Body adhering absorbent article

Abstract

In a body adhering absorbent article, an absorbent structure is configured for disposition adjacent a female wearer's vaginal region to absorb bodily fluids discharged by the wearer. A shell supports the absorbent structure at the vaginal region and has an adhesive on a body-facing surface for adhering the shell directly to the wearer. The article may be configurable between folded and unfolded configurations. Securement components may be provided for securing the article in a folded configuration during wear and/or to the wearer's undergarment. A method of adhering a body adhering absorbent article to a wearer includes adhering the article to the wearer with a portion of the article positioned generally at a predetermined target region.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A feminine care absorbent article comprising:
 an absorbent structure configured for disposition adjacent a female wearer's vaginal region to absorb bodily fluids discharged by the wearer, said absorbent structure having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface;   a shell for supporting the absorbent structure at said vaginal region, the shell having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface, the body-facing surface having an adhesive thereon for adhering the shell directly to the wearer, the shell having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, an anterior region, a posterior region, and a central region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the anterior and posterior regions;   the article being configurable between an unfolded configuration and a longitudinally folded configuration while the article is adhered to the wearer, in the longitudinally folded configuration at least a portion of the anterior region of the article being opposed to at least a portion of the posterior region thereof; and   at least one securement component operable to releasably secure together said portion of the anterior region of the article and said portion of said posterior region of said article.   
     
     
         2 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the at least one securement component is formed integrally with the shell. 
     
     
         3 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 1  wherein the at least one securement component is formed separate from the shell and non-releasably attached thereto. 
     
     
         4 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 1  wherein the at least one securement component comprises hook and loop fastening components attached to the article generally adjacent longitudinal ends of the article. 
     
     
         5 . A feminine care absorbent article comprising:
 an absorbent structure configured for disposition adjacent a female wearer's vaginal region to absorb bodily fluids discharged by the wearer, said absorbent structure having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface;   a shell for supporting the absorbent structure at said vaginal region, the shell having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface, the body-facing surface having an adhesive thereon for adhering the shell directly to the wearer, the shell having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, an anterior region, a posterior region, and a central region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the anterior and posterior regions; and   at least one garment-securing component affixed to the article, the at least one garment-securing component being operable to releasably secure at least a portion of the garment-facing surface of the shell to a wearer's undergarment.   
     
     
         6 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 5  wherein the at least one garment-securing component includes an adhesive configured to releasably attach the shell to the wearer's undergarment. 
     
     
         7 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 6  wherein the selectively releasable adhesive is positioned on the garment-facing surface of the shell in at least one of the anterior region and the central region of the article. 
     
     
         8 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 5  wherein the at least one garment-securing component comprises a tab affixed to the shell at the anterior region of the article. 
     
     
         9 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 8  wherein the tab is configured to be foldable over a waistband of the wearer's undergarment. 
     
     
         10 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 8  wherein the tab extends longitudinally outward beyond the shell in the anterior region and is configured to fold over a portion of the article in the posterior region. 
     
     
         11 . A feminine care absorbent article comprising:
 an absorbent structure configured for disposition adjacent a female wearer's vaginal region to absorb bodily fluids discharged by the wearer, said absorbent structure having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface;   a shell for supporting the absorbent structure at said vaginal region, the shell having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface, the body-facing surface having an adhesive thereon for adhering the shell directly to the wearer, the shell having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, an anterior region, a posterior region, and a central region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the anterior and posterior regions; and   at least one detachment component disposed on the article to facilitate detaching the article from the wearer, the detachment component having a body-facing surface, said body-facing surface of the detachment component being free from adhesive to inhibit adherence of the detachment component to the wearer's skin.   
     
     
         12 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 11  wherein at least one detachment component is loop-shaped, the loop-shaped detachment component having an opening sized to permit at least a portion of a finger of the wearer to pass through. 
     
     
         13 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 11  wherein at least one detachment component comprises a finger tab. 
     
     
         14 . The feminine care absorbent article set forth in  claim 11  wherein the at least one detachment component also has a garment-facing surface, both the body-facing surface and the garment-facing surface of the at least one detachment component being free from adhesive. 
     
     
         15 . A method of adhering a feminine care absorbent article to a wearer, the method comprising:
 orienting the article relative to the vaginal region of the wearer with a body-facing surface of the article having adhesive thereon and facing the wearer, and with an absorbent structure of the article generally aligned at least in part with the vaginal region of the wearer;   contacting a portion of the article to a wearer generally adjacent a predetermined target region of the wearer using a placement aid disposed on the garment-facing surface of said article, the placement aid facilitating at least one of a tactile cue and a visual cue to the wearer of the location of the article relative to the predetermined target region;   determining based on the at least one of the tactile cue and the visual cue whether said portion of the article is positioned at said predetermined target region;   adjusting at least one of the orientation and position of the article relative to the wearer, in the event that said portion of the article is not positioned at said predetermined target region, until said portion of the article is positioned generally at said predetermined target region; and   adhering the article to the wearer with said portion of the article positioned generally at said predetermined target region.   
     
     
         16 . The method set forth in  claim 15  wherein the predetermined target region comprises at least one of the top of the wearer's thighs, the wearer's pubic bone, the top of the wearer's labial cleft, the vaginal opening of the wearer, the leg creases of the wearer on either side of the vaginal opening, the perineum of the wearer, the pudendum of the wearer and the anus of the wearer. 
     
     
         17 . The method set forth in  claim 15  wherein the placement aid comprises at least one image disposed on a garment-facing surface of the article and associated with said predetermined target region, the determining step comprising determining based on the location of the image on the article and the location of the image relative to the wearer whether the portion of the article at which the image is located is positioned at the predetermined target region. 
     
     
         18 . The method set forth in  claim 15  wherein the placement aid comprises a detachment component disposed on the article and corresponding to a predetermined target region of the wearer, the detachment component being configured to facilitate subsequent detachment of the article from the wearer. 
     
     
         19 . A method of placing a feminine care absorbent article on a wearer, the article having a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, an anterior region, a posterior region, and a central region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting the anterior and posterior regions, a body-facing side and a garment-facing side, the method comprising:
 orienting the article relative to the vaginal region of the wearer with the body-facing side of the article having adhesive thereon and facing the wearer, and with an absorbent structure of the article generally aligned at least in part with the vaginal region of the wearer;   adhering a portion of the article at one of the anterior and the posterior regions thereof to a wearer generally at a location corresponding to a predetermined target region for placement of said one of the anterior and posterior regions of the article, the remainder of the article being generally free from adherence to the wearer;   adhering the remainder of the article to the wearer by urging the article into adhesive contact with the wearer along a direction away from said one of the anterior and the posterior regions until the portion of the article opposite said one of the anterior and posterior regions of the article is adhered to the wearer;   detaching from the wearer the portion of the article from the wearer at said one of the anterior and posterior regions of the article;   realigning said portion of the article at said one of the anterior and posterior regions of the article relative to the wearer; and   re-adhering to the wearer said portion of the article at said one of the anterior and posterior regions of the article.   
     
     
         20 . The method set forth in  claim 19  wherein the step of adhering a portion of the article at one of the anterior and the posterior regions thereof to a wearer comprises adhering a portion of the article at the anterior region thereof to the wearer at a location in front of the vaginal opening of the wearer.