MXPA00012997A - Device for handling body liquids which transports body liquid by siphoning - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for handling body liquids comprising a step of transporting the body liquid by siphoning. The present invention also relates to devices which carry out such processes. The present invention further relates to devices for handling body liquids comprising a liquid transport member which is substantially geometrically saturated with liquid.

Description

DEVICE FOR HANDLING LIQUIDS FROM THE BODY THAT TRANSPORTS AND LIQUID FROM THE BODY BY SIPHONE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for handling bodily fluids such as urine, sweat, saliva, blood, menstruation, purulence or fecal material, and with devices that carry out these processes. The invention further relates to disposable absorbent articles such as baby diapers, or training pants, adult incontinence products, and feminine hygiene products and other items that handle body fluids such as catheters, urinals, and the like.

BACKGROUND Devices for handling body fluids are well known in the art and are frequently used for a wide variety of purposes. For example, devices for hygienic purposes such as diapers, sanitary napkins, adult incontinence products, armpit sweat pads, wound dressing, and the like. Accordingly, these devices have been designed to encompass a wide variety of different body fluids such as, for example, urine, sweat, saliva, blood, menstruation, purulence, fecal material, and the like. Typically, it is desirable that these devices for handling body fluids acquire body fluid and in a first region of the device, transport the body fluid away from the acquisition zone, and finally store the liquid in a second region, the storage area. of designated liquid. The reasons for transporting body fluid away from the acquisition zone are multiple. These reasons include the creation of an unwanted volume near the point of discharge of body fluid and to avoid prolonged contact of body fluids with the skin. The body fluid can either be transported in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the acquisition zone, ie, towards the volume of the device, or the body fluids can be transported in a direction parallel to the surface of the acquisition zone and far from the point of acquisition. The transportation of liquid in these devices is typically achieved by means of capillary suction. However, capillary suction has certain inherent limitations. In particular, when it is desired to transport the liquid against gravity, the capillary suction needs to be increased by decreasing the size of the capillaries. On the other hand, a capillary having a decreased pore size exhibits a greater resistance to the flow of the liquid through the capillary. Therefore, the combination of high capillary suction and high flow rates can only be achieved by providing a large number of small capillaries which in turn lead to a large total cross section of the device. It has been suggested in the PCT patent application WO 94/03214 (Lawrence) to remove the liquid from the acquisition point by means of siphoning. There, gravity or vacuum has been taught as driving forces for fluid removal. Both driving forces, however, exhibit inherent disadvantages. When gravity is used as the driving force, the functionality of the device depends on its orientation in space, that is, the storage region must always be lower than the acquisition region. Therefore, the applicability of liquid removal systems that are subject to gravity is limited. When vacuum is used as the driving force, a high mechanical effort is required to maintain the vessel.

¿¿¿¿¿^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Therefore, in this case, the complexity of the device limits the scope of possible applications. In addition, the liquid in this device is stored while still relatively mobile which could create problems with respect to rewetting and squeezing. 5 ThereforeIt is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems posed by the prior art devices for handling body fluids. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for handling body fluid comprising a step of transporting the liquid by siphoning and a step of storing the liquid by either capillary or osmotic pressure. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluids which liquid liquid by siphoning and which stores liquid by either capillary or osmotic pressure. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluid comprising a liquid transport member which is substantially geometrically saturated before the intended use of the device. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluid comprising a liquid transport member which contains the free liquid before the intended use of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a process for handling body fluids comprising the step of transporting body fluid from an acquisition region to a storage region by siphoning. The step of transporting the body fluid by siphoning comprises the steps of: ? ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ substantially geometrically saturated with the liquid before the first step of acquiring the liquid; the liquid that saturates the liquid transporting member while in liquid communication with the liquid acquisition region; - providing a liquid storage member in communication of the liquid with the liquid transport member, the liquid storage member being positioned within the storage region; - acquiring the liquid disposed on the acquisition region towards the liquid transport member; - replacing at least a portion of the liquid that saturates the liquid transport member with the purchased liquid; - storing at least a portion of the replaced liquid in a storage member. The process of the present invention is characterized in that the liquid is stored by a storage member by a means selected from the group of capillary pressure, osmotic pressure. It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluids designed to carry out the process of the present invention. It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluids having at least one liquid acquisition region and at least one liquid storage region. The storage region stores the liquid by a means selected from the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure. The device for handling body fluids comprises a liquid transport member that carries liquid from the acquisition region to the liquid storage region. The device to handle body fluids The present invention is characterized in that the liquid transport member is substantially saturated geometrically before the intended use of the device. It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a device for handling body fluids having at least one liquid acquisition region and at least one liquid storage region. The storage region stores the liquid by a means selected from the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure. The device for handling body fluids comprising a liquid transport member that transports the liquid from the acquisition region to the liquid storage region. The handling device of the present invention is characterized in that the liquid transport member is substantially geometrically saturated with the free liquid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Siphoning Process It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a process for transporting liquids from the body from an acquisition region to a storage region comprising a step of transporting the body fluid by siphoning. The term "body liquids" as used herein refers to liquids and in particular to aqueous liquids which are exuded or otherwise produced by the mammal body at different locations in the body such as urine, sweat, saliva, blood, menstruation, purulence, fecal material, and the like. The term "device for handling body fluids" as used herein refers to devices that are capable of acting on body fluids. The typical actions of these devices include but are not limited to acquiring, transporting, distributing, storing, modifying, and the like. Generally, these devices include but are not limited to absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, sanitary napkins, pantiliners, tampons, adult incontinence products, bed mats, wound plasters, sweat pad, wound protections and similar; catheters used to collect urine from the bladders of mobile and immobile patients; urine collection devices such as urinals and in particular portable urinals; blood acquisition device and saliva acquisition devices for medical use; liquid sampling devices of the body, and the like.

Definition of siphoning The term "siphoning" refers to a process in which the liquid is transported from an acquisition region along a liquid transport member to a storage region, in which the liquid transport member is substantially geometrically saturated prior to the intended use of the device, and which at least a portion of the liquid acquired in the acquisition region replaces at least a portion of the liquid in the liquid transport member which, in contrast, it is stored in the storage regions. Generally, liquid storage occurs on a time scale that is much shorter than the average time interval between two subsequent loads. In some examples, it may happen that there is a certain delay between the acquisition of liquid in the liquid transport member and the storage of the replaced liquid in the storage region. This delay can be caused by an increase in volume of the fluid transport member following the acquisition of liquid. The siphoning process is generally reversible, that is, the liquid can be transported in the opposite direction depending on external conditions such as applied pressure and the like. "Siphon" as used herein includes internal siphoning as well as external siphoning whose process will be defined here later. In particular, the step of transporting liquid by siphoning comprises the steps of: providing a liquid transport member that is substantially geometrically saturated with liquid before the first step of acquiring the liquid towards the liquid transport member, the liquid which saturates the liquid transport member is in fluid communication with the acquisition region; - providing a liquid storage member in liquid communication with said liquid saturating the liquid transport member, the storage member being positioned in the storage region; - acquiring liquids deposited on the acquisition region in the liquid transport member; - replacing at least a portion of liquid that saturates the liquid transport member with the purchased liquid; - storing at least a portion of the replaced liquid in the storage member, the storage member storing the liquid or means selected from the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure. The term "geometrically saturated" is used herein to refer to a region of a porous material in which the hollow spaces accessible to the liquid have been filled with the liquid. The hollow spaces referred to in this definition are those that are present in the actual geometric configuration of the porous material. In other words, a geometrically saturated device may still be able to accept additional liquid by and only changing its geometric configuration for example by inflating, although all the gaps in the device are filled with the liquid in the current geometric configuration. A device for handling liquids is called geometrically saturated, if all the porous materials that are part of the device and intended to handle liquids are geometrically saturated. The term "porous material" as used herein refers to materials comprising at least two phases a solid material and a gas or hollow phase and optionally a third liquid phase which may be partially or completely filled hollow spaces. The porosity of a material is defined as the ratio between the hollow volume and the total volume of the material, measured when the material is not filled with the liquid. Non-limiting examples for porous materials are foams such as polyurethane, HIPE (see for example PCT patent application WO 94/13704), superabsorbent foams and the like, fiber assemblies such as melt blown webs, glued, carded, cellulose, fiber beds, and the like, porous particles such as clay, zeolites, and the like, geometrically structured materials such as pipes, balloons, channel structures , etc. Porous materials may absorb liquids even if they are not hydrophilic. The porosity of the materials is therefore linked to their affinity for the liquid that could be absorbed. The term "substantially saturated geometrically" as used herein refers to a member in which at least 90% of the macroscopic hollow volume of the member is geometrically saturated, preferably at least 95% of the macroscopic hollow volume of the device is geometrically saturated, more preferably 97% of the macroscopic hollow volume of the device is geometrically saturated, most preferably 99% of the macroscopic hollow volume of the device is geometrically saturated. Optionally, the step of providing a liquid transport member which is substantially geometrically saturated with the liquid may comprise additional individual steps. For example, the step may comprise a first step of providing a liquid transport member and a second step of activating said liquid transport member. The activating step may comprise the step of substantially substantially geometrically saturating the liquid transport member for example by placing liquid on the liquid transport member which is instead absorbed in any liquid transport member. Alternatively, the activating step may comprise a step of manipulating the attempted acquisition region for the purpose of rendering this region functional by, for example, removing a release paper or wetting at least a portion of the intended acquisition region. Optionally, the process for handling body fluids according to the present invention comprises the following additional steps: providing a liquid acquisition member acquiring the body fluid in the acquisition member carrying at least a portion of the body fluid I have purchased the liquid transport member. 15 Internal siphoning The term "internal siphoning" as used herein refers to a siphoning process in which the storage region is in direct contact of the liquid with the liquid that saturates the liquid transport member. In this case, the member of The contact can be placed inside the liquid transport member. Therefore, this storage member is able to directly acquire the liquid from the liquid transport member and in particular that liquid which has been replaced by the newly acquired liquid. Optionally, the liquid storage member in this case may also be substantially saturated in a geometric with the liquid before the intended use.

External siphon The term "external siphon" refers to a siphoning process in which the storage region is positioned outside of and in fluid communication with the liquid transport member. In this case, the liquid will be transported from the liquid transport member to the liquid storage member to be discharged from the liquid transport member in a liquid discharge region. Optionally, at least one of the storage regions is in direct contact with a liquid discharge region. Alternatively, the process for handling body fluid according to the present invention comprises a further step of transporting at least a portion of the discharged liquid from the liquid handling member to the liquid storage member.

Liquid transport member The term "liquid transport member" as used herein refers to a device that is capable of transporting liquid from a first region to a second region. In the following, a suitable embodiment of the liquid handling member will be described. The liquid handling member is assembled from an open cell foam material which is completely wrapped by a membrane. A suitable membrane material is available from SEFAR of Rüschlikon, Switzerland, under the designation SEFAR 03-20 / 14. A suitable foam material is available from the Recticel of Brussels, Belgium, under the designation Bulpren S10 black. A suitable technique for completely wrapping the foam material with the membrane material is to wrap the membrane material around the foam material and then heat seal all the open edges of the material -ja & a- ^ aJBÉiéBa-é membrane. It will be readily apparent to those skilled practitioners to choose other similarly suitable materials. Depending on the intended speciic application of the liquid handling member, it may also be required to choose similar materials with slightly different properties. After assembly the liquid handling member is activated by immersing the liquid handling member in water or in synthetic urine until the liquid handling member will be completely filled with the liquid and until the membranes are completely wetted with the liquid. After activation, a portion of the liquid within the liquid handling member can be squeezed by applying an external pressure to the liquid handling member. If activation of the liquid handling member was successful, the liquid handling member should not suck air. Other liquid handling members suitable for the purposes of the present invention are described for example in the PCT potent application No. PCT / US98 / 13497 entitled "Liquid transport member for high flow rates between two gate regions" presented in the name of Ehrnsperger and others filed on June 29, 1998, and the following PCT patent applications co-filed with the present application entitled "High-flow liquid transport members comprising two differently permeable regions" (Case P &G CM1840MQ) presented in the name of Ehrnsperger et al., "Member of liquid transport for high flow velocities between two gate regions" (Case P &G; CM1841 MQ) filed in the name of Ehrnsperger et al., "Member of liquid transport for high flow velocities against gravity" (Case P &G CM1842MQ) filed in the name of Ehrnsperger et al., "Liquid transport member who has volume regions with high permeability and regions of holes with high bubble point pressure "(Case P &G CM1843MQ) filed in the name of Ehrnsperger et al. All of these documents are attached here by reference.

- «- ^" * Ja? ¥ The particular geometry of the liquid handling member of the present invention may be varied according to the requirements of the intended application, if, for example, the liquid handling member is intended for use in an absorbent article the liquid handling member can be defined such that its intended liquid acquisition zone fits between the legs of the user and further that its attempted liquid discharge zone equals the shape of the storage member associated therewith. Accordingly, the external dimensions of the liquid handling member such as length, width or thickness can also be adapted to the specific needs of the intended application In this context, it has to be understood, however, that the design of the outer shape The liquid handling member can have an impact on its operation, for example, the cross section of the liquid handling member. uido directly impacts its liquid flow velocities. For applications of the liquid handling member in a device for handling body liquids according to the present invention, the liquid handling member can be combined with a storage member. The term "liquid storage member" refers to a device that is capable of acquiring and storing liquid. The volume of the liquid storage member can vary with the amount of liquid stored such as swelling. Typically, the storage member will imbibe the liquid by means of capillary suction and / or osmotic pressure. Other storage members may also use vacuum as a means to store the liquid. The liquid storage member is also capable of retaining at least a portion of the liquid stored under pressure. Suitable storage members are well known in the art and may for example comprise a superabsorbent polymeric material such as polyacrylate. The storage member may further comprise a fibrous structure, such as a pad of cellulosic fibers, in which the superabsorbent material is dispersed. in particles. A suitable gelling absorbent material is ASAP400 available from Chemdal Ltd., United Kingdom. Further examples of suitable superabsorbent polymers, often also referred to as "hydrogel-forming polymer" or "gelling-absorbent material," are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,562,646 (Goldman et al.) Issued October 8, 1996. and in U.S. Patent No. 5,599,335 (Goldman et al.) issued February 4, 1997. In order to capture the discharged liquid from the liquid handling member, the storage member can be placed in direct liquid communication. with the liquid discharge area attempted of the liquid handling member. Additional examples of suitable superabsorbent polymers, often also referred to as "hydrogel-forming polymer" or "gelling-absorbent material", are described in U.S. Patent No. 5,562,646 (Goldman et al.) Issued October 8, 1996 and in the patent of the United States No. 5,599,335 (Goldman et al.) Issued February 4, 1997. In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid transport member of the present invention is geometrically saturated or substantially geometrically saturated with the free liquid. The term "free liquid" as used herein refers to liquid that is not bound to a specific surface or other entity. The free liquid can be distinguished from the bound liquid by measuring the relaxation time of the T2 proton rotation of the liquid molecules according to the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy methods well known in the art.

Device for handling body fluids It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a device for handling body liquids which comprises a liquid transport member according to the present invention. These devices include but are not limited to disposable absorbent articles such as baby diapers or training pants, adult incontinence products, and feminine hygiene products and other body fluid handling articles such as catheters, urinals, and the like. . In one embodiment of the present invention, the device for handling body fluids is a disposable absorbent article such as a diaper, a training pant, a sanitary napkin, an adult incontinence device, or the like. Said absorbent article may further comprise a liquid-permeable topsheet, a liquid-impermeable backsheet at least partially attached peripherally to the topsheet. The absorbent article may further comprise an absorbent core which may serve as a storage member for body fluid. The upper sheets, backsheet and absorbent cores suitable for the present invention are well known in the art. In addition, there are numerous additional features known in the art that can be used in combination with the absorbent article of the present invention, such as, for example, closure mechanisms for attaching the absorbent article around the wearer's lower torso.

Claims (20)

1. A process for handling body fluids comprising the step of transporting body fluids from an acquisition region to a storage region by siphoning; said step of transporting the body fluid by siphoning comprising the steps of: providing a liquid transport member that is substantially geometrically saturated with the liquid before the first step of acquiring the liquid; said liquid saturating the liquid transporting member being in liquid communication with the liquid acquisition region; providing a liquid storage member in liquid communication with the liquid transport member, the liquid storage member being positioned within the storage region; acquiring the liquid disposed on the acquisition region towards the liquid transport member; replacing at least a portion of the liquid that saturates the liquid transport member with the purchased liquid; storing at least a portion of said replaced liquid in a storage member, characterized in that the liquid is stored in a storage member by a means selected from capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure. A process for handling bodily fluids according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing the liquid transport member that is substantially geometrically saturated with liquid comprises the steps of providing a liquid transport member, and activating said liquid transport member. 3. A process for handling body fluids according to claim 2, wherein the step of activating the liquid transport member . & & amp & S & amp; & i & * comprises a step of substantially substantially geometrically saturating said liquid transport member. 4. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the storage members is positioned within the liquid transport member, said storage members are in direct contact with said liquid which substantially saturates geometrically the liquid transport member. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 4, wherein at least one storage member is substantially geometrically saturated prior to the first step of acquiring the liquid in the liquid handling member. 6. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the liquid storage members is positioned outside of and in fluid communication with the liquid transport member, said liquid being replaced. is discharged from the liquid transport member, at least a portion of said discharged liquid is stored in a storage member outside the liquid transport member. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 6, wherein at least a portion of the replaced liquid is discharged from the liquid transport member through a liquid discharge region. 8. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 7, wherein at least one of said external liquid storage members of said liquid transport member is in direct liquid communication with the liquid discharge region. A process for handling body liquids according to claim 7, further comprising the step of transporting at least a portion of said liquid discharged from at least one of the liquid discharge regions to at least one of the storage members. 10. A process for handling body fluids according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: providing a fluid acquisition member; acquiring body fluid towards said liquid acquisition member; transporting at least a portion of said purchased liquid towards the liquid transport member. 11. A device for handling body fluids designed to accomplish the process according to any of the preceding claims during use. 1

2. A device for handling body liquids according to claim 11, wherein said device is a disposable absorbent article. 1

3. A device for handling body liquids according to claim 12, wherein the device is a disposable diaper. 1

4. A device for handling body fluids having at least one liquid acquisition region and at least one liquid storage region, said storage region storing the liquid by a means selected from the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure; said device for handling body liquids comprising a liquid transport member that transports the liquid from the acquisition region to the liquid storage region characterized in that said liquid transport member is substantially geometrically saturated before the intended use of the device . 1

5. A device for handling body fluids having at least one liquid acquisition region and at least one liquid storage region, said storage region storing the liquid by a means selected from the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure; said device for handling body liquids comprising a liquid transport member that transports the liquid from the acquisition region to the liquid storage region characterized in that said liquid transport member is substantially geometrically saturated with free liquid 1

6. device for handling body fluids having at least one liquid acquisition region and at least one liquid storage region, which is spatially separated from the liquid acquisition region, said storage region storing the liquid by a selected means of the capillary pressure group, osmotic pressure; said device for handling liquids of the body comprising a liquid transport member that transports the liquid from the acquisition region to the liquid storage region characterized in that said liquid transport member transports liquids from the liquid acquisition region to the liquid transport region. storage region by siphoning. 1

7. A device for handling body fluid according to claim 16, wherein at least one of the storage regions is positioned within the liquid transport member. 1

8. A device for handling body fluid according to claim 16, wherein at least one of the storage regions is positioned outside the liquid transport member. 1

9. A device for handling body liquids according to claim 16, wherein the device is a disposable absorbent article. 20. A disposable absorbent article according to claim 19, wherein the disposable absorbent article is a disposable diaper.