Granted Patent B2

US 12,740,898 · App. 17/626,203 · Granted Sep 22, 2026

Inventors: Kueyoung You (Seongnam-si, KR); Minjae Lee (Yongin-si, KR); Sanghee Ra (Gwangjin-gu, KR); Somyong Song (Suseong-gu, KR)

Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.

A61F13/15707A61F13/15658A61F13/15699B31F1/07B31F5/04A61F2013/53051A61F2013/53463B31F2201/0733B31F2201/0738B31F2201/0741

Abstract

Claims (34)

1 . A method of forming an absorbent body, the method comprising:

moving a first covering material in a machine direction, the first covering material having a top side and a bottom side;

moving a reinforcing material in the machine direction and combining the reinforcing material with the first covering material, the reinforcing material having a top side and a bottom side, the reinforcing material having a thickness of between 0.8 mm and 3.0 mm and a basis weight of between 25 gsm and 80 gsm;

applying absorbent material comprising superabsorbent particles to the top side of the reinforcing material;

moving a second covering material in the machine direction, the second covering material having a top side and a bottom side, and combining the second covering material with the first covering material and the reinforcing material to form a laminate structure of the first covering material, the reinforcing material, and the second covering material, with the first covering material disposed underneath the reinforcing material and the second covering material disposed on top of the reinforcing material; and

embossing the laminate structure between a smooth roll and a pattern roll, the pattern roll comprising a plurality of discrete embossing surfaces disposed outward from an outer face of the pattern roll, the discrete embossing surfaces being round and spaced apart laterally and longitudinal across outer face of the pattern roll, wherein during embossing the embossing surfaces press the second covering material into the top side of the reinforcing material,

wherein the laminate structure comprises greater than or equal to 90% superabsorbent material by total weight of absorbent material in the laminate structure, and

wherein the superabsorbent material is disposed within the absorbent body at a basis weight of greater than 90 gsm and less than 350 gsm.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

applying adhesive to one of the top side of the first covering material and the bottom side of the reinforcing material; and

applying adhesive to one of the top side of the reinforcing material and the bottom side of the second covering material.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure comprises a laminate area, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises forming an embossed area greater than about 0% of the laminate area and less than about 42% of the laminate area.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure comprises a laminate area, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises forming an embossed area greater than about 5% of the laminate area and less than about 35% of the laminate area.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure comprises a laminate area, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises forming an embossed area greater than about 10% of the laminate area and less than about 30% of the laminate area.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure has a thickness, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises embossing the laminate structure to a depth of less than about 90% of the laminate structure thickness.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure has a thickness, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises embossing the laminate structure to a depth of less than about 80% of the laminate structure thickness.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laminate structure has a thickness, and wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises embossing the laminate structure to a depth of greater than about 40% of the laminate structure thickness.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein embossing the laminate structure comprises passing the laminate structure through an embossing nip formed by a first embossing roll and a second embossing roll, the first embossing roll comprising a plurality of embossing elements projecting from a surface of the first embossing roll where a height of the embossing elements is between about 0.8 mm and about 4.0 mm.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising inverting the laminate structure.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising coupling the absorbent body to an absorbent article chassis such that the first covering material forms a body-facing side of the absorbent body.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying absorbent material comprising superabsorbent particles to the top side of the first covering material.

13 . An embossed absorbent body comprising:

a top, liquid permeable covering material;

a bottom covering material;

a reinforcing material disposed between the top covering material and the bottom covering material; and

superabsorbent material disposed within the reinforcing material in a pattern of high-SAM concentration regions and low-SAM concentration regions, the pattern of high-SAM concentration regions corresponding to a pattern of embossing surfaces used to emboss the absorbent body,

wherein the embossed absorbent body comprises greater than or equal to 90% superabsorbent material by total weight of absorbent material in the absorbent body, and

wherein between about 30% and about 85%, by weight, of the total amount of superabsorbent material disposed between the top covering material and the bottom covering material is stabilized within the reinforcing material, as determined according to the SAM Stabilization Location Test Method.

14 . The embossed absorbent body of claim 13 , wherein the high-SAM concentration regions form a pattern of discrete high-SAM concentration regions surrounded by low-SAM concentration regions.

15 . The embossed absorbent body of claim 13 , wherein the high-SAM concentration regions and the low-SAM concentration regions form alternating stripes within the reinforcing material.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein embossing the laminate structure forms a pattern of high-SAM concentration regions and low-SAM concentration regions within the laminate structure, and wherein the pattern of high-SAM concentration regions correspond to a pattern of the discrete embossing surfaces.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the pattern of high-SAM concentration regions and low-SAM concentration regions comprise discrete high-SAM concentration regions surrounded by low-SAM concentration regions.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein between 30% and 85%, by weight, of the total amount of superabsorbent material disposed between the top covering material and the bottom covering material is stabilized within the reinforcing material.

19 . The embossed absorbent body of claim 13 , wherein between 30% and 85%, by weight, of the total amount of superabsorbent material disposed between the top covering material and the bottom covering material is stabilized within the reinforcing material.

Continuity (1)

References Cited (394)