Absorbent core for disposable absorbent articles with increased absorption rate and improved integrity

Abstract

The present disclosure invention relates to a disposable absorbent article ( 100 ) comprising a liquid-pervious topsheet ( 10 ), a liquid-impervious backsheet ( 20 ) and an absorbent assembly ( 30 ) between the topsheet ( 10 ) and the backsheet ( 20 ). The absorbent assembly ( 30 ) comprises an absorbent core ( 40 ), an upper core wrap ( 50 ) and a lower core wrap ( 60 ). The absorbent core ( 40 ) comprises at least two cavities ( 70 ) free of absorbent material wherein the upper core wrap ( 50 ) and the lower core wrap ( 60 ) are permanently attached to each other, said cavities ( 70 ) being interconnected via at least one connecting line ( 80 ) comprising absorbent material. The absorbent core ( 40 ) has a first basis weight in the zone out of the cavities ( 70 ) and the connecting lines ( 80 ) and a second basis weight in the connecting lines ( 80 ), the first basis weight being greater than the second basis weight. in the cavities ( 70 ). The resulting absorbent assembly ( 30 ) may show all together a very good integrity, a very good distribution of fluids and a quick rate of absorption.

1 .- 12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A disposable absorbent article comprising:
 a liquid-pervious topsheet;   a liquid-impervious backsheet; and   an absorbent assembly disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, and having a transverse central axis (X-X) and a longitudinal central axis (Y-Y);   wherein the absorbent assembly comprises an upper core wrap, a lower core wrap, and an absorbent core disposed at least partially between the upper and lower core wraps;   wherein the absorbent core comprises absorbent material comprising a mixture of superabsorbent polymer and cellulosic fibers, and has at least two cavities that are substantially free of absorbent material and interconnected by at least one connecting line;   wherein each of the at least one connecting line comprises absorbent material;   wherein the absorbent core has a first basis weight (bw 1 ) in a zone outside of the cavities and the at least one connecting lines, and a second basis weight (bw 2 ) within the at least one connecting line, and the first basis weight (bw 1 ) is greater than the second basis weight (bw 2 );   wherein the upper core wrap is permanently attached to the lower core wrap in each of the cavities; and   wherein at least two of the cavities are substantially aligned in a longitudinal direction, parallel to the longitudinal central axis (Y-Y) of the absorbent assembly.   
     
     
         14 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein at least two of the cavities and at least one of the connecting lines are substantially aligned on the longitudinal central axis (Y-Y) of the absorbent assembly. 
     
     
         15 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein at least two of the cavities are longitudinally spaced apart from each other by a distance of 5 mm to 250 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein at least two of the cavities are transversely spaced apart from each other by a distance of 5 mm to 250 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein at least two of the cavities are longitudinally and transversely spaced apart from each other. 
     
     
         18 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , comprising at least one transversely-extending connecting line that extends at least partially in the transverse direction and interconnects two cavities that are transversely spaced apart. 
     
     
         19 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 18 , comprising at least a first and a second transversely-extending connecting line that extend at least partially in the transverse direction, wherein the first transversely-extending connecting line intersects the second transversely-extending connecting line. 
     
     
         20 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one transversely-extending connecting line traverses the longitudinal central axis (Y-Y). 
     
     
         21 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein the at least two cavities are arranged to form a pattern, the pattern comprising a plurality of longitudinally-extending rows, each longitudinally-extending row comprising at least two cavities that are substantially aligned in the longitudinal direction. 
     
     
         22 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 21 , comprising two longitudinally-extending rows, each row being disposed on opposing sides of the longitudinal central axis (Y-Y). 
     
     
         23 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 21 , wherein each of the longitudinally-extending rows comprises at least two longitudinally-adjacent cavities that are interconnected by at least one connecting line, and said adjacent cavities and connecting lines are substantially aligned in the longitudinal direction. 
     
     
         24 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 21 , wherein within each of the longitudinally-extending rows, at least two longitudinally-adjacent cavities are not interconnected with each other. 
     
     
         25 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 21 , comprising at least one transversely-extending connecting line that extends at least partially in the transverse direction and interconnects at least one cavity in a first longitudinally-extending row with at least one cavity in a second longitudinally-extending row. 
     
     
         26 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 25 , comprising two or more transversely-extending connecting lines. 
     
     
         27 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 26 , wherein two of the transversely-extending connecting lines intersect each other. 
     
     
         28 . The disposable absorbent article according to  claim 13 , wherein each of the two or more cavities independently has a shape selected from the group consisting of triangle, square, rectangle, polygon, circle, oval, semi-circle, arrow-shape, cross, irregular shape and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         29 . The disposable absorbent article according to  claim 13 , wherein each of the two or more cavities has an area between 50 mm 2  and 2500 mm 2 . 
     
     
         30 . The disposable absorbent article according to  claim 13 , wherein the absorbent core has a total cavity area that is the sum of all of the respective areas of the two or more cavities, and more than 50% of the total cavity area is disposed in a front portion of the absorbent assembly, forward of the transverse central axis (X-X) of the absorbent assembly. 
     
     
         31 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein
 at least two cavities have a transverse width (W 1 ) measured in a transverse direction of the absorbent assembly, and   at least one connecting line interconnecting the at least two cavities has a transverse width (W 2 ) measured in the transverse direction of the absorbent assembly, and   a ratio (W 2 /W 1 ) between the width (W 2 ) of the at least one connecting line and the width (W 1 ) of the cavities is at most 1.   
     
     
         32 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein a ratio (bw 2 /bw 1 ) of the second basis weight (bw 2 ) to the first basis weight (bw 1 ) is between 0.25 and 0.95. 
     
     
         33 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein the upper core wrap is permanently attached to the lower core wrap in the cavities by means of adhesive bonding, thermal bonding, pressure bonding, mechanical bonding, ultrasonic bonding or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         34 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein said disposable absorbent article is selected from the group consisting of baby diapers, adult diapers, baby pants, adult pants, adult incontinence undergarments or pads, sanitary napkins and panty liners. 
     
     
         35 . The disposable absorbent article of  claim 13 , wherein the absorbent core comprises six cavities arranged to form a hexagonal pattern, such that each cavity coincides with an apex of the hexagonal pattern, and adjacent cavities are interconnected by at least one connecting line.