Patent Application
20130012904
The present invention relates to an individually wrapped absorbent product.
Known in the art is an absorbent product provided with an absorbent body which includes a liquid permeable skin contact side sheet, a liquid impermeable non-skin contact side sheet, and an absorbent core which is arranged between these skin contact side sheet and non-skin contact side sheet and with a cover sheet which covers a surface of the skin contact side sheet (see PLT 1). In this absorbent product, the skin contact side sheet surface is kept from becoming dirty before use by the cover sheet.
On the other hand, known in the art is an individually wrapped product formed by superposing a wrapping sheet over the absorbent product at the non-skin contact side sheet side, folding up the absorbent product and wrapping sheet so that the skin contact side sheet is positioned at the inside, and sealing the side edges of the wrapping sheet (see PLT 2). In this individually wrapped product, the absorbent product as a whole is covered by the wrapping sheet, so the surface of the skin contact side sheet is protected from the outside. Further, a wrapping sheet is interposed between the surface of the skin contact side sheet and the adhesive strips of the absorbent product, so the surface of the skin contact side sheet is protected from the adhesive strips.
However, PLT 1 does not disclose at all how to individually wrap an absorbent product having a cover sheet.
Further, what PLT 2 discloses is an individually wrapped absorbent product not having a cover sheet, so PLT 2 cannot be applied to PLT 1 as it is. That is to say, in PLT 2, the surface of the skin contact side sheet is exposed, so it is necessary to protect the surface of the skin contact side sheet by the wrapping sheet, while in PLT 1, the surface of the skin contact side sheet is covered by the cover sheet. That is, when forming an individually wrapped product, the situation completely differs between an individually wrapped absorbent product which has a cover sheet and an individually wrapped absorbent product which does not have a cover sheet.
Furthermore, in PLT 2, a wrapping sheet larger than the absorbent product is required. This is liable to result in a larger cost becoming necessary for forming an individually wrapped product.
According to the present invention, there is provided an individually wrapped absorbent product provided with an absorbent body which includes a liquid permeable skin contact side sheet, a liquid impermeable non-skin contact side sheet, and an absorbent core which is arranged between these skin contact side sheet and non-skin contact side sheet and with a cover sheet which covers the surface of the skin contact side sheet, which individually wrapped product is formed by wrapping an absorbent product in a state to be wrapped, defined as a “ready-to-wrap product”, by a wrapping material, in the individually wrapped absorbent product, the wrapping material including a belt-shaped material covering the ready-to-wrap product over the entire circumference of the ready-to-wrap product, the width of the belt-shaped material being shorter than a length of the ready-to-wrap product in a width direction of the belt-shaped material.
It is possible to provide an individually wrapped product suitable for an absorbent product which has a cover sheet.
Referring to
Note that, 2F, 2B, 2L, and 2R indicate a front end edge, back end edge, left side edge, and right side edge of the napkin 1 or absorbent body 2, while 5F, 5B, 5L, and 5R indicate a front end edge, back end edge, left side edge, and right side edge of the absorbent core 5. The front, back, left, and right in these cases correspond to the front, back, left, and right of the body of the wearer.
The surface of the skin contact side sheet 3 which contacts the skin of the wearer at the time of use is covered by a liquid impermeable cover sheet 8. This cover sheet 8 is substantially the same size as the absorbent body 2 and, therefore, covers substantially the entire surface of the skin contact side sheet 3. Further, the cover sheet 8 is bonded at the ring-shaped peripheral edge region 8P by a hot melt adhesive, heat sealing, etc. to the skin contact side sheet 3 or the absorbent body 2. As opposed to this, the region other than the peripheral edge region 8P, that is, the center region 8C, is not bonded to the skin contact side sheet 3. Alternatively, the cover sheet 8 may be a liquid permeable.
At the center region 8C of the cover sheet 8, partition lines 9 are formed in advance. These partition lines 9 are used to define or form at least one wing at the center region 8C for fastening the absorbent body 2 to the clothing. The partition lines 9 are comprised of cut lines completely cutting the cover sheet 8. Note that, the partition lines 9 can also be comprised of weakened lines such as perforated lines.
In an embodiment according to the present invention, the partition lines 9 are comprised of a U-shaped curved part 9F to be extended toward the front end edge 2F, a U-shaped curved part 9B to be extended toward the back end edge 2B, and a straight part 9S connecting the vertexes of these curved parts 9F and 9B at the substantial center of the cover sheet 8. As a result, at the center region 8C, four wings, that is, a semi oval front wing 10F and back wing 10B and a plateau-shaped left wing 10L and right wing 10R are defined. Here, the front wing 10F and back wing 10B are positioned symmetrically and the left and right wings 10L and 10R are positioned symmetrically.
In this case, the partition lines 9 do not reach the peripheral edge region 8P, therefore a non-cut region 8N is formed between the ends of the partition lines 9 and the peripheral edge region 8P.
Further, the partition lines 9 are formed so that the ends 9FE of the front side partition line part 9F are positioned at the outside in the longitudinal direction from the front end edge 5F of the absorbent core 5, while the ends 9BE of the back side partition line part 9B are positioned at the inside in the longitudinal direction from the back end edge 5B of the absorbent core 5.
At the outside surfaces of these wings 10F, 10B, 10L, and 10R, adhesive strips 11 are applied for fastening the corresponding wings 10F, 10B, 10L, and 10R to the clothing. Further, these adhesive strips 11 are covered by a common peeloff sheet 12.
Next, the materials of the different elements will be explained.
The skin contact side sheet 3 is for example comprised of a nonwoven fabric having holes or not having holes or a porous plastic sheet.
The non-skin contact side sheet 4 is for example comprised of a hydrophobic nonwoven fabric, a water impermeable plastic film, a laminate sheet of a nonwoven fabric and a water impermeable plastic film, a highly water resistant melt blown nonwoven fabric, or an SMS nonwoven fabric sandwiched between high strength spun bond nonwoven fabrics.
The absorbent core 5 is for example comprised of a fluffy pulp or air laid nonwoven fabric and highly absorbent polymer. Here, the fluffy pulp is for example comprised of chemical pulp, cellulose fiber, rayon, acetate, or other manmade cellulose fiber, while the air laid nonwoven fabric is for example comprised of pulp and synthetic fiber hot bonded or bonded by a binder to form a nonwoven fabric. The highly absorbent polymer is for example comprised of a starch-based, acrylic acid-based, or amino acid-based polymer of a particle or fiber shape.
The adhesive strips 6 and 11 are for example comprised of a styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer (SIS), styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS), styrene-ethylene-butylene-ethylene copolymer (SEBS), or other hot melt adhesive.
The cover sheet 8 is for example comprised of a hydrophobic nonwoven fabric, a water impermeable plastic film, a laminate sheet of a nonwoven fabric and a water impermeable plastic film, a highly water resistant melt blown nonwoven fabric, or an SMS nonwoven fabric sandwiched between high strength spun bond nonwoven fabrics, preferably a hydrophobic nonwoven fabric. The cover sheet 8 preferably has a basis weight of 15 g/m2 to 60 g/m2. When comprised of a plastic film, the plastic film preferably has a drapeability, by the cantilever method, of 20 mm to 100 mm, more preferably 30 mm to 70 mm. This is because if the drapeability is smaller than 20 mm, the cover sheet 8 will easily become twisted. On the other hand, if the drapeability is larger than 100 mm, the cover sheet 8 will become hard, so the feeling of use of the napkin 1 is liable to be degraded, the ability to mold against the clothing falls, and the liquid to be absorbed is liable to leak.
Note that, the above-mentioned cantilever method is performed as follows based on JIS-L1018. That is, five measurement pieces of a length of 150 mm and a width of 25 mm are stacked to obtain a measurement sample. Next, a cantilever made by Daiei Kagaku Seiki is used, the measurement sample is placed under a holding plate of the cantilever, the sample is slid in the slanted direction, and the distance of movement is automatically measured at a speed of 5 mm/sec. The measurement is performed for both the case where the front surface of the measurement sample is placed facing down and the case where the back surface of the measurement sample is placed facing down and the average of these was made the measurement result.
Now, the napkin 1 is fastened to the clothing as follows. That is, first, the peeloff sheet 7 at the non-skin contact side sheet 4 side is taken off and the napkin 1 or absorbent body 2 is fastened to the clothing through the adhesive strips 6. At this time, the skin contact side sheet 3 is covered by the cover sheet 8, so the skin contact side sheet 3 is prevented from becoming dirty.
Next, the peeloff sheet 12 of the cover sheet 8 side is taken off. As a result, four separate wings 10F, 10B, 10L, and 10R are formed.
Next, as shown in
Next, the wings 10F, 10B, 10L, and 10R are fastened through the adhesive strips 11 to the clothing. That is, the front wing 10F is fastened to the inside surface of the clothing at the front of the absorbent body 2, while the back wing 10B is fastened to the inside surface of the clothing at the back of the absorbent body 2. Further, the left wing 10L and right wing 10R are fastened to the outside surface of the clothing at the bottom of the absorbent body 2.
As a result, even if external force acts on the absorbent body 2 from various directions, it is possible to suppress twisting or offset of position of the absorbent body 2. That is, it is possible to reliably fasten the absorbent body 2 to the clothing, therefore it is possible to suppress leakage of the liquid to be absorbed. Further, it is possible to eliminate the concern of the wearer over leakage.
Note that, the peripheral edge region 8P preferably has a width of 2 mm to 10 mm, more preferably 3 mm to 5 mm. This is because if the peripheral edge region 8P has a width narrower than 2 mm, the bonding strength between the cover sheet 8 and the absorbent body 2 will fall. Further, if the peripheral edge region 8P has a width broader than 10 mm, the surface of the skin contact side sheet 3 which is exposed when the wings 10F, 10B, 10L, and 10R are extended becomes narrower. That is, if the skin contact side sheet is broadly exposed, even if the positions of fastening the napkin 1 or absorbent body 2 to the clothing C are off somewhat from the suitable positions, leakage of the liquid to be absorbed can be suppressed.
Further, the size of the non-cut region 8N is preferably 2 mm to 10 mm, more preferably 3 mm to 5 mm. This is because even if the material meanders at the time of production of the napkin 1, the absorbent core 5 will not be positioned at the peripheral edge part 2P.
In an embodiment according to the present invention, an individually wrapped product is formed comprised of a napkin 1 which is individually wrapped. That is, a single napkin 1 is assembled into a ready-to-wrap state, the napkin in the ready-to-wrap state, defined as a “ready-to-wrap napkin”, is wrapped by the wrapping material, and thereby an individually wrapped product is formed.
The ready-to-wrap napkin is for example formed as follows. That is, in the example shown in
In this case, the front end edge 2F of the napkin 1 is superposed over the remaining part of the napkin 1. That is, the napkin 1 is folded so that one end of the napkin 1 in the longitudinal direction is superposed over the remaining part of the napkin 1.
Next, the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R is wrapped by the wrapping material whereby an individually wrapped product 1W is formed.
That is, as shown in
In this case, the width LW of the belt-shaped material 21 is made shorter than the length LN of the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R in the width LW direction. As a result, the wrapping material 20 partially wraps the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R, that is, does not wrap the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R as a whole, so it is possible to reduce the amount of the wrapping material 20.
Even if the wrapping of the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R is partial, the skin contact side sheet 3 is covered by the cover sheet 8 and, further, the napkin 1 is folded so that the cover sheet 8 is positioned at the inside, so the skin contact side sheet 3 is sufficiently protected.
Further, the belt-shaped material 21 is provided so as to extend in the width direction of the napkin 1, that is, is provided so as to extend cutting across the side edges 2L and 2R of the napkin 1. As a result, dirt etc. can be blocked from entering into clearances 1RC of the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R.
Furthermore, as shown in
Furthermore, the belt-shaped material 21 is provided so as to extend across the front end edge 2F of the napkin 1. As a result, the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R can be kept from returning to its original flat shape and therefore the shape of the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R can be maintained.
Furthermore, an adhesive strip 23 is applied to the inside surface of the belt-shaped material 21. Through this adhesive strip 23, the belt-shaped material 21 is attached to the peeloff sheet 7. As a result, the belt-shaped material 21 can be prevented from shifting in position from the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R.
In this case, the belt-shaped material 21 is attached to the peeloff sheet 7 to be able to be peeled off from it. Of course, the belt-shaped material 21 may also be attached to the peeloff sheet piece 7 in an unpeelable manner, alternatively. Therefore, the wrapping material 20 is attached to the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R in a peelable or unpeelable manner.
The wearer removes the wrapping material 20 or belt-shaped material 21 from the ready-to-wrap napkin 1 and opens up the folded ready-to-wrap napkin 1R for use. In this case, since the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R is formed so that the cover sheet 8 is positioned at the inside, when opening up the ready-to-wrap napkin 1R, the napkin 1 tends to bulge outward with the non-skin contact side sheet 4 at the outside. As a result, the napkin 1 can be made to fit closer to the wearer.
Note that, the outer surface 20S of the wrapping material 20 may have letters, patterns, etc. printed or otherwise provided on it.
In the example shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
In the example shown in
Note that, various shapes of the ready-to-wrap napkin 1 may be considered. For example, it is also possible to fold the napkin 1 so that the back part 1B is superposed over the front part 1F. Alternatively, it is possible to fold the napkin 1 along a folding region which extends in the longitudinal direction of the napkin 1. Further, the number of the folding regions may be set in any way.
In the example shown in
By doing this, it is possible to streamline the production process of the individually wrapped product 1W. Further, the napkin 1 is not creased, so it is possible to prevent gaps forming between the napkin 1 and the wearer.
Further, in the example shown in
Here, the adhesive strips 6, as shown in
In the above embodiments, at the center region 8C of the cover sheet 8, the partition lines 9 are formed so that four wings are defined. However, the number of the wings may be set in any way.
Further, the embodiments explained up to here may be combined with each other. That is, for example, the wrapping material 20 of
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-084170 | Mar 2010 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2011/058753 | 3/31/2011 | WO | 00 | 8/24/2012 |
