JP2024132669A - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an absorbent article that can be easily disposed of without contaminating the surroundings at the time of replacement.SOLUTION: The present disclosure relates to an absorbent article 10 that comprises a top sheet 14, a back sheet 15, and an absorbent body 16, the absorbent article including a gather sheet 17 that includes three-dimensional gather portions 18a,18b disposed on both sides of a skin side in the width direction, and strip sheet portions 19a,19b disposed on both sides of the non-skin side in the width direction and facing the non-skin side 15a of the back sheet 15, wherein the gathered sheet 17 has a continuous portion 25 where the outer end edges of the three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b in the width direction and the outer end edges of the strip sheet portions 19a, 19b in the width direction are continuous with each other in a partial region in a longitudinal direction, the area adjacent to the continuous portion 25 of the strip sheet portions 19a, 19b is a strongly bonded area 21 that is strongly bonded to the back sheet 15, and at least some areas of the strip sheet portions 19a and 19b, excluding the strongly adhesive area 21, are weakly adhesive areas 22 that are releasably bonded to the back sheet 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

This disclosure relates to absorbent articles.

Patent Document 1 discloses a urine pad. This urine pad has a pad body made of a back sheet, a top sheet, and an absorbent body provided between the two sheets. The urine pad has a pocket formed by providing a pocket sheet on the outer surface of the back sheet of the pad body. When disposing of the urine pad, the pad body can be rolled up so that the back sheet is on the outside, and the rolled up pad body can be stored by turning the pocket sheet inside out.

Patent Document 2 discloses an absorbent article. This absorbent article comprises an absorbent body and a pouch. The pouch is attached to the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body, and the absorbent body can be stored in an internal space formed by turning the pouch inside out.

JP 2008-284288 A JP 2014-151128 A

Recently, there has been an increase in cases where care recipients are unable to enter nursing facilities and are cared for at home, and the number of so-called "elderly care homes" where elderly care recipients are cared for at home by their elderly partners (spouses, etc.) or by their relatively older children is increasing. As both the caregiver and the care recipient lose their physical strength due to aging, care work places a great physical burden on them. In particular, changing diapers places a great mental and physical burden, and changing pads that have been used to remove feces sometimes requires the care recipient to perform heavy physical movements. This can lead to excrement being accidentally attached to bedding, clothing, etc., which can lead to secondary tasks such as changing and washing these items, which is a challenge for home care. In addition, it may be necessary to change a diaper at night when visibility is poor and there is no garbage bag nearby, which can also soil the surrounding area.

The urine absorption pad (absorbent article) described in Patent Document 1 and the absorbent article described in Patent Document 2 can be stored in a bag or the like (including a pocket). However, since the absorbent article needs to be folded or rolled up in order to be stored in a bag or the like, there is a risk of urine and feces liquid returning or leaking when the absorbent article is replaced, which may soil the surrounding area.

Therefore, the present disclosure aims to provide absorbent articles that can be easily disposed of without soiling the surrounding area when replaced.

In order to solve the above problems, the first aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable skin-side top sheet, a liquid-impermeable non-skin-side back sheet, and an absorbent disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet, the article comprising a gathered sheet having a pair of three-dimensional gather portions disposed on both sides of the skin side in the width direction and extending along the longitudinal direction, and a pair of strip-shaped sheet portions disposed on both sides of the non-skin side in the width direction and extending along the longitudinal direction, facing the non-skin side of the back sheet, the gathered sheet having a continuous portion in which the outer edges of the pair of three-dimensional gather portions and the outer edges of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions in the width direction are continuous with each other in a partial area in the longitudinal direction, the area of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions adjacent to the continuous portion is a strongly bonded area that is firmly bonded to the non-skin side of the back sheet, and at least a portion of the area of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions excluding the strongly bonded area is a weakly bonded area that is releasably bonded to the non-skin side of the back sheet.

A second aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article of the first aspect described above, wherein the width direction length of the strongly adhesive region of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions is 20 mm or more and 30 mm or less, and the area of the strongly adhesive region of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions is 2000 mm2 or ^more and 4000 ^mm2 or less.

The third aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article according to the first or second aspect, in which the inner edges in the width direction of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions extend along the longitudinal direction at the center of the width direction of the absorbent article and are close to or in contact with each other.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article according to the first or second aspect, in which the inner edges in the width direction of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions are continuous with each other at the center of the width direction of the absorbent article, and can be cut by a perforation provided at the center of the width direction of the absorbent article.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article according to the first or second aspect, which comprises a wide portion located on one side in the longitudinal direction and having a long widthwise length, and a narrow portion located on the other side in the longitudinal direction and having a shorter widthwise length than the wide portion, the longitudinal length being 560 mm or more and 850 mm or less, the difference between the wide portion and the narrow portion being 20 mm or more and 90 mm or less, and the continuous portion of the gathered sheet being located at the outer end in the widthwise direction of the wide portion.

The sixth aspect of the present invention is an absorbent article according to the first or second aspect, in which the peel strength of the strong adhesion region of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions to the non-skin side of the backsheet is 200 gf/25 mm or more, and the peel strength of the weak adhesion region of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions to the non-skin side of the backsheet is 30 gf/25 mm or more and 120 gf/25 mm or less.

This disclosure makes it possible to provide absorbent articles that can be easily discarded without soiling the surrounding area when replaced.

1 is a plan view of an absorbent article according to one embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the skin side. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the absorbent article of FIG. 1 from the non-skin side. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 13 is a plan view of an absorbent article, seen from the non-skin side, showing a modified example of a belt-shaped sheet portion. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the absorbent article from the skin side with the belt-shaped sheet portion unfolded. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of how to fold up an absorbent article into a small size, in which (a) shows the state in which the strip-shaped sheet portion is spread out on both sides, (b) shows the state in the middle of folding up the absorbent article, and (c) shows the state after folding.

The following describes an absorbent article according to one embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an absorbent article according to one embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the skin side. Figure 2 is a plan view of the absorbent article of Figure 1, as viewed from the non-skin side. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a plan view of an absorbent article, as viewed from the non-skin side, showing a modified example of a strip-shaped sheet portion. Figure 5 is a plan view of an absorbent article, as viewed from the skin side, with the strip-shaped sheet portion unfolded. Note that each figure does not stipulate the size relationship of the components of the absorbent article, and the dimensions of each component can be appropriately selected from a wide range depending on the purpose of the absorbent article, the age of the intended wearer, etc.

In this specification, wearing an absorbent article means a state in which the absorbent article is worn on the body, regardless of whether the absorbent article is worn before, during, or after the absorption of bodily fluids. The longitudinal direction means the long direction of the absorbent article, which is the direction along the front and back of the wearer when the absorbent article is worn, and is the direction along the arrow X in the figure. The width direction means the short direction of the absorbent article, which is the direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the longitudinal direction, and is the direction along the arrow Y in the figure. The thickness direction of the absorbent article means the direction in which each component is stacked, and is the direction along the arrow Z in the figure. The "front side" means the direction that is the abdominal side of the wearer when the absorbent article is worn, and the "rear side" means the direction that is the dorsal side of the wearer. The "skin side" of each component of the absorbent article means the direction toward the wearer's body when the absorbent article is worn in the thickness direction, and the "non-skin side" means the direction opposite to the skin side in the thickness direction. The left-right direction means the left-right direction as seen from the wearer facing forward. Additionally, the inside in the longitudinal direction refers to the direction toward the center in the longitudinal direction, and the outside in the longitudinal direction refers to the direction away from the center in the longitudinal direction. Additionally, the inside in the width direction refers to the direction toward the center in the width direction, and the outside in the width direction refers to the direction away from the center in the width direction. Additionally, body fluids refer to liquids discharged from within the body to the outside, such as urine, blood, and water in loose stools.

[Absorbent articles]
As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the absorbent article 10 according to the present embodiment can be used as various absorbent articles for babies and adults, such as pad products such as light incontinence pads and urine absorption pads. Among these, it can be suitably used as a wide pad product having a wide absorbent body. The absorbent article 10 in the form of a pad product as an inner layer may be used in combination with various paper diapers as an outer layer.

The length L1 of the absorbent article 10 in the longitudinal direction (maximum length; the same applies below) is not particularly limited, but is preferably 560 mm or more and 850 mm or less, for example. The length L2 of the absorbent article 10 in the width direction is not particularly limited, but is preferably 280 mm or more and 400 mm or less, for example. By adjusting the dimensions of the absorbent article 10 to fall within the above ranges, absorbent articles 10 in various shapes can be easily obtained.

The absorbent article 10 may be shaped like an hourglass, a roughly rectangular shape, an oval shape, or the like, but among these, an hourglass shape (sometimes also called a gourd shape) in which both ends in the longitudinal direction are wider than the middle part in the longitudinal direction is preferable.

The absorbent article 10 of this embodiment is formed in an hourglass shape, and includes a wide portion 12 located on one side (rear side) of the intermediate portion 11 in the longitudinal direction, and a narrow portion 13 located on the other side (front side) of the intermediate portion 11 in the longitudinal direction. The widthwise length L2 of the wide portion 12 is longer on both sides of the widthwise length than both the intermediate portion 11 and the narrow portion 13, and is the widthwise length L2 of the absorbent article 10. The widthwise length L3 of the narrow portion 13 is longer on both sides of the widthwise length than the widthwise length of the intermediate portion 11, and is shorter than the widthwise length L2 of the wide portion 12. The difference between the widthwise length L2 of the wide portion 12 and the widthwise length L3 of the narrow portion 13 is preferably 20 mm or more, and preferably 90 mm or less. By adjusting the widthwise lengths of the wide portion 12 and the narrow portion 13 to the above range, the absorbent article 10 as an hourglass-shaped wide pad product can be easily obtained. The shape of the absorbent article 10 is not limited to an hourglass shape.

The absorbent article 10 comprises a liquid-permeable top sheet 14 facing the skin, a liquid-impermeable back sheet 15 facing the non-skin, an absorbent body 16 disposed between the top sheet 14 and the back sheet 15, and a gathered sheet 17. The absorbent article 10 may also comprise sheets other than the top sheet 14, the back sheet 15, and the gathered sheet 17 (e.g., a cover sheet that encases the absorbent body 16, etc.).

(Top sheet)
The top sheet 14 is disposed opposite the back sheet 15 with the absorbent 16 sandwiched therebetween. The top sheet 14 is a liquid-permeable sheet-like member, and may be formed from a substrate having liquid permeability such that bodily fluids move to the absorbent 16. Examples of substrates include hydrophilic sheets, composite nonwoven fabrics that are laminates of the same or different hydrophilic sheets, perforated films such as perforated polyethylene films, and foamed films such as polyethylene foam and urethane foam. Examples of hydrophilic sheets include air-through nonwoven fabrics, thermal bond nonwoven fabrics, spunlace nonwoven fabrics, spunbond nonwoven fabrics, and the like, which contain one or more types of synthetic fibers made of synthetic resins such as polypropylene and polyethylene, regenerated fibers such as rayon, and natural fibers such as cotton.

The top sheet 14 may be embossed or perforated on the surface in accordance with a known method in order to improve liquid permeability. The top sheet 14 may contain one or more of lotions, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory components, pH adjusters, antibacterial agents, moisturizers, etc. in order to reduce irritation to the skin. The basis weight of the top sheet 14 is preferably 15 g/m ² or more and 40 g/m ² or less in terms of strength, processability, and liquid return. The shape of the top sheet 14 is not particularly limited, and may be any shape that covers a part or all of the absorbent body 16, which is necessary to guide bodily fluids to the absorbent body 16 without leakage.

(Back seat)
The back sheet 15 may be formed using a liquid-impermeable substrate so that the body fluid held by the absorbent 16 does not leak to the non-skin side, and is formed from a material such as a resin film or a composite sheet in which a resin film and a nonwoven fabric are laminated. The nonwoven fabric used in the composite sheet is not particularly limited in its manufacturing method, and examples thereof include composite nonwoven fabrics in which multiple nonwoven fabrics of the same type and/or different types are laminated, such as spunbond nonwoven fabric, meltblown nonwoven fabric, spunbond nonwoven fabric/meltblown nonwoven fabric, spunbond nonwoven fabric/meltblown nonwoven fabric/spunbond nonwoven fabric, and composite materials thereof. Examples of the resin film include films of polyester, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, polypropylene, etc., and composite films of polyethylene and polypropylene.

The basis weight of the back sheet 15 is preferably 15 g/m2 ^{or more} and 40 g/m2 or ^less , for example, from the viewpoint of strength and processability. In addition, in order to prevent stuffiness during wearing, it is preferable that the back sheet 15 has breathability. In order to provide the back sheet 15 with breathability, for example, a filler may be blended into the resin film of the base material, or the back sheet 15 may be embossed. In addition, calcium carbonate may be used as the filler, and the blending method may be any known method without limitation. For example, a porous (breathable) resin film can be obtained by kneading a resin and a filler, forming the resulting kneaded product into a film, and removing the filler from the resulting film.

(Absorbent)
Examples of the absorbent body 16 include a fluff absorbent body containing absorbent fibers as a base material and a superabsorbent polymer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "SAP") supported on the absorbent fibers, and an SAP sheet in which SAP particles are fixed between liquid-absorbent sheets.

The absorbent fibers are not particularly limited as long as they are generally used in absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, paper diapers, and urine pads, and examples thereof include fluff pulp, cotton, rayon, acetate, tissue, absorbent paper, hydrophilic nonwoven fabric, etc. Examples of fluff pulp include wood pulp (for example, bleached coniferous kraft pulp (N-BKP) such as southern pine or Douglas fir), synthetic fibers, resin fibers, non-wood pulp, etc. that have been defibrated into a cotton-like state. Examples of liquid absorbent sheets include sheets composed of one or more of the above absorbent fibers.

There are no particular limitations on the superabsorbent polymer as long as it can absorb body fluids and prevent backflow, and examples of such polymers include polyacrylates, polyaspartates, (starch-acrylic acid) graft copolymers, (acrylic acid-vinyl alcohol) copolymers, (isobutylene-maleic anhydride) copolymers, and saponified versions thereof. Among these, from the viewpoint of the amount absorbed per weight, polyacrylates are preferred, alkali metal polyacrylates are more preferred, and sodium polyacrylate is even more preferred. The superabsorbent polymers can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In the absorbent body 16, the absorbent fibers and SAP may be in the form of a mixture of SAP particles in the absorbent fibers, or the SAP particles may be fixed between the absorbent fibers.

The shape of the absorbent body 16 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a rectangular shape, an hourglass shape, an I-shape, a rectangular shape with rounded corners, an oval shape, and an elliptical shape that is long in one direction. In this embodiment, the absorbent body 16 is formed in an hourglass shape. The absorbent body 16 may be used by stacking two or more layers.

(Cover sheet)
The absorbent article 10 may have a cover sheet (not shown) that wraps the absorbent body 16 in order to prevent leakage of SAP particles from the absorbent body 16 and to stabilize the shape of the absorbent body 16. The base material of the cover sheet may be any material that has hydrophilic properties, and examples of such base materials include hydrophilic nonwoven fabrics such as tissue, absorbent paper, airlaid nonwoven fabric, and spunbond nonwoven fabric. Among these, spunbond nonwoven fabric is preferable. In addition, when a plurality of cover sheets are provided, the base materials of the plurality of cover sheets may be the same or different. In addition, an ADL layer may be provided between the top sheet 14 and the cover sheet to quickly capture and distribute body fluid from the cover sheet side to the absorbent body 16 side.

(Gathered sheet)
As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the gathered sheet 17 has a pair of three-dimensional gathered sections 18a, 18b on the skin side to prevent lateral leakage of body fluids excreted by the wearer, and a pair of strip-shaped sheet sections 19a, 19b that are folded back from the outer ends in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathered sections 18a, 18b to the non-skin side and releasably adhered to the non-skin side 15a of the backsheet 15.

The gather sheet 17 is a water-repellent and/or waterproof sheet, and is made of, for example, a nonwoven fabric. As the nonwoven fabric for the gather sheet 17, any water-repellent and/or waterproof (liquid-impermeable) nonwoven fabric made of hydrophobic fibers can be used without any particular limitation, and examples thereof include spunbond nonwoven fabric, meltblown nonwoven fabric, and composite nonwoven fabric (SMS nonwoven fabric) which is a spunbond nonwoven fabric/meltblown nonwoven fabric/spunbond nonwoven fabric laminate. The basis weight of the gather sheet 17 is preferably in the range of, for example, 13 g/ ^m2 to 20 g/ ^m2 .

(3D gathers)
As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b are strip-shaped sheet portions extending in the longitudinal direction in a plan view from the skin side, and are disposed on both sides of the skin side of the absorbent article 10 in the width direction. The outer edges 23 in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b extend along the outer edges of the absorbent article 10. The outer ends in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b are fixed over their entire longitudinal area to the skin side of at least one of the top sheet 14 and the back sheet 15. In this embodiment, the entire longitudinal area of the outer ends (fixed ends) in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b is fixed to the outer end in the width direction of the skin side of the back sheet 15, and the entire longitudinal area of the middle part in the width direction is fixed to the outer end in the width direction of the skin side of the top sheet 14. The inner ends in the width direction of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b are free ends having a standing property. An elastic stretch member 20 is provided along the longitudinal direction at the inner ends in the width direction of the standing gather portions 18a, 18b.

The elastic stretchable member 20 is disposed along the longitudinal direction near the free ends (inner ends) of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b, imparting upstanding properties to the free ends, and allowing the free ends and the adjacent areas of the three-dimensional gathers 18a, 18b to be deformed to fit the wearer's body shape. The elastic stretchable member 20 may be, for example, a thread-, string- or band-shaped member made of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, polyurethane, or the like.

(Strip-shaped sheet portion)
As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are strip-shaped sheet portions extending in the longitudinal direction in a plan view from the non-skin side, and are arranged on both sides of the non-skin side of the absorbent article 10 in the width direction. The outer edge 24 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b in the width direction extends along the outer edge of the absorbent article 10. The strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b face the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. At least a part of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is peelably adhered to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. In this embodiment, other areas of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b, which are different from the strongly adhered areas 21 (colored areas in Fig. 2) described later, are weakly adhered areas (partial areas) 22 that are peelably adhered to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. The strongly adhered areas 21 and weakly adhered areas 22 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the inner widthwise edges 26 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b extend along the longitudinal direction at the center of the width of the absorbent article 10 and are close to or in contact with each other. This ensures that the widthwise length of each of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is sufficient, and that the strength of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is sufficient when folding up the used absorbent article 10, as described below.

2, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are spaced apart from each other on the inside in the width direction, but this is not limited thereto. The inner ends of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b in the width direction may be slightly overlapped on the inside in the width direction, and the inner edges 26 may be close to each other. Alternatively, the inner edges 26 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b may be in contact with each other. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner edges 26 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b may be continuous with each other in the center of the absorbent article 10 in the width direction, and may be cut by a perforation 27 provided in the center of the absorbent article 10 in the width direction.

(Continuous section)
As shown in Fig. 5, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b can be peeled off from the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15 and deployed outward in the width direction. As shown in Fig. 5, the gather sheet 17 has a continuous portion 25 in which the outer edge 23 in the width direction of the pair of three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b and the outer edge 24 in the width direction of the pair of strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are continuous with each other in a part of the longitudinal direction. The three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b and the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are continuous only at the continuous portion 25. In other words, the outer edge 23 in the width direction of the three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b and the outer edge 24 in the width direction of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are not continuous with each other in the other regions except for the continuous portion 25. The continuous portion 25 of the gather sheet 17 is preferably provided symmetrically in a position biased toward one side in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article 10. The continuous portions 25 of the gathered sheet 17 in this embodiment are located at the outer edges (outer ends) of the wide portion 12 of the absorbent article 10 and are provided symmetrically on the left and right sides of the absorbent article 10 .

(Strong adhesion area)
In this embodiment, the region (colored region in FIG. 2) of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b adjacent to the continuous portion 25 is a strongly bonded region 21 that is strongly bonded to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. The strongly bonded region 21 of the belt-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is strongly bonded (stronger than the weakly bonded region 22) to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15 so that it cannot be easily peeled off from the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. For example, the strongly bonded region 21 of the belt-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is fixedly bonded to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15 by applying a structural hot melt adhesive in an amount and pattern that imparts a predetermined strength to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. In this embodiment, the strongly bonded region 21 of the belt-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is a region adjacent to the outer edge of the wide portion 12 of the absorbent article 10 and extends in the longitudinal direction. In addition, although the strongly adhesive region 21 is colored in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, this is for ease of understanding, and in reality, the strongly adhesive region 21 and the weakly adhesive region 22 may be the same color.

The width direction length L4 of the strongly bonded region 21 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b is preferably 20 mm or more in lower limit and 30 mm or less in upper limit. The area of the strongly bonded region 21 is preferably 2000 ^mm2 or more in lower limit and 4000 ^mm2 or less in upper limit. By setting the width direction length L4 and area of the strongly bonded region 21 within the above range, the strength of the base end portion (strongly bonded region 21) of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b when the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are unfolded and pulled can be ensured while ensuring the width direction length of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b.

(Weakly Adhesive Area)
The weakly bonded regions 22 of the pair of belt-like sheet portions 19a, 19b are releasably adhered to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. For example, the weakly bonded regions 22 of the belt-like sheet portions 19a, 19b are adhered to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15 by applying a slip-preventing hot melt adhesive in an amount and pattern that is neither too strong nor too weak and provides an appropriate adhesive strength (strength that allows peeling by hand) to the non-skin side surface 15a of the back sheet 15. The weakly bonded regions 22 may be the entire area of the belt-like sheet portions 19a, 19b excluding the strongly bonded regions 21, or may be a portion of the area excluding the strongly bonded regions 21.
(Peel Strength)

The peel strength of the strongly adhesive regions 21 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b against the non-skin side 15a of the back sheet 15 is preferably 200 gf/25 mm or more. By setting the peel strength of the strongly adhesive regions 21 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b within the above range, the strength of the base ends of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b can be ensured when folding up the used absorbent article 10, which will be described later.

The peel strength of the weakly bonded regions 22 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b against the non-skin side 15a of the back sheet 15 is preferably 30 gf/25 mm or more at the lower limit and 120 gf/25 mm or less at the upper limit. By setting the peel strength of the weakly bonded regions 22 to 30 gf/25 mm or more, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b from being unintentionally peeled off from the back sheet 15 during use of the absorbent article 10, thereby preventing a decrease in fit. In addition, by setting the peel strength of the weakly bonded regions 22 to 120 gf/25 mm or less, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b can be easily peeled off from the back sheet 15 when folding up the used absorbent article 10, which will be described later.

The peel strength of the strong adhesion region 21 and weak adhesion region 22 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b is measured using a Tensilon tensile tester. When measuring the peel strength of the strong adhesion region 21 and weak adhesion region 22, first prepare a sample with a width of 25 mm. Next, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b (strong adhesion region 21 and weak adhesion region 22) of the sample and the absorbent article 10 excluding the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b are clamped between the upper and lower chucks of the Tensilon tensile tester. Next, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b (strong adhesion region 21 and weak adhesion region 22) are pulled at a pulling speed set to 500 mm/min, and the tensile strength (gf/25 mm) at which the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b (strong adhesion region 21 and weak adhesion region 22) peel off from the back sheet 15 of the absorbent article 10 is measured as the peel strength. This measurement is carried out multiple times, and the average value is taken as the peel strength of the strong adhesion area 21 and the weak adhesion area 22 of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b.

(How to use)
Next, an example of the work involved in replacing a used absorbent article 10 will be described.

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of how to fold up an absorbent article into a small size, with (a) showing the state in which the strip-shaped sheet portion is spread out on both sides, (b) showing the state in which the absorbent article is being folded up, and (c) showing the state after folding. Note that Figure 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram, and for ease of understanding, Figures 6(b) and (c) show schematic cross sections.

For example, when replacing a used absorbent article 10 worn by a person receiving care, the person replacing the absorbent article (including the caregiver or the person receiving care themselves) first has a new absorbent article 10 ready, and removes the used absorbent article 10 from the outerwear (including underwear and various types of disposable diapers) and then from the body of the person receiving care.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the replacement worker peels off the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b of the gathered sheet 17 of the used absorbent article 10 from the back sheet 15 and spreads them outward in both width directions.

Next, as shown by the white arrow in Figure 6 (a), the replacement worker lightly rolls the used absorbent article 10 from the narrow portion 13 on the other side in the longitudinal direction so that the skin side (top sheet 14 side) is on the inside, or folds the narrow portion 13 on the other side in the longitudinal direction over the wide portion 12 on one side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the replacement worker grasps one longitudinal end (the lower end (front end) in the figure) of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b and spreads them out to both sides in the width direction, and then lifts the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b from both sides in the width direction above the narrow portion 13 so that the narrow portion 13 side of the absorbent article 10 is on the inside, and crosses them above the narrow portion 13, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

Next, the replacement worker ties one end of the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b together above the narrow width portion 13 of the absorbent article 10, as shown in FIG. 6(c). This makes it possible to hold the used absorbent article 10 so that it does not unfold, with the soiled skin side (top sheet 14 side) of the absorbent article 10 facing inward, and to fold the used absorbent article 10 into a small, hygienically restrained state (hereinafter referred to as the "restrained state").

Next, the replacement worker temporarily places the used absorbent article 10 in a restraining state near the replacement worker, and then puts a new absorbent article 10 on the care recipient. Finally, the replacement worker discards the used absorbent article 10 in a restraining state that was temporarily placed.

In the absorbent article 10 configured as described above, the gather sheet 17 has strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b in addition to the three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b. The strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b have a strong adhesion region 21 firmly adhered to the non-skin side 15a of the back sheet 15, and a weak adhesion region 22 releasably adhered to the non-skin side 15a of the back sheet 15. Therefore, when replacing a used absorbent article 10, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b can be peeled off from the back sheet 15, and the used absorbent article 10 can be held in a compact state by the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b. In addition, the used absorbent article 10 can be gently held without being strongly crushed by adjusting the force with which the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b on both sides are tied together. In this way, unlike when a used absorbent article is folded or rolled up small and placed in a bag or the like, the used absorbent article 10 can be gently folded into a small size without being strongly crushed, which prevents backflow or leakage of bodily fluids (urine and feces) and allows the absorbent article 10 to be replaced hygienically.

In addition, since the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b are integrally provided with the gather sheet 17 that constitutes the three-dimensional gather portions 18a, 18b, even if the strongly adhesive region 21 is peeled off, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a, 19b will not separate from the absorbent article 10. Therefore, even if the strongly adhesive region 21 is peeled off, the used absorbent article 10 can be folded up into a small size, and the absorbent article 10 can be replaced hygienically.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an absorbent article 10 that can be easily disposed of without soiling the surrounding area when replaced.

In addition, since the absorbent article 10 has a wide portion 12 and a narrow portion 13, the narrow portion 13 can be stacked on top of the wide portion 12 when collecting used absorbent articles 10. Therefore, even if excrement leaks outward in the width direction from the narrow portion 13 when collecting used absorbent articles 10, it can be received by the wide portion 12, allowing the absorbent article 10 to be replaced hygienically.

The continuous portion 25 of the gathered sheet 17 is located at the outer end in the width direction of the wide portion 12 of the absorbent article 10. Therefore, when collecting used absorbent articles 10, it is easy to collect them so that the narrow portion 13 is on the inside after overlapping the narrow portion 13 on top of the wide portion 12.

In this embodiment, the used absorbent article 10 is folded and then tied in small bundles from both sides in the width direction with the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the strip-shaped sheet portions 19a and 19b may be spread out on both sides in the length direction, and the used absorbent article 10 may be tied in small bundles from both sides in the length direction.

The present invention has been described above based on the above embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, all other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are naturally included in the scope of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 10: Absorbent article 12: Wide width portion 13: Narrow width portion 14: Top sheet 15: Back sheet 16: Absorbent body 17: Gathered sheets 18a, 18b: Three-dimensional gathered portions 19a, 19b: Strip-shaped sheet portion 21: Strongly bonded region 22: Weakly bonded region 25: Continuous portion 27: Perforation

Claims (6)

An absorbent article comprising a liquid-permeable top sheet facing the skin, a liquid-impermeable back sheet facing away from the skin, and an absorbent disposed between the top sheet and the back sheet,
a gathered sheet having a pair of three-dimensional gathered portions arranged on both sides in the width direction of the skin side and extending along the longitudinal direction, and a pair of belt-shaped sheet portions arranged on both sides in the width direction of the non-skin side, extending along the longitudinal direction, and facing the non-skin side of the back sheet;
the gathered sheet has a continuous portion in which the outer end edges in the width direction of the pair of three-dimensional gathered portions and the outer end edges in the width direction of the pair of band-shaped sheet portions are continuous with each other in a partial region in the longitudinal direction,
a region of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions adjacent to the continuous portion is a strong adhesion region that is strongly adhered to the non-skin side of the back sheet,
an absorbent article, characterized in that at least a portion of the area of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions excluding the strong adhesion area is a weak adhesion area that is releasably adhered to the non-skin side of the back sheet. The width direction length of the strongly adhesive region of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions is 20 mm or more and 30 mm or less,
The absorbent article according to claim 1 , wherein an area of the strongly bonded regions of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions is 2000 mm ² or more and 4000 mm ² or less. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner edges in the width direction of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions extend along the longitudinal direction at a central portion in the width direction of the absorbent article and are close to or in contact with each other. The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the widthwise inner edges of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions are continuous with each other at the widthwise center of the absorbent article and can be cut by a perforation provided at the widthwise center of the absorbent article. The sheet has a wide portion located on one side in the longitudinal direction and having a long widthwise length, and a narrow portion located on the other side in the longitudinal direction and having a shorter widthwise length than the wide portion,
The length in the longitudinal direction is 560 mm or more and 850 mm or less,
The difference between the wide portion and the narrow portion is 20 mm or more and 90 mm or less,
The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the continuous portion of the gathered sheet is located at an outer end in the width direction of the wide portion. The peel strength of the strongly adhesive regions of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions relative to the non-skin side of the back sheet is 200 gf/25 mm or more;
3. The absorbent article according to claim 1, wherein a peel strength of the weakly bonded regions of the pair of belt-shaped sheet portions to the non-skin side of the back sheet is 30 gf/25 mm or more and 120 gf/25 mm or less.