HYGIENE PRODUCT

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a hygiene product comprising a plurality of hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins intended for insertion into underwear and their packaging, wherein the hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins are not individually repackaged and the packaging is a resealable foil packaging modeled on a paper tissue package, in which the hygiene pads or sanitary napkins are placed in a stack on top of each other and from which the hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins can be individually removed like paper tissues.

[0002] In the present invention, the term hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins refers to panty liners, sanitary napkins for menstrual hygiene and / or incontinence pads.

[0003] Common sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins are often individually wrapped, with many of these individually wrapped pads and / or sanitary napkins being sold in a foil bag or cardboard box. The individual packaging is made of plastic and encloses the pad and / or sanitary napkin, which is usually folded once or twice, or sometimes unfolded. To use the pad and / or sanitary napkin, it must first be removed from the foil bag or cardboard box and then also from its individual packaging. Furthermore, a paper and / or plastic backing strip is attached to the pad and / or sanitary napkin, which must also be removed before use. This current individual packaging of sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins allows for hygienic storage until they are needed.Individually wrapped sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins can be conveniently carried in a handbag, for example. However, this results in a huge amount of packaging waste that has to be disposed of.

[0004] While individual packaging can theoretically be used to wrap a used sanitary pad and / or sanitary napkin for clean disposal, the waste problem associated with the amount of packaging material still persists. Given the already excessive environmental pollution caused by such vast quantities of packaging, this is no longer acceptable.

[0005] Furthermore, there are, for example, sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins that are not individually wrapped and only protected by a strip, and are sold in cardboard boxes. Once the cardboard box is opened, it cannot be resealed in such a way as to adequately protect the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins inside. Moreover, such cardboard boxes are bulky and therefore unsuitable for travel.

[0006] Such a cardboard box is known, for example, from the printed document US 3 370 776 A.

[0007] Finally, there are also prior art sanitary napkin packaging solutions in which individually wrapped sanitary napkins are contained within a film wrapper. This wrapper can be torn open along its top surface by two parallel perforation lines extending centrally and transversely across the top surface. An adhesive strip is provided at one free end of the resulting strip, which remains attached to the wrapper. This strip is intended to secure the adhesive strip to the outside of the wrapper after a sanitary napkin has been removed. However, opening the wrapper causes it to gape open in such a way that the adhesive strip, even when secured, does not hygienically reseal the opening. The sanitary napkins can even fall out of the wrapper despite the adhesive strip being fixed in place.Furthermore, this sanitary napkin packaging is also too large for a handbag.

[0008] The publication EP 0 030 601 A1 discloses a conventional soft pack for paper tissues, but its application is also described as suitable for other cellulose products, such as napkins, sanitary napkins, etc. The soft pack, made of a plastic film, has a substantially cuboid structure, forming a front wall, back wall, side walls, and end walls, with perforation lines defining parts of the pack that can be torn open. In particular, either the large front wall or the back wall is provided with a tear-off tab that tapers towards a grippable end and is defined by perforation lines and connecting perforations or other markings that ensure the tearability of the material. The end of the tear-off tab is covered with an adhesive strip.

[0009] An alternative form for a tissue packaging is disclosed in German patent application DE 295 04 873 U1. The paper tissue packaging described therein has an additional packaging compartment on the front, back, side, top, or bottom of the packaging, which serves to hold used tissues and is separated from the compartment containing the fresh tissues by a partition.

[0010] German patent application DE 89 11 486 U1 discloses a soft packaging for the packaging of non-rectangular, flexible flat objects, in particular elongated, end-rounded panty liners, which are wrapped in film material in a folded state, wherein, according to the invention, a plurality of flat objects folded into a rectangular shape are stacked on top of each other and surrounded by a cuboid packaging cover that fits relatively tightly against the stack, and wherein the packaging cover is designed to be opened over the entire width of a cuboid side face and at least a part of its depth and to be resealable.

[0011] Publication DD 2 76 624 A1 discloses a method for manufacturing sanitary napkins with adhesive strips, wherein the adhesive strip is applied using a hot-melt adhesive and subsequently covered with a release strip. An absorbent core is lined on the side of the napkin facing away from the body with a liquid-impermeable film. The absorbent core is encased in a layer of gauze, and the entire napkin is wrapped in nonwoven fabric and sealed on all sides. The adhesive strip is then applied to the nonwoven fabric.

[0012] German patent application DE 20 2004 015 961 U1 describes a hygiene product comprising an absorbent product and a combined cleaning product. The absorbent product can be a sanitary napkin, a panty liner, or an incontinence product. The cleaning product is a cotton pad or a cleaning wipe. In one embodiment, the absorbent product is folded, and the cleaning product is placed on top of it and partially folded in as well. The absorbent product and cleaning product are packaged together in a bag, which simultaneously serves as a cover for an adhesive strip attached to the absorbent product.

[0013] The publication EP 0 419 770 A1 discloses a flexible film packaging for non-rectangular, flexible flat objects, in particular elongated panty liners with rounded ends. The flat objects are wrapped in film material while folded. For this purpose, a plurality of flat objects folded into a rectangular shape are stacked on top of each other and enclosed by a cuboid packaging sleeve that fits relatively tightly around the stack. The packaging sleeve is designed to be resealable across the entire width of one cuboid face and at least part of its depth.

[0014] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins that can be hygienically packaged and conveniently transported, for example, in a handbag, without generating much packaging waste, wherein the packaging should be usable for storing sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins on the one hand and paper tissues on the other.

[0015] This problem is solved by a hygiene product according to claim 1.

[0016] The hygiene product according to the invention comprises both the packaging and the hygiene pads and / or bandages placed therein, and optionally further means placed in the packaging that serve hygiene in the broadest sense.

[0017] In the present invention, several sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins, each comprising only at least one cover strip and no individual packaging, are contained in a film package that corresponds to or resembles a paper tissue package. This film package can be opened, for example, by breaking a pre-perforated tab in the film from which the package is formed. Then, as is also known from paper tissues, a closure tab formed by breaking the film can be lifted, and one sanitary pad and / or sanitary napkin at a time can be removed from the film package. The remaining sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins remain clean and protected in the film package. The film package can then be resealed.

[0018] This can be achieved, for example, by providing an adhesive strip on the closure flap, which allows the closure flap to be fixed to the rest of the film packaging. The adhesive strip has an adhesive layer that allows for easy adhesion but also easy manual removal of the adhesive strip from the film packaging material.

[0019] The foil packaging containing the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins is lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry, for example, in a handbag. Although the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins are hygienically protected within the foil packaging, using a pad or sanitary napkin requires only removing at least one of the protective strips. This strip, along with the thin foil packaging itself (which only needs to be disposed of once all the pads and / or sanitary napkins have been used), constitutes the only waste material the user needs to dispose of. This represents a significant reduction in waste compared to current technologies.

[0020] The at least one cover strip is preferably a paper strip, but can also be made of another material, such as plastic or a composite material.

[0021] After removing the backing strip, the adhesive layer remains at least mostly on the back of the respective sanitary pad or napkin, so that the sanitary pad or napkin can be fixed in the crotch area of ​​underwear when used as intended.

[0022] In the hygiene product according to the invention, the hygiene pads and / or bandages inserted into the foil packaging are either unfolded or folded at least once, whereby their length is, for example, halved or reduced to a third compared to their unfolded state of use.

[0023] If, in the present invention, the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins preferably have a shorter length than conventional sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins, or are folded, they can easily be placed in the foil packaging, which is typically shorter than conventional sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins and resembles a paper tissue package.

[0024] In the present invention, the film packaging can be the same as a transparent film packaging otherwise used for packaging paper tissues. However, in the present invention, being modeled on a paper tissue package does not necessarily mean that the film packaging must be designed exactly like a paper tissue package. For example, the film packaging used in the invention can taper along one side of its length and thus be adapted to the shape of the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins placed therein, or it can be significantly shorter than a conventional paper tissue package.

[0025] In the present invention, the sanitary pads and / or bandages lie flat on top of each other in the film packaging. Preferably, the sanitary pads and / or bandages are arranged such that the back side of one sanitary pad and / or bandage, which has a cover strip, lies on the front side of another sanitary pad and / or bandage. The respective sanitary pads and / or bandages can be arranged in the same orientation or in alternating orientations within the film packaging. The latter is advantageous if the sanitary pads and / or bandages have a shape that tapers in length, for example, on one side. In this case, the cuboid shape of the film packaging is well filled.Because the foil packaging has a resealable opening on each of its opposite narrow sides, both sides are advantageously suitable for removal. This can be used, for example, to store different sanitary pads and / or bandages in the foil packaging, which can then be removed from the different narrow sides.

[0026] In advantageous embodiments of the hygiene product according to the invention, the film packaging has at least one openable and closable closure flap, the width of which corresponds essentially to the width of a narrow side of the film packaging. The respective closure flap is formed from a cover area made exclusively of a material from the front or back of the film packaging and an adhesive strip adhering to the cover area. Since the cover area is formed only from the material of the front or back of the film packaging and the rest of the film packaging retains its shape, the film packaging does not open after being opened, but only exposes the area beneath the cover area. The cover area thus formed therefore almost completely seals the opening area when it is fixed to the outside of the film packaging by means of the adhesive strip.Because the closure flap and thus the covering area have a width that corresponds to the width of the narrow side from which the sanitary pads and / or bandages are removed from the foil packaging, the sanitary pads and / or bandages are particularly easy to remove from the foil packaging.

[0027] Preferably, only a single perforation line is provided between the covering area of ​​the respective closure flap in the unopened state of the film packaging and the remaining material of the front or back of the film packaging. This perforation line defines the shape of the covering area of ​​the closure flap. The perforation line is preferably realized by a single perforation line, but can also be realized by several perforation lines running one above the other or closely next to each other.

[0028] In other embodiments, instead of perforations, other predetermined breaking points in the film material of the film packaging can be used.

[0029] In preferred embodiments of the invention, the perforation line or predetermined breaking point pattern is semicircular. However, it can also be angular or wavy, or have a pattern that forms a square covering area.

[0030] Typically, the sanitary pads or bandages used in the present invention have a usable length in the range of 140 mm to 160 mm, preferably 150 mm. In specific embodiments of the present invention, the sanitary pads or bandages, in their unfolded usable state, have a length in the range of 100 mm to 120 mm, preferably 110 mm. This length is sufficient in many cases to fulfill the function of absorbing blood and / or secretions. The specified length corresponds to the length of a conventional paper tissue package. Thus, the sanitary pads or bandages can be inserted into the foil packaging and stored there without having to be folded.

[0031] In other embodiments of the invention, the sanitary pads or bandages are each folded at least once transversely to their longitudinal orientation in the foil packaging to shorten their storage length. However, the sanitary pads and / or bandages can also be folded more than once, for example, to halve or divide their storage length into thirds.

[0032] It is particularly hygienic if, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the sanitary pads or bandages are folded in such a way that the at least one cover strip is on the outside of the respective pad or bandage after folding. In this embodiment, when removing the pad or bandage from the foil packaging, it is grasped by the at least one cover strip and not by its absorbent side, which will later face the body, thus ensuring that the absorbent side remains hygienically clean. This also applies to the remaining pads or bandages in the foil packaging after one has been removed. This is advantageous, for example, if the foil packaging is not completely resealed after removal or if the seal of the foil packaging is damaged.

[0033] It has proven particularly advantageous if the foil packaging has a resealable opening on at least one of its narrow sides and the hygiene pads or bandages are inserted into the foil packaging in such a way that the folded edges of the respective hygiene pads or bandages are on the side of the opening of the packaging.

[0034] The respective hygiene pads or bandages can thus be pulled out of the foil packaging with a simple hand movement, for example between thumb and forefinger, at the folded edge.

[0035] In the present invention, the narrow sides of the film packaging are not the two largest visible sides, i.e., the front and back of the film packaging, but the narrower sides that form either the top and bottom or the two long sides of the film packaging.

[0036] According to the invention, a first closure flap of a first of the two resealable openings can be provided on a front side of the film packaging and a second closure flap of a second of the two resealable openings can be provided on a back side of the film packaging.

[0037] This embodiment of the invention can also be used for storing sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins on the one hand and paper tissues on the other. Accordingly, in one variant of the present invention, a stack of sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins and a stack of tissues are placed one on top of the other in the foil packaging such that the sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins can be removed from a first resealable opening on a first of the narrow sides of the foil packaging, and the tissues can be removed from a second resealable opening on a second of the narrow sides of the foil packaging.

[0038] Preferred embodiments of the present invention, their structure, function and advantages are explained in more detail below with reference to figures, wherein: Figure 1 schematically shows a simple embodiment of a hygiene product in a perspective view, wherein the hygiene product does not correspond to the invention; Figure 2 schematically shows the embodiment of the hygiene product made of Figure 1 Figure 3 shows a hygiene product with an opened foil packaging, which does not correspond to the invention; Figure 3 shows a schematic embodiment of a hygiene product according to the invention in a perspective view; and Figure 4 shows another possible embodiment of a hygiene product in a perspective view, which does not correspond to the invention.

[0039] The Figures 1 and 2 Figure 1a schematically shows a hygiene product 1a in a perspective view, where the hygiene product does not correspond to the invention.

[0040] The hygiene product 1a has a foil packaging 2, which is designed similarly to a paper tissue packaging. Figure 1 Is the foil packaging 2 closed? Figure 2 It is open. Instead of the foil packaging 2, packaging made of a foil-paper composite material can also be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the foil packaging 2 is transparent, but this need not be the case in other embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, the foil packaging 2 can be printed.

[0041] The foil packaging 2 is cuboid in shape. The corner edges of the cuboid may be rounded.

[0042] The foil packaging 2 shows in the Figure 1In the depicted unopened state, the film packaging 2 has a perforation pattern with predetermined breaking points 3, at which the film packaging 2 can be easily broken open manually. In the illustrated embodiment, the predetermined breaking points 3 are perforations in the material of the film packaging 2. In the example shown, the predetermined breaking points 3 are semicircularly formed in the material of the film packaging 2, so that a closure flap 4 is formed when the predetermined breaking points 3 are broken open.

[0043] In the illustrated embodiment, the foil packaging 2 contains sanitary pads and / or sanitary napkins 6 in the form of panty liners. The panty liners are, as shown schematically in Figure 4The panty liners can be seen stacked on top of each other in the foil packaging 2 such that the absorbent side and the back of the flat panty liners lie parallel to the two largest side surfaces of the cuboid, which form the front and the back of the foil packaging 2.

[0044] In the view of Figure 2The predetermined breaking points 3 are broken and the closure flap 4 is open. The closure flap 4 has a cover area formed from the material of a front side of the film packaging 2, on which an adhesive strip 5 is provided. This strip allows the closure flap 4 to be fixed to the front side of the film packaging 2 for closing the packaging. An adhesive layer is located on the underside of the adhesive strip 5, allowing it to adhere to the material of the film packaging 2. This adhesion can be easily released manually, so that the film packaging 2 can be easily opened and then closed again using the closure flap 4. In other embodiments of the invention, the adhesive strip 5 can be omitted.

[0045] Instead of panty liners, in other embodiments of the present invention, for example sanitary napkins or incontinence pads can also be included as hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins 6 in the foil packaging 2.

[0046] The hygienic pads or bandages 6 used in the illustrated embodiment have a working length L of between 140 mm and 160 mm, preferably 150 mm, in their unfolded state of use.

[0047] The sanitary pads and / or bandages 6 are each folded at least once transversely to their longitudinal orientation, forming at least one fold 8. The folding is carried out such that a cover strip 7, which is located on an adhesive layer provided on the reverse side of the respective sanitary pad and / or bandage 6, is on the outside. This causes the respective sanitary pad and / or bandage 6 to Figure 2to remove from the foil packaging 2, grasp the respective cover strip 7 and not the absorbent side of the hygienic pad and / or bandage 6.

[0048] In other embodiments of the present invention, not shown, the sanitary pads and / or bandages 6 can also be provided unfolded in the film packaging 2. In these embodiments, the sanitary pads and / or bandages 6 preferably have a length adapted to that of a conventional paper tissue package in the range of 100 mm to 120 mm, preferably 110 mm.

[0049] The sanitary pad and / or bandage 6 is individually pulled out of the foil packaging 2, while the other sanitary pads and / or bandages 6 placed in the foil packaging 2 remain in their original position inside the foil packaging 2. After removing the sanitary pad and / or bandage 6, which is typically located at the front, the flap 4 is closed again.

[0050] Figure 3 Figure 1b schematically shows an embodiment of a hygiene product according to the invention, wherein the same reference numerals as in the preceding figures denote the same elements of the invention, with reference hereto to their description above.

[0051] In hygiene product 1b, the film packaging 2 has predetermined breaking points 3, 3' on both sides, opposite each other transversely, from which corresponding tabs 4 can be formed, with which the film packaging 2 can be opened. This makes it possible to remove hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins 6 or other hygiene products, such as paper tissues 9, inserted into the film packaging 2 from both sides. The paper tissues 9 are stacked on top of or underneath the similarly stacked hygiene pads and / or sanitary napkins 6 in the film packaging 2.

[0052] Figure 4Figure 1 schematically shows another embodiment of a hygiene product 1c, wherein the hygiene product 1c does not correspond to the invention, wherein the same reference numerals as in the preceding figures denote the same elements of the invention, with reference hereto being made to their description above.

[0053] In Figure 4 Two dispensing openings are also provided by corresponding tabs 4, 4' on the film packaging 2. However, these are located here, unlike in Figure 3 , on the same narrow side 21 of the foil packaging 2.

Claims

1. Hygienic article product (1b), comprising a plurality of sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) intended for insertion into underwear, and a packaging thereof, wherein the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are not individually packaged and the packaging is a resealable film packaging (2) modeled on a pocket tissue packet, into which the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are placed in a stack one lying above the other and from which the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) can be individually taken out like paper tissues, characterized in that at least one adhesive layer with at least one cover strip (7) removable from the at least one adhesive layer is provided on the back side of the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6), and that the film packaging (2) comprises resealable openings on opposite narrow sides of the film packaging (2), wherein the narrow sides of the film packaging (2) are not the two largest visible sides, i.e. the front side and the back side of the film packaging (2), but rather the narrower sides forming either the top side and the bottom side or the two sides forming longitudinal sides of the film packaging (2), wherein a first closure flap (4) of a first of the two resealable openings is provided on a front side of the film packaging (2), and a second closure flap (4') of a second of the two resealable openings is provided on a back side of the film packaging (2).

2. Hygienic article product according to claim 1, characterized in that the film packaging (2) comprises at least one openable and closable closure flap (4, 4'), the flap width of which corresponds to the width of the narrow side of the film packaging (2), wherein the respective closure flap (4, 4') is formed from a covering region consisting exclusively of a material portion of a front side or back side of the film packaging (2) and an adhesive strip adhering to the covering region.

3. Hygienic article product according to claim 2, characterized in that a single perforation line course is provided between the covering region of the closure flap (4, 4') and the remaining material of the front or back side of the film packaging (2) in the unopened state of the film packaging (2).

4. Hygienic article product according to claim 3, characterized in that the perforation line course is semicircular.

5. Hygienic article product according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) have a use length (L) between 100 mm and 120 mm in their unfolded state of use.

6. Hygienic article product according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are provided in the film packaging (2) for storage either unfolded or folded transversely to their longitudinal direction.

7. Hygienic article product according to claim 6, characterized in that the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are folded such that the at least one cover strip (7) is located on the outside after folding of the respective sanitary liner and / or sanitary pad (6).

8. Hygienic article product according to claim 7, characterized in that the film packaging (2) comprises at least one resealable opening on at least one of its narrow sides, and the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are placed into the film packaging (2) such that fold edges (8) of the respective sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) are located on the side of the resealable opening of the film packaging (2).

9. Hygienic article product according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a stack of the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) and a stack of paper tissues (9) one lying above the other are placed into the film packaging (2) in such a way that the sanitary liners and / or sanitary pads (6) can be taken out from a first resealable opening on a first of the narrow sides (21) of the film packaging (2), and the paper tissues (9) can be taken out from a second resealable opening on a second of the narrow sides (22) of the film packaging (2).