Patent Application
20220142825
The disclosure relates to a hygiene product, more particularly to a tampon and a pad body having a foam absorbent body.
A tampon, as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent No. M593832, includes a support sleeve and an absorbent cotton body disposed in the support sleeve. The support sleeve is a tubular object made after compressing and processing a cotton material, and has an open upper end and a closed lower end. A pull string is provided on the lower end of the support sleeve. The support sleeve is covered with a flexible and ductile film. A plurality of push-pull protrusions are integrally provided around an outer wall of the film.
In use, the tampon is inserted into the vagina. The tampon can be smoothly pushed from the vaginal opening into the vagina through the support sleeve, and menstrual blood can be absorbed through the strong absorption of the absorbent cotton body.
Although this kind of tampon can achieve its intended purpose, because the tampon is mostly made of cotton, there are many complicated processes for making fibers from raw materials and from the fibers to the tampon, so that the manufacturing cost of this kind of tampon is high.
Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a pad body having a foam absorbent body that is capable of overcoming the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to this disclosure, a pad body is integrally molded from a thermoplastic resin foam material with high compressibility, and includes foam absorbent body, an outer film layer formed on an outer portion of the foam absorbent body, and a pull string connected to the outer film layer. The foam absorbent body and the outer film layer constitute an absorption section of the pad body. The outer film layer has a plurality of absorption holes communicating the foam absorbent body with the outside. The absorption section is transformable from a compressed state to an expanded state, and has a connecting end portion connected to the pull string, a top end portion opposite to the connecting end portion, and an intermediate portion between the connecting end portion and the top end portion.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a tampon having the pad body that is capable of overcoming the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to this disclosure, a tampon includes a tubular sleeve unit and a pad body. The tubular sleeve unit includes an outer tube that defines a receiving hole, and a push rod movably disposed in the receiving hole. The outer tube has a tubular main portion, a head portion connected to the tubular main portion, and a bottom portion opposite to the head section. The head portion has a hemispherical shape, and has an exit opening communicating the receiving hole with the outside, and a plurality of angularly spaced-apart claw pieces connected to a top periphery of the tubular main portion, and surrounding the exit opening. Each claw piece has a connecting end connected to the top periphery of the tubular main portion, and a free end opposite to the connecting end. The claw pieces are movable between a closed state, in which the free ends of the claw pieces are close to each other, and an open state, in which the free ends of the claw pieces are moved away from each other.
The pad body is integrally molded from a thermoplastic resin foam material with high compressibility. The pad body includes a foam absorbent body, an outer film layer formed on an outer portion of the foam absorbent body, and a pull string connected to the outer film layer. The foam absorbent body and the outer film layer constitute an absorption section of the pad body. The absorption section is removably disposed in the receiving hole of the outer tube. The outer film layer has a plurality of absorption holes communicating the foam absorbent body with the outside. The absorption section is transformable from a compressed state to an expanded state. The absorption section is constrained by the outer tube in the compressed state, and is transformed from the compressed state to the expanded state when pushed by the push rod to move out of the receiving hole via the exit opening. The absorption section has a connecting end portion connected to the pull string, a top end portion opposite to the connecting end portion, and an intermediate portion between the connecting end portion and the top end portion.
Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The tubular sleeve unit 10 includes an outer tube 11 defining a receiving hole 111, and a push rod 12 movably disposed in the receiving hole 111. The outer tube 11 is made of a soft plastic material that is easy to deform, and has a tubular main portion 112, a head portion 113 connected to the tubular main portion 112, and a bottom portion 114 opposite to the head section 113. The receiving hole 111 has a large diameter hole section 1111 defined by the tubular main portion 112, a small diameter hole section 1112 defined by the bottom portion 114, and a shoulder 115 between the large and small diameter hole portions 1111, 1112. The head portion 113 has a hemispherical shape, and has an exit opening 116 communicating the receiving hole 111 with the outside, and a plurality of angularly spaced-apart claw pieces 117 connected to a top periphery of the tubular main portion 112 and surrounding the exit opening 116. The claw pieces 117 have elasticity when stretched. Each claw piece 117 has a connecting end 1171 connected to the top periphery of the tubular main portion 112, and a free end 1172 opposite to the connecting end 1171. The claw pieces 117 are movable between a closed state (see
The push rod 12 is hollow, and has an inner end portion 121 extending into the receiving hole 111, an operating end portion 122 opposite to the inner end portion 121, a through hole 123 extending from the inner end portion 121 to the operating end portion 122, and an annular flange 124 provided on an outer periphery thereof in proximity to the inner end portion 121 and abuttable against the shoulder portion 115 within the receiving hole 111.
The pad body 20 is a one-piece body molded from a thermoplastic resin foam material with high compressibility. The thermoplastic resin foam material is selected from at least one of polyurethane (PU), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The pad body 20 includes a foam absorbent body 21, an outer film layer 22 formed on an outer portion of the foam absorbent body 21, and a pull string, 23 connected to the outer film layer 22. The outer film layer 22 covers a majority of the foam absorbent body 21, but not a top portion thereof. The outer film layer 22 has a plurality of absorption holes 221 communicating the foam absorbent body 21 with the outside. The pull string 23 has a density and strength greater than that of the foam absorbent body 21.
The foam absorbent body 21 and the outer film layer 22 constitute an absorption section 201 of the pad body 20. The absorption section 201 is removably disposed in the receiving hole 111, and has a connecting end portion 24 connected to the pull string 23, a top end portion 25 opposite to the connecting end portion 24, and an intermediate portion 26 between the connecting end portion 24 and the top end portion 25.
With reference to
When the head portion 113 of the outer tube 11 of the tampon 100 is inserted into the vagina of a user, the operating end portion 122 of the push rod 12 is pushed to move the inner end portion 121 of the push rod 12 toward the head portion 113 of the outer tube 11. The inner end portion 121 of the push rod 12, in turn, pushes the absorption section 201 of the pad body 20 to gradually move out of the receiving hole 111 via the exit opening 116. As the absorption section 201 moves out of the receiving hole 111, the absorption section 201 pushes the free ends 1172 of the claw pieces 117 to move away from each other to the open state, so that it can move out of the receiving hole 111 into the vagina of the user, as shown in
To remove the absorption section 201 of the pad body 20 from the vagina, the portion of the pull string 42 located outside of the body of the user is pulled, and through the conical shape of the absorption section 201, the absorption section 201 can be smoothly removed from the vagina of the user.
Hence, use of the tampon 100 of this disclosure is very easy. Further, because the foam absorbent body 21, the outer film layer 22 and the pull string 23 of the pad body 20 are integrally formed as one piece, the manufacture of the tampon 100 is also very convenient, so that the manufacturing processes thereof can be simplified and the manufacturing costs thereof can be reduced. It is worth to mention herein that the foam absorbent body 21, the outer film layer 22 and the pull string 23 of the pad body 20 can be formed directly inside a mold (not shown) and the outer film layer 22 is formed naturally as a film during molding. Through the provision of the outer film layer 22, the absorption section 201 can be smoothly inserted into or removed from the vagina of the user.
In summary, the pad body 20, 20′ of this disclosure is integrally molded from a thermoplastic resin foam material with high compressibility, and the foam absorbent body 21, the outer film layer 22 and the pull string 23 of the pad body 20, 20′ are integrally formed as one piece, so that the manufacture of the tampon 100 of this disclosure s easy, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs thereof.
While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
