CN114040738A

CN114040738A - Absorbent article

Info

Publication number: CN114040738A
Application number: CN202080046068.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 山本成海; 林俊久; 内田祥平; 渡子直纪
Original assignee: Unicharm Corp
Current assignee: Unicharm Corp
Priority date: 2019-06-28
Filing date: 2020-06-24
Publication date: 2022-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-24
Also published as: TW202103665A; TWI826699B; JP7129382B2; WO2020262415A1; KR20220030220A; CN114040738B; KR102478357B1; JP2019162526A

Abstract

Provided is an absorbent article which suppresses gel blocking and is easy to continuously absorb body fluid. The absorbent article (1) has a liquid-permeable front sheet (10), a liquid-impermeable back sheet (20), and an absorbent body (30) which is disposed between the front sheet and the back sheet and which has at least hydrophilic fibers and a super absorbent polymer. The absorber (30) has: an upper layer absorbent body (35) having at least hydrophilic fibers; and a lower layer absorber (36) which is arranged at a position closer to the non-skin-facing surface side than the upper layer absorber. The lower layer absorbent body has an extended region (R10) that extends in the longitudinal direction and the width direction with respect to the upper layer absorbent body. The weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer (32) exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorber is less than the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer (32) exposed on the skin-facing surface of the extended region.

Description

Absorbent article

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an absorbent article to be used by being attached to underwear, such as a panty liner or a light incontinence pad.

Background

Conventionally, absorbent articles that are attached to underwear and absorb body fluids such as leucorrhea, sweat, and urine have been used. The absorbent article of patent document 1 has a front sheet, a back sheet, and an absorbent core having a highly absorbent polymer and disposed between the front sheet and the back sheet. The absorbent core of patent document 1 is mainly composed of a super absorbent polymer, and the super absorbent polymer is disposed over the entire area of the plane of the absorbent core.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2012 and 105962

Disclosure of Invention

The absorbent core of patent document 1 is mainly composed of a super absorbent polymer and has excellent retention of body fluid. However, since the super absorbent polymer is disposed over the entire area of the plane of the absorbent core, the super absorbent polymer is gelled and gel blocking is likely to occur when bodily fluids are absorbed. If gel blocking occurs, the following may occur: it is difficult to continuously absorb body fluid, leakage occurs, and the body fluid remains on the surface, resulting in poor wearing feeling.

Thus, an absorbent article that suppresses gel blocking and facilitates continuous absorption of body fluid is desired.

An absorbent article according to one aspect has a longitudinal direction and a width direction that are orthogonal to each other, a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body that is disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet and that has at least hydrophilic fibers and a super absorbent polymer. The absorbent body has: an upper layer absorbent body having at least the hydrophilic fiber; and a lower layer absorber disposed on a non-skin-facing surface side of the upper layer absorber. The lower layer absorbent body has protruding regions protruding in the longitudinal direction and the width direction with respect to the upper layer absorbent body. The superabsorbent polymer is exposed on the skin-facing side of the upper layer absorbent body with a lower basis weight than the superabsorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing side of the extended region.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the absorbent article of the embodiment as viewed from the skin-facing surface side.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the absorbent article of the embodiment, as viewed from the non-skin-facing surface side.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1, taken along the section a-a.

Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1, taken along the section B-B.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a joint portion between the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body.

Detailed Description

(1) Brief description of the embodiments

At least the following matters will be made clear from the description of the present specification and the drawings.

An absorbent article according to one embodiment has a longitudinal direction and a width direction that are orthogonal to each other, a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body that is disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet and that has at least hydrophilic fibers and a super absorbent polymer. The absorbent body has: an upper layer absorbent body having at least the hydrophilic fiber; and a lower layer absorber disposed on a non-skin-facing surface side of the upper layer absorber. The lower layer absorbent body has protruding regions protruding in the longitudinal direction and the width direction with respect to the upper layer absorbent body. The superabsorbent polymer is exposed on the skin-facing side of the upper layer absorbent body with a lower basis weight than the superabsorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing side of the extended region. According to this aspect, the upper layer absorbent body has hydrophilic fibers, and body fluid can be rapidly introduced by the hydrophilic fibers. The body fluid introduced from the upper absorbent body is diffused in the upper absorbent body and is guided to the lower absorbent body. In this case, since the superabsorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent is relatively small in weight per unit area, gel blocking at the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent can be suppressed, and body fluid can be continuously taken into the upper layer absorbent. In addition, the superabsorbent polymer in the extension region of the lower absorbent layer has a relatively large weight per unit area, and the superabsorbent polymer in the extension region retains the body fluid that has leaked laterally from the upper absorbent layer, thereby suppressing side leakage. The extension region is offset to the outside of the center of the absorbent article from which body fluid is discharged. Therefore, even if gel blocking occurs due to the superabsorbent polymer in the extension region, the body fluid can be continuously retained.

According to a preferred embodiment, the upper absorbent layer may be an air-laid nonwoven fabric including the hydrophilic fibers and the super absorbent polymer. The air-laid nonwoven fabric has a high liquid-introducing property and a high liquid-releasing property. Therefore, the bodily fluid discharged onto the upper layer absorbent body can be introduced quickly, and the bodily fluid can be guided quickly to the lower layer absorbent body. Further, since the air-laid nonwoven fabric has high in-plane diffusibility, the body fluid introduced into the upper absorbent body can be diffused over a wide range. This makes it possible to hold the bodily fluid over a large area of the upper layer absorbent body and also to easily guide the bodily fluid to the protruding region of the lower layer absorbent body. This can suppress gel blocking due to local absorption of body fluid by the upper absorbent layer.

According to a preferred aspect, in the upper absorbent layer, the hydrophilic fibers may be disposed at least on a surface on the lower absorbent layer side, and the super absorbent polymer may be disposed at least on a skin-facing surface side of the hydrophilic fibers disposed on the surface on the lower absorbent layer side. According to this aspect, the body fluid that is not completely absorbed in the super absorbent polymer of the upper absorbent layer can be introduced by the hydrophilic fiber located on the non-skin-facing surface side of the super absorbent polymer. By introducing the body fluid into the non-skin-facing surface side in the upper layer absorbent body, the body fluid can be smoothly guided toward the lower layer absorbent body.

According to a preferred aspect, the absorbent body may include heat-fusible fibers, and the heat-fusible fibers may be disposed only in the lower absorbent body of the upper absorbent body and the lower absorbent body. The heat-fusible fibers are heated during the manufacturing process, thereby forming a heat-fused portion. By forming the heat fusion part in the lower absorbent body, the bonding force between the fibers is strengthened, and the lower absorbent body is not easily twisted. As a result, the entire absorbent article is less likely to twist, can be continuously and appropriately arranged relative to the body, and can suppress leakage and prevent a sense of discomfort. In addition, since the heat-fusible fibers are not arranged in the upper layer absorbent body, the heat-fusible portions are not formed in the upper layer absorbent body. The high-absorbency polymer is not inhibited from expanding due to the strong bonding force between the fibers, and the high-absorbency polymer is easy to swell, and can maintain the absorption performance.

According to a preferred aspect, the extension region may have a 1 st region disposed on the upper absorbent layer side and a 2 nd region disposed on the outer edge side of the absorbent article, and the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing surface of the 1 st region may be larger than the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing surface of the 2 nd region. According to this aspect, the superabsorbent polymer in the 1 st region has a large basis weight, and therefore the body fluid can be further retained by the 1 st region located inward in a plan view of the absorbent article. The body fluid is less likely to reach the outer edge of the absorbent article, and side leakage can be suppressed.

According to a preferred aspect, the absorbent article may include an absorbent joint portion provided with an adhesive material for joining the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body, and the absorbent joint portion may extend in one of the longitudinal direction and the width direction and may be provided in plural at intervals in the other of the longitudinal direction and the width direction. The absorbent joint portion provided with the adhesive material is less likely to transmit body fluid, and the non-absorbent joint portion not provided with the adhesive material is more likely to transmit body fluid. According to this aspect, the bodily fluid absorbed by the upper layer absorbent body can be diffused in one direction at the non-absorbent joints which are the intervals between the absorbent joints, and the bodily fluid can be absorbed in a large area. The body fluid can be diffused by the non-absorbent joint portion, and diffusion in the other direction can be suppressed by the absorbent joint portions disposed on both sides of the non-absorbent joint portion. Liquid accumulation at the peeled portion between the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body due to excessive diffusion of body fluid between the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body can be suppressed, and body fluid can be continuously taken into the lower layer absorbent body side.

According to a preferred aspect, the absorbent article may include an absorbent joint portion formed by joining the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body with an adhesive material, the absorbent article being folded with a pair of folding lines extending in the width direction as base points, the upper layer absorbent body may include an outer region disposed at a position further outward in the longitudinal direction than the folding lines, and the absorbent joint portion may be provided in a region not overlapping with the outer region. The outer region of the upper absorbent layer is not joined to the lower absorbent layer, and is easily moved when folded in the manufacturing process and when unfolded in the wearing process. The superabsorbent polymer in the upper absorbent body is easily diffused with the movement of the outer region, and can hold a body fluid over a wide range of the absorbent body.

According to a preferred aspect, the absorbent joint may be provided in a region not overlapping with the pair of folding lines. If the absorbent joint and the fold line overlap, a more severe crease is formed, and the rigidity of the upper layer absorbent body in the region overlapping the fold line becomes high. However, since the absorbent joint does not overlap the folding line, the rigidity of the upper layer absorbent body can be suppressed from being locally increased. The superabsorbent polymer is not inhibited from swelling by a local increase in stiffness of the upper layer absorbent, and the superabsorbent polymer is easily swollen, and the absorption performance can be maintained.

According to a preferred embodiment, the apparatus may comprise: an absorbent joint portion formed by joining the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body with an adhesive material; and a pressure-sensitive adhesive section provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive for joining the non-skin-facing surface of the absorbent article to the wearing article, and provided with a non-overlapping section that does not overlap with both the absorbent joint section and the pressure-sensitive adhesive section in the thickness direction. The non-overlapping portion is not overlapped with the absorbent joint portion and the adhesive portion, and air permeability and dryness can be ensured. By having the non-overlapping portion, the stuffiness of the entire absorbent article can be reduced, and the wearing feeling can be improved.

(2) General structure of absorbent article

Hereinafter, an absorbent article according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. It should be noted, however, that the drawings are schematic drawings, and the scale of each dimension and the like are different from those in reality. Therefore, specific dimensions and the like should be determined with reference to the following description. In addition, the drawings may include portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios from each other.

The absorbent article is a panty liner. The absorbent article of the present invention may be used by being attached to underwear, and may be, for example, a light incontinence pad. Fig. 1 is a plan view of the absorbent article 1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the skin-facing surface side. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1, as viewed from the non-skin-facing surface side. Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1, taken along the section a-a. Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the absorbent article shown in fig. 1, taken along the section B-B.

The absorbent article 1 has a longitudinal direction L and a width direction W orthogonal to each other. The longitudinal direction L is defined by a direction extending to the front side and the back side of the body. In other words, the longitudinal direction L is a direction extending in the front-rear direction in the unfolded absorbent article 1. The absorbent article 1 has a thickness direction T orthogonal to both the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. The thickness direction T extends toward the skin-facing surface side T1 on the wearer side and toward the non-skin-facing surface side T2 opposite to the skin-facing surface side T1.

The absorbent article 1 has at least a top sheet 10, a back sheet 20, and an absorber 30. The topsheet 10 may be made of a liquid-permeable sheet such as a nonwoven fabric or an apertured plastic film. The front sheet 10 may be formed by laminating a plurality of sheets, or may have a second sheet. For example, the surface sheet 10 may be formed of a laminate of a cotton sheet containing cotton fibers and a sheet containing rayon and polyethylene, or the surface sheet 10 may be formed of the laminate and a second sheet formed of a through-air non-woven fabric. The top sheet 10 of the present embodiment is made of a hot air nonwoven fabric. Further, a cotton piece may be provided at a position closer to the skin-facing surface side T1 than the hot air non-woven fabric. The cotton sheet is in contact with the skin of the wearer, and therefore can improve the skin feel.

The back sheet 20 may be formed of a liquid-impermeable sheet such as a plastic film. The back sheet 20 may also have breathability. The breathable back sheet 20 facilitates the discharge of moisture to the outside of the absorbent article through the back sheet 20 when absorbing urine and sweat. Therefore, stuffiness can be reduced and the wearing feeling can be improved. The front sheet 10 and the back sheet 20 reach the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1. In the present embodiment, the outer edge is an outer end in the width direction W, the front edge is a front edge, and the rear edge is a rear edge. The outer edge is an entire outer peripheral edge including the outer edge, the front edge, and the rear edge.

As shown in fig. 2, a pressure-sensitive adhesive section 50 for joining the absorbent article 1 to underwear is disposed on the non-skin-facing surface of the back sheet 20. The adhesive section 50 is a portion provided with an adhesive material for joining the absorbent article 1 to underwear. The bonding portions 50 extend in the width direction W and are provided in plurality at intervals in the longitudinal direction L. The adhesive portion 50 may not reach the outer edge joint portion 40 described later. That is, the adhesive portion 50 and the outer edge joint portion 40 may be separated in a plan view. Between the adhesive portion 50 and the outer edge joining portion 40, a portion which is not joined to the wearing article (does not overlap with the adhesive portion) and in which the sheets are not joined to each other (does not overlap with the outer edge joining portion 40) is provided. The thickness of the portion between the adhesive portion 50 and the outer edge joint portion 40 tends to be thicker when the super absorbent polymer 32 swells. The expansion of the super absorbent polymer is not hindered, and the super absorbent polymer is easily swollen, and the absorption performance can be maintained.

Depending on the user, the outer edge joint 40 may be gripped when the absorbent article 1 is worn. The adhesive part 50 does not reach the outer edge joint part 40, and therefore, even if the outer edge joint part 40 is grasped in wearing, the adhesive part 50 is not in contact with the adhesive part, and the adhesive part is easily attached to and detached from the wearing article. Further, when worn, the outer edge of the absorbent article 1 in the width direction is disposed in the vicinity of the seam in the crotch portion of the worn article, and is likely to be deformed by the movement of the wearer. The adhesive portion 50 does not reach the outer edge joint portion 40, so that the side edge of the absorbent article does not directly follow the movement of the wearing article, and deformation of the absorbent article can be suppressed. The adhesive part 50 may be covered with a cover sheet, not shown, before the absorbent article is used. In the modification, a plurality of the adhesive portions 50 may be provided extending in the longitudinal direction L and spaced apart from each other in the width direction W, or may reach the outer edge joining portion 40.

The absorber 30 is disposed between the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 20. The absorbent body 30 has at least hydrophilic fibers 31 and Super Absorbent Polymers (SAP) 32. The absorbent article 1 of the present embodiment is used for a long period of time as a panty liner. The fibers can absorb body fluid such as leucorrhea and sweat, and the super absorbent polymer 32 can also absorb body fluid resulting from light incontinence. The absorber 30 will be described in detail later.

The absorbent article 1 may be folded before use with a pair of folding lines FL extending in the width direction W as base points. The pair of folding lines FL includes a 1 st folding line FL and a 2 nd folding line FL2 arranged at a distance from the 1 st folding line FL1 in the longitudinal direction L.

The outer edge joining section 40 formed by joining at least the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 20 may be provided along the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1. At least the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 20 may be joined to each other at the outer edge joining part 40, or the absorbent body 30 may be joined thereto. The outer edge joint 40 may reach the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1. The outer edge joint part 40 may be formed by any one of heat welding, ultrasonic welding, and embossing. The outer edge joint 40 of the present embodiment is formed by bonding the front sheet 10, the back sheet 20, and the lower absorbent layer 36 described later by embossing. The outer edge joint 40 formed by embossing is provided at the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1, so that even if the body fluid reaches the outer edge of the absorbent article 1, the body fluid can be retained in the outer edge joint 40 having a high density, and side leakage can be suppressed. Further, when the outer edge of the outer edge joint portion 40 coincides with the outer edge of the absorbent article 1, a larger area can be secured inside the outer edge joint portion 40 (an area where the sheets and the lower absorbent body are not joined together), and therefore, it is possible to suppress inhibition of swelling of the super absorbent polymer 32. The outer edge joint portion 40 is shown in fig. 1 and 2, and is omitted in the cross-sectional views of fig. 3 and 4 for convenience of illustration.

Next, the absorber 30 will be described in detail. The absorbent body 30 includes an upper layer absorbent body 35 and a lower layer absorbent body 36 disposed on the non-skin-facing surface side T2 with respect to the upper layer absorbent body 35. The lower absorbent layer 36 has a larger area than the upper absorbent layer 35. The lower absorbent body 36 has a protruding region R10 protruding from the upper absorbent body 35 in a plan view. The protruding region R10 is a region marked with diagonal lines in fig. 5. The lower layer absorbent body 36 is disposed on the entire absorbent article 1, and the outer edge of the lower layer absorbent body 36 coincides with the outer edge of the absorbent article. The upper layer absorber 35 is rectangular in plan view, and spans the center in the width direction W and the center in the longitudinal direction L of the absorbent article 1. The outer edge of the upper layer absorber 35 is positioned inward in the width direction W from the outer edge of the absorbent article 1. The outer end edge of the upper layer absorber 35 is located inward of the outer end edge of the absorbent article 1 in the longitudinal direction L. Thus, the extension regions R10 are provided at positions outside the upper layer absorbent body 35 in the longitudinal direction L and outside the upper layer absorbent body 35 in the width direction W, respectively. The extension region R10 is a region between the outer edge of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article.

The extension region R10 may have a 1 st region R11 disposed on the upper layer absorber 35 side and a 2 nd region R12 disposed on the outer edge side of the absorbent article. The 1 st region R11 is a region that is disposed on the upper layer absorbent body 35 side of the region that bisects the extension region R10 in the longitudinal direction L or the width direction W. In fig. 5, the boundary between the 1 st region R11 and the 2 nd region R12 is indicated by a single-dot chain line. The boundary between the 1 st region R11 and the 2 nd region R12 in the present embodiment is a line connecting the outer edge of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the midpoint of the outer edge of the absorbent article 1.

The upper layer absorbent body 35 has at least hydrophilic fibers 31. The weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing side of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is smaller than the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing side of the extension region R10 of the lower layer absorbent body 36. The skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the skin-facing surface of the lower layer absorbent body 36 are the surfaces of the skin-facing surface sides T1 of the respective absorbent bodies, and are the surfaces facing the topsheet. The superabsorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the extension region R10 of the lower layer absorbent body 36 may be disposed more than the superabsorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35, or the superabsorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 may be absent. In addition, the super absorbent polymer 32 may not be disposed in the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the lower layer absorbent body 36, and the super absorbent polymer 32 may be disposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the skin-facing surface of the lower layer absorbent body 36. In the present embodiment, the super absorbent polymer 32 is disposed in the upper layer absorbent body 35, and a part of the super absorbent polymer 32 is exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35. The super absorbent polymer 32 is not disposed in the lower layer absorbent body 36, and the super absorbent polymer 32 that has leaked from the upper layer absorbent body 35 is exposed in the extension region R10 of the lower layer absorbent body 36. In the case 30 where the lower layer absorbent body 36 extends to the outer edge of the absorbent article, it is preferable that the super absorbent polymer 32 is not disposed in the side edge portion of the absorbent body in order to prevent the super absorbent polymer 32 from leaking out from the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1, and it is more preferable that the super absorbent polymer 32 is not disposed in the lower layer absorbent body 36. In the case where the super absorbent polymer 32 is not disposed at the outer edge portion of the absorbent body 30 (the super absorbent polymer 32 is disposed only at the central portion of the absorbent body), the super absorbent polymer 32 may be disposed in the lower absorbent body 36 in order to ensure the water retention capacity of the entire absorbent article. In the present embodiment, the mass of the super absorbent polymer 32 in the lower layer absorbent body 36 may be lower than the mass of the super absorbent polymer 32 in the upper layer absorbent body 35.

In comparison of the basis weights of the super absorbent polymers 32, colored water was dropped, and a difference in color was visually observed in a state where the super absorbent polymer 32 of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the super absorbent polymer 32 of the extension region R10 absorbed water. The region having a dense color per unit area or the region having a large area of color change per unit area is set as the region having a large weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32. As another method for comparing the basis weights of the super absorbent polymers 32, the number of the super absorbent polymers 32 swollen by absorbing the colored water can be measured by immersing the super absorbent polymers 32 in the colored water for about 30 minutes, and the basis weights of the super absorbent polymers 32 can be compared. The basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is not the basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer 32 in the entirety of the upper layer absorbent body 35, but is the basis weight of the superabsorbent polymer 32 exposed only on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35, which does not include the superabsorbent polymer 32 not exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35. Similarly, the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing side of the extension region R10 of the lower layer absorbent body 36 is the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed only on the skin-facing side of the lower layer absorbent body 36, excluding the super absorbent polymer 32 not exposed on the skin-facing side of the lower layer absorbent body 36.

With this structure, the body fluid can be rapidly introduced by the hydrophilic fibers 31 of the upper absorbent body 35. The body fluid introduced by the upper layer absorbent body 35 is diffused in the upper layer absorbent body 35 and is guided to the lower layer absorbent body 36. At this time, since the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is relatively small, gel blocking at the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 can be suppressed, and body fluid can be continuously taken into the upper layer absorbent body 35. If the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is relatively large, there is a risk that the transfer of body fluid from the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 to the non-skin surface side is hindered. However, since the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing surface of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is relatively small, the bodily fluid can be continuously taken into the upper layer absorbent body 35, and the uncomfortable feeling and the foreign body feeling caused by the bodily fluid remaining on the upper layer absorbent body 35 can be suppressed. The weight per unit area of the superabsorbent polymer 32 in the extension region R10 of the lower absorbent layer 36 is relatively large, and the superabsorbent polymer 32 in the extension region R10 holds the body fluid that has leaked laterally from the upper absorbent layer 35, thereby suppressing side leakage. The protruding region R10 is offset outward from the center of the absorbent article 1 from which body fluid is discharged. Therefore, even if gel blocking occurs due to the super absorbent polymer 32 protruding from the region R10, the body fluid can be continuously held.

The weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing side of the 1 st region R11 of the extension region R10 may be greater than the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed on the skin-facing side of the 2 nd region R12. Since the superabsorbent polymer 32 in the 1 st region R11 has a relatively large basis weight, the body fluid can be further retained by the 1 st region R11 on the inner side of the absorbent article 1 in a plan view. The body fluid is less likely to reach the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1, and side leakage can be suppressed. The 2 nd region R12 is in contact with a region that is distant from the excretion portion and is likely to sweat. Sweat having a smaller moisture discharge amount than excrement can be reliably absorbed by the 2 nd region R12. Further, since the weight per unit area of the super absorbent polymer 32 in the 2 nd region R12 is low, it is possible to reduce the feeling of discomfort on the skin due to the unevenness when the super absorbent polymer 32 swells.

The upper layer absorbent 35 may be an air-laid nonwoven fabric containing the hydrophilic fibers 31 and the super absorbent polymer 32. The air-laid nonwoven fabric has a high liquid-introducing property and a high liquid-releasing property. Therefore, the bodily fluid discharged onto the upper layer absorbent body 35 can be introduced quickly, and the bodily fluid can be guided quickly to the lower layer absorbent body 36. Further, since the air-laid nonwoven fabric has high diffusion properties in the planar direction, the body fluid introduced into the upper absorbent body 35 can be diffused over a wide range. This allows the body fluid to be retained in a large area of the upper layer absorbent body 35, and also allows the body fluid to be easily guided to the extension region R10 of the lower layer absorbent body 36. This can suppress gel blocking caused by absorption of body fluid in a part of the upper layer absorber 35.

The outer edge of the lower layer absorbent body 36 may coincide with the outer edge of the absorbent article 1. The absorption capacity can be ensured by increasing the area of the lower absorbent body 36. Further, the body fluid is retained by the super absorbent polymer 32 exposed in the extension region R10, and the body fluid can be prevented from reaching the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article 1. That is, side leakage from the outer edge 1E of the absorbent article can be suppressed while ensuring the absorption capacity of the lower layer absorbent body 36.

In the upper absorbent body 35, the hydrophilic fibers 31 are disposed at least on the surface on the lower absorbent body 36 side, and the super absorbent polymer 32 is disposed at least on the skin-facing surface side T1 with respect to the hydrophilic fibers 31 disposed on the surface on the lower absorbent body 36 side. The body fluid that has not been completely absorbed in the super absorbent polymer 32 of the upper absorbent body 35 can be taken in and absorbed by the hydrophilic fibers 31 located on the non-skin-facing surface side T2 with respect to the super absorbent polymer 32. By introducing the bodily fluid into the non-skin-facing surface side T2 in the upper layer absorbent body 35, the bodily fluid can be smoothly guided to the lower layer absorbent body 36.

The density of the super absorbent polymer 32 may be constant or different in the absorbent body 30. As shown in fig. 3, the upper layer absorber 35 has a central region 35RC including the center of the upper layer absorber 35 in the thickness direction and a front region 35RS located on the outer side in the thickness direction than the central region 35 RC. The boundary between the central region 35RC and the surface-side region 35RS is a boundary that trisects the upper-layer absorber 35 in the thickness direction. The density of the super absorbent polymer 32 in the central region 35RC may be higher than the density of the super absorbent polymer 32 in the surface side region 35 RS. Since the density of the super absorbent polymer 32 of the central region 35RC is high, the central region 35RC is liable to swell when absorbing body fluid. This ensures the absorption capacity of body fluid. Further, the superabsorbent polymer 32 in the front side region 35RS has a low density, and is less likely to cause gel blocking when absorbing body fluid, and can maintain the drawing-in property of body fluid. As a method for measuring the density, an absorber can be cut in a cross section along the thickness direction, the cross section is photographed by an electron microscope, the number of super absorbent polymers 32 contained in the same area in each region is measured, and the density is measured to be higher as the number is larger. As another method for measuring the number of super absorbent polymers 32, the number of super absorbent polymers 32 swollen by absorbing colored water can be measured by immersing them in colored water for about 30 minutes, and the density can be increased as the number is increased.

The absorbent body 30 may have heat-fusible fibers 33. The heat-fusible fibers 33 may be disposed only in the lower absorbent body 36 out of the upper absorbent body 35 and the lower absorbent body 36. That is, the heat-fusible fibers 33 may not be disposed in the upper layer absorbent body 35. The heat-fusible fibers 33 are heated during the manufacturing process, thereby forming a heat-fused portion. By forming the heat fusion portions in the lower layer absorbent body 36, the bonding force between the fibers is increased, and the lower layer absorbent body 36 is less likely to be twisted. As a result, the entire absorbent article is less likely to twist, can be continuously and appropriately arranged relative to the body, and can suppress leakage and prevent a sense of discomfort. Since the heat-fusible fibers 33 are not arranged in the upper layer absorbent body 35, the heat-fusible parts are not formed in the upper layer absorbent body 35. The high absorbent polymer 32 is not inhibited from expanding by the strong bonding force between the fibers, and the high absorbent polymer 32 is easily swollen, and the absorption performance can be maintained.

The upper layer absorbent body 35 of the present embodiment is an air-laid nonwoven fabric having hydrophilic fibers 31, a binder (bonding material), a hydrophilic agent, and a super absorbent polymer 32, and the lower layer absorbent body 36 is an air-laid nonwoven fabric having a binder (bonding material), a hydrophilic agent, and heat-fusible fibers 33. The air-laid nonwoven fabric of the lower layer absorber 36 does not contain the super absorbent polymer 32, and the super absorbent polymer 32 is disposed on the air-laid nonwoven fabric.

The absorbent article 1 has an absorbent joint 70 formed by joining the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the lower layer absorbent body 36. Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the absorbent joint 70 between the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the lower layer absorbent body 36. The absorbent joint 70 may extend in one of the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W, and a plurality of absorbent joints may be provided at intervals in the other of the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W. The absorbent joint 70 of the present embodiment may be provided in plural numbers extending in the width direction W and spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction L. In the modified example, the absorbent joint 70 may extend in the longitudinal direction L and be provided in plurality at intervals in the width direction W. The absorbent joint 70 may extend in the same direction as the adhesive part 50 and be disposed at intervals in the same direction as the adhesive part 50.

The absorbent joint 70 provided with the adhesive is less likely to transmit body fluid, and the non-absorbent joint not provided with the adhesive is more likely to transmit body fluid. The non-absorbent joint is a portion other than the absorbent joint 70. According to this embodiment, the bodily fluid absorbed by the upper layer absorber 35 can be diffused in one direction at the non-absorbent joint portion of the interval between the absorbent joints 70, and the bodily fluid can be absorbed in a large area. The body fluid can be diffused in the width direction W by the non-absorbent joint portion, while the diffusion can be suppressed by the absorbent joint portions 70 disposed on both sides in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the non-absorbent joint portion. Liquid accumulation at the peeled portion of the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the lower layer absorbent body 36 due to excessive diffusion of body fluid between the upper layer absorbent body 35 and the lower layer absorbent body 36 can be suppressed, and introduction of body fluid to the lower layer absorbent body 36 side can be continued.

The absorbent joint 70 may be provided in a region of the absorbent article 1 that does not overlap the pair of folding lines FL. If the absorbent joint 70 overlaps the fold line FL, a more severe crease is formed, and the rigidity of the region of the upper absorbent body 35 that overlaps the fold line FL increases. However, since the absorbent joint 70 does not overlap the folding line FL, the rigidity of the upper layer absorbent body 35 can be suppressed from being locally increased. The stiffness of the upper layer absorbent body 35 locally increases, and therefore expansion of the super absorbent polymer 32 is not inhibited, and the super absorbent polymer 32 is easily swollen, and absorption performance can be maintained.

It may be that the upper layer absorber 35 overlaps with at least one of the pair of folding lines FL. As shown in fig. 5, the upper layer absorbent body 35 has an outer region R15 disposed outside the fold line FL in the longitudinal direction L. In the present embodiment, one end in the longitudinal direction L of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is positioned further outward in the longitudinal direction L than the 1 st folding line FL1, and the other end in the longitudinal direction L of the upper layer absorbent body 35 coincides with the 2 nd folding line FL 2. Thus, the outer region R15 of the upper layer absorbent body 35 is provided outside the 1 st fold line FL1 in the longitudinal direction L. The outer region R15 is not joined to the lower absorbent body 36 and is easily moved when folded in the manufacturing process and when unfolded in the wearing process. With the movement of the outer region R15, the super absorbent polymer 32 in the upper layer absorbent body 35 becomes easy to diffuse, and the body fluid can be held over a wide range of the absorbent body.

As shown in fig. 4, the absorbent article 1 is provided with a non-overlapping portion R20 that does not overlap with both the absorbent joint portion 70 and the adhesive portion 50 in the thickness direction T. The non-overlapping portion R20 is not overlapped with the absorbent joint 70 and the adhesive portion 50, and air permeability and dryness can be ensured. The stuffiness of the whole absorbent article can be reduced, and the wearing feeling can be improved.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the present specification. The present invention can be implemented as modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present specification is for illustrative purposes and does not have any limiting meaning to the present invention.

The entire contents of the japanese patent application No. 2019-121743 filed on 6/28 of 2019 are incorporated herein by reference.

Industrial applicability

According to the present invention, an absorbent article that suppresses gel blocking and facilitates continuous absorption of bodily fluids can be provided.

Description of the reference numerals

1. An absorbent article; 1E, outer edge; 10. a surface sheet; 20. a back sheet; 30. an absorbent body; 31. a hydrophilic fiber; 32. a superabsorbent polymer; 33. a heat-fusible fiber; 35. an upper layer absorber; 36. a lower layer absorber; 50. an adhesive portion; 70. an absorbent joint; l, the length direction; t, the thickness direction; t1, skin-facing surface side; t2, non-skin-facing surface side; w, width direction.

Claims

1. An absorbent article having a longitudinal direction and a width direction which are orthogonal to each other, a liquid-permeable top sheet, a liquid-impermeable back sheet, and an absorbent body which is disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet and which has at least hydrophilic fibers and a super absorbent polymer,

the absorbent body has: an upper layer absorbent body having at least the hydrophilic fiber; and a lower layer absorber disposed on a non-skin-facing surface side of the upper layer absorber,

the lower layer absorbent body has protruding regions protruding in the longitudinal direction and the width direction with respect to the upper layer absorbent body,

the superabsorbent polymer is exposed on the skin-facing side of the upper layer absorbent body with a lower basis weight than the superabsorbent polymer exposed on the skin-facing side of the extended region.

2. The absorbent article of claim 1,

the upper layer absorbent body is an air-laid nonwoven fabric comprising the hydrophilic fiber and the super absorbent polymer.

3. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

in the upper absorbent layer, the hydrophilic fibers are disposed at least on the surface on the lower absorbent layer side, and the super absorbent polymer is disposed at least on the skin-facing surface side of the hydrophilic fibers disposed on the surface on the lower absorbent layer side.

4. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein,

the absorbent body has a heat-fusible fiber,

the heat-fusible fibers are disposed only in the lower absorbent body of the upper absorbent body and the lower absorbent body.

5. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein,

the extension region has a 1 st region disposed on the upper absorbent layer side and a 2 nd region disposed on the outer edge side of the absorbent article,

the superabsorbent polymer is exposed in the skin-facing side of the 1 st zone in a greater weight per unit area than the superabsorbent polymer is exposed in the skin-facing side of the 2 nd zone.

6. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein,

the absorbent article has an absorbent joint formed by joining the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body with an adhesive material,

the absorbent joint portion extends in one of the longitudinal direction and the width direction, and is provided in plurality at intervals in the other of the longitudinal direction and the width direction.

7. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,

the absorbent article is folded with a pair of folding lines extending in the width direction as base points,

the upper layer absorber has an outer region disposed further outward in the longitudinal direction than the folding line,

the absorbent joint is provided in a region not overlapping with the outer region.

8. The absorbent article of claim 7,

the absorbent joint is provided in a region not overlapping the pair of fold lines.

9. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein,

the absorbent article has: an absorbent joint portion formed by joining the upper layer absorbent body and the lower layer absorbent body with an adhesive material; and a bonding section provided with a bonding agent for bonding the non-skin-facing surface of the absorbent article to a wearing article,

the absorbent article is provided with a non-overlapping portion that does not overlap with neither the absorbent joint portion nor the adhesive portion in the thickness direction.