Patent ID: 7252725

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a composite absorbent article, the method comprising: (a) fiberizing a thermoplastic polymer to form a liquid-permeable nonwoven top sheet on a moving collector; (b) withdrawing the top sheet from the collector and delivering the same in-line to a combining station; (c) fiberizing a thermoplastic polymer at a bottom sheet forming station to form a nonwoven, substantially liquid-impervious nonwoven bottom sheet on a moving collector; (d) withdrawing the bottom sheet from the bottom sheet forming station and delivering the bottom sheet in-line to a core forming station; (e) fiberizing a thermoplastic polymer at the core forming station to deposit a nonwoven core layer on the bottom sheet delivered from the bottom sheet forming station to form a core layer/bottom sheet composite; (f) withdrawing the core layer/bottom sheet composite from the core forming station and delivering the same in-line to the combining station; and (g) laminating together the top sheet delivered from the top sheet forming station and the composite delivered from the core forming station to form a composite comprising a top sheet, a bottom sheet, and a core layer sandwiched therebetween.