Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/56—Supporting or fastening means
  • A61F13/66—Garments, holders or supports not integral with absorbent pads
  • A61F13/68—Garments, holders or supports not integral with absorbent pads abdominal enclosing type
  • A61F13/72—Garments, holders or supports not integral with absorbent pads abdominal enclosing type with endless waist encircling band, e.g. panty type
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A41—WEARING APPAREL
  • A41B—SHIRTS; UNDERWEAR; BABY LINEN; HANDKERCHIEFS
  • A41B9/00—Undergarments
  • A41B9/001—Underpants or briefs

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a pair of elastic underpants for supporting an incontinence guard or the like and comprising a front part, a back part and an intermediate crotch part.
• the invention also relates to a method for providing a pair of elastic underpants with a basin-shaped recess for accommodating an incontinence guard or the like.
• Incontinence is a problem which deserves more atten ⁇ tion, since it causes the person suffering from incon- tinence considerable discomfort, both physically and psychiatrically.
• Incontinence is not only associated with institutional care, since a very large number of people who are healthy in other respects suffer from so-called light incontinence. Although only relatively small quantities of urine are discharged unwillingly from persons suf ⁇ fering from light incontinence, such discharge still creates psychiatric and social problems for such peo- pie. Light incontinence constitutes a hidden handicap, insomuch as the person suffering from light inconti ⁇ nence is unwilling to talk about his problem and the suffering person would be able to live a much freer and more active life if adequate aids were readily acces- sible.
• aids in the form of large adult diapers, sanitary towels, panty protectors and the like.
• These aids are either intended for absorbing very large quantities of urine or for absorbing a different type of fluid, namely menstruation fluid, and are therefore less suitable for people suffering from light urine-incontinence.
• a light-incontinence guard can be worn discretely and comfortably, and it is also essential that the wearer can be sure that the guard will not leak when in use.
• incontinence guards whose size and shape is more suitab- le for the purpose intended than the size and shape of the aforementioned aids.
• the size of such incontinence guards is so restricted as to enable the guards to be positioned in the underwear of the user while still retaining a sufficiently high urine-absorption capa- city. This has been achieved by means of a basin-shaped guard, i.e. a guard which is deeper than normal diapers and sanitary napkins.
• the absorbency of the absorbent pads has been considerably increased by including so-called superabsorbents, thereby enabling the length and width of the guard to be reduced.
• Another problem is one of positioning the guard cor ⁇ rectly in the underpants and of preventing the guard from moving from this correct position.
• the guard is normally secured to the underpants by means of pressure responsive adhesive, which is applied to the outer surface of the liquid-impermeable backing layer of the guard.
• the present invention provides a pair of underpants which are intended to solve these problems.
• inventive underpants are characterized in that they include a permanently stretched region within which the incontinence guard shall be placed and in which the material of the underpants has a lower elasticity than in the remaining regions thereof.
• the primary characteristic of the invention is that a pair of otherwise conventional elastic underpants have been provided with a permanently stretched region for accommodating an incontinence guard so that the shape and absorbency of the guard will not be affected delet- eriously by the pressure forces to which the guard would otherwise be subjected.
• This permanently stret ⁇ ched region enables the advantages which can be gained with respect to absorbency by providing the incontin ⁇ ence guard with a greater depth, for example a basin- like configuration, to be utilized more readily, since the underpants need not exert any appreciable pressure on the incontinence guard in the region of the under ⁇ pants concerned.
• inventive underpants also afford the important advantage that the elastic material located outside the relatively inelastic, permanently stretched region will exert pressure on the wearer's body and, in this way, function as a means of securing those parts of the incontinence guard which extend outside said region.
• this region can be readily iden- tified by the user, so that the incontinence guard can be positioned correctly in the underpants.
• the inventive method is characterized by stretching to a desired shape that region of the underpants which is intended to receive the incontinence guard, and holding this region stretched while the material in this region of the underpants is treated in a manner to reduce the elasticity of said material.
• Figure 1 is a top view of a pair of inventive under- pants, with the side intended to face towards the wearer's stomach facing towards the viewer.
• Figure 2 is a top view of the same underpants, secured from the opposite side.
• Figure 3 is a top view of a pair of underpants con ⁇ structed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention, with the side that is intended to lie against the wearer's stomach facing towards the viewer.
• the underpants 1 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 include a front part 2, which is intended to lie against the wearer's stomach, a back part 3, which is intended to lie against the wearer's buttocks, and a crotch part 4 which extends between the front and back parts 2, 3 and which is intended to be placed between the wearer's thighs in use.
• the underpants also include a waist opening 5 at the end edges 6, 7 of the front and back parts, intended for embracing the waist of the wearer, and two leg openigns 8, 9 at the side edges 10, 11 of the crotch part, for embracing the wearer's thighs.
• the underpants also include at the waist opening 5 an elas- tication 12 which extends around the end edges 6, 7 of the front and back parts.
• Elastication 13, 14 is also provided around the leg openings 8, 9, along the side edges 10, 11 of the crotch part.
• the elastications 12-14 may, for example, consist of elastic bands, elastic threads or the like, which are mounted while in a pre-stretched state.
• the material from which the front, back and crotch parts 2-4 are made may comprise, for instance, poly- amide, rayon, polyester, polypropylene, cotton or mixtures thereof.
• the material also includes an elastic component, such as LYCRA® or DORLASTAN®, for instance.
• the front and back parts 2, 3 have elastic properties, as do also parts of the crotch part 4.
• one region 15 of the crotch part 4 exhibits substantially inelastic properties. This is achieved by stretching the material in said region 15 to a desired shape, with the aid of a suitable tool, for example a stamp with an anvil surface which maintains a tempera- ture equal to or higher than the fixation temperature of the elastic component, i.e. the temperature at which changes in the fibre structure take place, thereby changing the elasticity of the fibre, in the sense that the fibre is partially or completely stretched or even melts and ruptures, depending on how high the tem- perature is.
• a suitable tool for example a stamp with an anvil surface which maintains a tempera- ture equal to or higher than the fixation temperature of the elastic component, i.e. the temperature at which changes in the fibre structure take place, thereby changing the elasticity of the fibre, in the sense that the fibre is partially or completely stretched or even melts and ruptures, depending on how high
• a stretched region may ex ⁇ hibit a certain degree of elasticity, this elasticity will be negligible in comparison with the elasticity of the non-treated material in the front or back part 2, 3 of the underpants.
• the fibre structure of the region 15 in its stretched state can be changed in other ways, for instance by treating the fibre structure with a suitable solvent.
• the size of the stretched region 15 will depend both on the size of the underpants and also on the shape and size of the incontinence guard, and can be varied in many ways. However, an advantage is gained when the length of the stretched region is slightly shorter than the length of the incontinence guard, since the guard can then be held in its intended position of use by the elastic forces exerted by the elasticity of the front and back parts 2, 3 of the underpants. Of course, when the length of the stretched region 15 is made so short that the region does not extend over the full length of the crotch part 4, those elastic parts of the crotch part 4 which border on the front and back parts 2, 3 respectively will serve the same purpose.
• the side edges 10, 11 of the crotch part 4 may also have re- tained elastic properties, so as to afford, together with the elastications 13, 14, improved lateral seal ⁇ ing, when fitting an incontinence guard in the crotch part 4 of the underpants.
• the underpants can be used with any kind of incon- tinence guard, although by appropriate shaping of the inelastic, permanently stretched region 15 of the crotch part 4, the underpants can be"tailor made"for a given size of incontinence guard or for an incontinence guard of specific configuration.
• the inelastic, stretched region 15 in accordance with the invention need not be provided with specifically shaped pieces of material in order to obtain the basin-like space, i.e. the inelastic, stretched region 15 need not comprise a continuously bridging part of the crotch part 4, thereby obviating complicated and time-con ⁇ suming material-joining steps in the manufacture of said underpants.
• the inelastic, stretched region 15 bordered by chaffing seams or the like.
• the incontinence guard can be positioned readily in the underpants, because the inelastic region, formed by stretching, provides a clear indication as to where the incontinence guard shall be placed.
• Figure 3 illustrates a pair of underpants 101 which are largely identical to the underpants 1, and consequently the structural elements present in the embodiment il ⁇ lustrated in Figures 1 and 2 have been identified by the same reference signs in Figure 3.
• the underpants 101 are intended primarily for use by incon ⁇ tinent males. Accordingly, the underpants 101 have a permanently, stretched region 115 which exhibits essen ⁇ tially inelastic properties and which is located within both the crotch part 4 and the front part 2.
• the stret ⁇ ched region 115 is thus displaced forwards and into the front part 2, with the intention of accommodating such incontinence guards as those which are intended to be placed over the male sexual organs and are therefore configured to this end.
• the stretched region 115 may, of course, have any desired configuration in other respects.
• the underpants may include more than one permanently stretched region.
• the stret ⁇ ched region may be provided solely in the front part of the underpants.
• the underpants may also be openable, so as to facilitate replacement of an incontinence guard.
• the underpants may be provided with fas ⁇ teners which will enable the front and back parts of the underpants to be secured around the wearer's trunk.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Undergarments, Swaddling Clothes, Handkerchiefs Or Underwear Materials (AREA)
• Professional, Industrial, Or Sporting Protective Garments (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20379868

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (7)

Citations (3)

• 1990
  • 1990-06-26 SE SE9002253A patent/SE466832B/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1991
  • 1991-06-25 WO PCT/SE1991/000458 patent/WO1992000051A1/en unknown
  • 1991-06-25 AU AU81878/91A patent/AU8187891A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (3)

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