Tampon Contact Elements for Localized Contour Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tampons fail to provide a localized fit to the individual contours of the vaginal wall, leading to premature leakage and integrity issues due to their uniform construction and materials, which restrict their ability to adapt to local deformation forces and fluid acquisition.
Innovation Solution
A tampon design featuring a plurality of discrete contact elements that can be manufactured using a method involving a web of material with an absorbent web and a base web, allowing for localized contact with the vaginal wall and improved fluid acquisition, while ensuring compliance with FDA guidelines by preventing process damage during manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If current tampons use uniform construction and materials, then manufacturing is simple and consistent, but the tampons cannot adapt to local contours of the vaginal wall, causing premature leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The tampon is divided into multiple discrete contact elements rather than a uniform continuous structure. Each contact element can independently deform and conform to local vaginal wall contours, while the elements remain connected through a substrate. This segmentation enables localized adaptation without requiring complete reconstruction of the entire tampon structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact elements are designed with specific local properties - they have different degrees of freedom and deformability compared to the substrate. The contact elements can locally expand and conform to vaginal wall contours while the substrate maintains overall structural integrity. This local quality differentiation allows the tampon to adapt to individual contours without compromising overall construction simplicity.
2Quantity of substance
If tampons are designed to expand uniformly, then structural integrity is maintained, but contact area with vaginal wall is insufficient, reducing fluid acquisition efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The tampon structure is segmented into multiple contact elements that can independently expand and deform. This segmentation allows each element to maximize its contact area with the vaginal wall for fluid acquisition, while the connecting substrate maintains overall structural integrity. The segmented design enables distributed fluid acquisition across multiple contact points.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact elements are designed to be dynamically deformable, allowing them to change shape and expand in response to vaginal wall contours and fluid pressure. This dynamic behavior enables the contact elements to adapt their configuration for optimal fluid acquisition while the substrate provides stable structural support, creating a system that balances dynamics and stability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If discrete contact elements are incorporated into tampons, then localized adaptation and fluid acquisition improve, but manufacturing complexity and risk of process damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process merges the formation of contact elements and substrate into a single integrated web bonding process. Multiple layers of web material are bonded together to simultaneously create the substrate structure and the discrete contact elements. This merging eliminates the need for separate manufacturing steps for each component, reducing overall manufacturing complexity despite the increased structural sophistication.
Solution Approach 2:
The web materials are prepared and bonded in a predetermined sequence to pre-form the contact elements and substrate structure before final tampon assembly. This preliminary action ensures that the complex discrete element structure is already in place, reducing the risk of damage during subsequent handling and assembly operations. The pre-formed structure minimizes the need for additional manipulation that could cause process damage.
4Area of stationary object
If tampons are made more conformable to match local contours, then contact area increases, but integrity issues arise causing portions to remain in vagina after removal
Solution Approach 1:
The tampon is segmented into multiple contact elements connected by a substrate, allowing each element to conform to local contours independently. This segmentation increases total contact area while the substrate maintains overall structural integrity as a unified structure. The segmented design enables conformability without sacrificing the reliability needed for complete removal, as each element remains connected to the central substrate structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact elements have localized conformability properties that allow them to match vaginal wall contours, while the substrate maintains higher structural rigidity to ensure overall integrity. This differentiation of local quality - soft conformable elements on a stiffer substrate - enables increased contact area without compromising the reliability needed to prevent portions from remaining in the vagina after removal.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a tampon includes transporting a web of material in a machine direction. The web of material has a base web and an absorbent web. The absorbent web has a free end and a bonded end wherein the bonded end is bonded to the base web. The free end of the absorbent web is moved in spaced relationship with the base web. The base web is bonded to a substrate.