SHAPED PERMEABLE MATERIAL COMPOSITE FOR USE IN AN ABSORBENT ARTICLE

Abstract

A permeable material composite is provided for use in an absorbent article. The permeable material composite includes a permeable material layer that is a low-strength material layer and having a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm. The permeable material layer has an edge having a contour and being a shaped edge providing the permeable material composite with a non-rectangular shape. The permeable material layer is reinforced along the shaped edge with a reinforcement material that is attached to the permeable material layer. The reinforcement material has a shaped outer edge having a contour that coincides fully or partly with the contour of the shaped edge of the permeable material layer.

Claims

1. A permeable material composite (1) comprising a permeable material layer (2) being a low-strength permeable material layer having a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm for use in an absorbent article, said permeable material layer (2) having an edge (11,12,13,14) having a contour and wherein said edge (11,12,13,14) is a shaped edge (11s,12s,13s,14s) providing the permeable material composite (1) with a non-rectangular shape; characterized in that said permeable material layer (2) is reinforced along said shaped edge (11s,12s,13s,14s) with a reinforcement material (3) being attached to said permeable material layer (2), said reinforcement material (3) having an outer edge (31s,32s,33s,34s) having a contour, and wherein said contour of said shaped outer edge (31s,32s,33s,34s) of said reinforcement material (3) coincides fully or partly with said contour of said shaped edge (11s,12s,13s,14s) of said permeable material layer (2).

2. The permeable material composite (1) according to claim 1, wherein said permeable material layer (2) has a length (I) in a longitudinal direction (L.sub.D) extending between a first and a second transverse edge (13,14) and a width (w) in a transverse direction (T.sub.D) extending between a first and a second longitudinal edge (11, 12), said longitudinal edges (11,12) and said transverse edges (13,14) each having a contour and wherein at least one of said edges (11,12,13,14) is said shaped edge (11s,12s,13s,14s).

3. The permeable material composite (1) according to claim 2, wherein said first and said longitudinal edges (11s,12s) are shaped first and second longitudinal edges (11s,12s).

4. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein said permeable material layer (2) is a liquid permeable fibrous layer or a liquid permeable foam layer.

5. The permeable material composite (1) according to claim 4, wherein in the fibers in said liquid permeable fibrous layer consist of non-absorbent synthetic fibers.

6. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein said permeable material layer (2) comprises superabsorbent particles.

7. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein said reinforcing material (3) is a nonwoven material, such as a spunbond nonwoven material, or a tissue material.

8. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein said reinforcing material (3) has a tensile strength of 0.1 N/mm or more.

9. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said permeable material layer (2) has a tensile strength of from 0.05 to 3 N/mm.

10. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said shaped edge (11s,12s,13s,14s) of said permeable material layer (2) is/co-shaped with said outer shaped edge (31s,32s,33s,34s) of said reinforcing material (3).

11. The permeable material composite (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reinforcing material (3) further comprises an active ingredient, such as an odour control substance, a print, a hydrophobic composition and/or elastic elements.

12. An absorbent article comprising a liquid permeable topsheet and a backsheet, wherein said permeable material composite (1) according to any one of the preceding claims is enclosed between said liquid permeable topsheet and said backsheet.

13. A method for producing a permeable material composite (1,101) having one or more shaped reinforced edge portions for use in an absorbent article, said method comprises the step of; a) providing a web of a permeable material (200) having a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm; b) providing a web of a reinforcing material (300); c) applying said reinforcing material web (300) over said permeable material web (200) and attaching said reinforcing material web (300) to said permeable material web (200) to provide a permeable material composite web (100) comprising a reinforced overlap region (400); and d) forming said permeable material composite (101) having one or more shaped reinforced edges (111s,112s,113s,114s) by cutting along a cutting line (15) at least partly arranged within said overlap region (400) and removing trim material (4) from said permeable material composite (1,101).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said permeable material web (200) has longitudinal edge portions (201,202) extending in a longitudinal direction (L.sub.D) of said permeable material web (200) and wherein step b) involves conveying said permeable material web (200) in a machine direction (MD) corresponding to said longitudinal direction (L.sub.D) of said permeable material web (200).

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein step c) said reinforcing material (300) is applied to overlap one or both of said first and said second longitudinal edge portions (201,202), and in step d) said permeable material composite (1,101) is formed by cutting or severing at least partly within said first and/or said second longitudinal edge portions (201,202) and removing said trim material (4) from said permeable material composite web (100) forming one or two shaped reinforced edges.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, wherein said trim material (4) has a width and a minimum width of said trim material (4) is 20 mm or less, such as 12 mm or less, such as 7.5 mm or less.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein said step d) involves attaching said reinforcing material web (300) to said permeable material web (200) by means of gluing or by ultrasound.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, wherein said step d) involves cutting or severing said permeable material composite (101,1) in a non-rectangular shape.

19. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reinforcing material (300) has a tensile strength greater than said tensile strength of said web of a low-strength permeable material (200).

20. The method according to any one of claims 13-19, wherein said method further comprises the step of; d) integrating said permeable material composite (1,101) between a topsheet and a backsheet forming an absorbent article.

21. A method for removing trim material (4) when manufacturing a permeable material composite (1,101) for use in an absorbent article comprising a topsheet, a backsheet and said permeable material composite (1,101) therebetween, said method comprises the steps of; a) providing a web of a permeable material (200) in a machine direction, said permeable material web (200) having a tensile strength, as measured in said machine direction; b) applying a web of a reinforcing material (300) over said permeable material web (200) and attaching said reinforcing material web (300) to said permeable material web (200) thereby forming a permeable material composite web (100); c) cutting, or severing, said permeable material composite web (100) in said machine direction (MD) so as to form a trim material (4), said trim material (4) comprising at least a portion of said permeable material web (200) and a portion of said reinforcing material web (300); and d) removing said trim material (4) by pulling said trim material (4) with a pulling force, wherein said pulling force is higher than said tensile strength per millimetre of said permeable material web (200).

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein said pulling force in step d) is 1 N or more.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein said permeable material web (200) has a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0064] The features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reference to the following drawings. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, explain the one or more embodiments of the invention.

[0065] FIG. 1a is a perspective view showing a method for producing a shaped permeable material composite.

[0066] FIG. 1b is a perspective view showing further features of a method for producing a shaped permeable material composite.

[0067] FIG. 2a is a perspective view of the application of a reinforcing material over a permeable material web.

[0068] FIG. 2b is a perspective view of the application of reinforcing material strips over the longitudinal edge portions of a permeable material web.

[0069] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a permeable material composite according to one embodiment of this application.

[0070] FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a permeable material composite according to another embodiment of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0071] It is to be understood that the drawings are generally schematic illustrations and that individual components, such as layers of material are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0072] With reference to FIG. 1a, a method of producing a shaped permeable material composite 101 is schematically shown. The permeable material composite 101 is intended to be used in an absorbent article. The method involves providing a first web of a permeable material 100 having a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm. The first web of a permeable material 200 has first and second longitudinal edge portions 201,202 extending in a longitudinal direction LD and a width extending in a transverse direction TD, being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction LD. The first web of a permeable material 200 is fed in the machine direction indicated by the associated arrows. In addition, a second web of a second material, which is a reinforcing material 300, is provided into the process and is fed in the machine direction indicated by the associated arrows. As shown in FIG. 1a, the first web of permeable material 200 and the second web of reinforcing material 300 may be provided into the process by being unwound from a first supply roll 5 and a second supply roll 6, respectively. However, instead of being unwound from a supply roll, the first web of permeable material 200 and/or the second web of reinforcing material 300 may be provided directly from a respective forming apparatus into the process. The first and the second materials 200,300 will be further described below.

[0073] The first web of permeable material 200 and the second web of reinforcing material 300 are attached to each other in a bonding station so as to form a permeable material composite web 100 and reinforced overlap region 400 on the first web of permeable material 200. The overlap region 400 may cover the first web of permeable material 200 completely, as illustrated in FIG. 1a. However, the second web of reinforcing material 300 may also be applied only to parts of the first web of permeable material 200 such as to form an overlap region 400 only partly covering the first web of permeable material 200. The overlap region 400 is at least arranged on the first web of permeable material 200 over the area in which a cutting line 15 is intended to be formed.

[0074] The bonding station for attaching the second web of reinforcing material 300 to the first web of permeable material 200 may include any suitable device for attaching two webs of material according to the present disclosure to each other, such as, for example, by glue/adhesive bonding, heat bonding or ultrasonic bonding. The adhesive attachment may be performed by any suitable device for application of adhesive, such as, for example, a slotted glue head or other spraying means.

[0075] Ultrasonic bonding may be performed using a rotary ultrasonic horn. Thermal bonding may be conducted by passing the first and the second webs 200,300 between two heated rollers. The heated rollers may have smooth surfaces causing lamination over the whole width of the webs 200,300 or may have pins thereon which form intermittent point bonds between the first and the second web 200,300. The attachment of the reinforcing material 300 to the first web of permeable material 200 may at least be provided over and on each side of the intended cutting line 15.

[0076] In the process shown in FIG. 1a, the attachment station is constituted by a rotating lamination roll 11. The first web 200 is fed under the lamination roll 11. For example, the attachment station may alternatively comprise a stationary bar or rod.

[0077] Finally, individual permeable material composites 101 having shaped reinforced longitudinal and transverse edges 111s,112s,113s,114s are cut from the permeable material composite web 100 at a cutting station 7. The permeable material composite web 100 is thus cut along the cutting line 15 within the overlap region 400 and trim material 4 is removed by pulling the trim material with a pulling force being higher than the tensile strength per millimetre of the permeable material web 200 but lower than the tensile strength per millimetre of the permeable material composite web 100, as measured in an overlap region 400.

[0078] The cutting station 7 may have the form of a cutting roll that includes one or more cutting knives or blades corresponding to the contour of the shaped permeable material composite 101 to be cut from the permeable material composite web 100. The cutting roll may include one or more pairs of obliquely extending pairs of cutting edges or blades and a counter pressure or anvil roll.

[0079] FIG. 1b also illustrates a method of producing a permeable material composite 101 according to the present disclosure. The permeable material composite 101 is intended to be included as a component in an absorbent article (not shown) between a topsheet and a backsheet.

[0080] The method involves providing a first web of a permeable material 200 having a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm. The first web of a permeable material 200 has first and second longitudinal edge portions 201,202 extending in a longitudinal direction LD and a width extending in a transverse direction TD, being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction LD. The first web of a permeable material 200 is fed in the machine direction indicated by the associated arrows. A second web 300 of a second material, which is a reinforcing material, is provided into the process and is fed in the machine direction indicated by the associated arrows. As shown in FIG. 1b, the first web of permeable material 200 and the second web of reinforcing material 300 is provided into the process by being unwound from a first supply roll 5 and a second supply roll 6, respectively.

[0081] The first web of permeable material 200 and the second web of reinforcing material 300 are attached to each other in a bonding station so as to form a permeable material composite 100 and reinforced overlap region 400 on the first web of permeable material 200. In FIG. 1b the overlap region 400 covers the first web of permeable material 200 completely.

[0082] The individual permeable material composites 101 are cut from the permeable material composite web 100 at a cutting station 7 along the cutting line 15 within the overlap region 400 and trim material 4 is removed by pulling the trim material with a pulling force.

[0083] The cutting station 7 disclosed in FIG. 1b have the form of a cutting roll including cutting tools such as knives or blades corresponding to the contour of the shaped permeable material composite 101 to be cut from the permeable material composite web 100. As shown in FIG. 1b, there will only be trim material 4 along the longitudinal edge portions of the permeable material composite web 100 as the shape of each cutting tool conforms with the shape of the adjacent cutting tool at a common borderline, as seen in the machine direction. In other words, the shape of a rear edge of a permeable material composite 101 conforms with the front edge of an adjacent permeable material composite 101 at a common borderline, as seen in the longitudinal direction LD of the permeable material composite web 100.

[0084] FIG. 2a illustrates one alternative step of applying and attaching the web of reinforcing material 300 over the permeable material web 200 wherein a width w.sub.r of the reinforcing material 300 is slightly greater than a width w.sub.p of the permeable material web 200, such as from 2 to 20 mm wider at each side of the longitudinal edge portions 201,202 of the permeable material web 200.

[0085] FIG. 2b illustrates another alternative application of the web of reinforcing material 300 in the form of two strips of reinforcing material over the longitudinal edge portions 201,202 of the permeable material web 200.

[0086] After the provision of the web of reinforcing material 300 to the permeable material web 200 in each of the FIGS. 2a and 2b the permeable material composite webs 100 formed may be cut within the overlapping region 400 with a subsequent removal of trim material 4 (see FIGS. 1a and 1b).

[0087] FIG. 3 illustrates a permeable material composite 1 as disclosed herein and for use in an absorbent article. The permeable material composite 1 has a length 1 in a longitudinal direction LD extending between a first shaped transverse edge 13s and a second shaped transverse edge 14s of the permeable material layer 2, which correspond to the transverse edges of the permeable material composite 1. The permeable material composite 1 has a width in a transverse direction, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction LD, extending between a first shaped longitudinal edge 11s and a second shaped longitudinal edge 12s of the permeable material layer 2, which correspond to the longitudinal edges of the permeable material composite 1. The front transverse edges 13s of the permeable material layer and 33s of the reinforcing material 3 are rounded outwardly in a convex shape. The rear transverse edges 14s of the permeable material layer 2 of the reinforcing material 3 each has the shape of two legs extending in a rearwards direction. The first and second longitudinal edges 11s,12s of the permeable material layer 2 and the first and second longitudinal edges 31s,32s of the reinforcing material 3, each has a slightly curved shape, such that the permeable material composite 1 has a slightly inwardly curved waist portion. The permeable material layer 2 has a reinforcing material 3 attached thereto having the same outer contour as the permeable material layer 2. The reinforcing material 3 thus has shaped outer edges 31s,32s,33s,34s with contours coinciding fully with the contours of the edges 11s,12s,13s,14s of the permeable material layer 1.

[0088] The permeable material layer 2 is a fibrous layer comprising non-absorbent synthetic fibers, the layer has a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm. The reinforcing layer 3 is a nonwoven layer completely covering the permeable material layer 2.

[0089] FIG. 4 illustrates a shaped permeable material composite 1 as disclosed herein and for use in an absorbent article. The permeable material composite 1 has a length 1 in a longitudinal direction LD extending between a first shaped transverse edge 13s and a second shaped transverse edge 14s of the permeable material layer 2. The permeable material composite 1 has a width in a transverse direction extending between a first shaped longitudinal edge 11s and a second shaped longitudinal edge 12s of the permeable material layer 2. The first transverse edge 13s is rounded outwardly in a convex shape and the second transverse edge 14s has the shape of two legs extending in a rearwards direction. The first and second longitudinal edges 11s,12s each has a slightly curved shape, such that the permeable material composite 1 has a slightly inwardly curved waist portion. The permeable material layer 2 has a reinforcing material 3 in the form of two longitudinally extending strips attached thereto. The reinforcing material 3 thus has shaped outer first and second longitudinal edges 31s,32s with contours coinciding fully with the contours of the first and second longitudinal edges 11s,12s of the permeable material layer 1.

[0090] The permeable material layer 2 is a fibrous layer comprising non-absorbent synthetic fibers, the layer has a tensile strength of less than 3 N/mm. The reinforcing layer 3 is a nonwoven layer extending over the longitudinal edges 11s,12s of the permeable material layer 2 and is formed by two strips of reinforcing material 3 as shown in FIG. 2b.

[0091] In the table below there are provided examples of reinforcement material and low-strength material in accordance with the present disclosure.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 (all measurements in N/mm) Lower Target Upper REINFORCEMENT MATERIAL Tissue 17gsm 0.12 0.15 Tissue 16gsm 100% bleached 0.18 0.28 ECF or TCF pulp Spunbond NW 18gsm 0.44 0.76 1.12 Spunbond NW 16gsm 0.46 0.74 1.02 Spunbond NW 22gsm 0.64 0.98 1.32 LOW STRENGTH MATERIAL Air Laid 70gsm multibonded 0.2 0.34 Air Laid 65gsm multibonded 0.36 0.34 Foam 3M1A 0.22 Foam Recticil T25090 0.17 Foam Woodbridge SM32 WH 0.22

[0092] The embodiments described above are only descriptions of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various variations and modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the design of the present invention. The variations and modifications should all fall within the claimed scope defined by the claims of the invention.