JP7603476B2 - Absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an absorbent article.

Conventionally, embossed sections have been formed on the skin-facing side of absorbent articles in order to improve the wearing comfort and prevent leakage of bodily fluids. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe absorbent articles having embossed sections in which the top sheet and absorbent body are integrally recessed toward the back sheet side. In Patent Document 1, the embossed section has a first annular groove that is an endless groove configured in a ring shape. The first annular groove is formed in a heart shape with two bending points, one that is convex on the inside and one that is convex on the outside.

JP 2012-50699 A JP 2016-214405 A

In order for the embossed portion formed on the absorbent article to exert its effect and provide a sense of security against liquid leakage, it is necessary to improve the clarity of the embossed portion. To improve the clarity of the embossed portion, it is necessary to form the embossed portion by strongly pressing the absorbent article from the skin-facing side. However, when the absorbent article is strongly pressed from the skin-facing side, the top sheet may be torn, causing holes in the top sheet, which may cause inconveniences such as loss of comfort and leakage prevention performance. This inconvenience may also occur in the absorbent articles described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In particular, the bending points of the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1 are convex on the outside or inside, so that stress for forming the embossed portion is likely to concentrate at the bending points, and as a result, the top sheet of the absorbent article described in Patent Document 1 is even more likely to be torn.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an absorbent article that can eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional technology described above.

The present invention provides an absorbent article comprising an absorbent body, a top sheet arranged on the skin-facing side of the absorbent body, and a back sheet arranged on the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body.
The surface of the absorbent article facing the skin has a linear embossed portion which is integrally recessed toward the back sheet side and formed on the surface of the absorbent article facing the skin.
The one or more linear embossed portions form an annular embossed portion having an open portion in part.
In the annular embossed portion, extension lines from the ends located on both sides of the open portion intersect in an absorbent region, which is a region inside in the thickness direction where the absorbent body is present.

The present invention provides an absorbent article that has a clearly defined annular embossed portion, and is excellent in terms of preventing leakage of bodily fluids and providing a comfortable fit.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the skin-facing side of one embodiment of an absorbent article of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 4(a) and (b) are enlarged views of the main part of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a schematic diagram of a modified example of the annular embossed portion according to the absorbent article of the present invention. 6(a) to (d) are plan views each showing a schematic diagram of another modified example of the annular embossed portion according to the absorbent article of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of an absorbent article according to the present invention.
The absorbent article 1 shown in Fig. 1 is an incontinence pad. Absorbent articles are primarily used to absorb and retain bodily fluids such as urine and menstrual blood excreted from the body. In addition to incontinence pads, other examples of absorbent articles include sanitary napkins and panty liners.

The absorbent article 1 shown in Fig. 1 has a longitudinal direction X and a width direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. The longitudinal direction X corresponds to the front-to-back direction of a wearer when worn.
The absorbent article 1 has an end region at each of one end side and the other end side in the longitudinal direction X. More specifically, the absorbent article 1 is divided into three regions in the longitudinal direction X: a front region A arranged on the abdominal side (front side) of a wearer, a rear region B arranged on the dorsal side (rear side) of the wearer, and a central region C arranged continuously between the front region A and the rear region B, with the front region A being the end region at one end side in the longitudinal direction X and the rear region B being the end region at the other end side in the longitudinal direction X.
The front region A, the central region C, and the rear region B are regions obtained by dividing the absorbent article 1 into three equal parts in the longitudinal direction X. At least the central region C is configured to include an excretion part facing portion (not shown) that faces a liquid excretion part such as the urethral opening of the wearer.

1 to 3, the absorbent article 1 has an absorbent body 5, a top sheet 2 arranged on the skin-facing side of the absorbent body 5, and a back sheet 3 arranged on the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body 5. The absorbent article 1 has an absorbent region R, which is a region inside in the thickness direction where the absorbent body 5 exists. The absorbent region R is a region located inside the outer periphery of the absorbent body 5 in a plan view of the absorbent article.
The "skin-facing side" refers to the side of the absorbent article or its constituent members (e.g., absorbent body) that faces the wearer's skin when the absorbent article is worn, and the "non-skin-facing side" refers to the side that faces away from the wearer's skin when the absorbent article is worn. Furthermore, "when worn" and "worn state" refer to the state in which the absorbent article is worn while maintaining the correct wearing position.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an intermediate sheet 4 is disposed between the top sheet 2 and the absorbent body 5. The intermediate sheet 4 is also called a second sheet, a sublayer sheet, etc. As the intermediate sheet 4, a liquid-permeable sheet made of paper or various nonwoven fabrics can be used. The absorbent body 5 has an absorbent core.

As shown in FIG. 1, the absorbent article 1 is provided with a pair of leak-proof cuffs 7, 7 extending along the longitudinal direction X in the side regions on the skin-facing side. One end of the leak-proof cuffs 7 in the width direction Y is fixed to another component, for example the top sheet 2, forming a fixed end 7b, and the other end in the width direction Y is a free end 7a that is not fixed to another component. The leak-proof cuffs 7 do not necessarily have to be provided.

The absorbent article 1 has a linear embossed portion 6 on its skin-facing side, where the top sheet 2 and absorbent body 5 are integrally recessed toward the back sheet 3. The linear embossed portion 6 does not penetrate the absorbent body 5 in the thickness direction, but has an opening on the skin-facing surface of the top sheet 2 and a bottom on the opposite side to the opening inside the absorbent body 5. In the linear embossed portion 6 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate sheet 4 is integrally recessed toward the back sheet 3 together with the top sheet 2 and absorbent body 5, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The linear embossed portion 6 is formed by compressing the absorbent article 1 from its skin-facing surface, i.e., the top sheet 2 side. As a result of this forming method, the thickness of the absorbent body 5 is thinner at the linear embossed portion 6 than at other parts. The linear embossed portion 6 has the function of suppressing the flow of liquid in a direction intersecting the linear embossed portion.

In the absorbent article 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a circular embossed portion 61 is formed by a plurality of linear embossed portions 6. The circular embossed portion 61 has an open portion 61a in a portion thereof. In the absorbent article 1, one circular embossed portion 61 is formed by two linear embossed portions 6. The absorbent article 1 has four circular embossed portions 61. Each circular embossed portion 61 has two open portions 61a. Each circular embossed portion 61 has a substantially heart shape. The four circular embossed portions 61 are shaped as a whole into a flower pattern having four petals. Each circular embossed portion 61 is located in the front region A.
The annular embossed portion 61 can retain excreted fluid within the area surrounded by the linear embossed portions 6 that constitute the annular embossed portion 61. By having the annular embossed portion 61, the absorbent article 1 has excellent performance in preventing leakage of bodily fluids.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the extension lines L from the ends located on both sides of the open portion 61a of the annular embossed portion 61 intersect within the absorbent region R having the absorbent body 5 inside. This point will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4(a). One of the ends located on both sides of the open portion 61a of the annular embossed portion 61 is end 61b, and the other is end 61c. If the intersection point between the extension line L1 from one end 61b and the extension line L2 from the other end 61c is taken as intersection point P, the intersection point P is located on the absorbent region R. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, all of the open portions 61a of the annular embossed portion 61 have such a configuration.

Because the annular embossed portion 61 has such a configuration, the absorbent article 1 has excellent bodily fluid leakage suppression performance and a comfortable fit, and the annular embossed portion 61 has excellent clarity.
This point will be described in detail below. If the annular embossed portion 61 does not have an open portion 61a, and one end 61b and the other end 61c of the annular embossed portion 61 are continuous so as to pass through the intersection P, the intersection P becomes a bent portion where the linear embossed portion 6 constituting the annular embossed portion 61 is bent. Since stress applied from the skin-facing surface side of the absorbent article 1 when forming the linear embossed portion 6 is likely to concentrate at the bent portion of the linear embossed portion 6, the surface sheet 2 is likely to tear at the bent portion. In addition, the bent portion of the linear embossed portion 6 is also likely to tear when the wearer wearing the absorbent article 1 moves vigorously.
In contrast, in the absorbent article 1 of the present embodiment, since the annular embossed portion 61 has the above-mentioned configuration, the linear embossed portion 6 does not exist at the intersection P. Therefore, since the annular embossed portion 61 according to the present embodiment does not have the bent portion where the stress is likely to concentrate, the absorbent article 1 of the present embodiment is less likely to tear the top sheet 2 when forming the annular embossed portion 61. Therefore, even if the stress when forming the annular embossed portion 61 is made larger than that of a conventional absorbent article, the absorbent article 1 of the present embodiment can form the annular embossed portion 61 with excellent clarity without tearing the top sheet 2. Therefore, the absorbent article 1 of the present embodiment is excellent in the body fluid leakage suppression performance and wearing comfort, and the annular embossed portion 61 has excellent clarity.

It is preferable that the absorbent article 1 has a plurality of annular embossed portions 61. This improves the function of the annular embossed portions 61, which is the function of preventing excreted liquid from flowing down the top sheet 2, and thus further improves the performance of suppressing leakage of bodily fluids. From the viewpoint of making this effect more prominent, the number of annular embossed portions 61 that the absorbent article 1 has is preferably 2 or more, more preferably 4 or more, and also preferably 8 or less, more preferably 6 or less, and also preferably 2 to 8, more preferably 4 to 6. Note that the absorbent article 1 may have only one annular embossed portion 61.

When the absorbent article 1 has a plurality of annular embossed portions 61, it is preferable that the open portion 61a of one of the plurality of annular embossed portions 61 faces the open portion 61a of the other annular embossed portion 61. The open portion 61a of one annular embossed portion 61 faces the open portion 61a of the other annular embossed portion 61, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4(b). In FIG. 4(b), the one annular embossed portion 61 is indicated by the symbol 61A, and the other annular embossed portion 61 is indicated by the symbol 61B. The intersection point P in the open portion 61a of the one annular embossed portion 61A is designated as PA, and the intersection point P in the open portion 61a of the other annular embossed portion 61A is designated as PB. When the one annular embossed portion 61A and the other annular embossed portion 61B are regarded as a single figure as a whole, the centroid of the figure is designated as M. When the angle α between the line S1 passing through the intersection point PA and the centroid M and the line S2 passing through the intersection point PB and the centroid M is 120° or more and 180° or less, it is determined that the open portion 61a of one annular embossed portion 61A faces the open portion 61a of the other annular embossed portion 61B. The angle α between the line S1 and the line S2 means the larger angle between the line S1 and the line S2. The angle α is more preferably 150° or more and 180° or less, and more preferably 170° or more and 180°.

Since the open portion 61a of one annular embossed portion 61A faces the open portion 61a of the other annular embossed portion 61B, excreted liquid can be transferred from each of the opposing open portions 61a, 61a into the area surrounded by the linear embossed portions 6 that make up each annular embossed portion 61A, 61B, thereby further improving the ability to prevent leakage of bodily fluids.

In the absorbent article 1, the annular embossed portion 61 is preferably arranged in an end region in the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent article 1. This makes it possible to suppress leakage of bodily fluids from the end of the absorbent article 1 in the longitudinal direction X. The annular embossed portion 61 may be arranged in either or both of the end region A on one side in the longitudinal direction X and the end region B on the other end side in the longitudinal direction X.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, longitudinal embossed portions 62 extending in the longitudinal direction X are formed on both sides of a center line Cy that divides the absorbent article 1 into two equal parts in the width direction Y. The pair of longitudinal embossed portions 62, 62 have ends spaced apart on the front region A side, and ends connected to each other on the rear region B side. In other words, the pair of longitudinal embossed portions 62, 62 as a whole have an open shape on the front region A side, and a closed shape on the rear region B side.

By providing the absorbent article 1 with the longitudinal embossed portion 62, excreted body fluid can be diffused in the longitudinal direction X, and therefore the liquid absorbing performance of the absorbent article 1 can be improved.
In addition, it is preferable that the annular embossed portion 61 is located further outward in the longitudinal direction X than the longitudinal embossed portion 62. This allows the excreted body fluid that is diffused in the longitudinal direction X and reaches the annular embossed portion 61 to migrate to the region within the annular embossed portion 61. In other words, a smaller amount of body fluid migrates to the region within the annular embossed portion 61. This allows the body fluid to be more reliably retained in the region of the annular embossed portion 61, thereby further improving the performance of suppressing leakage of body fluid.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the longitudinal embossed portion 62 is formed by a linear embossed portion 6 separate from the linear embossed portion 6 that forms the annular embossed portion 61. Specifically, the longitudinal embossed portion 62 is formed by alternating linear embossed portions 6 and non-embossed portions 8. This makes it possible to disperse the stress applied from the skin-facing surface side of the absorbent article 1 when forming the longitudinal embossed portion 62, making the top sheet 2 even more resistant to tearing.

The absorbent article 1 also has two widthwise embossed sections 63 extending in the width direction Y. Both of the two widthwise embossed sections 63, 63 are formed in the central region of the absorbent article 1 in the width direction Y. One of the two widthwise embossed sections 63, the widthwise embossed section 63a, is located near the boundary between the front region A and the central region C, and is curved convexly toward the end of the front region A of the absorbent article 1. The other widthwise embossed section 63b is located in the rear region B, and is curved convexly toward the end of the rear region B of the absorbent article 1.

In the absorbent article 1, the linear embossed portion 6 forming the annular embossed portion 61 preferably has curved portions. The embodiment in which the linear embossed portion 6 has curved portions includes not only the case in which the linear embossed portion 6 is made up of curved portions, but also the case in which the linear embossed portion 6 is made up of curved and straight portions. If the linear embossed portion 6 does not have curved portions and is made up of straight portions only, there is a risk that the top sheet 2 will tear along the straight portions of the linear embossed portion 6. By having the linear embossed portion 6 forming the annular embossed portion 61 have curved portions, the top sheet 2 can be made even less likely to tear when the annular embossed portion 61 is formed.

In the absorbent article 1, the annular embossed portion 61 may have a non-embossed portion 8 in a portion other than the open portion 61a, as shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the length D1 of the open portion 61a is preferably longer than the length D2 of the non-embossed portion 8. The length D1 of the open portion 61a means the maximum distance between the ends of the linear embossed portion 6 located on both sides of the open portion 61a. The length D2 of the non-embossed portion 8 means the maximum distance between the ends of the linear embossed portion 6 located on both sides of the non-embossed portion 8. The ratio D1/D2 of the length D1 to the length D2 is preferably 2 or more, more preferably 3 or more, and also preferably 8 or less, more preferably 6 or less, from the viewpoint of making it easier to retain excreted liquid within the annular embossed portion 61.

Next, the constituent materials of the absorbent article 1 will be described.
The topsheet 2 may be a liquid-permeable sheet, such as a nonwoven fabric or a perforated film. The topsheet 2 may have an uneven surface on the skin-facing side. For example, a plurality of scattered convex portions may be formed on the skin-facing side of the topsheet 2. Alternatively, ridges and grooves extending in one direction may be alternately formed on the skin-facing side of the topsheet 2. For such a purpose, the topsheet 2 may be formed using two or more sheets of nonwoven fabric.

The surface sheet 2 preferably contains high elongation fibers. Here, high elongation fibers refer not only to fibers that have high elongation at the stage of raw fiber, but also to fibers that have high elongation at the stage of the manufactured surface sheet 2. By including high elongation fibers in the surface sheet 2, the surface sheet 2 can be made more resistant to tearing when the linear embossed portion 6 is formed by squeezing. Examples of "high elongation fibers" include, except for elastic fibers that have elasticity (elastomer) and stretch, heat-stretchable fibers in which the crystal state of the resin changes upon heating and the length is extended, which are obtained by melt spinning at a low speed to obtain composite fibers, as described in paragraph [0033] of JP 2010-168715 A, and then performing a heat treatment and/or a shrinking treatment without performing a drawing treatment, or fibers manufactured under conditions of a relatively low spinning speed using resins such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or fibers manufactured by dry blending polyethylene with polyethylene-polypropylene copolymer or polypropylene with a low degree of crystallinity and spinning them. Among these fibers, the high elongation fiber is preferably a sheath-core composite fiber with thermal adhesiveness. The sheath-core composite fiber may be a concentric sheath-core type, an eccentric sheath-core type, a side-by-side type, or an irregular type, but a concentric sheath-core type is particularly preferable. Regardless of the form of the fiber, from the viewpoint of producing a surface sheet 2 that is soft and comfortable to the touch, the fineness of the high elongation fiber at the raw material stage is preferably 1.0 dtex or more and 10.0 dtex or less, and more preferably 2.0 dtex or more and 8.0 dtex or less.

The topsheet 2 may be composed of other fibers in addition to the high elongation fibers, but is preferably composed only of high elongation fibers. Examples of the other fibers include non-thermally extensible core-sheath type heat-fusible composite fibers that contain two components with different melting points and are stretched, or fibers that do not inherently have heat-fusible properties (for example, natural fibers such as cotton and pulp, rayon, acetate fibers, etc.).
The proportion of the high elongation fibers in the constituent fibers of the topsheet 2 is preferably 50% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less, and more preferably 80% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less. By setting the proportion of the high elongation fibers in the constituent fibers of the topsheet 2 within the above range, the effect of making the topsheet 2 even more resistant to tearing is more reliably achieved.

It is also preferable to use a thermally extensible fiber as the high elongation fiber. A thermally extensible fiber is a composite fiber that has been subjected to an unstretched or weakly stretched process at the raw material stage, and has, for example, a first resin component constituting the core and a second resin component containing a polyethylene resin constituting the sheath, and the first resin component has a higher melting point than the second resin component. The first resin component is a component that expresses the thermal extensibility of the fiber, and the second resin component is a component that expresses the thermal fusion property. The melting points of the first resin component and the second resin component are defined as the melting peak temperature measured by performing thermal analysis of a finely cut fiber sample (sample weight 2 mg) at a heating rate of 10°C/min using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC6200 manufactured by Seiko Instruments Inc.). If the melting point of the second resin component cannot be clearly measured by this method, the resin is defined as a "resin without a melting point". In this case, the temperature at which the molecules of the second resin component begin to flow is the softening point, which is the temperature at which the second resin component fuses to such an extent that the fusion point strength of the fibers can be measured, and this is used instead of the melting point.

The second resin component constituting the sheath contains a polyethylene resin as described above. Examples of the polyethylene resin include low density polyethylene (LDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), and the like. In particular, high density polyethylene having a density of 0.935 g/cm ³ or more and 0.965 g/cm ³ or less is preferable. The second resin component constituting the sheath is preferably a polyethylene resin alone, but other resins can also be blended. Examples of other resins to be blended include polypropylene resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), and the like. However, it is preferable that 50% by mass or more, particularly 70% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less of the resin component of the sheath is a polyethylene resin. In addition, the polyethylene resin preferably has a crystallite size of 10 nm or more and 20 nm or less, more preferably 11.5 nm or more and 18 nm or less.

As the first resin component constituting the core, any resin component having a melting point higher than that of the polyethylene resin constituting the sheath can be used without any particular restrictions. Examples of resin components constituting the core include polyolefin resins (excluding polyethylene resins) such as polypropylene (PP), polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Furthermore, polyamide polymers and copolymers containing two or more resin components can also be used. A blend of multiple resins can also be used, in which case the melting point of the core is the melting point of the resin with the highest melting point. In order to facilitate the manufacture of nonwoven fabric, it is preferable that the difference between the melting point of the first resin component constituting the core and the melting point of the second resin component constituting the sheath (the former minus the latter) is 20°C or more, and preferably 150°C or less.

The preferred orientation index of the first resin component in the thermally extensible composite fiber, which is a high-elongation fiber, naturally varies depending on the resin used. For example, when the first resin component is a polypropylene resin, the orientation index is preferably 60% or less, more preferably 40% or less, and even more preferably 25% or less. When the first resin component is a polyester, the orientation index is preferably 25% or less, more preferably 20% or less, and even more preferably 10% or less. On the other hand, the orientation index of the second resin component is preferably 5% or more, more preferably 15% or more, and even more preferably 30% or more. The orientation index is an index of the degree of orientation of the polymer chains of the resin that constitutes the fiber. When the orientation indexes of the first resin component and the second resin component are the above values, the thermally extensible composite fiber is elongated by heating.

The orientation index of the first resin component and the second resin component is determined by the method described in paragraphs [0027] to [0029] of JP 2010-168715 A. The method for each resin component in the heat-stretchable composite fiber to achieve the above-mentioned orientation index is described in paragraphs [0033] to [0036] of JP 2010-168715 A.

The elongation of the high elongation fiber is preferably 100% or more, particularly 200% or more, and especially 250% or more, at the raw material stage. The elongation of the high elongation fiber is preferably 800% or less, particularly 500% or less, and especially 400% or less, at the raw material stage. Specifically, the elongation of the high elongation fiber is preferably 100% or more and 800% or less, more preferably 200% or more and 500% or less, and even more preferably 250% or more and 400% or less, at the raw material stage. By using high elongation fibers having an elongation in this range, the top sheet 2 containing the high elongation fiber becomes more easily stretchable, so that the top sheet 2 becomes even less likely to break when the linear embossed portion 6 is formed in the absorbent region R by squeezing.
The raw material stage refers to the state of the fibers before the topsheet 2 is formed.

The elongation of high elongation fibers conforms to JIS L-1015, and is based on measurements taken under the following conditions: temperature and humidity of the measurement environment is 20±2°C, 65±2% RH, grip interval of the tensile tester is 20 mm, and tensile speed is 20 mm/min. Note that when fibers are taken from an already manufactured topsheet 2 and elongation is measured, or when the grip interval cannot be set to 20 mm, i.e., when the length of the fiber to be measured is less than 20 mm, the grip interval is set to 10 mm or 5 mm and measurements are taken.

The ratio (mass ratio, former:latter) of the first resin component to the second resin component in the heat-extensible composite fiber, which is a high-elongation fiber, is preferably 10:90 to 90:10, particularly 20:80 to 80:20, and especially 50:50 to 70:30 at the raw material stage. The fiber length of the heat-extensible composite fiber is an appropriate length depending on the manufacturing method of the topsheet 2. When the nonwoven fabric is manufactured by, for example, the carding method, the fiber length is preferably about 30 to 70 mm.

It is preferable to use a fiber diameter of the thermally extensible composite fiber, which is a high-elongation fiber, of 10 μm or more and 35 μm or less, and particularly 15 μm or more and 30 μm or less. The fiber diameter is measured by the following method.

[Measurement of fiber diameter of fibers]
The fiber diameter (μm) of the fiber is measured by observing the cross section of the fiber at 200 to 800 times magnification using a microscope VH-8000 (manufactured by Keyence Corporation). The cross section of the fiber is obtained by cutting the fiber using a Feather Razor (product number FAS-10, manufactured by Feather Safety Razor Co., Ltd.). The fiber diameter of one extracted fiber is measured at five points when it is approximately circular, and the average value of the five measured values is regarded as the fiber diameter.

At the raw material stage, in addition to the above-mentioned heat-extensible composite fibers, the fibers described in Japanese Patent No. 4131852, JP 2005-350836 A, JP 2007-303035 A, JP 2007-204899 A, JP 2007-204901 A, and JP 2007-204902 A can also be used as heat-extensible composite fibers, which are high-elongation fibers.

The back sheet 3 may be, for example, a liquid-impermeable film or a spunbond, meltblown, or spunbond laminated nonwoven fabric. A liquid-impermeable film may be provided with a plurality of micropores to impart water vapor permeability to the film. To further improve the feel of the absorbent article against the skin, a sheet with a good texture, such as a nonwoven fabric, may be laminated on the outer surface of the back sheet 3.

The absorbent core of the absorbent body 5 is composed of, for example, a pile of hydrophilic fibers such as cellulose including pulp, a mixed pile of the hydrophilic fibers and an absorbent polymer, or a pile of absorbent polymer. At least the skin-facing surface of the absorbent core may be covered with a liquid-permeable core wrap sheet, or the entire surface including the skin-facing surface and the non-skin-facing surface may be covered with the core wrap sheet. As the core wrap sheet, for example, tissue paper made of hydrophilic fibers or liquid-permeable nonwoven fabric can be used. The absorbent body 5 may be composed of only the absorbent core.

The absorbent core may be mainly composed of an absorbent sheet, which is a sheet-like absorbent body. The absorbent sheet is typically composed of a fiber sheet mainly composed of a fiber material such as wood pulp, and a water-absorbing material such as an absorbent polymer fixed inside or on the surface of the fiber sheet. The absorbent sheet may have a configuration in which particles of absorbent polymer are interposed between two opposing sheets.

Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, the annular embossed portion 61 may be formed by one linear embossed portion 6. The number of annular embossed portions 61 in the absorbent article 1 is not particularly limited, and may be one or more. The number of open portions 61a in the annular embossed portion 61 is not particularly limited, and may be one or more.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the annular embossed portion 61 has a generally heart shape, but the shape of the annular embossed portion 61 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a rectangular shape (see FIG. 6(a)), a star shape (see FIG. 6(b)), a horseshoe shape (see FIG. 6(c)), a clover shape (see FIG. 6(d)), etc.

Furthermore, the free end portions 7a of the leakage preventing cuffs 7 may be stretchable. For example, a thread-like or strip-like elastic member may be arranged in a stretched state in the longitudinal direction X at the free end portions 7a of the leakage preventing cuffs 7. The stretched elastic member of the leakage preventing cuffs 7 stands up at least in the central region C as it contracts when the absorbent article 1 is worn, thereby preventing urine and other excrement from flowing outward in the width direction Y.
Furthermore, the free end portion 7a of the leakage preventing cuff 7 does not need to have elasticity.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 absorbent article 2 top sheet 3 back sheet 4 intermediate sheet 5 absorbent body 6 linear embossed portion 61 annular embossed portion 61a open portion 62 longitudinal embossed portion 63 widthwise embossed portion 7 leak-proof cuff A front region B rear region C central region L extension line from end of open portion R absorbent region X longitudinal direction Y widthwise direction

Claims (7)

An absorbent article comprising an absorbent body, a top sheet arranged on a skin-facing side of the absorbent body, and a back sheet arranged on a non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body,
The absorbent article has a linear embossed portion on the skin-facing side, the top sheet and the absorbent body being integrally recessed toward the back sheet side,
One or more of the linear embossed portions form an annular embossed portion having an open portion in part,
the annular embossed portion is substantially heart-shaped with the open portion, at least one of the open portions is present in a bent portion protruding inwardly of the heart shape, and the open portion is disposed in an absorbent region, which is a region in which the absorbent body is present inside in a thickness direction;
The annular embossed portion is provided in a plurality of portions,
An absorbent article , wherein the open portion of one of the plurality of annular embossed portions faces the open portion of another of the annular embossed portions . The absorbent article according to claim 1 , wherein the annular embossed portion is disposed in an end region in a longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. A longitudinal embossed portion extending in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article is formed on each side of a center line that divides the absorbent article into two equal parts in the width direction,
The absorbent article according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the longitudinal embossed portion is formed by a linear embossed portion separate from the linear embossed portion that forms the annular embossed portion. The absorbent article according to claim 3 , wherein the annular embossed portion is located outward from an end of the longitudinal embossed portion in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the linear embossed portion forming the annular embossed portion has a curved portion. The absorbent article according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the top sheet contains high elongation fibers. The absorbent article according to claim 6 , wherein the proportion of high elongation fibers in the constituent fibers of the top sheet is 50% by mass or more and 100% by mass or less.

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