Granted Patent B2

US 12,533,268 · App. 17/310,929 · Granted Jan 27, 2026

Inventors: Greta Catherine Meyer (San Francisco, CA); Amanda Paige Calabrese (San Francisco, CA); Elijah John Sampson Zenger (New York, NY)

Assignee: Tampro Inc.

A61F13/208A61F13/2022A61F13/2031A61F13/2034A61F13/2037A61F13/2091A61F13/2051A61F13/206A61F13/2094

Abstract

Claims (30)

1 . A tampon comprising:

an elongate body comprising an insertion end and a removal end opposite the insertion end, a longitudinal axis of the elongate body extending through the insertion end and the removal end;

a flow path configured to direct menses across the elongate body, the flow path having at least two complete turns about the longitudinal axis of the elongate body;

a plurality of linear flow paths spaced apart from each other around a circumference of the elongate body, each of the plurality of linear flow paths extending in a longitudinal direction, wherein each of the plurality of linear flow paths crosses successive turns of the flow path; and

a removal string extending from the removal end of the elongate body.

2 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the flow path is a spiral flow path.

3 . The tampon of claim 2 , wherein the spiral flow path comprises a first free end at the insertion end of the elongate body and a second free end at the removal end of the elongate body.

4 . The tampon of claim 2 , wherein successive turns of the spiral flow path have a constant radius.

5 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the flow path comprises a thread.

6 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the flow path comprises a recess.

7 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the flow path extends along an outer surface of the elongate body.

8 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the flow path is a single continuous flow path.

9 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein the elongate body comprises a web of fibers, the fibers oriented in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

10 . The tampon of claim 9 , wherein the web of fibers is rolled in the horizontal direction to form a central core.

11 . The tampon of claim 10 , further comprising a cover layer provided over the central core.

12 . A kit comprising a plurality of tampons, the plurality of tampons comprises at least two different sizes of the tampon of claim 1 , the two different sizes of tampons providing different levels of absorbency.

13 . The tampon of claim 1 , wherein a cross section of the linear flow path comprises an angled shape.

14 . A tampon comprising:

an elongate body comprising an insertion end and a removal end opposite the insertion end, a longitudinal axis of the elongate body extending through the insertion end and the removal end;

a plurality of flow path segments in an outer surface of the elongate body, the plurality of flow path segments forming a generally spiral flow path comprising at least two complete turns about the longitudinal axis of the elongate body;

a plurality of linear flow paths extending in a longitudinal direction and separating the plurality of flow path segments; and

a removal string extending from the removal end of the elongate body;

wherein each of the plurality of linear flow paths crosses successive turns of the plurality of flow path segments.

15 . The tampon of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of flow path segments form a single continuous flow path.

16 . The tampon of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of linear flow paths are spaced apart from each other around a circumference of the elongate body.

17 . The tampon of claim 14 , wherein the elongate body comprises:

a central core comprising a web of fibers generally oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis; and

a cover layer provided over the central core.

18 . The tampon of claim 17 , wherein the web of fibers is rolled in a horizontal direction.

19 . The tampon of claim 17 , wherein the cover layer is nonwoven.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (305)