# US 2023/0054966 A1 · Composite laminated papermaking fabrics and methods of making the same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2023/0054966 A1 - Document ID: US20230054966A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/885,871 - Filed: 2022-08-11 - Published: 2023-02-23 - Earliest claimed: 2021-08-11 - Assignees: First Quality Tissue, LLC - Applicants: First Quality Tissue Se, LLC - Inventors: Chad Martin; Robbie Edmonds; Allan Manninen; Chi Zhang; Hongjian Zhou; James E. Sealey, II; Byrd Tyler Miller, IV; Marc Paul Begin; Justin S. Pence - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230054966A1 ## CPC - D21F 1/0036: {Multi-layer screen-cloths} - D21F 7/083: {Multi-layer felts} - D21F 1/0063: {Perforated sheets} - D21F 7/10: Seams thereof - D21F 11/006: {Making patterned paper} - D21F: PAPER-MAKING MACHINES; METHODS OF PRODUCING PAPER THEREON ## Abstract A structured tissue belt assembly including a supporting layer and a nonwoven web contacting layer. The supporting layer has a top surface and a bottom surface and is formed of monofilaments including one or more layers of warp yarns interwoven with weft yarns in a repeating pattern. At least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, include laser energy absorbent material, and at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns include laser energy scattering material. Laser welds attach the bottom surface of the web contacting layer to the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the web contacting layer contacts the at least one of: a) the at least some of the warp yarns; or b) the at least some of the weft yarns that include laser energy absorbent material. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A structured tissue belt assembly, comprising: a supporting layer comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the supporting layer being formed of monofilaments comprising one or more layers of warp yarns interwoven with weft yarns in a repeating pattern, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; orb) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising laser energy absorbent material, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; orb) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising laser energy scattering material; a non-woven web contacting layer comprising a bottom surface; and one or more first laser welds that attach the bottom surface of the web contacting layer to the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the web contacting layer contacts the at least one of: a) the at least some of the warp yarns; or b) the at least some of the weft yarns that comprise laser energy absorbent material, wherein the structured tissue belt assembly allows for air flow in x, y and z directions, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from a distance of 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises at least one of a laser energy scattering material or polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein at least some of the weft yarns are formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 4, wherein at least some of the warp yarns are devoid of the laser energy absorbent material and contain a laser energy scattering material. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 4, wherein at least some of the warp yarns are formed of a laser energy scattering material and the at least some of the warp yarns are connected to the at least some of the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material at one or more second laser welds formed at points where the warp yarns pass over the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 4, wherein the web contacting layer is attached to the top surface of the supporting layer by the one or more first laser welds formed between the bottom surface of the web contacting layer and the at least some of the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material at points where the at least some of the weft yarns form at least part of the top surface. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein at least some of the warp yarns are formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 8, wherein at least some of the weft yarns are devoid of laser energy absorbent material and contain a laser energy scattering material. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 8, wherein at least some of the weft yarns are formed of a laser energy scattering material and the at least some of the weft yarns are connected to the at least some of the warp yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material at one or more second laser welds formed at points where the weft yarns pass over the warp yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 8, wherein the web contacting layer is attached to the top surface of the supporting layer by the one or more first laser welds formed between the bottom surface of the web contacting layer and the at least some of the warp yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material at points where the at least some of the warp yarns form at least part of the top surface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns are formed at least in part of a thermoplastic polymer, a thermoset polymer, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 10, wherein the polymer type is polyphenylene sulfide, poly 1,4-cyclohexanedicarbinyl terephthalate, polycyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate isophthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone resins or combinations thereof. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns are bicomponent yarns. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns have a consistent shape. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the warp yarns and the weft yarns have a varying shape. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the warp and the weft yarns have a shape selected from the group consisting of: circular, rectangular, star shaped, and oval shaped. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the web contacting layer is formed of an extruded polymer netting or a 3-D printed polymer. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 18, wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic polymer, a thermoset polymer, or a combination thereof. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 17, the polymer is polyphenylene sulfide, poly 1,4-cyclohexanedicarbinyl terephthalate, polycyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate isophthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyether ether ketone resins or combinations thereof. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, the laser energy absorbent material comprises carbon black. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 21, the carbon black is present in at least one of the at least some of the warp yarns or the at least some of the weft yarns by an amount of from 0.05% to to 5% by weight. ### Claim 23 (depends on 4) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 4, wherein the at least some of the weft yarns that are formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material is from 20% to 100% of all weft yarns in the fabric assembly. ### Claim 24 (depends on 8) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least some of the warp yarns that are formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material is from 25% to 100% of all warp yarns in the fabric assembly. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the laser energy scattering material comprises titanium dioxide. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 25, wherein the titanium dioxide is present in at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, by an amount of from 0.05% to 5% by weight. ### Claim 27 (depends on 4) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 4, wherein the at least some of the weft yarns that are formed at least in part of the laser energy scattering material is from 20% to 100% of all weft yarns in the fabric assembly. ### Claim 28 (depends on 8) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least some of the warp yarns that are formed at least in part of the laser energy scattering material is from 25% to 100% of all warp yarns in the fabric assembly. ### Claim 29 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises a laser energy scattering material in an amount from 0.0% to 5% by weight. ### Claim 30 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/in. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 30, wherein the peel force is from 2000 gf/in to 4500 gf/in. ### Claim 32 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein a shear number of the structured tissue fabric belt assembly is from 35 PLI to 250 PLI. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 32, wherein the shear number is from 150 PLI to 225 PLI. ### Claim 34 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the embedment distance is from 0.10 mm to 0.36 mm. ### Claim 35 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein the supporting layer comprises polymers of varying crystallinities, wherein the crystallinity of the polymers vary from 30% to 60%. ### Claim 36 A method of making a structured tissue belt assembly, comprising: providing a supporting layer made up of monofilaments comprising warp yarns and weft yarns interwoven in a repeating pattern, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, are formed at least in part of a laser energy absorbent material, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise a laser energy scattering material, and the supporting layer has a top surface; stretching a web contacting layer and impinging the web contacting layer onto the top surface of the supporting layer with a minimum of 1 PSI downward force; radiating the web contacting layer with a laser to form one or more first laser welds between a bottom surface of the web contacting layer and the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the web contacting layer contacts the at least one of: a) the at least some of the warp yarns or; b) the at least some of the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 38 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises at least one of a laser energy scattering material or polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 39 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein the laser has a laser energy wavelength from 500 nm to 11000 nm. ### Claim 40 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein at least some of the warp yarns are formed at least in part of a laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 41 (depends on 40) The method of claim 40, wherein at least some of the weft yarns are devoid of the laser energy absorbent material and contain a laser energy scattering material. ### Claim 42 (depends on 40) The method of claim 40, wherein the at least some weft yarns are formed of a laser energy scattering material and the at least some of the weft yarns are connected to the at least some of the warp yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material by one or more second laser welds formed at points where the weft yarns pass over the warp yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 43 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein at least some of the weft yarns are formed at least in part of a laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 44 (depends on 43) The method of claim 43, wherein at least some of the warp yarns are devoid of the laser energy absorbent material and contain a laser energy scattering material. ### Claim 45 (depends on 43) The method of claim 43, wherein the at least some of the warp yarns are formed of a laser energy scattering material and the at least some of the warp yarns are connected to the at least some of the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material by one or more second laser welds formed at points where the warp yarns pass over the weft yarns formed at least in part of the laser energy absorbent material. ### Claim 46 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein the downward force is from 5 PSI to 15 PSI. ### Claim 47 (depends on 36) The method of claim 36, wherein the laser has a power level of 100 to 1200 watts. ### Claim 48 A structured tissue belt assembly comprising: a supporting layer comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the supporting layer being formed of monofilaments comprising multiple layers of warp yarns interwoven with weft yarns in a repeating pattern, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; orb) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising laser energy absorbent material, and at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; orb) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising laser energy scattering material; the supporting layer being needled with fine synthetic batting; and a web contacting layer; and one or more first laser welds that attach a bottom surface of the web contacting layer to the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the web contacting layer contacts the at least one of: a) the at least some of the warp yarns; or b) the at least some of the weft yarns that comprise laser energy absorbent material, wherein the structured tissue belt assembly allows for air flow in the x, y and z directions, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 49 (depends on 48) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 48, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 50 (depends on 48) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 48, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises at least one of a laser energy scattering material or polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 51 A structured tissue belt assembly comprising; a supporting layer comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the supporting layer being formed of monofilaments comprising one or more layers of warp yarns interwoven with weft yarns in a repeating pattern, the warp yarns and the weft yarns being devoid of laser energy absorbent material, and at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns orb) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising laser energy scattering material; a non-woven web contacting layer at least a portion of which comprises a laser energy absorbent material; and one or more laser welds that attach the top surface of the supporting layer to a bottom surface of the web contacting layer at points where the at least a portion of the web contacting layer contacts at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, wherein the structured tissue belt assembly allows for air flow in x, y and z directions, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 52 (depends on 51) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 51, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 53 (depends on 51) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 51, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 54 A method of making a structured tissue belt assembly comprising: forming a non-woven web contacting layer comprising laser energy absorbent material; stretching the non-woven web contacting layer; providing a supporting layer comprising made up of monofilaments comprising warp yarns and weft yarns interwoven in a repeating pattern, wherein: the warp yarns and the weft yarns are devoid of laser energy transparent absorbent material, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprising a laser energy scattering material; impinging the top surface of the supporting layer to a bottom surface of the web contacting layer with a minimum of 1 PSI downward force; and radiating the supporting layer with a laser to form one or more laser welds that attach the bottom surface of the web contacting layer to the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the laser energy absorbent material of the web contacting layer contacts at least one of the warp yarns or the weft yarns of the supporting layer, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from 650 gf/inch to 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 55 (depends on 54) The method of claim 54, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 56 A structured tissue belt assembly comprising: a supporting layer comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the supporting layer being formed of monofilaments comprising multiple layers of warp yarns interwoven with weft yarns in a repeating pattern, the warp yarns and the weft yarns being devoid of laser energy absorbing material, at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns comprising a laser energy scattering material, and the supporting layer being needled with fine synthetic batting; a web contacting layer comprising a laser energy absorbent material; and one or more laser welds that attach a bottom surface of the web contacting layer to the top surface of the supporting layer at points where the laser energy absorbent material of the web contacting layer contacts at least one of the warp yarns or the weft yarns, wherein the structured tissue belt assembly allows for air flow in x, y and z directions, wherein an embedment distance where the web contacting layer is embedded into the monofilaments of the supporting layer is from 0.05 mm to 0.60 mm, and wherein a peel force between the web contacting layer and the supporting layer is from about 650 gf/inch to about 6000 gf/inch. ### Claim 57 (depends on 56) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 56, wherein at least one of: a) at least some of the warp yarns; or b) at least some of the weft yarns, comprise polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 58 (depends on 56) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 56, wherein the non-woven web contacting layer comprises polymers of varying crystallinities. ### Claim 59 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein tensile strength of the fabric is from 100 pli to 500 pli. ### Claim 60 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein tensile strength of the fabric is from 200 pli to 450 pli. ### Claim 61 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein compaction of the fabric is from 15% to 35%. ### Claim 62 (depends on 1) The structured tissue belt assembly of claim 1, wherein compaction of the fabric is from 20% to 30%.