US3369545A - Disposable diaper with an integral container and method for disposal - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 20, 1968 J. s. WANBERG 3,369,545

DISPOSABLE DIAPER WITH AN INTEGRAL CONTAINER AND METHOD FOR DISPOSAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1964 zzve nz orx J. S. WANBERG DISPOSABIJE DIAPER WITH AN INTEGRAL CONTAINS Feb. 20. 1968 AND METHOD FOR DISPOSAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1964 fizz eaz/(n 3,369,545 Patented Feb. 20, 1968 free 3,369,545 DISPOSABLE DIAPER WITH AN INTEGRAL CON- TAINER AND METHOD FOR DISPOSAL Joseph S. Wauberg, Palatine, Ill., assignor to The .Kendall Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 399,202 17 Claims. (Cl. 128287) ABSTRACT (IF THE DISCLOSURE A disposable diaper having a pouch at the back side of the diaper wherein the body of the diaper constitutes a wall of the pouch. The back surface of the diaper is impervious to the flow of fluids to prevent strike-through of fluids absorbed in the diaper. The pouch can be manipulated without contact with the front surface of the diaper to turn the pouch inside out so that the front absorbent surface and any body excrements thereon and fluids absorbed in the body of the diaper are disposed to the inside of the pouch, thus bagging the diaper for sanitary disposal thereof.

This invention relates to disposable absorbent articles and in particular to absorbent articles for the collection of body excretions and exudates. Examples of disposable absorbent articles to which this invention relates are disposable diapers, sanitary pads, wound dressings and the like. The invention will be described with particular reference to disposable diapers, from which the applicability of the invention to other disposable absorbent articles shall become apparent.

Disposable diapers are preferably provided with an impervious back surface. The back surface of the diaper is the surface opposite the surface of the diaper to be placed against the body. The impervious back surface serves to prevent seepage of liquid collected in the absorbent body of material of the diaper. This eliminates the need for a separate covering garment such as baby pants usually employed as a protection against strikethrough in the case of other diapers. Diapers constructed with an impervious back surface are particularly preferred for use at times when washing facilities are not readily accessible or at times of limited storage conditions, for example when traveling with infants. The impervious back side of the diaper may be a thin plastic sheet which also serves as a reinforcing component of the diaper.

Disposable diapers are suitable for a single use, after which they are to be discarded. Disposal of the soiled diaper immediately after removal may not be convenient. Furthermore, disposal of the diaper or the fluid absorbent portion of the diaper in flush toilets may not be desirable, in fact may be prohibited in many instances. The front surface of the diaper (the surface to be placed against the body) usually comprises a fluid pervious sheet covering the absorbent filler material of the diaper. This cover sheet has sufficient wet strength so that it does not disintegrate under use. Because of its wet strength properties it may cause some difliculties in sewage disposal systems, for example in septic tank systems. It is for this reason that soiled disposable diapers are instead discarded in trash containers until they can be disposed of permanently through other refuse disposal systems. Although stored only temporarily in a trash container, the unsanitary aspect to this is a drawback to the use of disposable diapers. It is also not always convenient in changing diapers to handlethe soiled diaper during removal and discard the same in a sanitary manner.

It is an object of this invention to provide a disposable diaper, as an example of a disposable absorbent article,

that may be handled conveniently in a sanitary manner. A specific object of this invention is a disposable diaper that may be handled during removal thereof without contact with the soiled surface of the diaper. Further in accordance with the objects of this invention is a diaper that may be handled for sanitary removal and immediately after removal be contained with a protective covering over the front surface of the diaper. Another object of this invention is a disposable diaper that may be protectively covered to prevent contamination by the contents of the used diaper. Another object of this invention is a diaper that may be handled during removal after use and protectively covered in a simple, eflicient and sanitary manner. Also among the objects of this invention is a disposable diaper in which the surface thereof to be placed against the body may be protected against contamination prior to use.

In general, the absorbent article of the invention comprises a fluid absorbent body and a pouch integrate therewith. The absorbent body, as in the case of a typical disposable diaper, is composed of a fluid absorbent filler material sandwiched between the front and back surfaces of the body. The absorbent filler material may be one or more plies of cellulosic sheeting, e.g., paper or nonwoven fabric, or a mass of loosely associated fibers such as cotton fibers or comminuted wood pulp commonly known as fluff (preferred for reasons of economy). The cover sheet providing the front surface of the absorbent body may be a fluid pervious sheet of any suitable material having sufficient dry and wet strength to resist rupture when subjected to forces encountered under normal conditions of wear. The cover sheet may be a wet strength tissue paper, nonwoven fabric or an applique sheeting of scrim having short length fibers adhesively bonded thereto. The impervious back surface may be provided by an impervious sheet of any suitable supple material, thin plastic sheeting being preferred in particular in the case of the disposable diapers of the present invention.

In accordance with this invention the back surface of the absorbent body of the diaper forms a portion of the pouch wall. The remainder of the pouch wall is an impervious sheet of material overlying the back surface and forming with the back surface opposing pouch wall portions defining the pouch cavity at the back side of the diaper when in use. Upon removal of the diaper after use the pouch may be easily manipulated to reverse upon itself, i.e., be turned inside-out, to thereby provide a sanitary cover enveloping the soiled surface and absorbent body of the diaper. The back side surface of the diaper previously opposing remaining wall portion of the pouch and serving to prevent fluid strike-through when in use then forms a portion of the outside surface of the pouch and with the remaining pouch wall portion forms a sanitary container for the used diaper.

The invention will now be described in detail with respect to disposable diaper embodiments thereof shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of a typical diaper constructed in accordance with this invent-ion;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of a diaper from the back or pouch side of the diaper before use;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the diaper of FIG. 2 from the front side of the diaper;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the diaper of FIG. 2 taken along the line 44;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the diaper of FIG. 2, 3 and 4 to illustrate the general shape of the diaper when in place on the infant;

FIG. 6 is a view of the diaper of FIG. 5 after removal from the infant and in the process of being bagged;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an alternate diaper construction of this invention;

FIGS. 8,. 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views of diapers having pouches at the back side of the diaper when in use;

FIG. 1 1 is a view of a diaper from the back side showing a pouch formed in conjunction with a portion only of the back side.

For convenience the same components of the diapers shown are identified by the same number throughout the drawings. The numeral 1 designates the diaper generally. As in conventional disposable diapers the fluid ab sorbent body of the present diaper may comprise a fluid pervious front sheet 2, a bat of fluid absorbent fibers 3 and an impervious back sheet 4. As shown in FIGS. 1-3 the cover sheet, bat and back sheet may be of generally rectangular shape, the rectangular dimensions of the cover sheet 2 and back sheet 4 being slightly greater than that of the hat. The edge port-ions of the back and cover sheet extending beyond the edges of the bat are joined together to .encase the absorbent fibrous bat 3 between the cover sheet 2 and the back sheet 4. The joining of these two sheets atthe edges along the width at one end thereof is shown at 6 in the drawings.

Various modifications are possible in the construction of the absorbent body portion of the diapers of this invention. For example, the longitudinal edges of the cover sheet 2 may be folded around the corresponding adjacent edges of the bat 3, in which case the'width of the back sheet 4 need not be greater than the width of the bat. In this case the longitudinal edges of the back sheet are joined to the folded around longitudinal edges of the cover sheet 2. This relationship between the back and cover sheets is shown in FIG. 9. Alternatively, the longitudinal edges of the back sheet 4 may be folded around the adjacent edges of the bat 3. In this case the width of the cover sheet 2 neednot be greater than the width of the bat and is joined at its longitudinal edges to the edges ofthe back sheet. 4 folded around the batS. This relationship is shown in the cross-sectional view of the diaper of FIG. 8, which is a diaper assembled from the components shown in FIG. 7. When the impervious back sheet is a thin film of thermoplastic material, as is preferred,

joining of the edges thereof to the cover sheet, and to the absorbent fibrous material 3, if desired, may be accomplished by heat sealing techniques. Examples of suitable thermoplastic films for back sheets are polyethylene films, polypropylene films, ethylene-acrylate oopolymer films, ethylene-propylene copolymer films, and vinyl chloride polymer and copolymer films. It will be apparent to those in the art that the construction of the diaper thus far described is generally representative of conventional disposable diaper construction. It is an advantage of this invention that conventional diaper construction may be employed in the manufacture of the diapers of this invent-ion.

Referring to the first sheet of the drawings and specifically FIGS. 24, a pouch is formed integrate with the diaper by joining the impervious sheet '5 at its longitudinal edges and one of its edges along the width thereof to the corresponding adjacent edges of the back sheet4 forming the impervious back surface of the absorbent body of the diaper. The sheet 5 may be a film of thermoplastic material as in the case of the back sheet 4 and be joined thereto by heat sealing, as shown at 7. It should be noted that the seal at 7 is a tri-ply laminate of edge portions of the cover sheet 2, back sheet 4 and overlying sheet 5 and that the seal at 6 is a two-ply laminate of edge portions of sheets 2 and 4, as shown in FIGS. 24. The impervious sheet 5 overlies the back sheet 4 forming opposing pouch walls defining a pouch cavity 8 therebetween located at the back side of the diaper when the diaper is ready for or in use "as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The form of the diaper when in use and the relative position of the various component parts are shown in 4 FIG. 5. The cover sheet 2 is inside the diaper for contact with the body of the baby. The saled longitudinal edge 7 at the right as viewed in FIG. 2 is the edge 7 at the opening of the diaper for the .babys diaper leg shown in FIG. 5. The sealed bottom edge 7 as viewed in FIG. 2 is shown at the top rear and sides of the diaper as viewed inFIG. 5. The impervious sheet 5 is on the outside of the diaper. This sheet, being unattached to the back side 4 of the diaper except the edges thereof as aforedescribed, can move with respect thereto. In being capable of such movement the sheet 5 can slide against the sheet 4 in much the same manner as an outer garment slides against an under garment thus providing greater comfort to the wearer. The opening to the pouch cavity 8 is at the top front of the diaper as illustrated in FIG. 5.

The opening of the pouch cavity 8 is readily accessible during removal of the diaper for manipulation to turn the pouch inside-out and thus bag the soiled portions of the used diaper. The action of bagging the soiled portions of the diaper is shown in FIG. 6. The right hand is shown in the act of being withdrawn from the pouch cavity 8 while grasping the back side of the absorbent body of the diaper at the back sheet 4. The left hand is shown'reaching under the impervious sheet '5 and grasping the sheet at its unsealed edge. The left hand may be moved Sill'llll'. taneously in a direction generally opposite to the direction of movement of the right hand until the pouch is turned inside-out. In so doing, the impervious sheet 5 is moved into a position overlying the soiled surface of the.

diaper. The surface of the impervious sheet 5 that faced exteriorly of the diaper when in use as shown in FIG. 5 is now the interior surface of a pouch and is the surface of a wall portion thereof opposing the soiled'surface of the fluid pervious cover sheet 2. Thus, the pouch wall surfaces are reversed in providing a covering envelopment for the soiled fluid pervious surface and absorbent material of the diaper. For convenience, the pouch formed common with a surface portion of the absorbent body in accordance with this inventionshall be referred to herein and in the claims as a reversible pouch.

It will be readily appreciated that the act of containing the soiled portions of the diaper in the reversed pouch can be done conveniently and easily as part of the diaper change. The baby need not be left unattended while plac= ing the soiled diaper beyond reach of accidental contact. The diaper can be bagged within itself, so to speak, with= out touching the soiled surface of the diaper. The reversed pouch with the soiled portion inside the pouch may be sealed by twisting or folding over the edges of the pouch wall at the opening thereof to control escape of unpleasant odors from the soiled diaper during storagepend' ing eventual disposal.

Advantageously, the impervious back sheet 4 and'overlying sheet 5 may be constructed from a continuous, single-piece sheet such as a tubular section of polyethylene that may be formed by Well .known extrusion and blowing methods. The components of a diaper of this construction are shown in FIG. 7 prior to assembly wherein the numeral 9 designates a section of polyethylene tubing,-

ous cover sheet 2 as previously described to encase the absorbent material 3 therebetween. The other side 5 of the flattened tubular polyethylene is equivalent to the impervious sheet 5 shown in FIGS. 2-4 and need only be sealed to the opposing side 4 at one edge thereof, for example at the bottom as viewed in FIG. 7

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a diaper assembled from the components shown in FIG. 7 in which the longitudinal edges of the tubular polyethylene section are folded around the corresponding edges of absorbent material 3 and sealed to the cover sheet 2 along the longitudinal edges thereof.

FIG. is sectional view taken across the width of a diaper and FIG. 11 is a planar view of a diaper in each of which a portion only of the back side of the absorbent body forms an opposing wall portion of the pouch. In these cases the portion of the pouch wall formed by the impervious sheet 5 need not be coextensive with the back sheet 4 of the diaper. In the diaper of FIG. 10 the pouch is located substantially centrally between the longitudinal edges of the diaper, The sheet 5 may extend along the entire length of the diaper or a portion thereof. In the diaper of FIG. 11, the pouch is located-at one end of the diaper. In each case the dimensions of the overlying sheet 5 are chosen to provide a pouch of suitable size upon reversal to contain the entire soiled diaper surfaces.

It will of course be understood that the present diapers may be sold in the reversed pouch form. In this form the front surface of the diaper to be placed against the body may be kept sanitary prior to use. If desired, the inside surfaces thereof may be sterilized and the open end of the reversed pouch temporarily sealed to maintain sterility. The open end may be temporarily sealed by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, for example, which may remain in place after the pouch is turned inside-out to locate the pouch cavity at the back side of the diaper when in use. After use of the diaper and reversal of the pouch the adhesive may be used to again seal the reversed pouch.

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist of the front of the body, said diaper comprising a supple, fluid absorbent body and pouch integrate therewith suitably reversible for covering envelopment of a fluid pervious surface of the diaper before and after use, said fluid absorbent body having a front side and a back side, said front side having a fluid pervious surface for contact with a body, said back side having an impervious surface for preventing strike-through of fluid absorbed in said absorbent body, and said pouch having a wall portion thereof common with at least a portion of said impervious surface at the back side of said absorbent body and the remainder of the pouch wall comprising a supple, impervious sheet attached to said body whereby said impervious surface and said sheet form opposing wall portions of said pouch and define the pouch cavity at the back of said absorbent body when the absorbent body is in use.

2. A disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist of the front of the body, said diaper comprising a supple, fluid absorbent body and pouch integrate therewith suitably reversible for covering envelopment of a fluid pervious surface of the diaper before and after use, said fluid absorbent body having a front side and a back side, said front side having a fluid pervious surface for contact with a fluid emitting body, said back side having an impervious surface for preventing strike-through of fluid absorbed in said absorbent body, and said pouch having a wall portion thereof common and substantially coextensive with a portion of said impervious surface at the back side of said absorbent body and the remainder of the pouch wall comprising a supple impervious sheet attached to said body whereby said impervious surface and said sheet form opposing wall portions of said pouch and define the pouch cavity at the back of said absorbent body when the absorbent body is in use.

3. A disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist of the front of the body, said diaper comprising a supple, fluid absorbent body and pouch integrate therewith, said absorbent body having a front side and a back side, said front side having a fluid pervious surface, and a substantially collapsed and flattened tube of supple, impervious material sealed at one end thereof to provide a pouch the cavity of which is defined by opposing flattened wall portions of said tube, one of said wall portions being attached to the back side of said absorbent body to form a fluid impervious surface on said back side and thereby provide a pouch integrate with said body suitably reversible for covering envelopment of said fluid pervious surface before and after use.

4. A disposable diaper in accordance with claim 3 wherein the wall portion attached to the back side of said absorbent body is substantially coextensive with said back side.

5. In disposing of an absorbent article upon and in which are collected body fluids, said absorbent article comprising a supple fluid absorbent body having a fluid pervious front surface soiled by said fluids and a fluid im pervious back surface and a fluid impervious sheet overlying said back surface and attached to said absorbent article to form a pouch therewith wherein said sheet and said body constitute opposing wall portions of the pouch defining the pouch cavity at the back of said absorbent article, the method comprising turning said pouch inside-out by grasping a wall portion inside said cavity and moving said wall portions with respect to each other into a position in which the respective surfaces of said wall portions are positioned in substantially the reverse of their original positions so that said back surface of the absorbent body is disposed to the exterior and the soiled front surface is disposed to the interior of the cavity formed upon turning said pouch inside-out.

6. The method of claim 5 including the steps of positioning the soiled front surface of the absorbent body fully within the cavity formed upon turning said pouch inside-out and folding over the edges of the walls at the opening of said cavity to close said opening.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said absorbent article is a disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist at the front of the body, and having said front surface soiled by body excrements collected thereon, including the step of maintaining the diaper relatively stationary to keep the excrements on said front surface while moving said impervious sheet into a position overlying and opposed to the soiled surface of the diaper to turn said pouch inside-out and provide a covering envelopment for the diaper.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein said absorbent article is a disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist at the front of the body, including the steps of:

(a) positioning the disposable diaper to lie flat with the soiled pervious surface up;

(b) inserting a hand into the pouch cavity and grasping said back surface with the hand;

(c) grasping said fluid impervious sheet with the other hand; and

(d) while so grasping the back surface and sheet, ma-

nipulating the hands with respect to each other to move the impervious sheet and the front surface of the diaper in substantially opposite directions in relation to each other and int-o a position substantially overlying and opposed to each other to thereby provide for a covering envelopment of the soiled surface of the diaper.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the hand grasping the back surface of the diaper is held relatively stationary and the fluid impervious sheet is drawn by the other hand away to expose said back surface and into a reverse position over the soiled surface of the diaper.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the hand grasping the impervious sheet is held relatively stationary while the hand grasping the back surface of the diaper is withdrawn from the pouch cavity to invert said pouch and provide for covering envelopment of the soiled surface of the diaper.

11. The method of claim wherein said absorbent article is a disposable diaper having a length and width sufficient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist at the front of the body including the steps of:

(a) positioning the diaper to lie substantially flat with the soiled fluid pervious surface up;

(1)) inserting a hand into the pouch cavity palm side up and grasping a portion of the pouch wall located within said cavity;

(c) grasping an edge of the pouch at the opening of the pouch with the other hand; and

(d) manipulating the hands with respect to each other to turn the pouch inside-out to thereby reverse the pouch and provide a covering envelopment of the soiled surface of the diaper.

12. The method of claim 11 for disposing of the diaper having body ,excrements collectedon the front surface thereof, including the steps of inserting the hand into the full length of the cavity, grasping a wall portion at the end of the pouch far from the pouch opening, grasping the wall portion of the pouch constituted by the absorbent body at the edge adjacent the opening with the other hand, and then withdrawing the hand frominside the pouch cavity while still grasping the end of the pouch and holding the diaper steady with the other hand until the pouch is reversed.

13. The disposablediaper of claim 3 wherein said tube is a tube of a fluid impervious sheet of thermoplastic material and said absorbent body comprises a pad of absorbent filler material positioned on the exterior surface of one of said wall portions of said collapsed tube, said pad being covered by a fluid pervious cover sheet attached to the thermoplastic material bordering the periphery of said pad to encase said pad between said wall portion and said fluid pervious cover sheet.

14. The disposable diaper of claim 1 wherein said absorbent pad comprises a pad of absorbentfiller material encased between (a) a fluid pervious cover sheet having a dry and wet strength to resist rupture when subjected to forces encountered when the diaper is placed upon a human body, said cover sheet serving as a fluidpervious surface of the front side of said diaper and (b) a thin, fluid impervious film of thermoplastic material serving as the impervioussurface of the back side of said absorbent pad, said cover sheet, and said film being attached to each other around the borders of said pad, and wherein the impervious sheet of said remainder of the wall comprises a thin fluid impervious sheet of thermoplastic material.

15. A sanitarily self-contained, soileddisposable diaper comprising a pouch having two substantially opposing wall panels wherein:

(a) one of said panels comprises an absorbent body having a length and width suflicient to fit around and cover the lower portion of the torso of a human body from the waist at the back of the body over the crotch to the waist at thefront of the body, said absorbent body having a first side and oppositely disposed thereto a second side,

(b) said first side having a fluid pervious surface soiled by body fluids orv excrements, said surface being disposedinto the cavity of said pouch,

(c) said second side having an impervious surface for preventing strike-through of fluid absorbed in said body and constituting the back side of the diaper and the exterior surface of said wall portion; and wherein (d) the other wall panel comprises a supple, fluid impervious sheet overlying the soiled fluid pervious surface of said disposable diaper whereby the two panels of the pouch cavity into which the fluid pervious surface of said first side is disposed in covering envelopment of the soiled surface of the diaper,.said two wall panels previously having been in a position the reverse of that described, in which reversed position said sheet and diaper formed a pouch with said fluid pervious surface of the diaper disposed to the exterior of the pouch for placement of the pervious surface against a human body for collection of fluids or excrements from the body.

16. The self-contained, soiled disposable diaper of claim 15 wherein said absorbent body comprises a pad of absorbent filler material, said fluid pervious surface comprises a fluid pervious cover sheet having a dry and wet strength to resist rupture when subjected to forces encountered when placed upon a human body, said impervious surface of the absorbent body comprises a film of thermoplastic material and said other wall panel is a film of thermoplastic material substantially coextensive with said pervious surface.

17. The sanitarily self-contained, soiled disposable diaper of claim 15 wherein said pouch and absorbent body comprise a collapsible tube of a fluid impervious sheet of thermoplastic material sealed at one end thereof in which is positioned on a section thereof a pad of absorbent filler material, said pad being covered by a fluidpervious cover sheet attached to the thermoplastic material bordering the periphery of said pad to encase said pad between said section and said fluid pervious sheet, said section, pad and sheet constituting said,

absorbent body wherein said section is said second side and said sheet is said first side of the diaper.

References Cited UNITED STATES jPATENTS 3,274,999 9/1966 Robinson 128-290 3,124,824 3/1964 Lutz 15-277 3,035,578 5/1962 Elmore 128-290 3,024,788 3/1962 Lane 128-290 2,762,158 9/1956 Dutfey 15-227 2,651,071 9/1953 Dyer et al 15-227 2,621,784 12/1952 Van Boytham .a 15-227 2,544,002 3/1951 Avery 128-284 1,782,502 11/1950 Crane 15-227 2,664,895 l/l954 Shulman 128-287 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

C. F. ROSENBAUM, Examiner.

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