Animal husbandry – Material for absorbing moisture from waste product
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2001-06-12
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Material for absorbing moisture from waste product
C119S169000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244216
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet for pet excretion used being laid on a floor or the like in order to treat excrements of a pet kept in an interior or the like and, more particularly, to the sheet for pet excretion capable of absorbing the excrements of the pet without a leak.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A sheet for pet excretion has found wide use in treating the excrements of the pet kept in a home. FIG.
6
(A) is a perspective view of a conventional sheet for pet excretion, and FIG.
6
(B) is a sectional view thereof. A sheet S for pet excretion, as shown in FIGS.
6
(A) and
6
(B), comprises a front face sheet
1
such as liquid permeable nonwoven fabric, a liquid impermeable rear face sheet
2
, and an absorbent body
3
interposed between the front face sheet
1
and the rear face sheet
2
. The absorbent body
3
consists of an absorbent core
3
a
and absorbent papers
3
b
,
3
c
, such as tissue papers, covering an absorbent core
3
a
so as to sandwich its upper and lower surfaces therebetween. The absorbent core
3
a
is composed, for example, of a crushed pulp
4
and a super absorbent polymer (SAP)
5
.
A portion where the absorbent body
3
is provided is a liquid absorbent region Sa capable of absorbing the excrements such as urine. In its periphery, there are bonded the front face sheet
1
and the rear face sheet
2
by a hot melt adhesive, thermally welding or the like, to provide a bonded portion Sb.
In the conventional sheet S for pet excretion, for example, the absorbent paper
3
b
is colored blue. Therefore, in the sheet S for pet excretion shown in FIG.
6
(A), it is adapted such that the whole of the liquid absorbent region Sa appears blue through the front face sheet
1
.
If a pet such as dog for instance has been trained in its childhood so as to excrete on a sheet colored blue or the like, thereafter it learns to excrete on the sheet colored blue or the like.
When a whole range of the liquid absorbent region Sa is colored blue or the like, as shown in FIG.
6
(A) and FIG.
6
(B), the pet learns to mount on the colored liquid absorbent region Sa and excrete thereon. However, on this occasion, the pet's nates portion is positioned close to an end part of the liquid absorbent region Sa, so that the pet is liable to excrete on the end part of the liquid absorbent region Sa. Accordingly, the excrement such as urine is liable to leak from the liquid absorbent region Sa to thereby soil a floor surface or the like.
Further, as shown in FIG.
6
(B), in the conventional sheet S for pet excretion, the absorbent body
3
is flat. In such a structure, part of urine which remains unabsorbed by the absorbent body
3
is liable to flow toward the floor surface, from the end part of the liquid absorbent region Sa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is to solve the aforementioned problems in the prior art, and has an object to provide a sheet for pet excretion, in which when a pet recognizes a colored region and excretes thereon, the urine or the like is surely absorbed in a liquid absorbent region to thereby prevent it from leaking toward a floor surface or the like.
The invention provides a sheet for pet excretion comprising a liquid permeable front face sheet, a liquid impermeable rear face sheet and an absorbent body interposed between the front face sheet and the rear face sheet, wherein a liquid absorbent region where the absorbent body exists has a colored portion positioned at the center thereof and a non-colored portion adjoining the colored portion so as to enclose a whole periphery of the colored portion.
In the above, it is preferable that the absorbent body comprises a first absorbent body which is colored and a second absorbent body which is non-colored, and the second absorbent body is overlaid on an outer periphery portion of the first absorbent body.
In this case, it is preferable that the front face sheet and the first absorbent body are pressure-molded at least at the colored portion of the liquid absorbent region, to thereby form a step on the front face sheet at a boundary part between the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body.
Moreover, it is preferable that the first absorbent body is composed of an absorbent core and an absorbent paper covering a surface of the absorbent core, and at least one of the absorbent core and the absorbent paper is colored, thereby making it possible to see the color through the front face sheet.
The term “non-colored” as used in the invention means a color inherent in a raw material constituting the sheet for pet excretion, i.e., a white color, an off white color or a color similar thereto. For example, pulp fibers to be used for the sheet for pet excretion become white by the fact that a purity of cellulose constituting the pulp fibers is enhanced by purification or bleaching.
On the other hand, the term “colored” as used in the invention means the fact that it is not non-colored. That is, it is a color other than the white color and produced by adding a pigment or a dye to the color inherent in a raw material. As to a kind of the colors in the colored portion of the invention, it is possible to use a blue color, a pink color or any optional color.
If a pet such as dog has been trained in its childhood so as to excrete on a sheet colored blue or the like, it learns to have such a habit as to always excrete on the sheet colored blue or the like.
In the invention, the liquid absorbent region where the absorbent body exists is colored only at the central portion to have a predetermined area and is non-colored at the remaining portion enclosing an outer periphery of the colored portion. Therefore, as a result that the pet thus trained recognizes the colored portion and excretes thereon, even in case where an urine or the like is excreted on an end part of the colored portion, it is possible to prevent the urine or the like from leaking outside the sheet for pet excretion. Since the non-colored portion of the liquid absorbent region exists outside the colored portion, the urine or the like excreted on the non-colored portion or the end part of the colored portion is absorbed by the absorbent body in the non-colored portion of the liquid absorbent region.
Especially, if the absorbent body comprises a first absorbent body which is colored and a second absorbent body which is non-colored and the second absorbent body is overlaid on an outer periphery portion of the first absorbent body, the urine or the like excreted on an end part of the colored portion is absorbed by both of the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body, so that the urine or the like is prevented from leaking outside the sheet.
Further, if the front face sheet and the first absorbent body are pressure-molded at the colored portion of the liquid absorbent region, to thereby form a step at a boundary part between the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body, it follows that a bank is formed in such a manner that the non-colored portion of the liquid absorbent region swells up while having the step around the colored portion. Therefore, the urine or the like excreted on an end part of the colored portion becomes further difficult to leak outside the sheet.
As a concrete method for forming the colored potion in the liquid absorbent region, there is a method of coloring liquid absorbent fibers such as pulp forming the absorbent core, a super absorbent polymer contained in the absorbent core, or an absorbent paper such as tissue paper provided on a surface of the absorbent core. Further, it may be possible to color an adhesive such as hot melt adhesive for bonding the absorbent body and the front face sheet together. Besides, it is also possible to color the front face sheet.
Further, it is also possible to form the sheet for pet excretion of the invention by providing a non-colored absorbent body in conformity with to the whole area of the liquid absorbent region, and interposing a colored tissue between the absorbent body and the front face sheet.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4537148 (
Darby & Darby
Jordan Charles T.
Shaw Elizabeth
Uni-Heartous Corporation
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