WO2024080057A1

WO2024080057A1 - Wearable-article accommodation body and wearable article

Info

Publication number: WO2024080057A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/033236
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健人梨子木; 洋介新保; 沙也佳櫻井; チュティカーンコータンサブ; マリサーウォンキティシン
Original assignee: ユニ・チャーム株式会社
Priority date: 2022-10-12
Filing date: 2023-09-12
Publication date: 2024-04-18

Abstract

The present invention is a wearable-article accommodation body (90) comprising a wearable article (1) that is stretchable and is used together with an absorbent pad (100) and an accommodation member (70) that accommodates the wearable article (1). The wearable article is made of a fabric with an elongation rate the maximum value of which is at least 200% when a 50×200 mm sample piece is pulled at 5 N either in a vertical direction or a lateral direction. The wearable article includes an engagement region that engages with the absorbent pad and is less susceptible to elongation than the fabric; and, in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearable article, the maximum tension load for elongation to reach twice the length in the vertical direction from a natural state is greater than the maximum tension load for elongation to reach twice the length in the lateral direction from the natural state.

Description

Wearing article container and wearing article

The present invention relates to a wearable item container and a wearable item.

　Conventionally, there are known elastic pants-type worn articles that use an absorbent pad attached to the crotch area to absorb urine and other bodily waste. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses shorts that can be worn in combination with an absorbent pad by engaging a hook-and-loop fastener (female member) provided on the inside surface of the elastic shorts (worn article) with a hook-and-loop fastener (male member) provided on the absorbent pad.

JP 2003-24385 A

When wearing an absorbent pad-compatible garment, the wearer grasps the top of the garment with the absorbent pad attached and pulls it up together with the absorbent pad to fit it around the wearer's crotch area. However, with garments made of highly elastic fabric, the fabric at the top stretches vertically, making it difficult to pull up the absorbent pad.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a wearable article that is less likely to stretch vertically when pulled up with the absorbent pad attached, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

The main invention for achieving the above object is a wearing article container comprising a wearing article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, and having elasticity in the vertical and horizontal directions, the wearing article being used in combination with an absorbent pad, and a container member for containing the wearing article, wherein the wearing article is reusable, the container member is provided with an indication that recalls that the wearing article is used in combination with the absorbent pad, and the wearing article has a maximum elongation rate of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. The wearing article container is made of fabric, has a front body and a back body, and has an engagement area in at least one of the front body and the back body that engages with the absorbent pad and is less stretchable than the fabric, and in the front body or the back body that has the engagement area, in a region above the lower end of the engagement area and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article, the maximum tensile load required to stretch the wearing article to twice its length in the vertical direction from its natural state is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the wearing article to twice its length in the horizontal direction from its natural state.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a wearable article that is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction when the absorbent pad is attached and that makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a worn article 1. FIG. Fig. 2A is a plan view of the worn article 1 in a natural state as viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction. Fig. 2B is a plan view of the worn article 1 in a natural state as viewed from the rear side in the front-rear direction. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a method for manufacturing the worn article 1. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of an absorbent pad 100. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a method of wearing the wearing article 2 of the comparative example when the wearing article 2 and the absorbent pad 100 are used together. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a method of wearing the wearing article 1 when the wearing article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 are used together. 7A to 7C are diagrams for explaining a method of a tensile test for the waist region BR of the wearing article 1. FIG. 1 is a table showing the relationship between the vertical stretchability of a worn article and an evaluation of comfort when worn. 9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the positional relationship between the front engagement region 31 and the rear engagement region 32. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method for measuring bending resistance in a waist region BR of the worn article 1. FIG. 1 is a table showing the results of measurement of bending resistance of the waist region BR by a cantilever test. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an example of a wearing article container 90. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which a front waist region BR and a rear waist region BR of a wearing article 1 are cut at both lateral ends and spread out in the vertical direction. FIG.

The following points become clear at least from the description in this specification and the accompanying drawings.

(Aspect 1)
A wearing article container comprising a wearing article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, and having elasticity in the vertical and horizontal directions, the wearing article being used in combination with an absorbent pad, and a container member for containing the wearing article, the wearing article being reusable, the container member being provided with an indication that the wearing article is used in combination with the absorbent pad, the wearing article being made of a fabric having a maximum elongation rate of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, a front body and a rear body, at least one of the front body and the rear body having an engagement area that engages with the absorbent pad and is less stretchable than the fabric, and the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front body or the rear body to twice its length in the vertical direction from its natural state is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front body to twice its length in the horizontal direction from its natural state in a region above the lower end of the engagement area and 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article.

With the wearable article container of aspect 1, when the wearable article contained in the container is taken out and worn, the vertical extension of the tension region, which is the region that is grasped and pulled by hand, is more likely to be suppressed than when the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension region to twice its length in the vertical direction is equal to or less than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension region to twice its length in the horizontal direction. This makes it easier to pull the waist part of the wearable article upward, and also makes it easier to pull the absorbent pad attached via the engagement region upward to follow the waist part.

(Aspect 2)
A wearing article having a front body and a back body, the wearing article being made of fabric having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-to-back direction which intersect with each other, and in which a maximum elongation value when a 50 mm x 200 mm sample piece is pulled with a force of 5 N in each of the vertical directions or the horizontal directions is 200% or more, the wearing article having a front body and a back body to be used in combination with an absorbent pad, the front body and the back body having an engagement area which engages with the absorbent pad and which is less stretchable than the fabric, the front body and the back body having an engagement area, the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front body to twice its length in the vertical direction from its natural state in a region above a lower end of the engagement area and up to 20 mm from the top end of the wearing article, is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front body to twice its length in the horizontal direction from its natural state.

In the wearable article of aspect 2, the vertical extension of the tension area, which is the area that is grasped and pulled by the hand when wearing the article, is more easily suppressed than when the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension area to twice its length in the vertical direction is equal to or less than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension area to twice its length in the horizontal direction. This makes it easier to pull the waist part of the wearable article upward, and also makes it easier to pull the absorbent pad attached via the engagement area upward to follow the waist part.

(Aspect 3)
The wearing article of aspect 2, wherein the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front and rear body panels having the engagement region to twice the length in the vertical direction from the natural state in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and 20 mm from the top end of the wearing article is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the front and rear body panels having the engagement region to twice the length in the vertical direction from the natural state in a region other than the region above the lower end of the engagement region and 20 mm from the top end of the wearing article.

In the wearable article of aspect 3, the maximum tensile load of the portions that are not pulled by hand when worn (portions other than the tensioned regions) is made smaller than that of the tensioned regions, and a certain degree of stretchability is provided, making it less likely to get caught on the wearer's legs or other parts of the body when worn, and making it easier to achieve a good fit.

(Aspect 4)
The wearing article according to aspect 2 or 3, wherein in the front body or the rear body having the engagement region, in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article, a maximum tensile load required to stretch the length of the front body or the rear body to twice its original length in the vertical direction from its natural state is 175 mN/mm or more.

In the wearable article of aspect 4, if the tension area, which is the area that is grasped and pulled by the hand when wearing the article, is stretched 200% in the vertical direction from its natural state, and the maximum tensile load is 175 mN/mm or more, excessive stretching of at least the tension area TA is suppressed, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 5)
The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 4, wherein the front body and the rear body having the engagement region have a stretch suppressing means having a predetermined length in the vertical direction in at least a part of a region above a lower end of the engagement region and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article, and the stretch suppressing means has a portion of the fabric that has been treated to reduce stretchability of the fabric along the vertical direction.

The wearable article of aspect 5 allows the vertical elongation rate to be partially reduced in desired locations of the highly elongated knitted fabric. This allows for the free provision of locations that are less likely to elongate in the vertical direction when the wearable article is pulled upward, and where the force required to pull up the absorbent pad is more likely to act.

(Aspect 6)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 5, wherein a lower end of the engagement region is located above a center position of the wearing article in a natural state in the vertical direction.

In the wearable article of aspect 6, the engagement region is disposed near the upper end of the waist region that is grasped by the hand when the wearable article is pulled upward, so that the pulling force is easily transmitted to the absorbent pad via the engagement region, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad in response to pulling up the wearable article.

(Aspect 7)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 6, comprising a waist opening, a low-elasticity waist region in which the magnitude of force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along a peripheral portion thereof is greater than the magnitude of force required to stretch other regions by a unit length, and the engagement region is disposed a predetermined distance below the low-elasticity waist region in the vertical direction.

In the wearable article of aspect 7, the engagement area is spaced a predetermined distance from the low-stretch waist area, so it is unlikely to be directly affected by the stretching of the low-stretch waist area. This prevents the absorbent pad from coming loose from the engagement area or from shifting out of position, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad in response to pulling up the wearable article when the wearable article is put on.

(Aspect 8)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 7, wherein in the vertical direction, the engagement region is disposed lower than a lower end of the low-elasticity waist region by a width or more of the low-elasticity waist region in the vertical direction.

With the wearable article of aspect 8, the engagement area is less likely to be affected by the stretching of the low-stretch waist area, compared to the opposite case. This prevents the absorbent pad from coming loose from the engagement area or from shifting out of position, and makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad in line with the wearable article when the wearable article is put on.

(Aspect 9)
The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 8, comprising a pair of leg openings, a waist region located between upper ends of the leg openings and an upper end of the wearing article in the vertical direction, and a center position of the engagement region is located lower than a center position of the waist region in the vertical direction.

The wearable article of aspect 9 reduces the likelihood that the user's hands will grab the engagement area when putting on the article. This prevents the absorbent pad from shifting out of position or coming loose, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 10)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 9, wherein in a natural state, a length of the engagement region in the left-right direction is equal to or less than half a length of the wearing article in the left-right direction.

The wearing article of aspect 10 prevents excessive deterioration of the stretchability of the wearing article in the left-right direction compared to the opposite case, making it easier for the circumference of the waist opening to stretch and fit users with various waist sizes. This improves the size adaptability of the wearing article.

(Aspect 11)
A wearing article as described in any one of aspects 2 to 10, comprising a pair of leg openings, and a crotch region located between upper ends of the leg openings and a lower end of the wearing article in the vertical direction and between inner ends of the pair of leg openings in the left-right direction, wherein in a natural state, the length of the engagement region in the left-right direction is equal to or less than the length of the crotch region in the left-right direction.

The wearing article of aspect 11 prevents the elasticity of the crotch region in the left-right direction from deteriorating excessively. Therefore, the left-right elasticity acting in the crotch region makes it easier for the absorbent pad held in the crotch region to be pressed against the wearer's body, improving the fit of the absorbent pad. This makes it possible to effectively prevent sideways leakage of excrement, etc.

(Aspect 12)
A wearing article according to any one of aspects 2 to 11, wherein the engagement region and the crotch region have an overlapping portion in the left-right direction.

In the wearable article of aspect 12, in the area of the crotch region that overlaps with the engagement region in the left-right direction, the force pulling up the wearable article is likely to act on the crotch region via the engagement region. Therefore, the absorbent pad can be easily pulled up while being held in the crotch region.

(Aspect 13)
The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 12, wherein the engagement region includes a front engagement region provided on a front side of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction and a rear engagement region provided on a rear side of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction, and in a natural state, a lower end of the rear engagement region is located higher than a lower end of the front engagement region.

With the wearing article of aspect 13, the engagement between the wearing article and the absorbent pad at the rear engagement region is less likely to come off compared to the opposite case, making it easier to stably hold the absorbent pad on the buttocks side. Also, because the rear engagement region is positioned higher, a wider area of the buttocks is more likely to be covered by the absorbent pad. This improves the fit on the buttocks side and makes it less likely for excretory leakage to occur.

(Aspect 14)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 13, comprising a waist opening, a low-elasticity waist region in which the magnitude of force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along a peripheral portion thereof is greater than the magnitude of force required to stretch other regions by the unit length, and a stretch suppressing means having a predetermined length in the vertical direction, wherein the stretch suppressing means has a portion that overlaps with the low-elasticity waist region and the engagement region in the vertical direction.

In the wearable article of aspect 14, the tension area, which is the area that is grabbed and pulled by the hand when putting on the garment, is made difficult to stretch by the skeletal structure consisting of the low-stretch waist area, the engagement area, and the stretch suppression section. This makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 15)
The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 14, wherein the stretch suppressing means is disposed at least on a front side in the front-to-rear direction of the wearing article, in a central portion in the left-to-right direction, and is disposed continuously from an upper end to a lower end in the up-down direction of the wearing article.

In the wearable article of aspect 15, in its natural state, the vertical length is greatest at the center in the left-right direction, so by providing an expansion/contraction suppression means at this longest center portion to make it difficult to expand, the amount of vertical movement (pulling amount) when the entire wearable article is pulled up can be reduced. This allows the absorbent pad to be pulled up more efficiently.

(Aspect 16)
The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 15, wherein the stretch suppressing means is provided on both the front and rear sides in the front-to-rear direction of the wearing article, and the stretch suppressing means provided on the front side and the stretch suppressing means provided on the rear side are continuous in the front-to-rear direction.

In the wearing article of aspect 16, the stretch suppression means is arranged continuously all the way from the ventral side of the waist region, via the crotch region, to the ventral side of the waist region, making it difficult for the crotch region to stretch in the vertical direction when the waist region is grasped and pulled upward during the wearing action. Furthermore, the stretch suppression means that is continuous from front to back applies a force that pushes the absorbent pad upward from the crotch side of the crotch region, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 17)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 16, further comprising: stretch suppressing means having a predetermined length in the up-down direction, the stretch suppressing means having a central stretch suppressing part in the center in the left-right direction, and in a natural state, the length in the up-down direction of the wearing article in a part where the central stretch suppressing part is provided is 80% or more of the length in the up-down direction of the wearing article in a part where the central stretch suppressing part is not provided.

The wearable article of aspect 17 is less likely to contract excessively in the vertical direction at the center in the horizontal direction, so that when the wearable article is worn, the wearer's crotch area and other areas are not tightly constricted, and restrictions on the wearer's body size are reduced. In other words, the wearable article can be made to fit a wider range of sizes.

(Aspect 18)
a stretch suppressing means for suppressing stretch in the vertical direction and in a region overlapping with the engagement region in the horizontal direction, the stretch suppressing means having a predetermined length in the vertical direction, and a pair of side stretch suppressing means provided on either side of the central stretch suppressing region, the stretch suppressing means having a central stretch suppressing portion provided in the vertical direction, and a pair of side stretch suppressing portions provided on either side of the central stretch suppressing portion, the stretch suppressing means having a central stretch suppressing portion provided in the vertical direction, and

In the wearable article of aspect 18, in the tension area, which is the area that is grasped and pulled by the hand when wearing the article, the three stretch suppression means function like a skeleton in the left-right center and both sides thereof to suppress the vertical expansion of the tension area. This makes it easier to pull up the engagement area, and also makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad engaged with the engagement area.

(Aspect 19)
A wearing article as described in aspect 18, comprising a pair of leg openings, a serged portion along each periphery of the pair of leg openings, and a portion where the side stretch suppressing portion and the serged portion intersect.

In the wearable article of aspect 19, when both sides of the waist region are grasped and pulled up, the pulling force is easily transmitted from the side stretch suppressing section to the leg overlock section. Therefore, by pulling up both sides of the waist region, the leg openings are also easily pulled up, making it less likely for the leg openings to get caught on the wearer's legs when wearing the garment, and making it less likely for the fabric that makes up the waist region to stretch in the vertical direction. This makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 20)
A wearing article according to aspect 18 or 19, comprising a waist opening, a low-elasticity waist region in which the magnitude of force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along the periphery of the waist opening is greater than the magnitude of force required to stretch other regions by a unit length, and the wearing article has a portion where the side stretch suppressing portion and the low-elasticity waist region intersect.

In the wearing article of aspect 20, low-stretch areas are formed along the periphery of the waist opening and leg openings, and these are connected by side stretch suppressing parts, which strengthens the skeletal structure in the waist area. Therefore, when wearing the garment, the waist area is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 21)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 18 to 20, wherein the central stretch suppressing portion and the side stretch suppressing portions are provided on both the front side and the back side in the front-to-rear direction, respectively.

When the wearable article of aspect 21 is gripped on both sides of the waist region and pulled upward, whether the front side or the back side is gripped, vertical stretch of the waist region is suppressed, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad.

(Aspect 22)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 18 to 21, wherein a width in the left-right direction of the side stretch suppressing portions is narrower than a width in the left-right direction of the central stretch suppressing portion.

In the wearable article of aspect 22, the width of the side stretch-restraining parts, which are likely to come into direct contact with the wearer's skin when worn, is narrower than the width of the central stretch-restraining part, which is unlikely to come into direct contact with the wearer's skin, making it less likely that the wearer will experience discomfort, etc., compared to the opposite case.

(Aspect 23)
23. The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 22, wherein the fabric constituting the wearing article contains 90% by weight or more of polyester or polyethylene.

In the wearable article of aspect 23, polyester and polyethylene are materials that have higher elongation than cotton, and by including a large amount of such materials, it is possible to realize greater stretchability. In addition, polyester and polyethylene are non-absorbent and highly quick-drying materials, which improves the drying properties of the wearable article.

(Aspect 24)
24. The wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 23, wherein a fabric constituting the wearing article does not contain a water-absorbent material.

The wearing article of aspect 24 does not contain a water-absorbent material, so the fabric is less likely to absorb water. This shortens the drying time after washing and improves the drying properties of the wearing article.

(Aspect 25)
25. The wearing article according to

aspect

23 or 24, wherein the fabric constituting the wearing article contains less than 10% by weight of polyester or a material having a higher elasticity than polyethylene.

In the wearable article of aspect 25, 90% by weight or more of the fabric constituting the wearable article is polyester or polyethylene, so that the remaining 10% by weight or less is made up of a material with higher elasticity, thereby ensuring good drying properties while improving elasticity.

(Aspect 26)
26. The wearing article according to any one of aspects 2 to 25, wherein the fabric constituting the wearing article has an area including a material having a higher elasticity than polyester or polyethylene and an area including no material.

In the wearable article of aspect 26, by placing a highly elastic material in an area where a good fit is particularly required (i.e., forming an area containing a more elastic material), it is possible to improve the fit of a limited area of the wearable article, thereby improving functionality. In addition to improving the fit of a portion of the wearable article, it is also possible to improve the fit of the wearable article as a whole, for example, by providing areas containing a more elastic material at intervals in multiple locations.

(Aspect 27)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 2 to 26, wherein the engagement region is provided with a separate sheet member different from the knitted fabric constituting the main body, the separate sheet member being made of polyethylene or polyester.

In the wearable article of aspect 27, the separate sheet member is joined to the main body portion, and like the main body portion, the separate sheet member is also made of a material that dries quickly, improving the drying properties of the wearable article.

(Aspect 28)
28. The wearing article according to claim 27, wherein the separate sheet member is joined to the fabric constituting the wearing article by sewing the separate sheet member with thread along a peripheral portion thereof.

In the wearable article of aspect 28, the fabric and the separate sheet member are not in close contact (joined) in the thickness direction in the area inside the circumferential edge sewn with thread, and a space is formed between the separate sheet member and the fabric. In other words, since the separate sheet member is not entirely joined to the fabric, the surface area of the separate sheet member that comes into contact with the fabric is larger than when the entire sheet member is joined, making it easier for moisture to evaporate. This improves drying properties.

(Aspect 29)
29. The wearing article according to aspect 27 or 28, wherein the separate sheet member and the stretch-suppressing portion have an overlapping portion when viewed in the thickness direction.

In the wearing article of aspect 29, the provision of the stretch suppressing portion causes a change in the contraction force of the fabric constituting the wearing article, making it easier for a space to form between the skin side of the fabric and the non-skin side of the separate sheet member. Air can easily escape from such a space, improving the drying property.

(Aspect 30)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 27 to 29, wherein the separate sheet member has a vertical length of 50 mm or less and a horizontal length of 150 mm or less.

In the wearing article of aspect 30, if the separate sheet member becomes too large, there is a risk that the portion of the sheet member in question will be difficult to dry, but by making the size within the above-mentioned range, the area is secured to maintain a sufficient engagement force with the fabric and the portion will be easier to dry.

(Aspect 31)
A wearing article according to any one of Aspects 27 to 30, wherein the separate sheet member has a thickness of 3 mm or less.

The wearable article of aspect 31 has a thickness that allows it to maintain a sufficient engagement force with the fabric, but is not too thick, so it can also be dried easily.

(Aspect 32)
A wearing article according to any one of aspects 2 to 31, wherein, in a state in which the front and rear waist regions of the wearing article are cut at both left-right ends and laid out in the up-down direction, an area of a region S1 between an upper end of the front engagement region and an upper end of the rear engagement region in the up-down direction and between one end of the front engagement region and the rear engagement region and the other end of the front engagement region and the rear engagement region in the left-right direction is smaller than an area of the other region S2.

In the wearing article of aspect 32, region S1 of the fabric constituting the wearing article is the region that is covered by the absorbent pad when the absorbent pad is worn. Therefore, if the wearing article is not dried sufficiently after washing, or if the wearing article becomes wet after the absorbent pad is worn due to another factor, region S1 is likely to become less dry thereafter because it is covered by the absorbent pad. However, since the area of region S1 is smaller than the area of region S2 in the fabric constituting the wearing article, it is easier to suppress a decrease in the overall dryness of the wearing article compared to the reverse case.

(Aspect 33)
A wearing article according to any one of aspects 2 to 31, wherein, in a state in which the front and rear waist regions of the wearing article are cut at both left-right ends and laid out in the up-down direction, an area of a region S1 between an upper end of the front engagement region and an upper end of the rear engagement region in the up-down direction and between one end of the front engagement region and the rear engagement region and the other end of the front engagement region and the rear engagement region in the left-right direction is larger than an area of the other region S2.

With the wearable article of aspect 31, even if the wearable article is not dried sufficiently after washing, the area S1 is covered by the absorbent pad, so the skin is less likely to get wet and the wearing comfort is less likely to deteriorate.

====Embodiment===
As an example of a wearing article according to an embodiment of the present invention, a pants-type wearing article 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wearing article 1") that can be used by attaching an absorbent pad 100 therein for absorbing excrement such as urine will be described.

<Basic configuration of worn article 1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a worn article 1 according to the present embodiment. In the pants-type state shown in FIG. 1, the worn article 1 has a "vertical direction", a "lateral direction", and a "front-rear direction" that are perpendicular to each other. In the vertical direction, the side that is the wearer's torso side when the wearer wears the worn article 1 is referred to as the "upper side", and the side that is the wearer's crotch side is referred to as the "lower side". In the front-rear direction, the side that is the wearer's abdominal side when the worn article 1 is worn is referred to as the "front side", and the side that is the wearer's back side is referred to as the "rear side". In addition, each material (sheet member) constituting the worn article 1 has a "thickness direction". In the thickness direction, the side that is close to the wearer's skin when the wearer wears the worn article 1 is referred to as the "skin side", and the opposite side is referred to as the "non-skin side".

The wearing article 1 of this embodiment is formed in a pants-type with a waist opening BH provided on the upper side in the vertical direction and a pair of leg openings LH, LH provided on the lower side in the vertical direction and on both sides in the left-right direction. An absorbent pad 100 can be attached detachably to the inside of the pants-type, and the wearing article 1 itself can be used (worn) repeatedly by replacing the absorbent pad 100. For example, if a user (user) excretes urine or the like while wearing the wearing article 1 to which the absorbent pad 100 is attached, the absorbent pad 100 that has absorbed the excrement can be removed from the wearing article 1 and replaced with a new absorbent pad 100, making it possible to reuse the wearing article 1. In addition, the wearing article 1 can be washed, and can be used hygienically for a long period of time (for example, two weeks or more).

FIG. 2A is a plan view of the worn article 1 in a natural state as viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction.
FIG. 2B is a plan view of the wearing article 1 in a natural state as viewed from the rear side in the front-rear direction.
Here, the "natural state" refers to the state of the wearing article 1 when it is left for a predetermined time. For example, after the folded and stored wearing article 1 is taken out of the package, it is gently unfolded so as not to cause distortion and placed on a flat surface such as a desk. Then, it is left in this flat state for 5 minutes, and the state in which almost no wrinkles remain on the surface of the wearing article 1 is regarded as the natural state.

The worn article 1 has a main body portion 10 , an expansion suppressing portion 20 , and an engagement region 30 .
The main body 10 is a part that constitutes the exterior of the worn article 1, and is formed of a sheet member having elasticity. In this embodiment, the sheet member that forms the main body 10 is made of a "woven fabric" or a "knitted fabric", and has elasticity in the vertical and horizontal directions. The "woven fabric" is a fabric that is formed into a plane shape by intersecting a weft thread at a right angle with a large number of parallel warp threads, and an example of such a fabric is a fabric called "woven cloth". In the woven fabric, a highly elastic woven fabric can be formed by using highly elastic threads or changing the density of the threads. On the other hand, the "knitted fabric" is a fabric that is formed into a plane shape by looping threads and connecting other loops to the loops, and an example of such a fabric is a fabric called "knit". Since the knitted fabric is formed by connecting a large number of loops, it can be greatly stretched even with a small force by deforming each loop. In the following, the main body 10 (worn article 1) is described as being formed of a knitted fabric.

The main body 10 is made of a so-called circular knit fabric that is woven into a cylindrical shape in the vertical direction. The upper end of the cylindrical main body 10 is partially folded from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction to form a waist fold 11. This waist fold 11 prevents fraying of the thread at the upper end of the circular knit fabric (i.e., the waist opening BH). Furthermore, a thread that is less likely to stretch than other parts is woven into the waist fold 11. This increases the contraction force along the periphery of the waist opening BH, and when the wearable article 1 is worn, the waist opening BH is prevented from slipping down, improving the fit. Instead of folding back the upper end of the circular knit fabric, a separate sheet member may be layered and joined to the upper end to apply a large contraction force along the periphery of the waist opening BH.

On the other hand, at the bottom end of the main body 10, a crotch seam 12 is formed where the front and back sides of the circular knit fabric are sewn together. The bottom end of the main body 10 is joined by the crotch seam 12, so that the tubular circular knit fabric is formed into a pants-like shape with a pair of leg openings LH, LH (see FIG. 3 described below). In this embodiment, the crotch seam 12 is located at the bottommost position in the vertical direction of the worn article 1 (see FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B).

The pair of leg openings LH, LH are formed by cutting a part of the main body 10 (see FIG. 3). A leg overlock portion 13 is formed on the periphery of each leg opening LH, LH. The leg overlock portion 13 is formed by sewing the edge of the knitted fabric around the periphery of the leg opening LH with thread, which prevents fraying of the thread at the cut point of the leg opening LH. Furthermore, the formation of the leg overlock portion 13 improves the fit of the leg opening LH when worn, making it easier to prevent lateral leakage of excrement such as urine.

As shown in Figures 2A and 2B, in the vertical direction of the worn article 1 in its natural state, the upper end of the leg opening LH is designated as LHt. The upper end LHt is located slightly inside the outermost end in the left-right direction. Similarly, in the vertical direction of the worn article 1 in its natural state, the lower end of the leg opening LH is designated as LHb. The lower end LHb is located at the lowest side in the vertical direction of the worn article 1 and at the innermost side in the left-right direction of the leg opening LH.

The crotch region CR is defined as the shaded area in the worn article 1 between the upper end LHt and the lower end LHb of the leg opening LH (i.e., the lower end of the worn article 1) in the vertical direction and between the lower ends LHb, LHb of the pair of leg openings LH in the left-right direction (i.e., between the inner ends of the leg openings LH). The crotch region CR is a region that is mainly located in the crotch area of the wearer (user) when the worn article 1 is worn, and is also a region that holds at least a part of the absorbent pad 100 when the absorbent pad 100 is attached. The waist region BR is defined as the area in the worn article 1 between the upper end LHt of the leg opening LH and the upper end of the worn article 1 in the vertical direction. The waist region BR is a region that is mainly located in the waist area (abdomen and buttocks to waist) of the wearer (user) when the worn article 1 is worn.

The stretch suppressing portion 20 is a portion that functions as a stretch suppressing means for suppressing stretching in the up-down direction of the worn article 1. In this embodiment, a plurality of stretch suppressing portions 20 having a predetermined length in the up-down direction are provided at predetermined positions of the main body portion 10 of the worn article 1. Specifically, at the front side of the front-to-back direction of the worn article 1 (main body portion 10), a front central stretch suppressing portion 21 is provided in the center in the left-right direction, and a pair of front side stretch suppressing portions 23, 23 (corresponding to both side stretch suppressing means) are provided on both left-right sides of the front central stretch suppressing portion 21 (see FIG. 2A). Similarly, at the rear side of the front-to-back direction of the worn article 1 (main body portion 10), a rear central stretch suppressing portion 22 is provided in the center in the left-right direction, and a pair of rear side stretch suppressing portions 24, 24 (both side stretch suppressing means) are provided on both left-right sides of the rear central stretch suppressing portion 22 (see FIG. 2B).

When the wearer (user) puts on the wearable article 1, the wearer puts his/her legs through a pair of leg openings LH, and then grasps the waist region BR and pulls it up to the crotch area. As described above, the main body 10 is made of a stretchable knitted (or woven) fabric. Therefore, if the main body 10 stretches excessively in the vertical direction when pulling up the wearable article 1, it may become difficult to pull up the wearable article 1. In contrast, in the wearable article 1 of this embodiment, the vertical stretch (stretch) of the main body 10 is suppressed in the area where the stretch suppressing section 20 is provided, making it easier to pull up the wearable article 1.

The stretch suppressing portion 20 (stretch suppressing means) is realized by performing a process to reduce the stretchability of the knitted fabric constituting the main body portion 10 in the vertical direction. For example, the stretchability in the vertical direction can be reduced by performing a process of sewing a low-stretch thread (so-called "stitching") into a predetermined region of the knitted fabric constituting the main body portion 10.
In addition, when knitting the knitted fabric, the knitting pattern may be changed in a specified area or the elasticity of the yarn may be changed to reduce the elasticity of a portion of the knitted fabric.
Alternatively, the elasticity of the knitted fabric may be reduced by welding or pressing components such as silicone or rubber, or by compressing (embossing, etc.) certain locations in the knitted fabric.

The engagement region 30 is an area for removably attaching the absorbent pad 100 to the wearable article 1, and is provided on the skin side in the thickness direction of the main body 10. In this embodiment, a rectangular front engagement region 31 is provided on the skin side of the waist region BR at the front side in the front-to-rear direction (see FIG. 2A), and a rectangular rear engagement region 32 is provided on the skin side of the waist region BR at the rear side in the front-to-rear direction.

The absorbent pad 100 can be attached and held on the inside (skin side) of the wearing article 1 by engaging the engagement area 30 provided on the wearing article 1 with the absorbent pad engagement area 120 (see FIG. 4 described later) provided on the absorbent pad 100. The engagement area 30 also functions as a reference (i.e., a marker) when the user attaches the absorbent pad 100 to the wearing article 1, and by visually checking the engagement area 30, the absorbent pad 100 can be attached to the correct position on the wearing article 1.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the engagement region 30 is provided with a separate sheet member different from the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10. For example, a known hook-and-loop fastener having a plurality of engaging protrusions (male material, hooks) or engaged protrusions (female material, loops) on the surface of a base sheet can be used as the separate sheet member. In order to improve visibility, it is more preferable that the color of the hook-and-loop fastener is different from the color of the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10. However, it is not necessary to provide a separate sheet member as the engagement region 30, and it is sufficient that an area is formed on the skin side of the worn article 1 where the absorbent pad engagement region 120 can be detachably engaged. For example, if the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10 itself is detachably engageable with the absorbent pad engagement region 120, the engagement region 30 may be formed by printing a predetermined area on the skin side of the main body 10 with ink of a different color from that of the main body 10.

Here, an outline of the manufacturing method of the worn article 1 will be described. Figures 3A to 3C are diagrams explaining the manufacturing method of the worn article 1. In Figure 3, a case where the worn article 1 is formed from the above-mentioned "knitted fabric" is explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a tubular knitted fabric 10A (so-called "circular knit") is formed by knitting yarn in a circular shape. At this time, stretch-suppressing sections 20 (21-24) are also formed along the central axis of the cylindrically knitted fabric 10A (corresponding to the up-and-down direction in FIG. 1). As described above, the stretch-suppressing sections 20 are formed by processing such as changing the knitting pattern or sewing in a different yarn. Note that the stretch-suppressing sections 20 may be formed in a process different from the process of forming the circular knitted fabric 10A (FIG. 3A). For example, after the circular knitted fabric 10A is formed, a separate process may be performed to form the stretch-suppressing sections 20 (stretch-suppressing means).

Then, the circular knit fabric 10A is cut at predetermined positions in the vertical direction (axial direction) to cut out the main body portion 10 constituting each individual wearing article 1, as shown in FIG. 3B. Here, the circular knit fabric 10A is cut at positions C1 and C2 in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3A). Cut position C1 is the top side of the main body portion 10 in the vertical direction, and cut position C2 is the bottom side of the main body portion 10 in the vertical direction. In addition, the portion that will become the leg openings LH is cut from the main body portion 10. In FIG. 3B, both left and right sides at the bottom end of the tubular main body portion 10 are cut diagonally to form a pair of leg openings LH, LH.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the upper end of the tubular main body 10 in the vertical direction is folded back to form the waist fold 11. At the lower end of the tubular main body 10 in the vertical direction, the front lower edge 12f and the rear lower edge 12b are sewn together to form the crotch seam 12. This forms the tubular main body 10 into a pants-like shape. Then, overlock stitches are performed along the periphery of the cut leg openings LH to form the leg overlock stitches 13. Finally, a separate sheet member (e.g., a hook-and-loop fastener) is attached to the inside (skin side) of the main body 10 to form the engagement region 30 (31, 32). This forms the worn article 1 described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The order in which the processes described in FIG. 3C are performed may be changed.

<Stretchability of the worn article 1>
The worn article 1 has been described as having stretchability in the up-down and left-right directions, but more specifically, when a sample piece is cut out from the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10 and a tensile test is performed, the worn article 1 is deemed to have stretchability if it satisfies the following conditions: That is, when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in both the up-down and left-right directions, the maximum elongation of the sample piece is 200% or more.

The tensile test can be carried out, for example, as follows. First, a rectangular sample piece having a length of 220 mm in the vertical direction and 50 mm in the horizontal direction is cut out from the main body 10 of the worn article 1. In addition, 10 mm at both ends of the 220 mm in the vertical direction of the sample piece are gripping margins for the chucks of the tensile tester. In addition, when cutting out the sample piece, it is desirable not to include the stretch suppressing part 20 and the engagement region 30. Next, 10 mm at each end in the vertical direction of the cut out sample piece is clamped by the chucks of a known tensile tester (for example, a universal material testing machine manufactured by Instron). At this time, the distance between the chucks of the tensile tester is set to G ₀ =200 mm. From this state, the sample piece is pulled and stretched in the direction of increasing the distance between the chucks at a pulling speed of about 200 mm/min, and the distance between the chucks G ₁ (mm) is measured when the tensile force (magnitude of force) in the tensile test becomes 5 N. The length of the sample piece after pulling relative to the length before pulling (= _G1 / _G0 ) is calculated and recorded as the elongation percentage. This test is repeated multiple times to determine the maximum elongation percentage ( _G1 / _G0 ). If the maximum elongation percentage ( _G1 / _G0 ) is 200% or more, the fabric constituting the worn article 1 (main body 10) is deemed to have elasticity in the up-down direction. The size of the zipper gripping margin can be changed as appropriate.

Similarly, a rectangular sample piece measuring 220 mm in the left-right direction and 50 mm in the up-down direction is cut out from the main body 10 of the worn article 1, and a tensile test in the left-right direction is performed according to the above procedure. If the elongation is 200% or more, the fabric constituting the worn article 1 (main body 10) is deemed to have stretchability in the left-right direction. Note that when cutting out a sample piece that is long in the left-right direction from the worn article 1, the stretch suppressing section 20 may be included. This is because the stretch suppressing section 20 mainly has the function of reducing stretchability in the up-down direction and does not have a significant effect on the measurement of stretchability in the left-right direction.

<Basic configuration of absorbent pad 100>
4 is a plan view and a cross-sectional view of the absorbent pad 100. The absorbent pad 100 is generally rectangular in plan view, and has a vertical direction, a width direction, and a thickness direction that are perpendicular to each other. The vertical direction is a direction along the up-down direction (and front-rear direction) of the wearing article 1 when the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearing article 1, and the horizontal direction is a direction along the left-right direction of the wearing article 1 when the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearing article 1. The front side in the vertical direction is a side that is located on the wearer's abdomen side (the front side in the front-rear direction of the wearing article 1) when the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearing article 1, and the rear side in the vertical direction is a side that is located on the wearer's back side (the rear side in the front-rear direction of the wearing article 1) when the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearing article 1.

The absorbent pad 100 has an absorbent body 110, a top sheet 111 arranged on the skin side of the absorbent body 110, a back sheet 112 arranged on the non-skin side of the absorbent body 110, and a pair of

side sheets

115, 115 provided on both sides in the left-right direction on the skin side of the top sheet 111. It also has an absorbent pad engagement region 120 for engaging with the engagement region 30 of the wearing article 1.

The absorbent 110 has a polymer absorbent (super absorbent polymer, also called "SAP") and liquid-absorbent fibers such as pulp fibers, and in this embodiment is formed in a roughly hourglass shape with the vertical center recessed inward in the left-right direction as shown by the dashed line in Figure 4. The liquid-absorbent fibers containing SAP may be covered with a liquid-permeable core wrap sheet (not shown). In addition, the configuration of the absorbent 110 is not limited to the above, and examples include an SAP sheet in which an SAP layer is attached to a hydrophilic sheet, and an airlaid sheet in which liquid-absorbent fibers are formed into a sheet shape by an airlaid method.

The top sheet 111 is a liquid-permeable sheet member disposed on the skin side of the absorbent 110, and is a member that comes into direct contact with the wearer's skin and excretory opening when the absorbent pad 100 is in use. For this reason, it is desirable for the top sheet 111 to be a sheet member that is as flexible as possible and soft against the skin. Examples of sheet members that constitute the top sheet 111 in this embodiment include air-through nonwoven fabrics. In addition, a second sheet (not shown in FIG. 4) that is substantially liquid-permeable in the same manner as the top sheet 111 may be provided between the absorbent 110 and the top sheet 111 in the thickness direction.

The back sheet 112 is a liquid-impermeable and breathable sheet member that is arranged on the non-skin side of the absorbent body 110 in the thickness direction of the absorbent pad 100. The provision of this back sheet 112 prevents excreted liquid such as urine absorbed by the absorbent pad 100 from penetrating to the non-skin side in the thickness direction. Therefore, when the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the skin side of the wearing article 1 for use, excreted liquid such as urine absorbed by the absorbent pad 100 can be prevented from penetrating into the non-skin side of the wearing article 1. Examples of sheet members that constitute the back sheet 112 in this embodiment include resin films such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

The side sheets 115 are members that make up both lateral sides of the skin-facing side of the absorbent pad 100. When the absorbent pad 100 is in use, the side sheets 115 are also likely to come into direct contact with the wearer's skin, so it is desirable for the side sheets 115 to be as flexible as possible, similar to the top sheet 111. Examples of sheet members that make up the side sheets 115 of this embodiment include air-through nonwoven fabrics.

Further, absorbent pad elastic members 116 such as rubber threads are provided on the inner ends of the pair of

side sheets

115, 115 in the lateral direction so as to be stretched in the longitudinal direction.
The inner end of the side sheet 115 in the lateral direction is folded back outward in the lateral direction as shown in the A-A cross-sectional view of Fig. 4, and the absorbent pad elastic member 116 is attached so as to be sandwiched between the folded back portion. When the absorbent pad 100 is in use, the inner end of the pair of

side sheets

115, 115 stands up against the skin in the thickness direction based on the elasticity exhibited by the absorbent pad elastic member 116, and functions as a leakage prevention wall (three-dimensional gathers), thereby suppressing lateral leakage of urine, etc.

The absorbent pad engagement region 120 is provided on the non-skin side of the back sheet 112 and is a portion that releasably engages with the engagement region 30 of the worn article 1, and has a front absorbent pad engagement region 121 located at the front end in the vertical direction, and a rear absorbent pad engagement region 122 located at the rear end in the vertical direction. The absorbent pad engagement region 120 is provided with a sheet member such as a hook-and-loop fastener that corresponds to the engagement region 30 of the worn article 1. For the same reason as the engagement region 30 described above, the absorbent pad engagement region 120 is preferably formed in a color different from the color of the back sheet 112 so that the user can easily see the engagement position.

When the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearable article 1 for use, the absorbent pad 100 is folded in half at its longitudinal center position CL so that the skin side of the absorbent pad 100 faces inward. The folded absorbent pad 100 is then inserted from above the waist opening BH of the wearable article 1, and adjusted so that the longitudinal center position CL of the absorbent pad 100 is positioned at the lowest end of the wearable article 1 (overlapping with the crotch seam 12). In this state, the front absorbent pad engagement region 121 is engaged with the front engagement region 31 of the wearable article 1, and the rear absorbent pad engagement region 122 is engaged with the rear engagement region 32 of the wearable article 1. The position of the absorbent pad engagement region 120 in the longitudinal direction (up and down direction) is previously adjusted so that it overlaps with the engagement region 30 of the wearable article 1 when the absorbent pad 100 is inserted inside the wearable article 1, so that the engagement regions 30 and 120 can be easily engaged with each other. In this way, the absorbent pad 100 can be correctly attached to the wearable article 1.

<About the wearing action of the wearing article 1 when using the absorbent pad 100 together>
Next, a specific operation of putting on the wearing article 1 when using the absorbent pad 100 will be described.

First, as a comparative example, the operation of a conventional shorts-type wearing article 2 (hereinafter also referred to as "wearing article 2") when worn in combination with an absorbent pad 100 will be described. Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams explaining a method of wearing the wearing article 2 when the wearing article 2 of the comparative example is used in combination with an absorbent pad 100.

The comparative wearing article 2 is a pants-type wearing article having a shape substantially similar to that of the wearing article 1, and is made of a stretchable fabric. On the other hand, the wearing article 2 does not have a structure equivalent to the stretch suppressing portion 20 or the engagement region 30 of the wearing article 1. The absorbent pad 100 that can be used is substantially the same as the absorbent pad 100 described in FIG. 4. However, since the wearing article 2 does not have the engagement region 30, the absorbent pad 100 does not have to have the absorbent pad engagement region 120 either.

In the comparative example, when the wearable article 2 and the absorbent pad 100 are used together, first, as shown in FIG. 5A, the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the crotch portion of the wearable article 2, and the wearer passes both legs through the leg openings LH, LH of the wearable article 2 and pulls it up to around the knees.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the wearable article 2 is grasped near the waist opening (upper end of the waist region) with the hand and pulled up to the wearer's crotch. However, since the wearable article 2 is made of highly elastic knitted fabric, the fabric is easily stretched in the vertical direction, making it difficult to pull up the absorbent pad 100. In other words, the force of grasping and pulling up the upper end of the waist region is consumed in stretching the fabric near the upper end of the waist region, and the force for pulling up the absorbent pad 100 is not easily transmitted to the crotch region. Therefore, in order to fit the absorbent pad 100 to the wearer's crotch region, it becomes necessary to pull the wearable article 2 with a larger force or by a longer pulling distance, which may cause the wearable article 2 to stretch excessively and damage or tear the fabric. In addition, the absorbent pad 100 is easily displaced as the wearable article 2 stretches, which may make it difficult to properly fit the absorbent pad 100 to the wearer's crotch region.

Next, the operation of the wearable article 1 of this embodiment when worn in combination with the absorbent pad 100 will be described. Figures 6A to 6C are diagrams explaining how to wear the wearable article 1 when the wearable article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 are used in combination.

In this embodiment, first, the absorbent pad 100 is attached to the wearing article 1. As described above, the absorbent pad 100 is attached by engaging the absorbent pad engagement area 120 of the absorbent pad 100 with the engagement area 30 of the wearing article 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the wearer's legs are passed through the leg openings LH, LH of the wearing article 1 with the absorbent pad 100 attached, and pulled up to around the knees.

Then, the upper end of the waist region BR of the worn article 1 is grasped and pulled upward. In FIG. 6B, the wearer grasps both left and right sides of the waist region BR with both hands and pulls it upward. At this time, unlike the worn article 2 of the comparative example, the waist region BR of the worn article 1 does not stretch excessively in the vertical direction, making it easier to pull up the worn article 1 with the absorbent pad 100 attached. This is because the waist region BR of the worn article 1 is provided with an engagement region 30, which is less stretchable than the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10, and thus inhibits vertical extension of the waist region BR. Furthermore, the waist region BR of the worn article 1 is provided with an expansion/contraction suppressing portion 20 (expansion/contraction suppressing means) along the vertical direction, which further inhibits vertical extension of the waist region BR.

After the worn article 1 is pulled up to the wearer's crotch area, the positions of the worn article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 are adjusted as shown in FIG. 6C. In the worn article 1, the worn article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 are firmly engaged via the engagement region 30 (absorbent pad engagement region 120), so that by adjusting the position of the worn article 1 by pulling it, the position of the absorbent pad 100 can be adjusted accordingly. Therefore, the absorbent pad 100 can be made to fit appropriately to the wearer's crotch area.

In this way, the wearing article 1 has a configuration that is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction when pulled up with the absorbent pad 100 attached than the conventional wearing article 2 such as the comparative example, making it possible to efficiently pull up the absorbent pad 100. In particular, the vertical stretch of the portion of the waist region BR that is actually grasped and pulled by hand is more likely to be suppressed.
The fact that the waist region BR of the wearing article 1 is easily prevented from stretching in the up-down direction can be verified by carrying out the following tensile test.

7A to 7C are diagrams for explaining a method of tensile testing the waist region BR of the worn article 1. FIG. 7A shows the region of the waist region BR of the worn article 1 that is the subject of the tensile test. First, a tensile region TA, shown by the shaded area in FIG. 7A, is set as the region to be tensile tested from either the front side (also called the "front body") or the back side (also called the "back body") in the front-to-back direction of the worn article 1 in its natural state. The tensile region TA is the portion of the waist region BR that is grasped and pulled by the hand during the wearing action, and includes the entire engagement region 30. Specifically, it is the portion with a length LTA in the vertical direction and a length WTA in the horizontal direction that is above the lower end position TAb of the engagement region 30 in the vertical direction and from the upper end of the worn article 1 to a position TAt that is 20 mm downward. The reason why the range of the tension region TA is set below the position TAt is that when the worn article 1 is pulled up as shown in FIG. 6B, the part where the wearer's fingers are actually caught and the force is applied is at a position 20 mm or more away from the upper end of the worn article 1.

In FIG. 7A, a portion including areas GA having a predetermined length at the top and bottom ends of the tensile area TA, indicated by the shaded area, is cut out as a test piece from the front body of the worn article 1. Area GA is a portion that serves as a gripping margin for gripping with the chuck of the tensile testing machine. Similarly, when cutting out a test piece from the back body, it is sufficient to cut out the tensile area TA that is sandwiched between position TAt 20 mm below the top end of the worn article 1 and the bottom end position TAb of the engagement area 30, as well as area GA that serves as the top and bottom gripping margins, in the same manner as for the front body.

The cut-out test piece (tensile area TA) is subjected to a tensile test in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, respectively. FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining the case where the test piece is pulled in the vertical direction. The tensile test can be performed using the above-mentioned known tensile tester (for example, the universal material testing machine manufactured by Instron). When performing a tensile test in the vertical direction, an adapter or the like capable of gripping the entire area of the horizontal length WTA of the test piece is attached to the chuck of the tensile tester, and the area GA (gripping allowance) part of the test piece is clamped at the top and bottom, respectively. Then, the gap G ₀ between the chucks is adjusted to the vertical length LTA of the tensile area TA so that the test piece does not wrinkle (G ₀ =LTA). From this state, the test piece is stretched vertically at a speed of about 200 mm/min in the direction of opening the gap between the chucks, and the maximum tensile load (N) detected until the gap between the chucks becomes G ₁ =2LTA is recorded. This test is repeated several times to obtain the average value of the maximum tensile load (N). This provides the maximum tensile load required to vertically stretch the tensile area TA to twice its length from its natural state.

FIG. 7C is a diagram for explaining the case where the test piece is pulled in the left-right direction. When pulling the test piece in the left-right direction, a cloth tape or the like of a predetermined size is attached to both ends of the test piece in the left-right direction to form a gripping portion GP, and the gripping portion GP is clamped by the chuck of the tensile tester. Then, the distance G ₀ between the chucks is adjusted to the length WTA in the left-right direction of the tensile area TA so that the test piece does not wrinkle (G ₀ = WTA). Then, similar to the measurement in the up-down direction, the test piece is stretched up and down at a speed of about 200 mm/min in the direction in which the distance between the chucks is opened, and the maximum tensile load (N) detected until the distance between the chucks becomes G ₁ = 2WTA is recorded. This test is repeated multiple times to obtain the average value of the maximum tensile load (N). This allows the maximum tensile load to be obtained until the tensile area TA is stretched to twice the length in the left-right direction from the natural state.

Then, the maximum tensile load (N) in the vertical direction measured in FIG. 7B is compared with the maximum tensile load (N) in the horizontal direction measured in FIG. 7C. As a result, if the maximum tensile load when the tensile area TA is stretched to twice its length in the vertical direction is greater than the maximum tensile load when the tensile area TA is stretched to twice its length in the horizontal direction, it can be said that the tensile area TA is more difficult to stretch in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction.

In the worn article 1 of this embodiment, the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension region TA to twice its length in the vertical direction is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the tension region TA to twice its length in the horizontal direction. Therefore, vertical stretching of the tension region TA is more easily suppressed than in the opposite case. In other words, when the waist region BR is grasped and pulled up during the action of putting on the worn article 1, the tension region TA, which is the region where the pulling force actually acts, is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction. This makes it easier to pull the waist region BR upward, and also makes it easier to pull the absorbent pad 100 attached via the engagement region 30 upward in accordance with the waist region BR.

Although the maximum tensile load in the vertical direction in the tension region TA of the worn article 1 has been described above, it is preferable that the maximum tensile load in the vertical direction in regions other than the tension region TA is smaller than that in the tension region TA. In other words, it is preferable that the maximum tensile load per unit area in the tension region TA until the wearer stretches the natural state to twice its length in the vertical direction. is greater than the maximum tensile load per unit area in a region other than the tension region TA until the wearer stretches the natural state to twice its length in the vertical direction. When the worn article 1 is worn, it is better to have a smaller maximum tensile load than the tension region TA for the portions that are not pulled by hand (i.e., portions other than the tension region TA) and have a certain degree of stretchability, so that the wearer's legs and other parts of the body are less likely to get caught when worn and a good fit is more easily achieved.

Next, a verification experiment will be described to determine what the maximum tensile load in the vertical direction is required for the absorbent pad 100 to be comfortably pulled up when the user (wearer) actually wears the wearable article 1. In the verification experiment, multiple types of wearable articles with different stretchability in the vertical direction were prepared by changing the configuration of the engagement region 30 and the stretch suppressing section 20. Then, the comfort of the multiple wearable articles was evaluated when multiple different users wore them with an absorbent pad attached to each of the multiple wearable articles.

Figure 8 is a table showing the relationship between the vertical stretchability of the worn article and the evaluation of comfort when worn. In Figure 8, the data shows the maximum tensile load data when the area corresponding to the tensile area TA was stretched vertically to twice its natural length from the natural state, as determined by performing a vertical tensile test on six types of worn articles, verification examples A to F, in the same manner as described above. In addition, ten subjects each wore the worn articles of verification examples A to F, and if eight or more subjects felt comfortable, the article was rated as O. In other words, if the subject felt that they were able to smoothly pull up the absorbent pad when pulling up the worn article during the wearing action, the article was deemed comfortable to wear and was rated as O. Conversely, if two or fewer subjects felt comfortable, the article was rated as X, and if three to seven subjects felt comfortable, the article was rated as △.

All of the verification examples A to F are pants-type wearable articles having elasticity, made of fabric with a maximum elongation rate of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled in the vertical or horizontal direction with 5 N. Of these, verification examples A to C are commercially available wearable articles that do not have a portion corresponding to the engagement area 30 and the stretch suppressing portion 20 (stretch suppressing means). Since the engagement area 30 is not provided in verification examples A to C, a tensile test was performed by setting a tensile area TA having the same area and shape as the worn article 1 at the same position. Verification example D is a wearable article that has a portion corresponding to the engagement area 30, but does not have a portion corresponding to the stretch suppressing portion stretch suppressing portion 20. Verification example E is a wearable article equivalent to the worn article 1 of this embodiment. Verification example F is a wearable article in which the length of the engagement area 30 in the vertical direction is doubled in the worn article 1 of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the verification examples A to C that do not have the engagement region 30 and the stretch suppression section 20 (stretch suppression means), the comfort rating was either × or △, and it was clear that sufficient comfort was not obtained when pulling up the worn article together with the absorbent pad. On the other hand, in the verification example D that has the engagement region 30, the maximum tensile load when stretched to twice the length in the vertical direction was 174.4 mN/mm, and the comfort rating was ◯. In the verification example E that has the same configuration as the worn article 1, the maximum tensile load when stretched to twice the length in the vertical direction was 343.0 mN/mm, and the comfort rating was ◯. In the verification example F in which the length of the engagement region 30 in the vertical direction was doubled, the maximum tensile load when stretched to twice the length in the vertical direction was 351.6 mN/mm, and the comfort rating was ◯.

The results shown in Figure 8 reveal that at least when the maximum tensile load is 174.4 mN/mm or more when stretched 200% in the vertical direction from the natural state (test examples D to F), vertical stretching is suppressed, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100 and providing comfort. Furthermore, it reveals that when the worn article is provided with a stretch suppressing section 20 (stretch suppressing means) in addition to the engagement region 30 (test examples E and F), vertical stretching is more easily suppressed compared to when the worn article is not provided with a stretch suppressing section 20 (stretch suppressing means) (test example D).

In other words, in a pants-type wearing article, if the maximum tensile load is 175 mN/mm or more until the area corresponding to the tension area TA is stretched 200% in the vertical direction from the natural state, at least the tension area TA is prevented from excessively stretching, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100. Furthermore, if a stretch suppressing section 20 (stretch suppressing means) having a predetermined length in the vertical direction is provided in the tension area TA of the pants-type wearing article, the vertical stretch of the tension area TA is further suppressed, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

In this embodiment, the stretch suppressing portion 20 (stretch suppressing means) is realized by performing a process (such as the sewing process or knitting process described above) on the knitted fabric constituting the main body portion 10 of the worn article 1 to reduce the stretchability of the knitted fabric in the vertical direction. By performing such a process, it becomes possible to partially reduce the vertical stretch rate of desired parts of the knitted fabric, which has a high stretch rate. Therefore, when the worn article 1 is pulled upward, it is possible to freely design parts that are less likely to stretch in the vertical direction and are more likely to be subjected to the force to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

In addition, the lower end of the engagement region 30 (lower end position Tab in FIG. 7A ) is preferably located above the vertical center position of the wearing article 1 in its natural state. As described above, when the waist region BR is grasped and pulled upward during the action of putting on the wearing article 1 (see FIG. 6B ), a pulling force is likely to act near the upper end of the waist region BR. Therefore, if the lower end of the engagement region 30 were located below the vertical center position of the wearing article 1, the pulling force may not be easily transmitted to the engagement region 30.
In contrast, by locating the engagement region 30 near the upper end of the waist region BR which is grasped by hand when the wearing article 1 is pulled up, the pulling force is easily transmitted to the absorbent pad 100 via the engagement region 30, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100 in conjunction with pulling up the wearing article 1.

Furthermore, a waist fold 11 is provided around the periphery of the waist opening BH of the worn article 1. This waist fold 11 has a strong contractile force, for example, because a thread that is difficult to stretch is woven into it. In other words, the amount of force required to stretch the waist opening BH by a unit length along the periphery is greater than the amount of force required to stretch other regions by a unit length. In other words, the worn article 1 has a low waist stretch region along the periphery of the waist opening BH that is less stretchable than other regions of the waist region BR.

The engagement region 30 is preferably arranged below the low waistline stretch region (waistline fold-back portion 11) in the vertical direction. When the waistline opening BH is widened when wearing the wearing article 1, a large force acts due to the stretch of the low waistline stretch region (waistline fold-back portion 11). If the engagement region 30 were arranged overlapping the low waistline stretch region (waistline fold-back portion 11), a strong contraction force would act during the wearing action, making it difficult to stably engage the absorbent pad 100 with the engagement region 30. In contrast, in the wearing article 1 of this embodiment, the engagement region 30 is arranged below the low waistline stretch region (waistline fold-back portion 11). In other words, since the engagement region 30 is separated from the waistline fold-back portion 11 by a predetermined distance, it is unlikely that it will be directly affected by the stretch of the waistline fold-back portion 11. This prevents the engagement area 30 from coming loose with the absorbent pad 100 or from shifting the position of the absorbent pad 100, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100 in line with the worn article 1 when the worn article 1 is put on.

Specifically, if the length (width) in the vertical direction of the low waist stretch area (waist fold-back portion 11) is W11, the engagement area 30 is positioned at least W11 lower than the lower end of the low waist stretch area (waist fold-back portion 11) in the vertical direction (see FIG. 2A). By positioning the engagement area 30 at a distance greater than the width W11 of the waist fold-back portion 11, the engagement area 30 is less likely to be affected by the stretch of the waist fold-back portion 11 compared to the opposite case. This prevents the absorbent pad 100 from coming loose from its engagement with the absorbent pad 100 or from shifting out of position, and makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100 by following the worn article 1 when the worn article 1 is worn.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the engagement region 30 is located below the center position CLBR of the waist region BR in the vertical direction. As described above, when putting on the wearing article 1, the upper end of the waist region BR is grasped and pulled up. That is, the region of the wearing article 1 above the center position CLBR of the waist region BR is an area that is likely to be grasped by the user's hand when putting on the article. Therefore, if the engagement region 30 is located above the center position CLBR of the waist region BR, the user's hand may grasp the engagement region 30 directly, which may cause the absorbent pad 100 to become disengaged. In contrast, in the wearing article 1, the engagement region 30 is located below the center position CLBR of the waist region BR (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the engagement region 30 is less likely to be grasped by the user's hand when putting on the article, and the absorbent pad 100 is prevented from being displaced or disengaged, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

In addition, in the wearing article 1 in its natural state, the length (width) of the engagement region 30 in the left-right direction is 1/2 or less of the length (width) of the wearing article 1 in the left-right direction. In the wearing article 1, the engagement region 30 is provided with a sheet member such as a hook-and-loop fastener, so that the elasticity of the engagement region 30 is lower than the elasticity of the fabric constituting the main body 10. Therefore, the longer the length (width) of the engagement region 30 in the left-right direction, the more likely the elasticity of the wearing article 1 in the left-right direction is to deteriorate. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, the length W31 in the left-right direction of the front engagement region 31 (30) is 1/2 or less of the length L0 in the left-right direction of the wearing article 1 (W31≦0.5L0). Therefore, compared to the opposite case, the elasticity of the wearing article 1 in the left-right direction is suppressed from being excessively deteriorated, the circumference of the waist opening BH is easily stretched, and it is easier to fit users of various waist sizes. In other words, the size adaptability of the wearing article 1 can be improved.

Furthermore, in the worn article 1 in its natural state, the length (width) in the left-right direction of the engagement region 30 is equal to or less than the length (width) in the left-right direction of the crotch region CR. In FIG. 2A, the length W31 in the left-right direction of the front engagement region 31 (30) is equal to or less than the length WCR in the left-right direction of the crotch region CR (W31≦WCR). With this configuration, excessive deterioration of the elasticity in the left-right direction of the crotch region CR is suppressed. Therefore, the left-right elasticity acting in the crotch region CR makes it easier for the absorbent pad 100 held on the skin side of the crotch region CR to be pressed against the wearer's body, improving the fit of the absorbent pad 100. This makes it possible to effectively suppress lateral leakage of excrement, etc.

Furthermore, the engagement region 30 and the crotch region CR have a portion that overlaps in the left-right direction (see FIG. 2A). Since the engagement region 30 does not easily stretch in the up-down and left-right directions, in the range of the crotch region CR that overlaps with the engagement region 30 in the left-right direction, the force pulling up the worn article 1 is likely to act on the crotch region CR via the engagement region 30. Therefore, it is possible to easily pull the absorbent pad 100 upward while it is held in the crotch region CR.

Furthermore, the front engagement region 31 provided on the front side (front body side) in the front-to-rear direction and the rear engagement region 32 provided on the rear side (rear body side) in the front-to-rear direction may have different positions (heights) in the up-down direction. Furthermore, it is preferable that the lower end of the rear engagement region 32 is located above the lower end of the front engagement region 31 in the up-down direction. Figures 9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the positional relationship between the front engagement region 31 and the rear engagement region 32.
9A and 9B show schematic cross sections, as viewed from the left and right, of a state in which a wearer (user) is wearing the wearing article 1 to which the absorbent pad 100 is attached.

Fig. 9A shows a case where the lower end of the rear engagement region 32 is lower than the lower end of the front engagement region 31. When the lower end of the rear engagement region 32 is lower as in Fig. 9A, the rear engagement region 32 is likely to be positioned lower than the apex of the protruding buttocks of the wearer. In this case, the engagement between the worn article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 on the rear body side may easily come off along the slope of the buttocks. In other words, a force that causes the worn article 1 to roll up and slide down from the top to the bottom of the rear engagement region 32 due to the influence of gravity, etc. may act, making it difficult to stably hold the absorbent pad 100 on the buttocks side.

On the other hand, FIG. 9B shows a case where the lower end position of the rear engagement region 32 is higher than the lower end position of the front engagement region 31. In this case, the rear engagement region 32 is likely to be positioned above the apex of the protruding buttocks of the wearer, so that the wearing article 1 is prevented from slipping down due to the influence of gravity, etc. Therefore, compared to the case of FIG. 9A, the engagement between the wearing article 1 and the absorbent pad 100 at the rear engagement region 32 is less likely to come off, and the absorbent pad 100 can be easily held stably on the buttocks side. In addition, because the rear engagement region 32 is positioned higher, when the wearing article 1 is worn, a wide area of the buttocks can be easily covered by the absorbent pad 100 by pulling up the rear body. Therefore, the fit on the buttocks side is improved and excretion leakage can be prevented.

The stretch suppressing portion 20 (central stretch suppressing portion 21, 22) as the stretch suppressing means provided in the worn article 1 has a portion overlapping with the engagement region 30 and the low stretch region around the waist (the waist folded portion 11) in the vertical direction (see FIG. 2A). The engagement region 30 and the low stretch region around the waist (the waist folded portion 11) are both low stretch regions with lower stretchability than the fabric constituting the main body portion 10. The low stretch region (11, 30) along the left-right direction is connected by the stretch suppressing portion 20 (central stretch suppressing portion 21, 22) along the up-down direction, so that a skeletal structure that suppresses stretching in the up-down direction and the left-right direction is formed in the waist region BR (tensile region TA). Therefore, when the tension region TA is grabbed and pulled up during the wearing action of the worn article 1, the skeletal structure consisting of the low stretch region (11, 30) and the stretch suppressing portion 20 (21, 22) makes it more difficult for the tension region TA to stretch. This makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

Furthermore, the front central stretch suppressing section 21 (rear central stretch suppressing section 22) of the stretch suppressing section 20 is disposed in the left-right central section of the worn article 1, and is provided continuously from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction of the worn article 1. In a pants-type worn article 1 in its natural state, the vertical length is longest at the left-right central section. Therefore, by providing the central

stretch suppressing sections

21, 22 in such a longest portion and making it difficult to stretch, the amount of vertical movement (pulling amount) when the entire worn article 1 is pulled up can be reduced. This allows the absorbent pad 100 to be pulled up more efficiently.

In addition, in the worn article 1, the lower end of the front central stretch suppressing portion 21 provided on the front body side and the lower end of the rear central stretch suppressing portion 22 provided on the rear body side are connected to each other at the crotch part (the position of the crotch seam 12), and the two are continuous from front to back. That is, the central

stretch suppressing portions

21, 22 are continuously arranged all the way from the abdominal side of the waist region BR of the worn article 1 through the crotch region CR to the abdominal side of the waist region BR. This makes it difficult for the crotch region CR to stretch in the vertical direction when the waist region BR is grasped and pulled upward during the action of putting on the worn article 1. Furthermore, the front central stretch suppressing portion 21 and the rear central stretch suppressing portion 22, which are continuous from front to back, act as a force that pushes the absorbent pad 100 upward from the crotch side of the crotch region CR, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

In addition, since the stretch suppressing means (central stretch suppressing parts 21, 22) is provided in the central part in the left-right direction, the central part in the left-right direction may shrink in the up-down direction. That is, the vertical length of the central part in the left-right direction of the worn article 1 in the natural state may be shorter than the vertical length of the other parts. In such a case, the vertical length of the worn article 1 in the left-right direction is preferably 80% or more of the vertical length of the worn article 1 in the other parts. In other words, the vertical shrinkage amount of the worn article 1 in the left-right direction central part is preferably less than 20%. With this configuration, the worn article 1 does not shrink excessively in the up-down direction in the left-right direction central part, so that when the worn article 1 is worn, the wearer's crotch area and the like are not tightened too much, and the constraints on the wearer's body size are reduced. That is, the size adaptability of the worn article 1 can be broadened.

The worn article 1 is also provided with a central stretch suppressing section 21 (22) located in the center in the left-right direction, and a pair of side stretch suppressing sections 23, 23 (24, 24) located on both sides of the central stretch suppressing section 21 (22) in the left-right direction, as stretch suppressing means having a predetermined length in the up-down direction. As described above, the side stretch suppressing section 23 (24) also has a function of suppressing the up-down stretch of the main body section 10, similar to the central stretch suppressing section 21 (22). Therefore, when the waist region BR is grasped and pulled upward during the wearing action of the worn article 1, the three stretch suppressing means function like a skeleton at the left-right central section and both sides of the part grasped and pulled by the hand (the part corresponding to the above-mentioned tension region TA), suppressing the up-down stretch of the tension region TA. This makes it easier to pull up the engagement region 30, and also makes it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100 engaged with the engagement region 30.

In particular, in a wearable article made of a highly stretchable and flexible knitted fabric, such as the wearable article 1 of this embodiment, the skeletal structure of the three stretch suppression means makes it easier to maintain the tension area TA as a surface, improving the lifting properties without compromising the soft feel against the skin.

Here, the flexibility of the waist region BR of the worn article 1 will be explained. The flexibility of the waist region BR can be expressed using the bending resistance of the sheet member (knitted fabric) that forms the waist region BR. The bending resistance can be measured using the well-known cantilever method. Figure 10 is a diagram explaining a method for measuring the bending resistance of the waist region BR of the worn article 1.

FIG. 10A is a diagram for explaining a method of taking a test piece to be measured for bending resistance. In the cantilever method, bending resistance is measured using a test piece of a predetermined size. In this embodiment, a predetermined number (e.g., three pieces) of test pieces 15 are taken from the fabric constituting the waist region BR of the worn article 1. As shown in FIG. 10A, the test piece 15 is cut out from a portion of the waist region BR that does not include members other than the fabric constituting the main body portion 10, such as the stretch suppressing portion 20 (stretch suppressing means), the engagement region 30, and the waist fold-back portion 11 (low waist stretch region), on one side (front body side or back body side) in the front-to-rear direction of the worn article 1 in its natural state. In this embodiment, the length of the test piece 15 in the vertical direction is 150 mm, and the length in the horizontal direction is 25 mm. In addition, the front side (non-skin side of the worn article 1) and the back side (skin side of the worn article 1) of the taken test piece are made clear. The bending resistance was measured by cutting out a plurality of test pieces 15 (three pieces) from each of the worn article 1 of the present embodiment and modified examples 2 and 3 in which a portion of the configuration of the worn article 1 was modified. Note that modified example 2 is an example in which the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10 of the worn article 1 is made thicker, and modified example 3 is an example in which the type of yarn and the knitting method of the knitted fabric constituting the main body 10 of the worn article 1 are changed.

The bending resistance of each of the collected test pieces 15 is measured using a commercially available cantilever tester (for example, a bending resistance tester manufactured by Daiei Scientific Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: Model No. CAN-1MCB). The cantilever tester has a horizontal table 501 with a smooth surface, a slope 502 with a 45 degree incline, a pressure plate 503 that holds the test piece, and a sample holder 504 that moves the test piece along the horizontal table 501.

First, as shown in FIG. 10B, the test piece 15 is placed on the horizontal table 501 with the front surface facing up, and one end of the long side of the test piece 15 is located at the boundary between the horizontal table 501 and the inclined surface 502, and the other end of the long side is placed in contact with the sample holder 504. The position of the sample holder 504 at this time is the measurement start position. Next, the test piece 15 is sandwiched between the horizontal table 501 and the pressing plate 503, and the measurement is started. When the measurement is started, the sample holder 504 moves horizontally from the measurement start position toward the inclined surface 502 side on the horizontal table 501 at a constant speed (for example, 5 mm/sec) while pushing the test piece 15 in the long side direction. Then, the movement distance of the sample holder 504 at the moment when one end of the long side of the test piece 15 contacts the inclined surface 502 (the distance the other end of the long side of the test piece 15 moves from the measurement start position) is measured. After the measurement is completed, the test piece 15 is turned over and the measurement is repeated in the same manner.
This measurement is carried out for each of the multiple test pieces 15, and the average of the measured values on the front side and the back side is taken as the average bending resistance (mm) of the test piece 15.

Figure 11 is a table showing the results of measuring the stiffness of the waist region BR by a cantilever test. The average stiffness of the waist region BR was 42.5 mm or less for both wearing item 1 and modified examples 2 and 3. According to "Relationship between subjective evaluation of fabric touch and skirt wearing and material properties" by Hattori Yumiko, Bulletin of the Faculty of Education and Regional Studies, University of Fukui, published January 2015, "When fabric is used for a skirt, it was observed that fabrics with low stiffness tend to produce fine folds, while fabrics with high stiffness tend to spread over the entire skirt," and "When stiffness is 55 mm or more, almost everyone rated it as "stiff" both to the touch and when wearing the skirt."

In other words, it was revealed that the waist region BR of the worn article 1 and modified examples 2 and 3 all have a bending resistance less than 55 mm, making them less stiff and more flexible. Having a waist region BR made of such a flexible fabric allows the worn article 1 and modified examples 2 and 3 to achieve a good feel against the skin. Furthermore, by providing three stretch suppression means in the central part and both sides of the waist region BR in the left-right direction, the waist region BR is less likely to stretch vertically when the worn article 1 is put on, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

Furthermore, the side stretch suppressing portion 23 (24) has a portion that intersects with the leg overlock portion 13 provided along the periphery of the leg opening LH (see FIG. 2). With this configuration, when both sides of the waist region BR are grasped and pulled up, the pulling force is easily transmitted from the side stretch suppressing portion 23 (24) to the leg overlock portion 13. Therefore, by pulling up both sides of the waist region BR, the leg opening LH is also easily pulled up, and the leg opening LH is less likely to get caught on the wearer's legs when putting on the garment, so the fabric that constitutes the waist region BR is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

Furthermore, the side stretch suppressing portion 23 (24) has a portion that overlaps with the low stretch waist region (waist fold 11) provided along the periphery of the waist opening BH (see FIG. 2). Low stretch regions (waist fold 11, leg overlock 13) are formed along the periphery of the waist opening BH and the leg openings LH, and are connected by the side stretch suppressing portion 23 (24), which strengthens the skeletal structure in the waist region BR. Therefore, when the wearable article 1 is put on, the waist region BR is less likely to stretch in the vertical direction, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

The side

stretch suppressing parts

23, 24 are provided on both sides of the wearing article 1 in the front-rear direction. That is, a pair of front side

stretch suppressing parts

23, 23 is provided on the front side in the front-rear direction, and a pair of rear side

stretch suppressing parts

24, 24 is provided on the rear side in the front-rear direction (see Figs. 2A and 2B). Therefore, when both sides of the waist region BR are grasped and pulled upward, whether the front side is grasped or the rear side is grasped, vertical stretch of the waist region BR is suppressed, making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100. In addition, since six stretch suppressing parts 20 (21, 22, 23, 23, 24, 24) are arranged at approximately equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the waist opening BH (see Fig. 1), regardless of which part of the waist opening BH is grasped, vertical stretch (stretch) of the waist region BR is easily suppressed by any of the stretch suppressing parts 20 (stretch suppressing means), making it easier to pull up the absorbent pad 100.

Furthermore, the width W23 in the left-right direction of the side stretch suppressing portion 23 is narrower than the width W21 in the left-right direction of the central stretch suppressing portion 21 (W23<W21, W24<W22). When the wearable article 1 is worn, the central stretch suppressing portion 21 (22) is located closer to the skin than the absorbent pad 100, and is therefore unlikely to come into direct contact with the wearer's skin. On the other hand, the side stretch suppressing portion 23 (24) is located on the outside of the absorbent pad 100 in the left-right direction, and is therefore likely to come into direct contact with the wearer's skin. Therefore, if the width W23 of the side stretch suppressing portion 23 is large, it may be more likely to cause discomfort or discomfort to the wearer. Therefore, by making the width W23 of the side stretch suppressing portion 23 narrower than the width W21 of the central stretch suppressing portion 21, it is possible to make it less likely for the wearer to feel discomfort, etc., compared to the opposite case.

<Regarding the container for the worn article 1>
The wearing articles 1 manufactured in a manufacturing factory or the like are folded compactly and shipped in a state in which one or more of the wearing articles 1 are accommodated in a predetermined accommodation member, and are then distributed in the market. In the following, a wearing article accommodation body 90 in which a plurality of the wearing articles 1 are accommodated in a accommodation member 70 will be described.

FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a wearable article container 90 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "container 90"). The container 90 has a container member 70, which is a bag-shaped member, and one or more wearable articles 1 contained inside the container member 70. Note that the container 90 does not contain an absorbent pad 100, and when a user uses the wearable article 1 in combination with the absorbent pad 100, the user must prepare the absorbent pad 100 by purchasing it separately, etc.

12, the container 90 has a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction that intersect with each other. One side of the first direction is defined as an upper side, and the other side is defined as a lower side.
Similarly, one side in the second direction is defined as the right side and the other side as the left side, and one side in the third direction is defined as the front side and the other side as the rear side.

The storage member 70 is a container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 12, and is formed by folding a base sheet 71, which is a sheet member constituting the storage member 70, and joining predetermined portions. The base sheet 71 is a resin sheet member, and liquid-impermeable resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polycarbonate, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be used. When storing the wearing articles 1 in the storage member 70, first. The base sheet 71 is folded to form a bag shape having an opening at the upper end in the first direction (not shown), and a predetermined number of wearing articles 1 are stored through the opening at the upper end. After storing the wearing articles 1, the base sheet 71 is folded at the upper end as shown in FIG. 1 (for example, gusset folding), and the opposing surfaces are joined to close the opening. This results in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped storage body 90 as shown in FIG. 12. However, the shape of the storage member 70, the method of folding the base sheet 71, and the method of enclosing the wearing articles 1 are not limited to this.

The front surface of the containing member 70 in the third direction corresponds to the front surface of the container 90, and is the surface that is viewed by a user at a store or the like. Information consisting of a plurality of characters and pictures is displayed (printed) on the front surface of the containing member 70. In the example of Fig. 12, a product name display section 72, a product image display section 73, an explanation display section 74, and a note display section 75 are provided. The product name display section 72 is a section in which information indicating the product name of the worn article 1 is displayed, and a user can select and purchase the worn article 1 from a wide variety of absorbent articles using the product name display section 72 as a guide.
The product image display section 73 is a section in which information showing images relating to the worn article 1 and the user is displayed. By visually checking the product image display section 73, the user can easily understand at a glance the outline of the product and the type of person targeted to wear the product.

The explanation display section 74 is an area where information is displayed that shows the product description of the wearable article 1, and includes at least an indication that evokes the use in combination with the absorbent pad 100. In FIG. 8, information is displayed that the wearable article 1 can be used in combination with an absorbent pad, and information is displayed explaining the absorbent pad (absorbent pad 100) to be used in combination. The note display section 75 is an area where notes other than the information displayed in the explanation display section 74 are displayed, and indicates information that is beneficial to the user. In FIG. 8, information is displayed indicating that the wearable article 1 can be used repeatedly, allowing the user to recognize that the wearable article 1 is reusable.

In addition, these information display sections 72 to 75 may not be printed on the base sheet 71 that constitutes the storage member 70, but may be constructed by attaching a sticker showing predetermined information to the surface of the base sheet 71, for example. Furthermore, if the base sheet 71 is a transparent sheet member, they may be constructed by enclosing a card or the like showing predetermined information inside so that the card can be seen from the outside.

By distributing this type of container 90 on the market, users who see the container 90 can easily recognize the function and usage of the wearable article 1, and can use the wearable article 1 correctly.

<Washing of the worn article 1>
As described above, the wearing article 1 can be washed and reused, and after washing, it is important that the wearing article 1 dries easily. For example, assuming a usage pattern in which the wearing article 1 is washed and dried while the wearer of the wearing article 1 is taking a bath, and the washed wearing article 1 is worn again after the wearer gets out of the bath, it is preferable that the wearing article 1 has high drying properties.

The wearable article 1 of this embodiment has the following configuration to improve the dryability. First, the configuration to improve the dryability will be described from the viewpoint of the fabric that makes up the wearable article 1. In this embodiment, the fabric that makes up the wearable article 1 (main body 10) contains 90% or more by weight of polyester or polyethylene. Polyester and polyethylene are materials with higher elongation than cotton, and by including a large amount of such materials, it is possible to realize greater stretchability. In addition, since polyester and polyethylene are non-absorbent and have high quick-drying properties, it is possible to shorten the drying time after washing, and the dryability of the wearable article 1 is improved. The composition of the fabric (weight % of each material) can be confirmed by measurement, or the "mixing ratio" written on the product tag may be confirmed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the fabric constituting the worn article 1 does not contain any absorbent material. Examples of absorbent materials include cotton and rayon. By not containing any absorbent material, the fabric is less likely to absorb water, and therefore the drying time after washing can be shortened, improving the drying properties of the worn article 1.

The fabric constituting the worn article 1 contains less than 10% by weight of a material that is more elastic than polyester or polyethylene. Examples of such more elastic materials include polyurethane. Since 90% by weight or more of the fabric constituting the worn article 1 is polyester or polyethylene, the remaining 10% by weight of the more elastic material described above can be included, thereby improving elasticity while ensuring good drying properties. If the blending rate of such highly elastic materials is too high (10% by weight or more), there is a risk that the worn article 1 (main body 10) will shrink to the point of wrinkling, or that it will shrink so much that the legs will easily get caught when passing through the leg openings LH, LH, so it is preferable that the blending rate is less than 10% by weight.

The fabric constituting the worn article 1 has regions that contain a material that is more elastic than polyester or polyethylene, and regions that do not. For example, by arranging a highly elastic material in a portion of the worn article 1 where a good fit is particularly required (i.e., forming a region that contains a more elastic material), the fit can be improved in a limited portion of the worn article 1, improving functionality. In addition to improving the fit in a portion, the fit of the worn article 1 as a whole can also be improved by, for example, providing multiple areas spaced apart that contain a more elastic material.

Next, the configuration for enhancing drying properties will be described from the viewpoint of the engagement region 30. As described above, it is preferable that the engagement region 30 is provided with a separate sheet member (e.g., a hook-and-loop fastener) that is different from the knitted fabric that constitutes the main body portion 10, and the separate sheet member is preferably made of polyethylene or polyester. Since the separate sheet member is joined to the main body portion 10, like the main body portion 10, the separate sheet member is also made of a material that has high quick-drying properties, thereby improving the drying properties of the worn article 1.

The separate sheet member is joined to the fabric (main body 10) constituting the worn article 1 by sewing the peripheral portion of the separate sheet member with thread. Therefore, in the area inside the peripheral portion sewn with thread, the fabric and the separate sheet member are not in close contact (joined) in the thickness direction, and a space is formed between the separate sheet member and the fabric. In other words, since the entire separate sheet member is not joined to the fabric, the surface area of the separate sheet member that comes into contact with the fabric is larger than when the entire sheet member is joined, making it easier for moisture to evaporate. Such a configuration that allows air to easily escape improves drying properties.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when viewed in the thickness direction, there is an overlapping portion between the separate sheet member and the stretch suppressing portion 20 (front central stretch suppressing portion 21 and rear central stretch suppressing portion 22) (see FIG. 2). Specifically, the separate sheet member is arranged to straddle areas of different contractile forces (stretch suppressing portions 20). The provision of the stretch suppressing portion 20 causes a change in the contractile force of the fabric constituting the worn article 1, making it easier for a space to form between the skin side of the fabric and the non-skin side of the separate sheet member. Air can easily escape from such a space, improving dryness.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the size of the separate sheet member is 50 mm or less in the vertical direction and 150 mm or less in the horizontal direction. If the separate sheet member is too large, there is a risk that the part of the sheet member in question will be difficult to dry, but by making the size within the above-mentioned range, it will be easier to dry while ensuring an area that can maintain a sufficient engagement force with the fabric.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the thickness of the separate sheet member is 3 mm or less. This ensures that the thickness is sufficient to maintain a sufficient engagement force with the fabric, but is not too thick, so that it can be dried easily.

Next, a configuration for enhancing dryness will be described from another perspective. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing the state in which the front waist region BR and the rear waist region BR of the wearing article 1 are cut at both left and right ends and unfolded in the vertical direction. Specifically, the unfolded state described above is a state in which the wearing article 1 is unfolded in the vertical direction and placed on a horizontal surface in a natural state. In the unfolded state shown in FIG. 13, the area of the region S1 (shown by diagonal lines in FIG. 13) between the upper end 31ue of the front engagement region 31 and the upper end 32ue of the rear engagement region 32 in the vertical direction and between the ends 31pe, 32pe on the most one side (left side) of the front engagement region 31 and the rear engagement region 32 in the horizontal direction and the ends 31re, 32re on the most other side (right side) of the front engagement region 31 and the rear engagement region 32 is smaller than the area of the other region S2. The region S1 of the fabric constituting the wearing article 1 is usually covered by the absorbent pad 100 when the absorbent pad 100 is worn. Therefore, if the drying of the wearing article 1 after washing is slightly insufficient, or if the wearing article 1 becomes wet after putting on the absorbent pad 100 due to another factor, the area S1 is likely to have low subsequent drying properties because it is covered by the absorbent pad 100. However, because the area of area S1 is smaller than the area of area S2 in the fabric constituting the wearing article 1, it is easier to suppress a decrease in the overall dryness of the wearing article 1 compared to the reverse case.

In this embodiment, the area of the above-mentioned region S1 is smaller than the area of the remaining region S2, but this is not limited to this. Conversely, the area of region S1 may be larger than the area of the remaining region S2. In this case, even if the worn article 1 is slightly insufficiently dried after washing, the region S1 is covered by the absorbent pad 100, so that the skin is less likely to get wet and the wearing comfort is less likely to deteriorate.

===Other===
The above-mentioned embodiment is for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

In the above embodiment, it has been described that the stretch suppressing section 20 is provided as a stretch suppressing means for suppressing the stretch of the main body section 10, but stretch suppressing means other than the stretch suppressing section 20 may be provided. For example, if a separate sheet member such as a hook-and-loop fastener is provided in the engagement region 30, the stretch of the main body section 10 is suppressed in the engagement region 30 as well. In other words, the engagement region 30 may also function as a stretch suppressing means.

1. Wearing article (pants-type wearing article),
2 Wearing article (Comparative example),
10 Main body portion,
11 waist fold, 12 crotch seam, 13 leg sewn,
20 expansion/contraction suppression unit (expansion/contraction suppression means),
21 front central stretch suppressing portion, 22 rear central stretch suppressing portion,
23 Front side stretch suppression portion (both side stretch suppression means),
24 Rear side stretch suppressing portion (both side stretch suppressing means),
30 engagement region,
31 front engagement region,
31pe one end, 31re the other end, 31ue upper end,
32 rear engagement region,
32pe one end, 32re the other end, 32ue upper end,
70 storage member,
71 Base sheet,
72 Product name display section, 73 Product image display section, 74 Explanation display section,
75 Note display section,
90 Wearing article container,
100 absorbent pads,
110 Absorbent body, 111 Top sheet, 112 Back sheet,
115 Side sheet, 116 Absorbent pad elastic member,
120 absorbent pad engaging area,
121 front absorbent pad engagement region, 122 rear absorbent pad engagement region,
501 horizontal table, 502 inclined surface, 503 pressing plate, 504 sample holder,
BH waist opening,
LH leg opening, LHt upper end, LHb lower end,
BR waist area,
CR crotch area,
S1 region, S2 region

Claims

a wearing article having a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and a front-rear direction intersecting each other, the wearing article having elasticity in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the wearing article being used in combination with an absorbent pad;
a storage member for storing the wearing article;
A wearing article container comprising:
The wearing article is reusable,
the container member is provided with an indication that the wearing article is to be used in combination with the absorbent pad,
the worn article is made of a fabric having a maximum elongation rate of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction,
It has a front body and a back body,
At least one of the front body and the rear body has an engagement area that engages with the absorbent pad and is less stretchable than the fabric,
In the front body and the rear body having the engagement region, in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article,
The wearing article container is characterized in that a maximum tensile load required for stretching the container to twice its length in the vertical direction from its natural state is greater than a maximum tensile load required for stretching the container to twice its length in the horizontal direction from its natural state.
The vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the front-rear direction intersect with each other,
The sample is made of a fabric having a maximum elongation of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction,
A wearing article having a front body and a rear body and used in combination with an absorbent pad,
At least one of the front body and the rear body has an engagement area that engages with the absorbent pad and is less stretchable than the fabric,
In the front body and the rear body having the engagement region, in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article,
The wearing article is characterized in that a maximum tensile load required for stretching the article from its natural state to twice its length in the vertical direction is greater than a maximum tensile load required for stretching the article from its natural state to twice its length in the horizontal direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2,
In the front body and the rear body having the engagement region, in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and up to 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article, the maximum tensile load required to stretch the length of the front body and the rear body in the vertical direction from the natural state to twice the length of the original length is:
A wearing article characterized in that in the front body and the back body having the engagement area, in a certain area above the lower end of the engagement area and other than the area up to 20 mm from the top end of the wearing article, the tensile load is greater than the maximum tensile load required to stretch the length in the vertical direction from its natural state to twice its original length.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
A wearing article characterized in that in the front body and the back body having the engagement region, the maximum tensile load required to stretch the length in the vertical direction from its natural state to twice its original length is 175 mN/mm or more in a region above the lower end of the engagement region and 20 mm from the upper end of the wearing article.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
The front body and the rear body have the engagement region, and at least a part of a region above a lower end of the engagement region and extending up to 20 mm from an upper end of the wearing article has an elasticity suppressing means having a predetermined length in a vertical direction,
The stretch suppressing means comprises a portion of the fabric that is treated to reduce stretchability of the fabric along the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
The wearing article, wherein a lower end of the engagement region is located above a center position of the wearing article in a natural state in the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
Equipped with a waist opening,
The waist opening has a low-stretch waist area in which the force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along its periphery is greater than the force required to stretch other areas by a unit length,
The wearing article, wherein the engagement region is disposed below and spaced a predetermined distance from the low-elasticity waist region in the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 7,
A wearing article characterized in that, in the vertical direction, the engagement region is located lower than a lower end of the low-elasticity waist region by a width or more of the low-elasticity waist region in the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
A pair of leg openings are provided,
a waist region located between an upper end of the leg openings and an upper end of the wearing article in the vertical direction;
A wearing article, characterized in that a center position of the engagement region is located lower than a center position of the waist region in the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
The wearing article, wherein in a natural state, a length of the engagement region in the left-right direction is equal to or less than half a length of the wearing article in the left-right direction.
The wearing article according to claim 10,
A pair of leg openings are provided,
a crotch region located between upper ends of the leg openings and a lower end of the wearing article in the vertical direction and between inner ends of the pair of leg openings in the left-right direction;
A wearing article, characterized in that in a natural state, a length of the engagement region in the left-right direction is equal to or less than a length of the crotch region in the left-right direction.
The wearing article according to claim 11,
A wearing article, comprising: a portion where the engagement region and the crotch region overlap in the left-right direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
The engagement region includes a front engagement region provided on a front side of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction and a rear engagement region provided on a rear side of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction,
A wearing article, characterized in that in a natural state, a lower end of the rear engagement region is located higher than a lower end of the front engagement region.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
Equipped with a waist opening,
The waist opening has a low-stretch waist area in which the force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along its periphery is greater than the force required to stretch other areas by a unit length,
The expansion/contraction suppressing means has a predetermined length in the vertical direction,
The stretch suppressing means has a portion overlapping with the low-stretch waist region and the engagement region in the vertical direction.
The wearing article according to claim 14,
the stretch suppressing means is disposed at least at a center portion in the left-right direction on a front side of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction, and is disposed continuously from a top end to a bottom end in the up-down direction of the wearing article.
The wearing article according to claim 15,
The stretch suppressing means is provided on both sides of the front and rear of the wearing article in the front-to-rear direction,
a stretch suppressing means provided on the front side and a stretch suppressing means provided on the rear side, the stretch suppressing means being continuous with each other in the front-to-rear direction.
The wearing article according to claim 2 or 3,
The expansion/contraction suppressing means has a predetermined length in the vertical direction,
The expansion/contraction suppressing means has a central expansion/contraction suppressing portion in the central portion in the left-right direction,
a vertical length of the worn article in a portion where the central stretch suppressing portion is provided in a natural state is 80% or more of a vertical length of the worn article in a portion where the central stretch suppressing portion is not provided.
The vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the front-rear direction intersect with each other,
The sample is made of a fabric having a maximum elongation of 200% or more when a sample piece of 50 mm x 200 mm is pulled with a force of 5 N in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction,
A wearing article having a front body and a back body and used in combination with an absorbent pad,
At least one of the front body and the rear body has an engagement area that engages with the absorbent pad and is less stretchable than the fabric,
In the front body and the rear body having the engagement region,
an expansion/contraction suppressing means having a predetermined length in the up-down direction in an area overlapping with the engagement area in the left-right direction,
The stretch suppressing means has a central stretch suppressing portion provided in a central portion in the left-right direction, and a pair of side stretch suppressing portions provided on either side of the central stretch suppressing portion.
The wearing article according to claim 18,
A pair of leg openings are provided,
a pair of leg openings each having a serged portion along a periphery thereof;
A wearing article comprising a portion where the side stretch-restraining portion and the overlock portion intersect.
The wearing article according to claim 19,
Equipped with a waist opening,
The waist opening has a low-stretch waist area in which the force required to stretch the waist opening by a unit length along its periphery is greater than the force required to stretch other areas by a unit length,
A wearing article comprising an intersecting portion between the side stretch-inhibiting portion and the low-stretch waist region.
The wearing article according to claim 18 or 19,
The central stretch suppressing portion and the side stretch suppressing portions are provided on both the front and rear sides in the front-to-rear direction, respectively.
The wearing article according to claim 18 or 19,
The wearing article, wherein a width in the left-right direction of each of the side stretch suppressing portions is narrower than a width in the left-right direction of the central stretch suppressing portion.