MXPA00012974A

MXPA00012974A - Liquid transport member having high permeability bulk regions and high threshold pressure port regions

Info

Publication number: MXPA00012974A
Application number: MXPA/A/2000/012974A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Donald Carroll Roe; Gary Dean Lavon; Bruno Johannes Ehrnsperger; Mattias Schmidt; Gerald Alfred Young; Karl Michael Schumann; Fred Naval Desai
Original assignee: Desai Fred; Bruno Johannes Ehrnsperger; Gary Dean Lavon; Donald Carroll Roe; Mattias Schmidt; Karl Michael Schumann; The Procter & Gamble Company; Young Gerry Alfred
Priority date: 1998-06-29
Filing date: 2000-12-20
Publication date: 2002-02-26

Abstract

The present invention is a Liquid transport member with significantly improved liquid handling properties, having at least one bulk region completely circumscribed by a wall region, and which comprises at least one port region, where the product of the bubble point pressure of the port region multiplied with the bulk region permeability is higher than half of the product of the porosity of the member multiplied by the surface tension of the transported liquid.

Description

MEMBER OF TRANSPORTATION OF LIQUID THAT HAS VOLUME REGIONS WITH HIGH PERMEABILITY AND PORT REGIONS WITH THRESHOLD OF HIGH PRESSURE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to liquid transport members useful for a wide range of applications that require a high flow rate and / or hyperflow, wherein the liquid can be transported through said member, and / or be transported in or out of said member. Such members are suitable for many applications, - without being limited to - disposable hygiene articles, water irrigation systems, spill absorbers, oil / water separators and the like. The invention also relates to liquid transport systems comprising said liquid transport members and articles using them.

BACKGROUND The need to transport liquids from one location to another is a well-known problem. Generally, transport will occur from a liquid source through a liquid transport member to a liquid landfill, for example from a liquid container through a pipe to another container. There may be differences in the potential energy between the containers (such as the hydrostatic head) and friction energy losses may occur within the transport system, such as within the transport member, particularly if the transport member is of a length significant in relation to its diameter.

For this general problem of liquid transport, there are many approaches to creating a pressure differential to overcome energy differences or losses or to cause liquids to flow. A principle widely used is the use of mechanical energy such as pumps. However, it will often be desirable overcome such losses or energy differences without the use of pumps, such as in the differential operation of hydrostatic head (gravity driven flow) or by means of capillary effects (often referred to as packing). In many such applications, it is desirable to transport the liquids at high speeds, ie at high flow velocity (volume per time), or at a hyperflow rate (volume per time per unit cross-sectional area). • Examples of applications of liquid transport members for liquid transport members can be found in fields such as water irrigation as described in EP-A-0,439,890 or in the field of hygiene, such as for absorbent articles such as baby diapers of the type training or with fasteners such as tapes, training shorts, incontinence products for adults and female protection devices. A well-known and widely used execution of such members of ^ Liquid transport are the capillary flow members, such as fibrous materials similar to staining paper, wherein the liquid can be packaged against gravity. 0 Typically such materials are limited in their flow rates and / or hyperflow, especially when the packing height is added as an additional requirement. A particularly improvement towards the hyperflow speeds at packing heights particularly useful for the example of the application in absorbent articles is described in EP-A-0,810,078. 5 Other capillary flow members may be non-fibrous, although they may be porous structures, such as open cell foams. In particular for the handling of aqueous liquids, hydrophilic polymeric foams have been described and especially the hydrophilic open cell foams made by the so-called High Internal Phase Emulsion Polymerization Process (HIPE) described in documents US-A-5,563 .179 and US-A-5,387,207. However, although several improvements have been made on such executions, there is still a need to obtain a significant increase in the liquid transport properties of the liquid transport members. In particular, it would be desirable to obtain liquid transport members that can transport liquids against gravity at very high rates of hyperflow. In situations where the liquid is not homogeneous in the composition (such % as a salt solution in water), or in its phases (such as a liquid / solid suspension), it may be desired to transport the liquid in its entirety, or only in parts thereof. Many approaches are known for its selective transport mechanism, such as filter technology. 15 For example, filtration technology exploits the highest and lowest permeability of a member for a material or phase compared to another material or phase. There is a lot of knowledge of the technique in this field, in particular also related to the so-called micro, ultra or nano filtration. Some of the most recent publications • are: 0 US-A-5,733,581 is related to the fibrous filter blown under fusion; US-A-5,728,292 relates to a non-woven fuel filter; W0-A-97/47375 refers to membrane filter systems; WO-A-97/35656 relates to membrane filter systems; EP-A-0, 780,058 relates to monolithic membrane structures; 5 EP-A-0 773 058 relates to oleophilic filter structures. Such membranes are also described for use in absorbent systems. In US-A-4,820,293 (Kamme) absorbent bodies are described, for use in compresses or bandages, which have a fluid-absorbing substance ? k enclosed in a packing made of an essentially homogeneous material. He Fluid can enter the body through any part of the packing and no means is provided for fluid to leave the body. In said document, the fluid-absorbing materials can have osmotic effects or can be gel-forming absorbent substances enclosed in semi-permeable membranes, such as cellulose, regenerated cellulose, cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, polycarbonate, polyamide , glass fiber, polytetrafluoroethylene polysulfone, having pore sizes between 0.001 μm and 20 μm, preferably between 0.005 μm and 8 μm, especially around 0.01 μm. In such a system, the permeability of the membrane is intended to be such that the absorbed liquid can penetrate, although in such a way that the absorbent material is retained. It is therefore desired to use members having a high permeability K and a low thickness d, to achieve a high liquid conductivity k d of the layer as • is described below in this. This can be achieved by the incorporation of promoters with higher molecular weight (for example, polyvinyl pyrrolidone with a molecular weight of 40,000), so that the membranes can have larger pores which leads to greater permeability of the membrane k. The maximum pore size set forth herein to be useful for this application is less than 0.5 μm, with pore sizes of about 0.01 μm or less which are preferred. The illustrated materials allow the calculation of the k / d values in the scale from 3 to 7 * 10-14 m. Since this system is very slow, the absorbent body can further comprise, for a rapid discharge of fluids liquid acquisition means, such ? k as the conventional acquisition means to provide storage intermediate of the fluids before they are absorbed slowly. An additional application in the membranes in the absorbent packs is described in US-A-5,082,723, EP-A-0,365,565 or US-A-5,108,383 (White; Allied-Singnal). In these, an osmotic promoter, namely the high strength material i > Ionic such as NaCl, or other high osmorality material such as glucose or sucrose is placed inside a membrane such as that made of cellulose films. As with the previous description, the fluid can enter the body through any part of the packing and no means are provided for the liquid to leave the body. When those packages are put in contact with aqueous liquids, such as urine, the promoter materials provide an osmotic driving force to push the liquid through the membranes. The membranes are characterized by having a low permeability for the promoter, and the packets achieve typical speeds of 0.001 ^. ml / cm2 / min. When calculating the conductivity values of the membrane k d for the membrane described herein, values of approximately 1 to 2 * 10-15 m can be the result. An essential property of the membranes useful for such applications is their "salt retention", that is to say insofar as the membranes must be easily penetrable by the liquid, they must retain a substantial amount of the promoter material within the packages. These salt retention requirements provide a limitation in the pore size which will limit the flow of liquid. 25 US-A-5,082,723 (Gross et al) discloses an osmotic material such as NaCl that is enclosed by superabsorbent material, such as a copolymer of acrylic acid and sodium acrylate, thereby pretending an improvement in absorbency, such as the improved absorbent capacity on a "gram per gram" basis and the absorption rate. Above all, such fluid handling members are used for improved absorbency of liquids, although they have only very limited fluid transport capacity. Therefore, there still remains a need to improve the liquid transport properties, in particular to increase the flow and / or the flow rates in the liquid transport systems. i > OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid transport member composed of at least two regions that exhibit a difference in permeability. It is a further object to provide liquid transport members that exhibit improved liquid transport, as expressed in flow velocities of liquid significantly increased and especially liquid flow rates, ie the amount of liquid flowing in a unit of time through a certain cross section of the liquid transport member. It is a further object of the present invention to allow the transport of liquid against gravity. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an improved liquid transport member for fluids with a wide range of physical properties, such as aqueous (hydrophilic) or non-aqueous, oily or lipophilic liquids. It is a further object of this invention to provide liquid transport systems that further comprise the liquid transport member a liquid spillway and / or liquid source. It is a further object of the present invention to provide any of the above objects for use in absorbent structures, such as to be useful in hygienic absorbent products, such as baby diapers, adult incontinence products, and feminine protection products. It is even an object of the present invention to provide any of the above objects for use as water irrigation systems, water absorber, oil absorber, and water / oil separators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a liquid transport member with at least one volume region and one wall region that completely circumscribes the region of volume, and which further has at least one port region, wherein the volume region has an average fluid permeability kb and the member has a bubble point pressure P, where P2 * Kb > m (e / 2) *? 2 with? which is the surface tension of the liquid to be transported and e being the volumetric porosity of the • member, and m has at least the value of 1, preferably is greater than 2, more preferably greater than 10, and most preferably greater than 100. A liquid transport member according to the present invention may comprise a first region comprising first materials and may further comprise an additional element in contact with the first material of the invention. first region, which extends into a second region near the liquid transport. The additional element may be in contact with the wall region and extends into the second region nearby, and may have a capillary pressure to absorb the liquid that is less than the pressure of the bubble point of the member. The additional element may comprise a softness layer. In another preferred embodiment, the permeability ratio of the region of ? k volume to the permeability of the port region gone is at least 10, preferably of at least 100, more preferably of at least 1000, and even more preferably of at least 100,000. In another preferred embodiment, the member has a bubble point pressure when measured with water as the test liquid having a surface tension of 72 mN / m of at least 1 kPa, preferably of at least 2 kPa, more preferably of at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably of 8 kPa, very • preferably 50 kPa. In another preferred embodiment, the region of the port has a bubble point pressure of at least 1 kPa, preferably of at least 2 kPa, more preferably of at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably of 8 kPa, more preferably 50 kPa when measured with water as the test liquid having a surface tension of 72 mN / m, and having at least 0.67 kPa, preferably at least 1.3 kPa, more preferably at least 3.0 kPa, even more A. preferably 5.3 kPa, most preferably 33 kPa when measured with an aqueous test solution having a surface tension of 33 mN / m. In another preferred embodiment, the volume region has a larger average pore size than the port regions, so that the average pore size ratio of the volume region and the average pore size of the port region is preferably of at least 10, more preferably at least 50, still more preferably at least 100, or even at least 500, and most preferably at least 1000. In another preferred embodiment, the volume region has an average pore size of at least 200 μm, preferably of at least 500 μm, more preferably of at least 1000 μm, and more preferably of at least 5000μm ^) In another preferred embodiment, the volume region has a porosity of at least 50%, preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably at least 98%, and most preferably at least 99%. Therefore, the volume region can have a density exceeding 0.001 g / cm3. In another preferred embodiment, the port region has a porosity of at least 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 30% and more preferably at least 50%. In another preferred embodiment, the port regions have an average pore size of no more than 100μm, preferably no more than 50μm, more preferably no more than 10μm, and more preferably no more than 5μm. It is also preferred that the port regions have a pore size of at least 1μm, preferably at least 3μm. In another preferred embodiment, the port regions have a thickness ^. average of no more than 100μm, preferably no more than 50μm, more preferably no greater than 10μm, and even more preferably no more than 5μm. In another preferred embodiment, the volume regions and the wall regions have a volume ratio (volume region to wall region) of at least 10, preferably of at least 100, more preferably at least 1000 and even more preferably at least 10,000. In another preferred embodiment, liquid transport loses more than 3% of the initial liquid in the closed system test.

In another specific embodiment in particular for transporting aqueous liquids, the port region is hydrophilic, and is preferably made of materials having a recess contact angle for the liquid to be transported less ? 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees and even more preferably less than 10 degrees. Preferably, the port regions do not substantially decrease the surface tension of the liquid of the liquid to be transported. In another specific embodiment in particular for transporting oily liquids, the port region is oleophilic, and is preferably made of materials having a recess contact angle for the liquid to be transported less »Of 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees and even more preferably less than 10 degrees. In another specific embodiment, the volume region may be deformable and may expand during liquid transport, and may have a contraction factor of less than 0.8 after the first test cycle and an expansion factor of at least 1.2 after the first test cycle according to the defined reversible expansion factor test. ^. In other specific embodiments, the member may have a sheet-like or cylindrical shape, optionally the cross section of the member along the direction of liquid transport is not constant. In addition, the port regions may have an area greater than the average cross section of the member along the direction of liquid transport, preferably the port regions have an area that is greater than the average cross section along the length of the port. liquid transport direction of at least a factor of 2, preferably a factor of 10, more preferably a factor of 100. In another specific embodiment, the volume region comprises a material selected from the fiber groups , particles, foams, spirals, films, corrugated sheets or tubes. In another specific embodiment, the wall region may comprise the ? k material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, spirals, films, corrugated sheets, tubes, woven wefts, woven fiber meshes, films with openings or monolithic films. In another specific embodiment, the volume or wall region may be an open-cell cross-linked foam, preferably selected from the group of cellulose sponge, polyurethane foam, HIPE foams. In another specific embodiment, the liquid transport member comprises fibers, which are made of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyethers, polyacrylics, polyurethanes, metal, glass, cellulose and cellulose derivatives. In still another embodiment, the liquid transport member is formed by a region of porous volume that is packaged by a region of separate wall. In a special embodiment, the member may comprise water soluble materials, for example to increase the permeability or pore size upon contacting the liquid in the volume or port regions. In additional specific embodiments, the liquid transport member is initially wet or essentially filled with liquid, or is under vacuum.

A liquid transport member may be particularly suitable for the transport of liquids based on water, viscoelastic liquids, or for body exudates such as urine, blood, menstruation, feces or sweat. A liquid transport member may also be suitable for the transport of oil, grease or other liquids that are not water based, and may be particularly suitable for the selective transport of oil or grease, but not for water-based liquids. In a special application, the port regions can be hydrophobic. In yet another specific embodiment, the properties or the parameter of any of the member's or member's own regions need not be maintained during the member's transport from its production to the intended use, but are established just prior to, or at the time of liquid handling This can be achieved by having an activation of the member, such as by contact with the transported liquid, pH, temperature, enzymes, chemical reaction, salt concentration or mechanical activation. Another aspect of the present invention is concerned with the combination of a liquid transport member with either a liquid source and / or a spillway. • liquid, with at least one of these that are placed outside the limb. In a specific embodiment, a liquid transport system, comprising a liquid transport member according to the present invention, wherein the system has an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 20 g / g based on the weight of the pouring material when measured in the Demand Absorption Test. In yet another specific modality, the liquid transport system It contains a landfill that has an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably at least 20 g / g, and more preferably at least 50 g / g. g / g at the base of the weight of the spillage material, when subjected to the test of the Centrifugal capacity of the Tea Exchange. In a further embodiment, the pouring material has an absorption capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 50 g / g when subjected to the test of capillary suction at a pressure up to the bubble point pressure of the region of Port, and which has an absorbent capacity of less than 5 g / g, preferably less than 2 g / g, more preferably less than 1 g / g, and most preferably less than 0.2 g / g when measured in the Capillary Suction Test at a pressure that exceeds the bubble point pressure of the region. In certain specific embodiments, the liquid transport member | l also contains superabsorbent material or open cell foam of the type of High Internal Phase Emulsion. In a still further aspect, the present invention relates to an article comprising a liquid transport member or a liquid transport system according to the present invention, such as an absorbent article or a disposable absorbent article comprising a member of liquid transport. An application, which can particularly benefit from the use * of the member according to the invention is a disposable absorbent hygiene article, such as a baby diaper or adult incontinence diaper, a feminine protection pad, a panty hose, or a training underpants. Other suitable applications can be found for a bandage, or other systems health care absorbers. In another aspect, the article may be a water transport system or member, optionally combining transport functionality with filtration functionality, for example, by purifying water that is transported.

? Also the member can be useful in the cleaning operation, to remove liquids or as releasing fluids in a controlled manner. A liquid transport member 0 according to the present invention can also be a grease or oil absorber, or it can be used for the separation of oily and aqueous liquids. Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to the method of making a liquid transport member, wherein the method comprises the steps of: a) providing a bulk or internal material; b) providing a wall material comprising a port region; c) completely enclosing the volume region material by said wall material; d) provide means that enable transport selected from? k d1) empty; 5 d2) fill with liquid; d3) expandable springs / springs. Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of: e) applying means of activating e1) a liquid that dissolves the port region; e2) a liquid that dissolves the elastification / expandable springs; • e3) a removable removable element; e4) a removable seal package. In another embodiment, the method can comprise the steps of: a) packaging a highly porous volume material with a wall material containing at least one permeable port region, b) completely sealing the wall region and c) evacuating the member essentially of air. g? c In a further specific embodiment, the method further comprises the step of wetting the member, or partially or essentially filling the member completely with liquid. In a further specific embodiment, the method further comprises the step of sealing the member with a layer capable of dissolving with liquid at least in the port regions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1: Schematic diagram of conventional open siphon. ? k Figure 2: Schematic diagram of a liquid transport member of according to the present invention. Figure 3A, B: Conventional siphon system and liquid transport member according to the present invention. Figure 4: Schematic cross-sectional view through a liquid transport member. Figures 5A, B, C: Schematic representation for the determination of the • thickness of the port region. Figure 6: Permeability correlation and bubble point pressure. Figures 7 to 12: Schematic diagrams of various embodiments of the liquid transport member according to the present invention. 15 Figures 13A, B, C: Liquid Transport Systems according to the present invention. Figure 14: Schematic diagram of an absorbent article. Figures 15 to 16A, B: Absorbent article comprising a member of • liquid transport. 20 Figures 17 to 18: Specific modalities of the liquid transport member. Figures 19 to 20 A, B: Liquid permeability test. Figures 21 A - D: Capillary absorption test.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION General Definitions? As used herein, a "liquid transport member" is refers to a material or compound of material, which are capable of transporting liquids. This member contains at least two regions, an "internal" region for which it can be used in a "volume" region interchangeably and a wall region comprising at least one "port" region. The terms "internal" and "external" refer to the relative placement of the regions, ie they represent that the external region generally circumscribes the internal region, such as a wall region circumscribes a region of volume. As used herein, the term "Z dimension" refers to the dimension orthogonal to the length and width of the liquid or article transport member. The dimension Z usually corresponds to the thickness of the transport member of liquid or item. As used herein, the term "X-Y dimension" refers to the plane orthogonal to the thickness of the member or article. The dimension X-Y usually corresponds to the length and width, respectively, of the member of A. transport of liquid or article. The term layer can also apply to a member, which - when described in its spherical or cylindrical coordinates - extends in 0 radial direction much less than in others. For example, the cover of a balloon could be considered a layer in this context, so the skin would define the wall region, and the central part filling the inner region with air. As used herein, the term "layer" refers to a region whose primary dimension is X-Y, that is, along its length and width. It should be understood that the term layer is not necessarily limited to individual layers or sheets of material. Therefore the layer may comprise laminates or combinations of various sheets or webs of the types of requisite materials. Accordingly, the term "layer" includes the terms "layers" and "layers". For purposes of this invention, it should also be understood that the term "upper" refers to members, articles such as layers, that are placed upward (ie oriented against the gravity vector) during the intended use. For example, a liquid transport member is intended to convey liquid from a "lower" container to an "upper" container, which means that it is transported against gravity. All percentages, ratios and ratios used herein were calculated by weight unless otherwise specified. As used herein, the term "absorbent articles" refers to devices that absorb and contain body exudates and, more specifically, refer to devices that are placed against or in proximity to the user's body to absorb and contain the different exudates discharged from the 15 body. As used herein, the term "body fluids" includes, but is not limited to, urine, menstrual discharges and vaginal discharges, sweat, and feces. The term "disposable" is used herein to describe articles ^ Absorbers that are not intended to be washed or otherwise restored or reused as an absorbent article (i.e. are intended to be discarded or after use and, preferably to be recycled, composted or otherwise removed from a environmentally compatible way). As used herein, the term "absorbent core" refers to the component of the absorbent article that is primarily responsible for the fluid handling properties of the article, including the acquisition, transportation and distribution and storage of body fluids. As such, the absorbent core typically does not include the top cover or the back cover of the absorbent article.

A member or material can be described as having a certain structure, such as a porosity, which is defined by the ratio of the volume of the solid material of the member or material to the total volume of the member or material. For example, ? k for a fibrous structure made of polypropylene fibers, the porosity can be calculated from the specific gravity (density) of the structure, the gauge and the specific weight (density) of the polypropylene fiber: V acio 'Vtota'- (' "Pvolumen 'Pmaterial) The term" activable "refers to the situation, where a certain skill is restricted by certain means, such as the release of these means by a D reaction as occurs with a mechanical response. For example, if a spring is held by a clamp (and therefore would be activatable), releasing the clamp results in the activation of the spring expansion. For such springs or other members, materials or systems having an elastic behavior, the expansion can be defined by the elastic modulus, as is known in the art. 15 Basic principles and definitions Liquid transport mechanism in conventional capillary flow systems. • Without wishing to join any of the following explanations, the basic operating mechanism 20 of the present invention can be better explained by comparison of conventional materials. In the materials, for which the transport of liquids is based on the capillary pressure as the driving force, the liquid is extracted in the pores that were initially dry by the interaction of liquid with the surface of the pores The filling of the pores with liquid replaces the air in those pores. If said material is at least partially saturated and if in addition a hydrostatic, capillary or osmotic suction force is applied to at least one region of that liquid material it will be desorbed from this material if the suction pressure is greater than the capillary pressure that retains the liquid in the pores of the materials (refer for example ? k to "Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media" by J. Bear, Haifa, publ. Dover Publications Inc., NY 1988). Upon desorption, air will enter the pores of such conventional capillary flow materials. If additional liquid is available, this liquid can be extracted into the pores against capillary pressure. If therefore a conventional capillary flow material is connected to one end of a liquid source (eg a container) and the other end to a liquid spout (eg, a hydrostatic suction), the liquid transport through This material is based on the cycle of absorption and reabsorption of the individual pores with the capillary force at the liquid / air interface that provides the internal driving force for the liquid through the material. This contrasts with the transport mechanism for liquids through the transport members according to the present invention.

Siphon Analogy • A simplified explanation for the operation of this The invention can start with the comparison with a siphon (reference to Figure 1), well known from drainage systems such as pipe in the form of an S-layer (101). The principle thereof is that-once the pipe (102) is filled with liquid (103) - upon receipt of additional liquid (as indicated by 106), it enters the siphon in a. extreme, almost immediately the liquid comes out of the siphon at the other end (as indicated by 107) since - because the siphon is filled with non-compressible liquid - the liquid that enters is immediately displaced from the liquid in the siphon that forces the liquid at the other end to exit the siphon, if there is a pressure difference for the liquid between the entry point and the exit point of said siphon. In such a siphon, the liquid is entering and exiting the system through an open surface inlet ? k and output port regions (104 and 105 respectively). 5 The driving pressure to move the liquid along the siphon can be obtained by a variety of mechanisms. For example, if the inlet is in a higher position than the outlet, the gravity will generate a difference in hydrostatic pressure generating the flow of the liquid through the system. Alternatively, if the outlet port is higher than the inlet port, and the liquid has to be transported against gravity, the liquid will flow through this siphon only if an external pressure difference greater than the hydrostatic pressure difference is applied. . For example, a pump could generate enough suction or pressure to move the liquid through this siphon. Therefore, the flow of liquid through a siphon or pipe is caused by a pressure difference general between its entrance and its exit port region. This can be described through well-known models, such as are expressed in the Bernoulli equation. The analogy of the present invention to this principle is illustrated ^. schematically in Figure 2 as a specific modality. In it, the liquid transport member 201 does not need to be in the form of s, but may be a straight tube or 202. The liquid transport member may be filled with liquid (203), if the input and output of the transport member are covered by input port materials (204) and output port materials (205). At reception of additional liquid (indicated by 206) that easily penetrates through the input port material (204), the liquid (207) will immediately exit the member through the outlet region 5 (205), via the output port material. Therefore, a key difference in the principle is that the ports of entry and / or exit are not open areas, although they have special permeability requirements as explained in more detail below, which prevents the air or gas from penetrating inside. of the transport member, so the member of ? transport remains filled with liquid. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can be combined with one or more sources and / or dumps to form a liquid transport system. Such sources or liquid dumps may be attached to the transport member as in the inlet and / or outlet regions or the dump or source may be integral with the member. A liquid weir can be, for example integral with the transport member, when the transport member can expand its volume »So that it receives the liquid transported. An analogy of further simplification to a siphon system compared to a Liquid Transport System can be seen in Figure 3A (siphon) and 3B (the present invention). When a liquid container (source) is connected (301) with a lower liquid container (in the direction of gravity (landfill) (302) by a conventional pipe or tube with open ends (303) in the shape of an inverted "U" (or "J") , the liquid can flow from the upper container to the lower one only ^. If the tube is kept filled with liquid by keeping the upper end submerged in the liquid. If the air can enter the pipe so that it removes the upper end 305 of the liquid, the transport will be interrupted and the tube must be refilled to be in function again. A liquid transport member according to the present invention would resemble very similarly to an analogous arrangement, except that the ends of the transport member, the inlet (305) and the outlet port (306), which comprise the input and output port materials with special permeability requirements as explained in more detail below instead of the open areas. The inlet and outlet materials prevent air or gas from penetrating into the transport member and therefore maintain the liquid transport capacity even if the inlet is not submerged within the liquid source vessel. If the transport member is not submerged within the liquid source, the liquid transport will obviously stop although it may obviously start with the re-immersion. In broader terms, the present invention relates to the transport of liquid which is based on direct suction instead of capillary action. In the present, the liquid is transported through a region through which t > substantially no air must enter this member (or other gas) or at least not in a significant amount. The driving force for fluid to flow through said member can be created by a liquid spout and a liquid source in liquid communication with the member, either externally or internally. There are a variety of embodiments of the present invention, some of which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. For example, there may be members where input and / or output port materials are different from the internal region or volume, or they may be members with gradual change in properties, or ^. they can be member executions where the source or spillway is integral with the transport member or where the liquid that enters is different from the type or properties of the liquid leaving the member. In addition, all embodiments rely on the region of inlet or outlet port having a different permeability for the liquid transported as well as for the surrounding gas such as air different from the internal / volume region. Within the context of the present invention, the term "liquid" refers to fluids consisting of a continuous liquid phase, optionally comprising a discontinuous phase such as the immiscible liquid phase, or solids or gases, to form slurries, emulsions or Similar. The liquid can be homogeneous in its composition, it can be a mixture of miscible liquids, it can be a mixture of solids or gases in a liquid and the like. Non-limiting examples for liquid that can be transported through the members according to the present invention include water, pure or with contaminating additives, saline solutions, urine, blood, menstrual fluids, fecal matter of a wide variety of consistencies and viscosities , oil, food grease, lotions, cream and the like. The term "transporter liquid" or "transport liquid" refers to the liquid that is actually transported by the transport member, i.e. this can i > be the total of a homogeneous phase or can be the solvent in a phase comprising the dissolved matter, for example, the water of an aqueous saline solution or it can be a phase in a multi-phase liquid, or it can be the total of the liquid with multiple components or phases. Therefore, it will become readily apparent to any liquid that the respective liquid properties, for example surface energy, viscosity, density, are relevant for several modalities. In as much as the liquid that frequently enters the liquid transport member will be the same or of different type than the liquid that leaves the member or that is ^. stored in it, this does not necessarily need to be the case. For example, when the liquid transport member is filled with an aqueous liquid, and -under the design As appropriate, an oily liquid is received by the member, the aqueous phase can leave the member first. In this case, the aqueous phase could be considered "replaceable liquid".

Description of geometry of Transport Member Regions 5 A liquid transport member in the sense of the present invention has to comprise at least two regions, a "volume region" and a "wall region" comprising at least a "port region" permeable to liquid. The geometry and especially the requirement of the wall region that completely circumscribes the volume region is defined by the following ? k description (reference to Figure 4), which considers a transport member in a point of time. The volume / internal regions (403) and the wall region (404) are different regions of non-overlapping geometry with respect to each other as well as with respect to the internal region (ie "the rest of the element") , which can be defined by the following characterization (reference to Figure 4). Therefore, any point can only belong to one of the regions. • The volume region 403 is connected, for example, to either of the two points A 'and A "within the volume region (403), there is at least one continuous line (curved or straight) connecting the two points without leaving the volume region (403). For any point A within the volume region (403), all straight rod-like rays having a circular thickness of at least 2 mm in diameter intersect the wall region (404). A straight beam has the meaning ^ geometric of a cylinder of infinite length to the point at which it is a luminous source and the rays that are rays of light, although these rays need to have a geometric "thickness" At least (since otherwise a line can pass through the pore opening of port regions 405). This thickness is fixed at 2 mm, which of course has to be considered in an approximation to the proximity of point A (it does not have a three-dimensional extension to be coupled with said beam in the form of a bar). The wall region (404) completely circumscribes the volume region (403). Therefore, for which any points A "- belonging to the region of volume (403) - and C - belonging to the external region -, any curved bar continues (in analogy to a continuous curved line but having circular thickness from 2mm in diameter), intersects the wall region (404). A port region (405) connects a volume region (403) with the external region, and there exists at least one continuous curved connection bar for connect at any point to from the volume regions with any point C from the outer region having a circular thickness of 2mm, which intersects the port region (405). The term "region" refers to three-dimensional regions, which can be of any form. Frequently, although not necessarily, the thickness of the region may be thin, so that the region looks similar to a • flat structure, such as a thin film. For example, the membranes can be used in a film form, which - depending on the porosity - can have a thickness of 100 μm or much smaller, thus being smaller than the extension of the membrane perpendicular thereto (ie dimension of the membrane). length and width). A wall region can be placed around a region of volume for example in an overlapping arrangement, ie certain parts of the wall region material are in contact with each other and are connected to each other by ? sealed. Then, this seal must not have openings that are large enough to interrupt the functionality of the member, ie the seal line may considered to belong either to a wall region (impermeable) or to another wall region. While a region can be described as having at least one property to remain within certain limits to define the common functionality of the subregions of this region, other properties may change within this region. Within the current description, the term "regions" should be read to also cover the term "region", ie if a member includes certain "regions", the possibility of understanding only one region should be included in this term, unless mention explicitly in another way. M The "port" and "volume / internal" regions can be easily distinguished of one another, so that a void space for one region and a membrane for another or those regions may have a gradual transition with respect to certain relevant parameters as will be described below. It is therefore essential that a transport member according to the present invention has at least one region that satisfies the requirements for the "inner region" and a region that satisfies the requirements for the "wall region", (which in fact it can have a very small thickness in relation to its extension in the other two dimensions and therefore appear more as a surface than as a volume). The wall region comprises at least one port region, which may comprise additional regions, in particular the entrance and / or exit region. Therefore, for a transport member of Liquid, the transport path can be defined as the path of a liquid entering the port region and the liquid leaves a port region, so the liquid transport path travels through the volume region . The ^. transport path can also be defined by the path of a liquid entering a port region and then entering a fluid storage region which is integral within the internal region of the transport member, or alternatively defined as the path of a liquid from a liquid release source region within the inner region of the transport member to an exit port region. The transport path of a liquid transport member can be of substantial length, a length of 100 m or even more can alternatively be contemplated, the liquid transport member can also be of a very short length, such as a few millimeters or even less. While it is a particular benefit of the present invention to provide high transport speeds and also allow large quantities of liquid to be transported, the latter does not Mlk is a requirement. It can also be seen that only small amounts of liquid are transported for relatively short times, for example when the system is used to transmit signals in the form of liquids in order to activate a certain response of the signal at an alternative point along the transport member. In this case, the liquid transport member can function as a real-time signaling device. Alternatively, the transported liquid can ^ k execute a function at the output port, such as activating a gap to release mechanical energy and create a three-dimensional structure. For example, the liquid transport member can provide an activation signal to a response device comprising a comprised material that is retained in vacuum compression within a bag, at least a portion of which is soluble (e.g. water). When a threshold level of the signaling liquid (eg water) provided by the liquid transport member dissolves a portion of the water-soluble region and discontinuously releases the vacuum, the compressed material expands. ^. to form a three-dimensional structure. The compressed material, for example, can be an elastic plastic having a hollow formed of sufficient volume to trap body waste. Alternatively, the compressed material may be an absorbent material that functions as a pump by withdrawing fluid within its body as it expands (e.g., it may function as a liquid spillway as described below). The liquid transport can take place along a single transport path or along multiple paths, which can be divided or recombined through the transport member.

Generally, the transport path will define a transport direction, allowing the definition of the transverse cross section plane that is perpendicular to said path. The internal region / volume configuration will then define the transport cross-sectional area, combining the different trajectories. For irregularly shaped transport members and respective regions thereof, it may be necessary to average the transport cross section over the length of one or more transport paths either through the use of incremental approaches or differential approaches as known from the geometric calculations. % It is conceivable that there are transport members where the internal region and port regions are easily separable and distinguishable. In other cases, it may take more effort to distinguish and / or separate the different regions. Therefore, when the requirements for certain regions are described, this should be read to apply to certain materials within those regions. Therefore, a certain region may consist of a homogeneous material, or a region may comprise such a homogeneous material. Also, such material may have variable properties and / or parameters and ^. therefore understand more than one region. The following description will focus on the description of properties and parameters for functionally defined regions.

General functional description of the transport member As briefly mentioned in the above, the present invention relates to a liquid transport member, which is based on direct suction instead of capillary action. In it, the liquid is transported through a region 5 within which substantially no air (or other gas) enters (at all or at least not in a significant amount). The driving force for the liquid to flow through such a member can be created by a liquid spout and / or liquid source, in communication of the liquid with the transport member either externally or internally. ? Direct suction keeps ensuring that substantially no air or gas enters the liquid transport member during transportation. This means, that the wall regions of include the port regions must be substantially impermeable to air up to a certain pressure, i.e. the bubble point pressure as will be described in greater detail. Therefore, a liquid transport member must have a certain permeability of the liquid (as will be described later herein). Higher liquid permeability provides less resistance to flow and is therefore preferred from this point of view. In addition, the liquid transport member must be substantially impermeable to air or gas during the transportation of the liquid. However, for conventional porous liquid transport materials, and in particular those materials that function on the basis of capillary transport mechanisms, liquid transport is generally controlled by the interaction of pore size and permeability, such as those highly open permeable structures that will generally comprise relatively large pores. These large pores provide highly permeable structures, although these structures have very limited packing heights for a given set of respective surface energy, ie a certain combination of the type of material and liquids. The pore size can also affect fluid retention under conditions of normal use. In contrast to the conventional capillary governed mechanisms, in the present invention, those conventional limitations have been overcome, since it has been surprisingly found that materials exhibiting relative lower permeability can be combined with materials exhibiting a relative higher permeability and the combination provides significant synergistic effects. • 5 In particular, it has been found, that when a material highly permeable to liquid having large pores filled with liquid is surrounded by material having essentially no air permeability up to a certain pressure, the aforementioned bubble point pressure, but having also a Low liquid permeability, the combined liquid transport member will have high liquid permeability and high bubble point pressure at the same time, allowing very fast liquid transport even against external pressure. Accordingly, the liquid transport member has an internal region with a liquid permeability that is relatively high to provide maximum liquid transport velocity. The permeability of a port region, which can be a part of the wall region circumscribing the volume region is substantially smaller. This is achieved through port regions that have a membrane functionality, designed for the intended conditions of use. The membrane is permeable to liquids, but not to gases or vapors. Such property • is usually expressed by the bubble point pressure parameter, which is in short, defined by the pressure to which gas or air does not penetrate through a damp membrane. As will be described in more detail, the property requirements have to be met at the same time as liquid transport is carried out. However, they may be created or adjusted by activating a transport member, for example, before use, which, without or before such activation, would not satisfy the requirements but would do so after activation. For example, a member can be compressed or elastically collapsed and expanded by wetting to then create a structure with the required properties. Generally, to consider how fast and how much liquid can be? transported over a certain height (ie against a certain hydrostatic pressure) capillary flow transport is dominated by surface energy that affects the mechanisms and pore structure, which is determined by the number of pores, as well as the size, shape and pore size distribution. If, for example, in conventional capillary flow systems or membranes that rely on capillary pressure as the driving force, the liquid is removed at an i > At the end of a capillary system by means of suction, this liquid is desorbed out of the capillaries closest to this suction device, which are at least partially filled by air, and which are then filled through capillary pressure by liquid from the adjacent capillaries, which are filled by liquid from the next adjacent capillaries and so on. 15 This, the transport of liquid through a conventional capillary flow structure is based on the absorption-desorption and reabsorption cycle of the individual pores. ^. The flow with respect to the hyperflow is determined for the average permeability along the trajectory and for the suction at the end of the transport path. Such local suction will generally also depend on the local saturation of the material, ie if the suction device is able to reduce the saturation of the region near it, the flow / hyperflow will be greater. However, even if said suction at the end of the transport path is greater than the capillary pressure within the capillary structure, the internal driving force for the liquid is provided by the capillary pressure thus limiting the transport speeds of the capillary. liquid. In addition, such capillary flow structures can not transport liquid against gravity to heights greater than capillary pressure, independent of external suction. A specific idealized embodiment of such porous liquid transport members are the so-called "capillary tubes", which can be described as parallel tubes such as internal tube diameters and wall thicknesses that define the general opening (or porosity) of the system. Such systems will have a high relative flow against a certain height if they are "monoporous", that is, if the pores have the same optimum pore size. Then the flow is determined by the pore structure, the surface energy ratio and the cross-sectional area of the porous system and can be estimated through well-known approximations. Realistic porous structures, such as fibrous or foam structures, will not transport ideal capillary tube structures. Real porous structures have pores that are not alignedthat is, they are not straight, since capillary tubes and pore sizes are not uniform either. These effects often reduce the efficiency of transport of capillary systems. For one aspect of the present invention, however, there are at least two regions within the transport member with different pore sizes, namely one or more port regions that have smaller pore sizes (which in conventional systems would result in very low flow rates) and the internal region that has a relatively large pore size (which in conventional systems would result in very low transport heights achievable). For the present invention, the general flow and transport height through the transport member are synergistically improved by the high permeability of the inner region (which may therefore be relatively greater) while having smaller areas of cross section) and through the relatively high bubble point pressure of the port regions (which may have sufficiently large surfaces, and / or small thicknesses). In this aspect of the invention, the high bubble point pressure of the port regions is obtained by the capillary pressure of small pores in the port region, which, once wetted, will prevent air or gas from entering. to the transport member. Therefore, very high fluid transport speeds can be achieved through relatively small cross-sectional areas of the transport member. In another aspect, the present invention is related to liquid transport members, which once activated and / or moistened, are selective with respect to the fluids they transport. Port regions of the transport member are - up to a certain limit as can be expressed by the bubble-closed pressure point for natural gas (such as air) but relatively open for transport liquid (such as water). The port regions do not require a specific directionality of their properties, that is, the materials used in them can be used in any orientation of the liquid flow through them. It is also not a requirement for membranes having different properties (such as permeability) with respect to certain parts or component of the liquid. This is in contrast to the membranes as described for osmotic absorbent packs in US-A-5,108,383 (White et al.), Wherein the membranes should have a low permeability to the promoter material, such as a salt, and the respective salt ions.

Region of volume In the next section, the requirements as well as the specific executions for the "internal region" or "volume region" will be described. A key requirement for the volume region is that it has a low average flow resistance, as expressed by having a permeability k of at least preferably 10"11 m2, preferably greater than 10 ~ 8 m2, and more preferably • 5 of more than 10"5 m2 An important means to achieve high permeabilities for internal regions can be achieved by using the material that provides a relatively high porosity, which is commonly defined as the ratio of the volume of materials that make up the porous materials to the total volume of the 1 > porous materials, and as determined by commonly known density measurements, should be at least 50%, preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 90%, or even exceed 98% or 99%. At the end of the internal region consisting essentially of an individual pore, hollow space, the porosity approaches or even reaches 100%. The porosity can be determined by means of one more parameter, ie the density of the material. This density corresponds to the so-called dry density, as determined for the material or region that is not filled with fluids such as liquids or gases, and is measured under pressure • low, such as 0.02 psi. If the volume region is not a gap, but instead a porous material, such as a material that will have densities of more than about 0. 001 g / m2. The inner region may have pores, which are greater than about 200 μm, 500 μm, 1 mm or even 9 mm in diameter or more. For certain applications, such as irrigation or oil separation, the inner region may have pores as large as 10 cm, for example, when the internal region is a hollow tube.

Such pores may be smaller before the transport of fluid, so that the inner region may have a smaller volume, and expand only just before or in contact with the liquid. Preferably, if such pores are compressed or collapsed, They should be able to expand by the volumetric expansion factor of at least 5, preferably greater than 10. Such expansion can be achieved through materials having an elastic modulus of more than the external pressure which, however, must be less than the bubble point pressure. High porosities can be achieved through a number of materials, well known in the art as such. For example, the fibrous members can easily achieve such porosity values. Non-limiting examples of such % fibrous materials that can be compressed in the volume region are high-fluff non-woven materials, for example, from polyolefin or polyester fibers as used in the field of sanitary articles, or the automotive industry, or for upholstery or for the HVAC industry. Other examples comprise fiber webs made from cellulosic fiber. Such porosities can be further achieved through porous open cell foam structures, such as, without intending to be limited, for example cross-linked polyurethane foams, cellulose sponges or open cell foams.

• As manufactured by the process of Emulsion Polymerization of Internal High Phase 20 (HIPE foams), as it is well known from a variety of industrial applications such as filtration ecology, upholstery, hygiene and others. Such porosities can be achieved by wall regions (as explained in more detail below) circumscribing gaps defining the internal region, such as those exemplified by pipe. Alternatively, several smaller pipes can be grouped. Such porosities can be achieved in addition by "space supports", such as springs, spacers, particle material, corrugated structures and the like. The gold sizes of internal region or waves permeabilities can be homogeneous through the internal region or can be heterogeneous. It is not necessary for the high porosity of the inner region to be maintained throughout all stages between the manufacture and use of the liquid transport member, although voids within the inner region may be created shortly before or during its intended use. For example, bellows-like structures held together by suitable means can be activated by a user and during their expansion, the liquid penetrates through a port region within the expanding internal region, thereby filling the limb member. transport completely or at least sufficiently so as not to impede the flow of liquid. Alternatively, open cell foam materials, such as those described in (US-A-5,563,179 or US-A-5,387,207) have the tendency to collapse under water removal, and the ability to re-expand. by re-moistening. Therefore, such foams can be transported from the manufacturing site to the user in relatively dry and therefore thin (or lower volume) form, and only upon contact with the source liquid they increase their volume to meet the permeability requirements of the hole. The internal regions can have various shapes or contours. The inner region may be cylindrical, ellipsoidal, leaf-like, band-like, or may have any irregular shape. The internal regions may have a constant cross-sectional area, with the constant or variable transverse shape, such as rectangular, triangular, circular, elliptical or irregular. A cross-sectional area is defined for use herein as a cross-section of the inner region, prior to the addition of the source liquid, when measured in the plane perpendicular to the transport liquid flow path and this definition will be used to determine the cross-sectional area of average internal region Mk by averaging the individual transverse areas of all flow paths. 5 The absolute size of the internal region must be selected to match the geometrical requirements of the intended use appropriately. Generally, it would be desirable to have a minimum dimension for the intended use. A benefit of the designs according to the present invention is to allow areas of cross section much smaller than conventional materials. The dimensions of the internal region are determined by the permeability of said internal region, which can be very high, due to the large possible pores, since the internal region does not have to be designed under contradictory requirements of hyperflow (ie large pores). ) and elevated vertical liquid transport (ie, small pores). Such large permeabilities allow much smaller cross sections and therefore different designs.

Likewise, the length of the internal region can be significantly greater than for conventional systems, as well as with respect to this parameter of the novel transport member that can link larger distances and also higher vertical liquid transport heights. • The internal region can be essentially non-deformable, that is to say, it maintains its shape, contour, volume under normal conditions of the intended use. However, in many uses, it would be desirable, that the inner region allow the full member to remain soft and foldable. The internal region can change its shape, through deformation forces or pressures during use or under the influence of the fluid itself. The deformability or absence thereof can be achieved by selecting 5 from one or more materials in the inner region (such as a fibrous member) or can be determined essentially by the circumscribed regions, such as the wall regions of the transport member. One such approach is to use elastomeric materials as the wall material. The hollows of the inner region may be confined by regions of the wall only or the inner region may comprise internal separations in the same. If, for example, the internal region is made up of parallel pipes, with impermeable cylindrical walls, these would be considered to form such internal separations, possibly creating pores that are unitary with the internal hollow opening of the pipes and possibly other pores created. for the interstitial spaces between the pipes. If, as a further example, the internal region comprises a fibrous structure, the fiber material can be considered to form the internal separations. The internal separations of the internal region may have surface energies adapted to the liquid transported. For example, in order to facilitate wetting and / or transport of aqueous liquids, the separations or parts thereof can be hydrophilic. Therefore, in certain embodiments that relate to the transport of aqueous liquids, it is preferred to have the separations of the internal regions to be wettable by such liquids, even more preferably to have voltages of • adhesion of more than 65 nN / m, more preferably 70 nN / m. In the case that the liquid 20 transported is based on oil, the separations or parts thereof can be oil or lipophilic. The confinement separations of the inner region may further comprise materials that significantly change their wetting properties, or which may even dissolve upon wetting. Therefore, the internal region can comprising an open cell foam material having a relatively small pore at least partially formed of soluble material, such as polyvinyl alcohol or the like. The small porosity can extract the liquid in the initial phase of transport d liquid and then quickly dissolve and then leave large voids filled with liquid. Alternatively, such materials can fill larger pores, complete and • 5 partially. For example, the inner region may comprise soluble materials such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl acetate. Such materials can fill the voids or withstand a collapsed state of the voids before the member comes into contact with the liquid. In contact with fluid, such as water, those materials can dissolve and thus create empty or expanded voids. In one modality, the gaps in the inner region (which can < essentially forming the entire inner region) are essentially completely filled with an essentially non-compressible fluid. The term "essentially completely" refers to the situation, where the sufficient void volume of the internal region is filled with the liquid so that a flow path can be established continuous. Preferably, the majority of the void volume, preferably more than 90%, more preferably more than 95% and even more preferably more than ^ 99%, including 100%, is filled with liquid. The internal region may be designed to improve the accumulation of gas or other liquid in parts of the region where it is least harmful. The remaining voids can then be filled with another fluid, such as residual gas or vapors, or liquid immiscible as oil in an inner region filled with aqueous liquids or they can be solids such as particles, fibers, films. The liquid comprised in the inner region may be of the same type as the liquid that is designated to be transported. For example, when liquids based on Water is intended for the transported medium, the internal region of the transport medium can be filled with water, or if the oil is the intended transport liquid, the internal region can be filled with oil. The liquid of the internal region may also be different, so these differences may be relatively small (as when the Mjk intended transport liquid is water, the liquid of the inner region can be a aqueous solution and vice versa). Alternatively, the intended transport liquid may be very different in its properties, when comparing the liquid with which the internal region has been pre-filled, such as when the source liquid is oil, which is transported through a pipe initially filled with water and closed through suitable inlet and outlet ports, whereby the water leaves the membrane through a suitable outlet port region, and the oil enters the member through an appropriate port region of entry . In this specific embodiment, the total amount of liquid transported is limited by the amount that can be received within the member respectively to the quantity of liquid exchanged, unless for example there were output port regions comprising material with properties compatible with liquids to allow functionality with one or both liquids. The liquid of the internal region and the liquid to be transported can be mutually soluble, such as saline solutions in water, for example, the member ^ Liquid transport is intended for the transport of blood or menstrual fluids, the inner region may be filled with water. In another embodiment, the internal region comprises a vacuum, or a gas or vapor below the corresponding equilibrium and the ambient or external pressure at the respective temperatures and the volumetric conditions. Upon contact with the liquid transported, the liquid can enter the internal region through the permeable port regions (as described below), and then fill the gaps in the inner region until the required degree. Subsequently, the internal region now filled works as a "pre-filled" region as described above.

The functional requirements and the previous structural modalities of the internal region can be satisfied by a number of suitable structures. Without being limited to the creation of structures that satisfy the regions Suitable internal MKs, a range of preferred embodiments are described below.

A simple and highly descriptive example for an internal region is an empty tube defined by impermeable or semipermeable walls, as already described and illustrated in Figure 2. The diameter of such tubes can be relatively large compared to the diameters commonly used for transport in capillary systems. The diameter of the course depends to a large extent on the specific system and the intended use. "For example, for hygiene applications such as diapers, pore sizes of 2-9 mm or more have been found to work satisfactorily. Also suitable is the combination of parallel tubes of a suitable diameter from about 0.2 mm to several centimeters for a group of 5 tubes, such as (in principle) known from other principles of engineering design such as heat exchanger systems . For certain applications, pieces of glass tubes can ^ provide straight functionality, although, for certain applications such structures may have certain restrictions of mechanical strength. Suitable tubes can also be made of silicon, PVC rubber, etc. for example, Masterflex 6404-17 from Norton, distributed by Barnat Company, Barrington, Illinois 60010 U.S. Yet another embodiment can be seen in the combination of mechanically expanding elements, such as springs or which can open the hollow space in the structure if the direction of expansion is oriented so that the appropriate pore size is also oriented to the length of the flow path direction.

Such materials are well known in the art and for example described in US-A-5,563,179, US-A-5,387,207, US-A-5,632,737 all relating to HIPE foam materials, or in US-A No. 5,674,917 which refers to absorbent foams, or in EP-A-0,340,763, which refers to highly porous fibrous structures or sheets, such • 5 as those made from PET fibers. Other materials may be suitable even when they do not satisfy all the above requirements at the same time, if this deficiency can be compensated with other design elements. Other materials that have relatively large pore sizes are high-flux non-woven filter materials such as open cell foams of Recticel in Brussels, Belgium such as Bulpren, Filtren (Filtren TM10 blue, Filtren TM20 blue, Filtren TM30 blue, Filtren Firend 10 black, Filtren Firend 30 black, Filtren HC 20 gray, Filgren Firend HC 30 grex, Bulpren S10 black, Bulpren S20 black, Bulpren S30 black). 15 Another material that has relatively large pores - although the porosity is not particularly high - is sand with particles larger than 1 mm, specifically sand with particles greater than 5 mm. Such fibrous or other materials can, for example, become very useful when corrugated, although excessive compression must be • avoided. Excessive compression can result in a non-homogeneous pore size distribution with small pores within the inner material and insufficiently open pores between the corrugated ones. A further embodiment for exemplifying a material with two pore size regions can be seen in PCT application US97 / 20840, which relates to a woven cycle structure. The inner region may comprise absorbent materials, such as super absorbent gelling materials or other materials as described to be suitable as a liquid pouring material hereunder. In addition, the Osmotic Membrane Pack (MOP) promoter materials as described in US-A-5,082,723 (White, Allied Signáis) may be suitable for use in the inner region. • The internal region can also be constructed from several materials, that is, for example, from combinations of the above. The inner region may also contain strips, particles, or other non-homogeneous structures that generate large gaps between them and act as space separators. As will be described in more detail in the port regions, the fluids in the inner region should not prevent the port regions from filling with the transport liquid. Therefore, the degree of vacuum, for example, or the degree of miscibility or immiscibility should be such that the liquids of the port region are not extracted in the internal region without the port region or regions being replenished with the 15 transport liquid.

Wall region The liquid transport member according to the present invention • It also includes, in addition to the internal regions, a wall region that circumscribes this internal region in the geometric definition as described above. This wall region must comprise at least one port region, as described below. The wall region may also contain materials that are essentially impermeable to liquids and / or gases, although they do not interfere with the liquid handling functionality of the port regions and also prevent gases or environmental values from entering the transport member. of liquid. Such walls may be of any structure or shape and may be present in the key structural element of the liquid transport member. Such walls may be in the form of a straight or flexed pipe, a flexible pipe or a cubic shape and so on. The walls can be movies ^ | thin flexible that circumscribe the inner region. Such walls can be expandable, either permanently by means of deformation or elastically through an elastomeric film or by activation. While the wall regions are an essential element for the present invention, this is particularly true for the port region comprised in these regions and described below. The properties of the remaining parts of ^ Wall regions can be important for general structure, for elasticity and for other structural effects.

Port regions Port regions can generally be described to comprise 15 materials having different permeabilities for different fluids, ie they must be permeable to the transport liquid, but not to the ambient gas (such as air), under conditions otherwise identical (identical temperature or pressure, ...) and once they are moistened / filled with transport liquid or similar operating liquid. Frequently, such materials are described as membranes with respective characteristic parameters. In the context of this invention a membrane is generally defined as a region that is permeable to liquid, gas or a suspension of particles in a liquid or gas. The membrane may for example comprise a microporous region 25 to provide the liquid in a permeable manner through the capillaries. In an alternative embodiment, the membrane may comprise a monolithic region comprising a block copolymer through which the liquid is transported by diffusion. For a set of predetermined conditions, f membranes will often have selective transport properties for liquids, gases or suspensions that depend on the type of medium that is going to be transported. They are therefore widely used in the filtration of fine particles outside the suspensions (for example, in liquid filtration, air filtration). Another type of membrane shows the selective transport for different types of ions or molecules and are therefore found in biological systems, (for example cell membranes, molecular sieves) or in chemical energy applications (for example reverse osmosis). Microporous hydrophobic membranes will typically allow the gas to permeate, while water-based liquids will not be transported through the membrane if the driving pressure is below a threshold pressure commonly referred to as "separation" or "bond" pressure. " 15 In contrast, hydrophilic microporous membranes transport liquids based on water. However, once the gases have been moistened, (for example air) they will essentially not pass through the membrane if the driving pressure is below a threshold pressure commonly referred to as "pressure point". • bubble. "0 Hydrophilic monolithic films will typically allow water vapor to permeate while gas will not be transported rapidly through the membrane., the membranes can be used for liquids that are not based on water such as oils. For example, most hydrophobic materials will be in a hydrophobic to oleophilic microporous membrane which will therefore be permeable to oil but not to water and can be used to transport oil, or to separate oil and water. Membranes are often produced as thin sheets and can be used alone or in combination with a support layer (for example a non-woven layer) or a support element (spiral support). Other forms of membrane are included • 5 although they are not limited to thin polymeric layers coated directly on another material, balls, corrugated sheets. The additional known membranes are "activatable" or "switchable" which can change their properties after activation or in response to a stimulus. This change in properties may be permanently reversible depending on the specific use. For example, a hydrophobic microporous layer can % be coated by a thin layer that can be dissolved eg made of polyvinyl alcohol. Such a double layer system is rendered impermeable to gas. However, once the film of polyvinyl alcohol has been moistened it has dissolved, the system will be permeable for the gas although impermeable for aqueous liquids. 15 Conversely, if a hydrophilic membrane is coated by such a soluble layer, it will be activated upon contact with the liquid to allow the liquid to pass through it but not from the air. In another example, a hydrophilic microporous membrane is normally dry, in this state the membrane is permeable to air. Once moistened with water, the membrane is no longer permeable to air. Another example of a reversible switching of a membrane in response to a stimulus is a microporous membrane coated with a surfactant that changes its hydrophilicity depending on the temperature. For example, the membrane will be hydrophilic for the hot and hydrophobic liquid for the cold liquid. As a result, the hot liquid will pass through the membrane while the cold liquid will not pass. Other examples include but are not limited to microporous membranes made from an activated gel by stimulus that changes its dimensions in response to pH, temperature, electric fields, radiation or the like.

Properties of port regions • 5 Port regions can be described by a number of properties and parameters. The permeability is a key aspect of the port region. The transport properties of the membranes can generally be described by a permeability function using the Darcy's law which is applicable to all porous systems: f Q = 1 / A * dV / dt = k /? *? P / L Therefore, a volumetric flow dV / dt through the membrane is caused by an external pressure difference? P (driving pressure) and the permeability function k may depend on the type of medium to be transported (liquid or gas) , 5 a threshold pressure, and an activation stimulus. Additional relevant parameters that impact on the liquid transport are the cross section A, the volume V respectively the change during the time of the same and the length L of the regions of ^ c transport and viscosity? of the transported liquid. For porous membranes, the macroscopic transport properties 0 depend mainly on the pore size distribution, the porosity, the tortuosity and the surface properties such as hydrophilicity. If taken alone, the permeability of the regions must be high to allow high flow rates through them. However, since permeability is intrinsically connected to other properties and parameters, the 5 typical permeability values for port regions or port region materials will vary from approximately 6 * 10"20m2 to 7 * 10" 18m2, or 3 * 10"14m2, up to 1.2 * 10-10 m 2 or more An additional parameter relevant to the port regions and / or materials at the bubble point pressure can be measured according to the method as described below. • The appropriate boiling point pressure values depend on the type of application in mind.The table below lists the bubble point pressure ranges of the appropriate port region (pbb) for some applications, as determined for the respective typical fluids: Application bpp (kPa) Typical range wide range Diapers 4.5 to 35 4.5 to 8 Products for menstruation 1 to 35 1 to 5 Irrigation < 2 a > 50 8 to 50 15 Absorption of fat 1 to 20 1 to 5 Separation of oil < 1 to approx. fifty In a more general approach, it has been found useful to determine the pbb for • a material using a standardized test fluid as described in test methods below.

Thickness and size of the port region The port region of a liquid transport member is defined as a part of the wall that has the highest permeability. The port region is also defined as having the lowest relative permeability when closed along a path from the volume region to a point outside the transport region. The port region can be constructed of easily recognizable materials and then both thickness and size can be easily determined. The port region may, however, have a gradual transition of its properties from • 5 to each other, the impermeable regions of the wall region or the volume region. Then the determination of thickness and size can be done as described below. When a segment of the wall region is closed, as illustrated in Figure 5A, it will have a surface defined by the corners ABCD, which are oriented towards the internal or volume region and an EFGH surface facing the f outside of the member. Therefore, the thickness dimension is oriented along the lines AE, BF, and so on, ie using Cartesian coordinates, along the z-direction. Analogously, the wall region will have a greater extension along two perpendicular directions, that is to say the direction x and y. Then, the thickness of the port region can be determined as follows: a) In case of essentially homogeneous port region properties at least in the direction through the thickness of the region, it is the thickness of the material having a permeability homogeneous (such as a membrane film); • b) It is the thickness of the membrane if it is combining with a carrier 20 (this carrier being inside or outside the membrane), ie this refers to a non-continuous stage change function of the properties along this trajectory. c) For a material having a continuous gradient permeability (determinable) through any segment as in Figure 5A, the following steps can be performed to reach a determinable thickness (refer to Figure 5B): cO) First , a permeability profile is determined along the z axis and the k curve [iocan vrs is plotted; for certain members the porosity or pore size curve can also be taken for this determination with appropriate changes of the subsequent procedure. M \ d) After the point of least permeability (km? N is determined and take the corresponding length reading (r [m? N]). c2) As the third stage, "the permeability of the upper port region" is determined being ten times the value of km? n c3) Since the curve has a minimum of km? n there are two r? nterno and rextem0, corresponding which define the internal and external boundary of the port region respectively. • C4) The distance between the two limits define the thickness, and the average average will be determined through it. If this approach fails due to indeterminable gradient permeability, porosity or pore size, the thickness of the port region will be set at 15 1 micrometer. As indicated above, it will often be desirable to minimize the thickness of the port region, respectively the membrane materials comprised therein. Typical thickness values are on the minus scale • 100μm, often less than 50μm, 10μm or even less than 5μm. 20 Analogously, the x-y extension of the port region can be determined. In certain liquid transport member designs it will be readily apparent, that part of the wall region are port regions. In other designs, with gradually changing properties across the wall region, the local permeability curves along the x and y direction of the wall region can be determined and plotted analogously to FIG. 5B as shown in FIG. Figure 5C. However, in this case, the maximum permeability of the wall region defines the port regions, so the maximum will be determined and the region that has permeabilities not less than one tenth of the maximum permeability surrounding this maximum are defined as the port region. Another useful parameter to describe the aspects of the port regions useful in the present invention is the thickness permeability ratio, which in the context of the present invention is also referred to as "membrane conductivity". This reflects the fact that - for a given driving force - the amount of liquid that penetrates through a material such as a membrane is on one side proportional to the loss of material, ie, the greater the permeability, the greater the amount of liquid will penetrate. and on the other side inversely proportional to the thickness of the material. In the following, a material having a low permeability compared to the same material having a decrease is thickness, shows that this thickness can compensate for the permeability deficiency (when high speeds are desirable). Therefore, this parameter can be very useful to design the materials of the port region to be used. The adequate conductivity k / d depends on the type of application you have in mind. The table below lists typical ranges of k / d for some illustrative applications: Application bpp (kPa) Range wide typical range Diapers 10"6 to 1000 150 to 300 Female protection 100 to 500 Irrigation 1 to 300 Absorption of fat - 100 to 500 Separation of oil 1 to 500 The port regions must be wettable by the transport fluid and the hydrophilicity or lipophilicity must be designed appropriately, such as by the use of hydrophilic membranes in the case of transport of aqueous liquids, or hydrophobic membranes in the case of lipophilic or oleícos. The surface properties in the port region can be permanent, or they can change with time or conditions of use. • It is preferred that the recoil contact angle for the liquid being conveyed be less than 70 °, more preferably less than 50 °, even more preferred less than 20 ° or less than 10 °. Furthermore, it is often preferred that the material has no negative impact on the surface tension of the liquid transported. For example, a lipophilic membrane can be made from lipophilic polymers such as polyethylene or polypropylene and such membranes will remain lipophilic during use. ^ Another example is a hydrophilic material that allows aqueous liquids to be transported. If a polymer such as polyethylene or polypropylene is used, this has to be hydrophilized, by surfactants added to the surface of the material or aggregated to the polymer by volume, by adding a hydrophilic polymer before forming the port material. In both cases, the hydrophilicity imparted can be permanent or non-permanent, for example removal by washing with the transport liquid passing through the material. However, since it is an important aspect of this In the invention, those port regions remain in a wet state to prevent gas from passing through them, the lack of hydrophilizer will not be significant once the port regions are wetted.

Maintenance of liquid filling of the membrane For a porous membrane to be functional once it has been wetted (permeable to liquid, not permeable to air) at least one continuous layer of pores of the membrane always needs to be filled with liquid and not with gas or air. Therefore, it may be desirable for particular applications to minimize the evaporation of liquid from the membrane pores, either by decreasing the vapor pressure in the liquid or by increasing the vapor pressure in the air . The possible ways to do this, include without any limitation: • Seal the membrane with a waterproof wrap to avoid evaporation between promotion and use. The use of strong desiccants (for example CaCI2) in the pores, or the use of a liquid with a low vapor pressure in the pores that mix with the transported fluid, such as glycerin. Alternatively, the port region can be sealed with soluble polymers, such as polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinyl acetate, which dissolve on contact with liquids and thus activate the functionality of the transport member. • In addition, of the liquid handling requirements, the 0 port regions must meet certain mechanical requirements. First, the port regions should not have a negative effect on the intended conditions of use. For example, when such members are intended for hygienic absorbent articles, comfort and safety should not be negatively impacted. 5 Therefore, it will often be desirable for port regions to be soft and flexible, although this is not always the case. However, the port region must be strong enough to withstand the stresses of practical use, such as tear strain or drilling tension or the like. In certain designs, it may be desirable for the port region materials to be extensible or collapsible or flexable. • 5 Even a single hole in the membrane (for example, caused by perforation during use), a failure in the sealing membrane (for example, due to production), or tearing of the membrane (for example, due to pressure exerted during use) can under various conditions lead to a failure of the liquid transport mechanism. While this should be used as a destructive testing method to determine whether the materials or functions of the membrane according to the present invention, this is not desirable during its intended use. If air or other gas penetrates within the inner region, it can block the liquid flow path within the region, or it can also interrupt the liquid connection between the volume and port regions. 15 One possibility to be a stronger individual member is to provide in certain parts the internal region away from the main liquid flow path, a bag where the air entering the system is allowed to accumulate without making this system nonfunctional . • An additional way to resolve this issue is to have several members of 0 liquid transport in a parallel arrangement (functionality or geometry) instead of a single liquid transport member. If one of the members fails, the others will maintain the functionality of "the liquid transport member battery". The functional requirements of the above regions of the port regions can be satisfied by a wide range of materials or structures described by the following properties or structural parameters. The pore structure of the region, respectively of the materials in it, is an important parameter that impacts on properties such as permeability and bubble point pressure. Two key aspects of the pore structure are the pore size and the pore size distribution. A suitable method to characterize these parameters at least on the surface of the region is by optical analysis. Another suitable method for characterizing their properties is the use of a Capillary Flow Porosimeter, as described hereinafter. As mentioned above in the context of permeability, the permeability is influenced by the pore size and the thickness of the regions, respectively the part of the thickness that is predominantly determining the permeability. In the following, it has been found that, for example for aqueous systems, typical average pore size values for the port region are in the range of 0.5 μm to 500 μm. Therefore, the pores preferably have an average size of 5 less than 100 μm, preferably less than 50 μm, more preferably less than 10 μm or even less than 5 μm. Typically, those pores are not less than 1 μm. It is an important characteristic for example of the point pressure of Mh bubble, which will depend on the largest pores in the region, which are in a connected arrangement in it. For example, having a larger pore embedded in a smaller one will not necessarily harm performance, while a "grouping" of larger pores together will do quite well. In the following, it will be desirable to have narrower pore distribution ranges. Another aspect relates to the pore walls, such as the 5 pore wall thicknesses, which must be a balance of opening and resistance requirements. Also, the pores must be connected together along the direction of flow, to allow the liquid to pass through them easily. Since some of the preferred port region materials may be thin membrane materials, these by themselves may have relatively poor mechanical properties. In the following, such membranes can be • combined with a support structure, such as a thicker mesh, threads or filaments, a non-woven material, films with openings or the like. Such support structure can be combined with the membrane so that it will be placed towards the internal / volume region or towards the outside of the member.

Size / surface area of the port regions. The size of the port regions is essential for the overall performance of the transport member, and needs to be determined in combination with the "thickness permeability" (k / d) rad, or the port region. 15 The size has to be adapted to the intended use, so that it meets the liquid handling requirements. Generally, it will be desirable to have the liquid handling capacity of the inner / volume region and the port regions to be compatible, so that none is a major limiting factor for transport. • of liquid compared to the other. As far as a given driving force is concerned, the flow (that is, the flow velocity through the area of a unit) of the port regions will generally be less than the flow through the inner region, it may be preferred design the larger port regions (surface) than the cross section of the internal region. Therefore, the exact design and shape of the port regions can vary in a wide range. For example, if the function of the transport members is intended to provide an activation or signal from one port region to another, the port regions may be relatively small, such as the approximate size of the cross section of the internal region, so that it becomes a transport member M substantially smaller. 5 Or, when the liquids are quickly trapped and transported, distributed, or stored, the member can be formed for example in the form of, a bone with relatively large port regions at each end of the transport member or alternatively, the regions of Port can be spoon shaped to increase the reception area. Alternatively, the port regions may be non-planar, such as for example corrugated or folded, or have other forms for % create relatively large surface area for volume relationships, as is well known in filter technology. While the port region and the exit region are designed to meet the same basic requirements and therefore may be one and the same material, this is not necessarily the case. The input and output port regions may be different with respect to one or more materials or performance parameters. The different port regions can be easily differentiated, such as being represented by different materials and / or being separated from other materials, or • Port regions can differ by a parameter property or gradient, which can be continuous or alternate. Another essentially continuous material can have a property gradient along the surface of the material, in the thickness dimension or both to be able to represent several input / output / wall regions. The properties of the port region may be constant over time or may change over time such as being different before and during use. For example, port regions may have properties not suitable for operation on members according to the present invention to the point of use. The port regions can be activated, for example by manual activation, intervention of the person using the member, or through automatic activation means such as the moistening of the transport member.

• Other alternative mechanisms for the activation of the port regions may include changes in temperature, for example from room temperature to a user's body temperature or pH, for example from transport fluid or an electrical or mechanical stimulus. As described in the context of the osmotic package materials above, the membranes useful for the present invention do not have a % specific requirement of a certain saline impermeability. While port regions and suitable materials have been described with respect to their descriptive properties or parameters, some of the materials that meet the different requirements will be described below, thus focusing on the transportation of aqueous liquids. Suitable materials may be open cell foams, such as high internal phase emulsion foams may be cellulose nitrate membranes, cellulose acetate membranes, polyvinyl difluoride films, • non-woven, woven materials such as meshes made from metal or polymers to from polyamide or polyester. Other suitable materials can be films, openings, such as those formed by vacuum, with hydro-openings, with mechanical openings or laser beam or films treated with electronic, ionic or heavy ion beams. The specific materials are cellulose acetate membranes, as described in US 5,108,383 (White, Allied-Signal Inc.). Nitrocellulose membranes are available from, for example, Advanced Microdevices (PCT) LTD, Ambala Cantt. INDIA calls CNJ-10 (Lot # F 030328) and CNJ-20 (Lot # F 024248). Membranes of cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate membranes, PTFE membranes, polyamide membranes, polyester membranes as available for example from Sartorius in Gottingen, Germany and Millipore in Bedford • 5 USA, which may be very adequate. Also the microporous films, such as PE / PP filled with CaCO3 particles, or the filler containing PET films as described in EP-A-0,451,797. Other embodiments for the port region materials may be polymer films with openings through ion beam, such as those made from PE as described in "ion Tracks and Microtechnology - Basic Principles and • Applications "edited by R. Spohr and K. Bethge, published by Vieweg, Wiesbaden, Germany 1990. Other suitable materials are woven polymer meshes, such as polyamide or polyethylene meshes as available from Verseidag in Geldernm-Waldbeck, Germany, or SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland Other materials that may be suitable for current applications are hydrophilized woven materials, such as are known under the designation DRYLOFT® from Goretex in Newark, DE 19711, USA In addition, certain non-woven materials are suitable , such as • available under the designation CoroGard® from BBA Corovin, Peine, Germany, ie if such frames are specially designed for the relatively narrow pore size distribution, such as those comprising the appropriate "blown-by-blow" frames. For applications with low limb flexibility requirements, or when a certain stiffness is desirable, metal filter meshes of the appropriate pore size may be appropriate, such as HIGHFLOW from Haver & Bócker, in Oelde, Germany.

Additional elements While the definition of volume, wall, and external region has been made previously in relation to the function of each of those regions, there may optionally be elements added to the materials that form those regions, which may extend within a nearby region without extending liquid handling functionality, but improving other properties, such as mechanical strength or tactile or visual aspects of the materials forming the region or the entire structure. For example, a support structure can be added to the exterior of the port wall or region, which can be so open that it does not impact the fluid handling properties and as such would be functionally considered to belong to the external region.

• When such an open support element extends from the wall region within the internal region or volume, it will functionally belong to the volume region. If there is a gradual transition between these materials and / or elements, the definitions made for the respective functional regions will allow a clear distinction between the materials that form the region and the additional elements. In addition, there are elements attached to or integral with the liquid transport member to assist in its implementation within an absorbent system, or an article comprising a liquid transport member. • Functionality of the transport member During absorption, both liquid transport members according to the present invention as well as certain conventional materials do not extract air within their respective structures, from conventional materials, fibrous materials or conventional forms, the extracted liquid within the structure it displaces the air inside the structure. However, conventional porous materials such as fibrous structures typically do not draw air into themselves during absorption, and air enters as the liquid is removed from the structure. The liquid transport member according to the present invention does not extract air into the structure under normal conditions of use. The property that determines the point at which air will enter the system is referred to herein as the bubble point operation. The air will not enter the transport member until the bubble point pressure (BPP) is reached, due to the functionality of the membrane of the material of the region or port regions. Therefore, once the liquid has entered the member, it will not be replaced by air until the bpp of the member is reached. One more function of the member is related to the member's ability to % expand and collapse reversibly. Therefore, when using particular foams and / or other structures similar to bellows-like structures that have the ability to receive and release liquids in a reversible manner, such that a thin limb can expand upon receiving liquid, thus providing greater volume and / or greater cross-sectional area for reduced transport of liquid therethrough. By removing fluid from the limb, these structures can collapse and regain their thin shape as, or as close as, before. When receiving more liquid, such as with one or even several additional jets in absorbent articles, it can be • repeat the expansion / collapse cycle. An appropriate method to determine the collapsing / expansion behavior is the Reversible Expansion test, as described here below. Preferably, a liquid transport member has a contraction factor of less than 0.8 after the first test cycle and an expansion factor of at least 1.2 after the first test cycle.

Permeability An additional property of the liquid transport member is the permeability k (liquid transport member) as the average permeability along the flow path of the transported liquid. The liquid transport member according to the present invention has a permeability that is greater than the permeability of a capillary system with • 5 identical liquid transport capacity. This property is referred to as a "critical permeability" k (crit). The critical permeability of the transport member of the present invention is preferably at least twice as high as a capillary system with identical vertical liquid transport capacity more preferably at least four times as high and more preferably so less than ten times greater than a capillary system with an identical vertical liquid transport capacity. • For capillary tubes, permeability k. { crit} it can be determined by means of adhesion tension as derived from Darcy's law as follows: K { crit} (e. {liquid transport member.}. / 2) * (s * cos (T)) ** 2 / (bpp. {liquid transport member.} ** 2) 5 where k . { crit} is the critical permeability in units of [m2] e. { member of liquid transport} is the average porosity of the liquid transport member [-]; s. { liqu} is the liquid surface energy in [cP] 0 s * cos (T) defines the adhesion tension in [cP] with the return contact angle T. Bpp. { member of liquid transport} is the bubble point pressure of the liquid transport member, expressed in [kPa] as described above. 5 The maximum value that can be reached for such a system can be approximated by assuming the maximum value for the term cos (T), that is, 1: K { crit, max} = (e. {liquid transportation member.}. / 2 *) s. { liquid} ** 2 / (bpp. {Liquid transport member.}.) ** 2 Re-adjusting the formula provides a criterion for designing the liquid transport members, whereby the product of the square of the pressure point of bubble with the permeability of the volume region must exceed the product of half the average porosity of the liquid transport member with the square of the adhesion tension of the liquid. It would be preferred if the first product exceeds the second by a factor of m, with m being at least 1, preferably at least F 10, and even more preferably at least 100. bpp2 * kb > m (e / 2) *? 2 Another way to express the k. { crit} by means of the ability of the member to transport the liquid vertically at least against a hydrostatic pressure corresponding to a certain height h and a gravity constant g: 15 K { crit, max} = e. { member of liquid transport} / 2) * s. { liqu} ** 2 / (p. {Liqu.}. * G * h) ** 2. The permeability of a material or transport member can be determined through various methods, such as by using the Test of Mh Liquid Transport or Permeability Test, which are described below and are then compared with critical permeability as calculated from 0 of the above equations. As long as the bpp property is already described in the context of the port regions, so the full transport member can thus be described. Accordingly, the bpp suitable for the member depends on the intended use, and the appropriate values as well as the common and the ranges are essentially equal for the member and for the port region as described above.

A transport liquid member according to the present invention can also be described as being substantially air impermeable to a certain bpp, whereby the liquid transport member of the present invention has a general permeability that is greater than the permeability for a given material that • 5 has a homogeneous powder size distribution and an equivalent bpp. Yet another way to describe the functionality of a liquid transport member is by using the average fluid permeability k of the volume / internal region and the bubble point pressure of the member. The liquid transport member according to the present invention should have a relatively high bpp. { member of liquid transport} and a high k f. { member of liquid transport} at the same time. This can be represented graphically when graphing k. { member of liquid transport} on bbp in a double logarithmic diagram (as in Figure 6 where the bbp is expressed in "height in cm of the water column", which can be easily converted into a pressure). In the present, for a combination of determined surface energy of the liquid and the member materials generally a correlation from left to top to bottom right can be observed. The members according to the present invention have properties in the upper right region (I) on the line of • separation (L), while the properties of conventional materials are much or more in the lower left corner in region (II), and have the limitations of the pure capillary transport mechanism, as schematically indicated by the straight line in the logarithmic diagram. Another way to describe the functionality of the liquid transport member is to consider the effect of liquid transport as a function of the driving force. In contrast, for liquid transport members according to the present invention, the flow resistance is independent of the driving force as long as the pressure differential is less than the bpp of the transport member. Therefore, the flow is proportional to the impulse pressure (up to bpp). A liquid transport member according to the present invention • 5 can further be described as having high flow rates as calculated in the cross-sectional area of the inner region. Therefore, the member must have an average flow velocity at 0.9kPa of the additional suction pressure differential for height H0 when tested in the Liquid Transport Test at a height H0, as described hereinafter, of at least 0.1 g / s / cm2, preferably at least 1 g / cm2 / sec, more preferably at least 5 fg / cm2 / sec, even more preferably at least 10 g / cm2 / sec, or even at least 20 g / cm 2 / sec and more preferably at least 50 g / cm 2 / sec. In addition to the above requirements, the liquid transport member must have a certain mechanical strength against pressure or external forces.

For certain embodiments, the mechanical strength at the internal pressures and forces can be relatively high to avoid the extraction by pressure of liquid outside the transport member, which, for example can be achieved by using material _ rigid / non-deformable in the internal region. For other certain modalities, this resistance can be in a medium range, thus allowing the exploitation of the pressure by external forces by the transport member to create a "pumping effect". In order to further explain the structures suitable for a liquid transport member, the aforementioned simple example of a hollow tube having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet and the outlet covered, i.e. closed, by membranes, is also considered. This type of structure may alternatively include an additional support structure such as an open mesh attached to the membrane of the port region towards the inner region. In the present, the permeability requirement can be satisfied by the membrane itself, ie not considering the effect of the support structure, if the support structure is sufficiently open to not have a negative impact on the overall permeability • 5 or about its handling properties. Therefore, the thickness of the port region refers to the thickness of the membrane only, that is, it does not include the thickness of the support structure. It will be evident in the specific context, if for example such support structure should be seen as an element of the port region that has no significant impact on the port region properties, or for example, if the support structure has a significant thickness and therefore impacts on the permeability of the liquid after the port region penetrates, whether or not the support structure should be considered as part of the internal region. If, for example, the support structure extends further in its thickness, remaining still connected to the membrane, it can be considered that it belongs functionally to the internal region, such as when the permeability of the "support / internal gap" compound is significantly impacted by the permeability of the support structure. Consequently, this principle must be considered for each of the ^ respective aspects, such as when observed in port regions, volume regions or the full transport member. The following describes how various members can be combined to create suitable structures as liquid transport members. It should be noted that due to the multiple design options, one or the other structure may not be entirely differentiable from the properties described above, although it may be readily apparent to the experienced person to design even additional options. that follow the additional lessons in combination with the more specific modalities.

Relative permeability If the permeability of the inner / volume region and the port regions can be determined independently, it is preferred that one or both of the M port regions have a lower liquid permeability than the inner region.

Therefore, a liquid transport member must have a permeability ratio of the volume region to the port region of preferably at least 10: 1, more preferably at least 100: 1, even more preferably at least 1000: 1 and even 100,000: 1 ratios are adequate.

Relative disposition of the regions • Depending on the specific modalities, there may be several combinations of the inner region and the wall with the port region. At least a portion of the port regions must be in liquid communication with the internal region, to allow the fluid to be transferred to it. The internal / volume region must comprise pores larger than the wall region. The pore size ratio of the internal pores to the pores of the Port regions are preferably at least 3: 1, more preferably at least 10: 1, even more preferably at least 100: 1 and in the most preferred manner. preferably of at least 350: 1. The area of the port regions will typically be larger than the cross section of the internal regions, thereby considering the respective regions together, i.e., if present, the input regions or the output regions respectively. In most cases, the port regions will be twice as large as the cross section of the inner region, often four times as large or even 10 times as large as that region.

Structural relationship of regions Different regions may have similar or different structural properties, possibly complementing structural properties such as • 5 resistance, flexibility and the like. For example, all regions may comprise flexible material designed to deform in a cooperative manner, whereby the inner region comprises a thin material until wetted which expands upon contact with the transported liquid, and the port region comprises flexible membranes and The walls can be made of flexible film impervious to liquid. The transport member can be made of several materials, whereby each region can comprise one or more materials. For example, the inner region may comprise porous materials, the walls may comprise film material, and the ports may comprise a membrane material. Alternatively, the transport member may consist essentially of a material with different properties in several regions, such as a foam with very large pores to provide the functionality of the internal region and pores • Smaller with membrane functionality surrounded these to function as 0 port materials. One way to observe a liquid transport member is to see the inner region that is enclosed by at least one wall and / or port region. A very simple example for this is the aforementioned tube filled with liquid and closed by membranes at both ends, as indicated in Figure 7. 5 Such members can be considered to be a "Distribution Member".

Closed ", as the inner region (703) is" enclosed "by the wall region (702) comprising the port regions (706,707). It is characteristic for such systems, that-once the transport member is activated or balanced - a puncture on the outer wall region can disrupt the transport mechanism.The transport mechanism can be maintained if only a small amount of air enters the transport mechanism. • 5 system. This small amount of air can accumulate in an area of the inner region where it is not harmful to the liquid transport mechanism. For the example of the hollow tube with at least one open body, the puncture of the walls will result in immediate intervention of fluid transport and fluid loss. f This mechanism can be exploited to define the "System Test Closed ", as described below, which is a sufficient but not necessary condition" for the liquid transport member according to the present invention (ie all transport members that satisfy that test can be considered to operate within the principles of the present invention, although not all transport members who fail in this test are out of the beginning). In a further embodiment as described in Figure 8, the liquid transport member can comprise several internal and / or several external port regions, for example as can be achieved by connecting a number of tubes (802) and closing • several extreme openings with input ports 806 and an output port 807, 0 thus circumscribing the internal region 803 or a "divided" system where the fluid is simultaneously transported to more than one location (more than one output port) . Alternatively, transport for different locations can be selective (for example, gaps in a transport material on the route to a port can be filled with water-soluble material, and gaps in transport material on the route to a second port they can be filled with an oil soluble material Likewise, the transport member can be hydrophilic and / or oleophilic to additionally improve the selection capacity). In a further embodiment as indicated in Figure 9, the region (903) can be segmented over a region, as viewed by an observation of a group of parallel tubes, held in position through fixing means. • suitable, (909) circumscribed by a wall region (902), comprising the port regions (906, 907) and the internal separation means (908). It can also be seen that at least part of the membrane material is placed within the internal / volume regions, and the membrane material can even form the walls of the tubes. In an additional mode (Figure 10), the outer wall region consists of % essentially of the permeable port region with port regions of entry (1006) and output (1007), that is, the internal region (1003) is not circumscribed by the impermeable region of the whole. The inlet and outlet port regions may have the same permeability or may have a different degree of permeability. Also, port regions and the inner region can be connected by a gradual transition region, such as the transport member that appears to be a unitary material with variable properties. In additional modalities (Fig. 11), the liquid transport member • it may have an inlet port and an out port region (1106 resp 1107), and the 0 member may be designed to receive and / or release the liquid. To accomplish this, the parts of the wall region, (1102) may be deformable, so that the total member may increase the volume of the inner region (1103) to accommodate the additionally received volume of liquid or to accommodate the liquid contained therein. initially which can be released through the port regions. In those members, a spillway or liquid source can be integrally combined with the liquid transport member. This can be achieved by a landfill or liquid source incorporated integrally therein, as illustrated by the elements (1111) in Figure 11. A further embodiment may comprise highly absorbent materials such as superabsorbent materials or other highly absorbent materials such as is described in more detail in the Patent Application American Series No. 09/042429, filed on March 13, 1998, in the name of T. DesMarais et al., Which is incorporated by reference, combined with the port region made of a suitable membrane, and flexible expandable walls to allow an increase in the volume of the storage member. An additional embodiment of such a system with an integral liquid spillway with the liquid transport member is a "thin until wet" material in combination with a suitable membrane. Such materials are well known such as from US-A-5,108,383, which are open cell porous hydrophilic foam materials, such as that produced by the high internal phase emulsion process. Pore size, polymer strength, Vitrea Tg) and hydrophilic properties are designed so that pores collapse when dehydrated and at least partially dried and expand to wetting. A specific modality is a layer of foam, which can expand its caliber to the absorption of liquid and re-collapse to the additional removal of the liquid. In a further embodiment, the internal region may be devoid of liquid at the beginning of the liquid transport process, (ie it contains a gas at a pressure less than the ambient pressure surrounding the liquid transport member). In such cases, the liquid supplied by a source of the liquid can penetrate through the region of the inlet port to first fill the voids of the membrane and then the inner region. The wetting then initiates the transport mechanisms according to the present invention thus wetting and penetrating the outlet port region. In such a case, the internal regions may not be completely filled with the transport fluid, although a certain amount of gas or vapor may be retained. If the vapor or gas is soluble in the transported liquid, it is possible that after some liquid passes through the member, this substantially all the • 5 gas or steam initially present are removed and the internal regions are substantially free of voids. Of course, in cases with steam or waste gas that is present in the inner region, this can reduce the effective available cross section of the fluid member, unless specific measures such as those indicated in Figure 12 are taken, with the wall region (1202) comprising the port regions (1206 and 1207) circumscribing the inner region (1203) and the region (1210) to allow the gas to accumulate. Yet another embodiment can use different types of fluid, for example, the member can be filled by a water-based liquid, and the transport mechanism is such that a possibly immiscible, non-aqueous liquid (such as oil) enters the liquid. liquid transport member through the port of entry while the liquid leaves the member through the outlet. In additional embodiments of the present invention, one or more of the above-described embodiments may be combined. • Liquefied Transport System The following describes the suitable arrangement for a liquid transport member in order to create an adequate Liquid Transport System (LTS) in accordance with the present invention. A Liquid Transportation System within the scope of this The invention comprises the combination of at least one liquid transport member with at least one additional liquid source or weir in liquid communication with the member. A system may further comprise multiple landfills or fountains, and may also comprise multiple liquid transport members, such as a parallel arrangement. The latter can create a redundancy, to ensure the functionality of the system even if a transport member fails. • 5 The source may be any form of free liquid or loose bound liquid to be readily available to be received by the transport member. For example, a liquid reservoir, or a free liquid flow volume, or an open porous structure filled with liquid. The landfill can be any 1 ^ form of a liquid receptor region. In certain embodiments, it is preferred to have the liquid attached more hermetically than the liquid in the source thereof. The weir can also be an element or region containing free liquid, such as liquid that would be able to flow freely or by gravity driven away from the member. Alternatively, the landfill may contain absorbent or superabsorbent material, absorbent foams, expandable foams, alternatively it may be of a spring activated failure system or may contain osmotically functional material or combinations thereof. The communication of the liquid in this context refers to the ability of the F liquids to transfer or be transferred from the weir or source to the member, such as can be easily achieved by contacting the elements or bringing the elements so close to one another that the liquid can bind the remaining space. Such a liquid transport system comprises a liquid transport member according to the above description plus at least one spillway or liquid source. The term applies at least to systems, where the liquid transport member itself can store or release liquids, such as a liquid transport system comprising: a landfill and a liquid release liquid transport member; or a source and a fluid receiving liquid transport member; or a landfill and a source and a liquid transport member. • 5 In each of these options, the liquid transport member may have the liquid release or reception properties in addition to a source or dump outside the member. At least a portion of the port region must be in liquid communication with the source liquid and when the landfill material is applicable. One approach is to have the port region material that forms the outer surface f of the liquid transport member, in part or as the complete external surface, to allow liquids such as liquids from the liquid dump source to come into easy contact with port regions. The effective port region size can be determined by the size of the liquid communication with the landfill or the source respectively. For example, the total of the port regions may be in contact with the landfill or source, or only a part of it. Alternatively, for example, when a homogeneous port region exists, it can be distinguished in effective separate port of entry regions and • effective port exit regions where the port region is in contact with 0 the source of the liquid and / or the landfill. It will be evident, that a landfill must be able to receive liquids from the member (and when applicable from the respective port regions) and a source must be able to release the liquid towards the member (and when applicable towards the port regions). respective). Hereinafter, a liquid source for a liquid transport member according to the present invention can be a free flowing liquid, such as urine released by a user, or an open water container. A liquid source region may also be an intermediate container, such as a liquid acquisition member in absorbent articles. Similarly, a zinc spillway can be a free-flowing channel, or a • 5 expansion vessel, for example, a bellows element is combined with mechanical expansion by separating means, such as springs. A liquid landfill region (1303) can also be a final liquid storage member of the absorbent members, such as is useful in absorbent articles and the like. 1 ^ Two or more liquid transport systems according to the present invention can also be placed in a "cascade design" (Fig. 13), with wall regions (1302), port regions (1307) and landfill materials of liquid (1311). In the present, the general fluid flow path will go through one liquid transport system after the next. Therefore, the port region of entry of a The subsequent liquid transport system can take care of the landfill functionality of a previous system, just as when the inlet and outlet port regions are in fluid communication with one another. Such fluid communication can be direct contact, or it can be through an intermediate material. • A specific modality of such "cascade" can be in connection with two or more "osmotic membrane packets" comprising membranes of suitable properties, whereby osmotic suction energy is increased with subsequent packets. Each of the packages can be considered as a liquid transport member and the connection of the packages will define the port and entry and exit regions of each packet or member. Therefore, the packages can be enclosed by a material (such as the flexible membrane type), or even several packages can have a unitary membrane element.

In a preferred embodiment, a liquid transport system has an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably at least 10 g / g, more preferably at least 50 g / g, and in the most efficient manner. preferably at least 75 g / g based on the weight of the liquid transport system, when measured in the demand absorbance test as described below. In another preferred embodiment, the liquid transport system contains a weir comprising an absorbent material having an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably at least 20 g / g, and more preferably at least less 50 g / g, based on the weight of the absorbent material, when measured in the ! _____ > Centrifugal Capacity Test in tea bag, as described below. In a further preferred embodiment, the liquid transport system comprises an absorbent material that provides an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 50 g / g. , or in the most preferable way of at least 75 g / g up to a suction The capillary corresponds to the capillary suction of the bubble point of the member, especially of at least 4 kPa, preferably of at least 10 kPa, when subjected to the capillary absorption test, as described herein. Such materials preferably exhibit a low capacity in the Capillary Absorption Test F on the bubble point pressure, such as 4kPa or even 10kPa, of less than 5 g / g, or preferably less than 2 g / g, more preferably less than 1 g / g and most preferably less of 0.2 g / g. In certain specific embodiments, the liquid transport member may contain foam superabsorbent materials or made with high internal phase emulsion polymerization, such as described in PCT application US98 / 05044. Typically, the suction of liquid landfill material will not exceed the bubble boiling pressure of the port region.

Applications There is a wide field of application for liquid transport members or liquid transport system according to the present invention. The • The following should not be considered as limiting in any way, but as example areas, where such members or systems are useful. Suitable applications can be found for a bandage, or other absorbent health care systems. In another aspect, the article may be a water transport system or member, which optionally combines the functionality ! _____. transPorte with filtration functionality, for example, purifying the water that is transported. Also, the member may be useful in the cleaning operation to remove liquids or by releasing fluids in a controlled manner. A liquid transport member according to the present invention can also be a fat or oil absorber. 15 A specific application can be seen in self-regulating irrigation systems for plants. Therefore the inlet port may be immersed in a container, and the transport member may be in the form of an elongated tube. In contrast to known irrigation systems (such as those known under F BLUMAT as available from Jade @ National Guild, PO Box 5370, Mt Crested 0 Butte, CO 81225), the system according to the present invention will not lose its functionality when drying the container, but remains in operation until and after that the container is replenished. An additional application can be seen in air conditioning systems, with a similar advantage as described for irrigation systems. Also, due to the small pore sizes of the port regions, this system would be easier to clean than conventional wetting aids, such as porous clay structures, or stained paper type elements. Even an additional application is the replacement of miniature pumps, such Mjk as can be seen in biological systems or even in the field of medicine. An additional application can be observed in the selective transport of liquids such as when it is intended to transport the oil away from the oil / water mixture. For example, in oil spills on a water, a liquid transport member can be used to transfer the oil into an additional container. 1j ^ _ Alternatively, the oil can be transported in a liquid transport member which comprises, herein, a dump functionality for oil. An additional application uses the liquid transport member according to the present invention as a transmitter as a signal. In such an application, the total amount of liquid transported must not be very large, but the transportation must be reduced. This can be achieved by having a transport member filled with liquid, which upon receipt of a small amount of liquid at the port of entry virtually immediately releases the liquid at the outlet port. This liquid can be used to stimulate the additional reaction, such as a signal or • activate a response, for example, by dissolving a seal to release mechanical energy, or stored to create a three-dimensional change in form or structure. One more application exploits the very short response times of the liquid transport and the almost immediate response time. A particularly useful application for such liquid transport members can be observed in the field of absorbent articles, such as disposable hygiene articles 5, such as baby diapers or the like for disposable absorbent article.

Absorbent articles - general description An absorbent article generally comprises: an absorbent core or core structure (which may comprise the improved fluid transport members according to the present invention, and • 5 which may consist of additional substructures); - an upper cover permeable to the fluid; - a back cover substantially impervious to the fluid; - optionally additional features such as closing or elasticizing elements. Figure 14 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment of an absorbent article of the invention which is a diaper. Papal 1420 is shown in Figure 4 in its non-contracted planar state (i.e. with elastic induced contraction placement except in the side panels where the elastic is left in its relaxed condition) with portions of the structure that are cut out to show more clearly the construction of the diaper 1420 and with the portion of the diaper 1420 that faces away from the wearer, the outer surface 1452, which confronts the wearer. As shown in Figure 14, diaper 1420 comprises a containment assembly 1422 comprising • preferably a liquid-permeable top cover 1424, a liquid-impermeable back cover 1426 bonded to the top cover 1424, and an absorbent core 1428 positioned between the upper cover 1424 and the upper cover 1426; the elasticized side panels 1430; the elastic leg cuffs 1432; an elastic waist feature 1434; and a closure system comprising a double tension clamping system which generally multiplies that designed as 1436. The double tension clamping system 1436 preferably comprises a primary clamping system 1438 and a waist clamping system 1440. The system primary fastener 1438 preferably comprises a pair of securing members 1442 and a discharge member 1444. The belt closure system 1440 is shown in FIG.

Figure 14 to preferably comprise a pair of first securing components 1446 and a second securing component 1448. The diaper 1420 • 5 preferably also comprises a positioning patch 1450 located underneath each first securing component 1446. The diaper 1420 is shown in Figure 14 to have an outer surface 1452 (facing towards the observer in Figure 14), an inner surface 1454 opposite the outer surface 1452, a first waist region 1456, a second waist region 1458, opposite the first waist region 1456 and a periphery f 1460, which is defined by the outer edges of the diaper 1420 in which longitudinal edges are designated 1462 and the end edges are designated 1464. The inner surface 1454 of the diaper 1420 comprises that portion of the diaper 1420 which is located adjacent to the user's body during use (ie, the inner surface 1454 is generally formed by at least a portion of upper cover 1424 and the other components attached to upper cover 1424). The outer surface 1452 comprises that portion of the diaper 1420 that is placed in the user's body housing (i.e., the outer surface 1452 is generally • formed by at least a portion of the back cover 1426 and other components attached to the back cover 1426). The first waist region 1456 and the second waist region 1458 extend, respectively, from the end edges 1464 of the periphery 1460 to the lateral centerline 1466 of the diaper 1420. The waist regions comprise each central region 1468 and a pair of side panels typically comprising the outer side portions of the regions of the region. waist. The side panels placed in the first waist region 1456 are designated 1470, while the side panels in the second waist region 1458 are designated 1472. While it is not necessary for the pairs of side panels or each side panel to be identical , these preferably are mirror images of each other. The side panels 1472 placed in the second waist region 1458 may be elastically stretchable in the lateral direction (i.e., side panels). elastified 1430. (The lateral direction (x or width direction) is defined as the direction parallel to the lateral centerline 1466 of the diaper 1420; the longitudinal direction (direction y or length) which is defined as the direction parallel to the lateral center line 1467; and the axial direction (Z direction or thickness) which is defined as the direction extending through the thickness of the diaper 1420). 1 ^. Figure 14 shows a specific shape of the diaper 1420 in which the upper cover 1424 and the rear cover 1426 have length and width dimensions generally greater than those of the absorbent core 1428. The upper cover 1424 and the rear cover 1426 extend beyond of the edges of the absorbent core 1428 to thereby form the periphery 1460 of the diaper 1420. The periphery 1460 defines the outer perimeter or, in other words, the edges of the diaper 1420. The periphery 1460 comprises the longitudinal edges 1462 and the end edges 1464. While each elasticated leg fold 1432 may be configured to be similar to any of the Leg bands, side wings, • barrier bends or elastic doublets described above, it is preferred that each elasticized leg 10 fold 1432 comprises at least one internal barrier fold 1484 comprising a barrier flap 1485 and a spacing elastic member 1486 as described in FIG. U.S. Patent No. 4,909,803 mentioned above. In a preferred embodiment, the elasticated leg cuff 1432 further comprises an elastic hinge fold 14104 with one or more bands 14105 positioned outside the barrier cuff 1484 as described in FIG.

United States of America patent referred to above 4,695,278.

The diaper 1420 may further comprise an elastic waist feature 1434 that provides improved fit and containment. The elastic waist feature 1434 extends at least longitudinally outwardly from at least one of the waist edges 1483 of the absorbent core 1428 in at least the region , the central portion 1468 and generally forms at least a portion of the end edge 1464 of the diaper 1420. Thus, the elastic waist feature 1434 comprises that portion of the diaper extending at least from the waist edge 1483 of the absorbent core 1428 toward the end edge 1464 of the diaper 1420 and is intended to be placed adjacent to the wearer's waist. Disposable diapers are constructed ! _____. generally to have two elastic waist characteristics, one placed in the first waist region and one placed in the second waist region. The elasticized waistband 1435 of the elastic waist feature 1434 may comprise a portion of the upper cover 1424, a portion of the rear cover 1426, which has preferably been mechanically extended and a The bilaminate material comprises an elastomeric member 1479 positioned between the upper cover 1424 and the rear cover 1426 and an elastic member 1477 positioned between the rear cover 1426 and the elastomeric member 1476. This as other diaper components are given as more detail in the • WO 93/1669 which is incorporated herein by reference. 0 Absorbent core The absorbent core should generally be compressible, conformable, non-irritating to the wearer's skin and capable of absorbing and retaining liquids such as urine and other body exudates. As shown in Figure 14, the absorbent core has a garment surface, a body surface, side edges and waist edges. The absorbent core can, in addition to the liquid transport member according to the present invention, comprise a wide variety of liquid absorbent or liquid handling materials commonly used in disposable diapers and other absorbent articles such as, but not limited to, pulp of crushed wood, which is generally referred to as air felt; polymers • 5 blown under fusion that include co-form; chemically stiffened, modified or interlaced cellulose fibers; tissue paper including tissue paper wrappers and tissue paper laminates. General examples for absorbent structures are described in U.S. Patent 4,610,678 entitled "High-Density 1 ^ Absorbent Structures "issued to Weisman et al., September 9, 1986; United States Patent 4,673,402, entitled" Absorbent Articles With Dual-Layered Cores ", issued to Weisman et al on June 16, 1987 U.S. Patent 4,888,231 entitled "Absorbent Core Having A Dusting Layer" issued to Angstadt on December 19, 1989, EP-A-0 640 330 to Bewick-Sonntag et al. al .; US 5 180 622 (Berg et al.); US 5 102 597 (Roe et al.); US 5 387 207 (Dyer et al.). Such similar structures may be adapted to be compatible with the requirements set forth below to be used as the absorbent core 28. The absorbent core may be a unitary core structure, or may be • be a combination of several absorbent structures, which in turn can consist of one or more sub-structures. Each of the structures or sub-structures may have an essentially two-dimensional extension (i.e., be a layer) or a three-dimensional shape. The liquid transport member according to the present invention may comprise at least one region of internal port, which must be located 5 in the loading area of the article. This port region can be made of the flexible membrane material that meets the requirements as described herein, which can be connected to a high-elastic open fibrous structure that forms the inner region, which can be wrapped in flexible impermeable films , to form the wall regions that can be closed in adhesive form on all edges except for the port region. In order to allow a good general seal, the Waterproof film can overlap the port region in some way to allow the adhesive to also bond between them. Figure 15 shows a specific embodiment of an article as shown in Figure 14, with analogous numbers, and Figure 16A shows a simplified cross-sectional view partially exploded along the line A-A of the 1 ^ Figure 15, again with analogous numbering. In the present, an absorbent core (1528/1628) is made of a suitable liquid handling member that is constructed from a wall region (1502, 1602) port regions (1506, 1507, 1606), and the inner region (1503, 1603) . The member may be connected to a liquid spillway (1511, 1611) and optionally to a top cover (1524, 1624) that is united. The landfill (1511, 1611) may comprise the final storage material, such as the superabsorbent material or porous high-absorbency material. The internal regions can be filled with liquid, such as water, to be ready for liquid transport through them immediately afterwards • of the reception of the liquid at the port of entry. Alternatively, the internal region 0 can be under vacuum, which can suck the liquid through the inlet port by activating a barrier film such as a polyvinyl alcohol film which can dissolve upon wetting. Once the inner region is filled with liquid, and therefore also the outer port region is wetted by the liquid, the transport mechanism for a pre-filled system takes place. The embodiment as shown in Figure 16B differs from Figure 16A in that the internal regions comprise the final liquid storage material, such as the superabsorbent material or the high-absorbency porous material therein. Also, promoter materials for improving osmotic liquid storage mechanisms, such as those described hitherto in the aforementioned United States publication US-A-5,108,383 (White, Allied Signal), may • 5 be inside the inner region. In this case, it may be preferable to have the internal region not pre-filled or at least not to an important degree with the transport liquid, although the inner region may be kept under vacuum until the transported liquid is received. The absorbent core can be designed so as not to require any ! ______ additional fluid handling element. For example, the area of the inlet port region may be adjusted to its permeability and caliber to allow the port region to immediately acquire the liquid at the rate of spillage and the inner region can be adjusted by its section area permeability Transverse to transmit immediately the liquid to the final storage region. Alternatively, the absorbent core may comprise other fluid handling elements, such as acquisition regions, or intermediate storage regions or the like. Also, the "member of liquid transport • cascade "or" MOP "can be suitable elements within the construction of the 0 core.

Method of making liquid transport members The liquid transport members according to the present invention can be produced by several methods, which have in common the 5 essential steps of combining a volume or internal region with a region of wall comprising port regions with appropriate selection of the respective properties as described above. This can be achieved by starting from a homogeneous material and imparting different properties therein. For example, if a member is a polymeric foam material, it can be produced from a monomer with variable pore sizes, which will be polymerized to form a • 5 suitable member. This can also be achieved by starting from several essentially homogeneous materials and combining these in the member. In this embodiment a wall material can be provided, which can have homogeneous or variable properties, and volume material that can be provided, which can be an open porous material or a hollow space can be defined to represent the volume region.

• The two materials that can be combined through suitable techniques such as packing or wrapping as is known in the art, so that the wall material completely circumscribes the volume region or the volume region material. In order to allow the transport of liquid, the region of volume can be filled with liquid or can be subjected to vacuum, or it can be equipped with other auxiliaries for the created vacuum or the filling of the liquid. Optionally, the method of forming a member according to the • present invention may comprise the step of applying activation means, which may be of the mechanical type, such as those which provide a removable release element, as is well known for the examples as a release paper for covering adhesives, or by providing a packing design, which allows sealing of the member until use, so that at the time of use such packing seal is opened or removed. These activation means may also comprise materials that react to the transport liquid, such as in solution. Such materials can be applied in the port regions, for example, to open the port regions in use, or such materials can be applied to the regions of volume, to allow the expansion of those regions to wetting. The manufacture of members according to the present invention can be done in an essentially continuous manner, having several materials provided in • Roll form, which are unrolled and processed or any of the materials can be provided discretely, such as pieces of foam or particles.

Examples The following section provides examples suitable for members and F liquid transport systems according to the present invention, thus starting with the description of several samples, suitable for use in certain regions of those members or systems.

S-1 Samples suitable for port regions: S-1.1: HIFLO® woven filter mesh, type 20, as available from Haver & Boecker, Oelde, Germany, made from stainless steel, which has a porosity of 61% and a caliber of 0.09 mm, designed to filter up to 19 μ to 20 μm a. S-1.2a: Monodur polyamide mesh type MON PA 20 N as it is available from Verseidag in Geldern-Waldbeck, Germany. S-1.2b: Monodur polyamide mesh Type MON PA 42.5 N as available from Verseidag in Geldern-Waldbeck, Germany. S-1.3b: Polyester mesh 03-15 / 10 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3c: Polyester mesh 03-20 / 14 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. 5 S-1.3d: Polyester mesh 03-1 / 1 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3e: Polyester mesh 03-5 / 1 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland.

S-1.3f: Polyester mesh 03-10 / 2 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.3g: Polyester mesh 03-11 / 6 from SEFAR in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. S-1.4: Cellulose acetate membranes as described in US 5,108,383 (White, Allied-Signal Inc.). • 5 S-1.5: HIPE foam produced in accordance with the teachings of the U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/042429, filed March 13, 1998 by T. DesMarais et al., Entitled "High Suction polymeric foam", the description of which is incorporated herein by reference. present by reference. S-1.6: Nylon socks, for example of the 1.5 den type, commercially available in Germany, such as Hudson. f S-2 Suitable samples for wall regions that do not represent port regions S-2.1: Film coated with flexible adhesive, such as is commercially available under the trade name "d-c-fix" from Alkor, Gráfelfing, Germany. 15 S-2.2: Plastic Funnel Catalog # 625 617 20 from Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany. S-2.3: Flexible piping (internal diameter approximately 8 mm) such as Masterflex 6404-17 by Nortor, distributed by Barnant Company, Barrington, Illinois, • 60010 U.S.A. 0 S-2.4: Conventional polyethylene film such as that used as backsheet material in disposable diapers as available from Clopay Corp., Cincinnati, OH, US, under the code DH-227. S-2.5: Conventional polyethylene film such as that used as the back cover material in disposable diapers, as available from Nuova 5 Pansac SpA in Milan, Italy, under the code BS 441118. S-2.6: Flexible PVC piping by Example Catalog # 620 853 84 from Fisher Scientific in Nidderau, Germany. S-2.7: PTFE tube for example, Fisher catalog # 620 456 68 Scientífic in Nidderau, Germany. S-3 Suitable samples of inner region 5 S-3: 1: Hollow as created by any rigid wall / port region. S-3.2: Metal springs having an external diameter of 4 mm and a length of approximately 6 cm with any force applied as are available from Federnfabrik Dietz in Neustadt, Germany, under the designation of article "federn" 1 ^ # DD / 100. S-3.3: Recticel open cell foams in Brussels, Belgium as Filtren TM10 blue, Filtren TM20 blue, Filtren TM30 blue, Filtren Firend 10 black, Filtren Firend 30 black, Filtren HC 20 gray, Filtren Firend HC 30 grex, Bulpren S10 black, Bulpren S20 black, Bulpren S30 black). 15 S-3.4: HIPE foams as produced in accordance with the teachings of the United States Patent Application Serial No. 09/042418, filed on March 13, 1998 by T. DesMarais et al. entitled "Absorbent Materials For Distributing Aqueous Liquids ", the description of which is incorporated into the • present by reference. 0 S-3.5: Particle parts of S-3.4 or S-3.3.

S-4 Ses for pressure gradient creation means S-4.1: Osmotic pressure gradient materials according to the teachings of US-A-5, 108,383 (White, Allied Signal). 5 S-4.2: Height difference between inlet and outlet that generates a pressure difference generated by hydrostatic head.

S-4.3: Several partially saturated pore materials (absorbent foams, superabsorbent materials, particles, sand, stains) that generate a difference in capillary pressure. S-4.4: Difference in the air pressure at the inlet and outlet, generated for exe by means of a vacuum pump (sealed air-tight) at the outlet.

Exe A for transport member Combination of wall region with port region, inner region filled with liquid: 1 ^ A-1) A 20 cm long tube (S-2.6) is connected in an air-tight manner with a plastic funnel (S-2.2). Sealing can be done with Parafilm M (available from Fischer Scientific in Nidderau, Germany, catalog number 617 800 02). A circular piece of port material (S-1.1), slightly larger than the open area of the funnel is sealed in an airtight manner with the funnel. He sealing is done with a suitable adhesive, for exe, Pattex ™ by Henkel KGA, Germany. Optionally a port region material (S-1.1) can be connected to the lower end of the tube and sealed in an air-tight manner. The device is • filled with a liquid such as water by placing it under the liquid and removing the air or inside the device with a vacuum pump tightly connected to the port region. In order to demonstrate the functionality of a member, the lower end does not need to be sealed with a port region, although then the lower end needs to be in contact with the liquid or needs to be in the lower part of the device in order not to allow that the air enters the system. 5 A-2) Two circular port region materials (for exe of a diameter of approximately 1.2 cm), as in S-1.1 are sealed in an air-tight manner (for exe, by heating the areas destined to become the regions of port and pressing the ends of S-2.3 on those areas, so that the plastic material of S-2.3 starts to melt, creating therefore a good connection), at the two ends of a tube of 1 m length as that of S-2.3. One end of the tube is • 5 lowered into the liquid such as water, the other end is connected to a vacuum pump, creating an air pressure substantially lower than the atmospheric pressure. The vacuum pump extracts the air from the tube until effectively all the air is removed from the tube and replaced by the liquid. Then, the pump is disconnected from the port and therefore the member is created. 1 ^ A-3) To ca rectangular sheet of 10 X 10 cm of foam material (S-3.3, Filtren TM 10 blue) "interleaved" on one side by a wall material such as S-2.5 with dimensions of 12 cm X 12 cm, on the other side by a port region material with dimensions of 12 cm X 12 cm as S -1.3a. The S-2.5 wall material and the S-1.3a port region material are sealed together in the overlap region in a form is suitable for air tightness, for exe by gluing the aforementioned commercially available Pattex ™ adhesive from Henkel KGA, Germany. The device is submerged under a liquid such as water, and by removing the device, the air is expelled. The extraction pressure of the device is released as long as it remains under the liquid, the F internal region is filled with liquid. Optionally (if necessary), a 0 vacuum pump can suck the remaining air into the device behind the region port, while the device is under water. A-4) Figures 17A, 17B schematically show a dispensing member suitable for exe for absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers. 5 The port of entry region (1706) is made of the port region material such as S-1.3b, the port of departure region (1705) is made of the port region material such as S-1.3c. In combination with a waterproof film material (1702), such as S-2.3 or S-2.4, each of the port regions forms a cavity, which can have dimensions of approximately 10 cm by 15 cm for the port region of entrance respectively, 20 cm by 15 cm for the port region exit. The cavity port materials overlap in the crotch region (1790) of the article and a tube (1760) is placed therein. The internal regions within the cavities (1740, 1750), can be S-3.3 (Filtren TM10 blue) and the input and output regions respectively internal regions enclosed by them, can be connected by the tubes (1760), such as S - 1 ^ 2.6 of an internal diameter of approximately 8 mm. The wall and port material (1702, 1707, 1706) must be sufficiently larger than the inner material to allow air-tight sealing of the wall material for the port material. Sealing is achieved by overlapping a strip 1.5 cm wide from the wall and the port material and can be done in any way convenient air-tightness using the aforementioned Pattex ™ adhesive. The sealing of the tubes to the internal regions (1740 and 1750) is not required, if the tube (1760) is joined to the wall regions (1702, 1706, 1705) so that the distance between the pipe (1760) and the internal regions is such that a gap will remain between • them during use. The rest of the operation to create the functioning of a member liquid distribution is also analogous to A-3. Optionally, the device can be filled with other liquids in a similar way. A5) In Figures 18A, B, C a further example of the liquid distribution member (1810) also useful for the construction of disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, is schematically illustrated by omitting other elements 5 such as adhesives and the like. At present, in the regions of port of entry (1806) and exit (1807) having a dimension of approximately 8 cm by 12 cm are made from sheets of material of port S-1.2a, the other wall regions (1802) are made of a S-2.1 wall material. The internal material (1840) are strips of material S-3.3 (Bulpren S10 black) that have dimensions of approximately 0.5 cm by 0.5 cm by 10 cm, placed at a distance of approximately 1 cm from each other, under the entry and exit regions (1806, 1807 respectively) and separate springs S-3.2 (1812) in the remaining areas. The individual layers (wall and port material) are sealed and filled with a liquid such as water as described in A-3. Optionally, the device can be filled with other liquids in a similar way. 1 ^ A6) The separating materials, such as springs according to S-3.2, are placed between a top and a bottom sheet of the S-1.2ba port material, which has a dimension of 10 cm by 50 cm, so that the springs they are equally distributed over the area in a region of approximately 7 cm by 47 cm leaving the outer edge (1813) of approximately 1.5 cm free of springs, with a distance of approximately 2 mm between the individual springs. The upper and lower port material is sealed in an air-tight manner by overlapping 1.5 cm and sealing in a convenient air-tight manner such as by gluing with the aforementioned Pattex ™ adhesive. The device is submerged under test liquid, forcing • The device and the air is directed to exit the interior of the device. The release of the extraction pressure while immersed in the member will be filled with liquid. Optionally, (if necessary), a vacuum pump can suck the remaining air from the interior of the member through the port region while the device is under liquid.

Example B for transport system (ie member v (source and / or landfill)) B-1) As a first example for a liquid transport system, a liquid transport member according to A-1) is combined with material • 5 particulate superabsorbent as it is available under the designation W80232 of HÜLS-Stockhausen GmbH, Mari, Germany, with coarse particles that are removed by sieving through a 300 μm metal screen. 7.5 g of this material have been sprayed uniformly on the exit port region of A-1, thus creating a liquid spillway. 1 ^ _ B-2) To exemplify the use of absorbent foam materials, to create an absorbent system, a three-layer sheet of HIPE foam produced for S-1.54, having a thickness of approximately 2 mm and a basis weight corresponding to approximately 120 g / m2 are placed on the outlet port of a liquid transport member in accordance with A-1. The leaves were cut circular with a diameter of approximately 6 cm and a segment of approximately 10 ° was cut to provide a better adaptation to the surface of the port region. Optionally, a weight corresponding to a pressure of approximately 0.2 psi can be applied to improve the liquid contact between the • exit and landfill material. 0 B-3) The transport member according to A-1 has been combined with a 6 cm diameter cut circular section taken from a commercially available diaper core consisting of an essentially homogeneous combination of superabsorbent material such as ASAP2300 commercially available from CHEMDAL Corp. UK, and conventional air felt at 60% of the concentration 5 of the superabsorbent by weight and a weight based on the superabsorbent of approximately 400 g / m2). This cut is placed in liquid communication with the exit port region of A-1 to create a liquid transport system. B-4) To further exemplify an application of a liquid transport system, the liquid transport member of A-2 has been placed between a liquid source container and a pot, so that a portion of the region of the inlet port is submerged in the liquid container and the outlet portion that is placed inside the soil of the pot. The relative humidity of the container and the pot is not relevant to the length of the member, and would not be of a member length of approximately 50 cm. B-5) An additional application of a liquid transport system with a ! _____. integral liquid weir that can be constructed by creating a liquid transport member as in A-3, though filling with oil (instead of water). When the member is compressed (to create expansion gaps inside the member), and immediately after putting it in contact with cooking oil (to simulate a kitchen frying pan), the system will quickly absorb the oil in the pan.

B-6) When a liquid transport member according to A-4 or A-5 is combined with a liquid spillway such as that used in B-1 or B-2, optionally covering the landfill material by means of a containment layer, such as a nonwoven web, the structure can function as an absorbent pad, so • that the conforming urine is released by the user can be seen to provide the source of liquid 0.

METHODS Activation Since the properties are relevant to the liquid handling ability of a liquid transport member according to the present invention it is considered at the time of liquid transport and how some materials and designs may have properties that differ from These, for example, to facilitate transportation or other handling between the manufacture and its intended use, such materials must be activated before they are subjected to a test. The term "activation" means that the member is placed in the condition of use such as by establishing a liquid communication along a flow path or such as by initiating a pulse pressure differential, and this It can be achieved by mechanical activation, which simulates the activation prior to the use of a user (such as the removal of restraint means such as a fastener, or a strip of a release paper such as an adhesive or the removal of a package seal, allowing this it forms the mechanical expansion optionally with the creation of a vacuum within the member). The activation can be further achieved by other stimuli transmitted to the member, such as pH or temperature change, by radiation or the like. Activation can also be achieved by interaction with liquids, such as by having certain solubility properties or changing concentrations, or they are carrier activation ingredients such as enzymes. This can also be achieved through the transport liquid itself, and in those cases, the member must be immersed in the test liquid which must be representative of the transport liquid, optionally removing the air by means of a vacuum pump and allowing Balance for 30 minutes. Afterwards, the member is removed from the liquid, placed on a coarse mesh (such as a 14 mesh mesh screen) to allow excess liquid to drip.

Closed System Test Principle The test provides an easy-to-implement tool for determining whether a material or transport member satisfies the principles of the present invention. It should be noted, that this test is not useful to exclude materials or members, that is, if a member or members do not pass the Closed System Test, it may or may not be a liquid transport member according to the present invention.

Execution First, the test sample is activated as described above, and while the weight is monitored. Then, the test sample is suspended or supported in a position so that a larger extension of the sample is essentially aligned with the gravity vector. For example, the sample can be supported by a support board or mesh placed at an angle of about 90 ° to the horizontal, or the sample can be suspended by bands or strips in a vertical position. As a next step, the wall region is open in the upper region 5 and the lower parts of the sample ie if the sample has opposite corners, then those corners, if the sample has a curved or rounded periphery, then in the top and bottom of the sample. The size of the opening must be such that it allows the liquid to pass through the upper opening without adding pressure or deformation. Typically, an opening having an inscribed circular diameter 0 of at least 2 mm is suitable. The opening can be made through any suitable means, such as by the use of a pair of scissors, a holding tab, a needle, a sharp blade or a scalpel and the like. If a groove is applied to the sample, it must be done in such a way that the flanks of the groove can be separated from one another, in order to create a two-dimensional opening. Alternatively, a cut can remove a part of the wall material creating an opening.

Care must be taken not to add additional weight or pressure, or deformation exerted on the sample. Similarly, care must be taken that no liquid is removed by the opening means, unless this can be accurately considered when calculating weight differences. 5 The weight of the limb is monitored (by entrapping the liquid in a Petri dish, which is placed on a scale.) Alternatively, the weight of the limb material can be determined after 10 minutes and compared to the initial weight. care, that no evaporation takes place, if this 1 ^ could be the case and this can be determined by monitoring the weight loss of a sample without having to open it during the test time and by correcting the results in If the drip weight is greater than or equal to 3% of the initial weight, then the test material or member has passed this test, and is a liquid transport member according to the present invention. Drip weight is less than 3% of the initial total weight, then this test does not allow the determination of whether the material is a liquid transport member according to the present invention or not. 0 Bubble Point Pressure (Port Region) The following procedure applies when you want to determine the bubble point pressure of a port region or a material useful for port regions. First, the port region respectively the port region material is connected to a funnel and a tube as described in Example A-1. Therefore, the lower end of the tube is left open ie not covered with a port region material. The tube must be of sufficient length, that is, up to 10 m in length that may be required. In case the test material is very thin or fragile, it may be appropriate to support it by an open support structure (such as a layer of open-pored nonwoven material) before connecting it to the funnel and the tube.

In the event that the test sample is not of sufficient size, the funnel can be replaced by a small one (eg, Fisher catalog # 625 616 02) Scientific in Nidderau, Germany). If the test sample is too large, a representative piece can be trimmed to fit the funnel. The test liquid may be the liquid transported, although for ease of comparison, the test liquid must be a solution of 0.03% TRITON X 100, as available from MERCK KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, under catalog number 1.08603, in distilled or deionized water, thus resulting in a surface tension of 33 mN / m, when measured according to the Surface tension method as described further. 5 The filling device with the test liquid by immersing it in a sufficiently large container filled with the test liquid, and removing the remaining air with a vacuum pump. As long as the lower (open) end of the funnel is maintained within the liquid in the container, the part of the funnel with the port region is removed from the liquid. If appropriate, but not necessarily, the funnel with the port region material should remain aligned horizontally. While continuing to slowly raise the port material over the vessel, the height is monitored and carefully observed through the funnel or through the port material itself (optionally with the aid of suitable illumination 5) if the air bubbles begin. to enter through the material inside the funnel. At this point, the height above the container is recorded to be the height of the bubble point. from this height H the bubble point pressure bpp is calculated as: BPP: pgH with the density of the liquid p, the gravity constant (g «9.81 m / s2) In particular for the bubble point pressures that exceed from • About 50 kPa, an alternative determination, as commonly used to determine bubble point pressures for membranes used in filtration systems, can be used. In the present, the wetted membrane is separating two gas filling chambers when one is set under an increased gas pressure (such as an air pressure) and the point is recorded when the first bubbles of air "sprout". Alternatively, the PMI permeameter or porosity meter, as described in the test method section below, can be used for the determination of bpp.

Bubble point pressure (liquid transport member) To measure the bubble point pressure of the liquid transport member (instead of a port region or a port region material) the procedure shown below can be followed . • First, the member is activated as described above. The liquid of 0 test may be the liquid transported, although for ease of comparison, the test liquid must be a solution of 0.03% TRITON X-100, as available from MERCK KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, under the catalog number 1.08603, in distilled or deionized water, resulting in a surface tension of 33 mN / m, when measured according to the surface tension method as described below. A portion of a port region under evaluation is connected to a vacuum pump connected by a hermetically sealed pipe / tube (such as with Pattex ™ adhesive as described above). Care should be taken that only a part of the port region is connected, and an additional part of the region adjacent to a cover with the pipe is still uncovered and in contact with ambient air. The vacuum pump should allow several Pvac pressures to be set, increasing from the Patm atmospheric pressure to approximately 100 kPa. The installation (often integral with the pump) must allow the differential monitoring of pressure to ambient air (? P = pat -Pvac) and gas flow. After, the pump is ripped off to create a slight vacuum, which is increased during the test in a stepped operation. The amount of pressure increase will depend on the desired accuracy, with typical values of 0.1 kPa providing acceptable results. At each level, the flow will be monitored over time and directly after the increase in? P, the flow will increase mainly due to the removal of gas from the pipe between the pump and the membrane. This flow, however, will level out quickly and upon the establishment of an equilibrium, the flow will essentially stop. This is typically achieved after approximately 3 minutes. This increase in stage change is continued until reaching a point, which can be observed by the gas flow that does not decrease after the pressure stage change, but which remains after reaching an essentially constant level of equilibrium with time . The pressure in a stage? P before this situation is the bpp of the liquid transport member. For materials having bubble point pressures exceeding approximately 90 kPa, it will be advisable or necessary to increase the ambient pressure surrounding the test sample by a constant and monitored degree, which is added to as monitored. f Surface Tension Test Method 5 The surface tension measurement is well known to those skilled in the art, such as with a K10T Tensiometer from Krüss GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, using the DuNouy ring method as described in the instructions of the team. After cleaning the glass parts with isopropanol and deionized water, they are dried at 105 ° C. The platinum ring is heated on a Bunsen burner until it reaches red hot. A first reference measurement is taken to • verify the accuracy of the tensiometer. An adequate number of test replicas are taken to ensure the consistency of the data. The resulting surface tension of that liquid as expressed in units of mN / m can be used to determine the adhesion tension values and the surface energy parameter of the respective liquid / solid / gas systems. The distilled water will generally exhibit a surface tension value of 72 mN / m, a 0.03% solution, X-100 in water of 33 mN / m.

Liquid Transport Test F The following test can be applied to liquid transport members 20 having defined input and output port regions with a certain transport path length H0 between the input and output port regions. For members, where the respective port regions can not be determined because they are made of a homogeneous material those regions can be defined considering the intended use thereby defining the respective port regions. 5 Before running the test, the liquid transport member must be activated if necessary as described above.

The test sample is placed in a vertical position on a liquid container so that it is suspended from a support, whereby the inlet port remains completely submerged in the liquid in the container. Port f output is connected by means of a flexible pipe of 6 mm external diameter to a vacuum pump, optionally, with a separator flask connected between the sample and the pump, and sealed in an air-tight manner as described in the above bubble point pressure method for a liquid transport member. The vacuum suction pressure differential can be monitored and adjusted. The lowest point of the exit port is adjusted to be at a height ! _____ * ^ ° is not visible in the container. The pressure differential is slightly increased at a pressure P0 = 0.9kPa + pg H0 with the density of the liquid p, and the gravitational constant g (g «9.81 m / s" 2) After reaching this pressure differential, the decrease Of weight of the liquid in the container is monitored, preferably by placing the container on a scale that measures the weight of the container, and which connects the scale to a computer equipment. After an initial unstable decrease (typically not taking more than ^ one minute approximately), the weight decrease in the container will become constant (ie, showing a straight line in a presentation of graphical data). 0 This constant weight decrease over time is the flow velocity (in g / s) of the liquid transport member at a suction of 0.9kPa and at a height of H0. The corresponding flow velocity of the liquid transport member at 0.9 kPa suction and a height H0 is calculated from the flow velocity by dividing the flow velocity between the average section of the liquid transport member along a flow length. flow path, expressed in g / s / cm2. Care should be taken that the container is large enough so that the fluid level in the container does not change by more than 1 mm. In addition, the effective permeability of the liquid transport member can be calculated by dividing the flow velocity by the average length along the f flow path and pulse pressure difference (0.9kPa).

Liquid Permeability Test Generally, the test must be carried out with a suitable test fluid representing the transport fluid, such as with Jayco SynUrine as available from Jayco Pharmaceuticals Company of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and may be operated under controlled laboratory conditions of approximately 23 +/- 2 ° C and approximately 50 +/- 10% relative humidity. However, for the present applications, and in particular when polymeric foam materials are used, such as those described in US-A-5,563,179 or US-A-5,387,207 it has been found useful to operate the test at an elevated temperature. of 31 ° C, and using deionized water as 15 test fluid. The present Permeability Test provides a measure for the permeability of two special conditions: Either the permeability that can be measured for a wide range of porous materials (such as non-woven materials made of synthetic fibers, or cellulose structures) to 100% of saturation, or for 0 materials, which reach different degrees of saturation with a proportional change in the gauge without being filled with air (respectively the external vapor phase), such as collapsible polymer foams, for which the permeability in degrees Saturation variables can be easily measured in various thicknesses. In principle, these tests are based on Darcy's law, according to which the velocity of the volumetric flow of a liquid through any porous medium is proportional to the pressure gradient, with the constant of proportionality related to permeability. Q / A = (k /?) * (? P / L) where: Q = Volume Flow Rate [cm3 / s]; 5 A = Cross Section Area [cm2]; k = Permeability (cm2) (with 1 Darcy corresponding to 9,869 * 10"13 m2);? = Viscosity (Poise) [Pa * s];? P / L = Pressure Gradient [Pa / m]; L = gauge sample [c]; ~? Therefore, the permeability can be calculated, for a fixed or determined cross-sectional area, and the viscosity of the test liquid, through the measurement of the pressure drop and the volumetric flow rate through the sample: k = (Q / A) * (L /? P) *? The test can be executed in two modifications, the first one refers to the transplanar permeability (ie, the direction of the flow that is essentially along the thickness dimension of the material), the second being the permeability in the plane (ie, the direction in the flow that is in the x and y direction of the material). M The test facility for the transplanar permeability test can be seen in Figure 19 which is a schematic diagram of the general equipment and, 0 as an inserted diagram, a partially exploded cross section, not a scale view of the sample cell . The test facility comprises a generally circular or cylindrical sample cell (19120), having an upper part (19121) and a lower part (19122). The distance of these parts can be measured and therefore adjusted through each of 5 of the three circumferentially placed flat calibers (19145) and adjustment screws (19140). In addition, the equipment comprises several fluid containers (19150, 19154, 19156), which include a height adjustment (19170) for the inlet vessel (19150) as well as piping (19180), quick release settings (19189) to connect the sample cell to the rest of the equipment, additional valves ( 19182, 19184, 19186, 19188). He differential pressure transducer (19197) is connected by means of the pipe (19180) to the pressure detection point (19194) and to the lower pressure detection point (19196). A computer device (19190) to control the valves is connected by means of the connections (19199) to the differential pressure transducer (19197), the temperature probe (19192), and the load cell of the weight scale (19198). ). ^ The circular sample (19110) that has a diameter of (approximately 2. 54 cm) is placed between the two porous screens (19135) inside the sample cell (19120), which is made of two cylindrical pieces of 2.54 cm (19121, 19122) joined by means of the internal connection (19132) to the inlet vessel (19150) and by means of the external connection (19133) to the outlet vessel (19154) by flexible pipe (19180), such as tygon pipe. Closed cell foam gaskets (19115) provide protection against spillage around the sides of the sample. The test sample (19110) is compressed from the caliper corresponding to the desired wet compression, which is set at 0.2 psi (approximately 1.4 kPa) unless otherwise stated. The liquid is allowed to flow through the sample (19110) 0 to achieve a steady state flow. Once the steady state flow through the sample (19110) has been established, the volumetric flow rate and pressure drop are recorded as a function of time using a load cell (19198) and the pressure transducer differential (19197). The experiment can be executed at any hydrostatic head up to 80 cm of water (approximately 7.8 kPa), which can be adjusted by means of the height adjustment device (19170). From these measurements, the flow velocity at different pressures for the sample can be determined. The equipment is commercially available as a permeameter as supplied by Porous Materials, Inc., Ithaca, New York, US under the designation of liquid permeameter PMI, as described in the respective user manual of ! 5 2/97. This equipment includes two Stainless Steel Frits as porous sieves (19135), as specified in this manual. The equipment consists of the sample cell (19120), the input container (19150), the outlet container (19154), and the waste container (19156) and the respective filling and emptying valves and connections, an electronic scale and a valve control and computerized monitoring unit (19190). , 1 ^ The joint material (19115) is a closed cell neoprene sponge ! j 9 SNC-1 (Soft), such as that supplied by Netherland Rubber Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., the set of materials with variable thickness in the steps of approximately 0.159 cm should be available to cover the range from about 0.159 cm to about 1.27 cm in thickness. i; 15 In addition, a supply of pressurized air of at least 4.1 bar) is required to operate the respective valves. The test is then executed through the following stages: iF 1) Preparation of test samples: '20 In a preparatory test, it is determined, if one or more layers of the test sample are required, where the test as determined below is operated at the lowest pressures and highest. The number of layers is then adjusted to maintain the flow rate during the test between 0.5 cm3 / seconds at the lowest pressure drop and 15 cm3 / seconds at the highest pressure drop. The speed of flow for the sample must be less than the flow rate for the model at the same pressure drop. If the sample flow rate exceeds that of the model for a given pressure drop, more layers must be added to decrease the flow velocity. Sample size: Samples are cut from approximately 2.54 f cm in diameter, using an arc punch, as supplied by McMaster-5 Carr Supply Company, Cleveland, OH, US. If the samples have very little internal strength or integrity to maintain their structure during the required handling, conventional low weight base support means, such as a PET net or thin canvas, may be added. Therefore, at least two samples (made from the number of layers and governed each, if necessary), are pious. Afterwards, one of these is saturated in deionized water at the temperature of the experiment to be executed (31 ° C) unless noted otherwise). The caliber of the wet sample is measured, (if necessary after a stabilization time of 30 seconds) under the compression pressure desired for the which the experiment will be operated by using a conventional flat gauge (such as that provided by AMES, Waltham, MASS, US) having a pressure diameter of approximately 2.86 cm, exerting a pressure of approximately 1.4 kPa on the sample (19110) unless otherwise desired. F An appropriate combination of joint materials is selected, from Thus, the total thickness of the bonded foam (19115) is between 150 and 200% of the thickness of the wet sample (note that a combination of varying thicknesses of the joint material may be necessary to achieve the overall desired thickness). The gasket material (19115) is cut to a circular size of 7.62 cm in diameter and 2.54 cm of the hole is cut in the center by using the arc punch. 25 In the event that the sample dimensions change with wetting, the sample should be cut so that the required diameter is obtained in the wet stage. This can also be determined in your preparatory test, with the monitoring of the respective dimensions. If this changes so that any space is formed, or the sample forms folds that would prevent uniform contact of the porous screens or the frits, the cut diameter should be adjusted accordingly. 5 The test sample (19110) is placed inside the hole in the joint foam (19115) and the composite is placed on top of the lower half of the sample cell, ensuring that the sample is in uniform and flat contact with the screen (19135) and spaces are not formed on the sides. The upper part of the test cell (19121) is located flat on the laboratory table (or other horizontal plane) and the three flat calibres (19145) mounted on it are set to zero. The upper part of the test cell (19121) is then placed on the lower part (19122) so that the joining material (19115) with the test sample (19110) is located between the two parts. The upper and lower part are then adjusted by fixing screws (19140), so that three flat gauges are adjusted to the same value as measured for the wet sample under the respective pressure in the previous one. 2) To prepare the experiment, the program on the computerized unit (19190) is started and the sample identification, the respective pressure 0, etc. are recorded. 3) The test will be operated on a sample (19190) for several pressure cycles with the first pressure that is the lowest pressure. The results of the individual pressure operations are placed in different results files through the computerized unit (19190). The data is taken from each 5 of those files for calculations as described below. (A different sample must be used for any subsequent operations of the material). 4) The inlet liquid container (19150) is set to the required height and the test is started in the computerized unit (19190). 5) Then the sample cell (19120) is placed in the permeameter unit with Quick Disconnect devices (19189). 5 6) The sample cell (19120) is filled through the opening of the vent valve (19188) and the lower fill valves (19184, 19186). During this stage, care must be taken to remove air bubbles from the system, which can be achieved by placing the sample cell vertically, forcing the air bubbles, if present, to exit the permeameter through the drain. ^ Once the sample cell is filled until the tygon pipe attached to the top of the chamber (19121), air bubbles are removed from this pipe in the waste container (19156). 7) After having carefully removed the air bubbles, the lower filling valves (19184), 19186) are closed, and the upper filling valves (19182) are opened, to fill the upper part, also carefully removing all air bubbles. 8) The fluid container is filled with the test fluid to the filling line (19152). Then the flow begins through the sample initiating the computerized unit 0 (19190). After the temperature in the sample chamber has reached the required value the experiment is ready to start. At the start of the experiment by means of the computerized unit (19190), the liquid outflow is automatically derived from the waste container 5 (19156) to the outlet container (19154), and the pressure drop and temperature are monitored as a function of time for several minutes.

Once the program has finished, the computerized unit provides the recorded data (in numerical and / or graphic form). If desired, the same test sample can be used to measure the permeability in various hydrostatic loads, thereby increasing the pressure from one operation to another. The equipment should be cleaned every two weeks and calibrated at least once a week, especially the frits, the load cell, the thermocouple and the pressure transducer, thus following the instructions of the equipment supplier. The differential pressure is recorded by means of the differential pressure transducer connected to the pressure probes at the measurement points (19194, 19196) at the top and bottom of the sample cell. Since there may be other flow resistances within the chamber added to the pressure that is recorded, each experiment must be corrected by a sample operation. A sample operation must be done at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 cm of pressure required each day. The permeameter will emit a Mean Test Pressure for each experiment and also an average flow rate. For each pressure that the sample has tested, the flow rate is registered as the Model Corrected Pressure through the computerized unit (19190), which is also correcting the Average Test pressure (Real Pressure) in each of the differentials. registered height pressure to result in Pressure Fixed This Corrected Pressure is the DP that must be used in the following permeability equation. The permeability can be calculated at each required pressure and all permeabilities must be averaged to determine the k for the material being tested. More than three measurements should be taken for each sample in each hydrostatic head and the averaged results and the standard deviation calculated. However, the same sample must be used, the permeability measured at each hydrostatic head and then a new sample must be used to make the second and third replicates. The measurement of plane permeability under the same conditions as the transplanar permeability described above, can be achieved by modifying the previous equipment as shown schematically in Figures 20A and 20B which show a view that is not to scale and partially exploded only. The sample cells. Equivalent elements are denoted equivalently, so that the sample cell of Figure 20 is denoted (20210), correlating with the number (19110) of Figure 19, and so on. Therefore, the simplified transplanar sample cell (19120) of Figure 19 is replaced by the simplified planar cell (20220), which is designed so that the liquid can flow only in one direction (either the direction of machine or cross direction depending on how the sample is placed in the cell). Care must be taken to minimize the channeling of the liquid along the walls (wall effects), as this can give an erroneously high permeability reading. The test procedure is ^ then executed analogously to the transplanar test. The sample cell (20220) is designed to be placed in the equipment essentially as described for the sample cell (19120) in the previous transplanar test, except that the fill tube is directed towards the inlet connection (20232) at the bottom of the cell (20220). Figure 20A shows a partially exploded view of the sample cell and Figure 20B a cross-sectional view through the sample level. The sample cell (20220) is formed in two parts: a lower part (20225), which is similar to a rectangular box with flanges, and an upper part (20223) that fits within the lower part (20225) and It has eyelashes too.

The test sample is cut to a size of 5.1 cm by 5.1 cm and is placed on the bottom piece. The upper part (20223) of the sample chamber is then placed inside the lower part (20225) and sits on the test sample (20210). A non-compressible neoprene rubber seal (20224) is attached to the upper part (20223) to provide a hermetic seal. The test liquid flows from the inlet vessel into the sample space via the Tygon pipe and the inlet connection (20232) through the outlet connection (20233) to the outlet vessel.

As in this test execution the temperature control of the fluid passing through the sample cell can be insufficient due to lower flow rates, the sample is kept at the desired test temperature by the heating device (20226 ), so the water that passes through the thermostat is pumped through the heating chamber (20227). The space in the test cell is set to the gauge corresponding to the desired humidity compression, normally around 1.4 kPa). Baffles (20216) that vary in size from 0.1 mm to 20.0 mm are used to set the correct gauge, optionally using combinations of several deflectors. At the beginning of the experiment, the test cell (20220) is rotated 90 ° (sample is vertical) and the test liquid is allowed to enter slowly from the bottom. This is necessary to ensure that all air is extracted from the sample and the inlet / outlet connections (20232/20233). Next, the test cell (20220) is rotated back to its original position to make the sample (20210) horizontal. The subsequent procedure is the same as that described above for the transplanar permeability, that is, the inlet vessel is placed at the desired height, the flow is allowed to equilibrate and the flow velocity and pressure drop are measured. Permeability is calculated using Darcy's law. This procedure is repeated for higher pressures as well. For samples that have low permeability, it may be necessary to increase the impulse pressure, such as by extending the height or by applying f the additional air pressure on the vessel in order to obtain a flow velocity measurable. In the flat permeability can be measured independently in the machine and cross directions depending on how the sample is placed in the test cell.

Optical Determination of Pore Size ^ Optical determination of pore size is used especially for thin layers of the porous system using standard image analysis procedure known to persons skilled in the art. The principle of the method consists of the following steps: 1) A thin layer of the sample material is prepared by slicing a simple sample into thinner sheets or if the sample itself is thin using it directly. The term "thin" refers to achieving a sample size sufficiently low to allow a cross-sectional image under the microscope. Typical sample sizes are below 200 μm. 2) A microscopic image is obtained by means of the video microscope using the appropriate amplification. The 0 optimal results are obtained if approximately 10 to 100 pores are visible to such an image. The image is then scanned by a standard image analysis package such as OPTIMAS from BioScan Corp. which operates under Windows 95 on an IBM compatible PC. The structure recorder of sufficient pixel resolution (preferred at least 1024 x 1024 pixels) should be used to obtain good results. 3) The image is converted to a binary image, using an appropriate threshold level, so that the pores visible in the image are marked as object areas in white and the rest remains in black. Automatic threshold setting procedures such as those available under OPTIMAL can be used. 4) The areas of individual pores (objects) are determined. OPTIMAS offers a fully automatic determination of the areas. 5) The equivalent radius of each pore is determined by a circle that would have the same area as the pore. If A is the pore area, then the equivalent radius is given by r = (A / p) 1 2. The average pore size can be determined from the pore size distribution using standard statistical rules. For materials that do not have a very uniform pore size, it is recommended to use at least 3 samples for the determination. The useful alternative equipment to determine the pore sizes are Permeater Porosimeter or Tester commercially available, such as a Permeameter supplied by Porous Materials, Inc., Ithaca, New York, USA, under the designation PMI Liquid Permeameter Model No. CFP-1200AEXI, as described further in the respective 2/97 user manual. 15 Teabag Centrifugal Capacity Test (TCC test) While the TCC test has been developed specifically for ^ superabsorbent materials, it can be easily applied to other absorbent materials. The Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity test measures the values of 20 Tea Bag Centrifugal Values which are a measure of the retention of liquids in the absorbent materials. The absorbent material is placed inside a "tea bag" immersed in a 0.9% by weight sodium chloride solution for 20 minutes and then centrifuged for 3 minutes. The ratio of the weight of the retained liquid to the initial weight of the dry material is the absorbent capacity of the absorbent material. Two liters of sodium chloride at 0.9% by weight in distilled water are poured into a tray having dimensions of 24 cm x 30 cm x 5 cm. The liquid filling height should be approximately 3 cm. The tea bag cavity has dimensions of 6.5 cm x 6.5 cm and is available from Teekanne in Dusseldorf, Germany. The cavity is heat sealable with a standard 5 plastic kitchen bag sealing device (for example, VACUPACK2 PLUS from Krups, Germany). The tea bag is opened by carefully cutting, partially cutting it and then weighing it. Approximately 0.200 g of the sample of the absorbent material, weighed precisely to +/- 0.005 g, is placed in the tea bag. The tea bag is then closed with a thermal sealant. This is called the sample tea bag. A sample tea bag is sealed and used as a model. The sample tea bag and model tea bag are placed on the surface of the saline solution and immersed for approximately 5 seconds using a spatula to allow complete wetting (tea bags will float on the surface of the solution). saline although they are completely moistened). The stopwatch is started immediately. After 20 minutes of moistening time, the sample tea bag and model tea bag are removed from the saline solution and placed in Bauknecht WS130, Bosch 772 NZK096 or an equivalent centrifugal machine (230 mm diameter) so that each bag adheres to the outer wall of the centrifugal basket. The centrifugal cap is closed, the spin starts and the speed increases rapidly up to 1, 400 rpm. Once the centrifugal machine has stabilized at 1, 400 rpm, the timer is started. After 3 minutes, the centrifugal machine is stopped. The sample tea bag and model tea bag are removed and weighed separately. The Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity (TCC) for the sample of the absorbent material is calculated as follows: TCC = [(weight of sample tea bag after centrifugation) - (weight of model tea bag after centrifugation) - (weight of dry absorbent material)] + (weight of dry absorbent material). Also, specific parts of the structures or the total absorbent articles can be measured, such as "in section" cuts, that is, by observing parts of the structure or the total article, whereby the cut is made across the total width of the article. at certain points of the longitudinal axis of the article. In particular, the definition of the "crotch region" as described above allows determining the "crotch region capacity". Other cuts can be used to determine a "base capacity" (ie, the amount of capacity contained in an area unit of the specific region of the article.) Depending on the size of the unit area (preferably, 2 cm by 2 cm ) that defines how much average, naturally, the smaller the size, the lower average occurs.

Reversible expansion test The intention of this test is to measure the expansion of a liquid handling member and the subsequent contraction of the liquid handling member over a series of fluid acquisition and release cycles. This test is suitable for a liquid handling member according to the present invention. This test can be equivalently applied to devices for handling body fluids according to the present invention. The test sample is a liquid handling member according to the present invention. The liquid handling member must be configured to resemble as closely as possible to its configuration of use. If the liquid handling member is part of the device for handling body fluids, those parts of the device that do not contribute to the operation of the liquid handling member may be removed prior to testing the liquid handling member. However, it is also possible to test a device for handling body fluids in their entirety. ^ t At the start of the test, the total absorbent capacity of the shows via the demand absorbance test defined here. The sample that is now filled with liquid to its total absorbent capacity is now placed on a glass frit of the capillary sorption test defined here which has been set at a hydrostatic height of 0 cm. The experimental establishment of this test involves establishing the capillary sorption test defined herein in combination with a volume measuring device that is installed in such a way that it is capable of measuring the sample dimensions when the sample is placed on the chip. experimental assembly glass of capillary sorption. For the purposes of this test, a Cartesian system of coordinates 5 is defined as follows. The direction z is the direction perpendicular to the main top surface of the glass frit also called the gauge direction. Therefore, the direction x and y, are parallel to the main top surface of the glass frit. The address x is defined by the direction of most transportation F efficient liquid inside the test sample. For example, if the test sample 0 has a first region for the acquisition of the liquid and the second region for liquid discharge or liquid storage, the x direction would point from the first region to the second region. For example, the volume measurement device may consist of a gauge (z-direction) measuring device in combination with two devices that measure the expansion of the test sample in the two dimensions (x and y direction) parallel to the surface of the test sample. the glass frit. Since the two main surfaces of the glass frit in the experimental capillary sorption installation are oriented horizontally, the gauge measurement device in this test measures the vertical expansion of the test sample while the other two measuring devices measure the horizontal expansion of the test sample. If, for example, the test sample is In a substantially rectangular manner, simple mechanical devices can be used for the manual determination of the length to determine the dimensions of the test sample. If the geometry of the test sample is more complex, the contraction and expansion of the test sample can be recorded, for example, on video tape, which allows the exact analysis of the expansion and contraction of the test sample during the test. . Suitable methods for the determination of each of the dimensions are well known in the art. If this method requires that the test sample be placed under a confining pressure, the confining pressure must be chosen low enough such that the respective dimension of the test sample remains substantially unchanged. furtherIt is important that a dimension of the test sample is measured on a surface area that is at least 20 percent of the respective surface area of the test sample such that the measurement is representative of the dimension. During the first stage of this test, the total absorbent capacity of the test sample is determined by the demand absorbance test defined here. The test sample which is now filled with liquid up to its total absorbent capacity is now placed on the glass frit of the capillary sorption test defined here, which has been set at the hydrostatic height of 0 cm. On the glass frit, the test sample is oriented in such a way that its region which is intended for the acquisition of liquid is facing towards the upper surface of the glass frit. During the second stage of this test, the capillary suction is continuously increased to half the liquid initially stored within the liquid handling member that is removed from the liquid handling member or the device respectively. At the beginning of this test and at the end of this stage, f record the dimensions of the liquid handling member or the device. The factor of contraction for each dimension is determined by dividing the respective dimension of the test sample at the end of this phase of the test by its respective dimension at the start of this test phase. Therefore, the value of each contraction factor will be between 0 and 1. The volume contraction factor is determined by dividing the volume at the end of this stage between the volume at the beginning of this stage. For For example, a substantially rectangular test sample can be obtained by multiplying the dimension x, y, and z of the test sample. During the third stage of this test, capillary suction is reduced to zero pressure so that the test sample will pick up fluid again until the sample is filled to full capacity. At the beginning of this phase of the test and at the end of this phase of the test, the dimensions of the member or liquid handling device are recorded. The expansion factor for each dimension is determined by dividing the respective dimension of the test sample at the end of this phase between its respective dimension at the start of this test phase. Often, the value of each F expansion factor will be at least 1. The volume expansion factor is determined by dividing the volume at the end of this test phase between the volume at the start of this test phase. In addition, the liquid capacity at the end of this cycle is divided by the total absorbent capacity of the test sample as determined by the demand absorbance test prior to this test to obtain the capacity reduction factor. 5 The previous measurement cycle of the second stage and the third stage can be repeated in order to examine the long-term behavior of the test sample. The contraction factors, expansion factors, and respective capacity reduction factors are then signaled together with the number of their respective test cycle.

F 5 Demand Absorbency Test The demand absorbency test is intended to measure the liquid capacity of the liquid handling member and to measure the absorption rate of the liquid handling member against the hydrostatic pressure to zero. The test can also be carried out for devices that handle body fluids That contain a liquid handling member. The apparatus used to conduct this test consists of a square basket of a size sufficient to retain the liquid handling member suspended in a structure. At least the lower part of the square basket consists of an open mesh that allows the penetration of the liquid into the basket without substantial flow resistance for the toa of liquid. For example, an open wire mesh made of stainless steel, having an open area of at least 70 percent and having a wire diameter of 1 mm, and an open mesh size of at least about 6 mm, It is suitable for the installation of the current test. Besides, the F open mesh must exhibit sufficient stability so that substantially no deforms under the load of the test sample when the test sample is filled to its full capacity. A container of liquid is provided under the basket. The height of the basket can be adjusted so that a test sample that is placed inside the basket can be brought into contact with the surface of the liquid in the liquid container. He The liquid container is placed on the electronic balance connected to a computer to read the liquid weight, approximately every 0.01 seconds during the measurement. The dimensions of the apparatus are selected so that the handling of the liquid to be tested fits within the basket and so that the designated liquid acquisition zone of the liquid handling member is in contact with the plane f bottom of the basket. The dimensions of the liquid container are selected in a that the level of the liquid surface in the container does not change substantially during the measurement. A typical container useful for testing the liquid handling members has a size of at least 320 mm x 370 mm and can retain at least about 4500 g of liquid. Before this test, the liquid container is filled with synthetic urine. The amount of synthetic urine and the size of the liquid container must be sufficient f so that the level of liquid in the container does not change when the liquid capacity of the liquid handling member is tested and removed from the container. The temperature of the liquid and the environment for the test should reflect the conditions in the member's use. The typical temperature for use in baby diapers are 32 degrees Celsius for the environment and 37 degrees Celsius for synthetic urine. This test can be done at room temperature if the tested member does not have a significant dependence on its absorptive properties on temperature. # _s, to p_eba it is Slavic descending e, cease it empty, a, to a to which it is completely immersed in the synthetic urine in the container. The basket is high again to approximately 0.5 to 1 mm in order to establish a hydrostatic suction close to zero, taking care that the liquid remains in contact with the mesh. If necessary, the mesh needs to be retracted in contact with the liquid and the zero level is readjusted. This test is initiated by: 25 1. start measuring the electronic balance; 2. placing the liquid handling member on the mesh so that the member's acquisition zone is in contact with the liquid; 3. immediately add a low weight on the upper part of the member in order to provide a pressure of 165 Pa for better contact of the member M \ k with the mesh. During the test, the fluid uptake of the liquid handling member is recorded by measuring the decrease in the weight of the liquid in the liquid container. The test is stopped after 30 minutes. At the end of the test, the total fluid uptake of the liquid handling member is recorded. In addition, the time after which the liquid handling member has absorbed 80 percent of its total liquid uptake is also recorded. He F time zero is defined as the time where member absorption starts. The initial absorption rate of the liquid handling member is from the initial linear inclination of the weight versus time measurement curve.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A liquid transport member comprising at least one region of volume and one region of wall that completely circumscribes the region of volume, said region of wall further comprising at least one region of 5 port, the volume region has an average fluid permeability kb and the member has a bubble point pressure P, characterized in that P2 * Kb > m (e / 2) *? 2 where? which is the surface tension of the liquid to be transported e is the volumetric porosity of the member, wherein m is at least 1, preferably at least 10, and most preferably at least 100.
2. A member of liquid transport according to claim 1, wherein a first region of the member comprises first materials and wherein the member further comprises an additional element in contact with the first materials of the first regions extending within a second region nearby of said liquid transport member.
3. A liquid transport member according to claim 2, wherein the additional element is in contact with the wall region and extends into the second nearby region and has a capillarity pressure for To absorb the liquid that is less than the bubble point pressure of such a member.
4. A liquid transport member according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the additional element comprises a layer of softness.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ratio of permeability of the volume region to the permeability of the port region is at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably of at least 1000, and even so 25 more preferable of at least 100,000.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member has a bubble point pressure when measured with a test liquid having a surface tension of 72 mN / m of at least 1 kPa, preferably of at least 2 kPa, more f preferably at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably 8 kPa, very 5 preferably 50 kPa.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port region has a bubble point pressure when measured with a test liquid having a surface tension of 72 nM / m at least 1 kPa, preferably at least 2 kPa, more preferably at least 4.5 kPa, even more preferably 8 kPa, more preferably 50 kPa.
8. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port region has a bubble point pressure when measured with a test liquid having a surface tension of 33 mN / m. of at least 0.67 kPa, preferably at least 1.3 kPa, more preferably at least 3.0 kPa, even more preferably 5.3 kPa, more preferably 33 kPa.
9. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member loses more than 3% of the initial liquid 0 in the closed system test.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has an average pore size greater than said port regions, preferably such that the average pore size ratio of the region of volume and pore size 5 average of the port region is at least 10, preferably at least 50, more preferably at least 100, and even more preferably at least 500, and more preferably at least 1000.
11. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has one size of average pore of at least 200 μm, preferably at least 500 μm, more 5 preferably at least 1000 μm, and more preferably at least 5000 μm.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has a porosity of at least 50%, preferably at least 80%, more preferably at least 90%, even more preferably of at least 98%, and more preferably of IH at least 99%.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region has an average density when determined by the pores that are not filled with the fluid, of at least 0.001 g / cm3.
14. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port region has a porosity of at least 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 30% , and more preferably at least 50%.
The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the port regions have an average pore size of no more than 100 μm, preferably no more than 50 μm, more preferably no more of 10 μm, and more preferably of not more than 5 μm.
16. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port regions have a pore size of at least 1 μm, preferably at least 3 μm.
The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port regions have an average thickness of not more than 100 μm, preferably not more than 50 μm, more preferably not more than 10 μm , and most preferably no more than 5 μm. f
18. The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region and the wall region have a volume ratio of at least 10, preferably at least 100, more preferably of at least 1000, and even in the most preferable way of at least 10,000.
19. The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the port region is hydrophilic, preferably having a recoil contact angle for liquid that is transported less than 70 degrees, preferably less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees, and even more preferably less than 10 degrees.
20. The liquid transport member according to claim 19, wherein the port regions do not substantially decrease the liquid surface tension to be transported.
21. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the port region is oleophilic, or preferably because it has a receding contact angle for the liquid that is transported less than 70 degrees, preferably from less than 50 degrees, more preferably less than 20 degrees, and even more preferably less than 10 degrees.
22. The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region is capable of deforming and can expand during liquid transport.
23. The liquid transport member according to claim 22, wherein the liquid handling member has a shrinkage factor of less than 0.8 after the first test cycle and an expansion factor. f of at least 1.2 after the first test cycle according to the reversible volume expansion test defined herein.
24. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, which has a sheet-like shape, or has a cylindrical-like shape.
25. The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cross-sectional area of the member a F the length of the liquid transport direction is not constant.
26. The liquid transport member according to claim 25, wherein the port regions have an area greater than the average cross section of the member along the direction of liquid transport, Preferably by a factor of 2, preferably a factor of 10, more preferably a factor of 100.
27. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume region comprises a material selected from of the groups of fibers, particles, foams, spirals, films, 20 corrugated sheets or tubes.
28. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the wall region comprises a material selected from the groups of fibers, particles, foams, coils, films, corrugated sheets, tubes, woven wefts , woven fiber meshes, films with openings or 25 monolithic films.
29. The liquid transport member according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the foam is an open-cell cross-linked foam, preferably selected from the group of cellulose sponge, polyurethane foam and HIPE foams. ^
30. The liquid transport member in accordance with the 5 claims 27 or 28, wherein the fibers are made of polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyethers, polyacrylics, polyurethanes, metal, glass, cellulose, cellulose derivatives.
31. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member comprises a region of ^ __ L_ porous volume that is wrapped with a separate wall region.
32. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, comprising water soluble materials.
33. The liquid transport member according to claim 32, wherein at least one of the port regions comprises a 15 water soluble material.
34. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the member is initially filled with liquid. F
35. The liquid transport member according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the member is initially under vacuum.
36. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, for transporting liquids based on water or viscoelastic liquids.
37. The liquid transport member according to claim 36, for transporting body discharge fluids, such as urine, menstrual discharges, sweat or faeces.
38. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, for transporting oil, grease, or other liquids that are not based on water.
39. The liquid transport member according to claim 38, for selective transport of oil or fat, but not of liquids based on water.
40. The liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, wherein any of the properties of the member or parameter are established prior to or in the handling of the liquid, preferably by activation by contact with the liquid, the pH, temperature, enzymes, chemical reaction, saline concentration or mechanical activation.
41. A liquid transport system comprising a liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, and a source of liquid that is outside the liquid transport member, or a liquid spill that is outside the member of liquid transport, or both a liquid source and a liquid weir that are outside the liquid transport member.
42. A liquid absorbing system comprising a liquid transport member according to any of the preceding claims, which has an absorbent capacity of at least 5 g / g, preferably of at least 10 g / g, more preferably of at least 20 g / g when subjected to the Demand Absorbance Test.
43. The liquid absorbing system according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a landfill material having an absorption capacity of at least 10 g / g, preferably at least 20 g / g and more preferably of at least 50 g / g at the base of the weight of the landfill material, when subjected to the Tea Bag Centrifugal Capacity Test.
44. The liquid absorbent system according to any of claims 41 to 43, which comprises a landfill material having an absorbent capacity of at least 5g / g, preferably at least 10g / g, most preferably by At least 50 g / g when subjected to the Suction test 5 Capillary at a pressure up to the bubble point pressure of the port region, and which has an absorbent capacity of less than 5 g / g, preferably less than 2 g / g, more preferably less than 1 g / g , and most preferably less than 0.2 g / g when measured in the Capillary Suction Test at a pressure exceeding the bubble point pressure of the region. 1Q_
45. The liquid absorbent system according to any of claims 41 to 44, which comprises the superabsorbent material or open cell foam of the Internal Elevated Phase Emulsion (HIPE) type.
46. An article comprising a liquid transport member according to any of claims 1 to 40, or a transport system of Liquid according to any of claims 41 to 45.
47. An article according to claim 46 for use as a hygienic absorbent article.
48. An article according to claim 47 which is disposable after the time of simple use. 0
49. An article according to claims 48 or 49, which is a diaper for incontinence of baby or adult, a feminine protection pad, a pantiprotector, a training pant.
50. An article according to claim 46, which is a fat absorber.
51. An article according to claim 46, which is a water transport member.
52. A method for making a liquid transport member comprising the steps of: providing a volume or internal region material; provide a wall material comprising a port region; enclosing f completely the volume region material by the wall material; 5 provide transport enable means selected from d1) vacuum; d2) liquid filling; d3) expandable elastics / springs;
53. The method according to claim 52, comprising 1 (1 further the step of applying activation means F e1) liquid solution port region; e2) elastification / springs expandable to liquid solution; e3) removable detachment element; e4) removable seal packing. 15
54. The method for making a liquid transport member comprising the steps of a) wrapping a highly porous volume material with a separate wall material comprising at least one permeable port region, b) completely sealing the region of wall and c) evacuate the member essentially of air. 0
55. The method according to claim 54, wherein the member is filled with liquid.
56. The method according to claim 52 or 54, wherein the member is sealed with a layer that dissolves in liquid at least in the port regions.