David L. Kimball, Flemington, NJ; Tony C. Ng, East Brunswick, NJ; and Tara Zedayko, Hillsborough, NJ. Assigned to Johnson & Johnson GMBH, Neuss, Germany.
Filed: 12/18/12
Issued: 10/27/15

An intravaginal tampon for feminine hygiene comprising: a) a generally cylindrical absorbent pledget, substantially enclosed in a cover, having a length, a longitudinal axis, an insertion end, and a withdrawal end and comprising i) a mass of fibers compressed into a self sustaining shape and ii) a sheet-like fluid-permeable cover substantially enclosing the mass of fibers; b) a withdrawal element operatively connected to the generally cylindrical pledget proximate to the withdrawal end thereof; wherein the absorbent pledget comprises at least one groove form on the outer surface of the compressed tampon pledget, wherein the groove form has a turn comprising an intersection of at least two groove segments having a depth of at least about 0.7 mm proximate to one end of the compressed tampon pledget.