fabric carrying a granular SAP at a density of 50 g / m ² , a card web, and an SAP layer fixed with microfibril-like fine fibers, having a thickness of about 2
mm sheet-shaped absorber was obtained.

This sheet-shaped absorber was cut into a band having a width of 350 m, and formed into a tube shape so that both edges in the longitudinal direction face each other at an interval of about 30 mm.

Separately, the inner sheet and the absorbent core were removed from a disposable diaper (manufactured by Kao, trade name: “Super Marys L size”), and as shown in FIG. Absorber,
Both edges were connected to a liquid impermeable sheet via an adhesive.

The obtained diaper was subjected to an absorption test by a method generally used in this field, and the following results were obtained.

Re-wet amount (3 min interval) First time (100 cc): 0.5 g Second time (100 cc): 0.8 g Third time (100 cc): 2.0 g Total absorbed amount (physiological saline): 680 cc Retention amount: 480 cc (Example 4) A bicomponent nonwoven fabric of PE / PET having a basis weight of 20 g / m ² (manufactured by Unitika, trade name “Elves”) was stretched and heat-set by the method shown in FIG. An extensible nonwoven fabric was prepared. This nonwoven fabric had the following characteristics.

Weight 31.2 g / m ² Thickness 0.24 mm Density 0.132 g / cc Elongation at break 35% (MD) / 370% (CD) 100% elongation modulus in CD direction 83 g / 5 cm In the same manner as in Example 1, a co-dispersion slurry of microfibrillated fine fibers and SAP was applied, heated and pressurized, desolventized and dried, and a density of 180 g / m ² was applied only to one surface. To support a granular SAP to obtain a sheet-shaped absorber. This sheet-shaped absorber is referred to as SA
B is bent into a cylindrical shape with the surface on which P is carried inside, and both edges are butted together, and at the abutting portion, is joined by a heat bonding tape arranged outside, and the cross section is substantially circular. A tubular absorber having an outer diameter of about 30 mm was prepared.

The obtained tubular absorber was placed in a plastic vat, and ion-exchanged water was poured from above until the tubular absorber no longer absorbed, and was allowed to stand for 10 minutes. As a result, the outer diameter of the tubular absorber was increased to 66 mm, but no SAP leakage to the outside of the nonwoven fabric was observed.

(Example 5) The longitudinal striated body was a polyethylene resin monofilament, and the lateral striated body was SEBS.
A commercially available net having a basis weight of 60 g / m ² was prepared as a sheet-like support, in which monofilaments made of resin were used.

Separately, a parallel web having a basis weight of 25 g / m ² consisting of the following two types of fibers A and B was prepared by a card method.

A: Polypropylene core, ethylene / sheath
Composite fiber of random copolymer of propylene. Fineness 2d,
Fiber length 51 mm.

B: "Lyocell" (trade name), manufactured by Coatles. Fineness 1.5d, fiber length 35mm.

A parallel web A and a parallel web B are laminated on one side and the other side of the above-mentioned stretchable net, respectively, and 50 kg / nozzle having a hole diameter of 0.13 mm is bored at an interval of 0.6 mm. At a pressure of m ² , a water stream was jetted once from each of the upper surface and the lower surface of the laminate to integrate them. Further, a water pressure of 80 kg is supplied from a nozzle having orifices having a hole diameter of 0.13 mm in a row at intervals of 5 mm.
/ Cm ² was sprayed from above, then dewatered and dried to form streak-like joints parallel to each other in the vertical direction.
An easily extensible nonwoven fabric having a structure as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 was manufactured.

The characteristics of this nonwoven fabric were as follows.

Weight 110g / m ² Thickness 1.22mm Lateral tensile strength 1.5kg / 5cm Lateral breaking elongation 270% Elongation modulus 50% 150g / 5cm 100% 200g / 5cm 150% 320g / 5cm (Note) Various properties were measured under the following conditions.

Tensile strength: A sample having a width of 5 cm and a length of 15 cm, the length of which is in the transverse direction of the nonwoven fabric, is gripped at a grip interval of 10 cm, and the tensile strength is measured using a constant-speed elongation type tensile tester.
The film was elongated at a speed of cm / min, and the load value at the time of cutting was defined as tensile strength.

Elongation modulus: A sample having a width of 5 cm and a length of 15 cm, the length of which is in the transverse direction of the nonwoven fabric, is gripped at gripping intervals of 10 cm, and is stretched at a speed of 30 cm / min by a constant-speed extension type tensile tester at 150 cm / min. % From the stress-strain curve (SS curve) when extended,
The stresses at the time of 00% and 150% elongation were read, and these were taken as the elongation modulus, respectively.

Thickness: Thickness measuring device (trade name “THICKNESS GA
UGE ", using the Corporation Daiei Kagaku Seiki Seisakusho), 1cm ²
The measurement was performed with a load of 3 g applied per unit.

A co-dispersion slurry of microfibrillar fine fibers and SAP was applied to the lyocell surface of the easily extensible nonwoven fabric in the same manner as in Example 1, and the solvent was removed and dried. At a density of 125 g / m ²
AP was carried to obtain a sheet-shaped absorber. The surface of the sheet-shaped absorber on which the SAP is carried is further provided with a basis weight of 15%.
A crushed layer of wood pulp of 0 g / m ² is superimposed, bent in a cylindrical shape with this surface inside, and faced so that both edges face each other at an interval of 30 mm. Was joined to the outer sheet with a hot melt adhesive to obtain a tubular absorber integrally joined to the outer sheet. The thickness of this tubular absorber is about 4
mm.

The obtained tubular absorber was put into a plastic vat, and ion-exchanged water was poured from above until the tubular absorber no longer absorbed, and was allowed to stand for 10 minutes. As a result, although the thickness of the tubular absorber was increased to 30 mm, no SAP leakage to the outside of the nonwoven fabric was observed.

[0072]

As described above, the tube-shaped absorber of the present invention takes a very thin form in which a flat hollow tube is crushed when liquid is not absorbed, and the inside of the tube is absorbed by absorbing liquid. As the SAP swells and swells, the cross-sectional area of the tubular sheet-like support increases, providing a space within the SAP that allows free swelling of the SAP. Therefore, the amount of SAP held per unit area can be greatly increased, and the SAP can be stably held at a predetermined position, thereby exhibiting excellent shape stability and absorption performance.

The absorbent product provided with the tubular absorber in the absorption region has excellent absorption performance and a flexible characteristic to follow the movement of the body well, so that the performance of the absorbent product and its design can be improved. Greatly improve the degree of freedom.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D are cross-sectional views showing different embodiments of a tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a process chart showing an example of a method for producing a sheet-like support used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of the sheet-like support manufactured by the method of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an example of a sheet-like support suitable for use in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 4;

6A is a cross-sectional view of a sheet-shaped absorber applicable to the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a tube-shaped absorber composed of the sheet-shaped absorber of FIG.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of another sheet-shaped absorber applicable to the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of a tube-shaped absorber composed of the sheet-shaped absorber of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an example of the absorbent product of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 10 showing another absorbent product of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows still another absorbent product of the present invention.
Sectional drawing similar to.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 10 showing another absorbent product of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a state in which the tubular absorber used in the absorbent product of the present invention shown in FIG. 12 has swollen.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 10 showing still another absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 10, showing a further absorber according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet-like support that can be used to constitute the tubular absorber of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing a state in which SAP particles are supported on the sheet-like support of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a partial cross-sectional view of an absorbent product constituted by using the tubular absorber having the structure of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a material of a tubular absorber used in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of a tubular absorber composed of the material shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the tubular absorber used in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet-like support 2 SAP 3 Adhesive 4 Reinforcement sheet 5, 6 Elastic filament 7 Net 8, 9 Web 10 Coupling part 11 Sheet-like support 12 SAP 13 Microfibril-like fine fiber 14 Sheet material 100 Absorbent product 101 to 103 Tubular absorber 104, 105 Adhesive 106 Absorber 107 Tubular absorber 108 Tape 110 Depth 111 Heat seal part 112 Cell 120 Inner sheet 130 Outer sheet 200 Sheet absorber 201 Spunbond nonwoven fabric 202 Staple fiber 203 Leg Gather 300 Tubular absorber 301 Adhesive 302 Liquid impermeable sheet 303 Adhesive

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A sheet-like support made of a fibrous web,
The sheet-shaped support is composed of a particulate or fibrous polymer absorber bonded and supported on one surface of the sheet-shaped support, and the surface of the sheet-shaped support, which supports the polymer absorber, has an inner surface. A tubular absorber characterized in that it is formed in a tubular shape such that: 2. The tubular absorber according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the sheet-like support is a closed ring. 3. The tubular absorber according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the sheet-like support is an open ring, and two opposing free edges are connected to each other to form a closed ring. . 4. A cross-section of the sheet-like support is an open ring, and two opposing free edges are connected to each other via another sheet to form a closed ring. 4. The tubular absorber according to item 1. 5. The sheet-like support for supporting the polymer absorber has one or a plurality of gussets formed by folding a part of a peripheral surface thereof. The tubular absorber according to claim 1. 6. The tube according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-like support is a non-woven fabric sheet, and the polymer absorber is bonded to the non-woven fabric sheet by microfibril-like fine fibers. Absorber. 7. The sheet-like support according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-like support is an easily extensible nonwoven fabric, thereby improving the followability of the polymer absorber to an increase in volume due to swelling.
Item 14. The tubular absorber according to Item 5. 8. The tubular absorbent body according to claim 7, wherein the easily extensible nonwoven fabric is obtained by stretching and heat setting a spunbond made of a bicomponent fiber. 9. The tubular absorbent body according to claim 7, wherein the easily extensible nonwoven fabric is formed by partially bonding a fiber web to both sides of a net by a spunlace method on a net-like elastic body. 10. The absorbent product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-like support is a non-woven sheet containing a cellulose component having a water diffusibility. 11. An absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable inner sheet, a liquid-impermeable outer sheet, and an absorbent core disposed therebetween, wherein the absorbent core comprises a fibrous web. Body, comprising a particulate or fibrous polymer absorber that is supported by being bonded to one surface of the sheet-like support, wherein the sheet-like support is
An absorbent product characterized in that it is formed in a tubular shape such that the surface supporting the polymer absorbent is on the inside. 12. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the cross section of the sheet-like support is a closed ring. 13. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the cross section of the sheet-like support is an open ring, and two opposing free edges are connected to each other to form a closed ring. 14. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the cross section of the sheet-like support is an open ring, and two opposing free edges are connected to the outer sheet. 15. The sheet-like support is a non-woven fabric sheet, and the polymer absorber is bonded to the non-woven fabric sheet by microfibril-like fine fibers.
15. The absorbent product according to any one of 14. 16. The absorbent core according to claim 11, wherein the absorbent core comprises a combination of the tubular absorbent and another absorbent.
6. The absorbent product according to any one of items 5 to 5. 17. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the absorbent core comprises a plurality of the tubular absorbents. 18. The absorbent product according to claim 17, wherein said absorbent core has a different shape or cross-sectional area between a centrally located core and ones on both sides thereof. 19. The tubular absorber arranged in the center is arranged on both sides thereof so as to vertically overlap a part of the tubular absorber arranged on the side thereof. An absorbent product according to claim 1. . 20. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the tubular absorbent body is partially connected to the outer sheet. 21. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the tubular absorbent body is partially connected to the inner sheet. 22. The absorbent product according to claim 11, wherein the sheet-like support comprises a nonwoven fabric-like sheet containing a cellulose component having water diffusibility.