Absorbent Article Side Flap Crease Prevention Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Absorbent articles often experience gaps between the absorbent body and the skin surface due to folding creases, leading to leakage and odor issues when worn, as the folding creases can cause the absorbent body to separate from the skin surface.
Innovation Solution
The absorbent article incorporates a design with a highly stretching elastic member and less stretching portions, where the folding lines overlap with the highly stretching portion and the absorbent body, providing rigidity and preventing crease formation, and includes heat welding portions to secure the leakage barriers to the absorbent main body, ensuring the side flaps fold with rigidity and maintain contact with the skin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the side flaps are folded at folding positions on the dorsal side, then the absorbent article can be compactly packaged, but folding creases are formed that cause gaps between the absorbent body and skin surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the elastic member have different stretching properties in different regions. The first elastic member has a first stretching property in the folded region and a second stretching property (different from the first) in the non-folded region. This allows the folded region to accommodate creases while the non-folded region maintains reliability for leakage prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the stretching parameter of the elastic member by having the first elastic member exhibit a first stretching property in the folded region and a second stretching property in the non-folded region. This parameter change allows the material to adapt to different functional requirements in different spatial zones.
2Volume of moving object
If the absorbent body is made thin to reduce bulk, then packaging efficiency improves, but the dorsal side region lacks sufficient material to prevent folding creases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing the absorbent body with different thickness characteristics in different regions. The dorsal side region has increased thickness to resist folding creases, while other regions maintain thinner profiles for packaging efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces asymmetry by making the absorbent body thickness non-uniform, with the dorsal side region having greater thickness than other regions. This asymmetric design provides targeted reinforcement where folding creases occur while maintaining overall compactness.
3Ease of manufacture
If the elastic member has uniform stretching properties, then manufacturing is simplified, but it cannot simultaneously accommodate folding and maintain contact with skin surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the elastic member have different stretching properties in different regions. The first elastic member has a first stretching property in the folded region and a second stretching property in the non-folded region, allowing each region to optimize for its specific function.
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 design effectively suppresses the formation of gaps between the absorbent article and the skin surface, preventing leakage and odor issues by ensuring continuous contact and easy transition from the folded to expanded state, enhancing the absorbent's functionality and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
the leakage barrier includes: a standing portion in which an outer side in the width direction is a fixed end, and an inner side in the width direction is a free end, and a supporting portion which is adjacent to one side in the longitudinal direction of the standing portion and overlaps with the elastic member in the thickness direction, the supporting portion is fixed to the absorbent main body by a heat welding portion
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
The absorbent article suppresses a gap between the absorbent article and a skin surface from being formed when being worn. The absorbent article (1) includes an absorbent main body (AB), a pair of side flaps (7, 7), a pair of leakage barriers (5, 5), and an elastic member (11) which is joined in between the pair of side flaps in the absorbent main body, and is stretchable and shrinkable in a width direction. Each of the pair of leakage barriers includes a standing portion (5c) in which an outer side in the width direction is a fixed end, and an inner side in the width direction is a free end, and a supporting portion (5b) which is adjacent to one end portion in a longitudinal direction of the standing portion and overlaps with the elastic member in a thickness direction. The supporting portion (5b) is fixed to the absorbent main body by the heat welding portion (50). Each of the pair of side flaps is folded to the inner side in the width direction at a position of a folding line (FL) which passes through the supporting portion and extends along the longitudinal direction in a plan view.