Heterogeneous surge material for absorbent articles

Abstract

There is provided a surge material for personal care products comprising a layered structure of at least one relatively high permeability layer on a top side toward a wearer and at least one relatively low permeability layer where the structure has a capillary tension range between about 1 and 5 cm with a differential capillary tension of at least about 1 cm from top to bottom. The surge material should have a high permeability layer with a permeability of at least 1000 Darcys and a low permeability layer with a permeability of less than 1000 Darcys. The surge material should also have a said high permeability layer which has a permeability of at least 250 Darcys greater than the low permeability layer. Such a layered structure should have a first insult run-off value of at most 30 ml from a 100 ml insult delivered at 20 ml / second. Such a surge material is useful in personal care products like diapers, training pants, absorbent underpants, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene products and the like.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to absorbent articles particularly absorbent structures which are useful in personal care products such as disposable diapers, incontinence guards, child care training pants, or sanitary napkins. More particularly, the invention relates to absorbent articles which have a portion designed for rapid intake, temporary liquid control, and subsequent release of repeated liquid surges to the remainder of the article.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Personal care products are absorbent articles including diapers, training pants, feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins, incontinence devices and the like. These products are designed to absorb and contain body exudates and are generally single-use or disposable items which are discarded after a relatively short period of use—usually a period of hours—and are not intended to be washed and reused. Such products usually are placed against or in proximity to the wearer's body to absorb...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The objects of this invention are achieved by a surge material for personal care products which is a layered structure of at least one relatively high permeability layer and at least one relatively low permeability layer where the structure has a capillary tension range between about 1 and 5 cm with a differential of at least about 1 cm from top (wearer side) to bottom. Such a layered structure should provide a first insult run-off value of at most 30 ml from a 100 ml insult delivered at 20 ml / second. Such a surge material is useful in personal care products like diapers, training pants, absorbent underpants, adult incontinence products, feminine hygiene products and the like and should have a thickness of less than 3 cm. The surge material of this invention is particularly well suited for use in narrow crotch (7.6 cm width maximum) diapers.

Problems solved by technology

It has been found that urination can occur at rates as high as 15 to 20 milliliters per second and at velocities as high as 280 centimeters per second and that an absorbent garment, such as a diaper, may fail by leaking from the leg or front or back waist areas.

The inability of the absorbent product to rapidly uptake liquid can also result in excessive pooling of liquid on the body-facing surface of the bodyside liner before the liquid is taken up by the absorbent structure.

Such pooled liquid can wet the wearer's skin and can leak from leg or waist openings of the absorbent article, causing discomfort, potential skin health problems, as well as soiling of the outer clothing or bedding of the wearer.

Leakage and pooling can result from a variety of performance deficiencies in the design of the product, or individual materials within the product.

One cause of such problems is an insufficient rate of liquid intake into the absorbent core, which functions to absorb and retain body exudates.

An insufficient intake rate becomes even more detrimental to product performance on second, third, or fourth liquid surges.

In addition, leakage may occur due to poor wet product fit that results when multiple insults are stored in the target location and cause sagging and drooping from the wet, heavy retention material structure.

Images