Sanitary napkin

Details Sanitary napkin Sanitary napkin

2000-08-25

2002-09-10

Weiss, John G. (Department: 3761)

Surgery

Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material

Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...

C604S354000, C604S387000, C604S385030

Reexamination Certificate

active

06448466

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to a sanitary napkin, particularly a woman's sanitary napkin used to collect and retain vaginal exudates, and more specifically an intimate woman's sanitary napkin provided with a conveying element.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE ART
As known in the art, the woman's sanitary napkins (also simply designated as napkins in the following text) are generally disposable and used to collect and retain vaginal exudates, especially menstrual blood and inter-menstrual secretions.
Usually, such napkins are comprised of a substantially elongated absorbent core, sandwiched between a top layer and a lining layer. The top layer contacts the user's pelvic area and is generally made of a previous material that does not cause any irritation to the user's skin. The purpose of the lining layer, opposite the top layer, is to prevent the fluid retained in the absorbent core from leaking into the user's clothes, being generally made of an impervious material.
The attachment of the sanitary napkin to the user's underwear is generally carried out through adhesive areas on the outer surface of the lining layer, which are adhered to the inner surface of the area in the user's panties between her thighs. In addition, as an aid to such attachment, the napkin may be provided with side wings provided with adhesive areas that are folded and releasably adhered to the outer surface of the area in the user's panties between her thighs.
An undesirable aspect concerning the napkins known in the present art is the occurrence of leaking when the napkin is not well fitted in the user's pelvic area. When such situation takes place, the evacuation of vaginal exudate can firstly reach areas near the edges instead of the central area, and therefore brings about a leakage because it cannot be promptly absorbed, and then leaks.
Still another cause of leakage during the use of conventional napkin designs is the distance between the point in the body where the body exudate leaves and the napkin surface—the larger the distance the greater the chance of its slipping through the body surface itself and leaking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,380, describes a woman's sanitary napkin provided with a longitudinal central protuberance, the protuberance being adapted to be located between the user's labia majora, but not penetrating into her vagina. The central protuberance is an element provided with several components, viz, an absorbent packing which is covered on its surface by a permeable cover layer and contains the central rod of an inverted T shaped fluid drawing device inside same. This sanitary napkin has a number of drawbacks:
the central protuberance is aligned with the rest of the napkin element, in such a way that when the napkin is moved according to the movements of the user, the protuberance is also moved and rubbed against the inner walls of the labia majora and might cause discomfort to the user;
the central protuberance is of complex construction, either in view of its integration with the napkin surface or due to the existence of the fluid drawing device inside same.
Statutory Invention Registration H1614 discloses a woman's napkin provided with two superposed adjacent absorbent structures, the first one being protuberant and approximately tubular in the longitudinal direction, the second one being planar and elongated, wherein the first one is more comfortable and smoother than the second one, so that during the use it contacts the user's labia majora, being partially inserted between then. This achievement also provides faulty aspects, as follows:
the first absorbent structure, although being adjustable, provides an apparently excessive volume to be comfortably inserted between the user's labia majora without being inconvenient;
the first absorbent structure is attached over the second absorbent structure, thus causing a movement according to the user's movement, bringing about discomfort and even pain to the user during use;
the first absorbent structure retains fluids, and therefore provides the user with a damp feeling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems found in the state of the art, an object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary napkin provided with an elongated conveying element for the menstrual flow which is substantially disposed along a central longitudinal axis of the sanitary napkin.
Another object of the present invention is a sanitary napkin cooperating with the user's vulva area in order to collect and convey the flow of vaginal exudates to the central area of the absorbent pad surface, thus minimizing the possibilities of leakage due to the early displacement of the exudates towards the sides of the article.
Still another object of the present invention is a sanitary napkin provided with a conveying element for the menstrual flow that during the use penetrates at less partially between the user's labia majora in a less aggressive way and almost not subject to the movement of the user's body.
Such objectives are reached by a sanitary napkin characterized by being comprised an element that is capable of collecting and conveying vaginal exudates to an absorbent element, the conveying element being substantially laminar and oriented in a position that is orthogonal to the surface of the sanitary napkin.
Concisely, some aspects of the invention are the collection of the vaginal exudate, the conveyance of the exudate to the absorbent element and the cooperation of the sanitary napkin with the user's vulva area.
Within a particular embodiment of the present invention, the conveying element for vaginal exudates (blood, urine, inter-menstrual secretions, and the like.) is embodied as a non-woven fabric veil preferably joined only to the ends of the sanitary napkin by attachment points substantially disposed along the central longitudinal axis of the sanitary napkin. When put in use, the sanitary napkin assumes longitudinally arcuate configuration following the anatomy of that area of the body, thus orthogonally suspending the conveying element in relation to the surface of the sanitary napkin. In that position, during the use, the conveying element penetrates, even partially, between the user's labia majora, thus urging any exudate discharge to contact and follow the surface of the-conveying element as far as the central area of the sanitary napkin surface. The leakage trend due to discharges of exudates close to the sanitary napkin edges, mainly the most voluminous ones, is thus prevented, since the conveying element conveys the exudate flow to the center of the absorbent pad—the effect is theoretically compared to that attained in a chemistry laboratory, wherein a liquid to be poured inside a beaker flows down a glass rod. Additionally, since the conveying element is sufficiently thin and delicate, the drawback found in prior art products that propitiate the partial insertion of an appendix of the sanitary napkin between the user's labia majora is greatly reduced.
In a preferred embodiment, the conveying element of the sanitary napkin of the invention is equidistantly located with respect to the side edges.
Although not essential, the resiliency of at least the edge of the conveying element (which edge is adapted to contact the user's vaginal area in use) facilitates its orthogonal positioning in relation to the surface of the absorbent element, and consequently its ability to be inserted in the user's vaginal area.
The conveying element of the sanitary napkin is vertically aligned with the absorbent element and affixed to a top layer of the sanitary napkin by a curtain portion that permits independent movement of the absorbent element and the laminar collecting device that may be caused by the movement of the user's body. Thus, the absorbent element is not integrally or substantially affixed to the body contacting surface of the conveying element. That is, the conveying element and t

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