Package for Distributing and Storing a Plurality of Sanitary Products

Abstract

The invention relates to a package ( 1, 1′, 1″, 1′″, 1″″ ) for distributing and storing a plurality of compressible sanitary products ( 3 ), the package comprising at least one compressible sanitary product and at least one resilient member ( 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 ) for exerting a compression force on at least one of the sanitary products.

1 . A package for distributing and storing a plurality of compressible sanitary products, the package comprising at least one compressible sanitary product and at least one resilient member for exerting a compression force on the at least one compressible sanitary product, wherein the package comprises at least two compressible sanitary products and the resilient member is arranged to exert a compression force on the sanitary products even after removal of at least one of the sanitary products from the package. 
   
   
       2 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the package comprises a plurality of compressible sanitary products and the resilient member is arranged such that it exerts a compression on the sanitary products from a full package down to a package filled to one third. 
   
   
       3 . The package according to  claim 2 , wherein the compression exerted on the sanitary products is substantially constant from a full package down to a package filled to one third. 
   
   
       4 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is arranged to compress the at least one sanitary product to have a total bulk of 3-6 cm 3 /g. 
   
   
       5 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is made from a natural elastic polymer and/or a synthetic elastic polymer exhibiting a high elongation. 
   
   
       6 . The package according to  claim 5 , wherein the resilient member exhibits an elongation of at least 100%. 
   
   
       7 . The package according to  claim 5 , wherein the resilient member is made from low crystallinity polyethylene, metallocene catalyzed low crystallinity polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA), polyurethane, polyisopropene, butadiene-styrene copolymers and/or styrene block copolymers. 
   
   
       8 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is made of elastic material formed into a film or into an elastic laminate. 
   
   
       9 . The package according to  claim 1 , further comprising a wrapper for wrapping the at least one sanitary product. 
   
   
       10 . The package according to  claim 9 , wherein the material of the wrapper is inextensible. 
   
   
       11 . The package according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one resilient member interacts with the wrapper to compress the at least one sanitary product. 
   
   
       12 . The package according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one resilient member is attached to the wrapper. 
   
   
       13 . The package according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one resilient member is integrated in the wrapper. 
   
   
       14 . The package according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one resilient member is a strip of resilient material arranged on at least one side surface of the package. 
   
   
       15 . The package according to  claim 14 , wherein at least two strips of resilient material are arranged on opposing side surfaces of the package. 
   
   
       16 . The package according to  claim 14 , wherein at least two resilient strips are arranged on a single side surface of the package. 
   
   
       17 . The package according to  claim 9 , wherein the wrapper comprises at least two compartments for storing at least one sanitary product each, at least one resilient member being associated with each compartment. 
   
   
       18 . The package according to  claim 17 , wherein the compartments are separable from each other. 
   
   
       19 . The package according to  claim 18 , wherein the compartments are connected to each other via a perforated connection in the wrapper. 
   
   
       20 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member forms a wrapper for wrapping the at least one sanitary product. 
   
   
       21 . The package according to  claim 20 , wherein the wrapper is made from a resilient material. 
   
   
       22 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is a resilient belt for embracing the at least one sanitary product in the package. 
   
   
       23 . The package according to  claim 22 , wherein the package comprises at least two compressible sanitary products and at least two separate resilient belts are present in the package embracing a separate section each of the sanitary products. 
   
   
       24 . The package according to  claim 1 , further comprising a substantially rigid cover. 
   
   
       25 . The package according to  claim 1 , wherein the package comprises disposable diapers. 
   
   
       26 . (canceled) 
   
   
       27 . The package according to  claim 10 , wherein the material of the wrapper is an inextensible film. 
   
   
       28 . The package according to  claim 24 , wherein the substantially rigid cover is made from a cardboard material. 
   
   
       29 . A method of packaging and compressing sanitary products comprising: arranging at least one compressible sanitary product with at least one resilient member and exerting a compression force on the at least one compressible sanitary product via the resilient member. 
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one compressible sanitary product includes disposable diapers or sanitary napkins. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein arranging the at least one compressible sanitary product with the at least one resilient member includes arranging the at least one compressible sanitary product within the at least one resilient member.