USPTO Patent Grant: Absorbent Articles with Frangible Pathways

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Prosthetics (A61F)

Published March 24th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has granted patent US12582561B2 to The Procter & Gamble Company for absorbent articles featuring frangible pathways designed for simultaneous tear propagation. This patent covers specific design elements for disposable absorbent products, such as diapers, aimed at improving their functionality.

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What changed

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent US12582561B2 to The Procter & Gamble Company. The patent, titled 'Absorbent articles with frangible pathways with simultaneously propagating tear zones,' details innovations in the design of absorbent articles, specifically focusing on the inclusion of frangible pathways within belts of the article. These pathways are engineered with tear zones designed to propagate simultaneously, potentially enhancing the ease of use or disposal of products like diaper pants.

This patent grant represents a new intellectual property right for The Procter & Gamble Company concerning absorbent article technology. While patent grants do not impose direct regulatory obligations on other manufacturers, they establish exclusive rights that could influence market competition and product development strategies within the absorbent article industry. Companies developing similar products should be aware of this granted patent to ensure they do not infringe on the protected technology.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Grants

Absorbent articles with frangible pathways with simultaneously propagating tear zones

Grant US12582561B2 Kind: B2 Mar 24, 2026

Assignee

The Procter & Gamble Company

Inventors

Keith Richard Willhaus, Jeromy Thomas Raycheck, Jeffry Rosiak, Jason Edward Naylor, Michael Devin Long, Nicholas Alexander Taylor

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to absorbent articles including a first belt and a second belt, the first belt and/or the second belt comprising one or more frangible pathways. The frangible pathway may comprise a first tear zone extending from an accessibility opening to a distal terminus, and a second tear zone extending from the accessibility opening to a proximal terminus. The diaper pant may also be configured such that a first tear line propagating along the first tear zone and a second tear line propagating along the second tear zone may reach the distal terminus and the proximal terminus, respectively, at the same time or about the same time.

CPC Classifications

A61F 13/15585 A61F 13/15699 A61F 13/15723 A61F 13/49011 A61F 13/4902 A61F 13/49061 A61F 13/493 A61F 13/496 A61F 13/5126 A61F 13/51478 A61F 13/5512 A61F 13/5622 A61F 13/5644 A61F 13/565 A61F 13/5655 A61F 13/62 A61F 13/622 A61F 13/625 A61F 13/64 A61F 13/68 A61F 13/84 A61F 2013/15406 A61F 2013/15934 A61F 2013/49025 A61F 2013/49087 A61F 2013/8497 A61F 2013/55125 A61F 13/56 A61F 13/49007 A61F 2013/49063 A61F 2013/8402 A61F 13/49001