Extrusion bonded laminates for absorbent articles

1. An absorbent article comprising:

a topsheet;

an outer cover;

an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and outer cover;

wherein the outer cover comprises an extrusion bonded laminate, the extrusion bonded laminate comprising:

a multi-layer coextruded elastomeric film, comprising a core layer, a first outer layer, and a second outer layer, wherein the core layer is between the first and second outer layers;

a nonwoven consisting of fibers and/or filaments;

wherein the first outer layer is non-adhesively joined to the nonwoven via extrusion coating, such that the first outer layer is a tie layer between the core layer and the nonwoven;

wherein the second outer layer is non-adhesively joined to the core layer, such that the second outer layer is a skin layer;

wherein the first and second outer layers comprise polyolefin elastomers (POEs);

wherein the first and second outer layers comprise a blend of two ethylene rich copolymers, wherein ethylene is between 10% and 97%;

wherein the extrusion bonded laminate is mechanically activated using intermeshing gears;

wherein the outer cover is elastic at 50% engineering strain;

wherein the nonwoven has a high chemical affinity for the first outer layer;

wherein the first outer layer has a low chemical affinity for the core layer; and

wherein the multi-layer coextruded elastomeric film has a basis weight from 1 gsm to 25 gsm;

and wherein the level of stretch of the activated laminate (% engineering strain at 1 N/cm force, as measured by the tensile test) is about 62% to about 144%.

2. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the outer cover is substantially free of holes having a diameter of greater in size than about 1 mm.

3. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the first and second outer layers have a fusion index from 10% to 20%.

4. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven comprises bicomponent fibers, the fibers comprising a core and a sheath.

5. The absorbent article of claim 4 , wherein the sheath comprises polyethylene and the core comprises polypropylene.

6. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the core of the elastomeric film is selected from the group consisting of an ethylene copolymer having a fusion index from about 5% to about 20%, a propylene copolymer having a fusion index from about 5% to about 20%, and combinations thereof.

7. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the extrusion bonded laminate has a basis weight from about 20 gsm to about 30 gsm.

8. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the extrusion bonded laminate further comprises an adhesive.

9. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the nonwoven comprises fibers that are not round in cross section.

10. The absorbent article of claim 1 , further comprising a second nonwoven joined to the second outer layer.

11. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the extrusion bonded laminate is adhesive free.

12. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the polymeric content of the elastomeric film comprises at least about 50%, by weight, of a polyolefinic elastomer.

13. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the first and second outer layers are compositionally identical.

14. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the activated extrusion bonded laminate has laminate bond strength from 1 N/cm to 3.5 N/cm, as measured by the Tensile Test, Mode II.

15. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the percent engineering strain at break of the outer cover activated laminate is from 100% to 500%.

16. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the permanent set of the outer cover activated laminate is from 6 to 15% as measured by the Two-Cycle Hysteresis Test Method using 130% maximum engineering strain.

17. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the force relaxation of the outer cover activated laminate is less than 40% as measured by the Two-Cycle Hysteresis Test Method using 130% maximum engineering strain.

18. The absorbent article of claim 1 , wherein the Cycle 1 unload force at 50% engineering strain of the outer cover activated laminate is greater than about 0.10 N/cm as measured by the Two-Cycle Hysteresis Test Method using 130% maximum engineering strain.