U.S. patent application number 10/673560 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-08 for package of disposable diapers.
Invention is credited to Otsubo, Toshifumi.
Application Number | 20040129592 10/673560 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32063753 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040129592 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Otsubo, Toshifumi |
July 8, 2004 |
Package of disposable diapers
Abstract
Here is disclosed a package of disposable diapers in which
diapers are arranged in close contact one with another in a
back-and-forth direction of the diapers each having waist-lateral
portions folded inward between themselves together with lateral
portions of a core in front and rear waist regions of the diaper
toward a longitudinal center line bisecting a width dimension
defined between the waist-lateral portions. Of these diapers,
intermediate portions between the waist-lateral portions are in
close contact one with another so that the diapers can be compactly
packed within a bag without any significant void space left between
each pair of the diapers adjacent to each other.
Inventors: |
Otsubo, Toshifumi;
(Kagawa-ken, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOWE HAUPTMAN GILMAN AND BERNER, LLP
1700 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 300 /310
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
32063753 |
Appl. No.: |
10/673560 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/440 ;
206/494 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F 13/5511 20130101;
B65D 85/07 20180101; B65D 85/18 20130101; A61F 13/55115
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/440 ;
206/494 |
International
Class: |
B65D 073/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 2, 2002 |
JP |
2002-289755 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A package of disposable diapers comprising: a bag made of
flexible sheet including a pair of side walls; and a plurality of
disposable diapers having a waist-hole, a pair of leg-holes, front
and rear waist regions opposed to each other and a crotch region
extending between said front and rear waist regions wherein each of
said diapers includes a liquid-absorbent core extending between
said front and rear waist regions, said diapers being packed within
said bag; wherein: each of said diapers has waist-lateral portions
and an intermediate portion extending between said waist-lateral
portions, said waist-lateral portions being folded inward between
themselves together with lateral portions of said core toward a
longitudinal center line bisecting a width dimension defined
between edges of said waist-lateral portions; and said diapers are
arranged in one direction to form a row between said pair of side
walls with said waist middle portion of each of said diapers in
close contact one with another and in a state of compression.
2. The package according to claim 1, wherein leg-surrounding
lateral portions forming said leg-holes are also folded inward
together with said lateral portions of said core extending in said
crotch region toward said longitudinal center line.
3. The package according to claim 1, wherein a pressure in a range
of 10 to 75 N is exerted inward upon said row of said diapers in
said one direction between said side walls of said bag opposed to
each other so that a force of 18 N or lower is enough to draw one
of said diapers out from said row.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a package of disposable
diapers and more specifically, to a package of a plurality of
pull-on disposable diapers arranged within a flexible bag.
[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1999-104177A and
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1999-155904A disclose a
pull-on disposable diaper defining front and rear waist regions
opposed to each other and a crotch region extending between these
waist regions, on one hand, and comprising a liquid-pervious
topsheet, a liquid-impervious backsheet and a liquid-absorbent core
interposed between these sheets so as to form a waist-hole and a
pair of leg-holes.
[0003] The pull-on disposable diapers as disclosed in the
above-cited Publications are adapted to be folded in the crotch
region so that the respective inner surfaces of the front and rear
waist regions may come in contact with each other to be flattened
together. A set of about 16 to 48 individual diapers each flatly
folded in this manner is orderly and closely packed into the
package and sold per such package. For example, when 16 diapers are
packed in the package, 8 diapers are arranged so that these diapers
may have front and rear surfaces successively in contact one with
another to form a first row extending in back-and-forth direction
between opposite side walls of the package and may be laid in
side-by-side relationship with the first row or laid on the first
row. In each row, each pair of diapers adjacent to each other in
the back-and-forth direction, substantially entire outer surface
defined by the front and rear waist region of the one diaper is in
contact with the corresponding entire outer surface of the other
diaper. When it is desired to pick up one of these diapers, the
upper wall of the package may be broken and one diaper may be
finger gripped and drawn out from the package toward above the
package.
[0004] The diapers disclosed in the above-cited publications have
been sold per package in which a plurality of the diapers are
packed. The diapers are closely packed in the package so as to be
compressed together in back-and-forth direction between the opposed
side walls of the package. Within the package, the row formed by
these diapers is compressed inward from longitudinally opposite
ends of this row under a pressure in a range of about 15 to 70 N.
Therefore, a predetermined force is required to pick the individual
diaper out from the row. As has previously been described, the
substantially entire surface of the diaper defined by the outer
surfaces in its front and waist regions and crotch region is in
close contact with the corresponding outer surface of the adjacent
diaper. This means that a high frictional force between each pair
of the diapers adjacent to each other exerted over the large
contact area intends to prevent the individual diaper from being
smoothly drawn out from the row. Specifically, a force in a range
of 20 to 22 N is required to pick the individual diaper out from
the complete row.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
package adapted to pack a plurality of diapers allowing the
individual diaper to be smoothly drawn out from the row of these
packages.
[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided a
package of disposable diapers comprising: a bag made of flexible
sheet including a pair of side walls; and a plurality of disposable
diapers having a waist-hole, a pair of leg-holes, front and rear
waist regions opposed to each other and a crotch region extending
between the front and rear waist regions wherein each of the
diapers includes a liquid-absorbent core extending between the
front and rear waist regions, the diapers being packed within the
bag.
[0007] In the package, each of the diapers has waist-lateral
portions and an intermediate portion extending between the
waist-lateral portions, the waist-lateral portions being folded
inward between themselves together with lateral portions of the
core toward a longitudinal center line bisecting a width dimension
defined between edges of the waist-lateral portions; and the
diapers are arranged in one direction to form a row between the
pair of side walls with the waist middle portion of each of the
diapers in close contact one with another and in a state of
compression.
[0008] According to one preferred embodiment, leg-surrounding
lateral portions forming the leg-holes are also folded inward
together with the lateral portions of the core extending in the
crotch region toward the longitudinal center line.
[0009] A pressure in a range of 10 to 75 N is exerted inward upon
the row of the diapers in the one direction between the side walls
of the bag opposed to each other so that a force of 18 N or lower
is enough to draw one of the diapers out from the row.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a bag
constituting a package of disposable diapers;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a manner in which
the individual diaper is drawn out from the bag;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the diaper having been
drawn out from the bag;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a developed planar shape of
the diaper illustrated in FIG. 3;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating alternative manner
in which the individual diaper is folded in order to be packed into
the package;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a developed planar shape of
the diaper illustrated in FIG. 5; and
[0016] FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a manner in which
the diaper folded in the manner illustrated in FIG. 5 is drawn out
from the package.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] Details of the package of disposable diapers according to
the present invention will be more fully understood from the
description given hereunder with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a bag
2 constituting a package 1A of disposable diapers, FIG. 2 is a
perspective view illustrating a manner in which the individual
diaper 10 is drawn out from the bag 2, FIG. 3 is a perspective view
showing the diaper 10 having been drawn out from the bag 2 and FIG.
4 is a developed plan view showing the diaper 10 having its front
and rear waist regions 14, 15 disconnected from each other. In
FIGS. 1 and 2, a transverse direction is indicated by an arrow X, a
vertical direction is indicated by an arrow Y and a back-and-forth
direction is indicated by an arrow Z. In FIG. 4, a width direction
is indicated by an arrow L and a longitudinal direction is
indicated by an arrow M.
[0019] Within the bag 2 constituting the package 1A, a plurality of
flatly folded diapers 10 are arranged in close contact one with
another under compression in the back-and-forth direction so that
the diapers 10 may be packed as efficiently as possible. The bag 2
is formed by a flexible plastic sheet and has a hexahedral shape
which is relatively long in the back-and-forth and defined by top
and bottom walls 2a, 2b and four side walls 2c. The top wall 2a of
the bag 2 is integrally formed with a handgrip 3. Within the bag 2,
eight diapers 10 are arranged in close contact one with another in
the back-and-forth direction (one direction) between a pair of
opposite side walls 2C, 2C of the bag 2 to form a row 4 and a pair
of such rows 4 are arranged side by side. Thus a total of sixteen
diapers 10 are packed in the bag 2.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the diaper 10 comprises a
liquid-pervious topsheet 11 facing a wearer's body, a
liquid-impervious backsheet 12 facing away from the wearer's body
and a liquid-absorbent core 13 interposed between the top- and
backsheets 11, 12 and secured to an inner surface of at least one
of these sheets 11, 12. The diaper 10 defines front and rear waist
regions 14, 15 opposed to each other and a crotch region 16
extending between these waist regions 14, 15. The core 13 extends
over the crotch region 16 further into the front and rear waist
regions 14, 15.
[0021] The diaper 10 has waist-surrounding end portions 17 lying
outside longitudinally opposite ends 13a of the core 13 and
respectively extending in the front and rear waist regions 14, 15
in the width direction, waist-lateral portions 18 lying outside
side edges 13c of the core 13 and respectively extending in the
front and rear waist regions 14, 15 in the longitudinal direction,
and leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 lying outside side edges
13b of the core 13 and extending in the crotch region 16 in a
leg-surrounding direction.
[0022] The waist-lateral portions 18 in the front waist region 14
and the waist-lateral portions 18 in the rear waist region 15 are
overlaid and joined together in the vicinity of respective edges of
these lateral portions 18 by a plurality of heat-welding lines 20
arranged intermittently in the longitudinal direction. The diaper
10 is formed with a waist-hole 21 and a pair of leg-holes 22. The
leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 in the crotch region 16
describe circular arcs which are respectively convex inward in the
width direction of the diaper 10. The diaper 10 has a substantially
hourglass-like developed planar shape.
[0023] The diaper 10 is formed in the waist-lateral portions 18
with fold-guiding lines 26a, 26b extending in the longitudinal
direction as indicated by chain double-dashed lines in FIG. 4.
These fold-guiding lines 26a, 26b extend parallel to a longitudinal
center line 25 bisecting a width dimension between the edges of the
respective lateral portions 18 so as to extend in the respective
side edges 13c of the core 13. In the crotch region 16, the diaper
10 is folded back in two in the longitudinal direction with the
topsheet 11 kept in contact with itself. The waist-lateral portions
18 also are folded inward together with the lateral portions 13c of
the core 13 toward the longitudinal center line 25 along the
fold-guiding lines 26a, 26b as well as along imaginary fold-guiding
lines 27.
[0024] With the lateral portions 18 folded inward, an intermediate
portion 28 of the diaper 10 between the waist-lateral portions 18
is exposed out and has a substantially rectangular shape as viewed
from the sides of the front and rear waist regions 14, 15 of the
diaper 10. In the diaper 10 folded in the manner as has been
described above, the diaper 10 has a substantially uniform
thickness over the entire extent defined from the waist-surrounding
end portion 17 to the crotch region 16. Consequently, the diaper 10
folded in this manner becomes significantly compact compared to
before the diaper 10 is folded. In the diaper 10 after folded, the
fold-guiding lines 26a, 26b in the front and rear waist regions 14,
15 intersect peripheral edges of the respective leg-holes 22.
Consequently, the leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 forming the
respective leg-holes 22 are partially folded inward.
[0025] Longitudinally opposite end portions 11a, 12a of the top-
and backsheets 11, 12 extending outward beyond the longitudinally
opposite ends 13a of the core 13 are overlaid together along the
waist-surrounding end portion 17 of the diaper 10 and these top-
and backsheets 11, 12 have respective inner surfaces permanently
bonded together along these end portions 11a, 12a. Transversely
opposite side portions 11b, 12b of the top- and backsheets 11, 12
extending outward beyond the side edges 13c of the core 13 are
overlaid together along the waist-lateral portions 18 and the
leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 and these top- and backsheets
11, 12 have respective inner surfaces permanently bonded together
along these side portions 11b, 12b.
[0026] The waist-surrounding end portions 17 of the diaper 10 are
provided with waist-surrounding elastic members 23. These elastic
members 23 are interposed between the top- and backsheets 11, 12
and bonded in a stretched state to inner surfaces of the sheets 11,
12 along the end portions 11a, 12a thereof. The leg-surrounding
lateral portions 19 of the diaper 10 are provided with
leg-surrounding elastic members 24. These elastic members 24 also
are interposed between the top- and backsheets 11, 12 and bonded in
a stretched state to inner surface of the sheets 11, 12 along the
side portions 11b, 12b thereof.
[0027] Each of the diapers 10 packed within the bag 2 has its
waist-hole 21 facing the top wall 2a of the bag 2 and its crotch
region 16 lying on the bottom wall 2b of the bag 2. Within the bag
2, the diapers 10 are closely packed in a state of compression in
the back-and-forth direction with the intermediate portions 28 of
the diapers 10 between the waist-lateral portions 18 held in
contact one with another, In the package 1B, a pressure in a range
of 10 to 75 N (preferably in a range of 20 to 45 N) is exerted upon
the row 4 of diapers 10 inward from longitudinally opposite ends
4a, 4b of the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction (in one
direction) between the longitudinally opposite side walls 2C, 2C of
the bag 2.
[0028] According to the package 1A, each of the diapers 10 to be
packed into the bag 2 is compactly folded so that the diaper 10 may
have a substantially rectangular shape as viewed in the
back-and-forth direction and have a thickness substantially uniform
in the back-and forth direction. Such manner of folding ensures
that no void space is left between each pair of the diapers 10
adjacent to each other when a plurality of diapers 10 are packed
into the bag 2 and correspondingly the diapers 10 can be
efficiently packed into the bag 2. Compactly folding of the
individual diapers 10 is effective also to reduce an area over
which each pair of the diapers adjacent to each other come in
contact with each other and thereby to alleviate a frictional force
(frictional resistance) generated between the diapers adjacent to
each other.
[0029] To take out a target diaper 10 from the bag 2, after the top
wall 2a of the bag 2 has been broken, this diaper 10 may be
finger-gripped and drawn upward from the row 4, as illustrated in
FIG. 2. In the case of the package 1A shown in FIG. 2, the diapers
10 are put in the bag 2 with the crotch regions 16 thereof facing
downward and therefore the diaper 10 may be drawn out toward above
the bag 2 with the waist-surrounding end 17 of this diaper 10
gripped by the fingers. Though not shown, in the case of the
package 1A in which the diapers 10 are packed with the crotch
regions 16 thereof facing upward, the diaper 10 may be drawn out
toward above the bag 2 with the crotch region 16 of this diaper 10.
Alternatively, after one of the side walls 2c has been broken, the
target diaper 10 selected from the associated row 4 may be gripped
by the fingers and laterally drawn out from the bag 2.
[0030] If the pressure exerted inward upon each of the rows 4 from
the longitudinally opposite ends 4a, 4b of this row 4 is lower than
10 N, the row 4 is apt to lean forward or rearward within the
package 1A and, when a plurality of the packages 1A are stacked in
the vertical direction, such stack of the packages 1A may
unintentionally collapse. The pressure exceeding 75 N will make it
difficult to smoothly draw the diaper 10 out from the associated
row 4.
[0031] A pressure exerted inward in the back-and-forth direction
upon the row of the diapers 10 from the longitudinal opposite ends
4a, 4b of the row 4 was measured in a manner as follows:
[0032] (1) Eight diapers 10 with the waist-lateral portions 18
folded back together with the side edges 13c of the core 13 as seen
in FIG. 3 were arranged in the back-and-forth direction within the
bag 2 to form the row 4 and left for 24 hours without subjecting
the row 4 to any pressure exerted inward from the longitudinally
opposite ends 4a, 4b of the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction.
In the row 4, the intermediate portions 28 of the diapers 10
exposed in the back-and-forth direction were in contact one with
another. The row 4 free from any pressure exerted inward thereupon
in the back-and-forth direction had a dimension in the
back-and-forth direction larger than a dimension of the bag 2 in
the back-and-forth direction;
[0033] (2) After left for 24 hours, a pair of plates were placed at
the longitudinally opposite ends 4a, 4b of the row 4, respectively,
so as to sandwich the row 4. Then these plates were moved inward to
compress the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction until the
dimension of the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction exactly
coincides with the dimension of the bag 2 in the back-and-forth
direction;
[0034] (3) A pressure exerted upon the plates when the dimension of
the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction exactly coincides with
the dimension of the bag 2 in the back-and-forth direction was
measured by a pressure tester; and
[0035] (4) As the pressure tester, INSTRON 5564 (supplied from
INSTRON CORP.) was used. A compression rate of this pressure tester
was 10 nm/min. As the plates, acryl plates each having a surface
area larger than the exposed area of the front and rear waist
regions 14, 15 of the diaper 10 so that the plates may compress the
entire exposed area of these front and rear waist regions 14, 15.
It should be understood here that the dimension of the row 4 in the
back-and-forth dimension when it exactly coincides with the
dimension of the bag 2 in the back-and forth direction refers to
the dimension defined between the pair of acryl plates.
[0036] In the case of this package 1A, a force of 18 N or lower is
enough to draw one of the diapers 10 out from the row 4 and a force
in a range of 15 to 18 N is enough to draw the first diaper 10 out
from the row 4. If a force higher than 18 N is necessary to draw
one of the diapers 10 out from the row 4, the diaper 10 could not
be smoothly drawn out from the bag 2 unless the diaper is drawn
with a considerably high force. In addition to such inconvenience,
there is a possibility that one or two diapers 10 adjacent to the
target diaper 10 might be drawn out from the row 4 as the target
diaper 10 is drawn out from the row 4.
[0037] A force necessary to the diaper 10 out from the row 4 was
measured in a manner as follows:
[0038] (1) Eight diapers 10 with the waist-lateral portions 18
folded back together with the side edges 13c of the core 13 as seen
in FIG. 3 were arranged in the back-and-forth direction within the
bag 2. Within the bag 2, the intermediate portions 28 of the
diapers 10 exposed in the back-and-forth direction were in contact
one with another to form the row 4, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and
2. Within the bag 2, a pressure in a range of 10 to 75 N was
exerted inward upon the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction from
the longitudinally opposite ends 4a, 4b of the row 4;
[0039] (2) A single diaper 10 was selected from the row 4 and the
waist-surrounding end portion 17 was gripped by a chuck of a
tensile tester;
[0040] (3) The diaper 10 gripped by the chuck was drawn out from
the row 4 toward above the bag 2 by means of the tensile tester and
a force required to draw the diaper 10 out from the row 4 was
measured by the tensile tester; and
[0041] (4) As the tensile tester, INSTRON 5564 (supplied from
INSTRON CORP.) was used. A tensile rate was 500 mm/min. It should
be understood that the maximum value obtained under the measurement
condition as set forth above was defined as the force necessary to
draw the diaper 10 out from the row 4.
[0042] According to the package 1A, a plurality of diapers 10 have
been compactly folded so that an area over which each pair of the
diapers adjacent to each other come in contact with each other may
be reduced and correspondingly a frictional force (frictional
resistance) generated between the diapers adjacent to each other
may be alleviated compared to the case in which a plurality of
diapers 10 are packed in the bag 2 without being folded.
Consequently, a force of 18 N or lower is enough to draw the diaper
10, particularly, the first diaper 10 out from the complete row 4
of the diapers 10 regardless of the fact that this complete row 4
is under a pressure in a range of 10 to 75 N exerted inward
thereupon in one direction from the longitudinally opposite ends of
the row 4.
[0043] While the bag 2 is illustrated to contain therein sixteen
diapers 10 in two rows 4, the number of diapers 10 to be packed in
the bag 2 is not limited to sixteen but optional so far as a
plurality of diapers 10 (specifically eight or more diapers 10) are
arranged in one direction to from the row 4.
[0044] While the force necessary to draw the diaper 10 out from the
row 4 has been described above with respect to the case in which
the diaper 10 gripped by the chuck of the tensile tester is drawn
out from the row 4 toward above the bag 2 and this force is
measured by the tensile tester, it is possible also to draw the
diaper 10 gripped by the chuck of the tensile tester out laterally
from the row 4 and to measure this force by the tensile tester. In
this case also, the force required to draw one of the diapers 10
out from the row 4 of the diapers 10 is 18 N or lower and obviously
the force required to draw the first diaper 10 out from the row 4
is in a range of 18 to 15 N.
[0045] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating alternative manner
in which the individual diaper 10 is folded in order to be packed
in the package 1B, FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a developed planar
shape of the diaper 10 illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 is a
perspective view illustrating a manner in which the diaper 10
folded in the manner illustrated in FIG. 5 is drawn out from the
bag 2.
[0046] The diaper 10 is formed in the waist-lateral portions 18
with fold-guiding lines 29a, 29b extending in the longitudinal
direction as indicated by chain double-dashed lines. These
fold-guiding lines 29a, 29b extend parallel to a longitudinal
center line 25 so as to extend in the respective side edges 13c of
the core 13 in the front and rear waist regions 14, 15 as well as
parts of the side edges 13b of the core 13 in the crotch region 16.
In the waist-lateral portions 18 and the crotch region 16, the
diaper 10 is folded back along these fold-guiding lines 29a, 29b.
In this manner, the waist's side edges 18 are folded inward
together with the side edges 13c of the core 13 in the front and
rear waist regions 14, 15 toward the longitudinal center line 25.
Simultaneously, the leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 destined to
form the leg-holes 22 are also folded inward together with the side
edges 13b of the core 13 in the crotch region 16.
[0047] In the case of this diaper 10, parts of the respective
waist-lateral portions 18 in the vicinity of the edges thereof
extend beyond the longitudinal center line 25 so as to occupy
positions opposed to each other about the longitudinal center line
25 as the waist-lateral portions 18 are folded inward along the
fold-guiding lines 29a, 29b. Consequently, the waist-lateral
portions 18 overlap each other in a thickness direction of the
diaper 10 and the leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 forming the
leg-holes 22 are folded along the fold-guiding lines 29a, 29b
inward together with the side edges 13b of the core 13 in the
crotch region 16. In this way, the intermediate portions 28 of the
front and rear waist regions 14, 15 between the waist-lateral
portions 28 and the leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 are exposed
outward. Therefore, the exposed area of the diaper 10 can be
further reduced and the diaper 10 can be made further compact.
[0048] In the package 1B, each of the diapers 10 packed within the
bag 2 has its waist-hole 21 facing the top wall 2a of the bag 2 and
its crotch region 16 lying on the bottom wall 2b of the package 1B.
Within the bag 2, the diapers 10 are closely packed in a state of
compression in the back-and-forth direction with the intermediate
portions 28 of the diapers 10 between the waist-lateral portions 18
and the leg-surrounding lateral portions 19 held in contact one
with another. In this package 1B, a pressure in a range of 10 to 75
N (preferably in a range of 20 to 45 N) is exerted upon the row 4
of diapers 10 inward from longitudinally opposite ends 4a, 4b of
the row 4 in the back-and-forth direction (in one direction)
between the longitudinally opposite side walls 2C, 2C of the bag
2.
[0049] Procedure to take out a target diaper 10 from the bag 2 is
same as in the case of the bag 2. In the case of the package 1B
shown in FIG. 7, a force of 18 N or lower is enough to draw one of
the diapers 10 out from the row 4 and a force in a range of 15 to
18 N is enough to draw the first diaper 10 out from the row 4. If a
force higher than 18 N is necessary to draw one of the diapers 10
out from the row 4, the diaper 10 could not be smoothly drawn out
from the bag 2 unless the diaper 10 is drawn with a considerably
high force. In addition to such inconvenience, there is a
possibility that one or two diapers 10 adjacent to the target
diaper 10 might be drawn out from the row 4 as the target diaper 10
is drawn out from the row 4.
[0050] A pressure exerted inward upon the row 4 in the
back-and-forth direction from the longitudinally opposite ends 4a,
4b of the row 4 and a force required to draw one of the diapers 10
out from the row 4 in the package 1B of FIG. 7 were measured by the
same methods as in the case illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0051] Compared to the package 1A of FIG. 2, the package 1B further
facilitates the individual diaper 10 to be drawn out from the bag 2
because the area over which each pair of the diapers 10 adjacent to
each other come in contact with each other can be further reduced
and a frictional force (frictional resistance) generated between
the diapers adjacent to each other can be further alleviated.
[0052] A stock material for the topsheet 11 may be selected from
the group consisting of a hydrophilic fibrous nonwoven fabric, a
hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric having a plurality of apertures
and a plastic film having a plurality of fine perforations. A stock
material for the backsheet 12 may be selected from the group
consisting of a hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric, a breathable
but liquid-impervious plastic film, composite nonwoven fabric
comprising two or more hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric layers
laminated one upon another and a composite sheet comprising a
hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric and a breathable but
liquid-impervious plastic film laminated upon each other. It is
also possible to use, as a stock material for the backsheet 12, a
composite nonwoven fabric comprising a melt blown fibrous nonwoven
fabric having a high water-resistance interposed between two layers
of spun bond fibrous nonwoven fabric being high in strength as well
as in flexibility.
[0053] The nonwoven fabric may be selected from the group
consisting of those obtained by spun lace-, needle punch-, melt
blown-, thermal bond-, spun bond-, chemical bond- and
air-through-processes. The component fiber of nonwoven fabric may
be selected from the group consisting of polyolefin-, polyester-
and polyamide-based fibers, core-sheath type or side-by-side
conjugated fibers of polyethylene/polypropylene or
polyethylene/polyester.
[0054] The core 13 is a mixture of fluff pulp and super-absorbent
polymer particles or a mixture of fluff pulp, super-absorbent
polymer particles and thermoplastic synthetic resin fibers, in both
cases, compressed to a given thickness. Preferably, the core 13 is
entirely wrapped with a liquid-pervious sheet such as a tissue
paper or a hydrophilic fibrous nonwoven fabric to prevent the core
13 from getting out of its initial shape and to prevent polymer
particles from falling off. The polymer particles may be selected
from the group consisting of those of starch-based polymer,
cellulose-based polymer and synthetic polymer.
[0055] Bonding the top- and backsheets 11, 12, bonding the core 13
to these sheets 11, 12 and bonding the elastic members 23, 24 to
these sheets 11, 12 may be carried out using a hot melt adhesive or
various thermal welding techniques such as heat-sealing and
ultrasonic sealing.
[0056] The package of disposable diapers according to the present
invention includes within a bag a plurality of diapers each having
been compactly folded so that an area over which each pair of the
diapers adjacent to each other come in contact with each other may
be reduced and correspondingly a frictional force (frictional
resistance) generated between the diapers adjacent to each other
may be alleviated compared to the case in which a plurality of
diapers are put in the bag without being folded. Consequently, a
force of 18 N or lower is enough to draw the diaper, particularly,
the first diaper out from the complete row of the diapers
regardless of the fact that this complete row is under a pressure
in a range of 10 to 75 N exerted inward thereupon in one direction
from the longitudinally opposite ends of the row.
[0057] The package of disposable diapers according to the present
invention also includes within a bag a plurality of diapers in
which each of the diapers has the leg-surrounding lateral portions
forming the leg-holes folded inward together with the opposite side
portions of the core in the crotch region toward the longitudinal
center line and the intermediate portions of the respective diapers
except the waist-lateral portions and the leg-surrounding lateral
portions are in close contact one with another. In this way, the
diapers can be made further compact and the area of the diapers
exposed outward can be further reduced. Correspondingly the
frictional force (frictional resistance) generated between each
pair of the diapers adjacent to each other in the row can be
further alleviated.
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