Sanitary napkin with fluid transfer layer

Claim 1

A sanitary napkin comprising: a fluid permeable cover enclosing a multilayer fluid absorbent pad, said cover having a top side and a bottom side, said cover top side being placed adjacent a human body in use, said multilayer pad having a first layer of absorbent material adjacent said cover top side, and a second layer of absorbent material adjacent said first layer, said napkin having a longitudinal axis, said first layer formed from a planar web containing between about 60% and 80% by weight thermoplastic functional fibers to prevent capillary collapse of this layer, and at least about 20% by weight of hydrophilic absorbent material to draw fluid through said cover, wherein said planar web has a plane of deposition with fibers oriented in the X and Y direction of the plane of the web, and said first layer is comprised of a plurality of elongated portions cut from said web which are rotated 90° from said plane of deposition so at least some fibers are in the Z direction of said napkin and arranged side-by-side generally along said napkin longitudinal axis to yield said first layer, said first layer transferring fluid rapidly from said cover into said second layer with minimum fluid absorption until said second layer has exceeded about 50% of its absorbent capacity.