Patent ID: 6689113
Filing Date: 2004-02-10
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A sanitary absorbent article adapted to be worn in a crotch portion of an undergarment, comprising:(A) a main body having opposed longitudinal side edges and a longitudinal centerline, said main body including: a body-facing fluid-permeable upper layer intended for placement against a perineal region of a wearer, a garment-facing fluid-impervious lower layer, and an absorbent layer between the upper layer and the lower layer; and (B) a first panel and a second panel, each panel being integrally formed from both the upper layer and the lower layer, each panel having a proximal end adjacent to and extending from respective opposite longitudinal side edges of said main body and a distal end freely extending laterally from the proximal end of said panel, the proximal end and the distal end defining therebetween a body portion, the body portion further comprising a longitudinally extending folding axis which is substantially parallel to said longitudinal side edge, each panel being capable of being folded about said folding axis onto itself such that the distal end of the panel projects laterally inward towards the longitudinal centerline of said main body on a garment-facing side of the sanitary absorbent article, each panel further including: (i) a juncture zone located within the body portion adjacent the proximal end of said panel, the juncture zone attaching a portion of said panel to the lower layer inwardly from the longitudinal side edge of said main body, the juncture zone simultaneously defining a looping member and a freely extending flap (ii) the looping member being adjacent to and substantially parallel with the longitudinal side edges of the main body and being defined by a portion of the body portion of said panel between the proximal end and the juncture zone and including the folding axis therebetween; (iii) each flap being defined by a portion of the body portion of said panel between the juncture zone and the distal end and being capable of being folded about a side edge of the crotch portion of the undergarment, each flap further including a first transverse end and a second transverse end, the second transverse end being opposite the first transverse end and defining therebetween a flap width in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal side edges of the main body, (iv) each flap having means for holding at least a portion of one edge of the undergarment inwardly of said longitudinal side edge of the main body when the flap is in a folded condition about the side edge of the undergarment, wherein the juncture zone of the first panel is separated from the juncture zone of said second panel by a distance which defines an undergarment allowance and the undergarment allowance, as measured at the respective transverse ends of the flaps, the distance being adapted to gather the edges of the undergarment inward toward the longitudinal centerline of the main body in an amount less than 25% of an original width of the undergarment when each flap is in the folded condition.