ELASTIC NONWOVEN FABRIC SHEETS AND METHODS FOR MAKING THE SAME

Abstract

The invention relates to a nonwoven fabric sheet comprising at least two adjacent layers of spunbonded nonwoven webs, one of which is an elastic layer in the form of a spunbonded nonwoven web comprising elastic fibers formed from a thermoplastic elastomer polymer material. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing such nonwoven and the use of such nonwoven.

Claims

1. A nonwoven fabric sheet comprising at least two adjacent layers of spunbonded nonwoven webs, wherein a first one of the two layers is a carrier layer in the form of a spunbonded nonwoven web comprising crimped multicomponent fibers, wherein a second one of the two layers is an elastic layer in the form of a spunbonded nonwoven web comprising elastic fibers formed from a thermoplastic elastomer polymer material; and wherein the web of the carrier layer comprises a pattern of macroscopic bonding points, while the web of the elastic layer is devoid of macroscopic bonding points.

2. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric sheet comprises at least three adjacent layers of spunbonded nonwoven webs, wherein a third one of the three layers is also a carrier layer in the form of a spunbonded nonwoven web comprising crimped multicomponent fibers, and wherein the elastic layer is sandwiched between the two carrier layers.

3. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 2, wherein the webs of both carrier layers comprise a pattern of macroscopic bonding points.

4. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the average crimp number of the crimped multicomponent fibers is in the range of at least 5 crimps per cm in the fiber.

5. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the basis weight of the or each carrier layer is between 5-40 g/m.sup.2 and/or wherein the basis weight of the elastic layer is between 10-140 g/m.sup.2.

6. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the overall thickness of the nonwoven fabric sheet is less than 1.20 mm.

7. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the webs of at least one of the carrier layers comprise two or more layers of spunbonded material, where the average crimp level can differ between the layers.

8. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein at least portions of the fabric are activated and comprise alternating macroscopic zones of different microscopic fiber configuration, wherein the zones are in the form of parallel stripes oriented in a lengthwise direction of the sheet, or in the form of parallel stripes oriented in a cross direction of the sheet.

9. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 8, wherein the fabric comprises at least one machine-directional band of activated material and at least one adjacent machine-directional band of undactivated material.

10. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer polymer material forming for the elastic fibers of the elastic layer is a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer material (TPE o).

11. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein at least some of the elastic fibers of the elastic layer are bicomponent fibers comprising two distinct zones of thermoplastic elastomer of different properties.

12. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein up to 20 wt.-% of a thermoplastic olefin is added to the thermoplastic elastomer of the elastic fibers of the elastic layer.

13. The nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric does not comprise any glue between the adjacent carrier and elastic layers.

14. A method for manufacturing the nonwoven fabric sheet of claim 1, wherein the method comprises: (a) providing a first spunbonded nonwoven web comprising crimped multicomponent fibers, which corresponds to a carrier layer of the fabric sheet to be formed; and (b) spinning and laying elastic fibers onto the first web to form the elastic layer of the fabric sheet.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first web is provided by unrolling from a roll of prefabricated material.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: (c) superimposing a second spunbonded nonwoven web comprising crimped multicomponent fibers to the exposed side of the elastic layer to form for another carrier layer of the fabric sheet.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second web is provided by unrolling from a roll of prefabricated material.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the second web is provided by spinning and laying the fibers forming for the second web directly to the exposed side of the elastic layer.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: (d) pre-compacting the sheet.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: (e) mechanically activating the sheet in a mill comprising a pair of interacting rolls whose surfaces comprise interlocking annular grooves and crests.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises: (e′) mechanically activating the sheet in a mill comprising a pair of interacting rolls whose surfaces comprise interlocking cross-directional blades.

22. Use of a nonwoven fabric sheet according to claim 1 for the manufacture of a hygiene article.

23. A taped diaper comprising a nonwoven fabric sheet according to claim 1 as an elastic back ear material.

24. A diaper pant comprising a nonwoven fabric sheet according to claim 1 as an elastic waist material.

Description

[0050] Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the figures and examples described in the following. The figures show:

[0051] FIG. 1: a schematic cross-section of a nonwoven fabric of the invention;

[0052] FIG. 2: an exemplary machine setups for manufacturing nonwoven fabric sheets of the invention;

[0053] FIG. 3: another exemplary machine setups for manufacturing nonwoven fabric sheets of the invention;

[0054] FIG. 4: an illustration of a ring-rolling mill configured to activate nonwoven fabric sheets of the invention in cross-direction;

[0055] FIG. 5: an illustration of the mill of FIG. 4 in operation;

[0056] FIG. 6: an illustration of a cross-bladed mill configured to activate nonwoven fabric sheets of the invention in lengthwise direction;

[0057] FIG. 7: production examples of open/taped diapers with back ears and pant-like baby and adult incontinence diapers;

[0058] FIG. 8: an illustration of an open/taped diaper manufactured using a nonwoven material of this invention;

[0059] FIG. 9: an illustration of an adult incontinence pant manufactured using a nonwoven material of this invention;

[0060] FIGS. 10a-10h: elasticity hysteresis curves for different activated samples according to the working examples;

[0061] FIG. 11: a magnified picture of an activated sample according to one of the examples;

[0062] FIGS. 12a-12h: curves of elastic force over time for different activated samples according to the working examples.

[0063] In FIG. 1 a schematic cross-section of a sandwich-type elastic nonwoven fabric sheet is shown. The sheet, generally designated with reference numeral 100, comprises an elastic middle layer 130 that is covered with a carrier layer 110 and 120, respectively, on either side. Both carrier layers 110 and 120 are spunbonded nonwoven webs formed from crimped multicomponent fibers and at least one of the carrier layers, namely the carrier layer 110 has a regular pattern of calender bonding points. The middle layer 130 is a spunbonded nonwoven web formed from elastic fibers and is devoid of any calender bonding points. The layers 110, 120 and 130 adhere to each other without the use of glue simply due to the inherent adhesive properties of the elastic fibers of the middle layer 130.

[0064] An exemplary machine setup for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric sheet 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2.

[0065] The setup comprises a conveyor belt 10 that runs from a first feed roll 20 of prefabricated carrier web to a product roll 80. Along the way, the conveyor belt passes a spinning machine 30, a second feed roll 40 of prefabricated carrier web and a pair of precompaction rollers 70. The spinning machine comprises a reservoir 31 for polymer raw materials that form for a thermoplastic elastomer component, a mixing and feeding channel 32, an extrusion die 33, a channel 34 for quenching and stretching and an air suctioning device 35 below the conveyor belt 10.

[0066] In operation, a prefabricated nonwoven web 110 is continuously unrolled from the first feed roll 20 and transported towards the spinning machine 30 on the conveyor belt 10. An elastic layer 130 is then formed by depositing elastic polymer fibers on top of the web 110 in the spinning machine 30. Another prefabricated nonwoven web 120 is concurrently unrolled from the second feed roll 40 and laid on top of the freshly formed elastic layer 130. The three-layered fabric is then slightly compressed between the pair of pre-compaction rollers 70 and the resulting sheet 100 collected on the product roll 80.

[0067] Another machine setup for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric sheet 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 3.

[0068] In this setup, the second feed roll is replaced by a further spinning machine 60 for in situ formation of the top carrier layer 120. The further spinning machine 60 comprises reservoirs 61a and 61b for the polymer raw materials that form for the polymer components of the bicomponent fibers, corresponding mixing and feeding channels 62a and 62b, an extrusion die 63, a channel 64 for quenching and stretching and an air suctioning device 65 below the conveyor belt 10. An additional pair of intermediate pre-compaction rollers 50 is disposed between the spinning machine 30 and the further spinning machine 60.

[0069] In operation, a prefabricated nonwoven web 110 is continuously unrolled from the first feed roll 20 and transported towards the spinning machine 30 on the conveyor belt 10. An elastic layer 130 is then formed by depositing elastic polymer fibers on top of the web 110 in the spinning machine 30. The two-layered intermediate fabric is then slightly compressed between the pair of intermediate pre-compaction rollers 50. A top carrier layer 120 is then formed by depositing crimped bicomponent fibers on top of the elastic layer 130 in the further spinning machine 60. The three-layered fabric is then slightly compressed between the pair of pre-compaction rollers 70 and the resulting sheet 100 collected on the product roll 80.

[0070] FIG. 4 shows a ring-rolling mill 90 that may be used to activate a nonwoven fabric sheet 100 of the invention, be it inline between the pre-compaction rollers 70 and the product roll 80 of the settings shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 or in a remote standalone setting. The mill 90 comprises a pair of counter-rotating rollers 91 and 92. Annular discs 93 are mounted to the surfaces of both rollers 91 and 92 to obtain a surface structure of annular grooves, i.e. the spaces between the discs, and crests, i.e. the discs 93. The discs 93 are mounted with an offset on rollers 91 and 92 and the discs 93 of one roller 91 or 92 interlock with the discs 93 of the other roller 92 or 91. In FIG. 4, the width of the discs 93 is labelled with letter “a”, the depth of engagement (“DOE”) is labelled with letter “b” and the disk spacing is labelled with letter “c”.

[0071] FIG. 5 shows the mill of FIG. 4 in operation. A laminated sheet 100 of this invention, which is configured as shown in FIG. 1 and that may be manufactured on a line as illustrated in FIG. 2 or 3, and which comprises an elastic core formed from elastic polymer fibers and carrier layers on both surfaces is mechanically activated in a continuous manner by passing it through the spacing between the rollers 91 and 92. This activation results in an overall stretch of the sheet 100 in cross-machine direction. In more detail, the fabric 100 is stretched mainly in stress zones 101 and hardly stretched in stress-free zones 102. The stretching will alter the microscopic fiber configuration in the carrier layers 110 and 120 along stripes in machine direction, which follow the impact profile of the discs 93, while the microscopic structure of the elastic layer 130 will remain largely unaffected due to the elasticity of its fibers and due to the lack of thermal bonding.

[0072] As a measure for the level of mechanical activation, apart from the simple depth of engagement, the so-called elongation stress factor (“EFS”) can be defined as follows, with the letters “a”, “b” and “c” being defined as above:

[00001]$\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{EFS}=\frac{\sqrt{{\left(c-a\right)}^2+b^2}+a}{c}\times 100=\%& \left(\mathrm{Formula}1\right)\end{array}$

[0073] FIG. 6 shows an example of a cross-bladed mill 190 configured to activate nonwoven fabric sheets 100 of the invention in lengthwise direction. Likewise mill 90, it may be positioned inline between the pre-compaction rollers 70 and the product roll 80 of the settings shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 or in a remote standalone setting. The mill 190 comprises a pair of counter-rotating rollers 191 and 192, both comprising interlocking cross-directional blades 193. This mill 190 has the ability to activate the sheet 100 by introducing alternating macroscopic zones of different microscopic fiber configuration that are in the form of parallel stripes oriented in cross-machine direction of the sheet.

[0074] The ability of the inventive material to be stretched/activated in both cross and machine direction is unique. In allows the material to be used in both open/taped diapers as back ears where cross directional extensibility is required, and as elastic waist panels in pant-like baby and adult incontinence diapers, where lengthwise stretch of materials is required, as these products are typically produced in cross direction to the machines direction on the diaper lines.

[0075] This is best seen in FIG. 7, where the left picture shows production of a traditional open/taped diaper construction is displayed, with back ears 201 where the material has been activated in cross machine direction. The right picture shows production of pant-like baby and adult incontinence diapers, where the elasticated waist panel 301 has been activated in machine direction.

[0076] FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate products, which may be manufactured using the elastic nonwoven materials of the invention. FIG. 8 shows an open/taped baby diaper 200 with back ears 201. FIG. 9 shows a pant-like adult incontinence diaper 300 an elasticated waist panel 301 having additional elastic strands 302 for reinforcement.

EXAMPLES

[0077] An elastic nonwoven fabric sheet was prepared on a machine setup as shown in FIG. 2.

[0078] As a first prefabricated spunbonded carrier layer 110 a spunbonded sheet of crimped bicomponent fibers in a 50/50 side-by-side configuration by weight was provided. Like-wise, also as a second prefabricated spunbonded carrier layer 120 a spunbonded sheet of crimped bicomponent fibers in a 50/50 by weight side-by-side configuration of polymer components A and B was provided. The polymer materials were as indicated in Table 1 below. In this context, Sabic PP511A is a commercially available polypropylene material having a relatively narrow polydispersity of between 3-5 and a melt flow rate of approx. 25 g/10 min. Sabic QR674K is a commercially available polypropylene-ethylene copolymer with a relatively broad molecular weight distribution. Lyondellbasell Moplen RP3386 is a commercially available polypropylene-ethylene copolymer with a narrower molecular weight distribution. The fifty-fifty mixture of QR674K and RP3386 leads to a polypropylene-ethylene copolymer component having a polydispersity of a bit more than 5 and a melt flow rate of approx. 30 g/10 min. The sheets 110 and 120 both had an open calendered bond pattern with a bonding area of 12% on account of 24 regularly distributed circular bonding dots per cm.sup.2.

[0079] The elastic layer was made from a single commercially available TPE-o material Vistamaxx™ 7050FL from ExxonMobil, which is a propylene-based thermoplastic elastomer copolymer with an ethylene content of approx. 13 wt.-% and a melt flow rate of approx. 48 g/10 min and a softening temperature of approx. 51° C.

[0080] Unless indicated otherwise, molecular weight distributions and softening points are according to manufacturer's indication and melt flow rates are as as measured according to ISO 1133 with conditions being 230° C. and 2.16 kg.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Layer 110 Layer 120 Layer 130 Overall Example # g/m.sup.2 Polymers g/m.sup.2 Polymers g/m.sup.2 Polymers g/m.sup.2 1 15 A: 15 A: 90 7050FL 120 PP511A PP511A B: B: 50% QR674K 50% QR674K 50% RP3386 50% RP3386 2 15 A: 15 A: 90 7050FL 120 PP511A PP511A B: B: 50% QR674K 50% QR674K 50% RP3386 50% RP3386 3 15 A: 15 A: 60 7050FL 90 PP511A PP511A B: B: 50% QR674K 50% QR674K 50% RP3386 50% RP3386 4 15 A: 15 A: 30 7050FL 60 PP511A PP511A B: B: 50% QR674K 50% QR674K 50% RP3386 50% RP3386

[0081] The extrusion temperature at the spinning machine 30 was between 235° C. and 245° C., the die had 6000 holes per linear meter and a hole diameter of 0.6 mm. The precompaction rollers 70 were set to a temperature of 60° C. and the linear pressure was set to 4 N/mm. The nonwovens of examples 2-4 were produced with pre-compaction, but without any additional calendering. The nonwoven of example 1 was subjected to additional calendering with a calender pattern of 12% open dot and 24 dots/cm.sup.2.

[0082] The fiber diameters obtained in the facing layers 110 and 120 have been determined to be 1.71 denier on average. The fiber diameters obtained in the core layer 130 have been determined to be 3.71 denier on average.

[0083] Prior activation, the resulting fabrics were tested for a variety of physical parameters. The results are shown in Table 2 below.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 TSMD TEMD TSCD TECD Example # N/50 mm % N/50 mm % 1 100.5 59.9 101 172 2 75.7 103.2 49 182 3 67.3 102.9 43 146 4 62.0 91.8 38 134 MD CD bending length bending length Basis weight Example # mm mm g/m.sup.2 1 84.0 48.2 119.9 2 83.0 42.7 119.1 3 71.6 40.0 90.0 4 68.0 38.1 60.0

[0084] Tensile Strength (TS) and tensile elongation (TE) in machine direction (MD) and cross-machine direction (CD) were measured in agreement with the provisions set out in WSP 100.4 at a preload tension of 0.1 N.

[0085] Bending length was measured in agreement with WSP 90.5.

[0086] The samples were subsequently activated by mechanical milling (ring-rolling) in a mill as schematically shown in FIGS. 4-5.

[0087] The configuration of the mill 90 for mechanical activation was a=0.8 mm, d (=DOE)=variable (3-6 mm) and c=3.3 mm, resulting in a maximum EFS according to Formula 1 above of 221° A at DOE=6. The fabrics 1-3 withstood mechanical activation with DOE=6 mm without any shredding. The fabric 4 withstood mechanical activation with DOE=5 mm without any shredding.

[0088] The resulting activated fabrics were again tested for a variety of physical parameters. The results are shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Example #- DOE [mm] TSMD TEMD TSCD N/50mm % N/50 mm % TECD 1-4 79.2 102.3 51.1 158.6 1-6 53.7 102.6 29.3 179.0 2-4 64.0 123.8 42.1 191.2 2-6 41.7 105.0 32.1 230.0 3-4 53.6 99.9 36.4 162.6 3-6 34.2 93.5 22.0 209.2 4-3 57.1 94.8 33.3 126.2 4-5 41.2 93.0 25.5 169.4 MD CD bending bending Basis Air Example #- length length weight Caliper permeability DOE [mm] mm mm g/m.sup.2 mm I/(M.sup.2 × min) 1-4 62.8 27.4 111 0.782 441 1-6 53.9 20.3 101 0.850 843 2-4 50.8 24.3 116 0.784 556 2-6 51.0 21.1 108 0.874 745 3-4 53.9 25.4 87.5 0.754 971 3-6 45.3 20.2 80.6 0.772 1282 4-3 59.8 26.0 59.3 0.610 1818 4-5 51.8 22.8 57.0 0.742 2056

[0089] Again, tensile Strength (TS) and tensile elongation (TE) in machine direction (MD) and cross-machine direction (CD) were measured in agreement with the provisions set out in WSP 100.4 at a preload tension of 0.1 N.

[0090] Air permeability was measured in agreement with WSP 70.1 at a delta pressure of 200 Pa and a 20 cm.sup.2 test head.

[0091] Bending length, again, was measured in agreement with WSP 90.5.

[0092] In addition, the so-called Martindale test (WSP 20.5) has been performed on the activated samples. The Martindale test is a rub test that tells the materials ability to withstand mechanical abrasion. This test was performed on Examples 4-3 and 4-5. For Example 4-3 the rating was 1.6 at 16 rubs and 2.0 at 60 rubs. For Example 4-3 the rating was 1.7 at 16 rubs and 2.0 at 60 rubs. The ratings are on a scale from 1-5 with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst.

[0093] The key property of the inventive nonwoven sheets is their elastic performance. For instance, if the sheet is used as a belt construction of a baby diaper pant, the sheet is overstretched when the diaper is pulled up and fitted in right position. It should then still exhibit enough reactive force to maintain the diapers position on the baby even upon movement and loading of the diaper with urine and faeces. If the sheet is used for the manufacture of back ears in open diapers, it is likewise crucial that the elastic performance is maintained after the stretching.

[0094] The tests for evaluating the elastic performance of the activated sheets presented in the following were carried out in cross-machine direction. Due to the ring rolling activation, the material is expected to have very good elastic properties especially in this direction.

[0095] A tensile tester as described in WSP 110.4 was used to obtain hysteresis curves for the activated sheets. A 50 mm wide sample of inventive sheet was tested. The clamp speed of the tester was set to 200 mm/min in the upwards direction and 100 mm/min in the downwards direction and the preload tension was set to 0.1 N. In a first cycle, the sheet was stretched to 200% (corresponding to 100% extension) and then immediately relaxed at a speed of 100 mm/min. In a second cycle, the sheet was again stretched to 200% (corresponding to 100% extension). In each cycle, the elastic restoring force was recorded as a function of the sheet extension.

[0096] The recorded physical parameters are given in Table 4 below.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Elongation F.sub.max at F.sub.max at 100% end of F end of 100% Example #- 1.sup.st cycle 1.sup.st cycle 1.sup.st cycle 2.sup.nd cycle DOE [mm] N/50 mm mm N/50 mm N/50 mm 1-4 33.9 21.8 0.237 31.6 1-6 8.18 17.8 0.250 7.71 2-4 22.9 13.0 0.226 21.1 2-6 8.46 12.1 0.246 7.96 3-4 23.0 15.0 0.249 21.2 3-6 5.75 13.7 0.249 5.40 4-3 28.7 27.8 0.257 26.5 4-5 5.94 24.3 0.256 5.44 Permanent set Elongation F end of between 1.sup.st and Example #- end of 2.sup.nd cycle 2.sup.nd cycle 2.sup.nd cycles DOE [mm] mm N/50 mm % 1-4 24.8 0.235 3.93 1-6 20.3 0.250 3.09 2-4 14.8 0.235 2.04 2-6 14.0 0.245 2.12 3-4 17.0 0.232 2.31 3-6 15.4 0.243 1.96 4-3 31.2 0.255 4.68 4-5 28.0 0.251 4.88

[0097] The hysteresis curves for the activated samples are depicted in FIGS. 10a-10h. The three specimens correspond to three measurements on three identical samples that have been averaged to obtain the values of Table 4.

[0098] As apparent from the data of Table 4 and the curves of FIGS. 10a-10h, the sheets of example 1 (which have been calendered) exhibit a permanent set that is relatively high as compared to the permanent set of examples 2-4. A low permanent set is ideal. The activation of calendered materials can cause holes in the materials as the bonding locally consolidates the fibers from both the face layers and the elastic core layer to an extent that hardly any elasticity is locally available.

[0099] The difference between an uncalendered end product and a calendered end product becomes apparent from the magnified pictures shown in FIG. 11. On the left hand side the uncalendered product of sample 2-6 is shown. As apparent, despite the quite harsh activation conditions, no holes in the fabric are observed. On the right hand side the calendered product of sample 1-6 is shown. As apparent, in this material the activation produced holes.

[0100] As further apparent from the data of Table 4 and the curves of FIGS. 10a-10h, a deeper activation leads to improved elastic behaviour. Specifically, the examples with deeper activation show a more homogenous and even force over the stain distance from 0-100% elongation. Also, a deeper activation reduces the maximum force at 100% strain. In other words, it is possible to control the maximum force needed at certain strain level as well as the force at certain strain levels by the settings at activation.

[0101] Another evaluation that was carried out to evaluate the performance of the activated sheets of examples 1-4 is the testing of the materials for their ability to maintain a certain elastic force at a given strain over time.

[0102] In this context, a test sample from the hysteresis test is mounted in the clamps of a tensile tester. A preload of 0.1 N is applied. The samples are pulled to 50% strain at a speed of 200 mm/min. Once this level is reached, the force is measured over a period of 10 minutes and the drop in tensile force is recorded. The lower the drop, the better it is.

[0103] The obtained measurement curves for the activated samples are depicted in FIGS. 12a-12h. Again, the three specimens correspond to three measurements on three identical samples.

[0104] Further advantages of the inventive materials will be apparent from the following.

[0105] Many persons suffering from incontinence chose not to wear incontinence protecting pants due to the fact that current available pants are too thick and therefor too visible. Table 5 summarizes caliper/thickness measurements of the elastic waist panels of commercially available adult incontinence products. All measurements were carried out according to WSP120.6.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Tena Unicharm Sloggi Basic Silhouette Kao Relief Lifree Product Size Midi/EU 40 Size M Size 2 Size 2, 150 ml Caliper [mm] [mm] [mm] [mm] Upper Waist 1.50 2.78 4.48 3.47 Lower Waist 0.60 2.02 2.87 2.97

[0106] The thickness in the waist region is important for the above considerations, because it is where the diaper is most visible.

[0107] The product “Sloggi Basic” is presently the most sold female brief in Europe. It is made from a woven textile based on 95% cotton and 5% elastane. The thickness in lower waist area has been measured at 0.60 mm and the thickness in the upper waist area at 1.50 mm. The increased thickness in the upper waist area results from the layering of an additional fabric for higher elasticity performance.

[0108] The further products have thicker materials in the waist region. The elasticated waist of “Tena Silhouette” is a laminate based on two outer layers of nonwovens and one elastic film as center layer. The “Kao Relief” incontinence pant is a laminate with outer layers of nonwovens and micro elastic filaments as center layer. The “Unicharm Lifree” incontinence pant is a more traditional construction with two outer layers of nonwovens and elastic strands in the center, providing the elastic performance needed. All these products have thicknesses in the waist area of more than 2 mm in the relaxed state.

[0109] The nonwoven materials of this invention allow obtaining products with waist thicknesses that are comparable to the woven-based “Sloggi Basic” female brief. As apparent from Table 3 above, activated materials of the invention have calipers in the magnitude of 0.6-0.9 mm, depending on basis weight. When folded as visible in the exemplary incontinence pant 300 shown in FIG. 9 already discussed further above, such a material with a basis weights of approx. 90 gsm would be sufficient from a mechanical stand-point to meet the elastic requirements of adult incontinence pants, and such material has been determined to have thicknesses of around 0.75 mm. The waist belt 301 made by a double folded material layer and having a vertical dimension of around 1-4 mm will then have thicknesses in a magnitude of around 1.50 mm, just like the woven-based “Sloggi Basic” female brief, which allows much of a regular brief style look of the products. It is a major advantage for customers if the thickness of diaper products can be reduced to the thickness of regular brief products. For additional elastic force, elastic strands 302 could optionally be incorporated into the fold, as shown in the magnified portion of FIG. 9.