Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Margaret Gwyn Latimer

Lawrence Howell Sawyer

Sylvia Bandy Little

Ann Louise McCormack

Kuo-Shu Edward Chang

Wing-Chak Ng

Tamara Lee Mace

Howard Martin Welch

Yong Li

Stanley Michael Gryskiewicz

Hoa La Wilhelm

Billie Jean Matthews

Connie Lynn Hetzler

Andrew Scott Burnes

Jose Siqueira

Richard Allen Anderson

Norman Earl Brown

James Brian Riddle

Russell Frederick Ross

Ali Yahiaoui

Michael John Faulks

Eugenio Go Varona

Garry Roland Woltman

Sheng-Hsin Hu

Joseph DiPalma

Candace Dyan Krautkramer

Cathleen Mae Uttecht

David Louis Zenker

Palani Raj Ramaswami Wallajapet

Susan Carol Paul

Pamela Jean Mayberry

Richard Norris Dodge, Ii

Debra Jean McDowall

Shannon Kathleen Melius

Audra Stefanik Wright

Frank Jerrel Akin

Ronald Lee Edens

Jack Nelson Lindon

David Michael Matela

Cheryl Ann Mocadlo

Dmitry Yavich

Gregory Marc Lefkowitz

Peter Robert Elliker

Cynthia Marie Phillips

Charles Paul Keuhn, Jr

Jeffrey Dean Lindsay

Fung-jou Chen

David Martin Jackson

Franz Aschenbrenner

Charles Wilson Colman

Ligia A Rivera

John Herbert Conrad

David Charles Potts

Teresa Marie Zander

Julie Bednarz

Michael Allen Daley

Charles Allen Smith

Jeffrey Michael Willis

Melissa Jean Dennis

Nancy Donaldson Kollin

Kristin Ann Goerg-Wood

Timothy James Van Himbergen

Ganesh Chandra Deka

Emmanuelle Cecile Damay

Lynn Marie Matheus

Bruce Wilfuhr Achter

Melissa Jean Jacobs

Renee S Kole

Andrea S Clewley

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 be 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 articles containing a multifunctional gel

A unitary fabric structure for use within a personal care absorbent article includes a composite of at least two functional components for fluid intake. The two functional components include a fibrous, liner functional component and at least one fibrous, surge functional component. The functional components are positioned immediately adjacent one another within the composite and held together directly to one another.

Unitary fluid intake system for absorbent products and methods of making same

An elastic nonwoven composite that contains an elastic film laminated to one or more nonwoven web materials is provided. The composite is formed by passing the film through a nip to bond the film to the nonwoven web material(s). Concurrent with bond formation, apertures are also formed in the elastic film. The apertures are of a size sufficient to provide a desired level of texture, softness, hand feel, and/or aesthetic appeal to the composite without having a significant adverse effect on its elastic properties. Aperture and bond formation are accomplished in the present invention by selectively controlling certain parameters of the lamination process, such as film content, bonding pattern, degree of film tension, bonding conditions, etc.

Nonwoven composite containing an apertured elastic film

A disposable absorbent liner for use in a crotch portion of underwear. The liner includes a cover layer having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface and comprising a mixture of hydrophilic microfibers and hydrophobic microfibers. A quantity of hydrophilic microfibers and hydrophobic microfibers are located at the top surface and a larger quantity of hydrophobic microfibers are located at the top surface than are a quantity of hydrophilic microfibers located at the top surface based on a total weight of the mixture of microfibers in the cover layer. The liner also includes a removable backing layer, and a liquid impermeable baffle layer having a top surface and an opposite bottom surface with the baffle layer being disposed between the cover layer and the backing layer. The absorbent liner has a low profile and a particular Absorbent Capacity and/or Absorbent Intake Rate.

Low profile absorbent pantiliner

There is provided and fibrous layer for personal care products wherein the fibrous layer is made from micro-fine fibers deposited as an aqueous slurry onto a nonwoven web, and subsequently dried. The micro-fine fibers have a diameter from a positive amount to 0.5 microns. The nonwoven web may be produced from a number of methods, such as meltblowing, spunbonding, coforming, bonding and carding, and airlaying. The micro-fine fiber layer can be used to adjust the permeability of the nonwoven web, thus providing a method of controlling the rate of fluid movement through a personal care product, like diapers, training pants, incontinence garments and feminine hygiene products.

Fibrous layer providing improved porosity control for nonwoven webs

A composite absorbent article comprises a reusable frame member for shaping and leakage control onto which a single-use absorbent device can be detachably connected and repeatedly replaced without the need to replace the reusable frame member. A low-cost, high-performance composite absorbent article can thus be provided from low-cost single-use absorbent devices by virtue of the reusable frame member. A wicking barrier lining a central void or depression helps provide leakage containment for the overall composite absorbent article.

Center-fill absorbent article with reusable frame member

There is provided an absorbent system that not only takes in fluid, but then transfers that fluid further beneath the first composite. This is achieved in this invention through paired permeability, capillarity, and void volume of the first and second composites. The invention is an absorbent system composed of at least two absorbent composites that have complementary structural/surface energy characteristics. Such an absorbent system has a first absorbent Composite A which has a first permeability, a first capillarity, and a first void volume and at least one second absorbent Composite B which has a second capillarity and a second porosity multiplied by second thickness. The first absorbent Composite A is in liquid communication or contact with at least one second absorbent Composite B, such that the first absorbent Composite A, and the second absorbent Composite B have a fluid partitioning amount in Composite A, a third triple intake time (IT3) and a rewet value.

Personal care products having reduced leakage

There is provided a fluid management material for personal care products which distributes artificial menses according to the gush/distribution test taught herein such that it has a distribution ratio of at least about 0.06. Its preferred that the fluid management material be part of an absorbent materials system having a first fibrous layer, a middle layer adjacent the first layer having hydrophilic oriented surface fibers, and a second fibrous layer adjacent the middle layer. In a personal care product configuration the oriented surface fibers result in a distribution ratio of at least 0.06 where the distribution ratio is a ratio of average of the mass of two end zones of a product divided by the mass of the center zone.

Materials for fluid management in personal care products

An absorbent article includes a vapor permeable backsheet, a liquid permeable topsheet positioned in facing relation with the backsheet; and an absorbent body located between the backsheet and the topsheet. The absorbent body may include multiple zones of high air permeability or may include materials which provide improved air exchange after being wetted. The absorbent article may also include a ventilation layer between the absorbent body and the backsheet and a surge management layer between the absorbent body and the topsheet. The article exhibits improved air exchange within the article during use. As a result, the article exhibits substantially reduced levels of hydration of the wearer's skin when in use which renders the skin less susceptible to the viability of microorganisms.

Absorbent article with increased wet breathability

There is provided an absorbent system for personal care products which may be transversely divided into about an equally sized center zone, two intermediate zones and two end zones where the ratio of the amount of liquid stored in the center zone to the amount of liquid stored in at least one of the end zones 30 minutes each of three insults of 80 ml according to a MIST Evaluation Test after less than 5:1. Such an absorbent system may be used in personal care products like diapers, training pants, feminine hygiene products, absorbent underpants, adult incontinence products, and the like.

Absorbent articles with controllable fill patterns

There is provided an absorbent system for personal care products which may be transversely divided into about an equally sized center zone, two intermediate zones and two end zones where the ratio of the amount of liquid stored in the center zone to the amount of liquid stored in at least one of the end zones 30 minutes after each of three insults of 80 ml according to a MIST Evaluation Test is less than 5:1. Such an absorbent system may be used in personal care products like diapers, training pants, feminine hygiene products, absorbent underpants, adult incontinence products, and the like.

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Alpharetta, GA, United States of America

Margaret Gwyn Latimer