Pants-type disposable wearing article

• US 7,220,251 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2004
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unicharm Corporation
• Inventors: Takino, Shunsuke, Otsubo, Toshifumi, Shimoe, Nariaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zalukaeva; Tatyana
• Assistant Examiner(s): Craig; Paula L.
• Application Number:
  US10/839,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20050004548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 604/385.02, 604/385.25, 604/385.201, 604/385.24, 604/385.23, 604/385.27
• US Class Current: 604/385.201
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49001 having preferential bending zones, e.g. fold lines or grooves
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49011 the elastic means is located at the waist region
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/49017 the elastic means being located at the crotch region
• 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 13/496 in the form of pants or briefs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/51474 characterised by its structure

Abstract

A pull-on disposable article has a liquid-absorbent first panel interposed between a liquid-absorbent sheet and liquid-impervious sheets, a waist-hole and a pair of leg-holes. The leg-holes are surrounding by leg-surrounding flaps extending in a leg-surrounding direction outside transversely opposite side edges of the first panel. A transverse dimension between the transversely opposite side edges is minimized in the vicinity of bottoms of the respective leg-holes. The leg-surrounding flaps are formed with first folding lines extending in the leg-surrounding direction and second folding lines extending in a transverse direction. The leg-surrounding flaps are tucked along the first and second folding lines into the respective leg-holes.

Claims

1. A pants-type disposable wearing article, comprising:

a liquid-pervious sheet, a liquid-impervious sheet, and a liquid-absorbent panel between said sheets;

a waist-hole and a pair of leg-holes surrounded by leg-surrounding flaps extending in a leg-surrounding direction outside transversely opposite side edges of said panel, wherein a transverse dimension between said transversely opposite side edges of said panel is minimized at bottoms of the leg-holes;

first folding lines extending from the respective side edges of said panel at said bottoms of said leg-holes toward side edges of the respective leg-surrounding flaps lying at tops of said leg-holes;

second folding lines extending outwardly in a transverse direction from the respective side edges of said panel lying at said bottoms of said leg-holes toward said side edges of the respective leg-surrounding flaps lying at said bottoms of said leg-holes; and

leg-surrounding elastic members extending in said leg-surrounding direction and being secured in a stretched state to said leg-surrounding flaps;

wherein

said leg-surrounding flaps lying at said bottoms of said leg-holes rise on said panel and said side edges of said leg-surrounding flaps get nearer to each other in said transverse direction with said leg-surrounding flaps being folded along said first and second folding lines and tucked inwardly in said transverse direction into a tucked state;

a minimum spacing between said side edges of said leg-surrounding flaps is substantially same as a minimum transverse dimension between said side edges of said panel at said bottoms of said leg-holes;

said leg-surrounding flaps are free of absorbent material; and

each of said leg-surrounding elastic members comprises a plurality of elastic strands running along side each other and getting closer to each other as said strands extend toward the crotch region.

2. The wearing article according to claim 1, wherein the minimum transverse dimension between said side edges of said panel is in a range of 2–

9 cm at said bottoms of said leg-holes.

3. The wearing article according to claim 1, wherein said side edges of said leg-surrounding flaps are curved in said transverse direction inwardly of said article from said tops toward said bottoms of said leg-holes so that the minimum spacing between said side edges of said leg-surrounding flaps is at said bottoms of said leg-holes.

4. The wearing article according to claim 1, wherein absorbent material of said liquid-absorbent panel is not folded along said first and second folding lines.

5. A pants-type disposable wearing article having longitudinal and transverse directions, said article comprising:

a liquid impervious cover sheet defining front and rear regions and a crotch region extending in the longitudinal direction between said front and rear regions;

a pad comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet attached to an upper side of said cover sheet, and a liquid-absorbent core interposed between said topsheet and

wherein

transversely opposite side edges of said cover sheet in the crotch region are inwardly curved;

the transversely opposite side edges of said cover sheet in the front and rear regions are attached to each other to define a waist hole and a pair of leg holes;

said core has a hourglass shape having a minimal transverse dimension in said transverse direction in a longitudinally middle zone of said crotch region;

at least one of said topsheet and backsheet extends laterally outwardly beyond transversely opposite side edges of said core to define transversely opposite side edges of said pad;

the transversely opposite side edges of said pad intersect the inwardly curved, transversely opposite side edges of said cover sheet and define, together with said inwardly curved, transversely opposite side edges of said cover sheet, peripheral edges of said leg holes;

transversely opposite lateral portions of said at least one of said topsheet and backsheet in the crotch region are folded along a pair of folding lines and tucked inwardly of the article;

each of said folding lines includes two sections defining a V shape and extending from one of transversely opposite side edges of said core in the middle zone of said crotch region upwardly towards the front and rear regions, respectively, and up to the peripheral edges of said leg holes;

the transversely opposite lateral and inwardly tucked portions of said at least one of said topsheet and backsheet are free of absorbent material; and

said core is not folded along said folding lines;

said article further comprising leg-surrounding elastic members extending along the peripheral edges of said leg holes and being secured in a stretched state to said cover sheet;

wherein each of said leg-surrounding elastic members comprises a plurality of elastic strands running along side each other and getting closer to each other as said strands extend toward the crotch region.