Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Gary Mastalish

Franz Aschenbrenner

Priscilla Eng Choo Goh

EunJung B Kang

Dusan Pavlik

Irina Tsareva

Lynn Ann Weggel

Tom William VanDenBogart

Anastasia Barlas

Cao Hue Chi Pham

Marcus David Weiher

Gary Alan Turchan

Yein Sze Ong

Thomas William VanDenBogart

YeinSze Ong

Thomas William Van Den Bogart

In a tampon applicator, an elongated barrel has an interior chamber for housing a tampon therein, a grip region generally adjacent an outer end of the barrel, a tip region generally adjacent an inner end of the barrel, and a central region extending longitudinally between the grip region and the tip region. A plunger extends into the barrel at the outer end thereof and is moveable relative to the barrel to expel the tampon from the barrel at its inner end. The outer surface of the barrel at the grip region has a different coefficient of friction than at the central region of the barrel. In other embodiments the coefficient of friction of the barrel outer surface at the central region is different from the coefficient of friction at the tip region.

Tampon applicator

A method of assembling a tampon applicator includes providing a barrel with internal ridges that define a guide channel having an effective diameter. The method includes providing a plunger that has a finger flare with a circular shape and a flare diameter that is at least 15% larger than the effective diameter of the guide channel. The method includes assembling the plunger and the barrel by pushing the finger flare into the guide channel and deforming the finger flare into a non-circular shape while moving the finger flare through the guide channel. The method includes moving the finger flare out of the plunger end of the barrel and reestablishing the circular shape of the finger flare.

Method for assembling a tampon applicator

Growing community of inventors

Oshkosh, WI, United States of America

Gary Mastalish