Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-08
2003-06-10
Lo, Weilun (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S386000, C604S387000, C604S390000, C604S385010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06575953
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 hinged fastenings 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 joined to opposite side edges of the absorbent chassis. The chassis and side panels thereby form a unitary waist opening and two leg openings. Due principally to the elastic side panels, such training pants provide an exceptionally good fit to the wearer. Additional gathering means along the waist and leg openings may also be employed to further enhance fit.
Training pants are particularly suited for children who have outgrown, or believe they have outgrown, traditional diaper products. Children identify diaper products with babies, and most children do not like being identified with or as babies. Consequently, these children do not want to wear baby diapers, and instead prefer to wear training pants that look like adult underwear.
One drawback with current training pants, however, is that the interior of the pants cannot be occasionally checked for wetness without pulling the pant downward. This method of inspection can be problematic, for example, when the pant has been soiled. And while the integral side panels of current training pants are typically constructed to permit tearing in order to remove the pant, tearing the side panels is not suitable for simply inspecting the interior. Thus, it would be desirable to have a disposable absorbent article that provides the beneficial fit attributes of current training pants yet affords easier access to the interior of the pant for purposes of inspection.
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 has a pant-like appearance, which is desirable to children of toilet training age and is appealing to caregivers and to users of other ages. The absorbent article includes a fastening system that can be repeatedly fastened, unfastened and refastened. Despite the incorporation of a refastenable fastening system, the absorbent article provides the level of fit and comfort in use that has come to be associated with current training pants having elastic side panels. The fasteners of the absorbent article include “hinge areas” that, due to their location and design, cause the fasteners to bend in conformity with the movements of the wearer's body. The hinge areas prevent localized build up of stresses that would otherwise predispose the fastener to disengage unexpectedly.
In one embodiment, the present invention pertains to an absorbent article that defines a longitudinal axis and first and second longitudinally spaced waist regions. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis and a fastening system. 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 are adapted to releasably engage one another. The first fastening component has a length-to-width ratio of about 2 or greater and at least one hinge area that transversely bisects the first fastening component.
The first and second fastening components form a refastenable seam for securing the front and back waist regions together. 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. 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 diaper articles. Moreover, the first and second fastening components can be repositioned if necessary after the training pant has been pulled on over the legs and hips of the wearer.
A beneficial consequence of the hinged first fastening components is that the stiffness of the total length of the seam is reduced. This limits the amount of stress that can build up, which consequently reduces the likelihood that the fasteners will either buckle away from the body of the wearer or become partially disengaged from one another.
Advantageously, the location where the refastenable seam will bend during use can be controlled. Most desirably, the seam can be made to bend in areas that would otherwise give rise to fastener pop-opens. Additionally, the seam can be made to remain flat in the critical areas, such as for fit, leakage control or appearance. One common critical area is toward the lower portion of a longitudinally-oriented seam, near the leg opening of the garment. This critical area is at the maximum circumference of the body where the quadriceps insert into the hips. In this area, the side panels and chassis are under maximum stress and strain for two reasons. First, the maximum circumference puts the highest level of tension force into the elastic components of the side panels in this area of the pant. Second, the articulation of the leg also occurs in this area putting bending and compression forces into this area. This high tension and constant movement makes the lower portion of the reattachable seam prone to popping open.
The refastenable seams are formed when the first fastening components are engaged with the second fastening components. The refastenable seams are desirably relatively thin, narrow and flexible to afford the look and feel of a cloth garment. Thus, in particular embodiments, the refastenable seams have a length-to-width ratio of about 2 or greater, such as about 2 to about 25, particularly about 5 or greater, such as about 5 to about 8. The refastenable seams define a length dimension and a width dimension that is perpendicular to the length dimension. For a child of about 9 to about 15 kilograms (20-34 lbs.), for example, the length dimension is desirably from about 5 to about 13 centimeters, such as about 10 centimeters, and the width dimension is desirably from about 0.5 to about 3 centimeters, such as about 2 centimeters. Desirably although not necessarily, the length dimension is aligned generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the absorbent article and the width dimension is aligned generally parallel to the transverse axis of the absorbent article. The term “generally parallel” as used herein refers to an angle within about 35 degrees or less of the referenced axis, and more particularly within about 20 degrees or less of the referenced axis.
In another embodiment, the present invention pertains to an absorbent article defining a longitudinal axis, first and second longitudinally spaced waist regions, and a crotch region which extends between and interconnects the first and second waist regions. The absorbent article includes an absorbent chassis and a fastening system, and the fastening system includes a pair of first fastening components 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 are formed of mechanical fastening elements that are ada
Gage Thomas M.
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Kubicki H. Michael
Lo Weilun
Stephens Jacqueline F
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