Diaper Waist Opening Segmented Elastic Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disposable diapers face challenges in folding the waist-opening without increasing stiffness, as high frictional members can make the waist-opening too stiff, while omitting them renders it difficult to fold back along a guide line.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates waist elastics with varying tensile stresses and fineness in different regions of the waist area, allowing for easy folding of the waist-opening along a transverse direction without increasing stiffness, featuring first, second, and third regions with specific elastic properties and attachment points.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a high frictional member is attached to the waist-opening to serve as a fold guide line, then the waist-opening can be easily folded back, but the stiffness of the waist-opening increases unacceptably and wearing comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The waist-opening is divided into multiple regions (first region with liquid-absorbent structure, second region without it) with different tensile stress characteristics. The first region has lower tensile stress to maintain flexibility and comfort, while the second region has higher tensile stress to provide folding guidance. This segmentation allows different parts of the waist-opening to have different mechanical properties, resolving the contradiction between ease of folding and wearing comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the waist-opening are given different local properties: the first region overlapping the liquid-absorbent structure has lower tensile stress for comfort, while the second region has higher tensile stress for folding guidance. This local differentiation allows the waist-opening to simultaneously provide comfort in the contact area and folding guidance in the peripheral area.
2Strength
If the first regions are provided with first waist elastics having smaller fineness and higher stretch ratio, then the tensile stress is reduced for better comfort, but the folding guidance capability may be weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The waist elastics are segmented into first waist elastics (in the first region) and second waist elastics (in the second region) with different properties. The first waist elastics have smaller fineness and higher stretch ratio to reduce tensile stress and improve comfort, while the second waist elastics have larger fineness and lower stretch ratio to provide stronger folding guidance. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning different elastic properties to different functional zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the waist elastics are changed between regions: the first waist elastics have smaller fineness and higher stretch ratio, while the second waist elastics have larger fineness and lower stretch ratio. This parameter differentiation allows the system to simultaneously achieve comfort (through lower stress in the first region) and folding guidance (through higher stress in the second region).
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 enables the waist-opening to be easily folded and expanded, facilitating the diaper's application without increased stiffness, ensuring comfortable wear and effective containment of bodily fluids.
Implementation Method 1
waist elastics contractibly attached to the front and rear waist regions under tension in the transverse direction
Data Source
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AI summary
A wearing article improved so that the waist-opening can be easily folded back along a fold line extending in a transverse direction without increasing the stiffness in the vicinity of the waist-opening. A diaper 10 includes front and rear waist members 20, 30 and a crotch member 40. A liquid-absorbent structure 41 of the crotch member 40 is formed outboard of in a longitudinal direction Y of a core 42 with front and rear flaps 46, 47 exclusively composed of an absorption surface wrapping sheet 43, a leakage-barrier sheet 44 and a bottom surface wrapping sheet 45. The front and rear waist members 20, 30 include first regions 71 overlapping the front and rear flaps 46, 47, respectively, second regions 72 lying adjacent to the associated first regions 71 and third regions 73 lying adjacent to the associated second regions 72. The front and rear waist members 20, 30 are provided with the first, second and third waist elastics 81, 82, 83 attached between respective inner and outer sheets in the first, second and third regions 71, 72, 73, respectively. A tensile stress of the first regions 71 and the third regions 73 is adjusted to be lower than that of the second regions 72.