05.12.14
US Patent No.: 8,636,710 B2
Inventor(s): Daniel Lee Ellingson, Appleton, WI, US; Janet Elaine Collins, Hortonville, WI, US; Sara Jane Wille Stabelfeldt, Appleton, WI, US; and Scott Richard Lange, Appleton, WI, US.
Company: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI, US.
Filed: 4/2/09
Issued: 1/28/14
An absorbent article comprising, a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction, an outer cover joined in facing relationship with a bodyside liner with an absorbent core located between the outer cover and the bodyside liner, a fit system comprising fasteners and a friction element, wherein the fasteners are located in a front waist area and a back waist area and are adapted to fasten the article about the waist of a wearer to define a waist opening, a pair of leg openings, and a pair of overlap regions; the friction element is located on the outer cover in the front waist area in at least one of the overlap regions and is adapted to provide friction between the front waist area and the back waist area in the overlap region, the friction element has an upper portion oriented towards the waist opening and a lower portion oriented towards the leg opening, the upper portion being separated from the lower portion by a lateral direction centerline which is parallel to the lateral direction of the absorbent article and which divides a length of the friction element in half as measured in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article, the upper portion having applied to the friction element, a first concentration of surface treatment and the lower portion having applied to the friction element, a second concentration of surface treatment which is greater than the first concentration, and the friction element has a peel value of less than 1000 grams.
Inventor(s): Daniel Lee Ellingson, Appleton, WI, US; Janet Elaine Collins, Hortonville, WI, US; Sara Jane Wille Stabelfeldt, Appleton, WI, US; and Scott Richard Lange, Appleton, WI, US.
Company: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI, US.
Filed: 4/2/09
Issued: 1/28/14
An absorbent article comprising, a lateral direction and a longitudinal direction, an outer cover joined in facing relationship with a bodyside liner with an absorbent core located between the outer cover and the bodyside liner, a fit system comprising fasteners and a friction element, wherein the fasteners are located in a front waist area and a back waist area and are adapted to fasten the article about the waist of a wearer to define a waist opening, a pair of leg openings, and a pair of overlap regions; the friction element is located on the outer cover in the front waist area in at least one of the overlap regions and is adapted to provide friction between the front waist area and the back waist area in the overlap region, the friction element has an upper portion oriented towards the waist opening and a lower portion oriented towards the leg opening, the upper portion being separated from the lower portion by a lateral direction centerline which is parallel to the lateral direction of the absorbent article and which divides a length of the friction element in half as measured in the longitudinal direction of the absorbent article, the upper portion having applied to the friction element, a first concentration of surface treatment and the lower portion having applied to the friction element, a second concentration of surface treatment which is greater than the first concentration, and the friction element has a peel value of less than 1000 grams.
