Title: Method of providing a series of disposable absorbent articles to consumers
Abstract: A method of providing a series of types of pant-like garments and corresponding information to consumers. The series includes two or more pant-like garments, each of the garments corresponding to a stage of toilet training. Each of the garments in the series may differ from one another in terms of absorbent capacity, size, and/or features. The information provided to the consumer helps the consumer discern which garment from the series is most appropriate for a child in a specific stage of the toilet training process.
Patent Number: 6,884,238 Issued on 04/26/2005 to Underhill, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Underhill; Richard Louis (Neenah, WI);
Walter; Rebecca Suzanne (Hortonville, WI);
Olson; Christopher Peter (Neenah, WI);
Weber; Shirlee Ann (Neenah, WI)
|
| Assignee:
|
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. (Neenah, WI)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
025203 |
| Filed:
|
December 19, 2001 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
604/385.01; 206/438; 206/494 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A61F 013//15 |
| Field of Search: |
604/38501
206/438,494
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3338992 | Aug., 1967 | Kinney.
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| 3341394 | Sep., 1967 | Kinney.
| |
| 3502538 | Mar., 1970 | Petersen.
| |
| 3502763 | Mar., 1970 | Hartmann.
| |
| 3542615 | Nov., 1970 | Dobo et al.
| |
| 3692618 | Sep., 1972 | Dorschner et al.
| |
| 3802817 | Apr., 1974 | Matsuki et al.
| |
| 3849241 | Nov., 1974 | Butin et al.
| |
| 4340563 | Jul., 1982 | Appel et al.
| |
| 4663220 | May., 1987 | Wisneski et al.
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| 4938753 | Jul., 1990 | Van Gompel et al.
| |
| 4940464 | Jul., 1990 | Van Gompel et al.
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| 5007906 | Apr., 1991 | Osborn, III et al.
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| 5046272 | Sep., 1991 | Vogt et al.
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| 5062839 | Nov., 1991 | Anderson.
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| 5104116 | Apr., 1992 | Pohjola.
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| 5224405 | Jul., 1993 | Pohjola.
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| 5226992 | Jul., 1993 | Morman.
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| 5658268 | Aug., 1997 | Johns et al.
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| 5702377 | Dec., 1997 | Collier, IV et al.
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| 5839585 | Nov., 1998 | Miller.
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| 5897542 | Apr., 1999 | Lash et al.
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| 5964743 | Oct., 1999 | Abuto et al.
| |
| 6079562 | Jun., 2000 | Bauer et al.
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| 6229061 | May., 2001 | Dragoo et al.
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| 6229063 | May., 2001 | Shimoe et al.
| |
| 6250929 | Jun., 2001 | Kolb et al.
| |
| 6454095 | Sep., 2002 | Brisebois et al.
| |
| 6648864 | Nov., 2003 | Ronn et al.
| |
| 6763944 | Jul., 2004 | Ronn et al.
| |
| 2004/0010240 | Jan., 2004 | Ronn et al.
| |
| 2004/0030308 | Feb., 2004 | Ronn et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 0 217 032 | Feb., 1992 | EP.
| |
| 0 661 031 | Jul., 1995 | EP.
| |
| 9606587 | Mar., 1996 | WO.
| |
| 9610381 | Apr., 1996 | WO.
| |
Primary Examiner: Calvert; John J.
Assistant Examiner: Stephens; Jacqueline
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pauley Petersen & Erickson
Claims
1. A method of providing a series of types of training pants to consumers, comprising:
providing a series of at least three different types of disposable pant-like
garments, each garment type differing from at least one other garment type in at
least two ways, the at least two differences selected from the group consisting
of: size, level of absorbency, refastenability of side seams, gender specificity,
and wetness indicators; and
conveying information to a consumer describing signals displayed by a child that
indicate greater applicability of one of the types of pant-like garments in the
series over the at least two other types of pant-like garments in the series for
that child.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least three garments
of different sizes.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least three garments
having different levels of absorbency.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least two different garment types each have
an absorbent capacity of greater than about 400 grams and at least one differant
garment type has an absorbent capacity of less than about 300 grams.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes a first garment type and
a second garment type each having substantially the same size, the first garment
type having an absorbent capacity of greater than about 400 grams and the second
garment type having an absorbent capacity of less than about 300 grams.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second garment type has an absorbent capacity
of less than about 200 grams.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least three garments
of different sizes, each having different levels of absorbency.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least one garment having
a refastenable fastening system for attaching a front portion of the garment to
a back portion of the garment, and at least one garment having a pair of permanently
bonded side seams for attaching a front portion of the garment to a back portion
of the garment.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least one unisex pant-like
garment, and at least one gender-specific pant-like garment.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least one garment having
first wetness indicator, and at least one garment having a second wetness indicator
of a different type than the first wetness indicator.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the series includes at least one garment having
a tactile wetness indicator, and at least one garment having a visual wetness indicator.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is conveyed by at least one
of the group consisting of an in-store display, posters, brochures, package literature,
shelf information, computer programs, videos, television, coupon, and advertisement.
13. A method of providing a series of types of training pants to consumers, comprising:
providing a series of at least three different types of disposable pant-like
garments, wherein at least two of the garments are targeted to fit wearers in a
first weight range and at least one of the garments is targeted to fit wearers
in a second weight range, and the at least one garment that is targeted to fit
wearers in a second weight range has a lower absorbent capacity than the at least
two garments targeted to fit wearers in the first weight range, the first weight
range being lower than the second weight range; and
conveying information to a consumer describing signals displayed by a child that
indicate greater applicability of one of the types of pant-like garments in the
series over the at least two other types of pant-like garments in the series for
that child.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least two garments targeted to fit
wearers in the first weight range comprise at least two training pants for a first
stage of toilet training, and the at least one garment that is targeted to fit
wearers in a second weight range comprises a training pant for a second stage of
toilet training subsequent to the first stage.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the absorbent capacity of the at least one
garment that is targeted to fit wearers in a second weight range is less than twice
an anticipated single insult volume.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least two garments targeted to fit
wearers in the first weight range each have an absorbent capacity of at least about
400 grams and the at least one garment targeted to fit wearers in the second weight
range has an absorbent capacity of less than about 300 grams.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the series includes at least one garment
having a refastenable fastening system for attaching a front portion of the garment
to a back portion of the garment, and at least one garment having a pair of permanently
bonded side seams for attaching a front portion of the garment to a back portion
of the garment.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the series included at least one unisex pant-like
garment, and at least one gender-specific pant-like garment.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the series includes at least one garment
having a first wetness indicator, and at least one garment having a second wetness
indicator of a different type than the first wetness indicator.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein the series includes at least one garment
having a tactile wetness indicator, and at least one garment having a visual wetness indicator.
21. The method of claim 13, wherein the information is conveyed by at least one
of the group consisting of an in-store display, posters, brochures, package literature,
shelf information, computer programs, videos, television, coupon, and advertisement.
22. A method of providing a series of types of training pants to consumers, comprising:
providing a first series of disposable pant-like garments, wherein the first
series includes at least three garments designed to fit wearers of different sizes,
each of the garments of the first series having a first level of absorbency; and
providing a second series of disposable pant-like garments, wherein the second
series includes at least three garments, the garments in the second series corresponding
in size to the garments in the first series, each of the garments of the second
series having a second level of absorbency lower than the first level of absorbency.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first level of absorbency is at least
about 400 grams and the second level of absorbency is less than about 300 grams.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first series of disposable pant-like
garments comprises at least three training pants for a first stage of toilet training,
and the second series of disposable pant-like garments comprises at least three
training pants for a second stage of toilet training subsequent to the first stage.
25. The method of claim 22, wherein the second level of absorbency is less than
twice an anticipated single insult volume.
26. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of conveying information
to a consumer describing signals displayed by a child that indicate greater applicability
of one of the types of pant-like garments in one of the series over the other type
of pant-like garments in either of the series for that child.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the information is conveyed by at least one
of the group consisting of an in-store display, posters, brochures, package literature,
shelf information, computer programs, videos, television, coupon, and advertisement.
28. A method of providing a series of types of training pants to consumers, comprising:
providing a series of at least three types of garments, a first garment type
having a small size and an absorbent capacity of at least about 400 grams, a second
garment type having a relatively larger size compared to the small size and an
absorbent capacity of at least about 400 grams, and a third garment type having
a relatively larger size compared to the small size and an absorbent capacity of
less than about 250 grams.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the third garment type has an absorbent capacity
of less than about 200 grams.
30. The method of claim 28, further comprising conveying information to a consumer
indicating greater applicability of one of the three garment types in the series
over other garment types in the series.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein the information is conveyed by at least one
of the group consisting of an in-store display, posters, brochures, package literature,
shelf information, computer programs, videos, television, coupon, and advertisement.
32. A method of providing a series of types of training pants to consumers, comprising:
providing a series of at least four garment types including a first garment type
having a first size, a second garment type having a second size larger than the
first size, a third garment type having a third size larger than the second size,
and a fourth garment type, wherein the first, second and third garment types have
an absorbent capacity of at least about 400 grams, and the fourth garment type
has an absorbent capacity of less than about 250 grams.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the fourth garment type has an absorbent
capacity of less than about 200 grams.
34. The method of claim 32, wherein the fourth garment type has a size that is
substantially the same as one of the second size and the third size.
35. The method of claim 32, further comprising conveying information to a consumer
indicating greater applicability of one of the four garment types in the series
over other garment types in the series, the information being conveyed by at least
one of the group consisting of an in-store display, posters, brochures, package
literature, shelf information, computer programs, videos, television, coupon, and advertisement.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a method of combining a series of types of disposable
undergarments having varying degrees of absorbent capacity and toilet training
features with information that corresponds to the applicability of the undergarments
in view of the changing needs and abilities of caregivers and toilet training children.
The process of toilet training a child can be frustrating for the child as well
as for the caregiver. The ability to control one's excretory functions involves
both physiological and psychological developments. These developments take time.
As children increase in age and personal development, their ability to discern
changes in their surrounding environment increases. A key area of change for toilet
training children is their ability to notice tactile changes when urinating or
defecating in a disposable undergarment. A child's caregiver is typically the best
judge of the child's readiness for toilet training and is typically aware of reasonable
expectations of the child's abilities in various settings and at various times.
For early stage trainers, the children are starting to learn the difference between
the tactile feeling of wet and dry, and do not have the bowel and bladder control
needed to stop urinating in the disposable undergarment they are wearing. As children
make progress in toilet training their tactile perceptions increase and their bowel
and bladder control improve.
As a child makes progress in toilet training, he or she stops wearing diapers
and may begin wearing training pants or cloth undergarments. Cloth underwear is
not preferred by many caregivers due to the inconvenience of inevitable accidents.
Both diapers and training pants are typically designed to contain multiple insults.
As a child progresses through the toilet training process, they learn to control
their bowels and bladder and can become capable of identifying when an insult has
occurred in their training pant. However, high capacity absorbent products that
are able to fully absorb a child's insults may prevent the child from noticing
when an insult has occurred. As a result, less absorbent capacity is needed in
training pants during the later toilet training stages. Furthermore, it can be
desirable to signal to the child a change of expectations with respect to control
of bodily functions.
If a training pant has a high absorbent capacity, it is suitable for the early
stages of toilet training, but it may not motivate the child to finish toilet training
if the child knows that he or she can continue to issue multiple insults without
any negative consequences. If a training pant has a low absorbent capacity, it
is suitable for the late stages of toilet training during which time the training
pant acts as a safety net in case the wearer accidentally issues one insult, but
it may discourage a child in the early stages of toilet training if he or she does
not have to ability to control their insults yet and the training pant is unable
to contain all of their waste.
There is a need or desire for a series of types of training pants and corresponding
information that pertains to the toilet training process, the combination of which
addresses a child's needs and abilities as the child progresses through the toilet
training process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the discussed difficulties and problems encountered in the prior
art, a new method of providing a series of types of disposable training pants to
consumers has been discovered.
The present invention is directed to a method providing a series of at least
three types of disposable undergarments that provide different levels of absorbency
to correspond to the progress made by toilet training children, along with information
provided to the caregiver to help the caregiver determine which undergarment is
appropriate for a particular child.
Because children in the earlier stages of toilet training have not yet developed
the needed levels of bowel and bladder control or physiological awareness or anticipation
of the need to void, a product with a high absorbency level to contain one or more
voids in the pant is appropriate in the early stages of toilet training. Appropriate
undergarments for the later stages of training are designed with less absorbency
making them saturated with less liquid. As the product becomes saturated the child
will feel wet. Garments with less absorbency help the child realize the wetness
and stop voiding in the product while the garment still provides leakage protection
against single-insult accidents.
The series of undergarment types can include multiple undergarments having different
absorbent capacities. For example, the series can include an early stage garment
having an absorbent capacity sufficient to contain multiple insults and a late
stage garment having an absorbent capacity sufficient to contain only one insult.
Additionally, the series can also include one or more intermediate garments having
absorbent capacities in between the capacities of the early stage and late stage
garments, or absorbent capacities even greater than the capacity of the early stage garment.
All of the garments in the series may have the same design and differ only in
terms of the absorbent capacity, and possibly size. Alternatively, the garments
may differ in terms of features as well. For example, any number of the garments
in the series may have refastenable side seams. Likewise, any number of the garments
in the series may have permanently bonded side seams. Furthermore, any number of
the garments in the series may be unisex or gender-specific.
Additional features that may be present in some or all of the garments
in the series to make the training process more convenient, efficient or understandable
include sensory signals, such as tactile wetness indicators or visual wetness indicators.
For example, since a child in the early stages of toilet training has not yet developed
tactile detection of wet and dry, visual wetness indicators may help the child
identify a need for a clean training pant early on in the toilet training process.
Later on in the toilet training process, after the child has developed tactile
awareness, a tactile wetness indicator, such as a wet liner, may be appropriate
to enhance the child's wetness detection.
With the foregoing in mind, particular embodiments of the invention provide
a method of providing a series of types of disposable training pants to consumers
that address a child's needs as the child progresses through the toilet training process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a series of types of absorbent garments, according
to one embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of one of a series of types of absorbent garments,
according to one embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the absorbent garment of FIG. 2 in a partially disassembled,
stretched flat state, and showing the surface of the garment that faces away from
the wearer when the garment is worn, according to one embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the absorbent garment of FIGS. 2 and 3 in a partially
disassembled, stretched flat state, and showing the surface of the garment that
faces the wearer when the article is worn, and with portions cut away to show the
underlying features, according to one embodiment of this invention; and
FIGS. 5-7 representatively show a partially cut away top view, a side view,
and a rear view, respectively, of a Saturated Capacity Tester.
DEFINITIONS
Within the context of this specification, each term or phrase below will include
the following meaning or meanings.
"Absorbent capacity" refers to the maximum volume of liquid that can be
absorbed by a material without any runoff occurring.
"Anticipated single insult volume" refers to the near-maximum amount
of urine or other exudates that can be expected to be expelled during a single
void or insult. More specifically, based on an average of acquired data, the anticipated
single insult volume is three standard deviations higher than the mean single insult volume.
"Audio wetness indicator" refers to a device that signals the detection of
wetness via a sense of sound.
"Behavioral techniques" include demonstrating how you use the toilet;
reminding the child to use the potty; limiting or keeping track of child's intake
of fluids; running water while child is seated; praising for toileting progress;
providing cloth training pants; providing disposable training pants; providing
potty seat/chair; letting child decide when to go; not allowing diapers once started
training; giving rewards for success; firm and consistent approach; verbal teaching
and explanation of toilet training; dressing the child in few/no clothes; disciplining
the child; providing children's underwear/panties; placing on potty/toilet at certain
intervals; monitoring child's behavior; having your child sit on the potty for
a specified time period; using older children as role models (home or daycare);
encouraging your child to be a "Big Kid;" and using toilet training videos and
books to motivate your child.
"Bonded" refers to the joining, adhering, connecting, attaching, or the
like, of two elements. Two elements will be considered to be bonded together when
they are bonded directly to one another or indirectly to one another, such as when
each is directly bonded to intermediate elements.
"Disposable" refers to garments or articles which are designed to be
discarded after a limited use rather than being laundered or otherwise restored
for reuse.
"Disposed," "disposed on," and variations thereof are intended to mean
that one element can be integral with another element, or that one element can
be a separate structure bonded to or placed with or placed near another element.
"Elastic," "elasticized" and "elasticity" mean that property of a material
or composite by virtue of which it tends to recover its original size and shape
after removal of a force causing a deformation.
"Elastomeric" refers to a material or composite which can be elongated
by at least 25 percent of its relaxed length and which will recover, upon release
of the applied force, at least 10 percent of its elongation. It is generally preferred
that the elastomeric material or composite be capable of being elongated by at
least 100 percent, more preferably by at least 300 percent, of its relaxed length
and recover, upon release of an applied force, at least 50 percent of its elongation.
"Fabric" is used to refer to all of the woven, knitted and nonwoven fibrous webs.
"Film" refers to a thermoplastic film made using a film extrusion and/or foaming
process, such as a cast film or blown film extrusion process. The term includes
apertured films, slit films, and other porous films which constitute liquid transfer
films, as well as films which do not transfer liquid.
"Gender-specific" describes an item that is designed to be more
suitable for one gender, either male or female, than the other.
"Hydrophilic" describes fibers or the surfaces of fibers which are
wetted by the aqueous liquids in contact with the fibers. The degree of wetting
of the materials can, in turn, be described in terms of the contact angles and
the surface tensions of the liquids and materials involved. Equipment and techniques
suitable for measuring the wettability of particular fiber materials or blends
of fiber materials can be provided by a Cahn SFA-222 Surface Force Analyzer System,
or a substantially equivalent system. When measured with this system, fibers having
contact angles less than 90° are designated "wettable" or hydrophilic, while
fibers having contact angles greater than 90° are designated "nonwettable"
or hydrophobic.
"Integral" or "integrally" is used to refer to various portions of a single
unitary element rather than separate structures bonded to or placed with or placed
near one another.
"Layer" when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single element
or a plurality of elements.
"Liquid-impermeable," when used to describe a layer or laminate
means that liquid such as urine will not pass through the layer or laminate under
ordinary use conditions in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of
the layer or laminate at the point of liquid contact.
"Liquid-permeable," refers to a layer or laminate that is not
liquid impermeable.
"Longitudinal" and "transverse" have their customary meaning, as indicated
by the longitudinal and transverse axes depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4. The longitudinal
axis lies in the plane of the article and is generally parallel to a vertical plane
that bisects a standing wearer into left and right body halves when the article
is worn. The transverse axis lies in the plane of the article generally perpendicular
to the longitudinal axis. The article as illustrated is longer in the longitudinal
direction than in the transverse direction.
"Meltblown fiber" means fibers formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic
material through a plurality of fine, usually circular, die capillaries as molten
threads or filaments into converging high velocity heated gas (e.g., air) streams
which attenuate the filaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their
diameter, which may be to microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers
are carried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collecting surface
to form a web of randomly dispersed meltblown fibers. Such a process is disclosed
for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 to Butin et al. Meltblown fibers are microfibers
which may be continuous or discontinuous, are generally smaller than about 0.6
denier, and are generally self bonding when deposited onto a collecting surface.
Meltblown fibers used in the present invention are preferably substantially continuous
in length.
"Member" when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single
element or a plurality of elements.
"Nonwoven" and "nonwoven web" refer to materials and webs of material
which are formed without the aid of a textile weaving or knitting process.
"Operatively joined," in reference to the attachment of an elastic member
to another element, means that the elastic member when attached to or connected
to the element, or treated with heat or chemicals, by stretching, or the like,
gives the element elastic properties; and with reference to the attachment of a
non-elastic member to another element, means that the member and element can be
attached in any suitable manner that permits or allows them to perform the intended
or described function of the joint or junction. The joining, attaching, connecting
or the like can be either directly, such as joining either member directly to an
element, or can be indirectly by means of another member disposed between the first
member and the first element.
"Permanently bonded" refers to the joining, adhering, connecting, attaching,
or the like, of two elements of an absorbent garment such that the elements tend
to be and remain bonded during normal use conditions of the absorbent garment.
"Polymers" include, but are not limited to, homopolymers, copolymers,
such as for example, block, graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers,
etc. and blends and modifications thereof. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically
limited, the term "polymer" shall include all possible geometrical configurations
of the material. These configurations include, but are not limited to isotactic,
syndiotactic and atactic symmetries.
"Refastenable" refers to the property of two elements being capable
of releasable attachment, separation, and subsequent releasable reattachment without
substantial permanent deformation or rupture.
"Series" refers to a set of two or more items having a similar appearance
and/or functionality, with at least one feature, such as absorbent capacity, evolving
from one state, e.g. high absorbency, to another, e.g. low absorbency, throughout
the items in the series.
"Spunbonded fiber" refers to small diameter fibers which are formed by
extruding molten thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of fine capillaries
of a spinnerette having a circular or other configuration, with the diameter of
the extruded filaments then being rapidly reduced as by, for example, in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,340,563 to Appel et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner et al.,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,817 to Matsuki et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394
to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,538 to Petersen,
and U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo et al., each of which is incorporated herein
in its entirety by reference. Spunbond fibers are quenched and generally not tacky
when they are deposited onto a collecting surface. Spunbond fibers are generally
continuous and often have average deniers larger than about 0.3, more particularly,
between about 0.6 and 10.
"Stretchable" means that a material can be stretched, without breaking,
to at least 1.2 times its initial (unstretched) length in at least one direction.
"Superabsorbent" or "superabsorbent material" refers to a water-swellable,
water-insoluble organic or inorganic material capable, under the most favorable
conditions, of absorbing at least about 15 times its weight and, more desirably,
at least about 30 times its weight in an aqueous solution containing 0.9 weight
percent sodium chloride. The superabsorbent materials can be natural, synthetic
and modified natural polymers and materials. In addition, the superabsorbent materials
can be inorganic materials, such as silica gels, or organic compounds such as cross-linked polymers.
"Surface" includes any layer, film, woven, nonwoven, laminate, composite,
or the like, whether pervious or impervious to air, gas, and/or liquids.
"Tactile wetness indicator" refers to a device that signals the detection
of wetness via a sense of touch.
"Thermoplastic" describes a material that softens when exposed to
heat and which substantially returns to a nonsoftened condition when cooled to
room temperature.
"Toilet training aids" include: potty training story books for children;
potty training guide books for parents; potty training videotapes for children;
progress charts with stickers; stickers alone as rewards; potty training dolls;
miniature toilets; potty training flash cards; potty training tip sheets; potty
training brochures and pamphlets; reward items, such as stickers, crayons, candy,
toys or the like; urine targets; potty training diplomas; starter kits containing
a combination of these items; potty chairs; musical potty chairs; wetness awareness
devices, such as musical alarms, "feel wet" liners, or the like; and toilet paper
with children's graphics.
"Unisex" describes an item that is designed to be equally suitable for both
genders, male and female.
"Visual wetness indicator" refers to a device that signals the detection
of wetness via a sense of sight.
"Wetness indicator" refers to a device that signals the detection of wetness
via a sensory device, such as by sight, sound, smell, or touch.
These terms may be defined with additional language in the remaining portions
of the specification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of providing a series of two or
more types of disposable undergarments and corresponding information pertaining
to the toilet training process. The information provided in this method is intended
to provide a parent or caregiver, hereinafter simply referred to as a caregiver,
with some guidance on how to select an appropriate absorbent article for a child
during the toilet training process based on the caregiver's knowledge of the child's
abilities, attention span, and other personal characteristics that may have a bearing
on the child's toilet training progress.
The principles of the present invention can be incorporated into a series of
any suitable disposable absorbent article types, or a series of a combination of
any suitable disposable absorbent article types. Examples of such suitable articles
include, but are not limited to, pant-like articles such as diapers and training
pants. Suitable articles may also include pads or liners or other suitable absorbent
articles that can be inserted into pants. For ease of explanation, the description
hereafter will be in terms of a series of types of children's training pants.
Referring to FIG. 1, a series of types of pant-like disposable absorbent
garments or articles, such as training pants 20, is illustrated. For purposes
of illustration, the series includes three training pants 20, but a series
of training pant types in accordance with the present invention can include as
few as two training pants and as many different training pants as necessary to
address the needs of a child during various stages of toilet training.
Each of the pants 20 in the series may differ from the others in terms
of absorbent capacity, size, and/or special features. More particularly, an early
stage training pant 120 suitably has a larger absorbent capacity than a
later stage training pant 124, while a middle stage training pant 122
may have an absorbent capacity between the early stage and late stage absorbent
capacities or even greater than the early stage absorbent capacity. Thus, the absorbent
capacity may be inversely related to a child's bladder control ability and can
provide a motivation to the child to exercise that control.
Higher absorbent capacities are suitable in early stage training pants 120
because children in the earlier stages of toilet training have not yet developed
bowel and bladder control or wetness perception. Therefore, early stage training
pants 120 are designed to contain multiple voids. As children make progress
in toilet training, their physiological perceptions increase and their bowel and
bladder control improve. Later stage training pants 124 are designed with
less absorbency such that the training pants become saturated with less liquid
compared to the early stage training pants 120. As the training pant becomes
saturated, the child will feel wet. When a child can detect wetness, the child
is likely to stop voiding in the training pant if he or she can do so. Each of
the training pants in the series provides leakage protection commensurate with
the respective absorbent capacity.
Essentially, later stage training pants within the series provide a
child with a one-chance opportunity, that is, the later stage training pants can
be single void training pants designed to contain less than twice an anticipated
single insult volume, or even less than a single anticipated insult volume. With
the absorbent capacity being so low, the child may face the consequence of a minor
leakage if the child does insult the pant, which is much less severe in terms of
clean-up compared to cloth training pants. This single void training pant concept
acts as a safety net for the caregiver inasmuch as the child's abilities are not
simply allowed to regress due to inconvenience as they might be if the caregiver
had to resort to applying a high-absorbency pant for times when the caregiver is
unable to be actively coaching the child. The low absorbent capacity pant is also
a potentially useful tool for caregivers who choose to use cloth pants at home,
but wish to avoid the inconvenience of carrying a total change of clothes when
out of the house with the child.
As another embodiment of the invention, the series may include garments with
increased
absorbency designed for use during various times within the later stages of toilet
training when a need for increased absorbency is foreseeable, such as at night,
or during certain excitable events, or over longer than normal durations.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, overall size of the training pants within the series
may vary. Since children continue to grow during the toilet training process, the
size of the garments may increase from the early stage training pant 120
through the later stage training pant 124. Consequently, as the absorbent
capacity of the training pant decreases, the size of the training pant 20
may increase. Alternatively, each of the training pants in the series may be of
a single size designed to accommodate a user who may be increasing in size during
the training process.
For purposes of the present invention, the "size" of one garment type relative
to another garment type refers to a difference in the size of their waist openings
when extended by a force of 2,000 grams. In particular, waist size can be determined
by placing a pant on upper and lower pins of a tensile tester equipped with a suitable
operating and data acquisition system, for example, MTS tensile tester model Synergie
200 Test Bed and MTS TestWorks® for Windows software version 3.10, both available
from MTS® Systems Corporation, Research Triangle Park, N.C. U.S.A. The tensile
tester jaws are separated until reaching 2,000 grams of tension (or a maximum load
value that can be experienced by the sample without causing the sample to tear
or otherwise come apart). At that point the gage length is recorded. The waist
size can be calculated by multiplying the gage length at that tension by 2, and
adding one half the circumference of the upper pin and one half the circumference
of the lower pin. Waist size is tested under standard ASTM laboratory conditions,
and is desirably an average of values from at least 3 pants. Hence, the series
of training pants may include small size garments having an average waist size
that is less than larger size garments.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the series may include at least
three
different types of disposable pant-like garments, with at least two of the garments
targeted to fit wearers in a lower weight range, namely of a smaller size, than
at least one of the other garments in the series. In this embodiment, the garment
or garments targeted to fit wearers in a higher weight range, namely the larger
garments, have a lower absorbent capacity than the smaller garments.
In another particular embodiment of the invention, the series includes at least
two series, or sub-series, of disposable pant-like garments. Each of the garments
within a single series or sub-series is a different size, such that if there are
three garments in a first series there are three garments in three different sizes.
The garments in a second series are the same sizes as the garments in the first
series, however, all of the garments in the first series have a higher absorbent
capacity than the garments in the second series. This embodiment is designed to
provide absorbent garments in a wide range of sizes that are each available in
a range of absorbent capacities suitable throughout various stages of toilet training,
since children become ready to toilet train at different times from child to child,
and not all children are the same size at any single stage of the toilet training process.
Each of the pants in the series may differ from pant to pant in terms of absorbency,
design, size and/or features. For example, the pants 20 can be either unisex
or gender-specific, or the earlier stage training pants 120 can be unisex
while the later stage training pants 124 can be gender-specific. Other features
include a pull-on design as opposed to a refastenable design, explained in detail
below. Additional features that may make the series of training pants more convenient,
efficient, or understandable include wetness indicators. A wet liner or other tactile
wetness indicator is particularly suitable for inclusion in later stage training
pants 124 which are typically worn when a wearer has developed a recognition
of the feeling of wetness. A visual wetness indicator 126 may be particularly
suitable for inclusion in earlier stage training pants 120 which are typically
worn when a wearer may not have developed a recognition of the feeling of wetness
but is likely to be able to see a wetness indicator, such as a graphic, disappear
when wetness occurs. Other types of wetness indicators may include audio wetness
indicators in which a sound is made when wetness is detected, or olfactory wetness
indicators in which a scent is emitted when wetness is detected.
In carrying out the method of the invention, information regarding correlations
between a child's readiness and the appropriate training pant from the series may
be made available to consumers contemplating the purchase of one of the types of
training pants in the series. An example of such information is described in detail
in U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,929, issued to Kolb, et al., hereby incorporated by reference.
More particularly, in terms of information provided for the purchaser, the key
to communicating is helping the caregiver know when the child is ready to switch
to lower absorbency training pants. To ease into lower absorbency training pants,
a child may begin by wearing a training pant having a visual wetness indicator
and then switch to a training pant having a tactile wetness indicator. Ways of
conveying information to the caregiver that may help the caregiver determine the
readiness for toilet training as well as the most appropriate training garment
for his or her charge may include displays, posters, computer programs, brochures,
package literature, shelf information, videos, information on the back of a coupon,
or any other suitable form of communication. The information could be available
at stores, on television, in computer-friendly form, in advertisements, or any
other appropriate venue.
As another example of information that may be provided for the purchaser, a progress
scale may be presented to evaluate a child's toilet training progress at a particular
point in time. Feedback in the form of specific toilet training recommendations
that match a product from the series to the child's current stage of toilet training
may also be made available.
The toilet training progress scale may include a plurality of questions about
learned skills related to toilet training and may also include a response format
for each question including a plurality of response values, the response values
cumulatively generating a toilet training progress value having a range of possible
resulting values; dividing the range of possible resulting values into a plurality
of sub-ranges representing a plurality of stages of toilet training or into the
number of types of absorbent articles in the series; generating a plurality of
recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the child's toilet training
regime, including choosing the most appropriate type of disposable absorbent article;
dividing the recommendations into a plurality of unique groups corresponding to
the plurality of stages of toilet training; assessing the child's toilet training
progress using the toilet training progress scale, including calculating a toilet
training progress value for the child; matching the child's toilet training progress
value to one of the sub-ranges representing a particular stage of toilet training;
selecting the group of recommendations, including recommended pants from the series,
that corresponds to the child's particular stage of toilet training; and outputting
the selected group of recommendations.
The toilet training progress scale is used to assess a child's toilet training
progress at a particular point in time, and may be used at different points in
time to measure improvement and/or regression during the toilet training process
as well as the appropriateness of the training pant worn by the child. For example,
the progress scale may include a series of questions about learned skills related
to toilet training. A caregiver responds to specific questions about the child's
toilet training progress. The questions about learned skills may concern, for example,
the frequency and location of urination or bowel movements (BM), use of the bathroom,
understanding of toilet training terms, activities handled independently by the
child, and communications from the child about the need to use the bathroom.
Each question includes a response format having a plurality of response values,
such as "yes" or "no." The response values may be textual in nature but are desirably
assigned a numerical value, such as 1 for "yes" and 0 for "no." Desirably, the
response format for each question includes 3 or more response values, particularly
4 or more response values, and more particularly 5 or more response values. An
example of a response format with 3 response values is "never," "sometimes," and
"always," which may be assigned numerical values of -1, 0 and 1; 0, 1 and 2; 0,
3 and 5; or the like. Including a greater number of response values allows the
strength of response to be measured, for example with qualitative questions such
as whether your child knows how to urinate in the potty, and allows a wider number
of frequencies to be measured, such as with quantitative questions such as how
many times per day does your child sit on the toilet.
The result of the progress scale is a "toilet training progress value" that represents
the cumulative value of each of the question response values. The toilet training
progress value may consist simply of the sum or the average of the individual question
response values. More desirably, the response values are differentially weighted
depending upon the significance of the relationship between toilet training and
the subject of the question. The differentially weighted response values may then
be added together or averaged in order to generate the toilet training progress
value. As used herein, the terms "cumulative" and "cumulatively" refer to combining
the question response values to obtain the toilet training progress value; they
are not limited to a specific mathematical approach for combining the response values.
The toilet training progress value represents a concrete and tangible result
that can be used for several useful outcomes, including: evaluating the present
stage of toilet training; evaluating the present training pant worn by the child;
comparing the effectiveness of two or more different toilet training methods; comparing
the effectiveness of two or more different types of absorbent articles; assessing
the performance of different toilet training aids; guiding feedback to caregivers
for assisting in the toilet training process, including tips and techniques that
are likely to be effective at that stage; and recommending a most appropriate absorbent
article or training pant selected from the series.
The range of possible resulting values using the progress scale can be divided
into a plurality of sub-ranges that represent various stages of toilet training
and/or various types of absorbent articles in the series. By way of illustration,
the lowest third of the range of possible resulting values may represent the early
stages of toilet training, the highest third of the range of possible resulting
values may represent the later or final stages of toilet training, and the middle
third of the range of possible resulting values may represent the intermediate
stages of toilet training. Alternatively, a greater number of sub-ranges may be
used to represent a greater number of stages of toilet training and/or a greater
number of types of absorbent articles.
A particularly beneficial aspect of the present invention is that a child's toilet
training status can be determined using the progress scale for the purpose of providing
appropriate tips and guidance on toilet training. As a child progresses through
toilet training, a caregiver faces different issues. For example, very early in
the process just determining if the child is ready to begin training is of primary
importance. Later in the process, issues such as the child being aware of accidents
or learning to let the caregiver know before having an accident are bigger concerns.
By using the progress scale to first assess exactly how far the child has progressed
in training, tailored guidance can be dispensed to each caregiver individually.
In particular, a variety of recommendations pertaining to toilet training may be
divided into unique groups that are particularly appropriate for the enumerated
stages of toilet training. The recommendations may additionally be divided into
groups taking into consideration the age and gender of the child. The groups may
have some common recommendations, but desirably the groups will include recommendations
that are specific to the targeted stage of training. Although less desirable, where
the recommendations are divided into a large number of groups, a minor percentage
of the groups can be identical to one another.
For purposes of the present invention, recommendations related to toilet training
that might be provided to a caregiver are divided into four categories: information
on toilet training garments and toilet training aids, information on training tips,
typical child behaviors to monitor, and recommendations of appropriate absorbent
garments designed to accommodate a particular size child during a particular stage
of the toilet training process. In one scenario, for example, a caregiver completes
the survey and the score indicates that the child is just getting started with
toilet training and a pant-like garment having a relatively high absorbent capacity
may be most appropriate. The following points might be woven into a feedback message.
If you haven't yet purchased a potty chair, allow your child to help pick
one out at the store. Making your child part of the process helps your child get
excited about starting training. (Tips/Guidance for Early Stage)
Introduce disposable training pants, with a recommended style and/or size.
Make a big deal out of them. Explain to your child that these are "Big Kid" pants
and Big Kids use the potty. (Training Garments for Early Stage)
In another scenario, a caregiver completes the progress survey and the score
indicates
that the child is about half complete with toilet training. The following points
might be provided as a feedback message.
Don't be surprised if your child always says "no" when you ask if they need
to use the potty. Avoid this standoff by getting your child in a routine of using
the potty at regular intervals. Don't ask them if they need to go, just tell them
it's time to use the potty. If you want, use an egg timer as a reminder so that
the child doesn't blame you for the interruption of play that will happen when
it's time to go. (Typical behavior/issue and Tip/Guidance for Middle Stage)
Children at your child's age and stage may lose interest in training after
only a week or two. If this happens, you can try to regain their interest by making
