Absorbent core with curved channel-forming areas

• US 9,968,497 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2015
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Jackels, Hans Adolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Deak, Leslie
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burnette, Gabriella
• Application Number:
  US14/703,983
• Publication Number:
  US 20150342798A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,106 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15585 of babies' napkins, e.g. diapers A61F13/15617 - A61F13/15804 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15634 Making fibrous pads between sheets or webs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15658 Forming continuous, e.g. composite, fibrous webs, e.g. involving the application of pulverulent material on parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15674 by wrapping webs or pads between webs moving in their longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15691 by inserting webs or pads in a tube or a netting, e.g. involving forming of the tube or netting
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/53 characterised by the absorbing medium A61F13/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/5323 having absorbent material located in discrete regions, e.g. pockets
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/534 having an inhomogeneous composition through the thickness of the pad A61F13/538, A61F13/539 take precedence; homogeneous cores with tissue wrapping A61F13/53
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/535 inhomogeneous in the plane of the pad, e.g. core absorbent layers being of different sizes A61F13/5323, A61F13/537 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/53752 the layer is embedded in the absorbent core
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/15463 Absorbency
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/53051 being only in particular parts or specially arranged
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2013/530897 having capillary means, e.g. pore or fibre size gradient

Abstract

A substantially planar absorbent core includes a core wrap enclosing an absorbent material that is substantially free of cellulose fibers and forms a pattern of discrete absorbent material areas. The core further comprises at least a pair of curved longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas substantially free of absorbent material, through which the top side of the core wrap is attached to the bottom side of the core wrap along a core wrap bond. Each of the longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas are longitudinally flanked internally by a first flanking absorbent material area and externally by a second flanking absorbent material area, the first and second flanking absorbent material areas following the curvature of the channel-forming area.

Claims

1. A substantially planar absorbent core comprising a core wrap enclosing an absorbent material, the absorbent core having a longitudinal axis and comprising a front region, a back region and a middle region, each region having an equal length along the longitudinal axis, wherein the absorbent material is substantially free of cellulose fibers and forms a pattern of absorbent material areas,

the core further comprising at least a pair of curved longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas substantially free of absorbent material, through each of which the top side of the core wrap is attached to the bottom side of the core wrap along a core wrap bond, so that when the absorbent material areas adjacent the channel-forming areas absorb a fluid and swells, three-dimensional channels are formed along each core wrap bond,

wherein these channel-forming areas are disposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis,

wherein each of said longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas are longitudinally flanked internally by a first flanking absorbent material area and externally by a second flanking absorbent material area, the first and second flanking absorbent material areas following the curvature of the channel-forming area.

2. The absorbent core of claim 1, wherein the longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas are symmetrically disposed relative to the longitudinal axis.

3. The absorbent core of claim 1, wherein the longitudinally-extending channel-forming areas are concave towards the longitudinal axis and are closest to each other in the middle region.

4. The absorbent core of claim 1, further comprising a central absorbent material area at least partially contiguous with the longitudinal axis.

5. The absorbent core of claim 4, wherein the central absorbent material area branches towards the front and/or the back of the core.

6. The absorbent core of claim 3, wherein the central absorbent material area forms the internally longitudinally flanking area of the channel-forming areas.

7. The absorbent core of claim 1, further comprising straight longitudinally-extending material areas.

8. The absorbent core of claim 1, wherein the absorbent core comprises from about 2 g to about 16 g of superabsorbent polymer particles.

9. The absorbent core of claim 1, further comprising a thermoplastic adhesive material to immobilize at least some of the absorbent material within the core wrap.

10. The absorbent core of claim 9 wherein the thermoplastic adhesive material comprises at least one selected from auxiliary glue and a micro-fibrous glue.

11. The absorbent core of claim 1, wherein the core wrap comprises a first substrate and a second substrate and the first substrate forms substantially the whole of the top side of the core wrap and the second substrate forms substantially the whole of the bottom side of the core wrap.

12. The absorbent core of claim 11, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are sealed in a C-wrap configuration along their longitudinal side edges.

13. The absorbent core of claim 1, wherein the absorbent material is macroscopically profiled in the longitudinal direction so that the basis weight of the absorbent material is higher in the middle region than in the front region and/or back region.

14. An absorbent article comprising the absorbent core of claim 1.

15. The absorbent article of claim 14, wherein the article is a baby diaper.