Patent ID: 7449418

Claim:
A surface material for an absorbent article, said surface material comprising a two-layer structure which comprises a first layer and a second layer of thermally bondable component fibers thermally bonded together when said two-layer structure is exposed to a hot blast; wherein said surface material comprises a hot blast-exposed first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; said first layer defining said hot blast-exposed first surface, which is a skin-non-contactable surface adapted to not contact a wearer's skin in use, and being adapted to function as a buffer to alleviate an influence of the hot blast upon said second surface, wherein a density of the component fibers in said first layer is higher than that of the component fibers in said second layer; and said second layer being joined to said first layer and defining said second surface, which is a skin-contactable surface adapted to contact the wearer's skin in use, wherein heat resistance of said second layer is higher than that of said first layer; wherein the component fibers in said first layer contain fibers of a denier higher than a denier of said component fibers in said second layer.