Patent ID: 7727212
Filing Date: 2010-06-01
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. An absorbent article, worn in a wearer's groin area, having a longitudinal direction in a lengthwise orientation and a lateral direction in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the article comprising: an upper absorbent core; an absorbent body having a main absorbent region including a lower absorbent core, positioned on a centerline in the longitudinal direction, wherein the absorbent body further includes an upper absorbent sheet and a lower absorbent sheet, the lower absorbent core is interposed between the upper absorbent sheet and the lower absorbent sheet; a top sheet that is permeable to fluids, covering a skin-side face of the absorbent body; a back sheet covering a garment-side face of the absorbent body; buffer regions positioned around the main absorbent region and forming a part of the absorbent body, wherein said buffer regions have a stiffness lower than that of the main absorbent region and include perforations formed in at least one of the upper and lower absorbent sheets, said perforations extending discontinuously along the longitudinal direction thereof; side portion reinforcing regions with stiffness larger than the buffer regions, positioned at left and right external sides of the buffer regions and extending in the longitudinal direction, wherein the side portion reinforcing regions are formed by folding left and right side ends of upper and lower absorbent sheets inwardly, and bonding the folded side ends to each other; and a front reinforcing region and a rear reinforcing region whose bending stiffness in the lateral direction is larger than that of the buffer regions, positioned at front and rear external sides of the buffer regions, connecting continuously, among the side portion reinforcing regions, a left side portion reinforcing region and a right side portion reinforcing region, so that the left side portion and the right side portion do not easily approach one another, and easily recover to their shape.