ABSORBENT ARTICLE

• US 20100324523A1
• Filed: 08/04/2010
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Kinoshita, Akiyoshi, Ishikawa, Norihiko, MUKAI, Hirotomo, Hashimoto, Tatsuya, Tsuji, Tomoko
• Granted Patent: US 9,452,091 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/385.25
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49001 having preferential bending zones, e.g. fold lines or grooves
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49413 the edge leakage prevention means being an upstanding barrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49426 the barrier having an absorbent medium
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/53409 having a folded core
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/455 having a "W" shape
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/4568 three-dimensional; with split absorbent core
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/4581 with absorbent core in separated pieces
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/530861 having slit regions

Abstract

The absorbent article includes a chassis, a crotch region, an absorbent body, and an elastic member arranged along a side edge in width direction of the crotch region. The oblong absorbent body arranged in the crotch region includes a first narrow width section, a second narrow width section, a center low rigidity section formed along a center line that halves the absorbent article in the width direction and a pair of lateral low rigidity sections provided at both sides of the center low rigidity section in the width direction with a substantially equal interval. Skin contacting face-side sheets and non-skin contacting face-side sheets 6 and 10 are arranged in the crotch region. The initial tensile strength of the skin contacting face-side sheets is lower than that of the non-skin contacting face-side sheets or that of the chassis 2.

Claims

1. An absorbent article having a width and a length orthogonal to the width, comprising:

a chassis having at least a front torso surrounding region and a rear torso surrounding region arranged along a longitudinal direction of the absorbent article;

a crotch region positioned between the front torso surrounding region and the rear torso surrounding region in the chassis;

an oblong absorbent body provided extending from the front torso surrounding region to the rear torso surrounding region along the longitudinal direction;

a torso opening section formed at one side when in a wearing mode;

a pair of leg openings formed at another side when in the wearing mode;

a skin-contacting face facing an inner face when in the wearing mode;

a not-skin-contacting face facing an outer face when in the wearing mode; and

an elastic member arranged along a side edge in the width direction of the crotch region constituting the leg opening absorbent body, wherein

the absorbent body includes;

a first narrow width section;

a second narrow width section arranged longitudinally spaced from the first narrow width section;

a center low rigidity section formed along a center line that halves the absorbent article in the width direction; and

a pair of lateral low rigidity sections provided at both sides of the center low rigidity section in the width direction with a substantially equal interval;

wherein

the crotch region is structured so that the skin-contacting face of the absorbent body has a skin contacting face-side sheet and the not-skin-contacting face has either one of the not-skin contacting face-side sheet and the chassis, and wherein

the length in the width direction of the skin contacting face-side sheet is longer than that of the absorbent body.

2. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein

the absorbent body further comprises a center absorbing section provided in the longitudinal direction between the first narrow width section and the second narrow width section,

the center absorbing section is shaped so that both edges in the width direction protrude more than the first narrow width section and the second narrow width section protrude to outer sides of the width direction, respectively.

3. The absorbent article according to claim 2, wherein

both side edges at outer sides in the width direction of the absorbent body have a pair of stretching sheets arranged along the longitudinal direction, and

the respective stretching sheets are arranged to extend over both ends of the center absorbing section in the longitudinal direction to outer sides in the longitudinal direction and are arranged to extend over both ends in the width direction of the center absorbing section to outer sides in the width direction.

4. The absorbent article according to claim 3, further comprises a pair of side regions arranged widthwise outside each of the a pair of lateral low rigidity sections

and a pair of center regions arranged between the center low rigidity section and each of the pair of lateral low rigidity sections, the stretching sheet is provided to be superposed on the side region in the width direction.

5. The absorbent article according to claim 4, wherein

in the wearing condition of the absorbent article,

the side region is bent so that an end of an outer side in the width direction of the side region is raised in the thickness direction of the absorbent body, and

the center region is bent so that an end of an inner side in the width direction of the center region is raised in the thickness direction,

the absorbent body is consequently deformed to have a W-letter shaped cross section in the width direction of the center absorbing section.