The Procter Gamble Company

Lawrence H Sanford

Bradley N Jones

The object of the invention is an improved brief or panty and method of making the same that has porous fabric panels and elastic members that are elastic in all directions. The panty lies flat against the body of the wearer and the fabric panel does not gather adjacent the elastic members. The panty has an hourglass-shaped panel (10) and an elastic member (11) having hourglass exterior margin (21) and interior margin (22) overlying and bonded to the exterior margin of the fabric panel (10). A functional crotch portion (20) is interposed between the elastic member (11) and the panel (10). The panty is manufactured by forming an hourglass-shaped panty blank (10) of elastic material having front (19) and rear (18) panel portions; forming an elastic border member (11) from elastic material; superimposing the border member (11) on the hourglass margin of the panty blank (10) and bonding it thereto; and securing corresponding transverse edges of the front (19) and rear (18) panel portions.

Panty with a built-in elastic system to minimize gathering and provide a

Absorptive devices, such as disposable diapers, presenting a dry surface feel to the user. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, a substantially planar, moisture absorbent layer is disposed between a soft and bulky, wearer contacting, moisture-pervious topsheet and a moisture-resistant backing sheet to form a disposable diaper. The topsheet preferably comprises an integral structure containing a multiplicity of depressed areas which intimately contact the uppermost surface of a substantially planar, moisture absorbent layer, while the non-depressed areas of the topsheet contact the wearer's skin in-use. Due to the wet resilience and increased overall caliper of the topsheet, the non-depressed areas, which are of substantially the same density as the depressed areas, tend to isolate the wearer's skin from moisture contained within the moisture absorbent layer, thereby providing improved surface dryness and improved resistance to rewetting when the structure is temporarily subjected to pressure resulting from the wearer's body movements.

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Lawrence H Sanford