Claims
- 1. An absorbent material having a basis weight of from about 200g/cm2 to about 400 g/cm2, a density of from about 0.35 g/cc to about 0.40 g/cc and a ratio of Gurley Stiffness (mg) to density (g/cc) of less than about 3700, wherein the material is airlaid as a bottom layer of pulp, a middle layer of pulp and superabsorbent material disposed in amongst the pulp, and a top layer of pulp.
- 2. The material of claim 1 wherein the pulp has a Kappa value of less than about 100.
- 3. An absorbent material comprising:
a) from about 40 weight percent to about 90 weight percent cellulosic fibers; and b) from about 10 weight percent to about 60 weight percent superabsorbent material, the absorbent material having a water content of less than about 10 weight percent, a density of greater than about 0.25 g/cc, a ratio of Gurley Stiffness (mg) to density (g/cc) of less than about 3700 and a pad integrity of greater than about 12 Newtons.
- 4. An absorbent material comprising:
a) front about 40 weight percent to about 90 weight percent cellulosic fibers; and b) from about 10 weight percent to about 60 weight percent superabsorbent material, the absorbent material having a water content of less than about 10 weight percent, a density of greater than about 0.25 g/cc, a ratio of Gurley Stiffness (mg) to density (g/cc) of less than about 3700 and which absorbent material retains more than about 85 weight percent of superabsorbent material after shaking for 10 minutes.
- 5. An absorbent material comprising:
a) from about 40 weight percent to about 90 weight percent cellulosic fibers; and b) from about 10 weight percent to about 60 weight percent superabsorbent material, the absorbent material having a water content of less than about 10 weight percent, a density of greater than about 0.25 g/cc, a ratio of Gurley Stiffness (mg) to density (g/cc) of less than about 3700, a ratio of Pad integrity (Newtons) to density (g/cc) of greater than about 25.0 and a 45° wicking distribution at 5 inches of at least 7 grams of saline per gram of absorbent material.
- 6. The material of any of claims 3-5 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 65 percent.
- 7. An absorbent material having a basis weight of from about 100 g/m2 to about 500 g/m2, a density of from about 0.25 g/cc to about 0.50 g/cc, the material comprising a core including cellulosic fibers obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 100 and a layer of tissue superimposed on an outer surface of the core, wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 65 percent.
- 8. The material of claim 7 wherein the core contains from about 40 weight percent to about 100 weight percent cellulosic fibers and from about 0 weight percent to about 60 weight percent superabsorbent material.
- 9. The material of claim 8 wherein the core contains from about 50 weight percent to about 80 weight percent cellulosic fibers and from about 20 weight percent to about 50 weight percent superabsorbent material.
- 10. The material according to any of claims 1-9 having a suppleness of greater than about 0.7 g−1.
- 11. The material of claim 7 wherein the tissue is crepe tissue.
- 12. An absorbent material having a density of from about 0.25 to about 0.5 g/cc and a suppleness of greater than about 0.7 g−1, the material consisting essentially of:
a) from about 40 weight percent to about 90 weight percent cellulosic fibers at least some of which fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 100, wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 65 percent; and b) from about 10 weight percent to about 60 weight percent superabsorbent material.
- 13. The material of any of claims 1-12 that has normalized drying power energy of at least about 6000 ergs/g.
- 14. The material of any of claims 1-12 that has normalized wicking energy of at least about 3000 ergs/g.
- 15. The material of any of claims 1-12 that has normalized drying power energy of at least 6000 ergs/g and a normalized wicking energy of at least about 3000 ergs/g.
- 16. An absorbent material having a density of from about 0.25 g/cc to about 0.5 g/cc, a basis weight of from about 200 g/m2 to about 500 g/m2, a suppleness of greater than about 0.7 g−1, a normalized drying power energy of at least about 6000 ergs/g and a normalized wicking energy of at least about 3000 ergs/g, the material consisting essentially of:
a) from about 60 weight percent to about 90 weight percent cellulosic fibers at least some of which fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 100, wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 65 percent; b) from about 10 weight percent to about 40 weight percent superabsorbent material; and c) a layer of tissue comprising from about 3 weight percent to about 20 weight percent of the absorbent material.
- 17. The material of claim 16 wherein tbhe tissue is crepe tissue.
- 18. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 60 percent.
- 19. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 50 percent.
- 20. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein the cellulosic fibers have a relative crystallinity of less than about 40 percent.
- 21. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 75.
- 22. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 50.
- 23. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 10.
- 24. The material of any of claims 3-17 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers are obtained from pulp having a Kappa value of less than about 2.5.
- 25. The material of any of claims 3-24 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have been made by a process that includes the step of treating a liquid suspension of pulp at a temperature of from about 15° C. to about 60° C. with an aqueous alkali metal salt solution having an alkali metal salt concentration of from about 2 weight percent to about 25 weight percent of said solution for a period of time ranging from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes.
- 26. The material of any of claims 3-24 wherein at least some of the cellulosic fibers have been flash dried.
- 27. The material of claim 25 wherein at least 25 percent of the fibers are made by the process.
- 28. The material of claim 27 wherein at least 40 percent of the fibers are made by the process.
- 29. The material of claim 28 wherein at least 50 percent of the fibers are made by the process.
- 30. The material of a ny of claims 3-29 having a basis weight of from about 100 g/m2 to about 250 g/m2.
- 31. The material of any of claims 3-29 having a basis weight of from about 350 g/m2 to about 450 g/m2.
- 32. The material of any of claims 3-31 having a density of from about 0.30 to about 0.45 g/cc.
- 33. The material of claim 32 having a density of from about 0.35 to about 0.45 g/cc.
- 34. The material of any of claims 1-33 that contains from about 20 to about 40 weight percent superabsorbent material.
- 35. The material of any of claims 1-34 that has normalized drying power energy of at least 7000 ergs/g.
- 36. The material of claim 35 that has normalized drying power energy of at least 8000 ergs/g.
- 37. The material of claim 36 that has normalized drying power energy of at least 9000 ergs/g.
- 38. The material of claim 37 that has normalized drying power energy of at least 10000 ergs/g.
- 39. The material of any of claims 1-38 that has normalized wicking energy of at least 3500 ergs/g.
- 40. The material of claim 39 that has normalized wicking energy of at least 4000 ergs/g.
- 41. The material of claim 40 that has normalized wicking power energy of at least 5000 ergs/g.
- 42. The material of claim 41 that has normalized wicking energy of at least 7500 ergs/g.
- 43. The material of any of claims 1-42 that has normalized drying power energy of between about 6000 ergs/g and about 16000 ergs/g.
- 44. The material of any of claims 1-43 that has normalized wicking energy of between about 3000 ergs/g and about 10000 ergs/g.
- 45. The material of any of claims 1-44 that has a suppleness of greater than about 0.8 g−1.
- 46. The material of claim 45 that has a suppleness of greater than about 0.9 g−1.
- 47. The material of claim 46 that has a suppleness of greater than about 1.0 g−1.
- 48. An absorbent article comprising the absorbent material of any of claims 1-47.
- 49. The article of claim 48 that is a diaper, a feminine hygiene product or an incontinence device.
- 50. The article of claim 48 wherein the absorbent material is folded or cut into a multiple-ply structure
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/948,987 filed Oct. 10, 1997, which itself is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/784,536 filed Jan. 17, 1997. The disclosures of both applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09341340 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09829133 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08948987 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
PCT/US98/00639 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Parent |
08784536 |
Jan 1997 |
US |
Child |
08948987 |
Oct 1997 |
US |