Patent ID: 7696402

Claim:
An absorbent article having a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction, a body-side surface, a clothes-side surface, longitudinally opposed front and rear ends and transversely opposite side edges, said article comprising: a liquid-absorbent layer, and a continuous groove compressed into the body-side surface of the liquid-absorbent layer, wherein: said compressed groove comprises: a pair of lateral groove segments extending substantially in said longitudinal direction and arranged symmetrically with respect to a longitudinal center line of said article, a front groove segment extending forward from respective front ends of said lateral groove segments so as to connect said front ends of said lateral groove segments together, said front groove segment defining a front side curve which is convex toward the front end of the article and which is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center line of said article, and a rear groove segment extending rearward from respective rear ends of said lateral groove segments so as to connect said rear ends of said lateral groove segments together, said rear groove segment defining a rear side curve which is convex toward the rear end of the article and which is symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center line of said article, wherein said compressed groove as a whole presents an elongated, continuous and closed loop which is longer in the longitudinal direction than it is wide in the transverse direction; said rear side curve has, in the vicinity of its rear end located on the longitudinal center line, a radius in a range of 0 to 10 mm; said front side curve has, in the vicinity of its front end located on the longitudinal center line, a radius greater than the radius of the rear side curve; and said absorbent layer comprises a bottom covering region which extends rearward from the rear end of said rear groove segment, has a thickness in a range of 1 to 5 mm, and is adapted to be folded along the longitudinal center line so that said bottom covering region can become convex, in use, toward a wearer; wherein a thickness of the absorbent layer within the closed-loop shape defined by the compressed groove decreases gradually in the longitudinal direction from a front portion in the vicinity of the front end of the front groove segment to a rear portion in the vicinity of the rear end of the rear groove segment.