Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-04
2001-06-05
Ruhl, Dennis (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S385101, C604S383000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241714
ABSTRACT:
The present invention pertains to an absorbent article and process for the directed drainage of [bodily] fluids released in a localized manner.
Absorbent articles have been known for a long time as hygiene products. They find use, for example, as diapers, incontinence inlays, or in women's sanitary pads. These absorbent articles are constructed in such a way that they can absorb and store liquid bodily excretions such as urine, menstrual fluid, or blood. Women's sanitary pads are used, for example, to absorb the liquids excreted prior to, during and after menstruation. Women's sanitary pads are worn on the outside of the body (externally) and, in this regard, they differ from tampons, which are introduced into the female vagina and can thus be termed “internal” products.
The surface [of such a pad], which is turned toward the body, exhibits wet areas after contacting by a liquid; this is frequently found to be disadvantageous when using known absorbent articles and leads to an unpleasant feeling for the wearer. Investigations in this connection have shown that conventional women's sanitary pads cause rewetting even when one has exhausted only about 5% of the theoretical capacity of the pad to absorb liquids. In addition, the excreted bodily liquids frequently leave visible residues behind on the surface of the absorbent article used, [which] tempts the user of the article to change the absorbent article more frequently than would be necessary as a result of absorbing liquid [to the maximum extent].
The problem for the present invention is thus to provide an absorbent article and a process for the directed drainage of [bodily] liquids, released in a localized manner, whereby the absorptive capacity of the liquid storage material in the absorbent article is utilized optimally and whereby, even after extended use of the absorbent article, [only] traces of its use, which are as few as possible, are visible on the side of the absorbent article, which is turned toward the body.
The present invention solves this problem by means of the absorbent article in accordance with independent claim
1
and the process in accordance with independent claim
34
. Additional advantageous embodiments of the absorbent article in accordance with the invention and of the process in accordance with the invention arise from the dependent claims, the specification, and the drawings.
The absorbent article in accordance with the invention has a front area and a rear area connected to one another by means of a central part. The layer, which is turned toward the body during use of the article, is formed from a material that is permeable to liquids whereas, in contrast, the layer of the article that is turned away from the body is a layer that is impermeable to liquids. A layer that can distribute the fluids that enter the absorbent article in a preferential direction within the article is located between the layer that is turned toward the body and that is permeable to liquids, and the layer which is turned away from the body and which is impermeable to liquids. In the following sections, this [intermediate layer] is designated as a liquid distribution layer. In addition, the absorbent article in accordance with the present invention has a layer in which the liquid that has entered is absorbed and retained (the so-called liquid storage layer, which is also termed the absorptive element). Finally, the absorbent article in accordance with the invention contains a means for transporting the fluid which has penetrated into the article from the liquid distribution layer to the liquid storage layer. As a result of the specific structure of the absorbent article in accordance with the invention, one achieves the situation in which the storage of a liquid which has penetrated [the article] takes place preferentially in the terminal areas of the article. In addition, the storage of liquid in the lower layers takes place more easily; as a result, a so-called “bottom-up-filling” effect is produced.
The liquid distribution layer is preferably arranged in such a way that the liquid which has penetrated the absorptive element is led from the impact site, which is located centrally in the central part, into the front and rear areas. In the case of an absorbent article that is constructed in an oblong manner, distribution of the liquid therefore takes place in the longitudinal direction.
In this regard, the liquid distribution layer can extend beyond the total breadth of the absorbent article or, as the case may be, the liquid storage component. However, when using an efficient liquid transport system within the absorbent article, it can be sufficient if the breadth of the liquid distribution layer is less than the least breadth of the absorbent article or, as the case may be, the liquid-storing layer.
The distribution of the liquid (i.e., drainage) to the front and rear ends of the article is achieved especially favorably by way of the feature that the liquid distribution layer has an undulating strip of material or a pleated strip of material whose undulations are arranged in such a way that the liquid is preferentially drained off in the longitudinal direction and toward the ends of the article. The undulating strip of material or the pleated strip of material can consist of a textile material, for example, whereby this has virtually no absorptive capacity of its own; as a result, one prevents the situation in which this strip of material permanently retains the liquid. The undulating strip of material serves primarily in draining off the liquid (i.e. drainage) and as a spacer. Visible discernment of the absorptive element, which has been in contact with liquid, can be prevented if the undulating strip of material additionally contains a colorant such as a pigment or a a dye; as a result, one increases the subjective feeling of cleanness of the male or female wearer of the article.
The undulating strip of material is preferably connected to an additional strip of material that, on the one hand, can assist in stabilizing the undulations and, on the other hand, can also assist the directed transport of the liquid that has penetrated into the article. A so-called “uncreped-through air-dried” material (UCTAD) material) has proven to be especially suitable for such an additional strip of material.
A preferred UCTAD material contains at least 10 wt % of high-yield pulp fibers based on the weight of the dry substance, with a wet strength agent being added to it in such a quantity that the ratio of the wet tensile strength to the dry tensile strength amounts to approximately 0.1. High-yield pulp fibers contain a large amount of lignin, to which the elasticity of the fibers in the wet state can be attributed. The resin bonds, formed by the wet strength agent, immobilize the wet elastic fibers into a sheet-like structure that adapts itself to the structure of the strip of material on which drying (through-drying) takes place. The bonds formed by the wet strength agent are hardened to completion during the drying process; in this way, bonds that are resistant to moisture are formed in turn, this generates the highly elastic properties of an appropriate strip of material in the wet state. This property is maintained by the strip of material since a creep-generating step or another other step, which could destroy the bonds, is not carried out in the case of an UCTAD process. Thus, the UCTAD material is superbly well suited for transporting liquids since the material is also stabilized in the wet state.
Another form of embodiment of the liquid distribution layer in the absorbent article in accordance with the invention is configured in such a way that the undulating strip of material is pleated on a supporting material that is permeable to liquids and that extends over the entire breadth of the absorbent article, whereby the undulating strip of material needs to occupy only part of the total breadth of the supporting material. The add
Aschenbrenner Franz
Raidel Maria
Janssen Jerry F.
Kimberly-Clark GmbH
Mager Carie
Ruhl Dennis
Wilhelm Thomas D.
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