Storage body of underpants-type absorbent article

Abstract

To provide a storage body for reducing a possibility that waist parts and a crotch part are stick to each other and a possibility that adjacent underpants-type absorbent articles are stuck to each other, even in a storage state.SOLUTION: A storage body 100 of an underpants-type absorbent article has a plurality of underpants-type absorbent articles 1 and a storage member 101, wherein the underpants-type absorbent article has a pair of waist parts and a crotch elastic member 17 which is expandable / contractible in a vertical direction, the waist parts have waist elastic members which are expandable / contractible in a horizontal direction at an interval therebetween in a vertical direction, between the first sheet and the second sheet, in each of the waist elastic members, the positions in the vertical direction relative to the first sheet and the second sheet are regulated, in the storage state, the upper ends in the vertical direction of the waist parts are folded back to the crotch part side, the plurality of underpants-type absorbent articles are compressed in a state of being overlapped in a thickness direction, and the underpants-type absorbent article has a distance between the upper end of the waist part and the lower end of the crotch part at a central position in the horizontal direction equal to or less average thickness of the crotch part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a container for a pants-type absorbent article. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, absorbent articles such as disposable diapers have been known that have a longitudinally stretchable (vertical) elastic member in the widthwise center of the crotch area corresponding to the wearer's crotch. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a disposable diaper that has a front portion and a rear portion corresponding to the waist area, includes an absorbent core extending from the front portion to the rear portion, and has a first buttocks elastic member extending in the longitudinal direction at the center of the absorbent core on the non-skin contact side. Typically, the first buttocks elastic member extending in the longitudinal direction is fixed with an adhesive. In order to reduce logistics costs and storage space, absorbent articles such as the disposable diapers described in Patent Document 1 are generally stored in a storage member that protects the absorbent article, such as a storage bag, with both left and right ends of the waist area folded toward the center, and then folded in half or the like at the folding parts along the left and right directions, and then stored under high compression. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-131196 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when an absorbent article such as that described in Patent Document 1 remains folded and compressed in the thickness direction within the container, the adhesive used to secure the first buttocks elastic member seeps out toward the non-skin side, causing the absorbent article to adhere to another adjacent absorbent article within the container, or causing the waist area to adhere to the crotch area where the first buttocks elastic member is provided, which can result in damage to the absorbent article or the first buttocks elastic member coming loose.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a container for pants-type absorbent articles that reduces the risk of the waist and crotch regions sticking together, and the risk of adjacent pants-type absorbent articles sticking together, even when in a stored state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention for achieving the above object is a pant-type absorbent article container having a plurality of pant-type absorbent articles and a container member for accommodating the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, wherein the pant-type absorbent article has a top-to-bottom direction, a left-to-right direction and a thickness direction which are orthogonal to one another, a pair of waistbands, a crotch portion which is located between the crotch of a wearer when worn, and a crotch elastic member which is stretchable in the top-to-bottom direction and attached to a center in the left-to-right direction of the crotch portion with an adhesive, and the waistband has a plurality of waistband elastic members which are stretchable in the left-to-right direction and spaced apart in the top-to-bottom direction between a first sheet and a second sheet which are joined by a plurality of welding parts, and each of the waistband elastic members is When contracted in the left-right direction, the pant-type absorbent article is sandwiched between two of the multiple welded portions that are adjacent in the vertical direction, thereby restricting its vertical position relative to the first sheet and the second sheet; when stored in the storage member, the upper end of the waist portion in the vertical direction is folded back toward the crotch portion, and the multiple pant-type absorbent articles are compressed in a stacked state in the thickness direction; and at least one pant-type absorbent article has a storage body for pant-type absorbent articles, wherein the distance from the upper end of the waist portion to the lower end of the crotch portion at the center position in the left-right direction is less than the average thickness of the crotch portion. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a storage body for pants-type absorbent articles that reduces the risk of the waist and crotch areas sticking together when stored, and the risk of adjacent pants-type absorbent articles sticking together. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a disposable diaper container 100. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic front view of a diaper 1 in a pants-type state as seen from the ventral side. [Figure 3]1 is a schematic plan view of a diaper 1 in an unfolded and stretched state, as seen from the wearer's skin side. [Figure 4] 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of welded portions 25. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram illustrating the principle by which waist elastic members 23 are attached to the abdominal waist portion 20 by means of welded portions 25. FIG. [Figure 7] 7A to 7C are diagrams illustrating the folding of the diaper 1 when stored. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic side view of a diaper 1 accommodated in a container member 101. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating adjacent diapers 1 in a stored state. [Figure 10] 1 is a table showing folding patterns of the diaper 1. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the diaper 1 in a stored state. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing modified examples of the folding of the diaper 1 in the stored state. [Figure 13] 3A and 3B are enlarged views of a portion of the ventral waist portion 20 in an unfolded state and an extended state. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram illustrating yet another modified example of the fold-up of the diaper 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] At least the following matters will become clear from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings. (Aspect 1) A pant-type absorbent article container having a plurality of pant-type absorbent articles and a container member for accommodating the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, The pants-type absorbent article comprises: The vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the thickness direction are perpendicular to each other. A pair of waistband portions; A crotch portion located under the wearer's crotch when worn; a crotch elastic member that is stretchable in the up-down direction and attached to the center of the crotch portion in the left-right direction with an adhesive; and The waistband portion includes a first sheet and a second sheet joined by a plurality of welding portions, and a plurality of waistband elastic members stretchable in the left-right direction are provided at intervals in the up-down direction, When contracted in the left-right direction, each of the waist elastic members is sandwiched between two adjacent welded portions in the up-down direction among the plurality of welded portions, thereby restricting the up-down position of each of the waist elastic members relative to the first sheet and the second sheet, In a state where the housing is housed in the housing member, an upper end portion of the waist portion in the vertical direction is folded back toward the crotch portion; the plurality of pants-type absorbent articles are compressed in a state where they are stacked in the thickness direction, In at least one pants-type absorbent article, the distance from the upper end of the waistband to the lower end of the crotch portion at the center position in the left-right direction is equal to or less than the average thickness of the crotch portion. The container for a pants-type absorbent article is characterized by the above.

[0010] According to the pant-type absorbent article container of aspect 1, the waist elastic members are fixed at the waist portion by the welded portions, which allows for less adhesive to be used in the waist portion, thereby reducing the risk of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together even when the waist portion of the pant-type absorbent article is folded back toward the crotch portion and compressed in the thickness direction in a stored state. Also, because the distance from the upper end of the waist portion to the lower end of the crotch portion at the center position in the left-right direction of the pant-type absorbent article is less than the average thickness of the crotch portion, one side of the crotch portion in the thickness direction is more likely to be covered more widely by the waist portion than when the distance from the upper end of the waist portion to the lower end of the crotch portion is longer than the average thickness of the crotch portion, which reduces the risk of adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic members sticking to the crotch portion of another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the pant-type absorbent article from one side in the thickness direction, and reduces the risk of adjacent pant-type absorbent articles sticking together in a stored state.

[0011] (Aspect 2) Aspect 1 is a pant-type absorbent article container, wherein the average thickness is 95% or less of the average thickness of the crotch portion of the pant-type absorbent article in its natural state after being removed from the container member.

[0012] Generally, the higher the compression rate at which multiple pant-type absorbent articles are compressed, the more pant-type absorbent articles can be stored in the storage member. According to the storage body for pant-type absorbent articles of aspect 2, even when the pant-type absorbent article is compressed in the stored state to 95% or less of the average thickness of the crotch portion in its natural state, one side of the crotch portion in the thickness direction can be easily covered widely with the waist portion, thereby reducing the risk of the adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic members adhering to the crotch portion of another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the pant-type absorbent article from one side in the thickness direction, and reducing the risk of adjacent pant-type absorbent articles sticking to each other in the stored state.

[0013] (Aspect 3) In the container of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 1 or 2, the crotch elastic members are thread-shaped.

[0014] According to the pant-type absorbent article storage body of aspect 3, the amount of adhesive required to attach the crotch elastic members can be reduced compared to when a thicker band of rubber or a sheet-like stretchable material is applied with adhesive applied to the entire surface, thereby further reducing the risk of adhesive seeping out when the article is stored.

[0015] (Aspect 4) The container of the pants-type absorbent article of any one of Aspects 1 to 3 is characterized in that in the stored state, both left and right side ends of the waist portion are folded inward in the left and right direction.

[0016] According to the pant-type absorbent article storage body of aspect 4, in the stored state, on one side of the thickness direction of the crotch portion, both side ends of the waist portion are folded inward in the left-right direction, and the thickness of the waist portion is increased by folding both side ends, which reduces the risk of adhesive adhering to another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the pant-type absorbent article from one side in the thickness direction, and reduces the risk of adjacent pant-type absorbent articles sticking to each other in the stored state.

[0017] (Aspect 5) The crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, and in the stored state, the folded-over waist portion has an overlapping portion where one side end and the other side end in the left-right direction overlap when viewed in the thickness direction, and in the left-right direction, the overlapping portion has a portion that overlaps with the crotch elastic region.This is a pant-type absorbent article storage body of aspect 4.

[0018] According to the pant-type absorbent article container of aspect 5, by providing an overlapping portion, it is possible to provide a wide gap between the adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic member of the pant-type absorbent article and another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the pant-type absorbent article from one side in the thickness direction, thereby reducing the risk of adhesive adhering to the adjacent other pant-type absorbent article and reducing the risk of adjacent pant-type absorbent articles sticking to each other when stored.

[0019] (Aspect 6) The crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, and in the stored state, the side end portion on one side and the side end portion on the other side in the left-right direction of the folded-over waist portion do not overlap when viewed in the thickness direction, and both side ends of the waist portion have portions that overlap with the crotch elastic region in the left-right direction.This is a storage body for pants-type absorbent articles of aspect 4.

[0020] According to the storage body of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 6, in the stored state, the waist portion is folded over with a gap between one side end and the other side end in the left-right direction, and both side ends of the waist portion have portions that overlap with the crotch elastic region in the left-right direction.As a result, even if the pants-type absorbent article is compressed in the thickness direction in the stored state, the pressure on the portion of the crotch portion where the crotch elastic region is located can be reduced, thereby reducing the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member seeping out and the adhesive causing the pants-type absorbent articles to stick together.

[0021] (Aspect 7) The pant-type absorbent article container of any of aspects 4 to 6 is characterized in that it includes: a first pant-type absorbent article among the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, which, in the stored state, has a portion where one side end and the other side end of the folded-over waist portion in the left-right direction overlap when viewed in the thickness direction; and a second pant-type absorbent article among the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, which, in the stored state, has a portion where one side end and the other side end of the folded-over waist portion in the left-right direction do not overlap when viewed in the thickness direction.

[0022] Usually, the size of the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles that can be accommodated in the container is determined in advance. According to the container for pant-type absorbent articles of aspect 7, by having the first pant-type absorbent article and the second pant-type absorbent article, areas of high pressure are dispersed, thereby suppressing the seepage of adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members of each pant-type absorbent article and reducing the pressure applied to pant-type absorbent articles adjacent in the thickness direction, thereby reducing the risk of the pant-type absorbent articles sticking together.

[0023] (Aspect 8) In the crotch portion in the stored state, when the side where the folded-over waist portion is present is the inside of the fold and the opposite side is the outside of the fold in the thickness direction, the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the inside of the fold is greater than or equal to the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the outside of the fold. This is a storage body for pants-type absorbent articles of any of aspects 1 to 7, characterized in that

[0024] According to the pant-type absorbent article container of aspect 8, the length of the crotch elastic member on the outside of the fold is short, which reduces the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member sticking to another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the outside of the fold.

[0025] (Aspect 9) This is a pant-type absorbent article storage body according to any one of aspects 1 to 7, characterized in that in the crotch portion in the stored state, when the side where the folded-over waist portion is present in the thickness direction is the inside of the fold and the opposite side is the outside of the fold, the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the outside of the fold is longer than the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the inside of the fold.

[0026] According to the pant-type absorbent article container of aspect 9, the length of the crotch elastic member on the inside of the fold is short, which reduces the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member sticking to another pant-type absorbent article adjacent to the inside of the fold.

[0027] (Aspect 10) This is a pant-type absorbent article storage body of any of aspects 1 to 9, characterized in that in the stored state, when the portion of the waist portion that is folded toward the crotch portion is defined as the folded portion, the folded portion has an overlapping portion of the crotch elastic member when viewed in the thickness direction.

[0028] According to the pant-type absorbent article container of aspect 10, the greater the overlapping portion of the folded-back portion with the crotch elastic member, the less likely it is that the crotch elastic member will adhere to another pant-type absorbent article housed adjacent to the side where the folded-back portion is provided. Also, the smaller the overlapping portion of the folded-back portion with the crotch elastic member, the less likely it is that the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member will ooze out due to compression in the housed state, thereby reducing the risk of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together.

[0029] (Aspect 11) The container of any one of pants-type absorbent articles of aspects 1 to 10 is characterized in that the crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, and the amount of adhesive per unit area provided between the first sheet and the second sheet is less than the amount of adhesive per unit area of ​​the crotch elastic region.

[0030] According to the container of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 11, even when the container is compressed in the thickness direction, the possibility of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together can be reduced.

[0031] (Aspect 12) The waist portion has the waist elastic members along the left-right direction, and the waist elastic members along the left-right direction are fixed in place using no adhesive. This is a container for a pants-type absorbent article according to aspect 11.

[0032] According to the container of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 12, even when the container is compressed in the thickness direction, the possibility of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together can be reduced.

[0033] (Aspect 13) The pair of waistbands are joined at both sides in the left-right direction by a pair of side joints, and in the area at the upper end of the pair of waistbands in the vertical direction adjacent to the inner ends in the left-right direction of the pair of side joints, no adhesive is applied between the first sheet and the second sheet, or adhesive of a lower basis weight is applied than that further inward in the left-right direction, and in the stored state, both ends in the left-right direction of the pair of waistbands are folded back inward in the left-right direction, which is a container for pants-type absorbent articles of any of aspects 1 to 12.

[0034] According to the container of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 13, even when the container is compressed in the thickness direction, the risk of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together can be reduced.

[0035] (Aspect 14) The region adjacent to the inner ends of the pair of side joints in the left-right direction is not coated with adhesive over the entire range that overlaps with the side joints in the up-down direction, or is coated with adhesive of a lower basis weight than the area further inside in the left-right direction, and in the stored state, both ends of the pair of waistbands in the left-right direction are folded back inward in the left-right direction.This is a pant-type absorbent article storage body of aspect 13.

[0036] According to the container of the pants-type absorbent article of the fourteenth aspect, even when the container is compressed in the thickness direction, the possibility of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together can be reduced.

[0037] (Aspect 15) The pants-type absorbent article is a storage body for a pants-type absorbent article of any of aspects 1 to 14, characterized in that it has an absorbent main body having an absorbent core, and in the stored state, a portion of the absorbent core is folded together with the fold-back of the upper end of the waist portion in the vertical direction.

[0038] Generally, the absorbent core has higher rigidity than the waistband. According to the storage body of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 15, the absorbent core folded together with the waistband is more likely to have a force trying to return to a flat state, so that even when the upper end of the waistband is folded back toward the crotch portion and compressed in the stored state, a force trying to separate the upper end of the waistband and the crotch portion is more likely to act. This makes it easier to reduce the risk of the waistband and the crotch portion sticking together due to the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members.

[0039] (Aspect 16) A container for a pants-type absorbent article according to any one of aspects 1 to 15, characterized in that the force required to stretch the waist elastic member in its natural state by a unit length in the left-right direction is greater than the force required to stretch the crotch elastic member in its natural state by a unit length in the up-down direction.

[0040] According to the container of the pants-type absorbent article of aspect 16, the waist portion is more easily contracted in the left-right direction and pleats are more easily formed in the waist portion in its natural state than when the force required to stretch the waist elastic members in their natural state by a unit length in the left-right direction is equal to or less than the force required to stretch the crotch elastic members in their natural state by a unit length in the up-down direction. The more pleats provided in the waist portion, the less likely the waist portion in its stored state will be crushed by compression, and this reduces the risk of the waist portion and the crotch portion sticking together due to the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members.

[0041] === Implementation form === Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described taking as an example a disposable diaper container 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as "container 100") that stores a plurality of pants-type disposable diapers for adults as a container for pants-type absorbent articles according to the present invention. However, the pants-type absorbent articles stored in the container 100 are not limited to pants-type disposable diapers for adults, and may be, for example, pants-type disposable diapers for infants, shorts-type sanitary napkins, etc.

[0042] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a disposable diaper container 100. The container 100 has a container member 101, which is a bag-shaped member, and a plurality of pants-type absorbent articles 1 (pants-type disposable diapers 1, hereinafter simply referred to as "diapers 1") contained within the container member 101. The container 100 (container member 101) has a vertical direction and a horizontal direction that intersect with each other. As shown in FIG. 1, when the diapers 1 are contained in the container member 101 (hereinafter also referred to as the "contained state"), the container 100 contains a plurality of diapers 1 in two layers, one above the other, but this is not limiting. The container 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but is not limited to this and may have any shape.

[0043] Examples of materials for forming the storage member 101 include thermoplastic resin films such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). However, the material is not limited to these, and for example, at least a portion of the storage member 101 may be made of paper.

[0044] <Basic structure of pants-type disposable diaper 1> Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of the diaper 1 in a pants-type state as seen from the ventral side. Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of the diaper 1 in an unfolded and stretched state as seen from the wearer's skin side. Fig. 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 3, and Fig. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 3.

[0045] The "unfolded state" of the diaper 1 refers to the state in which the diaper 1 is unfolded on a flat surface by separating the ventral waistband 20 (described below) and the dorsal waistband 30 (described below) from the diaper 1 in the pants-type state shown in Figure 2 at the side seams SS (described below) on both the left and right sides, and opening the diaper 1 vertically. The "stretched state" of the diaper 1 refers to the state in which the product (diaper 1) is stretched without wrinkles, specifically, the state in which the dimensions of each component (e.g., the absorbent main body 10, the ventral waistband 20, etc.) constituting the diaper 1 are stretched to the extent that they match or are close to the dimensions of the individual components.

[0046] When the diaper 1 is in a pants-like state as shown in FIG. 2, it has a vertical, horizontal, and front-to-back direction that intersect with one another, and has a waist-opening BH and a pair of leg-openings LH. In the vertical direction, the waist-opening BH side is the upper side, and the side facing the wearer's crotch is the lower side. In the front-to-back direction, the side facing the wearer's abdomen is the front side, and the side facing the wearer's back is the back side. In the unfolded and stretched state shown in FIG. 3, the diaper 1 has three mutually intersecting directions: a longitudinal direction, a lateral direction, and a thickness direction (directions penetrating the paper in FIG. 3). The longitudinal direction is aligned with the vertical direction. One longitudinal side corresponds to the ventral side (front side), and the other longitudinal side corresponds to the back side (rear side). The diaper 1 also has a thickness direction in which materials are layered, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The side in contact with the wearer in the thickness direction is the skin side, and the opposite side is the non-skin side.

[0047] The diaper 1 has an absorbent main body 10 and an exterior body 18. The exterior body 18 has a pair of waistbands 20, 30 and a crotch portion 40 located between the crotch of a wearer. The exterior body 18 is joined to the non-skin side of the absorbent main body 10 with an adhesive or the like. Of the pair of waistbands 20, 30, the one located on the ventral side (front side) of the wearer is also referred to as the ventral waistband 20, and the one located on the dorsal side (rear side) is also referred to as the dorsal waistband 30. The ventral waistband 20 and the dorsal waistband 30 are joined on both lateral sides by a pair of side joining portions SS. Examples of joining methods using the side joining portions SS include thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, and adhesive joining methods.

[0048] As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the absorbent body 10 has an absorbent body 11, a liquid-permeable top sheet 12 arranged on the skin side of the absorbent body 11, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 13 arranged on the non-skin side of the absorbent body 11, and an outer sheet 14.

[0049] The absorbent body 11 has an absorbent core 11A that absorbs and retains excreted liquids such as urine, and a liquid-permeable core wrap sheet 11B that covers the absorbent core 11A. Examples of the absorbent core 11A include a liquid-absorbent material such as pulp fiber or superabsorbent polymer (SAP) molded into a predetermined shape. Examples of the core wrap sheet 11B include tissue paper and nonwoven fabric. Note that the absorbent core 11A does not have to be covered with the core wrap sheet 11B.

[0050] The top sheet 12 is formed of, for example, a nonwoven fabric such as an air-through nonwoven fabric or a spunbond nonwoven fabric. The back sheet 13 is, for example, a liquid-impermeable and breathable film such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The exterior sheet 14 is, for example, formed of the same nonwoven fabric as the top sheet 12.

[0051] As shown in Figures 3 and 4A, a pair of leakage preventing walls 50, 50 are provided along the longitudinal direction of the absorbent main body 10 on both lateral sides of the absorbent main body 10. In this embodiment, the leakage preventing walls 50, 50 that can stand up on the skin side are formed by providing a leakage preventing wall elastic member 16 (e.g., rubber thread) in a longitudinally stretched state between a pair of side sheets 19, 19 provided on the skin side of the top sheet 12, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the sheet member that constitutes the exterior of the absorbent main body 10 may be folded to be formed integrally with the absorbent main body 10. However, the leakage preventing walls 50, 50 do not necessarily have to be provided in the diaper 1.

[0052] The crotch portion 40 of the absorbent body 10 has crotch elastic members 17 that are stretchable in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) at the center in the left-right direction and on the non-skin side of the absorber 11 in the thickness direction. In this embodiment, the crotch elastic members 17, which are thread-like, such as rubber thread, are sandwiched between the back sheet 13 and the outer sheet 14 and attached with an adhesive. Here, five crotch elastic members are provided spaced apart in the left-right direction, but the number is not limited to this and may be one or more. The crotch elastic members 17 are not limited to thread-like members and may be, for example, stretchable films or stretchable nonwoven fabrics. Note that FIG. 3 shows only the stretchable portions of the crotch elastic members 17 (so-called effective length portions).

[0053] The region defined by the crotch elastic members 17 is also referred to as the "crotch elastic region ER." The crotch elastic region ER is the region indicated by the diagonally downward-slanting left line in Fig. 3, and is the region surrounded by the crotch elastic member 17a located on the most one side in the left-right direction, the crotch elastic member 17e located on the most other side, and the upper and lower ends of the multiple crotch elastic members 17.

[0054] 3, 4A, and 4B, the crotch elastic members 17 extend from the front in the longitudinal direction to the rear across the center line CL1 in the left-right central portion of the absorbent main body 10. However, the longitudinal length of the crotch elastic members 17 is not limited to this, and they may be provided at least in the crotch part 40 that faces the crotch of the wearer. Contraction of the crotch elastic members 17 improves the fit of the absorbent main body 10 in the crotch part 40 in the left-right central portion.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the exterior body 18 has an inner layer sheet 21, a ventral-side outer layer sheet 22, and a dorsal-side outer layer sheet 32.

[0056] The inner layer sheet 21 is disposed from the ventral waistband 20 through the crotch portion 40 to the back waistband 30 (FIG. 4B). The width (length in the left-right direction) of the inner layer sheet 21 in the ventral waistband 20 and the back waistband 30 is greater than the width (length in the left-right direction) of the inner layer sheet 21 in the crotch portion 40 (FIG. 3). The inner layer sheet 21 may be an air-through nonwoven fabric, a spunbond nonwoven fabric, an SMS nonwoven fabric (spunbond-meltblown-spunbond nonwoven fabric), a waterproof film, or the like.

[0057] As shown in Figures 3 and 4B, the ventral outer layer sheet 22 is located closer to the skin than the inner layer sheet 21, and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 and the inner layer sheet 21 together form the ventral waistline portion 20. The outer end (upper end) of the ventral outer layer sheet 22 in the longitudinal direction is folded back toward the skin. This folded-back portion 22r of the ventral outer layer sheet 22 encloses one end (outer end) of the inner layer sheet 21 in the longitudinal direction. However, the outer end (upper end) of the ventral outer layer sheet 22 in the longitudinal direction may not be folded back.

[0058] Similarly, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the back-side outer sheet 32 ​​is located closer to the skin than the inner layer sheet 21, and the back-side outer sheet 32 ​​and the inner layer sheet 21 together form the back-side waistband portion 30. The outer end (upper end) of the back-side outer sheet 32 ​​in the longitudinal direction is folded back toward the skin. The folded-back portion 32r of the back-side outer sheet 32 ​​encloses the other end (outer end) of the inner layer sheet 21 in the longitudinal direction. However, the outer end (upper end) of the back-side outer sheet 32 ​​in the longitudinal direction may not be folded back.

[0059] The ventral outer layer sheet 22 and the dorsal outer layer sheet 32 ​​may be made of an air-through nonwoven fabric, a spunbond nonwoven fabric, an SMS nonwoven fabric (spunbond-meltblown-spunbond nonwoven fabric), or the like.

[0060] The ventral waistband portion 20 and the back waistband portion 30 each have waistband elastic members 23, 33 that are stretchable in the left-right direction. The waistband elastic members 23, 33 can be made of, for example, an elastic resin material whose main component is a thermoplastic elastic resin molded into a rubber thread shape. Examples of the thermoplastic elastic resin are preferably thermoplastic resins that exhibit rubber elasticity at room temperature, such as thermoplastic elastomers described in JIS K 6418:2007. The thermoplastic elastic resin preferably has an elastic deformation temperature range of approximately 100°C or less. Examples of the thermoplastic elastic resin include olefin-based elastomers (e.g., VERSIFY™ from The Dow Chemical Company), propylene-based elastomers (e.g., Vistamaxx™ from ExxonMobil), and styrene-based elastomers (e.g., Quintac™ from Zeon Corporation).

[0061] The multiple waist elastic members 23, 33 are respectively arranged at intervals in the vertical direction between the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22, and between the inner layer sheet 21 and the back outer layer sheet 32. In this embodiment, the rear leg elastic member 34 is provided in the back waist portion 30 between the inner layer sheet 21 and the back outer layer sheet 32 ​​and below the waist elastic member 33. The waist elastic members 23, 33 and the rear leg elastic member 34 are each attached by a welded joint that joins the inner layer sheet 21 and the outer layer sheets 22, 32. The following describes the attachment of the waist elastic member 23, but the same applies to the waist elastic member 33 and the rear leg elastic member 34.

[0062] <Attachment of waist elastic member 23> Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of the welded parts 25. Figs. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the principle by which the waist elastic members 23 are attached to the ventral waist portion 20 by the welded parts 25. Note that Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the upper part of the ventral waist portion 20, but the entire ventral waist portion 20 has a similar configuration. For ease of explanation, Fig. 5 schematically illustrates the arrangement and number of the waist elastic members 23 and the welded parts 25.

[0063] In the ventral waist region 20 of the diaper 1, the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 are joined together at a plurality of welds 25, 25 formed by a known welding method such as ultrasonic welding. The inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 are joined together before the leg openings LH of the diaper 1 are formed, i.e., before the diaper 1 is in a pants-type state. Specifically, the welds 25 joining the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 are formed during the manufacturing process of the diaper 1 before the absorbent body 10 is joined to the ventral waist region 20 and before the individual sheets 21, 22, etc. are cut into individual diapers.

[0064] The skin-side waist portion 20 is attached between an inner layer sheet 21 (first sheet) and a ventral side outer layer sheet 22 (second sheet) that face each other in the thickness direction, with multiple waist elastic members 23, 23... that are stretchable in the left-right direction and spaced apart in the up-down direction (longitudinal direction) and based on welded portions 25, 25....

[0065] In the ventral waistband portion 20 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , a plurality of welds 25, 25... are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction), thereby forming a welded portion row 26 along the vertical direction, and a plurality of welded portion rows 26 are also provided at intervals in the left-right direction. Each welded portion row 26 is arranged to have a protruding portion 26P that is convex on one or the other side in the left-right direction. That is, the welded portion row 26 is formed to have an uneven shape as a whole because the positions of the plurality of welds 25 included in the welded portion row 26 in the left-right direction are different. In the example of FIG. 5 , the welded portion row 26 is formed to meander from top to bottom in the vertical direction. However, the arrangement of each welded portion 25 is not limited to the example of FIG. 5 , and the welded portion row 26 may have a protruding portion 26P only on one side in the left-right direction. Furthermore, the welded portion row 26 may not have an uneven shape in the left-right direction and may be arranged straight in the vertical direction.

[0066] Of the multiple welded portions 25, 25 included in this welded portion row 26, two vertically adjacent welded portions 25, 25 sandwich the waist elastic member 23 from above and below, thereby attaching the waist elastic member 23 to the abdominal-side waist portion 20. In other words, a pair of welded portions 25, 25 aligned on both sides of the waist elastic member 23 in the vertical direction form a welded portion pair 25s, and the waist elastic member 23 is attached by this welded portion pair 25s.

[0067] As shown in Fig. 6A, a pair of welds 25, 25 constituting a weld pair 25s are arranged vertically with a gap GH23 therebetween. The gap GH23 is set to be equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter D23t of the waist elastic member 23, such as rubber thread, when stretched laterally to a desired extension ratio (GH23 ≥ D23t). In other words, the waist elastic member 23 in a stretched state is positioned vertically between the weld pair 25s. With this configuration, during the manufacturing process of the diaper 1, after the stretched waist elastic member 23 is positioned between the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral-side outer layer sheet 22, the welds 25 can be formed without overlapping with the waist elastic member 23 when the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral-side outer layer sheet 22 are joined together. Here, the "extension ratio" refers to a value Z (=Lx / Ly) that indicates how many times the total length Lx of the waist elastic member 23 is extended relative to the total length Ly in an unloaded state, which is the natural length.

[0068] 6B , when the waist elastic members 23 are relaxed from their stretched state, they contract in the left-right direction while expanding in the up-down direction, and the outer diameter D23t' after expansion becomes larger than the vertical distance GH23 between the pairs of welded portions 25s (D23t' > GH23). Therefore, the vertical expansion of the waist elastic members 23 is restricted between the pairs of welded portions 25s, and the waist elastic members 23 are essentially sandwiched between the welded portions 25, 25 in the up-down direction. As a result, the pairs of welded portions 25s restrict the vertical and left-right positions of the waist elastic members 23, and the waist elastic members 23 are attached to the abdominal waist portion 20 in a stretchable manner, imparting left-right stretchability to the abdominal waist portion 20.

[0069] In addition, when the diaper 1 is in the pants-type state, the waist elastic member 23 is joined by side joints SS at both left and right ends of the ventral waist portion 20, so that even if the waist member 20 is stretched in the left and right directions when the diaper 1 is worn, the waist elastic member 23 is unlikely to come off the waist member 20.

[0070] In the diaper 1 of this embodiment, all of the waist elastic members 23, 33 are positioned by being sandwiched between the pairs of welded portions 25s, but this is not limiting. In addition to the waist elastic members 23, 33 whose positions are restricted by being sandwiched between the pairs of welded portions 25s, the diaper 1 may also include waist elastic members 23, 33 that are fixed to at least one of the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral-side outer layer sheet 22 with an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive. Furthermore, the waist elastic members 23, 33 whose positions are restricted by being sandwiched between the pairs of welded portions 25s may be bonded and fixed to the ventral waist portion 20 by applying an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive to the waist elastic members 23, 33. For example, when the waist portions 20, 30 have not only waist elastic members 23, 33, 34 aligned in the left-right direction but also curved elastic members, the curved elastic members may be fixed to the waist portions 20, 30 with adhesive, and at the upper ends of the waist portions 20, 30, not only the waist elastic members 23, 33 may be fixed to the waist portions 20, 30 by the welded portions 25 but also by applying adhesive.

[0071] The basic configuration of the diaper 1 has been described above, but the above configuration of the diaper 1 is merely an example and is not intended to be limiting. For example, the diaper 1 of this embodiment is configured with an exterior body 18 having three sections: a ventral waist section 20, a dorsal waist section 30, and a crotch section 40 connecting them. However, the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the diaper may be configured such that the ventral waist section 20 and the dorsal waist section 30 are formed from separate members, and the non-skin-side surface of the absorbent main body 10 is exposed in the crotch section. Alternatively, the diaper may have an exterior body formed from a single member that is continuous from the ventral waist section 20 to the dorsal waist section 30.

[0072] <Method of folding and storing diaper 1> As described above, in the container 100, a plurality of diapers 1 (pants-type absorbent articles 1) are stored in a folded state in the container member 101. The method of folding and storing the diapers 1 will be described below.

[0073] 7A to 7C are diagrams illustrating the folding of the diaper 1 during storage. FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of the diaper 1 stored in the storage member 101. Each diagram in FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the diaper 1 taken along the center line CC in the left-right direction. When the diaper 1 is stored in the storage member 101, first, from the natural state shown in FIG. 7A, one side end 20Ea (30Ea) and the other side end 20Eb (30Eb) of the waist portion 20 (30) of the diaper 1 are folded inward in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 7B (hereinafter, the "one side end 20Ea (30Ea) and the other side end 20Eb (30Eb)" will also be referred to as the "both side end portions 20E (30E)").

[0074] Next, as shown in FIG. 7C , the waist portion 20 (30) is folded at a folding position F so that the upper end WA in the vertical direction is located toward the crotch portion 40. The folding position F is a fold line extending in the left-right direction between the top and bottom ends of the diaper 1 in the pants-type state. As a result, the diaper 1 is folded into a compact shape as shown in FIG. 7C and stored such that the top-bottom direction of the storage member 101 and the top-bottom direction of the diaper 1 are aligned, resulting in the stored state shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the left-right side end portions 20E (30E) of the folded waist portion 20 (30) do not overlap in the thickness direction and are folded back so that they overlap the crotch elastic members 17. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and possible folding patterns will be described in detail later.

[0075] Usually, when an adult pants-type absorbent article such as the diaper 1 is stored in a container, it is often stored under high compression with the waist opening BH side folded toward the crotch area to make it compact, as in the present embodiment. In such a stored state, if the crotch elastic members 17 are provided in the crotch region 40 as in the present embodiment, adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic members 17 or adhesive for attaching the waist elastic members 23 (33) arranged in the waist region 20 (30) may seep out and bond to adjacent products (diapers 1) in the container 101, which may cause the diaper 1 to tear or the crotch elastic members 17 to come loose. In particular, when the diapers 1 of this embodiment are not individually packaged, but are instead stored in the storage member 101 in a state where multiple diapers 1 are not individually packaged, but are folded into a compact shape, stacked in the thickness direction, and compressed in the thickness direction, the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member 17 and the adhesive used to attach the waist elastic member 23 (33) are likely to seep out, and the seeped-out adhesive may cause the diapers 1 that are not individually packaged to stick together.

[0076] When the diapers 1 in the container 100 are housed in the container member 101, the upper end WA of the waistband 20 (30) of each diaper 1 is folded back toward the crotch section 40 as described above. A plurality of diapers 1 are stacked in the thickness direction of the diapers 1 (corresponding to the left-right direction of the container 100) and compressed. The container 100 of the present invention is configured such that a plurality of diapers 1 are housed in the container member 101, and is not a so-called "individually packaged" container in which one diaper is housed in one container member 101. FIG. 9 illustrates adjacent diapers 1 in the housed state. Normally, adjacent diapers 1 are stacked on top of each other in a tight, tight fit due to compression in the housed state. However, for convenience, FIG. 9 shows only a schematic diagram of the diapers 1 so that their shapes can be seen. As shown in Figure 9, among the stored diapers 1, the diaper 1 having a distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 at the center position CC in the left-right direction is referred to as diaper 1a, and another diaper 1 adjacent to the diaper 1a on one side in the thickness direction in the stored state is referred to as diaper 1b.

[0077] At least one diaper 1 (diaper 1a) among the plurality of diapers 1 in this stored state has the following features. The crotch portion 40 has a crotch elastic member 17 attached with an adhesive to the center in the left-right direction, which is stretchable in the vertical direction. The waist portions 20, 30 of the diaper 1 are provided with a plurality of waist elastic members 23 (33, 34) stretchable in the left-right direction and spaced apart in the vertical direction between the inner layer sheet 21 and the outer layer sheet 22 (32) joined by a plurality of welded portions 25. As described above, when contracted in the left-right direction, each waist elastic member 23 (33, 34) is sandwiched between two vertically adjacent welded portions 25, thereby restricting its vertical position relative to the inner layer sheet 21 and the outer layer sheet 22 (32).

[0078] 7C and 8A, the diaper 1 has a length L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20(30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 at the center CC in the left-right direction (e.g., FIG. 7A), which is equal to or less than the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 (L1≦T). In the stored state, the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20(30) is the uppermost (outermost) side in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) of the diaper 1 at the center CC in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 7C and other figures, when the diaper 1 is stored, folding the side end portions 20E(30E) of the waist portion 20(30) tends to cause the upper ends WAe of the waist portion 20(30) to be misaligned in the vertical direction. Furthermore, folding the side end portions 20E(30) causes the waist portion 20(30) to overlap in the thickness direction, which tends to cause the upper ends WAe of the waist portion 20(30) to be misaligned. Therefore, in the diaper 1 of this embodiment, the uppermost side (outer side) in the vertical direction of the diaper 1 at the center position CC in the left-right direction is defined as the upper end WAe.

[0079] In the diaper 1 of this embodiment, a folding position F is provided in the vertical center of the diaper 1 in the pants-type state. As a result, as shown in Fig. 8A, the upper end WAe of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) is positioned substantially in the same position as the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 at the horizontal center position CC. Therefore, in the case of the diaper 1 shown in Fig. 8A, the distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 is 0, or the distance L1 is approximately 0. Note that in each diaper 1, the upper end WAe of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) does not have to extend beyond the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40, as shown in Fig. 8B. Alternatively, the upper end WAe of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) may extend beyond the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40, as shown in Fig. 8C. In either case, the distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) at the center position CC in the left-right direction to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 should be equal to or less than the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 (L1≦T).

[0080] In the waist region 20(30) of the diaper 1, the waist elastic members 23(33, 34) are fixed by the welded portions 25, so that less adhesive is used in the waist region 20(30) than when all of the waist elastic members 23(33, 34) are fixed to the waist region 20(30) using an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive. Therefore, even when the diaper 1 is stored in a state where the waist region 20(30) is folded back toward the crotch region 40 and compressed in the thickness direction, the risk of the opposing waist region 20(30) and the crotch region 40 sticking together (adhering) with the adhesive can be reduced.

[0081] As described above, the diapers 1 are stored in a compressed state with multiple diapers 1 stacked in the thickness direction within the storage member 101. Therefore, since the waist elastic members 23 (33, 34) are fixed at the welded portions 25, the risk of the outer waist portion of the waist portions 20, 30 folded back at the folding position F of the diaper 1a stored in the storage member 101 (for example, the back waist portion 30 of the diaper 1a in FIG. 9) adjoining another diaper 1 (diaper 1b) in the thickness direction being stuck together by the adhesive can be reduced compared to when all of the waist elastic members 23 (33, 34) are fixed to the waist portion 20 (30) using an adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive.

[0082] When the diaper 1 is stored, the distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 at the center CC in the left-right direction is equal to or less than the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 (L1≦T). This allows one side of the crotch portion 40 in the thickness direction (the abdominal side in FIG. 8A ) to be more widely covered by the waist portions 20, 30 than when the distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 is longer than the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40. This reduces the exposed area of ​​one side (e.g., the abdominal side) of the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) in the thickness direction, thereby reducing the risk of adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic members 17 provided in the crotch portion 40 adhering to the crotch portion 40 of another adjacent diaper 1 (diaper 1b in FIG. 9 ) from one side (the upper side in FIG. 9 ) of the diaper 1.

[0083] This reduces the risk of adhesive bonding between the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) and the diaper 1 (diaper 1b) adjacent to the diaper 1 in the thickness direction in the stored state. Reducing the risk of one diaper 1 adhering to another diaper 1 prevents damage such as tearing of the sheets of the waist-surrounding portions 20, 30 and the crotch portion 40, and reduces the risk of the waist-surrounding elastic members 23, 33 and the crotch-surrounding elastic members 17 being exposed to the outside or protruding.

[0084] As with the diaper 1a, the distance L2 between the top end WAe of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) in the vertical direction and the bottom end 40e of the crotch portion 40 in the vertical direction at the center of the diaper 1b in the horizontal direction is preferably different from the distance L1 (length L1) of the diaper 1 described above. In this embodiment, the length L1 of the diaper 1a is 0 (L1 = 0), and the length L2 is greater than 0 (L2 > 0), so the lengths L1 and L2 are different (L1 ≠ L2). The pressure applied to each diaper 1 is more dispersed when the ends WAe of the folded-back waist portions 20 (30) of the diapers 1 are positioned differently than when the ends WAe are aligned within the container 101. This makes it more difficult for the exuded adhesive to stick to another diaper 1 (1b) in the crotch portion 40, where the crotch elastic members 17 are located, due to the exuded adhesive.

[0085] The above-mentioned "distance L1" can be measured in the following manner. First, in this embodiment, in the stored state, multiple diapers 1 are compressed in the thickness direction of the diapers 1, which corresponds to the left-right direction of the container 100. To measure, the container 100 is clamped with jigs from both left and right sides, and a portion of the container member 101 is cut out from the stored diapers 1 so that the end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) and the crotch portion 40 can be seen. When clamping the container 100 with the jigs, the compressed state is maintained by clamping the container 100 so that the left-right length of the container 100 is approximately ±5% compared to the compressed state of the container 100. From the cutout, the distance from the end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) at the center of the left-right direction of the diaper 1 to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 is measured, and this distance is defined as distance L1. In addition, if the measurement point is stored in a state where it is hidden inside, the container 100 is clamped with a jig, and a portion of the container member 101 and the diaper 1 is cut to the point where the measurement point can be seen, making it visible before the measurement is performed.

[0086] The "average thickness T" of the crotch portion 40 is calculated as follows. In this embodiment, assuming that the thickness direction of the diaper 1 corresponds to the left-right direction of the container 100, first, the length of the container 100 in the stored state in the left-right direction is measured (this is referred to as length W). The container 100 (container 101) contains 10 diapers 1 in the left-right direction. The thickness of the container 101 (two points at the left and right ends in the left-right direction) is subtracted from the length W, and the subtracted value is divided by the number of diapers, 10. In other words, it is calculated as {length W - (thickness of container 101 x 2)} / 10. The value calculated in this way is referred to as the "average thickness T."

[0087] Furthermore, the average thickness T (see FIG. 8, etc.) of the crotch portion 40 at the center position CC in the lateral direction of the diaper 1 in the stored state is preferably 95% or less of the average thickness of the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 in its natural state after removal from the container 101. More preferably, the average thickness T is 85% or less, and even more preferably 75% or less, of the average thickness of the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 in its natural state. The compressibility of the diaper 1 in its stored state is calculated by subtracting the ratio (average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 in the stored state / average thickness of the crotch portion 40 in its natural state × 100) (%) from 100%. Generally, increasing the compressibility allows more diapers 1 to be accommodated in the container 101. Therefore, even when the diaper 1 is compressed until the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 in the stored state is 95% or less of the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 in the undisturbed state, i.e., even when the diaper 1 is compressed to a compression rate of 5% or more, the distance L1 from the upper end WAe of the waist portion 20 (30) to the lower end 40e of the crotch portion 40 at the left-right center position CC of the diaper 1 in the stored state is less than the average thickness T of the crotch portion 40 (L1≦T), which makes it easier for one side in the thickness direction of the crotch portion 40 (the abdominal side in FIG. 8A ) to be widely covered by the waist portions 20, 30. This reduces the exposed area of ​​one surface (e.g., the abdominal side) of the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) in the thickness direction, thereby reducing the risk of adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic members 17 provided in the crotch portion 40 adhering to the crotch portion 40 of another adjacent diaper 1 (diaper 1b in FIG. 9 ) from one side (the upper side in FIG. 9 ) of the diaper 1.

[0088] Furthermore, it is preferable that the crotch elastic members 17 are thread-like, as in the diaper 1 of this embodiment. By using thread-like elastic members, the amount of adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 can be reduced compared to when thicker band-like rubber or sheet-like stretchable material (stretchable film, stretchable nonwoven fabric, etc.) is applied with adhesive over the entire surface, and this further reduces the risk of adhesive seeping out when the diaper is compressed in the thickness direction while stored.

[0089] As in the diaper 1 of this embodiment, when the portion of the waist portion 20 (30) that is folded toward the crotch portion 40 is defined as the folded portion 20K (30K) (see Figures 7C and 8), it is preferable that, in the stored state, the folded portion 20K (30K) has a portion that overlaps with the crotch elastic member 17 when viewed in the thickness direction. When the diaper 1 is viewed in the thickness direction in the stored state, the greater the overlapping portion of the folded portion 20K (30K) with the crotch elastic member 17, the less likely it is that the crotch elastic member 17 of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) will adhere to another diaper 1 (diaper 1b in Figure 9) stored adjacent to the side where the folded portion 20K (20K) is provided (for example, above the diaper 1a in Figure 9). Furthermore, when viewed in the thickness direction of the diaper 1 in the stored state, the smaller the overlapping portion of the folded-up portion 20K (30K) with the crotch elastic member 17, the less the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member 17 will ooze out due to compression in the stored state. This reduces the risk of the waist portion 20 and the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) sticking together in the stored state.

[0090] The folding position of the diaper 1 when it is stored in the storage member 101 will now be described in detail. FIG. 10 is a table showing folding patterns of the diaper 1. First, when folding the diaper 1, as shown in FIG. 7B, both side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) of the waist portion 20 (30) of the diaper 1 are folded inward in the left-right direction. This folding is called the first folding. As shown in FIG. 10, the first folding can be performed by folding the both side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) toward the ventral side or the dorsal side of the waist portion 20 (30). In this embodiment, the folding is performed toward the ventral side.

[0091] In the first folding, whether the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) of the waist portion 20 (30) are folded toward the ventral side or the dorsal side of the waist portion 20 (30), the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) of the waist portion 20 (30) are folded inward in the left-right direction, so that the portions folded inward become thicker. When the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) is stored in the storage member 101, the thicker portions are likely to come into contact with another diaper 1 (diaper 1b) adjacent to it.

[0092] Next, the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) are folded toward the ventral side or the dorsal side, and then the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) are either folded back so that they overlap in the thickness direction or so that they do not overlap. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7B , the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) are folded back so that they do not overlap. In the diaper 1 of this embodiment, the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) are folded back so that they do not overlap in the thickness direction. By folding back the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) so that they do not overlap in the thickness direction, as in the diaper 1 of this embodiment, the thickness of the central portion in the lateral direction where the crotch elastic members 17 of the crotch portion 40 are disposed is thinner than the portion where the side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) are folded back. Therefore, even when multiple diapers 1 are stacked and compressed, the portion where the crotch elastic members 17 are disposed is less likely to come into contact with other diapers 1, which helps reduce the risk of the crotch elastic members 17 adhering to other diapers 1 due to oozing adhesive.

[0093] After folding back both side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) of the waistline portion 20 (30) in the left-right direction, the upper end portion WA of the waistline portion 20 (30) in the vertical direction is folded back so that it is located toward the crotch portion 40, as shown in FIG. 7C. This folding back is called the second folding. The second folding can be performed in two ways, as shown in FIG. 8A, including folding the absorber 11 together, and in one case not folding the absorber 11. In this embodiment, the absorber 11 is folded back during the second folding. Furthermore, when folding back the upper end portion WA of the waistline portion 20 (30) in the vertical direction, it can be performed in one case with the ventral side of the waistline portion 20 (30) facing inward, and in another case with the dorsal side facing inward.

[0094] In this way, by performing the above-mentioned first and second folds on the diaper 1, a total of 16 possible folding positions are possible (see Figure 10). In this embodiment, the first fold is performed by folding the diaper 1 toward the ventral side, and the left and right side end portions (20Ea, 20Eb) of the waist portion 20 (30) do not overlap, and the second fold is performed by folding the absorbent body 11 and folding the ventral side inward, which corresponds to pattern 5 in Figure 10.

[0095] As in the diaper 1, when stored, the left and right side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the waist portions 20, 30 are folded inward in the left and right direction, so that when stored, the thickness of the waist portions 20, 30 is increased on one side of the thickness direction of the crotch portion 40 (the abdominal side in Figures 8A and 9) due to the folded-back both end portions 20Ea, 20Eb. Therefore, even when multiple diapers 1 are compressed in the stored state, it is possible to provide more components between the crotch portion 40 of one diaper 1 (diaper 1a) and another diaper 1 (diaper 1b) adjacent to one side of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) in the thickness direction, or to easily space the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1a from the diaper 1b, thereby reducing the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 of the diaper 1 adhering to the other diaper 1 (diaper 1b) adjacent to one side of the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) in the thickness direction adhering to each other in the stored state. This reduces the risk of adjacent diapers 1 (diaper 1a and diaper 1b) in the thickness direction sticking to each other in the stored state.

[0096] Furthermore, in the diaper 1 of this embodiment, in the stored state, the side end 20Ea (30Ea) on one side in the left-right direction of the folded waist-line portion 20, 30 and the side end 20Eb (30Eb) on the other side do not overlap in the thickness direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 11 , in the stored state, the side end 20Ea on one side in the left-right direction of the folded waist-line portion 20 (30) and the side end 20Eb on the other side do not overlap in the thickness direction, so that a gap SP is left-right between the side end 20Eae on one side and the side end 20Ebe on the other side of the waist-line portion 20 (30). FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the diaper 1 in the stored state. In such a case, it is preferable that the side ends 20Eae, 20Ebe of the waist-line portion have portions that overlap in the left-right direction with the crotch elastic region ER provided in the crotch portion 40.

[0097] The region of the space SP between one side end 20Eae and the other side end 20Ebe of the waistline portion 20 (30) is thinner than the region where one side end 20Ea (30Ea) and the other side end 20Eb (30Eb) in the left-right direction of the folded-back waistline portions 20, 30 are provided, and therefore, even when compressed in the thickness direction in the stored state, the pressure in this region can be smaller than that outside the region of the space SP. Therefore, even in the stored state, the both side ends 20Eae, 20Ebe of the waistline portion have portions overlapping with the crotch elastic region ER provided in the crotch portion 40, making it easier to provide the crotch elastic region ER in the region overlapping with the region of the space SP between one side end 20Eae and the other side end 20Ebe of the waistline portion 20 (30) in the thickness direction. Even when the diaper 1 is compressed in the thickness direction in the stored state, the pressure applied to the area of ​​the space SP can be reduced, and therefore the pressure applied to the area overlapping the space SP and the crotch elastic region ER in the left-right direction can be reduced, thereby reducing the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 seeping out. This also reduces the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 seeping out and causing the diapers 1 (diapers 1a, 1b) to stick together.

[0098] In addition, when the diaper is folded using one of the 16 folding patterns shown in Figure 10, in any case, the risk of adhesive seeping out due to compression in the stored state causing adhesion between the waist portion 20 (30) and the crotch elastic member 17, or between another adjacent diaper 1 and the crotch elastic member 17, can be reduced.

[0099] FIG. 12 shows a modified example of the folding of the diaper 1 in the stored state. As shown in FIG. 12, in the stored state, the diaper 1 may be folded so that the side end portion 20Ea (30Ea) on one side in the left-right direction of the folded waist portion 20 (30) overlaps the side end portion 20Eb (30Eb) on the other side in the thickness direction (note that the thickness direction is the direction penetrating the paper in FIG. 12). In the table of FIG. 10, patterns 1 to 4 and 9 to 12 correspond to this. In the modified example shown in FIG. 12, the overlapping portion has a portion that overlaps the crotch elastic member 17 in the left-right direction. The overlapping portion where the side end portion 20Ea (30Ea) overlaps the side end portion 20Eb (30Eb) in the thickness direction is a thicker portion. The overlapping portion where the side end portion 20Ea (30Ea) and the side end portion 20Eb (30Eb) overlap in the thickness direction makes it easier to provide a wide gap between the adhesive for attaching the crotch elastic member 17 of the diaper 1 (e.g., the diaper 1a in FIG. 9) and another diaper 1 (e.g., the diaper 1b in FIG. 9) adjacent to the diaper 1 from one side in the thickness direction (e.g., the upper side in FIG. 9). The overlapping portion also makes it easier to act as a cushion to absorb pressure.

[0100] When the lateral side end portions 20E, 30E of the waist portions 20, 30 are folded inward in the lateral direction in the stored state, it is preferable that the overlapping portion where the lateral end portion 20Ea (30Ea) and the lateral end portion 20Eb (30Eb) overlap with the crotch elastic region ER of the crotch portion 40 as viewed in the thickness direction in the lateral direction, as shown in Fig. 12. This allows the overlapping portion to function as a cushion in the stored state, which helps to prevent the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 of the diaper 1 from seeping out. In addition, it becomes easier to create a wider gap between the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member 17 of a diaper 1 (for example, diaper 1a in Figure 9) and another diaper 1 (for example, diaper 1b in Figure 9) adjacent to the diaper 1 from one side in the thickness direction (for example, the top in Figure 9), thereby reducing the risk of the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic member 17 adhering to the diaper 1 (diaper 1b) adjacent to the diaper 1 (diaper 1a) in the thickness direction.

[0101] The container 101 contains at least one diaper 1 (first pants-type absorbent article) in which the folded-up waist portion 20 (30) has a portion where its one lateral end 20Ea and its other lateral end 20Eb overlap in the thickness direction. Preferably, the container 101 of one container 100 contains not only one diaper 1 having the folded-up waist portion 20 (30) with its both lateral end portions 20Ea, 20Eb overlapping in the thickness direction, but also another diaper 1 (second pants-type absorbent article) in which the folded-up waist portion 20 (30) has its one lateral end 20Ea and its other lateral end 20Eb not overlapping in the thickness direction. The size and number of diapers 1 that can be contained in the container 100 (container 101) are usually predetermined. Therefore, by storing diapers 1 in a stored state in which the lateral side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) overlap in the thickness direction, and diapers 1 in a stored state in which the lateral side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the folded-back waist portion 20 (30) do not overlap in the thickness direction, it becomes easier to distribute high pressure areas within the storage member 101. In particular, the folded-back portions of the lateral side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the waist portion 20 (30) and the crotch portion 40 of the stored diapers 1 tend to be thick, and when multiple diapers 1 are stacked in a stored state, the pressure in these overlapping portions tends to be particularly high. In contrast, by having the container 100 contain diapers 1 in a stored state in which the left and right side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the folded-over waist portion 20 (30) have overlapping portions when viewed in the thickness direction, and diapers 1 in a stored state in which the left and right side end portions 20Ea, 20Eb of the folded-over waist portion 20 (30) do not have overlapping portions when viewed in the thickness direction, the risk of excessive pressure being applied to each diaper 1 is reduced, thereby suppressing the seepage of adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 of each diaper 1 and reducing the risk of adjacent diapers 1 in the thickness direction being stuck together by the adhesive.

[0102] In addition, in the stored state of the diaper 1, it is preferable that a portion of the absorbent core 11A is folded back together with the folding back of the upper end portion WA of the waist-circumference portion 20 (30) in the vertical direction. In the diaper 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A etc., when the second folding (folding the waist-circumference portions 20, 30 toward the crotch at folding position F) is performed, a portion of the absorbent core 11A (absorbent body 11) is folded back (corresponding to patterns 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, and 14 in the table of FIG. 10). In general, the absorbent core 11A (absorbent body 11) is more rigid than the waist-circumference portions 20, 30. Therefore, by folding the absorbent core 11A (absorbent body 11) together with the folding back of the waist-circumference portion 20 (30) in the second folding, a force acts more easily on the absorbent core 11A in the stored state to return to a flat state. Therefore, even when the absorbent core 11A is folded together with the waistband portions 20, 30 in the stored state and compressed in the thickness direction, the force of the absorbent core 11A trying to return to its flat shape tends to act to separate the upper end portions WA of the folded waistband portions 20, 30 from the crotch portion 40. This makes it difficult for the waistband portions 20, 30 and the crotch portion 40 to come into close contact with each other, and the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 tends to reduce the risk of the waistband portions 20 (30) and the crotch portion 40 sticking together.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 3 and other figures, a pair of waistband sections 20, 30 are provided with a plurality of waistband elastic members 23, 33 arranged in the vertical direction, each elastic member being stretchable in the left-right direction. In each waistband section 20, 30, the region where the waistband elastic members 23, 33 are arranged, i.e., the region from the uppermost waistband elastic member 23a (33a) to the lowermost waistband elastic member 23e (33e) in the ventral waistband section 20 (dorsal waistband section 30), is referred to as the waistband elastic region 23G (33G). As described above, the region where the crotch elastic members 17 are arranged, i.e., the region in the crotch section 40 from the crotch elastic member 17a located at one side in the left-right direction to the crotch elastic member 17e located at the other side, is referred to as the crotch elastic region ER. In this embodiment, the amount of adhesive per unit area in the waistband elastic region 23G (33G) is preferably less than the amount of adhesive per unit area in the crotch elastic region ER. In the stored state, even if the waistline portions 20, 30 are folded back and become thicker, the risk of adhesive seeping out from the waistline portions 20, 30 can be reduced compared to when the amount of adhesive per unit area in the waistline elastic region 23G (33G) is greater than the amount of adhesive per unit area in the crotch elastic region ER. Therefore, even if compression is applied in the thickness direction while folded back at a predetermined folding position in the stored state, the risk of the opposing waistline portion 20 (30) and crotch portion 40 sticking together can be reduced.

[0104] As described above, in the waist regions 20, 30 of the diaper 1 of this embodiment, the positions of the waist elastic members 23, 33 are restricted by the welded portions 25, and no adhesive is used to fix the waist elastic members 23, 33 along the left-right direction. Therefore, even if compression is applied in the thickness direction while the diaper 1 is folded back at a predetermined folding position in the stored state, the risk of the opposing waist regions 20 (30) and crotch region 40 sticking together can be reduced.

[0105] As described above, in the diaper 1, the crotch elastic members 17 are fixed with adhesive. In contrast, in the waist portions 20, 30, the waist elastic members 23, 33 extending in the left-right direction are fixed without adhesive, so that the amount of adhesive per unit area in the waist elastic region 23G (33G) is clearly less than the amount of adhesive per unit area in the crotch elastic region ER. Meanwhile, in the diaper 1, in the waist regions 20, 30, adhesive may be applied in addition to the welded portions 25 to secure the waist elastic members 23, 33, 34, or some of the waist elastic members 23, 33, 34 may be secured using adhesive instead of the welded portions 25. Furthermore, in the waist regions 20, 30, in addition to securing the waist elastic members 23, 33, 34, adhesives such as hot melt adhesives may be used to secure each member (sheet) and the like.

[0106] The amount of adhesive per unit area of ​​the waist elastic region 23G (33G) and the crotch elastic region ER can be determined, for example, by separating the waist elastic member 23 (33) and adhesive from the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 (dorsal outer layer sheet 32) using the solvent extraction method described below, sampling the adhesive, and measuring the sampled adhesive. <Solvent extraction method for adhesives> First, in a stretched state, the sheet material (the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 (the dorsal outer layer sheet 32)) and the waist elastic member 23 (33) are cut together in a predetermined area from the waist elastic region 23G (33G) and the crotch elastic region ER. Next, the sheet material containing an adhesive is mixed with a solvent capable of dissolving the adhesive in a container such as a beaker to obtain an adhesive solution in which the adhesive is dissolved in the solvent. The adhesive solution is then sampled from the container and dried under reduced pressure using a rotary evaporator, for example, to remove the solvent from the adhesive solution, thereby obtaining the adhesive. The adhesive thus obtained is defined as the amount of adhesive per unit area. The solvent used to dissolve the adhesive may be selected appropriately depending on the type of adhesive, etc. When the adhesive to be measured is, for example, a hot melt adhesive, examples of solvents used to dissolve the adhesive include toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, and heptane.

[0107] FIG. 13 is a partial enlarged view of the ventral waist portion 20 in the unfolded and stretched states. Similar to the method for attaching the waist elastic members 23 to the ventral waist portion 20 described above, the ventral waist portion 20 will be described here, but the back waist portion 30 has a similar configuration. As described above, the pair of waist portions 20, 30 of the diaper 1 are joined at a pair of side joints SS on both lateral sides. A plurality of waist elastic members 23, 33 that stretch in the lateral direction are arranged vertically in the pair of waist portions 20, 30. As described above, the waist elastic members 23, 33 are attached to the waist portions 20, 30 primarily by the welded portions 25. However, other fastening means such as an adhesive may also be used as appropriate. In addition to the fastening of the waist elastic members 23, 33, 34, the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral outer layer sheet 22 may also be joined using an adhesive such as a hot-melt adhesive. As shown in FIG. 13 , at the top end 20ta of the ventral waist portion 20 (i.e., at the waist opening BH), a region R adjacent to the inner left-right end SSe of the side joint SS is preferably an area free of adhesive. That is, it is preferable that the top end 20ta of the ventral waist portion 20 and the region R are free of adhesive. The region R is included in both left-right end portions 20E of the ventral waist portion 20 that are folded inward in the left-right direction when the diaper 1 is stored. Even if the folded-back both end portions 20E are adjacent to or overlap the crotch elastic members 17 in the stored state, the adhesive-free region R at the top end 20ta of the ventral waist portion reduces the risk of the opposing waist portion 20 and the crotch portion 40 sticking together, even when the diaper 1 is compressed in the thickness direction with both end portions 20E of the waist portions 20, 30 folded inward in the stored state.

[0108] 13, it is more preferable that the region R adjacent to the inner lateral end SSe of the side joint SS be free of adhesive not only at the upper end 20ta of the ventral waistline portion 20 but also over the entire area vertically overlapping with the side joint SS. In the stowed state, the entire area vertically overlapping with the side joint SS (region R) is included in both lateral end portions 20E of the ventral waistline portion 20 that are folded inward in the lateral direction. Therefore, even if the folded lateral end portions 20E are adjacent to or overlap the crotch elastic members 17 in the stowed state, the presence of the adhesive-free region R further reduces the risk of the opposing waistline portion 20 and crotch portion 40 sticking together, even when the diaper 1 is compressed in the thickness direction with both lateral end portions 20E of the waistline portions 20, 30 folded inward in the stowed state.

[0109] The region R at the upper end 20ta of the ventral waistline portion 20 and the region R adjacent to the lateral inner ends SSe of the side joints SS do not necessarily have to be regions completely free of adhesive. The region R at the upper end 20ta of the ventral waistline portion 20 and the region R adjacent to the lateral inner ends SSe of the side joints SS may have low-basis-weight regions in which the adhesive is applied in a smaller amount than the adhesive applied further inward in the lateral direction. The region R at the upper end 20ta of the ventral waistline portion 20 and the region R adjacent to the lateral inner ends SSe of the side joints SS each have low-basis-weight regions in which the adhesive is applied in a smaller amount. This prevents the opposing waistline portion 20 and the crotch portion 40 from sticking together, even when the diaper 1 is compressed in the thickness direction with both side end portions 20E of the waistline portions 20, 30 folded inward in the stored state.

[0110] The ventral waist portion 20 of the diaper 1 of this embodiment has an inner layer sheet 21 and a ventral outer layer sheet 22 (outer layer sheet) arranged closer to the skin than the inner layer sheet 21, and the dorsal waist portion 30 has an inner layer sheet 21 and a dorsal outer layer sheet 32 ​​(outer layer sheet) arranged closer to the skin than the inner layer sheet 21. At least one of the pair of waist portions 20, 30 may have a sheet portion arranged closest to the skin. In this embodiment, the folded-back portion 22r (32r) of the ventral outer layer sheet 22 (dorsal outer layer sheet 32) is the sheet portion. This sheet portion (folded-back portion 22r (32r)) is fixed to the inner layer sheet 21 with an adhesive. Of the region R adjacent to the inner lateral end SSe of the side joint SS shown in FIG. 13 , it is preferable that the portion overlapping the sheet portion (folded-back portion 22r (32r)) in the thickness direction is a region free of adhesive for securing the sheet portion (folded-back portion 22r (32r)). The region R need not necessarily be a region free of adhesive. The portion of the region R overlapping the sheet portion (folded-back portion 22r (32r)) in the thickness direction may have a low-basis-weight region with a lower basis weight of adhesive than the portion further inside in the lateral direction. The region R is included in both lateral end portions 20E of the ventral waist portion 20 that are folded inward in the lateral direction when the diaper 1 is stored. Therefore, even when the diaper 1 is compressed in the thickness direction with both lateral end portions 20E of the waist portions 20, 30 folded inward in the stored state, the folded-back end portions 20E prevent the opposing waist portion 20 and the crotch portion 40 from adhering to each other.

[0111] The sheet portion described above is not limited to the folded-back portion 22r (32r) and may be, for example, a sheet member separate from the inner layer sheet 21 and the ventral-side outer layer sheet 22 (dorsal-side outer layer sheet 32). An example is a cover sheet (not shown) disposed so as to straddle the longitudinal end 10et (see FIG. 3) of the absorbent main body 10 and fixed to the inner layer sheet 21 (and the absorbent main body 10) with an adhesive. Of the region R adjacent to the inner lateral end SSe of the side joint SS shown in FIG. 13, the portion overlapping with such a sheet portion (cover sheet) in the thickness direction is preferably a region where no adhesive is applied to fix the sheet portion (cover sheet), or a low-basis-weight region where the adhesive basis weight is lower than that of the region further inward in the lateral direction. Similarly, even if the folded-back side end portions 20E are close to or overlap the crotch elastic members 17 in the stored state, the presence of an area R where no adhesive is applied (or an area R having a low basis weight area) reduces adhesion between the exuded adhesive of the crotch elastic members 17 and the adhesive of the sheet portion (cover sheet).

[0112] 9, when the thickness direction of the crotch portion 40 of the diaper 1 in the contained state is defined as the inner fold 40a on the side where the folded-over waistband 20 is present and the opposite side is defined as the outer fold 40b, it is preferable that the length 17a of the inner fold 40a is longer than the length 17b of the outer fold 40b (17a > 17b). The shorter length of the crotch elastic member 17 on the outer fold 40b reduces the risk of the crotch elastic member 17 adhering to another diaper 1 adjacent to the outer fold 40b within the container 101 (not shown, a diaper 1 adjacent below the diaper 1a in FIG. 9).

[0113] Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating yet another modified example of the folding of the diaper 1. In the diaper 1 shown in Fig. 14, the second folding is performed so that the inner fold faces the back (patterns 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 in the table of Fig. 8 apply). As in the present embodiment, the crotch elastic members 17 extend from the front to the rear in the longitudinal direction across the center line CL1 in the left-right central portion of the absorbent main body 10. Specifically, the longitudinal length of the crotch elastic members 17 is longer at the front than at the rear. 14, when the side of the diaper 1 where the folded waistband 30 is present is designated as the inner fold 40a and the opposite side is designated as the outer fold 40b, the vertical length of the crotch elastic member 17 may be such that the length 17a of the inner fold 40a is longer than the length 17b of the outer fold 40b (17a<17b). The shorter length of the crotch elastic member 17 on the inner fold 40a reduces the risk of the crotch elastic member 17 adjoining another diaper 1 (not shown, adjacent diaper 1 on the upper side in FIG. 14) adjacent to the inner fold 40a within the container 101.

[0114] In this embodiment, the pair of waistbands 20, 30 are provided with multiple waistband elastic members 23, 33 that stretch in the left-right direction, aligned vertically. Preferably, the force required to stretch the waistband elastic members 23, 33 by a unit length in the left-right direction in their natural state is greater than the force required to stretch the crotch elastic members 17 by a unit length in the up-down direction in their natural state. Because the force required to stretch the waistband elastic members 23, 33 by a unit length (i.e., a greater contractile force) is greater, the waistbands 20, 30 are more likely to develop folds when the waistband elastic members 23, 33 contract, i.e., in their natural state. The more wrinkles there are in the waistbands 20, 30, the more resistant they are to being crushed in the thickness direction, even when compressed in the thickness direction in the stored state. Therefore, the adhesive used to attach the crotch elastic members 17 can reduce the risk of the waistbands 20, 30 and the crotch region 40 sticking together.

[0115] The force required to stretch the waist elastic members 23, 33 by a unit length in the left-right direction from their natural state and the force required to stretch the crotch elastic member 17 by a unit length in the up-down direction from their natural state can be compared using the following method. First, the waist elastic member 23 (33) is cut to a predetermined length in a stretched state and removed from the waist portion 20 (30), and the crotch elastic member 17 is also cut to a predetermined length in a stretched state and removed from the crotch portion 40. If the elastic member is sheet-like, it is cut to a predetermined width (e.g., 10 mm width), and if both are thread-like, for example, one strand is marked to a certain length (e.g., 100 mm) in the stretch direction of the elastic member and cut so as to include the marked portion. Next, the removed waist elastic member 23 (33) and crotch elastic member 17 are fixed in place by adjusting the initial distance between a pair of chucks spaced apart in the tensile direction of the tensile tester to match the length of the sample (a length that will not slacken or will slightly slacken the sample), and the marking position is positioned at the inner end of the chuck. (Note: The width at which the chucks grip the sample is constant.) After fixing both ends of the sample (marking portions) with the chucks, the chucks are spaced apart by a unit length (for example, 70% of the marking length) and the load obtained while the sample is stretched is measured, and the values ​​obtained are compared. Note that if the sample contains multiple thread-like elastic members, it is recommended to compare the values ​​converted to values ​​per thread after measurement.

[0116] ===Other=== The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1, 1a, 1b Diapers (pants-type disposable diapers, pants-type absorbent articles), 10. Absorbent body; 11 absorber, 11A absorbent core, 11B core wrap sheet, 12 top sheet, 13 back seat, 14 exterior sheets, 16 elastic member, 17 crotch elastic member, 18 outer casing, 19 side seats, 20 ventral girth (girth), 20E side end, 20Ea one side end, 20Eae one side end, 20Eb the other side end portion, 20Ebe the other side end portion, 20K folded part, 20ta upper end, 21 inner layer sheet (first sheet), 22 ventral outer sheet (second sheet), 22r folded part, 23 waist elastic member, 23G waist elastic area, 25 welded part, 25s welded part pair, 26 weld row, 30 Back waist part (waist part), 30E side end 30Ea one end, 30Eae one end 30Eb the other end, 30Ebe the other end 30K folded part, 32 Dorsal outer layer sheet (second sheet), 32r folded part, 33 waist elastic member, 33G waist elastic area, 34 Rear leg elastic member, 40 crotch area, 40a Folded inside, 40b Folded outside, 40e Bottom edge in the vertical direction (bottom edge of the crotch area), 50 Leakage prevention wall section, 100 container (container for pants-type absorbent article), 101 housing member, WA: Upper end of waistband, WAe: Upper end of waistband, ER crotch elastic area

Claims

1. A pant-type absorbent article container having a plurality of pant-type absorbent articles and a container member for accommodating the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, The pants-type absorbent article comprises: The vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the thickness direction are perpendicular to each other. A pair of waistband portions; A crotch portion located under the wearer's crotch when worn; a crotch elastic member that is stretchable in the up-down direction and attached to the center of the crotch portion in the left-right direction with an adhesive; and the waist portion includes a first sheet and a second sheet joined by a plurality of welding portions, and a plurality of waist elastic members stretchable in the left-right direction are provided at intervals in the up-down direction; When contracted in the left-right direction, each of the waist elastic members is sandwiched between two adjacent welded portions in the up-down direction among the plurality of welded portions, thereby restricting the up-down position of each of the waist elastic members relative to the first sheet and the second sheet, In a state where the housing is housed in the housing member, an upper end portion of the waist portion in the vertical direction is folded back toward the crotch portion; the plurality of pants-type absorbent articles are compressed in a state where they are stacked in the thickness direction, In at least one pants-type absorbent article, the distance from the upper end of the waistband to the lower end of the crotch portion at the center position in the left-right direction is equal to or less than the average thickness of the crotch portion. A container for a pants-type absorbent article.

2. The container of the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1, A pant-type absorbent article container, wherein the average thickness is 95% or less of the average thickness of the crotch portion of the pant-type absorbent article in its natural state after being removed from the container member.

3. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, The container of a pants-type absorbent article, wherein the crotch elastic members are thread-shaped.

4. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, A container for pants-type absorbent articles, characterized in that in the stored state, both side ends of the waist portion in the left-right direction are folded inward in the left-right direction.

5. The container of the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 4, The crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, In the stored state, The folded waist portion has an overlapping portion where one side end portion and the other side end portion in the left-right direction overlap each other when viewed in the thickness direction, A container for a pants-type absorbent article, wherein the overlapping portion has a portion that overlaps with the crotch elastic region in the left-right direction.

6. The container of the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 4, The crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, In the stored state, a side end portion on one side of the folded waist portion in the left-right direction and a side end portion on the other side of the folded waist portion do not overlap when viewed in the thickness direction; A container for a pants-type absorbent article, wherein both side ends of the waistband portion in the left-right direction have portions that overlap with the crotch elastic regions.

7. The container of the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 4, The container of the pants-type absorbent article is Among the plurality of pants-type absorbent articles, a first pants-type absorbent article has a portion where, in the stored state, one side end and the other side end of the folded-back waist portion in the left-right direction overlap when viewed in the thickness direction; A pant-type absorbent article container characterized in that it includes, among the plurality of pant-type absorbent articles, a second pant-type absorbent article in which, in the stored state, the side end portion on one side of the folded-over waist portion in the left-right direction and the side end portion on the other side do not overlap when viewed in the thickness direction.

8. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, In the crotch portion in the accommodated state, when the side where the folded-back waist portion exists in the thickness direction is the folded-back inner side and the opposite side is the folded-back outer side, A container for pants-type absorbent articles, wherein the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the inside of the fold is equal to or greater than the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the outside of the fold.

9. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, In the crotch portion in the accommodated state, when the side where the folded-back waist portion exists in the thickness direction is the folded-back inner side and the opposite side is the folded-back outer side, A container for a pants-type absorbent article, wherein the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the outer fold is longer than the vertical length of the crotch elastic member on the inner fold.

10. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, In the stored state, When the portion of the waist portion that is folded toward the crotch portion is defined as a folded portion, The container for a pants-type absorbent article, wherein the folded-back portion has an overlapping portion of the crotch elastic member when viewed in the thickness direction.

11. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, The crotch portion has a crotch elastic region defined by the crotch elastic member, A container for a pants-type absorbent article, characterized in that the amount of adhesive per unit area provided between the first sheet and the second sheet is less than the amount of adhesive per unit area of ​​the crotch elastic region.

12. The container of the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 11, The waist portion has the waist elastic members along the left-right direction, A container for a pants-type absorbent article, wherein no adhesive is used to fix the waist elastic members along the left-right direction.

13. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, The pair of waistband portions are joined by a pair of side joint portions on both sides in the left-right direction, In an area of ​​the upper end portions of the pair of waistband portions in the vertical direction adjacent to inner ends of the pair of side joint portions in the left-right direction, no adhesive is applied between the first sheet and the second sheet, or an adhesive with a basis weight lower than that of an area further inside in the left-right direction is applied, In the stored state, both left and right end portions of the pair of waistband portions are folded inward in the left and right direction.

14. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 13, In the region adjacent to the inner ends of the pair of side joints in the left-right direction, the adhesive is not applied over the entire range overlapping with the side joints in the up-down direction, or an adhesive with a basis weight lower than that of the region further inside in the left-right direction is applied, In the stored state, both left and right end portions of the pair of waistband portions are folded inward in the left and right direction.

15. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, The pants-type absorbent article includes an absorbent body having an absorbent core, A pant-type absorbent article container characterized in that, in the stored state, a portion of the absorbent core is folded together with the folded-back of the upper end of the waistband in the vertical direction.

16. A container for the pants-type absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, A container for a pants-type absorbent article, characterized in that the force required to stretch the waist elastic member in its natural state by a unit length in the left-right direction is greater than the force required to stretch the crotch elastic member in its natural state by a unit length in the up-down direction.

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