Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kimberly-clark Corporation

Gregory Todd Sudduth

John Joseph Sayovitz

Michael Tod Morman

David Michael Matela

Prasad Shrikrishna Potnis

Randall James Palmer

Ali Yahiaoui

Peiguang Zhou

Thomas Walter Odorzynski

Cristian M Neculescu

Susan Elaine Shawver

Michael Donald Sperl

Frank Paul Abuto

James Russell Fitts, Jr

Richard Daniel Pike

Charles John Morell

Howard Martin Welch

Gordon Allen Shaw

Thomas Allan Eby

Stephen Michael Campbell

Jay Sheldon Shultz

Jeffrey Lawrence McManus

Alan Francis Schleinz

Wanda Walton Jackson

Bryon Paul Day

Steven Wayne Fitting

Matthew Boyd Lake

David W Heyn

Patricia Hwang Calhoun

Robert David Wright

Robert James Gerndt

Allen Todd Leak

Leslie Warren Collier, Iv

Sjon-Paul Lee Conyer

Monica Graciela Varriale

Dale Arthur Peterson

Courtney Eileen Shea

Raymond Jeffrey May

Charles Edward Edmundson

Paula Kay Zoromski

Wendy Marie Takken

Mark G Kupelian

Rasha Wafik Guirguis

Angela Dobson

Jean Feyen Niemeyer

Joel E Edwards

James Randall Morgan

Rasha Wafik Zaki Guirguis

Steven Walter Moster

Mark Gilbert Kupelian

Angela Grace Dobson

Stretchable film laminates including a layer of elastomeric openwork, such as a plurality of elastic strands or an elastomeric mesh structure. The stretchable film laminates may include a film layer bonded to the layer of elastomeric openwork, with the film layer having cross-directional stretch and the laminate having a multi-phase stretchability profile. The stretchable film laminates may be made by extruding a film from a die, stretching the film, forming and stretching a layer of elastomeric openwork, conveying the stretched elastomeric openwork onto the film while the film is stretched, and passing the film and the elastomeric openwork through a nip. The invention also includes a machine capable of producing machine-direction, cross-direction, and biaxial stretch materials. The machine includes at least one extruder, at least one filament die and at least one film die both attached to the extruder(s), and at least one nip downstream of the extruder(s).

Stretchable film laminates and methods and apparatus for making stretchable film laminates

An extensible laminate having improved set and hysteresis is disclosed. The extensible laminate includes an extensible nonwoven web laminated to an elastomeric sheet that have been mechanically stretched in the cross direction after lamination. A method for making the extensible laminate includes laminating an extensible nonwoven web to an elastomeric sheet to form a laminate and mechanically stretching the laminate in a cross direction by at least about 50 percent.

Extensible laminate having improved stretch properties and method for making same

The present invention provides a one or two step method for bonding and creping or double creping a nonwoven web. In the method of the present invention, a nonwoven web is adhered to a creping roll and bonded while on the creping roll. The bonding of the nonwoven adheres the nonwoven to the creping roll in a pattern of the bonding roll. Once creped from the creping roll, the resulting nonwoven web is creped in the pattern of the bonding roll. The creped nonwoven webs of the present invention are useful in a wide variety of application including as wipes, liners, transfer or surge layers, outercovers, other fluid handling materials and looped fastener materials.

Method for producing creped nonwoven webs

A process for making a plurality of necked nonwoven strips having similar or identical cross-directional profiles includes the steps of slitting a neckable nonwoven web into a plurality of neckable nonwoven strips, passing the neckable nonwoven web between a first pair of nip rollers having a first surface velocity and a second pair of nip rollers having a second surface velocity greater than the first surface velocity, and necking the nonwoven web between the first pair of nip rollers and the second pair of nip rollers.

Slit neck spunbond process and material

A stabilized creped nonwoven web and a method for producing the same, wherein a creped nonwoven web is thermally stabilized, for example by through-air-bonding or embossing, to produce the stabilized creped nonwoven web. The stabilized creped nonwoven web having increased tensile strength in the machine direction and an enhanced appearance. The stabilized creped nonwoven web of this invention id capable of withstanding a tensile force or load in a machine direction of at least about 2.0 lbs. at 20% strain and a tensile force or load in the machine direction of at least about 5.0 lbs. at 50% strain.

Method of producing post-crepe stabilized material

A nonwoven material including at least a meltblown web is stretched by about 1-35% in at least one direction using a short-distance drawing process, to provide a fabric having improved softness and liquid barrier compared to otherwise similar fabrics prepared using longer drawing distances. The drawing process may include one or multiple stages. When multiple stages are employed, the fabric has adequate liquid barrier at a lower basis weight.

Nonwoven webs having improved softness and barrier properties

An absorbent article, such as the shown diaper (10), has a front waistband portion (14), a back waistband portion (12) and an intermediate portion (16) interconnecting said front and back waistband portions. The article includes a backsheet member (30), a liquid permeable topsheet layer (28), and an absorbent body (32) sandwiched between the topsheet layer (28) and backsheet member (30). The backsheet member includes an air permeable, polymer sheet layer (96), and a first, outward nonwoven fibrous web (94) attached to or otherwise operatively joined with a major facing surface (78) of the polymer sheet layer (96) at a plurality of individual, spaced apart thermal bonds (98). The outward nonwoven web (94) includes a plurality of fibers having substantially unbonded lengths which extend substantially continuously between at least an adjacent pair of the bonds, and the substantially unbonded fiber lengths are arched away from an outward surface of the thermal bonds by arch heights (60) which provides a distinctive embossing element depth value. In addition, the fibers of the outward nonwoven web can have a selected denier, and the outward nonwoven web (94) can have a selected basis weight.

Absorbent article with visually and tactilely distinctive outer cover

A diaper outer cover of a layered nonwoven material having an outer meltblown fiber layer of a meltblown material having an average basis weight in the range of about 1 g/m.sup.2 to about 7 g/m.sup.2 disposed on an inner nonwoven material layer, preferably a spunbond web.

Personal care articles with abrasion resistant meltblown layer

There is provided a web which has been spun from a mixture of thermoplastic polymer and a softening additive in an amount up to about 3 weight percent, and which has been mechanically treated to increase softness. The web has a final cup crush value which is less than 50 percent of the starting cup crush value and the drop in cup crush value is greater than the sum of the treatments individually. The web may be a single layer or may be a laminate of spunbond and other materials such as meltblown and coform fabrics.

Mechanical and internal softening for nonwoven web

There is provided a method of softening a nonwoven web by wetting a nonwoven web having a starting, unstretched width and a starting cup crush value, with an aqueous solution of softening chemicals, necking the saturated nonwoven web, drying the nonwoven web at a temperature and time sufficient to remove at least 95 percent of the moisture from the nonwoven web, wherein the web has a final cup crush value which is less than 50 percent of the starting cup crush value. The method may optionally include the step of un-necking the nonwoven web to about between 80 and 125 percent of its starting, unstretched width.

Chemical and mechanical softening process for nonwoven web

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Cumming, GA, United States of America

Gregory Todd Sudduth