Floating Leg Gathers Reduce Skin Pressure in Absorbent Articles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional absorbent articles cause a feeling of restraint and can lead to hot and stuffy conditions, along with rashes, due to the use of strong tension materials and external pressing forces that result in the absorber being closely attached to the wearer's body.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of floating leg gathers that are spaced apart from the absorber, allowing for reduced tension and preventing direct contact between bodily fluids and the wearer's skin, thereby reducing the feeling of restraint and minimizing hot and stuffy conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If stretchable materials with strong tension are used to achieve close attachment of the absorber to the body, then leakage prevention is improved, but the feeling of restraint and hot and stuffy conditions worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The leg gather is divided into multiple independent elastic strands (first elastic strand, second elastic strand, etc.) instead of using a single continuous elastic band. This segmentation disperses the tension across multiple points, reducing the concentrated pressing force on the wearer's body while maintaining the overall sealing function for leakage prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic strands are arranged in a specific pattern where only certain regions provide strong elastic tension for sealing, while other regions have reduced tension to minimize restraint sensation. The first and second elastic strands are positioned to provide sealing at critical leakage points without uniformly compressing the entire leg area.
2Productivity
If the absorber is closely attached to the wearer's body using external pressing force, then fluid absorption effectiveness is improved, but skin contact with bodily fluids and rash occurrence worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic strands serve as an intermediary mechanism that provides the necessary pressing force for absorption effectiveness without requiring direct continuous contact between the absorber and the wearer's body. The elastic strands transmit force intermittently through their elastic deformation, maintaining absorption performance while reducing skin exposure to bodily fluids.
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
The absorbent article achieves a reduced feeling of restraint and effectively suppresses the occurrence of hot and stuffy states and rashes by maintaining the absorber at a distance from the wearer's body while ensuring effective fluid absorption.
Implementation Method 1
transferring the excreted bodily fluids from the surface of the absorber to the inside thereof to be absorbed therein
Implementation Method 2
an absorber that absorbs bodily fluids, such as urine excreted from a wearer, by means of an absorber that makes use of a super absorbent polymer (hereinafter referred to as an 'SAP'), fluffy pulp or the like
Data Source
Figure 1(A)~1(C)
Figure 2
Figure 3(A)~3(B)
AI summary
Provided is an absorbent article that feels less restrictive when worn, and suppresses hot and stuffy state and rashes. This absorbent article is provided with: a sheet-type leakage-preventing body; an absorbent body arranged on top of the leakage-preventing body; and a pair of left and right floating leg gathers (FLGs) arranged on top of the absorbent body so as to extend from the front end in the longitudinal direction of the main body of the absorbent article, traversing a front main section, a crotch part, and a rear main section, to the rear end. The FLGs each have a top part and a trailing part that adjoins the top part. The pair of left and right FLGs is arranged so that the top parts face inwards and the trailing parts face outwards. The front ends and the rear ends of the FLGs are joined respectively to the vicinity of the front end and the vicinity of the rear end of the main body of the absorbent article. The trailing part trails downwards from the top part towards the absorbent body. The pair of left and right FLGs is joined in the vicinity of the lower end of the trailing part thereof to the main body of the absorbent article and/or to the surface of the absorbent body to form front pockets and rear pockets, and is distanced from the surface of the absorbent body in the vicinity of the crotch part.