Abstract: An absorbent article is disclosed having an absorbent with a bodyside surface and a garment facing surface. A liquid-impermeable baffle is positioned adjacent to the garment facing surface of the absorbent and a liquid-permeable cover cooperates with the baffle to enclose the absorbent and form a pad. The pad has a pair of longitudinal side edges and a pair of distally spaced ends. A garment adhesive strip is secured to the garment facing surface of the pad and is positioned along the longitudinal axis thereof. The garment adhesive strip provides attachment of the pad to the crotch portion of the undergarment. A pair of adhesive strips are secured to the cover and are positioned on opposite sides of the garment adhesive strip. A liquid-impermeable protective sheet can be optionally attached to the pair of adhesive strips to prevent side leakage of body fluid off of the pad from staining the crotch portion of the undergarment.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for applying an elastic ribbon in a curved path to a continuously moving web of material. A rotatable roll is moved essentially transversely to the direction of the moving web of material. The movement of the roll is imparted to the elastic ribbon which is then adhered to the continuously moving web of material. The elastic ribbon passes around the roll with a predetermined stretch. The axis of the roll may be disposed essentially transverse to the direction of movement of the moving web or essentially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the moving web. The roll may be cylindrical in shape with a uniform radius, it may have a nonuniform radius or it may have a portion of the surface with a larger radius intermediate to the ends of the roll.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for winding a thin elastomeric ribbon having a low coefficient to friction onto a reel is disclosed. The ribbon is fed onto a rotating reel while being traversed along the axial length of the reel to distribute the ribbon onto the reel. The nodes typically formed on the axial ends of ribbon rolls wound in this manner are eliminated by reversing the traversed direction of the ribbon short of the end cap of the reel to form a gap between the axial end of the ribbon roll and the end cap and then shifting the ribbon turns into the gap to thereby collapse the node.

Abstract: A method for winding soft elastomeric ribbon on spools of substantially greater width than the width of the ribbon is provided which includes the winding of the ribbon on a surface driven spool. The ribbon passes through guides from a feed source, with the guides in proximity to the take-up spool. Traversing of the ribbon is provided by either shifting the guides or the take-up apparatus across the horizontal length less than the length of the spool to prevent overrunning of the outer edges of the spool. The invention also includes the spool wound with soft elastomeric ribbon to a thickness several times that of the ribbon and along a length several times greater than the width of the ribbon.