Extensible laminate of nonwoven and elastomeric materials and process for making the same

Abstract

An extensible laminate includes a sheet of an extensible nonwoven material that has a fabric side and a film side, a sheet of an elastomeric film, and an adhesive. The adhesive is applied to at least a portion of the film side of the extensible nonwoven material. The extensible nonwoven material is selectively attached to the elastomeric film by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds. The extensible nonwoven material is further selectively attached to the clastomeric film by a plurality of thermal point bonds. The intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the extensible nonwoven material and the elastomeric film material than the thermal point bonds. A process for making the extensible laminate is also disclosed.

We claim:  
     
         1 . An extensible laminate comprising: 
 a sheet of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side;    a sheet of an elastomeric film; and    an adhesive applied to at least a portion of the film side of the extensible nonwoven material such that the sheet of extensible nonwoven material is selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds,    wherein the extensible nonwoven material sheet is further selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a plurality of thermal point bonds, and the intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the sheet of extensible nonwoven material and the sheet of elastomeric film than the thermal point bonds.    
     
     
         2 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet of extensible nonwoven material is substantially unattached to the sheet of elastomeric film in portions of the interfacial plane between the intermittent adhesive bonds and the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         3 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least 5 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         4 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least 10 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         5 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least 20 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         6 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the laminate has an elasticity measurement of greater than about 0.22 retraction force/extension force ratio.  
     
     
         7 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal point bonds are positioned in the interfacial plane between the intermittent adhesive bonds.  
     
     
         8 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the thermal point bonds overlay at least a portion of the intermittent adhesive bonds.  
     
     
         9 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is an inelastic adhesive.  
     
     
         10 . The extensible laminate of  claim 9 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover from about 5 percent to about 50 percent of the interfacial plane.  
     
     
         11 . The extensible laminate of  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is an elastomeric adhesive.  
     
     
         12 . The extensible laminate of  claim 11 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover up to about 70 percent of the interfacial plane.  
     
     
         13 . An absorbent article comprising the extensible laminate of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         14 . An extensible laminate comprising: 
 a first sheet of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side;    a sheet of an elastomeric film; and    a first adhesive applied in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material such that the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material is selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a first plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds,    wherein the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material is further selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a first plurality of thermal point bonds such that the intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material and the sheet of elastomeric film than the thermal point bonds and at least about 50 percent of the interfacial plane is free of intermittent adhesive bonds.    
     
     
         15 . The extensible laminate of  claim 14 , wherein the laminate has an elasticity measurement greater than about 0.22 retraction force/extension force ratio.  
     
     
         16 . The extensible laminate of  claim 14 , wherein at least about 50 percent of the interfacial plane is free of intermittent adhesive bonds and thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         17 . The extensible laminate of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 a second sheet of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side; and    a second adhesive applied in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the second sheet of extensible nonwoven material such that the second sheet of extensible nonwoven material is selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a second plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds,    wherein the first and second pluralities of intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the first and second sheets of extensible nonwoven material than the thermal point bonds.    
     
     
         18 . The extensible laminate of  claim 17 , wherein the second sheet of extensible nonwoven material is further selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a second plurality of thermal point bonds such that the first and second pluralities of intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of the interfacial plane between the first and second sheets of extensible nonwoven material than the first and second pluralities of thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         19 . An extensible laminate comprising: 
 a first sheet of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side;    a sheet of an elastomeric film;    an adhesive applied in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material such that the first sheet of extensible nonwoven material is selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds; and    a second sheet of extensible nonwoven material selectively attached to the sheet of elastomeric film by a plurality of thermal point bonds,    wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the first and second sheets of extensible nonwoven material than the thermal point bonds, at least about 50 percent of the interfacial plane is free of intermittent adhesive bonds and thermal point bonds and the laminate has an elasticity measurement of greater than about 0.22 retraction force/extension force ratio.    
     
     
         20 . A process for making an extensible laminate comprising the steps of: 
 providing a web of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side;    providing a web of an elastomeric film;    applying an adhesive in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the web of extensible nonwoven material;    selectively attaching the web of extensible nonwoven material to the web of elastomeric film by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds; and    selectively attaching the web of extensible nonwoven material to the web of elastomeric film by a plurality of thermal point bonds,    whereby the intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the web of extensible nonwoven material and the web of elastomeric film than the thermal point bonds.    
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the laminate has an elasticity measurement of greater than about 0.22 retraction force/extension force ratio.  
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least about 5 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least about 10 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the intermittent adhesive bonds cover at least about 20 percent more of the interfacial plane than the thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         25 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the thermal point bonds are formed by passing the web of extensible nonwoven material and the web of elastomeric film through a nip between a smooth anvil roll and a heated, patterned calender roll.  
     
     
         26 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the thermal point bonds are formed by passing the web of extensible nonwoven material and the web of elastomeric film through a nip between an ultrasonic bonding anvil and a patterned ultrasonic bonding horn.  
     
     
         27 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein the adhesive is applied as a plurality of individual dots.  
     
     
         28 . The process of  claim 27 , wherein the individual dots have a diameter of from about 1 millimeter to about 2 millimeters.  
     
     
         29 . The process of  claim 28 , wherein the individual dots form a checkerboard pattern.  
     
     
         30 . The process of  claim 29 , wherein the individual dots are spaced apart from each other by a distance of from about 5 millimeters to about 8 millimeters measured center to center.  
     
     
         31 . A process for making an extensible laminate comprising the steps of: 
 providing a first web of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side;    applying an adhesive in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the first web of extensible nonwoven material;    providing a web of an elastomeric film;    selectively attaching the first extensible nonwoven material web to the elastomeric film web by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds;    providing a second web of an extensible nonwoven material having a film side and a fabric side; and    selectively attaching the second extensible nonwoven material web to the elastomeric film web by a plurality of thermal point bonds,    whereby the intermittent adhesive bonds cover a greater percentage of an interfacial plane between the first and second webs of extensible nonwoven material than the thermal point bonds.    
     
     
         32 . The process of  claim 31 , further comprising the step of selectively attaching the first extensible nonwoven material web to the elastomeric film web by a plurality of thermal point bonds.  
     
     
         33 . The process of  claim 31 , further comprising the steps of: applying and adhesive in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the second extensible nonwoven material web; and selectively attaching the second web of extensible nonwoven material to the elastomeric film web by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds.  
     
     
         34 . The process of  claim 32 , further comprising the steps of: applying and adhesive in a discontinuous pattern to the film side of the second extensible nonwoven material web; and selectively attaching the second web of extensible nonwoven material to the elastomeric film web by a plurality of intermittent adhesive bonds.