Absorbent Article Having Telescoping Waist

Abstract

A disposable absorbent article comprising a chassis which includes a front region having two opposing longitudinal edges; a back region having two opposing longitudinal edges; a crotch region having two longitudinal edges wherein said crotch region is disposed between said front and back regions; and at least two side panels extending outwardly from the two opposing longitudinal edges of one or both of the front or back regions and interconnecting said front and the back regions to form a waist opening and a pair of leg openings; wherein the article exhibits a pre-application side panel length, L i , and a post-application side panel length, L f , such that L i is less than L f .

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A pull-on wearable article comprising:
 a front region having two opposing longitudinal edges and a first elasticized waist feature;   a back region opposite the front region, wherein the back region includes two opposing longitudinal edges;   a crotch region disposed between the front region and the back region;   a first front side panel and a second front side panel each extending laterally outward from the opposing longitudinal edges of the front region;   a first back side panel and a second back side panel each extending laterally outward from the opposing longitudinal edges of the back region;   wherein the first front side panel and the first back side panel abut to form a first seam;   wherein the second front side panel and the second back side panel abut to form a second seam;   wherein the first elasticized waist feature overlaps a portion of at least one of the first front side panel and the second front side panel;   wherein the side panels are configured to join the front region and the back region, and wherein at least one of the side panels comprises an elastic member, wherein the elastic member comprises a film having one or more apertures;   a topsheet disposed in at least a portion of the front region, the back region, and the crotch region;   a backsheet disposed in at least a portion of the front region, the back region, and the crotch region;   an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet;   a first gap between the absorbent core and the first elasticized waist feature such that the absorbent core does not overlap the first elasticized waist feature; and   a plurality of graphics disposed on the backsheet in at least one of the front region, the back region, and the crotch region, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of graphics is disposed on a portion of the backsheet opposite the first elasticized waist feature.   
     
     
         2 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , further comprising a gasketing leg cuff adjacent at least one of the two opposing longitudinal edges of the crotch region, wherein the gasketing leg cuff includes one or more elastic strands. 
     
     
         3 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the backsheet includes a nonwoven outer cover joined to a liquid impervious film, and wherein the plurality of graphics are printed on the liquid impervious film. 
     
     
         4 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is joined to at least one nonwoven material. 
     
     
         5 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic member includes one or more discrete strands. 
     
     
         6 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein that least one of the first seam and the second seam is joined by discrete spaced bonding sites. 
     
     
         7 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the backsheet is joined with the topsheet. 
     
     
         8 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 7 , wherein the backsheet is directly joined with the topsheet. 
     
     
         9 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the back region includes a second elasticized waist feature. 
     
     
         10 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 9 , wherein the second elasticized waist feature overlap a portion of at least one of the first back side panel and the second back side panel. 
     
     
         11 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is disposed on a nonwoven layer of at least one of the first front side panel, the second front side panel, the first back side panel, and the second back side panel. 
     
     
         12 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic member is a continuous planar layer. 
     
     
         13 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of graphics is disposed on a portion of the backsheet opposite the second elasticized waist feature. 
     
     
         14 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of graphics comprises a pattern, wherein at least a portion of the pattern is disposed on the front region, the back region, and the crotch region. 
     
     
         15 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein a first portion of at least one of the plurality of graphics is disposed on the front region and a second portion of the at least one of the plurality of graphics is disposed on the crotch region. 
     
     
         16 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of graphics includes at least a first graphic and a second graphic, wherein the second graphic disposed on the back region and the first graphic is disposed on the front region, and wherein the first graphic illustrates a front view of a scene and the second graphic illustrates a back view of the scene. 
     
     
         17 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of graphics are adjacent to at least one of the first front side panel and the second front side panel. 
     
     
         18 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , further comprising a second gap between the absorbent core and the second elasticized waist feature such that the absorbent core does not overlap the second elasticized waist feature. 
     
     
         19 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of graphics includes at least a first graphic, a second graphic, and a third graphic, wherein the second graphic and the third graphic are disposed on the film of the backsheet, wherein the first graphic is positioned adjacent to at least one of the two opposing longitudinal edges of the crotch region and at least one of the two opposing longitudinal edges of the front region, and wherein the second graphic is adjacent to the first graphic, and the third graphic is positioned in the back region. 
     
     
         20 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the article exhibits a pre-application side panel length, L i , and a post-application side panel length, L f , such that L i  is less than L f . 
     
     
         21 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 20 , wherein L f  is at least 5% greater than L i . 
     
     
         22 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 20 , wherein L f  is at least 50% greater than L i . 
     
     
         23 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 20 , wherein the side panels exhibit the pre-application side panel length, L i , upon presentation to a consumer. 
     
     
         24 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein the side panels are joined to the front region and the back region to form a continuous belt. 
     
     
         25 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 24 , wherein the continuous belt is rolled. 
     
     
         26 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 24 , wherein the continuous belt is folded. 
     
     
         27 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 24 , wherein the continuous belt is pleated. 
     
     
         28 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of graphics is disposed on a garment-facing surface of the article. 
     
     
         29 . The pull-on wearable article of  claim 28 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of graphics is a hidden graphic not directly visible upon inspection of the garment-facing surface of the article while the article is in its pre-application state.