JPH02246973A - Applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the insertion of an absorptive article, etc., into a body and, simultaneously, to unite it compact at the time of rejecting it by using an ethylene tetrafluoride resin unbaked sheet composed of a first member formed of a longitudinal axis direction with a small stretch and a second part formed of a lateral axis direction with a large stretch. CONSTITUTION:When a member 8 for formation is made to advance upward and a concentrated load is given between pressing members 7 and 7, the member 8 for formation is made to advance upward under a condition covered with a sheet S, the sheet S is extendingly stretched, it is plastic-deformed, it is formed as a housing cylinder 3, a ring 6 is fitted to the base edge of the housing cylinder 3, and then, an applicator is obtained. For the ethylene tetrafluoride resin unbaked sheet formed as the housing cylinder 3, the first part with a small stretch, namely, a molecule orientation degree in a lengthwise direction is 70% or above at the time of the formation, and the second part with e large stretch, namely, the molecule orientation degree in a direction eight-angled to an A direction is 50% or above. At the time of inserting the applicator, a holding part 6 is held, the applicator is inserted as it is, then, it is locked at a large diameter part, an inserting edge position is automatically decided, and since the housing part 3 is flexible, has a small resistance and stretches not longitudinally but laterally, the insertion is easy.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an applicator for inserting articles such as absorbent articles and medicines into the body, such as the vagina or rectum, and particularly for women who use tampons during menstruation. The present invention relates to an applicator that allows a tampon to be inserted into the vagina in a hygienic and easy manner by twisting it.

[Conventional technology]

Tampons are a typical example of absorbent articles inserted into the body. Currently, there are two types of tampons mainly used: applicator type and finger type.

The applicator type is constructed as shown in FIG. The applicator of this type of tampon 1 includes an outer cylinder 3 that houses an absorbent body 2, and an inner cylinder 4 that is configured to be inserted into the outer cylinder 3. A path is formed, and this path serves as a lead-out path for pulling out the take-out string 5 of the absorbent body 2 from the inside of the outer cylinder 3 to the end of the inner cylinder 4. The absorbent body 2 used here is made by compression molding absorbent fibers into a cylindrical shape.

Then, insert the applicator type tampon 1 as shown in FIG. In other words, grip the outer tube 3 of the tampon 1 by placing your thumb and middle finger on the grip, place your index finger on the base end surface of the inner tube 4, position the outer tube 3 at a predetermined position, and then use your index finger to hold the inner tube 4. When pushed in, the absorbent body 2 housed in the outer cylinder 3
is pushed out from the outer cylinder 3 and inserted into a predetermined location. After that, the tampon 1 is removed by taking out the outer tube 3 and the inner tube 4.
Finish inserting.

Further, the finger type tampon 1 does not have an applicator and is composed of an absorbent body 2 and a removal string 5 (see FIG. 7), and the absorbent body 2 is directly inserted into the tampon when in use.

(The invention attempts to solve this problem! 1) A major reason why tampons are not popular among people is that they are difficult to insert, but plastic applicator-type tampons have traditionally been said to be the best tampons in terms of use. It's here.

However, this type of tampon has the problem that the outer diameter of the tampon is the sum of the outer diameter of the absorber and the wall thickness of the applicator, which increases the resistance during insertion. .

In addition, as mentioned above, this type of tampon is made up of an inner tube, an outer tube, and an absorbent body, and the total length is the sum of the length of the outer tube and the length of the inner tube, making it long enough to fit in one hand. It also had the problem of not being able to handle it. Furthermore, when it comes to disposing of tampons after use, it is considered ideal that they can be disposed of in as small a package as possible. Therefore, a flexible applicator has been proposed, but since the applicator has equal vertical and horizontal extensibility, the applicator also extends in the vertical direction during insertion, making insertion extremely difficult.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to have an outer diameter as close to that of the absorbent body as possible, and to have a total length that is approximately the same as that of the absorbent body, so that when the absorbent article is inserted into the body, the absorbent article, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide an applicator that does not stretch, is easy to insert, and can be packed as small as possible when discarded.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention includes a storage section for collecting articles to be inserted into the body such as absorbent articles and medicines, and a grip section connected to an opening of the storage section, and the storage section is expandable in a radial direction. The applicator is formed of a flexible structure having a stretchability, and the grip part is formed of a frame body having a rigidity capable of holding the opening of the accommodating part, the applicator comprising the flexible structure The housing part is formed by seamlessly molding an unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet, and the formed tetrafluoroethylene resin unfired sheet has a first part with a small elongation and a second part with a large elongation. portion, and the degree of molecular orientation of the first portion is 70% or more, and the second portion has a degree of molecular orientation of 70% or more.
The above object has been achieved by providing an applicator characterized in that the molecular orientation degree of the portion is 50% or more.

That is, the unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet as a flexible structure for molding the applicator of the present invention has two parts: a first part consisting of a vertical axis direction with a small elongation, and a second part consisting of a horizontal axis direction with a large elongation. It has a stretching anisotropy consisting of. By using such an unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet, the applicator of the present invention can be made, for example, as shown in FIG.
a+, (bl, (as shown in C1), seamless molding can be performed from the sheet S.

To explain the above seamless processing in detail, the above sheet S
When manufacturing the housing cylinder 3 using, for example, the method shown in FIG. 1 (
A stretching device as shown in al and (bl) is used.

The stretching apparatus includes a fixture 7 that fixes the sheet S at four substantial corners, and a pair of pressing members 8 that are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the sheet S and press the sheet S from above.
．． 8 and the presser member 8.8 in FIG. 1(b).
As shown in FIG. 1, the pressing member 8.
8 and applies a concentrated load to the sheet S to stretch the sheet S as described above.

Therefore, with the sheet S fixed at the four substantial corners, the forming member 9 is advanced upward (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1(b)), and between the pressing members 8. To be precise, when a concentrated load is applied to the center of the four corners, the forming member 9 advances upward while being covered by the sheet S, and at this time the sheet S is stretched and plastically deformed. Then, it is molded as a housing cylinder (accommodating portion) 3. After being formed into the housing tube 3, a ring 6 is attached to the base end of the housing tube 3 and the remaining sheet S is processed to obtain the applicator shown in FIG. 1 (C1). Temperature can be controlled as required.

The unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet that is seamlessly molded to form the housing cylinder 3 is made by adding an appropriate amount of liquid lubrication to polytetrafluoroethylene powder synthesized by a known polymerization method such as suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization. A mixture prepared by adding an agent is formed into a long sheet by extrusion or rolling, and then dried.

The liquid lubricant used in the unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet is one that can wet the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene and can be removed from the sheet by evaporation, extraction, etc. at a temperature below the decomposition temperature of polytetrafluoroethylene. Examples of the liquid lubricant include hydrocarbon oils such as liquid paraffin, naphtha, and white oil, natural oils such as squalane, coconut oil, and rapeseed oil, aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene, xylene, and decalin, and alcohols. kind,
mM of ketones, esters, silicone oil, fluorochlorocarbon oil, etc., solutions of polymers such as polyisobutylene, polyisoprene, etc. dissolved in these solvents, mixtures of two or more of these, water or aqueous solutions containing surfactants, etc. is used.

The unsintered tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet used in the housing tube 3 may contain fillers as appropriate in order to provide economical efficiency, reduced slip resistance, and prevention of blocking. The filler is preferably inert and highly safe;
Examples of the filler include barium sulfate, potassium sulfate, lithopone, calcined gypsum powder, calcium carbonate, silica,
These fillers include titanium oxide and the like, and these fillers may be used alone or in combination.

Furthermore, the housing cylinder 3 may be made of a composite of an unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet by a known method such as lamination or coating, as required. Examples of things to be laminated include a film, There are non-woven fabrics, nets, etc., and the things that can be coated include:
Examples include metals, polymers, activators, etc. These can be arranged depending on the shape and/or condition of the surface and inner surface of the housing cylinder 3 to improve its function as appropriate depending on the purpose.

In addition, the unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet formed as the housing cylinder 3 has molecules in the first portion (in the direction viewed from arrow A in FIG. 1, that is, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the sheet S) where the elongation is small. The degree of orientation is 70% or more at the time of molding, more preferably 80% or more, and the second portion has a large elongation (the direction viewed from arrow B in FIG. 1, that is, the direction perpendicular to the A direction). The degree of molecular orientation in
It is 0% or more, more preferably 60% or more. If the degree of molecular orientation is less than each of the above ranges, it may be difficult to obtain a housing cylinder 3 of the present invention that is satisfactory in terms of both mechanical strength and function.

The degree of molecular orientation can be measured by conventionally known methods such as X-ray analysis, birefringence, fluorescence deflection, and dielectric micromanipulation. Industrial chemistry magazine 39@, 992 pages (
18 of ``Polymer X-ray Diffraction'' (published by Maruzen) written by Masao Kakuto and Nobutami Kasai.
The degree of orientation was determined from the half width of the peak value of the X-ray waveform using the following formula (1) for determining the degree of molecular orientation described on page 7.

In the above formula (1), Ho is the half width of the intensity distribution measured along the Debye ring of strong equatorial diffraction.

[Effect]

According to the applicator of the present invention, when inserting the applicator, the grip part is grasped with the thumb and middle finger, and when the applicator is inserted as it is, it is locked at the large diameter part and the insertion end position is automatically determined, and the accommodating part is flexible. It is easy to insert because it stretches horizontally and not vertically, and when you push the absorber in with your index finger and take out your finger, the accommodating part is inserted and removed while being in close contact with the pressure of your index finger.
Furthermore, when you pull out your index finger while holding the frame with your other hand, the container is turned over, with the dirty outer surface facing inside, and the clean inner surface facing outside, leaving it in a clean state, and you can dispose of it in small pieces. be able to.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the applicator of the present invention is applied to a tampon, and FIG. 3 (al) and (bl) are views showing the tampon shown in FIG. Side view, the same figure (bl is the front view, FIG. 4 (al, (bl, (cl) is a perspective view explaining the operation when inserting the tampon shown in FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the state in which the tampon is being held, and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tampon l using the applicator of this embodiment is configured to include a housing cylinder 3 that houses the absorbent body 2 and a gripping part 6 that is connected to the housing cylinder 3. There is.

The gripping portion 6 also serves as a stopper when inserting the tampon 1, and is configured to form a circular frame 61 and include a pair of foldable frame elements 61A, 61A. There is. Each of the above frame elements 61A, 61A
has a semicircular shape divided into two parts through the center of the frame body 61, and these frame body elements 61A, 61
A are foldably connected as described above by hinges 62 and 62 each made of a thin film of resin.

Note that, due to the nature of the tampon, it is preferable that the frame 61 has an outer diameter of 20 to 60 mm.

Furthermore, rectangular grip plates 63, 63 are formed integrally with one of the frame elements 61A on the outer peripheral surface of each connecting portion of the frame elements 61A, 61A. and,
The frame elements 61A, 61A are shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, it can be folded into a tomb-like shape via hinges 62 and 62, making it convenient for packaging and carrying.

To explain this in more detail, the gripping plate 63.63 has a second
As shown in the figure, it is formed to protrude from a circular frame 61, and its protrusion height is approximately equal to the thickness of the frame 61. In addition, each frame element 61A, 61A
Hemispherical protrusions 63A and 63B located on diagonal lines are formed on each side edge in the direction of protrusion from the frame, and the protrusion 63A located at a lower position holds the circular frame 61 during use. It plays the role of horizontally locking one frame element 61A to the other frame element 61A, and the protrusion 63B located at a higher position locks the far frame element 61A in the folded state. Recessed portion 61 formed on the outer peripheral surface
B, and serves to hold the frame elements 61A, 61A in a compact state, as shown in FIG. 3 (al, -).

Further, the accommodation tube 3 has a hole 3A formed by gradually reducing the diameter of the tip, and the nucleation 3A extends and expands when pushing out the absorbent body 2 of the tampon 1 from the accommodation tube 3. is being done.

Next, the manner of use of the tampon I to which the applicator of this embodiment is applied will be explained.

First, as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the frame body 61 is opened to form a circular shape.Then, as shown in FIG.
．． 63 with the thumb and middle finger, and while holding the absorbent body 2 with the index finger, insert the housing tube 3 into the body as shown in FIG. 4). At this time, since the three fingers are close to each other when gripping the tampon L, there is less influence from rotation of the wrist, and the insertion direction can be finely adjusted, and the position of the index finger that pushes out the absorbent body 2 can be finely adjusted. By changing the tampon, the direction can be slightly changed, positioning is easy, and it is much easier to insert than a conventional tampon, and by gripping the frame 61, it is possible to grip a small diameter applicator like a conventional tampon. It's much easier to grasp than when you do it.

In addition, the absorbent body 2 can be inserted by simply pushing it out with your index finger after it has been inserted into the proper position in the body.
It is very easy to adjust the extrusion force and direction at that time.

When the insertion of the absorbent body 2 is completed, the housing cylinder 3 can be pulled out without any discomfort while the housing cylinder 3 is in close contact with the finger, and further, the finger can be pulled out while holding the grip plate 61 with the other hand. In particular, see FIG. 4 fc)), the housing cylinder 3 surrounding the finger is turned inside out so that dirt is not noticeable, making it sanitary, and the applicator can be disposed of as is.

In the above embodiment, only the case where the diameter of the housing cylinder 3 gradually expands toward the frame body 61 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Even if the diameter is expanded in a brim shape and the diameter is expanded, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be expected.

As described above, the tampon 1 of this embodiment is constructed by housing the absorbent body 2 in the housing tube 3. The absorbent body 2 can be made of the same material as in the past.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on test examples. The absorbent body 2 used in the test examples and comparative examples has a length of 54 mm and a diameter of 11.5 m. An opening with a diameter of 8n is provided at the tip of the housing tube, and the length of the housing tube from the frame 6 to the tip is 6.
(It was set to 1m.

By configuring the storage tube 3 that can be extended and expanded in the radial direction in this way, the outer diameter of the tampon I can be made very thin to be close to the outer diameter of the absorbent body 2, and insertion resistance can be reduced.

Test Example 1 In this test example, an unfired sheet of tetrafluoroethylene resin (thickness 60 μm) with a degree of molecular orientation ■ of 85% was
Using the stretching device shown in 8(b), the longitudinal ends of the unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet are gripped and seamlessly processed to form the housing cylinder 3, thereby producing the tampon 1 shown in FIG. 2. did. The molding was performed in a constant temperature room at 25°C.

Next, a sample length of 25 pieces is placed in a strip shape from the center of the storage cylinder 3.
Cut out 5 crane-sized pieces from the sample, and cut out 1 piece as shown in Figure 1 (t).
Four samples were taken from sides A and B and sides B and B from each storage cylinder 3. Therefore, we made a pair of A, A side and B, B side, and folded them in half from the center, being careful not to shift the stretching axis between the samples, and used each sample as a sample for X-ray measurement. did. For X-ray measurements, alpha rays were used on Cu- filtered with a nickel filter, and 20 (
θ is Brangg's angle) using a clear peak that appears around 18°.
The diffraction was measured using $ and X%1, and the degree of molecular orientation (■) was determined using the above formula (1). Note that the measurement was performed at 25°C.

Test Example 2 In this test example, the housing cylinder 3 was seamlessly processed using the same equipment and under the same conditions as Test Example 1 from an unfired sheet of tetrafluoroethylene resin (thickness 60 μm) with a degree of molecular orientation (■) of 70%. A tampon 1 shown in FIG. 2 was formed by molding, and the molecular orientation degree (■) of this sample was determined in the same manner as in Test Example 1.

Comparative Example 1 In this Comparative Example, a housing cylinder 3 was made by seamlessly processing an unfired tetrafluoroethylene resin sheet (thickness 60 μm) with a degree of molecular orientation n of 40% under the same conditions and using the same equipment as in Test Example 1. A tampon 1 shown in FIG. 2 was prepared by molding, and the molecular orientation degree (■) of this sample was determined in the same manner as in Test Example 1.

Comparative Example 2 In this Comparative Example, a non-oriented unfired sheet of tetrafluoroethylene resin (thickness: 60 μm) was seamlessly processed under the same conditions and using the same apparatus as Test Example 1. The non-oriented sheet was formed by rolling the sheet used in Test Example 1 in random directions and stacking rolls to form the housing cylinder 3, and the tampon I shown in FIG. 2 was created. The degree of molecular orientation (■) was determined by the same method as in 1.

In addition to the above-mentioned tests, a functional evaluation was conducted as follows to determine whether or not the tampon 1 storage cylinder 3 produced in each of the above test examples satisfies the function as a storage cylinder 3, and the results are summarized as follows. It is shown in Table 1 and Table 2.

The functional evaluation was performed as follows when the absorbent body 2 was pushed out of the housing cylinder 3 with the index finger of an average woman with a length of 80 m and a circumference of 55 mm, as shown in Figs.

- Can be pushed out smoothly...◎ - Slightly stretches in the longitudinal direction, but can be pushed out from the storage cylinder 3 - O - Cannot be pushed out completely from the storage cylinder 3, stretching in the longitudinal direction No......Δ・Unable to extrude in the longitudinal direction...×An applicator that satisfies the conditions of Test Example 1 above satisfies the function of the housing cylinder 3 and is capable of holding the housing body 2. After being inserted into the body, the housing tube 3 is pulled out from the body while being wrapped around the finger, and then the housing tube 3 can be easily removed from the finger and disposed of in small pieces.

That is, as can be seen from the results shown in Table 1, the degree of molecular orientation is 70% or more in the first part, which has a small elongation after molding and affects the longitudinal elongation of the applicator.
Furthermore, it is found that the function as an applicator can be satisfied if the degree of molecular orientation, which affects the radial elongation of the applicator, is 50% or more.

In addition, according to the results shown in Table 2, when the degree of molecular orientation on the surface with high molecular orientation after molding the applicator is 70% or less, absorbent articles, medicines, etc. stored in the housing tube 3 will not enter the body. When the storage tube 3 is inserted into the body, it tends to extend vertically (and absorbent articles, medicines, etc. cannot be pushed out smoothly into the body, and if the degree of molecular orientation on the surface with low molecular orientation is 50% or less, it may not be possible to push the absorbent articles, medicines, etc. into the body). When inserted, it is difficult to extend with low force in the lateral direction, making it difficult for fingers etc. to insert the absorbent articles, medicines, etc. into the body.

Table 1 Table 2 [Effects of the Invention] According to the applicator of the present invention, the outer diameter is as close to that of the absorbent body as possible, the overall length is about the same as that of the absorbent body, and the applicator is integrally molded. When an absorbent article is inserted into the body, it does not substantially extend in the vertical direction, and it spreads in the horizontal direction with a relatively weak force, and it can be packed into as small a size as possible when disposed of. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 tal, (b) and (C) are conceptual diagrams showing the method and apparatus for seamlessly molding the applicator of the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the applicator of the present invention is applied to a tampon. Figure, same figure (bl is the front view, Figure 4 fal, (
bl, TO) are perspective views illustrating the operation when inserting the tampon shown in Figure 1. Figure 1cI is a perspective view showing a state in which only the applicator is taken out and turned over; Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional applicator type tampon; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a conventional applicator type tampon. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of use, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a finger type tampon without an applicator. 1... Tampon 2... Absorbent body (absorbent article) 3.
...Accommodation cylinder (accommodation part) 6...Frame body (grip part) S...
Sheet (flexible structure)

Claims (1)

[Claims] The container comprises a storage part for storing articles to be inserted into the body such as absorbent articles and medicines, and a grip part connected to an opening of the storage part, and the storage part has extensibility that allows it to expand in the radial direction. The applicator is formed of a flexible structure having a frame body having a rigidity capable of holding the opening of the housing part, the flexible structure having four The accommodation portion is seamlessly molded from an unfired sheet of polyethylene fluoride resin, and the unfired sheet of tetrafluoroethylene resin is composed of a first portion with low elongation and a second portion with high elongation. , and the degree of molecular orientation of the first portion is 70% or more, and the degree of molecular orientation of the second portion is 50% or more.