Packaged feminine hygiene pad product adapted for discreet carry and access, and manufacturing process

A process for producing individual feminine hygiene pad packages, comprising the steps of:

• providing a continuous series of successive folded individual feminine hygiene pads moving along a machine direction, each of the feminine hygiene pad comprising a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent structure disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet;
• providing a continuous supply of package film having an inward surface and an outward surface and moving along the machine direction;
• applying a process adhesive to one or both of the folded pads and the inward surface of the package film;
• disposing the folded pads in facing contact with the inward surface of the package film and thereby adhering the folded pads to the package film;
• conveying the package film and the adhered pads together to flow wrapping equipment, and thereby wrapping the package film about the folded pads and creating a continuous series of flow-wrapped pads;
• conveying the series of flow-wrapped pads to package seaming equipment, to form package seams along the series of flow-wrapped pads, between successive leading pads and trailing pads, thereby forming a series of individually enveloping package structures about respective individual pads;
• and
• conveying the series of individually enveloping package structures to package cutting, separating and/or perforating equipment, to form separate or separable individual pad packages each comprising an envelope package containing a folded pad,
• wherein the feminine hygiene pads each comprise a deposit of panty-fastening adhesive applied to an outward-facing surface of the pad, and a panty-fastening adhesive (PFA) coversheet covering the panty-fastening adhesive, and the PFA coversheet forms outer surfaces of the pads as folded,
• wherein the PFA coversheet and the package film have differing compositions, and
• wherein the process adhesive exhibits greater adhesion to one of the PFA coversheet and the package film, than to the other.

A process for producing individual feminine hygiene pad packages, comprising the steps of:

• providing a continuous series of successive folded individual feminine hygiene pads moving along a machine direction, each of the feminine hygiene pad comprising a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent structure disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet;
• providing a continuous supply of package film having an inward surface and an outward surface and moving along the machine direction;
• applying a process adhesive to one or both of the folded pads and the inward surface of the package film;
• disposing the folded pads in facing contact with the inward surface of the package film and thereby adhering the folded pads to the package film;
• conveying the package film and the adhered pads together to flow wrapping equipment, and thereby wrapping the package film about the folded pads and creating a continuous series of flow-wrapped pads;
• conveying the series of flow-wrapped pads to package seaming equipment, to form package seams along the series of flow-wrapped pads, between successive leading pads and trailing pads, thereby forming a series of individually enveloping package structures about respective individual pads;
• and
• conveying the series of individually enveloping package structures to package cutting, separating and/or perforating equipment, to form separate or separable individual pad packages each comprising an envelope package containing a folded pad,
• wherein the feminine hygiene pads each comprise a deposit of panty-fastening adhesive applied to an outward-facing surface of the pad, and a panty-fastening adhesive (PFA) coversheet covering the panty-fastening adhesive, and the PFA coversheet forms outer surfaces of the pads as folded, and
• wherein the PFA coversheet has a first basis weight, and the package film has a second basis weight, and the first basis weight differs from the second basis weight.