WO2000021477A1

WO2000021477A1 - Compact individual package for sanitary napkin having side flaps

Info

Publication number: WO2000021477A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/023301
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yasuhisa Ofuji; John Glasgow Burns, Jr.
Original assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
Priority date: 1998-10-13
Filing date: 1999-10-06
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: AU6509999A

Abstract

A compact individual package for a sanitary napkin having side flaps is disclosed. In one embodiment, the sanitary napkin and wrapper are folded together as a unit about two longitudinal folding lines. In this embodiment, the longitudinally-folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are then folded as a unit about at least three trasnverse fold lines and retained in their folded configuration to form the invdividual package.

Description

COMPACT INDIVIDUAL PACKAGE FOR SANITARY NAPKIN

HAVING SIDE FLAPS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a compact individual package for a sanitary napkin having side flaps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individual wrappers for sanitary napkins are described in U.S. Patents: 4,556,146 issued to Swanson, et al.; 5,181,610 issued to Quick, et al.; 5,413,568 issued to Roach, et al.; 5,462,166 issued to Minton, et al.; 5,484,636 issued to Berg, Jr., et al.; 5,569,228 issued to Byrd, et al.; 5,569,230 issued to Fisher, et al.; and in Statutory Invention Registration H1454 published in the name of Cucuzza, et al. Non-U.S. patent publications disclosing individual wrappers for sanitary napkins include Japanese Laid Open publication numbers: H3-176376 (Dainihon Print); Utility Model 7-39820 (Uni- Charm); and, 9- 220255, 9-266928, and 9-38132 (Shiseido).

The search for improved individual wrappers has, however, continued. In particular, a need exists for improved individual wrappers for sanitary napkins having side flaps or wings, which individual wrappers are compact in size and convenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a compact individual package for a sanitary napkin having side flaps.

The individually packaged sanitary napkin, in a preferred embodiment, comprises:

(a) a sanitary napkin having a body-facing side, a garment-facing side, and comprising a main body portion, a pair of side flaps, a panty fastener on the garment-facing side of the main body portion, and a flap fastener on the garment- facing side of the flaps;

(b) a releasable wrapper adjacent to the garment-facing side of the sanitary napkin, wherein the releasable wrapper and the sanitary napkin are folded in the following manner to form the individually packaged sanitary napkin:

(i) the releasable wrapper comprises longitudinal side portions which are folded inward about longitudinally-oriented fold lines over the body-facing side of the sanitary napkin together with at least a portion of the side flaps; and

(ii) the releasable wrapper and the sanitary napkin with the inwardly folded side portions described in (i) above are folded as a unit about three or more transverse folding axes and retained in their folded configuration.

The present invention provides an improved individual wrapper for a sanitary napkins having side flaps or wings, which is compact in size and convenient to use. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an individual package, which in its final folded configuration comprises a four layer thick structure of the releasable wrapper and sanitary napkin described in (i) above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a sanitary napkin laying on top of one embodiment of a wrapper according to the present invention with the wrapper in an unfolded configuration.

Fig. 2 is a simplified perspective view showing the configuration of the wrapper when the sides are folded inward.

Fig. 3 is a simplified perspective view showing the wrapper and enclosed sanitary napkin with one end folded about a transverse fold line. Fig. 4 is a simplified perspective view showing a further folding step.

Fig. 5 is a simplified perspective view showing the wrapper and enclosed sanitary napkin in its final compact configuration.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the wrapper in a folded condition similar to that of Fig. 2, only with arrows showing an alternative method for folding the same into the final package.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the wrapped sanitary napkin of Fig. 6, with each end portion folded inward toward the transverse centerline thereof.

Fig. 8 is a simplified perspective view of the wrapped sanitary napkin of Fig. 7 showing the same folded in half to form an alternative four layer thick structure.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the package shown in Fig. 8, showing an adhesive tape tab thereon for retaining the package in its folded configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a compact individual package for a sanitary napkin having side flaps. The present invention can also be used to individually package other types of absorbent articles having side flaps, including pantiliners. The present invention also includes the method for individually packaging such an absorbent article that is disclosed herein.

Fig. 1 is a pian view of a sanitary napkin 10 laying on top of one embodiment of a wrapper 20 according to the present invention with the wrapper 20 in an unfolded configuration.

The sanitary napkin 10 can be of any suitable configuration. A preferred sanitary napkin comprises the ALWAYS sanitary napkin with Flexi-Wings marketed by The Procter & Gamble Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA under one or more of the following U.S. Patents: Bl 4,589,876; 4,687,478; 4,950,264; 5,009,653; 5,267,992; 5,354,400; 5,389,094, 5,489,283; 5,620,430; and 5,704,930. A further description of a preferred sanitary napkin is disclosed in PCT Publication WO 97/12576. The sanitary napkin 10 has a body- facing side 10A and a garment-facing side 10B. The sanitary napkin 10 comprises a main body portion 12 and a pair of side flaps 14. The sanitary napkin preferably comprises a liquid pervious topsheet, a liquid impervious backsheet, and an absorbent core. The sanitary napkin 10 preferably has a pressure sensitive adhesive fastener 16 on the garment- facing side 10B of the main body portion 12, and pressure sensitive adhesive fasteners 18 on the garment-facing side of the side flaps 14.

The wrapper 20 shown in Fig. 1 is a rectangular sheet of flexible material. The wrapper 20 can, however, be of any suitable configuration. In another example, the wrapper 20 may be cut to the configuration of the unfolded sanitary napkin 10. The wrapper 20 can be larger than the unfolded sanitary napkin 10, or smaller in any of its dimensions than the unfolded sanitary napkin. The wrapper 20 can comprise any material known for use for this purpose. Suitable wrapper materials are described in the patents discussed in the Background of the Invention section, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

The pressure sensitive adhesive fasteners 16 and 18 can be releasably attached directly to the wrapper 20 if the inside of the wrapper 20 is release treated, or they can be releasably attached to a cover strip which is then joined to the wrapper 20. Preferably, the pressure sensitive adhesive fasteners 16 and 18 are releasably attached to the inside of the wrapper 20. This eliminates any need for separate adhesive cover strips to cover these adhesive fasteners.

Fig. 1 shows the first two folding lines (or axes), Al and A2, about which the wrapper 20 and the wings (or flaps) 14 are folded. The releasable wrapper 20 comprises longitudinal side portions, 22 and 24, which are folded inward about the longitudinally- oriented fold lines Al and A2 over the body- facing side 10A of the sanitary napkin 10 together with at least a portion of the side flaps 14. The longitudinal side portions can be folded in any order. Preferably, in this embodiment, the longitudinal side portion on the left side 22 is folded first, and then the longitudinal side portion on the right side 24 is folded.

The folding axes Al and A2 can be made through various portions of the sanitary napkin 10. The folding axes Al and A2 can pass through part of the flaps, they can pass along the longitudinal side edges of the absorbent core of the sanitary napkin 10, or they can pass through a portion of the main body portion 12 of the sanitary napkin 10. The folding axes preferably do not pass through the portion of the main body portion of the sanitary napkin 10 comprising absorbent core so that the absorbent core is not provided with longitudinal folds. The longitudinal edges of the folded longitudinal side portions can be spaced apart, or they can meet, or overlap. Preferably, as shown in Fig. 2, they overlap. When the longitudinal side portions overlap, one of the longitudinal side portions may be sealed to the other with a longitudinal seal. For instance, the longitudinal side portion on the right side 24, may optionally be sealed to the longitudinal side margin on the left side 22, such as by optional hygiene adhesive 26.

Fig. 2 is a simplified perspective view showing the configuration of the wrapper when the sides are folded inward. As shown in Fig. 2, the releasable wrapper 20 may have end edges, 28 and 30, that extend beyond the end edges of the main body portion of the sanitary napkin, and the end edges of the releasable wrapper 28 and 30 may be at least partially sealed after the longitudinal side portions are folded about the longitudinally oriented fold lines Al and A2. If the end edges of the releasable wrapper 20 are sealed, they can be sealed in any suitable manner, such as by adhesives, or crimping. In other embodiments, the ends of the releasable wrapper 20 may be left open.

Fig. 2 also shows the three transverse folding lines or axes, A3, A4, and A5, about which the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are subsequently folded. The longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper can, however, be folded about more than three transverse folding axes if desired.

Fig. 3 is a simplified perspective view showing the longitudinally folded wrapper and enclosed sanitary napkin with one end folded about the first transverse folding axis A3. Fig. 4 is a simplified perspective view showing the wrapper and sanitary napkin folded about the second transverse folding axis A4.

Fig. 5 is a simplified perspective view showing the wrapper and enclosed sanitary napkin in its final compact configuration to form the individually packaged sanitary napkin 34. In order to obtain the folded configuration shown in Fig. 5, the wrapper and enclosed sanitary napkin were folded about folding axis A5 in a direction opposite to the first two folds. The folded wrapper can be retained in the folded configuration shown in Fig. 5 in any suitable manner. Suitable ways of retaining the wrapper and sanitary napkin in their folded configuration include, but are not limited to by the use of a pressure sensitive adhesive tape tab, a hook and loop mechanical fastener, or by a heat or wax seal. Preferably, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the wrapper and sanitary napkin are retained in their folded configuration by a pressure sensitive adhesive tape tab 32. Figs. 6-9 show an alternative method for folding the wrapper and sanitary napkin into the final package. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6-9, after the longitudinal side portions of the releasable wrapper are folded to forai the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper, both of the ends of the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are folded inward toward the transverse centerline, T.

Fig. 7 shows the ends of the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper folded about their adjacent transverse folding axis (e.g., A3 and A4, respectively). The ends of the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper can be folded in any order (for example, A3 can be folded first, and then A4; or A4 can be folded first, and then A3), or the two ends of the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper can be folded simultaneously.

Fig. 8 shows that the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are next folded inwardly about folding axis A5 to form the desired four layer structure, individual package 34. Thus, in the prior embodiment, the longitudinally-folded sanitary napkin and wrapper were folded in a step-by-step manner from one end toward the other, until the final fold was made. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 6-8, the longitudinally-folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are folded transversely from both ends, and the final fold in made in the middle of the folded sections so that the faces of both end portions of the longitudinally- folded sanitary napkin and wrapper are brought together.

Fig. 9 shows that the folded package 34 can be retained in its folded configuration such as by an adhesive tape tab 32 that bridges the folded portions of the folded sanitary napkin and wrapper.

Variations of the alternative embodiment shown in Figs. 6-9 are also possible. For instance, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the folding axis A5 is preferably located along the transverse centerline T of the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper. The other folding axes, A3 and A4 are symmetrically disposed about the transverse centerline T. In other variations of the embodiment shown in the drawings, the folding axes may be asymmetrically disposed along the longitudinally folded sanitary napkin and wrapper.

To use the sanitary napkin 10, the individual package 34 is unfolded in the reverse order in which it was folded so that it will resemble the configuration shown in Fig. 1. The user can hold one end of the wrapper in one hand and remove the sanitary napkin 20 from the wrapper 20 with the other hand in a single motion. If desired, the wrapper 20 can also be used for wrapping and disposing of the used sanitary napkin.

The present invention provides an improved individual package for a sanitary napkins having side flaps or wings, which is compact in size and convenient to use. In order to make a tri-folded structure of the equivalent size to the compact package of the present invention, it would be necessary to make the longitudinally-oriented folds through the absorbent core of the sanitary napkin. This approach suffers from several disadvantages, however.

For example, if the longitudinally-oriented fold lines are required to be made close to the side edges of the absorbent core, this is difficult to carry out in a manufacturing operation. Another drawback is that if the longitudinally-oriented fold lines are made through the absorbent core, in the final packaged sanitary napkin there will several points within the absorbent core where the longitudinally-oriented fold lines will intersect with the transverse fold lines. These points will provide increased densification of these portions of the absorbent core which may undesirably affect the absorbent characteristics of the absorbent core and the integrity (especially the bendability) of the absorbent core. Further, there may not be enough room to place the optional hygiene adhesive in the proper location on the wrapper (and/or fold the wrapper longitudinally) and still achieve the desired compact package size.

The present invention forms a more compact package than tri-folded structures without the need to form longitudinal, or both longitudinal and transverse folding lines through the absorbent core, and particularly without the need to form intersecting folding lines through the absorbent core of the sanitary napkin.

The disclosures of all patents, patent applications (and any patents which issue thereon, as well as any corresponding published foreign patent applications), and publications mentioned throughout this description are hereby incorporated by reference herein. It is expressly not admitted, however, that any of the documents incorporated by reference herein teach or disclose the present invention.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that the various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes and modifications may include, but are not limited to using the same wrapper configurations described herein to wrap a sanitary napkin (or other type of absorbent article described herein) that does not have side flaps. Other changes and modifications may include using fewer than three transverse folding axes (e.g., two transverse folding axes), particularly if the longitudinal folding axes are outboard of the absorbent core, or if a wrapper with such fewer transverse folding axes is used in conjunction with any of the other novel features described herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An individually packaged sanitary napkin, said individually packaged sanitary napkin comprising:

(a) a sanitary napkin having a body- facing side, a garment- facing side, and. comprising a main body portion, a pair of side flaps, a panty fastener on the garment-facing side of said main body portion, and a flap fastener on the garment- facing side of said flaps;

(b) a releasable wrapper adjacent to the garment- facing side of said sanitary napkin, said releasable wrapper characterized in that said releasable wrapper and said sanitary napkin are folded in the following manner to form said individually packaged sanitary napkin:

(i) the releasable wrapper comprises longitudinal side portions which are folded inward about longitudinally-oriented fold lines over the body-facing side of said sanitary napkin together with at least a portion of the side flaps; and

(ii) the releasable wrapper and sanitary napkin with the inwardly folded side portions are folded as a unit about three or more transverse folding axes and retained in said folded configuration.

2. The individually packaged sanitary napkin of Claim 1 wherein the inwardly- folded longitudinal side portions of the releasable wrapper overlap.

3. The individually packaged sanitary napkin of Claims 1 or 2 wherein the releasable wrapper has end edges that extend beyond the end edges of the main body portion of the sanitary napkin, and the end edges of the releasable wrapper are at least partially sealed when the longitudinal side portions are folded about the longitudinally oriented fold lines.

4. Any individually packaged sanitary napkin according to any of the preceding claims wherein the longitudinally folded wrapper has two opposing end sections and the transverse folds in the releasable wrapper and sanitary napkin are made so that one end section is in the interior of the folded package, and the opposing end section lies on the outside of the folded package.

5. An individually packaged sanitary napkin according to Claims 1, 2, or 3 wherein the longitudinally folded wrapper has two opposing end sections and the transverse folds in the releasable wrapper and sanitary napkin are made so that the opposing end sections of the folded structure are adjacent to each other in the interior of the folded package.

6. An individually packaged sanitary napkin according to any of the preceding claims which is retained in its folded configuration by an adhesive tape tab.