ABSORBENT ARTICLE DEMONSTRATING CONTROLLED DEFORMATION AND LONGITUDINAL FLUID DISTRIBUTION

• US 20160089278A1
• Filed: 03/12/2015
• Published: 03/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Rosenfeld, Leonard, Barbosa, Livea Fujita, Rezende, Felipe Boni
• Application Number:
  US14/645,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20160089278A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/47218 with a raised crotch region, e.g. hump
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/4756 the means consisting of grooves, e.g. channels, depressions or embossments, resulting in a heterogeneous surface level
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/51104 the top sheet having a three-dimensional cross-section, e.g. corrugations, embossments, recesses or projections
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/51108 the top sheet having corrugations or embossments having one axis relatively longer than the other axis, e.g. forming channels or grooves in a longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/533 having discontinuous areas of compression
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/536 having discontinuous areas of compression
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/51078 being embossed

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to absorbent articles and in particular to a absorbent articles demonstrating controlled deformation and enhanced fluid wicking in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent articles

Claims

1. An absorbent article having a body facing surface, the body facing surface comprising:

a first embossing pattern; and

a second embossing pattern

wherein the first and second embossing patterns are configured to deform the article into a hump upon test deformation in at least about 75% of such test deformations and generate an average stain length to stain width ratio of at least 1.5 when tested and measured in accordance with the Deformation/Distribution Test method described in the Specification hereof.

2. The absorbent article of claim 1 wherein the hump deformation forms in at a frequency of at least 80% of such deformations.

3. The absorbent article of claim 2 wherein the hump deformation forms in at a frequency of at least 85% of such deformations.

4. The absorbent article of claim 10 wherein the generated average stain length to stain width ratio is at least 2.0.

5. The article of claim 1 wherein the article has a longitudinally extending centerline such that the first embossing pattern extends about and in the direction of the longitudinally extending centerline.

6. The article of claim 1 wherein the article comprises a central longitudinal zone extending symmetrical about and directionally along the longitudinally extending centerline across the article and comprising opposing longitudinally extending central longitudinal zone edges parallel to the longitudinally extending centerline defining a central longitudinal zone width W of from about 5 mm to about 20 mm and further wherein the first embossing pattern of the central region is located within and does not extend beyond the central longitudinal zone width W.

7. The article of claim 6 wherein the second embossing pattern is at least partially separated by the central longitudinal zone such that a portion of the second embossing pattern extends longitudinally across one central longitudinal zone edge and another portion of the second embossing pattern extends longitudinally across the other central longitudinal zone edge.

8. The article of claim 7 wherein the first embossing pattern has respective ends and further wherein the respective ends of the first embossing pattern comprise at least one primary branching channel.

9. The article of claim 8 wherein the respective ends of the first embossing pattern comprise at least two primary branching channels.

10. The article of claim 9 wherein the respective ends of the first embossing pattern comprise at least three primary branching channels.

11. The article of claim 10 wherein the at least one primary branching channel of the respective ends of the first embossing pattern extends longitudinally about the longitudinally extending centerline.

12. The article of claim 11 wherein the at least one primary branching channel extending longitudinally about the longitudinally extending centerline is within the central longitudinal zone and does not extend beyond the central longitudinal zone width W.

13. The article of claim 11 wherein the at least one primary branching channel extending longitudinally about the longitudinally extending centerline comprises at least one secondary branching channel.

14. The article of claim 13 wherein the at least one secondary branching channel of the at least one primary branching channel extending longitudinally about the longitudinally extending centerline is within the central longitudinal zone and extends beyond the central longitudinal zone width W.

15. The article of claim 6 wherein the central longitudinal zone width W is from about 5 mm to about 20 mm.

16. The article of claim 7 wherein the article has a transversely extending centerline such that where the second embossing pattern is at least partially separated by the central longitudinal zone, the second embossing pattern is spaced from the, respective, central longitudinal zone edges in the direction of the transversely extending centerline.

17. The article of claim 16 wherein each portion of the second embossing pattern is spaced from about 5 mm to about 26 mm from the nearest central longitudinal zone edge.

19. The absorbent article of claim 10 wherein the hump deformation forms in at least 80% of the test applications.

20. The absorbent article of claim 11 wherein the hump deformation forms in at least 85% of the test applications.

21. The absorbent article of claim 10 wherein the average stain length to stain width ratio of at least 2.0.

18. An absorbent article having a transversely extending centerline and a longitudinally extending centerline and a body facing surface, the body facing surface comprising:

a central region having i) a first transverse side parallel to the transversely extending centerline and a second transverse side parallel to the transversely extending centerline and opposite the first transverse side in the direction of the longitudinally extending centerline; and

ii) a first longitudinal side parallel to the longitudinally extending centerline and a second longitudinal side parallel to the longitudinally extending centerline and opposite the first longitudinal side in the direction of the transversely extending centerline, the central region comprising an embossing pattern extending about and directionally along the longitudinally extending centerline;

a first longitudinal end region extending from the first transverse side of the central region directionally along the longitudinally extending centerline away from the central region, the first longitudinal end region comprising a first plurality of channels wherein at least one of the channels of the first plurality of channels extends along a longitudinally extending centerline directionally from the first transverse side across from about 50% to about 90% of the first longitudinal end region;

a second longitudinal end region extending from the second transverse side of the central region directionally along the longitudinally extending centerline and away from the of the central region, the second longitudinal end region comprising a second plurality of channels wherein at least one of the channels of the second plurality of channels extends along the longitudinally extending centerline directionally from the second transverse side from about 50% to about 90% of the second longitudinal end region, the embossing pattern of the central region located longitudinally between and interconnected with the first and second plurality of channels;

a central longitudinal zone extending longitudinally across the first and second transverse end regions and the central region, the central longitudinal zone extending symmetrical about and directionally along the longitudinally extending centerline and comprising opposing longitudinally extending central longitudinal zone edges parallel to the longitudinally extending centerline defining a central longitudinal zone width W of from about 5 mm to about 20 mm, wherein the embossing pattern of the central region is located within and does not extend beyond the central longitudinal zone width W;

a first transverse end region extending from the first longitudinal side of the central region directionally along the transversely extending centerline and away from the central region, the first transverse end region comprising a least one first longitudinally extending outer channel spaced from about 5 mm to about 26 mm from the nearest central longitudinal zone edge; and

a second transverse end region extending from the second longitudinal side of the central region directionally along the transversely extending centerline and away from the of the central region, the second transverse end region comprising a least one second longitudinally extending outer channel spaced from about 5 mm to about 26 mm from the nearest central longitudinal zone edge

wherein the channels of the embossing pattern of the central region interconnects in fluid communication with the channels of the embossing patterns of the first and second longitudinal end regions;

wherein upon test application of deformation forces and application of a fluid to the central region of the article as detailed in the Deformation/Distribution Test method described in the Specification hereof, a hump deformation is formed at a frequency of at least about 75% of the test applications and the article exhibits an average stain length to stain width ratio of at least 1.5.