WO2021085151A1

WO2021085151A1 - Absorbent article and excretion detection device having same

Info

Publication number: WO2021085151A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/038846
Authority: WO
Inventors: 将之古尾谷
Original assignee: 三和株式会社
Priority date: 2019-10-31
Filing date: 2020-10-15
Publication date: 2021-05-06
Also published as: JP2021069806A

Abstract

Provided is an absorbent article with which data pertaining to the excretion of a body fluid can be accurately measured even when the amount of the body fluid is small. The present invention comprises a base sheet 11 and an absorbent 12 laminated on the base sheet 11 and making contact with the skin of a wearer, wherein: the base sheet 11 has a plurality of electrode forming sections C which are insulated from each other; and the absorbent 12 has an absorbent main body 12a that absorbs the body fluid of the wearer, and a recess section W recessed toward the base sheet 11 from the skin-facing surface of the absorbent main body 12a.

Description

Absorbent article and excretion detection device equipped with it

The present invention relates to an absorbent article used for detecting urination and the like and an excretion detection device provided with the absorbent article.

Conventionally, an absorbent article for adults has been used, which is used together with a sensor for detecting urination and the like, and for example, a caregiver can detect the presence or absence of urination of a care recipient.

This absorbent article has a conductive element formed on its surface by applying or sewing a conductive material. Further, by connecting the sensor to the conductive element, an open circuit is formed in the absorbent article.

According to the absorbent article configured as described above, when the care recipient wearing the article excretes the body fluid, the open circuit is closed, the sensor is activated, and the excretion of the body fluid can be notified to the outside.
Therefore, the caregiver can easily recognize the presence or absence of excretion of the body fluid of the care recipient without directly checking the inside of the absorbent article.

However, the absorbent article configured as described above detects only the presence or absence of excreted body fluid, and does not measure the amount of urination or the like with high accuracy.
Therefore, there is a problem that the caregiver cannot appropriately collect the course of the symptom of the care recipient as data.

In order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 1 describes an invention relating to an absorbent article capable of measuring data on excretion of body fluid with high accuracy.

The absorbent article described in Patent Document 1 has a sheet provided with an electrode, and the electrode is formed by applying the electrode to a conductive material.
Further, the electrode is composed of a plurality of positive electrodes and negative electrodes, which are alternately arranged in the length direction of the absorbent article.

According to the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1, by adopting the above-described electrode, the amount of impedance change for each pair of positive and negative electrodes can be measured, and the difference in the amount of change causes the amount of body fluid excretion and the amount of body fluid excretion. Data such as body fluid excretion time and body fluid excretion rate can be measured with high accuracy.

Japanese Patent No. 6301773

However, even in the case of the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1, for example, when the amount of body fluid excreted is very small, the absorber absorbs all the body fluid inside the article, and the body fluid is not transmitted to the electrodes. Possibility is a concern.
In such a case, the data is not measured properly, which hinders the follow-up of the symptom of the care recipient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned actual conditions, and provides an absorbent article capable of detecting excretion of a small amount of body fluid with high accuracy and an excretion detection device including the same. That is the issue.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a base sheet and an absorber laminated on the base sheet and in contact with the skin surface of the wearer.
The base sheet has a plurality of electrode components that are insulated from each other, and has a plurality of electrode components.
The absorber has an absorber body that absorbs the body fluid of the wearer, and a recess that is recessed from the skin-facing surface of the absorber body toward the base sheet.

According to the present invention, since the absorber has a recess, the amount of the absorber body interposed between the bottom surface of the recess and the surface of the base sheet in the thickness direction of the absorbent article can be reduced, and the recess can be reduced. The amount of body fluid that has flowed into the body can be reduced.
Therefore, even when a small amount of body fluid is excreted, the body fluid flows into the concave portion, so that the body fluid can be reliably transmitted to the base sheet by the capillary phenomenon and brought into contact with the electrode constituent portion.
That is, even a small amount of body fluid can be detected with high accuracy.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bottom surface of the recess is one surface of the base sheet.

With such a configuration, since the absorber body does not exist between the bottom surface of the recess and the surface of the base sheet, a small amount of body fluid that has flowed into the recess is more reliably transmitted to the base sheet, and the electrode component portion. It is possible to detect the excretion of body fluid with higher accuracy.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recess is provided closer to the front of the wearer.

With such a configuration, when worn, the wearer's body fluid excretion site becomes closer to the recess, and the body fluid easily flows into the recess, so that the excretion of body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy. Become.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the recesses are provided in the absorber.

With such a configuration, the area occupied by the recesses in the absorber increases, and the body fluid easily flows into the recesses, so that the excretion of the body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of recesses have a substantially elongated shape, and are provided at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction thereof.

With such a configuration, it is possible to secure the absorption capacity when a large amount of body fluid is excreted by the absorber body existing between each recess while maintaining the accuracy of excretion of body fluid by a plurality of recesses. It will be possible.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of electrode components include a pair of conductive parts arranged adjacent to each other extending along the plane direction of the base sheet.
In the pair of conductive portions, one of the conductive portions is provided with a positive electrode portion that projects toward the other conductive portion, and the other conductive portion projects toward the other conductive portion. A negative electrode portion is provided.

With such a configuration, the wearer's body fluid can easily come into contact with a plurality of electrode components, and the excretion of the body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the positive electrode portion and the negative electrode portion are provided in a plurality of the pair of conductive portions.

With such a configuration, the area occupied by the plurality of electrode components in the base sheet is increased, and the body fluid is more easily contacted by the plurality of electrode components, so that the excretion of the body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy. Is possible.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the positive electrode portion and the negative electrode portion are alternately arranged adjacent to each other along the extending direction of the conductive portion.

With such a configuration, the body fluid can be more easily contacted with the plurality of electrode components, and the spread of the body fluid can be measured by measuring the impedance changes of a plurality of adjacent sets of positive electrode parts and negative electrode parts, respectively. It is possible to measure such data with high accuracy.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recesses are arranged so as to overlap with at least one set of adjacent positive electrode portions and negative electrode portions in the thickness direction of the base sheet.

With such a configuration, the body fluid that has flowed into the recess can be reliably brought into contact with the adjacent positive electrode portion and negative electrode portion, and the excretion of the body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy.

Further, the present invention is an excretion detection device including the above-mentioned absorbent article and a sensor device attached to the absorbent article to detect excretion of the wearer.
The sensor device includes a sensor that detects and processes the wearer's excretion, and a transmission means that transmits sensor information having the detection processing result.
The sensor comes into contact with the plurality of electrode components and is attached to the absorbent article.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an absorbent article capable of detecting excretion of a small amount of body fluid with high accuracy and an excretion detection device provided with the absorbable article.

It is a schematic perspective view of the absorbent article which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the absorbent article which concerns on embodiment of this invention as seen from the absorber side. It is a top view from the base sheet side of the absorbent article which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is XX'line sectional view of the absorbent article which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the sensor device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the usage method (excretion detection device) of the absorbent article which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the absorbent article according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
The embodiments shown below are examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In the present embodiment, the case where the absorbent article is a urine absorbing pad provided inside the diaper and used will be described. Further, in these figures, reference numeral 1 indicates an absorbent article according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the absorbent article 1 includes a base sheet 11 and an absorber 12 laminated on the base sheet 11 and in contact with the skin surface of the wearer.
For convenience of explanation below, the direction indicated by the arrow a shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is defined as the forward direction. That is, when the wearer wears the absorbent article 1, the front direction of the wearer and the direction indicated by the arrow a coincide with each other.

The base sheet 11 is roughly formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and the leg gather G1 is formed by providing a thread-like elastic elastic member (not shown) that can be expanded and contracted along the long side direction inside both long sides thereof. It is formed.
Further, the base sheet 11 has two electrode constituent portions C that are insulated from each other.

The absorber 12 is roughly formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and is provided substantially in the center of the base sheet 11.
Further, the absorber 12 has a recess W recessed from the skin-facing surface toward the base sheet 11.
Further, the absorber 12 is provided with a thread-like elastic elastic member e (see FIG. 4) that can be expanded and contracted along the long side direction inside both long sides thereof, thereby forming a three-dimensional gather G2. ..
The skin-facing surface is a surface that faces the wearer's skin when worn.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recesses W have an elongated shape extending in the long side direction of the absorber 12, and are provided in pairs at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction (short side direction of the absorber 12). ing.
Further, the pair of recesses W are provided closer to the front of the wearer.
Further, the pair of recesses W are formed to be curved in a mountain shape so as to approach each other toward the center thereof.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the two electrode constituents C extends along the long side direction of the base sheet 11 over both short sides of the base sheet 11, and along the short side direction of the base sheet 11. Includes a pair of conductive portions C1 and C2 arranged adjacent to each other.

The conductive portion C1 is provided with 14 elongated positive electrode portions C1a that project along the short side direction of the base sheet 11 and toward the conductive portion C2.
The conductive portion C2 is provided with 13 elongated negative electrode portions C2a that project along the short side direction of the base sheet 11 and toward the conductive portion C1.

The positive electrode portions C1a and the negative electrode portions C2a are alternately arranged adjacent to each other along the extending direction of the conductive portions C1 and C2 (the long side direction of the base sheet 11). As a result, 13 pairs of positive electrode portions C1a and negative electrode portions C2a adjacent to each other are formed.
The number of the positive electrode portion C1a and the negative electrode portion C2a is not limited to this, and may be any number. Further, the shapes of the positive electrode portion C1a and the negative electrode portion C2a may not be elongated, and may be, for example, a quadrangular shape.

Here, in FIG. 3, in order to show the positional relationship between the recess W and the electrode component C, the recess W provided in the absorber 12 is shown by a hidden line (broken line).
As described above, in the present embodiment, the recesses W are arranged so as to overlap the adjacent positive electrode portions C1a and negative electrode portions C2a in the thickness direction of the base sheet 11 in a total of six sets.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base sheet 11 includes a base sheet main body 11a provided with an electrode component C, and a breathable sheet 11b laminated on both sides of the base sheet main body 11a.

The base sheet body 11a is formed of a flexible waterproof film.

The electrode component C is formed by printing on the base sheet main body 11a with conductive ink.
As the conductive material used for the conductive ink, a material containing carbon powder as a main component, a material containing a metal powder such as silver or copper, a carbon nanotube, a dispersant, a binder, a resin, a curing agent, etc. are mixed. Examples include mixtures.
The conductive portions C1 and C2, the positive electrode portions C1a, and the negative electrode portion C2a are preferably formed of the same conductive material, but may be formed of different conductive materials. Further, the electrode component C includes, for example, a synthetic fiber made by mixing metal or carbon particles that conduct electricity, a fiber whose surface is coated with metal or carbon, or a conductive thread such as a metal fiber such as stainless steel. It may be formed by sewing to the base sheet main body 11a.

Since the electrode component C is formed by printing with conductive ink as described above, its shape (design) can be easily changed.
As shown in FIG. 2, the electrode component C is also printed on the skin-facing surface of the base sheet main body 11a and extends from each short side of the base sheet 11 to each short side of the absorber 12.

The breathable sheet 11b is formed of, for example, a hydrophilic and liquid permeable non-woven fabric, a three-dimensional perforated film, or the like.
Since the base sheet main body 11a is sandwiched between such breathable sheets 11b, the shape of the electrode component C can be visually recognized from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 4, the absorber 12 includes an absorber main body 12a and a skin contact sheet 12b that is provided so as to cover the absorber main body 12a and comes into contact with the wearer's skin.

The absorber body 12a is composed of an absorbent member 12a1 and a core wrap sheet 12a2 that covers the absorbent member 12a1.
The absorbing member 12a1 is formed by mixing a fine particle super absorbent polymer (SAP) material with a material such as powdered or cotton fibrous cotton pulp, wood pulp or paper pulp.
The core wrap sheet 12a2 is formed of, for example, a hydrophilic sheet, for example, a water-permeable thin paper (tissue paper), a water-permeable non-woven fabric, or the like.

The skin contact sheet 12b is formed of, for example, a hydrophilic and liquid permeable non-woven fabric, a three-dimensional perforated film, or the like.
Further, since the skin contact sheet 12b is connected to the base sheet 11 at the peripheral edge thereof, the absorber main body 12a is sandwiched and fixed between the skin contact sheet 12b and the base sheet 11.
Examples of the method of connecting the skin contact sheet 12b and the base sheet 11 include methods such as adhesion with an adhesive, heat fusion, and suturing. Further, the three-dimensional gather G2 is formed by the skin contact sheet 12b.

The recess W is formed by recessing the absorber 12 from the skin-facing surface toward the base sheet 11, and the peripheral edge of the bottom surface thereof is connected to the base sheet 11 in the same manner as the skin contact sheet 12b. As a result, the bottom surface thereof is configured as one surface of the base sheet 11 (breathable sheet 11b).

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the sensor device S, showing a state in which (a) the holding portion S1 is closed and (b) a state in which the holding portion S1 is opened.
As shown in FIG. 5, the sensor device S includes a holding portion S1 for holding the absorbent article 1, a sensor S2 for detecting excretion of the wearer, and a transmitting means for transmitting sensor information having the detection processing result (FIG. 5). Not shown) and.
As shown in (b), the sandwiching portion S1 is configured to be rotatable so that the sensor S2 is exposed to the outside.

When the absorbent article 1 is used, as shown in FIG. 6, the sensor device S is sandwiched between the front ends of the pair of conductive portions C1 and C2 by using the sandwiching portion S1, and the base sheet 11 is used. Attached to the excretion detection device Z. At this time, the sensor S2 is brought into contact with the pair of conductive portions C1 and C2.
The mounting position of the sensor device S is not limited to the front, and may be mounted at the rear.

As a result, the sensor S2 and the pair of conductive portions C1 and C2 are electrically connected to form an electrolytic capacitor in a broad sense.
That is, each pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a serve as electrodes of the electrolytic capacitor, and the base sheet main body 11a on which the electrode constituent portion C is printed becomes the insulating dielectric of the electrolytic capacitor, and the wearer's body fluid such as urine and menstrual blood ( (Not shown) is the electrolytic solution of the electrolytic capacitor.

When the wearer's body fluid comes into contact with at least one of each pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a, the impedance between the contacted pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a changes.
By measuring this change in impedance with the sensor device S, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of excretion of body fluid.

Further, since the impedance between the pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a that the body fluid is in contact with and the impedance between the pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a that are not in contact with the body fluid are different values, the sensor device S is used. By measuring the impedance between each pair of positive and negative electrode portions C1a and C2a, the spread of body fluid can be detected.

In addition to this, by providing the sensor device S with a sensor that detects changes in acceleration in each of the X, Y, and Z directions due to the displacement of the wearer, changes in the wearer's body temperature, etc., the caregiver wears the sensor device S. The follow-up of a person's symptoms can be performed more efficiently.

According to the present embodiment, since the absorber 12 has the recess W, even when a small amount of body fluid is excreted, the body fluid flows into the recess W, so that the base sheet 11 is surely formed by the capillary phenomenon. It can be transmitted and brought into contact with the electrode component C.
That is, even a small amount of body fluid can be detected with high accuracy.

Further, since the bottom surface of the recess W is one surface of the base sheet 11, the absorber main body 12a does not exist between the bottom surface of the recess W and the surface of the base sheet 11, so that a small amount of body fluid flowing into the recess W can be collected. , It can be more reliably transmitted to the base sheet 11 and brought into contact with the electrode component C, and the excretion of body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy.

Further, since the recess W is provided closer to the front of the wearer, the wearer's body fluid excretion site becomes closer to the recess W when worn, and the body fluid easily flows into the recess W, so that the body fluid is excreted. , It becomes possible to detect with higher accuracy.

Further, since a plurality of recesses W are provided in the absorber 12, the area occupied by the recesses W in the absorber 12 increases, and the body fluid easily flows into the recesses W, so that the body fluid can be excreted with higher accuracy. It becomes possible to detect.

Further, since the pair of recesses W have a substantially elongated shape and are provided at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction thereof, each recess W is maintained while maintaining the accuracy of excretion of body fluid by the pair of recesses W. The absorber body 12a existing between them makes it possible to secure the absorption capacity when a large amount of body fluid is excreted.

Further, the electrode constituent portion C extends along the long side direction of the base sheet 11 and includes a pair of conductive portions C1 and C2 arranged adjacent to each other, and the conductive portion C1 projects toward the conductive portion C2. The positive electrode portion C1a is provided, and the conductive portion C2 is provided with the negative electrode portion C2a protruding toward the conductive portion C1, so that the wearer's body fluid can easily come into contact with the electrode constituent portion C. It becomes possible to detect the excretion of body fluid with higher accuracy.

Further, since a plurality of positive electrode portions C1a and a plurality of negative electrode portions C2a are provided in the conductive portions C1 and C2, the area occupied by the electrode constituent portion C in the base sheet 11 is increased, and the body fluid is collected by the electrode constituent portion C. By facilitating contact, it becomes possible to detect the excretion of body fluid with higher accuracy.

Further, since the positive electrode portions C1a and the negative electrode portions C2a are alternately arranged adjacent to each other along the extending direction of the conductive portions C1 and C2, the body fluid is more likely to come into contact with the electrode constituent portion C. By measuring the impedance changes of the plurality of sets of positive electrode portions C1a and negative electrode portions C2a that are adjacent to each other, it is possible to measure data such as the spread of body fluid with high accuracy.

Further, the recesses W are arranged so as to overlap the adjacent positive electrode portions C1a and the negative electrode portions C2a in the thickness direction of the base sheet 11 in a total of 6 sets, so that the body fluid flowing into the recesses W is arranged. Can be reliably brought into contact with the adjacent positive electrode portion C1a and negative electrode portion C2a, and the excretion of body fluid can be detected with higher accuracy.

Note that the various shapes and dimensions of each component shown in the above-described embodiment are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the absorbent article 1 is a urine absorbing pad used inside the diaper has been described, but for example, a sanitary napkin or a pants type in which the urine absorbing pad is not used as a separate body. It may be a diaper or the like.
Furthermore, the absorbent article 1 can naturally be applied to both adults and infants.

1 Absorbent article 11 Base sheet 11a Base sheet body 11b Breathable sheet C Electrode components C1, C2 Conductive parts C1a Positive electrode part C2a Negative electrode part G1 Leg gather 12 Absorber 12a Absorber body 12a1 Absorbent member 12a2 Core wrap sheet 12b Skin contact sheet W Recess G2 Three-dimensional gather e Filamentous elastic elastic member S Sensor device S1 Sensor S2 Holding part Z Excretion detection device

Claims

A base sheet and an absorber laminated on the base sheet and in contact with the wearer's skin surface are provided.
The base sheet has a plurality of electrode components that are insulated from each other, and has a plurality of electrode components.
The absorber is an absorbent article having an absorber body that absorbs the body fluid of the wearer and a recess recessed from the skin-facing surface of the absorber body toward the base sheet.
The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the recess is one surface of the base sheet.
The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recess is provided closer to the front of the wearer.
The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the recesses are provided in the absorber.
The absorbent article according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of recesses have a substantially elongated shape and are provided at intervals in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction thereof.
The plurality of electrode components include a pair of conductive parts arranged adjacent to each other extending along the plane direction of the base sheet.
In the pair of conductive portions, one of the conductive portions is provided with a positive electrode portion that projects toward the other conductive portion, and the other conductive portion projects toward the other conductive portion. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is provided with a negative electrode portion.
The absorbent article according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the positive electrode portion and the negative electrode portion are provided in the pair of conductive portions.
The absorbent article according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the positive electrode portion and the negative electrode portion are alternately arranged adjacent to each other along the extending direction of the conductive portion.
The recess according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the recess is arranged so as to overlap with at least one set of the adjacent positive electrode portion and the negative electrode portion in the thickness direction of the base sheet. Absorbent article.
An excretion detection device comprising the absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a sensor device attached to the absorbent article to detect excretion of the wearer.
The sensor device includes a sensor that detects and processes the wearer's excretion, and a transmission means that transmits sensor information having the detection processing result.
The sensor is an excretion detection device that comes into contact with the plurality of electrode components and is attached to the absorbent article.