Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-19
2003-09-23
Lo, Weilun (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S385130, C604S385140, C604S385110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06623466
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to an absorbent article, such as a diaper, feminine care pad, incontinence garment, training pants and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an absorbent article with an improved design which allows portions of the article to become detached in various predetermined locations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The main function of absorbent articles such as diapers, adult incontinence garments, feminine care pads and training pants is to absorb and contain body exudates. Such articles are thus placed against or in proximity to the body of the wearer to absorb and contain the various exudates discharged from the body. Contemporary disposable absorbent articles are permanently unitary and are intended to be discarded after a single use. Articles such as disposable diapers are generally comprised of a liquid permeable topsheet, a liquid impermeable backsheet, an absorbent core, elasticized leg flaps, and tape tabs.
The most common mode of failure for such products is the negative environmental repercussions which predominantly result after disposing of the used article. Presently, used absorbent articles are rolled and secured with the article's adhesive fastening means, thus permanently enclosing the article and its contents within the confines of the liquid impermeable backsheet. The article is then discarded, solid-waste and all, and is finally delivered to a landfill where it may remain for centuries until it degrades. These two factors are the primary contributors to the environmental stigma associated with absorbent articles, in particular disposable diapers. Contemporary disposable diapers do not provide a sanitary means for the disposal of fecal material, such as by flushing the material down the toilet where it can be treated by the sewage system. Manufacturers of these articles have not provided a suitable solution to this environmental problem, but have merely printed instructions on the packaging asking the consumer to shake the diaper over the toilet to remove the solid waste material before discarding. The other environmental hazard associated with disposable diapers, is the impact they have had on landfills. Although some contemporary disposable diapers are made with biodegradable material, the greatest problem stems from the liquid impermeable material of the backsheet which is non-biodegradable and, consequently, inhibits the breakdown of the diaper when thrown away. The problem is primarily due to the above-mentioned process of wrapping the used diaper with the backsheet, prior to discarding. This process completely and permanently traps the biodegradable material and the waste within the non-biodegradable material prior to sending the used article to the landfill. The problem is amplified since each child wears about 6000 disposable diapers before being toilet-trained, which amounts to approximately 16 billion diapers being discarded annually in the U.S. These figures explain why this single product, used by a steadily increasing group of the population, accounts for approximately 2% of landfill capacity.
An alternative, such as the disposable diaper with flushable components as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,457 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,342 issued to Roessler et al. on Dec. 19, 1995 and Apr. 11, 1995 respectively, includes a diaper with a flushable insert pad. The entire insert pad is dropped into the toilet, where it must remain for at least two minutes prior to flushing. This method suffers from the disadvantages of imposing this waiting period on the consumer before flushing, potentially causing the toilet to clog due to the compact structure of the insert pad and from flushing the insert pad as a whole into the toilet, and shifting of the insert pad, due to the absence of a mechanism to secure the insert pad to the absorbent article. The only mechanism used to maintain the insert pad in position within the diaper is the cover that is placed over the insert pad; however, the cover does not keep the insert pad from moving inside the diaper. Therefore, once the insert pad has been wetted, the insert pad is free to move inside the diaper, which may clump to the center of the diaper. The clumping of the absorbent material to the center of the diaper, may compromise the absorbent capacity of the article by the non-uniform dispersement of the absorbent material and may also result in discomfort to the wearer from the clumping of the absorbent material in the center of the diaper. As mentioned above, the other disadvantage of the design is the problem that results from the construction of the insert pad being designed to be flushed as a whole in that the flushable design is limited to smaller size diapers, due to the fact that larger diapers with larger insert pads would clog the toilet when flushed. However, the above disadvantages have not been confirmed, since the articles of the prior-art are not available on the market.
As a result of the environmental drawbacks associated with disposable diapers, reusable absorbent articles have become a popular alternative for consumers. New customized designs, resembling disposable diapers, have been incorporated into the design of reusable retainers such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,476 issued to Fredrica Coates on Apr. 25, 1995. These reusable retainers are used in conjunction with cloth diapers, but are also used with disposable absorbent insert pads. This alternative suffers from a number of disadvantages. For instance, reusable absorbent articles leak more, do not keep the wearers as dry as disposable diapers, are more time consuming to use and wash, require much more maintenance, are less sanitary, are less reliable, and damage the ecology by creating waste water.
Conventional absorbent articles, such as those described above, have not been completely satisfactory in providing a suitable solution to the ecological problem. Therefore, a simple, effective and reliable process for disposing of these articles is needed which also promotes the preservation of the environment. Nevertheless, the only absorbent articles available suffer from a number of disadvantages.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having an improved design, which temporarily joins various significant components of the article in an unconventional manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved design for absorbent articles which allows for the separation of these significant components of the article in order to discard them separately in a more sanitary and environmentally friendly manner.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a biodegradable detachable liner which can be flushed down the sewage system separately, and thus removing most of the solid waste material contained on the absorbent article, prior to discarding it.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide an improved design for an absorbent article having a pulling means to grip the detachable liner to tear it away from the topsheet of the article.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having an absorbent pouch, which encloses all the absorbent contents of the article located between the topsheet and backsheet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved design for an absorbent article, which allows for the detachment of the absorbent pouch binding in order to expose and release its absorbent contents.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a means of releasably attaching the absorbent pouch to the article, which means can also be utilized to detach the pouch prior to discarding.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved design for an absorbent article which allows for the extraction of the absorbent pouch through the opening created after removing the detachable liner, and which consequently allows for the pouch to
Lo Weilun
Smith, Jr. Henry L.
Stephens Jacqueline F
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