Claims
- 1. An absorbent article having a body-facing side and an exterior-facing side remote from the body-facing side, the article comprising a backsheet, a liquid permeable topsheet attached to the backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, the absorbent core comprising a molded fibrous web with a basis weight of at least 50 grams per square meter comprising cellulosic fibers and at least 1% by weight of binder material, the fibrous web being molded to define a resilient central longitudinal hump with a length of at least 6 cm and a width of at least 1.5 cm, the central longitudinal hump being surrounded by at least one recessed elongated ring, the fibrous web further comprising a plurality of flexure zones longitudinally remote from the central longitudinal hump, each flexure zone comprising a recessed zone adjacent a molded transverse elevated zone, the fibrous web further having a Surface Height of at least 2 mm.
- 2. The article of claim 1, wherein the fibrous web has an Overall Surface Depth of at least 2 mm.
- 3. The article of claim 1, wherein the fibrous web has a Surface Height of at least 3 mm.
- 4. The article of claim 1, wherein the fibrous web has a Surface Height of at least 5 mm.
- 5. The article of claim 1, wherein the central longitudinal hump has a double arcuate transverse cross-section.
- 6. The article of claim 1 or 5, wherein the central longitudinal hump has a double arcuate longitudinal cross-section.
- 7. The article of claim 1, wherein the recessed elongated ring has a density substantially the same as that of the central longitudinal hump.
- 8. The article of claim 1, wherein the portion of the topsheet over the recessed elongated ring has a porosity and density substantially the same as that of the portion of the topsheet over the central longitudinal hump.
- 9. The article of claim 1, wherein the fibrous web is an airlaid web.
- 10. The article of claim 9, wherein the binder material comprises thermoplastic binder material.
- 11. The article of claim 10, wherein the airlaid web comprises at least 5% by weight of thermoplastic binder fiber, and wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded.
- 12. The article of claim 11, wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded by passing heated air through the airlaid web while in contact with a gas permeable molding surface.
- 13. The article of claim 11, wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded through the application of heat applied by at least one of microwaves and radiofrequency energy.
- 14. The article of claim 11, wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded through the application of heat applied by the action of ultrasonic waves.
- 15. The article of claim 11, wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded through the application of heat applied by conduction from at least one heated, three-dimensional surface.
- 16. The article of claim 11, wherein the airlaid web has been thermally molded through the application of radiatively applied energy.
- 17. The article of claim 10, wherein the binder fibers comprise sheath-core fibers.
- 18. The article of claim 9, wherein the binder material comprises thermosetting material.
- 19. An absorbent article having a body-facing side and an exterior-facing side remote from the body-facing side, the article comprising a backsheet, a liquid permeable topsheet attached to the backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, the absorbent core comprising a molded fibrous web with a basis weight of at least 50 grams per square meter comprising cellulosic fibers and at least 5% by weight of thermoplastic binder material, the fibrous web having been thermally molded with the topsheet in place such that the topsheet closely conforms to the body-facing surface of the fibrous web, the fibrous web further having raised zones and recessed zones with an Overall Surface Depth of at least 2 mm.
- 20. An absorbent article having a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction, a vertical direction, a body-side surface and a garment-side surface, comprising a backsheet, a liquid pervious topsheet attached to the backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, the absorbent core comprising a three-dimensional upper absorbent layer comprising a molded airlaid web comprising cellulosic fibers and water-resistant binder material to stabilize the fibers in a three-dimensional form; the body-side surface of the upper absorbent layer having a plurality of molded, elevated regions comprising a central elevated region elongated in the longitudinal direction, and the garment-side surface of the upper absorbent having a plurality of depressions corresponding to the elevated regions on the body-side surface of the upper absorbent layer, the depressions defining void spaces between the upper absorbent layer.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/680,719, filed Oct. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,617,490, which claims priority to the provisional application Serial No. 60/159629, “Shaped Airlaid Layers for Personal Care Articles (“SLICK” Concept),” filed Oct. 14, 1999.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60159629 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09680719 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
10657923 |
Sep 2003 |
US |