US 8,152,958 B2 · Fabric crepe/draw process for producing absorbent sheet · patentgrep

Loading patent…

Abstract

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet includes compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber, applying the dewatered web having the apparently random fiber distribution to a translating transfer surface moving at a first speed and fabric-creping the web from the transfer surface at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent utilizing a patterned creping fabric. The creping step occurs under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric. The creping fabric travels at a second speed slower than the speed of the transfer surface. The fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency are selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface and redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum.

Claims44

Dependent claims

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

(a) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber;
(b) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random fiber distribution to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed;
(c) fabric-creping the web from the transfer surface at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent utilizing a patterned creping fabric, the creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric wherein the fabric is traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the speed of the transfer surface, the fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency being selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface, and wherein the creping fabric applies significant pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights including at least (i) a plurality of fiber enriched regions of a high local basis weight, interconnected by way of (ii) a plurality of lower local basis weight linking regions,
wherein the drawable reticulum of the web is characterized in that it comprises a cohesive fiber matrix capable of increases in void volume upon dry-drawing, and wherein the web exhibits absorbency suitable for use in tissue and towel products;
(d) applying the web to a drying cylinder;
(e) drying the web on the drying cylinder;
(f) peeling the web from the drying cylinder;
(g) controlling the takeaway angle of the web from the drying cylinder,
wherein steps (d), (e), (f) and (g) are performed so as to substantially preserve the drawable fiber reticulum;
and
(h) drawing the dried web.

8 more elements

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

(a) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber;
(b) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random fiber distribution to a translating transfer surface moving at a transfer surface speed;
(c) fabric-creping the web from the transfer surface at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent utilizing a patterned creping fabric, the creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric, wherein the fabric is traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the speed of the transfer surface, the fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency being selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface and wherein the creping fabric applies significant pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights including at least (i) a plurality of fiber enriched regions of a high local basis weight, interconnected by way of (ii) a plurality of lower local basis weight linking regions,
wherein the drawable reticulum of the web is characterized in that it comprises a cohesive fiber matrix capable of increases in void volume upon dry-drawing;
(d) adhering the web to a drying cylinder with a resinous adhesive coating composition;
(e) drying the web on the drying cylinder;
(f) removing the web from the drying cylinder,
wherein steps (d), (e) and (f) are preformed so as to substantially preserve the drawable fiber reticulum;
and
(g) drawing the dried web,
wherein the web exhibits absorbency suitable for use in tissue and towel products.

8 more elements

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

(a) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber;
(b) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random fiber distribution to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed;
(c) fabric-creping the web from the transfer surface at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent utilizing a patterned creping fabric, the creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric, wherein the fabric is traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the speed of the transfer surface, the fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency being selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface, and wherein the creping fabric applies significant pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights including at least (i) a plurality of fiber enriched regions of a high local basis weight, interconnected by way of (ii) a plurality of lower local basis weight linking regions,
wherein the drawable reticulum of the web is characterized in that it comprises a cohesive fiber matrix capable of increases in void volume upon dry-drawing;
(d) applying the web to a drying cylinder;
(e) embossing the web while it is disposed on the drying cylinder;
(f) drying the web on the drying cylinder;
(g) removing the web from the drying cylinder,
wherein steps (d), (e), (f) (and (g) are performed so as to substantially preserve the drawable fiber reticulum;
and
h) drawing the dried web,
wherein the web exhibits absorbency suitable for use in tissue and towel products.

9 more elements

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

(a) applying a jet of papermaking furnish to a forming wire, the jet having a jet velocity and the wire moving at a forming wire velocity, the difference between the jet velocity and the forming wire velocity being referred to as the jet/wire velocity delta;
(b) compactively dewatering the papermaking furnish to form a nascent web;
(c) fabric-creping the web from a transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed utilizing a creping fabric, the web being at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent during creping and the creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric, wherein the fabric is traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the speed of the transfer surface, the fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency being selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface, and wherein the creping fabric applies significant pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric;
(d) drying the web;
and
(e) controlling the jet/wire velocity delta and the fabric creping step, including fabric selection, such that the dry machine direction to cross machine direction (MD/CD) tensile ratio of the dried web is about at most 1.5
wherein the web exhibits absorbency suitable for use in tissue and towel products.

4 more elements

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

(a) applying a jet of papermaking furnish to a forming wire, the jet having a jet velocity and the wire moving at a forming wire velocity, the difference between the jet velocity and the forming wire velocity being referred to as the jet/wire velocity delta;
(b) compactively dewatering the papermaking furnish to form a nascent web;
(c) fabric-creping the web from a transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed utilizing a creping fabric, the web being at a consistency of from about 30 to about 60 percent during creping, and the creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric wherein the fabric is traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the speed of the transfer surface, the fabric pattern, nip parameters, velocity delta and web consistency being selected such that the web is creped from the transfer surface, and wherein the creping fabric applies significant pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric;
(d) drying the web;
and
(e) controlling the jet/wire velocity delta and fabric creping step including fabric selection, such that the dry machine direction to cross machine direction MD/CD tensile ratio of the dried web is about at most 1.5 or less, with the proviso that the jet/wire velocity delta is (i) negative or (ii) greater than about 350 fpm,
wherein the web exhibits absorbency suitable for use in tissue and towel products.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/804,210Filed 16 Jul 2010 · division
Priority: 7 Oct 2002
Published: US 2010/0282423 A111 Nov 2010
Granted: 10 Apr 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification17 codes

D21H 27/02
Special paper not otherwise provided for, e.g. made by multi-step processes: patterned paper
B31F 1/126
Crêping: including making of the paper to be crêped
B31F 1/16
Crêping: by elastic belts
D21F 11/006
Processes for making continuous lengths of paper, or of cardboard, or of wet web for fibre board production, on paper-making machines: making…

Family

Application60/416,666Us provisional application · filed 7 Oct 2002
Application10/679,862Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 6 Oct 2003
Application11/108,375Parent of this division · filed 18 Apr 2005
US 2010/0282423 A1Pre-grant publication · published 11 Nov 2010
US 7,789,995 B2Parent of this division
US 7,399,378 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
Application11/108,375Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2004/0238135 A1Published application
US 2005/0217814 A1Published application
US 8,152,958 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere