A unit for making absorbent pads of absorbent articles including a drum for forming the absorbent pads and a hood for feeding a first and a second absorbent material to at least part of the peripheral surface of the drum; the hood has a chamber for mixing the first and the second absorbent materials and an opening for dispensing the first and the second absorbent materials facing at least part of the peripheral surface of the drum; the unit includes at least a first and a second duct for feeding the second absorbent material into the hood and means for distributing the second absorbent material both of the first feed duct and of the second feed duct; the first and the second are connected to the same distribution means.

A liquid absorbent structure is made by dry laying a fibrous web having incorporated therein a superabsorbent material, and applying an aqueous composite stabilizer to at least one surface of the web. The aqueous composite stabilizer imparts integrity to the resulting structure without substantially impairing the effectiveness of the superabsorbent material to absorb liquid while forming the absorbent structure without removing the water from aqueous composite stabilizer or drying out the absorbent structure. The absorbent composite absorbs the water from the aqueous composite stabilizer. The absorbent composite comprises about 70% by weight of a superabsorbent material.

An apparatus for manufacturing an absorbent core includes: a first drum that has a first area for sucking and stacking fibers on an outer peripheral portion of the first drum and stack a first core portion in the first area; and a second drum that has a plurality of second areas, smaller than the first area, for sucking and stacking the fibers on an outer peripheral portion of the second drum and that successively transfers second core portions stacked in each of the second areas to the first drum, wherein the second drum is rotated at a high first circumferential velocity when the second drum transfers each of the second core portions and, the second drum is rotated at a second circumferential velocity, lower than the first circumferential velocity, in non-transfer time, which is after the transfer and until subsequent transfer.

An absorbent core for use in an absorbent article, the absorbent core including a first absorbent layer comprising a first substrate, a layer of first superabsorbent polymer particles deposited on the first substrate on a deposition area and a fibrous layer of thermoplastic adhesive material covering the layer of first superabsorbent polymer particles, and a second absorbent layer comprising a second substrate and a mixed layer comprising a mixture of second superabsorbent particles and cellulosic fibers deposited on the second substrate. The first and second absorbent layers are combined together such that at least a portion of the fibrous thermoplastic adhesive material of the first absorbent layer contacts at least a portion of the mixed layer of the second absorbent layer.

Methods and apparatus for producing absorbent articles having a pocket, and absorbent articles having a pocket, are provided. The methods and apparatus include the continuous provision of nonwoven material and elastic strands, and the continuous bonding of elastic strands to nonwoven material, so as to continuously produce absorbent articles. The methods and apparatus further include a cut-and-turn wheel for accepting a continuous sheet of patch material, cutting patches, rotating the patches, and applying the patches to an absorbent article.

An assembly and method is provided for scarfing a fibrous material with an assembly that provides automated control of a scarf gap. The assembly includes a moveable mount, a driven scarfing roll coupled to the moveable mount, and a scarfing roll lifting assembly coupled to the moveable mount. A first sensor senses contact between the scarfing roll and an external surface and a second sensor senses position of the scarfing roll when information is received from the first sensor that contact of the scarfing roll with the external surface has occurred. A control unit operates the scarfing roll lifting assembly to position the scarfing roll at a desired scarf gap measured from the contact position. The scarfing roll is positioned based on an identified high point of the external surface, such as the external forming surface of a forming drum.

Methods and apparatus for producing absorbent articles having a pocket, and absorbent articles having a pocket, are provided. The methods and apparatus include the continuous provision of nonwoven material and elastic strands, and the continuous bonding of elastic strands to nonwoven material, so as to continuously produce absorbent articles. The methods and apparatus further include a cut-and-turn wheel for accepting a continuous sheet of patch material, cutting patches, rotating the patches, and applying the patches to an absorbent article.

An absorbent core for an absorbent article is provided an absorbent material, the absorbent core comprising one or more first zones comprising a first amount of absorbent material and one or more second zones comprising a second amount of absorbent material, wherein each second zone is at least partly delimited from the other second zones by the one or more first zones characterized in that the first amount of bulk absorbent material is different than the second amount of absorbent material, each amount of absorbent material being determined as weight per unit area.