TW201622670A - Absorbent article - Google Patents

Abstract

This absorbent article is equipped with a liquid-permeable surface sheet (2) that constitutes the surface that comes into contact with the skin, a rear surface sheet (3), and an absorbent body (4) interposed between the two sheets. The absorbent article has a longitudinal direction (X) and a width direction (Y), and the surface sheet (2) is made from a nonwoven fabric (1) that has protruding ridges (13) and recessed grooves (14) that extend in the longitudinal direction and are positioned alternately in the width direction (Y). The recessed grooves (14) are joined with the adjoining underside sheet (6), and hollow structures are formed between the protruding ridges (13) and the underside sheet (6). The nonwoven fabric (1) contains fibers having a large-diameter part (17) and small diameter part (16) having fiber diameters that differ from one another, and the absorbent body (4) has highly flexible regions (5) having a lower bending stiffness than other parts, in a plurality of locations in the width direction.

Description

Absorbent article

The present invention relates to an absorbent article.

As a front sheet of an absorbent article such as menstrual napkins, a variety of structures having a concave-convex structure on the skin contact surface have been proposed. For example, the present applicant has proposed a front sheet in which a sheet for forming an unevenness in which a plurality of weir portions are formed in parallel with each other is linearly joined to each other between the respective weir portions (Patent Document 1) .

Further, the present applicant has proposed a technique relating to a non-woven fabric which is manufactured by disposing a web comprising low-stretched inelastic fibers on one side of a web comprising elastic fibers, and performing the webs on the webs. The hot air treatment of the air blowing method thermally fuses the fibers to each other, and the fiber sheets in which the webs are integrated are extended to elongate the low-stretch non-elastic fibers, and thereafter, the fiber sheets are extended ( Patent Document 2). In the method for producing a non-woven fabric described in Patent Document 2, when the fiber sheet is stretched, an extension device having a pair of uneven rollers that can mesh with each other is used.

Prior technical literature Patent literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-165830

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-7924

The present invention provides an absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable front sheet forming a skin contact surface, a back sheet, and an absorbent interposed between the sheets The front surface sheet includes a stripe-shaped ridge portion extending in the longitudinal direction and a non-woven fabric having a concave-convex structure in which the concave strip portions are alternately arranged in the width direction, and is adjacent to the concave strip portion. The lower side sheet is joined, the ridge portion has a hollow structure between the lower sheet and the lower sheet, and the nonwoven fabric includes fibers having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion having mutually different fiber diameters, and the absorbent body is at the width A plurality of portions in the direction have a high flexible region having a lower flexural rigidity than the other portions.

1‧‧‧nonwoven

1a‧‧‧Fiber sheets

1b‧‧‧Fiber

2‧‧‧Front sheet

3‧‧‧Back sheet

4‧‧‧Acceptor

5‧‧‧Highly flexible area

5a‧‧‧Highly flexible area

5b‧‧‧Highly flexible area

6‧‧‧Bottom sheet

6'‧‧‧ Rolled coils

7‧‧‧Flanking

8‧‧‧ leak-proof cuffs

8a‧‧‧Free end

8b‧‧‧Fixed area

8c‧‧‧Flexible components

8d‧‧‧Face elastic region

10‧‧‧Incontinence pads

10A‧‧‧Incontinence pads

11‧‧‧Fiber

12‧‧‧Fuse Department

13‧‧‧Rocks

13a‧‧‧Top area

13b‧‧‧ bottom area

13c‧‧‧Side area

14‧‧‧ recessed section

14s‧‧‧ joints

14t‧‧‧non-joining

16‧‧‧Little Trails Department

17‧‧‧The Great Trails Department

18‧‧‧Change point

40‧‧‧Absorbable core

41‧‧‧Package

42‧‧‧Absorbable sheet

43‧‧‧Compression Department

100‧‧‧ manufacturing equipment

200‧‧‧Fiber web formation

201‧‧‧Fiber web forming device

300‧‧‧Hot Air Treatment Department

301‧‧‧Exhaust hood

302‧‧‧ conveyor belt

400‧‧‧Extension

401‧‧‧ bump roll

402‧‧‧ bump roller

403‧‧‧ Large diameter convex

404‧‧‧ Large diameter convex

500‧‧‧Bottom sheet joint

501‧‧‧Smooth roller

A‧‧‧ positive

AT‧‧‧Area

b‧‧‧Back

BT‧‧‧ area

CT‧‧‧ area

H‧‧‧ Height

L1‧‧‧ Straight line

L2‧‧‧ Straight line

L3‧‧‧ interval

P‧‧‧ spacing

R‧‧‧Compression Department

S‧‧‧Skin noodles

T‧‧‧ interval

T‧‧‧injection

W‧‧‧ interval

X‧‧‧ length direction

Y‧‧‧Width direction

Z‧‧‧ Thickness direction

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an incontinence pad as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1, and Fig. 2(b) is a view showing a back surface (a surface on the non-skin contact surface side) of the absorbent body of the incontinence pad shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a nonwoven fabric used as a front sheet of the incontinence pad shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the non-woven fabric shown in Fig. 3 in the thickness direction.

Fig. 5 is a view for explaining a state in which the constituent fibers constituting the nonwoven fabric shown in Fig. 3 are fixed to each other in the heat fusion portion.

Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the skin contact surface of the incontinence pad of the arrangement example of the joint portion between the concave portion of the front sheet and the lower sheet.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view showing the effects of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an incontinence pad according to another embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to Fig. 2(a)).

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing a manufacturing apparatus preferably used for manufacturing the nonwoven fabric shown in Fig. 3.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of Figure 9.

(a) to (c) of FIG. 11 are explanatory views for explaining a case where a plurality of small-diameter portions and large-diameter portions are formed in one constituent fiber between adjacent fusion portions.

12(a) to 12(c) show the arrangement of the compression portion forming the high-flexibility region. A partial enlarged top view of the absorbent body of his example.

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view showing another absorbent body that can be used in the present invention.

According to the front sheet of Patent Document 1, the effect of the skin feeling or the effect of preventing suffocation is excellent. Moreover, the nonwoven fabric produced by the manufacturing method of the patent document 2 is formed so that it may comprise the elastic fiber and the inelastic fiber which differs in thickness of the length direction. If the thickness of the inelastic fibers becomes different, the skin feel becomes good.

However, there is a demand for an absorbent article that further improves the quality of the skin.

The subject of the present invention is related to the provision of an absorbent article which eliminates the disadvantages of the prior art described above.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings in accordance with preferred embodiments thereof.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an incontinence pad 10 (hereinafter also referred to simply as "incontinence pad 10") as an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1, and Fig. 2(b) is a view showing a back surface (a surface on the non-skin contact surface side) of the absorbent body of the incontinence pad 10 shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2(a), the incontinence pad 10 includes a liquid-permeable front sheet 2 for forming a skin contact surface, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 3, and two sheets. Absorber 4 between materials 2 and 3. Liquid impermeability includes liquid impermeability. The incontinence pad 10 has a vertically long shape and has a longitudinal direction X and a width direction Y. The longitudinal direction X is the same as the front and rear directions of the wearer when the incontinence pad 10 is worn, and the width direction Y is the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X in the plan view of the incontinence pad 10. The incontinence pad 10 has an elliptical shape in plan view.

The front sheet 2 and the back sheet 3 extend from the periphery of the absorber 4. The surface of the back sheet 3 on the back of the incontinence pad 10 (non-skin abutting surface) is provided to be fixed to the underwear such as shorts. Adhesive part (not shown). The skin contact surface is the surface of the absorbent article or the constituent member that faces the wearer's skin side when worn, and the non-skin contact surface is the absorbent article or the constituent member thereof that is worn toward the wearer's skin. The side is the face on the opposite side (usually the panty side).

The absorbent body 4 of the incontinence pad 10 includes an absorbent core 40 and a core sheet 41 encasing the absorbent core 40. The absorbent core 40 can be composed of a fiber-splitting body such as a liquid-absorbent fiber such as pulp or a mixed fiber body of the liquid-absorbent fiber and the water-absorbent polymer. Examples of the liquid-absorbent fibers constituting the absorbent core 40 include cellulose-based hydrophilic fibers such as pulp fibers, ray fibers, cotton fibers, and cellulose acetate. In addition to the cellulose-based hydrophilic fiber, a polyolefin-based fiber such as polyethylene or polypropylene, a condensed fiber such as polyester or polyamine, or the like may be contained. Examples of the water-absorptive polymer include sodium polyacrylate, (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymer, sodium polyacrylate crosslinked body, (starch-acrylic acid) graft copolymer, and (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymerization. And its saponified compounds, polyaspartic acid and the like. The fiber and the water-absorptive polymer may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

As the clad core material 41, a water permeable fibrous sheet such as toilet paper or non-woven fabric is preferably used. Moreover, the packaged chip material 41 may be wrapped with a whole sheet of the absorbent core 40, or the whole of the absorbent core 40 may be wrapped by two or more packages of the core material, for example, by using different sheets to be absorbed. The skin of the core body 40 abuts the surface side and the non-skin contact surface side.

The thickness of the absorber 4 is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 2 mm or more, further preferably 15 mm or less, more preferably 10 mm or less, further preferably 1 mm or more and 15 mm or less, and further preferably 2 mm or more and 10 mm. the following.

The thickness of the absorber 4 was measured by the following method.

For the measurement of the thickness T, a peacock-type precision measuring device (type R1-C) having two parallel pressing surfaces (fixed pressing surface and movable pressing surface) as a micrometer is used to measure the movable pressing surface of the measuring object. The diameter was 5 mm and the pressure was 100 kPa or less, and the size of the test piece for measurement was set to be equal to or larger than the size of the following plate. Place a 20mm × 20mm plate on the test piece (Weight 5.4 g), the movable pressing surface of the measuring electrode was operated at a speed of 2 mm/s to be in close contact with the plate, and the value immediately after stabilization was read. The pressure between the pressurizing surfaces (pressure applied to the test piece) was 1.3 kPa or less.

As the material for forming the back sheet 3, various materials and the like which have been used for the back sheet of the absorbent article can be used without particular limitation. For example, a liquid impervious or water-repellent resin film, a resin film, and a non-woven fabric can be used. Laminate sheets and the like.

A leak-proof flange 8 extending in the longitudinal direction is provided at a position on both sides of the width direction Y of the skin contact surface side of the incontinence pad 10, respectively. The leak-proof cuff 8 includes a free end 8a and a fixed area 8b extending in the longitudinal direction, respectively. The fixing area 8b is located on the front sheet 2. Further, the leakage preventing flange 8 is fixed to the front sheet 2 in the fixing region 8b. Further, the fixing region 8b of the leakage preventing flange 8 extends to the outside of the width direction Y, and the extending portion thereof is joined to the extending portion in the width direction of the back sheet 3 to form the side flap 7. In the leakage preventing flange 8, the elastic member 8c extending in the longitudinal direction X is attached to the free end 8a or its vicinity in an extended state. The elastic members 8c are arranged in a plurality of substantially parallel to each other. The portion where the plurality of elastic members 8c are attached is formed into a planar elastic region 8d. The planar elastic region 8d has a specific length along the width direction Y, and extends at least in the longitudinal direction X at a position of the opposing portion of the wearer's excretion portion. Further, the planar elastic region 8d can be expanded and contracted along the longitudinal direction X. By the contraction of the elastic member 8c, the leakage preventing flange 8 is formed in a substantially L-shape with the position between the free end 8a and the fixed end 8b facing the body side of the wearer, and the planar elastic region 8d abuts against the wearer. The skin prevents the liquid from leaking sideways.

As shown in Fig. 3, the front sheet 2 in the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment includes a strip-like ridge portion 13 extending in the longitudinal direction X and a non-woven fabric having a concave-convex structure in which the concave portion 14 is alternately arranged in the width direction. 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the front sheet 2 is joined to the adjacent lower side sheet 6 by the concave strip portion 14, and the ridge portion 13 has a hollow structure between the lower sheet member 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the nonwoven fabric 1 constituting the topsheet 2 includes fibers 11 having large diameter portions 17 and small diameter portions 16 and 16 having mutually different fiber diameters.

The nonwoven fabric 1 constituting the front sheet 2 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the nonwoven fabric 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "non-woven fabric 1") used as the front sheet 2 in the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment. Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the nonwoven fabric 1 shown in Fig. 3 in the thickness direction. Fig. 5 is an enlarged schematic view showing the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the nonwoven fabric 1 includes a plurality of nonwoven fabrics (see Fig. 5) in which a plurality of fusion fibers 12 (see Fig. 5) formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers 11 are provided. Further, in the nonwoven fabric 1 constituting the front sheet 2, the "one direction" in which the ridge portion 13 and the concave portion 14 extend is the same as the longitudinal direction X of the incontinence pad 10, and the ridge portion of the nonwoven fabric 1 is also not woven. The "one direction" in which the 13 and the groove portion 14 extend is described as the X direction.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the nonwoven fabric 1 includes a plurality of ridge portions 13 in which the cross-sectional shapes of the front and back surfaces a and b are convex toward the upper side in the thickness direction (Z direction), and the adjacent convex portions are located. The groove portions 14 between the strip portions 13, 13 are in contact with each other. The cross-sectional shape of both the front and back sides a and b of the concave strip portion 14 is formed in a concave shape toward the upper side in the thickness direction (Z direction) of the nonwoven fabric. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of both the front and back sides a and b of the concave strip portion 14 is convex toward the lower side in the thickness direction (Z direction) of the nonwoven fabric. Further, the plurality of ridge portions 13 are continuously extended in one direction (X direction) of the nonwoven fabric 1, and the plurality of the concave strip portions 14 are also formed in a groove shape continuously extending in the direction X of the nonwoven fabric 1. The ridge portion 13 and the groove portion 14 are parallel to each other and alternately arranged in a direction (Y direction) orthogonal to the one direction (X direction).

As described below, the nonwoven fabric 1 is manufactured by performing uneven processing on the fiber sheet 1a by the pair of uneven rolls 401 and 402. The one direction (X direction) of the non-woven fabric 1 is the same as the machine direction (MD, traveling direction) when the nonwoven fabric 1 is formed by performing the uneven processing on the fiber sheet 1a, and the above-mentioned one and the nonwoven fabric 1 are The direction (Y direction) in which the directions (X directions) are orthogonal refers to the direction in which the orthogonal directions (CD, roller direction) orthogonal to the above-described machine direction (MD, traveling direction) are the same.

The constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 contain high elongation fibers. Here, the high elongation fiber constituting the constituent fiber 11 means not only the fiber having a high elongation at the stage of the fiber of the raw material. Dimensions, also referred to as fibers of high elongation at the stage of the non-woven fabric 1 produced. Examples of the "high-elongation fiber" include a heat-extensible fiber or a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, and a relative spinning speed is set to be lower than the stretchable fiber having elasticity (elastomer). a fiber produced under the condition, or a polyethylene-polypropylene copolymer having a low degree of crystallinity, or a fiber produced by spinning polyethylene in a polypropylene, and the like, wherein the heat-expandable fiber is made, for example, by Japan. In the paragraph [0033] of JP-A-2010-168715, it is obtained by melt-spinning at a low speed to obtain a conjugate fiber, and then heat treatment and/or crimping treatment without stretching treatment, and crystallization of resin by heating The state changes and the length is extended. Among the fibers, the high elongation fiber is preferably a core-sheath type composite fiber having heat fusion properties. The core-sheath type composite fiber may be a concentric core sheath type, or may be an eccentric core sheath type, may be a side-by-side type, or may be a profiled type, but particularly preferably a concentric core sheath type. The fineness of the high elongation fiber is preferably 1.0 dtex or more and 10.0 dtex or less, more preferably 2.0 dtex or more, from the viewpoint of producing a nonwoven fabric or the like which is soft and has a touch such as a touch. And below 8.0dtex.

The constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 may be composed of other fibers in addition to the high elongation fibers, but are preferably composed only of high elongation fibers. Examples of the other fibers include a core-sheath type heat-fusible composite fiber including a non-thermal extensibility which is obtained by stretching two kinds of components having different melting points, or a fiber which does not have heat fusion property (for example, cotton or Natural fibers such as pulp, enamel or acetate fibers, etc.). In the case where the nonwoven fabric 1 is composed of other fibers in addition to the high elongation fibers, the ratio of the high elongation fibers in the nonwoven fabric 1 is preferably 50% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less, and more preferably 80% by mass. % or more and 100% by mass or less.

The conjugate fiber which is subjected to the unstretching treatment or the weak elongation treatment at the stage of the raw material of the thermally extensible fiber of the high elongation fiber includes, for example, the first resin component constituting the core portion and the polyethylene resin constituting the sheath portion. 2 Resin component, the first resin component has a higher melting point than the second resin component. The first resin component reflects the thermal elongation of the fiber The second resin component is a component that exhibits heat fusion properties. The melting point of the first resin component and the second resin component was measured by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC6200 manufactured by Seiko Instruments Inc.) to heat the finely cut fiber sample (sample weight: 2 mg) at a temperature increase rate of 10 ° C/min. For analysis, the melting peak temperature of each resin was determined and defined by the melting peak temperature. When the melting point of the second resin component cannot be clearly measured by this method, the resin is defined as "a resin having no melting point". In this case, the temperature at which the molecules of the second resin component start to flow, the temperature at which the second resin component is fused to the extent of the fusion point strength of the fiber can be measured as the softening point, and the softening point is used instead of the melting point.

The second resin component constituting the sheath portion contains a polyethylene resin as described above. Examples of the polyethylene resin include low density polyethylene (LDPE, Low Density Polyethylene), high density polyethylene (HDPE, High Density Polyethylene), and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Particularly preferred is a high density polyethylene having a density of 0.935 g/cm ³ or more and 0.965 g/cm ³ or less. The second resin component constituting the sheath portion is preferably a polyethylene resin monomer, and may be blended with other resins. Examples of the other resin to be blended include a polypropylene resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH, Ethylene vinyl alcohol). In particular, the second resin component constituting the sheath portion is preferably a polyethylene resin in an amount of 50% by mass or more, particularly preferably 70% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less based on the resin component of the sheath portion. Further, the polyethylene resin preferably has a crystallite size of 10 nm or more and 20 nm or less, more preferably a crystallite size of 11.5 nm or more and 18 nm or less.

As the first resin component constituting the core portion, a resin component having a higher melting point than the polyethylene resin which is a constituent resin of the sheath portion can be used without particular limitation. Examples of the resin component constituting the core portion include a polyolefin resin (other than a polyethylene resin) such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and poly(p-phenylene terephthalate). A polyester resin such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Further, a polyamide polymer or a tree can also be used. The fat component is a copolymer of two or more types. A plurality of resins may be blended, and in this case, the melting point of the core is set to the melting point of the resin having the highest melting point. In terms of the ease of producing the nonwoven fabric, the difference between the melting point of the first resin component constituting the core portion and the melting point of the second resin component constituting the sheath portion (the former - the latter) is preferably 20 ° C or higher, and more preferably 150 Below °C.

The preferred index of orientation of the first resin component in the thermally extensible fiber of the high elongation fiber is naturally different depending on the resin to be used. For example, when the first resin component is a polypropylene resin, the orientation index is preferably 60. % or less, more preferably 40% or less, further preferably 25% or less. When the first resin component is a polyester, the orientation index is preferably 25% or less, more preferably 20% or less, still more preferably 10% or less. On the other hand, the distribution index of the second resin component is preferably 5% or more, more preferably 15% or more, still more preferably 30% or more. The alignment index is an indicator of the degree of alignment of the polymer chains constituting the resin of the fiber.

The alignment index of the first resin component and the second resin component is determined by the method described in paragraphs [0027] to [0029] of JP-A-2010-168715. Moreover, the method of achieving the orientation index as described above in each of the resin components in the thermally extensible conjugate fiber is described in paragraphs [0033] to [0036] of JP-A-2010-168715.

Further, the elongation of the high elongation fiber is preferably 100% or more and 800% or less, more preferably 200% or more and 500% or less, and still more preferably 250% or more and 400% or less in the stage of the raw material. By using a high elongation fiber having an elongation in this range, the fiber is smoothly stretched in the stretching device, and the change point from the small diameter portion to the large diameter portion described above is adjacent to the fusion portion, and the skin feels good. .

The elongation of the high elongation fiber is determined according to JIS L-1015 under the conditions of measuring the ambient temperature and humidity of 20 ± 2 ° C, 65 ± 2% RH, the clamping interval of the tensile testing machine of 20 mm, and the stretching speed of 20 mm / min. Benchmark. In addition, when the elongation is measured from the nonwoven fabric which has been produced and the elongation is not set to 20 mm, the measurement is performed. When the length of the fiber is less than 20 mm, the measurement is performed by setting the nip interval to 10 mm or 5 mm.

The ratio of the first resin component to the second resin component in the high elongation fiber (mass ratio, the former: the latter) is preferably 10:90 to 90:10 at the stage of the raw material, and particularly preferably 20:80 to 80:20. , especially good for 50:50~70:30. The fiber length of the high elongation fiber is the same according to the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric. For example, when a non-woven fabric is produced by a carding method as will be described later, the fiber length is preferably about 30 to 70 mm.

The fiber diameter of the high elongation fiber is at the stage of the raw material, and is appropriately selected depending on the specific use of the nonwoven fabric. When a non-woven fabric is used as a constituent member of an absorbent article such as a front sheet of an absorbent article, it is preferably used in an amount of 10 μm or more and 35 μm or less, particularly preferably 15 μm or more and 30 μm or less. The above fiber diameter was measured by the following method.

[Measurement of Fiber Diameter of Fiber]

The fiber diameter of the fiber was measured by using a scanning electron microscope (JCM-5100, manufactured by JEOL Ltd.), and the cross section of the fiber was enlarged to 200 to 800 times, and the diameter (μm) of the fiber was measured. The cross section of the fiber was obtained by cutting a fiber using a Feather razor (product number FAS-10, manufactured by Feather Safety Razor). The fiber diameter at the time of the approximate circular shape was measured at five points of the extracted one fiber, and the average value of the five values obtained by the respective measurements was defined as the diameter of the fiber.

As the heat-expandable fiber of the high elongation fiber at the stage of the raw material, in addition to the above-mentioned heat-extensible fiber, Japanese Patent No. 4131852, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-350836, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007- The fibers described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-204901, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei. No. 2007-204901, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-204902, and the like.

As shown in Fig. 5, the nonwoven fabric of the present invention focuses on one of the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1, and the constituent fibers 11 have a smaller fiber diameter between adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12. Large diameter portion with large fiber diameter sandwiched between two small diameter portions 16 and 16 17. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, attention is paid to one of the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1, and the fusion portion 12 formed by thermally fusing the intersection with the other constituent fibers 11 has a small fiber diameter. The diameter portion 16 is formed to extend substantially the same fiber diameter. Further, attention is paid to the one constituent fiber 11 between the small diameter portions 16 and 16 extending from the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12, and the fiber diameter is larger than the large diameter portion 17 of the small diameter portion 16 to be substantially the same. The fiber diameter is extended to form. When the details are described, the nonwoven fabric 1 includes the constituent fibers 11 which are focused on one constituent fiber 11 and are sequentially arranged from one of the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 toward the other fusion portion 12 . There is a small diameter portion 16 on the side of the fusion portion 12, one large diameter portion 17, and a small diameter portion 16 on the other side of the fusion portion 12.

By having the small-diameter portion 16 having low rigidity adjacent to the fusion portion 12 having improved rigidity of the nonwoven fabric 1 as described above, the softness of the nonwoven fabric 1 is improved, and the skin feel is improved. In addition, the plurality of large-diameter portions 17 are provided, and in other words, the small-diameter portion 16 having a low rigidity in which the fibers 11 are formed, the flexibility of the nonwoven fabric 1 is further improved, and the skin feel is further improved.

The nonwoven fabric 1 includes the constituent fibers 11 which, as shown in Fig. 5, focus on one of the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1, and have a plurality of adjacent fuse portions 12 and 12 (non-woven fabric 1). There are two) large diameter sections 17 in the middle. When the details are described, the nonwoven fabric 1 includes the constituent fibers 11 which are focused on one constituent fiber 11 and are sequentially arranged from one of the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 toward the other fusion portion 12 . The small diameter portion 16 on the side of the fusion portion 12, the first large diameter portion 17, the small diameter portion 16, the second large diameter portion 17, and the small diameter portion 16 on the other fusion portion 12 side. From the viewpoint of the improvement of the touch property of the skin and the reduction of the strength of the nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric 1 preferably has one or more and five or less of the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 in consideration of one constituent fiber 11 . The large diameter portion 17 further preferably has one or more and three or less large diameter portions 17.

The small-diameter portion 16 of the fiber diameter (L ₁₆₎ with respect to the large diameter portion 17 of the fiber diameter (L ₁₇₎ of the ratio (L ₁₆ / L ₁₇₎ is preferably 0.5 or more and 0.8 or less, and further preferably 0.55 or more And 0.7 or less. Specifically, the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₆ ) of the small-diameter portion 16 is preferably 5 μm or more and 28 μm or less, more preferably 6.5 μm or more and 20 μm or less, and particularly preferably 7.5. Μm or more and 16 μm or less. The fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₇ ) of the large diameter portion 17 is preferably 10 μm or more and 35 μm or less, more preferably 13 μm or more and 25 μm or less, and particularly preferably 15 μm or more and 20 μm or less, from the viewpoint of the improvement of the skin feel.

The fiber diameters (diameters L ₁₆ and L ₁₇ ) of the small diameter portion 16 and the large diameter portion 17 are measured in the same manner as the measurement of the fiber diameter of the above-mentioned fibers.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the non-woven fabric of the present invention focuses on one of the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1, and the change point 18 from the small-diameter portion 16 adjacent to the fusion portion 12 to the large-diameter portion 17 It is disposed within a range of one-third of the distance T between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 from the fusion portion 12. Here, the change point 18 of the nonwoven fabric of the present invention means that the large diameter portion 16 extending from the smaller fiber diameter is not included in the large diameter portion 17 extending from the fiber diameter smaller than the smaller diameter portion 16 The site where the ground gradually changes or the portion where the fiber diameter is extremely varied in a section that continuously changes over a plurality of stages. In the case where the one constituent fiber 11 is a thermally extensible conjugate fiber, the change point 18 of the nonwoven fabric of the present invention means that the first resin component and the sheath portion constituting the core portion are not included. 2 A portion where the resin components are peeled off and the fiber diameter is changed, and the fiber diameter is always changed by the extension.

Further, the change point 18 is disposed within a range of one-third of the distance T between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 from the fusion portion 12, and means that the constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 are randomly drawn, as shown in FIG. The constituent fibers 11 were enlarged by a scanning electron microscope using JCM-5100 (trade name) manufactured by JEOL Ltd. to observe the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 (100 times to 300 times) of the constituent fibers 11. Next, the distance between the centers of the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 is divided into three equal parts into a region AT on the side of the fusion portion 12, a region BT on the side of the other fusion portion 12, and a region CT in the center. Moreover, it is indicated that the change point 18 is disposed in the above area AT or the above area BT. Further, the change point 18 is disposed in the nonwoven fabric 1 which is within a range of 1/3 of the distance T between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 of the fusion portion 12, and means that 20 constituent fibers 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 are randomly selected. In the case where the change point 18 is disposed in the region AT or the constituent fibers 11 of the region BT, at least one of the 20 constituent fibers 11 is not woven. Specifically, from the viewpoint of improving the touch property of the skin, it is preferably one or more, more preferably five or more, and particularly preferably 10 or more.

The nonwoven fabric 1 includes a top portion 13a, a bottom portion 13b, and a side portion 13c located between the nonwoven fabric 1 as viewed in the thickness direction Z as shown in FIG. The top region 13a, the bottom region 13b, and the side region 13c continuously extend in one direction (X direction) of the nonwoven fabric 1. When the top region 13a, the bottom region 13b, and the side region 13c are formed by observing the nonwoven fabric 1 in the thickness direction Z, the thickness of the non-woven fabric 1 in the Z direction is equally divided into three, and the portion above the thickness direction Z is referred to as the top region 13a. The center portion is referred to as the side portion 13c, and the lower portion is distinguished as the bottom portion 13b. In the nonwoven fabric 1, the top of the ridge portion 13 is formed by the top portion 13a, and the bottom portion of the concave portion 14 is formed by the bottom portion 13b.

As shown in Fig. 4, when the nonwoven fabric 1 is observed along the thickness direction Z, the fiber density of the side portion 13c is lower than the fiber density of the top portion 13a and the fiber density of the bottom portion 13b. The fiber density refers to the number of fibers per unit area in the cross section of the nonwoven fabric 1. Therefore, the side region 13c is a sparse region in which the number of fibers is smaller than the top region 13a and the bottom region 13b (the distance between the fibers is large), and the nonwoven fabric 1 as a whole has improved gas permeability and liquid permeability. Further, since the fiber density of the side portion 13c is minimized, the ridge portion 13 easily follows the movement of the wearer's skin, and a good skin feel can be achieved. In order to impart the fiber density as described above to the side portion 13c, the nonwoven fabric 1 may be produced in accordance with the production method described later.

Fiber density region 13c of the side portions (D _13c) relative to the top region of the fiber density (D _{13a) 13a} of, or fiber density (D _13b) of the bottom area 13b of the ratio _{(D 13c / D 13a, D} 13c / D 13b) than It is preferably 0.15 or more and 0.9 or less, and more preferably 0.2 or more and 0.8 or less. Specifically, regarding the specific value of the fiber density of the nonwoven fabric 1, the fiber density (D _13a ) of the top region 13a is preferably 90 pieces/mm ² or more and 200 pieces/mm ² or less, and further preferably 100 pieces/mm. ² or more and 180 pieces/mm ² or less. Further, the fiber density (D _13b ) of the bottom portion 13b is preferably 80 pieces/mm ² or more and 200 pieces/mm ² or less, and more preferably 90 pieces/mm ² or more and 180 pieces/mm ² or less. Further, the fiber density (D _13c ) of the side portion 13c is preferably 30 pieces/mm ² or more and 80 pieces/mm ² or less, and more preferably 40 pieces/mm ² or more and 70 pieces/mm ² or less. The method for measuring the fiber density is as follows.

[Method for Measuring Fiber Density of Top Region 13a, Bottom Region 13b, and Side Region 13c]

The non-woven fabric was cut along the thickness direction Z using a Feather razor (product number FAS-10, manufactured by Feather Safety Razor). The fiber density of the top region 13a is enlarged by a scanning electron microscope to adjust the thickness of the cut surface of the nonwoven fabric to the top portion 13a which is the upper portion of the Z-direction three-division (adjusted to measure the fiber profile of about 30 to 60). The magnification was 150 to 500 times, and the number of cross-sections of the fibers cut by the cut surface was counted for a certain unit area (about 0.5 mm ² ). Next, the number of sections of the fiber per 1 mm ^{2 was} converted, and this was set as the fiber density of the top region 13a. The measurement was carried out at three locations and averaged to determine the fiber density of the sample. Similarly, the fiber density of the bottom region 13b is determined by measuring the thickness of the cut surface of the nonwoven fabric at a position below the three-dimensional division in the Z direction. Similarly, the fiber density of the side portion region 13c is determined by measuring the thickness of the cut surface of the nonwoven fabric at the center of the three-dimensional division in the Z direction. Further, as a scanning electron microscope, JCM-5100 (trade name) manufactured by JEOL Ltd. was used.

Further, the non-woven fabric 1 of the present embodiment is formed such that the number of fibers having a change point among the constituent fibers constituting the side portion 13c is larger than the number of fibers having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the top portion 13a, and The number of fibers having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the bottom portion 13b is large. The number of fibers (N _13c ) having a change point among the constituent fibers constituting the side portion 13c is relative to the number of fibers (N _13a ) having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the top portion _13a or constituting the bottom portion. The ratio (N _13c /N _13a , N _13c /N _13b ) of the number of fibers (N _13b ) having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers of _13b is preferably 2 or more and 20 or less, and more preferably 5 or more. 20 or less. Specifically, with respect to the specific value of the number of fibers having the change point 18 of the nonwoven fabric 1, the number of fibers (N _13a ) having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the top region 13a is preferably one or more. Further, it is 15 or less, and more preferably 5 or more and 15 or less. Further, the number of fibers (N _13b ) having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the bottom portion 13b is preferably one or more and 15 or less, and more preferably five or more and 15 or less. Further, the number of fibers (N _13c ) having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the side portion 13c is preferably 5 or more and 20 or less, and more preferably 10 or more and 20 or less. The method for determining the number of fibers having the change point 18 is as follows.

[Method for Measuring the Number of Fibers Having Change Point 18 among the constituent fibers of the top region 13a, the bottom region 13b, or the side region 13c]

Regarding the number of fibers having the change point 18 in the constituent fibers 11 constituting the top region 13a, a scanning electron microscope is used to enlarge the vicinity of the apex of the top region 13a which is a portion above the thickness of the non-woven fabric in the Z direction. Adjusted to measure the magnification of the fiber profile of about 30 to 60, 50 to 500 times), and observe 20 pieces of the constituent fibers 11 constituting the top portion 13a, and count 20 of the constituent fibers 11 having the change point 18 The number of fibers. This is taken as the number of fibers having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the top region 13a. The measurement was carried out at three locations and averaged to determine the number of fibers having the change point 18 among the constituent fibers constituting the top region 13a of the sample. Similarly, the number of fibers having the change point 18 in the constituent fibers 11 constituting the bottom portion 13b is measured in the vicinity of the bottom point of the bottom portion 13b which is the portion below the thickness of the non-woven fabric in the Z direction. And ask for it. Similarly, regarding the constitution constituting the side region 13c The number of fibers having the change point 18 in the fiber 11 is determined by measuring the thickness of the non-woven fabric at the center of the three-dimensional division in the Z direction. Further, as a scanning electron microscope, JCM-5100 (trade name) manufactured by JEOL Ltd. was used.

Regarding the thickness of the nonwoven fabric 1, the thickness of the entire non-woven fabric 1 is set to the sheet thickness T _S , and the thickness of the non-woven fabric 1 which is unevenly curved is the layer thickness T _L . The sheet thickness T _{S is} preferably 0.5 mm or more and 7 mm or less, more preferably 1.0 mm or more and 5 mm or less. By setting it as this range, the body fluid absorption speed at the time of use is quick, and it can suppress the liquid-repelling from an absorber, and can implement moderate cushioning property.

The layer thickness T _L may be different from each other in the nonwoven fabric 1, and the layer thickness T _{L1 of the} top region 13a is preferably 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less. The layer thickness T _{L2 of the} bottom portion 13b is preferably 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less. The layer thickness T _{L3 of the} side portion 13c is preferably 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, more preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less. The relationship between the thicknesses T _L1 , T _L2 , and T _L3 of each layer is set to this range, and the body fluid absorption speed at the time of use is fast, and the liquid return from the absorber can be suppressed, and further, the cushioning property can be achieved.

The sheet thickness T _S and the layer thickness T _L were measured by the following methods.

The method for measuring the sheet thickness T _S was measured by using a thickness measuring device while applying a load of 0.05 kPa to the nonwoven fabric 1. The thickness gauge was a laser displacement meter manufactured by OMRON. In the thickness measurement system, 10 points were measured, and the average value of these was calculated and set as the thickness.

The layer thickness T _L was measured by measuring the thickness of each layer by using a digital microscope VHX-900 manufactured by KEYENCE to place the cross section of the sheet about 20 times.

When the nonwoven fabric 1 is viewed from above, the distance between the tops of the ridge portions 13 adjacent to each other in the Y direction is preferably 1 mm or more and 15 mm or less, more preferably 1.5 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The height H of the ridge portion 13 (see Fig. 2(a)) is preferably 0.5 mm or more and 5 mm or less, more preferably 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. The height H is a cross section of the thickness direction Z of the nonwoven fabric 1 observed by a microscope, and is measured under no load.

Further, the basis weight of the nonwoven sheet average value of 1 to a whole good care of 15g / m ² or more and 50g / m ² or less, more preferably 20g / m ² or more and 40g / m ² or less.

Further, a small amount of a fiber coloring agent, an antistatic property agent, a lubricant, a hydrophilic agent or the like may be attached to the surface of the constituent fiber 11 of the nonwoven fabric 1 at the stage of the raw material.

As a method of attaching the fiber treating agent to the surface constituting the fiber 11, various known methods can be employed without particular limitation. For example, application by spray coating, application by a slit coater, application by roll transfer, immersion in a fiber treatment agent, etc. are mentioned. These treatments can be carried out on the fibers prior to the webization, or after the fibers are networked in various ways. However, it is necessary to perform processing before the hot air blowing process described later. The fiber to which the fiber treating agent is adhered on the surface is dried by a dryer such as a hot air blowing type at a temperature far below the melting point of the polyethylene resin (for example, 120 ° C or lower).

The front sheet 2 in the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment is as shown in Fig. 2(a), and is formed on each of the concave strip portions 14 of the nonwoven fabric 1 constituting the front sheet 2, and the adjacent lower side sheet 6 Bonded by heat fusion. The non-woven fabric 1 includes fibers having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion having mutually different fiber diameters, and is joined to the adjacent lower side sheet member 6, thereby being excellent in followability with respect to the wearer's activity. In the present embodiment, the lower side sheet 6 is disposed between the front sheet 2 and the absorber 4, and the second sheet 6 including the nonwoven fabric.

The concave portion 14 of the front sheet 2 is continuously joined to the second sheet 6 in the longitudinal direction of the incontinence pad 10, and the joint portion 14s can be continuously formed in the longitudinal direction X of the incontinence pad 10, as shown in the figure. Although 6 is formed intermittently in the longitudinal direction X, the joint portion 14s is preferably formed intermittently in the longitudinal direction X from the viewpoint of the followability of the skin and the touch of the skin. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the joint portions 14s are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction X.

Further, instead of joining the front sheet 2 to the lower sheet 6 such as the second sheet by heat fusion, the second sheet 6 may be joined to the second sheet 6 by another bonding method such as bonding with a heat-fusible adhesive or the like. (lower side sheet).

As the non-woven fabric constituting the second sheet 6, a non-woven fabric using various methods can be used. For example, a hot air non-woven fabric which forms a thermal fusion point of fibers with each other by a wind blow method using a carding method or an air laid method, and a fiber web obtained by a carding method by a hot rolling method may be used to form fibers with each other. Hot-rolled non-woven fabrics, hot embossed non-woven fabrics, spunlace non-woven fabrics, needle-punched non-woven fabrics and other non-woven fabrics.

As shown in Fig. 2(b), the absorbent body 4 in the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment has a compressed portion 43 formed by embossing in a dispersed manner, whereby the absorbent body 4 has flexural rigidity. The high-flexible regions 5 which are lower than the other portions extend in the longitudinal direction X to form a plurality of strips.

More specifically, in the absorbent body 4, the compressed portion R in which the compressed portion 43 is intermittently arranged in the longitudinal direction at a predetermined interval is formed in a plurality of rows in the width direction Y. Further, the compression portion 43 in the adjacent compression portion row R is shifted by a distance of a half pitch in the longitudinal direction X.

[Method for measuring flexural rigidity]

The measurement of the flexural rigidity was carried out using a HOM-2 softness tester test machine manufactured by JIS L1096 (general fabric test method, confirmation 2004), a soft E method. The test piece (the main body of the absorbent article) is horizontally disposed on the slit in such a manner that the measurement portion of the test piece is located at the center between the slits and along the longitudinal direction of the main body so as to coincide with the direction along the slit. Adjusted to 30 mm on the sample stage of the test machine. The test piece was not fixed to the sample stage. The pressure plate adjusted so as to be reduced to a position below the surface of the sample stage by 8 mm (the lowermost position) was lowered from the upper side of the test piece at a constant speed: 200 mm/min. Then, the highest value (cN) indicated by the indicator (load meter) when the test piece was pressed back and forth in the longitudinal direction by the press plate was read. The measurement was performed three times on different test pieces, and the average value was calculated to be the flexural rigidity.

The compression portion 43 in the present embodiment is formed by pressing between an embossing roller having a cylindrical pressing protrusion on the circumferential surface and an anvil roller having a smooth surface. The thickness of the absorber 4 is thinner than other portions in each of the compression portions 43. . Moreover, the surface of the absorbent body 4 on the non-skin contact surface side is the embossing roll side. On the other hand, the compressed portion 43 is a concave portion having a plan view shape corresponding to the shape of the end surface of the pressing protrusion before the non-skin contact surface side of the absorbent body 4.

Further, a region between the straight line L1 connecting the one ends of the plurality of compressed portions 43 in the width direction of each of the compressed portion rows R and the straight line L2 connecting the other ends is the high-flexible region 5. More specifically, in the absorbent body 4, the two types of compression portion rows R having different positions in the longitudinal direction X of the compression portion 43 are alternately formed in the width direction Y, and are formed in a plurality of rows corresponding to one compression portion row R. The flexible region 5a and the highly flexible region 5b corresponding to the other compressed portion row R.

In the high-flexibility region 5 (5a, 5b), the position of both ends in the width direction of the change in the rigidity of the absorber 4, that is, the position of the straight line L1 and the position of the straight line L2 are easily bent, and the high-flexible region 5 is also easily bent. The positions of both ends in the width direction (the position of the straight line L1 and the position of the straight line L2) are included.

The compression portion 43 for forming the highly flexible region 5 can be formed only by pressurization, or can be formed by heating simultaneously with pressurization.

The number of the high-flexibility regions 5 of the absorber 4 formed in the width direction Y is plural, preferably 5 or more, more preferably 8 or more, and still more preferably 10 or more.

The length of the compression portion 43 and the high-flexibility region 5 in the width direction Y is preferably 0.2 mm or more, more preferably 0.5 mm or more, further preferably 10 mm or less, and more preferably 5 mm or less. Further, when the compression portion 43 for forming the high-flexibility region 5 is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction X, the interval L3 between the adjacent compression portions 43 is preferably 2 mm or more, more preferably 5 mm or more. It is preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 10 mm or less. Further, the distance P between the central portions of the compressed portion row R or the high flexible region 5 adjacent to the width direction Y of the absorbent body 4 is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 3 mm or more, and further preferably 10 mm or less. More preferably, it is 5 mm or less.

Further, as shown in Fig. 2(a), the position of the concave portion 14 of the nonwoven fabric 1 of the front sheet 2 and the position of the high flexible region 5 are formed in a plurality of portions in the width direction Y of the absorbent body 4. Consistent.

As will be described in detail, the high-flexibility region 5 extending in the longitudinal direction X is formed with a plurality of rows in the width direction Y, a plurality of portions in the width direction Y, the position of the concave portion 14 and the highly flexible region 5 The positions are continuously overlapped along the longitudinal direction X. The position of the concave strip portion 14 is determined as the concave portion 14 by the lower portion 13c in the thickness direction when the sheet thickness T _{S of the} nonwoven fabric 1 is equally divided. The number of the strip portions 14 overlapping the high-flexibility region 5 is plural, preferably three or more, more preferably five or more, and still more preferably eight or more.

According to the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment, the plurality of flexible regions 5 along the longitudinal direction X are formed in the absorbent body 4 at intervals in the width direction Y. Therefore, the front sheet 2 is easily along the concave portion. The strip portion 14 is bent in the width direction Y, and in combination with this, as shown in Fig. 7, the incontinence pad 10 is easily deformed in accordance with the shape of the wearer's skin surface S, with the wearer's activity relative to the skin surface. The followability of the shape change of S is also excellent. Further, unlike the case where only the absorbent body 4 is made thin and is easily deformed, it is not easy to cause wrinkles of the absorbent body 4, and it is not easy to form the wrinkles of the skin abutting surface of the front sheet 2, and therefore, it is difficult to produce wrinkles. Discomfort when wearing.

Further, the ridge portion 13 of the front sheet 2 of the incontinence pad 10 is hollow inside, and is easy to follow the movement of the skin, and is swayed in the width direction Y with the groove portion 14 joined to the lower sheet 6 as a base point. Further, the nonwoven fabric 1 forming the ridge portion 13 is a nonwoven fabric including a constituent fiber having a plurality of portions having different fiber diameters. Therefore, if the ridge portion 13 is pressurized by the skin, stress is concentrated on a portion of the small diameter and the ridge portion Each part of 13 is also softly deformed.

The incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment is excellent in following the deformability of the wearer's activity, the uncomfortable feeling of discomfort, and the skin feelability by the action as described above.

Further, in the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the concave portion 14 of the front sheet 2 and the joint portion 14s of the lower sheet 6 such as the second sheet are intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction X. Thereby, in the front sheet 2, the joint portion 14s and the non-joining portion 14t, that is, in the front sheet 2 The portions that are not joined to the other members are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction X, and are preferably the compression portions 43 of the plurality of absorbent bodies 4 in the high-flexibility region 5 of the absorbent body 4 (refer to FIG. 2(b) and the like). At least a portion of the same is present at the same position as the non-joining portion 14t. That is, the incontinence pad 10 is preferably a repeating portion having the non-joining portion 14t of the front sheet 2 and the compressing portion 43 of the absorber 4 in a plan view as shown in FIG. In particular, in the high-flexibility region 5 in which the width direction Y coincides with the position of the concave strip portion 14, it is preferable that at least a part of the compression portion 43 included in the high-flexibility region 5 exists in the non-joining portion. 14t the same position. Since the incontinence pad 10 has the overlapping portion as described above, it is easy to maintain the flexibility of the high-flexibility region 5 as compared with the case where most of the compression portion 43 is present at the same position as the joint portion 14s. Therefore, the deformation of the incontinence pad 10 as shown in Fig. 7 can be more surely achieved.

The effect of the action of the non-joining portion 14t of the front sheet 2 and the compression portion 43 of the absorber 4 as described above is more reliably exhibited in the compression portion 43 formed in the absorber 4. The total number (in the case where the compression portion 43 is formed on both the skin contact surface and the non-skin contact surface of the absorbent body 4, the total amount of the compression portions 43 formed on each surface thereof) is present in the front sheet. The ratio of the number of the compressed portions 43 at the same position of the non-joining portion 14t of the material 2 is (the latter/the former) × 100, preferably 50% or more, and more preferably 80% or more. In a particularly preferable form, the ratio is 100%, that is, the form in which all the compressed portions 43 of the absorbent body 4 overlap with the non-joining portion 14t of the front sheet 2 (or does not overlap the joint portion 14s).

Further, according to the incontinence pad 10 of the present embodiment, the position of the concave strip portion 14 coincides with the position of the highly flexible region 5 in a plurality of portions in the width direction Y of the absorbent body 4, so that the wearer can be further reduced. When the skin is active, the wearer's skin is rubbed and stimulated by the "squeaky stimulation".

Further, since the high-flexibility region 5 is formed by forming the compressed portion 43 in the absorber 4, the absorber 4 including the high-flexibility region 5 can be easily manufactured, and the formation of the highly flexible region 5 can be suppressed. The cost of the absorbent body 4 or the absorbent article is increased.

Further, since the lower side sheet 6 of the concave strip portion 14 to which the front sheet 2 is joined is made of non-woven Since the second sheet material 6 of the cloth is easily deformed to the original state by the high-flexibility region 5, the followability with respect to the activity of the skin is more excellent. From the above viewpoints, the nonwoven fabric constituting the second sheet 6 preferably has a three-dimensional network structure obtained by bonding short fibers, and is preferably, for example, a hot air non-woven fabric.

The basis weight of the second sheet 6 is preferably 10 g/m ² or more and 40 g/m ² or less, more preferably 15 g/m ² or more and 30 g/m, from the viewpoint of the followability to the skin activity. ² or less.

The interlayer between the second sheet 6 and the absorber 4, the absorbent sheet constituting the absorbent body 4, and the absorbent body 4 and the back sheet 3 are preferably joined by an adhesive. In the case where the members are joined by an adhesive, the entire coating may be carried out by a slit coater or the like, but pattern coating is preferred. Preferred examples of the pattern applied by the pattern coating include a spiral pattern, a dot pattern, a stripe pattern (striped pattern), a lattice pattern, a checkered pattern, and the like.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, focusing on one of the constituent fibers 11 constituting the fiber 11, the change point 18 from the small-diameter portion 16 adjacent to the fusion portion 12 to the large-diameter portion 17 is disposed at a distance from the fusion portion 12 Since the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 are within a range of one-third of the distance T between them, they are soft and have good skin feel. In particular, focusing on one constituent fiber 11, when a plurality of small-diameter portions 16 are formed between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12, the skin feel is further improved. From the viewpoint of easily exhibiting such an effect, the constituent fibers 11 are preferably composed only of high elongation fibers (thermally extensible conjugate fibers).

Further, the non-woven fabric 1 is a non-woven fabric having a concave-convex structure, and the fiber density of the wall portion 15 is formed to be smaller than the fiber density at the top of the ridge portion 13 and the fiber density at the bottom of the concave portion 14. Therefore, the distance between the fibers of the wall portion 15 is wider than the distance between the top of the ridge portion 13 and the bottom portion of the groove portion 14, so that the nonwoven fabric 1 as a whole has improved gas permeability. Further, since the capillary force at the top of the ridge portion 13 and the bottom portion of the concave portion 14 is higher than the capillary force of the wall portion 15, the moisture absorbability is improved.

Next, other embodiments of the present invention will be described.

In the incontinence pad 10A shown in FIG. 8, the non-woven fabric 1 constituting the topsheet 2 is the same non-woven fabric as the non-woven fabric constituting the front sheet of the incontinence pad 10, but differs in that the concave strip of the front sheet 2 is joined. The lower side sheet of the portion 14 is a packaged core material 41. The present embodiment is the same as the above-described incontinence pad 10, and the above description is appropriately applied.

In the incontinence pad 10A, the packaged chip material 41 may also be wrapped with a sheet of the absorbent core 40 as a whole, or the entire core of the absorbent core 40 may be wrapped by two or more packages of the core material, for example, different The sheet covers the skin contact surface side and the non-skin contact surface side of the absorbent core 40.

According to the incontinence pad 10A, the same effect as the above-described incontinence pad 10 is also exerted. As the core material for covering the skin contact surface side of the absorbent core 40, a sheet having a basis weight of 10 g/m ² or more and 30 g/m ² or less is preferably used, and a basis weight of 15 g/m is more preferably used. A sheet of ² or more and 20 g/m ² or less.

The non-woven fabric used as the front sheet in the present invention is produced by the following non-woven fabric manufacturing method, and the method includes a fusing step of thermally fusing the constituent fibers of the web including the high elongation fibers to each other at the fusion portion. Forming a fibrous sheet; and an extending step of extending the fibrous sheet in one direction. In view of an embodiment of the method for producing a non-woven fabric used as a front sheet in the present invention, a preferred manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric 1 will be described as an example, and will be described with reference to FIG. A preferred manufacturing apparatus 100 used in the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric 1 is schematically shown in FIG. The manufacturing apparatus 100 is preferably used by a manufacturer of hot air non-woven fabrics. The manufacturing apparatus 100 includes the web forming unit 200, the hot air processing unit 300, the extending unit 400, and the lower sheet joining unit 500 in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the manufacturing step.

As shown in FIG. 9, the fiber web forming portion 200 is provided with a web forming device 201. As the web forming device 201, a carding machine is used. As a card, there is no special restriction The same carding machine as that commonly used in the technical field of absorbent articles is used. Depending on the specific use of the nonwoven fabric 1, other web manufacturing equipment, such as an airlaid apparatus, may be used instead of the carding machine.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the hot air treatment unit 300 includes an exhaust cover 301 . In the exhaust hood 301, hot air can be blown by wind blowing. Further, the hot air treatment unit 300 includes an endless conveyor belt 302 including a gas permeable mesh. The conveyor belt 302 rotates within the hood 301. The conveyor belt 302 is formed of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or a metal.

The temperature and heat treatment time of the hot air blown in the exhaust hood 301 are preferably adjusted so as to be thermally fused at the intersection of the high elongation fibers included in the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber web 1b. More specifically, the temperature of the hot air is preferably adjusted to a temperature higher by 0 ° C to 30 ° C with respect to the melting point of the resin having the lowest melting point among the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber web 1 b. The heat treatment time is preferably adjusted to 1 second to 5 seconds depending on the temperature of the hot air. Further, from the viewpoint of promoting further entanglement of the constituent fibers 11 with each other, the wind speed of the hot air is preferably about 0.3 m/sec to 1.5 m/sec. Further, the conveying speed is preferably about 5 m/min to 100 m/min.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the extending portion 400 is provided with a pair of uneven rollers 401 and 402 that can mesh with each other. The pair of uneven rollers 401 and 402 are formed to be heatable, and are formed by alternately arranging the large diameter convex portions 403 and 404 and the small diameter concave portions (not shown) in the roller axis direction. The embossing rolls 401 and 402 may be heated or not heated, and the heating temperature in the case where the embossing rolls 401 and 402 are heated may cause the high-elongation fibers contained in the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber sheet 1a to be described later to easily extend. In other words, it is preferable that the glass transition point of the resin having the highest glass transition point in the high elongation fiber is equal to or lower than the melting point of the resin having the lowest melting point in the high elongation fiber. More preferably, it is higher than the temperature at which the glass transition point of the fiber is 10 ° C or higher and 10 ° C lower than the melting point, and further preferably higher than the temperature of the glass transition point of the fiber by 20 ° C or higher and lower than the melting point by 20 ° C. . For example, when heating is used as a fiber in a core/sheath structure of a fiber, when a PET (core) having a glass transition point of 67 ° C, a melting point of 258 ° C, a glass transition point of -20 ° C, and a melting point of 135 ° C (sheath) is used, heating is performed. Preferably, it is heated to above 67 ° C and at 135 ° C More preferably, it is heated to 77 ° C or more and 125 ° C or less, and further preferably heated to 87 ° C or more and 115 ° C or less.

Further, in the manufacturing apparatus 100, as shown in Fig. 9, the interval (pitch) of the large-diameter convex portions 403 and 403 adjacent to each other in the roll axis direction of the uneven roller 401, and the unevenness of the uneven roller 402 in the roll axis direction The interval (pitch) between the large-diameter convex portions 404 and 404 is the same interval (pitch) w, and the interval (pitch) w is a high elongation fiber contained in the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber sheet 1a. It is preferably 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less, and particularly preferably 1.5 mm or more, from the viewpoint that the change point of the small-diameter portion to the large-diameter portion described above is adjacent to the fusion portion and the skin feel is good. 8mm or less. From the same point of view, as shown in FIG. 10, the amount of pressing t of the pair of embossing rolls 401, 402 (the apex of the large-diameter convex portion 403 adjacent to the roll axis direction and the apex of the large-diameter convex portion 404) It is preferably 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less, and particularly preferably 1.2 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less. Further, from the same viewpoint, the mechanical stretching ratio is preferably 1.5 times or more and 3.0 times or less, and particularly preferably 1.7 times or more and 2.8 times or less.

The lower sheet joining portion 500 includes the uneven roller 402 and a smooth roller 501 having a smooth surface, and is formed between the large-diameter convex portion 404 of the uneven roller 402 and the peripheral surface of the smoothing roller 501 by heat and pressure. The non-woven fabric 1 is joined to the lower side sheet.

A method of manufacturing the nonwoven fabric 1 using the manufacturing apparatus 100 having the above configuration will be described.

First, as shown in Fig. 9, a fiber web forming portion 200 is used, and a short fiber-like constituent fiber 11 containing a high elongation fiber is used as a raw material, and a fiber web 1b (web) is formed by a web forming device 201 as a carding machine. Forming step). The fiber web 1b manufactured by the web forming apparatus 201 is in a state in which the constituent fibers 11 are loosely entangled with each other, and the shape retaining property as a sheet has not yet been obtained.

Next, as shown in Fig. 9, the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber web 1b containing the high elongation fibers are thermally fused to each other at the fusion portion 12 to form a fiber sheet 1a (fusion step). specific The fiber web 1b is conveyed on the conveyor belt 302, and the hot air processing unit 300 blows the hot air by the wind blowing while passing through the inside of the exhaust hood 301. When the hot air is blown by the wind blowing method, the constituent fibers 11 of the fiber web 1b are further entangled with each other, and at the same time, the intersection of the fibers of the complexed fibers is thermally fused (refer to Fig. 11 (a)), and the sheet-like shape is secured. Shaped fibrous sheet 1a.

Next, as shown in Fig. 9, the fused fiber sheet 1a is stretched in one direction (extension step). Specifically, the fused fiber sheet 1a having the shape retaining property as a sheet is conveyed between the pair of embossing rolls 401 and 402, and as shown in Figs. 11(a) to 11(c), The fiber sheet 1a is extended, and one of the constituent fibers 11 between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 forms a large diameter portion having a large fiber diameter sandwiched by the two small diameter portions 16 and 16 having a small fiber diameter. And a change point 18 from the small-diameter portion 16 to the large-diameter portion 17 is formed within a range of one-third of the distance T between the adjacent fusion portions 12 and 12 from the fusion portion 12. When the details are described, the fiber sheets 1a which are thermally fused at the intersection of the constituent fibers 11 and the fusion portions 12 are transferred between the pair of embossing rolls 401 and 402 as shown in Fig. 11(a) to form a fiber sheet. The material 1a extends in an orthogonal direction (CD, roll axis direction) orthogonal to the machine direction (MD, traveling direction). When the fiber sheet 1a is extended in the orthogonal direction (CD, roll direction), the regions between the fused portions 12, 12 adjacent to each other, which are formed by fixing the fibers 11 as shown in Fig. 11(a), are orthogonal to each other. The direction (CD, roller direction) is actively elongated. In particular, as shown in Fig. 11 (b), in the vicinity of the respective fused portions 12 where the constituent fibers 11 are fixed to each other, first, partial shrinkage is likely to occur, and one of the adjacent fused portions 12 and 12 is composed of fibers. 11. Two small diameter portions 16 and 16 are formed at both ends, and a portion sandwiched by the two small diameter portions 16 and 16 becomes a large diameter portion 17, and a large diameter sandwiched by the two small diameter portions 16 and 16 is formed. Part 17. Since the local contraction is likely to occur first in the vicinity of each of the fusion portions 12, the change point 18 from the small diameter portion 16 to the large diameter portion 17 is formed at the fusion portions 12 and 12 adjacent to the fusion portion 12 from each other. Within a range of 1/3 of the interval T.

Moreover, about one of the adjacent fusion portions 12, 12 is a fiber 11. As shown in FIG. 11(c), in a state where the room for elongation (elongation portion) is left, further extending in the orthogonal direction (CD, roller direction), the adjacent fusion portions 12, 12 are mutually connected. The large diameter portion 17 extends therebetween, and a plurality of small diameter portions 16 are formed in the large diameter portion 17.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric 1 using the manufacturing apparatus 100, the nonwoven fabric 1 which comprises the structural fiber 11 shown in FIG. 5 can be manufactured continuously and efficiently. In addition, the nonwoven fabric 1 to be produced is directly conveyed to the sheet joining portion of the lower sheet joining portion 500 in a state where the uneven roller 402 is deformed into a concave-convex shape. In the sheet merging portion, the strip-shaped non-woven fabric 6 for the second sheet which is unwound from the roll-shaped winding material 6' is supplied, and the non-woven fabric 1 having the uneven shape is placed in a state of being overlapped with the strip-shaped non-woven fabric 6, and is introduced. It is between the uneven roller 402 and the smoothing roller 501. Between the uneven roller 404 and the smoothing roller 501, the concave portion portion of the non-woven fabric 1 having the uneven shape and the strip-shaped nonwoven fabric 6 are heated between the large-diameter convex portion 403 of the uneven roller 402 and the circumferential surface of the smoothing roller 501. Pressed and joined. In this way, the strip-shaped composite sheet 8 including the front sheet 2 of the nonwoven fabric 1 and the concave strip portion 14 joined to the lower side sheet 6 is obtained. The strip-shaped composite sheet 8 is introduced into the manufacturing line of the incontinence pad 10 after being wound up or introduced into the manufacturing line of the incontinence pad 10 without being taken up.

The incontinence pad 10 is formed by the compression portion 43 by embossing the absorbent body 4 formed between the strip-shaped composite sheet 8 and the strip-shaped back sheet 3 by the embossing process 43. The position of the flexible region is obtained by aligning with the position of the concave portion of the front sheet 2, and then cutting it into the shape of each article.

The absorbent article of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed.

For example, the highly flexible region of the absorber 4 can also be formed by forming the compressing portion 43 in the pattern shown in Figs. 12(a) to 12(c) in the absorber 4. In Fig. 12(a), the compression portion 43 is longer in the longitudinal direction X of the incontinence pad 10 than the interval L3 between the adjacent compression portions 43. In FIG. 12(b), the compression portion 43 is continuously formed in the longitudinal direction X of the incontinence pad 10. In Fig. 12(c), the shape of the compression portion 43 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment. The compression portion 43 in the adjacent compression portion row R (high flexible region 5) has the same position in the longitudinal direction X.

Moreover, the absorbent article of the present invention may also be a menstrual sanitary napkin or a sanitary pad instead of an incontinence pad. Further, the absorbent article of the second sheet 6 including the nonwoven fabric may have the same length in the longitudinal direction X and the width direction Y as the front sheet 2, or may be shorter than the front sheet 2. Further, the absorbent article may be one that does not have a leak-proof cuff.

Further, the absorbent body of the present invention may include the absorbent sheet 42 as in the absorbent body 4 shown in FIG. The absorbent body 4 shown in Fig. 13 includes a laminate in which two or more absorbent sheets 42 are laminated. The two or more layers may be formed by folding a sheet of the absorbent sheet and forming a layered body by laminating the layers, or by laminating a plurality of sheets of the absorbent sheet. Further, an absorbent sheet in which an additional absorbent sheet is placed between layers or one surface of a laminate of two or more layers, and a part of which is formed into a thick wall may be used. As the absorbent sheet, an absorbent sheet comprising a fibrous material and a water-absorptive polymer is preferably used. Further, as the absorbent sheet, it is preferable to use an adhesive force generated by a water-absorptive polymer in a wet state or an adhesive such as an adhesive or an adhesive which is additionally added to form an interfiber or a constituent fiber and a water-absorbent polymer. The combination is formed into a sheet shape or the like. In addition, as the absorbent sheet, an absorbent sheet produced by the method described in JP-A-H08-246395 can be used, and an adhesive can be used after the pulverized pulp and the water-absorbing polymer supplied with the airflow are deposited. For example, a vinyl acetate-based adhesive, a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) or the like, a dry sheet which is solidified, a hot-melt adhesive or the like applied between paper or a nonwoven fabric, and then a superabsorbent polymer is dispersed. An absorbent sheet, an absorbent sheet obtained by blending a superabsorbent polymer in a step of producing a spunbond or meltblown nonwoven fabric, or the like. These absorbent sheets may be used as an absorbent body of a single layer structure without laminating two or more layers. Also, the layers may not be connected between the layers.

Regarding the above embodiment, the following absorbent article is further disclosed.

<1>

An absorbent article comprising: a front sheet, a back sheet, and an absorbent body interposed between the two sheets, which form a liquid-permeable surface of the skin contact surface, and has a longitudinal direction and a width direction, and the front sheet a non-woven fabric including a stripe-like ridge portion and a concave strip portion extending in the longitudinal direction and having a concave-convex structure alternately arranged in the width direction, and the concave strip portion is joined to the adjacent lower side sheet, and the ridge portion is formed as described above The lower side sheets have a hollow structure, and the nonwoven fabric includes fibers having large diameter portions and small diameter portions having mutually different fiber diameters, and the absorption system has flexural rigidity in a plurality of portions in the width direction as compared with other portions. Low high flexibility area.

<2>

The absorbent article according to the above <1>, wherein the position of the concave strip portion coincides with the position of the high flexible region in a plurality of portions in the width direction.

<3>

The absorbent article according to the above <2>, wherein the high-flexibility region extending in the longitudinal direction has a plurality of rows formed in the width direction, and the position of the concave portion is higher than the plurality of portions in the width direction The positions of the flexible regions continuously overlap along the above-described longitudinal direction.

<4>

The absorbent article according to any one of the items <1> to <3> wherein the high flexible region is formed by compression of the absorbent body.

<5>

The absorbent article according to the above <4>, wherein the compressed portion of the absorbent body is formed in series in the longitudinal direction in the high-flexibility region.

<6>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above <1> to <5> wherein In the high-flexible region, the compressed portion in which the longitudinal direction compressing portions are intermittently arranged in series is formed in a plurality of rows in the width direction, and the positions of the compressed portions in the adjacent compressed portion rows are shifted in the longitudinal direction. The distance between half a pitch.

<7>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the absorbent body is arranged in a line in which the compression portion is intermittently arranged in the longitudinal direction in the longitudinal direction of the high-flexibility region. The direction is formed with a plurality of rows, and the positions of the compression portions in the adjacent compression portion rows are the same in the longitudinal direction.

<8>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the length of the compressed portion in the longitudinal direction is longer than the interval between the compressed portions adjacent to the longitudinal direction.

<9>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the absorbent body is formed as a compressed portion continuous in the longitudinal direction as the high-flexibility region.

<10>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the number of the high-flexibility regions of the absorbent body formed in the width direction is plural, preferably five or more, more preferably It is 8 or more, More preferably 10 or more.

<11>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the length of the high-flexibility region in the width direction is preferably 0.2 mm or more, more preferably 0.5 mm or more, and further preferably 10 mm. Hereinafter, it is more preferably 5 mm or less.

<12>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the compression portion for forming the high-flexibility region is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction, and the interval between the compression portions adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction is smaller. Preferably, it is 2 mm or more, more preferably 5 mm or more, and further preferably 20 Below mm, more preferably less than 10 mm.

<13>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the distance between the central positions of the high-flexibility regions adjacent to each other in the width direction is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 3 mm or more, further preferably 10 mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or less.

<14>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the number of the concave strip portions overlapping the high-flexibility region is plural, preferably three or more, more preferably five. More preferably, it is 8 or more.

<15>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the thickness of the absorbent body is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 2 mm or more, further preferably 15 mm or less, more preferably 10 mm or less. Further, it is preferably 1 mm or more and 15 mm or less, and more preferably 2 mm or more and 10 mm or less.

<16>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the nonwoven fabric comprises a plurality of fusion portions formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers.

<17>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned <1> to <16> wherein the constituent fibers of the nonwoven fabric comprise high elongation fibers.

<18>

The absorbent article according to the above <17>, wherein the high elongation fiber is a core-sheath type composite fiber having heat fusion properties.

<19>

The absorbent article according to the above <17> or <18>, wherein the above high elongation fiber The fineness at the stage of the raw material is 1.0 dtex or more and 10.0 dtex or less, preferably 2.0 dtex or more and 8.0 dtex or less.

<20>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the ratio of the high elongation fibers in the nonwoven fabric is 50% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less, preferably 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass. %the following.

<21>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the elongation of the high elongation fiber is preferably 100% or more and 800% or less, more preferably 200% or more and 500 at the stage of the raw material. % or less, further preferably 250% or more and 400% or less.

<22>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the constituent fibers of the non-woven fabric have a smaller fiber diameter between adjacent fusion portions when focusing on one constituent fiber. The large diameter portion of the fiber diameter is sandwiched between the two small diameter portions.

<23>

The absorbent article according to the above <22>, wherein the one of the constituent fibers is provided with a plurality of large diameter portions between adjacent fusion portions.

<24>

The absorbent article of the above-mentioned <22> or <23>, wherein the constituent fibers of the non-woven fabric are one or more and five or less large diameters between adjacent fusion portions when focusing on one constituent fiber. It is preferable to have one or more and three or less large diameter parts.

<25>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the ratio of the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₆ ) of the small-diameter portion to the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₇ ) of the large-diameter portion (L _{16 )} /L ₁₇ ) is preferably 0.5 or more and 0.8 or less, and more preferably 0.55 or more and 0.7 or less.

<26>

In the absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₆ ) of the small diameter portion is preferably 5 μm or more and 28 μm or less, and more preferably 6.5 μm or more and 20 μm or less. It is particularly preferably 7.5 μm or more and 16 μm or less.

<27>

In the absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₇ ) of the large diameter portion is preferably 10 μm or more and 35 μm or less, and more preferably 13 μm or more and 25 μm or less. It is particularly preferably 15 μm or more and 20 μm or less.

<28>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the constituent fibers of the non-woven fabric are converted from a small-diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion to a large-diameter portion when focusing on one constituent fiber. The change point is disposed within a range of one-third of the distance between the fusion portions and the adjacent fusion portions.

<29>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises a top region, a bottom region, and a side region between the portions when viewed in a cross section in the thickness direction.

<30>

The absorbent article according to the above <29>, wherein the side portion has a fiber density which is lower than a fiber density of the top portion and a fiber density of the bottom portion.

<31>

The absorbent article according to the above <29>, wherein the fiber density of the side region in the nonwoven fabric is formed to be the smallest.

<32>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the fiber density (D _13c ) of the side region is relative to the fiber density (D _13a ) of the top region or the fiber density of the bottom region ( The ratio of D _13b ) (D _13c /D _13a , D _13c /D _13b ) is preferably 0.15 or more and 0.9 or less, and more preferably 0.2 or more and 0.8 or less.

<33>

As the above <29> to <32> The absorbent article according to any one of, wherein the fiber density (D _13a) of said top region is preferably 90 / mm ² or more and 200 / mm ² or less, and further preferably 100 pieces/mm ² or more and 180 pieces/mm ² or less.

<34>

The <29> to the above <33> The absorbent article of any one of, wherein the fiber density (D _13b) of said bottom area is preferably 80 / mm ² or more and 200 / mm ² or less, and further preferably 90 pieces/mm ² or more and 180 pieces/mm ² or less.

<35>

The absorbent article according to any one of the items <29>, wherein the side region has a fiber density (D _13c ) of preferably 30 pieces/mm ² or more and 80 pieces/mm ² or less, and more preferably 40 pieces/mm ² or more and 70 pieces/mm ² or less.

<36>

The absorbent article according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises a fusion portion formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers, and the constituent fibers constituting the side region have self-contained The number of fibers having a change point in the small-diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion to the large-diameter portion is formed to be larger than the number of fibers having the change point among the constituent fibers constituting the top portion, and the composition constituting the bottom portion The number of fibers in the fiber having the above change points is large.

<37>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the non-woven fabric includes a fusion portion formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers, and the constituent fibers constituting the side region have the above-described change. The number of fibers (N _13c ) of the dots (N _13c ) or the number of fibers (N _13a ) having a change point from the small diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion to the large diameter portion among the constituent fibers constituting the top region or The ratio (N _13c /N _13a , N _13c /N _13b ) of the number of fibers (N _13b ) having the above-described change points among the constituent fibers constituting the bottom region is 2 or more and 20 or less.

<38>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned <29>, wherein the specific value of the number of fibers having a change point of the nonwoven fabric is a fiber having a change point among the constituent fibers of the top region. The number of roots (N _13a ) is preferably one or more and 15 or less, and more preferably 5 or more and 15 or less.

<39>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned <29>, wherein the specific value of the number of fibers having the change point of the nonwoven fabric is a fiber having a change point among the constituent fibers of the bottom region. The number of the roots (N _13b ) is preferably 1 or more and 15 or less, and more preferably 5 or more and 15 or less.

<40>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned <29>, wherein the specific value of the number of fibers having the change point of the nonwoven fabric is a change point in the constituent fibers constituting the side region. The number of fibers (N _13c ) is preferably 5 or more and 20 or less, and more preferably 10 or more and 20 or less.

<41>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the thickness of the nonwoven fabric sheet is 0.5 mm or more and 7 mm or less, preferably 1.0 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

<42>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the layer thickness of the top region is 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less.

<43>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the layer thickness of the bottom region is 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less.

<44>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the side portion has a layer thickness of 0.1 mm or more and 3.0 mm or less, preferably 0.2 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less.

<45>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the distance between the tops of the ridge portions adjacent to each other in the width direction is 1 mm or more and 15 mm or less, preferably 1.5 mm or more and 10 mm. the following.

<46>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric is 15 g/m ² or more and 50 g/m ² or less, preferably 20 g, based on the average of the entire sheet. /m ² or more and 40 g/m ² or less.

<47>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the joint portion of the concave portion and the lower sheet of the top sheet is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article.

<48>

The absorbent article according to the above <47>, wherein the joint portion of the concave strip portion and the lower side sheet of the front sheet is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction, and the joint portion of the front sheet is not The joint portion is alternately formed in the longitudinal direction, and in the high-flexibility region, the compression portion of the absorber is formed in series in the longitudinal direction, and the plurality of the absorbers in the high-flexibility region At least one of the compression sections The portion exists at the same position as the non-joining portion.

<49>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects of the present invention, wherein the second sheet comprising the non-woven fabric is disposed between the front sheet and the absorbent body, and the second sheet is the lower sheet material.

<50>

The absorbent article according to the above <49>, wherein the length of the second sheet in the longitudinal direction and the width direction is shorter than that of the front sheet.

<51>

The absorbent article according to the above <49> or <50>, wherein the nonwoven fabric constituting the second sheet has a three-dimensional network structure obtained by combining short fibers.

<52>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above-mentioned items, wherein the second sheet has a basis weight of 10 g/m ² or more and 40 g/m ² or less, preferably 15 g/m ² or more and 30 g. /m ² or less.

<53>

The absorbent article according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the absorbent body comprises an absorbent core and a coated core material encasing the absorbent core, wherein the coated core material is the lower side sheet.

<54>

The absorbent article according to the above <53>, wherein the base material of the coated core material is 10 g/m ² or more and 30 g/m ² or less, preferably 15 g/m ² or more and 20 g/m ² or less.

[Industrial availability]

The absorbent article of the present invention is excellent in the followability to deformability and discomfort of the wearer's activity, and is excellent in skin feel.

1‧‧‧nonwoven

2‧‧‧Front sheet

3‧‧‧Back sheet

4‧‧‧Acceptor

5‧‧‧Highly flexible area

5a‧‧‧Highly flexible area

5b‧‧‧Highly flexible area

6‧‧‧Bottom sheet

7‧‧‧Flanking

8‧‧‧ leak-proof cuffs

8a‧‧‧Free end

8b‧‧‧Fixed area

8c‧‧‧Flexible components

8d‧‧‧Face elastic region

10‧‧‧Incontinence pads

13‧‧‧Rocks

14‧‧‧ recessed section

40‧‧‧Absorbable core

41‧‧‧Package

43‧‧‧Compression Department

H‧‧‧ Height

L1‧‧‧ Straight line

L2‧‧‧ Straight line

L3‧‧‧ interval

P‧‧‧ spacing

R‧‧‧Compression Department

X‧‧‧ length direction

Y‧‧‧Width direction

Claims (33)

An absorbent article comprising: a front sheet, a back sheet, and an absorbent body interposed between the two sheets, which form a liquid-permeable surface of the skin contact surface, and has a longitudinal direction and a width direction, and the front sheet a non-woven fabric including a stripe-like ridge portion and a concave strip portion extending in the longitudinal direction and having a concave-convex structure alternately arranged in the width direction, and the concave strip portion is joined to the adjacent lower side sheet, and the ridge portion is formed as described above The lower sheets have a hollow structure, and the nonwoven fabric includes fibers having large diameter portions and small diameter portions having mutually different fiber diameters, and the absorption system has a flexural rigidity lower than that of the other portions in the plurality of portions in the width direction. Highly flexible area. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the position of the concave strip portion coincides with the position of the high flexible region in a plurality of portions in the width direction. The absorbent article of claim 2, wherein the high-flexibility region extending in the longitudinal direction has a plurality of rows formed in the width direction, and the plurality of portions in the width direction are at a position higher than the height of the concave portion The positions of the flexible regions continuously overlap along the longitudinal direction. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein said highly flexible region is formed by compression of said absorbent body. The absorbent article according to claim 4, wherein the compressed portion of the absorbent body is formed in series in the longitudinal direction in the high-flexibility region. The absorbent article of claim 5, wherein the joint portion of the concave strip portion and the lower side sheet of the front sheet is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction, and the joint portion is joined to the non-joined portion of the front sheet The portions are alternately formed in the length direction, and the above At least a part of the compression portions of the plurality of the absorbers in the high flexibility region are present at the same position as the non-joining portion. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent body is formed as a plurality of rows in a width direction in a compressed portion in which the longitudinally compressed portions are intermittently arranged as the high-flexibility region, adjacent to each other. The position of the compression section in the compression section is shifted by a distance of half a pitch in the longitudinal direction. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent body is formed as a plurality of rows in a width direction in a compressed portion in which the longitudinally compressed portions are intermittently arranged as the high-flexibility region, adjacent to each other. The compression section in the compression section has the same position in the longitudinal direction. The absorbent article according to claim 5, wherein the length of the compressed portion in the longitudinal direction is longer than the interval between the compressed portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent body is formed as a compressed portion continuous in the longitudinal direction as the high-flexibility region. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the number of the high-flexibility regions of the absorbent body formed in the width direction is five or more. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the length of the high-flexibility region in the width direction is 0.2 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the compression portion for forming the high-flexibility region is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction, and the interval between the compression portions adjacent in the longitudinal direction is 2 mm or more and 20 mm or less. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the central positions of the high-flexibility regions adjacent to each other in the width direction of the absorbent body is 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the number of the concave strip portions overlapping the high-flexibility region is three or more. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric comprises a plurality of fusion portions formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the constituting fibers of the nonwoven fabric comprise high elongation fibers. The absorbent article according to claim 17, wherein the elongation of the high elongation fiber is 100% or more and 800% or less at the stage of the raw material. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the constituent fibers of the non-woven fabric have fibers which are sandwiched between two small-diameter portions having a small fiber diameter between adjacent fusion portions when focusing on one constituent fiber. Large diameter section with larger diameter. The absorbent article according to claim 19, wherein the one of the constituent fibers is composed of a plurality of large-diameter portions between adjacent fusion portions. The absorbent article according to claim 19 or 20, wherein a ratio (L ₁₆ /L ₁₇ ) of the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₆ ) of the small diameter portion to the fiber diameter (diameter L ₁₇ ) of the large diameter portion is 0.5 or more And 0.8 or less. The absorbent article according to claim 19, wherein the constituent fibers of the non-woven fabric are disposed at a distance from the small-diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion to the large-diameter portion at a distance from the fusion portion when focusing on one constituent fiber The adjacent fusion portions are within 1/3 of each other. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric comprises a top region, a bottom region, and a side region between the sections when viewed in a cross section in the thickness direction. The absorbent article of claim 23, wherein the side region has a fiber density which is lower than a fiber density of the top region and a fiber density of the bottom region. The absorbent article of claim 23, wherein the fiber density of said side regions in said nonwoven fabric is minimized. The requested item 23 of the absorbent article, wherein the fiber density (D _13c) of the side portion with respect to the area density of the top region of the fiber (D _13a) fiber density (D _13b) of said bottom area or the ratio (D _13c / D _13a , D _13c /D _13b ) is 0.15 or more and 0.9 or less. The absorbent article according to claim 23, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises a fusion portion formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers, and the small-diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion is formed in the constituent fibers constituting the side portion. The number of fibers of the change point of the diameter change is formed to be larger than the number of fibers having the change point among the constituent fibers constituting the top region, and the fibers having the change point among the constituent fibers constituting the bottom portion. The number of roots is large. The absorbent article according to claim 23, wherein the non-woven fabric comprises a fusion portion formed by thermally fusing the intersections of the constituent fibers, and the number of fibers having the above-described change points among the constituent fibers constituting the side region (N _13c ) The number of fibers (N _13a ) having a change point from the small-diameter portion adjacent to the fusion portion to the large-diameter portion among the constituent fibers constituting the top region or the constituent fibers constituting the bottom region The ratio (N _13c /N _13a , N _13c /N _13b ) of the number of fibers (N _13b ) at the above change point is 2 or more and 20 or less. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the joint portion of the concave portion and the lower sheet of the front sheet is intermittently formed in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein a second sheet comprising a non-woven fabric is disposed between the front sheet and the absorbent body, and the second sheet is the lower sheet. The absorbent article of claim 30, wherein the length of the second sheet in the longitudinal direction and the width direction is shorter than the length of the front sheet. The absorbent article of claim 30 or 31, wherein the nonwoven fabric constituting the second sheet has a three-dimensional network structure obtained by combining short fibers. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the absorbent body comprises an absorbent core and a coated core material encasing the absorbent core, wherein the coated core material is the lower side sheet.