Eureka AIR delivers breakthrough ideas for toughest innovation challenges, trusted by R&D personnel around the world.

Tampon pledget for increased by-pass leakage protection

a technology of tampon and pledget, which is applied in the field of tampon pledgets, can solve the problems of insufficient expansion of pledget, insufficient protection of tampon pledget against bypass leakage, and insufficient vaginal canal to absorb fluid, so as to improve the rate of absorbency and absorb liquid faster, and reduce the weight of pledgets

Inactive Publication Date: 2008-11-20
PLAYTEX PROD INC
View PDF23 Cites 63 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]The novel tampon pledget according to the present invention includes one or more of the following properties: increased absorbency rate; high absorbent capacity and fluid retention; rapid expansion potential; and ease of ejection of the pledget from the applicator.
[0010]In one aspect of the invention, the cross pads are nearly identical in area prior to forming. It has been found that this feature provides the correct tampon length in body and the proper diameter for insertion into a woman's vagina. Additionally, it provides a more uniform fiber weight distribution across the entire length of the formed pledget, which unexpectedly results in improved absorption and reduced pledget ejection forces.
[0012]Without being constrained by theory, these features together unexpectedly result in an increase in both the rate of absorbency and the absorbent capacity. The fluid intake rate is faster through the lighter, one or more top pads, while fluid is more efficiently stored in the thicker, one or more bottom pads, which form the absorbent core of the formed tampon pledget. Thus, relative to conventional prior art tampon pledgets, the tampon pledgets of the present invention not only absorb liquid faster and provide more rapid expansion, they also allow for lower pledget weights overall in order to achieve the required syngyna absorbency specifications, as regulated by the FDA Federal Register 821.430.

Problems solved by technology

Both in-vivo and in-vitro testing has shown that current tampon pledgets do not protect well against bypass leakage.
In-vivo testing shows that the typical woman places the tampon too deep into the vaginal canal and is not optimally placed to absorb fluid.
In-vitro testing confirms that pledget expansion is not optimal.
One particular drawback with the pledget having a pre-expanded shape is that it may be difficult to house the pre-shaped pledget in a typical cylindrical applicator tube due to its shape.
Also, once housed in the applicator, the pledget having the pre-expanded shape may exert additional forces on the walls of the barrel due to its shape, which in turn could cause excess friction during expulsion, requiring additional force to expel the pledget from the applicator.
The additional required force could make using the applicator difficult and in some cases actually cause deformation of the applicator, making its use extremely difficult.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Tampon pledget for increased by-pass leakage protection
  • Tampon pledget for increased by-pass leakage protection
  • Tampon pledget for increased by-pass leakage protection

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0039]A Regular absorbency pledget is comprised of two fibrous nonwoven pads, both about 2″×4″, oriented perpendicular to each other. The nonwoven inner absorbent core pad (bottom pad in cross-pad configuration) is 100% viscose rayon fiber having a multilobal (“Y-shaped) geometry, marketed by Kelheim Fibres GmbH (Kelheim, Germany) under the Galaxy™ tradename. The outer pad (top pad in the cross-pad configuration) is formed with a blend of 60% viscose staple rayon (such as the P-1 fiber that is available from Lenzing Fibers, Austria) and 40% multilobal rayon fiber, as described above. The fiber typically may include a small percentage of a finish, such as sorbitan monolaurate nonionic surfactant (Tween 20), although a variety of finish chemistries may be used.

[0040]The Regular pledget weight is about 1.52 grams (g) (at 14% moisture). The inner, absorbent core pad weight is about 0.63 g to about 1.25 g. In onee preferred embodiment, the absorbent core pad weight is about 0.84 g (at 14...

example 2

[0041]A Super absorbency pledget is formed from two fibrous nonwoven pads, both about 2″×4″, oriented perpendicular to each other. The nonwoven inner absorbent core pad (bottom pad in cross-pad configuration) is 100% viscose rayon fiber having a multilobal (“Y-shaped) geometry, marketed by Kelheim Fibres GmbH (Kelheim, Germany) under the Galaxy™ tradename. The outer pad (top pad in the cross-pad configuration) is formed with a blend of 60% viscose staple rayon (such as the P-1 fiber that is available from Lenzing Fibers, Austria) and 40% multilobal rayon fiber, as described above. The fiber typically may include a small percentage of a finish, such as sorbitan monolaurate nonionic surfactant (Tween 20), although a variety of finish chemistries may be used.

[0042]The pledget weight is about 2.27 g (at 14% moisture). The inner pad weight is between about 0.94 g to about 1.78 g (at 14% moisture). In one preferred embodiment, the inner pad weight is about 1.26 g (at 14% moisture). The ou...

example 3

[0043]A Super Plus absorbency pledget is formed from two fibrous nonwoven pads, both about 2″×4″, oriented perpendicular to each other. Super Plus tampons are formed with 100% multilobal Galaxy rayon in both inner and outer pads.

[0044]The total pledget weight is about 3.14 g (at 14% moisture). The inner pad has a weight between about 1.27 g to about 2.33 g (at 14% moisture). In one preferred embodiment, the inner pad has a weight of about 1.70 g (at 14% moisture). The outer pad has a weight between about 1.08 g to about 2.00 g. In one preferred embodiment, the outer pad has a pad weight of about 1.44 g (at 14% moisture).

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

The present invention provides a tampon pledget with one or more of the following properties: increased absorbency rate; high absorbent capacity and fluid retention; rapid expansion potential; and ease of ejection of the pledget from the applicator. Surprisingly, the one or more properties are achieved by using a modified dual cross-pad, folded, compressed tampon pledget design.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 930,547, filed May 17, 2007.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention is related generally to tampon pledgets. More particularly, the present invention is related to tampon pledgets that exhibit increased bypass leakage protection.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]Both in-vivo and in-vitro testing has shown that current tampon pledgets do not protect well against bypass leakage. In-vivo testing shows that the typical woman places the tampon too deep into the vaginal canal and is not optimally placed to absorb fluid. In-vitro testing confirms that pledget expansion is not optimal. With both of these insights it is known that there is a propensity for the tampons to leak prematurely, i.e., bypass leakage.[0006]There have been many attempts in the prior art to address bypass leakage. Examples include provi...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): A61F13/20
CPCA61F13/20A61F13/2068A61F13/2051A61F13/2065A61F13/2071
Inventor EDGETT, KEITHJORGENSEN, ROBERTDOUGHERTY, JR., EUGENEABDUL, YINKA
Owner PLAYTEX PROD INC
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products