Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-05
2002-09-17
Weiss, John G. (Department: 3761)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S385270, C604S385290, C604S385300, C604S396000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06451000
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an infant's diaper, toilet training shorts, and a disposable diaper for the use of an adult or an incontinent person, and particularly to a shorts type disposable diaper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional disposable diapers are mostly of the flat type, in which a flat diaper body is placed against the wearer and thereafter fastened by a tape fastener. For discarding such flat type diapers after use, the diapers are rolled up in such a manner as to contain discharged materials and then fastened by the tape fastener.
Recently, there has been developed a so-called shorts type diaper in which side portions thereof are preliminarily fixedly connected without using any tape fastener. Various kinds of shorts type diapers of this type are proposed, including one in which gathers are provided at a waist portion and leg portions, for example. (Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Nos. Sho 58-115106, Sho 58-115107, Sho 62-231005, etc.) These shorts type diapers can all be worn by the wearer in a standing position as in the case with the normal undergarments. They are intended to be used not only by infants as diapers, but also by month-wise aged babies (babies of about eight to twelve months old) as a toilet training wear, or by incontinent persons and adults as a diaper.
However, since those shorts type diapers are not provided with a tape fastener, the diapers rolled up for discarding cannot be fastened and are therefore difficult to be discarded. If the discharged materials contained in the diapers are soft feces or loose bowels having high fluidity, they are sometimes exposed to the outside of the diaper. This is problematical also from a sanitary aspect when the diapers are to be discarded.
Although the conventional shorts type disposable diapers have an advantage such as having a flexible fitness to an active older baby, they have a disadvantage such that they are difficult to well fit to wearers of all sizes within the limit of the expansibility of the gathers (that is, only with the aid of the expansibility of the gathers). As a result, the wearer's skin is damaged by the elasticity of the gathers and the diaper slips down to permit the discharged materials in the diaper to leak outside.
Furthermore, the conventional shorts type disposable diaper has the additional problems in that the discharged materials in the diaper, in use, cannot be seen from outside, at least one side of the diaper must be torn off in order to handle the discharged materials, and the diaper, after use, cannot be rolled up in a compact style in order to prevent the discharged materials inside the diaper from leaking to the outside. It is therefore an actual situation that the disposable diaper, after use, is fixed or fastened by a tape, a rubber, a string, or the like and then discarded.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Nos. Sho 62-69804, Hei 3-176051, etc. propose the techniques in that a tape fastener is provided on each side of the waist portion so that the fastener can be used both for waist adjustment and for fastening of the diaper when the diaper is to be discarded. However, these techniques have such shortcomings that since the tape fasteners are in locations easy for the infant or helper to remove, the fasteners are often removed accidentally, with the result that the diaper is slips down. Moreover, the diaper with such tape fasteners lacks the shorts-like outer appearance.
Furthermore, the tape fasteners thus provided are incapable of effectively preventing the diaper from slipping down because the waist portion is greatly deformed due to busy actions of the wearer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a shorts type disposable diaper which is easy in handling for discard, satisfactory in a sanitary respect at the time the diaper is treated for discard, and does not lose the shorts-like outer appearance when the diaper is worn.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a shorts type disposable diaper in which the wearer is not compelled to keep an unnatural attitude when the wearer is helped to wear the diaper, which can easily be placed on the wearer in the natural attitude (i.e, standing, lying or even fluttering the legs), and in which it is easy to adjust the measurement of the waist portion to fit well to the wearers of all sizes, so that a downward displacement can be prevented, discharged materials inside the diaper do not leak, the condition of discharged materials inside the diaper can easily be seen from outside, and discharged materials can easily be confined in the diaper which is rolled up and fastened by a tape fastener when the diaper is to be discarded.
The present invention has achieved the above-mentioned first object by providing a disposable diaper of the shorts type including a liquid permeable top-sheet, a liquid impermeable backsheet, and an absorber interposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, front and rear waist portions being connected together at opposite sides thereof, respectively, the improvement further including a tape fastener adapted to fasten the diaper when the diaper is to be discarded, the tape fastener being disposed at a central section of an outer surface of the backsheet extending in a longitudinal direction of the backsheet.
Also, the present invention has achieved the above-mentioned first object by providing a disposable diaper of the shorts type including a liquid permeable topsheet, a liquid impermeable backsheet, and an absorber interposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, front and rear waist portions being connected together at opposite sides thereof, respectively, the improvement further including a strip-shaped tape fastener adapted to fasten the diaper when the diaper is to be discarded, the tape fastener being secured at one end thereof to an outer surface of the backsheet or topsheet and directed in a longitudinal direction of the diaper.
Furthermore, the present invention has achieved the above-mentioned second object by providing a disposable diaper of the shorts type including a liquid permeable topsheet, a liquid impermeable backsheet, and an absorber interposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, front and rear waist portions being connected together at opposite sides thereof, respectively, thereby forming a waist opening portion and a pair of leg opening portions, the improvement further including an elastically expansible member disposed at a waist portion in an intermediate area of the diaper between the waist opening portion and the pair of leg opening portions, the expansible member being expanded and contracted in the width direction of the absorber to form a gather about the waist portion, and a tape fastener disposed on an outer surface of the backsheet, the tape fastener having a handle portion directed in a direction parallel to the elastically expansible member.
After use, the disposable diaper of the present invention is rolled up in the longitudinal direction and fastened for discard. Moreover, since the discharged materials can be confined in the diaper thus rolled up and covered with the backsheet, it can be handled in a sanitary manner.
The disposable diaper of the present invention is used in such a manner that the wearer is guided to put the legs into the leg opening portions through the waist opening portion. Once the diaper is placed on the wearer, the diaper fits well to the wearer due to the provision of both the elastically expansible member arranged around a body portion of the diaper and the tape fastener and is prevented from slipping down while in use. Also, due to a provision of the elastically expansible member, the condition of the discharged materials inside the diaper can be seen from outside by eyes without tearing the diaper, for example. After use, the diaper is rolled up in the longitudinal direction and fastened by the tape fastener for discard. In this way, the disposable diaper of the present invention is easy t
Hayase Toru
Kawaguchi Haruko
Toyoda Harumitsu
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Kao Corporation
Reichle K. M.
Weiss John G.
LandOfFree
Disposable diaper does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Disposable diaper, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Disposable diaper will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2895527