Absorbent article with high capacity surge management component
First Claim
1. An absorbent article having laterally opposed side margins, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion which interconnects said front and back waistband portions, said article comprising:
- a backsheet layer;
an absorbent retention portion superposed on said backsheet layer;
a liquid permeable topsheet layer superposed on said retention portion to sandwich said retention portion between said topsheet and backsheet layers;
a leg elastic connected to each of said side margins of said article to provide elasticized, gathered leg openings;
a liquid permeable surge management portion located between said retention portion and said topsheet layer, said surge portion having laterally opposed side edge regions thereof, longitudinally opposed end sections thereof and an intermediate section which interconnects said end sections;
a contracting means connected to said surge management portion and constructed separate from said leg elastics, said contracting means configured to shorten a length dimension of said surge management portion; and
attaching means for securing said surge management portion to said article, said attaching means configured to secure a portion of said intermediate section of said surge management portion to said article with said end sections of said surge management portion unattached to said article, thereby allowing a differential contraction in length between said surge management portion and said topsheet layer.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A distinctive absorbent article has laterally opposed side margins, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion, and an intermediate portion which interconnects the front and back waistband portions. The article comprises a backsheet layer, and an absorbent retention portion superposed on the backsheet layer. A liquid permeable topsheet layer is superposed on the retention portion to sandwich the retention portion between the topsheet and backsheet layers. A leg elastic connects to each of the side margins of the article to provide elasticized, gathered leg openings. A liquid permeable surge management portion is located adjacent a major facing surface of the topsheet layer. The surge management portion has laterally opposed side edge regions thereof, longitudinally opposed end sections thereof, and an intermediate section which interconnects the end sections. An contracting mechanism is incorporated into the surge management portion, and is constructed to operate separately from the leg elastics. The contracting mechanism is configured to shorten a length dimension of the surge management portion, and an attaching mechanism secures selected portions of the contracted, shortened surge management portion to the article.
279 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An absorbent article having laterally opposed side margins, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion which interconnects said front and back waistband portions, said article comprising:
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a backsheet layer; an absorbent retention portion superposed on said backsheet layer; a liquid permeable topsheet layer superposed on said retention portion to sandwich said retention portion between said topsheet and backsheet layers; a leg elastic connected to each of said side margins of said article to provide elasticized, gathered leg openings; a liquid permeable surge management portion located between said retention portion and said topsheet layer, said surge portion having laterally opposed side edge regions thereof, longitudinally opposed end sections thereof and an intermediate section which interconnects said end sections; a contracting means connected to said surge management portion and constructed separate from said leg elastics, said contracting means configured to shorten a length dimension of said surge management portion; and attaching means for securing said surge management portion to said article, said attaching means configured to secure a portion of said intermediate section of said surge management portion to said article with said end sections of said surge management portion unattached to said article, thereby allowing a differential contraction in length between said surge management portion and said topsheet layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An absorbent article having laterally opposed side margins, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion which interconnects said front and back waistband portions, said article comprising:
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a backsheet layer; an absorbent retention portion superposed on said backsheet layer; a liquid permeable topsheet layer superposed on said retention portion to sandwich said retention portion between said topsheet and backsheet layers; a leg elastic connected to each of said side margins of said article to provide elasticized, gathered leg openings; a liquid permeable surge management portion located between said retention portion and said topsheet layer, said surge portion having laterally opposed side edge regions thereof, longitudinally opposed end sections thereof and an intermediate section which interconnects said end sections; a laterally extending contracting means connected to said surge management portion and constructed separate from said leg elastics, said contracting means configured to shorten a width dimension of said surge management portion; and attaching means for securing said surge management portion to said article, said attaching means configured to attach a cross-wise medial region of said surge management portion to said article at an anchor region and configured to provide non-anchored sections of said surge management portion on either side of said anchor region, thereby allowing said non-anchored sections to retract toward a centerline of said surge management portion. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An absorbent article having laterally opposed side margins, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion which interconnects said front and back waistband portions, said article comprising:
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a backsheet layer; an absorbent retention portion superposed on said backsheet layer; a liquid permeable topsheet layer superposed on said retention portion to sandwich said retention portion between said topsheet and backsheet layers; a leg elastic connected to each of said side margins of said article to provide elasticized, gathered leg openings; a liquid permeable surge management portion located adjacent a bodyside surface of said retention portion, between said retention portion and said topsheet layer, said surge portion having laterally opposed side edge regions thereof, longitudinally opposed end sections thereof and an intermediate section which interconnects said end sections; a first contracting means connected to said surge management portion and constructed separate from said leg elastics, said contracting means configured to shorten a length dimension of said surge management portion; a second, laterally extending contracting means connected to said surge management portion and constructed separate from said leg elastics, said contracting means configured to shorten a width dimension of said surge management portion; and attaching means for securing said surge management portion to said article, said attaching means configured to secure a portion of said intermediate section of said surge management to said article with said end sections of said surge management portion substantially unattached to said article, thereby allowing a differential contraction in length between said surge management portion and said topsheet layer, and said attaching means configured to attach a cross-wise medial region of said surge management portion to said article at an anchor region and configured to provide non-anchored sections of said surge management portion on either side of said anchor region, thereby allowing said second contracting means to retract said non-anchored sections toward a centerline of said surge management portion. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification