Absorbent Article Protrusion Pitch Variation for Clogging Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing absorbent articles, such as diapers, face issues with clogging due to solid components in urine and menstrual bleeding, leading to leakage and poor fit, as the convex portions on the top sheet can compress and narrow gaps, causing clogging, while adjusting pitch to prevent clogging results in clearance issues with the skin.
Innovation Solution
An absorbent article design featuring a liquid-permeable skin-side sheet with protrusions and a second sheet placed in the inseam, where the skin-side sheet has an overlapping region with a larger protrusion pitch and end regions with smaller pitches, ensuring the protrusions are not easily compressed and maintaining shape, while allowing for deformation to fit the wearer's shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pitch between convex portions is reduced to prevent clogging, then clogging is suppressed, but clearance is formed between the diaper and wearer's skin degrading the fit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different pitch values for protrusions in different regions of the top sheet. Specifically, the pitch between adjacent protrusions is set to a first value in a first region and a second value (different from the first value) in a second region. This local differentiation allows the diaper to maintain both good fit in certain areas and effective clogging prevention in others, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
2Reliability
If force is exerted to compress convex portions, then filtration is improved, but gaps between fibers narrow causing clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates regional differences in protrusion pitch to balance filtration and clogging prevention. By having different pitch values in different regions, the structure allows controlled compression in areas where filtration is prioritized while maintaining adequate fiber gaps in areas where clogging prevention is more critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions are designed to be compressible under force, allowing the gaps between fibers to dynamically adjust. When force is applied, the protrusions compress to improve filtration, but the regional pitch variation ensures that not all areas compress equally, maintaining sufficient open gaps in certain regions to prevent complete clogging.
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 clogging and leakage by maintaining protrusion shape and allowing for better fit by adjusting the pitch of protrusions, ensuring effective urine absorption and prevention of leakage.
Implementation Method 1
an absorbent core to absorb a liquid
Implementation Method 2
a liquid permeable skin-side sheet provided on a skin side of the absorbent core
Data Source
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AI summary
An absorbent article includes an absorbent core (53), a top sheet (51) provided on a skin-side of a thickness direction of the absorbent core, and a second sheet (52) arranged between the absorbent core and the top sheet in the thickness direction and to be placed in a wearer's inseam. The top sheet has a plurality of protrusions (511) formed along a longitudinal direction and spaced apart in a horizontal direction. The second sheet is smaller than the top sheet in the horizontal direction. The top sheet has an overlapping region (51X) overlapping with the second sheet in the thickness direction and both end regions (51Y) separated by a predetermined distance outward from the overlapping region in the horizontal direction and provided to overlap with the overlapping region in the longitudinal direction. A horizontal pitch of the protrusions in the overlapping region is larger than a horizontal pitch of the protrusions in the two end regions.