Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

University of Illinois

Kimberly-clark Corporation

Lisha Yu

Nadezhda Efremova

Jeffrey Dean Lindsay

Fung-jou Chen

Peiguang Zhou

Herb F Velazquez

Andrew Mark Long

Sheng-Hsin Hu

Bruce Michael Siebers

Christian Lee Sanders

Nicholas Alan Kraft

Gary Douglas Williams

Scott W Wenzel

Yung Hsiang Huang

Corey Thomas Cunningham

Mary Lou McDaniel

Shirlee Ann Weber

Adrienne Rae Loyd

Candace Dyan Krautkramer

Eric Clayton Steindorf

Duane Lyle McDonald

Ernesto S Tachauer

David John Enz

Julie Bednarz

Chinmay Suresh Betrabet

Katherine Carol Wheeler

Wallace L Kurtz, Jr

Carmen Lira

Joseph Earl Pierce

Constantine Michael Megaridis

Deborah Snell Hannah

Dean M Wydeven

Renee Sue Booms

Kristin Ann Goerg-Wood

Ali Ibrahim

Ruth A LaChapell

Richard N Dodge

Ruth Ann Lachapell

Suzanne Murray

Ranjan Ganguly

Pallab Sinha Mahapatra

Souvick Chatterjee

Tom Flicker

Kristina Michelle Boudry

Chinmay S Betrabet

Suzanne K Vanderloop

Brian Van Benschoten

Sara J Stabelfeldt

Nadezhda V Efremova

Lisa Carmen

Candice Dyan Krautkramer

Devany Martin

Channon Arteman

Katie Boland

Susanne K Vanderloop

Julie Marie Bednarz

A material for manipulating liquid includes a porous substrate having first and second surfaces; and a wedge-shaped transport element disposed on one of the first and second surfaces, wherein the wedge-shaped transport element has a narrow end and a wide end, the wide end connected to a first reservoir, wherein the wedge-shaped transport element is configured to pass liquid from the narrow end to the wide end to the first reservoir, regardless of gravity, and wherein the first reservoir is configured to pass liquid away from the substrate in a z-direction opposite from the surface on which a liquid is deposited. The surface on which the wedge-shaped transport element is disposed is one of hydrophobic or superhydrophobic, and the wedge-shaped transport element is one of a) superhydrophilic when the first surface is hydrophobic, b) superhydrophilic when the first surface is superhydrophobic, and c) hydrophilic when the first surface is superhydrophobic.

Wettability-patterning method and designs for pumpless transport and precise manipulation of liquid volumes on and through porous materials

Improved skin-adhesive compositions for bonding a substrate, such as an absorbent article, to skin are disclosed. More particularly, the skin-adhesive composition has an improved, yet gentle, adhesion to the skin of a user, while maintaining strong, effective bonding to various inanimate, non-skin substrates. In one embodiment, the skin-adhesive composition can provide one or more skin benefit agents to the user. The skin-adhesive composition may applied to an absorbent article, such as a panty-liner, sanitary napkin, or an incontinence article, for directly adhering the article to the skin of a user.

Absorbent article with a multifunctional acrylate skin-adhesive composition

An absorbent article, for example, a diaper, a training pant, a swimming pant, or a feminine care article, and so forth, includes a topsheet, which forms a body-facing surface of the absorbent article, a backsheet disposed distally from the topsheet, which forms a garment-facing surface of the absorbent article, an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet, and a heat-activatable expandable treatment on the garment-facing surface. The heat-activatable expandable treatment is present on the garment-facing surface in a visually distinctive shape or pattern and provides visual and/or tactile cues to a user of the absorbent article.

Personal care articles with tactile visual cues

In some embodiments, a nonwoven fabric includes a first web that is at least partially formed of extruded strands which include an auto-adhesive material. The nonwoven fabric is adapted to be bonded to another item that includes a similar auto-adhesive material. In other embodiments, a method of forming a nonwoven fabric includes extruding a plurality of strands that are formed of an auto-adhesive material. The method further includes routing the plurality of strands toward a moving support, depositing the plurality of strands onto the moving support, and then stabilizing the plurality of strands to form a web. In other embodiments, a fastening system includes a nonwoven fabric that has a web which is formed of a plurality of extruded strands that include an auto-adhesive material. The fastening system further includes a foam layer that has a surface with a plurality of free-standing struts that include a similar auto-adhesive material.

Method of forming a nonwoven fabric and fastening system that include an auto-adhesive material

Generally silicone materials adapted to releasably adhere to human skin don't attach readily to substrates such as fibrous substrates (e.g., woven and nonwoven webs), films, plastic, etc. Disclosed are inventive blends of low-tack materials, such as a low-tack silicone material, and a high-tack silicone material, such as a high-tack, hot-melt, silicone adhesive, that both releasably adhere to skin and join to various substrates, including fibrous substrates. Furthermore, these same blends may be disposed between, and attached to, a silicone adhesive layer and a substrate. In other words, the disclosed silicone blends may be used to join a silicone adhesive layer to a substrate.

Multifunctional silicone blends

Nonwoven fabric and fastening system that include an auto-adhesive material

In a body adhering absorbent article, an absorbent structure is configured for disposition adjacent a female wearer's vaginal region to absorb bodily fluids discharged by the wearer. A shell supports the absorbent structure at the vaginal region and has an adhesive on a body-facing surface thereof for adhering the shell directly to the wearer. A placement aid is disposed on at least one of the absorbent structure and the shell, and is configured for sensory perception by a wearer of the article upon placement of the article on the wearer to facilitate positive alignment of the absorbent article in a target placement region of the wearer with the absorbent structure disposed adjacent the wearer's vaginal region.

Body adhering absorbent article and method of adhering such article to a wearer

A disposable absorbent article has a nanofabricated attachment means having adhesive hairs disposed on a substrate wherein the hairs are effective to adhesively engage an opposing surface having a polymeric film or a fibrous web. In another embodiment, the absorbent article has a gecko-like fastener including a substrate and a plurality of adhesive hairs arising from the substrate having a base section, midsection, and top section, a height of about 0.5 microns to about 8 millimeters, and a diameter greater than about 0.05 microns.

Nanofabricated gecko-like fasteners with adhesive hairs for disposable absorbent articles

Methods to modify an engaging surface of a fibrous landing layer of a mechanical fastener are generally disclosed, along with products made from the same. For instance, the engaging surface of the landing layer can be mechanically modified to increase the fuzziness of the layer, which allows more fibers to engage the other surface of the mechanical fastener. For example, the improved engaging surface of the landing layer can increase the shear resistance of a mechanical fastener comprising a foam layer and a landing layer.

Methods to modify the fibrous landing layer of a foam based fastener and products made from the same

In one embodiment of the present invention, an article has a mechanical fastener and configured is to be worn by a user. The article comprises a body portion configured to be worn by a user. The body portion may include a fibrous landing layer wherein the fibrous landing layer comprises a plurality of fibers. The body portion may also include a foam layer, such that the foam layer has a first surface comprising a plurality of free-stranding struts adapted for engaging at least a portion of the plurality of fibers of the landing layer. The foam layer and fibrous landing layer are capable of being engaged with a Shear Resistance of about 100 grams of force or greater per square centimeter and a Peel Resistance of about 50 grams or less of force per square centimeter.

Foam-based fasteners

A male component of a mechanical fastening system, such as a hook and loop fastener, that can remain fastened to a female component under high levels of shear force. The male component has a backing material with protrusions extending from the backing material at an angle toward the direction of fastener force. The combination of the male component with a female loop component results in a secure fastening system.

Refastenable absorbent garment

The present invention provides a diaper which includes an outer cover, a bodyside liner which is superposed on the outer cover and which includes a bodyfacing surface, an absorbent core which is located between the outer cover and the bodyside liner, and an adhesive. The adhesive is located on the bodyfacing surface of the bodyside liner. The adhesive is configured to at least temporarily secure the front portion of the diaper to a wearer's body to assist in positioning and fastening the diaper about the wearer's body. In a particular aspect, the adhesive is configured to provide a peel strength of no more than about 300 grams per centimeter of width and an initial shear strength of no more than about 600 grams per square centimeter.

Absorbent article having an improved fastenability

A polysiloxane adhesive composition that is useful in attaching products to human skin. A disposable absorbent product may be prepared that includes the polysiloxane adhesive composition and that may be adhered directly to human skin and peeled off after use with little or no pain to the wearer. In one embodiment, the polysiloxane adhesive composition exhibits a shear storage modulus value, as measured at about 20.degree. C. and at about 10 radians per second, of less than about 1.times.10.sup.5 dynes per square centimeter; a hardness value of less than about 5 durometer units (Shore 00), a tan delta value, as measured at about 20.degree. C. and at a frequency of about 10 radians per second, of between about 0.4 to about 2.0; and a maximum peel strength value of between about 35 to about 900 grams of force per 13 millimeters of width, as measured at a peel rate range of 0 to about 5000 millimeters per minute.

Adhesive composition comprising a polysiloxane

Growing community of inventors

Appleton, WI, United States of America

Lisha Yu