Absorbent article

Abstract

To provide an absorbent article that can reliably prevent leakage back and forth, and right and left (especially right and left sides) even for a large amount of urine and / or feces.SOLUTION: An absorbent article includes a liquid permeable top sheet, a liquid non-permeable back sheet, an absorber disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet, and a pair of three-dimensional gathers including a sheet having water repellent property or water-proof property along a longitudinal direction on a skin contact surface side of the top sheet. The three-dimensional gather includes a high absorbent sheet at a part in the longitudinal direction on the skin contact surface side. The high absorbent sheet includes a non-woven sheet and a high absorbent polymer enclosed in multi-layers of the non-woven sheet. The high absorbent sheet is provided protruding outward in a width direction on an outside surface close to the respective free end sides of the three-dimensional gather, and toward the direction opposite to fixed end sides from the free end sides.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an absorbent article provided with a highly absorbent sheet.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, an absorbent article is composed of a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorber disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet. Thus, body fluids such as urine are absorbed by the absorber through the top sheet.

[0003] Absorbent articles are generally required to absorb generally excreted body fluids (urine and / or feces) without leaking them to the outside and to have little return to the skin. In particular, various techniques have been studied regarding prevention of leakage to the outside.

[0004] As a prior art document of an absorbent article characterized by preventing leakage to the outside, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a liquid-permeable surface sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, an absorber interposed between the surface sheet and the back sheet, a first three-dimensional gather disposed inward along both longitudinal edges of the absorber, and a second three-dimensional gather disposed inward outside the first three-dimensional gather. The absorbent article is attached to an outer body worn on the human body and used. When worn, it includes a ventral part located on the ventral side of the wearer, a dorsal part located on the dorsal side, a crotch part located between the ventral part and the dorsal part, and two leg-around parts located around the legs. In the absorbent article, the first three-dimensional gather and the second three-dimensional gather are formed of a liquid-impermeable sheet, the standing points of the first three-dimensional gather and the second three-dimensional gather are arranged at intervals, a liquid-permeable surface sheet is exposed at a portion between the standing point of the first three-dimensional gather and the standing point of the second three-dimensional gather, and it is configured to be liquid-permeable from the surface sheet of such a portion to the absorber. The dorsal end of the first three-dimensional gather is disposed closer to the crotch than the dorsal end of the second three-dimensional gather, is inclined in the direction of the dorsal part from the longitudinal edge of the absorber toward the inside, and a slit or recess is formed in the absorber that passes between the dorsal end of the first three-dimensional gather and the dorsal end of the second three-dimensional gather and reaches the inside of the first three-dimensional gather.

[0005] In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a disposable absorbent article having a waist barrier cuff that freely stands up in a used state on the use surface side at at least one longitudinal end of the product. The barrier cuff is formed double by a barrier sheet, and the base of the double barrier sheet is fixed to the use surface of the product. The boundary between this fixed portion and the unfixed standing region reaching the standing distal edge is defined as the proximal edge of the waist barrier cuff. Elastic stretch members are provided in the vicinity of the distal edge and in the vicinity of the proximal edge within the standing region in the longitudinal range of the product between the double barrier sheets. A disposable absorbent article is disclosed, which is characterized in that.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] However, there still remains a problem that it is difficult to surely prevent leakage even with the above absorbent articles against a large amount of urine, soft feces, or both.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an absorbent article that surely prevents leakage to the front, rear, left, and right (especially left and right) even against a large amount of urine and / or feces.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] The inventors conducted intensive studies and, in a part of the three-dimensional gathers, provided a highly absorbent sheet containing a superabsorbent polymer between the multiple layers of the non-woven fabric sheet, thereby enabling the absorbent article to reliably prevent leakage to the front and back and to the left and right (especially to the left and right) even against a large amount of urine and / or feces, and thus completed the present invention. That is, the present invention provides the following.

[0010] (1) A first aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable topsheet, a liquid-impermeable backsheet, and an absorber disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, wherein a pair of three-dimensional gathers having a water-repellent or waterproof sheet along the longitudinal direction are provided on the skin-contact surface side of the topsheet, the three-dimensional gathers are provided with a highly absorbent sheet in a part of the longitudinal direction on the skin-contact surface side, the highly absorbent sheet has a non-woven fabric sheet and a superabsorbent polymer encapsulated between the multiple layers of the non-woven fabric sheet, and the highly absorbent sheet is provided so as to protrude outward in the width direction and in a direction opposite to the fixed-end side from the free-end side on the outer surface of each of the three-dimensional gathers closer to the free-end side.

[0011] (2) A second aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (1), wherein the protruding width of the highly absorbent sheet in the width direction is 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less from the tip in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers.

[0012] (3) A third aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (1) or (2), wherein the highly absorbent sheet forms a joint portion in a shape where the ends of the non-woven fabric sheet overlap each other in the width-direction cross section, and the end portion outside the joint portion is located on the skin-contact surface side of the three-dimensional gathers.

[0013] (4) A fourth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (3), wherein, in the highly absorbent sheet, the surface of the joint portion serves as the surface to be bonded to the three-dimensional gathers.

[0014] (5) The fifth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the longitudinal position of the superabsorbent sheet is at the longitudinal center of the three-dimensional gathers or from one end in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gathers to a position of 1 / 10 or more and 9 / 10 or less of the longitudinal length of the three-dimensional gathers.

[0015] (6) The sixth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the longitudinal length of the superabsorbent sheet is 20% or more and 80% or less of the length of the three-dimensional gathers.

[0016] (7) The seventh aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the superabsorbent sheet is bonded in a state of being elongated in the longitudinal direction with respect to the three-dimensional gathers.

[0017] (8) The eighth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to (7), wherein the elongation magnification of the superabsorbent sheet in the longitudinal direction is 1.2 times or more and 2.0 times or less with respect to the non-elongated state.

[0018] (9) The ninth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the nonwoven fabric sheet has a basis weight of 30 g / m 2 or more and 300 g / m 2 or less, and a bulk density of 100 kg / m 3 or more and 200 kg / m 3 or less.

[0019] (10) The tenth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (9), wherein the nonwoven fabric sheet is a polyurethane continuous porous body sheet.

[0020] (11) The eleventh aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article described in (10), wherein the polyurethane continuous porous sheet is characterized in that the surface of the skeleton is hydrophilic.

[0021] (12) The twelfth aspect of the present invention is the absorbent article according to any one of (1) to (11), wherein the basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer is 30 g / m 2 or more and 300 g / m 2 or less.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an absorbent article that can surely prevent leakage to the front and rear and left and right (especially left and right) even against a large amount of urine and / or feces.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described in detail. The following present embodiment is an exemplification for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention to the following contents. The present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of its gist. In the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions will be omitted. Also, the positional relationships such as up, down, left, and right are based on the positional relationships shown in the drawings unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are not limited to the ratios shown.

[0025] In addition, in the description of this specification, the term "when the absorbent article 1 is worn" refers to at least one of when the absorbent article 1 is worn and after it is worn. The longitudinal direction of the absorbent article 1 is the direction that extends across the wearer's front and back when the absorbent article 1 is worn, and is the direction indicated by the symbol Y in the figure. Also, the width direction of the absorbent article 1 is the direction that is horizontal or orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and is the direction indicated by the symbol X in the figure. Furthermore, the skin-contact surface is the surface among the front and back surfaces of each member such as the absorber that is arranged on the skin side of the wearer when worn, and the non-skin-contact surface is the surface among the front and back surfaces of each member such as the absorber that is directed to the side opposite to the skin side of the wearer when worn. Body fluid refers to a liquid discharged from the body to the outside, such as moisture in urine or soft feces. Furthermore, examples of the absorbent article 1 include, but are not limited to, incontinence products and urine pads, and other absorbent articles may also be used.

[0026] <Absorbent article> FIG. 1 is a plan view of the absorbent article 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the top sheet 10 side. Also, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X1-X1 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the absorbent article 1 includes a liquid-permeable top sheet 10, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 20, and an absorber 30 disposed between the top sheet 10 and the back sheet 20. Thereby, the absorber 30 has a structure sandwiched between the top sheet 10 and the back sheet 20.

[0027] Preferably, the dimension of the absorbent article 1 in the longitudinal direction is 200 mm or more and 800 mm or less, and the dimension in the width direction is 80 mm or more and 500 mm or less. By adjusting the dimensions of the absorbent article 1 within the above range, an absorbent article 1 suitable for incontinence products, urine pads, etc. can be obtained.

[0028] <Top sheet> The topsheet 10 may be formed from a base material having liquid permeability such that body fluid can move to the absorber 30. For example, known hydrophilic nonwoven fabrics such as thermal bonded nonwoven fabric and spunbonded nonwoven fabric can be used. Further, in order to improve the liquid permeability, the topsheet 10 may be embossed or perforated on the surface. As methods for performing these embossing and perforating processes, known methods can be implemented without limitation. Further, in order to reduce irritation to the skin, the topsheet 10 may contain lotion, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory component, pH adjuster, antibacterial agent, humectant, etc. In terms of strength, processability, and liquid rewet amount, the basis weight of the topsheet 10 is 15 g / m 2 or more and 200 g / m 2 or less, preferably 20 g / m 2 or more and 80 g / m 2 or less. There is no particular limitation on the shape of the topsheet 10, but it may be any shape that covers the absorber 30 and is necessary to guide body fluid to the absorber 30 so that there is no leakage.

[0029] <Backsheet> The backsheet 20 may be formed using a base material having liquid impermeability such that the body fluid held by the absorber 30 does not wet the clothing, and an air-permeable or non-air-permeable liquid-impermeable plastic film can be used.

[0030] In terms of strength and processability, the basis weight of the backsheet 20 is 15 g / m 2 or more and 40 g / m 2 or less, preferably 18 g / m 2 or more and 30 g / m 2 or less. In order to make the backsheet 20 air-permeable, for example, a filler may be blended into the resin film of the base material, or the backsheet 20 may be embossed. Examples of the filler include calcium carbonate, and the blending method can be performed without limitation using known methods.

[0031] <Absorber> In the absorbent article 1 of the present invention, the longitudinal dimension of the absorber 30 is preferably 150 mm or more and 700 mm or less, and more preferably 200 mm or more and 650 mm or less. Further, the widthwise dimension of the absorber 30 is preferably 50 mm or more and 450 mm or less, and more preferably 70 mm or more and 400 mm or less.

[0032] The absorber 30 preferably contains absorbent fibers as a base material and a superabsorbent polymer (hereinafter also referred to as SAP).

[0033] (Absorbent fibers) The absorbent fibers are not particularly limited as long as they are generally used in absorbent articles, and examples thereof include fluff pulp, cotton, rayon, acetate, tissue, absorbent paper, hydrophilic nonwoven fabric, etc. Among these, from the viewpoint of absorbency, it is preferable to use fluff pulp. Examples of the fluff pulp include those obtained by defibrating wood pulp (for example, softwood kraft pulp (N-BKP) such as southern pine and Douglas fir), synthetic fibers, resin fibers, non-wood pulp, etc. into a cotton-like form. When fluff pulp is used as the absorbent fibers as the base material in the absorber 30, the basis weight of the absorbent fibers is not particularly limited, but is preferably 100 g / m 2 or more and 500 g / m 2 or less, and more preferably 150 g / m 2 or more and 400 g / m 2 or less. Thereby, the absorber 30 can absorb more body fluids.

[0034] (SAP) The SAP contained in the absorber 30 is not particularly limited as long as it can absorb body fluids and prevent backflow, and materials formed from materials such as sodium polyacrylate-based, polyaspartate-based, (starch-acrylic acid) graft copolymer, (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymer, (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymer and its saponified product can be used. Among these, from the viewpoint of the absorption amount per unit weight, the sodium polyacrylate-based is preferable. In the absorber 30, the ratio of the weight of SAP to the weight of the entire absorber 30, i.e., weight of SAP / weight of entire absorber 30 × 100 (%) is preferably 20% or more, and more preferably 30% or more and 60% or less.

[0035] In the absorber 30, the forms of the absorbent fiber and SAP may be those formed by mixing SAP particles in the absorbent fiber, or may be a sheet in which SAP particles are fixed between the absorbent fibers. Further, for the purpose of preventing leakage of SAP particles and stabilizing the shape of the absorber 30, a carrier sheet may be provided to wrap the absorber 30 (not shown). The base material of the carrier sheet may be any hydrophilic material, and examples thereof include hydrophilic non-woven fabrics such as tissue, absorbent paper, and airlaid non-woven fabric. Also, when a plurality of carrier sheets are provided, the base materials of the plurality of carrier sheets may be the same or different.

[0036] <Three-dimensional gathers> The absorbent article 1 further includes a pair of three-dimensional gathers 40 having a water-repellent or waterproof sheet along the longitudinal direction on the skin contact surface side of the topsheet 10 in order to prevent leakage (lateral leakage) of the body fluid excreted by the wearer to the left and right. The outer ends of the three-dimensional gathers 40 in the width direction of the absorbent article 1 are fixed to the backsheet 20, the inner ends thereof are fixed to the topsheet 10, and the center thereof is arranged as a free end not fixed to the topsheet 10. By providing the three-dimensional gathers 40 along the longitudinal direction, the three-dimensional gathers 40 have standing properties and can be deformed according to the body shape of the wearer. Note that, as the water-repellent or waterproof sheet of the three-dimensional gathers 40, for example, known water-repellent non-woven fabrics such as SMS (spunbond, meltblown, spunbond three-layer structure) non-woven fabric and spunbond non-woven fabric can be used. Also, from the viewpoints of strength and processability, the basis weight of the three-dimensional gathers 40 is 2 10 g / m 2 or more and 100 g / m

[0037] <High-absorbency sheet> In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the three-dimensional gather 40 is provided with a highly absorbent sheet 50 at a part of the longitudinal direction on the skin-contact surface side. The highly absorbent sheet 50 is provided to protrude outward in the width direction and from the free end side toward the opposite direction of the fixed end side on the outer surface of each of the three-dimensional gathers 40 closer to the free end side. At this time, the protruding width of the highly absorbent sheet 50 in the width direction is preferably 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less from the tip in the width direction of the three-dimensional gather 40.

[0038] The highly absorbent sheet 50 has a non-woven fabric sheet 51 and a highly absorbent polymer 52 encapsulated between the multi-layers of the non-woven fabric sheet 51. By providing the highly absorbent sheet 50 containing the highly absorbent polymer 52 between the multi-layers of such non-woven fabric sheets 51 to protrude outward in the width direction at a part of the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gather 40, it is possible to effectively prevent lateral leakage of body fluids that could not be prevented by a conventional three-dimensional gather alone.

[0039] In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the highly absorbent sheet 50 forms a joint portion 53 in a shape where the ends of the non-woven fabric sheets 51 overlap in the cross-section in the width direction, and it is preferable that the end portion outside the joint portion 53 is located on the skin-contact surface side of the three-dimensional gather 40. Also, in the highly absorbent sheet 50, it is preferable that the surface of the joint portion 53 is the surface to be bonded to the three-dimensional gather 40. By joining the joint portion 53 not toward the skin-contact surface but toward the sheet surface side of the three-dimensional gather 40 in this way, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the skin feel and discomfort caused by the ends of the non-woven fabric sheets 51 touching the skin.

[0040] Note that the position of the highly absorbent sheet 50 in the longitudinal direction is preferably at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gather 40 or at a position from one end in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gather 40 that is 1 / 10 or more and 9 / 10 or less of the length in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gather 40. The length of the highly absorbent sheet 50 in the longitudinal direction is preferably 20% or more and 80% or less of the length of the three-dimensional gather 40. By defining the position and length of the highly absorbent sheet 50 as described above, lateral leakage can be surely prevented.

[0041] Further, the highly absorbent sheet 50 is preferably bonded to the three-dimensional gathers 40 in a state of being elongated in the longitudinal direction, and the elongation magnification of the highly absorbent sheet 50 in the longitudinal direction is preferably 1.2 times or more and 2.0 times or less with respect to the non-elongated state. By attaching the highly absorbent sheet 50 to the three-dimensional gathers 40 at a predetermined magnification in an elongated state in this way, the rising of the highly absorbent sheet 50 on the three-dimensional gathers 40 can be further enhanced, and lateral leakage can be more effectively prevented.

[0042] (Nonwoven fabric sheet) The material of the nonwoven fabric sheet 51 is selected from any of an air-through nonwoven fabric, a spunbond nonwoven fabric, or a polyurethane continuous porous body sheet, but a polyurethane continuous porous body sheet is preferred. As the characteristics of the polyurethane continuous porous body sheet, it is rich in flexibility, excellent in adhesion to the wearer's skin and followability to body movements, so that the moisture of body fluid trying to exceed the three-dimensional gathers 40 can be more effectively absorbed by the highly absorbent sheet 50. Therefore, lateral leakage of the absorbent article 1 can be surely prevented, and a good wearing feeling can also be obtained. As the polyurethane continuous porous body sheet, a single-layer sheet of urethane foam or the like can be used, but it is preferable that the surface of the skeleton is hydrophilic. Further, the basis weight of the nonwoven fabric sheet 51 is preferably 30 g / m 2 or more and 300 g / m 2 or less, and the apparent density is preferably 100 kg / m 3 or more and 200 kg / m 3 or less.

[0043] (Highly absorbent polymer) As the superabsorbent polymer 52 included in the highly absorbent sheet 50, there are no particular limitations as long as it can absorb body fluids and prevent backflow, similar to the SAP included in the absorber 30. Materials formed from materials such as sodium polyacrylate-based, polyaspartate-based, (starch-acrylic acid) graft copolymers, (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymers, (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymers and their saponified products can be used. Among these, from the viewpoint of the absorption amount per unit weight, sodium polyacrylate-based is preferable. Note that the basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer 52 is 30 g / m 2 Above 300 g / m 2 It is preferably below.

[0044] As mentioned above, the present invention has been described using embodiments. Needless to say, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments and examples. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Also, it is obvious from the description of the claims that forms with such changes or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0045] 1 Absorbent article 10 Top sheet 20 Back sheet 30 Absorber 40 Three-dimensional gather 50 Highly absorbent sheet 51 Nonwoven fabric sheet 52 Superabsorbent polymer 53 Joint

Claims

1. An absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable topsheet, a liquid-impermeable backsheet, and an absorber disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, wherein a pair of three-dimensional gathers having a water-repellent or waterproof sheet along the longitudinal direction are provided on the skin-contact surface side of the topsheet, the three-dimensional gathers have standing properties and are provided with a highly absorbent sheet on a part of the longitudinal direction on the skin-contact surface side, the skin-contact surface of the three-dimensional gathers becomes the outer surface in the width direction in the standing state, the highly absorbent sheet has a nonwoven fabric sheet and a highly absorbent polymer encapsulated between the plies of the nonwoven fabric sheet, the highly absorbent sheet is provided so as to protrude outward in the width direction and in a direction opposite to the fixed end side from the free end side on the outer surface in the width direction near the free end side of each of the three-dimensional gathers in the standing state, the nonwoven fabric sheet of the highly absorbent sheet is provided so as to wrap the highly absorbent polymer in the cross-section in the width direction, the highly absorbent sheet forms a joint portion in which the ends of the nonwoven fabric sheets overlap each other in the cross-section in the width direction, and the end portion outside the joint portion is located on the skin-contact surface side of the three-dimensional gathers, characterized in that it is an absorbent article.

2. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein the protruding width in the width direction of the highly absorbent sheet is 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less from the tip in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers.

3. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface of the joint portion in the highly absorbent sheet is the surface to be bonded to the three-dimensional gathers.

4. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the longitudinal position of the highly absorbent sheet is at the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gathers or at a position of 1 / 10 or more and 9 / 10 or less of the longitudinal length of the three-dimensional gathers from one end in the longitudinal direction of the three-dimensional gathers.

5. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the longitudinal length of the highly absorbent sheet is 20% or more and 80% or less of the length of the three-dimensional gathers.

6. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the highly absorbent sheet is bonded to the three-dimensional gathers in a state of being stretched in the longitudinal direction.

7. The absorbent article according to claim 6, wherein the elongation magnification in the longitudinal direction of the highly absorbent sheet is 1.2 times or more and 2.0 times or less with respect to the non-elongated state.

8. The nonwoven sheet has a basis weight of 30 g / m ２ or more and 300 g / m ２ or less, and has an apparent density of 100 kg / m ３ or more and 200 kg / m ３ or less. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that.

9. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the non-woven fabric sheet is a polyurethane continuous porous sheet.

10. The absorbent article according to claim 9, wherein the surface of the skeleton of the polyurethane continuous porous sheet is hydrophilic.

11. The basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer is 30 g / m ２ or more and 300 g / m ２ or less, and the absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that.

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