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US 5,948,507 AGranted
Absorbent articles with reduced cross-directional wrinkles
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsFung-jou Chen, Jeffrey Dean Lindsay
Life of this patent
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AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsFung-jou Chen, Jeffrey Dean Lindsay
Estimating the term…
Absorbent articles containing absorbent cores of fluff pulp frequently contain wrinkles in the absorbent core that run from side to side of the article, typically normal to the machine direction in the manufacturing process. Side-to-side wrinkles are deleterious in that they provide large flow channels for urine or other body fluids to escape to the edge of the article. Frequently, such wrinkles are present after manufacturing, before the article has been folded or worn. The cause of the wrinkles is believed to be due to natural instabilities during compression of the fluff pad shortly after it is formed. Means for reducing cross-directional wrinkles include the use of grooved, drilled, or patterned compression rolls to densify the fluff pulp while providing opportunities for reduced in-plane displacement during compression or, if in-plane displacement does occur, providing paths for cross-directional displacement as well as machine-direction displacement so that continuous CD wrinkles cannot form. The use of large diameter rolls with soft rubber covers can also be used.
A mass-produced absorbent article which is substantially free of cross-direction wrinkles having an air-laid absorbent core comprising a fluff pulp pad, said pad having an MD:CD tensile ratio of at least 0.8 and a repeating pattern of spaced-apart densified regions therein, said regions having a CD:MD In-plane Disruption Ratio of 1 or greater.
A disposable diaper containing a compressed fluff pad which is substantially free of cross-direction wrinkles and has an MD:CD ratio of at least 0.8.
A mass-produced absorbent article containing a fluff pad which has been nonuniformly compressed at high speed and which is substantially free of cross-direction wrinkles and has an MD:CD tensile ratio of at least 0.8.
A method for mass producing absorbent articles comprising:
A method for preparing absorbent articles comprising:
A method for mass producing absorbent articles comprising the steps of:
A method for preparing absorbent articles comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.