Absorbent article with surface structure

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to an absorbent article such as a disposable diaper, a pad for the incontinence of urine or a sanitary napkin and, more particularly, it relates to an absorbent article including a surface structure having an excellent fittingness on a body.

#2. Related Art

#FIG. 1 is a partially sectional, perspective view showing an absorbent article according to a first embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the absorbent article shown in FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a curved state of a surface structure of the invention;

#FIG. 1 is a partially sectional, perspective view showing an absorbent article according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the absorbent article of the invention; and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a surface structure is curved. In the following, a direction X is a transverse (or widthwise) direction of the absorbent article, and a direction Y is a longitudinal (or lengthwise) direction of the absorbent article.

#As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an absorbent article 1 is backed on a back side of an absorbent core 2 with a back sheet 3 and is surfaced on a liquid-receiving side of the absorbent core 2 with a surface structure 4. This surface structure 4 includes a surface sheet 5 and a support sheet 6, and these surface sheet 5 and support sheet 6 and the back sheet 3 are adhered together with an adhesive such as hot melt adhesive in a peripheral region A where no absorbent core 2 is present. When the surface sheet 5, the support sheet 6 and the back sheet 3 contain thermoplastic fibers, they may be thermally fused together in the aforementioned peripheral region A. Alternatively, it may be possible that only the support sheet 6 and the back sheet 3 are bonded (adhered or fused) together in the peripheral region A, while the surface sheet 5 is bonded to the support sheet 6 at a position inside of the peripheral region A (i.e. at a positon where the absorbent core 2 is present).

#The absorbent core 2 is constructed by enveloping either pulverized pulp or a mixture of pulverized pulp and highly absorbent polymer (or super absorbent polymer: SAP) with an absorbent sheet such as tissue paper. The SAP can be made of polyacrylic acid, sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylamide, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl alcohol, an additional polymer of maleic anhydride, a polyether, a condensed polymer, a polysaccharide such as starch or cellulose, a protein such as collagen, or the like. Examples of the SAPs include: a cross-linked compound of sodium polyacrylate, a graft copolymer of starch having sodium polyacrylate or a graft copolymer of cellulose having polyacrylonitrile chains. The back sheet 3 may be liquid-impermeable and made of, for example, an olefin resin sheet. When the absorbent article 1 is used as a disposable diaper or sanitary napkin, the back sheet 3 is preferably made gas-permeable. However, the back sheet 3 of the absorbent article 1 of the invention may be made liquid-permeable, if it is used to be worn inside another absorbent material in which excessive liquid will permeate and will be absorbed.