BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A shows an arrangement of a back sheet web, absorbent pads disposed on the back sheet web, and a top sheet web laid on top of the absorbent pads to form a multi-layered sheet.
FIG. 1B shows a cross sectional view of an individual absorbent article of the invention.
FIG. 2 shows leg holes cut out on the multi-layered sheet of the invention.
FIG. 3 shows individual absorbent articles after the absorbent articles are placed spaced apart.
FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of individual articles such that the short waist panel is the leading edge.
FIG. 5 shows the flipping of the short waist panel of the absorbent article onto the long waist panel.
FIG. 6 shows the folding of the long waist panel edges over the short waist panel edges.
FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein a perforated adhesive is applied on the side edges of the waist panel.
FIG. 8 is a method flowchart outlining the steps involved in manufacturing the absorbent article in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention discloses a pant type absorbent article with flat side seams and a method for manufacturing the same. The front and back waist panels of the absorbent article are bonded in such a way that the body-facing side of one panel faces the non-body facing side of the other panel. Such bonding ensures that the side seams of the absorbent article stay flat during wear.
In the following specification, specific embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims.
FIG. 1A shows a rectangular back sheet web 10 made from a fluid impervious material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Back sheet web 10 is cut into multiple individual absorbing articles. Absorbent pads 12 made up of one or more layers of absorbent materials are attached to back sheet web 10 at regular spacing. The attachment is done in a manner such that the length of absorbent pads is parallel to machine direction (MD) axis 14, and perpendicular to cross directional (CD) axis 16 of the back sheet. The distance between two adjacent absorbent pads 12 depends on the required size of the individual absorbent article.
A top sheet web 18 made from a fluid permeable material is then attached on top of absorbent pads 12 laid on back sheet web 10. Top sheet web 18 is made from a soft and non irritable material to avoid any discomfort to the wearer. Therefore, in this arrangement, the absorbent pad is sandwiched between back sheet web 10 and top sheet web 18 to form a multilayered sheet. This multilayered sheet is cut into multiple individual absorbent articles; each individual article having a top sheet, a back sheet and an absorbent pad interposed between the top sheet and the back sheet. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the multilayered sheet may have additional layers disposed between the top sheet web and the back sheet web. For example, in one embodiment, the multilayered sheet has a porous acquisition layer incorporated between the top sheet web and the absorbent pads. The acquisition layer in the form of a fibrous wadding, a carded fibrous web or other type of fibrous material, can temporarily store fluids before they are finally absorbed by the absorbent pads.
FIG. 1B shows a cross sectional view of an individual absorbent article made by cutting the multilayered sheet into discrete articles. Absorbent pad 12 is shown to be sandwiched between the fluid permeable top sheet and the fluid impervious back sheet.
Circular leg holes 20 are cut out from the multilayered sheet in between the absorbent pads as shown in FIG. 2. The size of the leg hole cut depends on the size of leg hole required in the article. Depending upon the requirements, leg holes can be cut in either oval or elliptical shapes as well. In order to cut the multi-layered sheet into individual articles, cuts are made along the dotted lines 22 as shown in FIG. 3. Each cut starts from an edge of the multilayered sheet and ends at a leg hole, and is parallel to the MD axis. The cuts are made so as to form multiple individual absorbent articles. The edges of the multilayered sheet form the waist panels of the individual absorbent article, while the absorbent pads form the crotch region when the article is worn. The multilayered sheet is cut in such a way that one waist panel 24 of the resulting article is shorter than the other panel 26. When the absorbent article is worn, the short waist panel may form the front waist panel, while the long waist panel may form the back waist panel.
The individual absorbent articles are then separated as shown in FIG. 3. When the individual articles are separated and placed apart, short waist panel 24 and long waist panel 26 form the opposite edges of the absorbent article. The individual articles are then arranged in a manner such that short waist panel 24 forms the leading edge while long waist panel 26 forms the trailing edge as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 shows the flipping of short waist panel 24 onto long waist panel 26.
FIG. 6 shows the folding of long waist panel edges over short waist panel edges. The edges are releasably bonded with the help of an adhesive 60 applied on one of the waist panels. In FIG. 6, adhesive 60 is applied on the side edges of the short waist panel. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the bonding may also be done using mechanical and/or ultrasonic means, or by a hook and loop arrangement. Further, the bonds may be point bonds, dashed lines, continuous lines, discontinuous lines and combinations thereof.
FIG. 7 shows an absorbent article in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the adhesive applied on the side edge of the waist panel is perforated 70. This makes the side edges ‘tear away’ and enables easy removal of the absorbent article from the body of the wearer.
FIG. 8 is a method flowchart outlining the steps involved in manufacturing the absorbent article in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The absorbent articles are cut from a multilayered sheet comprising a fluid impervious back sheet web, a fluid pervious top sheet web, and a plurality of absorbent pads disposed between the back sheet web and the top sheet web. The number of absorbent pads disposed between the back sheet web and the top sheet web corresponds to the number of absorbent articles that can be formed from the multilayered sheet.
At step 802, leg holes are cut out into the multilayered sheet. The leg holes are cut such that one leg hole is positioned between two adjacent absorbent pads. At step 804 the multilayered sheet is divided into multiple individual absorbent articles. This division is made by cutting the multilayered sheet such that a cut extends from a length of the rectangular multilayered sheet to the circumference of the leg hole. The lengths of the multilayered sheet form the waist panels of the individual absorbent article, while the absorbent pads form the crotch region when the article is worn. The multilayered sheet is cut in such a way that one waist panel of the resulting article is shorter than the other. At step 806 the individual absorbent articles are separated and arranged such that the short waist panel forms the leading edge while the long waist panel forms the trailing edge. At step 808 the absorbent article is folded in half by flipping the short waist panel up to the long waist panel. At step 810 a bonding material such as an adhesive is applied to the side edges of the short waist panel. At step 812, the side edges of the long waist panel are folded up and over the side edges of the short waist panel. An adhesive is used for releasably bonding the side edges of the short waist panel with the side edges of the long waist panel.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that different bonding arrangements may be used for bonding of the waist panels. In different embodiments, adhesives, hook and loop arrangements, mechanical bonds and ultrasonic bonds may be used for such bonding.
The aforementioned embodiments and examples are meant to be solely for explanatory purposes, and are in not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various other configurations are possible within the spirit of the invention. The invention is intended to cover all such embodiments within the boundaries defined by the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080045918
