Patent Grant
7482046
The invention relates to the papermaking arts and, in particular, to the manufacture of paper products such as file folders and the like made of relatively heavy weight paper a/k/a paperboard for use in office and clerical environments.
The contemporary work office uses a myriad of paper products including, but not limited to, writing papers, notepads, and file folders and/or jackets to organize and store various paperwork. Such file folders and/or jackets (hereinafter referred to collectively as “folders”) are typically made using a paper material which is rather stiff and durable so as to protect the contents of the file and to stand upright or remain relatively flat and self-supporting. Unfortunately, such products also typically have edges which have a tendency to inflict so called “paper cuts” upon personnel handling the files. While rarely presenting a case of serious injury, paper cuts are nonetheless an inconvenience and may cause considerable discomfort as such cuts are often jagged and irregular and formed across the highly sensitive nerve endings of the fingers.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved paper products, and in particular paper based file folders, which reduce or eliminate paper cuts.
With regard to the foregoing and other objects and advantages, the present invention provides a method for making a paper material having a reduced tendency to cut human skin and tissue. The method includes providing a papermaking furnish including cellulosic fibers, from about 0.5 to about 5.0 wt % by weight dry basis expanded or expandable microspheres, and, optionally, conventional furnish additives including fillers, retention aids, and the like, forming a fibrous web from the papermaking furnish, drying the web, and calendaring the web to a caliper of from about 11.0 to about 18.0 mils and a density ranging from about 7.0 to about 12.0 lb/3000 ft2/mil.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a paper material for use in the manufacture of paper articles such as file folders. The paper material includes a paper web including cellulosic fibers and expanded microspheres dispersed within the fibers and, optionally, conventional paper additives including one or more fillers and starches. The paper web has a density of from about 7.0 to about 12.0 lb/3000 ft2/mil and a caliper of from about 11.0 to about 18.0 mils. In addition, the paper web has edges which exhibit an improved resistance to inflicting cuts upon human skin.
In still another aspect, the invention provides a file folder or jacket. The file folder of jacket comprises a paper web including wood fibers and expanded microspheres dispersed within the fibers. The paper web has a density of from about 7.0 to about 12.0 lb/3000 ft2/mil and a caliper of from about 11.0 to about 18.0 mils. The paper web is die cut to provide exposed edges on the folder or jacket that exhibit improved resistance to inflicting cuts upon human skin.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, the paper web has a density of from about 7.5 lb/3000 ft2/mil to about 9.0 lb/3000 ft2/mil. It is also preferred that the paper web have a caliper of about 14.0 to about 16.0 mils. The basis weight of the web is typically from about 80 lb/3000 ft2 to about 300 lb/3000 ft2, more preferably from about 120 lb/3000 ft2 to about 150 lb/3000 ft2.
Typically the microspheres in the paper web comprise synthetic polymeric microspheres and comprise from about 0.5 to about 5.0 wt. % of the total weight of the web on a dry basis, more preferably from about 1.0 wt % to about 2.0 wt % of the total weight of the web on a dry basis. It is particularly preferred that the microspheres comprise microspheres made from a polymeric material selected from the group consisting of methyl methacrylate, ortho-chlorostyrene, polyortho-chlorostyrene, polyvinylbenzyl chloride, acrylonitrile, vinylidene chloride, para-tert-butyl styrene, vinyl acetate, butyl acrylate, styrene, methacrylic acid, vinylbenzyl chloride and combinations of two or more of the foregoing. The microspheres have a preferred expanded diameter of from about 30 to about 60 microns. In addition, it may be preferred in some cases to initially disperse the microspheres in the furnish in an unexpanded state and subsequently expand the microspheres as the paper web dries.
The cellulosic fibers of the web may be provided from hardwoods, softwoods, or a mixture of the two. Preferably, the fibers in the paper web include from about 30% to about 100% by weight dry basis softwood fibers and from about 70% to about 0% by weight dry basis hardwood fibers.
The above and other aspects and advantages of the invention will now be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The invention provides a paper material having an improved cut resistance, i.e., the edges of the paper have a reduced tendency to cut, abrade, or damage human skin. As used herein, “paper” refers to and includes both paper and paperboard unless otherwise noted.
The paper is provided as a web containing cellulosic pulp fibers such as fiber derived from hardwood trees, softwood trees, or a combination of hardwood and softwood trees prepared for use in a papermaking furnish by any known suitable digestion, refining, and bleaching operations. In a preferred embodiment, the cellulosic fibers in the paper include from about 30% to about 100% by weight dry basis softwood fibers and from about 70% to about 0% by weight dry basis hardwood fibers. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the fibers may be provided from non-woody herbaceous plants including, but not limited to, kenaf, hemp, jute, flax, sisal, or abaca although legal restrictions and other considerations may make the utilization of hemp and other fiber sources impractical or impossible. The paper may also include other conventional additives such as, for example, starch, mineral fillers, sizing agents, retention aids, and strengthening polymers. Among the fillers that may be used are organic and inorganic pigments such as, by way of example, polymeric particles such as polystyrene latexes and polymethylmethacrylate, and minerals such as calcium carbonate, kaolin, and talc. In addition to pulp fibers and fillers, the paper material also includes dispersed within the fibers and any other components from about 0.5 to about 5.0 wt % by dry weight expanded microspheres. More preferably the paper includes from about 1.0 to about 2.0 wt % expanded microspheres. Suitable microspheres include synthetic resinous particles having a generally spherical liquid-containing center. The resinous particles may be made from methyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, ortho-chlorostyrene, polyortho-chlorostyrene, polyvinylbenzyl chloride, acrylonitrile, vinylidene chloride, para-tert-butyl styrene, vinyl acetate, butyl acrylate, styrene, methacrylic acid, vinylbenzyl chloride and combinations of two or more of the foregoing. Preferred resinous particles comprise a polymer containing from about 65 to about 90 percent by weight vinylidene chloride, preferably from about 65 to about 75 percent by weight vinylidene chloride, and from about 35 to about 10 percent by weight acrylonitrile, preferably from about 25 to about 35 percent by weight acrylonitrile.
The microspheres preferably subsist in the paper web in an “expanded” state, having undergone expansion in diameter in the order of from about 300 to about 600% from an “unexpanded” state in the original papermaking furnish from which the web is derived. In their original unexpanded state, the center of the expandable microspheres may include a volatile fluid foaming agent to promote and maintain the desired volumetric expansion. Preferably, the agent is not a solvent for the polymer resin. A particularly preferred foaming agent is isobutane, which may be present in an amount ranging from about 10 to about 25 percent by weight of the total weight of the resinous particles. Upon heating to a temperature in the range of from about 80° to about 190° C. in the dryer unit of a papermaking machine, the resinous particles expand to a diameter ranging from about 30 to about 60 microns. Suitable expandable microspheres are available from Akzo Nobel of Marietta, Ga. under the tradename EXPANCEL. Expandable microspheres and their usage in paper materials are described in more detail in copending application Ser. No. 09/770,340 filed Jan. 26, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
Papers formed according to the present invention preferably have a final caliper, after calendering of the paper, and any nipping or pressing such as may be associated with subsequent coating of from about 11.0 to about 18.0 mils, more preferably from about 14.0 mils to about 16.0 mils. Papers of the invention also typically exhibit basis weights of from about 80 lb/3000 ft2 to about 300 lb/3000 ft2, more preferably from about 120 lb/3000 ft2 to about 150 lb/3000 ft2. The final density of the papers, that is, the basis weight divided by the caliper, is typically from about 7.0 lb/3000 ft 2/mil to about 12.0 lb/3000 ft 2/mil, and more preferably from about 7.5 lb/3000 ft 2/mil to about 9.0 lb/3000 ft2/mil. Thus, the paper has a relatively larger caliper in relation to its weight compared to conventional papers.
The reduction in basis weight versus caliper is believed to be attributable at least in part to the large number of tiny voids in the paper associated with the expanded microspheres interspersed in the fibers with the microspheres causing, especially during the expansion process, a significant increase in the void volume in the material. In addition, the paper after drying operations is calendered sufficient to achieve the final desired calipers discussed herein along with any desired surface conditioning of the web associated with the calendering operation. The impartation of a significantly increased void volume along with a relatively high caliper also has the effect of reducing the density of the paper while retaining good stiffness and other properties important for use as stock for file folders and the like.
The method of forming the paper materials of the present invention includes providing an initial paper furnish. The cellulosic fibrous component of the furnish is suitably of the chemically pulped variety, such as a bleached kraft pulp, although the invention is not believed to be limited to kraft pulps, and may also be used with good effect with other chemical pulps such as sulfite pulps, mechanical pulps such as ground wood pulps, and other pulp varieties and mixtures thereof such as chemical-mechanical and thermo-mechanical pulps.
While not essential to the invention, the pulp is preferably bleached to remove lignins and to achieve a desired pulp brightness according to one or more bleaching treatments known in the art including, for example, elemental chlorine-based bleaching sequences, chlorine dioxide-based bleaching sequences, chlorine-free bleaching sequences, elemental chlorine-free bleaching sequences, and combinations or variations of stages of any of the foregoing and other bleaching related sequences and stages.
After bleaching is completed and the pulp is washed and screened, it is generally subjected to one or more refining steps. Thereafter, the refined pulp is passed to a blend chest where it is mixed with various additives and fillers typically incorporated into a papermaking furnish as well as other pulps such as unbleached pulps and/or recycled or post-consumer pulps. The additives may include so-called “internal sizing” agents used primarily to increase the contact angle of polar liquids contacting the surface of the paper such as alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA), alkyl ketene dimer (AKD), and rosin sizes. Retention aids may also be added at this stage. Cationic retention aids are preferred; however, anionic aids may also be employed in the furnish.
In addition, and prior to providing the furnish to the headbox of a papermaking machine, polymeric microspheres are added to the pulp furnish mixture. As noted above, the microspheres are added in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 5.0% based on the total dry weight of the furnish. The microspheres may be preexpanded or in substantially their final dimension prior to inclusion in the furnish mixture. However, it is preferred that the microspheres are initially added to the furnish in a substantially unexpanded state and then caused to expand as the paper web is formed and dried as described hereinafter. It will be appreciated that this expansion has the effect of enabling an increased caliper and reduced density in the final paper product. It is also within the scope of the invention to include mixtures of expandable and already-expanded microspheres (or microspheres that are already substantially in their final dimensional state) in the papermaking furnish so that a portion of the microspheres will expand to a substantial degree in drying operations while the balance will remain in substantially the same overall dimensions during drying.
Once prepared, the furnish is formed into a single or multi-ply web on a papermaking machine such as a Fourdrinier machine or any other suitable papermaking machine known in the art, as well as those which may become known in the future. The basic methodologies involved in making paper on various papermaking machine configurations are well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art and accordingly will not be described in detail herein. In general, a so-called “slice” of furnish consisting of a relatively low consistency aqueous slurry of the pulp fibers (typically about 0.1 to about 1.0%) along with the microspheres and various additives and fillers dispersed therein is ejected from a headbox onto a porous endless moving forming sheet or wire where the liquid is gradually drained through small openings in the wire until a mat of pulp fibers and the other materials is formed on the wire. The still-wet mat or web is transferred from the wire to a wet press where more fiber-to-fiber consolidation occurs and the moisture is further decreased. The web is then passed to an initial dryer section to remove most of the retained moisture and further consolidate the fibers in the web. The heat of the drying section also promotes expansion of unexpanded microspheres contained in the web.
After initial drying, the web may be further treated using a size press wherein additional starch, pigments, and other additives may be applied to the web and incorporated therein by the action of the press.
After treatment in the size press and subsequent drying, the paper is calendered to achieve the desired final caliper as discussed above to improve the smoothness and other properties of the web. The calendering may be accomplished by steel-steel calendaring at nip pressures sufficient to provide a desired caliper. It will be appreciated that the ultimate caliper of the paper ply will be largely determined by the selection of the nip pressure.
Paper materials formed according to the invention may be utilized in a variety of office or clerical applications. In particular, the inventive papers are advantageously used in forming Bristol board file folder or jackets for storing and organizing materials in the office workplace. The manufacture of such folders from paper webs is well known to those in the paper converting arts and consists in general of cutting appropriately sized and shaped blanks from the paper web, typically by “reverse” die cutting, and then folding the blanks into the appropriate folder shape followed by stacking and packaging steps. The blanks may also be scored beforehand if desired to facilitate folding. The scoring, cutting, folding, stacking, and packaging operations are ordinarily carried out using automated machinery well-known to those of ordinary skill on a substantially continuous basis from rolls of the web material fed to the machinery from an unwind stand.
A typical apparatus for “reverse” die cutting is illustrated diagrammatically in
In reverse die cutting, a cutting blade is fixed in an upright position protruding from a housing located beneath the paper to be cut. With the blade fixed and the paper in a cutting position above the blade, a contact plate is lowered against the top of the paper and presses the paper against the edge of the cutting blade causing the blade to cut the paper.
The papers and the folders and other die cut articles formed therefrom, having exposed edges have been observed to exhibit a significantly reduced tendency to cut the skin of persons handling the folders as compared to prior art papers and die cut paper articles such as folders. That is, the edges of the papers are less likely to cause cutting or abrasion of the skin if the fingers or other portions of the body are inadvertently drawn against an exposed edge of the material.
Without being bound by theory, it is believed the improvement in cut resistance derives from the combination of an increased caliper and a decreased density as compared to prior art papers and the effect of these attributes on how the paper reacts to cutting operations. As noted above, folder blanks are typically die cut. When die cutting blanks for conventional folders from prior art papers having a relatively small caliper and a relatively high density, it is believed that the die blade initially creates a clean cut through a portion of the thickness of the paper. However, before the die blade can complete a clean cut through the paper, the remainder of the paper thickness “bursts” or fractures in a relatively jagged and irregular manner. As a consequence, the resultant edge of the folder is jagged and includes a large number of very small, but very sharp paper shards. Contact with these small jagged sharp edges and shards is believed to be a primary cause of paper cut incidents.
While the resultant paper edges from die cutting are more rough and jagged than from, say, guillotine cutting, die cutting techniques are more easily implemented in large-scale, high speed manufacturing, and are therefore favored greatly in modern practice.
However, it has been determined that paper according to the invention having a relatively high caliper and relatively low density has a considerably reduced tendency to fracture or burst prematurely when being die cut. The die blade is apparently allowed to complete a clean cut through the paper thickness and, consequently, the resultant edge exhibits significantly fewer jagged irregularities and shards which produce paper cuts. Therefore, folders for example made according to the invention exhibit a significantly reduced tendency to cause paper cuts as they are being handled.
The differences in the resultant die cut paper edges is dramatically illustrated in
The following nonlimiting examples illustrate various additional aspects of the invention. Unless otherwise indicated, temperatures are in degrees Celsius, percentages are by weight and the percent of any pulp additive or moisture is based on the oven-dry weight of the total amount of material.
A series of papers were formed from a mixture of about 40% softwood pulp and about 60% hardwood pulp and having a Canadian Standard Freeness of about 450 and incorporating amounts of expandable microspheres and being calendered to a variety of differing calipers. The resultant papers containing the expanded microspheres were then tested to determine the likelihood of an edge cutting a person's fingers while being handled. In place of actual human skin, the tests were performed using a rubberized finger covered by a latex glove material which served as an artificial “skin”.
The samples for examination were die cut using a laboratory die cutter 20 illustrated in
The die cutter 20 also includes an upper housing 30 which is held in alignment with the lower housing by a plurality of bolts or rods 32 which are received in a corresponding plurality of holes in the upper housing 30. Over the cutting blade 26, the upper housing includes a contact surface 34. The paper sample 36 to be cut is placed in the gap between the cutting blade 26 and the contact surface 34. The contact surface 34 is then pressed downward by a hydraulic ram 38 or by other suitable driving means so that the paper sample 36 is pressed against the cutting blade and cut/burst in two.
The cutting tendencies of the edges of the paper samples were evaluated in a testing procedure referred to hereinafter as the “Cutting Index 30” test (with “30” indicating the number of replicates of the test performed). The Cutting Index 30 test uses an apparatus similar to that depicted diagrammatically in
The testing apparatus 50 also includes a simulated finger 62 which may be drawn against the edge of the paper sample 60 in the apparatus. For instance, the finger 62 may be removably affixed to a movable base 64 which slides along a rail or track 66 by means of hydraulic actuation so that the finger 62 is drawn into contact with the edge of the paper sample 60. After the sample contacts the finger, the latex is examined to determine if a cut is produced and the cuts are then characterized according to size.
The simulated finger is preferably formed from an inner rod of metal or stiff plastic, which is covered by a somewhat flexible material such a neoprene rubber and the neoprene layer is preferably covered by a latex layer such as a finger from a latex glove. In this manner, the finger roughly simulates the bone, muscle, and skin layers of an actual finger. While the latex and neoprene structure does not exhibit the exact some tendency to be cut as an actual finger, it is believed that a relatively high incidence of cuts in this structure will generally correlate to a relatively high incidence of cuts in an actual finger and a relatively low incidence of cuts in this structure will generally correlate to a relatively low incidence of cuts in an actual finger.
In the experiments described herein, neoprene rubber layer employed has a hardness of about Shore A 50, the latex “skin” is about 0.004 inches thick, and the latex skin is attached to the neoprene using double-sided tape. In order to better simulate skin, the latex is also allowed to condition by exposure to an elevated temperature of about 125° C. for a period of about 6 hours prior to testing. Because latex is a naturally occurring substance, latexes and products produced therefrom exhibit some degree of variation from batch to batch with respect to certain properties such as moisture content. It was found that by conditioning the latex at the elevated temperature for about 6 hours, the resultant latex skins exhibited a more uniform set of properties and accordingly the reproducibility of test results improved.
The paper samples employed are cut to a size of about 1 inch by six inches and a die cut edge is aligned in the bottom of the clamping device to contact the finger. The simulated finger is then drawn against the paper edge, then stopped and the latex skin is examined to determine if a cut has occurred and if so, the magnitude or size of the cut.
A total of 30 replicates were performed for each paper sample. The results were as follows:
In addition to measuring the number of cuts (out of 30 replicates), the size of each cut was characterized on a 1 to 5 scale with 1 being “very small” and 5 being “large”. Using this data, a “Cutting Index” was determined by summing the products of the number of cuts in each size category by the severity of the cut on the 1 to 5 scale. These results are shown in Table II:
As may be seen in samples 1-3 and 6A, the density of the papers was varied by addition of varying amounts of expanded microspheres while the paper calipers were held approximately constant at about 12 mils. These samples demonstrate that a reduction of density associated with inclusion of microspheres leads to a corresponding reduction in the number and severity of cuts produced by the paper.
In samples 6A-6C, the paper density was held approximately constant at about 12.5 lb/3000 ft2/mil while the caliper of the papers was varied. The results demonstrate a clear correlation between increasing caliper and decreasing cuts and cut severity in a paper containing the microspheres.
Finally, in samples 124 and 143, papers were produced containing microspheres and employing both a reduced density and a high caliper at the same time. The results were quite dramatic with number of cuts and the weight average cuts both being reduced to extremely low levels. Thus, it appears that while both caliper increase and density reduction in association with addition of microspheres may individually reduce cutting to some degree, the combination of the two appears to provide a synergistic reduction in cutting which is surprising and quite unexpected.
A similar set of tests were conducted using a series of papers formed from a second pulp furnish, again formed from a mixture of about 40% softwood pulp and about 60% hardwood pulp and having a Canadian Standard Freeness of about 450. In these tests, two sets of papers were produced, with each set of papers having approximately the same basis weight. For one group of papers, the basis weight was on the order of about 130 lb/3000 ft2 and for the second group, the basis weight was about 150 lb/3000 ft2. Within each group, various amounts of microspheres were added and the resultant paper caliper varied. Again, 30 replicates of each sample were tested for cutting tendency. The results are shown in Tables III and IV.
These results show a clear trend toward decreases in total cuts as well as the weighted average cuts with increasing amount of microspheres where the basis weight is held about the same. It is seen that increasing the amount of microspheres while holding the basis weight the same can be said to result in an increased caliper, decreased density, and decreased number and severity of cuts.
A similar set of tests were conducted using a series of papers formed from a third pulp furnish including about 35% softwood fibers and about 65% hardwood fibers. Again, 30 replicates of each sample were tested for cutting tendency. The results are shown in Tables V.
In these tests, the papers containing expanded microspheres were produced to provide a target basis weight of about 124 lb/3000 ft2 and compared to two controls formed with no microspheres and having basis weights of 124 lb/3000 ft2 and 143 lb/3000 ft2 respectively. The expanded microsphere samples again showed dramatic reductions in cutting tendency as compared to the control papers. The total number of cuts was reduced by about 50% or more in each case and the reductions in average weighted cuts was reduced further still.
Having now described various aspects of the invention and preferred embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill that numerous modifications, variations and substitutions may exist within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to and is a Divisional Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/121,301, filed Apr. 11,2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,866,906, which is a Continuation-In-Part Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/770,340, filed Jan. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,938, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 60/178,214, filed Jan. 26, 2000, all of which are also hereby incorporated, in their entirety, herein by reference. U.S. application Ser. No. 10/121,301, filed Apr. 11, 2002, also claims the benefit of priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 60/282,983, filed Apr. 11, 2001, which is also hereby incorporated, in its entirety, herein by reference.
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