Disposable diaper

• US 7,090,665 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 08/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Oba, Toru, Ohashi, Naoto, Ono, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): REICHLE, KARIN M
• Application Number:
  US09/997,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 604/385.201, 604364-366, 604378-380, 604383-384, 604/385.01, 604/385.03, 604/385.101, 604/385.14, 604/387, 604393-399
• US Class Current: 604/385.14
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/4704 having preferential bending zones, e.g. fold lines or grooves
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/4752 the means being an upstanding barrier
• 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 13/505 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 2013/530518 the maximum being at the crotch
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/530532 the maximum being at certain depth in the thickness

Abstract

A disposable diaper that includes a cover member and a body fluid absorbent member attached to an inner side of the cover member. The absorbent member is composed of a liquid-pervious topsheet, a backsheet and an absorbent core member disposed therebetween. The absorbent member is formed on a side adjacent the backsheet with at least one first groove concaved in a direction from the backsheet toward the topsheet.

Claims

1. A disposable diaper comprising:

an air permeable cover member having front and rear waist regions and a crotch region; and

a body fluid absorbent member attached to an inner surface of said cover member;

said body fluid absorbent member extending in a longitudinal direction across said crotch region into said front and rear waist regions, said body fluid absorbent member having front and rear end portions that are fixed to the inner surface of said cover member at said front and rear end portions thereof,

said body fluid absorbent member including a liquid-pervious topsheet to be placed against a wearer'"'"'s body, an air permeable backsheet to be placed against said inner surface of said cover member, and a body fluid absorbent core disposed between the liquid-pervious topsheet and said backsheet, said body fluid absorbent core being formed on a side facing said backsheet with at least one groove that is concave in a direction from said backsheet toward said topsheet, each of said at least one groove consists of a first segment that extends continuously into the crotch region and the front waist region and a second segment that extends continuously into the crotch region and the rear waist region, said first and second segments of each individual ones of said at least one groove being aligned with one another longitudinally, being excluded from extending across a longitudinal center of the crotch region of the diaper, being excluded from extending into the front and rear end portions of the diaper, and being adjacent one another in the longitudinal direction but for the exclusion from the longitudinal center of the crotch region, said body fluid absorbent member having a longitudinal length that extends between and to the front and rear end portions of the diaper.

2. The disposable diaper according to claim 1, further comprising at least one groove that extends in a direction orthogonal to said longitudinal direction.

3. The disposable diaper according to claim 1, wherein said first and second segments of said at least one groove extend in said longitudinal direction and said disposable diaper further comprises at least one second groove extending in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction so that said at least one second groove intersects one of said first and second segments of said at least one groove and said at least one second groove extends to transversely opposite side edges of said body fluid absorbent member.

4. The disposable diaper according to claim 3, wherein said body fluid absorbent core is disposed between said backsheet which is also formed with said at least one first groove and said at least one second groove and the topsheet opposed to said backsheet.

5. The disposable diaper according to claim 1, wherein said body fluid absorbent core is formed on a side facing said topsheet with at least one flier groove that is concave in a direction from said topsheet toward said backsheet and extends in said longitudinal direction across said crotch region into said front and rear regions.

6. The disposable diaper according to claim 5, wherein said at least one further groove is positioned to be substantially aligned with said at least one groove.

7. The disposable diaper according to claim 5, wherein said body fluid absorbent core is disposed between said topsheet which is also formed with said at least one further groove and the backsheet opposed to said topsheet.

8. The disposable diaper according to claim 1, wherein said body fluid absorbent member is detachably fixed to said cover member.

9. The disposable diaper according to claim 1, wherein said first and second segments of each individual ones of said at least one groove are collinear.