Patent ID: 7708725

Claim:
A sanitary napkin comprising: an elongated main body having a skin-side surface and a garment-side surface and including a liquid absorbent layer; a pair of leakage preventing walls disposed on the skin-side surface of the main body and extending longitudinally of the main body in parallel with each other; and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer disposed on the garment-side surface of the main body for adhering to an inner surface of an undergarment, the main body having a front portion with front flaps projecting from transversely opposing sides thereof, each front flap having a first starting point disposed on each of opposing side edge portions of the sanitary napkin from which a width of the sanitary napkin starts to increase and a first spreading portion in which the width gradually increases forward from the first starting point, the main body further having a rear portion with rear flaps projecting from transversely opposing sides thereof, each rear flap having a second starting point disposed on each of the opposing side edge portions of the sanitary napkin from which a width of the sanitary napkin starts to increase and a second spreading portion in which the width gradually increases rearward from the second starting point, each of the pair of leakage preventing walls having a sheet that is folded and fixed to the skin-side surface of the main body to have a longitudinally extending rising base, and an elastic member that is so tensioned between longitudinal front and rear ends of the leakage preventing wall as to raise the sheet from the skin-side surface, the rear end of the leakage preventing wall being located rearward of the second starting point of the rear flap, wherein, when one of the leakage preventing walls is fully stretched transversely outward from between its longitudinal front and rear ends, the stretched sheet of the leakage preventing wall projects transversely outward beyond one of the first starting points of the front flaps and one of the second starting points of the rear flaps, and when the one leakage preventing wall is stretched transversely outward within an area between the one second starting point and the rear end of the one leakage preventing wall, while being restrained from being stretched transversely outward within an area between the one second starting point and the front end of the one leakage preventing wall, the stretched sheet of the leakage preventing wall is prevented from projecting beyond an edge of the second spreading portion of the rear flap.