Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-30
2002-06-11
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
C604S391000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06402730
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention present relates to an hygienic article for one-time use, in particular a diaper, an incontinence product or an incontinence liner, having a front area, a rear area and a center area located between them, which comes to lie in the crotch area of the user of the hygienic article, the hygienic article has a layer, which constitutes the outside facing away from the body and is inpermeable to liquid at least in parts of it, and a layer, which constitutes the inside facing. It also has body and is liquid-permeable at least in the area of an absorbent body arranged under it, a fastening system for the releasable connection of the rear and front areas of the hygienic article when it is placed on the body of the user and for securing the used article when it is rolled up or folded together for being thrown away or disposed of, wherein the fastening system has a first fastening section with securing means at the rear area, and a second fastening section with counter-securing means at the front area so that, the rear area and the front area are connected, the first securing section can be positioned on the second fastening section so that the securing means and counter-securing means can enter into a mechanical securing connection, the securing means of the first fastening section in addition.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For putting on such an hygienic article, which absorbs body fluids and bodily excretions, the rear area and the front area are placed against the body of the user, wherein the lateral edges of the rear area and the front area are at least approximately adjoining or overlap each other so that, using the fastening system, the front and rear areas can be connected in an as optimal as possible fit of the article on the body of the user, so that an escape of body fluids or bodily excretions is prevented, helped by further aids, such as resilienty stretchable liquid barriers, bands and the suitable dimensioning of the absorbent body. For exchanging the used hygienic article for a fresh one, the fastening system is released, and the hygienic article containing body fluids and bodily excretions is taken off the user. In order to make the used hygienic article easier to dispose of, it is customarily rolled up or folded from the front area in the direction towards the rear area, so that a small package is formed, which can be manipulated and which the user, the parents or a caretaker, can pick up manually and throw into a disposal container. In order to furthermore prevent the rolled or folded up small package from opening again when it is thrown away, or thereafter in the disposal container, which leads to an unpleasant odor as well as to the escape of its smelly contents, the fastening system is also used—as already indicated at the beginning—to secure the hygienic article in the rolled up or folded state. In the course of this, the first fastening section is pressed in a known manner on the outside of the rolled up or folded little package in such a way that it adheres, sticks, or is hooked there and prevents the unrolling or unfolding of the hygienic article.
The first fastening section at the rear of known hygienic articles is customarily provided on a section of the rear area, which is laterally widened in the shape of an hourglass, a so-called lateral flap, or on a fastening tongue which protrudes transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction, i.e. toward the sides, and which is fastened on the rear area, or respectively on the lateral flaps of the rear area. The second fastening section on the front area is either not clearly defined or is constituted by a surface which per se has mechanically acting securing means, or it extends mainly in the shape of a strip-shaped, transversely extending area at a band end section in the front area of the article. Therefore the first fastening section can be positioned, more or less overlapping the front area, in accordance with the body shape of the user.
Numerous solutions are known for designing the fastening system. For example, in European Patent 321 232 B1 it is suggested to embody the first fastening section in the shape of a tongue on the rear area in such a way that, besides a first partial section having the mechanically acting securing means, a second partial section is provided, which is provided with an application of an adhesive. Here, the first partial section with the mechanically acting securing means is used for closing the hygienic article when it is placed on the user in that the mechanical securing elements cooperate in the manner of a burr closure with mechanically acting counter-securing elements. The adhesive application in the second partial section is used for adhesively fastening the tongue on the layer of the article constituting the outside facing away from the body. When the used article is rolled together from the front area to the rear area, or is folded in such a way that the second fastening section lies in the interior of the little package, the little package is intended to be secured because of the cooperation of the adhesive second partial section with the foil-like, smooth exterior surface of the article. However, this fastening system has been shown to be disadvantageous in that the first fastening section, i.e. the fastening tongues, must be designed to be very large, or respectively long, corresponding to the two partial sections. The material requirements are therefore correspondingly large, and the laterally protruding tongues interfere with the handling of the article and appear unattractive. No defined holding power of the fastening system can be achieved, since in the course of closing there is a more or less extensive overlap or contact between the adhesively embodied second partial section and the vicinity of the second fastening section at the front, and a corresponding more or less strong adhesive connection, besides the intended mechanical connection of the securing means and counter-securing means. This indefiniteness must be considered to be disadvantageous.
Another approach for solving this problem is disclosed European Patent EP 0 321 234 A1, in that a contact section with mechanically acting counter-securing means is separately provided on the layer constituting the outside facing away from the body, which cooperates in the rolled-up or folded configuration of the article with the first fastening section. No adhesive application is provided here. The arrangement of this further mechanically acting contact strip on the outside of the article is expensive, and handling in the process of folding the article is difficult and requires alertness, since the fastening section must be exactly positioned with respect to each other. But experience has shown that in this situation in particular it is difficult to provide this alertness since, in caring for small children, often only one hand is available for folding the diaper while it is intended to place an unused hygienic article under the small child almost simultaneously.
For fastening an hygienic article in the form of a sanitary napkin on an item of clothing, it is known from European Patent EP 0 393 953 B1 a to also use an application of adhesive on the outside of the napkin, facing the item of clothing in use. So that the napkin can be secured on the textile material of the item of clothing without sliding, tapering projections are provided on the outside of the napkin having the adhesive layer, which are pushed into the textile material and in this way secure the napkin without sliding. Such an embodiment of the first fastening section of the hygienic article under discussion should, however, prove itself not suitable, since in this case a cooperation with a foil-like outside of the article facing away from the body would not be possible.
In Published International Application WO 96/25905 it a was proposed to provide the first fastening section, or respectively the mechanically acting hook-like securing means, and simultaneously also the second fastening section, with mechanically acti
Calvert John J.
Grayson Angela J.
Jones Tullar & Cooper P.C.
Paul Hartmann AG
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