Search

EP-4321139-B1 - ABSORBENT ARTICLE WITH TRANSVERSAL BARRIER

EP4321139B1EP 4321139 B1EP4321139 B1EP 4321139B1EP-4321139-B1

Inventors

  • HEEGE, THOMAS
  • Iffland, Dirk
  • BUYSSE, Michiel
  • PSCHYKLENK, Lukas
  • FRANSEN, Markus

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230313

Claims (20)

  1. An absorbent article (1) for personal hygiene, preferably a disposable pant, comprising: a substantially transversely extending front panel (2); a substantially transversely extending back panel (3); and a substantially longitudinally extending absorbent insert (4) joined to each of said front and back panels (2, 3), said absorbent insert (4) comprising front and back transversal edges and left and right longitudinal edges connecting the front and back transversal edges to form a perimeter thereof; wherein the front and back panels (2, 3) are joined together to define a pair of side seams, and characterised in that at least a portion of said absorbent insert (4) proximal to the front and/or back transversal edges thereof comprises a transversal waist barrier (5) comprising a substantially liquid impermeable film layer and wherein said insert (4) comprises one or more folds forming the transversal waist barrier (5), and wherein the impermeable film is breathable and has a basis weight of less than 18 g/m 2 and forms an integral part of the insert.
  2. An absorbent article (1) according to Claim 1 wherein the substantially liquid impermeable film layer comprises, preferably consists of, a backsheet (7) of the absorbent insert (4) and preferably comprises a material comprising, or consisting of, a polyester, more preferably said material being selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polylactic acid, and polypropylene.
  3. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the at least portion of said absorbent insert (4) proximal to the front and/or back transversal edges thereof comprises one or more folds forming the transversal waist barrier(s) (5), wherein at least one of said folds is substantially U-shaped.
  4. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the fold has a length (L) in a longitudinal direction running substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis (y), and wherein said insert (4) further comprises a pair of longitudinally extending cuffs positioned along left and right longitudinal edges thereof and joined thereto along a tack-down length (LT) extending from a position proximal to at least the back transversal edge to a tack-down terminal position (TP), and wherein the tack-down length (LT) is less than or equal to about 2L, preferably said cuffs being joined to a body-facing surface of the topsheet (6).
  5. An absorbent article (1) according to Claim 4 wherein the tack-down length (LT) is from 0.5L to 2L, preferably from 0.6L to 1.9L, even more preferably from 0.7L to 1.5L, most preferably from 0.8L to 1.2L.
  6. An absorbent article according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the insert (4) comprises a pair of longitudinally extending cuffs positioned along left and right longitudinal edges thereof, wherein each cuff comprises at least one elastic (cE), and wherein at least a terminal portion (TPe) of said elastic overlaps the transversal waist barrier (5).
  7. An absorbent article according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the transversal waist barrier (5) comprises one or more second elastic strands (12) positioned at a distance (d) from a terminal edge (TE) of the transversal waist barrier (5) forming a pocket opening, and wherein the distance between said terminal edge (TE) and the elastic closest to said terminal edge is less than about 0.6L, preferably from 0.15L to 0.5L, even more preferably from 0.20 to 0.45L.
  8. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the one or more second elastic strands (12) of the transversal waist barrier (5) have a first dtex and the front and back panels (2,3) comprise a plurality of elastics having a second dtex, wherein the first dtex is greater than the second dtex, and preferably wherein the second dtex is from 300dtex to 1200dtex.
  9. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the transversal waist barrier (5) comprises one or more second elastic strands (12) and wherein at least one of said elastic strands is a flat elastic.
  10. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the absorbent insert (4) comprises a substantially liquid permeable topsheet (6), a substantially liquid impermeable backsheet (7), and an absorbent core (8) sandwiched therebetween, preferably wherein the absorbent core (8) is positioned inboard of the perimeter of said absorbent insert (4) when viewed in a planar direction such that the one or more folds are substantially free of absorbent material.
  11. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the font and/or back panels (2, 3) are elastic and comprise an inner nonwoven layer (9), an outer nonwoven layer (10), and an elastic material (11) sandwiched therebetween, wherein the elastic material is selected from the group consisting of an elastic film and a plurality of elastic strands.
  12. An absorbent article (1) according to Claim 11 wherein the outer nonwoven layer (10) is wider than the inner nonwoven layer (9), generally in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis y, and is folded over said inner nonwoven layer (9) such that it overlaps the portion of said absorbent insert (4) proximal to the front and/or back transversal edges, preferably such that said outer nonwoven layer (10) overlaps both a portion of the backsheet (7) and a portion of the topsheet (6) that remains exposed from said one or more transversal waist barrier(s) (5) such to form a flange (F L ).
  13. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the transversal waist barrier(s) (5) is elastic, preferably comprising an elastic material selected from the group consisting of an elastic film and one or more elastic strands.
  14. An absorbent article (1) according to Claims 11 to 13 wherein one or more second elastic strands (12) are comprised directly or indirectly between the outer nonwoven layer (10) and the backsheet (7), preferably between a body-facing surface of the outer nonwoven layer (10) and a garment-facing surface of the backsheet (7).
  15. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the absorbent core (8) comprises absorbent material selected from the group consisting of superabsorbent polymer particles and/or fibers; and cellulose fibers, preferably wherein said absorbent material is enclosed within a core wrap comprising top and bottom core wrap layers being a same nonwoven layer folded to sandwich the absorbent material therein or distinct nonwoven layers joined together to sandwich the absorbent material therein.
  16. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the back panel (3) is wider than the front panel (2) such that a length of the seams is substantially equal to a width of the front panel (2) and less than a width of the back panel (3); or wherein the front panel (2) is wider than the back panel (3) such that a length of the seams is substantially equal to a width of the back panel (3) and less than a width of the front panel (2).
  17. An absorbent article (1) according to Claims 2 to 16 wherein the backsheet (7) comprises a further outer cover layer (7') on a garment-facing surface thereof, preferably wherein said outer cover layer (7') comprising one or more nonwoven layers, and/or wherein the backsheet (7) comprises a further outer cover layer (7') that is shorter in the longitudinal direction than the topsheet (6) and/or backsheet (7) such that at least a portion of an overlap length between the insert (4) and the panel (2, 3) is free of said outer cover layer (7') and preferably wherein the backsheet (7) is directly joined to, or in contact with, the panel (2, 3) in said portion of an overlap length between the insert (4) and the panel (2, 3) free of said outer cover layer (7').
  18. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the absorbent insert (4) is folded-over to form the waist barrier(s) (5) such that the topsheet (6) of the non-folded part of said insert (4) is able to come into contact with the folded part of said insert (4).
  19. An absorbent article (1) according to Claims 12 to 18 wherein the waist barrier(s) (5) extends from 5% to 50%, preferably from 10% to 40%, even more preferably from 15% to 30%, of the total folded length (TFL) of the outer nonwoven layer (10) along the longitudinal axis (y).
  20. An absorbent article (1) according to any of the preceding Claims wherein the substantially liquid impermeable film layer, or backsheet (7), comprises indicia, preferably a coloured print, at a position corresponding to the transversal waist barrier (5); and/or wherein the one or more second elastic strands (12) are coloured; and/or wherein a garment facing surface of the outer nonwoven layer (10) is coloured; and/or wherein the transversal waist barrier (5) comprises indicia selected from a coloured print and coloured adhesive.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is directed to an absorbent article for personal hygiene, typically in the form of pants (such as for babies, youths or adults) and generally of the disposable kind. BACKGROUND Absorbent articles for personal hygiene are designed to absorb and contain bodily exudates, such as a large quantity of urine and/or stool. Non-limiting examples of disposable absorbent articles include diapers, pants, training pants, pADL, adult incontinence products, and feminine hygiene products (including, for example, sanitary napkins and tampons). Other examples of disposable absorbent articles include bandages and wound dressings. In some embodiments, for example, an absorbent article comprises several layers providing different functions, for example a topsheet, a backsheet and in-between an absorbent core, among other layers. The function of the absorbent core is to absorb and retain the exudates for a prolonged amount of time, for example overnight for a diaper, minimize re-wet to keep the wearer dry and avoid soiling of clothes or bed sheets. The majority of currently marketed absorbent articles comprise as absorbent material a blend of comminuted wood pulp (also referred to as fluff pulp and/or cellulose fibers) with superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in particulate form, also called absorbent gelling materials (AGM), see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092 (Buell). Absorbent articles having a core consisting essentially of SAP as absorbent material (so called "airfelt-free" cores) have also been proposed but are less common than traditional mixed cores (see e.g. WO2008/155699 and WO2012/052172). A number of disclosures exist (see for example EP3451989 B1) directed to limiting the risk of leakage by providing transversal barriers at the front and/or back of a diaper. However whilst such executions may be effective on diaper constructs they are less effective and or complex/costly to incorporate into a pant concept. An attempt to overcome such shortcomings has been made in for example WO2021/170027 A1 wherein a nonwoven layer of the front and/or back belt is folded a plurality of times to form a waist guard. Although this provides for an effective way to introduce a transversal barrier in a pant construct, there are several drawbacks that have been identified: firstly, the nonwoven that is generally hydrophobic may be sufficient to capture solids but is less effective to capture larger amounts of liquid exudates (particularly under pressure such as when a baby is moving and/or application of sudden pressure such as sitting/dropping on the floor on its buttocks); secondly it limits the positioning thereof to a closer position at the waist edge which is less effective in providing a barrier since it is positioned further away from the core and to position it closer to the core and away from the waist edge would require a significant increase in length of the nonwoven which adds significant waste and cost; thirdly applying the multiple folds at different positions of the same component and especially further elasticizing the region when/if desired may add significant process complexity particularly at high speeds. A need therefore exists for improved absorbent articles having leakage protection particularly for substantially liquid exudates such as urine and/or liquid stool yet in in a cost effective manner and with more limited additional waste. SUMMARY The invention is as defined in the appended claims. In a first aspect the disclosure relates to an absorbent article for personal hygiene, preferably a disposable pant, comprising: a front panel preferably substantially transversely extending; a back panel preferably substantially transversely extending; and an absorbent insert, preferably substantially longitudinally extending, joined to each of said front and back panels, said absorbent insert comprising front and back transversal edges and left and right longitudinal edges connecting the front and back transversal edges to form a perimeter thereof and generally wherein the left and right longitudinal edges extend substantially along the longitudinal axis y and are oppositely disposed such that said longitudinal axis y extends therebetween, and the front and back transversal edges extend substantially along the transversal axis x, and typically substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis y, and are oppositely disposed such that said transverse axis x extends therebetween). The front and back panels are joined together to define a pair of side seams, and at least a portion of said absorbent insert proximal to the front and/or back transversal edges thereof comprises a transversal waist barrier comprising a substantially liquid impermeable film layer, preferably wherein said transversal waist barrier (5) is an up-standing barrier generally arranged to block substantially liquid exudates from flowing therethrough. The film may be elastic (or may comprise elastic material such as one o