Disposable diaper

• US 6,056,732 A
• Filed: 08/07/1997
• Issued: 05/02/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Ono, Yoshio, Yamaki, Rumi, Fujioka, Yoshihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Polutta, Mark O.
• Application Number:
  US08/908,253
• Time in Patent Office: 999 Days
• Field of Search: 604/385.1, 604/385.2, 604/386, 604/389, 604/390, 604/391
• US Class Current: 604/385.01
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49009 with elastic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49017 the elastic means being located at the crotch region
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49019 the elastic means being placed longitudinally, transversely or diagonally over the article
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/505 with separable parts, e.g. combination of disposable and reusable parts, A61F13/20, A61F13/49003 take precedence; supporting or fastening means A61F13/56; belts or the like A61F13/64
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/5323 having absorbent material located in discrete regions, e.g. pockets

Abstract

A well-fitting disposable diaper having a front gathering to be applied to the crotch of a wearer. The front gathering is formed by elastic members disposed about a border between a crotch region and a front waist region of the diaper and includes one end portions of first and second thin parts which are disposed in the crotch region and the front waist region, respectively. Because the first thin parts are elongated between the second thin parts in the front gathering, the front gathering can readily shrink to press the crotch of a wearer or a protector against incontinence to be applied thereto.

Claims

1. A well-fitting disposable diaper having a front waist region to be applied to the abdominal area of a wearer, a crotch region to be applied to the crotch thereof and a back waist region to be applied to the dorsal area thereof, arranged in a longitudinal direction of the diaper in this order, comprising;

a liquid non-permeable back sheet,

a liquid permeable top sheet,

an absorbent core interposed between the back sheet and the top sheet and extended from the front waist region, the crotch region to the back waist region, first and second thin parts where no absorbent core is present or where the thickness of the absorbent core is reduced being formed separately in a linearly elongating fashion in the longitudinal direction, the first thin parts having intervals therebetween in a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and extending from the crotch region to the front waist region and to the back waist region, the second thin parts having intervals therebetween in the width direction and extending from the front waist region to adjacent the crotch region, and

a plurality of elastic members elongating in the width direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, the elastic members being arranged in a region, which is positioned on a side of the front waist region to a center of the crotch region and includes a border between the front waist region and the crotch region, end portions of the first thin parts in the front waist region and end portions of the second thin parts adjacent the crotch region, thereby forming a front gathering, wherein

the first thin part and the second thin parts alternate with each other and the first thin parts are elongated between the second thin parts,

the elastic members are arranged between the absorbent core and the back sheet,

the elastic members, the top sheet and the back sheet are bonded together at the thin parts, and

the elastic members are arranged in such a curved fashion to protrude at the center thereof in the width direction.

2. A well-fitting disposable diaper having a front waist region to be applied to the abdominal area of a wearer, a crotch region to be applied to the crotch thereof and a back waist region to be applied to the dorsal area thereof, arranged in a longitudinal direction of the diaper in this order, comprising:

a liquid non-permeable back sheet,

a liquid permeable top sheet,

an absorbent core interposed between the back sheet and the top sheet, and

a first retaining means and a second retaining means to be attached to each other when the diaper is applied to a wearer, the first retaining means being disposed on the back sheet in the front waist region, the first retaining means being composed of two pairs of front retaining members disposed on the back sheet with an interval therebetween in the longitudinal direction, the second retaining means being composed of two pairs of back retaining members disposed adjacent to both edges of the top sheet in the back waist region, the back retaining members in each pair having an interval therebetween in the longitudinal direction, the interval therebetween of the back retaining members in the longitudinal direction being larger than said interval therebetween of the front retaining members in the longitudinal direction, and wherein

an aligning pitch of the back retaining members in each pair is larger than an aligning pitch of the front retaining members in each pair, where the aligning pitch is a distance between longitudinal centers of the retaining members in the longitudinal direction,

a dimension of each of the front retaining members in the longitudinal direction is larger than a dimension of each of the back retaining members in the longitudinal direction, and

the front retaining member has a rectangular shape having a larger dimension in the width direction than in the longitudinal direction.

3. The well-fitting disposable diaper according to claim 2, wherein the front retaining member is a woven fabric sheet or a non-woven fabric sheet and the back retaining member is a resin-made fastening sheet having a plurality of fastening protrusion which are to be fastened with the woven fabric sheet or the non-woven fabric sheet.

4. The well-fitting disposable diaper according to claim 2, wherein the front retaining member is a resin film and the back retaining member is an adhesive tape to be bonded to the resin film.