Claims
- 1. A tampon comprising:
- a) an absorbent having first and second ends; and
- b) a cover having an L-shaped configuration including a leg and a foot, said leg having a central longitudinal axis, said cover being aligned with said absorbent such that said foot is aligned adjacent to said second end of said absorbent and both said cover and said absorbent are rolled up along said central longitudinal axis into a cylindrically-shaped softwind which is compressed into an absorbent pledget, said absorbent pledget having a predetermined diameter, an insertion end and a trailing end, and a flexible sheath defined by said foot of said cover extending outward from said trailing end, said flexible sheath sized to receive a user's finger and prevent soiling of the finger during insertion of said absorbent pledget into a body cavity, and said flexible sheath providing means for removing said absorbent pledget from the body cavity.
- 2. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said flexible sheath-extends longitudinally outward from said trailing end of said absorbent pledget.
- 3. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said flexible sheath is capable of collapsing upon itself once said absorbent pledget is inserted into the body cavity and the user's finger is removed therefrom.
- 4. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said cover is an apertured thermoplastic film which is integrally secured to said absorbent pledget.
- 5. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said absorbent pledget has a length and said flexible sheath extends perpendicularly outward from the diameter of said absorbent pledget for a distance equal to at least half the length of said absorbent pledget.
- 6. The tampon of claim 3 wherein said flexible sheath extends longitudinally outward from said trailing end of said absorbent pledget for a distance of at least 1 inch.
- 7. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said flexible sheath has a tubular configuration.
- 8. The tampon of claim 1 wherein said flexible sheath has a conical configuration.
- 9. The tampon of claim 1 wherein a withdrawal string is secured to said absorbent pledget and extends outward through said flexible sheath.
- 10. A tampon comprising:
- a) an absorbent having a first end and a second end; and
- b) a cover having an L-shaped configuration including a leg and a foot, said leg having a central longitudinal axis, said cover being aligned with said absorbent such that said foot is aligned adjacent to said second end of said absorbent and both said cover and said absorbent are wound up along said central longitudinal axis into a cylindrically-shaped softwind which is compressed into an absorbent pledget, said absorbent pledget having a predetermined diameter, an insertion end and a spaced apart trailing end, and a flexible sheath defined by said foot of said cover extending longitudinally outward from said trailing end, said flexible sheath sized to receive a user's finger and prevent soiling of the finger during insertion of said absorbent pledget into a body cavity, and said flexible sheath providing means for removing said absorbent pledget from the body cavity.
- 11. The tampon of claim 10 wherein said flexible sheath has an interior and said flexible sheath contains an opening located adjacent to said trailing end of said pledget through which a withdrawal string attached to said pledget can pass and be routed through said interior of said flexible sheath.
- 12. The tampon of claim 10 wherein said pledget and flexible sheath are positioned in a tampon applicator said applicator for containing said pledget and said flexible sheath prior to insertion of said pledget into the body cavity.
- 13. The tampon of claim 10 wherein said flexible sheath has a conical configuration which spans an arc of at least 360 degrees.
- 14. The tampon of claim 10 wherein said flexible sheath is offset from said central longitudinal axis by an angle alpha of from between about 10 degrees to about 75 degrees.
- 15. A catamenial tampon comprising:
- a) an absorbent having a first end and a second end; and
- b) a cover having an L-shaped configuration including a leg and a foot, said leg having a central longitudinal axis, said cover being aligned with said absorbent such that said foot is aligned adjacent to said second end of said absorbent and both said cover and said absorbent are rolled up along said central longitudinal axis into a cylindrically-shaped softwind which is compressed into an absorbent pledget, said absorbent pledget having a predetermined diameter, an insertion end and a trailing end, and a flexible sheath defined by said foot of said cover extending longitudinally outward from said trailing end, said flexible sheath spanning an arc of at least 360 degrees and being sized to receive a user's finger and prevent soiling of the finger during insertion of said absorbent pledget into a body cavity, and said flexible sheath providing means for removing said absorbent pledget from the body cavity.
- 16. The tampon of claim 15 wherein said cover at least partially encloses said absorbent and forms said flexible sheath which extends beyond said trailing end.
- 17. The tampon of claim 15 wherein said cover is an apertured thermoplastic film which is liquid permeable.
- 18. The tampon of claim 15 wherein said absorbent has a predetermined thickness and said cover has a thickness which is less than about 5 percent of the thickness of said absorbent.
- 19. A method of forming a tampon comprising:
- a) forming an absorbent ribbon;
- b) cutting said absorbent ribbon into individual absorbent members;
- c) positioning one of said absorbent members on a cover having an L-shaped configuration including a foot;
- d) rolling both said absorbent member and said cover up into a cylindrically-shaped softwind, said softwind having a flexible sheath defined by said foot of said foot cover extending outward therefrom; and
- e) compressing said softwind into a pledget having an insertion end and a trailing end with said flexible sheath extending outward from said trailing end.
- 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said absorbent member has first and second ends and said cover has a leg and a foot, said leg having a length and said foot having a length which extends a distance of at least about twenty percent along the length of said leg, said absorbent member being positioned over said cover such that said second end of said absorbent member coincides with said foot and both said absorbent member and said cover are rolled up starting from said second end to form said flexible sheath, and said flexible sheath has a conical configuration.
- 21. The method of claim 20 wherein both said absorbent member and said cover are rolled up starting from said first end to form said flexible sheath and said flexible sheath has a tubular configuration.
- 22. A method of forming a tampon comprising:
- a) forming an absorbent member having a predetermined width;
- b) positioning said absorbent member on a cover having an L-shaped configuration including a foot, at least a portion of said cover having a width greater than the width of said absorbent member;
- c) rolling both said absorbent member and said cover into a cylindrical softwind such that a portion of said cover extends longitudinally outward from said softwind and forms a flexible sheath, said sheath spanning an arc of at least 360 degrees;
- d) compressing said softwind into a pledget having an insertion end and a trailing end with said flexible sheath defined by said foot of said cover extending outward from said trailing end; and
- e) rounding said insertion end of said pledget to facilitate insertion of said pledget into a body cavity.
- 23. The method of claim 22 wherein said absorbent member and said L-shaped cover are rolled such that said flexible sheath acquires a conical configuration having an apex positioned adjacent to said trailing end of said pledget.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/229,414, entitled "TAMPON HAVING A PROTECTIVE FINGER SHEATH AND A METHOD FORMING" and filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 15, 1994 and now abandoned. The entirety of this application is hereby incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (24)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
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656 610 |
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Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Photocopy of Japanese Finger Sheath with instructions in Japanese and translated into English. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
229414 |
Apr 1994 |
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