Individually packaged incontinence article comprising an absorbent article for receiving bodily excreta

Abstract

The invention relates to an individually packaged incontinence article (10) which comprises: an absorbent article (40) for receiving bodily excreta; and a packaging material portion (12), which has a longitudinal direction (L) and a transverse direction (Q) extending perpendicularly thereto, and two longitudinal edges (20) and two transverse edges (16, 17), and is folded along fold lines (14) running in the transverse direction (Q) such that it encloses the absorbent article (40) in the packaged state and thus forms a front face (24) and a rear face (26) of an item of packaging; wherein, in the packaged state, the transverse edges (16, 17) of the individually packaged incontinence article (10) are arranged such that a first transverse edge (16) is fixed to the front face (24) of the individually packaged incontinence article (10) on the side of the packaging material portion (42) facing away from the absorbent article (40); wherein the packaging material portion (10) is at least partly translucent and is printed with at least one decorative means (30) in the form of a pattern which visually perceptibly stands out from the packaging material portion (12).

Description

The invention relates to an individually packaged incontinence article, comprising an absorbent article for the absorption of bodily excretions, having an absorption body which extends in a longitudinal direction, comprising a top layer, a back layer and an absorbent core arranged therebetween, and a packaging material portion having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction running perpendicularly thereto, and also two longitudinal edges and two transverse edges, said packaging material portion being folded about folding lines running in the transverse direction in such a way that it encloses the absorbent article in the packaged state, in particular on all sides, and thus forms a front and a back of a packaging, wherein, in the packaged state of the individually packaged incontinence article, the transverse edges are arranged in such a way that a first transverse edge forms a kind of flap on the front. The first transverse edge is in this case fixed on the side surface of the packaging material portion facing away from the absorbent article. The packaging material portion is translucent at least in portions, in particular in the region of the back, but in particular over its entire extent, and is printed with at least one decorative means, which stands out from the packaging material portion in a visually perceptible manner. Incontinence articles with single-use packaging are widely known in the prior art. It is customary here to fold each incontinence article, and also further hygiene articles, such as sanitary napkins, individually into a packaging material portion, which is then usually adhesively fixed on itself. In this case, a first transverse edge can overlap the second transverse edge of the packaging material portion and then forms a flap-like design for closure of the packaging. This creates a front and a back of the packaging material portion or packaging in the case of the packaged incontinence article. It is known in this case for such packaging material portions to be provided with a decorative means in the form of a print. It is also well known to provide labeling means which convey information. For example, it is already known from EP 2 243 450 A1 to provide first display regions. In this case, first and second display regions may be provided, wherein one display region provides information, for example with regard to the severity of menstruation for which the product is suitable, etc., and the second display region may have decorative means, that is to say purely decorative elements. The second display region may in this case be provided in the region of the overlapping first transverse edge, whereby a kind of flap is formed. It is also described for example in WO 2007 / 0186034 A1, wherein the packaging material portion there has an opacity of 8.5 to 50, that at least one region of the back layer of the absorbent article can be seen through the packaging material portion. What this is intended to achieve is that for example an esthetic feature of the absorbent article is visible from the outside. JP 2006 / 223757 A2 relates to a packaging for absorbent articles having a transparent or translucent packaging material, and to an absorbent article which has a pattern, and having labeling means for conveying information which can be recognized through the packaging material together with the pattern. Provision may in this case be made for a colored adhesive to be applied in the region of an underwear application surface and for the labeling means to be formed by the adhesive. Alternatively, provision may also be made for the labeling means to be provided on a cover element covering the adhesive zone prior to application to underwear, and provision may also lastly be made for the labeling means to be provided on the packaging material portion. A further prior art document, EP 2 689 757 A1, also describes an individually packaged product, wherein in this case a separable colored zone which is visible from the outside and prevents the absorbent product from being seen is provided on the inner side of the packaging material. Furthermore, JP 2013 / 073858 has disclosed individually packaged absorbent articles having first and second colored regions. In this case, the one colored zone forms the background for the decorative means of the other colored zone. JP 2018 / 210103 A2 also discloses an individually packaged product, wherein the product has an adhesive region and the packaging film has a pattern-like print provided on the front and back. The pattern-like print has a window through which the adhesive region can be seen. The adhesive region may have a color code that indicates the absorption strength. Apart from the window-like element, the front and back of the packaging of the absorbent article are continuously and uniformly provided with a pattern. Lastly, JP 2015 / 116427 A2 also describes an individually packaged product, wherein transparent and opaque regions are provided in the packaging wrapper. Proceeding from the above-mentioned prior art, the object of the invention is to provide an individually packaged incontinence article, the packaging of which is designed to be visually appealing as a result of a decorative means but also ensures the packaged absorbent article can be seen, in particular a labeling means attached to the absorbent article is intended to be able to be seen through the packaging material portion. The object here is to achieve the balance between the visibility through the packaging material portion on the absorbent article and the decorative design. The invention achieves this object by means of an individually packaged incontinence article having the features of claim 1. Advantageous refinements are described in the dependent claims. Here, an individually packaged incontinence article is provided, comprising an absorbent article for the absorption of bodily excretions, having an absorption body which extends in a longitudinal direction, comprising a top layer, a back layer and an absorbent core arranged therebetween, and having a packaging material portion having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction running perpendicularly thereto, and also two longitudinal edges and two transverse edges, said packaging material portion being folded about folding lines running in the transverse direction in such a way that it encloses the absorbent article in the packaged state, in particular on all sides, and thus forms a front and a back of a packaging, wherein, in the packaged state of the individually packaged incontinence article, the transverse edges are arranged in such a way that a first transverse edge is fixed on the front on the side of the packaging material portion facing away from the absorbent article, wherein the packaging material portion is translucent at least in portions, preferably in the region of the back, but in particular over its entire area, and is printed with at least one decorative means in pattern form, which stands out from the packaging material portion in a visually perceptible manner, wherein the at least one decorative means has a greater pattern density and / or a greater degree of coverage in the region of the front of the packaging than on the back. In this case, provision may be made for the overlap of the one transverse edge over the side of the packaging material portion facing away from the absorbent article to form a flaplike configuration. In this case, the first transverse edge can project to different extents beyond the side of the packaging material portion facing away from the absorbent article, with the result that there can be a differently sized overlap in the region of the first transverse edge and the packaging material portion. The overlap in this case preferably does not occupy the entire front, but is also formed to such an extent that there is no undesirable exposure of the absorbent article. The first transverse edge may in this case be provided with an adhesive element, in particular an adhesive strip, which is fixed on the surface of the packaging material portion facing away from the absorbent article and projects beyond the first transverse edge and can be fixed with its free end on the region of the packaging material portion that comes to lie thereunder. Alternatively, one or more adhesive points or an adhesive line may also be provided on the surface facing toward the underlying portion of the packaging material portion in the region of the first transverse edge. However, other connecting means are also conceivable. The absorbent article is used in this case to absorb bodily excretions, in particular urine and feces, as well as possibly menstrual blood. This may be a napkin-shaped article or a panty liner worn in combination with the user's underwear. Alternatively, other absorbent articles, such as diapers and diaper pants, are also conceivable, both in a configuration that is to be closed only when the user is using it and in a configuration that is already closed at the side edges by the manufacturer. However, the preferred article according to the invention is a napkin or panty liner. Such absorbent articles usually have a top layer which faces toward a user in use and through which the bodily excretion enters the absorbent article and is introduced into the absorption body, and a back layer which faces toward the underwear in use, and also an absorbent core arranged therebetween. The absorbent article extends in this case from the abdomen to the back of the user at least through a crotch region. The extent from the abdomen to the back of the user via the crotch region is referred to here as longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. The direction perpendicular thereto is the transverse direction. The packaging material portion, which encloses the absorbent article, also has a longitudinal and a transverse direction, these being selected such that they correlate in the longitudinal and transverse direction with that of the absorbent article. The absorbent article is in this case arranged in the packaging material portion in such a way that the back layer of the absorbent article comes to lie against the surface of the packaging material portion that is to be directed onto the absorbent article. When the packaging is closed, the back layer of the absorbent article bears against the inwardly directed side of the packaging material portion. The packaging material portion is then folded at least twice about folding lines running in the transverse direction, wherein the transverse edges can overlap to form a flap-like design. Provision may in this case be made for the absorbent article, prior to the folding step, to rest completely on the packaging material portion or to project beyond it and then preferably in the direction of the second transverse edge and to only be fully incorporated into it upon folding. After folding, the packaging is then closed along the longitudinal edges, for example via weld seams or adhesively, so as to form edge portions. If the back and the front of the packaging material portion are to be considered, the edge portions should not also be considered. The edge portion is defined in this case in that, in the region thereof, the longitudinal edges of the front are connected to the longitudinal edges of the back. According to the invention, provision should in this case be made for the front to have a greater degree of coverage and / or a greater pattern density of decorative means. The decorative means are preferably attached to the side of the packaging material portion that is directed outward, that is to say away from the absorbent article. Alternatively or additionally, they may also be on the side of the packaging material portion facing toward the absorbent article. In the context of this invention, decorative means should be understood to mean patterns formed from graphic elements which have no underlying information content, but only serve as ornaments. Suitable patterns include both linear patterns, which are preferred, and areal patterns. The patterns may in this case be formed from a single pattern element or from multiple pattern elements, the association of the pattern elements for an observer resulting from the thematic coherence. In contrast thereto, labeling means have information content which is conveyed in the form of words, letters, numbers, colors and / or symbols. Examples here are the size specifications S, M and L or else symbols such as droplets for the absorbency. Alternatively or additionally, machine-readable codes, such as QR codes, may also be provided as labeling means, which lead to a user note or an order page or in which the desired information is encoded. The packaging material portion may in particular be a film. It has proven to be advantageous if the film comprises or consists of a thermoplastic polymer, in particular from the class of polyolefins, in particular polypropylene and / or polyethylene. However, this does not preclude the outer side of the film from being able to have a thin and transparent nonwoven coating, in order to convey a textile impression and a haptically pleasant feel. It is also conceivable and advantageous for many applications if the film comprises non-polymer fillers, such as in particular pigments, titanium dioxide or carbonates, plasticizers, fragrances, antimicrobial substances. The film forming the packaging material portion should be sufficiently stable, wherein an economic use of resources should be selected. It has proven to be advantageous in this respect if the film has a basis weight of at least 10 g / m2, in particular of at least 12 g / m2 and at most 35 g / m2, in particular of at most 30 g / m2, of in particular at most 28 g / m2 and further particularly of at most 24 g / m2. A suitable example is the printable film "Hyfol® PP-FCP Pouch Film" in white made of polyolefin from RKW SE, Mannheim, Germany, having a thickness of 15 pm and a basis weight of 14 g / m2. The film for the packaging material portion may be made of polyethylene or have proportions of both polypropylene and polyethylene, in particular a multilayer configuration is also conceivable. Alternatively, however, packaging material portions made of other materials are also conceivable. The packaging material portion preferably has a rectangular shape. The extent in the longitudinal direction may correspond substantially to the extent of the absorbent article in the longitudinal direction. The packaging material portion is printed with a decorative means on both the front and the back. The printing can be carried out in the usual methods, for example by flexographic printing, UV flexographic printing, rotogravure, inkjet printing or screen printing. Flexographic printing or screen printing is preferred here. Printing can be carried out in both black and color print. In this case, information can also be conveyed via the color, such as by using pink for women's products and blue for men's products. The decorative means may be either linear patterns which run from one end of the packaging material portion to the other, or merely over a certain portion of the packaging material portion, without being closed on itself. The lines may be both straight and curved or with kinks, such as zigzag lines. Such patterns are referred to below as "open patterns". Open patterns are, for example, stripes, wavy lines, rays, etc. In addition, closed patterns may also be provided, wherein in particular a part of the lines that form the pattern are closed on themselves, such that the line does not have a beginning or end, such as circles or squares. Pattern elements are parts of patterns that can be connected to or are separate from further pattern elements and define a pattern together therewith. In addition, however, areal patterns are also suitable as decorative means, either by the line width in the case of linear patterns or by filling the pattern and / or pattern element for example in the case of closed patterns. The patterns, in particular the non-closed, but rather open patterns, may extend only over a part of the longitudinal and / or transverse extent of the packaging material portion and form, for example, radially shaped flowers, etc. Alternatively, however, they may also extend substantially continuously, continuously also being understood to mean interrupted lines, from one edge of the packaging material portion to a second edge of the packaging material portion, the two edges preferably being arranged opposite one another. According to a preferred embodiment, provision may in this case be made for the absorbent article to be folded about folding lines running in the transverse direction in the packaging material portion or to be folded with the packaging material portion about folding lines running in the transverse direction. There are fundamentally two possibilities, namely either that the absorbent article is pre-folded in order to then be folded into the packaging material portion. Alternatively, provision may also be made for the absorbent article to be placed onto the packaging material portion, such that the two longitudinal directions coincide and then the folding steps are carried out. In principle, folding about only two folding lines is conceivable, the transverse edges of the packaging material portion then overlapping one another on the front. However, it is particularly preferred to fold about three folding lines, with folding here first being carried out from a transverse edge to about halfway along the packaging material portion and then the remaining part of the packaging material portion being wrapped around the folded part and fixed on the front. However, folding about more than three folding lines is also conceivable. The advantage of the design in which the packaging material portion and the absorbent article are folded together is that when opening the packaging formed by the packaging material portion, the absorbent article is also directly unfolded. However, combinations of the two variants are also conceivable. Prior to folding, in the variant in which the absorbent article is folded together with the packaging material portion, the absorbent article may extend in the longitudinal direction beyond the second transverse edge of the packaging material portion. The first folding step is then preferably carried out in such a way that the side of the absorbent article projecting beyond the packaging material portion, together with the packaging material portion, is preferably folded in up to about halfway along the packaging material portion, with the result that the transverse edge of the absorbent article which is then folded in comes to lie about halfway along the packaging material portion. The packaging material portion is then wrapped around this folded configuration proceeding from the first transverse edge. Depending on whether this first fold goes up to halfway or ends before it or goes beyond it, the proportion that comes to lie on the front in the form of a flap and has the first transverse edge of the packaging material portion is larger or smaller. According to a particular embodiment, provision may in this case be made for a cover element of an adhesion means of the incontinence article to come to lie completely or partially in the region of the back. Provision may in this case be made, in particular in the case of napkin-like or panty-liner-like absorbent articles, for said articles to have an adhesive coating on their side facing away from the support in the case of use, said adhesive coating being able to be covered by a cover element prior to use. Alternatively, it is also conceivable for the packaging material portion itself to serve as cover element. In this case, it is particularly preferred if the cover element is arranged completely or over a part of its longitudinal extent in the region of the back. It is particularly preferred in this case if the back layer of the absorbent article and / or a cover element arranged on the back layer and covering an adhesion means have, in the region of the back of the packaging material portion, a print, in particular in the form of a labeling means. The labeling means may in this case be used in particular for labeling the incontinence article with regard to the size or its absorbency or user group. Alternatively, the labeling means may also be used to provide order information or application information via a machine-readable code or to support the ordering operation. In this case, it is particularly desirable according to the invention if the labeling means is present in the region of the rear of the packaging material portion. In order to provide a particularly appealing appearance of the packaging of the incontinence article, provision may be made for an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formation of four equal-sized grid squares is laid over the front of the packaging, wherein the front has, in the region of at least two, in particular at least three, preferably at least four grid squares, a degree of coverage of decorative means of at least 7%, in particular at least 8%, further particularly at least 9%, further particularly at least 10%, and preferably in particular at least 12% and in particular at most 50%, further particularly at most 30% and in particular at most 20%. What this can achieve is that an appealing print of decorative means can be applied to the front, said print ensuring, due to the sufficient degree of coverage over the entire area, that the product has a visually appealing design. On the other hand, however, the front is also not completely dominated by the decorative means, such that the difference between the front and back does not have a visually unattractive effect due to too great a difference. If a grid of nine corresponding parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another is laid over the front, it is particularly preferred if, in the region of at least five, preferably at least six, preferably at least seven and preferably at least eight and particularly preferably all nine grid squares, a degree of coverage of decorative means of at least 7%, in particular at least 8%, further particularly at least 9%, further particularly at least 10% and preferably at least 12% and in particular at most 50%, further particularly at most 30% and in particular at most 20%, is provided. In this way, it becomes clear once again that the most uniform possible distribution of the decorative means on the front, but in particular a distribution over the entire area, is desirable. Preferably, no grid square of the front has a degree of coverage of zero in the case both of four and nine grid squares. It is analogously the case, when a corresponding grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formation of four equal-sized grid squares is laid over the back, that the back has, in the region of at least three, preferably four grid squares, a degree of coverage of decorative means of at least 3%, in particular of at least 4%, further particularly at least 5%, further particularly at least 6% and preferably in particular 7% and in particular at most 30%, further particularly at most 20% and further particularly at most 10%. If nine equal-sized grid squares are correspondingly laid over the back, there is, in the region of at least five, preferably at least six, preferably at least seven and preferably at least eight and particularly preferably nine grid squares, a degree of coverage of at least 3%, in particular at least 4%, further particularly at least 5%, further particularly at least 6% and preferably in particular 7% and in particular at most 30%, further particularly at most 20% and further particularly at most 10%. Preferably, no grid square of the back has a degree of coverage of zero in the case both of four and nine grid squares. This ensures that the degree of coverage over the respective areas, namely the front and back, is relatively uniform. This means that the decorative means are not only provided in one region of the front and back, but rather that the decorative means extend over the entire area, with a certain variance being able to be provided. Furthermore, it is provided and particularly preferred if the distribution of the patterns of the decorative means, namely the pattern density, is designed in a particular manner. In this case, the pattern density differs from the degree of coverage in that it does not specify the areal coverage of an area, but rather the number of patterns and / or pattern elements provided. Thus, on the front, when the abovedescribed four equal-sized grid squares are provided, in the region of three, preferably four grid squares, a pattern density of decorative means of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably two or more patterns and / or pattern elements, in particular three or more patterns and / or pattern elements per grid square may be provided. Particular preference being given to there being more than 10 patterns and / or pattern elements in at least 3 grid squares. If the above-described nine grid squares are laid over the front, it may be provided that, in the region of at least six, preferably at least seven and further preferably at least eight and particularly preferably nine grid squares, a pattern density of decorative means of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably two or more patterns and / or pattern elements, in particular three or more patterns and / or pattern elements per grid square is provided. Particular preference being given to there being more than 5 patterns and / or pattern elements in at least 7 grid squares. It is in turn preferable if no grid square of the front has a pattern density of zero in the case both of four and nine grid squares. In this case, each pattern and / or pattern element that lies with at least 50% of its areal proportion in the respective grid square is counted. If the back is considered in the same way, when four equal sized grid squares are provided, there is a pattern density in at least three, preferably four grid squares of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably two or more patterns and / or pattern elements, in particular three or more patterns and / or pattern elements per grid square. Particular preference being given to there being more than 5 patterns and / or pattern elements in at least 3 grid squares. Likewise, when nine grid squares are provided in relation to the back, there is, in at least six, preferably at least seven, further preferably at least eight and particularly preferably nine grid squares, a pattern density of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably two or more patterns and / or pattern elements, in particular three or more patterns and / or pattern elements per grid square. Particular preference being given to there being more than 3 patterns and / or pattern elements in at least 7 grid squares. It is in turn preferable if no grid square of the back has a pattern density of zero in the case both of four and nine grid squares. In this case, each pattern and / or pattern element that lies with at least 50% of its areal proportion in the respective grid square is counted. Particularly preferably, the degree of coverage and / or the pattern density of the front is 5-120%, in particular 10-100%, further particularly 20-80% and further particularly 30-50% greater than the degree of coverage and / or the pattern density of the rear in relation to the entire side surface. What this achieves is that the front has a significantly higher number and / or areal coverage of decorative means and thus the esthetic impression of the front is increased. The specification of the degrees of coverage and the pattern densities are also intended to include deviations of + / -10% here. The back thus has a greater translucency or transparency, which corresponds substantially to the translucency of the material of the packaging material portion at this point, with the result that labeling means, which are provided in the region of the back, can be more easily located and identified. This provides a balanced relationship between the desire to make information visible to users and a visually appealing appearance. In this case, provision may particularly preferably be made for the decorative means to have a basic element, wherein the decorative means on the front corresponds to the basic element and further preferably the decorative means on the back may be reduced by details compared with the basic element on the front. The basic element may also have multiple individual elements, but they are recurring over the side surfaces of the packaging material portion. Thus, provision may for example be made for flowers, which may also be differently designed but repeat over the side surfaces, to be provided as basic element, wherein the basic element in particular is taken up on the back and provision may be made here for individual elements of the flowers to be omitted on the back in order to provide a lower areal coverage and / or pattern density. It is for example possible for individual flower elements and / or flowers of a flower pattern to be missing. Similarly, this is also possible with other basic elements, such as vines, but also striped patterns. The decorative means may preferably comprise a multiplicity of individual patterns, in particular have or be formed from individual patterns formed from print lines. An individual pattern should be understood here to mean that the individual pattern forms a self-contained pattern theme or basic element that can be recognized by an observer. In this case, the individual patterns may be in the form of pattern groups, which comprise at least two pattern elements formed from print lines. It is particularly preferred if the decorative means are uniformly or non-uniformly distributed over the front and / or back. The arrangement can be effected in such a way that the desired regions are covered, or remain free or have such a degree of coverage so as to provide an appealing visual impression but also the recognizability of labeling means, without however needing to provide a window-like cutout in the decorative means, which causes interruptions in the printing method and disrupts a continuous printing method. The present arrangement offers particular advantages, inasmuch as the machine direction with which the packaging material web, from which the packaging material portions are then formed, has a machine direction which runs transversely to the longitudinal direction of the packaging material portions and the incontinence articles are fed transversely to the machine direction. In such an arrangement, it is particularly advantageous that the printing of both the front and the back with the at least one decorative means can be carried out continuously and no repetitions are necessary, since it is not necessary to carry out any adjustment between the printing of the front and back. In this way, a particularly simple procedure can be carried out. According to one exemplary embodiment, provision may be made for the front to have an average degree of coverage by the decorative means of at least 6%, in particular at least 8%, further particularly at least 10%, further particularly at least 12%, further particularly at least 15%, further particularly at least 20% and in particular of at most 50%, further particularly at most 40%, further particularly at most 30% and further particularly at most 25%. In comparison thereto, the back may have a degree of coverage by the decorative means of at least 1%, in particular at least 5%, further particularly at least 7%, further particularly at least 10%, further particularly at least 15% and further particularly of at most 30%, in particular at most 20%, preferably in particular at most 15% and further particularly at most 12%. Preferred dimensions (+ / -10%) for the front and back are 182 cm2. Furthermore, provision may be made for the packaging material portion to have an opacity of the front and / or the back of at most 90%, in particular at most 85%, further particularly at most 80%, further particularly at most 75%, further particularly at most 70%, in particular at most 65%. According to one exemplary embodiment, the printing of the decorative means has, on both the back and the front, an opacity of at most 100%, in particular at most 95%, in particular at most 90%, in particular at most 85%, further particularly at most 80%, further particularly at most 75%, further particularly at most 70%. The opacity of the decorative means does not have to be necessarily or significantly higher than that of the packaging material portion itself, as it does not require "masking". Preferably, however, it is greater than the opacity of the unprinted regions. Moreover, the decorative means stand out from the packaging material portion in particular through the choice of color and are visually recognizable by an observer. The opacity is determined by the following method: Determination of the opacity: The opacity is determined photometrically using a suitable test device according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Such tests are routinely carried out in the technical field and are therefore familiar to those skilled in the art. If necessary, prior to the measurement, the test device is calibrated according to the manufacturer's specifications and with standards provided for this purpose. To determine the opacity in the example described above, the BYK-Gardner spectro-guide sphere gloss test device was used. As reference area, use was made of the BYK-Gardner "opacity charts", which are provided for opacity measurement, in this case chart #2810 (available from BYK-Gardner GmbH, Geretsried, Germany). The following settings were made on the test device: -    Scale: CIEL*a*b* -    Index: AE* -    Illuminant: D65 -    Angle: 10° -    Measurement aperture: 11 mm In the case of narrower measurement ranges than this, a test device with a correspondingly narrower measurement aperture should be selected. For the measurement, in each case a portion of the packaging material portion in its respective initial state prior to insertion into a packaged incontinence article is used. Alternatively, the packaged incontinence article may be opened and the packaging material portion separated from the absorbent article in order to have the packaging material portion available for measurement. For sample preparation, the sample material, that is to say the packaging material portion, is spread flat on a planar area in the state of the natural initial extent of the sample material. For the sample size, the measurement area predefined by the measurement field boundary of the test device should ultimately be observed. For the measurements that are to be performed, a standardized white test card is placed as reference area below the sample material in the region of the provided measurement field, such that the opacity measurements are always carried out compared with a standard area. A respective upper side to be measured of the sample material is arranged facing the test device and its optical measurement field regions. For the measurement operation, the measuring head of the device is placed vertically and without additional pressure onto the prepared sample material and the desired upper side to be measured of the sample material. For this purpose, depending on the construction of the test device, the point of the sample material on the sample material that is relevant for the measurement is first determined with a component which has a measurement field boundary (so-called sample observer). The measurement aperture of the test device is then placed opposite this measurement field. n = 6 measurements are carried out at different and print-free points of the sample material. The average value is determined from the measured opacity values ascertained. The measured opacity values and the average value are given to one decimal place and in percent [%]. (If the distribution of the print does not have sufficiently large print-free points, the still unprinted packaging material may possibly also be used for the measurement.) The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. Figure 1:              a front and a back of an individually packaged incontinence article; figure 2:              a front and a back of an alternative individually packaged incontinence article; figure 3:              the incontinence article according to figure 2 before the packaging is closed; figure 4 and figure 5:   degrees of coverage of the fronts and backs of the incontinence article according to figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 shows a front 24 of an individually packaged incontinence article in illustration A and the back 26 associated therewith in illustration B. In this case, it is possible to see a packaging material portion 12 of the individually packaged incontinence article, which is provided in its entirety with the reference sign 10, wherein the packaging material portion 12 has a longitudinal direction L and a transverse direction Q running perpendicularly thereto. In this case, the packaging material portion 12 is folded about folding lines 14, which then form the subsequent edges 15 of the individually packaged incontinence article 10, such that one of the transverse edges 16 overlaps the other transverse edge 17 (not illustrated) and forms a flap-like design on the front 24. The flap-like design is then adhesively fixed with an adhesive strip 18 on the packaging material portion 12 and here on the side facing away from the absorbent article 40 (not illustrated). The longitudinal edges 20 of the packaging material portion 12 are connected to one another over their entire length via a weld seam, the weld seam bearing the reference sign 22. This forms an edge region 21, which does not belong to the front 24 or back 26. The front 24 and the back 26 are characterized by the region between the edge regions 21 and the edges 14. Illustration B then shows the rear 26, with the longitudinal edges 20 and the welding 22 as well as the edge regions 21 also being visible here. The back 26 is continuous in this case and extends in the transverse direction between the edge regions 21. Both the front 24 and the back 26 have decorative means 30, wherein the decorative means are in the form of flower-like patterns and comprise differently designed flowers of various sizes and individual flower elements as pattern elements, these being so-called "individual patterns", which are in the form of open patterns here, that is to say the printed lines comprising the decorative means 30 do not form a line that is closed on itself. The flowers, which represent the decorative means, are rather radially designed here. In this case, the back 26 has a lower pattern density and a lower degree of coverage than the front 24. In this way, the packaging material portion 12, which is itself translucent, is more transparent in the region of the back 26 than on the front, wherein the same basic element of the pattern of the decorative means 30 results in an appealing uniform appearance. The packaging material portion 12 used here is a printable film "Hyfol® PP-FCP Pouch Film" in white made of polyolefin from RKW SE, Mannheim, Germany, having a thickness of 15 pm and a basis weight of 14 g / m2. This has an opacity of 62%, measured according to the method described above. In regions in which two layers of packaging material portion 12 overlap, the opacity is 72%. By providing a greater degree of coverage and a greater pattern density on the front 24, the front 24 appears more visually appealing than the back 26. Figure 2 then shows an alternative design, identical elements being denoted by identical reference signs. The packaged incontinence article according to figure 2 differs from the one according to figure 1 in that the absorbent article (not illustrated) has, on its side facing away from a support and with which it bears against the packaging material portion 12, a cover element of an adhesion means. The cover element is provided here with labeling means 60. It is advantageous in this case that the labeling means 60, which are attached to the absorbent article 40, can be seen through the back 26 of the packaging (see also figure 3). If the individually packaged incontinence articles 10 are then removed from a storage location, the labeling means 60, which can provide information about the size, the absorbency and / or the user group, can already be recognized through the packaging material portion 12, and thus a suitable individually packaged incontinence article 10 can be selected. Due to the fact that the back 26 has a lower degree of coverage of decorative means 30 than the front 24, the labeling means 60 there are covered to a lesser extent by decorative means 30 and can be better recognized. By contrast, the front 24 appears more decorative and more visually appealing. In addition, the front 24 is more opaque, that is to say less transparent, since here two layers of the packaging material portion overlap. Figure 3 shows the individually packaged incontinence product 10 with the packaging material portion 12 and the already placed absorbent article 40. The absorbent article 40 comprises a back layer 42 as well as a top layer 41 and an absorbent core 44 enclosed therebetween. In the case of use, the back layer 42 faces away from a support of the absorbent article 40, whereas the top layer 41 faces toward the support. In this case, the back layer 42 is in contact with the packaging material portion 12. To this end, the back layer 42 bears an adhesion means which is covered by means of a cover element 50, with the result that there is no adhesive contact between the adhesion means and the packaging material portion 12 in the packaged state. The cover element 50 in this case bears the labeling means 60, which can be seen in the illustration in figure 3 through the packaging material portion. Figure 3 additionally shows how the incontinence article 40 is placed onto the packaging material portion 12. The folding lines 14 can also be seen, which then in turn form the edges 15 of the packaging that run in the transverse direction. It can be seen here that the absorbent article 40 projects beyond the packaging material portion 12 in the longitudinal direction L prior to the folding steps. The folding operation is carried out in the illustration in figure 3 such that the side with the absorbent article 40 projecting beyond the packaging material portion 12 is first folded in about the folding line 14', then folding about the middle folding line 14'' is carried out and then the packaging is closed by folding about the last folding line 14'''. By folding about the predefined folding lines 14, the absorbent article is then enclosed on all sides by the packaging material portion 12. In a further step, the longitudinal edges 20 are then closed via the weld seams 22, such that the edge regions 21 are formed. In this case, provision may be made for the cover element 50 for the adhesion means to have a print, in particular in the form of a labeling means 60, wherein the print can convey information, for example about the absorbency, but also about the size or the user group (male / female / unisex). It is for example possible to specify the absorbency either via graphic elements or numbers and characters. It is for example also possible to specify whether it is a size L or M. Furthermore, suitability, for example for men or women, can be indicated in the form of a label. In the present example, the product is characterized as a women's product with an absorbency of 3. In this case, both letters and words, numbers and symbols can be used. Due to the lower pattern density and lower degree of coverage of the back 26 compared with the front 24, these labeling means 60 are visible through the packaging material portion 12 and can thus be visible to a user from the outside without the need to unpack the absorbent article 40 from the packaging material portion 12. In order to illustrate the various degrees of coverage, the front 24 and the back 26 of the packaging material portion 12 were divided into four equal-sized grid squares by a grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another, figure 4 showing the front 24 in illustration A and the back 26 in illustration B. Illustration A shows that the four grid squares have a degree of coverage in the range from 8.8% to 14%, whereas illustration B shows that the degree of coverage of the back 26 is between 2.8% and 6.2%. The degrees of coverage therefore differ significantly from one another. The degrees of coverage were not specified exactly, and therefore deviations of + / -10% may be included. The depictions of the incontinence article and the parts encompassed thereby are not to scale. In addition, it can also be seen that the pattern density differs between the front 24 and back 26. Thus, the back has significantly fewer patterns and / or pattern elements of the decorative means than the front 24. If, for example, the field 1A is considered, there are seventeen pattern elements on the front 24, which are arranged to an extent of at least 50% in the region of the grid square 1A, whereas the comparable field 1A has no more than six corresponding pattern elements on the back 26. A similar image is obtained if the front and back are divided into nine squares as shown in figure 5, wherein here in turn the front 24 can be seen in illustration A and the back 26 in illustration B. Here, too, there are degrees of coverage between 22.4% and 4.6% for the front, an average degree of coverage for the front 24 lying in the region of 11%. For the back 26, there are degrees of coverage between 2.6% and 9%, an average degree of coverage being 5%. The division into four or more grid squares also shows that the decorative means are distributed substantially uniformly over the entire front 24 and back 26 and are not arranged only in one region thereof. In this case, the decorative means 30 may be designed such that all four grid squares do not have the same patterns and / or pattern elements, but rather the at least one decorative means 30 may vary over the front 24 and back 26. This creates regions which have a greater degree of coverage or a greater pattern density than other regions. Tables 1-4 below report the degrees of coverage of decorative means 30 determined in the respective grid squares of the front and back as shown in figures 1-5. The column designation (letters A, B and, if applicable, C) and the row designation (numbers 1, 2 and, if applicable, 3) identify the respectively measured grid square. The degree of coverage is given in percent in each case. Table 1: Degrees of coverage of the 2x2 grid squares on the front of the incontinence article in figure 4 (Illustration A) A B 1 12.7% 14.0% 2 8.8% 9.3% Table 2: Degrees of coverage of the 2x2 grid squares on the back of the incontinence article in figure 4 (Illustration B) A B 1 2.8% 4.8% 2 6.1% 6.2% Table 3: Degrees of coverage of the 3x3 grid squares on the front of the incontinence article in figure 5 (Illustration A) A B C 1 9.8% 22.4% 16.6% 2 6.0% 6.0% 4.6% 3 13.4% 9.5% 11.7% Table 4: Degrees of coverage of the 3x3 grid squares on the 5 back of the incontinence article in figure 5 (Illustration B) A B C 1 4.3% 9.0% 2.6% 2 6.6% 4.5% 3.3% 3 5.0% 6.4% 4.6% In the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in figures 1 to 5, the decorative means 30 are designed as linear patterns, wherein multiple lines together form an individual pattern, 10 wherein, in the present case, flower-like patterns are provided which have various pattern elements. It is also readily apparent that the pattern on the front is the basic element, wherein on the back 26 the basic element has been modified in that individual lines of the basic element, that 15 is to say individual details, are not printed, and therefore this results in the lower pattern density and the lower degree of coverage, wherein the pattern as such on the front 24 and back 26 is the same, as a result of which a particularly appealing appearance is achieved and yet at the same time the transparency on the back 26 is increased or impaired to a lesser extent compared with the front 24.

Claims

1. An individually packaged incontinence article (10), comprising an absorbent article (40) for the absorption of bodily excretions, having an absorption body which extends in a longitudinal direction (L), comprising a top layer (41), a back layer (42) and an absorbent core (44) arranged therebetween, and a packaging material portion (12) having a longitudinal direction (L) and a transverse direction (Q) running perpendicularly thereto, and also two longitudinal edges (20) and two transverse edges (16, 17), said packaging material portion being folded about folding lines (14) running in the transverse direction (Q) in such a way that it encloses the absorbent article (40) in the packaged state, in particular on all sides,and thus forms a front (24) and a back (26) of apackaging, wherein, in the packaged state of the individually packaged incontinence article (10), the transverse edges (16, 17) are arranged in such a way thata first transverse edge (16) is fixed on the front (24) of the individually packaged incontinence article (10) on the side of the packaging material portion (42) facing away from the absorbent article (40), wherein the packaging material portion (10) is translucent at least in portions, in particular in the region of the back (26), but in particular over its entire extent, and isprinted with at least one decorative means (30) inpattern form, which stands out from the packaging material portion (12) in a visually perceptible manner,characterized in that the at least one decorative means(30) has a greater pattern density and / or a greaterdegree of coverage in the region of the front (24) of thepackaging than on the back (26).

2. The individually packaged incontinence article (10) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the absorbent article (40) is folded about folding lines running in thetransverse direction (Q) in the packaging material portion (12) or is folded with the packaging materialportion (12) about folding lines (14) running in the transverse direction (Q), wherein in particular a cover element (50) of an adhesion means of the absorbentarticle (40) comes to lie completely or partially in theregion of the back (26) of the packaging.

3. The individually packaged incontinence article (10) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the backlayer (42) and / or a cover element (50) arranged on theback layer (42) and covering an adhesion means have, inthe region of the back (26) of the packaging, a print, inparticular in the form of a labeling means (60), in particular for labeling with regard to the size of theincontinence article (10) or its absorbency.

4. The individually packaged incontinence article (10) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized inthat, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for theformation of 4 equal-sized grid squares is laid over thefront (24) of the packaging, the front (24) has, in theregion of at least 2, in particular at least three,preferably four grid squares, a degree of coverage of decorative means (30) of at least 7%, in particular atleast 8%, further particularly at least 9%, furtherparticularly at least 10%, and preferably in particularat least 12% and in particular at most 50%, furtherparticularly at most 30% and in particular at most 20%.

5. The individually packaged incontinence article (10) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized inthat, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for theformation of 9 equal-sized grid squares is laid over thefront (24) of the packaging, the front (24) has, in theregion of at least five, preferably at least 6, preferably at least 7 and preferably at least 8 andparticularly preferably 9 grid squares, a degree ofcoverage of decorative means (30) of at least 7%, inparticular at least 8%, further particularly at least 9%,further particularly at least 10% and preferably inparticular at least 12% and in particular at most 50%,further particularly at most 30% and in particular at most 20%.

6. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 4 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the front (24)of the packaging, the front (24) has, in the region of atleast three, preferably four grid squares, a patterndensity of decorative means (30) of at least one patternand / or pattern element, preferably 2 or more patternsand / or pattern elements, in particular 3 or more patternsand / or pattern elements per grid square.

7. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 9 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the front (24)of the packaging, the front (24) has, in the region of atleast 6, preferably 7 and further preferably at least 8 and particularly preferably 9 grid squares, a patterndensity of decorative means (30) of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably 2 or more patternsand / or pattern elements, in particular 3 or more patternsand / or pattern elements per grid square.

8. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 4 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the back (26)of the packaging, the back (26) has, in the region of atleast three, preferably four grid squares, a degree ofcoverage of decorative means (30) of at least 3%, inparticular at least 4%, further particularly at least 5%,further particularly at least 6% and preferably inparticular at least 7% and in particular at most 30%,further particularly at most 20% and further particularlyat most 10%.

9. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant linesrunning perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 9 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the back (26)least five, preferably at least 6, preferably at least 7and preferably at least 8 and particularly preferably 9grid squares, a degree of coverage of decorative means(30) of at least 3%, in particular at least 4%, furtherparticularly at least 5%, further particularly at least 6 and preferably in particular at least 7% and inparticular at most 30%, further particularly at most 20%and in particular at most 10%.

10. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that,when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 4 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the back (26)of the packaging, the back (26) has, in the region of atleast three, preferably four grid squares, a pattern density of decorative means (30) of at least one pattern and / or pattern element, preferably 2 or more patternsand / or pattern elements, in particular 3 or more patternsand / or pattern elements per grid square.

11. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that,when an imaginary grid of parallel, equidistant lines running perpendicularly to one another for the formationof 9 equal-sized grid squares is laid over the back (26)of the packaging, the back (26) has, in the region of atleast 6, preferably at least 7 and further preferably atleast 8 and particularly preferably 9 grid squares, apattern density of decorative means (30) of at least onepattern and / or pattern element, preferably 2 or morepatterns and / or pattern elements, in particular 3 or morepatterns and / or pattern elements per grid square.

12. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that thedegree of coverage and / or the pattern density of thefront (24) is 5-120%, in particular 10-100%, further particularly 20-80% and further particularly 30-50%greater than the degree of coverage and / or the patterndensity of the back (26).

13. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that thepackaging material portion (12) of the front (24) and / orback (26) has an opacity of at most 90%, in particular atmost 85%, further particularly at most 80%, furtherparticularly at most 75%, further particularly at most 70% and further particularly at most 65%.

14. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the decorative means (30) have a basic element, wherein thepattern on the front (24) corresponds to the basicelement and the pattern on the back (26) is reduced bydetails compared with the basic element on the front(24).

15. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the decorative means (30) has or is formed from a multiplicity of individual patterns, in particular individual patterns formed from print lines.

16. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that at least oneindividual pattern of the decorative means (30) is in theform of a pattern group, which comprises at least two pattern elements formed from print lines.

17. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the decorative means (30) can be uniformly or non-uniformly distributed over the front (24) and / or the back (26).

18. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that thefront (24) has a degree of coverage by the decorativemeans (30) of at least 6%, in particular at least 8%,further particularly at least 10%, further particularly at least 12%, further particularly at least 15%, furtherparticularly at least 20% and in particular of at most50%, further particularly at most 40%, furtherparticularly at most 30% and further particularly at most25%.

19. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that theback (26) has a degree of coverage by the decorativemeans (30) of at least 1%, in particular at least 5%,further particularly at least 7%, further particularly at least 10%, further particularly at least 15% and inparticular of at most 30%, further particularly at most 20%, further particularly at most 15% and further particularly at most 12%.

20. The individually packaged incontinence article as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the longitudinal edges (20) in the region of the front (24) are connected to the longitudinal edges (20) in theregion of the back (26), in particular via an adhesive connection or a welded connection.

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