Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Patent
1995-11-30
1998-12-01
Clarke, Robert A.
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
604378, A61F 1315
Patent
active
058430580
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an absorbent structure in an absorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin, tampon, panty protector, incontinence guard, diaper and the like.
Many different types of absorbent articles of this kind are known to the art. The absorbent body of such products is conventionally produced by dry-defibering cellulose pulp in roll, bale or sheet form for instance, and converting the cellulose pulp in fluffed form to a pulp mat, sometimes admixed with so-called superabsorbents in the pulp mat, these superabsorbents being polymers which are capable of absorbing many times their own weight of water or body fluid.
The pulp body is often compressed, with the intention of enhancing its fluid-dispersion properties and also to lower the bulk of the pulp body and therewith to obtain a product which is as compact as possible.
The absorbent body may include other constituents, for instance to improve the fluid-receiving properties or the liquid-dispersion properties of the absorbent body, or to increase its coherency and its ability to resist deformation in use.
With the majority of sanitary products, it is desired that the article shall be thin and pliable, partly to enable the article to be worn as discretely as possible and partly so that the article will feel as comfortable as possible to the wearer. Another problem is the so-called rewetting problem. By rewetting is meant that body fluid that has already been absorbed by the sanitary article is pressed back into contact with the wearer's skin by external forces, for instance when the wearer sits down. It is a general desire that the surface of the article which lies proximal to the user will remain as dry as possible.
With regard to absorbent articles, it is desired to reduce the amount of material in the article, so as to reduce commensurately the amount of waste that occurs when the used product is thrown away. It is also desired to enable the article to be manufactured from biologically degradable material.
Other problems concerning absorbent articles reside partly in their total absorption capacity, and also in that the articles often leak long before their total absorption capacity has been utilized to the full. Among other things, this is because the discharged body fluid is unable to penetrate into the absorbent material and be dispersed to hitherto unused regions of the article quickly enough, but instead leaks from the sides of the sanitary napkin, diaper or incontinence guard. The ability of the materials used in such articles to disperse the absorbed fluid through-out the whole of the absorbent body is thus an important feature of such articles.
A very large part of the production plant employed in the manufacture of such sanitary articles is normally comprised of defibrating equipment, pneumatic conveyor systems and mat-forming equipment. This equipment often constitutes serious source of error and faults in the production plants. Additionally, this equipment is often followed by equipment for compressing the finished pulp mat or the finished sanitary article.
EP 0,044,624 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,930, among others, describe polymeric foam having superabsorbent properties for use in absorbent articles. The use in absorbent articles of polymeric foam which lacks superabsorbent properties is described in EP 0,163,150 and EP 0,299,122, among others. Although these absorbent articles obtain good properties, the manufacturing process is relatively complicated and the materials thus produced are relatively expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,389 describes how a polyurethane foam, for instance, can be chemically reticulated in order to open up the common walls between adjecent cell, which enhances the absorbancy of the foam.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY
An object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article having an absorbent structure of the kind defined in the introduction which will afford a high degree of comfort to the wearer, among other things with regard to thinness and suppleness. It is also d
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Clarke Robert A.
SCA Hygiene Products AB
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