Folded Feminine Hygiene Article Core Layout for Minimal Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing feminine hygiene articles face challenges in providing easy discernable placement and orientation guides, secure fastening to panties, and efficient use of materials, which can lead to detachment and reduced functionality.
Innovation Solution
The method involves cutting the absorbent core to a complementary shape with projections and recesses that nest together when folded, minimizing overlap and thickness, and using additional topsheet overhangs for stability and orientation guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the absorbent core is made larger to improve absorbency, then the folded thickness increases and packaging space increases
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent core is designed with a nesting configuration where one core is positioned within the fold of another core. When the article is folded, the cores nest together rather than overlapping, minimizing the folded thickness while maintaining the total absorbent capacity. This allows large absorbent cores to be packaged in a compact form.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional cutting methods are used for the absorbent core, then material usage is simple, but scrap material increases and material efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent core is divided into multiple discrete cores that are cut from a continuous web in a nesting configuration. This segmentation allows the cores to be arranged efficiently, with each core contributing to the nested structure when folded, thereby minimizing scrap material while maintaining ease of manufacturing through standard cutting processes.
3Device complexity
If the article is folded with overlapping cores, then the structure is simple, but the folded thickness increases and packaging efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The folding structure is designed so that absorbent cores nest within each other rather than overlapping. The nesting configuration creates a compact folded profile that reduces packaging space while maintaining structural simplicity through the natural layering of nested cores.
4Ease of operation
If placement guides are added to improve orientation, then user guidance is enhanced, but material usage increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The absorbent core employs an asymmetric nesting configuration where cores are positioned at different locations and orientations. This asymmetry provides inherent visual cues that guide proper placement and orientation during application, eliminating the need for additional placement guide materials while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
A feminine hygiene article comprising: a liquid permeable topsheet; a secondary topsheet beneath the topsheet, having a secondary topsheet length measured along a longitudinal direction; a liquid impermeable backsheet; an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet; and an absorbent core disposed between the secondary topsheet and the backsheet, the absorbent core having a pair of substantially parallel and substantially straight longitudinal side edges, the side edges terminating at respective forward intersections with a projection of the absorbent core, the side edges terminating at respective rearward intersections with a rearward recess of the absorbent core, and a total core length measured along the longitudinal direction at the forwardmost and rearward most points of the absorbent core, wherein: the total core length is less than the secondary topsheet length; a forward portion of the secondary topsheet length forwardly overhangs the forward projection; a rearward portion of the secondary topsheet length rearwardly overhangs the rearward recess; the total core length as measured at the forwardmost and rearward most points of the absorbent core is from about 75 % to about 99 % of the secondary topsheet length as measured at the forwardmost and rearward most points of the secondary topsheet; and the forward projection and the rearward recess are substantially complementary in size and shape. When folded the feminine hygiene article has an absorbent core 18 which does not substantially overlap at the forewardmost extent of the absorbent core, which includes the projection, and rearwardmost extent of the absorbent core, which includes the recess, such that the overall folded thickness of the feminine hygiene article is minimized.