Mcneil-ppc, Inc.

Personal Products Company

Other

Chicopee

Thomas J Helmstetter

Michael J Menard

Sylvie Boisse

David E Johnson

An absorbent article having both outwardly extending and upwardly extending side cuffs is disclosed. The article has a perimeter defined at least in part by a pair of oppositely disposed ends and oppositely disposed sides that extend substantially between the ends. A pair of side flanges extends from a proximal portion adjacent an absorbent structure to a distal portion proximate one of the article sides. Each side flange has a base element, an outer zone disposed adjacent the perimeter and an inner zone disposed between the outer zone and the absorbent structure. There is an elastically extensible element having a width sufficient to span at least the inner zone and a portion of the outer zone, a thickness, and a length. Each elastically extensible element is laminated to the cover material to form a cuff laminate. Each cuff laminate is attached to the base element of the side flange in the outer zone, but each is unattached to the base layer in the inner zone. Finally, the cover is attached to the absorbent structure, at least in a central region of the article. Thus, at least a portion of each cuff laminate is deflected away from the base element of each side flange proximate the inner zone when the elastically extensible element is in a relaxed state.

Method of making an absorbent article having double side cuffs

Absorbent article having double side cuffs

An apparatus and method for facilitating the interfacing between indexing motion and continuous motion machines wherein interfacing structure is provided by a continuous motion interfacing loop conveyor which is operatively interposed between the discharge end of an indexing conveyor of the intermittent motion machine and an article-receiving end of a continually advancing receiving conveyor of the continuous motion machine. The interfacing loop conveyor has a reciprocatory or oscillating motion component superimposed on the continuous advance thereof proximate the article-discharging end of the indexing conveyor so as to correlate the relative speeds between the advance of the interfacing conveyor and that of the indexing conveyor end from which the articles of manufacture are transferred to the interfacing conveyor so as to produce a uniform transfer of the articles to the interfacing conveyor, and a continuous advance of the articles to the receiving conveyor of the continuous motion machine.

Apparatus for interfacing indexing and continuous motion machines and

A method and apparatus for incorporating a powder into a continuous fibrous web containing multiple corrugations. In the method, a fibrous web provided with multiple parallel corrugations is continuously passed over a curved surface having an arc with a radius to web thickness ratio of 0.5-3 and the corrugations are opened at their upper side, while any bonded fibers connecting adjacent corrugations together are broken apart. A powder having 50-1000 micron particle size is deposited by gravity into the opened spaces between adjacent corrugations of the web. The deposited powder is then compacted into the fibrous corrugated web by rubbing with a pad moved in an oscillating motion generally perpendicular to the corrugations. The powder filled web is bent in the opposite direction around a roller to break the fibers between the corrugations on the opposite side of the web. The second roller can be made vertically movable so as to convert the web continuous forward motion to an intermittent forward motion.

Method and apparatus for providing powder into fibrous web structures

A method and apparatus for incorporating a powder into a continuous fibrous web containing multiple corrugations. In the method, a fibrous web provided with multiple parallel corrugations is continuously passed over a curved surface having an arc with a radius to web thickness ratio of 0.5-3 and the corrugations are opened at their upper side. While any bonded fibers connecting adjacent corrugations together are broken apart. A powder having 50-1000 micron particle size is deposited by gravity into the opened spaces between adjacent corrugations of the web. The deposited powder is then compacted into the fibrous corrugated web by rubbing with a pad moved in an oscillating motion generally perpendicular to the corrugations. The powder filled web is bent in the opposite direction around a roller to break the fibers between the corrugations on the opposite side of the web. The second roller can be made vertically movable so as to convert the web continuous forward motion to an intermittent forward motion.

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Piscataway, NJ, United States of America

Thomas J Helmstetter