IE47010B1 - Disposable pilches - Google Patents

Abstract

A disposable pilch of the type comprising an absorbent mass 1 located between an impermeable sheet 2 and a sheet 3 permeable to liquids whereby both water-tightness in the crotch is ensured and the pilch may be kept in place on the body of the baby, 15 characterised in that the impermeable sheet is associated in the vicinity of each side edge of the pilch with a tape 12, 13 which serves both to improve watertightness in the crotch and to keep the pilch in place. Preferably an opening 14, 15 is provided in each side edge of the pilch, and an end of each tape is attached to the impermeable sheet, loops 13, 14 of the tapes can be pulled through the openings to tighten the edges of the pilch in use and the loops attached to fastening means 15, 17.

Description

This invention refers to a disposable pilch, and particularly relates to a disposable pilch comprising an absorbent mass located between an impermeable sheet and a sheet permeable to liquids, and whereby both water-tightness in the crotch is ensured and the pilch may be kept in place on the body of the baby without employing adhesives.

Numerous attempts have been made to provide pilches which avoid leakage or which direct the urine preferably towards the most absorbent zones of a napkin contained therein during use. However commercially successful pilches are not numerous and are usually not very effective, or are expensive.

It is possible to employ conventional napkins of cellulose foam which are placed inside an impermeable breech. However experience has shown that this system, though apparently less costly, results in annoyance, strains on the breech, yellowing, too great compression of the baby's legs, or in uncontrollable leakage.

Protective devices which are presently available include unitary assemblies which include both the napkin and impermeable protection means, which require complete change of both the napkin and pilch; or pilches having stratified structures, e.g. composed of a polyethylene sheet, absorbent padding and a non-woven web permeable to fluids, whicii have a rectangular initial shape modified by special folding so as to render 7 010 - 3 them better adapted to the anatomy of the baby to which they are applied. Thus French Patent specification 7,307,075 describes a pilch of triangular shape the performance of which is very satisfactory but the large-scale production of which raises a number of difficulties.

French Patent specification 7,438,220 describes a pilch disposable after use, which includes along each of its side edges an elastically contractable flexible flap. The formation of the flap occurs only when an elastic element is located at a sufficiently large distance from the edge of the absorbent padding. Although improving the watertightness in the crotch, such a pilch possesses the disadvantage of not making the absorbent padding better adapted to the anatomy of the baby, the elastic element acting only upon the flexible flap. The tendency already known in other embodiments, of forming a pocket at the crotch may then become attentuated. In addition when urine penetrates into the flap as a result of the amount of absorbent matter present being too little or none at all, this zone of the pilch becomes rapidly saturated and a greater surface of the baby's skin is then in contact with the urine.

Another solution is proposed in United States Patent specification 3,776,232. At the level of the zone of the side edges of the complete change, which must be near the baby's legs, a supplementary adhesive is provided which enables the opening formed to be reduced once the complete change has been placed on the baby. It is apparent that this expedient does not enable the watertightness to be improved when the baby moves, and the adhesive is not a sufficiently effective means of resisting large forces. As soon as the adhesive has come unstuck the change loses a great part of its efficacy.

French Patent specification 6,937,525 proposes a pilch which comprises two rectangular portions connected together by a zone having concave contours and including an absorbent strip. The concave contours are edged with an elastic tape formed of a number of latex threads. Figure 1 of this patent specification shows clearly that the edges of the rectangular absorbent mass are remote from the elastic concave edges. A flap similar to that described in French IO Patent specification 7,438,220 is formed with the disadvantages previously explained. In addition the attachment of elastic threads along the concave edges is industrially undesirable for large-scale production.

United States Patent specifications 2,419,867; 2,509,674; 2,675,805; 2,969,065 and 3,000,381 describe napkin supports or breeches having elastic side edges.

It has also been proposed in United States Patent specification 3,828,784 to produce a microcrimping of the edges of a complete change in order to confer a certain elasticity upon the crotch zone. However such a construction is not suitable for large-scale production.

United States Patent specification 2,273,542 describes a napkin composed of a padding of cellulose foam set between two sheets of paper, the side edges of which are stitched with an elastic thread.

French Patent specification 1,224,201 describes a baby's napkin consisting of a slab of absorbent matter cut in from two of its parallel edges along two pairs of slits so that the flap lying between the slits of one and the same pair may be folded back onto the central portion of the slab. 470 10 - 5 However the unexpected advantage obtained by making this central absorbent padding elastic is not realized in practice.

A useful improvement in pilches is proposed in our French Patent specification 77,17337 wherein the absorbent padding of a disposable pilch is itself made elastically contractable by associating it directly or indirectly with elastic elements. Keeping the pilch in place when put on the baby is ensured in a known manner by adhesives tongues.

A number of Patent specifications describe pilches of breeches including tapes which enable either fastening of the whole onto the baby's body or improvement in the water-tightness in the crotch.

This United States Patent specification 3,890,973 refers to a pilch folded in a Z shape, the upper edges of which are associated with loops and the lower portion of which, intended for being placed in the baby's crotch, is associated with a tape. This tape is attached to the outside of the pilch on the impermeable side.

Patent Specification No. 759,957 describes a construction in which two tapes along part of each side of a pilch away from the crotch portion are drawn through a single aperture and knotted. The breech is kept on the baby's body by press-studs. Such an arrangement is designed to prevent gathering of the crotch portion during wear.

The present invention enables the problem of watertightness in the crotch and keeping in place on the baby's body to be solved economically without employing the usual adhesives, by the provison of a tape which assumes both functions. - 6 The invention provides a disposable pilch comprising an absorbent mass located between an impermeable sheet and a sheet permeable to liquids, characterised in that the impermeable sheet encloses two tapes each along a longitudinal side edge of the pilch, the said tapes being secured at each of their ends and each is capable of being drawn through an opening in the said impermeable sheet at one end of the respective side edge of the pilch whereby the said tapes can, when drawn through the said openings, be secured together both to keep the pilch in place oh a wearer, and to improve water-tightness in the crotch portion.

The permeable face preferably is a non-woven web, particularly a non-woven web obtained by the deposition of thermoplastics fibres upon an extruded lattice in accordance with French Patent specification 73 29 362.

The impermeable face preferably is a thin sheet of polyethylene fastened to the non-woven web by gluing or by heat-sealing. Where necessary the side edges of the polyethylene sheet are folded over the non-woven web and fastened by gluing or by heat-sealing. Tapes are located either in the immediate vicinity of the absorbent mass, but outside it, or in folds formed by the impermeable sheet, or under the absorbent mass. Xn practice the ends of the tapes are fastened to the impermeable sheet.

Each tape preferably has a length equal to the length of the pilch. When the user pulls on the uncovered portions Of the tape, a loop is formed by each tape. The loops may then be knotted together in the front (or rear) of the wearer. However a removable anchoring element for the said loops may be located in slits made in the impermeable sheet 470 10 - 7 at an edge of the pilch joining the said side edges at an end thereof remote from the said openings in the side edges.

The invention is hereinafter particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a pilch according to the invention, Figure 2, 3, 4 are sections of the pilch folded in a Z-shaped fold showing various dispositions of the tapes, the permeable sheet, although present, not being shown separately from the absorbent mass.

Figure 5 is a plan of an anchoring element shown in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a representation of a body wearing the pilch of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the pilch consists of an absorbent mass 1 generally of constant thickness and rectangular shape located between an impermeable sheet 2 and a sheet permeable to liquids 3. The sheet 2 has folds 4 and 5 fixed to the face 3. Tapes 6 and 7 are located under the folds 4 and 5. The ends 8, 9, 10, 11 of the tapes are fixed either by gluing or by heat-sealing to the sheet 2.

The tapes being as long as the napkin element, on pulling the portions common to the tapes 6 and 7 and the openings 14, 15, loops 12 and 13 are formed and passed through the openings 14 and 15 made at one end of the longitudinal edges of the impermeable sheet 2.

Thus folds are formed at the crotch and improve the watertightness. A double slit located in the edge of the pilch opposite the edge extending from the openings 14, 15 Ο 10 - 8 enable an anchoring element having barbed end portions 16, and central portion 17 to be retained, the barbed end portions 16, 18 engaging the loops 12, 13 respectively in the worn position, as shown in Figure 6.

The tapes preferably are made of heat-sealable elastic material, and are fixed in the slack state. When the pilch is folded in a Z-shaped fold, the tapes may be located under the folds 4 and 5 (Figure 2, 6a and 7a) or else in immediate proximity to the outer edge of the padding 1 (Figures 3, 6b and 7b), or else between the impermeable sheet 2 and the padding 1, but under the absorbent padding 1 (Figure 4, 6e and 7c).

When the pilch is folded in a Z-shaped fold, it is advantageous to fix the folds longitudinally in the zone of the crotch by means of spots of adhesive 19, 20 (Figure 1) The anchoring element represented in Figure 5 is preferably a thin flexible strip of plastics material consisting of a central portion 24 having barbed end portions 21, which enable the element to be hooked into the loops 12 and 13 in the tapes when the assembly is worn. The barbed end portions may have a plurality of anchoring barbs 22.

Claims (11)

1. A disposable pilch comprising an absorbent mass located between an impermeable sheet and a sheet permeable to liquids, characterised in that the impermeable sheet encloses two tapes each along a longitudinal side edge of the pilch, the said tapes being secured at each of their ends and each is capable of being drawn through an opening in the said impermeable sheet at one end of the respective side edge of the pilch whereby the said tapes can, when drawn through the said openings, be secured together both to keep the pilch in place on a wearer, and to improve water-tightness in the crotch portion.

2. A pilch according to Claim 1, wherein each of the said tapes is enclosed within a fold made by the said impermeable sheet over the said permeable sheet along a said longitudinal side edge.

3. A pitch according to Claim 1, wherein each of the said tapes is enclosed by the said impermeable sheet in immediate proximity to the outer edge of the said permeable sheet.

4. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the length of each tape is equal to the length of the pilch.

5. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein a removable anchoring element for the loops of tape drawn through said openings is located in slits made in the impermeable sheet at a transverse edge of the pilch joining the said longitudinal side edges, remote from the said openings in the side edges.

6. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the absorbent mass is substantially rectangular and of uni4 7 010 - 10 form thickness.

7. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the pilch is folded in a Z-shaped fold, and at the crotch zone of the pilch the inner folds are held by an adhesive. 5

8. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the said tapes are made of elastic material.

9. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the ends of each tape are heat-sealed to the impermeable sheet.

10. 10. A pilch as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the said tapes are attached in the slack state.

11. A pilch substantially as hereinbefore described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.