Patent Publication Number: US-8985421-B2

Title: Feminine hygiene article holder

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 12/381,714 filed on Mar. 16, 2009 now abandoned, the full disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein and priority of which is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a feminine sanitary protection article holder, and more particularly to a pouch for housing a feminine hygiene article in a discreet manner. 
     Personal hygiene products, such as sanitary napkins, panty liners and tampons are usually packaged for retail purposes in deformable containers such as pouches, sachets and the like. Such products and articles may be individually wrapped or stacked in a box housing ten or more of similar items. The boxes are often too bulky for carrying in a handbag or backpack. As a consequence, a user takes out several of such items from the box when the user expects to be away from home for several hours. 
     At work or at school, the user can retrieve one of the personal hygiene articles from her handbag or backpack and change the article in a discreet location. However, there are situations when the user may be embarrassed to openly remove the article from her bag and carry it through a roomful of people. For instance, when a class is in session and the user wishes to leave to attend to her personal hygiene, she may be reluctant to show the reason for her short departure to the entire class. An alternative of carrying an entire backpack may not be feasible. 
     Accordingly, there is a need to provide a holder for personal hygiene items that can be worn by the user in a discreet unobtrusive manner under clothing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a feminine hygiene article that can be positioned on the body of the user. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a holder for a feminine hygiene article that can be secured to the user&#39;s body under clothing. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder for a feminine hygiene article that can be configured for housing a different type of product. 
     These and other objects of the invention are achieved through a provision of a disposable holder for a feminine hygiene article, which is formed as a flexible pocket or pouch. The holder comprises a front panel, a back panel attached to the front panel, a closed bottom and selectively closable top, with the front panel being secured to the back panel along the closed bottom and sides. A first attachment member is formed adjacent the top of the holder body; the first attachment member being formed by an adhesive strip that is normally covered by a removable cover. The first attachment member can attach the holder body directly to the user&#39;s body or undergarments. 
     A flexible non-resilient second attachment member forms a two-portion belt that can be sued to encircle the user&#39;s waist, hips or thigh. The two portions of the second attachment member extend from opposing sides of the holder body. The first portion has accordion-style folded section separated by tear-off perforated lines allowing the user to tear off unwanted part of the belt portion. The second portion also has accordion-style folded sections. A free end of the second portion carries an adhesive tab for joining with a free end of the first portion after the unwanted length of the first portion has been detached or torn off. 
     The holder of the present invention can be worn under the user&#39;s outer clothing and retain the personal hygiene item inconspicuously. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein 
         FIG. 1  illustrates different positions of the holder of the present invention on a user&#39;s body. 
         FIG. 2  is a back view of the holder with the belt in a folded position. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the feminine hygiene article holder of the present invention with the belt unfolded. 
         FIG. 4  is a back view of the holder with the belt unfolded. 
         FIG. 5  is a back view of the holder showing a removable cover of an adhesive band. 
     
    
    
     DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral  10  designates the article holder in accordance with the present invention. The holder  10  comprises a flexible holder body having a front panel  12 , a back panel  14  secured to the front panel  12 , a closed bottom  16 , a first closed side  18  and a second closed side  20 . The back panel  14  can be secured to the front panel  12  along the bottom  16  and sides  18 ,  20  by stitching, adhesive, or by other suitable means. A top  22  of the holder  10  is open. An optional flap  24  selectively covers and uncovers the open top  22 . 
     The back panel  14  has an exterior surface, which carries an attachment member  26 . The attachment member  26  is may be a band of double-sided adhesive tape  28 , which is secured to extend along at least a portion of the upper end  22 . The attachment member  26  also comprises a removable cover strip  30 , which normally covers the outer adhesive surface of the band  28 . When the cover strip is removed, the adhesive surface of the band  28  is exposed allowing the user to press the band  28  to the user&#39;s body and thereby attach the upper portion of the holder  10  to the user&#39;s body. The attachment member  26  has a predetermined length, which can be almost as long as the horizontal dimensions of the holder  10 . 
     Alternatively, the double-sided adhesive tape  28  can be substituted by a layer of an adhesive deposited directly on the back panel  14  and covered with a removable cover strip  30 , which is removed to expose the adhesive layer immediately before positioning of the holder  10  on the user&#39;s body. 
     Extending from the first side  18  is a first portion  34  of a securing belt  35 . The belt  35  is formed from a non-resilient flexible deformable material. The first portion  34  comprises a secured part  32 , which is affixed to the first side  18  by stitching, adhesive and the like and a free end  35 . A second portion  36  of the securing belt extends from the second side  20  in alignment with the first portion  34  but in an opposite direction. The second portion  36  of the securing belt has an attached end  38  and a free end  40 . 
     The free end  40  of the second portion of the securing belt is provided with a securing tab  42 . The securing tab  42  comprises a piece of a double sided adhesive tape  46  and a removable tab cover  48 , which normally covers the adhesive surface of the tape  46 . As an alternative, the double-sided tape  46  can be substituted by a layer of adhesive deposited on the surface of the second portion  36  of the belt. The tab cover  48  will cover the adhesive surface until such time as the belt is secured on the user&#39;s body. 
     The first portion  34  and the second portion  36  of the securing belt is folded accordion style and lies flat against the back panel  14 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The folded sections  50 ,  51  of the securing belt portions  34  and  36 , respectively, can be configured as one-inch sections. When folded in a manner shown in  FIG. 2 , the two portions of the securing belt add negligible thickness to the holder  10 . 
     The first portion  34  of the securing belt is provided with perforations  52  formed between the folded sections  50 . The perforations allow the user to tear off the unnecessary length of the first portion of the securing belt. The second portion  36  of the securing belt does not have perforations and its length remains constant. In one aspect of the invention, the length of the second portion  36  was selected to be about six inches. 
     The holder  10  can be used for retaining a feminine hygiene item  54  shown in phantom lines in  FIG. 3 . The product  54  can be a pantiliner, a pad, a tampon, and the like. Depending on the shape of the hygiene article to be retained in the holder  10 , the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the holder  10  can differ. The holder  10  can be formed as a rectangle, a square, an oval, etc. 
     In one aspect of the invention, the holder  10  is made disposable. It can be manufactured from an absorbent white tissue with polyethylene backing to protect clothing of the user. Of course, other materials can be used as well, such as for instance thin plastic, natural fiber material, etc. 
     In operation, the user positions a feminine hygiene product  54  in the holder  10  through the open top  22 . If flap  24  is provided, the flap is used to cover the open top  22 . The user then peels off the cover  30  to expose the adhesive surface of the attachment member  26 . The user presses the adhesive to the user&#39;s body or undergarments thereby securing the upper part of the holder  10  in a desired location under the user&#39;s outer closing. As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the location can be a thigh  60  of a user  62  or a hip  64 , or waist  68 . 
     Once the holder  10  is at least partially secured on the body, the user unfolds the accordion-folded belt and extends the portions  34 ,  36  around the thigh, hips, waist, etc. Depending on the size of the user&#39;s anatomy, the first portion  34  can be extended between 20 and 60 inches, while the second portion  36  is extended completely to free the end  40 . Once the belt  35  encircles the user&#39;s thigh (waist, hip), the remainder of the first portion is torn off along the perforations  52 . 
     The user  62  then peels off the tab cover  48  to expose the adhesive  46 . The adhesive surface  46  is pressed against the free end of the first portion  34  thus forming the belt  35  about the user&#39;s thigh, waist, or hips. When worn by a user, the belt  35  encircles the thigh (hips, waist) of the user  62  allowing the holder  10  to be retained under the user&#39;s outer closing  70  in a discrete inconspicuous manner. The open upper end  22  of the holder  10  faces upwardly and allows the user to remove the article  54  from the holder  10  when necessary. The holder  10  can then be disposed off in an environmentally responsible manner. 
     If desired, the user  62  can first allow the first portion  34  and the second portion  36  to unfold before attaching the holder body using the first attachment member  26 . 
     The holder  10  can be made of a wide variety of flexible materials, such as textiles, nylon, polyester, thin plastic sheet and the like. The material forming the front and back panels may be neutral in color or can be decorated with any special design. 
     Many changes and modifications can be made in the design of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. We therefore pray that our rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.