Patent ID: 7135215
Filing Date: 2006-11-14
Classification: A61F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A water-absorbent structure comprising: a panel-shaped assembly having upper and lower surfaces extending in parallel to each other and comprising a mixture of thermoplastic synthetic fibers, cellulose-based fibers and a super-absorbent polymer, which mixture is formed into partition walls that are configured to define a honeycomb construction that is elastically compressible in a thickness direction and has a plurality of through-holes extending parallel to one another in a direction parallel to said upper and lower surfaces, each of said through-holes having a cross-sectional dimension that is larger than any one of interstices of said thermoplastic synthetic fibers in said assembly, wherein said assembly is normally kept in a state compressed in said thickness direction with said through-holes being flattened and adapted to be elastically swollen in said thickness direction so that said flattened through-holes are restored to the initial cross-sectional shape thereof as said super-absorbent polymer absorbs water and is swollen, at least one of said upper and lower surfaces of said assembly is wrapped with water-pervious sheet.