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US 12,366,034 B2Granted
Three-dimensional papermaking belt
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsMark Alan Burazin, Lynda Ellen Collins, Geoffrey Fenn Carlow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to belts useful in the manufacture of paper products, such as tissue paper. Particularly this invention relates to a belt used in a through-air drying process for making tissue products, and more particularly to an additively manufactured belt having a particular pattern thereon which imparts properties to tissue products manufactured therewith.
Claims18
A papermaking belt comprising:
- a. an air permeable support structure having a machine contacting surface and a web contacting surface and comprising a plurality of interwoven warp and shute yarns consisting of a first material;
- and b. a three-dimensional element attached to the air permeable support structure wherein the three-dimensional element being defined by a plurality of additively manufactured elements attached to the web contacting surface of the air permeable support structure and extending in the z-direction therefrom, at least a portion of the additively manufactured elements consisting of a second material and having a top surface, a bottom surface, a pair of opposed sidewalls, a first aperture disposed on the top surface and a second aperture disposed on the bottom surface and a continuous channel connecting the first and second apertures wherein the first and second materials are different.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.