Patent ID: 7956236

Claim:
An absorbent article for improved feces isolation and immobilization comprising a topsheet, a backsheet, an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet, and a sublayer positioned between the absorbent core and the topsheet and in contact with the topsheet, a) said topsheet comprising a liquid impermeable material and including an outermost body-faceable and body-contactable surface of the absorbent article and at least one topsheet region with a multitude of apertures configured to pass at least some feces, whereby i) the apertures have an average greatest aperture dimension in a cross-section in a plane of the body-faceable surface of the topsheet of from 2 mm to 8 mm when determined according to the test method for determining aperture and hole dimensions, the apertures each having a surface area in the cross-section; and ii) each topsheet region has a topsheet open area when measured according to the test method for determining open area and a topsheet surface area on the outermost body-faceable and body-contactable surface, said topsheet open area being from 20% to 55% of the topsheet surface area of said at least one topsheet region; and b) said sublayer comprising at least one acquisition layer and having a topsheet-facing surface and at least one sublayer region with a multitude of holes, whereby i) the holes have a z-direction caliper when measured according to the test method for determining caliper and an average smallest hole dimension from 3 mm to 10 mm when measured according to the test method for determining aperture and hole dimensions; and ii) each sublayer region in the topsheet-facing surface of the sublayer has a sublayer open area when measured according to the test method for determining open area and a sublayer surface area, said sublayer open area being from 20% to 50% of the sublayer surface area of said sublayer region; wherein said average greatest dimension of the apertures is less than said average smallest dimension of the holes, and wherein at least one topsheet region is positioned above at least one sublayer region to form at least one overlap zone, the overlap zone having a surface area of at least 6 cm 2 and an overlap open area when measured according to the test method for determining open area, the apertures of the topsheet being positioned above, or partially above, holes of the sublayer in the overlap zone to form combined apertures, a cross-section of the combined apertures having a combined aperture surface area in a plane of the body-facing surface of the topsheet, the overlap open area being less than the topsheet open area and from 15% to 50% of the overlap zone surface area.