Patent ID: 7389804

Claim:
An apparatus for producing a nonwoven elastomeric laminate from a plurality of elastomeric strands and a nonwoven layer, the apparatus comprising: a drum having a cooled surface rotating about an axis and having a surface speed V 1 , the drum having an upper half and a lower half; an extruder extruding a plurality of molten streams of polymer onto the cooled surface of the upper half of the drum at a point of extrusion to form a plurality of elastomeric strands; a transferring device positioned proximate to the cooled surface of the drum, the transferring device having a surface speed V 2 which is greater than the surface speed V 1 of the drum, whereby the drum transfers the plurality of elastomeric strands to the transferring device in a controlled distribution and wherein the span of unsupported strands between the cooled surface of the drum and the transferring device is between abd 10 mm and about 200 mm; a first nonwoven source supplying a first nonwoven having a first bonding surface to the transferring device; and an adhesive source for applying adhesive in advance of the transferring device, wherein the plurality of elastomeric strands are joined to the first bonding surface of the first nonwoven at a point of lamination thereby forming a nonwoven elastomeric laminate wherein the distance measured between any two adjacent strands varies 30% or less from the point of extrusion to the point of lamination.