Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Matthew Boyd Lake

Michael Tod Morman

Marcille Faye Ruman

Bryan David Haynes

Darryl Franklin Clark

Bryon Paul Day

James Russell Fitts, Jr

Jeffrey Lawrence McManus

Hannong Rhim

Kevin Edward Smith

Peiguang Zhou

Cristian M Neculescu

Susan Elaine Shawver

Charles John Morell

Ty Jackson Stokes

Eric Edward Lennon

Prasad Shrikrishna Potnis

David Michael Matela

Gregory Todd Sudduth

Douglas Jay Hulslander

Randall James Palmer

Leslie Warren Collier, Iv

Monica Graciela Varriale

Raymond Jeffrey May

Justin Max Duellman

Lee Cullen Boney

Thomas William Brock

Brian Stephen Forbes

Caroline L Miller

Julia Carter

Rasha Wafik Zaki Guirguis

Hera Nichole Linn

Coextruded films provide cross directional zoned multiple components side-by-side to one another. Systems and methods relate to coextruding such films. During coextrusion, a first polymer conjoins with a second polymer while a temperature differential is maintained between the first and second polymers. This temperature differential is selected to reduce a difference between the viscosities of the first and second polymers making the viscosity of the first polymer close enough to the viscosity of the second polymer to avoid separation upon coextrusion. Further, the films may form a layer in subsequent lamination to other material layers.

Cross directional zoned bicomponent films, film laminates, and systems and methods for manufacture of the same

A composite that contains an elastic film laminated to a meltblown facing is provided. During lamination, apertures and discrete bond sites may be concurrently formed in the elastic film. The discrete bond sites may be located proximate (adjacent or near to) a perimeter defined by corresponding apertures formed by displacement of the film. The location of the bond sites adjacent to or near the apertures may enhance the durability of the meltblown facing by strengthening the area surrounding the apertures. Furthermore, the content of the elastic film and the temperature/pressure of lamination may be selected to that the film possesses a sufficient tack for adhering to the facing at regions other than those fused together by the bonding elements of the patterned roll. Such secondary bonding further stabilizes the meltblown facing and renders it suitable for printing. Further, the film is under tension in the machine direction during lamination. Subsequent to lamination, however, the film is retracted so that the facing retracts toward its original machine direction length, thereby gathering and forming pleats. It has been discovered that these pleats have a relatively small amplitude (height), as well as a substantially uniform frequency across the surface of the facing. Such a small height and increased regularity improves the ability to transfer an ink to 'peaks' of the pleats, thereby improving print quality and uniformity.

Printable elastic composite

The present invention includes a neck-bonded laminate and a process for forming a neck-bonded elastic laminate, the laminate including a primary elastic region and a secondary elastic region. An exemplary process for forming the laminate includes providing a necked material and overlaying the necked material with an elastic sheet. The necked material and elastic sheet are passed through a nip between two rollers, the rollers being configured to form a primary elastic region and a secondary elastic region and the secondary elastic region having higher strength than the primary elastic region.

Zoned elastic laminate and method to manufacture same

The present invention provides a method of making a nonwoven web with desired fiber orientation, the method including the steps of providing a source of fibers, subjecting the fibers to an electrostatic charge, deflecting the fibers with a non-contacting deflecting device, collecting the fibers on a moving forming surface to form the nonwoven web. The invention also provides an apparatus for forming fibrous nonwoven webs, the apparatus comprising a source of fibers, a device for applying an electrostatic charge to the fibers, a non-contacting fiber deflecting device adapted to affect the fibers while the fibers are under the influence of the applied electrostatic charge, and a forming surface for collecting the fibers as a fibrous nonwoven web.

Method and apparatus for the production of nonwoven web materials

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

The present invention provides continuous fiber nonwoven webs with high material formation uniformity and MD-to-CD balance of fiber directionality and material properties, as measured by a MD:CD tensile ratio of 1.2 or less, and desirably of about 1.0 or less, and laminates of the nonwoven webs. The invention also includes a method for forming the nonwoven webs wherein the fiber production apparatus is oriented at an angle less than 90 degrees to the MD direction and the fibers are subjected to deflection by a deflector oriented at an angle B with respect to the centerline of the fiber production apparatus where B is about 10 to about 80 degrees.

Process of making a nonwoven web

The present invention provides multicomponent fine fiber webs and multilayer laminates thereof having an average fiber diameter less than about 7 micrometers and comprising a first olefin polymer component and a second distinct polymer component such as an amorphous polyolefin or polyamide. Multilayer laminates incorporating the fine multicomponent fiber webs are also provided such as, for example, spunbond/meltblown/spunbond laminates or spunbond/meltblown/meltblown/spunbond laminates. The fine multicomponent fiber webs and laminates thereof provide laminates having excellent softness, peel strength and/or controlled permeability.

Fine multicomponent fiber webs and laminates thereof

Improvements to processes and equipment for the manufacture of nonwoven webs useful in numerous applications including personal care, protective apparel, and industrial products. The fiber and/or filaments used to form the nonwoven fabric are deposited on a forming surface in a controlled orientation using application of an electrostatic charge to the fibers and/or filaments in combination with directing them to an electrode deflector plate while under the influence of the charge. The plate may be made up of teeth with a separation and angle orientation that are selected in accordance with the desired arrangement of the fibers and/or filaments in the nonwoven web. As a result, properties of the web such as relative strengths in the machine direction and cross-machine direction can be controlled.

Process of and apparatus for making a nonwoven web

A personal care absorbent article made of a nonwoven material having a plurality of polymeric fibers having a fiber interior comprising at least one of a liquid fluid and a gaseous fluid. The nonwoven materials are produced by heating at least one polymer to a melting point, forming a molten polymer; extruding the molten polymer through a plurality of capillaries, injecting a liquid fluid and/or a gaseous fluid into the molten polymer prior to, during and/or after the extruding step, forming a plurality of fluid-filled polymeric fibers, wherein the liquid fluid and/or gaseous fluid is dispersed within the interior of the polymeric fibers, and depositing the fluid-filled polymeric fibers onto a web forming surface, forming a nonwoven material.

Personal care articles with reduced polymer fibers

A die head assembly for producing meltblown bicomponent fibers in a meltblown apparatus includes a die tip detachably mounted to an underside of a support member. The die tip has a row of channels defined therethrough terminating at exit orifices along a bottom edge of the tip. The channels receive and combine first and second polymers conveyed from the support member. A recess is defined along the top surface of the die tip and defines an upper chamber for each of the die tip channels. A plurality of breaker plates is removably supported in the recess in a stacked configuration. An upper one of the breaker plates has receiving holes defined therein to separately receive polymers from supply passages in the support member. The remaining breaker plates have holes defined therethrough configured to divide the polymers into separately polymer streams and to direct the polymer streams into the die tip channels, the number of polymer streams corresponding to the number of holes in the lowermost breaker plate. The polymer streams combine in the channels prior to being extruded from the orifices as bicomponent polymer fibers.

Breaker plate assembly for producing bicomponent fibers in a meltblown apparatus

A die head assembly for producing bicomponent meltblown fibers includes a die tip detachably mountable to a support member. The support member conveys first and second polymers separately to the die tip. The die tip has a row of channels defined therethrough that terminate at exit orifices or nozzles along the bottom edge of the die tip. These channels receive and combine the separate first and second polymers conveyed from the support member. An elongated recess is defined in the top surface of the die tip. The recess defines an upper chamber for each of the die tip channels. Stacked breaker plates are removably supported in the recess. The breaker plates have vertically aligned pairs of adjacent holes defined therethrough such that a pair of the aligned holes is disposed in each upper chamber of each channel. A filter screen is in the recess to separately filter the polymers.

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Cumming, GA, United States of America

Matthew Boyd Lake