Abstract: A striped material and a stripe focusing plate for making striped material. The stripe focusing plate includes a number of grooves extending through the plate, each groove having a transverse width l. The stripe focusing plate also includes a number of triangular prisms, each adjacent a groove and having a slope between about 70 and about 85 degrees. Particles distributed onto the plate fall through the grooves onto a substrate positioned below the plate to form stripes on the substrate. Each of the stripes has a half-height width L, and a sharpness coefficient L/l of less than 1. The resulting striped material is particularly suitable for use in disposable absorbent articles.

Abstract: A nonwoven web contains an even distribution of its composite materials by the separate application of particulate material such as superabsorbent particles into a forming head outside the air stream for deposition of thermoplastic fibers in the forming head. The thermoplastic fibers are distributed by air entertainment through tubular forming screens having rotary distribution members therein. The particulate absorbents are generally placed in the forming box by distribution units which may have metering devices and outlet chutes extending into the forming head.

Abstract: A nonwoven web contains an even distribution of its composite materials by the separate application of particulate material such as superabsorbent particles into a forming head outside the air stream for deposition of thermoplastic fibers in the forming head. The thermoplastic fibers are distributed by air entertainment through tubular forming screens having rotary distribution members therein. The particulate absorbents are generally placed in the forming box by distribution units which may have metering devices and outlet chutes extending into the forming head.