U.S. patent number 3,794,024 [Application Number 05/254,018] was granted by the patent office on 1974-02-26 for catamenial wetness indicator.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Procter & Gamble Company. Invention is credited to Darrel Dayfield Kokx, Grace Lechner Smith.
United States Patent |
3,794,024 |
Kokx , et al. |
February 26, 1974 |
CATAMENIAL WETNESS INDICATOR
Abstract
An indicator in contact with the absorbent body of a catamenial
device. The indicator "reads" the wetness of the absorbent body and
translates the wetness into a signal which can be sensed without
removing the catamenial device.
Inventors: |
Kokx; Darrel Dayfield
(Cincinnati, OH), Smith; Grace Lechner (Cincinnati, OH) |
Assignee: |
The Procter & Gamble
Company (Cincinnati, OH)
|
Family
ID: |
22962607 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/254,018 |
Filed: |
May 17, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/361;
604/385.01; 604/369; 604/904 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
13/2045 (20130101); A61F 13/42 (20130101); A61F
13/2037 (20130101); Y10S 604/904 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/20 (20060101); A61F 13/42 (20060101); A61F
13/24 (20060101); A61f 013/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/285,296,263,270 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rosenbaum; Charles F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Richter; David J. Aylor; Robert B.
Gorman; John V.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A catamenial device for placement within a body cavity,
comprising: an absorbent body and a menses-presence indicator
associated therewith, said absorbent body having a proximal end for
placement near the cervical os and a distal end, said absorbent
body having a contact point near the distal end, said indicator
having a receptor, the receptor being in contact with said
absorbent body only at the contact point so that the receptor
receives liquid present in the absorbent body at the contact point,
said indicator being activated by menses, said activated indicator
being sensually perceivable without withdrawing said absorbent body
from the cavity, whereby said indicator gives a sensual indication
after the contact point is wetted by menses so that the absorbent
body need not be removed until essentially the entire absorbent
body is wetted.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said indicator is a capillary
member having a length sufficient to extend from the contact point
to a position outside the vaginal cavity when said device is in
use, said capillary member having a terminal end at the end
opposite the receptor, whereby said indicator transmits the excess
of menses from the contact point to the terminal end to indicate
that the device is wetted at the point of contact.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein a menses penetration inhibiting
member covers the capillary member.
4. The device of claim 2 wherein essentially all of the capillary
member remote from the point of contact is covered by the
inhibiting member.
5. The device of claim 2 wherein a dye selected from the group
consisting of water soluble dyes, water dispersible dyes, and
mixtures thereof is in contact with the capillary member in the
terminal end.
6. A catamenial device for placement within a body cavity,
comprising: an absorbent body and a mensesphilic string associated
therewith, said absorbent body having a proximal end for placement
near the cervical os and a distal end, said absorbent body having a
contact point near said distal end, said string having a receptor,
said receptor being in contact with said absorbent body only at the
contact point so that the receptor receives liquid present in the
absorbent body at the contact point and a menses penetration
inhibiting member covering said string from a point adjacent the
receptor to the opposite end of said string, whereby menses
reaching said contact point enters the string thereat and wicks to
the opposite end of the string to give a sensually perceivable
indication that the point of contact on the absorbent body has been
wetted.
7. A catamenial device for placement within a body cavity,
comprising: an absorbent body and an internal menses-presence
indicator associated therewith, said absorbent body having a
proximal end for placement near the cervical os and a distal end,
said indicator being in contact with said absorbent body at a
contact point, said contact point being near said distal end, said
indicator being activatable by menses, said activated indicator
being sensually perceivable without withdrawing said absorbent body
from the cavity, whereby said indicator gives a sensual indication
after the contact point is wetted so that the absorbent body need
not be removed until essentially the entire absorbent body is
wetted.
8. The device of claim 7 wherein said indicator is a
menses-activatable agent applied directly to the absorbent body
adjacent the distal end.
9. The device of claim 8 wherein said agent has a sensually
perceivable heat of solution.
10. The device of claim 8 wherein said agent is a sensually
perceivable wet swelling material.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to receptors for receiving
discharge from the body, and more particularly concerns catamenial
receptors to be worn within the vagina while receiving
discharges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Present-day users of tampons have to use a destructive test in
order to ascertain whether a tampon has residual absorbent capacity
remaining. That is, the tampon must be removed to see if it is
full, and even if it is not full, the tampon usually is not
reinserted. Generally a user removes a tampon before it has reached
its capacity in order to prevent an accident wherein the capacity
of the tampon is exceeded and the excess menses flows unimpeded
from the vagina to soil the user's clothing.
In tampons as presently known, a determinative criteria frequently
used for removing a tampon is time elapsed since insertion. The
time elapsed criteria for changing tampons is not satisfactory for
several reasons, e.g., the menstrual flow rate varies throughout
the menstruating period and much adsorbent capacity of tampons is
wasted due to the tendency to change before an accident occurs. The
flow variation throughout the period causes problems as to how long
to wear a tampon because a user cannot establish a definite time
period for which the abosrbent capacity within a tampon is
sufficient. Therefore, she is in a quandary as to how long to wear
specific tampons during days of heavy flow as contrasted to days of
light flow. A corelation between tampon performance during light
flow versus heavy flow is difficult for the user to make. Thus,
since the user would rather be safe than sorry, she frequently
removes a tampon before the absorbent capacity of the tampon has
been reached and wastes much of the product she has purchased.
The prior tampon art merely tried to make tampons bigger and more
absorbent so that a user would not have to change as often. But the
user would still waste a portion of the absorbent capacity she had
purchased in that she still was not willing to have an accident.
Therefore, bigger tampons provided a longer wearing time but did
not approach the problem of fully using the absorbent capacity
within a tampon without soiling her clothing.
Indicators as such are known and patents thereon do exist in a
nonanalagous art, some of such patents being U.S. Pat. No.
2,189,982, issued to Haglund on Feb. 13, 1940 which teaches a
flower pot having a port in its side, said port being plugged by a
porous stopper; U.S. Pat. No. 2,249,867, issued to Snelling on July
22, 1941 which teaches a humidity detecting device comprising a
mixture of a dry deliquescent, a dry liquid responsive agent and a
dry porous solid; U.S. Pat. No. 2,560,537, issued to Andersen on
July 17, 1951 which teaches an indicator for signaling that frozen
foods have experienced a defrosting cycle; U.S. Pat. No. 2,681,032,
issused to Shaw on June 15, 1954 which discloses a diaper wetness
indicator having a low wet strength member which breaks upon being
wetted to give a signal; U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,205, issued to
Morrison on Jan. 7, 1969 which teaches an indicating device
suitable for indicating elapsed time and time temperature
relationships by the absorption of a fluid through a capillary
material; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,103, issued to Dangczek on Oct.
28, 1969, which teaches a moisture reservoir within the cap for a
writing pen. These devices, however, are not applicable to tampons
and do not solve the problem of enabling a user to fully utilize
the absorbent capacity of a tampon.
Applicants' invention allows a user to wear a tampon until a signal
is perceived, at which time the tampon is removed. The user can
thereby use essentially all of the absorbent capacity within the
tampon.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
One object of this invention is to provide a tampon which can be
worn until essentially all of the abosrbent capacity is
depleted.
It is another object of this invention to provide a tampon having a
sensual residual capacity indicator associated therewith.
More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a
tampon having an indicator which reads the last effective portion
of the absorbent body in the tampon.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a
catamenial device for placement within a body cavity which
comprises an absorbent body and a menses-presence indicator
associated therewith. The absorbent body has a proximal end which
is placed near the cervical os and a distal end opposite the
proximal end. The indicator is in contact with the absorbent body
at a contact point and the contact point is located near the distal
end. The indicator is activated by menses at the contact point such
that the actuation of the indicator is perceivable while the tampon
remains within the vagina. Thus the indicator becomes sensual when
the contact point is wetted by menses in order that the absorbent
body need not be removed until essentially the entire absorbent
body is wetted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing
out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as
forming the present invention, it is believed that the invention
will be better understood from the following description taken in
connection with the accompanying drawing, in which the thickness of
some of the materials are exaggerated for clarity and in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the device of this
invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of
the device of this invention;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the
device of this invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate tampon having therein
an indicating string; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a device of this invention in place
in a vagina.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Catamenial wetness indicators, particularly for tampons, can be of
varied and sundry types, some of which are as follows:
Indicator Location Type of Indicator Internal the vagina, e.g.,
Warming in or on absorbent body Cooling itself. Swelling
External the vagina, e.g., Visual in or adjacent to a capillary
Warming member attached to absorbent Cooling body. Stiffening
Swelling
Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a device of this invention
which is a tampon having attached thereto a menses-presence
indicator. This device has an absorbent body 20 and an indicating
member 21. The absorbent body 20 preferably is an absorbent foam
such as polyurethane and applicants have used Scott Hydro-Foam
which is available from the Scott Paper Company, Foam Division,
Eddystone, Pa. In FIG. 1, it is intended that base 32 is the
proximal end and apex 30 is the distal end, hereinafter
defined.
The absorbent body 20 is made from a block of the aforementioned
Scott Hydro-foam by using a heated wire to cut a hollow conical
shape as is shown in FIG. 1. The height and diameter of the
absorbent body can be varied to suit individual preferences, for
example, from a 1 inch high by 1 inch diameter foam absorbent body
20 which would have limited capacity and probably poor in vivo
absorptive capacity to a 3 inches high by 3 inches diameter foam
absorbent body 20 or the maximum size determined to be comfortable
during use or removal.
When worn, the absorbent body 20 has a proximal and distal end. The
proximal end, indicated by 43 in FIG. 6, is that end which is
positioned nearest the cervical os and the distal end, indicated by
44 in FIG. 6, is that end most remote from the cervical os and
nearest the introitus. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is intended
that the end indicated by 32 is the proximal end and the end
indicated by 30 is the distal end.
Associated with the absorbent body of a tampon is a menses-presence
indicator such as indicating member 21. Indicating member 21 has a
capillary member 22 (hereinafter referred to as string but not
limited thereto), the string being made up of threads 22a, 22b,
22c, 22d, etc. as shown in FIG. 2; a menses penetration inhibiting
member 23, which prevents menses from entering or leaving the
string at the locations other than the receptor 40; and
menses-activatable agent 24. The indicating member 21 has a
receptor 40 which is in contact with the absorbent body 20 at a
contact point. i.e., a part or area of the absorbent body in
contact with the receptor 40, near the distal end of the absorbent
body 20. The indicating member 21 receives menses from the
absorbent body 20 at the contact point through the receptor 40. The
receptor 40 of a string 22 or yarn, which provides a fluid
transport mechanism for an indicating member such as 21, is an
unraveled or flared end of the string 22 which will promote wicking
from the contact point to the higher density non-flared portion of
string 22.
The string 22 transports the menses from the receptor 40 to the
terminal end 45 of the indicator string. The string 22 can be of
any type which will transport menses such as string made from
various material like cotton, nylon, rayon, polyester, etc. The
capillary size within the string 22 can be varied to provide the
transport mechanism desired by altering the size of the threads
such as 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, etc. within the string 22 and/or by
changing the tightness of interthread wrap in the string. It has
also been found that capillary members made of some materials, such
as cotton, expand upon wetting and therefore tend to decrease the
size of the capillaries. Therefore, a string made of a non-water
expanding material, such as polyesters, is desirable for the
capillary 22. Varying the size of the capillary can be used to
control the rate of movement of menses through the indicator string
21.
A transport mechanism for the indicating member 21 that has been
found to work well and have dry flexibility and wearing comfort
combined with good wicking of both thin menses and high viscosity
citrated whole blood is a polyester tire yarn. The yarn is a two or
three-ply low twist yarn which does not swell when wetted and
thereby diminish the internal capillaries between the ply fibers.
The wicking rate can be controlled by the denier of the ply fibers
and the ply twist controlling the size and length of capillaries.
This transport mechanism transmits fluid from the contact point to
a point on the indicating member 21 remote from the contact point
where the menses or change produced by the menses, can be
perceived.
The menses penetration inhibiting member 23 surrounds the string
22. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the menses penetration inhibiting
member is not absolutely necessary except to prevent menses from
leaving the string 22 and thereby soiling the undergarments of a
user. If this soiling is acceptable, the member 23 does not have to
be included. But if an indicating string is within the absorbent
body or passes near the proximal end of the absorbent body, such as
indicating member 26 of FIG. 3 wherein it is intended that apex 31
is the proximal end and base 33 is the distal end, then a menses
penetration inhibiting member such as 27 is required about a string
such as 28 to prevent menses from entering the indicating member 26
at a point other than the receptor 40, because menses entering the
indicing member 26 at some other point will give a false indication
of impending failure. The menses penetration inhibiting member 23
or 27 can be of any type as long as it is relatively flexible, for
example, a small diameter polyethylene tubing, a plastic spray
coating on the exterior of the string 22 or 28, a heat shrink wrap
about string 22 or 28, or a composite string having for example a
hydrophilic core and a hydrophobic shell.
An indicating member such as 21 should be long enough so that its
terminal end 45 extends outside of the vagina where it can be
viewed by the user. A length of 4 inches beyond the distal end of
the absorbent body is sufficient to place the terminal end 45
outside of the vagina. The receptor 40 of an indicating member such
as 21 has a contact point with the absorbent body 20 near the
distal end of the absorbent body so that it will give an indication
of impending failure, i.e., the capacity of the absorbent body is
about to be reached. Failure of a fully utilized tampon frequently
occurs after the distal end becomes fully wetted and a drop of
menses escapes from the distal end for each additional drop taken
on by the tampon. As can be visualized from FIG. 6, menses is
deposited in the vagina from the cervix of the uterus and flows
downward in the vagina toward the introitus. Thus the proximal end
43 of absorbent body 39 becomes wetted first, and, in addition, the
bottom surface of the absorbent body 39 wets before the top surface
due to the tendency of menses to flow along the floor of the
vagina. Therefore, the absorbent body becomes wetted progressively
from the proximal end 43 toward the distal end 44 and from the
bottom toward the top. This wetting action leaves the distal end 44
as the last area of an absorbent body to be wetted. Since the
function of the indicating member is to announce impending failure,
its receptor 40 should be in contact with the absorbent body in the
area which is wetted just prior to failure, i.e., the distal end of
the absorbent body.
A menses activatable agent 24, such as dye, see FIG. 2, may, if a
more vivid indicator is desired, be placed near the terminal end of
the capillary member 22. Although a dye is not essential because
menses itself has a color and would show up in a white or light
string 22, use of an indicating dye is preferable. Inclusion of a
menses activatable agent 24, such as an intense dye, at the
terminal end 45 will, when wetted, produce a vivid indication of
the presence of menses.
A menses-activated indicating agent 24 of the present invention can
be either an admixture of a substantially non-toxic, water-soluble
or water-dispersible dye having high dye strength with a
substantially non-toxic, water-insoluble or water-soluble diluent
masking agent, or a substantially non-toxic, water-soluble or
water-dispersible dye having high dye strength without a diluent
masking agent, either of which are hereinafter referred to as dye.
A dye is applied in a dry, finely divided particulate state. When
such a dye is exposed to menses carried down the string 22, it is
activated. The color of the resulting dye solution is readily
perceptible to the eye, even though a transparent or translucent
menses-penetration inhibiting member 23.
The dye in the menses-actuated indicating agent of the present
invention can be in finely divided solid or crystalline state
selected from the group consisting of (1) nitro, (2) monoazo, (3)
diazo, (4) phthalocyanine, (5) quinoline, (6) xanthene, (7) triaryl
methane, (8) indigoid and (9) vegetable dyes. Other dyes meeting
the requirements of solidity, non-toxicity and water solubility or
water-dispersibility can also be used to effect embodiments of the
invention.
Powered dyes used in beverages, confections and pharmaceuticals are
suitable and are readily available from food dye manufacturers.
Examples of food dyes belonging to the classes of dyes enumerated
above are sold under the following trade names and code
designations.
1. Naphthol Yellow SSX Spec. Pure, a nitrodye having the formula
##SPC1##
sold by Badische Anilin & Soda Fabrik, A.G., Ludwigshafen a.
Rhein, Germany;
2. Orange GGN Conc. Spec. Pure, a monoazo-dye having the formula
##SPC2##
sold by Farbenfabriken Bayer A.G., Leverkusen, Germany; and Salmon
Red. G.AF. a dye having the formula ##SPC3## sold by CIBA Ltd.,
Basel, Switzerland;
3. Hexacol Chocolate Brown HT, a diazo-dye having the formula
##SPC4##
sold by L. J. Pointing & Son Ltd., Hexhem, England;
4. Heliogen Blue BWS Extra, a phthalocyanine-dye having the formula
##SPC5##
sold by General Aniline & Film Corporation, New York, N.Y.;
5. Canary Yellow Geigy, a quinoline-dye having the formula
##SPC6##
sold by J. R. Geigy S. A., Basel, Switzerland;
6. Edicol Supra Rose B, a rhodamine dye having the formula
##SPC7##
sold by Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., Manchester, England;
and
Erythrosine TB Extra, having the formula ##SPC8##
sold by Durand & Huguenin S. A., Basel, Switzerland;
7. Acid Violet 5 BN, a triaryl methane dye having the formula;
##SPC9##
and
Acid Green S, having the formula ##SPC10##
sold by Williams Ltd., Hounslow, England;
Kiton Pure Blue V. FQ, having the formula ##SPC11##
sold by Clayton Aniline Co., Ltd., Manchester, England; and
8. Edicol Supra Blue X, and indigoid dye having the formula
##SPC12##
sold by Imperial Chemical Industries, Manchester, England.
Vegetable dyes, such as carotene, chlorophyll, and also tea and
coffee extracts in powder state are suitable as the dye component
in the menses-actuated indicating agent of the present invention.
Further, any dye compound which is characterized by
water-solubility or water -dispersibility, solidity, non-toxicity,
dye strength, reasonable color fastness, and heat stability can be
used as the dye component in the menses-actuated indicating
agent.
A finely divided diluent masking agent to be used in admixture with
the finely divided dye in the mensesactuated indicating agent is
preferably white and chemically inert. But, the masking agent can
be any neutrally colored, substantially non-toxic material which is
compatible with the dye to form a free-flowing powder. Examples of
suitable diluent masking agents are talcum, whiting, silica, sugar,
salt and starch. Flour and starch products are slightly
water-soluble and swellable; therefore, they may delay the
appearance of color. The mensesactuated indicating dyes admixed
with starch diluent masking agents will, in general, be less
sensitive to the presence of menses; they will tend to develop the
moisture indicating color signal more slowly.
The diluent masking agent is used to mask or partly mask the color
of the dry dye, so that the dye is not perceived as a color until
wetted. The diluent masking agent can also be used to disperse or
dilute the dye particles to facilitate uniform application of the
dye on the terminal end 45. However, a masking agent is optional
and if used, the dye color is essentially imperceptible until
wetted.
A menses-presence indicator can be used with tampons of all shapes
and compositions. In FIG. 4 is shown one having an absorbent body
34 of compressed fibers as is most generally commercially available
today. Associated therewith is an indicating member 36 having a
receptor 40 in contact with the absorbent body 34 near the distal
end of that device. A removal string 35 is included for positive
removal in the event that indicating member 36 is not attached to
the absorbent body 34 tightly enough to facilitate removal of the
tampon from the vagina. FIG. 5 shows the tampon of another
configuration having an absorbent body 37 of a hydrophilic foam
made according to the method disclosed in the commonly owned,
copending application entitled, HOLLOW FOAM TAMPONS FROM FLAT
BLANKS AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME by Bernard A. Dulle, Ser. No.
172,790, filed Aug. 18, 1971. An indicating member can also be used
in an agglomerate tampon (not shown) wherein an absorbent body is
comprised of separate pieces of three-dimensional cellular
absorbent material held together by a fluid permeable overwrap.
As mentioned before, the receptor 40 and the contact point is
located near the distal end of the absorbent body. Which end is the
distal end depends upon the orientation of a tampon within the
vagina. This can be appreciated by comparing the structure of FIG.
1, wherein the receptor 40 of the indicating member 21 is located
near the apex 30 of the absorbent body because the apex of that
embodiment is intended to be the distal end, with the structure of
FIG. 3, wherein the receptor 40 of the indicating member 26 is
located near the base 33 because the base of that embodiment is
intended as the distal end. Absorbent body 20 of FIG. 1 is placed
in a vagina 180.degree. from the orientation of absorbent body 39
of FIG. 6, while absorbent body 25 of FIG. 3 would be oriented the
same as absorbent body 39 of FIG. 6.
More than one indicating member may be desirable in a tampon to
insure that the receptor of an indicating member is near the floor
of the vagina so that it will give a "full of menses" signal before
a failure occurs. Diametrically opposed receptors near the distal
end such as are shown in FIG. 3 will result in at least one
receptor being near the vaginal floor when the tampon is in place.
A receptor near the vaginal floor is desirable because, as
mentioned above, menses tends to wet the bottom surface of a tampon
with the top surface of the tampon being wetted by mass transport
through the absorbent body. Thus, as can be envisioned from FIG. 6,
with diametrically opposed receptors 40, regardless of rotational
orientation of a tampon in the vagina, one of the receptors 40 will
be near the vaginal floor.
An indicating member such as 26 or 29 shown in FIG. 3 which passes
through the proximal end 31 and has a contact point with the
absorbent body 25 near the base 33 of the absorbent body can be
routed toward the base in several ways, such as, the indicating
member 26 enters near the apex 31 and lies within the wall of the
absorbent body and the indicating member 29 enters through the apex
31 into the cavity within the absorbent body 25 and reenters the
absorbent body 25 near the base 33. An indicating member routed in
either of these ways is satisfactory.
Strings which have been found to work as capillary member 22 are: a
5/3 ply cotton string having about a nine pound tensile strength
available from Bibb Manufacturing Company, Macon, Ga. under the
name of 5/3 ply Sno-Spun bleach 108 cotton, threads from Soft
Cotton Cable Cord (sometimes called shearer cord) available from
Lily Mills Company, Shelby, N.C., and spun polyester string
available from UniRoyal Fiber & Textile, Division of UniRoyal,
Incorporated, 350 Columbia Road, Winnsboro, S.C., 29180.
The indicating member disclosed so far is a capillary member which
transmits menses from a contact point within an absorbent body to a
terminal end generally lying outside of the vagina, i.e., an
external indicator. This capillary member could also be used as the
withdrawal string but does not necessarily have to be the
withdrawal string in that an additional string could be attached to
the absorbent body to provide a withdrawal means securely fastened
to the absorbent body.
Indicating members other than an external indicator, i.e., internal
indicators which are sensed by nerve endings within the vagina (not
shown), can also be used to show the residual capacity of a tampon,
that is, to announce an impending failure due to a lack of more
absorbent capacity. A substantially non-toxic material having a
positive or negative heat of solution, to give a heating or cooling
effect respectively, is placed on the surface of or within the
absorbent body, such as absorbent body 20, near its distal end. In
this embodiment the contact point is that area of the indicating
agent in direct contact with the absorbent body. The contact point
may be, if it is desirable, localized by isolating all but a small
area of the indicating agent and the small area would act as the
receptor. This material produces a warm or cool sensation when
wetted to indicate that the residual capacity of the tampon is low.
Table I below lists a number of compounds that have been used
orally or topically on the human body and can be used as a
menses-activatable agent. Listed are the name of the compound,
chemical formula, heats of solution in kilogram-calories ("+"
indicates positive heat of solution and "-" indicates negative heat
of solution), and medical dosage that has been used on humans. The
information was acquired from the Merck Index, 7th Edition.
TABLE I
HEAT OF CHEMICAL SOLUTION MEDICAL MATERIAL FORMULA IN KG-CAL.
DOSAGE Urea CH.sub.4 N.sub.2 O -15.1 kg-cal. 8-40g oral Mannitol
C.sub.6 H.sub.14 O.sub.6 -22.01 Edible Critic C.sub.6 H.sub.8
O.sub.7 -22.6 0.3-2g Acid oral as- tringent puckery Potassium KI
-5.11 0.3-2g Iodine oral Lactose C.sub.12 H.sub.22 O.sub.11.H.sub.2
O -15.5 Magnesium MgSO.sub.4 +20.28 Saturated Sulfate solution
topically Magnesium MgSO.sub.4.H.sub.2 O +13.30 10-30g Sulfate oral
bitter, saline Potassium KH.sub.2 C.sub.6 H.sub.8 O.sub.7 -33.5
Acid Citrate Aluminum AlCl.sub.3 +76.3 Topical as- Chloride
tringent and anti- septic Boric B.sub.2 O.sub.3.3H.sub.2 O -10.8
Topical Acid dilute solution only Sodium Na.sub.2 B.sub.4
O.sub.7.10H.sub.2 O -25.86 External, Tetra- feeble borate
antiseptic and astrin- gent for mucus mem- branes Sodium Na.sub.2
S.sub.2 O.sub.3.5H.sub.2 O -11.37 0.5-2.0g Thio- oral sulfate
Potassium KHC.sub.4 H.sub.6 O.sub.6 -48.5 4-15g Acid oral
Tartrate
For a tampon utilizing a compound having a heating or cooling
sensation as an indicator, the distal end of the tampon is
impregnated or coated with the indicator, e.g., urea. The exterior
of the distal end is then coated with a menses impenetratable
material to prevent premature activation of the indicating agent
due to the moisture ever present in the vagina. Thus, activation of
the indicating agent results from menses wicking through the
absorbent body. A layer or sheet of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,369 issued to Graham, Jr. on Sept.
25, 1962, is essentially menses impenetratable. CMC when wetted
forms a gelatinous surface which forms a barrier to fluid
penetration. Thus, a CMC coating protects the indicating agent from
moist vaginal surfaces while the menses wicks to the indicating
agent from a more proximal point of wetting on the tampon.
Another alternative indicating member is a swelling indicating
agent in or on the absorbent body and incorporated similarly to the
warming or cooling indicating agents in that it would be near the
distal end of the absorbent body and could be shielded from vaginal
fluids other than those which wick through the absorbent body to
prevent a premature activation of the indicating agent. The contact
point in this embodiment is similar to the contact point formed for
use with the warming or cooling indicators. The swelling indicating
agent should exhibit a large swelling upon wetting such that the
increase size would be perceptible to the user while the tampon is
still in place. A material such as the Bibulous Cellulosic Fibers
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,364 issued to Dean et al on June
29, 1971 could be used as the swelling indicating agent.
The warming or cooling indicating materials could also be used as
the indicating agent 24 in an external indicator much the same as
described above for the dye, i.e., distributed within or on the
indicating member 21. This embodiment places the indicating agent
24 outside the vagina which may be desirable.
A stiffening or swelling indicator, another embodiment (not shown),
in a string dependent from the absorbent body becomes perceivable
to the user as menses wicks down the string from the contact point.
Materials such as high-twist lines or hemp yarns, three to five
ply, are well known to those of ordinary skill in the textile arts
to be stiffened when wetted and such stiffenable materials can be
incorporated in an indicating member 21 as a stiffening indicator.
The previously mentioned bibulous cellulosic fibers could be
incorporated in an indicating member 21 as a swelling
indicator.
An indicating tab, an enlarged portion of an indicating member 21,
can be located at the terminal end of the indicating member as a
variation of indicating members previously described. In this case
the indicating agent can be located in the tab rather than on or in
the string. Some of the indicating agents which may be used in the
tab are, of course, the dyes, warming or cooling materials, or
swelling materials suggested above. The tab has several advantages
in that a greater concentration of indicating agent can be placed
in a tab than along a string and without the discomfort that the
same bulk may have in the introital area, and the tab could be
placed by the user in the location best suited for her personal
sensing.
Thus it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance
with the invention, a catamenial wetness indicator that fully
satisfies the objects, aims, and advantages set forth above. While
the invention has been described in conjunction with specific
embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives,
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in
the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is
intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and
variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the
appended claims.
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