3D Fluid Pervious Web Printing for Depth and Ink Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disposable absorbent products face challenges in creating visible images or color signals without requiring an underlying layer, reducing material usage, or minimizing ink consumption while maintaining visual perception.
Innovation Solution
A three-dimensional, fluid pervious polymeric web with a pattern of interconnecting members and apertures, where a colorant or lotion is deposited on the second surface, allowing for depth perception and reduced ink usage by printing on the second surface rather than the top surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a color signal is printed on an underlying layer below the topsheet, then depth perception and visual appeal are improved, but the structure becomes more complex and requires an additional layer
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of printing the color signal on an underlying layer below the topsheet (conventional approach), the patent inverts the approach by printing the color signal directly on the topsheet itself. This eliminates the need for an additional underlying printing layer while maintaining the visual depth effect through the three-dimensional formed film structure of the topsheet.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the printing function with the topsheet layer itself. The topsheet serves dual purposes: as the functional absorbent interface and as the printing surface for the color signal. This consolidation eliminates the need for a separate underlying printing layer, reducing structural complexity while maintaining visual appeal.
2Loss of substance
If printing is done on the top surface of the topsheet, then ink consumption is reduced, but the colorant is in direct contact with the user's skin
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by depositing the colorant specifically on the sidewalls and rear surface of the three-dimensional formed film structure, rather than uniformly across the entire topsheet surface. This localized deposition maintains visual appeal while keeping the colorant away from direct skin contact areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the three-dimensional formed film structure to create vertical dimensionality in the printing placement. By positioning the colorant on the sidewalls and rear surface rather than only on the top surface, the invention adds a vertical dimension to the printing strategy, allowing ink reduction while maintaining aesthetic appeal and avoiding direct skin contact.
3Loss of information
If an underlying layer is used for printing, then visual perception is enhanced, but material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The topsheet is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the functional absorbent interface, provides the printing surface for the color signal, and creates the three-dimensional structure necessary for visual depth perception. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for a separate underlying printing layer, reducing overall material usage while maintaining visual perception.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach eliminates the need for an underlying layer, reduces ink consumption, and provides a visually appealing depth effect while keeping the colorant away from the user's skin, enhancing the product's aesthetic and functional properties.
Implementation Method 1
The web can be a three-dimensional, fluid pervious, polymeric web
Data Source
AI summary
A web having printed thereon a colorant and/or a composition providing a skin health benefit. The web can be a three-dimensional, fluid pervious, polymeric web. The web can comprise a pattern of interconnecting members, the interconnecting members defining apertures. The apertures are defined in a first surface of the web in a first plane of the web, and extend in sidewall portions to a second surface in a second plane of the web. A colorant or lotion composition can be deposited on at least a portion of the second surface of the web.