JP7498072B2 - Collection of absorbent articles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an absorbent article assembly in which multiple absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, are stacked on top of each other.

Conventionally, absorbent articles such as disposable diapers are folded compactly and stacked to form a collection, and the collection of absorbent articles is distributed on the market as a package of absorbent articles in which the collection is contained in a bag-shaped packaging container. Patent Document 1 describes such a package in which a collection of disposable diapers with a color design applied to the entire area of the outer sheet is prepared in multiple colors and the collection is arranged and loaded by color in a packaging container that can be seen from the outside. As a specific example, a collection of three types of diapers with different color designs is described, which are stacked in three tiers, the upper tier, the middle tier, and the lower tier, in a package. Patent Document 2 describes a package in which a bag-shaped packaging container contains multiple individual packages in which absorbent articles are individually wrapped in a packaging sheet, and the multiple individual packages are color-coded with two types of color patterns and the two types of individual packages with different colors are arranged alternately.

JP 2003-285890 A JP 2016-40183 A

In conventional collections of absorbent articles, it is difficult to identify each individual absorbent article at a glance. Therefore, when taking out the required number of absorbent articles from the collection or when determining the number of absorbent articles remaining in the collection, it is necessary to count each absorbent article by pointing at them with one's finger, which makes it time-consuming to determine the number of absorbent articles.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an assembly of absorbent articles that allows the number of absorbent articles to be easily counted and allows various operations to be easily performed.

The present invention is an absorbent article stack in which a plurality of absorbent articles are stacked.
In one embodiment of the collection of absorbent articles of the present invention, each of the plurality of absorbent articles has an identification area that has a color different from the surrounding area and is visually visible from the outside of the absorbent article.
In one embodiment of the collection of absorbent articles of the present invention, the collection has an identification surface on which is formed an identification area row in which the identification areas of each of the plurality of absorbent articles are aligned in one direction.
In one embodiment of the collection of absorbent articles of the present invention, in the row of identification regions, adjacent identification regions are different in color from each other.
In one embodiment of the collection of absorbent articles of the present invention, the discrimination surface has non-discrimination areas extending along the discrimination area row in the same direction as the discrimination area row and mainly consisting of one type of color different from the color of the discrimination area row.
In one embodiment of the collection of absorbent articles of the present invention, the non-discrimination areas have a common color in each of the plurality of absorbent articles.

The present invention also provides a package for absorbent articles, comprising a stack of the absorbent articles of the present invention and a packaging container for accommodating the stack therein.
Other features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention are described below.

According to the present invention, since the multiple absorbent articles constituting the collection can be easily identified individually, it is easy to grasp the number of absorbent articles, and various operations such as removing the required number of absorbent articles from the collection and checking the remaining number of absorbent articles can be easily performed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic representation of one embodiment of a stack of absorbent articles of the present invention, placed stationary with the stacking directions of the multiple absorbent articles constituting the stack aligned horizontally (left-right direction in FIG. 1). FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic state in which the stack shown in FIG. 1 is placed still with the stacking direction of the multiple absorbent articles constituting the stack aligned vertically (the up-down direction in FIG. 2). FIG. 3 is a developed plan view that shows a schematic view of the skin-facing side (top sheet side) of a disposable diaper, which is one embodiment of the absorbent article that constitutes the assembly shown in FIG. 1, in a developed and stretched state. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the diaper shown in FIG. 3 taken along the vertical center line indicated by reference character CLx (a cross section taken along the thickness direction of the vertical center portion of the diaper). FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the aggregate shown in FIG. 1, and is a perspective view showing a schematic state in which the shape of the aggregate has collapsed from the shape before use. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of a package for absorbent articles of the present invention. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of how the packaging body shown in Figure 6 can be used, and is a perspective view showing a state in which a plurality of diapers (a stack) removed from the packaging body is stored in a container separate from the packaging container that constitutes the packaging body.

The present invention will now be described based on preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are basically schematic, and the ratios of the dimensions may differ from the actual ones.

The absorbent article assembly of the present invention is a stack of multiple absorbent articles. These multiple absorbent articles may have some or all in common, except for the identification area described below. Here, "some parts in common" means that, for example, the basic or main structure of the absorbent articles (e.g., the absorbent body 2 in the diaper 1 described below) or the characteristic part that characterizes the absorbent articles (e.g., the absorbent body 5 in the diaper 1 described below) is structurally or compositionally common, and other elements (except size) are different.

In the present invention, the term "absorbent article" broadly includes articles used to absorb bodily fluids discharged from the human body (urine, loose stools, menstrual blood, sweat, etc.), including, for example, disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, sanitary shorts, etc. Disposable diapers are classified into pants-type diapers that have a waist opening and leg openings, and unfolded-type diapers that do not have these openings and have fastening means such as fastening tape on the non-positioned part of the absorbent body (flap part), and the present invention is applicable to both types of disposable diapers.

1 and 2 show an assembly 10 which is one embodiment of an assembly of absorbent articles of the present invention. The assembly 10 is formed by stacking a plurality of disposable diapers 1 as a plurality of absorbent articles. Note that the only difference between Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 is the number of diapers 1 constituting the assembly 10, and the assembly configuration is the same. In this specification, the number of absorbent articles constituting the assembly is not considered as a constituent element of the assembly.
In this embodiment, in the stack 10, the diapers 1 are stacked in one direction (thickness direction) in a folded state, and the stack 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Each of the diapers 1 has a longitudinal direction X corresponding to the front-rear direction of the wearer, i.e., a direction extending from the abdominal side through the crotch area to the dorsal side, and a transverse direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. The diapers 1 are folded in half in the longitudinal direction X at a folding portion 18 extending in the transverse direction Y. In the stack 10, the diapers 1 are stacked in the same direction so that the folding portions 18 of the diapers 1 are aligned, specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the folding portions 18 of the diapers 1 are located on one surface of the stack 10 (the upper surface in Fig. 1 and the right side surface in Fig. 2). Note that, although eight diapers 1 are stacked in the stack 10 shown in Fig. 1 and four diapers 1 are stacked in the stack 10 shown in Fig. 2, the number of absorbent articles constituting the stack may be more than one, and is not particularly limited in the present invention.

3 and 4 show the diaper 1 constituting the assembly 10. The diaper 1 will now be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the diaper 1 is formed symmetrically on one side and the other side with respect to the lateral center line CLy.
The diaper 1 is divided into three sections: a crotch section B which is placed in the crotch area of the wearer and includes an excretory part facing section (not shown) which faces the excretory part such as the penis; a ventral side section A which is placed closer to the ventral side (front side) of the wearer than the crotch section B; and a dorsal side section C which is placed closer to the dorsal side (rear side) of the wearer than the crotch section B.
The abdominal side portion A is a part of the front body F of the diaper 1, and the back side portion C is a part of the rear body R of the diaper 1. The crotch portion B straddles the vertical centerline CLx in the vertical direction X, and is present from the front body F to the rear body R. Typically, the abdominal side portion A and the back side portion C each include a waist circumference portion that is disposed around the waist of the wearer when the diaper 1 is worn, and the waist circumference portion includes a waist end portion that is an end portion of the diaper 1 in the vertical direction X.
In the present invention, the abdominal region A, the crotch region B and the back region C may be each of the regions obtained by dividing the diaper 1 in an unfolded and stretched state into three equal parts in the longitudinal direction X.

The lateral center line CLy is an imaginary straight line extending in the longitudinal direction X and dividing the diaper 1 in the open and stretched state as shown in FIG.
The longitudinal center line CLx is an imaginary straight line that bisects the diaper 1 in the unfolded and stretched state in the longitudinal direction X and extends in the transverse direction Y. The fold portion 18 (see Figs. 1 and 2) extending in the transverse direction Y is a portion of the diaper 1 that includes a fold line coinciding with the longitudinal center line CL and its vicinity.
The "unfolded and stretched state" refers to a state in which the diaper is unfolded as shown in Figure 3, and the diaper 1 in the unfolded state is expanded to its designed dimensions (the same as the dimensions when it is spread out flat without any effect of the elastic members).

The diaper 1 includes an absorbent 5 that absorbs and retains body fluids such as urine. In this embodiment, the absorbent 5 includes an absorbent core 50 capable of absorbing and retaining body fluids, and a core wrap sheet 51 that covers the outer surface of the absorbent core 50, including the skin-facing surface and the non-skin-facing surface. The absorbent core 50 typically contains a water-absorbent material as the main component, and the water-absorbent material contains one or more types selected from a fiber material such as wood pulp and a water-absorbent polymer. The core wrap sheet 51 is liquid-permeable and typically consists of paper, nonwoven fabric, or the like. In the present invention, the core wrap sheet 51 is not necessary.

In this embodiment, the diaper 1 comprises an absorbent body 2, which comprises an absorbent body 5, and further comprises a top sheet 3 arranged on the skin-facing side of the absorbent body 5, and a back sheet 4 arranged on the non-skin-facing side of the absorbent body 5. The contour of the absorbent body 2 coincides with the contour of the absorbent body 5. The absorbent body 2 extends in the vertical direction X from the ventral side A to the back side C, and its longitudinal direction coincides with the vertical direction X. The top sheet 3 forms the skin-facing surface (inner surface) of the diaper 1 together with a leak-proof cuff-forming sheet 13 described later, and the back sheet 4 forms the non-skin-facing surface (outer surface) of the diaper 1. The components of the absorbent body 2 are joined to each other by known joining means such as adhesives. As the components of the absorbent body 2, those normally used in this type of absorbent article can be used without any particular restrictions, on the premise that the components are described later and the description can be applied. As the top sheet 3, various types of liquid-permeable sheets can be used, such as nonwoven fabric, woven fabric, and paper. As the back sheet 4, a leak-proof sheet can be used, specifically a sheet that is liquid-impermeable (no liquid can pass through) or liquid-difficult to pass through (not liquid-impermeable, but liquid-difficult to pass through), such as a moisture-permeable resin film or a laminate of the resin film and nonwoven fabric.

In this specification, the "skin-facing side" refers to the side of the absorbent article or its constituent member (e.g., absorbent body) that faces the wearer's skin when the absorbent article is worn, i.e., the side relatively closer to the wearer's skin, and the "non-skin-facing side" refers to the side of the absorbent article or its constituent member that faces the opposite side from the skin when the absorbent article is worn, i.e., the side relatively farther from the wearer's skin. Note that "when worn" here refers to the normal, proper wearing position, i.e., the state in which the absorbent article is maintained in the correct wearing position.

The diaper 1 has both side edges along the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent body 5 (absorbent main body 2) and side flap portions 11 extending outward in the lateral direction Y from imaginary extensions of both side edges. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the top sheet 3 covers the entire skin-facing surface of the absorbent body 5, and the back sheet 4 covers the entire non-skin-facing surface of the absorbent body 5, and both sheets 3, 4 further extend outward in the lateral direction Y from both side edges along the longitudinal direction X of the absorbent body 5 to form the side flap portions 11 together with the leak-proof cuff forming sheet 13 described later. The multiple members constituting the side flap portions 11 are joined together by known joining means such as adhesives, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, etc.

3 and 4, a pair of leak-proof cuffs 12, 12 that stand up toward the wearer's skin when worn are arranged along both sides along the vertical direction X of the absorbent body 2. Each leak-proof cuff 12 includes a liquid-resistant or water-repellent and breathable leak-proof cuff-forming sheet 13, one end of which in the horizontal direction Y is fixed to other members (the top sheet 3 and the back sheet 4 in the illustrated embodiment) as a fixed end 13a, and the other end in the horizontal direction Y as a free end 13b that is not fixed to other members. A leak-proof cuff-forming elastic member 14 is arranged on the free end 13b of the sheet 13 in a stretched state in the vertical direction X, allowing it to stretch in the same direction. When the diaper 1 is worn, the contractile force of the elastic member 14 causes the free end 13b of the sheet 13 at least in the crotch portion B to rise toward the wearer with the fixed end 13a to another member as the rising base, causing the pair of leak-proof cuffs 12, 12 to rise, thereby preventing urine and other excrement from flowing outward in the lateral direction Y.

At the end (waist end) in the longitudinal direction X of each of the abdominal portion A and the back portion C, a plurality of elastic members 15 for forming waist gathers are arranged to be stretchable in the transverse direction Y, and the plurality of elastic members 15 are arranged intermittently at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction X. In this manner, the elastic members 15 are arranged in a state in which their stretchability is expressed, so that when the diaper 1 is in its natural state or when it is worn, the contraction of the elastic members 15 forms a plurality of folds (gathers) in the sheet (sheets 3 and 4 in this embodiment) constituting the waist end at the waist end of the abdominal portion A and the back portion C where the elastic members 15 are arranged, the folds extending in a direction intersecting the contraction direction of the elastic members 15, thereby forming a waist gather in which the folds are substantially continuous around the entire circumference of the waist end. In the leg portion of the flap portion 11 that is disposed around the legs of the wearer when the diaper 1 is worn, a leg gather forming elastic member 16 that is stretchable in the longitudinal direction X extends in the longitudinal direction X at least over the entire length of the crotch portion B in the longitudinal direction X, and when the diaper 1 is worn, contraction of the elastic member 16 forms a plurality of folds (gathers) in the sheets constituting the leg portion (in this embodiment, the sheets 4 and 13), extending in a direction intersecting the contraction direction of the elastic member 16, thereby forming leg gathers in which the folds are substantially continuous all around the legs of the wearer. These gather forming elastic members 15, 16 are all sandwiched and fixed in a stretched state between the waist end portion or the plurality of sheets constituting the flap portion 11 (in this embodiment, two of the top sheet 3, the back sheet 4 and the leakproof cuff forming sheet 13) by a joining means such as an adhesive. The shape of each of the aforementioned elastic members 14, 15, and 16 is not particularly limited, and for example, a thread-like or string-like member (such as flat rubber) with a rectangular, square, circular, or polygonal cross section, or a multifilament type thread-like member can be used.

The diaper 1 is a so-called flat-type disposable diaper, and as shown in FIG. 3, it has a pair of fastening tapes 6, 6 provided on both side edges along the longitudinal direction X of the dorsal portion C of the diaper 1, and a target tape 7 provided on the outer surface of the abdominal portion A to which the fastening tapes 6 are removably fixed. Each of the pair of fastening tapes 6, 6 has a fastening portion 60, and is removably fixed to the target tape 7 via the fastening portion 60.

In this embodiment, the target tape 7 has a rectangular shape that is elongated in the horizontal direction Y when viewed in a plan view as shown in Figure 3, and is fixed to the non-skin-facing surface of the back sheet 4 that forms the outer surface of the diaper 1 in the abdominal side portion A by known joining means such as adhesives, fusion bonding, etc.
The material of the target tape 7 is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately selected depending on the material of the fastening part 60 of the fastening tape 6. For example, when the fastening part 60 is a male material of a mechanical fastener, the target tape 7 may be a loop material having a surface structure that can engage with an engaging protrusion of the male material as a female material of the mechanical fastener, and specific examples of the loop material include fiber sheets such as knitted fabric and nonwoven fabric. When the fastening part 60 is an adhesive, the target tape 7 may be a smooth film made of synthetic resin, for example.

The diaper 1 has an identification area 20 that is a different color from the surrounding area and is visually visible from outside the diaper 1, and in this embodiment, the target tape 7 functions as the identification area 20. The collection 10 is characterized in that it has an identification surface 10S on which an identification area row 21 is formed, in which the identification areas 20 of each of the multiple diapers 1 are aligned in one direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and the top-bottom direction in FIG. 2), as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

In this embodiment, each of the diapers 1 constituting the assembly 10 is in a folded state. The folded state of the diaper 1 is formed by first folding each of the pair of side flap portions 11, 11 in the horizontal direction Y with the skin-facing surface (top sheet 3 side) on the inside at the portion surrounded by the dotted line in Fig. 3, specifically the inner edge of the side flap portion 11, and then folding the diaper 1 in the vertical direction X at or near the vertical center line CLx with the skin-facing surface (top sheet 3 side) on the inside (folding in half). In the folded state of the diaper 1, the inner edge of the side flap portion 11 is a fold portion 17 extending in the longitudinal direction X, and the longitudinal center line CLx or its vicinity is a fold portion 18 extending in the transverse direction Y, and the fold portion 17 is divided by the fold portion 18 (the longitudinal center line CLx) into a front fold portion 17F located in the front body portion F and a rear fold portion 17R located in the rear body portion R. The front fold portion 17F includes an end portion of the target tape 7 in the transverse direction Y as shown in Fig. 3, and therefore the target tape 7 is provided on the outer surface of the front fold portion 17F (the non-skin-facing surface of the backsheet 4 at the front fold portion 17F). As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the stack 10 has a pair of opposing faces 10S, 10S in which the outer surfaces of the front folds 17F and the outer surfaces of the rear folds 17R of the diapers 1 are alternately arranged in one direction. The front folds 17F of each face 10S are provided with a target tape 7 that functions as an identification area 20, so that each face 10S is an identification face 10S in which an identification area row 21 is formed in which a plurality of identification areas 20 (parts of the target tape 7) are arranged in one direction (the direction in which the diapers 1 are stacked). In the identification area row 21 thus formed in this embodiment, the rear folds 17R, which are not identification areas 20, are present between adjacent identification areas 20, and the identification areas 20 and the rear folds 17R (parts that are not identification areas 20) are alternately arranged. The color of the rear folds 17R is the same as the color of the non-identification areas 23 described later, and is typically white or an achromatic color close to white.

As described above, the identification area row 21 is a portion in which the identification areas 20 of the diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 are aligned in one direction to form a row.
Here, in order to say that "multiple identification areas form an identification area row," it is necessary that the identification areas of each of the multiple absorbent articles that make up the collection are arranged with enough cohesion on one surface of the collection that they can be considered to form a row, and to this end, it is necessary that 1) the multiple identification areas present on one surface of the collection are in the same position as each other in a direction perpendicular to the collection direction of the multiple diapers 1 (the thickness direction of the diapers 1) (hereinafter also referred to as the "orthogonal direction of collection"), and 2) the lengths (i.e., widths) of the multiple identification areas in the orthogonal direction of collection are the same as each other.
Regarding 1), referring to Figures 1 and 2, if the difference between the distance D from the fold 18 (the fold line generated when the diaper 1 is folded in the vertical direction X) at the center position of the identification area 20 in the perpendicular direction of the stack (vertical direction X) of one diaper 1 arbitrarily selected from the plurality of diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 and the average value of the distances D of the plurality of diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 is less than 10% of the average value, it can be said that 1) is satisfied.
With regard to 2) above, referring to Figures 1 and 2, if the difference between the width 20W of the identification region 20 of one diaper 1 randomly selected from the multiple diapers 1 constituting the collection 10 and the average value of the widths 20W of the multiple diapers 1 constituting the collection 10 is less than 10% of the average value, it can be said that 2) above is satisfied.
In this regard, the stack 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 has a zero difference between the spacing distance D of each diaper 1 and its average value, as referred to in 1), and a zero difference between the width 20W of the identification area 20 of each diaper 1 and its average value, as referred to in 2), thereby completely satisfying 1) and 2), and the multiple identification areas 20 on one surface (identification surface) 10S of the stack 10 form a band-shaped (straight-line) identification area row 21 of a constant width when viewed in a plane.

In the identification region row 21, the colors of adjacent identification regions 20 are different from each other. In the present invention, when "colors are different" or "different colors" are used, "color" refers to hue (shade). That is, the above-mentioned "colors of adjacent identification regions 20 are different from each other" means that the hues of adjacent identification regions 20 are different from each other, and when adjacent identification regions 20 have the same hue and only the tone (shade) is different, the colors of the adjacent identification regions 20 are the same. For example, when one of two adjacent identification regions 20 is red and the other is blue, the hues of the two identification regions 20 are different from each other, but when one is dark red and the other is light red, the hues of the two identification regions 20 are the same, so the colors of the two identification regions 20 are different from each other.
Typically, the identification regions 20 of each of the plurality of diapers 1 are uniform in one color. "Uniform in one color" here means that the color difference ΔE ^* between any two points in the identification region 20 is less than 5. In addition, when the identification region 20 is composed of a design such as letters, numbers, or a pattern and a background color thereof, "any two points in the identification region 20" here means any two points in the background color. The background color is usually the largest area in the identification region 20 and constitutes the main part of the identification region 20. The color difference ΔE ^* will be described later.

In the assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1, the identification region row 21 has a repeating unit 22 in which three or more types of identification regions 20 of different colors are arranged in a predetermined order, and adjacent identification regions 20 have different colors. More specifically, in the assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1, the identification region row 21 is formed by connecting multiple repeating units 22 (two rows) in which four types of identification regions 20 of different colors are arranged in a predetermined order, and is composed of the repeating units 22. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a portion of this assembly 10 having the repeating units 22 taken out and laid horizontally. The number of identification regions 20 (number of colors) constituting the repeating unit 22 may be three or more, and is not particularly limited.

The discrimination surface 10S has non-discrimination areas 23 that extend along the discrimination area row 21 in the same direction as the discrimination area row 21 and that are mainly made up of one type of color different from the color of the discrimination area row 21.
1 and 2, in the present embodiment, a pair of non-discrimination areas 23, 23 are present on both sides of the discrimination area row 21 in the stacking orthogonal direction (vertical direction X) on the discrimination surface 10S. Of the pair of non-discrimination areas 23, 23, the area on the crotch portion B side (the fold portion 18 side) has a longer length (i.e., width) in the stacking orthogonal direction and a larger area than the opposite side (the waist end side).

As mentioned above, the main color of the non-discrimination area 23 is "one type of color different from the color of the discrimination area row 21," and this is typically the color that the material forming the non-discrimination area 23 (discrimination surface 10S) originally has, that is, the so-called background color. A specific example of this background color is white or an achromatic color close to white, which is the background color of various sheet materials such as nonwoven fabrics that are commonly used as materials for forming this type of absorbent article. In other words, the color of the non-discrimination area 23 is typically white or an achromatic color close to white. The parts of the diaper 1 other than the discrimination area 20 and the discrimination auxiliary area 24 described below are typically white or an achromatic color close to white.

The non-discrimination areas 23 have a common color among the multiple diapers 1. In other words, the multiple diapers 1 constituting the assembly 10 have a common color among the portions constituting the non-discrimination areas 23. Here, "common color" means that the main color of the non-discrimination areas 23 is common, and more specifically, means that the color difference ΔE ^* of the main color of the non-discrimination areas 23 between the contrasting diapers 1 is less than 5. The main color of the non-discrimination areas 23 will be described later.

On the other hand, the identification region 20 and the identification auxiliary region 24 described below are typically made by coloring a white or near-white achromatic member to the desired color using a known dyeing method such as printing, or are made of dyed fibers of the desired color, and the colors of both regions 20, 24 typically differ in hue (color) from white or near-white achromatic colors. The dyed fibers are fibers that are colored at the fiber manufacturing stage, and are manufactured through a coloring process in which, for example, a dye such as a pigment is added to a manufacturing intermediate product at the stage from resin manufacturing to fiberization.

As described above, the color of the non-discrimination regions 23 is primarily one type of color (monochrome) such as the background color of the material forming the non-discrimination regions 23, and "primarily" here means that the color difference ΔE* between any two locations is less than 5 for 50% or more, preferably 75% or more, and more preferably 90% or more of the total area of the non-discrimination regions 23 present on the discrimination surface 10S (for example, in the case of the aggregate 10 shown in FIG. 1, the sum of the areas of each of a pair of non-discrimination regions 23, 23 on both sides of the discrimination region row 21). In other words, the monochromatic occupancy rate of the non-discrimination regions 23 must be at ^least 50% or more.
In this specification, various indices relating to the color of the non-discrimination area 23 (for example, color difference ΔE ^* ) are indices for one type of color that constitutes the main color of the non-discrimination area 23, unless otherwise specified.

In this specification, the color difference ΔE ^* is based on the "L ^* a ^* b ^* color system" defined in JIS-Z-8729, and can be measured by the following method. The larger the value of the color difference ΔE ^* , the easier it is to recognize the difference between contrasting colors.

<Method of measuring color difference ΔE ^* >
The color difference ΔE ^* is measured using a color difference meter. As the color difference meter, a simplified spectrophotometer NF333 (product name) manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd. can be used. In the "L ^* a ^* b ^* color system" defined in JIS-Z-8729, lightness L ^* indicates brightness, chromaticity a ^* and chromaticity b ^* indicate color directions, with a ^* indicating approximately the red direction, -a ^* indicating approximately the green direction, b ^* indicating approximately the yellow direction, and -b ^* indicating approximately the blue direction. The color difference ΔE ^* is a value calculated by the following formula (1).
Color difference ΔE ^* =[(ΔL ^* ) ² +(Δa ^* ) ² +(Δb ^* ) ² ] ^1/2 (1)
ΔL ^* , Δa ^* , and Δb ^* are the differences in the L ^* , a ^* , and b ^* values between two contrasting colors, respectively. For example, ΔL ^* is calculated by ΔL ^* =L ^* ₂ −L ^* ₁ .
In the measurement method using the simplified spectrophotometer NF333, the measurement is performed under the conditions of light source C and a viewing angle of 2°.
The absorbent article to be measured is placed in an unfolded and stretched state on a white plate, and the tip of the sensor provided in the color difference meter is brought into direct contact with the measurement target portion of the absorbent article (discrimination area, non-discrimination area, discrimination auxiliary area, etc.), and the sensor is pressed against the measurement target portion so that no gap is formed between the measurement target portion and the tip of the sensor, and measurement is performed. Measurement is performed five times for each measurement target portion, and the average is taken as the color difference ΔE ^* of the measurement target portion.

As described above, the collection 10 has: a) an identification surface 10S on which an identification region row 21 is formed, in which the identification regions 20 (in this embodiment, target tape 7) of each of the multiple diapers 1 are aligned in one direction; b) in the identification region row 21, adjacent identification regions 20 are different in color; and c) on the identification surface 10S, there are non-identification regions 23 which extend along the identification region row 21 in the same direction as the identification region row 21 and which are mainly of a color different from that of the identification region row 21, and the non-identification regions 23 are of a common color for each of the multiple diapers 1. This makes it easier to determine the number of diapers 1 (absorbent articles) compared to a conventional collection of absorbent articles, and various operations involving such determination of the number, such as removing the required number of diapers 1 from the collection 10 and checking the remaining number of diapers 1, can be easily performed. In particular, by adopting a) and b), it becomes easier to individually identify the multiple diapers 1 that make up the collection 10, and by adopting c) and having non-identification areas 23 along with the identification area row 21 on the identification surface 10S, it becomes easier to individually identify the multiple identification areas 20 that make up the identification area row 21.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the identification region row 21 has a repeating unit 22 in which three or more types of identification regions 20 of different colors are arranged in a predetermined order. Therefore, even if one diaper 1 is removed from the collection 10, the colors of adjacent identification regions 20 remain different from each other, and the effects of the characteristic configuration of the collection 10 described above can be achieved for a relatively long period of time.

From the viewpoint of ensuring the advantageous effect of the adoption of the above c), it is preferable that 50% or more, preferably 75% or more, and more preferably 90% or more of the total length of the non-discrimination area 23 in the perpendicular direction (vertical direction X) of the stack in each of the diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 (for example, in the case of the stack 10 shown in FIG. 1, the total total length in the vertical direction X of each of a pair of non-discrimination areas 23, 23 on both sides of the discrimination area row 21) have a color difference ΔE ^* between the end of the non-discrimination area 23 on the discrimination area 20 side of less than 5. In other words, it is preferable that the color occupancy rate of the end of the non-discrimination area 23 on the discrimination area side of the discrimination area is 50% or more. This makes the discrimination area 20 (discrimination auxiliary area 24) more noticeable. The above-mentioned "end of the non-discrimination region 23 on the discrimination region 20 side" means a region within 15 mm on the non-discrimination region 23 side from the boundary between the non-discrimination region 23 and the discrimination region 20, and in the case where the discrimination auxiliary region 24 described below is present between the discrimination region 20 and the non-discrimination region 23, it means a region within 15 mm on the non-discrimination region 23 side from the boundary between the non-discrimination region 23 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24.

The non-discrimination area 23 includes the crotch area B where excrement concentrates, and depending on the color of the non-discrimination area 23, it may be difficult to visually check the presence or absence of excrement in the crotch area B. For example, when the wearer of the diaper 1 is an infant, a third party such as the infant's mother may visually check the crotch area B of the diaper 1 while it is being worn to check the presence or absence of excrement, and in such a case, it is desirable to be able to immediately check the presence or absence of excrement at a glance at the crotch area B, etc. From this perspective, it is preferable that the color of the non-discrimination area 23 has a lightness L ^* of 90 or more. White or achromatic colors close to white have a lightness L ^* of 90 or more.

From the viewpoint of ensuring the above-mentioned effects of the characteristic configuration of the aggregate 10, particularly from the viewpoint of making it easier to individually identify the multiple diapers 1 constituting the aggregate 10, the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions 20 in the identification region row 21 is preferably 8 or more, more preferably 15 or more, and even more preferably 20 or more. There is no particular upper limit to the color difference ΔE ^* , but if the color difference ΔE ^* is too large, for example, when the colors of the multiple identification regions 20 constituting the identification region row 21 are primary colors such as red, blue, yellow, and black, the impression of the identification region row 21 may be too strong and may give an unpleasant impression to the viewer. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving the sense of unity of the entire aggregate 10 and giving a soft impression to the viewer of the aggregate 10, the color difference ΔE* is preferably 70 or less, more preferably 60 or less, and even more preferably 50 or less. Specifically, the color difference ΔE ^* is preferably 8 to 70, more preferably 15 to 60, and even more preferably 20 to 50.

From the viewpoint of ensuring the above-mentioned advantageous effects of the characteristic configuration of the aggregate 10, particularly from the viewpoint of making it easier to individually identify the plurality of identification regions 20 constituting the identification region row 21, the color difference ΔE ^* between the identification region 20 and the non-identification region 23 in the portion constituting the identification surface 10S in each of the plurality of diapers 1 constituting the aggregate 10 is preferably 8 or more, more preferably 15 or more, and even more preferably 20 or more. There is no particular upper limit for such color difference ΔE ^* , but from the viewpoint of improving the sense of unity of the entire diaper 1 and giving a soft impression to those who see the diaper 1, it is preferably 70 or less, more preferably 60 or less, and even more preferably 50 or less. Specifically, such color difference ΔE ^* is preferably 8 or more and 70 or less, more preferably 15 or more and 60 or less, and even more preferably 20 or more and 50 or less.

A preferred embodiment of the assembly 10 includes the following configuration A. Example 1 described later has the following configuration A.
Configuration A: The identification area row 21 has a first group G1 consisting of a plurality of identification areas 20 in which the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification areas 20 is within a predetermined range, and a second group G2 in which the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification areas 20 is in a range different from that of the first group G1, and the first group G1 and the second group G2 are arranged alternately in one direction (the direction in which the plurality of diapers 1 are accumulated).

1, the first group G1 is made up of four adjacent identification regions 20, and the second group G2 is made up of two adjacent identification regions 20. The first group G1 and the second group G2 are arranged alternately in one direction, and the adjacent first group G1 and second group G2 share one identification region 20. In other words, the identification region 20 located at the end of the first group G1 on the side of the second group G2 in one direction is the same as the identification region 20 located at the end of the second group G2 on the side of the first group G1 in one direction.
As described above, the range of color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions 20 in the first group G1 does not overlap with that of the second group G2. For example, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the first group G1 is made up of four adjacent identification regions 20 and has three color differences ΔE ^* , and the range of color difference ΔE ^* of the first group G1 determined by the three color differences ΔE ^* does not overlap with the range of color difference ΔE ^* of the second group G2 determined in a similar manner.
In the cluster 10 having the above-mentioned configuration A, two groups G1, G2 in which the ranges of color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent clusters of clusters 20 are different are periodically present along the extension direction of the cluster 21 in the cluster 21, thereby providing excellent discrimination between the groups G1, G2 and making it even easier to count the number of diapers 1 constituting the cluster 10.
In addition, for both the first group G1 and the second group G2, the number of identification regions 20 included in the group (G1 or G2) is not particularly limited, provided that there are multiple identification regions 20, and the numbers of identification regions 20 included in the groups may be the same or different.

From the viewpoint of ensuring the effect of the configuration A, the difference between the "average value of color differences ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions 20" of one of the first group G1 and the second group G2 (when only one color difference ΔE ^* exists, such as in the second group G2 in the form shown in FIG. 1, this refers to that one color difference ΔE ^* . Hereinafter, this will also be referred to as the "average color difference ΔE ^* ") and the average color difference ΔE ^* of the other is preferably 5 or more, more preferably 8 or more. There is no particular upper limit to the difference in the average color difference ΔE ^* , but from the viewpoint of improving the sense of unity of the entire diaper 1 and giving a soft impression to those who see the diaper 1, it is preferably 20 or less, more preferably 15 or less.
The color difference ΔE ^* average value of either the first group G1 or the second group G2 is preferably 8 or more, more preferably 15 or more, and is preferably 25 or less, more preferably 20 or less.

It is preferable that the discrimination region row 21 has a portion in which the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent discrimination regions 20 gradually decreases from one side to the other side in the extension direction of the discrimination region row 21 (the direction in which the multiple diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 are accumulated). That is, for example, referring to Fig. 2, when the multiple discrimination regions 20 constituting the discrimination region row 21 include four types of discrimination regions 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D extending from one side to the other side in the extension direction of the discrimination region row 21 (the vertical direction in Fig. 2), it is preferable that the following magnitude relationship (i) is established.
(i) Color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20B>color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20C>color difference ΔE ^* between 20C and 20D
The establishment of the size relationship (i) makes it easier to individually identify the multiple diapers 1 that make up the stack 10. In particular, in the stack 10 shown in Fig. 1, the identification region row 21 has a repeating unit 22 in which three or more types of identification regions 20 of different colors are arranged in a predetermined order, as described above, and the establishment of the size relationship (i) further improves the identifiability of the repeating unit 22, making it easier to count the number of diapers 1 that make up the stack 10.

In the discrimination region row 21, it is preferable that the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent discrimination regions 20 is larger than the color difference ΔE ^* between every other discrimination region 20. That is, for example, referring to Figure 2, it is preferable that the following magnitude relationships (ii) to (v) all hold for the four types of discrimination regions 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D.
(ii) Color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20B>color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20C, color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20D
(iii) Color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20C>color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20C, color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20D
(iv) Color difference ΔE ^* between 20C and 20D>color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20C, color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20D
(v) Color difference ΔE ^* between 20D and 20A>color difference ΔE ^* between 20A and 20C, color difference ΔE ^* between 20B and 20D
By satisfying all of the above size relationships (ii) to (v), it is possible to ensure a sufficient color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification areas 20 in the identification area row 21, thereby improving the individual identification of the multiple diapers 1 that make up the collection 10, while allowing a relatively large number of different colors to be used in the identification area row 21.This makes it possible to apply the present invention even when the number of diapers 1 that make up the collection 10 is relatively large.

In this embodiment, as described above, the target tape 7 functions as the identification region 20. As an example of a preferred form of the target tape 7 as the identification region 20, referring to FIG. 3, there is an example in which the target tape 7 crosses the diaper 1 in the horizontal direction Y, is unified in one type of hue (e.g., red), is lightest in color at the center in the horizontal direction Y, and becomes gradually darker from the center toward the outside in the horizontal direction Y. When the target tape 7 is configured in this manner, it is possible to enhance the design of the diaper 1 while ensuring the expression of its function as the identification region 20 described above.

In this embodiment, the assembly 10 has another characteristic feature in addition to the characteristic features a) to c) described above. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, an identification auxiliary region 24, which is a single color different from the colors of the identification region row 21 and the non-discrimination regions 23, extends along the identification region row 21 in the same direction as the identification region row 21 between the identification region row 21 and the non-discrimination regions 23 on the identification surface 10S of the assembly 10.
Here, "uniformity with one type of color" means that the color difference ΔE ^* between any two points in the identification-assisting region 24 is less than 5.
The presence of the identification auxiliary area 24 on the identification surface 10S makes the adjacent identification areas 20 more noticeable, which, combined with the effect of the non-identification area 23 described above, makes it easier to individually identify the multiple identification areas 20, making it possible to perform various operations more easily.
The above-mentioned effect can be achieved even if the identification auxiliary region 24 is present on only one side of the identification region row 21 in the direction perpendicular to the accumulation (vertical direction X). However, it is preferable that the identification auxiliary region 24 is present on both sides of the identification region row 21, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, because this more reliably achieves the above-mentioned effect.

Regarding the effect of the identification auxiliary region 24, for example, when the stack 10 is contained inside a packaging container, such as the diaper packaging body 30 described below, and the longitudinal direction X of the diapers 1 are arranged in the packaging container with the longitudinal direction X aligned with the vertical direction (the up-down direction in FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. 1, as the number of diapers 1 constituting the stack 10 gradually decreases with use, the shape of the stack 10 will accordingly lose its shape (approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape) before use (before the diapers 1 are removed), and as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the longitudinal direction X of the diapers 1 will be tilted with respect to the vertical direction. As a result, the arrangement of the multiple identification regions 20 in the identification region row 21 will become distorted, reducing the visibility of the identification region row 21, and there is a concern that the above-mentioned effect will not be fully achieved. However, the presence of the identification auxiliary region 24 between the identification region row 21 and the non-identification region 23 alleviates such concerns because the line of sight of a person observing the identification surface 10S tends to be focused on the identification region row 21 even if the shape of the assembly 10 is distorted and the arrangement of the identification regions 20 becomes somewhat disordered as shown in FIG. 5. This effect of making the identification region row 21 stand out is particularly noticeable when the identification auxiliary region 24 is present on both sides of the identification region row 21, as shown in FIG. 5.

In order to ensure that the above-mentioned effect of the identification auxiliary region 24 is achieved, it is preferable that the length (i.e., width) 24W (see Figure 1) of the identification auxiliary region 24 in the accumulation perpendicular direction (vertical direction X) is one-third or less of the length in the same direction of the identification region 20, i.e., width 20W (see Figure 1).
The width 24W of the identification-auxiliary region 24 is preferably 2 mm or more, more preferably 3.5 mm or more, and is preferably 10 mm or less, more preferably 7.5 mm or less.
The width 20W of the identification region 20 is preferably 20 mm or more, more preferably 25 mm or more, and is preferably 60 mm or less, more preferably 45 mm or less.

In order to enhance the effect of the aforementioned identification auxiliary region 24 and make it even easier to individually identify the multiple identification regions 20 that make up the identification region row 21, it is preferable that the following magnitude relationship (vi) holds for more than half of the multiple types of identification regions 20 in the identification region row 21 that are different in color.
(vi) The color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region 20 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24 is larger than the color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region 23 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24 (color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region 20 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24 > color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region 23 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24).
2, there are four types of discrimination regions 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D in the discrimination region row 21, and it is preferable that the size relationship (vi) be established for at least two of these four types. When multiple types of discrimination regions 20 of different colors are arranged in the discrimination region row 21, the boundary between the discrimination region 20 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24 is less noticeable than the boundary between the non-discrimination region 23, which is mainly of one color and typically has a uniform color substantially throughout, and the discrimination auxiliary region 24, and therefore it is preferable that the size relationship (vi) be established.

From the viewpoint of enhancing the effect of the above-mentioned discrimination auxiliary region 24 and making it easier to individually discriminate the plurality of discrimination regions 20 constituting the discrimination region row 21, the "color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region 20 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24" and the "color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region 23 and the discrimination auxiliary region 24" are each preferably 8 or more, more preferably 15 or more, and even more preferably 20 or more. There is no particular upper limit for such color difference ΔE ^* , but from the viewpoint of improving the overall uniformity of the diaper 1 and giving a soft impression to those who see the diaper 1, it is preferably 70 or less, more preferably 60 or less, and even more preferably 50 or less. Specifically, such color difference ΔE ^* is preferably 8 or more and 70 or less, more preferably 15 or more and 60 or less, and even more preferably 20 or more and 50 or less.

The present invention includes a package for absorbent articles, including an assembly of absorbent articles of the present invention described above. FIG. 6 shows a diaper package 30, which is one embodiment of a package for absorbent articles of the present invention. In the embodiments described below, configurations that differ from the above embodiment (assembly 10) will be mainly described, and similar configurations will be given the same reference numerals and will not be described. For configurations that are not specifically described, the description of the above embodiment will be applied as appropriate.

The diaper package 30 comprises an assembly 10 and a packaging container 31 that houses the assembly 10. In the diaper package 30, the assembly 10 is stacked in a plurality of layers (specifically, two layers) in the height direction of the diaper package 30 (the same direction as the vertical direction X of the diaper 1) and compressed together and housed inside the packaging container 31.

The packaging container 31 is not particularly limited in material and configuration as long as it can accommodate a plurality of diapers 1 (a collection of absorbent articles). In the present embodiment, the packaging container 31 is a packaging bag made of a flexible sheet.
A removal opening 32 for the diapers 1 is formed on a surface 31S of the packaging container 31 that faces the identification surface 10S of the stack 10. When the diaper packaging body 30 is in an unused (unopened) state, the removal opening 32 is not formed, but instead, a cutting guide line such as a perforation (not shown) that corresponds to the outline of the removal opening 32 is provided at the intended position for the removal opening 32, and the removal opening 32 is formed by cutting out a part of the packaging container 31 along this cutting guide line.

The diaper packaging body 30 can be used in the same manner as other diaper packaging bodies of this type, and due to the action and effect of the aforementioned stack 10, it is easy to grasp the number of diapers 1 in the packaging container 31, and various operations such as removing the required number of diapers 1 from the packaging container 31 and grasping the remaining number of diapers 1 in the packaging container 31 can be easily performed.
In one typical use of this type of diaper package, the required number of diapers are removed from the diaper package and transferred to another container in advance, and then removed from this container when the diapers are to be used, but the diaper package 30 makes it possible to smoothly transfer the diapers to another container in this manner. Figure 7 shows a state in which a plurality of diapers 1 (a stack 10) removed from the diaper package 30 is stored in a storage box 33, which is a container separate from the packaging container 31.

In order to reliably realize the effect of the above-mentioned collection body 10 and enable various operations such as removing the diapers 1 to be performed smoothly, it is preferable that when the removal opening 32 is visually observed without removing any diapers 1 from the packaging container 31, all of the colors of the identification area row 21 can be seen through the removal opening 32.
In this regard, in the form shown in Figure 6, the identification area row 21 in the stack 10 in the packaging container 31 is composed of repeating units 22 as shown in Figure 2 as described above, and when the removal opening 32 is visually observed without removing a single diaper 1 from the packaging container 31, the repeating units 22 can be seen through the removal opening 32, and therefore all of the colors of the identification area row 21 can be seen.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the user of the diaper package 30 be made aware of the presence of the identification area 20 (row of identification areas 21) before opening the diaper package 30, since this allows the user to take full advantage of the characteristic configuration of the assembly 10 described above and smoothly perform various operations such as removing the diaper 1. Examples of means for making the user aware of the presence of the identification area 20 before opening the diaper package 30 include using a highly transparent material for the packaging container 31 and displaying the presence of the identification area 20 on the outer surface of the packaging container 31.

Although the present invention has been described above based on its preferred embodiment, the absorbent article of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate. All parts that are included in only one of the above-mentioned embodiments can be used interchangeably as appropriate.
For example, from the viewpoint of improving absorbency and leak resistance, a liquid-permeable sheet made of paper or various nonwoven fabrics, also called a second sheet, sublayer sheet, etc., may be interposed between the top sheet 3 and the absorbent body 5.
The absorbent article of the present invention is not limited to the flat-type disposable diaper as in the above embodiment, but broadly includes articles used to absorb bodily fluids discharged from the human body (urine, menstrual blood, loose stool, sweat, etc.), and also includes pants-type disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, sanitary shorts, etc. that do not have fastening structures such as the fastening tape 6 and the target tape 7.

The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment of the present invention.
＜1＞
An absorbent article stack comprising a plurality of absorbent articles,
Each of the plurality of absorbent articles has an identification area that has a color different from a surrounding area and is visually recognizable from the outside of the absorbent article,
the collection has an identification surface on which an identification area row is formed, in which the identification areas of the plurality of absorbent articles are aligned in one direction;
In the identification area row, the colors of the adjacent identification areas are different from each other,
a non-discrimination area is present on the discrimination surface, the non-discrimination area extending along the discrimination area row in the same direction as the discrimination area row and mainly having one type of color different from the color of the discrimination area row;
A collection of absorbent articles, wherein the non-discrimination areas have a common color for each of the plurality of absorbent articles.
＜2＞
The collection of absorbent articles according to <1>, wherein the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions in the identification region row is 8 or more.
＜3＞
The collection of absorbent articles described in <1> or <2>, wherein in each of the plurality of absorbent articles, the color difference ΔE ^* between the identification area and the non-identification area is 8 or more, preferably 8 or more and 70 or less, more preferably 15 or more and 60 or less, and even more preferably 20 or more and 50 or less.
＜4＞
The collection of absorbent articles described in any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the identification area row has a repeating unit in which three or more types of identification areas having different colors are arranged in a predetermined order.
＜5＞
the discrimination region row includes a first group of discrimination regions in which a color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent discrimination regions is within a predetermined range, and a second group in which the color difference ΔE ^* is within a range different from that of the first group;
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of <1> to <4>, wherein the first groups and the second groups are arranged alternately in the one direction.
＜6＞
The collection of absorbent articles described in <5>, wherein the difference between the average value of the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent multiple identification regions in one of the first group and the second group and the average value of the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent multiple identification regions in the other group is preferably 5 or more and 20 or less, more preferably 8 or more and 15 or less.
＜７＞
The identification region row has a portion in which the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions gradually decreases from one side to the other side in the extension direction of the identification region row. The collection of absorbent articles described in any one of <1> to <6>.
＜8＞
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of <1> to <7>, wherein in the row of identification regions, a color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions is larger than a color difference ΔE ^* between every other identification region.
＜9＞
A collection of absorbent articles described in any one of <1> to <8>, wherein an identification auxiliary area, which is unified in a single color different from the colors of the identification area row and the non-discrimination area on the identification surface, extends along the identification area row in the same direction as the identification area row.
＜10＞
The collection of absorbent articles according to <9>, wherein the identification auxiliary regions are located on both sides of the identification region row.
<11>
The collection of absorbent articles described in <9> or <10>, wherein for more than half of the multiple types of discrimination regions in the discrimination region row that are different in color from each other, the color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region is larger than the color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region.
＜12＞
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of <9> to <11>, wherein the color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region, and the color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region are each 8 or more.
＜13＞
Each of the plurality of absorbent articles has a vertical direction extending from a wearer's abdominal side through a crotch region to a back side and a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction,
The absorbent article assembly described in any one of <1> to <12>, wherein the identification area crosses the absorbent article in the horizontal direction, is unified in one type of hue, and has the lightest color in the central part in the horizontal direction and gradually becomes darker from the central part toward the outside in the horizontal direction.
＜14＞
Each of the plurality of absorbent articles is divided into a crotch portion located in the crotch region of a wearer, a ventral portion located closer to the wearer's ventral side than the crotch portion, and a dorsal portion located closer to the wearer's ventral side than the crotch portion, and includes fastening tapes provided on both side edges of the dorsal portion along the vertical direction, and a target tape provided on an outer surface of the ventral portion to which the fastening tapes are detachably fixed,
The collection of absorbent articles according to <13>, wherein the target tape functions as the identification area.
＜15＞
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of <1> to <14>, wherein the non-discrimination area has a color that is white or achromatic close to white.
＜16＞
A package for absorbent articles comprising: a stack of absorbent articles according to any one of <1> to <15>; and a packaging container for accommodating the stack therein.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[Examples 1 to 5, Comparative Examples 1 to 3]
A plurality of flat-type disposable diapers having the same basic structure as the above-mentioned diaper 1 were prepared, and stacked in the thickness direction to prepare an assembly as shown in FIG. 1. The assembly prepared was a combination of a plurality of repeat units of 2 to 4 diapers, and had a portion in which the repeat units were connected in one direction (the direction in which the repeat units were stacked), and the identification regions (rows of identification regions) of the diapers constituting the assembly were present on a pair of opposing surfaces. Table 1 shows the color characteristics of each part of the repeat unit of each assembly. For example, in Example 1, the number of identification regions (number of colors) constituting the repeat unit is 4, and the row of identification regions is formed by connecting multiple identification regions of the four colors (pink, green, orange, and purple). In Example 4, the number of colors is 3, and the row of identification regions is formed by connecting multiple identification regions of the three colors (pink, green, and orange). On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, the number of colors is 1, and the multiple identification regions forming the row of identification regions are the same color (pink). In Examples 1 to 3, four colors, pink, green, orange, and purple, are used as the colors of the discrimination region, but the hues (color tones) of each color are different between Examples 1 to 3. For example, while "pink" is used as the color of the discrimination region in all of Examples 1 to 3, strictly speaking, the "pink" in Examples 1 to 3 has different hues and is not the same color. The same is true for the other colors of the discrimination region.

<Evaluation test for ease of counting diapers>
The diaper packages of each Example and Comparative Example were placed in a packaging bag to prepare samples as shown in Fig. 6. The samples contained 20 or more diapers. The samples were evaluated for ease of counting the diapers using the following two evaluation methods (evaluation method 1 and evaluation method 2), and the ease of counting the diapers was evaluated using the evaluation results (correct answer rate, response time) according to the following evaluation criteria. The results are shown in Table 1.
(Evaluation criteria for ease of counting diapers)
A: For both evaluation methods 1 and 2, the correct answer rate was 90% or more and the answer time was 2.5 seconds or less (smooth answering).
B: The correct answer rate for both evaluation methods 1 and 2 was 90% or more, and the answer time for either evaluation method 1 or 2 was more than 2.5 seconds and 3.0 seconds or less (answering somewhat smoothly).
C: The correct answer rate for either evaluation method 1 or 2 is less than 90%.
D: The correct answer rate for both evaluation methods 1 and 2 is less than 90%.

(Evaluation method 1)
A stack of 5 to 10 diapers was selected from the sample (diaper package) and shown to five panelists. Each panelist was asked to count the number of diapers in the stack without touching the stack and report the number. The percentage of correct answers (%) and response time (seconds/diaper) were evaluated.

(Evaluation Method 2)
A stack of 7 to 12 diapers was picked from a sample (diaper package) (first picking operation), then a person different from the person who had picked the first diapers picked 1 to 3 diapers at random from the stack (second picking operation), and the stack that had been subjected to the second picking operation was shown to five panelists who had not picked the diapers, and each panelist was asked to count the number of diapers constituting the stack without touching the stack and answer the number, which was evaluated in terms of the percentage of correct answers (%) and the answering time (seconds/sheet). Evaluation method 2 is an evaluation assuming the ease of counting diapers after opening the packaging bag in the diaper package and using several diapers.

In both evaluation methods 1 and 2, the average of the correct answer rates of the five panelists was taken as the correct answer rate of the sample, and the average of the response times of the five panelists was taken as the response time of the sample.
The response time was calculated by measuring the time it took the panelist to respond and dividing the measured value by the number of diapers that made up the collection presented to the panelist.
In addition, after answering the number of diapers in each of the evaluation methods 1 and 2, the five panelists who answered were asked to evaluate the ease of counting the diapers according to the following evaluation criteria, and the average of the five evaluation scores was recorded as the "ease of counting score" of the sample. The higher the ease of counting score, the easier it is to count the diapers of the sample, and the higher the evaluation.
5 points: Very easy to count.
4 points: Somewhat easy to count.
3 points: Neither easy nor difficult to count.
2 points: Somewhat difficult to count.
1 point: Hard to count.

As shown in Table 1, in the stack of each embodiment, a row of identification areas is formed on one side of the stack in which the identification areas of each of the multiple diapers that make up the stack are lined up in one direction, and adjacent identification areas in the row of identification areas are different in color from each other, and there is a non-identification area on the one side that is mainly made of one color that is different from the color of the row of identification areas, so that it was easier to determine the number of diapers compared to the comparative examples that did not have such a configuration.
In Comparative Examples 1 and 2, although an identification area is formed on one side of the assembly, the colors, i.e., hues, of adjacent identification areas are not different from each other. In Comparative Example 3, the non-identification area has a multi-color pattern with a single-color occupancy rate of less than 50%, i.e., it is not mainly made up of one type of color, so they were each rated lower than the Examples.
Furthermore, a comparison between Examples 1 to 3 and Example 4 reveals that the presence of the identification auxiliary region makes it even easier to grasp the number of diapers constituting the stack.

1. Disposable diapers (absorbent articles)
Reference Signs List 2 Absorbent body 3 Top sheet 4 Back sheet 5 Absorbent body 6 Fastening tape 7 Target tape 10 Stack 10S Identification surface 20, 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D Identification area 21 Identification area row 22 Repeating unit 23 Non-identification area 24 Identification auxiliary area 30 Diaper package (package for absorbent article)
31 Packaging container 32 Take-out opening 33 Storage box A Abdominal portion B Crotch portion C Back portion X Vertical direction Y Horizontal direction

Claims (13)

An absorbent article stack comprising a plurality of absorbent articles,
Each of the plurality of absorbent articles has an identification area that has a color different from a surrounding area and is visually recognizable from the outside of the absorbent article,
the collection has an identification surface on which an identification area row is formed, in which the identification areas of the plurality of absorbent articles are aligned in one direction;
In the identification area row, the colors of the adjacent identification areas are different from each other,
a non-discrimination area is present on the discrimination surface, the non-discrimination area extending along the discrimination area row in the same direction as the discrimination area row and mainly having one type of color different from the color of the discrimination area row;
the non-discrimination area has a common color in each of the plurality of absorbent articles;
A collection of absorbent articles, wherein an identification auxiliary area, which is a single color different from the colors of the identification area row and the non-discrimination area on the identification surface, extends along the identification area row in the same direction as the identification area row. The collection of absorbent articles according to claim 1 , wherein a color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions in the row of identification regions is 8 or more and 70 or less . The collection of absorbent articles according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in each of the plurality of absorbent articles, a color difference ΔE ^* between the identification region and the non-identification region is 8 or more and 70 or less . The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the identification region row has a repeating unit in which three or more and four or less types of identification regions having different colors are arranged in a predetermined order. the discrimination region row includes a first group of discrimination regions in which a color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent discrimination regions is within a predetermined range, and a second group in which the color difference ΔE ^* is within a range different from that of the first group;
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first groups and the second groups are arranged alternately in the one direction. The array of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the array of identification regions has a portion in which the color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions gradually decreases from one side to the other side in the extension direction of the array of identification regions. The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein in the row of identification regions, a color difference ΔE ^* between adjacent identification regions is larger than a color difference ΔE ^* between every other identification region. The collection of absorbent articles according to claim 7, wherein the identification auxiliary areas are present on both sides of the row of identification areas. The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein for more than half and up to all of the multiple types of discrimination regions in the discrimination region row that are different in color from each other, the color difference ΔE ^* between the discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region is larger than the color difference ΔE ^* between the non-discrimination region and the discrimination auxiliary region. The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the color difference ΔE ^* between the identification region and the identification auxiliary region, and the color difference ΔE ^* between the non-identification region and the identification auxiliary region are each 8 or more and 70 or less . Each of the plurality of absorbent articles has a vertical direction extending from a wearer's abdomen side through a crotch region to a back side and a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction,
The collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the identification area crosses the absorbent article in the horizontal direction, is unified in one hue, and is lightest in color at the center in the horizontal direction and gradually becomes darker from the center toward the outside in the horizontal direction. Each of the plurality of absorbent articles is divided into a crotch portion located in the crotch region of a wearer, a ventral portion located closer to the wearer's ventral side than the crotch portion, and a dorsal portion located closer to the wearer's ventral side than the crotch portion, and includes fastening tapes provided on both side edges of the dorsal portion along the vertical direction, and a target tape provided on an outer surface of the ventral portion to which the fastening tapes are detachably fixed,
The collection of absorbent articles of claim 11 , wherein said target tape functions as said identification area. A package for absorbent articles comprising a collection of absorbent articles according to any one of claims 1 to 12 and a packaging container for housing the collection therein.

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