Diaper

Abstract

A diaper including a thin and flexible, plastic back sheet or swaddle, which is contoured and dimensioned to enable the person handling the infant to adjust it about the infant without separate fastening means, and in which an absorbent pad is removably inserted. The pad comprises one or more covering sheets enclosing wadding having a barrier sheet of liquid-resistant material for enhancing the uniform distribution of fluid through the wadding.

Description

This invention relates to diapers and more particularly to a type which has its parts or elements composed of such materials that the diaper can be disposed of in whole or in part after soiling.

Many disposable diapers as previously known have, because of the necessity of manufacturing them of relatively expensive materials, been so constructed that the full protection required was not often obtained. Moreover, some of the materials used, particularly for the outer cover or top sheet of the diaper, such as a coated, moisture-resistant paper, were stiff and relatively heavy and sometimes presented edges which, when unprotected, were likely to cause irritation or injury to the tender skin of the infant.

The absorbent padding sometimes used in prior disposable diapers, allowed the spreading of the body fluids and often leakage occurred so that protective means additional to the diaper were often required and were found uncomfortable particularly in warm weather.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a diaper that can be disposed of in whole or in part when soiled since the materials of which it is composed are relatively inexpensive.

Another object of the invention is to provide a diaper composed of materials which will not cause irritation or chafing of the skin of the infant, and which diaper requires no separate fastening devices such as pins or tapes which sometimes cause irritation and injury to the child.

A further object is to provide a diaper which is composed of nonwoven materials which do not cause chafing, particularly when liquid-saturated.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a protective diaper pad that is provided with a liquid-absorbent wadding or "fluff" and with a barrier means interposed between layers of the wadding and effective to insure relatively uniform liquid distribution throughout the pad.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, we have devised the arrangements of parts and materials to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment is disclosed:

FIG. 1 is a face view, looking at the inner face of the diaper, while the same is in a flat position;

FIG. 2 is a face view of the pad, with portions thereof fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 shows the diaper in place on a child.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the diaper 1 therein shown, includes a thin flexible back sheet or swaddle indicated at 8. The back sheet or swaddle has what might be called an "hour glass" contour.

The pad 11, which will hereinafter be described in detail, is placed transversely along the waist of the swaddle which is so dimensioned that it extends beyond the perimetric limits of the pad. The portions of the swaddle extending beyond the length of the pad are turned over the opposite ends of the pad as indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 1. The swaddle when folded transversely on a line extending between the two opposed tie ends 6 and 7, openings 2 and 3, a front panel 4 and a rear panel 5 are formed. The infant is positioned in sitting position on the flat swaddle and pad, and the tie ends 6 and 7 are pulled about the infant's legs and tied about the hips, as shown at 20 in FIG. 5, to form a snug and comfortable fit about the infant and conforms the pad to its anatomy and hold it firmly in position in soothing contact with the skin.

The back sheet or swaddle 8 comprises a thin, low-density, opaque, polyethylene web, which is contoured and dimensioned as indicated, which makes it applicable to infants in different stages of development and size.

The pad, which is indicated generally at 11, may be in the form of an elongated, flattened roll which is closed at its opposite ends by being crimped and/or heat sealed as shown at 12 and 13, these ends being inserted under the inturned strip portions 9 and 10 of the back sheet or swaddle 8 when the diaper is made ready for application to the infant.

The pad 11 is located in the central part of the back sheet or swaddle 8 against the inside face thereof and the pad covers the portion of the infant's anatomy from which the emanation of fluid occurs and is captured by the pad.

The pad comprises a top sheet 15 or envelop which may consist of any compliant, soft-feeling, porous, hydrophobic paper or other nonwoven fabric web. An example of a nonwoven fabric sheet, that is particularly suitable, is a rayon fabric of about 1.5 to 3 deniers impregnated with a thermoplastic binder, such as for example, copolymers of an ester of acrylic acid. For best results, surfactants should be minimal in the binder emulsion and avoided in the final bath. This covering 15 of the pad is liquid permeable and serves to disperse the liquid throughout the pad thus avoiding the undue collection or pooling of the body fluid in certain parts of the pad, but rather assuring its uniform spread or dispersion through the pad.

Contained within the pad is a wadding or filling 14 which fills the interior of the pad but not to an extent to deform the pad from its desired normally relatively flat condition. The wadding or filling 14 as shown in the illustrated in the embodiment comprises layers confined within the covering 15. Interposed between the layers of the filling is a barrier sheet 16. This barrier may consist of a polyvinyl chloride sheet; it may also be a sheet of cellulosic material similar to that of the top sheet 15. In the latter case, it should be impregnated with a plastic or resinous material, such as polyvinyl chloride, or melamine, carbamide or phenol formaldehyde resins, in a proportion to increase its wet strength without affecting its moisture absorbent characteristics.

The barrier sheet, in addition to serving the purpose of diffusing the liquid throughout the "fluff", also serves the purpose of reinforcing the "fluff." The wadding or "fluff" consists of one or more layers, two being shown, of bleached, dry-drained pulp, preferably bleached sulfite pulp. The approximate amount of the "fluff" in each pad may be about 32 to 33 grams. The layers of the filling may be adhesively or otherwise adherently attached to the inner surface of the top sheet 15 of the pad.

In addition to enhancing the spread of liquid throughout the "fluff," the moisture-resistant barrier sheet 16 also serves to reinforce the wadding, to prevent bunching, etc. The crimped ends of the pad may be sealed by compressing the several layers under heat and pressure. Additional adhesive may be used, if found necessary.

The diaper pad, constructed as above described, is soft and compliant; the materials employed are relatively inexpensive so that the pad is discarded when soiled. The material of which the pad is made also disintegrates fairly rapidly when submerged in liquid, which expedites the disposal process. On the other hand, the swaddle may be retained as a cover or wrap for other pads, if the circumstances should not require immediate replacement.

The embodiment shown in the drawing includes also two plies of sheet material 15a and 15b between the top sheet 15 and the wadding or "fluff" 14. These sheets preferably consist of cellulosic paper which enhances the absorption of the moisture originally captured by the top sheet 15, and which tends to diffuse it uniformly over the entire area of the pad. The long cellulose fibers act as distributing paths for the moisture and prevent collection of liquid in hollows that may be formed in the pad when folded about the body of the infant. The cellulosic fiber material is very thin and the weight thereof is on the order of 28 grams per square meter. Thus, the inclusion of the intermediate sheets does not add substantially to the total weight of the pad.

The pad according to the invention is approximately 39 cm long, and thus the weight of each ply would be only about 2 1/2 grams. It has been found that one ply might be sufficient, but it should be understood that the more plies, the more the diffusion will be enhanced. However, the number of plies will naturally increase the weight of the pad slightly and the cost of manufacture, and consequently the choice of plies should be made with consideration to the cost in relationship to the increased advantage. The total weight of the pad is on the order of 38 to 40 grams.

The maintenance of the garment around the body of a a child by the tying together of the tie ends of the swaddle as shown in FIG. 5, avoids the use of pins, clips, tapes and other fastening elements normally used and which often cause injury to the child.

Having thus described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A disposable pad for a diaper consisting of:

a. an outer tubular covering comprising a porous, nonwoven, cellulosic sheet material treated with a hydrophobic substance to increase its wet strength while maintaining its liquid permeable characteristics;

b. liquid absorbent wadding comprising at least two layers of fluffed cellulosic material;

c. a liquid barrier sheet composed of a hydrophobic sheet material and interposed between and separating the layers of said wadding;

d. at least one ply of moisture absorbent sheet material interposed between said wadding and said tubular outer covering; and

e. the opposite end portions of said tubular covering being compressed to be substantially flatter than the remainder of said pad.

2. A diaper comprising:

a. a disposable pad as claimed in Claim 1;

b. a swaddle sheet of thin, flexible, liquid-impervious material; and

c. said swaddle sheet being notched, having two lateral pairs of oppositely extending integral tie ends to provide leg openings for the infant when the swaddle sheet is adjusted about the infant, and being contoured and dimensioned so as to permit the opposite longitudinal edges thereof to be folded over the end portions of the pad and to permit the integral tie ends to be pulled about the infant and tied together adjacent the hip portion.