Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-22
2004-07-20
Ruhl, Dennis (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S387000, C604S389000, C604S391000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06764475
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to absorbent articles which are adapted to contain body exudates. More particularly, the invention pertains to pant-like disposable absorbent articles having a refastenable, variable-location seam with differential strength properties, and methods of making such disposable absorbent articles.
Current disposable absorbent training pants for children going through the potty training stage have proved to be a particularly desirable and useful product. Such training pants generally include an absorbent chassis including a liquid impervious outer cover, a liquid pervious bodyside liner and an absorbent structure. The training pants further include elastic side panels that are permanently bonded to opposite side edges of the absorbent chassis. The chassis and side panels thereby form a unitary waist opening and two leg openings. The fit of the pants may be further enhanced by gathering means along the waist and leg openings.
The components of traditional training pants are permanently seamed together to provide a very durable pant product. Durability is a particularly significant quality for training pants, because the pants are typically worn by children of ages ranging from 20 to 48 months. Children in this age range are generally much more active and mobile than younger babies that wear diapers. Consequently, this level of activity and mobility mean that the training pants must withstand a significant degree of strain during use.
One drawback with current training pants, however, is that the manner of applying them is limited to being pulled on like a pant. Applying the product like a pant is advantageous in many instances, and is particularly suited for active, walking children. Even for the same child, however, there may be times when it would be useful to apply the product like a diaper. For instance, it might be more convenient to apply the product like a diaper when there is a desire not to remove the child's shoes. Because it is difficult to know when a particular mode of applying the garment will be needed, it is beneficial to have a garment that is adaptable to being used either as a diaper or as a pant. This is preferable to keeping both types of garments available. A product that can be applied either like a diaper or a pant permits the interior of the product to be easily checked without having to pull the product downward.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a disposable absorbent article that provides the durability of current training pants yet affords the option of being applied either like a diaper or like a pant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the above-referenced unfulfilled need in the prior art, a new disposable absorbent article and a method of making a disposable absorbent article have been discovered. The absorbent article includes a fastening system that can be repeatedly fastened, unfastened and refastened. The fastening system employs fasteners forming a refastenable, variable-location seam with differential strength properties to allow the fastener to be easily disengaged and to withstand relatively high separation forces that tend to occur at selected portions of the refastenable seam.
In one embodiment, the present invention pertains to an absorbent article that defines a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, first and second longitudinally spaced waist regions, and a crotch region which extends between and interconnects the waist regions. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis and a fastening system for securing the absorbent article about the wearer. The fastening system includes at least one first fastening component attached to the absorbent chassis and disposed in the first waist region and at least one second fastening component attached to the absorbent chassis and disposed in the second waist region. The first and second fastening components together define a refastenable, variable-location seam having a main refastenable attachment zone providing a basic level of securement and an enhanced refastenable attachment zone providing an augmented level of securement. To provide selected regions with reinforced fastening, the augmented level of securement is greater than the basic level of securement.
The first and second fastening components form a refastenable, variable-location seam for securing the first and second waist regions together. The refastenable seam allows the product to be either pulled on like a pant or applied like a diaper. If the training pant becomes soiled during use, the first fastening components can be disengaged from the second fastening components to easily remove the training pant from the waist of the wearer with reduced risk of undesirably soiling the clothes or legs of the wearer. Further, the fastening components can also be easily disengaged from one another to inspect the training pant for possible soiling. Thus, the training pant is configured to be pulled on or off over the hips of the wearer such as conventional training pants and can be readily applied or removed by disengaging the fasteners similar to conventional diapers. The term “variable-location” is used herein to describe a seam formed by refastenable components that can be engaged with one another at an infinite number of attachment points, in contrast to cooperating fixed-point fasteners that engage one another at a finite number of positions. Suitable fastening components for forming a refastenable, variable-location seam include hook-and-loop materials, adhesives including cohesives, or the like. By comparison, examples of fixed-point fasteners include buckles, snaps, hook-and-eye components, zippers, buttons, clasps, or the like. Because they are variable-location fasteners, the first and second fastening components can be easily repositioned if necessary after the training pant has been pulled on over the legs and hips of the wearer.
The refastenable seam is designed to withstand considerable stresses during use. In particular, it has been discovered that the forces tending to disengage the fasteners during use are not uniformly distributed over the refastenable seam. Rather, these separation forces tend to be concentrated at identifiable points along the refastenable seam. The disclosed fastening components have been specifically constructed to provide differential levels of securement. The portions or zones of the refastenable seam that provide the greater levels of securement can be located at the points along the refastenable seam that are likely to experience the higher concentrations of separation forces.
In particular embodiments, for example, the refastenable seam has a waist opening end disposed toward the waist opening of the pant and an opposite leg opening end disposed toward one of the leg openings, and the enhanced refastenable attachment zone is disposed more toward the leg opening end. It has been recognized that higher concentrations of separation forces may tend to occur at the intersection of the refastenable seam and the leg openings. This is believed to occur, especially with children of toilet training age, because the maximum circumference of the body is where the quadriceps insert into the hips. In this area, the absorbent article is under maximum stress and strain for two reasons. First, the maximum circumference puts the highest level of tension force into the transverse elastic components, such as elastic side panels, in this area of the pant. Second, the articulation of the leg also occurs in this area generating bending and compression forces in this area. This high tension and localized movement makes the lower portion of the refastenable seam prone to popping open. By selectively locating an enhanced refastenable attachment zone near the leg opening end of the refastenable seam, the greater levels of securement are positioned to coincide with the greater separation forces.
In other embodiments, the refastenable seam includes an enhanced refastenable attachment zone that is disposed toward the waist opening end of the refastenable seam
Gage Thomas M.
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Kubicki H. Michael
Ruhl Dennis
LandOfFree
Absorbent articles having differential strength refastenable... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Absorbent articles having differential strength refastenable..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Absorbent articles having differential strength refastenable... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3232324