Absorbent Pants: No. 6,960,197; Anders Gustafsson and Urban Widlund, assignors to SCA Hygiene Products AB, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Absorbent Pants: No. 6,960,197; Anders Gustafsson and Urban Widlund, assignors to SCA Hygiene Products AB, Gothenburg, Sweden. Filed 2/1/96. Issued 11/1/05.

Absorbent pants have been issued a patent. The pants feature a hydrophobic pants layer, which faces the body of a user during use. The pants layer is assembled to itself or is able to be assembled to itself so that the pants layer by itself defines a waist opening and two leg openings. The absorbent pants are arranged such that only the pants layer is in contact with the user when the absorbent pants are being worn. An outer barrier layer is impermeable and arranged outside of the pants layer relative to the body of the user during use of the pants. It is fastened to the pants layer.

The pants layer has a surface area that is greater than a surface area of the outer barrier layer. At least one absorption body is arranged between the pants layer and the outer barrier layer. A liquid-permeable covering layer is arranged on the absorption body between the absorption body and the pants layer. The absorption body is arranged between the liquid-permeable covering layer and the outer barrier layer.

The liquid-permeable covering layer extends laterally beyond the absorption body and portions of the liquid-permeable covering layer that extend laterally beyond the absorption body and are directly and permanently affixed to the outer barrier layer to laterally surround the absorption body. The pants layer, the outer barrier layer and the liquid-permeable covering layer are arranged so as to define a space in the form of a pocket between the pants layer and the liquid-permeable covering layer. At least one opening in the pants layer is arranged over the pocket for passage of at least one of urine and faeces into the pocket.