An absorbent pad including: a main body having a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge, including: a liquid pervious topsheet; a liquid impervious backsheet; an absorbent layer disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet; a central adhesive element disposed on the backsheet and extending along a longitudinal centerline of the absorbent pad; and an elastic element disposed along each of the first and second longitudinal edges of the main body and attached to at least one of the topsheet and the backsheet; a first wing element extending from the backsheet and laterally beyond the first longitudinal edge of the main body; and a second wing element extending from the backsheet and laterally beyond the second longitudinal edge of the main body, the first and second wing elements being releasably attachable to an undergarment.
1. An absorbent pad comprising:
a main body having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a first longitudinal edge, a second longitudinal edge, a longitudinal width extending from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge, and a lateral width extending from the first longitudinal edge to the second longitudinal edge, the main body comprising:
a liquid pervious topsheet;
a liquid impervious backsheet comprising an inner backsheet and an outer backsheet, the outer backsheet having a longitudinal width that is less than the longitudinal width of the main body and a lateral width that is greater than the lateral width of the main body;
an absorbent system disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet;
a central adhesive element disposed on the backsheet and extending along a longitudinal centerline of the absorbent pad; and
an elastic element disposed along each of the first and second longitudinal edges of the main body and attached to at least one of the topsheet and the backsheet, the elastic element being disposed below the entire topsheet and above the entire backsheet so as to be layered between the topsheet and the backsheet;
a first wing element formed of the outer backsheet and having a longitudinal width that is equal to the longitudinal width of the outer backsheet, the first wing element extending laterally beyond the first longitudinal edge of the main body; and
a second wing element formed of the outer backsheet and having a longitudinal width that is equal to the longitudinal width of the outer backsheet, the second wing element extending laterally beyond the second longitudinal edge of the main body, the first and second wing elements being releasably attachable to an undergarment.
2. The absorbent pad of claim 1 , further comprising a peel strip that covers the central adhesive.
3. The absorbent pad of claim 1 , wherein the absorbent system comprises an absorbent core.
4. The absorbent pad of claim 3 , wherein the absorbent system comprises an acquisition/distribution layer disposed over the absorbent core.
5. The absorbent pad of claim 3 , wherein the absorbent core comprises at least one of cellulosic fibers and superabsorbent material.
6. The absorbent pad of claim 1 , wherein the inner backsheet comprises a polymeric film layer.
7. The absorbent pad of claim 1 , wherein the outer backsheet comprises a nonwoven material.
8. The absorbent pad of claim 1 , wherein the topsheet comprises a nonwoven material.
9. A method of forming an absorbent pad, comprising the steps of:
forming a liquid pervious topsheet from a topsheet material web;
forming a liquid impervious backsheet comprising an inner backsheet and an outer backsheet from backsheet material webs;
forming a main body comprising an absorbent system disposed between the backsheet and the topsheet, the main body having a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a first longitudinal edge, a second longitudinal edge, a longitudinal width extending from the first lateral edge to the second lateral edge, and a lateral width extending from the first longitudinal edge to the second longitudinal edge;
cutting the outer backsheet so that the outer backsheet has a longitudinal width that is less than the longitudinal width of the main body and a lateral width that is greater than the lateral width of the main body;
attaching an elastic element to at least one of the topsheet and the backsheet along each of the first and second longitudinal edges of the main body and below the entire topsheet and above the entire backsheet so as to be layered between the topsheet and the backsheet, the elastic elements generating a cupping action so that the absorbent pad is biased towards a cup-like shape;
attaching a central adhesive element to the backsheet along a longitudinal centerline of the absorbent pad;
forming a first wing element from the outer backsheet having a longitudinal width that is equal to the longitudinal width of the outer backsheet, the first wing element extending laterally beyond the first longitudinal edge of the main body, and
forming a second wing element from the outer backsheet having a longitudinal width that is equal to the longitudinal width of the outer backsheet, the second wing element extending laterally beyond the second longitudinal edge of the main body.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of covering the central adhesive element with a central peel strip.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the main body comprises laminating the topsheet, backsheet and absorbent system together to form a unitary structure.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the absorbent system comprises an absorbent core.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the absorbent system comprises an acquisition/distribution layer disposed over the absorbent core.
14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the topsheet material comprises a nonwoven material layer.