1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to disposable absorbent articles, and more particularly, to the manufacturing of disposable absorbent articles having laterally extending fasteners and closure tabs.
2. Background of the Related Art
Absorbent articles such as, for example, disposable diapers, adult incontinent pads, sanitary napkins, pantiliners, incontinent garments, etc. are generally worn, in cooperation with garments and disposed against a body surface by infants or adult incontinent individuals. The absorbent article is employed to collect and absorb body fluid discharge, such as, for example, blood, menses, urine, aqueous body fluids, mucus and cellular debris. For example, the absorbent article may be disposed between the legs of an individual adjacent a crotch area. The absorbent article is positioned with a garment and drawn into engagement with a body surface of the crotch area to collect fluid discharge.
As is known, absorbent articles typically include a fluid permeable coverstock for engaging the body surface, a fluid impermeable backsheet and an absorbent core supported therebetween. The backsheet serves as a moisture barrier to prevent fluid leakage to the garment. The absorbent core usually includes a liquid retention material that faces the body surface. The absorbent core can include, for example, loosely formed cellulosic fibers, such as wood pulp, for acquiring and storing fluid discharge.
Fastening of the absorbent articles with an individual requires the use of fasteners or ear members and closure tabs that extend laterally from the body of the absorbent article. In addition, the closure tabs typically include mechanical closure material, for example, hook and/or loop material, adhesive tape or the like. For example, in typical diaper-type garments, the garment is affixed to a wearer by attaching one or more of the closure tabs that extend across the wearer's hips to hold the back and front halves of the garment to one another.
Manufacturing of these absorbent articles, however, suffers from the addition of these laterally extending fasteners and closure tabs through the assembly and manufacturing process of an absorbent article. The fasteners and/or closure tabs undesirably protrude from the body of the diaper product as it moves in the machine direction along a production line. These drawbacks can disadvantageously result in processing manufacturing malfunctions including cutting, tearing, mis-folding and otherwise misalignment of the fasteners and closure tabs. Such malfunctions result in machine down time, wasted product and unpleasant product appearance for the consumer.
It would therefore be desirable to overcome the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art by providing a method of manufacturing an absorbent article having fasteners and closure tabs that do not otherwise snag, tear, mis-fold or otherwise disrupt the manufacturing process, by being particularly situated or attached to the absorbent article in a manner that would prevent such manufacturing disruptions. It would also be desirable if the manufacturing of the absorbent article having fasteners and closure is made easier and more efficient.
Accordingly, an absorbent article and manufacturing process are disclosed which include an absorbent article having fasteners and/or closure tabs that are folded upon the body of the absorbent article and held in place. The advantage of this construction provides for a manufacturing process that includes less errors due to the positioning of the fasteners and closure tabs along the manufacturing travel path.
Objects and advantages of the present disclosure are set forth in part herein and in part will be obvious therefrom, or may be learned by practice of the present disclosure which is realized and attained by the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims for the devices and methods of the present disclosure consisting of its constituent parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations, steps and improvements herein shown and described.
In one particular embodiment, a method of making an absorbent article, which may be a diaper, is provided. The method includes providing a diaper having a backsheet, a topsheet and an absorbent core disposed therebetween and a pair of fasteners disposed along lateral portions thereof. The fastener is folded onto and adhered to the topsheet. Adherence of the fastener to the topsheet may be performed by one or more of ultrasonic bonding, adhesive bonding, compression bonding and/or thermal bonding.
In another embodiment, the method of the present disclosure provides that each fastener has a closure tab disposed along a distal portion thereof. The closure tab may be folded onto the fastener and adhered thereto by one or more of the above mentioned bonding techniques. The fastener may in turn be folded onto the topsheet and bonded thereto by one or more of the above mentioned bonding techniques.
In another embodiment, the diaper of the present disclosure includes a pair of fasteners, each of which is removably attached to a body-facing surface of the diaper, and also a pair of closure tabs, each being removably attached to a body-facing side of the fastener. The fastener may be attached to the diaper by one or more of ultrasonic bonds, adhesive bonds, compression bonds, and thermal bonds.
In yet another embodiment, the method of the present disclosure provides a diaper with a laterally disposed attachment fastener having a distally extending closure tab and mechanical closure. The attachment fastener is folded over a portion of the topsheet and the closure tab is attached to a portion of the topsheet proximal of the attachment fastener. The mechanical closure material may include hook-and-loop material, adhesive material or the like.
The objects and features of the present disclosure are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present disclosure, as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objectives and advantages may be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The exemplary embodiments of the absorbent article and methods of use disclosed are discussed in terms of fluid absorbent articles, and more particularly, in terms of an absorbent article including fasteners or ear members and closure tabs that are positioned so to improve the manufacture process. The presently disclosed absorbent article avoids leakage and overflow of fluid discharge, such as, for example, blood, menses, urine, aqueous body fluids, mucus and cellular debris. It is contemplated that the absorbent article may be employed with, for example, disposable diapers, adult incontinent pads, feminine pads, sanitary napkins, or incontinent garments.
In the case of diapers and most adult incontinent products, the garment often is provided fully formed with factory-made side seams and the garment is donned by pulling it up the wearer's legs. In the case of diapers, wherein, for example, a baby lies on his or her back, a caregiver usually places the diaper between the baby's legs, pulls the front end of the diaper up between the legs and then attaches one or more closure tabs on the rear end of the diaper to the front end of the diaper, thereby forming a pant-like structure.
In the discussion that follows, the term “body-facing surface” refers to a portion of a structure that is oriented towards a body surface, and the “garment-facing surface” refers to a portion of the structure that is oriented towards a garment and is typically opposing the body-facing surface and may be referred to as such. As used herein, the term “body surface” refers to a portion of an individual's body that the absorbent article is disposed with for collecting and absorbing fluid discharge from the individual. As used herein, the term “proximal” refers to relative locations which are closer to a longitudinal centerline of the absorbent article, while the term “distal” refers to relative locations that are farther away from the longitudinal centerline of the absorbent article.
The following discussion includes a description of the absorbent article in accordance with the present disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, which are illustrated in the accompanying Figures.
Turning now to the Figures, wherein like components are designated by like reference numerals throughout the several views. Referring to
With reference to
An alternate embodiment of the diaper 10 and manufacturing method, similar to that described above, is illustrated in
In yet an alternate embodiment of the diaper 10 and manufacturing method, similar to that described above, is illustrated in
A method of manufacturing a diaper 10, similar to that described, in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure is provided. The process can best be understood by reference to the illustrative embodiments shown in
The present disclosure provides an improved method of manufacturing diaper 10. During the manufacturing process, fasteners 22 and/or closure tabs 33 are maneuvered so that they do not extend beyond diaper edges 50. Instead, fastener 22 and/or closure tab 33 are folded and/or attached to the diaper body during the manufacture and packing process. These attachments of the fastener 22 and closure tab 33 may be lightly secured to allow relatively easy release during usage. In addition, attachment bonds 36 used to secure fastener 22 and closure tab 33 may be small and generally minimally visible to a user (e.g., point bonds). In this manner, the present disclosure provides a more aesthetic and consumer-friendly diaper product. In addition, the user upon unpacking diaper 10 will conveniently find fasteners 22 and closure tabs 33 in the same unobtrusive position every time, that is, folded along the body of diaper 10.
It will be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein. For example, the present disclosure contemplates the use of any one or combination of embodiments discussed herein. By way of non-limiting example, the diaper 10 of the present disclosure may include folded closure tab 33 onto fastener 22 as shown in