Patent Application
20170079849
The present disclosure is generally related to absorbent articles having a belt portion, and, is more specifically related to, taped absorbent articles having a belt portion.
Taped absorbent articles for personal hygiene, such as disposable diapers for infants and toddlers or adult incontinence undergarments are designed to absorb and contain quantities of urine and BM (hereafter together “bodily exudates”). These taped absorbent articles may comprise a chassis comprising several layers providing different functions, for example, a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, among other layers, if desired. The taped absorbent articles may also comprise ears comprising fasteners and landing zone regions configured to receive the fasteners for product application.
Some absorbent articles may be in the form of pants. The pants may either have permanent or refastenable side seams. Pants are typically applied and removed like underwear by pulling the pant up a wearer's legs and over the buttocks and hips to the wearer's waist. As such, some pants require high pre-strains in waist elastics to be able to expand to fit over the hips and buttocks and then contract when positioned around the wearer's waist to provide a snug fit. In some instances, a belt attached to a chassis may be used to provide such pre-strains. The chassis may comprise at least a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core. The chassis may have a lateral axis defining a front region and a rear region of an absorbent article. A first belt portion may be joined to the chassis in the front region and a second belt portion may be joined to the chassis in the rear region. Together the first and second belt portions form the belt. The belts typically comprise a plurality of laterally extending elastic strands across a width of the belt. The elastic strands may be sandwiched between two layers of nonwoven or other materials. The elastic profiles of the belt of the pants are not designed for or suitable for taped absorbent article-style application.
Taped absorbent articles, on the other hand, are not pulled up the legs, over the hips and buttocks, to the waist, but, instead are typically applied when a wearer is lying on his or her back. The taped absorbent articles are first placed on a changing table or other flat surface and then the wearer (typically a baby or small child) is positioned over the absorbent article. Typical taped absorbent articles have discrete back ears that are joined to a chassis. These back ears have a tendency to not lie flat owing to the elastic contractions in the waist band and leg cuffs and the waist band's overlap with the chassis. This can cause difficulties in a caregiver applying the taped product, as the caregiver needs to try to fight the elastic contraction and force the ears into a flat configuration for application of the absorbent article. Referring to
The present disclosure solves the ear fold over and application problems of the prior art by providing a taped absorbent article having a rear belt portion with a certain elastic profile. The certain elastic profile allows the ear areas (i.e., portions of the rear belt portion laterally outboard of the leg cuffs) of the rear belt portion to lie in a generally planar configuration when the absorbent article is placed on a flat surface (wearer-facing surface facing away from the flat surface) for much easier application to a wearer. In addition to the certain elastic profile, the rear belt portions are free of overlap with the chassis and contain an integrated waist band region, thereby reducing the tendency for the ear areas to not lie flat during application. Furthermore, the rear belt portion provides a continuous piece of material in the ear areas compared to discrete ears, which provides for reduced ear area fold over owing to longer moment arms and thereby, larger fold over resistance at hinging locations of the ear areas.
The certain elastic profile in the rear belt portion also provides raised regions that correspond approximately with leg cuff areas (from an end view) when the absorbent article is positioned on a flat surface for application. These raised regions can create a bucket-like structure in the absorbent article allowing for easier wearer placement and easier absorbent article application.
The taped absorbent articles of the present disclosure can surprisingly achieve such bucket-like structures with ear panel areas in planar configurations even after compression packaging, which tends to flatten the taped absorbent articles and reduce their three-dimensional structure. Packages of the absorbent articles may have an in-bag stack height in the range of about 70 mm to about 100 mm, according to the In-Bag Stack Height Test herein, for example.
In a form, the present disclosure is directed, in part, to a taped absorbent article comprising a discrete chassis. The discrete chassis comprises a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed at least partially intermediate the topsheet and the backsheet. A discrete belt portion is joined to a portion of the discrete chassis. The discrete belt portion comprises a first substrate or nonwoven substrate, a second substrate or nonwoven substrate, and a plurality of elastic members positioned at least partially intermediate the first and second substrates. The elastic members may be elastic strands, strips, or other types of elastic members. The discrete belt portion comprises three zones each comprising at least one of the plurality of elastic members. The three zones extend in a direction generally parallel to a lateral axis of the absorbent article. The three zones comprise a first zone having a first central portion overlapping the chassis, wherein the first zone is positioned most proximal to the lateral axis, a second zone having a second central portion at least partially overlapping the chassis, and a third zone having a third central portion that is at least partially free of, or free of, overlap with the chassis. The first fastener and the second fastener may be at least mostly positioned within the second zone. The third zone is positioned more distal from the lateral axis than the first zone. The second zone is positioned at least partially intermediate the first zone and the third zone. The first zone has a first elastic profile, the second zone has a second elastic profile, and the third zone has a third elastic profile. At least one of the first, second, and third elastic profiles may be different than a different one of the first, second, and third elastic profiles.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of non-limiting forms of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Various non-limiting forms of the present disclosure will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the taped absorbent article having a belt portion disclosed herein. One or more examples of these non-limiting embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the taped absorbent article having a belt portion described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting example forms and that the scope of the various non-limiting forms of the present disclosure are defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one non-limiting form may be combined with the features of other non-limiting forms. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.
As used herein, the term “absorbent article” refers to taped disposable products such as infant, child, or adult diapers, adult incontinence products, and the like which are placed against or in proximity to a body of a wearer to absorb and contain bodily exudates. Typically, these absorbent articles comprise a topsheet, a backsheet, an absorbent core, optionally an acquisition system and/or a distribution system (which may be comprised of one or several layers), and typically other components, with the absorbent core normally placed at least partially between the backsheet and the acquisition and/or distribution system or between the topsheet and the backsheet. For clarity, the term “absorbent articles” does not include pants that are intended to be pulled up a wearer's legs, over the hips and buttocks, and to a wearer's waist.
As used herein, the terms “joined”, “bonded”, or “attached” encompasses configurations whereby an element is directly secured to another element by affixing the element directly to the other element, and configurations whereby an element is indirectly secured to another element by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) which in turn are affixed to the other element.
As used herein, the term “elastic member” refers to materials exhibiting elastic properties, which include any material that upon application of a force when in its relaxed, initial length may stretch or elongate to an elongated length equal to or greater than 10% more than its initial length and will substantially recover back to about its initial length upon release of the applied force. Elastic members may comprise elastic strands, elastic strips, elastic films, and/or elastic or extensible nonwoven materials or other suitable materials, for example.
The taped absorbent articles having one or more belt portions of the present disclosure will now be described in reference to the various examples set forth in the figures. The taped absorbent articles and rear belt portions thereof may have certain elastic profiles to enable easier application of the absorbent articles to a wearer. The ear areas (i.e., areas laterally outboard of leg cuffs have reduced fold over owing to the certain elastic profiles in the absorbent articles and rear belt portions thereof. One of the features that aid the ear areas of the rear belt portion in having reduced fold over are an integral waist band (i.e., integral to the rear belt portion) that does not overlap with a chassis or leg cuffs and/or leg cuff elastics of the absorbent article. Another feature that provides for reduced ear area fold over is the fact that the rear belt portion in the ear areas creates a longer moment arm compared to discrete ears, thereby requiring a greater force to cause the ear areas to fold over onto themselves. The ear areas may be configured to fold about areas overlapping the leg cuffs because of the three-dimensional bucket-like structure caused by the certain elastic profile of the absorbent articles and the rear belt portions thereof.
Photographs of a rear belt portion partially overlapped by a discrete chassis of an example absorbent article of the present disclosure are illustrated in
The absorbent core 36 may comprise an absorbent material. The absorbent material may be enclosed in a core bag 38. The core bag 38 may be formed of two materials that are C-wrapped together, or may have any other suitable configuration. The absorbent material may be free of air felt, or substantially free of air felt (e.g., less than 10%, less than 5% air felt, less than 3%, less than 2%, less than 1%, by weight of the absorbent material, not including the core bag or glues within the core bag), or may comprise a mixture of air felt and superabsorbent polymers. If the core is air felt-free, or substantially air felt-free, the absorbent material or the remainder of the absorbent material may comprise superabsorbent polymers.
The absorbent core 36 may comprise one or more channels. The channels are areas within the core bag that are free of, or substantially free of, the absorbent material. The channels may extend in a generally longitudinal direction in some instances and may or may not be arcuate. The channels may be formed by bonding or gluing one side of the core bag to the other side of the core bag. In other circumstances, embossments may be formed in the absorbent core to give the core the impression of channels. Suitable example absorbent cores are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,979,815, issued on Mar. 17, 2015.
The absorbent article 10 may also comprise an acquisition material 40. The acquisition material 40 may be used to acquire bodily exudates from the topsheet 32 and pass them to the absorbent core 36. The acquisition material 40 may be positioned at least partially intermediate the topsheet 32 and the absorbent core 36. The absorbent article 10 may comprise a distribution layer. The distribution layer may be positioned intermediate the topsheet 32 and the acquisition material 40, between the acquisition layer 40 and the absorbent core 36, or between the absorbent core 36 and the backsheet 34. The distribution layer may comprise pulp or be formed of pulp. In other instances, the distribution material may be a nonwoven material or a material comprising cross-linked cellulosic fibers, for example.
The elastic members 20 may be elastic strands having any suitable cross-sectional shapes, such a rectangular, circular, ovate, and/or semi-circular, for example. In other instances, the elastic members 20 may be strips of an elastic material or film. In still other instances, the elastic members 20 may be elastic films or other stretch or elastic materials. Any combinations of the various elastic members of this paragraph are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
The first zone 46 may have a first elastic profile. The second zone 48 may have a second elastic profile. The third zone 50 may have a third elastic profile. At least two of the first, second, and third elastic profiles may be different by at least 10%. The first, second, and third elastic profiles may all be the same or different. In other instances, one of the first, second, and third elastic profiles may be different than a different one of the first, second, and third elastic profiles. For example, the first and second elastic profiles may be the same, while the third elastic profile may be different than the first and second elastic profiles. The various elastic profiles may differ from each other in elastic decitex, basis weight, elastic member pre-strain, number of elastic members, elastic member spacing, elastic member gluing, elastic member size, elastic member shape, and/or elastic member glue patterns, for example. These different elastic profiles aid in providing the right appearance, ease of application, fit, and/or comfort to the wearer. The elastic profiles may all be different by at least 10%. An elastic profile is based on the elastic member spacing, the elastic member pre-strain, and/or the differences in elastomer basis weights (e.g., decitex).
The first zone 46 may have a first average decitex. The second zone 48 may have a second average decitex. The third zone 50 may have a third average decitex. The first, second, and third average decitexes may be the same or different by at least 10%. In some instances, one of the first average decitex, the second average decitex, and the third average decitex may be different than a different one of the first average decitex, the second average decitex, and the third average decitex by at least 10%. For example, the first average decitex and the second average decitex may be the same, while the third average decitex may be different than the first average decitex and the second average decitex by at least 10%.
Different zones in a belt portion when the absorbent article is positioned on the wearer may perform different functions and may require different elastic profiles. The third zone 50, for example, may be primarily leveraged to provide a seal against the wearer through all of his or her motions, while other zones (e.g., the first and second zones 46 and 48) may provide anchoring support to engage the absorbent article with the wearer. Thus, due to the different functional requirements, and thereby different elastic profiles, of the first, second, and third zones. With the above example, the third zone 50 may have less decitex, pre-strain, and/or a larger elastic spacing compared to the first and second zones 46, 48. Additionally, it will be generally understood by those of skill in the art that a zone may not be homogeneous with regard to decitex as the appearance of transitions between zones may want to be minimized. The average decitex of a zone is determined by the Average Decitex Test herein.
The first zone 46 may have an average first elastic member spacing in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 44. The second zone 48 may have a second average elastic member spacing in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 44. The third zone 50 may have a third average elastic member spacing in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 44. The first, second, and third average elastic member spacing may be the same or different by at least 10%. In some instances, one of the first, second, and third average elastic member spacing may be different than a different one of the first, second, and third average elastic member spacing by at least 10%. For example, the first and second average elastic member spacings may be the same, while the third average elastic member spacing may be different than the first and second average elastic member spacings by at least 10%.
Differences in elastic member spacing in different zones of the rear belt portion 12 may deliver differences in appearance and functional performance. In an instance, it may be desirable to have a zone (e.g., the third zone 50) with a narrower elastic member spacing, thereby allowing more elastic members per area of the zone to increase the resulting forces of the zone.
Example average elastic member spacing may be in the range of about 2 mm to about 20 mm, about 4 mm to about 18 mm, about 4 mm to about 15 mm, about 5 mm to about 15 mm, about 6 mm to about 15 mm, greater than 4 mm and less than 15 mm, about 4 mm, about 5 mm, about 6 mm, about 7 mm, about 8 mm, about 9 mm, or about 10 mm, specifically reciting all 0.5 mm increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby. These elastic members may be uniformly spaced or non-uniformly spaced relative to each other in the various zones. In an instance of a front or rear belt portion, the elastics members may be uniformly spaced in portions and non-uniformly spaced in other portions. Average elastic member spacings are measured according to the Average Elastic Member Spacing Test herein.
An elastic member pair is two elastic members that are immediate adjacent to each other and that do not cross a region of interest. Regions of interest are defined in the Determining Regions of Interest Test.
The elastic members 20 in the first zone 46 may be discontinuous. The elastic members 20 in the second zone 48 may be discontinuous. The elastic members 20 in the third zone 50 may be continuous. In some instances, at least one of the elastic members in the first and second zones may be continuous and at least one of the elastic members in the third zone may be discontinuous. The discontinuous elastic members 20 in the first and second zones 46, 48 may partially overlap the chassis 14, but may be free of the first and second central portions 52 and 54 of the chassis 14.
Having discontinuous elastic members 20 in the first zone 46 and at least part of the second zone 48 that are free of the first and second central portions 52 and 54 may be important for a variety of reasons. First, if the elastic members 20 in the first and at least part of the second zones 46 and 48 were continuous and did extend across the first and second central portions 52 and 54, they would cause the rear belt portion 12 and the absorbent article generally to curl towards its longitudinal axis. This curling may cause the absorbent core to also fold toward the longitudinal axis and may cause the leg cuffs to be pulled toward the longitudinal axis. If this elastic member contraction is not pulled out by the caregiver before application of the absorbent article to a wearer, this could potentially lead to increased leakage through the formation of fold lines in the absorbent core and/or leg cuffs not being in a preferred gasketing position. Second, this elastic member overlap of the first and at least part of the first and second central portions 52 and 54 may lead to application issues as an initial width (about the lateral axis 42) of the absorbent article would be reduced, thereby causing the caregiver increased difficulty in finding the fastening tabs that may be hidden underneath the wearer.
At least one of, or all of, the elastic members 20 in the third zone 50 may extend(s) across the longitudinal axis 44 to provide an integral waist band region that at least inhibits, or prevents, the product from gapping at the waist opening during wear.
The elastic members 20 in the first zone 46 may have a first pre-strain. The elastic members 20 in the second zone 48 may have a second pre-strain. The elastic members 20 in the third zone 50 may have a third pre-strain. The first, second, and third pre-strains may be the same or different by at least 10%. In an instance, at least two of the first, second, and third pre-strains may be different by at least 10%. For example, the first and second pre-strains may be the same and may be different than the third pre-strain. The elastic members 20 may be pre-strained in the range of about 25% to about 600%, of about 50% to about 400%, or of about 100% to about 300%, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby, for example. Pre-strain is measured using the Pre-Strain Test herein.
In an instance, the rear belt portion 12 may only comprise two zones. A first zone may be a combination of the first zone 46 and the second zone 48 and a second zone may be the third zone 50, for example. In any of the configurations of the taped absorbent articles herein, the first zone 46 may not comprise any elastic members 20. In an instance, the front belt portion 22 may have the same three zones 46, 48, and 50 as the rear belt portion 12. This configuration may be used for better anchoring of the taped absorbent article to a wearer.
Referring again to
The chassis 14 may comprise an outer cover nonwoven material 62 on a garment-facing side of the absorbent article 10. The outer cover nonwoven material 62 may be free of, or at least partially free of, any overlap with the third zone 50. The outer cover nonwoven material 62 may also be free of any overlap with at least a portion of, or all of, the second zone 48 and/or the first zone 46. In such instances, the outer cover nonwoven material 62 may not be coterminous with the backsheet 34. In an instance where a garment-facing surface of the discrete chassis 14 is attached to wearer-facing surfaces of the front and rear belt portions 22 and 12, the outer cover nonwoven material 62 may not be needed to cover the backsheet 34 in the areas of the belt portions 22 and 12, since the backsheet 34 will not be contacting the skin of a wearer. This reduction of the outer cover nonwoven material's length (i.e., not fully overlapping part of the chassis joined to the front and rear belts 22 and 12) can provide cost and material savings to manufacturers and reduced bulk for wearers. In such a form, the outer cover nonwoven material 62 may only slightly overlap with the first zone 46 and a portion of the front belt portion 22 most proximal to the lateral axis 42. This slight overlap of the outer cover nonwoven material 62 and the first zone 46 may reduce unnecessary thickness in the absorbent article without compromising the structural integrity of the absorbent article.
Referring again to
It will be appreciated that the elastic profile of the front belt portion may be different than that of the rear belt portion. The elastic profile of the front belt portion may be different than the elastic profile of the rear belt portion by at least 10%. The same level of contraction and force may not be needed in the front belt portion of the absorbent article as the front belt portion serves a different function than the rear belt portion. The front belt portion may primarily provide application ease, coverage, and/or conformity with a front region of a wearer. The rear belt portion provides these features as well, but also provides at least some of the anchoring properties of the absorbent article. The front belt portion 22 may comprises a belly button notch for infants. The belly button notch may have any suitable shape. An example of such a belly button notch 45 is illustrated in
Upon information and belief,
A waist or end edge 30 of the absorbent article 10 may be free of any portion of the chassis 14. When the absorbent article is placed on a flat surface, wearer-facing surface facing the viewer, much like that as illustrated in
Any of the features described with respect to any of the figures (e.g., a front belt portion with elastics) may be combined, as suitable, with other features and/or figures disclosed herein.
The absorbent articles of the present disclosure may be placed into packages. The packages may comprise polymeric films and/or other materials. Graphics and/or indicia relating to properties of the absorbent articles may be formed on, printed on, positioned on, and/or placed on outer portions of the packages. Each package may comprise a plurality of absorbent articles. The absorbent articles may be packed under compression so as to reduce the size of the packages, while still providing an adequate amount of absorbent articles per package. By packaging the absorbent articles under compression, caregivers can easily handle and store the packages, while also providing distribution savings to manufacturers owing to the size of the packages.
Accordingly, packages of the absorbent articles of the present disclosure may have an In-Bag Stack Height of less than about 100 mm, less than about 95 mm, less than about 90 mm, less than about 85 mm, less than about 85 mm, but greater than about 75 mm, less than about 80 mm, less than about 78 mm, less than about 76 mm, or less than about 74 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mm increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby, according to the In-Bag Stack Height Test described herein. Alternatively, packages of the absorbent articles of the present disclosure may have an In-Bag Stack Height of from about 70 mm to about 110 mm, from about 70 mm to about 95 mm, from about 72 mm to about 85 mm, from about 72 mm to about 80 mm, or from about 74 mm to about 78 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mm increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby, according to the In-Back Stack Height Test described herein.
The in-bag stack height of a package of absorbent articles is determined as follows:
A thickness tester with a flat, rigid horizontal sliding plate is used. The thickness tester is configured so that the horizontal sliding plate moves freely in a vertical direction with the horizontal sliding plate always maintained in a horizontal orientation directly above a flat, rigid horizontal base plate. The thickness tester includes a suitable device for measuring the gap between the horizontal sliding plate and the horizontal base plate to within ±0.5 mm. The horizontal sliding plate and the horizontal base plate are larger than the surface of the absorbent article package that contacts each plate, i.e. each plate extends past the contact surface of the absorbent article package in all directions. The horizontal sliding plate exerts a downward force of 850±1 gram-force (8.34 N) on the absorbent article package, which may be achieved by placing a suitable weight on the center of the non-package-contacting top surface of the horizontal sliding plate so that the total mass of the sliding plate plus added weight is 850±1 grams.
Absorbent article packages are equilibrated at 23±2° C. and 50±5% relative humidity prior to measurement.
The horizontal sliding plate is raised and an absorbent article package is placed centrally under the horizontal sliding plate in such a way that the absorbent articles within the package are in a horizontal orientation (see
Absorbent articles to be tested are preconditioned at 23° C.±2 C.° and 50%±2% relative humidity for 2 hours prior to the testing. All measurements are done using a calibrated ruler accurate to 0.5 mm. All measurements should be recorded to the closest 0.5 mm.
In each of the regions 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B (from the Determining Regions of Interest Test), measure the longitudinal center to center distance between each elastic member pair at three evenly laterally spaced points within in each region of interest. For example, in a region of interest if there are 5 elastic members present there will be 4 elastic member pairs, provided the elastics do not cross each other within the region of interest. Stated generally, the number of elastic member pairs will be one less than the total number of elastics in the region of interest. Measure this for five products and report the average elastic member spacing for each region of interest to the nearest 0.5 mm.
Determine the cross-sectional area orthogonal to the central longitudinal axis of each elastic member by any suitable means (e.g., SEM, optical analysis) within each region of interest defined previously. The elastic member will be present in the laminate and in an un-stretched state. Record the average cross-sectional area to the nearest 0.01 mm2 for each elastic member.
If the density in unknown from the chemical composition of the elastomer it may be determined by conventional means such as a density gradient column, pycnometer or other suitable means. Record the density to the nearest 0.02 g/cc.
Calculate the decitex for each of the elastic members in each of the regions of interest by using the following equation:
Decitex(g/10000 m)−Density(g/m3)×Cross sectional Area(m2)×10000.
Record the average decitex for each region of interest by averaging the decitex of all of the elastic members contained in the region of interest to the nearest 0.1 decitex.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm.”
Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any embodiment disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such embodiment. Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this disclosure.
This application claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/220,265, filed on Sep. 18, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62220265 | Sep 2015 | US |
