US2506238A - Wrapper suitable for menstrual pads - Google Patents

Description

May 2, 1950 El 5. ROWE WRAPPER SUITABLE FOR MENSTRUAL PADS Filed Sept. '27, 1946 11 5 1112.0 entoz Patented May 2, 1950 RATE N T OFFICE WRAPPER'SUITABLE FOR'M'ENS'TRUALPAD'S" Richard Everard: Shewan- Rowe, Johannesburg; Transvaal,- Union of South Africa Application September 27, 194 Serial No; 699,901" In the Union ofS'outh AfrioaNovember 22, 1940 scams.- (Cl;-1-28-'-=290=) This invention relates to wrappers suitable for use as a bandage or as a holder for pads such as menstrual pads; and also relates to menstrual pads.

When a bandage isapplied to a surface on thigh which faces the similar surface-of the other thigh, such bandage is liable to bring about chafing of the other thigh, particularly when the bandage gets wet and when itis permeatedb'y blood which coagulateson-tlie outside of the bandage'and forms a rough surface; The same drawback is frequently encountered in connection with menstrual pads which often cause chafing An object of this invention is the provision of a wrapper of the kind above described which minimises or prevents chafing. Another object of this inventionis the provision of such wrapper which can be produced cheaply enough to permit of its being discarded after a single use; and which can be disposedof inthe customary manner, i. e.'by means of a flushing system or by burning. A further object of this invention is the provision of a menstrual pad comprising such wrapper which minimises excoriation.

With these and similar objects in View, this invention comprises a wrapper comprising a sheet of gauze to which a smaller and substantiallyrectangular sheet of thin liquid-impervious and flexible skin material presenting an unbroken surface wide enough to provide an adequate covering for plied is permanently secured; said smaller sheet being positioned entirely upon said gauze sheet and being secured to said gauze sheet along two opposite edges of said smaller sheet; a central.

the body part to which the wrapper is to be apmain covered despite such relative movement of the part and the wrapper as maynormauy occur while the wrapper is in use.

This invention also comprises a wrapper comprising a strip of gauze and a strip of thin liquid v impervious and flexible skin material; said skin strip being, in the direction of said edges, shorter than said gauze strip and having a width which is preferably less than half the width of said gauze strip but enough to provide an adequate Covering for the body part to which thewrapper" is to be applied; said skinstripbeing positioned entirely upon said gauze'strip and so-that the width of the uncovered portion of the gauze strip at one side of the skin strip is at least equal to th width of the skin strip; said skin strip being secured to said gauzestrip along two opposite folded -over edges of 'saidskin-strip, leaving the skin material between said two edges free for movement relatively to the gauze material facing said skin material.

This invention also comprises a menstrual pad comprising an absorbent wad of cotton wool in= sorted-inawrappei' as specified in either of the two last preceding paragraphs This invention further comprises-features-and combinations of features which will be apparent from the-following description and the acconrpanying drawings in which:

Figure l illustr ates a wrapper.

Eigure zisa perspectiveview or a menstrual pad comprising the wrappershown in Figure 1-.

Figure 3 is an'enlarged -cross section on 3-3 of Figure 2.

Withreference toFigure 1-, 2 indicates a sheet strip of gauze to whiohis secured a skin 3 of Home im ervious highlyfiexible ahd'smooth ma terial of' film-th ickness;

'Ihiaskih i'a iS of s "aller areathan the gauze sheet 2; and a'pref d "manner of attaching it tothe auze is indie es in Figure 1 which shows the edges 4 of the skin 3 turned over; and the races 5 of saidturned over e ges emented to the gauze sheet 2.- T-his ensuresthat the smoothness or the outer surfaoefi of the'skin 3 is not impaired which is important for the wearers comfort. The term material of film-thick-ness" is intended to mean that the thickness of the material is so small and its flexibility is so greatthat a skin inadeof such material is incapable of maintaining the-form givento it by a wad, without the support or the'wad. Rubber of film-thickness such as may be prodiiced byonce dipping'a former in. latex'is smooth and soft and is suitable as the skin material.

When the wrapper is to be used with a menstrual pad; it is desirable that the gauze wrapping shall be on the onehand stronglyadherent to the absorbent wad of such pad to" stabilize the latter and on the other hand readilyunfoldable thererom without" appearingoutside the skin; and for this purpose it is necessary that the last wrapped edge of the gauze sheet shall appear at the catchment surface of the assembled pad, in order that the unwrapping may be commenced by lifting this edge away from the'cotton wool. To acccnnplish this whilst having substantially more than a sin' re layer wrapping, the sheet 3 of skin material is positionedeccentrically on the gauze sheet 2 :and;so asto leave at one side of it 0 *afree gauze-flap 1 or lesseiitent than the width ofthe wad and aconsiderably wider similar flap 'S- at the-other side.-

A menstrual pad comprising awrapper of this kind illustrated inFigures 2 and 3. As shown "inthese figures, the pad comprises an absorbent was 9 of thick cellulosewadding, such as cotton wool, lightly compressed; around which is wrapped the wrapper 2'," 3 so that the gauze'sheet 2 encloses and confines the wad 9. In the crosss'ection'of ine assembled padtfie skin hovers the base l0 and sides II, II of the wad and leaves the upper surface l2 thereof exposed to act as a catchment surface.

In assembling the pad, the wrapping of the composite gauze and skin sheet about the wad is commenced with the application of the edge E3 of the wider flap 8 to the wad at such point l4, Figure 3, of the circumference of the latter that, as the wrapping proceeds in say the clockwise direction shown, the edges l5, 16 of the skin register successively with the upper edges of the wad, and finally the edge i! of the gauze appears over the catchment surface and above the gauze layer already lying on said surface. The disassembling of the pad after use is commenced by picking up (said gauze edge I? and the unwrapping proceeds anti-clockwise.

The pad may be formed in the customary manner with means for attaching it to a belt or other supporting means. For example, the gauze sheet 2 may be made sufficiently long to provide, at both ends of the wad, loose ends 18, i8 which may be tied into knots.

The container capacity of the skin 3 when distended by the wad, ensures that no leakage from the pad occurs even in the event of the central area of the absorbent material becoming saturated.

In a modification of the example of Figures 2 and 3, a wrapper of the kind shown in Figure l is wrapped around the central portion of a pad which comprises a wad and a first gauze wrapper providing the aforementioned loose ends iii, [3. In this case, the length of the gauze sheet 2 is preferably made substantially equal to the length of the wad so that the wrapper does not extend beyond the ends of said wad. The position and shape of the skin is in this case materially the same as in the pad of Figures 2 and 3; and the wrapper may be applied to the pad by the same procedure as has been described with reference to Figure 3.

In a process suitable for the manufacture of wrappers on a mass-production scale, a strip of gauze of suitable width and of indefinite length is fed onto a table and has two parallel lines of suitable adhesive imprinted thereon at suitable intervals. Skin strips are placed onto the adhesive-imprinted gauze to be secured to the latter by the adhesive; and the gauze strip is therevupon cut into pieces of suitable length, each of which has a skin strip attached. thereto in the prescribed position.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a wrapper comprising a strip of gauze and a substantially rectangular strip of thin liquid impervious and flexible skin material; said skin strip being shorter and narrower than said gauze strip but wide enough to provide an adequate covering for the body part to which the wrapper is to be applied,

comprising a strip of gauze and a strip of thin liquid impervious and flexible skin material; said skin strip being shorter than said gauze strip and having a width which is less than half the width of said gauze strip but is wide enough to provide an adequate covering for the body part to which the wrapper is to be applied, said skin strip being positioned entirely upon said gauze strip and so that the width of the uncovered portion of the gauze strip at one side of the skin strip is greater than the width of the skin strip; said skin strip being secured to said gauze strip along two opposite folded-over edges of said skin strip, leaving the skin material between said two edges free for movement relatively to the gauze material facing said skin material.

3. A menstrual single-use pad comprising a wad of absorbent material and a wrapper as claimed in claim 1 loosely wrapped around said wad; the skin sheet of said wrapper extending unbrokenly over the bottom of said pad so as to render said bottom fluid-tight in at least the central portion of the length of said pad, the portion of the skin sheet extending over the bottom of the pad being free to move relatively to the gauze sheet.

4. A menstrual single-use pad comprising a wad of absorbent material and a wrapper as claimed in claim 1 loosely wrapped around said wad; the skin sheet of said wrapper extending unbrokenly over the bottom and the sides of said pad so as to render said bottom and said sides fluid-tight in at least the central portion of the length of said pad, the portion of the skin sheet extending over the bottom of the pad being free to move relatively to the gauze sheet.

5. A menstrual single-use pad comprising a wad of absorbent material; and a wrapper consisting of a sheet of gauze and a substantially rectangular smaller sheet of l quid-impervious and flexible skin material presenting an unbroken surface, positioned entirely upon said gauze sheet and so secured thereto along two opposite lateral edges of the skin sheet that the central portion of the skin sheet is free to move relatively to the gauze sheet; the wrapper being loosely wrapped around the absorbent wad with the skin sheet extending unbrokenly over the bottom and the sides of the wad so as to render the bottom and sides fluid-tight in at least the central portion of the length of the pad.

6. The pad claimed in claim 5 in which opposite edges of the skin sheet are inwardly folded back over the skin sheet and in which the skin sheet is secured to the gauze sheet by adhesive along the folded back edges of the skin sheet.

RICHARD EVERARD SHEWAN ROXVE.

CES CITED U The following references are of record in the at the opposite side of said skin strip; said skin 'strip being secured to said gauze strip along two opposite folded-over edges of said skin strip leaving the skin material between said two edges free for movement relatively to the gauze material facing said skin material and the combined widths of the said uncovered sides of the gauze strip being greater than the width of said skin strip.

2. Asa new article of manufacture. a wrapper file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,702,530 Williams Feb. 19', 1929 -2,005,298 OBrien et 'al June 18, 1935 2,294,898 Fourness et al Sept. 8, 1942 2,294,899 Fourness et al Sept. 8, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,804 Great Britain 1888 754 Australia Oct. 22, 1936 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1943

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