Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-15
2001-10-23
Weiss, John G. (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S385010, C604S385230
Reexamination Certificate
active
06307119
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to absorbent articles, and more particularly to absorbent articles having wetness indicating graphics providing an interactive training aid.
The toilet training process may incorporate a wide variety of different aspects, including many training techniques and training aids that may be used by parents and caregivers, hereinafter simply referred to as caregivers. One aspect of the total toilet training process is the change from diapers to training pants to help the child understand that he or she should now use the toilet just like adults. Another aspect of the total toilet training process includes caregiver instruction as a positive encouragement and reinforcement to the child that he or she should now be using a toilet instead of diapers. Although the use of training pants and positive encouragement from the caregiver has been helpful in the toilet training process, there is still much room for improvement. Specifically, caregivers are still searching for easier and quicker ways to guide their children successfully through the toilet training process.
Many caregivers have difficulty in determining the readiness of a child to begin the toilet training process, and underestimate the difficulty of teaching the toilet training process to young children. If a child does not respond to an initial toilet training instruction or introduction, the caregiver can be at a loss for finding techniques, methods, or teaching tools to encourage the child to master the art of toilet training. Thus, while various teaching tools such as books, videotapes, charts with stickers, personalized toilets, and interactive toilet training kits are available, there remains a need for new and improved educational and motivational mechanisms to facilitate the toilet training process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the discussed deficiencies associated with prior absorbent garments, an absorbent article has been developed that provides toilet training aid benefits through the use of interactive graphics and graphics that inform the caregiver and child when an accident has occurred. The interactive graphics can include a permanent character graphic and the wetness indicating graphics can include one or more active object graphics. The object graphics are referred to as “active” because they are constructed to “disappear” or “appear” from view, particularly when the child has an accident and the active object graphic is contacted with urine, but also when the product is in use and the disappearance or appearance occurs over time as a result of exposure to the environment, such as molecules in the air.
Significantly, the permanent character graphic can be conceptually and/or visually separated from the interactive wetness indicating graphic. The wetness indicating graphic may allow the caregiver to interact with the child and teach the child important lessons regarding toilet training. It may be desirable, however, for the character graphic to remain independent in the child's mind from the process of toilet training. For example, the character graphic can represent a character that is well-known from various forms of media, and the manufacturer of the product, the creator of the character graphic, or the caregiver may desire that the image of the character graphic not be directly related to the toilet training process. The character graphic may be extremely useful in order to enhance the child's interest in the product, particularly where the caregiver interacts with the child positively about the character graphic. Nevertheless, the wetness indicating graphics and the details regarding toilet training can be conceptually and/or visually separated from the character graphic.
Hence, in one embodiment, the invention concerns an absorbent article including an outer cover having an interior surface and an opposite exterior surface, and an absorbent assembly disposed on the interior surface of the outer cover. The absorbent article also includes a permanent character graphic and an active object graphic that are disposed on the outer cover. The permanent character graphic and the active object graphic are unrelated in subject matter.
In another embodiment, the invention concerns an absorbent article including an outer cover having an interior surface and an opposite exterior surface, and an absorbent assembly disposed on the interior surface of the outer cover. The absorbent article also includes a permanent character graphic that is disposed on the outer cover and is illustrated performing an activity or action, as well as an active object graphic that is disposed on the outer cover. In this embodiment, the permanent character graphic is interactively unrelated to the active object graphic.
The term “active graphic” as used herein refers to an appearing graphic, a fading graphic, or a combination of appearing and fading graphics. The term “appearing graphic” is used herein to refer to a graphic that becomes visible or becomes significantly more visible when exposed to urine, or that becomes visible or becomes significantly more visible with the passage of time when exposed to the environment but not exposed to urine. Conversely, the term “fading graphic” is used herein to refer to a graphic that becomes invisible or becomes significantly less visible when exposed to urine, or that becomes invisible or becomes significantly less visible with the passage of time when exposed to the environment but not exposed to urine.
In particular embodiments, the active graphic can comprise a fading graphic which is formed from an ink that is soluble in aqueous solutions such as urine. The ink is positioned in the absorbent article so that it becomes wet and dissolves when the product is insulted with liquid. Once dissolved, the ink washes away from the outer cover and is obscured by the outer cover. As a result, the active graphic seems to disappear from view.
Suitable urine-soluble inks are available from a variety of commercial vendors, such as Sun Chemical Corp. of Philadelphia, Pa. USA under the trade designation AQUA DESTRUCT. Particular urine-soluble compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,211 issued May 10, 1977 to Timmons et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. The ink color can be selected to provide a pleasing appearance and graphic impact, including fading rapidly upon contact with liquid. To facilitate rapid fading, the fading graphics can comprise line drawings having a line width of from about 1 to about 2 millimeters.
The active graphic can also comprise a fading or an appearing graphic which is formed from a composition such as an ink or adhesive that changes color when exposed to an aqueous solution such as urine. A color change composition can be adapted to blend in with a background or surrounding color, either before or after exposure to the aqueous solution. Suitable compositions of this color-change type are available from a variety of commercial vendors, such as a pH-change/color-change hot melt adhesive available from Findley Adhesives, Inc. of Wauwatosa, Wis., USA. Alternatively, the active graphic can comprise pH sensitive inks, fugitive inks, colored absorbent particles, hydratable salts, moisture sensitive films, enzymes, heat sensitive inks and dyes, or the like.
Fading graphics can simply disappear from view, relative to the exterior surface of the outer cover. For example, fading object graphics can be made to disappear into a permanent background graphic. Representative examples include an object graphic such as yellow fish disappearing or fading into a background graphic such as blue water or green weeds; an object graphic such as pink flowers fading into a background graphic such as a green lawn; an object graphic such as lavender sand toys fading into a background graphic such as tan sand; an object graphic such as pink sea shells fading into a background graphic such as tan sand; an object graphic such as small animals fading into a background graphic such as a jungle scene; an object graphic s
Cammarota Mark Thomas
Jordan Mary Patricia
Lee MeeWha
MacDonald Gregory Allen
Ratliff Kathleen Irene
Gage Thomas M.
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Webb Jamisue A
Weiss John G.
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