MXPA00012999A - Absorbent article comprising a liquid handling member that rapidly distributes acquired liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides liquid handling member which is capable of rapidly distributing the acquired liquid parallel to its surface. The present invention further provides a device for handling urine which comprises the liquid handling member.

Description

ABSORBENT ARTICLE COMPRISING A LIQUID HANDLING MEMBER RAPIDLY DISTRIBUTING THE ACQUIRED LIQUID - * 4 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to liquid handling members intended to be used in devices for handling urine. In particular, the present invention relates to those liquid handling members that are used for the initial acquisition of urine. The present invention further relates to urine handling devices such as diapers, training pants, adult incontinence devices, bed mats, and the like, which comprise the liquid handling members of the present invention.

BACKGROUND Urine handling devices such as diapers, training pants, adult incontinence devices, bed mats and the like are well known in the art and are frequently used for examples for babies, crawling babies, incontinent persons and prostrate persons. in the bed. Typically, these devices comprise liquid handling members that are specifically designed for the rapid initial acquisition of urine disposed on the device. It has been recognized in the prior art that it is beneficial, for example, for the convenience of using this device to handle urine to transport urine away from the acquisition point which is already in the liquid handling member. Providing sufficient hollow space in the liquid handling member below the acquisition point requires the liquid acquisition member to have a larger gauge and therefore be very bulky. This problem can also be avoided if the acquired urine is transported away from the point of acquisition in a parallel direction? the surface of the liquid handling member. The mechanism very commonly used for the transportation of liquid is capillary pressure. It should be noted in this context that liquid transport requires elevated capillary suction which in turn requires small capillaries to form that suction. But in the case of liquid handling members which are intended for large liquid acquisition capillaries, it is necessary to provide the hollow space to rapidly acquire the urine. In this way, in the case of the liquid handling members described above, the capillary action of liquid far from the point of liquid acquisition by means of capillary pressure is not very efficient. As a result, it can be observed in prior art devices for urine handling that only a small fraction of the x-y dimension of the liquid handling member is actually used when the first urine discharge is acquired. Therefore, the hollow volume and operation of liquid acquisition of the liquid handling member is not fully utilized. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid transport member that overcomes the problems posed by the prior art. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquid handling member which by now distributes the first urine stream over a larger fraction of its x-y dimension. It is a further object of the present invention to provide the liquid handling member that can acquire the liquid while maintaining a relatively small wet gauge.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for handling body liquids which comprises a liquid transport member of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a liquid handling member to be used and a device for handling urine. The liquid handling member has an x-y dimension of at least 60 square centimeters and the steering member of liquid has a first jet distribution area of at least 80% of the x-y dimension according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined herein. The present invention provides a liquid handling member to be used and a device for handling urine. The liquid handling member has an x dimension of at least 15 centimeters and the liquid handling member has a first jet discharge length of at least 80% of the x dimension according to the test Liquid distribution of the member defined herein The present invention further provides a device for handling urine comprising a first member for temporarily storing the acquired urine. The first member has an x-y dimension of at least 60 square centimeters. The first member further has a first jet distribution area of at least 80% of said x-y dimension of the acquisition member according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined herein. The present invention further provides a device for handling urine comprising a first member for temporarily storing the acquired urine. The first member has an x dimension of at least 15 centimeters ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ gl ^^ m ^ m ^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ¡^^^^ ^ jgB ^ The first member also has a first jet distribution length of at least 80% of the x dimension of said acquisition member according to the member liquid distribution test defined here.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION * The present invention is described in the following by means of a variety of different modalities and by means of a variety of different characteristics. Additional embodiments of the present invention can be obtained by combining the characteristics of one modality with the features of another embodiment disclosed herein and / or with other features disclosed herein. These additional embodiments are considered to be implicitly disclosed herein and therefore form a part of the present invention. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that combinations of certain characteristics can lead to non-functional items that are not part of this present invention. The following description is adopted for devices for handling body fluids of the baby diaper type, and in particular for devices intended for babies within the weight range of approximately 9 to 18 kg. However, the skilled person will be able to easily adapt it for other purposes, such as for other sizes, or for adult incontinence applications. The average size of jet or discharge for the previous babies is 75 ml, the 95th percentile of its jet volume is 110 ml. The average rate of urination for the previous babies is 15 ml per second, the 95th percentile of its volume is 22 millimeters per second. Within the context of adult incontinence, the average jet volume is 110 milliliters and the average urination rate is 22 ml per second. However, the jets within the context of adult incontinence can be 180 milliliters with maximum regimes of up to 40 ml / second. The present invention provides a liquid handling member that is intended to be used for rapid initial acquisition of the liquid jets disposed on the device for handling urine. The present invention further provides a device for handling urine comprising said urine handling member. The device of the present invention can be used for example as diapers, training pants, adult incontinence devices, or the like. The term "liquid handling device" as used herein refers to devices that are designed to handle bodily fluids such as blood, menstruation, faeces and the like. The management of body fluids includes but is not limited to acquiring, distributing, and storing body fluids. The device for handling urine according to the present invention further comprises a liquid acquisition region. The term "acquisition region" as used herein refers to that region of the device for handling urine according to the present invention which is intended to first come into contact with exuded liquids from the body. In many cases, the acquisition region of the device is distinguished from other regions of the device by, for example, different materials. In that case, the acquisition region comprises the total surface area covered by the specific procurement material. In cases where the region of acquisition of other regions is not distinguished in its easily apparent manner, the acquisition region is considered to be that region which is centered around the attempted loading point of the device, which is approximately one third part of the length of the device, and which extends over the total width of the device. In the case, more than one loading point is prevented in _aa »» jr * fc the attempted use of device, the geometric average of those load points will be used for the definition of the acquisition region. For the purpose of the present invention, a Cartesian coordinate system is defined as follows. The z direction is defined to be perpendicular to the surface of the acquisition region at the attempted loading point. The direction x is defined to coincide with the longitudinal dimension of the device for handling urine. In the case of a diaper, the x direction runs from the front region of the device (which comes into contact with the user's front waist region during use) to the back region of the device (which comes in contact with a region). later of the user during use). Accordingly, the direction and coincides with the transverse dimension of the device for handling urine which goes from the left to the right of the user during use. It should be understood within this context that this Cartesian coordinate system is only a Cartesian coordinate system exactly when the device is in the flattened configuration. For typical conditions of use, the configuration of the device is such that the direction x, y, and z, as defined above, only form a totally perpendicular set of coordinates. A liquid handling member of the present invention rapidly distributes the acquired liquid over a larger fraction of its x-y dimension. This rapid distribution of the liquid is independent of the forces of gravity acting on the liquid. This allows the liquid handling member of the present invention to achieve this rapid distribution also in those usage configurations, in which the liquid has to be distributed against gravity. For the purposes of this invention, the ability of a liquid handling member to rapidly distribute the liquid over its x-y dimension or along its dimension x is quantified by the liquid distribution test of the member defined hereinafter. The liquid handling member of the present invention has a liquid distribution ratio of at least 80 percent, preferably a liquid distribution ratio of at least 90 percent, most preferably the liquid distribution ratio of at least 95 percent, most preferably a liquid distribution ratio of at least 100 percent. The liquid handling member of the present invention has an x-y dimension of at least 60 square centimeters, preferably at least 90 square centimeters, more preferably at least 130 square centimeters, most preferably at least 160 square centimeters. The dimensions of the surface area are intended to be used for devices that have a group of target users of babies within the weight range of between 9 and 18 kg. For other groups of target users which may have different urination patterns as can be seen for example in the different jet volumes, the aforementioned surface area dimensions have to be adopted accordingly. Alternatively, the liquid handling member of the present invention has an x dimension of at least 15 centimeters, preferably at least 18 centimeters, more preferably at least. 20 centimeters, most preferably at least 25 centimeters. Again, this dimension x is given for the group of babies of intended users within the weight range of between 9 and 18 kilograms. For another group of users tried, Eista dimension also needs to be adopted accordingly. It is further desirable that the liquid handling member of the present invention exhibit an absorbent capacity in order to be able to easily acquire higher liquid loads. For the purpose of this invention, the absorbent capacity of the liquid handling member is quantified by the demand absorbency test defined hereinafter. Preferably, the member of The present invention further provides a device for handling urine comprising a first member for temporarily storing the acquired liquid during and a second member for the final storage of the acquired urine. In this context the liquid handling member of the present invention can be used for example as the first member of the device for handling urine.

Liquid transport member 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 enveloped 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. One suitable technique for completely wrapping the foam material with a membrane material is to wrap the membrane material to the foam material and then heat seal all the open edges of the membrane material. It will be readily apparent to those skilled practitioners to select other equally suitable materials. Depending on the specific intended 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 is completely filled with liquid whether 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 external pressure to the limb. ^^^^ É ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If activation of the liquid handling member was successful, the liquid handling member should not suck air through the membranes. Other liquid handling members suitable for the purposes of the present invention are described, for example, in PCT patent application No. PCT / US98 / 13497 entitled "Liquid transport member for high flow rates between two opening regions" presented. in the name of Ehrnsperger and others filed on June 29, 1998, and in the following PCT patent applications co-filed with the present application entitled "High-flux liquid transport members comprising two regions with different permeability" (Case P &G CM1840MQ ) filed in the name of Ehrnsperger and others "Member of liquid transport for high flow velocities between two opening regions" (Case P &G CM1841 MQ) filed under the name of Ehrnsperger et al., "Member of liquid transport for velocities of elevated flow against gravity "(Case P &G CM1842MQ) filed in the name of Ehrnsperger et al.," Member of liquid transport which has regions of high permeability volume and regions of aperture 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. The particular geometry of the liquid handling member of the present invention may be varied according to the specific requirements of the intended application. If, for example, the liquid handling member is intended to be used in an absorbent article the liquid handling member can be defined such that its intended liquid acquisition zone fits between the user's legs and furthermore its area of attempted liquid discharge 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. Within this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Z ^^^^^^ fe ^^^^^^ context It is to be understood, however, that the design of the external shape of the liquid handling member may have an impact on its operation. For example, the cross section of the liquid handling member directly impacts its flow rate. For the applications of the liquid handling member in a device for handling urine in accordance with the present invention, the liquid handling member may 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 by 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 polymeric superabsorbent material such as polyacrylate. The storage member may further comprise a fibrous structure such as a pad of cellulosic fibers, in which the particulate superabsorbent material is dispersed. A suitable superabsorbent material is ASAP400 available from Chemdal Ltd, United Kingdom. In order to capture the discharged liquid from the liquid handling member, the storage member can be placed in direct communication of the liquid with the attempted liquid discharge area 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. Pat. No. ,562,646 (Goldman et al) "issued on October 8, 1996 and in U.S. Patent No. 5,599,335 (Goldman et al.) Issued February 4, 1997. In one embodiment of the present invention, the member The liquid handling device 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 spin relaxation time of proton T2 of the liquid molecules according to NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy methods well known in the art. The term "geometrically saturated" as used herein refers to a region of the porous material in which the accessible hollow spaces of the liquid with the liquid have been filled. The hollow spaces referred to in this definition are those that are present in the current 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 geometrical configuration for example by swelling, although all the holes of the device with the liquid in the current geometric configuration are full. A device for handling liquids is called geometrically saturated, if all the porous materials that are part of the device and intended for liquid handling are geometrically saturated. The term "porous material" as used herein refers to materials comprising at least two phases, a phase of solid material and a gas or hollow phase, and optionally a third liquid phase that may be partially or completely filling the spaces holes. 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 of porous materials are foams such as polyurethane, HIPE (see for example PCT patent application WO94 / 13704), - * # **. * " * '**. MAMut u * AjaLJctía «3 r.¡Á * .., - .. J z ^. • ^ aA.iB? Xfaf- superabsorbent foams and the like, fiber assemblies such as melt blown, glued, carded, cellulose, fiber layers and the like, porous particles such as clay, zeolite, and the like, materiels geometrically saturated such as pipes, balloons, channel structures, etc. The 5 porous materials could absorb liquids even if they are not hydrophilic. The porosity of the materials is not 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 hollow or macroscopic volume of the member is geometrically saturated, preferably at least 95% of the macroscopic hollow volume of the member. 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. In one embodiment of the present invention, the urine management device is a disposable absorbent article such as a diaper, a training pant, an adult incontinence device, or the like. Said absorbent article may further comprise a liquid-permeable topsheet, a backsheet impervious to the liquid at least partially bonded peripherally to the top sheet. The absorbent article may further comprise an absorbent core which may serve as a storage member for body fluid. Top 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 5 of the present invention such as for example locking mechanisms to "wrap the absorbent article around the user's lower torso.

^ - ^ - ... .. ^^? ^ MÍU ^ * - ^ ~ -.-. * •, - .. ^ aM ^^^ s ^^ METHODS Unless stated otherwise, all tests are carried out at approximately 32 ° C +/- 2 ° C and 35 +/- 15% relative humidity. Unless stated otherwise, the synthetic urine used in the test methods is commonly known as Jyco SynUrine and is available from Jayco Pharmaceuticals Company of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The formula for this synthetic urine is: 2.0 gl: KCl; 2.0 g / l of Na2SO4; 0.85 g / l of (NH4) H2PO4; 0.15 g / l (NH4) H2PO4; 0.19 g / l of CaCl2; and 0.23 g / l MgCl2. All of the chemicals are reactive in grade. The pH of the synthetic urine is within the range of 6.0 to 6.4.

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 zero hydrostatic pressure. The test may also be carried out for devices that handle body fluids containing a liquid handling member. The apparatus used to conduct this test consists of a square basket of a size sufficient to keep the liquid handling member suspended on a frame. At least the lower plane of the square basket consists of an open mesh that allows the liquid to penetrate into the basket without substantial flow resistance for the uptake of liquid consumption. 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 is adequate for the assembly of the present test. In addition, the open mesh must exhibit sufficient stability such that it substantially does not deform under the load of the test sample when the test sample is filled to its full capacity. Below the basket, a liquid reservoir is provided. The height of the basket can be adjusted in such a way that a test sample that is placed inside the basket can be brought into contact with the liquid surface inside the liquid reservoir. The liquid reservoir is placed on an electronic scale connected to a computer to read the liquid weight at approximately every 0.01 second during the measurement. The dimensions of the apparatus are selected such that the liquid handling member being tested fits into the basket and in such a manner that the attempted liquid acquisition zone of the liquid handling member is in contact with the lower plane of the liquid handling member. basket. The dimensions of the liquid reservoir are chosen such that the level of the liquid surface in the reservoir does not change substantially during the measurement. A typical reservoir 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 grams of liquid. Before the test, the fluid reservoir is filled with synthetic urine. The amount of the synthetic urine and the size of the liquid reservoir should be such that the level of the liquid within the reservoir does not change when the liquid capacity of the liquid handling member to be approved is removed from the reservoir. The temperature of the liquid and the environment for the test should reflect the conditions of use of the member. The typical temperature for use in baby diapers is 32 degrees Celsius for the environment and 37 degrees Celsius for synthetic urine. The test can be done at room temperature if the tested member does not have significant dependence on its absorptive properties on temperature. The test is arranged by lowering the empty basket until the mesh is just completely immersed in the synthetic urine inside the tank. The basket is then raised again by approximately 0.5 to 1 mm in order to establish a nearly zero hydrostatic suction, s4e must be careful that the liquid remains in contact with the mesh. If necessary, the mesh needs to be brought into contact with the liquid and the level must be reset to zero. The test is initiated by: 1. starting the measurement of the electronic balance; 2. placing the liquid handling member on the mesh such that the zone of acquisition of the member is in contact with the liquid; 3. immediately add a weight on the top of the member to provide a pressure of 165 Pa for the best contact of the member with the mesh. During the test, liquid consumption by the liquid handling member is recorded by measuring the decrease of the weight of liquid inside the liquid reservoir. The test is stopped after 30 minutes. At the end of the test, the total liquid consumption 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 consumption is recorded. Zero time is defined as the time where member absorption begins. The initial rate of absorption of the liquid handling member is from an initial linear weight curve against the time measurement curve.

Member liquid distribution test This test is intended to measure the distribution of the liquid within a liquid handling member to be used in a device for handling urine.

It is particularly suitable for those members who are destined to temporarily acquire and store the liquid. A result of this test is the percentage of the x-y dimension of the member over which the liquid has been distributed. These test methods can be equivalently applied to urine handling devices which comprise this liquid handling member. For the purposes of this test method, it is necessary to determine the distribution of liquid over the x-y dimension of the test sample in terms of the weight of the liquid per unit area at different times during the test procedure. A suitable test method to determine the liquid distribution is. the x-ray image which is well known in the art. For example, this method is described in an article entitled "Distributed fluid: comparison of x-ray image data" by David F. Ring, Oscar Lijap, and Joseph Passeente in the journal Nonwovens Materials, summer 1995, in pages 65 to 70. Generally, this procedure compares x-ray images of a wet and dry sample in order to calculate the liquid content. Suitable x-ray systems are available, for example, from LIXI inc. of Downers Grave, Illinois, USA, under the designation SA-100-2 SERIES, MODEL HLA-40-440m02. The system uses Optimus Bio-scan software. The x-ray system can, for example, be operated with an exposure time of two seconds, with a tube voltage of 50kV, and a current of 12mA. It should be noted, however, that for the exposure time, the tube voltage, and the different current values have to be chosen depending on the specific properties of the test sample to be examined. The following description is adopted for devices for handling body fluids of the baby diaper type, and in particular the device which is intended for babies within the weight range of approximately 9 to 18 kg. However, the skilled person will be able to easily adopt it for other purposes, such as for other sizes, or for adult incontinence applications. The test sample is arranged to lie flat on a large, liquid-permeable mesh support structure. Generally, it is preferred for this test that the test sample, i.e., the liquid handling member to be tested, is separated from the device of which it is a member. Only if the separation of the device would substantially interfere with the handling of liquid from the test sample, the entire device is arranged to lie flat on the mesh structure. Any other member that is intended to give the device a three-dimensional shape, such as for example elastification, must be deactivated before this test for example by being removed from the device. The test sample is fixed to the support surface with fixing means which do not negatively impact the handling of fluid, such as for example adhesive tapes. Also the mesh and the fixing dimensions have to be made from a material that does not interfere substantially with the measurement of x-rays. For example, a suitable support structure can be made from a rigid polymeric mesh having an open area of at least 30 percent. The wire mesh must be sufficiently rigid such that the wire mesh is substantially not deformed under the weight of the fully charged test sample. Then, the support structure is positioned in such a way that the longitudinal dimension of the test sample forms an angle of 15 degrees with respect to the horizontal. For the analysis of the liquid distribution within the test sample, the xy dimension of the test sample is divided into N compartments each of which must have substantially the same surface area and substantially the same dimensions in the x direction and the Y. The total number of compartments, N, must be at least 50. From the x-ray analysis, the liquid distribution in grams of the liquid per surface area is obtained for each of the compartments. The liquid content of each of the compartments is being determined by multiplying the liquid distribution in grams of liquid per surface area by a mean actual surface area of the respective compartment. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ j ^^^^ g ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Xg & ^^^ k ^^^^ ^^^ M ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ xsttsg As the first step of this method, the distribution The total test sample before loading is determined using the previous x-ray method. During the second step of this test, the test sample is loaded with a stream of simple synthetic urine at the attempted loading point. For devices of the above-mentioned size, Ir jet volume is defined to be 75 ml. This volume reflects the average jet volume for crawling babies of the above-specified weight range. If the test sample is a member of a device that is intended for different application such as, for example, adult incontinence devices, it will be readily apparent to the person skilled in the art to adapt the jet volume accordingly. Irrespective of the jet volume, the jet volume must not be supplied on the test sample at a speed that is higher than the actual liquid acquisition rate of the test sample. Any test liquid that is not acquired by the test sample during this test, such as for example moving from the surface of the test sample or dripping through the test sample and subsequently through the support structure, is connects to the liquid receptacle placed under the support structure and is immediately moved away from the test sample such that this liquid does not contribute to the liquid content in the final x-ray analysis. The test liquid is dispensed from a 6 mm inner diameter flexible tube, such as NORPREN A60G (6406-17), available from Colé Palmer Instrument Co., IL, USA, connected for testing to a dosing pump of liquid, such as the digital pump No. G-07523-20, which has an easy-charge pumping head, No. G-07518-02, both from Colé Palmer Instrument Co., IL, USA, with a unit of Pumping control to allow the start and stop of the pump based on occurrence electrical signals The test liquid is dispensed into a cylinder which is attached to the opening of the Plexiglas plate. As the third step I tested, the liquid content of all the lo > N compartments of the test sample is determined again thirty seconds after starting the supply of the synthetic urine on the test sample. The consumption of liquid per compartment is obtained by subtracting * the initial liquid content of each compartment from its final liquid content. For the purpose of this test, a compartment belongs to the liquid distribution area if the liquid consumption of the compartment is greater than ten of the jet volume divided by N. The total number of compartments that belong to the distribution area is referred to as M As a result of this test, the percentage of the xy dimension of the test sample on which the test liquid has been distributed is obtained by dividing the number of compartments belonging to the liquid distribution area, N, by the number total of departments, N, and multiplying by 100. The percentage of the dimension x, and of the test sample on which the test liquid has been distributed is also referred to as the distribution ratio. As a further result of this test, the length of liquid distribution in dimension x is obtained as the largest extent of the area over which the liquid has been distributed according to the previous dimension. ,, .. "." .-. - * ^ »a ^^ --- ~ - - - .- .- - ~ - ^ - - ^ ÍS ^. ^^ j ^^. A - ^ - ^ iat ^ J

Claims (13)

1. A liquid handling member to be used and a device for handling urine, said liquid handling member having an xy dimension, of at least 60 square centimeters, characterized in that the liquid handling member has a first jet distribution area of at least 80 percent of the dimension xy, according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined here.

2. A liquid handling member to be used and a device for handling urine, said liquid handling member having an x dimension of at least 15 centimeters, characterized in that the liquid handling member has a first jet distribution length. of at least 80 percent of the dimension x according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined here.

3. A liquid handling member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid handling member has a dimension in the z direction of less than 30 mm.

4. A liquid handling member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid handling member has a dimension in the direction and less than 100 mm.

5. A liquid handling member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid handling member has an absorbent capacity of at least 50 milliliters according to the demand absorbency test defined herein.

6. A liquid handling member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid handling member has a transplanar permeability of at least 10 Darcy.

7. A device for handling urine comprising a first member for temporarily storing the acquired urine and said first member having an x-dimension of at least 60 square centimeters characterized in that the member has a first jet distribution area of at least 80 percent of dimension x and of said acquisition member according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined herein. A device for handling urine comprising a first member for temporarily storing the acquired urine and said first member having an x dimension of at least 15 square centimeters characterized in that said first member has a first jet distribution length of at least 80 percent of the x dimension of said acquisition member according to the liquid distribution test of the member defined herein. A device for handling urine according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the device further comprises a second member for the final storage of the acquired urine. A device for handling urine according to claim 7 or 8, said device having a dimension z substantially perpendicular to the surface of the acquisition region in the vicinity of the loading point of the device where the z-dimension of the device is smaller of 30 mm. A device for handling urine according to claim 7 or 8, the device having a dimension and substantially tangential to the surface of the acquisition region near the attempted loading point of the device and perpendicular to the longitudinal dimension of the device where the dimension y is less than 100 millimeters. 12. A device for handling urine according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the device is a disposable absorbent article. í p * lA * l? »& j & amp; _ ^^^^ - 13. A device for handling urine according to claim 12, wherein the device is a disposable diaper. RESUMEf The present invention provides a liquid handling member which is capable of rapidly distributing the liquid acquired parallel to its surface. The present invention further provides a device for handling urine which comprises the liquid handling member. . * S £ & f £ i ^^ ¡¡