MXPA06006191A - Absorbent garment having outer shell and adjustable absorbent assembly therein - Google Patents

Abstract

An absorbent garment for wear about a wearer's waist includes a waist belt, a garment shell and an absorbent assembly constructed to take in and retain body exudates released by the wearer. The absorbent assembly is releasably attached generally at front and back waist regions thereof to the waist belt. The garment shell is attached generally at front and back waist regions thereof to the waist belt, with the absorbent assembly generally disposed within the garment shell, whereby the front waist region of the garment shell is in opposed relationship with the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and the back waist region of the garment shell is in opposed relationship with the back waist region of the absorbent assembly.

Description

ABSORBENT GARMENT THAT HAS AN EXTERNAL COVER AND ADJUSTABLE ABSORBING SET IN THE SAME Background of the Invention Generally this invention relates to absorbent garments, and more particularly to such absorbent garments which have the appearance of conventional garments.

Personal garments and other items find widespread use as personal care products that include, but are not limited to, diapers, underpants for learning toilet use by children, adult incontinence garments, sanitary napkins and similar, as well as sponges and surgical bandages. The main purpose of such articles is to absorb and retain the body exudates released by a user and therefore avoid soiling the nurse's or the user's clothes. Certain absorbent articles are appropriately disposable as they are intended to be discarded after a limited period of use, for example, the articles are not intended to be washed or otherwise restored for re-use. Disposable absorbent articles typically comprise an absorbent body disposed between a liner, which makes contact with the wearer's skin, and an outer cover, which inhibits the waste liquid body absorbed by the absorbent body from leaking out of the article. The liner of the absorbent article is typically permeable to the liquid to allow the liquid body waste to pass therethrough for absorption by the absorbent body.

In particular absorbent articles, such as underpants for children's learning, several attempts have been made to make the articles more visually pleasing, such as by applying certain graphics or other characteristics and which make the article more like the conventional clothing, and more particularly as conventional undergarments. The underpants for learning represent an intermediate stage for a child between wearing diapers and wearing boxer shorts. By making the underpants for learning more like the undergarments or other clothes that an older sibling or parent wears, it is believed that the child who is ready to learn to use the toilet may be more obedient to using them. underpants for learning. Other absorbent-type briefs are worn by older children who still experience incontinence at night and by adults who experience periodic incontinence. These people are typically more sensitive about issues of discretion and therefore want some way to hide the fact that they are wearing absorbent underpants.

One drawback to simply improving the outer appearance of existing absorbent briefs is that the full underpants still have to be discarded after use. As a result, additional features which are added to induce the child to wear underpants or otherwise hide the absorbent appearance of underpants increase the costs of making and using underpants. Moreover, the clothes must still be worn over the absorbent underpants, which can be uncomfortable and result in a more or less voluminous appearance. Also, to inhibit the filtering of the exudates from the absorbent articles such as the underpants for training and other absorbent briefs, it is important that the article be generally comfortably adjusted against the. body of the user. For example, conventional training underpants are constructed to provide a generally elastic fit around the wearer's waist and around the wearer's legs to inhibit underpants filtering. However, many conventional garments that are worn around one's waist, such as shorts, skirts, skorts, boxer briefs, swimsuits and the like, all have a loose-fitting appearance, particularly around the user's legs.

Synthesis of the Invention In general, an absorbent garment according to an embodiment of the present invention for personal use around the wearer's waist comprises an absorbent assembly constructed to take and hold body exudates released by the wearer. The absorbent assembly has an inner surface adapted for the contiguous relationship with the wearer's body, an outer surface, a front waist region, a rear waist region, a crotch region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the waist region front and back waist region, one end for the front waist and one end for the rear waist. An absorbent cover is configured to encircle the user's waist and has a front waist region, a front waist end in the front waist region, and a rear waist region, and a rear waist end in the rear waist region . The absorbent assembly is generally disposed within the cover of the garment. A waistband is configured to be worn around the wearer's waist. The absorbent assembly is releasably connected generally in the front and rear waist regions thereof to the waist band. The garment cover is generally coupled in the front and back waist regions of the garment cover to the waist band so that the back waist region of the garment cover is in an opposite relationship with the region of the garment. The front waist of the absorbent assembly and the rear waist region of the garment cover that is in an opposite relationship with the rear waist region of the absorbent assembly.

An embodiment of a method of the present invention for placing an absorbent garment on the waist of a wearer generally comprises extending a waist band around the wearer's waist such that an overlying end portion of the belt overlaps an underlying portion of the belt. the band. The superimposed end portion of the band or belt is then releasably attached to the underlying part of the band to secure the band to the user's waist. An absorbent assembly, constructed to take, and retain bodily exudates released by the wearer, is releasably coupled to the belt or belt of the waist and has an outer surface and an inner surface adapted to the contiguous relationship with the wearer's body. The absorbent assembly further has a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the front waist region and the rear waist region, a front waist end in the region of front waist and one rear waist end in the rear waist region. A cover of the garment is attached to the waist band. The absorbent assembly is configured to be disposed within the garment cover. The cover of the garment has a front waist region generally adapted in an opposite relationship to the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and a rear waist region generally adapted to an opposite relationship with the rear waist region of the absorbent assembly.

Definitions Within the context of this specification, each term or phrase given below may include the following meanings or meanings.

"Coupled" refers to the joint, adhesion, connection, union, or the like, of two or more elements.

"Hydrophilic" describes fibers or fiber surfaces which are wetted by aqueous liquids in contact with the fibers. The degree of wetting of the materials can, in turn, be described in terms of the contact angles and the surface tensions of the liquids and the materials involved. Equipment and appropriate techniques for measuring the wettability of particular fiber materials or mixtures of fiber materials may be supplied by a Cahn SFA-222 Surface Force Analyzer System, or a substantially equivalent system. When measured with this system, fibers that have contact angles of less than 90 degrees are designated "wettable" or hydrophilic, and fibers that have contact angles greater than 90 degrees are designated "non-humidifying" or hydrophobic.

"Layer" when used in the singular may have the double meaning of a single element or a plurality of elements.

"Impervious to liquid", when used in describing a layer or multi-layered laminate means that liquid body waste, such as urine, can not pass through the layer or laminate, under ordinary conditions of use, into an address generally perpendicular to the plane of the layer or laminate at the point of liquid contact.

"Liquid permeable" refers to any material that is not impervious to liquid.

"Longitudinal", and "transverse" or "lateral", have their usual meaning, as indicated by the longitudinal and transverse axes described in Figure 4 and respectively designated 142 and 144. The longitudinal axis rests in the plane of the article and is generally parallel to a vertical plane that bisects a user standing in left and right body halves when the item is used. The unilateral transverse axis rests in the plane of the article generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

"Meltblown" refers to the fibers formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material through a plurality of capillary vessels, usually thin circular ones such as strands or filaments fused into hot (eg, air) streams of hot gas at high speed that They converge which attenuate the filaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameters. Then, the meltblown fibers are transported by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collection surface to form a randomly dispersed meltblown fabric. Such a process is described, for example, in United States of America Patent No. 3,849,241 issued to Butin et al. Melt-blown fibers are microfibers which can be continuous or discontinuous, are generally smaller than about 0.6 denier, and are generally self-supporting when deposited on a collection surface. The meltblown fibers used in the present invention are preferably and substantially continuous in length.

The term "microfibers" means small diameter fibers having an average diameter no greater than about 100 microns, for example, having a diameter of from about 0.5 microns to about 50 microns, more specifically microfibers may also have a average diameter from about 1 miera to about 20 micras. Microfibers having an average diameter of about 3 microns or less are commonly referred to as ultra-fine microfibers. A description of an example process for making ultra-fine microfibers can be found, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5,213,881, entitled "A Non Woven Fabric with Enhanced Barrier Properties".

"Non-woven" as used in reference to a material, fabric or fabric refers to such a material, the fabric or fabric having a structure of individual threads or fibers that are interlaced, but not in a regular or identifiable manner as in a woven knitted fabric. Fabrics, fabrics or non-woven materials have been formed from many processes such as, for example, meltblowing processes, spinning processes, air laying processes, and carded tissue processes. . The basis weight of nonwovens is usually expressed in ounces of material per square yard (osy) or grams per square meter (gsm) and fiber diameters are usually expressed in microns. (Note: to convert from ounces per square yard to grams per square meter, multiply ounces per square yard by 33.91).

"Operably linked", with reference to the attachment of an elastic member to another element, means that the elastic member when attached to or connected to the element, or treated with heat or chemicals, by stretching, by mechanical tensioning or the like, gives the elastic properties element; and with reference to the attachment of a non-elastic member to another element, it means that the member and the element can be engaged in any appropriate manner that allows or allows them to perform the intended or described function of the linker. The joint, coupling, connection or the like can be either direct, such as by joining the member directly to an element, or it can be indirect, such as by means of another member disposed between the member and the element.

"Restraining" refers to the property of two elements that are capable of and freely engage, detach and freely engage without substantial deformation or permanent rupture.

"Freely coupled", "freely engaged" and the variations thereof refer to two elements that are connected or connectable in such a way that the elements tend to remain connected absent a separation force applied to one or both of the elements, and the elements are capable of separation without substantial deformation or permanent rupture. The required separation force is typically beyond that found while the article is being used.

"Spunbond fibers", or "spunbond fibers", mean small diameter fibers that are typically formed by extruding molten thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of fine capillary vessels of a spinner member having a circular or another, with the diameter of the extruded filaments then being rapidly-reduced as by, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 4,340,563 issued to Appel et al., and in U.S. Patent No. 3,692,618 issued to Dorschner et al., In U.S. Patent No. 3,802,817 issued to Matsuki et al., In US Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394 issued to Kinney in the United States patent. of America No. 3,502,763 granted to Hartman, in the patent of the United States of America No. 3,502,538 granted to Petersen, and in the patent of the States United States No. 3,542,615 issued to Dobo and others, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety in a manner that is consistent with this document. Spunbonded fibers are submerged and generally non-tacky when they are deposited on a collection surface. Spunbonded fibers are generally continuous and often have higher average diameters of about 7 microns, and more particularly between about 10 and 30 microns. A substrate, layer or yarn-bound material comprised spun-bonded fibers (spun-bonded).

"United and stretched" refers to an elastic member that is joined with another member while the elastic member is extended by at least about 25% of its relaxed length. More appropriately, the term "attached and stretched" refers to the situation where the elastic member is extended by at least about 100%, and even more appropriately at least 300%, of its relaxed length when it is joined with another member.

"Stretched bonded laminate" refers to a composite material having at least two layers in which one layer is a layer that accumulates and the other layer is an elastic layer. The layers are bonded together when the elastic layer is in an extended condition so that as the layers relax, the layer that can be gathered is gathered.

"Thermoplastic" describes a material which softens when exposed to heat and which essentially returns to a non-softened condition when cooled to room temperature.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of an absorbent garment according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the absorbent garment of Figure 1 with a side seam of the absorbent garment shown in an unclamped condition, - Figure 3 is a side elevation of the absorbent garment of Figure 1 with a side seam of the absorbent garment shown in an unclamped condition; Figure 4 is a plan view of an absorbent assembly of the absorbent garment of Figure 1 with the absorbent assembly shown in an unclamped, stretched and laid flat condition, and showing the surface of the absorbent assembly facing the wearer of the absorbent garment, and with cut parts to show the underlying characteristics; Figure 4a is a flat view similar to that of Figure 4, but showing the surface of the absorbent facing away from the wearer of the absorbent garment; Figure 5 is a plan view similar to that of Figure 4a illustrating an alternate incorporation of an absorbent assembly; Figure 6 is a side elevation of a second embodiment of an absorbent garment incorporating the absorbent assembly of Figure 5, with a side seam of the absorbent garment shown in an unclamped condition and a pair of side panels of the absorbent assembly also shown in an unattached condition; Figure 7 is a front elevation of a third embodiment of an absorbent garment of the present invention; Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective of the absorbent garment of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a front elevation of a fourth embodiment of an absorbent garment of the present invention; . Figure 10 is a perspective of a fifth embodiment of an absorbent garment of the present invention, with a side seam of the absorbent garment shown in an unclamped condition; and Figure 11 is a perspective of a sixth embodiment of an absorbent garment of the present invention, with a side seam of the absorbent garment shown in an un-fastened condition.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts through the drawings.

Detailed description Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to Figures 1 and 2, an absorbent garment according to an embodiment of the present invention is indicated in its entirety by reference number 10. The absorbent garment 10 is configured to be worn. at the user's waist it generally has a front waist region, generally indicated with the number 12, a rear waist region, generally indicated with the number 14 and a crotch region, generally indicated with the number 15. The waist regions front and rear 12 and 14 have the respective lateral margins 16 and 18 which are coupled to one another along the side seams 19 of the garment to form a three-dimensional garment configuration during use and which have an opening for the waist, usually indicated with the number 20. As used here, the term "waist" is intended to refer to a region throughout of which two components are superimposed or otherwise in abutment with one another and may or may not be coupled one with the other.

As further described herein, the absorbent garment is appropriately configured to resemble conventional garments such as shorts, shorts (eg, boxer briefs, shorts for gymnastics, short running shorts, etc.), skirts, skorts (for example, a combination of skirt and a pair of shorts), and swimsuits and the like, while providing the functions of conventional absorbent articles, such as taking and retaining body exudates released by the user. The absorbent garment 10 comprises a garment cover, generally indicated with the number 22 and constructed to provide the desired semblance of the garment to the conventional garment, and an absorbent assembly, generally indicated at number 24, disposed within and releasably coupled to the garment. cover for garments and constructed to take and hold body exudates released by the user.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, the garment cover 22 comprises a front panel assembly, which is generally indicated by the number 26, having laterally opposite side margins 48 and a rear panel assembly, which is indicated with the number 28 in Figure 2, which has laterally opposite side margins 50.

In the illustrated incorporation, the side margins 48 of the front panel assembly 26 broadly define the front side margins 16 of the absorbent garment 10 and the side margins 50 of the rear panel assembly 28 broadly define the rear side margins 18 of the absorbent garment. As will be described in further detail later herein, the side margins 48 and 50 of the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 are superimposed and coupled with one another to broadly define the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment 10, and to define the three-dimensional configuration of the garment cover during use.

In its three-dimensional configuration as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the garment cover 22 has a front waist region 32 which at least in part define the front waist region 12 of the absorbent garment. , a rear waist region 34 which at least in part define the rear waist region 14 of the absorbent garment, and the front and rear waist ends designated 56 and 58, respectively, which together generally define an opening of the waist. 36 waist of the garment cover. In the illustrated configuration, the garment cover 22 is configured to resemble a pair of underpants and therefore further has a crotch region 38 extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the front waist region 32 and the rear waist region 34 of the garment cover. The crotch region 38 of the garment cover 22 partly defines the crotch region 15 of the absorbent garment 10, and also in part defines the openings for the legs 40 of the garment cover (broadly referred to herein as openings for the outer legs of the absorbent garment). However, it is understood that the crotch region 38 of the garment cover 22 can be omitted (such that the crotch region 15 of the absorbent garment is only defined by the absorbent assembly 24 as described hereinafter), such as where the garment cover is intended to resemble a skirt (in which case only an opening for the leg 40 of the garment cover that is provided to accommodate both legs of the wearer), without departing from the scope of this invention. .

The front panel assembly 26 of the garment cover 22 comprises a pair of panel members 42 which are permanently joined to one another, such as by ultrasonic bonding, thermal bonding, adhesive bonding, knitting another conventional coupling technique, along a central seam 44 extending longitudinally of the front waist region 32 to the crotch region 38 of the garment cover. The rear panel assembly 28 comprises a pair of panel members 46 configured permanently coupled to one another in a manner similar to the panel members 42 of the front panel assembly 26 along a central seam 47 (Figure 3) extending longitudinally from the rear waist region 34 to the crotch region 28 of the garment cover 22. It is understood, however, that each of the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 can be constructed from a single panel member (e.g., unit construction) without departing from the scope of this invention. Alternatively, the front and rear panel members 42 and 46 on one side of the garment cover 22 can be integrally formed in the crotch region 38 thereof so that no joining of the panel members is necessary in the openings for the legs. legs .

The panel members 42 and 46 of the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 can be constructed of any suitable material, more appropriately a material that generally provides a fabric-like texture. The panel members 42 and 46 are also appropriately constructed of a material which is relatively durable so that the garment cover 22 can be reused through multiple replacements of the absorbent assembly. It is also contemplated that the panel members 42 and 46 may, but need not be, constructed of an appropriate material to be washed to allow for the washing of the garment cover. As an example, the panel members 42 and 46 may be constructed of natural and / or synthetic supplies and may be constructed in any suitable manner including, but not limited to, nonwovens such as bonded, meltblown, bonded laminates , bonded bonded film, and bonded, bonded, hydroentangled, and needle punched weave; woven knitted fabrics such as stretched fabric, woolen fabric, spike knit fabric, elastic mesh fabric, raschel fabric; and woven fabrics such as velarte fabric, cross-woven fabric, calico, poplin, muslin, cambric, china, flannel, silk and wool. The panel members 42 and 46 are appropriately liquid permeable, although it is understood that the panel members may be liquid impervious without departing from the scope of this invention.

With particular reference to Figures 2 and 3, the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 can be freely coupled with one another in the respective side margins 48 and 50 of the panel assemblies. For example, in the illustrated embodiment a fastening component 52 is coupled to each lateral margin 48 of the front panel assembly 26 and is adapted to freely engage with a complementary fastener component 54 in each respective lateral margin 50 of the rear panel assembly 28 Although the garment cover 22 as illustrated in Fig. 2 has the side margins 50 of the rear panel assembly 28 which overlap the side margins 48 of the front panel assembly 26 with the engagement release, the garment cover instead of that may be configured so that the side margins of the front panel assembly overlap the lateral margins of the rear panel assembly for the releasable connection.

The fastening components 52 and 54 may comprise any releasable fasteners suitable for garments, such as adhesive fasteners, cohesive fasteners, mechanical fasteners, or the like. In particularly suitable embodiments, the fastening components 52 and 54 comprise mechanical fasteners provided by interlocked geometric shaped materials such as hooks, loops, bulbs, fungi, arrowheads, balls on rods, coupling components male and female, buckles, push buttons, or the like. For example, in the illustrated embodiment the fastening components 52 comprise the hook fasteners and the fastening components 54 comprise complementary curl fasteners arranged so that the hook fasteners are generally facing away from the wearer. Alternatively, the fastening components 52 may comprise curl clips and the fastening components 54 may comprise the complementary hook fasteners. One skilled in the art will recognize that the shape, density and composition of the polymer of the hooks and curls can be selected to obtain the desired level of engagement between the fastener components 52 and 54. A more aggressive hook material it may comprise a material with a greater average height of hooks and / or a higher percentage of directionally aligned hooks. It is also contemplated that the fastener components 52 and 54 may comprise similar interlaced surface fasteners, or adhesive and cohesive fasteners such as an adhesive fastener and an area or plaster material receiving the adhesive; or similar.

The curl fastener as used herein refers to a fabric a material, which includes a plurality of crimped members. The curl material can be formed of any suitable material, such as acrylic, polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester, and can be formed by methods such as warp knitting, stitching or needle piercing . The loop materials may also comprise any fibrous structure capable of entangling or catching hook materials, such as carding, spinning or other compounds or fabrics including elastomeric and non-elastomeric compounds. Suitable curl materials are available from Guilford Mills, Inc., Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America under the trade designation No. 36549. Other suitable curl material may comprise an unbonded woven pattern as described in co-assigned patent of the United States of America No. 5,858,515 issued on January 12, 1999 to Stokes et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.

The curl material may be coupled to a base, or reinforcing structure, and the composite is then coupled to the particular component of the absorbent garment., such as the front or back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22, or the curl material may be directly coupled to the absorbent garment component so that the component (eg, garment cover) serves as reinforcement for the curl material, or the curl material may be formed integrally with the component (eg, the garment cover), such as by constructing one or more layers or surfaces of the component to comprise a curl material.

The hook fastener as used herein refers to a fabric or material having a reinforcing base or structure and a plurality of hook members extending upwardly from at least one surface of the reinforcing structure. It should be understood that the term "hooks" as used with reference to the hook members is not a limit in the sense that the hook fastener engaging elements may comprise shapes such as hooks, "T's", "mushrooms" "or any other form as long as these are adapted to freely engage the fasteners of curls in order to provide a safe releasable coupling, but not destructive. It is understood that the coupling can be of a limited service life, for example, the gradual degradation of the coupling can occur with repeated hitches and disengages.

In contrast to the loop fasteners which suitably comprise a flexible fabric, the hook material can advantageously comprise a flexible material to minimize the intentional disengagement of the fastening components 52 and 54 as a result of the hook material becoming deformed and becoming damaged. catches on clothes or other items. The term "flexible" as used in reference to hook fasteners refers to an interlocking material having a predetermined shape and the property of the interlaced material to resume the predetermined shape after being hooked or unhooked from an interlacing material complementary, union.

The appropriate hook material can be molded or extruded from nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene or other suitable material. The single-sided hook materials suitable for fastening components 55 and 54 as well as other fastening components described later herein are available from commercial vendors such as Velero Industries BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands or affiliates thereof, identified as Sailboat HTH -829, which has a thickness of about 0.9 millimeters (35 mil) and HTH-851, which has a thickness of about 0.5 millimeters (20 mils); and the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota United States of America, which includes specific materials identified as CS-600. As with the curl fastener, it is understood that the hook material can be integrally formed with a component of the absorbent garment 10, such as the garment cover 22 in the instance of the fastening components 52 and 54, without departing from the scope of this invention.

The fastening components 54 and 52 are shown in Figures 2 and 3 as having a generally rectangular shape, although they may instead be square, round, oval, curved or other appropriate shapes. The fastening components 52 and 54 extend along the respective lateral margins 48 and 50 of the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 generally from the ends of the waist 56 and 58 of the panel assemblies to an intermediate position. of the ends of the waist and of the leg openings 40 of the garment cover so that the lateral margins of the absorbent garment 16 and 18 are freely coupled with one another along the upper segments of the side seams 19 As an example, the fastening components 52 and 54 appropriately extend from the ends for the front and rear waist 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 along the lateral margins 48 and 50 thereof in the range of around from 25% to about 50% of the length of the side margins (broadly, about 25 to about 50% of the length of the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment 10). However, it is understood that the fastener components 52 and 54 may be longer or shorter without departing from the scope of this invention. Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, only a portion of the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment are resonable.

The segment of the garment cover 22 along which the lateral margins 48 and 50 are not freely attached (eg, extending from the bottom of the fastening components 52 and 54 to the openings for the legs 40 of the cover of garment) are appropriately free from any form of restraint. In such embodiment, in the non-objectionable part of the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment 10 are referred to as being open and the lateral margins 16 and 18 thereof are referred to as being uncoupled. Alternatively, the side margins 48 and 50 of the front and rear assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 may be unattached (eg, fragile or permanently) to one another along the portion of the garments. lateral margins extending from the bottom of the fastening components to the leg openings 40, such as by adhesive, or by thermal or ultrasonic bonding, or by other appropriate coupling techniques.

It is also contemplated that the fastening components 52 and 54 may instead extend from the leg openings 40 of the garment cover partially upwards along the side margins 48 and 50 of the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 50. 28 (for example, so that only a lower segment of the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment can be held down). The side margins 48 and 50 extending from the top of the fastening components 52 and 54 at the waist ends 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 may be non-insurmountable (eg, brittle or permanently) attached one to the other. another in the manner previously described. In other embodiments, the fastening components 52 and 54 may extend to the full length of the side margins 48 and 50 of the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 32 (e.g., such that the seams laterals 19 of the absorbent garment 10 are resuable along their entire length). Also, even though the fastening components 52 and 54 are illustrated as being continuous along each respective lateral margin 48 and 50, it is understood that two or more fastening components may be attached to each respective lateral margin in a spaced apart relationship throughout. of the lateral margin without departing from the scope of this invention.

It is additionally contemplated that the lateral margins 48 and 50 of the garment cover 22 may in inverse form be permanently or fragile (eg, not resubstantially) attached to all or part of the full length thereof so that none of the parts of the margins are resubstantial. It is also understood that the garment cover 22 can be formed to omit the lateral margins 48 and 50 thereof, such as by integrally forming the respective front and rear panel members 42 and 46 on each side of the cover.

The amount of overlap between the lateral margins 48 and 50 of the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 in the side seams 19 of the garment cover 22 (broadly, the overlaps of the lateral margins 16 and 18 of the regions for the front and back waist 12 and 14 of the absorbent garment 10) is appropriately in the range of about 0.1 inch (2.5 millimeters (mm)) to about 6 inches (152.4 millimeters), and more appropriately in the range of about 0.5 (12.7 mm) inches up to about 3 inches (76.2 mm). It is contemplated that fastener components 52 and 54 in at least one of the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 may have a width corresponding to the overlap range to allow variable adjustment of the absorbent garment over a relatively wide range of user sizes.

The fastening components 52 and 54 are appropriately coupled to the respective front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 by mechanical attachment. As it is used hereThe mechanical bond refers to the non-adhesive bond, such as by the application of pressure, ultrasonic energy, heat, laser energy or any other appropriate form of energy which attaches the fastener components to the panel assemblies 26 and 28. Alternatively, or additionally, the fastening components 52 and 54 may be adhered, such as by adhesive or cohesive means, to the respective front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28. It is also contemplated that the fastening components 52 and 54 may be integrally formed with the respective front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 and remain within the scope of this invention.

In addition to the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 that are releasably attached to one another in the respective lateral margins 48 and 50 thereof, or as an alternative to the same, it is contemplated that the panel assemblies may be releasably joined with one another in the crotch region 38 of the garment cover to allow the garment cover to be unzipped in the crotch region and pulled up relative to the absorbent assembly 24 for inspection or otherwise replace the absorbent assembly. For example, the fastening components (not shown in Figures 2 to 4 indicated with numerals 60 and 62 in Figure 8) may be coupled to the front and rear panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 generally in the crotch region 38 thereof to allow releasable engagement of the panel assemblies in the crotch region.

To further improve the appearance of the absorbent garment 10 as well as the adjustment of the absorbent garment at the wearer's waist, the elastic members 64 (e.g., the waist band elastics) are operatively joined in the front panel assemblies and rear 26 and 28 generally at the respective ends at waist 56 and 58 thereof. For example, as best seen in Figures 2 and 3, two elastic members 64 are operatively attached at the end for the front waist 56 of the garment cover 22 on laterally opposite sides of the absorbent assembly 24. Two or more elastic members 64 they are operatively attached at the end for the rear waist 58, also on laterally opposite sides of the absorbent assembly 24. The elastic members 64 may be operatively attached to the garment cover 22 while in a stretched condition so that at the retraction of the members elastics accumulate the garment cover at the ends for the front and back waist 56 and 58 to provide a pent-up appearance and to additionally provide an elastic fit of the absorbent garment at the wearer's waist. Alternatively, a single elastic member (not shown) that can be attached at each end to the waist 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 and extend laterally across all or only a part of the width of the respective end of the sleeve is contemplated. the waist without departing from the scope of this invention.

With further reference to Figures 2 to 6, the absorbent assembly 24 comprises a front waist region 122, a rear waist region 124, a crotch region 126 interconnecting the front and rear waist regions, an interior surface 128 configured for a continuous relationship with the user, and an outer surface 130 opposite the inner surface. The front waist region 122 comprises the part of the absorbent assembly which, when the absorbent garment 10 is worn, is positioned on the face facing the user while the rear waist region 124 comprises the part of the absorbent assembly which is placed on the back of the user. The crotch region 126 of the absorbent assembly 24 comprises the part of the assembly which is positioned between the user's legs and covers the lower torso of the wearer. With further reference to Figure 4, the absorbent assembly 24 also has laterally opposite side edges 136 and longitudinally opposite waist ends, respectively designated here as ends for the front waist 138 and for the rear waist 140.

Absorbent assembly 24 is appropriately "disposable", which as used herein refers to articles that are intended to be discarded after a limited period of use instead of being washed or otherwise restored for re-use. However, it is contemplated that the absorbent assembly may be returned to use and remain within the scope of this invention. By way of illustration only, various materials and methods for constructing the absorbent assembly 24 are described in PCT patent application WO 00/37009 published June 29, 2000 by A. Fletcher et al.; in U.S. Patent No. 4,940,464 issued July 10, 1990 to Van Gompel et al .; and in U.S. Patent No. 5,766,389 issued June 16, 1998 to Brandon et al., which are incorporated herein by reference.

The absorbent assembly 24 is illustrated in the disengaged figures 4 and 4a of the garment cover 22 and in a laid-flat configuration. The absorbent assembly 24 is appropriately rectangular in shape and has a longitudinal axis 142 and a lateral or transverse axis 144. It is understood that the absorbent assembly 24 may be otherwise rectangular, such as in the form of an hourglass, in T-shaped, I-shaped or other appropriate form and without departing from the scope of this invention. The absorbent assembly 24 comprises an outer cover 146 (FIG. 3), and a body-side liner 148 (FIG. 4) in superposed relation with the outer cover, an absorbent body 150 disposed between the outer cover of the body-side liner, and a pair of laterally spaced containment fins 152 configured to inhibit the transverse flow of body exudates in the liner to the lateral edges 136 of the absorbent assembly.

The outer cover 146 of the absorbent assembly 24 appropriately comprises a material which is substantially impermeable to liquid, and may be stretchable or non-stretchable. As used herein, the term "stretchable" refers to a material that may be extensible or elastic. That is, the material may be extended, deformed or the like, without breaking, and may or may not significantly retract after the removal of a spreading force. As used herein, the term "elastic" refers to that property of a material wherein with the removal of an elongation force, the material is capable of recovering to substantially its shape and size without stretching or the material exhibits a significant force retractable The term "extensible" refers to that property of a material wherein with the removal of an elongation force, the material undergoes a substantially permanent deformation or the material exhibits no significant retractable force.

More suitably, the outer cover 146 comprises a multilayer laminated structure in which at least one of the layers is impermeable to the liquid. For example, the outer shell 146 may include a liquid permeable outer layer 154 and an inner liquid impermeable layer 256 (Figure 4) which are suitably joined by a laminated adhesive, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds, or the like. Suitable laminated adhesives, which may be applied continuously or intermittently as beads, a spray, parallel swirls, or the like, may be obtained from Findley Adhesives, Inc., of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States of America, or of National Starch and Chemical Company, Bridgewater, New Jersey United States of America. The liquid permeable outer layer 154 may be of any suitable material and desirably one that provides a texture generally similar to the fabric. An example of such material is a non-woven polypropylene fabric bonded with yarn of 20 gsm (grams per square meter). The outer layer 154 can also be made of those materials described hereinafter, of which the liquid-permeable body side liner 148 is made.

The inner layer 156 of the outer cover 146 may be both liquid and vapor impermeable, or may be impermeable to the liquid and permeable to vapor. The inner layer 156 can be made of a thin plastic film, although other flexible liquid impervious materials can also be used. The inner layer impervious to liquid 156 prevents the waste material from wetting the articles, such as the sheets for the bed and clothes, as well as the user and the caregiver. A liquid impervious film suitable for use as an inner liquid impermeable layer 156 of the outer shell 146 is a 0.02 mm polyethylene film commercially available from Pliant Corporation of Schaumburg, Illinois, United States of America.

Alternatively, the outer cover 146 may comprise a single layer of liquid impervious material. As mentioned above, the liquid impermeable material can allow the vapors to escape from the interior of the disposable absorbent article, while still preventing liquids from passing through the outer cover 146. For example, the outer cover 146 can be constructed from a microporous polymer film or nonwoven fabric that has been covered or otherwise treated to impart a desired level of liquid impermeability. One such microporous film is a PMP-1 film material commercially available from Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc., of Tokyo, Japan, or a polyolefin film XKO-8044 commercially available from 3M Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America. The single layer outer cover 146 may also be etched and / or mat finished to provide a more fabric-like appearance.

The liquid-permeable body side liner 148 is illustrated as being superimposed on the outer cover 146 and the absorbent body 150, and may not need to have the same dimensions as those of the outer cover 146. The body side liner 148 is desirably docile, soft feeling, and non-irritating to the child's skin. In addition, the body-side liner 148 may be less hydrophilic than the absorbent body 150, to present a relatively dry surface to the user and to allow the liquid to easily penetrate through the liner. Alternatively, the side-to-body liner 148 may be more hydrophilic or may have essentially the same affinity for moisture as the absorbent body 150 to present a relatively wet surface to the user to increase the feeling of being wet. This wet feeling can be useful as a training aid. The hydrophilic / hydrophobic properties can be varied through the length, width and depth of the side-to-body liner 148 and of the absorbent body 150 to achieve the desired moisture sensation or filtration performance.

The body-side liner 148 can be manufactured from a wide selection of woven materials, such as synthetic fibers (e.g., polyester or polypropylene fibers), natural fibers (e.g., wood or cotton fibers). ), a combination of natural and synthetic fibers, porous foams, reticulated foams, open plastic films, or the like. Various woven and non-woven fabrics can be used for the body side liner 148. For example, the body side liner 148 can be composed of a meltblown fabric or bonded with polyolefin fiber yarn. The body side forum may also be a bonded-carded fabric composed of natural and / or synthetic fibers. The body side liner 148 may be composed of a substantially hydrophobic material, and the hydrophobic material may, optionally, be treated with a surfactant and / or otherwise processed to impart a desired level of wettability and hydrophilicity. For example, the material can be treated on the surface with about 0.45% by weight of a surfactant mixture comprising Ahcovel N-62 from Hodgson Textile Chemicals of Mount Holly, North Carolina, United States of America and Glucopan 220UP from Henkel Ambler Corporation, Pennsylvania in an active ratio of 3: 1. The surfactant can be applied by any conventional means, such as spraying, printing, brushing or the like. The surfactant may be applied to the entire side-to-body liner 148 or may be selectively applied to particular sections of the side-to-body liner, such as the mid-section along the longitudinal center line.

An example of a suitable liquid-permeable body side liner 148 is a non-woven bicomponent fabric having a basis weight of about 27 gsm. The non-woven bicomponent fabric can be a bicomponent fabric bonded by spinning, or a bicomponent fabric carded and attached. Suitable bicomponent fibers include a polyethylene / polypropylene bicomponent fiber available from CHISSO Corporation, of Osaka, Japan. In this particular bicomponent fiber, polypropylenes form the core and polyethylene forms the fiber sheath. Other fiber orientations are possible, such as multiple lobes, side-by-side, end-to-end, or the like.

The absorbent body 150 (Figure 4) is positioned between the outer cover 146 and the side-to-body liner 148, which may be joined together by any suitable means such as adhesives, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds, or the like. The absorbent body 150 can be any structure which is generally compressible, conformable, non-irritating to the child's skin, and capable of absorbing and retaining liquids and certain body wastes, and can be manufactured in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, and a wide variety of liquid absorbent materials commonly used in the art. For example, the absorbent body 150 may suitably comprise a binder of hydrophilic fibers, such as a cellulosic fluff, mixed with particles of a high-absorbency material commonly known as super absorbent material. In a particular embodiment, the absorbent body 150 comprises a cellulose fluff binder, such as wood pulp fluff, and super absorbent hydrogel forming particles. The wood pulp fluff can be exchanged with a meltblown, polymeric, synthetic or synthetic fibers of short homophilic bicomponents and natural fibers. The super absorbent particles can be substantially and homogeneously mixed with the hydrophilic fibers or they can be mixed non-uniformly. The lint and the super absorbent particles can also be selectively placed in desired areas of the absorbent body 150 to better contain and absorb body exudates. The concentration of the super absorbent particles may also vary through the thickness of the absorbent body 150. Alternatively, the absorbent body 150 may comprise a laminate of fibrous fabrics and super absorbent material, a foam or other appropriate weave construction.

The appropriate superabsorbent materials can be selected from modified natural and synthetic, natural materials and polymers. Super absorbent materials can be inorganic materials, such as silica gels, with organic compounds, such as entangled polymers, for example, neutralized sodium polyacrylic acid. Suitable super absorbent materials are available from various commercial vendors, such as the Dow Chemical Company located in Midland, Michigan, United States of America, and Stockhausen GmbH & Co. KG, D-47805 Krefeld, Federal Republic of Germany. Typically, a super absorbent material is capable of absorbing at least about 10 times its weight in water, and is suitably capable of absorbing more than about 25 times its weight in water.

In one embodiment, the absorbent body 150 comprises a mixture of wood pulp fluff and super absorbent material. An appropriate type of pulp is identified with the brand designation CR1654, available from U.S. Alliance, of Childersburg, Alabama, United States of America, and is a highly absorbent, bleached sulphate wood pulp containing mainly softwood fibers and around 16% hardwood fibers. In general, the super absorbent material is present in the absorbent body 150 in an amount of from 0 to about 90% by weight based on the total weight of the absorbent assembly. The absorbent body 150 may or may not be wrapped or encased in an appropriate tissue wrap that helps maintain the integrity and / or shape of the absorbent assembly during use.

The containment fins 152 are located generally adjacent the lateral edges 136 of the absorbent assembly 24, and may extend longitudinally along the entire length of the absorbent assembly 24 as shown in Figure 4 or only partially along the length of the absorbent assembly 24. the length of the absorbent assembly. The elastic fin members 153 (FIG. 4) are operatively connected with the containment fins 152 in an appropriate manner as is well known in the art., such as by adhering the elastic members to the fins while the elastic members are in a stretched condition so that the fins are propelled by the elastic members to a longitudinally accumulated configuration. The elasticized containment fins 152 also define a distal edge partially not clamped (e.g., not attached to the liner 148) which assumes an upstanding configuration in which at least the crotch region 126 of the absorbent assembly 24 during use to form a seal (for example, an elastic fit) against the user's body. The constructions and appropriate arrangements for the containment fins 152 are generally well known to those skilled in the art and are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,704,116 issued November 3, 1987 to Enloe, which it is incorporated here by reference. It is understood, however, that containment fins 152 may be omitted without departing from the scope of this invention.

To further improve the fit of the absorbent garment 10 on the wearer and to further inhibit the filtering of the body exudates, the absorbent assembly may also have elastic waist members 158 (Figures 2 and 4) and the elastic leg members 160 (figure 4), as they are known by those with skill in the art. The elastic waist members 158 can be operatively attached to the absorbent assembly 24 at the ends for the waist 138 and 140, such as by engaging the elastic members to the outer cover 146 and / or the side-to-body liner 148 while the members elastics are in a stretched condition, so that upon retraction of the elastic members they accumulate the absorbent assembly at the ends for the waist to provide an elastic fit against the wearer's waist. In the illustrated embodiment the elastic members 158 which are operatively attached to the absorbent assembly 24, and the elastic members 64 which are operatively attached to the garment cover 22 on the laterally opposite sides of the absorbent assembly, together provide an elastic adjustment of the absorbent garment 10 against substantially the entire waist of the wearer. The elastic members 158 are shown in Figure 4 as extending only partially through the ends for the front and rear waist 138 and 140 respectively of the absorbent assembly 24, it being understood, however, that the elastic members 158 may be extending laterally through the full width of the absorbent assembly 24 at one or both ends for the waist 138 and 140 without departing from the scope of this invention.

The elastic leg members 160 may be operatively attached to the outer cover 146 and / or the body side liner 148 and extend longitudinally adjacent the opposite side edges 136 generally through the crotch region 126 of the absorbent assembly 24. Each elastic leg member 160 has a front end point 162 and a rear end point 164, which represent the longitudinal ends of the elastic build-up caused by the leg elastic members.

The elastic fin members 153, the elastic waist members 158 (as well as the elastic members 64 operatively joined with the garment cover 22), and the elastic leg members 160 can be formed of any suitable elastic material. As is well known to those skilled in the art, suitable elastic materials include sheets, strips or strips of natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or thermoplastic elastomeric polymers. Elastic materials can be stretched and adhered to a substrate, adhered to a substrate that accumulates, or adhered to a substrate and then stretched or shrunk, for example with the application of heat, such that the elastic retraction forces are imparted to the substrate.

The absorbent assembly 24 may also incorporate other materials or components designed primarily to receive, temporarily store, and / or transport liquids along the surface mutually facing the absorbent body 150, thereby maximizing the absorbent capacity of the absorbent assembly. . For example, an appropriate additional component is commonly referred to as an emergence layer (not shown). The emergence layers are generally well known in the art as they are constructed to quickly collect and temporarily store liquid surges, and to transport and temporarily hold the liquid in the absorbent body 150.

Several woven and non-woven fabrics can be used to build the emergence layer. For example, the emergence layer may be a layer made of a weave blown or bonded with spinning synthetic fibers, such as polyolefin fibers. The emergence layer can also be a bonded and knitted fabric, a fabric laid with air composed of natural and synthetic fibers. The carded and bonded fabric may, for example, be a thermally bonded fabric that is bonded using lower melting binder fibers, powder or adhesive. The fabrics may optionally include a mixture of different fibers. The emergence layer may be composed of a substantially hydrophobic material, and the hydrophobic material may optionally be treated with a surfactant or otherwise processed to impart a desired level of wettability and hydrophilicity.

Examples of suitable materials for the emergence layer are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,486,166 issued January 23, 1996 by C. Ellis et al. And entitled "FIBROSA FABRIC NON-WOVEN FABRIC EMERGEMENT LAYER FOR ARTICLES. ABSORBENTS FOR PERSONAL CARE AND SIMILAR "; in U.S. Patent No. 5,490,846 issued February 13, 1996, issued in the name of Ellis et al. and entitled "FIBROUS NON-WOVEN FABRIC FOR ADMINISTRATION OF IMPROVED EMERGENCY FOR ABSORBENT ARTICLES FOR PERSONAL CARE AND THE LIKE"; and in. U.S. Patent No. 5,364,382 issued November 15, 1994 in the name of Latimer et al entitled "Absorbing structure having improved fluid emergence administration and the product incorporating it", the description of which they are here incorporated by reference in a manner consistent with this document.

With particular reference to Figures 2 -4a, the absorbent assembly 24 is freely attached to the garment cover 22 to allow decoupling and replacement of the absorbent assembly (or uncoupling and washing thereof where the absorbent assembly is not disposable) without having to discard, wash or otherwise replace the garment cover 22 with a new garment cover. More appropriately, the ends for the front and rear waist 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24 are freely coupled to the garment cover 22 generally at the ends for the front and rear waist 56 and 58 thereof, respectively. For example, the fastening components 66 are coupled to the outer cover 146 of the absorbent assembly 24 generally at the end for the front waist 138 thereof in a relationship laterally spaced from one another. The corresponding laterally separated complementary fastener components 68 are coupled to the inner surface of the garment cover 22 at the end for the front waist 56 thereof for releasable engagement of the fastening components 66 at the end for the front waist 138 of the assembly absorbent 24. Additional fastener components 66 may be coupled to outer cover 146 of absorbent assembly 24 generally at the rear waist end 140 thereof with corresponding fastening components 68 being coupled to the inner surface of the rear waist end 58 of the garment cover 22 to be releasably fastened to the fastening components 66 at the end for the rear waist of the absorbent assembly.

The fastening components 66 and 68 may comprise any resilient fasteners suitable for garments as previously described herein, such as adhesive fasteners, cohesive fasteners, mechanical fasteners, or the like. In particularly suitable embodiments, the fastening components 66 and 68 comprise mechanical fastening elements provided by interlocked geometric-shaped materials such as hooks, loops, bulbs, fungi, arrowheads, balls on rods, male coupling components. and female, buckles, push buttons, or the like. For example, in the illustrated embodiment the fastener components 66 attached to the ends for the front and rear waist 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24 comprise hook fasteners and the fastening components 68 attached to the ends for the front and rear waist 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 comprise complementary curl clips.

Alternatively, the fastening components 66 may comprise curl clips and the fastening components 68 may comprise complementary hook fasteners. In another embodiment, fastener components 66 and 68 may comprise similar interlaced surface fasteners, or adhesive and cohesive fastener elements such as an adhesive fastener and a material or plaster receiving area of adhesive, or the like. One skilled in the art will recognize that the shape, density and polymer composition of the hooks and loops can be selected to obtain the desired level of engagement between the fastener components 66 and 68, the most aggressive hook material. it may comprise a material with a hook height greater than average and / or a higher percentage of directionally aligned hooks.

The fastening components 68 are illustrated as being rectangular in shape, although it is understood that the fastening components may be square, circular, curved or otherwise appropriate. The fastener components 66 and 68 appropriately each have a width (e.g., determined parallel to the longitudinal axis of the garment 10 in the illustrated embodiment) in the range of about 3 millimeters to about 50 millimeters, and a length (for example, determined and parallel to the transverse axis of the garment 10 in the illustrated embodiment) in the range of about 20 millimeters to about 175 millimeters. However, it is contemplated that fastener components 66 and 68 may be larger or smaller in width and / or length without departing from the scope of this invention. It is also contemplated that the single fastener components 66 may be coupled to the absorbent assembly 24 at the respective ends for the front and rear waist 138 and 140. In such an embodiment, the single fastener components 66 may appropriately be positioned centrally and laterally in the absorbent assembly. 24 at the respective waist ends 138 and 140 thereof and may extend partially or completely through the full width of the absorbent assembly at the waist ends.

The fastening components 66 of the illustrated embodiment may be coupled to the front and rear waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24 by adhesive, thermal bonding or ultrasonic bonding, or by other appropriate coupling technique. The fastening components 68 may be coupled to the front and rear waist ends 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 by any of these coupling techniques equally, and may be coupled using the same coupling technique used to attach the fastening components. at the ends for the front and rear waist 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24, or by a different coupling technique. It is also contemplated that the fastener components 66 may be attached to the front and rear waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24 by being integrally formed therein. In the same way, the fastening components 68 can be integrally formed with the respective ends for the front and rear waist 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22.

With the absorbent assembly 24 releasably attached to the garment cover 22, the elasticated side edges 136 of the absorbent assembly generally define laterally opposed elastic leg openings 170 of the absorbent assembly (broadly, the interior leg openings of the absorbent garment 10) wherein the absorbent assembly provides an elastic fit against at least part of the user's legs. The waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly 24 together with the waist ends 56 and 58 of the garment cover 22 together broadly define the waist opening 20 of the absorbent garment 10. The openings for the legs 40 of the garment cover 22 broadly defines the outer leg openings of the absorbent garment 10, separate (eg discrete) from the leg openings of the absorbent assembly 170, wherein the absorbent garment generally hangs loose around the legs of the garment. user.

Although not shown in the drawings, it is contemplated that the absorbent assembly 24 may additionally be freely attached to the garment cover 22 other than the waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly and remain within the scope of this invention. For example, the absorbent assembly 24 may be secured to the garment cover longitudinally in the middle of the waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly, for example, and more appropriately within the crotch region 126 of the absorbent assembly.

In an alternate incorporation of the absorbent assembly 24 as shown in Figure 5, as well as in a second embodiment of an absorbent garment 10 (shown in Figure 6 and described below), the absorbent assembly 24 may be an absorbent style assembly. brief such as children's underpants, swim shorts, or adult incontinence products which are configured to be worn around the user's full waist. That is, the absorbent assembly 24 can be worn on the user's waist without being fastened to the garment cover 22. More particularly, in addition to the components illustrated in Figure 4 and previously described herein, the absorbent assembly 24 illustrated in the figures 5 and 6 further comprises the front and rear side panels, designated 182 and 182, respectively, placed generally on each side of the absorbent assembly 24 in the respective front and rear waist regions 122 and 124 of the absorbent assembly and extending transversely outwardly. of the same. The side panels 180 and 182 can be attached to the body side liner 148 and / or to the outer cover 146 of the absorbent assembly 124 by adhesive, or by thermal or ultrasonic bonding, or by any suitable fastening techniques known to those skilled in the art. art. Alternatively, the side panels 180 and 182 can be formed as an integral part of an absorbent assembly component 24. For example, the side panels 180 and 182 can comprise a generally wider part of the outer cover 146, of the side lining body 148 and / or the other component of the absorbent assembly 24.

The front and rear side panels 180, 182 have the respective outer edges 182 having the respective outer edges 184 which broadly define the lateral edges of the absorbent assembly 24 in the front and rear waist regions 122 and 124 thereof. The side panels 180 and 182 also have the respective leg end edges 186 positioned towards the longitudinal center of the absorbent assembly 24 and the respective waist end edges 188 which further define the respective front or rear waist end 138, 140 of the absorbent assembly 24. The leg end edges 186 of the rear side panels 182 are illustrated as being arcuate and / or angled with respect to the transverse axis 144 to provide a better notch of the absorbent assembly 24 around the wearer's legs. However, it is understood that the leg end edges 186 of the front side panels 180 may additionally, or alternatively, be arched or angled, or none of the leg end edges may be arched or angled, without depart from the scope of this invention.

The side panels 180 and 182 suitably comprise a stretchable material, and more suitably an elastic material, capable of stretching in a direction generally parallel to the transverse axis 144 of the absorbent assembly 24. Suitable elastic materials, as well as a process for incorporating the side panels elastics in brief style absorbent assemblies are described in the following patents of the United States of America numbers: 4,940,464 granted on July 10, 1990 to Van Gompel et al .; 5,224,405 granted on July 6, 1993 to Pohola; and 5,104,116 issued on April 14, 1992 to Pohola; and 5,046,272 issued on September 10, 1991 to Voge et al .; all of which are incorporated here by reference. In the particular embodiments, the elastic material may comprise a stretch-thermal laminate (STL), a narrow-bonded laminate (NBL), a reversibly tapered laminate or a laminated and bonded laminate (SBL). Methods for making such materials are well known to those skilled in the art and are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,663,220 issued May 5, 1987 to Wisnesky et al.; 5,226,992 issued on July 13, 1993 to Morman; European Patent Application EP 0 217 032 published April 8, 1967 in the name of Taylor et al .; and PCT application WO 01/86245 in the name of Wells et al .; all of which are incorporated here by reference. Alternatively, the side panel material may comprise other woven or nonwoven materials such as those described above as being suitable for the outer shell 146 or the side-to-body liner 148; the mechanically pre-stressed compounds; stretchable but inelastic (eg extendable) materials'; or non-stretchable materials.

Still referring to Figures 5 and 6, the absorbent assembly 24 of this embodiment further comprises the first laterally spaced fastening components 192 fastened to the front side panels 180 generally on the outer edges 184 thereof and the second complementary fastening components 194 attached to the rear side panels 182 generally on the outer edges thereof and adapted for a restractable engagement with the first fastening components to releasably fasten the side panels together to thereby define a three-dimensional configuration of the absorbent assembly, which can be used around of the user's waist. The fastening components 192 and 194 may comprise any of the resastenable fasteners previously described herein as being suitable for absorbent garments, such as adhesive fasteners, cohesive fasteners, mechanical fasteners or the like. In the particular embodiments, the fastening components 192 and 194 comprise the mechanical fasteners for improved performance. Suitable mechanical fasteners can be provided by geometric interlocking shaped materials, such as hooks, curls, bulbs, mushrooms, arrowheads, balls on rods, female and male matching components, buckles, clasps or the like.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first fastening components 192 comprise the hook fasteners and the second fastening components 194 comprise the complementary crimping fasteners. Alternatively, the first fastening components 192 may comprise the loop fasteners and the second fastening components 194 may comprise the complementary hook fasteners. In another embodiment, the fastening components 192 and 194 may comprise similar interlocking surface fasteners, or adhesive or cohesive fasteners, such as an adhesive fastener and an adhesive receiving material or location; or similar. It is also contemplated that the side panels 180 and 182 of the absorbent assembly may instead be fastened together non-removably (e.g. permanently or tangibly), such as by adhesive, by thermal bonding or ultrasonic bonding, or by any other fastening technique suitable and remain within the scope of this invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, the rear side panels 182 overlap the front side panels 180 with the releasable fastening of the side panels. However, it is understood that the front side panels 180 can instead overlap the rear side panels 182 without departing from the scope of this invention. The side panels 180 and 182 are otherwise not fastened to the garment cover 22 so that with the assembly of the absorbent garment 10, the side panels are fastened to one another and then to the side margins 48 and 50 of the sets. of front and back panels 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 are reparably fastened to one another.

As shown in Figure 6, with the side panels 180 and 182 attached to each other to define the three-dimensional configuration of the absorbent assembly 24, the front and rear waist ends 138 and 140 of the absorbent assembly together define a waist opening 196 of the absorbent assembly separated from the waist opening 36 of the garment cover 22. In such embodiment, the waist opening 196 of the absorbent assembly 24 broadly defines the waist opening 20 of the absorbent garment 10. The lateral edges 136 of the absorbent assembly 24 , including the leg end edges 186 of the side panels 180 and 182, define the elastic leg openings 170 (broadly, the inner leg openings of the absorbent garment 10) of the absorbent assembly 24 around which the absorbent assembly provides a elastic fit against the user's legs. The attached side margins 48 and 50 of the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 broadly define the lateral margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 which are releasably fastened along all or part of the garment. the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment. As in the incorporation of figure 3, the leg openings 40 of the garment cover 22 shown in Figure 6 broadly define outer leg openings of the absorbent garment 10 spaced apart (eg discrete) from the leg openings 170 of the absorbent assembly wherein the absorbent garment hangs usually loose around the user's legs.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, an absorbent garment 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises a garment cover, generally indicated with numeral 222, an absorbent assembly, generally indicated with the number 224 placed inside the cover of garment, and a waistband, generally indicated with the number 274 and configured to extend around the wearer's waist to provide a suitable notch of the absorbent garment on the wearer's waist. The waistband 274 is suitably stretchable, and more suitably elastic. For example, the waistband 274 is suitably stretchable at a length in the range of about 120% to about 200% of the undrawn length.

The waistband 274 is suitably constructed of elastomeric materials and includes, but is not limited to, the elastic threads, elastic films, elastic non-woven fabrics, elastomeric fibrous fabrics blown with melt joined with spinning. Examples of suitable elastomeric materials include elastomeric polyurethanes, Tinne® (available from BF Wooldrich &Company of AtoChem located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), the elastomeric polymer HYTREL® (available from EI DuPont de Nemours located in Wilmington, Delaware), the elastomer KRATON® (available from Kraton, Inc. of Houston, Texas), the elastomer yarns of LYCRA® (available from EI DuPont de Nemours located in Wilmington, Delaware) or the like, as well as combinations thereof. Suitable elastomeric materials can be woven, woven or otherwise combined with natural fibers or synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon or polyolefins.

Alternatively, the waistband 274 may be constructed of an extensible material or may be constructed of a non-stretchable material, without departing from the scope of this invention. The waistband 274 suitably has a width of at least about 6 millimeters and more suitably in the range of 20 millimeters about 80 millimeters. As an example, the waist band 274 shown in Figures 7 and 8 has a width of approximately 38 millimeters.

In the illustrated embodiment, the waistband 274 is suitably dimensioned in length, to define an overlap end portion 276 as it extends around the wearer's waist so that the end portion overlaps an underlying part (e.g. extends around the user's waist) of the band. The fastening components 278 may be attached to the overlapping end portion 276 of the waistband 274 for use in releasably securing the overlapping end portion of the strap to the underlying portion to secure the band over the wearer's waist. For example, the waist band 274 shown in Figure 8 has a pair of fastening components 278, such as the hook fasteners spaced longitudinally from one another generally in an overlapping end portion 276 of the band. The hook fasteners may be attached to the waist band 274 by adhesive, or by means of thermal or ultrasonic bonding or by any other suitable fastening technique.

The waistband material 274 may also comprise a material of crimps suitable for releasable fastening of the hook fasteners thereto. It is understood that more than 2 fastening components 278 can be fastened to the overlapping end portion 276 of the waistband 274, or that a single fastening component can be secured to the waistband and can extend longitudinally along the length of the belt. all or part of the overlapping end portion of the waistband. It is also understood that instead of the waistband material 274 which provides a suitable curl material, one or more complementary fastening components (not shown) can be fastened to the underlying part of the waistband and adapted to releasably fasten to the waistband. fastening components 278 on the overlapping end portion 276 of the waistband. In such incorporation, the fastening components attached to the waist band 274 may comprise any of the fastening components previously described herein as being suitable for the absorbent garments. It is further contemplated that the overlapping end portion 276 of the waistband 274 may be permanently fastened to the underlying portion of the web without departing from the scope of this invention.

The garment cover 222 is essentially similar to the garment cover 22 of Figures 1-3 in the sense that it comprises the front and back panel assemblies, generally indicated by the numerals 226 and 228, respectively, attached to one another. in the respective side margins 248 and 250 to form the three-dimensional configuration of the garment cover. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, the side margins 248 and 250 of the front and back panel assemblies 226 and 228 are permanently attached to each other generally from the rear waist ends 256 and 258 of the garment cover 222 down in an intermediate position between the waist ends and the leg openings 240 of the garment cover (for example around the middle between the waist ends and the leg openings in the illustrated embodiment). The side margins 248 and 250 of the front and rear panel assemblies 226 and 228 are otherwise releasably attached in a manner suitable to one another, for example, from the bottom of the permanent fastener downwards are the leg openings 240 of the garment cover 222 by means of suitable fastening components 252 and 254 which are similar in construction to the fastening components 52 and 54 of Figure 2. Therefore, it is understood that the side seams 19 of the absorbent garment 10 of this embodiment is releasably fastened along only a lower part of the side seams.

Alternatively, the front and back panel assemblies 226 and 228 of the garment cover 222 can be fastened in essentially the same manner as those shown in Figure 2 and previously described herein. It is understood that the front and rear panel assemblies 226 and 228 can instead be permanently fastened to each other along the entire length of the side margins 248 and 250 or these can be releasably attached to each other throughout of the full length of the lateral margins. It is also contemplated that the front and back panel assemblies 226 and 228 of the garment cover 222 may be permanently or releasably fastened to one another along only a part of the length of the lateral margins 248 and 250 and be of another free from clamping along the remaining part or portions of the lateral margins without departing from the scope of this invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the front and rear panel assemblies 226 and 228 are releasably attached to one another in a crotch region 238 of the garment shell 222 by the appropriate fastening components 60 and 62. However, it is understood that the front and back panel assemblies 226 and 228 of the garment cover 222 may be permanently fastened to each other in the crotch region 238, or that the crotch region of the garment cover may be omitted altogether (such as when the garment cover is intended to resemble a skirt).

The absorbent assembly 224 of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 is essentially the same as the absorbent assembly 24 of the embodiment of Figures I-4a. Alternatively, the absorbent assembly 224 may be constructed in essentially the same manner as the absorbent assembly 24 of the embodiment of Figures 5 and 6.

As best seen in Figure 8, the absorbent assembly 224 can be releasably attached to an interior surface of the waistband 274 by the fastening components 370 attached to the outer surface of the front and rear waist ends 338 and 340 of the The absorbent assembly is such that the absorbent assembly is generally placed between the waistband and the wearer of the absorbent garment 10 during use. As an example, in the illustrated embodiment, fastening components 370 attached to the front waist ends and rear 338 and 340 the absorbent assembly 224 are the hook fasteners. The waistband material 274 provides a curl material suitable for releasable fastening to the hook fasteners 370 of the absorbent assembly 224. Even when two laterally spaced fastening components 370 (for example the hook fasteners) are illustrated in the figure 8 as being attached to each of the front and rear waist ends 338 and 340 of the absorbent assembly 224It is understood that a single fastening component can be attached to each of the front and rear waist ends of the absorbent assembly and extend laterally through all or part of the respective waist end without departing from the scope of this invention.

In an alternate embodiment (not shown), the waistband 274 may comprise one or more complementary fastening components (not shown) attached to the inner surface of the waistband for releasable attachment to the fastening components 370 attached to the ends. of front and rear waist 338 and 340 of the absorbent assembly 224. In such embodiment, the fastening components attached to the waist band 274 and the absorbent assembly 224 may comprise any of the fastening components previously described herein as being suitable for the garments. absorbents It is also contemplated that the absorbent assembly 224 may instead be releasably attached to the exterior surface of the waistband 274 without departing from the scope of the invention.

The garment cover 222 is releasably fastened suitably to the outer surface of the waistband 274, such as by the fastening components 374 attached to the inner surface of the garment cover generally at the front and back waist ends. and 258 of it. For example, the fastening components 374 of the illustrated embodiment comprise the hook fasteners, the waist band material 274 provides a material of crimps suitable for releasable attachment to the hook fasteners. However, it is understood that the waist band 274 may have one or more fastening components (not shown) attached to its outer surface for releasable fastening to the fastening components 374 attached to the front and rear waist ends 256 and 258 of the garment cover 222. In such an embodiment, the fastening components attached to the garment cover 222 and the outer surface of the waistband 274 may comprise any of the fastening components previously described herein as being suitable for the absorbent garments. . Alternatively, the garment cover 222 may be permanently attached to the waistband 274 (except for the overlapping end portion of the waistband), such as by adhesive, by thermal or ultrasonic bonding, or by any other fastening technique adequate, without departing from the scope of this invention.

The absorbent garment 10 of figures 7 and 8 can be placed on the wearer in generally any order. In a suitable embodiment, the waistband 274 can be extended around the user's waist and the portion of the overlap end 276 can be fastened to the underlying part to secure the waistband on the wearer's waist. The absorbent assembly 224 can then be releasably attached to the waistband 274, followed by the garment cover 222 being attached to the waistband on the absorbent assembly. Where the garment cover 222 is permanently attached to the waistband 274 instead of releasably attached, the garment cover is permanently attached to the waistband before the waistband is extended around the wearer's waist and fastened in place. In such an embodiment, the absorbent assembly 224 may be attached to the waistband 274 and the complete garment 10 may be placed on the wearer such as a fully assembled unit. Alternatively, the absorbent assembly 224 can be put in place on the wearer and joined to the waistband 274 1) where the waistband and garment cover 222 are already in place on the wearer, or 2) where The waistband is subsequently extended around the wearer so that the absorbent assembly joins the waistband when the waistband is placed around the wearer's waist.

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate another embodiment of an absorbent garment 10 comprising a garment cover, generally indicated with the number 422, and an absorbent assembly generally indicated with the number 424 generally placed within the garment cover. The absorbent assembly 424 is essentially the same as the absorbent assembly 24 shown in Figures 5-6 and previously described herein as a brief style absorbent assembly having the front and rear resilient side panels 580 and 582, respectively. The garment cover 422 comprises the front and back panel assemblies, generally indicated with numerals 426 and 428, respectively, constructed in a manner essentially similar to the front and back panel assemblies 26 and 28 of the garment cover 22 of the garments. Figures 2 and 3 but with the elastic waist members 64 of Figure 2 omitted from the garment cover of Figures 9 and 10.

In this embodiment, the absorbent assembly 424 is at least in part permanently attached to the garment cover 422 so that the complete absorbent garment 10 is disposable (or must otherwise be laundered if the absorbent assembly is reused). More particularly, the front side panels 580 of the absorbent assembly 424 are permanently attached generally on the outer edges 584 (FIG. 10) thereof (broadly, the outer edges of the absorbent assembly in a front waist region 522 thereof) to the margins. respective side 448 of the front panel assembly 426 of the garment cover 422. For example, the front side panels 580 of the absorbent assembly 424 may be attached to the front panel assembly 426 of the garment cover 422 with adhesive, or by means of, of thermal or ultrasonic bonding, or by any other suitable clamping technique. The side panels. backs 582 are permanently attached generally in the outer edges 584 (FIG. 10) thereof (extensively the outer edges of the absorbent assembly in the rear waist region 524 (FIG. 10) thereof) to the respective side margins 450 of the set of back panel of garment cover 422 in a similar manner. In this embodiment, the permanently attached front side panels 580 of the absorbent assembly 424 and the front panel assembly 426 of the garment cover 422 together define broadly the front side margins 16 of the absorbent garment 10 and the permanently attached rear side panels 582 and the back panel assembly 428 together broadly define the rear side margins 450 of the absorbent garment.

The first laterally opposed fastening components 542 are attached to the front side margins 16 of the absorbent garment 10 (e.g., where the front side panels 580 are fastened to the side margins 448 of the front panel assembly 426 of the garment cover 422). The first fastening components 452 are adapted for a resilient engagement with the corresponding corresponding laterally opposing fastening components 454 which are attached to the rear side margins 18 of the absorbent garment 10 (eg, where the rear side panels 582 are fastened to the side margins 450 of the back panel assembly 428 of the garment cover 422) to releasably attach the front and rear side margins of the absorbent garment.

The fastening components 452 and 454 may comprise any resilient fasteners previously described herein as being suitable for absorbent garments, such as adhesive fasteners, cohesive fasteners, mechanical fasteners or the like. In particular embodiments, the fastening components 452 and 454 comprise the mechanical fasteners for improved performance. Suitable mechanical fasteners can be provided by geometrically interlocking materials, such as hooks, loops, bulbs, arrow heads, balls on rods, female and male matching components, buckles , the brooches or similar.

In the illustrated embodiment, the first fastening components 452 comprise the hook fasteners and the second fastening components 454 comprise the complementary crimped fasteners. Alternatively, the first fastening components 452 may comprise the loop fasteners and the second fastening components 454 may comprise the complementary hook fasteners. In another embodiment, fastening components 542 and 454 may comprise fasteners of similar interlocking surfaces or adhesive or cohesive fasteners such as an adhesive fastener and an adhesive receiving material or location; or similar.

More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment the first fastening components 452 are attached to the outer surface of the front panel assembly 426 of the garment cover 422, generally at the lateral margins 448 thereof, such as by adhesive, or by thermal bonding or ultrasonic or by another suitable joining technique. The second fastening components 454 are joined in a manner similar to the interior surfaces of the rear side panels 582 of the absorbent assembly 424 generally on the outer edges 584 of the side panels. In this manner, the posterior lateral margins 18 of the absorbent garment 10 overlap the front side margins 16 of the absorbent garment with the releasable fastening of the fastening components 454 and 452. However, the absorbent garment 10 can alternatively be configured in a manner that the front side margins 16 of the absorbent garment overlap the rear side margins 18 thereof with the releasable fastening of the fastening components 452 and 454 without departing from the scope of this invention. For example, the first fastening components 452 may be attached to the outer surface of the garment cover 422 at the side margins 448 thereof and the second fastening components 454 may be attached to the rear side panels 582 of the absorbent assembly 424 .

The amount of overlap between the front and rear side margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 is suitably in the range of about 0.1 inches to about 6 inches (about 2.5 millimeters to about 152.4 millimeters), and more adequately in the range of around 12.7 millimeters to around 76.2 millimeters. It is contemplated that the fastening components 452 and 454 attached to at least one of the front and rear side margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 may have a width corresponding to the overlap range to allow a variable notch of the absorbent garment. over a relatively wide range of user sizes. It is also contemplated that the first and second fastening components 452 and 454 may be fastened respectively to the front side panels 580 and the rear side panels 582 of the absorbent assembly 424 generally on the outer edges 584 so that no overlap of the margins occurs. front and back sides 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 with the releasable fastening of the fastening components.

The absorbent assembly 424 of the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 is additionally and permanently attached to the garment cover 422 generally at the front and rear waist ends 538 and 540 of the absorbent assembly essentially across the entire width of the absorbent assembly in FIG. the front and back waist ends. The absorbent assembly 424 may be permanently attached to the garment cover 422 generally at the front and rear waist ends 538 and 540 of the absorbent assembly in the same manner as the side panels 580 and 582 or by a different suitable bonding technique.

More suitably, the absorbent assembly 424 is permanently attached to the garment cover 422 generally at the front and rear waist ends 538 and 540 of the absorbent assembly by being operatively bonded thereto. That is, the absorbent assembly 424 and at the front and rear waist ends 538 and 540 can be stretched (including side panels 580 and 582 where the side panels are constructed of an elastic material) and can be fastened to the respective front and rear waist ends 456 and 458 of the garment cover 422, such as by adhesive, by bonding thermal or ultrasonic or by any other suitable clamping techniques. With the retraction of the absorbent assembly 424 after joining, the front and rear waist ends 456 and 458 of the garment cover 422 are elastically folded to provide a garment-like garment-like appearance around the wearer's waist.

It is also understood that the front and rear waist ends 568 and 540 of the absorbent assembly 424 can be permanently attached to the garment cover 422 through only a portion of the front and / or back waist end of the absorbent assembly, or the absorbent assembly may be free from permanent attachment to the garment cover through the front and / or back waist end without departing the scope of this invention. For example, wherein the front and rear waist ends 538 and 540 of the absorbent assembly 424 are free of fastening to the garment along all or part of the width of the absorbent assembly at the waist ends, one or more elastic members ( not shown but similar to the elastic members 64 shown in Figures 2 and 3) can be fastened to the garment cover 422 (for example on the inner surface thereof facing the absorbent assembly) along the length of the not clamping between the absorbent assembly and the garment cover to provide an elastic folding of the garment cover without operatively joining the garment cover to the absorbent assembly.

With the releasable fastening of the lateral margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the lateral edges of the absorbent assembly 424 define the elastic leg openings 570 (Fig. 9) (extensively the leg openings interiors of the absorbent garment 10) of the absorbent assembly around which the absorbent assembly provides an elastic notch against the wearer's leg. As in the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, the leg openings of the garment cover 422 shown in Figures 9 and 10 broadly define the outer leg openings of the absorbent garment 10 spaced apart (eg discrete) from the openings of the garment. leg 570 of absorbent assembly 424 wherein the absorbent garment hangs generally loose around the user's legs.

Figure 11 illustrates another embodiment of an absorbent garment 10 that is essentially similar to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. However, in this embodiment, the front and rear side margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 are releasably fastened one to another along only a small upper segment 602 thereof (eg a small upper part of the side seams 19). For example, the upper segment 602 may suitably have a length of at least equal to and more adequately greater than the width of the waist elastic 158 where the waist elastic is present. As another example, the lateral margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment are suitably fastened along a segment 602 that extends generally from the front and rear waist ends 456 and 458 of the garment cover 422 a length of less than about 50% of the length of the side margins 448 and 450 of the front and rear panel assemblies 426 and 428 of the garment cover. The side margins 16 and 18 are otherwise essentially free from engagement along the remaining length of the side margins (eg between the releasable fastener and the leg openings of the absorbent garment 10). With the releasable fastening of the lateral margins 16 and 18 of the absorbent garment 10 in this embodiment, the absorbent garment is configured as a pair of running shorts.

As various changes can be made to the above constructions and methods, it is intended, without departing from the scope of the invention, that all of the material contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings be construed as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

When introducing elements of the invention or preferred embodiments thereof, the articles "a", "an", "the", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there may be one or more of the elements. The terms "comprising", "including" and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the items listed.

Claims (20)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. An absorbent garment for personal use around the user's waist, said absorbent garment comprises: an absorbent assembly constructed to take and retain the body exudates released by the wearer, the absorbent assembly having an interior surface adapted for a contiguous relationship with the wearer's body, an exterior surface, a front waist region, a posterior waist region , a crotch region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the front waist region and the rear waist region, one front waist end and one rear waist end; Y a garment cover configured to surround the wearer's waist, said garment cover having a front waist region, a front waist end in the front waist region, a back waist region, and a rear waist end in said region of rear waist, the absorbent assembly being generally positioned within the garment cover; Y a waist band configured to be worn around the user's waist, the absorbent assembly being releasably attached generally in the front and back waist regions thereof to the waist band, the garment cover being generally held in the regions of front and back waist of said garment cover to the waist band so that the waist region of the garment cover is in an opposite relationship with the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and the rear waist region of the cover of the garment. garment is in an opposite relationship with the posterior waist region of the absorbent assembly.

2. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the garment cover is releasably attached to the waist band generally in the front and back waist regions of said garment cover.

3. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent assembly is generally releasably attached at the front and back waist ends of said absorbent assembly to the waistband, the garment cover being generally attached at the front and back waist ends of said garment cover to the waist band.

4. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent assembly further comprises at least one fastening component positioned in the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and adapted for a releasable fastening to the waistband, and at least one other fastening component positioned in the rear waist region of the absorbent assembly and adapted for releasable fastening to the waistband.

5. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the waistband has an inner surface and an outer surface, the garment cover being attached to the outer surface of the waistband, the absorbent assembly being attached to the inner surface of the waistband.

6. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the waistband has an end portion which overlaps a portion of the distinct waistband to said end portion with the extension around the wearer's waist, said end portion being adapted for releasable attachment to said other part of the waistband to secure the waistband on the wearer's waist.

7. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the overlapping end portion of the waist band has at least one fastening component thereon, said at least one fastening component being adapted for a fastening releasable to said other part of the waistband.

8. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the waistband has an unstretched length, said waistband being stretchable along at least a part of the undrawn length of the band.

9. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent garment has at least one outer leg opening, the absorbent garment also has a pair of internal garment openings separated from the outer leg opening and placed inside. of the garment cover, the absorbent assembly at least in part defines said inner leg openings, said garment cover defining said at least one outer leg opening.

10. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that the garment cover further has a crotch region extending longitudinally between the front and back waist regions of the garment cover, the crotch region of the cover of garment at least in part defines a pair of outer leg openings of the absorbent garment which are separated from the inner leg openings of the absorbent garment.

11. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent garment has a waist opening, at least the outer leg opening, and lateral laterally opposed seams extending generally from the waist opening to said waist. at least one outer leg opening, the absorbent garment being resusable along at least a portion of each of said side seams.

12. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 11, characterized in that the garment cover comprises a front panel assembly having the laterally opposite side margins and the rear panel assembly having the corresponding laterally opposite side margins, the set of front panel being in a generally overlapping relationship with the back panel assembly in the lateral margins of said front and back panel assemblies whereby the overlapping side margins generally define the side seams of the absorbent garment, the side margins being releasably joined one to another along at least a part of a length of said lateral margins to define the resilient part of the lateral seams of the absorbent garment.

13. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that the absorbent assembly is configured to surround the legs of the wearer and completely defines the inner leg openings of the absorbent garment, the absorbent assembly having the outer edges laterally opposite in the the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and the corresponding laterally opposite outer edges in the rear waist region of the absorbent assembly, the front and rear waist regions of the absorbent assembly being generally attached to each other at the respective outer edges of the waist regions front and rear so that the front and back waist regions of the absorbent assembly together with the crotch region of the absorbent assembly surround the user's legs and define the interior leg openings of the absorbent garment.

14. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that the absorbent assembly is configured to surround the user's legs and completely define the interior leg openings of the absorbent garment, the absorbent assembly further comprising a pair of front side panels. laterally opposed that extend outwardly from the absorbent assembly generally in the frontal waist region on the laterally opposite sides thereof, and a pair of laterally opposed rear side panels extending outward from the absorbent assembly generally in the rear waist region on the laterally opposite sides thereof, each of the front side panels being secured to a corresponding one of the rear side panels so that the front and rear side panels together with the crotch region of the absorbent assembly completely together define the interior leg openings of the absorbent garment.

15. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent garment has the lateral side margins laterally opposite and the lateral lateral margins laterally opposite, the lateral side margins and the posterior lateral margins being in an overlapping relationship with each other to define the laterally opposite side seams of the absorbent garment, the amount of overlap of the front side margins with the rear side margins being in the range of about 2.5 millimeters to about 152.4 millimeters.

16. An absorbent garment as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the absorbent assembly comprises a liquid-permeable liner defining the inner surface of the absorbent assembly adapted for a contiguous relationship with the user, an outer covering in a generally opposite relationship with the liner defining the outer surface of the absorbent assembly, and an absorbent body placed between the liner and the outer cover.

17. A method for placing an absorbent garment on a user's waist, said method comprises: extending a waistband around the waist of a wearer so that an overlapping end portion of the band overlaps an underlying part of the band; releasably securing the overlapping end portion of the band to the underlying portion of said band to secure the band over the user's waist; releasably attaching an absorbent assembly to said waistband, the absorbent assembly being constructed to take and retain the body exudates released by the wearer, the absorbent assembly having an outer surface and an interior surface adapted for a contiguous relationship with the wearer's body , said absorbent assembly further has a front waist region, a rear waist region, a crotch region extending longitudinally between the front waist region and the rear waist region, a front waist end in said waist region front and one rear waist end in said rear waist region; Y attaching a garment cover to the waistband, the absorbent assembly being configured to be placed within the garment cover, said garment cover having a front waist region adapted for a generally opposite relationship with the front waist region of the garment. absorbent assembly and a posterior waist region adapted for a generally opposite relationship with the posterior waist region of the absorbent assembly.

18. A method as claimed in clause 17, characterized in that the step of fastening the garment cover to the waist band comprises releasably securing the garment cover to the waist band.

19. A method as claimed in clause 17, characterized in that the garment cover comprises a front panel assembly having laterally opposite side margins and a rear panel assembly having the corresponding laterally opposite side margins, the method further comprises the step of releasably holding the side margins of the front and back panel assemblies together.

20. A method as claimed in clause 17, characterized in that the waistband has an inner surface and an outer surface, the clamping step of the garment cover to the waistband comprises fastening the garment cover to said waistband. outer surface of said waistband, the step of releasably fastening the absorbent assembly to the waistband comprises releasably securing the absorbent assembly to one of the inner and outer surface of the waistband. SUMMARY An absorbent garment to be worn around the wearer's waist includes a waistband, a garment cover and an absorbent assembly constructed to take and retain the exudates of the body released by the user. The absorbent assembly is generally attached in a restrained manner in the front and rear waist regions thereof to the waistband. The garment cover is generally fastened in the front and back waist regions thereof to the waist band with the absorbent assembly generally placed within the garment cover, whereby the front waist region of the front cover of the The garment cover is in opposite relation to the front waist region of the absorbent assembly and the rear waist region of the garment cover is in an opposite relationship with the rear waist region of the absorbent assembly.