Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6375646?oq=6377161
Timestamp: 2018-06-20 23:30:23
Document Index: 486901503

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'arts 1', 'art 3', 'arts 12']

US6375646B1 - Absorbent pants-type diaper - Google Patents
Absorbent pants-type diaper Download PDF
US6375646B1
US6375646B1 US08295874 US29587494A US6375646B1 US 6375646 B1 US6375646 B1 US 6375646B1 US 08295874 US08295874 US 08295874 US 29587494 A US29587494 A US 29587494A US 6375646 B1 US6375646 B1 US 6375646B1
US08295874
The present invention relates to an absorbent pants-type diaper of the kind which is intended for one-time use only and which comprises a front-part, a back-part, a crotch-part that extends between said front and back parts, at least two side-closure parts which mutually join parts of the side-edges of the front and back parts such that the diaper will include a waist opening and two leg openings. The diaper further comprises an elongated absorbent pad having a front and a rear end-part and a centre-part located therebetween, an inner casing layer placed on that side of the pad which is intended to face towards the wearer in use and an outer casing layer, or backing sheet, placed on the other side of the absorbent pad.
In the case of diaper-wearing children who are in a transition period in which they learn to control the discharge of urine and are weaned-off the use of conventional diapers and trained to perform their bodily evacuative functions on the toilet, there is a need for an absorbent article which while absorbing body fluids will, at the same time, resemble a pair of conventional underpants. Absorbent pants-type diapers which are intended to be worn during such weaning or training periods are often referred to as training pants. One significant difference between an absorbent pants-type diaper and a conventional diapers is the manner in which they are intended to be worn in daily use. Absorbent pants-type diapers shall be capable of being taken-off and put-on repeatedly in the same manner as a pair of conventional underpants, until the wearer urinates in the pants-type diaper, wherewith the urine is absorbed by the pants, in precisely the same manner as a diaper, so that the pants-type diaper will continue to function as underpants in a user-safe fashion, until there is time and the opportunity to replace the soiled pants-type diaper with a fresh diaper. The soiled diaper can then be thrown away. The pants-type diaper will preferably be designed to give the wearer a decisive feeling that he/she is wearing a garment which is different from the diapers earlier used, and so that the wearer is able to remove the diaper easily, for instance when going to the toilet. In this latter respect, it is important, among other things, to give the pants-type diaper the form of a pair of pants, i.e. an article which has a waist opening and two leg openings, and not the form of a diaper that has fastener tabs or the like for joining the back-part of the diaper to the front-part thereof when putting-on the diaper. This latter procedure is highly complicated and extremely difficult for a child, or even an adult person, to achieve by himself/herself. In the case of known disposable pants-type diapers, or training pants, it has also been proposed to include an outer casing layer which is made of a textile-like, disposable material, such as to assimilate a genuine textile material to the greatest possible extent, so that primarily adult wearers are relieved of the psychologically negative association with napkins that is given unavoidably by the plastic outer casing sheets or layers characteristic of disposable diapers.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,681 teaches a pants-type absorbent article that is intended for use with menstruation or mild incontinence. The absorbent pad is integrated with the article and the front and the back part of the article extend further up the body of the wearer than in the case of “normal” menstruation pads. On the other hand, the size of the absorbent pad is so restricted as to be considered unsuitable for use in absorbing larger quantities of urine. The absorbent pants include waist and leg elastic. The pants also include casing layers which are made of a stretchable material, for instance a mixture of nylon and cotton. The absorbent pad is located in an impermeable zone of the pants, between the side-pieces thereof. This impermeable zone includes non-stretchable material and the stretchability required to enable the pants to shape to the wearer's body is obtained totally from the stretchable material in the casing layers.
The present invention, however, provides an absorbent pants-type diaper of the kind defined in the introduction which will effectively enable the diapers to lie sealingly against and shape conformingly to the wearer's body, while enabling the diapers to support an absorbent pad even when the pad is full of liquid. An inventive pants-type diaper is primarily characterized in that at least one of the front and the back parts of the diaper has at least one elastically stretchable region; in that the crotch-part is essentially non-stretchable in relation to said stretchable region; in that at least one of the respective end-parts of the absorbent pad is disposed within one of said elastically stretchable regions while the centre-part of the absorbent pad is disposed within the relatively non-stretchable crotch-part of the diaper, whereby those forces exerted by the elastically stretchable region on the end-part or end-parts of the absorbent pad will hold the absorbent pad in sealing abutment with the wearer's body when the trouser diaper is worn.
FIG. 1 illustrates an absorbent pants-type diaper in an unassembled state, i.e. a state in which the waist and leg openings of the pants have not yet been formed. The pants-type diaper includes a front-part 1, which is intended to be placed forwardly on the wearer, a back-part 2, which is intended to be placed rearwardly on the wearer, and a crotch-part 3 which is located between the front and the back parts 1, 2 and which is intended to be placed between the thighs of the wearer. No precise limits can be drawn between the respective parts and the size relationships therebetween can vary, and consequently the division illustrated in FIG. 1 can only be seen as a schematic example. Each of the front and the back parts have two side-edges 4, 5 and one end-edge 6, 7. The crotch-part 3 has two side-edges 8. As will be seen from FIG. 3, when the pants-type diaper is in its assembled or ready-to-wear state, the diaper has a waist opening 9 between respective end-edges 6, 7 of the front and the back parts, and two leg openings 10, 11 which are surrounded by respective side-edges 8 of the crotch-part. Respective side-edges 4 of the front-part are joined to corresponding respective side-edges 5 of the back-part, such that the pants-type diaper will present two side-closure parts 12, 13 which extend from the waist opening 9 to respective leg openings 10, 11. on respective sides of the diaper. The side closures may be obtained with the aid of heat-sealing, ultrasonic-welding, gluing or sewing techniques or some other suitable conventional technique.
1. In an absorbent pants-type diaper which is intended for one-time use only and which comprises:
a front part having side edges and an end edge;
a back part having side edges and an end edge;
a crotch part between the front and back parts;
at least two side-closure parts which mutually join parts of the side-edges of respective front and back parts, so that the pants-type diaper will present a waist opening and two leg openings;
an elongated absorbent pad comprising at least one absorbent layer having a front and a rear end part and an intermediate central part;
an inner casing layer placed on that side of the absorbent layer which is intended to face towards a wearer; and
an outer casing layer which is placed on the other side of the absorbent layer, the improvement wherein the pants-type diaper further comprises at least one elastically stretchable region covering essentially the whole of at least one of the respective front and back parts; the crotch part being essentially non-stretchable in relation to said stretchable region; at least one of the respective end parts of the absorbent layer being disposed within one of said elastically stretchable regions; the central part of the absorbent layer being disposed within the relatively non-stretchable crotch part of the diaper; and at least one of the stretchable regions being disposed on the side of the absorbent layer facing away from the inner casing layer, whereby those forces that are exerted by the elastically stretchable region on at least one of the end part of the absorbent layer function to hold the absorbent layer in sealing abutment with the wearer when the pants-type diaper is worn.
2. The pants-type diaper according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable region extends beyond the side edges and the end edge of at least one of the front and back end parts of the absorbent layer.
an outer casing layer which is placed on the other side of the absorbent layer, the improvement wherein at least one of the respective front and back parts has at least one elastically stretchable region; the crotch part being essentially non-stretchable in relation to said stretchable region; at least one of the respective end parts of the absorbent layer being disposed within one of said elastically stretchable regions; the central part of the absorbent layer being disposed within the relatively non-stretchable crotch part of the diaper; at least one of the stretchable regions being disposed on the side of the absorbent layer facing away from the inner casing layer, whereby those forces that are exerted by the elastically stretchable region on at least one of the end part of the absorbent layer function to hold the absorbent layer in sealing abutment with the wearer when the pants-type diaper is worn; and at least one of the end edge of the front and the back parts has at the waist opening of the pants at least one elastically stretchable waist part whose stretching and contraction power is greater than the remainder of the stretchable region.
16. The pants-type diaper according to claim 15, wherein the stretchable region extends beyond the side edges and the end edge of at least one of the front and back end parts of the absorbent layer.
US08295874 1992-03-04 1993-03-01 Absorbent pants-type diaper Active US6375646B1 (en)
US6375646B1 true US6375646B1 (en) 2002-04-23
US08295874 Active US6375646B1 (en) 1992-03-04 1993-03-01 Absorbent pants-type diaper
US20140088537A1 (en) * 2007-11-14 2014-03-27 Sca Hygiene Products Ab Method of producing an absorbent garment, and an absorbent garment produced according to the method
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WO1999048681A8 (en) 1998-03-26 2001-02-01 Cho Eui Boo Elastic member and disposable garment having improved strength against stress applied during use
JPH03195555A (en) * 1989-12-25 1991-08-27 Zuikou:Kk Manufacture of brief type throwaway diaper
EP0404648B1 (en) 1989-06-15 1994-02-02 Peaudouce Diaper with elastic waist band
US9456934B2 (en) * 2007-11-14 2016-10-04 Sca Hygiene Products Ab Method of producing an absorbent garment, and an absorbent garment produced according to the method
WO1993017648A1 (en) 1993-09-16 application
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WIDLUND, URBAN;HEDLUND, GUNILLA;KLING, ROBERT;REEL/FRAME:007181/0654
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:MOINLYCKE AB;REEL/FRAME:012614/0985
Free format text: THE PATENTABILITY OF CLAIMS 1-28 IS CONFIRMED. NEW CLAIMS 29-38 ARE ADDED AND DETERMINED TO BE PATENTABLE.