Surgery – Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material – Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
Patent
1997-06-18
1999-10-05
Polutta, Mark O.
Surgery
Means and methods for collecting body fluids or waste material
Absorbent pad for external or internal application and...
604366, 604370, 264510, 264258, 156224, A61F 1315, A61F 1320
Patent
active
059615095
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flexible absorbent article, having a plurality of layers, an absorbent core, and a thermoformed layer formed integrally therewith to maintain the absorbent article in a three-dimensional shape defining an open volume. The invention also relates to a method of producing such an article.
More particularly, the invention relates to absorbent articles such as absorbent garments or sanitary pads.
BACKGROUND ART
Flexible absorbent articles of the aforementioned type are known in the field of sanitary pads for example. An example of such a sanitary pad is sold under the trademark SERENITY.RTM. and is a sanitary pad which, in the relaxed state, has a U-shaped or V-shaped appearance when viewed from the side in order that the pad fits more closely to the contours of the body at the point of application. The sanitary pad has a multi-layer absorbent core with or without SAP (super absorbent polymer), which is enclosed between an impervious back sheet layer and a porous top sheet layer. The back sheet layer (comprising a foamed polymer layer) and the top sheet layer are attached to each other at their respective peripheries with the top sheet layer in a stretched state. Since the top sheet layer is in a stretched state when attached to the foamed polymer layer, it will thus ensure that the sanitary pad has a three-dimensional shape defining an open volume therewithin when in the relaxed state.
Clearly, the production operation for such a sanitary pad is quite complicated due to the need to stretch one layer and hold it in the stretched position whilst applying and attaching a further layer to it. Due to the fact that an economic production must be achieved, some shape restrictions on the product will also occur due to the manner of stretching which must not be too intricate.
Thus the invention seeks to overcome said complications by providing an article which can be manufactured substantially without stretching but which has a three-dimensional shape defining an open volume therewithin, which can be varied within wide limits. The invention also seeks to provide a corresponding method for manufacturing said product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned object is solved by an article having a plurality of layers, an absorbent core, and a thermoformed layer formed integrally therewith to maintain the absorbent article in a three-dimensional shape defining an open volume. Similarly, the method of producing an absorbent article including a plurality of layers including an absorbent core by adding a thermoformable net layer to one of the plurality of layers and applying heat ton one of the layers and the thermoformable net layer while the device is in a predetermined shape so as to thermoform the article into the predetermined shape is also described. The flexible absorbent article is preferably a sanitary pad or an absorbent garment, such as a nappy, the flexible absorbent article preferably has a core located between a backing sheet and a top sheet, has a core located between a backing sheet and a top sheet and a thermoformed layer between the back sheet and the top sheet, wherein the thermoformed layer is located with the absorbent member or wherein the thermoformed member is integral with the back sheet.
By using a thermoformable layer in the mariner defined, the article can be manufactured more easily and in a wider variety of shapes which are suitable for differing applications.
The invention can also be used for absorbent products designed to have a curvature in more than one direction, e.g. saddle-shaped products (which offer a better fit to the body) such as saddle-shaped sanitary pads for example.
By the term "thermoformable layer" as used in the claims and the following description is meant a layer which comprises a material, such as EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) for example, which can be made to assume a predetermined shape in the cold state (e.g. at room temperature). The layer must then be able Lo substantially maintain this shape after bei
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Polutta Mark O.
SCA Hygiene Products AB
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