Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Monica Signoret Diaz

Wanda Walton Jackson

Lance James Garrett, Jr

Paul Theodore Van Gompel

Mark Michael Mleziva

Duane Girard Uitenbroek

David Fleger Bishop

Jacqueline Ann Gross

Cheryl Ann Mocadlo

A Todd Leak

Cindy Lou Price

Cheryl A Perkins

Monica Graciela Varriale

Dawn Marie Huffman

Wendy Louise Bush

Richard John Birtwell

An undergarment includes a body panel and an crotch member. The crotch member includes first and second terminal edges and laterally opposed side edges. The crotch member has a longitudinally extending length defined between the first and second terminal edges. The crotch member is connected to the body panel at an attachment location, which is longitudinally spaced along the length of the crotch member from the first terminal edge thereof. The crotch member includes an unattached end portion that extends between the attachment location and the first terminal edge and that is unattached to the body panel. Methods of using and manufacturing the undergarment are also provided.

Undergarment having crotch member with unattached end portion

A laminate suitable for use as the hook component of a hook-and-loop fastener. The laminate comprises a first extensible substantially non-elastic layer and a second layer comprising a nonwoven material. The nonwoven material is prebonded by a number of first spaced-apart bond sites to form first bonded and first unbonded areas. The second layer is attached to the first layer by a plurality of second spaced-apart bond sites to form a bulked laminate having a plurality of second bonded and second unbonded areas. The second bonded and second unbonded areas together define a surface area of said bulked laminate with said second bonded areas covering from about 5 to about 20 percent of the surface area. At least 50 percent of the second bonded areas have an area of less than about 4 square millimeters and have a density of greater than about 2 bonds per square centimeter. The laminate is bulked due to said second layer having from about 15 to about 30 percent more surface area than the first layer per the same unit area of said laminate. Also disclosed are disposable absorbent articles including such a laminate.

Laminate material

Disclosed herein is a combination apertured film and lofty fibrous nonwoven web separation layer which is particularly well suited for use as, among other things, a body side liner for personal care absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins and the like. When used in such applications, the material of the present invention has excellent liquid penetration rates and it resists rewet of the surface of the material.

Apertured film/nonwoven composite for personal care absorbent articles

The creped nonwoven laminate loop material of the present invention includes a creped nonwoven layer attached to a support layer. The creped nonwoven layer may be, for example, a spunbond nonwoven web or a staple fiber bonded carded web. The support layer may be formed of any material that can be suitably attached or bonded to the creped nonwoven layer, including a foam, a plastic film or another nonwoven web. The exposed, top surface of the creped nonwoven layer includes raised 'loop' areas having low fiber density and high z-directional fiber orientation that are designed to receive and engage the hook elements projecting from a hook material. The raised areas of the creped nonwoven layer are separated by non-raised areas having relatively higher fiber density and relatively lower z-directional fiber orientation when compared to the fiber density and z-directional fiber orientation of the raised areas. The primary areas of bonding or attachment of the bottom surface of the nonwoven layer to the top surface of the underlying support layer are the non-raised areas; in addition, some secondary bonding of the nonwoven layer to the support layer outside of the non-raised areas may exist. The support layer provides structural integrity for the creped nonwoven laminate material and dimensionally stabilizes the creped nonwoven layer. The creped structure of the nonwoven layer further provides resistance against compression of the fibers forming the hook receiving loop material during use, thereby facilitating entry and engagement of hook elements projecting from the hook material. The creped nonwoven loop laminate of this invention can be employed as the loop material of a hook and loop fastening system, such as used on disposable personal care absorbent articles.

Creped nonwoven laminate loop fastening material for mechanical

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Woodstock, GA, United States of America

Monica Signoret Diaz