Compact-Folded Personal Care Article with Wrap Retainer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional absorbent personal care articles, such as feminine and adult care pads, experience deformation during wear, leading to undesired shapes, irritation, and discomfort due to their flexibility and thinness, and existing storage configurations fail to provide a compact, discreet, and convenient packaging solution.
Innovation Solution
A personal care article design featuring a liquid-permeable topsheet and backsheet connected with a wrap member, folded about supplemental and composite fold regions to create a compact, composite-folded structure with a wrap retainer mechanism for secure storage and easy use, minimizing skin irritation and enhancing fit and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the absorbent article is constructed with greater flexibility and thinness, then comfort and discretion are improved, but the article undergoes deformation during wear causing undesired shapes and skin irritation
Solution Approach 1:
The article is divided into multiple sections with different stiffness characteristics. The fastener sections are made stiffer to maintain shape and prevent skin contact, while the absorbent core remains flexible for comfort. This segmentation allows different parts to serve different functions regarding shape stability and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the article are assigned different mechanical properties. The fastener wings and attachment regions are constructed with stiffer materials to resist deformation and prevent skin irritation, while the central absorbent area maintains flexibility and thinness for wearer comfort.
2Volume of moving object
If the article is folded or rolled for storage, then size is reduced for discreet carrying, but deformation increases and desired configurations are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The article is pre-folded into a compact configuration before use and secured in that state. The fold lines are pre-established during manufacturing, and the article is held in the folded state using attachments to the packaging or wrapper, ready for immediate use without requiring folding by the consumer.
Solution Approach 2:
The article is folded into a compact, nested configuration where layers are contained within each other. The fastener wings are folded along with the body of the article, creating a tightly nested package that minimizes volume while preserving the ability to unfold into the correct configuration.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional storage configurations are used, then manufacturing is simple, but the article lacks discretion and convenience in carrying
Solution Approach 1:
The storage wrapper and the article itself are combined into a single integrated unit. The wrapper serves dual purposes as both packaging and a carrying mechanism, with the article folded and attached directly to the wrapper structure, eliminating the need for separate storage containers.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible wrapper or pouch is used to enclose the folded article. This thin-film packaging provides protection and maintains a compact form factor while remaining easy to manufacture and suitable for discreet carrying in a pocket or handbag.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2A
AI summary
A personal care article (20) has a longitudinal-direction (22), a relatively shorter, lateral cross-direction (24), a first end-section (72), a second end-section (72a), and an intermediate-section (76). The article has been operatively connected in facing relation with a wrap member (98), and the article has been folded about a first, laterally extending supplemental-fold-region (64). The article and a corresponding section of the wrap member have been folded about a second, laterally extending supplemental-fold-region (66). A preliminary-folded article (82) and a corresponding, preliminary-folded wrap member have been provided after the article has been folded about both the first and second supplemental-fold-regions. The preliminary-folded article and wrap member have also been folded along a laterally extending, composite-fold-region (96a) of both the preliminary-folded article and wrap member, to provide a composite-folded, wrapped article (114).