Patent ID: 6605071
Filing Date: 2003-08-12
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
An absorbent garment for a lower abdomen of a person comprising a reusable undergarment and a replaceable absorbent disposable liner/diaper, said undergarment including:a continuous waistband structure adapted to completely encircle a waist of the person, said waistband structure having an inside surface for facing the person, and having a back segment, a top front segment and opposed side segments; a releasable pane extending from said back segment of said waistband structure and forming a crotch segment for extending about a crotch of the person, and a front abdominal segment for extending from said crotch segment toward the top front segment of said waistband structure and having an upper end portion for placement in underlying engagement with the inside surface of the top front segment of said waistband structure; pressure sensitive connector means extending along said upper end portion of said front abdominal segment of said releasable panel and along said top front segment of said waistband structure for releasably connecting the upper end portion of said front abdominal segment of said releasable panel to the inside surface of the top front segment of said waistband structure to form leg openings of the garment; said absorbent disposable liner/diaper comprising: a liquid impermeable outer layer of sheet material for placement facing the releasable panel of said undergarment, a liquid permeable outer layer of sheet material opposed to said liquid impermeable outer layer of sheet material for placement facing the person, and intermediate layers of liquid absorbent material confined between said outer layers of sheet material; said absorbent disposable liner/diaper being of an approximate hourglass-shape with a narrow intermediate crotch portion sized for placement adjacent said crotch segment of said releasable panel and opposed end portions wider than said intermediate crotch portion sized for placement adjacent the back segment and the front abdominal segment of said releasable panel and being of a length sufficient to extend from said back segment of said waistband structure to said upper end portion of said releasable panel; said absorbent disposable liner/diaper being supported by said releasable panel and releasable with said releasable panel with respect to said top front segment of the waistband structure; means for connecting said liner/diaper directly to said releasable panel so that the liner/diaper is movable with said releasable panel such that the liner/diaper and panel are adapted to move toward and away from the crotch of the person; whereby when the garment is worn by a person, the front abdominal segment of the releasable panel can be released from the top front segment of the waistband structure to open the front abdominal segment and crotch segment of the releasable panel and the disposable liner/diaper can be moved with the front abdominal segment to expose the crotch of a person and the disposable liner/diaper can be removed from the undergarment and another duplicate disposable liner/diaper can be inserted into position in the undergarment and connected to the releasable panel and the front abdominal segment reconnected to the top front segment of the undergarment; without removing the undergarment from the person.