US2834459A - Absorbent dressing package - Google Patents

Description

May 13, 1958 c. 1. RICKARD ET AL ABSORBENT DRESSING P CKAGE Filed. June 5. 1956 r rates ice ABSURBENT DRESSIFN G PACKAG-ll Charlotte li. Richard and John C. Biletzinger, Neenah,

Vi'is., assignors to Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 5, 1956, Serial No. 589,527

8 Claims. (Cl. 206-632) This invention relates to 'a cellulosic product and more specihcally to an abso-rbent bandage, especially a socalled maternity pad.

in many hospitals, When obstetrical and other patients become arnbulatory they are required to care for themselves as much as possible so as to relieve the dernands on nurses' time. Among the duties placed upon the patient when she becomes able, is to bathe herself and to change as needed, the absorbent ciressing or maternity pad Which she Wears.

Common practice in respect of the changing of absorbent dressings, has been for a nurse to remove a folded sterile dressing from a canister by means of a sterile forcep and, sirnilarly, to withdraw from a container sterile cotton wads or balls and place the same inside the folded pad. The folded pad and cotton ball assembly is given to the patient Who makes her own change. The cotton wads or balls are used for wiping purposes. Most hospitals pro-lribit the disposal of the pads and cotton balls through toilet facilities because they frequently cause stoppages in the plumbing system. For disposal of the used pad and cotton balls, the patient is usually given a folded newspaper or paper bag in which to place the used material. The nurses are required to collect the packages of used material for disposal in incinerators or other facilities. This common practice, especially the preparation and distribution of the sterile pad and wiping material, takes up a substantial amount of nurses time which can normally be put to much better use.

The used wiping material is very wet with stringy lochia and it is very ditiicult to handle. It is much more important that the Wet vviping material be readily disposable by being dropped in the toilet than that the used maternity pad be so disposable. The pad, upon removal from the body can be folded on itself to enclose the accurnulated lochia and thus readily handled and placed in a container. The wiping material does not lend itself to such treatment and is quite messy to handle; hence, its disposal lay dropping in a toilet during the Cleansing proccss offers a much preferred method of disposal and would be advantageous even though such -disposal of the pad itself is not permissable,

The object of the present invention is to provide an absorbent dressing package, for example, a maternity pad package, which can be supplied to the patient without requiring the services of a nurse or at least With much less nurses time than has been required to furnish the patient with a sterile pad and cotton balls according to the Conventional practice above described; to provide a. maternity paci package which will provide the patient With all of the berleiits of the described Conventional nurseraade or otherwise prepared pad and cotton ball assembly and which will provide wiping material which may be disposed of through the usual toilet facilities, sometimes together with the maternity pad itself; to provide an absorbent banclage or maternity pad which, together with suitable wiping material, may be furnished to a atient in sterile condition and in such an arrangement that the pad and Wiping elements may be handled by the patient With a minimum danger of contarninating any of the elements; and to provide an absorberit bandage and Wiping material package which may be supplied in sterile condition by the manufacturer and which Will require only ordinary precautions to maintain its sterility until it is put to use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawing in which a selected ernbodiment of the invention is described and illustrated.

in the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective illustration of one form of the package according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective illustration of the content of the package shown in Figure l as it appears when initially removed from the package;

T `ig. 3 illustrates a step in using the structure represented in Pig. 2;

Fig. 4 illustrates a modified arrangement; and,

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are perspective illustrations of successive steps in the preparation of one of the vviping elements which is associated With the absorbent pad to form the structures represented in Figs. 2 and 4, Figs'. 6 and 7 being on a larger scale than Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a perspective illustration of a moditication.

A package-d rnaternity pad or similar absorbent dressing according to the present invention, comprises a suitable pad t which is of proper dimensions for its intended purpose and Which is made of materials to provide the required absorbency and absorbing capacity. This pad may be made primarily of cellulose iiber, commonly known as iitlff, which resernbles cotton iiber in general appearance except that the flutlf fibers are generally very short. instead of iiutf, the pad may be made of a multiplicity of superposed plies of absorbent crepe tissue, or of combinations of crepe Wedding and ilutf, or any other preferred material. in this instance, the pad 1 is an all iluff pad contained in a jacket of creped wadding material and, as illustrated, it is of generally rectangular form; however, this is not essential and the pad may have rounded or otherwise tapered ends and the thickness of the pad may be tapered toward the ends of the pad if preferred, and other shapes may be used.

The pad ll is enclosed in a Wrapper 2 which is here represented as being of suitably open mesh gauze for example, gauze of 14 x 10 thread construction. The Wrapper is folded transversely around the length of the pad and has overlapped margins as indicated at Za on the outer face of the pad, i. 6., the pad face which is worn away from the body. The Wrapper 2 may be of such length that it extends beyond the ends of the pacl to provide tubular end extensions or tabs 3 and 4 Which are employed for supporting. the pad by attachment to a garntent, a sanitary belt or the like.- The details of construction of the absorbent bandage comprising the pad 31 and Wrapper 2 may vary widely from those described which are only representative and not.

pendent two ply, crepe tissue Sheets are provided, but.

any othernumber may be provided and they may be of single, double or other lural ply construction as may be preferred.

The tissue Sheets in the assemblag 8 are each folded In the arrange- V upon themselves in the manner represented in Figures 5 to 7 inclusive. In Figure 5 there is illustrated a square or rectangular tissue sheet 9 of one or more plies, said sheet being folded upon itself in zigzag form as represented in Figure 6 to form opposite narrow re-folded margins 10 on opposite sides of the sheet, a center web 11, and oppositely facing V-folded portions 12, 12 intermediate the opposite sides of the central web 11 and the respective marginal folds 10. Figure 6 represents the zigzag folded sheet in slightly open condition for purposes of illustration but it is to be unde'rstood that the sheet will be folded so that the portions 10, 11 and 12 will be in intimate, face-to-face engagement.

The zigzag folded and fiattened sheet represented in Figure 6 is next folded on itself intermediate its ends, as at 13 to provide a folded sheet 14 as represented in Figure 7. The desired number of Sheets folded as in Figure 7 are assembled one on top of the other to form the pad or stack 8 of wiping Sheets.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 3, the absorbent pad 1 with its enclosing Wrapper 2 is folded upon itself approximately midway of its length as at 5 to form the folded pad 161 represented in Figure 2. When the tabs 3 and 4 are provided, they are preferably folded back over the opposite outside faces of the folded pad as shown in connection with the tab 3 in Figures 2 and 3. The stack 8 of wiping members are ositioned between the folds or sections 6 and 7 of the folded pad.

A folded pad la (Fig. 2) containing a plurality. of wiping members between its folds is enclosed in an envelope, Wrapper or other container 15. This envelope may be made of any suitable material and in this example it is made of paper folded into and secured in tube-like form to receive the package content.` End portions 16 and 17 of the envelope project axially beyond the opposite ends of the folded pad Ill and are tapered to their extremities which are Sealed closed in any suitable manner, for example, by`rneans of adhesive on the inside of marginal end portions of the wrapper tube which are tiattened and pressed together to form end closures as represented at 18. This fiattening may be elfected by pressure applied in spaced, narrow Zones 19 as illustrated or in any other suitable manner. The side walls 20 of the Wrapper have their end portions folded and tucked inwardly in the form of gussets such as represented at 21 so that the package presents a neat appearance with neatly tapered closed ends.

The material of which the envelope is made, should be selected from materials which can withstand any sterilizing operations to which the package may be sub- V jected, and which material is capable of preserving the sterility of the content of the package for a suitable period of time. The end closures 18 should also be made in such a manner that they will also serve the indicated purpose of maintaining sterility of the package content.

An absorbent dressing package containing a folded pad and a stack 8 of wiping Sheets or tissues in the form represented in Figure 2, may be furnished in sterile condition to a atient. The atient opens the package by tearing off an end portion of the envelope along a line such 'as represented at 22 which may be rinted on the Wrapper or otherwise indicated. This marking is preferably associated with the envelope end which is adjacent to the folded end 5 of the pad.

When the container is opened as above explained, the folded end of the pad may be gripped between the iingers and withdrawn from the envelope 15, only the outside surfaces of the pad which are Worn away from the body being engaged by the tingers. Hence, there is no signilicant danger of contaminating the body side area of the pad when removing it from the envelope. The pad in the folded condition represented in Figure 2 may be then permitted to partially unfold to the condition represented in Figure 3 without touching the inside or body side 23 of the pad. The tab 4 is shown depending from the pad end in Figure 3 merely for purposes of illustration and it will normally be held against the outside or bottom of the pad portion 7 when the pad is held in the hand and opened to the condition shown in Figure 3. The normal resiliency of the folded pad Will usually cause it to unfold to the condition shown in Figure 3 but if necessary, such unfolding may be aided by lifting the upper portion of the pad through the agency of the overlying tab 3 to avoid contamination of the more Vital body engaging area 23 of the pad.

When the pad is unfolded to the open condition shown in Figure 3, the edges 24 and 25 of the then top wiping sheet 14 are exposed and make it Very easy to lift the margin 10 or V-folded portion 12 to permit such liplil e sheet portion to be easily grasped to facilitate use of the top sheet 14. The opposite faces of the lip-like portions provided by the V-fold-formed portions 12, present portions of the same side or face of the Sheet to manual engagement. This avoids contamination of the opposite face of the sheet which may be applied to the body. By inserting a tinger under the fold 12 near the folded end 13 of the sheet, and gripping said fold 12 in the adjacent area, the sheet will be gripped near the middle of an 'edge of the sheet and this advantageously locates the sheet for easy and effective manipulation and use.

The wiping sheet fold 12 which presents said edge 25 provides a two-ply portion of the sheet and therefore greater strength than the Single ply margin 10. The slightly rounded fold-formed edge 25 of said sheet portion 12 makes the latter more readily separable from the underlying portion of the sheet than the single thickness edge 24 of the margin 10 so that a a ractical matter there is a normal tendency to remove the top sheet by grasping said two ply fold 12 which is somewhat preferred; however, the presence of the two accessible folds 10 and 12 provides practical insurance that one thereof will always be readily liftable to permit grasping thereof.

The described manner of folding the wiping Sheets provides accessible folds and edges on both faces of the folded sheet So that the pad la may be unfolded to position the stack of wiping Sheets on either of its portions 6 or 7 with the wiping Sheets presenting said readily accessible portions on their top Sides. It is therefore unnecessary to exercise special care to unfold the pad in a fixed direction.

The envelope 15 is of such size that the folded pad may be easily removed from the container as already explained. However, the size of said envelope is such that it holds the pad in the folded condition shown in Figure 2 in which the stack 8 of wiping Sheets is gripped between the sections 6 and 7 of the folded pad and thereby held in place; there is but little if any possibility of the wiping Sheets becoming disarranged or displaced from the folded pad.

The specific form of wiping sheet fold shown in Figures 4 to 7 inclusive is not essential to the use of the invention. Other forms of folding may be prepared which will offer readily accessible gripping portions such as described. The wiping Sheets may be of any desired material which, like the above described creped tissue material, is generally disposable through ordinary toilet facilities.

While the use of wiping elements which comprise folded tissues as described in the foregoing, is a preferred mannet of practicing the present invention and has the advantage as noted above, other types of wiping elements may be used in certain instances. For example, when the problem of disposing of the wiping element is not a rimary consideration, wiping, members which consist of balls or pads 1411 (Fig. 8) of absorbent iiber such as cotton and rayon may be used. A suitable number of such wiping members may be assembled in layer form as illustrated in Figure 8, or in any other suitable manner between the folded pad sections 6 and 7. Fiber members of the indicated character are easily compressible between the pad sections 6 and 7 so that even though they present substantial thickness when lutlfed up for use, they do not necessarily increase the overall thickness of the assembled wiping members and folded pad as compared with the assembled folded tissues and folded pad.

In some instances, it may be preferred to arrange the folded wiping material, such as the tissue Sheets 14 or the fiber members 1461, on the outside of the folded or unfolded pad so that they are accessible without unfolding or opening the pad, Such an arrangement is illustrated in Figure 4 where the stack 8 of folded tissues is shown in position on the top of the uppermost fold 6 of the folded pad la. It is preferred in that arrange- Inent to place the wiping members under the adjacent tab 3 or 4 of the Wrapper of the pad to supplement the frictional contact between the stack of wiping members and the engagecl pad surface to further hold the stack of wiping members in position on the pad. The tab placed in overlying relation to the wiping members also helps to resist displacement thereof incident to removal of the assemblage from an envelope like the envelope 15 in which the assemblage may be packed as above described with reference to the arrangement illustrated in Figure 2. The assemblage represented in Figure 4, upon being withdrawn from an envelope may be held in the hand between fingers engaging the opposite outside faces of the folds 6 and 7 -of the pad and the tab 3 may be unfolded so as to aiford access to the then exposed wiping members without touching the body engaging faces of the wiping members and pad.

It is an important consideration that the wiping material is supported by an integral part of the pad so that the pad and wiping elements may be removed as a unit from the Sealed container or envelope, the Wiping elements being supported and held in position by a portion of the pad structure during removal. The pad serves the important function of providing a sufliciently firm support to hold the wiping members in distended, flat, useable condition, and readily accessible for removal one by one for use as aforesaid. The described arrangement minimizes the possibility of contaminating the surfaces of either the wiping members or the pad which ultimately contact the user. Positioning of the wiping elements between portions of the pad accomplishes this objective and also serves to facilitate the ackaging of the pad in the Wrapper or envelope and the removal of the product from the package with a minimum of handling.

The described forms of packaged absorbent dressing and stack or assemblage of wiping material, eliminates the time consuming routine of assembling and distributing unpackaged, Sterilized elements at bedside or elsewhere as above described and it makes the Cleansing and pad changing operation much less onerous. The package prepared in accordance with the described arrangement may be Sterilized by the manufacturer and suitably packaged to maintain their sterility for a sutiicient period of time within which they can be reasonably expected to be put to use in the manner explained. Hence, the described packaged pad and wiping material may also eliminate the need for sterilization at the point of use. However, the package is one which may be I'eadily Sterilized by the hospital shortly before distribution to the patients.

As already indicated, one of' the important benefits of the described arrangement when tissue wiping members 'are used, is the disposability of the wiping tissues through toilet facilities which eliminates handling of the wet, messy wiping material for placement in 'a bag or on a wrapping paper. A further benefit of the disposable tissue arrangement is that it is very practicable to provide Wiping Sheets of sufficient size to adequately cover the patient s hand for cleanliness and whereby a larger area can be wiped in a single strolre. Furthermore, Wiping with absorbent tissues attains better Cleansing and better cirying than when a fiber pad is used, probably because the tissue material has a better capacity for absorbing the lochia.

The described arrangements are easy to produce both manually and automatically so that they are economically practicable, as well as hygienically practicable.

Various changes in the described arrangement may be made while retaining the principles of the described construction.

We claim:

l. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent dressing having a pad, a Wrapper enclosing said pad and having attachment 'tab portions which extend from the opposite ends of the pad, said pad being folded intermediate its ends into U-shape and said tabs being folded over the respectively adjacent end portions of the folded pad, a wiping member positioned between mutually overlying portions of said absorbent dressing so as to be thereby held in assembled relationship to the folded pad, and an envelope enclosing said folded pad and Wiping member and holding the same in the aforesaid assembled relationship.

2. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent pad folded upon itself, a folded sheet material Wiping member positioned intermediate the tnutually overlying portions of the folded pad, and an envelope enclosing said folded pad and holding the same in the aforesaid assembled relationship, said folded Wiping sheet being folded on itself to provide on each face of the folded sheet a readily accessible lip-like portion by means of which the folded sheet is adapted to be gripped and removed from the pad and unfolded and positioned over the hand for use, the provision of such lip on each face of the folded sheet Serving to insure accessibility of such a lip with the folded sheet resting on either portion of the pad when the pad is removed from said envelope and at least partially unfolded.

3. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent pad including a Wrapper folded upon itself, said pad having attachment tab portions which extend from opposite ends of the absorbent pad and are respectively folded over the opposite outside faces of said folded pad, a wiping member positioned in overlying relation to one of the folds of said pad and under the tab which is positioned thereon, and an envelope enclosing said folded pad and wiping member and holding the same in the aforesaid relationship to each other.

4. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent dressing having a pad, a Wrapper enclosing said pad and having attachment tab portions which extend from the opposite ends of the pad, said pad being folded intermediate its ends into Ll-shape and said tabs being folded over the respectively adjacent end portions of the folded pad, a wiping member positioned between mutually overlying portions of said absorbent dressing so as to be thereby held in assembled relationship to the folded pad, and an envelope enclosing said folded pad and Wiping member and holding the same in the aforesaid assembled relationship, said Wiping member being an absorbent sheet which is first folded to provide a central web and a pair of Z-folded web portions respectively on opposite sides of and connected to the opposite edges of said central web and which is then folded upon itself into U-form.

5. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent dressing having an elongated pad, a Wrapper enclosing said pad 'and having attachment tab portions. which extend from opposite ends of the pad, said pacl being folded onitself intermediate its ends and said tabs being respectively folded inwardly of the length of the pad over adjacent end portion thereof, a stack of wiping members positioned on a portion of the folded pad and between the same and another portion of said folded dressing which is in lapping relation to said pad portion as an incident to the aforesaid folded condition of the dressing, each of said wiping members being an absorbent sheet which is folded on itself to provide a lip-like portion Within the folded area of the sheet and on the surface thereof which is exposed When the dressing is unfolded suliiciently to make said stack of Wiping members accessible for removal from said pad portion, and an envelope containing and holding said dressing and wiping members in the aforesaid assembled relationship.

6. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent dressing having a pad body, a Wrapper enclosing said pad body and having an attachment tab portion which extends from one end of the pad body and is folded over the adjacent end portion of the pad body, a Wiping member positioned between said tab and said pad body so as to be thereby held in assembled relationship to the pad body, and an envelope enclosing said folded pad and Wiping member and holding same in assembled relationship.

7. An absorbent dressing package comprising an absorbent dressing including an elongated pad enclosed in a fluid pervious Wrapper, said absorbent dressing being folded on itself intermediate its ends, a wiping member 8 Positioned between folded portions of said absorbent dressing so as to be thereby held in assembled relationship to the folded dressing, and an envelope cnclosing said dressing and Wiping member and holding the same 'in the aforesaid assembled relationship.

8. An absorbent dressing package comprising an i11- tegral absorbent pad body folded upon itself, a Wiping member ositioned between folded portions of said pad body so as to be thereby held in assembled relationship to the folded pad body, and a container enclosing said pad body and member and holding the same in the afor said assembled relationship.

References Cited in the file of this atent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITED STATES P-'I`ENI' OFFICE CERTIFICA'I'E OF CORIIECTION Patent N0. 2,83434159 May 13, 1958 I Charlotte I., Rickard et ti. It is hereb certified thet error -ap pears in the printed specification of the above "I lumbered Patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 6 3-, line O', after the' vrorci at pac'" Strike" cut "ncludipg B. Wrapper", and insert the same after "pa`'u in line 41, Same colulll ri li Sigr 1ed anti s'eale this 11th of November 1958.

(SEAL) Attest:

Ea. XIIINE- ROBERT C. WA'I'SON Attesting ORicer Commissioner of Patenta

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