Method for assembling absorbent article

Abstract

To provide an absorbent article which has elastic laminates in front and / or back waist regions including high-stretch zones and low-stretch zones.SOLUTION: An absorbent article includes: an elastic material positioned between a first base material and a second base material; and first high-stretch zones and second high-stretch zones separated by a low-stretch zone horizontally, the first and second high-stretch zones being given elasticity by the elastic material. The low-stretch zones include cutting lines separating the elastic material into first individual pieces and second individual pieces. The first individual piece of the elastic material includes a first length, and the second individual piece of the elastic material includes a second length. The second length is longer than the first length. Each of the cutting lines is oriented to define an offset angle larger than 0 degree and smaller than 45 degrees with respect to a horizontal axis.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to absorbent articles, and more particularly to absorbent articles having front and / or rear waist regions that include high-elongation and low-elongation zones. [Background technology]

[0002] Various types of articles, such as, for example, diapers and other absorbent articles, can be assembled by adding components to and / or otherwise modifying a continuous advancing web of material along an assembly line. For example, in some processes, an advancing web of material is combined with other advancing webs of material. In other examples, individual components created from an advancing web of material are combined with an advancing web of material, which are then combined with other advancing webs of material. In some examples, individual components created from an advancing web(s) are combined with other individual components created from other advancing webs. Webs of material and components used to manufacture diapers may include backsheets, topsheets, leg cuffs, waistbands, absorbent core components, front and / or back ears, fastening components, and various types of elastic webs and components, such as front and / or back waist panels, leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, extensible side panels, and waist elastics. Once the desired components have been assembled, the advancing web and components are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web into individual diapers or other absorbent articles.

[0003] Some absorbent articles have components that include elastomeric laminates. Such elastomeric laminates can include an elastic material bonded to one or more nonwoven fabrics. The elastic material can include elastic films and / or elastic strands. In some laminates, multiple elastic strands are bonded to the nonwoven fabric while the multiple strands are in a stretched state, so that when the elastic strands relax, the nonwoven fabric forms creases at the locations where the nonwoven fabric is bonded to the elastic strands, thereby forming corrugations and wrinkles. The resulting elastomeric laminate is stretchable to the extent that the corrugations allow the elastic strands to elongate.

[0004] Some absorbent articles in the form of diaper pants are constructed with an absorbent chassis connected to front and rear elastic belts, with opposing end regions of the front and rear belts connected to each other at side seams. In some examples, the elasticity of the front and rear belts may be eliminated in the regions where the absorbent chassis is connected to the belts. Therefore, in some conversion configurations adapted to construct such diaper pants, stretched elastic strands are bonded between two continuous nonwoven webs to form an elastic laminate. Regions of the elastic strands may then be deactivated intermittently along the length of the elastic laminate by cutting the elastic strands. Following deactivation of the elastic strands, the elastic laminate may be subjected to additional processing and conversion operations.

[0005] In some operations, the elastic laminate may advance through a cutting station, which severs the elastic within the advancing laminate. For example, the elastic strands may be cut with a knife blade configured with a relatively smooth and / or rounded edge that generates sufficient compressive load to break the elastic strands without severing the nonwoven web. However, when attempting to cut elastic strands having a relatively low decitex, it can be difficult to successfully and consistently cut such elastic strands using such strand-severing techniques without damaging the nonwoven web. Thus, consistently cutting relatively low-dtex elastic strands may require a process that cuts the nonwoven web, which in turn may damage the elastic laminate and result in a relatively poor aesthetic appearance. In addition, the ends of the severed elastic stands may rebound uncontrollably, resulting in undesirable spots within the laminate. Furthermore, cutting the nonwoven web while deactivating the elastic in the elastic laminate may weaken the laminate, making the laminate relatively more susceptible to tearing, and / or may otherwise create control and handling difficulties associated with differing stretch properties within the laminate. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a method and apparatus configured to cut relatively low decitex elastic strands in an elastic laminate in a manner that reduces the difficulty of controlling and handling the web while helping to improve the aesthetic appearance of the laminate when utilized in an assembled product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In one aspect, an absorbent article includes a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface; a front waist region and a rear waist region, the rear waist region separated from the front waist region by a crotch region, the front waist region including a front waist edge, the rear waist region including a rear waist edge, a longitudinal axis extending perpendicularly through the front waist edge and the rear waist edge, and a lateral axis extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis; and an absorbent assembly extending longitudinally through the crotch region between the front and rear waist regions, the absorbent assembly being positioned between the body-facing surface and the garment-facing surface, One includes an elastic material positioned between a first substrate and a second substrate and connected to the first substrate and the second substrate, and first and second high elongation zones separated laterally by a low elongation zone, the first and second high elongation zones being elasticized by the elastic material, the low elongation zone including a cut line separating the elastic material into a first individual piece and a second individual piece, the first individual piece of elastic material having a first length and the second individual piece of elastic material having a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, and each cut line being oriented to define an offset angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees relative to the lateral axis.

[0008] In another aspect, a method for assembling an absorbent article includes the steps of providing an elastic laminate, the elastic laminate being positioned between a first substrate and a second substrate and comprising an elastic material connected to the first substrate and the second substrate; advancing the elastic laminate in a machine direction; and cutting the elastic material along cut lines to form low-extension zones in the elastic laminate, such that the high-extension zones are separated from each other in the machine direction by low-extension zones, wherein the high-extension zones are elasticized by the elastic material, and the cut lines in the low-extension zones separate the elastic material into first and second individual pieces, the first individual piece of elastic material comprising a first length and the second individual piece of elastic material comprising a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, and each cut line being oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the machine direction that is greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees.

[0009] In yet another aspect, a method for assembling an absorbent article includes the steps of providing an elastic laminate, the elastic laminate being positioned between a first substrate and a second substrate and including an elastic material connected to the first substrate and the second substrate; advancing the elastic laminate in a machine direction; and cutting the elastic material along cut lines to form low-extension zones in the elastic laminate, such that high-extension zones are separated from each other in the machine direction by low-extension zones, wherein the high-extension zones are elasticized by the elastic material, and the cut lines in the low-extension zones separate the elastic material into first and second individual pieces, the first individual piece of elastic material having a first length and the second individual piece of elastic material having a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, and each cut line being oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the machine direction that is greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees.

[0010] In yet another aspect, an apparatus for cutting elastic material into first and second discrete pieces, wherein the first discrete piece of elastic material comprises a first length and the second discrete piece of elastic material comprises a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, the apparatus comprising: a roll adapted to rotate about an axially extending axis of rotation, the roll including blades extending radially outward from and circumferentially disposed about the axis of rotation, the blades oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the axis of rotation that is greater than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, the blades arranged in rows including at least a first row and a second row adjacent the first row; A device wherein a first length of a first individual piece of elastic material is defined by the distance extending circumferentially between adjacent blades in the first row, and a second length of a second individual piece of elastic material is defined by the distance extending circumferentially between a cut line in the first row and a cut line in the second row. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 shows a perspective view of a diaper pant in a pre-fastened configuration. [Figure 2A] 1 shows a plan view of diaper pants with the portion of the diaper facing away from the wearer oriented towards the viewer. [Figure 2B] 1 shows a plan view of diaper pants with the portion of the diaper facing the wearer oriented towards the viewer. [Figure 2C] 1 shows a plan view of a diaper pant with the portion of the diaper facing away from the wearer oriented towards the viewer, illustrating first and second belt size and shape features. [Figure 2D] 1 shows a plan view of a diaper pant with the portion of the diaper facing away from the wearer oriented towards the viewer, illustrating first and second belt size and shape features. [Figure 2E] 1 shows a plan view of a diaper pant with the portion of the diaper facing away from the wearer oriented towards the viewer, illustrating first and second belt size and shape features. [Figure 3]3 is a cross-sectional view of the diaper pant of FIG. 2A taken along line 3-3, showing first and second elastic belts with panel layers. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a detailed view of a portion of a low elongation zone showing details of the cut line. [Figure 4B] FIG. 10 is a detailed view of a portion of a low stretch zone showing details of the cut lines and the separate elastic pieces therein. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a processing apparatus adapted to produce an elastomeric laminate including a plurality of elastic strands disposed between a first substrate and a second substrate. [Figure 6] 6 is a view of the processing apparatus of FIG. 5 taken along line 6-6. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a processing apparatus adapted to form low elongation zones in an elastomeric laminate. [Figure 8] 8 is a view of the processing apparatus of FIG. 7 taken along line 8-8. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the elastic cutting device showing the details of the blade thereon. [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram of the diaper pant assembly process. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an advancing elastomeric laminate advancing from a cutting device to a slitter device. [Figure 11A] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an advancing elastomeric laminate advancing from a slitter device to a cutting device. [Figure 12A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an advancing elastomeric laminate having a first width advancing from a cutting device. [Figure 12B] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an advancing elastomeric laminate having a second width advancing from a cutting device. [Figure 12C] 10 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an elastic laminate showing cut line details. [Figure 12D] FIG. 12C is an enlarged view of FIG. [Figure 12E] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a diaper pant taken along its longitudinal axis. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] definition The following terminology may be useful in understanding this disclosure.

[0013] "Absorbent article" refers to a device that absorbs and contains bodily exudates, and more specifically, to a device that is placed against or in close proximity to the wearer's body to absorb and contain various bodily exudates. Examples of absorbent articles include diapers, training pants, pull-on pant diapers (i.e., diapers with preformed waist and leg openings, such as those shown in U.S. Patent No. 6,120,487), refastenable or pant diapers, incontinence briefs and undergarments, diaper holders and liners, panty liners, absorbent inserts, feminine hygiene garments such as menstrual pads, and the like.

[0014] "Body-facing" and "garment-facing" refer to the relative position of an element, or a surface of an element, or a group of elements, respectively. "Body-facing" indicates that an element or surface is closer to the wearer when worn than any other element or surface. "Garment-facing" indicates that an element or surface is farther from the wearer when worn than any other element or surface (i.e., the element or surface is closer to the wearer's garment, which may be worn over the disposable absorbent article).

[0015] The terms "elastic," "elastomer," or "elastomeric" refer to a material that exhibits elastic properties, including any material that, when subjected to a force from its relaxed initial length, can be stretched or extended to an elongated length greater than 10% of its initial length, and will substantially recover to approximately its initial length when the applied force is released. Elastomeric materials can include elastomeric films, scrims, nonwovens, ribbons, strands, and other sheet-like structures.

[0016] As used herein, the term "coupled" encompasses configurations in which an element is directly secured to another element by directly attaching the element to the other element, as well as configurations in which an element is indirectly secured to another element by attaching the element to an intermediate member and then attaching the intermediate member to the other element.

[0017] As used herein, the term "distal" is used to describe a location that is placed away from the center or attachment point of the body, and the term "proximal" is used to describe a location that is placed closer to the center or attachment point of the body.

[0018] The term "substrate" is used herein to describe a material that is primarily two-dimensional (i.e., in the XY plane) and has a relatively small thickness (Z direction) compared to its length (X direction) and width (Y direction) (i.e., 1 / 10 or less). Non-limiting examples of substrates include webs, layers or films and foils, such as fibrous materials, nonwovens, polymeric films or metal foils. These materials may be used alone or may include two or more layers laminated together. Thus, a web is a substrate.

[0019] As used herein, the term "nonwoven" refers to materials made from continuous (long) filaments (fibers) and / or discontinuous (short) filaments (fibers) by processes such as spunbonding, meltblowing, carding, etc. Nonwovens do not have a woven or knitted filament pattern.

[0020] The term "machine direction" (MD) is used herein to refer to the direction of flow of material through a process. Additionally, the relative placement and movement of material can be described as flowing in the machine direction through a process from upstream in the process to downstream in the process.

[0021] The term "cross direction" (CD) is used herein to refer to a direction generally perpendicular to the machine direction.

[0022] "Pre-strain" refers to the strain imposed on an elastic or elastomeric material before it is combined with another element of an elastomeric laminate or absorbent article. Pre-strain is determined by the following equation: Pre-strain = ((stretched length of elastic - relaxed length of elastic) / relaxed length of elastic). * It is determined by 100.

[0023] "Decitex," also known as Dtex, is a measurement used in the textile industry used to measure yarns or filaments. 1 decitex = 1 gram per 10,000 meters. In other words, if a yarn or filament weighs 500 grams for 10,000 linear meters, then that yarn or filament has 500 decitex.

[0024] The term "taped diaper" (also referred to as "open diaper") refers to a disposable absorbent article having initial front and back waist regions that are not fastened, pre-fastened, or joined together during packaging prior to application to a wearer. A taped diaper may be folded about a lateral centerline with the inside of one waist region in surface-to-surface contact with the inside of the opposing waist region without fastening or connecting the waist regions together. Examples of tape diapers of various suitable configurations are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,167,897, 5,360,420, 5,599,335, 5,643,588, 5,674,216, 5,702,551, 5,968,025, 6,107,537, 6,118,041, 6,153,209, 6,410,129, 6,426, 444, 6,586,652, 6,627,787, 6,617,016, 6,825,393, and 6,861,571, and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2013 / 0072887(A1), 2013 / 0211356(A1), and 2013 / 0306226(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] The term "pants" (also referred to herein as "training pants," "preclosed diapers," "diaper pants," "pant diapers," and "pull-on diapers") refers to a disposable absorbent article designed for an infant or adult wearer, having a continuous waist opening at its perimeter and continuous leg openings at its perimeter. Pants may be constructed with a continuous or closed waist opening and at least one continuous closed leg opening before the article is applied to the wearer. Pants may be preformed or prefastened by various techniques, including, but not limited to, connecting portions of the article together using any refastenable and / or permanent closure member (e.g., seams, heat bonding, pressure welding, adhesives, cohesive bonds, mechanical fasteners, etc.). Pants may be preformed anywhere along the perimeter of the article in the waist region (e.g., side fastened or seamed, front waist fastened or seamed, back waist fastened or seamed). Examples of diaper pants of various configurations are found in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,940,464, 5,092,861, 5,246,433, 5,569,234, 5,897,545, 5,957,908, 6,120,487, 6,120,489, and 7,569,039, as well as U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003 / 0233082(A1), 2005 / 010776, and the like. 4(A1), 2012 / 0061016(A1), 2012 / 0061015(A1), 2013 / 0255861(A1), 2013 / 0255862(A1), 2013 / 0255863(A1), 2013 / 0255864(A1), and 2013 / 0255865(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0026] By "closed configuration" is meant that upon packaging, the opposing waist regions are either permanently or refastenably joined to form a continuous waist opening and leg openings.

[0027] By "open configuration" it is meant that the opposing waist regions are not initially joined to form a continuous waist and leg opening, but include closure means, such as a fastening system, for joining the waist regions to form a waist and leg opening before or during application of the article to the wearer.

[0028] The present disclosure relates to absorbent articles including elastic laminates, and more particularly to absorbent articles having elastic laminates including high-stretch and low-stretch zones in the front and / or back waist regions. In some configurations, the absorbent article may include a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface having a front waist region and a back waist region separated by a crotch region. The front waist region includes a front waist edge, and the back waist region includes a back waist edge. A longitudinal axis extends perpendicularly through the front and back waist edges, and a lateral axis extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. An absorbent assembly disposed between the body-facing surface and the garment-facing surface may extend longitudinally through the crotch region between the front and back waist regions. At least one of the front waist region and the back waist region may include an elastic material positioned between and connected to a first substrate and a second substrate, and a first high-stretch zone and a second high-stretch zone separated laterally by a low-stretch zone. The first and second high-stretch zones are elasticized by the elastic material. The low-stretch zone includes a cut line separating the elastic material into a first discrete piece having a first length and a second discrete piece having a second length, the second length being longer than the first length. In some configurations, each cut line is oriented to define an offset angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees relative to the lateral axis, specifically recited for all 1-degree increments within the aforementioned ranges and all ranges therein or formed thereby. In some configurations, the cut line passes through the elastic material, the first substrate, and the second substrate. The offset angle of the cut line then helps prevent the cut line from opening when a lateral force is applied to the respective first and second substrates. Additionally, the difference in cut length helps hide the cut line.

[0029] 1-2B illustrate one embodiment of an absorbent article 100 in the form of diaper pants 100P that may include components constructed from elastic laminates assembled according to the configurations disclosed herein. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the diaper pants 100P in a prefastened configuration. FIG. 2A illustrates a plan view of the diaper pants 100P with the portion of the diaper facing away from the wearer facing the viewer, and FIG. 2B illustrates a plan view of the diaper pants 100P with the portion of the diaper facing toward the viewer. The diaper pants 100P include a chassis 102 and an annular elastic belt 104. As described in further detail below, a first elastic belt 106 and a second elastic belt 108 are joined together to form the annular elastic belt 104.

[0030] 1-2B, the diaper pants 100P and the chassis 102 each include a first waist region 116, a second waist region 118, and a crotch region 119 disposed intermediate the first and second waist regions. The chassis 102 may also be described as including a first end region 116a, a second end region 118a, and the crotch region 119 disposed intermediate the first end region 116a and the second end region 118a. The first waist region 116 may be configured as a front waist region, and the second waist region 118 may be configured as a back waist region. The diaper 100P may also include a laterally extending front waist edge 121 in the front waist region 116 and a longitudinally opposed and laterally extending back waist edge 122 in the back waist region 118. To provide a frame of reference for this discussion, the diaper 100P and chassis 102 in Figures 2A and 2B are shown as including a longitudinal axis 124 and a lateral axis 126. In some embodiments, the longitudinal axis 124 may extend through the front waist edge 121 and the back waist edge 122. The lateral axis 126 may extend through a first longitudinal or right edge 128 and through a second longitudinal or left edge 130 of the chassis 102. As previously mentioned, the longitudinal axis 124 extends perpendicularly through the front waist edge 121 and the back waist edge 122, and the lateral axis 126 extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis 124.

[0031] 1-2B, the diaper pant 100P may include an inner, body-facing surface 132 and an outer, garment-facing surface 134. The chassis 102 may include a backsheet 136 and a topsheet 138. The chassis 102 may also include an absorbent assembly 140 including an absorbent core 142 disposed between a portion of the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136. As described in more detail below, the diaper 100P may also include other features, such as leg elastics and / or leg cuffs, to enhance the fit around the wearer's legs.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2A , the periphery of the chassis 102 can be defined by a first longitudinal side edge 128, a second longitudinal side edge 130, a first laterally extending edge 144 disposed in the first waist region 116, and a second laterally extending edge 146 disposed in the second waist region 118. Both side edges 128 and 130 extend longitudinally between the first edge 144 and the second edge 146. As shown in FIG. 2A , the laterally extending edges 144 and 146 are located longitudinally inboard from the laterally extending front waist edge 121 in the front waist region 116 and the laterally extending back waist edge 122 in the back waist region 118. When the diaper pants 100P are worn around a wearer's lower torso, the front waist edge 121 and the back waist edge 122 may encircle a portion of the wearer's waist. At the same time, the side edges 128 and 130 may encircle at least a portion of the wearer's legs. The crotch region 119 may also be positioned generally between the wearer's legs, with the absorbent core 142 extending from the front waist region 116, through the crotch region 119, and to the back waist region 118.

[0033] As described above, the diaper pants 100P may include a backsheet 136. The backsheet 136 may also define the outer, garment-facing surface 134 of the chassis 102. The backsheet 136 may also include a woven or nonwoven material, a polymeric film such as a thermoplastic film of polyethylene or polypropylene, and / or a multilayer or composite material including a film and a nonwoven material. The backsheet may also include an elastomeric film. An exemplary backsheet 136 may be a polyethylene film having a thickness of about 0.012 mm (0.5 mil) to about 0.051 mm (2.0 mil). Furthermore, the backsheet 136 may allow vapors to escape from the absorbent core (i.e., the backsheet is breathable), while still preventing exudates from passing through the backsheet 136.

[0034] As also mentioned above, the diaper pants 100P may include a topsheet 138. The topsheet 138 may also define all or a portion of the inner, wearer-facing surface 132 of the chassis 102. The topsheet 138 may be liquid pervious, permitting liquids (e.g., menses, urine, and / or liquid feces) to penetrate through its thickness. The topsheet 138 may be manufactured from a wide range of materials, including woven and nonwoven materials, apertured or hydroformed thermoplastic films, apertured nonwovens, porous foams, reticulated foams, reticulated thermoplastic films, and thermoplastic scrims. The woven or nonwoven materials may comprise natural fibers, such as wood or cotton fibers, synthetic fibers, such as polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene fibers, or combinations thereof. If the topsheet 138 comprises fibers, the fibers may be spunbonded, carded, wet-laid, meltblown, hydroentangled, or otherwise processed as known in the art. The topsheet 138 may be selected from high loft nonwoven topsheets, apertured film topsheets, and apertured nonwoven topsheets. Exemplary apertured films may include those described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,628,097, 5,916,661, 6,545,197, and 6,107,539, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0035] As mentioned above, the diaper pants 100P may also include an absorbent assembly 140 joined to the chassis 102. As shown in FIG. 2A , the absorbent assembly 140 may have a laterally extending front edge 148 in the front waist region 116 and a longitudinally opposed, laterally extending back edge 150 in the back waist region 118. The absorbent assembly may have a longitudinally extending right edge 152 and a laterally opposed, longitudinally extending left edge 154, and both side edges 152 and 154 of the absorbent assembly may extend longitudinally between the front edge 148 and the back edge 150. The absorbent assembly 140 may additionally include one or more absorbent cores 142 or absorbent core layers. The absorbent core 142 may be at least partially disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136 and may be formed in a variety of sizes and shapes to be compatible with diapers. Exemplary absorbent structures for use as the absorbent core of the present disclosure are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,610,678, 4,673,402, 4,888,231, and 4,834,735, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0036] Some absorbent core embodiments may include a fluid storage core containing a reduced amount of cellulosic airfelt material. For example, such a core may contain less than about 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, or even about 1% cellulosic airfelt material. Such a core may comprise primarily absorbent gelling material in an amount of at least about 60%, 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or even about 100%, with the remainder of the core comprising microfiber adhesive (where applicable). Such cores, microfiber adhesives, and absorbent gelling materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,599,335, 5,562,646, 5,669,894, and 6,790,798, and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2004 / 0158212(A1) and 2004 / 0097895(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0037] As mentioned above, the diaper 100P may also include elastic leg cuffs 156. It should be understood that the leg cuffs 156 can be, and are sometimes referred to as, leg bands, side flaps, barrier cuffs, elastic cuffs, or gasketing cuffs. The elastic leg cuffs 156 may be configured in a variety of ways to help reduce leakage of body exudates in the leg regions. Exemplary leg cuffs 156 may include those described in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,860,003, 4,909,803, 4,695,278, 4,795,454, 4,704,115, 4,909,803, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009 / 0312730(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0038] As described above, diaper pants may be manufactured with an annular elastic belt 104 and provided to the consumer in a packaged configuration in which the front waist region 116 and the back waist region 118 are connected to one another prior to application to the wearer. The diaper pants may therefore have a continuous perimeter waist opening 110 and continuous perimeter leg openings 112 as shown in Figure 1. The annular elastic belt may be formed by joining a first elastic belt to a second elastic belt using permanent side seams or using releasable and reclosable fastening systems disposed on or adjacent laterally opposing sides of the belts.

[0039] As described above, the circular elastic belt 104 may be defined by a first elastic belt 106 connected to a second elastic belt 108. As shown in Figures 2A and 2B, the first elastic belt 106 extends between a first longitudinal side edge 111a and a second longitudinal side edge 111b and defines first and second opposing end regions 106a, 106b and a central region 106c. The second elastic belt 108 extends between a first longitudinal side edge 113a and a second longitudinal side edge 113b and defines first and second opposing end regions 108a, 108b and a central region 108c. The distance between the first longitudinal side edge 111a and the second longitudinal side edge 111b defines the pitch length PL of the first elastic belt 106, and the distance between the first longitudinal side edge 113a and the second longitudinal side edge 113b defines the pitch length PL of the second elastic belt 108. The central region 106c of the first elastic belt is connected to the first waist region 116 or the first end region 116a of the chassis 102, and the central region 108c of the second elastic belt 108 is connected to the second waist region 118 or the second end region 118a of the chassis 102. 1 , a first end region 106a of the first elastic belt 106 is connected to a first end region 108a of the second elastic belt 108 at a first side seam 178, and a second end region 106b of the first elastic belt 106 is connected to a second end region 108b of the second elastic belt 108 at a second side seam 180 to define the circular elastic belt 104 and the waist opening 110 and leg openings 112. It should be understood that the first belt 106 and the second belt 108 may be permanently or refastenably connected to each other at the first side seam 178 and the second side seam 180.

[0040] 2A and 2B, the first elastic belt 106 also defines a laterally extending outer edge 107a and a laterally extending inner edge 107b, and the second elastic belt 108 defines a laterally extending outer edge 109a and a laterally extending inner edge 109b. In this manner, the perimeter edge 112a of one leg opening may be defined by the laterally extending inner edge 107b of the first elastic belt 106, the laterally extending inner edge 109b of the second elastic belt 108, and a portion of the first longitudinal or right side edge 128 of the chassis 102. Furthermore, the perimeter edge 112b of the other leg opening may be defined by the laterally extending inner edge 107b, the laterally extending inner edge 109b, and a portion of the second longitudinal or left side edge 130 of the chassis 102. The laterally extending outer edges 107a, 109a may also define a front waist edge 121 and a laterally extending back waist edge 122 of the diaper pants 100P.

[0041] It should be understood that the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 may define different sizes and shapes. In some configurations, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may define a curved profile. For example, the inner lateral edges 107b, 109b of the first and / or second elastic belts 106, 108 may include non-linear or curved portions at first and second opposing end regions. Such a curved profile may help define a desired shape for the leg openings 112, such as, for example, a relatively rounded leg opening. In addition to having a curved profile, the elastic belts 106, 108 may include elastic strands 168 extending along a non-linear or curved path that may match the curved profile of the inner lateral edges 107b, 109b.

[0042] 2C illustrates a configuration in which both the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 define a generally rectangular shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the laterally extending outer edge 107a of the first elastic belt 106 may include a lateral width of W1D, and the laterally extending inner edge 107b may include a lateral width of W1P, where W1D and W1P are equal or substantially equal. Additionally, the laterally extending outer edge 109a of the second elastic belt 108 may include a lateral width of W2D, and the laterally extending inner edge 109b may include a lateral width of W2P, where W2D and W2P are equal or substantially equal.

[0043] In some configurations, at least one of the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 may include lateral edges having different lengths. For example, Figure 2D illustrates a configuration in which the first elastic belt 106 defines a generally rectangular shape, as described with reference to Figure 2C, and the laterally extending outer edge 109a and the laterally extending inner edge 109b of the second elastic belt 108 have different lengths. As shown in Figure 2D, the laterally extending outer edge 109a of the second elastic belt 108 may include a lateral width of W2D, and the laterally extending inner edge 109b may include a lateral width of W2P, where W2D is greater than W2P.

[0044] In some configurations, both the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 may include lateral edges having different lengths. For example, Figure 2E shows a configuration in which the laterally-extending outer edge 107a and the laterally-extending inner edge 107b of the first elastic belt 106 have different lengths, and the laterally-extending outer edge 109a and the laterally-extending inner edge 109b of the second elastic belt 108 have different lengths. As shown in FIG. 2E, the laterally extending outer edge 107a of the first elastic belt 107 may include a lateral width of W1D and the laterally extending inner edge 107b may include a lateral width of W1P, where W1D is greater than W1P; the laterally extending outer edge 109a of the second elastic belt 108 may include a lateral width of W2D and the laterally extending inner edge 109b may include a lateral width of W2P, where W2D is greater than W2P.

[0045] 2C-2E, the first elastic belt 106 may define a longitudinal length LT1 extending between a laterally extending outer edge 107a and a laterally extending inner edge 107b, and the second elastic belt 108 may define a longitudinal length LT2 extending between a laterally extending outer edge 109a and a laterally extending inner edge 109b. In some configurations, LT1 may be equal to LT2. In some configurations, LT1 may be less than or greater than LT2. With continued reference to FIGS. 2C-2E, in some configurations, W1D may be equal to W1P, or W1D may be different from W1P. In some configurations, W2D may be equal to W2P, or W2D may be different from W2P. In some configurations, W1D and / or W1P may be equal to or different from W2D and / or W2P.

[0046] 2A, 2B, and 3, the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 may also each include a first substrate 162 and a second substrate 164. The first substrate 162 may be oriented to define at least a portion of the garment-facing surfaces of the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108, and the second substrate 164 may be oriented to define at least a portion of the wearer-facing surfaces of the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108. The first substrate 162 may extend a maximum length L1 from a proximal edge 162b to a distal edge 162a, and the second substrate 164 may extend a maximum length L2 from a proximal edge 164b to a distal edge 164a. It should be understood that the distal edge 162 a and / or the proximal edge 162 b of the first substrate 162 may be linear and / or curved and / or may be parallel or non-parallel to one another. It should also be understood that the distal edge 164 a and / or the proximal edge 164 b of the second substrate 164 may be linear and / or curved and / or may be parallel or non-parallel to one another. Thus, the maximum length L1 refers to the longest distance extending longitudinally between the distal edge 162 a and the proximal edge 162 b of the first substrate 162, and the maximum length L2 refers to the longest distance extending longitudinally between the distal edge 164 a and the proximal edge 164 b of the second substrate 164. In some configurations, the distal edge 162a of the first substrate 162 may define at least a portion of the front waist edge 121 and / or at least a portion of the back waist edge 122, and / or the distal edge 164a of the second substrate 164 may define at least a portion of the front waist edge 121 and / or at least a portion of the back waist edge 122. Thus, in some configurations, the distal edge 162a of the first substrate 162 and / or the distal edge 164a of the second substrate 164 may define at least a portion of the waist opening 110. It should also be understood that the first substrate 162 and / or the second substrate 164 may extend continuously from the first belt 106 to the second belt 108.

[0047] It should be understood that the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164 may define different lateral widths, which may or may not be equal. For example, as shown in FIG. 2B , the first substrate 162 may extend laterally between a first longitudinal edge 162 e and a second longitudinal edge 162 f to define a first lateral width W1, and the second substrate 164 may extend laterally between a first longitudinal edge 164 e and a second longitudinal edge 164 f to define a second lateral width W2.

[0048] In some configurations, the proximal edge 162b of the first substrate 162 and / or the proximal edge 164b of the second substrate 164 may extend laterally across the backsheet 134. As shown in FIGS. 2A-3 , the first substrate 162 includes a garment-facing surface 162c and an opposite wearer-facing surface 162d, and the second substrate 164 includes a garment-facing surface 164c and an opposite wearer-facing surface 164d. In some configurations, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may include at least a folded portion of the first substrate 162 and / or the second substrate 164. For example, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may include a folded portion of the first substrate 162 extending longitudinally between a fold and a lateral edge of the first substrate 162. Thus, the folded portion of the first substrate 162 may be connected with the wearer-facing surface 164d of the second substrate 164. In another example, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may include a folded portion of the second substrate 164 extending longitudinally between the fold and a lateral edge of the second substrate 164. Thus, the folded portion of the second substrate 164 may be connected with the garment-facing surface 162c of the first substrate 162. Thus, in some configurations, the fold of the first substrate 162 and / or the fold of the second substrate 164 may define at least a portion of the waist opening 110.

[0049] It should be understood that the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108 may comprise the same material and / or have the same structure. In some embodiments, the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt may comprise different materials and / or have different structures. It should also be understood that components of the first elastic belt 106 and the second elastic belt 108, such as the first substrate 162 and / or the second substrate 164, may be constructed from a variety of materials. For example, the first and / or second belts may include the first substrate 162 and / or the second substrate 164, which may be made from materials such as a plastic film; a perforated plastic film; a woven or nonwoven web made of natural materials (e.g., wood fibers or cotton fibers), synthetic fibers (e.g., polyolefin, polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, or polypropylene fibers), or a combination of natural and / or synthetic fibers; or a coated woven or nonwoven web. In some configurations, the first and / or second belts may include a first substrate 162 and / or a second substrate 164 comprising a nonwoven web of synthetic fibers and may include an extensible nonwoven. In some configurations, the first and second elastic belts may include an inner hydrophobic, non-stretchable nonwoven material and an outer hydrophobic, non-stretchable nonwoven material. It should be understood that the belts may be constructed in a variety of ways, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 111790 and Chinese Patent Application No. 2021 / 077843, both of which are incorporated by reference.

[0050] The elastic material 167 may be positioned between the wearer-facing surface 162d of the first substrate 162 and the garment-facing surface 164c of the second substrate 164. It should be understood that the elastic material 167 may include one or more elastic elements extending along the length of the elastic belt, such as strands, ribbons, elastic films, or panels. As shown in Figures 2A and 3, the elastic material 167 may include a plurality of elastic strands 168.

[0051] It should also be understood that the first substrate 162, second substrate 164, and / or elastic material 167 of the first elastic belt 106 and / or second elastic belt 108 may be bonded together and / or to other components, such as the chassis 102, by adhesive and / or mechanical bonding. It should be understood that adhesive and mechanical joining methods may be utilized alone or in combination with each other.

[0052] In some configurations, an adhesive may be applied to at least one of the first substrate 162, the second substrate 164, and / or the elastic material 167 when combined to form the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108. In some configurations, a mechanical bonding device may apply a mechanical bond to at least one of the first substrate 162, the second substrate 164, and / or the elastic material 167 when combined to form the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108. Such mechanical bonding may be applied with heat, pressure, and / or an ultrasonic device. In some configurations, the mechanical bonding device may apply a bond that bonds the first substrate 162, the second substrate 164, and / or the elastic material 167 together and / or may act to capture or immobilize separate lengths of contracted elastic strands within the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108.

[0053] First substrate 162, second substrate 164, and / or elastic material 167 may be formed using any of the methods described in U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2018 / 0168878(A1), 2018 / 0168877(A1), 2018 / 0168880(A1), 2018 / 0170027(A1), 2018 / 0169964(A1), 2018 / 0168879(A1), 2018 / 0170026(A1), 2018 / 0168889(A1), 2018 / 0168874(A1), and 2018 / 01688 It should also be understood that the various elastomeric laminates may be bonded together by a variety of methods and apparatus to create various elastomeric laminates such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 62 / 989,059 and 62 / 984,837, and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 75(A1), 2018 / 0168890(A1), 2018 / 0168887(A1), 2018 / 0168892(A1), 2018 / 0168876(A1), 2018 / 0168891(A1), 2019 / 0070042(A1) and 2019 / 0070041(A1).

[0054] It should be understood that the components of the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 can be assembled in various ways and in various combinations to create a variety of desirable characteristics that can vary along the lateral width and / or longitudinal length of the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108. Such characteristics can include, for example, Dtex value, bond pattern, hole placement, elastic positioning, average Dtex value, average pre-strain value, wrinkle frequency, wrinkle wavelength, height value, and / or contact area. It should be understood that different characteristics can be imparted to various components, such as, for example, the first substrate 162, the second substrate 164, and the elastic material 167, before and / or during the assembly stage of the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108.

[0055] It should be understood that the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may include various configurations of belt elastic material 167 disposed relative to each other and relative to the first substrate 162 and second substrate 164. As discussed above, the elastic material 167 may include configurations of one or more elastic elements, such as strands, ribbons, films, or panels, positioned in various arrangements. In some configurations, the elastic material 167 may be formed of any material suitable for use in a flexible or non-flexible housing, such as those disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 2018 / 0168889(A1), 2018 / 0168874(A1), 2018 / 0168875(A1), 2018 / 0168890(A1), 2018 / 0168887(A1), 2018 / 0168892(A1), 2018 / 0168876(A1), 2018 / 0168891(A1), 2019 / 0298586(A1), 2019 / 0070042(A1), 2018 The elastic body may include various elastic bodies, elastic features and arrangements, and assembly processes, such as those described in U.S. Patent Applications Nos. 2018 / 0168878(A1), 2018 / 0168877(A1), 2018 / 0168880(A1), 2018 / 0170027(A1), 2018 / 0169964(A1), 2018 / 0168879(A1), 2018 / 0170026(A1), and 2019 / 0070041(A1), and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 62 / 989059 and 62 / 984,837. It should also be understood that the elastic material 167 herein may be configured with the same or different colors in various different locations on the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108.

[0056] In some embodiments, the elastic material 167 may be configured as elastic strands 168 spaced longitudinally at regular intervals. In other embodiments, the elastic strands 168 may be spaced longitudinally at different intervals. In some configurations, the elastic material 167 in a stretched state may be sandwiched and bonded between uncontracted substrate layers. When the elastic material 167 is relaxed, the elastic material 167 returns to its unstretched state, contracting the substrate layers. The elastic material 167 may provide a desired variation in contractile force within the area of the circular elastic belt. It should be understood that the chassis 102 and elastic belts 106, 108 may be configured differently than depicted in the accompanying figures. It should also be understood that the elastic material 167 may be bonded to the substrate continuously or intermittently along the interface between the elastic material 167 and the substrate. In some configurations, the elastic strands 168 may be in the form of extruded elastic strands, which may also be joined to the first substrate 162 and / or the second substrate 164 in a pre-corrugated configuration, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,302, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0057] For example, as described above with respect to the examples with reference to FIGS. 2A-3 , the elastic material 167 discussed herein can be in the form of elastic strands 168. In some configurations, the elastic strands 168 can be parallel to one another and / or to the lateral axis 126. It should be understood that the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 can be configured to include various amounts of elastic strands 168. In some configurations, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 can include from about 100 to about 1,500 elastic strands 168. It should also be understood that the elastic strands 168 herein can include various Dtex values, strand spacing values, and pre-strain values, and that such elastic strands 168 can be utilized with other elastic strands to create first and second elastic belts 106, 108 that include elastic strands 168 with various combinations of Dtex values, strand spacing values, and pre-strain values. For example, in some configurations, the average Dtex of one or more elastic strands 168 may be greater than 500. In some configurations, the average Dtex of one or more elastic strands 168 may be from about 10 to about 500, with all 1 Dtex increments within the above range and all ranges formed therein or formed thereby being specifically recited. In some configurations, the plurality of elastic strands 168 may include an average strand spacing of 4 mm or less. In some configurations, the plurality of elastic strands 168 may include an average strand spacing of from about 0.25 mm to about 4 mm, with all 0.01 mm increments within the above range and all ranges formed therein or formed thereby being specifically recited. In some configurations, the plurality of elastic strands 168 may include an average strand spacing greater than 4 mm. In some configurations, the average pre-strain of each of the plurality of elastic strands may be from about 50% to about 400%, with all 1% increments within the above range and all ranges formed therein or formed thereby being specifically recited. In some configurations, the elastic strands 168 include an average strand spacing of about 0.25 mm to about 4 mm, and an average Dtex of about 10 to about 500. In some configurations, the elastic strands 168 may have an average pre-strain of about 75% to about 300%.

[0058] In some configurations, the first plurality of elastic strands may include a first average pre-strain of about 75% to about 300%, and the second plurality of elastic strands may include a second average pre-strain greater than the first average pre-strain. In some configurations, the first plurality of elastic strands may include an average strand spacing of about 0.25 mm to about 4 mm and an average Dtex of about 10 to about 500, and the second plurality of elastic strands may include an average strand spacing greater than about 4 mm and an average Dtex greater than about 450.

[0059] 2A, the elastic strands 168 may be referred to herein as outer waist elastic members 170 and inner waist elastic members 172. The elastic strands 168 (e.g., the outer waist elastic members 170) may extend laterally continuously between the opposing first and second end regions 106a, 106b of the first elastic belt 106 and between the opposing first and second end regions 108a, 108b of the second elastic belt 108. Some elastic strands 168, such as the inner waist elastic members 172, may be configured with discontinuities, for example, in areas where the first and second elastic belts 106, 108 overlap portions of the chassis 102, such as the absorbent assembly 140.

[0060] 2A , the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may be configured with a high-extension zone 400 and a low-extension zone 402. The first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may include a first high-extension zone 400a and a second high-extension zone 400b separated laterally by a low-extension zone 402. A portion of the chassis 102, such as the absorbent assembly 140, may be connected to the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 at the low-extension zone 402 in the first waist region 116 and / or the second waist region 118. The high-extension zone 400 is provided by elastic material 167, such as elastic strands 168, 172, and the low-extension zone 402 includes cut lines 404 that separate the elastic material 167, such as elastic strands 168, 172, into individual pieces 406. The low stretch zone 402, in turn, defines an area of the first elastic belt 106 and / or second elastic belt 108 that has relatively less elasticity than the high stretch zone 400. The separate elastic pieces 406, which are separated from one another and elastically contracted, do not add a significant amount of elasticity to the low stretch zone 402. Thus, when a force is applied, the high stretch zone 400 stretches more than the low stretch zone 402. As defined above, the terms "elastic," "elastomer," or "elastomeric" refer to a material that exhibits elastic properties, including any material that, when a force is applied to its relaxed initial length, can be stretched or extended to an extended length that is more than 10% greater than the initial length, and will substantially recover to approximately its initial length when the applied force is released. In some configurations, the first elastic belt 106 and / or the second elastic belt 108 may be configured with high stretch zones 400 that are elastic and low stretch zones 402 that are not elastic or "non-elastic."

[0061] 4A and 4B show detailed views of portions of the low-stretch zones 402, such as those shown in the first belt 106 and second belt 108 of the pant diaper 100p shown in FIG. 2A. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, cut lines 404 in the low-stretch zones 402 separate the elastic strands 168 into individual pieces 406. For clarity, the individual pieces 406 of the elastic strands 168 are not shown in FIG. 4A, and the cut lines 404 are thinned in FIG. 4B to enhance the visibility of the individual pieces 406 of the elastic strands 168. In some configurations, the cut lines 404 penetrate the elastic strands 168, the first substrate 162, and the second substrate 164. In some configurations, the cut lines 404 may penetrate the elastic strands 168 and only one of the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164. It should be understood that the cut line 404 may be disposed in a variety of orientations and magnitudes. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A , the cut line may be oriented to define an offset angle 408 relative to the lateral axis 126. The magnitude of the offset angle 408 may be configured to help minimize or prevent separation of the opposing sides 404 a, 404 b of the cut line 404 when the low-stretch zone 402 is subjected to opposing lateral forces, such as when the elastic belts 106, 108 are stretched laterally. In some configurations, the offset angle 408 may be greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees, with all 1-degree increments within the above-mentioned ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby specifically recited.

[0062] Continuing to refer to FIG. 4A , the cut lines 404 may be arranged in rows 410 including at least a first row 410a and a second row 410b adjacent to the first row 410a. The cut lines in the first row 410a and the second row 410b may extend a length 412 from the first end 404c to the second end 404d. In some configurations, the length 412 of each cut line 404 in the first row 410a and the second row 410b may be approximately 4 mm. In some configurations, the cut lines 404 in the first row 410a and the second row 410b are parallel to each other. The 404 cut lines in the first row 410a and / or the second row 410b may be separated from each other by a cut line gap distance 414. In some configurations, the cut line gap distance 414 may be approximately 1.9 mm. The first ends 404c of the cut lines 404 in the first row 410b and the second row 410b may be aligned along a first reference line 416 oriented to define a row angle 420 relative to the lateral axis 126. In some configurations, the row angle 420 may be less than 90 degrees and greater than 45 degrees, with all one-degree increments of the aforementioned ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby specifically recited. As shown in FIG. 4A , the second ends 404d of the cut lines 404 in the first row 410a and the second row 410b may be aligned along a second reference line 418. In some configurations, the second reference line 418 is parallel to the first reference line 416. Additionally, the second reference line 418 of the first row 410a may be separated from the first reference line 416 of the second row 410b by a row gap distance 422. In some configurations, the row gap distance 422 may be approximately 1.9 mm.

[0063] As previously mentioned, cut lines 404 in the low-stretch zones 402 separate the elastic strands 168 into individual pieces 406. As shown in FIG. 4B , the individual pieces 406 of the elastic strands 168 extend across an elastic piece length 422 between a first end 424 and a second end 426. The individual pieces 406 may extend laterally such that the first and second ends 424, 426 of laterally adjacent pieces 406 are separated from one another by the cut lines 404. It should also be understood that because the individual pieces 406 are cut from the elastic strands 168, the individual pieces 406 may be longitudinally spaced apart from one another by the same spacing as the elastic strands 168, or may be positioned in a parallel relationship to one another. FIG. 4B also shows a detailed view of the elastic strands 168 separated by the cut line 404 into first and second individual pieces 406a, 406b. The first individual piece 406a may include a first elastic piece length 422a, and the second individual piece 406b may include a second elastic piece length 422b. In some configurations, the second elastic piece length 422b is longer than the first elastic piece length 422a. In some configurations, the first elastic piece length 422a of the first individual piece 406a may be defined by the distance extending laterally between adjacent cut lines in the first row 410a, and the second elastic piece length 422b of the second individual piece 406b may be defined by the distance extending laterally between the cut lines 404 in the first row 410a and the cut lines 404 in the second row 410b. In some configurations, the ratio of the second elastic piece length 422b to the first elastic piece length 422a is approximately 2:1. As mentioned above, the elastic strands 168 may be continuously bonded to at least one of the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164, or may be intermittently bonded to at least one of the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164. Accordingly, the individual pieces 406 of the elastic strands 168 may be continuously bonded to at least one of the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164, or may be intermittently bonded to at least one of the first substrate 162 and the second substrate 164. It should also be understood that the elastic strands 168 and the individual pieces 406 of the elastic strands 168 may be bonded with an adhesive applied to at least one of the first substrate 162, the second substrate 164, and the elastic strands 168.

[0064] As discussed above, various apparatus and methods can be utilized to manufacture elastomeric laminates that can be used to construct various diaper components, such as elastic belts and leg cuffs. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 show schematic diagrams of a processing apparatus 300 adapted to manufacture the elastomeric laminate 200. As described in more detail below, the processing apparatus 300 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 operates to advance a continuous length of elastic material 202, a continuous length of first substrate 204, and a continuous length of second substrate 206 along the machine direction MD. It should also be understood that in some configurations, the first substrate 204 and second substrate 206 herein may be defined by two separate substrates or may be defined by folded portions of a single substrate. The apparatus 300 stretches the elastic material 202 and bonds the stretched elastic material 202 to the first and second substrates 204, 206 to manufacture the elastomeric laminate 200. Although elastic material 202 is illustrated and referred to herein as strands 208, it should be understood that in some configurations, elastic material 202 may include one or more continuous lengths of elastic strands, ribbons, and / or films.

[0065] It should be understood that the elastomeric laminate 200 can be used to construct various types of absorbent article components. It should be understood that the methods and apparatus herein can be adapted to operate with various types of absorbent article assembly processes, such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2013 / 0255861 (A1), 2013 / 0255862 (A1), 2013 / 0255863 (A1), 2013 / 0255864 (A1), and 2013 / 0255865 (A1). For example, the elastomeric laminate 200 can be used as a continuous length of elastomeric belt material that can be processed into the first and second elastic belts 106, 108 described above in connection with FIGS. 1A-4B. Thus, the elastic material 202 may correspond to belt elastic material 168 interposed between the outer and inner layers 162, 164, which in turn may correspond to either the first and / or second substrates 204, 206. In other examples, the elastomeric laminate 200 may be used to construct the waistband and / or side panels of a tape-type diaper structure. In still other embodiments, the elastomeric laminate 200 may be used to construct various types of leg cuff and / or topsheet structures.

[0066] It should be understood that the elastic laminate 200 can be assembled and / or supplied in a variety of manners. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of a processing apparatus 300 for producing the elastomeric laminate 200, which may include a first metering device 312 and a second metering device 314. The first metering device 312 may be configured as an elastic strand supply apparatus, such as one or more unwinders 302, generally represented by a dashed rectangle, which may include one or more spools of elastic strands 208. In operation, the elastic strands 208 advance in the machine direction MD from the unwinder 302 to the second metering device 314. Furthermore, the elastic strands 208 may be stretched along the machine direction MD while advancing between the unwinder 302 and the second metering device 314. The stretched elastic strands 208 are also bonded to the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206 at the second metering device 314 to produce the elastomeric laminate 200. It should be understood that the elastic strands 208 may advance along and / or around one or more guide rollers. It should also be understood that the elastic strands 208 may be stretched along a continuous path while advancing in the machine direction MD, or may be stretched in various steps that provide multiple increments of stretch while advancing in the machine direction MD.

[0067] 5, the second metering device 314 may include a first roller 316 having an outer circumferential surface 318 and rotating about a first axis of rotation 320, and a second roller 322 having an outer circumferential surface 324 and rotating about a second axis of rotation 326. The first roller 316 and the second roller 322 rotate in opposite directions, with the first roller 316 adjacent to the second roller 322, defining a nip 328 between the first roller 316 and the second roller 322. The first roller 316 may rotate such that the outer circumferential surface 318 has a surface speed S1, and the second roller 322 may rotate such that the outer circumferential surface 324 has the same or substantially the same surface speed S1.

[0068] 5 , the first substrate 204 includes a first surface 210 and an opposing second surface 212, and the first substrate 204 advances toward the first roller 316. Specifically, the first substrate 204 advances toward the first roller 316 at a speed S1, and the first substrate 204 partially wraps around the outer circumferential surface 318 of the first roller 316 and advances through the nip 328. Thus, the first surface 210 of the first substrate 204 contacts the outer circumferential surface 318 of the first roller 316 and advances in the same direction as the outer circumferential surface 318 of the first roller 316. In addition, the second substrate 206 includes a first surface 214 and an opposing second surface 216, and the second substrate 206 advances toward the second roller 322. Specifically, the second substrate 206 advances toward the second roller 322 at a speed S1, where the second substrate 206 partially wraps around the outer circumferential surface 324 of the second roller 322 and advances through the nip 328. Thus, the second surface 216 of the second substrate 206 contacts the outer circumferential surface 324 of the second roller 322 and advances in the same direction as the outer circumferential surface 324 of the second roller 322. It should be understood that the first and / or second substrates 204, 206 can advance at different speeds S1. In some configurations, the first substrate 204 and / or second substrate 206 can advance at a speed S1 of about 150 meters / minute to about 500 meters / minute, specifically referring to all values in 1 meter / minute increments within the above ranges, and all ranges within or given by the above ranges.

[0069] In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 may also be stretched in the machine direction MD and combined with the first substrate layer 204 and / or second substrate layer 206 in a stretched state. For example, with continued reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the unwinder 302 may unwind or otherwise feed the elastic strands 208 advancing in the machine direction MD at a speed S2 into the nip 328. In some configurations, the speed S2 is less than the speed S1, such that the elastic strands 208 are stretched in the machine direction MD. The stretched elastic strands 208 then advance through the nip 328 between the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206, thereby bonding the elastic strands 208 to the second surface 212 of the first substrate 204 and the first surface 214 of the second substrate 206 to produce a continuous length of the elastomeric laminate 200.

[0070] As previously mentioned, the apparatus 300 may include an elastic strand supply device, such as one or more unwinders 302, that supply a plurality of elastic strands 208. It should be understood that the unwinders 302 herein may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, the unwinders 302 may be configured with individual spools with mandrels and / or surface-driven unwinders, over-end unwinders, and / or beam unwinders (also referred to as warp beams). Various types of unwinders are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,676,054, 7,878,447, 7,905,446, 9,156,648, 4,525,905, 5,060,881, and 5,775,380, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 17 / 189,476 (filed March 2, 2021) and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004 / 0219854(A1), 2018 / 0168879(A1), and 2018 / 0170026(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Further examples of elastic and related handling equipment are available from Karl Mayer Corporation. It should be understood that the apparatus 300 may be configured to assemble elastic strands 208 unwound from two or more unwinders 302 into the elastomeric laminate 200, combining elastic strands supplied from the same and / or different types of elastic unwinder configurations. It should also be understood that the elastic strands 208 may include various types of spin finishes, also referred to herein as yarn finishes, configured as coatings on the elastic strands 208, which may help prevent the elastic strands from adhering to themselves, each other, and / or downstream handling equipment. Accordingly, the apparatus may also be configured to remove or partially remove spin finishes from the elastic strands, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2018 / 0168877 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0071] As previously mentioned, the apparatus 300 can include one or more unwinders 302 capable of supplying various amounts of elastic strands. In some configurations, the unwinder 302 herein can include 1 to about 3,000 spools disposed thereon, and thus can have 1 to about 3,000 elastic strands 208 advancing from the unwinder, specifically all values per spool and per strand increments within the ranges set forth above, and all ranges within or provided by the ranges set forth above. Additionally, the elastomeric laminate 200 herein can include 1 to about 3,000 elastic strands 208 spaced apart from one another in the cross direction CD, specifically all values per elastic strand increments within the ranges set forth above, and all ranges within or provided by the ranges set forth above.

[0072] It should also be understood that the apparatus and process can be configured such that the elastic strand 208 can be advanced directly from the unwinder 302 to the assembly process without contacting additional mechanical elements, such as, for example, guide rollers. It should also be understood that in some configurations, the elastic strand 208 can be advanced from the unwinder 302 and redirected and / or otherwise contacted and / or redirected by mechanical elements, such as, for example, guide rollers, before being advanced to the assembly process.

[0073] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the elastic strands 208 can also be advanced through strand guides 310 before being combined with the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206. The strand guides 310 can space or separate adjacent elastic strands 208 a desired distance in the cross direction CD while the elastic strands 208 are being combined with the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the elastic strands can be advanced through strand guides 310 positioned between the unwinder 302 and the nip 328. The strand guides 310 can operate to vary and / or determine and / or fix the cross direction CD separation distance between adjacent elastic strands 208 advancing into the nip 328 and into the assembled elastomeric laminate 200. It should be understood that the elastic strands 208 can be spaced apart from one another in the cross direction CD at different distances as they advance into the nip 328 and into the assembled elastomeric laminate 200. In some configurations, adjacent elastic strands 208 can be spaced apart from one another in the cross direction CD by about 0.5 mm to about 4 mm, specifically all values in 0.1 mm increments within the above ranges, and all ranges within or given by the above ranges. It should be understood that the strand guide 310 can be configured in a variety of ways. In some configurations, the strand guide 310 can be configured as a comb, which can have multiple teeth or leads. The advancing elastic strands 208 are then spaced apart and separated from one another in the cross direction CD by the teeth or leads. In some configurations, the strand guide 310 can include multiple rollers that space and separate the elastic strands from one another in the cross direction CD.

[0074] It should be understood that different components can be used to construct the elastomeric laminate 200 according to the methods and apparatus herein. For example, the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 can include a nonwoven material and / or a film. Additionally, the elastic strands 208 can be configured in a variety of ways and have a variety of decitex values. In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 can be configured to have a decitex value ranging from about 10 decitex to about 500 decitex, specifically including all values in 1 decitex increments within the above ranges, and all ranges within or given by the above ranges.

[0075] As noted above, it should be understood that the elastomeric laminates 200 assembled herein can include different amounts of elastic strands 208 spaced apart from one another at different distances, and can have different decitex values. For example, the elastomeric laminates 200 herein can have different elastic densities, which can be defined as decitex per width of the elastomeric laminate. For example, some elastomeric laminates 200 can have elastic densities from about 30 dtex / mm to about 150 dtex / mm, specifically including all values in 1 dtex / mm increments within the above ranges, and all ranges within or given by the above ranges. In another example, the elastomeric laminates 200 herein can have different numbers of elastic strands arranged in the cross direction (CD) per meter of cross direction width of the elastomeric laminate. For example, some elastomeric laminate 200 may have from about 500 elastic strands per meter of elastomeric laminate width to about 2000 elastic strands per meter of elastomeric laminate width, specifically reciting all values in increments of 1 elastic strand per meter within the above ranges, and all ranges within or given by the above ranges.

[0076] 5, the apparatus 300 can include one or more adhesive applicator devices 334 that can apply adhesive 218 to at least one of the elastic strands 208, the first substrate 204, and the second substrate 206 before they are combined to form the elastomeric laminate 200. For example, the first substrate 204 can advance past an adhesive applicator device 334a that applies adhesive 218 to the second surface 212 of the first substrate 204 before the first substrate advances into the nip 328. It should be understood that the adhesive 218 can be applied to the first substrate 204 upstream of the first roller 316 and / or while the first substrate 204 is partially wrapped around the outer circumferential surface 318 of the first roller 316. In another example, the second substrate 206 can advance past an adhesive applicator apparatus 334b that applies adhesive 218 to the first surface 214 of the second substrate 206 before the second substrate advances into the nip 328. It should be appreciated that the adhesive 218 can be applied to the second substrate 206 upstream of the second roller 322 and / or while the second substrate 206 is partially wrapped around the circumferential surface 324 of the second roller 324. In another example, the adhesive applicator apparatus 334c can be configured to apply adhesive 218 to the elastic strands 208 before and / or during bonding with the first substrate 204 and second substrate 206.

[0077] It should be understood that the adhesive applicator device 334 herein may be configured in a variety of ways, such as, for example, a spray nozzle and / or a slot coating device, etc. In some configurations, the adhesive applicator device 334 may be configured in accordance with the devices and / or methods disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 8,186,296, 9,265,672, 9,248,054, and 9,295,590, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0148773 A1, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0078] It should be understood that the elastic strands 208 may be bonded to the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 continuously or intermittently along the interface between the material of the elastic strands 208 and the substrates 204, 206. In some configurations, the adhesive 334 may be applied intermittently onto the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 to create an intermittent bond along the length of the elastic strands 208 between the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206. It should be understood that the intermittent application of the adhesive 334 may be performed using a spray nozzle and / or a slot coat device that applies an intermittent pattern of adhesive 334. In some configurations, the adhesive 334 may be applied intermittently along the length of the advancing elastic strands 208 to create an intermittent bond along the length of the elastic strands 208 between the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206. In some configurations, the slot coat device may be configured to continuously apply the adhesive 334 at a relatively low basis weight onto the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206, where the relatively low basis weight of the adhesive results in creating an intermittent bond between the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 along the length of the elastic strands 208. In some configurations, the slot coat device may be configured to continuously apply the adhesive 334 at a relatively high basis weight onto the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206, where the relatively high basis weight of the adhesive results in creating a continuous bond between the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 along the length of the elastic strands 208. In some configurations, the adhesive 334 may be continuously applied along the length of the advancing elastic strands 208 to create a continuous bond between the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 along the length of the elastic strands 208.

[0079] In some configurations, apparatus 300 can include a mechanical bonding device that applies a mechanical bond to elastomeric laminate 200, such as a bond that can be applied by heat, pressure, and / or an ultrasonic device. Examples of ultrasonic coupling devices, which can include linear or rotational type configurations, are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 3,113,225, 3,562,041, 3,733,238, 5,110,403, 6,036,796, 6,508,641, and 6,645,330. In some configurations, the ultrasonic coupling device can be configured as a linear vibration sonotrode, such as that available from Herrmann Ultrasonic, Inc. Further examples of mechanical bonding devices and methods are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,854,984, 6,291,039, 6,248,195, 8,778,127, and 9,005,392, as well as U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2014 / 0377513(A1) and 2014 / 0377506(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference. It should be understood that the mechanical bonding device can apply a mechanical bond to the elastomeric laminate at or downstream of the nip 328. The mechanical bonding device can apply bonds that bond the first substrate 204, the second substrate 206, and / or the elastic strands 208 to one another, and / or can act to confine or immobilize the contracted discrete lengths of elastic strands 208 within the elastomeric laminate 200. It should also be understood that the apparatus herein may include one, some, or all of the adhesive applicator apparatus 334a, 334b, 334c and mechanical coupling devices referred to herein.

[0080] It should be understood that the elastic strands 208 may be bonded to the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 in a variety of methods and apparatus to create a variety of elastomeric laminates, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018 / 0168878(A1), all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Same No. 2018 / 0168877(A1), No. 2018 / 0168880(A1), No. 2018 / 0170027(A1), No. 2018 / 0169964(A1), No. 2018 / 0168879(A1), No. 2 018 / 0170026(A1), 2018 / 0168889(A1), 2018 / 0168874(A1), 2018 / 0168875(A1), 2018 / 0168890(A1), 2018 It should also be understood that the first substrate 204 and / or the second substrate 206 may be bonded using a variety of methods and apparatus to produce various elastomeric laminates, such as those described in US Pat. Nos. 2018 / 0168887(A1), 2018 / 0168892(A1), 2018 / 0168876(A1), 2018 / 0168891(A1), 2019 / 0070042(A1), and 2019 / 0070041(A1), and combinations thereof.

[0081] It should be understood that the apparatus 300 herein may be configured in a variety of ways to incorporate the various features described herein for assembling elastomeric laminates 200 having different elongation characteristics. For example, when the elastomeric laminate 200 is stretched, some of the elastic strands 208 may exert a different contraction force in the machine direction MD than the other elastic strands 208. Such different elongation characteristics may be achieved by stretching some of the elastic strands 208 more or less than other elastic strands 208 before bonding the elastic strands to the first and second substrates 204, 206. As noted above, the spools of elastic strands 208 may unwind from one or more unwinders 302 at different speeds, such that the elastic strands 208 may be stretched more or less than one another when combined with the first and second substrates. For example, as noted above, the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206 may each advance at a speed S1. In some configurations, some elastic strands 208 may advance at a speed S2 that is slower than the speed S1 that also differs from the advancement speed of other elastic strands, and therefore some elastic strands 208 are stretched by different amounts in the machine direction MD when combined with the first and second substrates 204, 206.

[0082] As described herein, the elastic strands 208 can be pre-strained prior to bonding the elastic strands 208 to the first or second substrate layer 204, 206. In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 can be pre-strained from about 75% to about 300%, specifically including all values in 1% increments within the above ranges and all ranges within or formed by the above ranges. In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 can be pre-strained from about 80% to about 250%, specifically including all values in 1% increments within the above ranges and all ranges within or formed by the above ranges. Pre-strain refers to the strain imposed on an elastic or elastomeric material prior to combining it with another element of an elastomeric laminate or absorbent article. Pre-strain is determined by the following equation: Pre-strain = ((Elastic Extended Length - Elastic Relaxed Length) / Elastic Relaxed Length) x 100.

[0083] It should also be appreciated that the elastic strands 208 may have a variety of different material structures and / or decitex values to create an elastomeric laminate 200 with different stretch properties in different regions. In some configurations, spools of elastic strands 208 with different decitex values may be placed on and advanced from one or more unwinders 302. In some configurations, the elastomeric laminate 200 may have regions where the elastic strands 208 are spaced relatively closer to one another in the cross direction CD and other regions where the elastic strands 208 are spaced relatively farther from one another in the cross direction CD, thereby providing different stretch properties in different regions. In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 may be supplied on the spools in a stretched state, thereby requiring no further stretching (or may require relatively little further stretching) before being combined with the first substrate 204 and / or second substrate 206. In some configurations, different stretch properties in elastomeric laminate 200 may be created by bonding another substrate and / or elastomeric laminate and / or elastic film to specific regions of the elastomeric laminate. In some configurations, different stretch properties in elastomeric laminate 200 may be created by folding a portion of the elastomeric laminate over itself in specific regions of the elastomeric laminate.

[0084] In some configurations, the elastic strands 208 may be formed using a method such as those described in U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006 / 0094319(A1), 2006 / 0032578(A1), 2018 / 0168878(A1), 2018 / 0168877(A1), 2018 / 0168880(A1), 2018 / 0170027(A1), 2018 / 0169964(A1), 2018 / 0168879(A1), 20180170026(A1), 2018 / 0168889(A1), 2018 / 01688 74(A1), 2018 / 0168875(A1), 2018 / 0168890(A1), 2018 / 0168887(A1), 2018 / 0168892(A1), 2018 / 0168876(A1), 2018 / 0168891(A1), 2019 / 0070042(A1), and 2019 / 0070041(A1). In some configurations, the elastomeric laminate 200 can include zones of different tension, which can help reduce the complexity of some web handling operations, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002 / 0009940(A1), which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 6 , the elastomeric laminate 200 can advance from the nip 328 and be accumulated, such as by being wound onto a roll 200R or by being tied into a tether in a container. It should be understood that the elastomeric laminate 200 can be wound onto the roll 200R in a fully stretched state, a partially stretched state, or a fully relaxed state. As discussed above, the accumulated elastomeric laminate 200 can be stored and / or transported to a location for incorporation into an absorbent article assembly process, where the elastomeric laminate 200 can be converted into an absorbent article component. In this manner, the accumulated elastomeric laminate 200 can be unwound from the roll 200R (or drawn from a container) and incorporated into an absorbent article assembly line. It should be understood that the apparatus 300 can be configured to assemble elastomeric laminates 200 that can be cut along the machine direction MD to define separate lanes of elastic material for the individual elastomeric laminates 200. In some configurations, the elastomeric laminate can be cut into separate lanes of individual elastomeric laminate 200 before being wound onto each roll 200R. In some configurations, the elastomeric laminate can be cut into separate lanes of individual elastomeric laminate 200 as the elastomeric laminate is unwound from the roll 200R.

[0086] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, to form low stretch zones 402 within the elastic laminate 200, the elastic laminate 200 may be advanced in the machine direction through a cutting device 500 adapted to cut the elastic strands 208 into individual pieces 406. Although the elastic laminate is shown in Figure 7 as advancing from a roll 200R to the cutting device 500, it should be understood that the elastic laminate 200 may be configured to advance directly from an assembly apparatus 300 such as described with reference to Figures 5 and 6, without first being accumulated.

[0087] It should also be understood that in some configurations, the elastomeric laminate 200 may advance from the cutting device 500 and then be collected as described above. In some configurations, the elastomeric laminate 200 may advance from the cutting device 500 and be directly incorporated into the absorbent article assembly process. For example, FIG. 7 shows the elastomeric laminate 200 advancing directly from the cutting device 500 to an absorbent article assembly line 300a, generally represented by a dashed rectangle. The absorbent article assembly may be configured to process the elastic laminate 200 with additional components to assemble an absorbent article 100, such as the diaper described above with reference to FIGS. 1-4B.

[0088] 7 and 8 , the cutting device 500 may include a knife roll 502 positioned adjacent to an anvil roll 504 to define a nip 506 therebetween. The knife roll 502 may include an outer circumferential surface 508 and a blade 510 that extends radially outward to a blade edge 604 and is adapted to rotate about an axis 514 in a first direction Dir1. The anvil roll 504 may include an outer circumferential surface 516 that is adapted to rotate about an axis 518 in a second direction Dir2 opposite the first direction Dir1. As the elastic laminate 200 advances through the nip 506 between the knife roll 502 and the anvil roll 504, the blade 510 operates to cut the elastic strands 208 into individual pieces 406 separated from one another along the machine direction MD by cut lines 404 in the low-stretch zones 402. In addition to cutting the elastic strands 208, the blade 510 may also cut one or both of the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206. The low elongation zones 402 may be separated from one another along the machine direction MD by high elongation zones 400, and the high elongation zones 400 may be separated from one another along the machine direction MD by low elongation zones 402. It should be appreciated that, as opposed to or in addition to a blade, the cutting device 500 may be configured to perform the cutting action in various ways, such as, for example, laser or ultrasonic.

[0089] It should be understood that the high stretch zones 400 and low stretch zones 402 shown in the elastic laminate 200 illustrated in FIG. 8 may correspond to the high stretch zones 400 and low stretch zones 402 of the first and / or second belts 106, 108 described above with reference to FIG. 2A. Thus, the high stretch zones 400 are provided with elasticity by elastic material 202, such as elastic strands 208, and the low stretch zones 402 include cut lines 404 that separate the elastic material 202, such as elastic strands 208, into individual pieces 406. The low stretch zones 402, in turn, define areas of the elastic laminate 200 that have relatively less elasticity than the high stretch zones 400. The separate, elastically contracted elastic pieces 406, which are separated from one another, do not add a significant amount of elasticity to the low stretch zones 402. Thus, when a force is applied, the high stretch zones 400 stretch more than the low stretch zones 402. In some configurations, the elastic laminate 200 may be configured with high stretch zones 400 that are elastic and low stretch zones 402 that are not elastic or "non-elastic."

[0090] It should be understood that the details regarding the low stretch zones 400 described with reference to Figures 4A and 4B are also applicable to the low stretch zones 400 shown in Figure 8. When applying the above description of the low stretch zones of the elastic belts 106, 108 of Figures 4A and 4B to the low stretch zones 402 of the elastic laminate 200 of Figure 7, the orientation of the cut lines 404, rows 410, and individual pieces 406 relative to the transverse axis 126 and longitudinal axis 124 may be taken relative to the cross direction CD and machine direction MD of the elastic laminate 200, respectively.

[0091] As discussed above, knife roll 502 may include blades 510 extending radially outward to blade edges 604 adapted to rotate about axis 514. Blade edges 604 may therefore be oriented to cut through elastic strands 208 and one or both of first substrate 204 and second substrate 206 to form cut lines 404 in elastic laminate 200 corresponding to cut lines 404 and individual elastic pieces 406 described above with reference to Figures 4A and 4B. Figure 9 shows an exemplary orientation of a portion of the group of blade edges 604 on knife roll 502. It should be understood that knife roll 502 may be configured to rotate at a variable angular velocity or a constant angular velocity and may be driven by a servo motor.

[0092] It should be understood that the blade edges 604 may be arranged in various orientations and / or sizes. For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , the blade edges 604 may be oriented to define an offset angle 608 relative to the axis of rotation 514. In some configurations, the offset angle 608 may be greater than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, with all one-degree increments within the aforementioned ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby specifically recited. Continuing with FIG. 9 , the blade edges 604 may be arranged in rows 610 including at least a first row 610a and a second row 610b adjacent to the first row 610a. The blade edges of the first row 610a and the second row 610b may extend over a length 612 from a first end 604c to a second end 604d. In some configurations, the length 612 of each blade edge 604 in the first row 610a and the second row 610b may be approximately 4 mm. In some configurations, the blade edges 604 of the first row 610a and the blade edges 604 of the second row 610b are parallel to one another. The blade edges 604 in the first row 610a and / or the second row 610b may be separated from one another by a blade edge gap distance 614. In some configurations, the blade edge gap distance 614 may be approximately 1.9 mm. The first ends 604c of the blade edges 604 in the first row 610b and the first ends 604c of the blade edges 604 in the second row 610b may be aligned along a first reference line 616 oriented to define a row angle 620 relative to the axis of rotation 514. In some configurations, the row angle 620 may be less than 45 degrees and greater than 0 degrees, with all one-degree increments within the above ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby specifically recited. 9 , the second ends 604d of the blade edges 604 of the first row 610a and the second row 610b may be aligned along a second reference line 618. In some configurations, the second reference line 618 is parallel to the first reference line 616. Additionally, the second reference line 618 of the first row 610a may be separated from the first reference line 616 of the second row 610b by a row gap distance 622. In some configurations, the row gap distance 622 may be approximately 1.9 mm.

[0093] In some configurations, the first resilient piece length 422a described above may be defined by the distance between blade edges 604 in the same row 610 or the distance between blade edges 604 in different rows 610. In some configurations, the second resilient piece length 422b may be defined only by the distance between blade edges 604 in different rows 610, as opposed to the distance between blade edges 604 in the same row 610.

[0094] It should also be understood that the elastomeric laminate assembly operations herein may be performed in conjunction with other operations, and in some configurations, the elastomeric laminate 200 assembled using the methods and apparatus herein may be subjected to various other manufacturing conversion processes either before or after forming the low elongation zone 402.

[0095] For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , the continuous elastomeric laminate 200 may advance to a slitting device 350, where the elastomeric laminate 200 is slit along the machine direction MD into lanes, such as a first continuous elastomeric laminate 200a and a second continuous elastomeric laminate 200b. It should be understood that the elastomeric laminate 200 may be slit using a shear slitting operation or a crushing slitting operation. In a crushing slitting operation, the first substrate 204 and the second substrate 206 may be bonded together during the slitting operation. In some operations, the first and second substrates 204, 206 of the elastomeric laminate 200 may be bonded together along the edges of the elastomeric laminate 200. For example, in some operations, an edge of the first substrate 204 may be folded over an opposing edge of the second substrate 206 to create a sealed edge of the elastomeric laminate 200. It should be appreciated that heat, pressure, adhesive, and / or ultrasonic bonding processes may be used to secure such folded portions of the substrate. In some configurations, the position of the elastic strands 208 relative to the side edges of the elastomeric laminate 200 may be adjusted to vary the undulating pattern along the side edges in a desired manner.

[0096] Continuing with reference to FIG. 8, the slitting device 350 may be configured to cut the elastic laminate 200 in the machine direction MD through the low stretch zone 200 to form a first low stretch zone 402a and a second low stretch zone 402b. It should be understood that the first elastic laminate 200a may correspond to the first elastic belt 106, and the second elastic laminate 200b may correspond to the second elastic belt 108 described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when assembling a diaper pant 100P, the elastic laminate 200 may be processed into a first elastic belt laminate 200a and / or a second elastic belt laminate 200b (represented by dashed arrow "A"). The first elastic belt laminate 200a and the second elastic belt laminate 200b may be separated from each other in the cross direction CD. Opposing end regions of the chassis 102 may then be connected with low stretch zones 402 in the first elastic belt laminate 200a and / or the second elastic belt laminate 200b. During a subsequent assembly operation, the chassis 102 may be folded (represented by dashed arrow "B") to position the first elastic belt laminate 200a in a face-to-face relationship with the second elastic belt laminate 200b. A bond 246 may be applied to the overlapping belt laminates 200a, 200b. Separate diaper pants 100P may then be formed by cutting the first and second belt laminates 200a, 200b adjacent the bond 246 along the cross direction CD (represented by dashed arrow "C") to separate the first and second belt laminates 200a, 200b into the first and second belts 106, 108. Thus, the bond 246 may be divided to define first and second side seams 178, 180, respectively.

[0097] It should be understood that the cutting device 500 may be configured in a variety of ways to create low-stretch zones having various orientations and positions on the elastic laminate 200. In some configurations, the low-stretch zones 402 may be positioned on the elastic laminate 200 to help prevent the cut lines 404 from being positioned on the edges of the elastic laminate 200, to help reduce or prevent edge fraying that may be caused by the cut lines 404. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , the knife roll 502 may be configured with a first group of blades 510a separated in the cross direction CD from a second group of blades 510b. Thus, the cutting device 500 may be configured to form a first low-stretch zone 402a and a second low-stretch zone 402b in the elastic laminate 200 before advancing to the slitting device 350. The first and second low-extension zones 402a, 402b on the elastic laminate 200 may then be separated from one another in the cross direction CD by the gap region 428. The slitting device 350 may be configured to cut the elastic laminate 200 in the machine direction MD through the gap region 428 to form a first elastic laminate 200a having the first low-extension zone 402a and a second elastic laminate 200b having the second low-extension zone 402b. In some configurations, the first low-extension zone 402a and the second elastic laminate 200b may be spaced from, and not directly positioned on, the inner edges of the first and second elastic laminates 200a, 200b formed by the slitting device 350. In some configurations, the slitting device 350 may be positioned upstream of the cutting device 500, as shown in FIG. 11A.

[0098] In some configurations, the knife roll 502 may include a group of blades 510 adapted to form low stretch zones 402 in the elastic laminate 200 having different widths in the cross direction CD without having to modify the knives 502 to accommodate the different widths. For example, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B , the knife roll 502 may include a group of blades 510 having a pattern gap region 550. The pattern gap region 550 may be defined by an area having blades 510 that may have different attributes than the blades 551 outside the pattern gap region 550. For example, the number of blades 551 spaced circumferentially and axially in the pattern gap 550 may be fewer than the blades 510 outside the pattern gap region 550. In another example, some blades 551 within the pattern gap 550 may include a smaller radial height than the blades 510 outside the pattern gap region 550. Thus, the knife roll 502 creates low stretch zones 402 having gap areas 450 with cut lines 404 corresponding to the blades 551 in the pattern gap areas 550. The elastic strands 208 are cut into individual pieces within the gap areas 450, but the low stretch zones 402 have a smaller amount of cut lines 404 per unit area of the elastic laminate 200 within the gap areas 450 compared to the amount of cut lines 404 per unit area of the elastic laminate 200 outside the gap areas 450.

[0099] 12A and 12B, the same knife roll 500 can be used to form low stretch zones 402 in the elastic laminate 200 having different transverse widths defined by the distance between the opposing first and second edges 250a, 250b of the elastic laminate 200. For example, the elastic laminate 200 in FIG. 12A may define a width LW1 in the transverse direction CD, while the elastic laminate 200 in FIG. 12B may define a width LW2 in the transverse direction CD, where LW2 is less than LW1. As shown in FIG. 12A, the second edge 250b of the elastic laminate 200 may be positioned adjacent to or outwardly of the group of blades 510. Thus, there may be relatively fewer or no cut lines 404 on the second edge 250b. 12B, the second edge 250b of the elastic laminate 200 may be positioned to advance through the pattern gap areas 550 of the group of blades 510. Thus, there may be relatively fewer cut lines 404 on the second edge 250b.

[0100] In some configurations, the rotational speed of the knife roll 502 may be adjusted to create low stretch zones 402 of different machine direction MD lengths in the elastic laminate 200. For example, a knife roll 502 rotating at a first rotational speed may create a low stretch zone 402 having a first length in the machine direction MD in the elastic laminate 200 advancing at the first speed. Then, the same knife roll 502 rotating at a second rotational speed faster than the first rotational speed may create a low stretch zone 402 having a second length in the machine direction MD that is shorter than the first length in the elastic laminate 200 advancing at the same first speed.

[0101] It should be understood that the absorbent article 100 herein may be configured to include a disposal mechanism such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 7,867,208(B) and European Patent Application Publication No. 3,716,929(B), which are incorporated herein by reference. In some configurations, the disposal mechanism may include a disposal tape that may be coupled to the first elastic belt 106 or the second elastic belt 108. The disposal tape may be secured to the diaper pants in a folded configuration. During use, an end portion of the disposal tape may be pulled away from the soiled diaper to stretch the disposal tape from the folded configuration. The soiled diaper may then be rolled up on itself, and the stretched disposal tape may be used to help secure the soiled diaper in the rolled-up configuration. In some configurations, such a disposal tape may be partially or completely coupled to the first elastic belt 106 or the second elastic belt 108 within the low-stretch zone 402. However, a relatively high density of cut lines 404 located in the region where the waste section is bonded to the first elastic belt 106 or the second elastic belt 108 may result in a decrease in the bond strength between the waste tape and the belt. Accordingly, in some configurations, the low-stretch zone 402 may include a waste tape bond region 401 that helps provide the desired bond strength between the waste tape and the belt. The bond strength may then be maintained high enough to withstand the forces exerted on the waste tape bond region 401 when pulling the waste tape from a folded configuration to a stretched configuration, as well as when holding the diaper pant in a rolled-up configuration. As described in more detail below, the waste tape bond region 401 may be configured to have a relatively lower density of cut lines 404 than the density present in the remainder of the low-stretch zone 402. Such a varying density of cut lines 404 may be produced by a corresponding change in the density of the blades 510 on the cutting roll 502.

[0102] 12C, a waste tape bonding region 401 may be provided generally along the longitudinal axis toward the distal end line 402D of the low stretch zone 402, and the waste tape bonding region 401 may have a different cut line density than the low stretch zone 402. Providing such a waste tape bonding region 401 may be beneficial when a waste tape is assembled to an absorbent article. When the low stretch zone 402 has a first cut line density and the waste tape bonding region 401 has a second cut line density, the second cut line density is about 30% to about 60% of the first cut line density. A lower density of cut lines in the waste tape bonding region 401 may provide higher bond strength of the elastic laminate 200 compared to that of the low stretch zone 402, while still providing the waste tape bonding region 401 with lower elasticity than the high stretch zone 400.

[0103] 12D , the cut line density of the waste tape bonding region 401 may be adjusted by thinning the blades 510 on the cutting roll 502, with the blades 510 for providing the waste tape bonding region 401 aligned in the direction of the blades 510 for providing the low-stretch zone 402. For example, to create a second cut line density of 50% compared to the first cut line density, every other blade may be thinned, or every third blade out of four blades may be thinned. For example, to create a second cut line density of 40% compared to the first cut line density, every third blade out of five blades may be thinned. For example, to create a second cut line density of 33.3% compared to the first cut line density, every third blade out of three blades may be thinned. Regardless of the difference between the first cut line density and the second cut line density, the thinning of the blades 510 may be adjusted so that the remaining blades 510 are aligned in the direction of the blades 510 to create the low-stretch zone 402. Furthermore, the non-cut area 605 created in the area corresponding to the thinned blade may be adjusted so that the distance between any cut lines in the waste tape bonding area 401 in the direction of the reference line is approximately 8 mm or less.

[0104] FIG. 12E shows an example of a disposal tape 700 that may be bonded to the elastic laminate 200 generally along its longitudinal axis. When the disposal tape 700 has a particular longitudinal dimension, the disposal tape 700 may be partially or completely bonded within the low-stretch zone 402, i.e., the bond may extend beyond the distal end line 402D of the low-stretch zone 402. When a portion of the disposal tape 700 is bonded beyond the distal end line 402D of the low-stretch zone 402, the area of the elastic laminate 200 that overlaps the disposal tape 700 may be provided with a disposal tape bonded region 401. The disposal tape 700 may have a particular length that is folded into two or three parts, and the disposal tape 700 may be lifted from the folded position by first releasing the tab 704 from the remainder of the disposal tape 700 and pulling it away from the elastic laminate 200. Referring to FIG. 12E, an example of a disposal tape folded into three parts is shown. The layer of disposal tape 700 directly bonded to the elastic laminate 200 has a distal end 702. The distal end 702 of the disposal tape is the portion that experiences the most stress when the disposal tape 700 is stretched to its full length for disposal. The distal end 702 may overlap the high stretch zone 400, while the remainder of the disposal tape overlaps the disposal tape bond region 401.

[0105] For example, by positioning a blade to provide the disposal tape bonding area 401 in the manner described above with reference to Figures 12B and 12C, the elastic material in the disposal tape bonding area 401 is cut while the bonding strength of the elastic laminate 200 in the disposal tape bonding area 401 can be ensured to withstand the peel strength when the disposal tape 700 is pulled away from the elastic laminate 200.

[0106] Average Decitex (Average DTEX) The average decitex method is used to calculate the average Dtex for elastic fibers present in a complete article or in a sample extracted from the article, on a length-weighted basis. The decitex value is the mass, in grams, of the fiber present in 10,000 meters of that material in a relaxed state. The decitex value of elastic fibers or elastic laminates containing elastic fibers is often reported by manufacturers as part of the specifications for the elastic fibers or elastic laminates containing elastic fibers. The average Dtex can be calculated from these specifications, if available. Alternatively, if these specified values are not known, the decitex value of individual elastic fibers can be measured by determining the cross-sectional area of the fiber in a relaxed state via a suitable microscopy technique, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), determining the fiber composition via Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and then using literature values for the density of the composition to calculate the mass, in grams, of the fiber present in 10,000 meters of fiber. The decitex values for individual elastic fibers removed from the complete article or from a sample extracted from the article, as provided by the manufacturer or determined experimentally, are used in the formula described below, which determines the length-weighted average of the decitex values among the elastic fibers present.

[0107] The length of the elastic fibers present in the article or a sample extracted from the article, respectively, is calculated from the overall dimensions of the component or sample of the article containing the component, if known, and the elastic fiber pre-strain ratio associated with the component or sample of the article containing the component. Alternatively, the dimensions and / or elastic fiber pre-strain ratio are not known, and the absorbent article or a sample extracted from the absorbent article is disassembled to remove all elastic fibers. This disassembly can be accomplished, for example, by applying gentle heat to soften the adhesive, using a low-temperature spray (e.g., Quick-Freeze, Miller-Stephenson Company, Danbury, CT), or by using a suitable solvent that removes the adhesive but does not swell, alter, or destroy the elastic fibers. The length of each elastic fiber in its relaxed state is measured and recorded to the nearest millimeter (mm).

[0108] Calculating the average Dtex The relaxed length L present in the absorbent article or a sample extracted from the absorbent article i and fiber decitex value d i individual elastic fibers f (either obtained from manufacturer specifications or measured experimentally) i For each of the absorbent articles, the average Dtex of the absorbent article or samples extracted from the absorbent article is defined as follows:

[0109]

number

[0110] If the decitex value of any individual fiber is not known from the specification, it is determined experimentally as described below, and the resulting fiber decitex value is used in the above formula to determine the average Dtex.

[0111] Experimental determination of fiber decitex. For each elastic fiber extracted from the absorbent article or sample extracted from the absorbent article according to the above procedure, each elastic fiber L k The relaxed state length of each elastic fiber is measured and recorded to the nearest millimeter (mm). Each elastic fiber is analyzed via FT-IR spectroscopy to determine its composition and its density ρ k is determined from available literature values. Finally, each fiber is analyzed via SEM. The fiber is cut perpendicularly along its length with a sharp blade at three approximately equal locations to create clean cross sections for SEM analysis. The three fiber sections with these exposed cross sections are mounted in a relaxed state on an SEM specimen holder, sputter-coated with gold, and introduced into the SEM for analysis, where they are imaged with sufficient resolution to clearly resolve the fiber cross section. To minimize any oblique distortion in the measured cross section, the fiber cross section is oriented as perpendicularly as possible to the detector. Fiber cross sections vary in shape, with some fibers being composed of multiple individual filaments. In either case, the area of each of the three fiber cross sections is determined (e.g., using image analysis of the diameter for circular fibers, the major and minor axes for elliptical fibers, and more complex shapes) to yield the three areas a of the elastic fiber. k The average is in square micrometers (μm 2 ) in units of 0.1 μm 2 The kth elastic fiber measured is recorded in decitex, d k is calculated by: d k =10000m×a k ×ρ k x10 -6 In the formula, d k is in grams (per 10,000 meters of calculated length), and a k The unit is μm 2 and ρ k The unit is grams per cubic centimeter (g / cm 3 ) for any elastic fiber analyzed, the experimentally determined L k value and d k The value is used later in the formula for average Dtex above.

[0112] Average Strand Spacing Using a ruler accurate to the nearest 0.5 mm calibrated against a certified NIST ruler, measure the distance between the two distal strands in a section to the nearest 0.5 mm, then divide by the number of strands in that section minus 1. Average strand spacing = d / (n-1) where n>1 Reported to the nearest 0.1mm.

[0113] Average pre-distortion The average pre-strain of the sample is measured in a constant rate of extension tensile tester using a load cell that measures forces within 1% to 90% of the cell limits (a suitable instrument is MTS Insight with Testworks 4.0 Software, available from MTS Systems Corp., Eden Prairie, MN). Prior to analysis, the articles are conditioned at 23°C ± 2°C and 50% ± 2% relative humidity for 2 hours and then tested under the same environmental conditions.

[0114] After adjusting the initial gauge length, the tensile tester is programmed to perform an extension until break. First, the crosshead is raised at 10 mm / min to a force of 0.05 N. At this point, the gauge is set to the adjusted gauge length. The crosshead is raised at a rate of 100 mm / min (20% force drop after the maximum peak force) until the sample breaks. The crosshead is returned to its original position. Force and extension data are acquired at a rate of 100 Hz throughout the experiment.

[0115] Set the nominal gage length to 40 mm using a calibrated caliper block and zero the crosshead. Insert the specimen into the upper grips so that the center of the test strip is positioned 20 mm below the upper grip. The specimen may be folded perpendicular to the tensile axis and placed in the grips to achieve this position. Excess material can be trimmed after the grips are closed. Insert the specimen into the lower grip and close it. The strip can be folded again, but then trimmed after the grips are closed. Zero the load cell. The specimen should have minimal slack but less than 0.05 N of force on the load cell. Begin the test program.

[0116] From the data, force (N) versus extension (mm) is calculated. The average pre-strain is calculated from the bend of the curve, which corresponds to the extension when the nonwoven in the elastic is engaged. Two lines are plotted, corresponding to the region of the curve before the bend (mainly elastic) and the region after the bend (mainly nonwoven). The extension is read where these two lines intersect, and the % pre-strain is calculated from this extension and the corrected gauge length. The % pre-strain is recorded as 0.1%. The arithmetic mean of the three replicate specimens for each elastomeric laminate and the average pre-strain to the nearest 0.1% are calculated.

[0117] combination A1. A garment-facing surface, comprising: a body-facing surface; a front waist region; and a back waist region, the back waist region separated from the front waist region by a crotch region, the front waist region including a front waist edge and the back waist region including a back waist edge, a longitudinal axis extending perpendicularly through the front waist edge and the back waist edge, and a lateral axis extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis; and an absorbent assembly extending longitudinally through the crotch region between the front and back waist regions, the absorbent assembly being positioned between the body-facing surface and the garment-facing surface, wherein at least one of the front waist region and the back waist region comprises a first group. an elastic material positioned between the first substrate and a second substrate and connected to the first substrate and the second substrate; and first and second high elongation zones separated laterally by low elongation zones, the first and second high elongation zones being elasticized by the elastic material, the low elongation zones including cut lines separating the elastic material into first and second discrete pieces, the first discrete piece of elastic material having a first length and the second discrete piece of elastic material having a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, and each cut line being oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the lateral axis that is greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees.

[0118] B1. The absorbent article of paragraph A1, wherein the cut line passes through the elastic material, the first substrate, and the second substrate.

[0119] C1. The absorbent article of paragraph A1 or B1, wherein the cut lines are arranged in rows including at least a first row and a second row adjacent to the first row.

[0120] D1. The absorbent article of paragraph C1, wherein the first length of the first discrete piece of elastic material is defined by the distance extending laterally between adjacent cut lines in the first row.

[0121] E1. The absorbent article of paragraph D1, wherein the second length of the second discrete piece of elastic material is defined by a distance extending laterally between the cut line of the first row and the cut line of the second row.

[0122] F1. The absorbent article of paragraph E1, wherein the ratio of the second length to the first length is about 2:1.

[0123] G1. The absorbent article of paragraph E1, wherein the cut lines of the first row and the second row extend a length from the first end to the second end, the cut lines of the first row and the cut lines of the second row are parallel to one another, and the first ends of the cut lines of the first row and the first ends of the cut lines of the second row are aligned along a first reference line oriented to define a row angle relative to the transverse axis that is less than 90 degrees and greater than 45 degrees.

[0124] H1. The absorbent article of paragraph G1, wherein the second ends of the cut lines in the first row and the second ends of the cut lines in the second row are aligned along a second reference line.

[0125] I1. The absorbent article of paragraph H1, wherein the second reference line is parallel to the first reference line.

[0126] J1. The absorbent article of paragraph I1, wherein the second reference line of the first row is separated from the first reference line of the second row by a row gap distance.

[0127] K1. The absorbent article of paragraph J1, wherein the row gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0128] L1. The absorbent article of paragraph G1, wherein the length of each cut line in the first row and the second row is about 4 mm.

[0129] M1. The absorbent article of paragraph C1, wherein the cut lines in the first row are separated from each other by a cut line gap distance.

[0130] N1. The absorbent article of paragraph M1, wherein the cut line gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0131] O1. The absorbent article of any one of paragraphs A1-N1, wherein the elastic material comprises elastic strands, the first discrete piece of elastic material comprises a first discrete piece of elastic strands, and the second discrete piece of elastic material comprises a second discrete piece of elastic strands.

[0132] P1. The absorbent article of paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands, the first individual piece of elastic strands, and the second individual piece of elastic strands are continuously bonded to at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate.

[0133] Q1. The absorbent article described in paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands, the first individual piece of elastic strands, and the second individual piece of elastic strands are intermittently bonded to at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate.

[0134] R1. The absorbent article of paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands, the first individual piece of elastic strands, and the second individual piece of elastic strands are joined with an adhesive applied to at least one of the first substrate, the second substrate, and the elastic strands.

[0135] S1. The absorbent article of paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands are parallel to the transverse axis.

[0136] T1. The absorbent article of paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands comprise an average strand spacing of about 0.25 mm to about 4 mm, and an average Dtex of about 10 to about 500.

[0137] U1. The absorbent article of paragraph O1, wherein the elastic strands comprise an average pre-strain of from about 75% to about 300%.

[0138] V1. The absorbent article of any one of paragraphs A1-U1, further comprising a chassis comprising a topsheet and a backsheet, wherein the absorbent assembly is positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet.

[0139] W1. The absorbent article of paragraph V1, wherein the chassis further includes a first end region and a second end region longitudinally separated from the first end region by a crotch region, and wherein the first end region of the chassis is connected to at least one of the front waist region and the back waist region in a low-stretch zone.

[0140] X1. The absorbent article of paragraph W1, wherein the front waist region includes a first belt and the back waist region includes a second belt, the first belt being longitudinally separated from the second belt.

[0141] Y1. The absorbent article of any one of paragraphs A1-X1, wherein the second substrate extends longitudinally from the front waist edge to the back waist edge.

[0142] Z1. The absorbent article of any one of paragraphs A1-Y1, wherein laterally opposing end portions of the front waist region are connected to laterally opposing end portions of the back waist region to form a waist opening.

[0143] ZZ1. The absorbent article of paragraph Z1, wherein the laterally opposed end portions of the front waist region are refastenably connected to the laterally opposed end portions of the back waist region.

[0144] A2. A method for assembling an absorbent article, comprising the steps of: providing an elastic laminate, the elastic laminate being positioned between a first substrate and a second substrate and comprising an elastic material connected to the first substrate and the second substrate; advancing the elastic laminate in a machine direction; and cutting the elastic material along cut lines to form low-extension zones in the elastic laminate, such that the high-extension zones are separated from each other in the machine direction by low-extension zones, wherein the high-extension zones are elasticized by the elastic material, and the cut lines in the low-extension zones separate the elastic material into first and second discrete pieces, the first discrete piece of elastic material comprising a first length and the second discrete piece of elastic material comprising a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, and each cut line being oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the machine direction that is greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees.

[0145] B2. The method of paragraph A2, further comprising the steps of providing a chassis including a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface and an absorbent core positioned between the body-facing surface and the garment-facing surface, the chassis further including a first end region and a second end region laterally separated from the first end region by a crotch region, and further comprising the step of bonding the first end region to a low-stretch zone of the elastic laminate.

[0146] C2. The method of paragraphs A2 or B2, wherein the cut line passes through the elastic material, the first substrate, and the second substrate.

[0147] D2. The method of any of paragraphs A2-C2, wherein the cutting lines are arranged in rows including at least a first row and a second row adjacent to the first row.

[0148] E2. The method of paragraph D2, wherein the first length of the first discrete piece of elastic material is defined by the distance extending in the machine direction between adjacent cut lines in the first row.

[0149] F2. The method of paragraph E2, wherein the second length of the second discrete piece of elastic material is defined by the distance extending in the machine direction between the cut lines of the first row and the cut lines of the second row.

[0150] G2. The method of paragraph F2, wherein the ratio of the second length to the first length is 2:1.

[0151] H2. The method of paragraph G2, wherein the cut lines of the first row and the second row extend a length from the first end to the second end, the cut lines of the first row and the cut lines of the second row are parallel to one another, and the first ends of the cut lines of the first row and the first ends of the cut lines of the second row are aligned along a first reference line oriented to define a row angle with respect to the machine direction that is less than 90 degrees and greater than 45 degrees.

[0152] I2. The method of paragraph H2, wherein the second ends of the first row of cutting lines and the second ends of the second row of cutting lines are aligned along a second reference line.

[0153] J2. The method of paragraph I2, wherein the second reference line is parallel to the first reference line.

[0154] K2. The method of paragraph J2, wherein the second reference line of the first row is separated from the first reference line of the second row by a row gap distance.

[0155] L2. The method of paragraph K2, wherein the row gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0156] M2. The method of paragraph H2, wherein the length of each cut line in the first row and the second row is about 4 mm.

[0157] N2. The method of any of paragraphs A2-M2, wherein the cut lines in the first row are separated from one another by a cut line gap distance.

[0158] O2. The method of paragraph N2, wherein the cutting line gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0159] P2. The method of any of paragraphs A2-O2, wherein the step of providing an elastic laminate further includes bonding an elastic material between the first substrate and the second substrate.

[0160] Q2. The method of paragraph P2, wherein the elastic material comprises elastic strands, the first discrete piece of elastic material comprises the first discrete piece of elastic strands, and the second discrete piece of elastic material comprises the second discrete piece of elastic strands.

[0161] R2. The method of paragraph Q2, wherein the step of providing an elastic laminate further includes continuously bonding an elastic material to at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate along the machine direction.

[0162] S2. The method of paragraph P2, wherein the elastic strands comprise an average strand spacing of about 0.25 mm to about 4 mm, and an average Dtex of about 10 to about 500.

[0163] T2. The method of paragraph P2, wherein the elastic strand comprises an average pre-strain of about 75% to about 300%.

[0164] A3. An apparatus for cutting elastic material into first and second individual pieces, wherein the first individual piece of elastic material includes a first length and the second individual piece of elastic material includes a second length, the second length being longer than the first length, the apparatus comprising a roll adapted to rotate about an axially extending axis of rotation, the roll including blades extending radially outward from the axis of rotation and arranged circumferentially about the axis of rotation, the blades being oriented to define an offset angle with respect to the axis of rotation that is greater than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, the blades being arranged in rows including at least a first row and a second row adjacent the first row, a first length of the first individual piece of elastic material defined by a distance extending circumferentially between adjacent blades in the first row, and a second length of the second individual piece of elastic material defined by a distance extending circumferentially between a cut line in the first row and a cut line in the second row.

[0165] B3. The apparatus of paragraph A3, wherein the ratio of the second length to the first length is 2:1.

[0166] C3. The apparatus of paragraph A3, wherein the first and second rows of blades extend a length from a first end to a second end, the first and second rows of blades are parallel to one another, and the first ends of the first and second rows of blades are aligned along a first reference line oriented to define a row angle relative to the axis of rotation that is less than 45 degrees and greater than 0 degrees.

[0167] D3. The apparatus of paragraph C3, wherein the second ends of the blades in the first row and the second ends of the blades in the second row are aligned along a second reference line.

[0168] E3. The apparatus of paragraph D3, wherein the second reference line is parallel to the first reference line.

[0169] F3. The apparatus of paragraph E3, wherein the second reference line of the first row is separated from the first reference line of the second row by a row gap distance.

[0170] G3. The apparatus of paragraph E3, wherein the row gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0171] H3. The device of paragraph C3, wherein the length of each blade in the first and second rows is about 4 mm.

[0172] I3. The apparatus of any one of paragraphs A3-H3, wherein the blades in the first row are separated from one another by a blade gap distance.

[0173] J3. The apparatus of paragraph I3, wherein the blade gap distance is about 1.9 mm.

[0174] Bio-based ingredients for building blocks Components of the absorbent articles described herein may be at least partially composed of bio-based components, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007 / 0219521 A1. For example, superabsorbent polymer components may be bio-based by deriving them from bio-based acrylic acid. Bio-based acrylic acid and methods of manufacture are further disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007 / 0219521, as well as U.S. Patent Nos. 8,703,450, 9,630,901, and 9,822,197. Other components, such as nonwoven and film components, may include bio-based polyolefin materials. Bio-based polyolefins are further discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011 / 0139657, 2011 / 0139658, 2011 / 0152812, and 2016 / 0206774, and U.S. Patent No. 9,169,366. Exemplary bio-based polyolefins for use in the present disclosure include polymers available under the designations SHA7260™, SHE150™, or SGM9450F™ (all available from Braskem SA).

[0175] The absorbent article component may comprise a biobased content value of about 10% to about 100%, about 25% to about 100%, about 40% to about 100%, about 50% to about 100%, about 75% to about 100%, or about 90% to about 100%, using, for example, ASTM D6866-10, Method B.

[0176] Bio-based absorbent articles suitable for recycling Components of the absorbent articles described herein, whether or not they are at least partially made from recyclable materials, may be recycled for other uses. Examples of absorbent article materials that can be recycled include nonwoven fabrics, films, fluff pulp, and superabsorbent polymers. The recycling process may use an autoclave to sterilize the absorbent articles, which may then be shredded and separated into different by-product streams. Exemplary by-product streams may include plastics, superabsorbent polymers, and cellulosic fibers such as pulp. These by-product streams may be used in the manufacture of fertilizers, plastic manufacturing articles, paper products, viscose, building materials, absorbent pads for pets or hospital beds, and / or for other uses. Further details regarding absorbent articles that aid recycling, diaper designs suitable for recycling, and diaper designs with bio-based components suitable for recycling are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019 / 0192723, published June 27, 2019.

[0177] Dimensions and values disclosed herein should not be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as "40 mm" is intended to mean "about 40 mm."

[0178] All documents cited herein, including any cross-referenced or related patents or patent applications, and any patent applications or patents to which this application claims priority or benefit, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, unless expressly stated to the contrary. The citation of any document shall not be deemed to be prior art to any invention disclosed or claimed herein, or to teach, suggest, or disclose any such invention, either alone or in combination with any other reference or references. Furthermore, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern. While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An absorbent article comprising: a body-facing surface (132) and a garment-facing surface (134); a front waist region (116) and a back waist region (118), said back waist region (118) separated from said front waist region (116) by a crotch region (119), said front waist region (116) including a front waist edge (121) and said back waist region (118) including a back waist edge (122), a longitudinal axis (124) extending perpendicularly through said front waist edge (121) and said back waist edge (122), and a lateral axis (126) extending perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis; an absorbent assembly (140) extending longitudinally through the crotch region (119) between the front waist region (116) and the back waist region (118), the absorbent assembly (140) being positioned between the body-facing surface (132) and the garment-facing surface (134); At least one of the front waist region (116) and the back waist region (118) an elastic material (167) positioned between a first substrate (162) and a second substrate (164) and connected to said first substrate (162) and said second substrate (164); a first high elongation zone (400a) and a second high elongation zone (400b) separated laterally by a low elongation zone (402), the first high elongation zone (400a) and the second high elongation zone (400b) being elasticized by said elastic material (167); said low stretch zone (402) including a cut line (404) separating said elastic material (167) into a first discrete piece (406a) and a second discrete piece (406b); the first discrete piece (406a) of elastic material (167) comprises a first length and the second discrete piece (406b) of elastic material (167) comprises a second length, the second length being greater than the first length; The absorbent article wherein each cut line (404) is oriented to define an offset angle relative to said transverse axis (126) that is greater than 0 degrees and less than 45 degrees.

2. 2. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein said cut line (404) passes through said elastic material (167), said first substrate (162), and said second substrate (164).

3. 3. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the cut lines are arranged in rows including at least a first row and a second row adjacent to the first row, the first length of the first individual piece of elastic material being defined by a distance extending laterally between adjacent cut lines in the first row, and the second length of the second individual piece of elastic material being defined by a distance extending laterally between the cut lines in the first row and the cut lines in the second row.

4. 4. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein the cut lines (404) of the first row (410a) and the second row (410b) extend a length from a first end (404c) to a second end (404d), the cut lines (404) of the first row (410a) and the cut lines (404) of the second row (410b) are parallel to each other, and the first ends (404c) of the cut lines (404) of the first row (410a) and the first ends (404c) of the cut lines (404) of the second row (410b) are aligned along a first reference line (416) oriented to define a row angle with respect to the lateral axis (126) that is less than 90 degrees and greater than 45 degrees.

5. 5. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein the second ends (404d) of the cutting lines (404) of the first row (410a) and the second ends (404d) of the cutting lines (404) of the second row (410b) are aligned along a second reference line (418), and the second reference line (418) is parallel to the first reference line (416).

6. 6. The absorbent article of claim 5, wherein the second reference line (418) of the first row (410a) is separated from the first reference line (416) of the second row (410b) by a row gap distance (422), the row gap distance (422) being approximately 1.9 mm.

7. 7. The absorbent article of claim 3, wherein a length of each of the cut lines (404) in the first row (410a) and the second row (410b) is about 4 mm, and the cut lines (404) in the first row (410a) are separated from each other by a cut line gap distance (414), and the cut line gap distance (414) is about 1.9 mm.

8. 8. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the elastic material (167) comprises an elastic strand (168), the first individual piece (406a) of the elastic material (167) comprises a first individual piece of the elastic strand (168), the second individual piece (406b) of the elastic material (167) comprises a second individual piece of the elastic strand (168), and the elastic strand (168), the first individual piece of the elastic strand (168), and the second individual piece of the elastic strand (168) are continuously bonded to at least one of the first substrate (162) and the second substrate (164).

9. 9. The absorbent article of claim 8, wherein the elastic strands (168), the first individual pieces of elastic strands (168), and the second individual pieces of elastic strands (168) are bonded together with an adhesive applied to at least one of the first substrate (162), the second substrate (164), and the elastic strands (168).

10. The absorbent article of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the ratio of said second length to said first length is about 2:

1.

11. The absorbent article of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the low elongation zone (402) comprises a waste tape bonded area (401), the low elongation zone (402) comprises a first cut line density, and the waste tape bonded area (401) comprises a second cut line density, the second cut line density being from about 30% to about 60% of the first cut line density.

12. 12. The absorbent article of claim 11, wherein the cutting line density of the disposal tape bonding area (401) is adjusted by thinning a blade, and the blade for providing the disposal tape bonding area (401) is aligned in the same direction as the blade for providing the low elongation zone (402).

13. 13. The absorbent article of claim 12, wherein the distance between any cut lines (404) within said disposal tape bonding area (401) is about 8 mm or less.

14. 12. The absorbent article of claim 11, further comprising a disposal tape (700) joined to the front waist region (116) or the back waist region (118), wherein at least a portion of the disposal tape (700) overlaps the disposal tape joining region (401).

15. 15. The absorbent article of claim 14, wherein said disposal tape (701) comprises a distal end (702), said distal end (702) overlapping the high elongation zone (400).

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