Sewing – Products – Sewn web or sheet
Patent
1996-02-28
1997-11-11
Cannon, James C.
Sewing
Products
Sewn web or sheet
112441, 428 91, 428337, 428340, 442318, 442319, 442324, 442326, 604383, A61F 1346, B32B 514, B32B 526, B32B 708
Patent
active
056852479
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention is concerned with a material for use in incontinence products, more particularly re-usable incontinence products.
BACKGROUND ART
There is described in EP-A-0 388 062 a material referred to as a "graduated density felt", which material is suitable for use in an incontinence product and comprises a needled felt containing not less than 50% by weight polyester fibre, wherein surface regions of the felt are denser than a central region thereof, which remains substantially unneedled; that is to say, in the denser surface regions the fibres are re-oriented from their original orientation by needling while the fibres in the less dense central region remain substantially in their original orientation. When in use as an incontinence product the less dense central region provides for fluid to be contained and/or absorbed therein, thereby enhancing the absorbency of the material.
Although in the aforementioned EP-A there is a proposal that 100% hydrophobic fibres be used in producing the material, in the various Examples in that specification the materials are composed of 80% by weight viscose and 20% polyester fibres. Viscose is of course hydrophilic and consequently tends to itself absorb fluid, whereas the polyester is essentially hydrophobic and does not absorb fluid. In the case of the 100% hydrophobic fibre base layer, therefore, the pool of fluid is contained within the structure of the material rather than absorbed into the individual fibres thereof. This tends to enhance the possibility of reusing the incontinence product, since now it is merely a case of washing out the fluid from the pool, rather than merely by dilution cleaning the individual absorbent fibres. Ideally, therefore, in order to produce a reusable incontinence product, the fibres used should be wholly or at least primarily hydrophobic.
It will, however, be appreciated that incontinence products have also other requirements relating e.g. to comfort for the wearer, and in particular it is desirable that the fluid be removed from contact with the skin of the wearer and be prevented from returning to the surface and wetting it, e.g. when the product is subjected to pressure, in order to avoid the wearer suffering from rashes and other skin ailments due to contact with the fluid over perhaps extended periods. The reduction of "wet-back" also reduces odours and staining and, perhaps more importantly, gives the patient more confidence when using the product.
In general, incontinence products which are commercially available have been of the disposable type, and thus not re-usable, and a common approach to the prevention of wet-back and to achieving a "dry skin effect" has been to utilise so-called "superabsorbent" polymers which tend to bind the fluid to form a gel. Such a gelling process is of course substantially irreversible and in any event washing would remove not only the gelled fluid but also the superabsorbent polymers themselves, so that with such a system a reusable incontinence product is unlikely to be achieved.
Other approaches to achieving a "dry skin effect" have also been tried, usually involving the provision of a base layer of absorbent material and an additional layer which serves to enhance comfort by speeding up the spreading of the fluid throughout the base layer. In one such case, a towelling textile has been used as the additional layer which, by reason of its absorbency, tends to effect the spreading action satisfactorily, but at the same time itself tends to retain some of the liquid, especially when the product is placed under pressure, so that in this way a dry skin effect is nevertheless not achieved using such a material.
An example of such a prior incontinence product is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No 4,516,975 (Mitchell). The diaper illustrated is a multi-layer combination of an outer moisture barrier cover and an inner facing layer for contact with a wearer. These outer and inner layers sandwich a moisture retentive felt and a middle layer to provide shape to the diaper. The moisture ret
British United Shoe Machinery Limited
Cannon James C.
LandOfFree
Material for use in incontinence products does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Material for use in incontinence products, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Material for use in incontinence products will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1221226