Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kimberly-clark Wordwide, Inc.

Heather Schenck Mortell

Robert Lee Popp

Joseph Daniel Coenen

Mark Steven Franke

David Arthur Kuen

Cynthia Louise Wyngaard

Marcille Faye Ruman

Jack Lee Couillard

Kathleen Irene Ratliff

Charles Robert Tomsovic

Jason Gene Csida

Debra Hartley Durrance

Scott Gerald Chapple

Laurie Couture-Dorschner

Kurt Garrett Krupka

Lars Nilsen Nordang

Walter Andrew Mattingly

David James VanEperen

James Richard Schermerhorn

David Michael Clemens

Scott John Andrew Swanson

James Bassey Pinkney

A boxer-style pant and a method of making a boxer-style pant having side seams, a contracted crotch region, and hanging legs. A web is provided. The web is cut along transversely opposed edges of the web to define leg openings. The leg openings may be formed by cutting slits along the transversely opposed edges of the web. The web is contracted in a selected area between the leg openings. Front and back regions are then joined together to form the side seams. An absorbent structure may be attached to the web.

Process of making boxer shorts from a web with various leg opening shapes

A boxer-style pant and a method of making a boxer-style pant having side seams and hanging legs. Expandable material is used to provide a conforming fit and to expedite high-speed manufacture. The pant is made from a web and includes a garment shell having a front region, a back region, and a crotch region positioned between the front and back regions. The side seams connect the front region to the back region. The garment shell may be essentially composed of an expandable material that is selectively expanded in certain areas of the garment, and/or an expandable material may be attached to the garment shell in the crotch region and/or in the back region.

Boxer shorts and process of making boxer shorts with expandable material

A pant has a garment shell. The garment shell includes a front region, a back region, a contracted crotch region, side seams connecting the front region to the back region, two leg openings, and hanging legs. At least a portion of each of the front region, the back region, the contracted crotch region and the hanging legs include portions of a single flat web. The hanging legs include no elasticization around a full periphery of the leg openings and are adapted to hang loosely about a wearer's thigh.

Process to make boxer shorts having a contracted crotch region

A boxer-style pant and methods of making a boxer-style pant having side seams and hanging legs. At least a portion of each of the hanging legs may be non-planar in an uncontracted state prior to formation of the side seams. The methods each involve providing at least one web. In some methods, a crotch panel is bonded to first and second regions of the web between two leg openings, and a distance between bonded regions of upper and lower edges of the crotch panel, measured parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pant, is shorter along a central region of the crotch panel and longer in distal regions of the crotch panel, such that the bonded region results in a bow-tie-shaped crotch panel. In some methods, a crotch region of the web is folded and stabilized along a longitudinal centerline of the web. In some methods, leg extensions are attached to at least a portion of each of two leg openings. Front and back regions may be joined together to form the side seams. An absorbent structure may be attached to the web.

Boxer shorts and process of making boxer shorts from one or more webs

A boxer-style pant and a method of making a boxer-style pant having side seams, a contracted crotch region, and hanging legs. A web is provided. The web may be a single pant assembly, or a continuous web of multiple pant assemblies connected to one another. The web may be folded against a support structure. In certain embodiments, a multi-lane production system may be used wherein the web is folded against multiple support structures each parallel to a direction in which the web is conveyed, with each lane or machine direction array of pant assemblies folded against just one support structure. The web is cut to define leg openings, and contracted in selected areas along the web between the leg openings. Front and back regions are then joined together to form the side seams. An absorbent structure may be attached to the web.

Process of making boxer shorts from a web

A disposable absorbent pant having refastenable seams that minimize the product's potential for tearing when forces are applied to separate the refastenable seams. More particularly, the refastenable seams have a shear separation strength that is less than a tensile or tear strength of the outer cover and/or side panels. Also, the bonding strength between a fastening component and the portion of the chassis to which the fastening component is bonded may be greater than the shear separation strength of the refastenable seams. Additionally, the shear separation strength of the refastenable seams may be greater than the peel separation strength of the refastenable seams to enable easy unfastening of the garment through the application of peel forces.

Disposable absorbent pant having refastenable seams

A method of making a boxer-style pant having side seams, a contracted crotch region and hanging legs. A flat web is provided. Portions are removed from the flat web to define leg openings. The flat web is then contracted either elastically or inelastically in selected areas along the flat web between the leg openings. The flat web is cut into separate pieces, folded and side seams are formed. The pant may include an absorbent.

A method for bonding a strip, such as a leg elastic or the like, to an opening on a web of material. The method includes providing a web that includes at least one opening and defines at least a first bonding surface adjacent each opening. For each opening the method includes: deforming the web to modify the shape of the opening, providing a strip defining a second bonding surface, bonding together at least portions of the first and second bonding surfaces of the modified opening and relaxing the web.

Method for bonding surfaces on a web

A pant-like absorbent refastenable garment adapted to easy application and removal has hook and loop fasteners on the front and back side panels and in particular embodiments frangible bonds connecting the front and back side panels. The frangible bonds connecting the front and back side panels can be easily broken by the user prior to use and the hook and loop fasteners can be engaged prior to, or during, donning. The hook and loop fasteners do not need to be prefastened at the time of manufacture.

Absorbent article with fastening system

A personal care garment having side seams with a discreet or aesthetically pleasing appearance. The side seams can extend from a waist opening to each of two leg openings between a front side panel and a back side panel. In one embodiment, a ribbon cover is attached to an outer surface of the garment to secure the side seam and provide a finished, aesthetically pleasing appearance. In another embodiment, an embossing pattern can be applied to the side seam to provide a finished, aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Aesthetically improved side panels for disposable garment and methods of making the same

A method of making a pant having a front-to-back crotch seam includes providing a flat web. The flat web can be cut into separate pieces or cut to provide interconnected pieces and the center portion of each separate piece is removed. Slits are cut in each separate piece or each interconnected piece and the remaining attached segments are drawn away from each other in opposite directions to bring first and second seam edges together for the purpose of forming a garment shell with a crotch seam. The method may be applied to a single piece of material representing a single garment or to an interconnected web of garments. After forming the crotch seam, the garment shell can be folded and side seams formed. The pant may include an absorbent structure.

Process to make boxer shorts with an absorbent core

A distinctive process for making a garment having a waist opening and a pair of hanging legs is disclosed. The process includes providing a first web and a second web and joining the first web and the second web to provide a crotch seam. Portions of the webs may also be removed to provide a crotch gap. The first web is drawn from the second web and at least a portion of the webs are slit to provide a garment chassis. Edges of the garment chassis may be fastened together to provide the garment.

Process for making a garment having hanging legs

A pant-like absorbent garment having side seams extending from a waist opening to each of two leg openings between a front side panel and a back side panel. The side seams are offset or folded to conceal the post-bonding edges and provide a finished or aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Aesthetically improved side panels for disposable garments and methods of making the same

A process for making prefastened and refastenable garments includes providing a plurality of discrete articles with mating fastening components disposed in the waist regions. First fastening components are separated from one another by an initial transverse distance. The waist region containing the first fastening components is modified to transversely displace these fastening components to a post displacement distance that is not equal to the initial distance. The process allows for convenient alignment of the fastening components to form refastenable seams.

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Neenah, WI, United States of America

Heather Schenck Mortell