Patent ID: 7222654

Claim:
An apparatus for producing a nonwoven elastomeric laminate composed of 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 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 wherein the span of unsupported strands between the cooled surface of the drum and the transferring device is between about 10 mm and about 200 mm to provide a controlled distribution of elastomeric strands entering the transferring device; 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 such that a nonwoven elastomeric laminate is formed.