The present invention relates to a unitary absorbent structure and method thereof wherein said unitary absorbent structure comprises an absorbent core (5) and/or an acquisition (2) and dispersion (3) layer, said absorbent core (5) and/or an acquisition (2) and dispersion (3) layer comprising at least one non-woven fibrous substrate layer (23) having a void volume suitable to be penetrated by super absorbent particles, characterized in that said super absorbent particles are dispersed in the substrate layer (23) according to a size distribution gradient along the depth direction or z-direction of said absorbent core (5) and/or acquisition (2) and dispersion (3) layers.

An absorbent article includes a polymer sheet (4) where a superabsorbent polymer (12) is disposed between an upper layer sheet (10) disposed on a skin side and a lower layer sheet (11) disposed on a non-skin side. The diffusion area of the lower layer sheet (11) is 1500 mm.sup.2 or greater. The diffusion area is measured by an absorption test method including: (1) preparing a specimen with a size of 100 mm100 mm, (2) placing a tip of a buret at a height of 10 mm above a surface of the specimen, and dropping one droplet of ion-exchanged water from the buret, and (3) after 3 minutes from a time when the droplet reaches the surface of the specimen, measuring, as the diffusion area, an area of a region of the surface of the specimen where a reflection from water is clearly visible.

A disposable undergarment is disclosed. The undergarment includes a chassis and an absorbent core assembly. The chassis includes a front section, a crotch section and a rear section and elastic threads in those sections. The absorbent core is located in the crotch section, with portions of it extending into the front and rear sections. The core assembly includes a first or upper section of including plural pockets of a free slow acting but high absorbency SAP, and a second or underlying second section including plural pockets of a free fast acting by lower absorbency SAP. The SAP of the upper and lower sections exhibits various characteristics to facilitate to effective and efficient absorption of a fluid insult into the core assembly.

An absorbent article is provided with microencapsulated phase change material (microPCM) particles that are embedded in and/or coated onto a layer of the absorbent article that includes a resilient sheet of an open-cell foam. The foam layer is disposed such that it is in contact with or is in proximity to the user. The microPCM particles absorb heat generated during use of the absorbent article to reduce the contact temperature on the inside of the absorbent article and improve the comfort of the user. To maximize comfort, the phase change temperature of the microPCM particles may be an average normal body temperature.

A method of manufacturing an activated composite web includes laminating a film layer to a nonwoven web to form a composite web, forming a plurality of apertured protuberances in the film layer, and passing the composite web through intermeshing elements to form an activated composite web. The intermeshing elements form a plurality of first lanes, with first widths, substantially unaffected by activation, and a plurality of second lanes, with second widths. The second widths are less than the first widths. Portions of the plurality of apertured protuberances define first apertures in the first lanes and second apertures in the second lanes. The cross-sections of the second apertures are larger than the first apertures. The first apertures have their major axes substantially aligned in the first direction while the second apertures have their major axis substantially aligned in the second direction. An activated composite web also is provided.

An expandable absorbent structure comprises an expansion loop core configured to expand in response to absorption of a liquid and an expansion loop material structure surrounding the expansion loop core and having a trough therein, wherein the trough is formed from a first portion of the expansion loop material structure folded over a second portion of the expansion loop material structure at a first elbow of the expansion loop material structure. In response to an increase in size of the expansion loop core, the expansion loop core presses against the expansion loop material structure to cause a length of the trough to decrease.

A fluid distribution material for use in an absorbent article includes a formed film layer having a user-facing side and a garment-facing side opposite the user-facing side. The formed film layer includes a plurality of apertured protuberances arranged in a pattern having 10 to 40 protuberances per linear inch. Each of the protuberances includes a continuous sidewall extending from the user-facing side. The garment-facing side has a plurality of apertures aligned with the plurality of apertured protuberances and land areas in between the apertures. A nonwoven layer is laminated to the garment-facing side of the formed film layer. The nonwoven layer includes a plurality of continuous fibers extending across the land areas and the plurality of apertures of the formed film layer and attached to the land areas at bond sites. The fluid distribution material has a compressibility of less than 10% between pressures of 0.21 psi and 0.60 psi.

An activated composite web includes a nonwoven layer, and a formed film layer attached to the nonwoven layer. The formed film layer includes a plurality of first apertured protuberances having a mesh count of at least 35, and a plurality of second apertured protuberances. Each of the second apertured protuberances has a cross-sectional area larger than each of the first apertured protuberances. A plurality of first lanes are aligned in a first direction and have a first width extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The first apertured protuberances are located in the first lanes. A plurality of second lanes are aligned in the first direction and have a second width, less than the first width, extending in the second direction. The first lanes and the second lanes alternate with each other in the second direction. The second apertured protuberances are located in the second lanes.

An absorbent article having a topsheet; an absorbent core; and a secondary topsheet positioned between the topsheet and the absorbent core is described. The secondary topsheet has a basis weight of about 35 grams per square meter (gsm) to about 65 gsm, and a hydroentangled fibrous structure having a machine direction (MD) bending stiffness of 0.2 mN.Math.cm to 12 mN.Math.cm according to EDANA Test Method WSP 090.5, and a substantially homogenous blend of fibers. The blend of fibers has a first fibrous component, a second fibrous component, and a third fibrous component, wherein the first fibrous component includes cellulose fibers of from between about 1.3 to 7.0 dtex; wherein the second fibrous component has a second dtex, wherein the third fibrous component comprises a third dtex which is smaller than the second dtex.

An absorbent core assembly for use in a product for absorbing a liquid is disclosed. The core assembly has a first section and a second section. The first section is a quilted porous material that contains a slow acting but high absorption capacity SAP therein. The, second section is a quilted porous material that contains a fast acting but lower absorption capacity SAP therein. The first and second sections are in fluid communication with each other, whereupon a liquid which is exposed to the core assembly flows through the first section to the fast acting SAP in the second section to be absorbed quickly and rapidly by the fast acting SAP therein, while the slow acting SAP desorbs or takes liquid away from the fast acting SAP as well as absorbing the liquid itself to thereby trap the liquid in the core assembly.