Disposable worn article and method for manufacturing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9532909-B2
Application number	US-201314416770-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2013
Priority date	Aug 1, 2012
Publication date	Jan 3, 2017
Grant date	Jan 3, 2017

Abstract

An article including: an absorbent body including two liquid-permeable non-woven fabric sheets bonded together at bonded portions in a predetermined pattern, and a plurality of granular particles placed therebetween separately in each of a plurality of placement areas partitioned from one another in the predetermined pattern; and a non-liquid-permeable back sheet placed on a non-skin-contact surface of the absorbent body, wherein: a liquid-permeable sheet is placed so as to cover an entire surface of the non-woven fabric sheet on a skin-contact surface side; and an easily-breakable portion capable of being broken when the granular particles absorb a bodily fluid to swell is formed in placement areas on at least one non-woven fabric sheet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A disposable worn article comprising:
an absorbent body including two liquid-permeable non-woven fabric sheets bonded together at bonded portions in a predetermined pattern, and a plurality of liquid-absorbing granular particles, the granular particles placed between the two liquid-permeable non-woven fabric sheets and separately in each placement area of a plurality of placement areas partitioned from one another by the predetermined pattern, wherein
the each placement area is one area that is surrounded by the bonded portions and excludes the bonded portions,
the bonded portions are ultrasonically-bonded portions formed by applying an ultrasonic energy to the two non-woven fabric sheets, and have a bonding strength such that the non-woven fabric sheets are not separated from each other at the bonded portions by a force that occurs when the granular particles absorb a bodily fluid to swell; and
a non-liquid-permeable back sheet placed on a non-skin-contact surface of the absorbent body, wherein:
a liquid-permeable sheet is placed so as to cover an entire surface of one of the two non-woven fabric sheets that is on a skin-contact surface side;
an easily-breakable portion capable of being broken by a force that occurs when the granular particles absorb a bodily fluid to swell is formed linearly and intermittently in at least one or more of the plurality of placement areas on at least one of the two non-woven fabric sheets; and
the easily-breakable portion is linearly formed by including a plurality of holes, slits and/or cuts formed intermittently on the at least one of the non-woven fabric sheets in each of the at least one or more of the plurality of placement areas.

2. A method for manufacturing an article according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:
carrying a carrier web, which is to form one of the two non-woven fabric sheets, along a predetermined carrying path while holding a first surface of the carrier web on a carrying surface of a carrying device;
dispensing the granular particles onto a second surface, opposite to the first surface, of the carrier web being carried;
placing the dispensed granular particles in the predetermined pattern by holding some of the dispensed granular particles in each of the placement areas on the second surface of the carrier web;
forming the easily-breakable portion on a cover web, which is to form the other one of the two non-woven fabric sheets;
after the step of placing the granular particles in the predetermined pattern, covering the second surface of the carrier web and the granular particles by the cover web having the easily-breakable portion therein, thereby producing a sandwich structure; and
bonding together the carrier web and the cover web at positions to be the bonded portions so as to suppress or prevent the granular particles in the placement areas arranged in the predetermined pattern from moving from one of the plurality of placement areas into another one of the placement areas.

3. A method according to claim 2 , further comprising the steps of:
cutting the sandwich structure into each absorbent body;
sandwiching the each absorbent body between the liquid-permeable sheet and the back sheet.

4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein in the step of forming the easily-breakable portion, the easily-breakable portion is linearly formed intermittently or continuously along a flow direction of the carrier web and the cover web bonded together.

5. A worn article according to claim 1 , wherein the bonded portions include a plurality of first portions extending in a first direction and a plurality of second portions extending in a second direction that crosses the first direction, and
the first portions adjacent with one another and the second portions adjacent with one another partition the plurality of placement areas.

Assignees

• Umebayashi Toyoshi
• Zuiko Corp

Inventors

• Umebayashi Toyoshi

Classifications

• A61F13/15731

  Treating webs, e.g. for giving them a fibrelike appearance, e.g. by embossing · CPC title

• A61F2013/53051

  being only in particular parts or specially arranged · CPC title

• A61F13/15707

  Mechanical treatment, e.g. notching, twisting, compressing, shaping · CPC title

• B32B2555/02

  Diapers or napkins · CPC title

• B29C66/8322

  Joining or pressing tools reciprocating along one axis · CPC title