Patent Application
20050247397
The present invention relates to an improved apparatus and process for producing embossed web products and more particularly to embossed laminated web products.
The embossing of webs, such as paper webs, is well known in the art. Embossing of webs can provide improvements to the web such as increased bulk, improved water holding capacity, improved aesthetics and other benefits. Both single ply and multiple ply (or multi-ply) webs are known in the art and can be embossed. Multi-ply paper webs are webs that include at least two plies superimposed in face-to-face relationship to form a laminate.
During the embossing process, the web is typically fed through a nip formed between juxtaposed generally axially parallel rolls. Embossing elements on the rolls compress and/or deform the web to provide embossments to the web. Different embossing processes are known, but typically either “knob-to-knob” embossing or “nested” embossing processes are implemented for flexible webs such as paper webs. Knob-to-knob embossing typically consists of generally axially parallel rolls juxtaposed to form a nip between the embossing elements on opposing rolls. Nested embossing typically consists of embossing elements of one roll meshed between the embossing elements of the other roll.
When multi-ply products are being formed, two or more plies are typically fed through the nip and regions of each ply are brought into a contacting relationship with the opposing ply. Often, the embossing process provides a means for laminating the plies of the web (i.e. maintaining the plies in a face-to-face contacting relationship).
While known laminating and embossing technologies have provided suitable multi-ply web products, the methods used to laminate and emboss webs, such as paper webs, may be inefficient or provide manufacturing difficulties if the manufacture of the web includes other converting steps such as, for example printing, calendaring, etc. In such cases, for example, the embossing step in the manufacture of the web can make it difficult to print on the embossed web or otherwise provide an additive to the web in a particular location and/or at an even add-on amount. Further, any manufacturing processes after the embossing step may reduce the effectiveness of the embossing step by, for example, reducing the height of the embossments or delaminating the web plies. Further yet, attempting to laminate the plies of a multi-ply web during an embossing step can reduce line speed potential, contaminate equipment and provide a web that has unintended lamination characteristics.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved method for laminating and embossing a web. Further, it would be beneficial to provide an improved method for laminating and embossing a paper web, such as, for example a multi-ply web that includes at least one through-air-dried ply. It would also be desirable to provide a method for laminating a paper web and embossing the web where the lamination step and the embossing step are separate from each other. Further still, it would be desirable to provide a method for laminating a paper web, printing the paper web and embossing the paper web.
In order to meet the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a method for producing a multi-ply embossed product including the steps of: providing two or more plies of material to a lamination apparatus, each ply having a lamination surface; laminating one ply of the two or more plies of material to at least one other of the two or more plies of material to provide a laminated web having a first lamination pattern; directing the laminated web to a separate embossing apparatus; and embossing the laminated web in a second pattern to provide an embossed web, wherein the embossing step takes place after the laminated web is laminated.
It has been discovered that a new laminating and embossing method may provide improvements in embossing processes and the webs that are subjected to such embossing processes. In particular, it has been found that it may be advantageous to separate the lamination step and the embossing steps when embossing a multi-ply web product, such as a paper product. Such separation of the lamination and embossing steps is particularly preferred when the web is to be printed and or when the web includes at least one low density ply, such as, for example, a ply of through-air-dried paper.
As used herein, the term “through-air dried” or “TAD” when referring to a paper (or other) web means that the web has been subjected to a through-air-drying process where air is passed through the web to remove moisture from the web. Examples of TAD equipment, processes and structures formed by TAD processes are described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,746 issued Jan. 31, 1967 to Sanford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,609 issued Mar. 4, 1980 to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,859 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Trokhan; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,551 issued Mar. 4, 1997 to Farrington Jr. et al.
TAD paper webs are often lower in density than conventional paper webs, are more porous and can be more extensible. These characteristics can make it more difficult to handle a web including at least one TAD ply and to perform certain manufacturing steps on such webs, including, but not limited to printing on the web, embossing the web and laminating the plies of the web if it is a multi-ply web.
As used herein, an “embossing apparatus” can be any apparatus used to emboss a web. Although much of the disclosure set forth herein refers to embossing apparatuses including rolls, it is to be understood that the information set forth is also applicable to any other type of embossing platform or mechanism that can be used to emboss the web such as cylinders, plates and the like. Examples of knob-to-knob embossing and nested embossing are illustrated in the prior art by U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,459 issued Dec. 3, 1968 to Wells; U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,723 issued Dec. 15, 1970 to Gresham; U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,907 issued Jan. 19, 1971 to Nystrand; U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,366 issued Jan. 2, 1973 to Donnelly; U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,905 issued Jun. 12, 1973 to Thomas; U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,225 issued Feb. 18, 1975 to Nystrand U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,728 issued Nov. 20, 1984 to Bauernfeind; U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,323 issued Nov. 21, 1995 to McNeil; U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,715 issued Jul. 11, 2000 to McNeil; U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,466 B1 issued Aug. 21, 2001 to McNeil; U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,133 issued May 28, 2002 to McNeil and U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,172 B2 issued Jan. 25, 2005 to Vaughn et al.
As used herein, the term “deep-nested embossing” refers to a type of nested embossing wherein the embossing members intermesh with each other, for example like the teeth of gears. Thus, the resulting web is deeply embossed and nested and includes plurality of undulations that add bulk and caliper to the web. In the deep-nested embossing process, the embossing elements of the embossing members generally engage each other to a depth D (as shown in
Pattern rolls 34 and 36 have knobs that extend radially outwardly and contact the periphery of the respective pressure rolls 30 or 32 at the respective nips to emboss the plies. Each ply 15 or 20 to be joined into the resulting multi-ply fibrous structure 25 is fed through one of the nips between the pattern rolls 34 or 36 and the respective pressure roll 30 or 32. Each ply 15 or 20 is embossed in the nip by the knobs of the pattern roll 34 or 36.
After embossing, one of the plies 15 or 20 may have adhesive applied by an adhesive applicator, such as applicator roll 37. The plies 15 and 20 are then joined together by passing them through a nip, such as the nip between the pattern rolls 34 and 36, a nip between one of the pattern roll 34 or 36 and a marrying roll, such as roll 38 or by passing the plies through any other nip or apparatus for pressing the plies 15 and 20 together such that the adhesive can join the plies 15 and 20. Typically, in such embodiments, it is important to have the joining material such as the adhesive present in the embossed regions since the embossed regions are the regions of the plies that are typically directed to be in contact with each other. Often registration problems occur between the adhesive and the embossed regions. This can reduce the effectiveness of the lamination, reduce the line reliability, require more adhesive than is actually necessary to hold the plies together and require complicated registration equipment to help ensure that the embossments are aligned with the adhesive.
In other prior art embodiments, high pressure bonding has been used where the plies 15 and 20 are bonded by pressing the plies between the knobs of pattern rolls 34 and 36. In such cases, the fibers are basically reduced to plastic and the resulting bond sites exhibit a glassine appearance. Bonding via high pressure is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,983 issued Sep. 8, 1964 to Palmer.
In these prior art methods, the bonding of the plies takes place during the embossing step or shortly after the embossing step in the same unit operation or process module. This can limit the overall bonding pattern between the web plies and can add significant complexity to the web making process. Further, in such embodiments, the benefits of the embossing (e.g. embossment height, bulk, caliper and aesthetic quality of the embossments) can be reduced as the plies are combined under pressure. Further still, if a printing step is involved in the manufacture of the end product and it is located downstream of the embossing module it may cause difficulties with printing on the web due to the embossments or a flattening of the web as it proceeds through the printing process.
As shown in
As shown in
It has been found to be advantageous to s-wrap the web 125 about the embossing apparatus 100 verses merely passing the web through the nip 130 between the embossing rolls 110 and 120. Specifically, s-wrapping the web 125 gives more positive control of the web 125 through the nip 130. This can help reduce web slippage in the nip 130 as well as cross-direction web control. Some of the advantages that can come from s-wrapping the web 125 verses passing it straight through the nip 130 include, but are not limited to better embossing efficiency (i.e. embossing elements with lower heights can provide similar embossing characteristics as higher embossing elements in a straight through configuration), better embossed appearance on the web 125, higher wet burst strength, fewer defects in the web caused by the embossing process and better alignment of the print colors to each other if multiple print colors are used.
As noted above,
In the unit operation shown on the left of
In one embodiment, at least one of the rolls 230, 250 or 260 is a patterned roll with a pattern disposed on the surface of the roll. The patterned rolls may be of any type known in the art and specifically, for example, may include any of the pattern rolls described in the patents identified above relative to the knob-to-knob and nested embossing rolls. The pattern on the roll(s) allows the adhesive used to join the web plies to be provided in a particular pattern onto the web. The pattern of adhesive may be any desired pattern and may be continuous, discontinuous or semi-continuous. An example of a continuous pattern of adhesive would be a pattern of lines that are all interconnected such that one can follow the pattern from any point on the pattern to any other point on the pattern without having to cross a gap in the pattern. An example of a discontinuous pattern would be a pattern of discrete areas of adhesive such as spots, dashes or other unconnected shapes. A semi-continuous pattern would include a pattern wherein the pattern elements making up the pattern are continuous in at least one direction (e.g. the cross-machine direction), but are not interconnected with all of the other pattern elements directly or indirectly. Thus, one could not get from any point on the pattern to any other point on the pattern without having to cross a gap in the pattern.
Patterned adhesive is often desirable to reduce the amount of adhesive used verses coating the entire ply of the web 220 with adhesive. In typical paper applications, the surface area coverage of the adhesive (or other ply bonding material) is generally less than about 50% of the surface of the web ply to which it is applied, but can be any percentage such as, for example, less than about 30%, less than about 25%, less than about 15%, less than about 10%, between about 5% and 50%, between about 5% and about 25%, between about 5% and about 15% or any range or particular percentage between about 5% and about 50%. If more than one of the plies of a two-ply product has an adhesive or other ply bonding material applied thereto, the above noted percentages of surface are coverage would typically be in reference to the maximum total percentage of the surface area that the adhesive or other bonding material covers on either ply of the two plies after the plies are combined. However, in certain embodiments, a pattern of adhesive is not used, but rather, the entire surface of the web 220 has adhesive applied thereto.
In the particular embodiment shown in
In the exemplary embodiment of
The printing apparatus 300 of
One reason for this complexity is that with an embossed web, the embossments can make it difficult to print on the web in the particular location desired due to the varied topography of the web. Additionally, the printing apparatus 300 may temporarily or permanently reduce the height of or flatten out the embossments to at least some extent while the web is in the printing apparatus 300 which can make alignment of various colors extremely difficult and can reduce the advantages that the embossments may provide the resulting web 225. Further, with extensible webs such as typical TAD paper webs, printing, and especially registered printing, can be difficult due to the flexibility and extensibility of the web, the low density of the web and small holes in the web. The difficulty can be exaggerated by embossing such webs prior to printing on them.
In the printing step shown in
The final operation shown in
In the embodiment shown, the embossing apparatus 100 includes embossing rolls 110 and 120 that provide nip 130 through which the web 225 is directed. In the nip 130, the web is embossed by protrusions that extend outwardly from the surface of at least one of the embossing rolls 110 and 120. However, as noted herein, the embossing apparatus 100 can include any suitable apparatus for embossing the web 225. For example, the embossing apparatus 100 may include plates (one example of which is shown in
One of the primary advantages to the method of the present invention is that because the embossing apparatus 100 is separated from the lamination apparatus 200, the structure of the embossing apparatus 100 is not limited by the structure of the lamination apparatus 200. Thus, the embossing apparatus 100 may include embossing rolls 110 and 120 made out of any suitable material for embossing the web without the need to be compatible with other rolls with which they would have to interact in a combination lamination/embossing unit. Further, the embossing rolls 110 and 120 can be sized (e.g. diameter or length) to best meet the needs of the embossing operation without regard to the lamination operation. Thus, for example, the rolls may be smaller in diameter than they would be if they were employed in certain typical combination lamination/embossing unit. This is because in certain typical lamination/embossing units, the rolls used to laminate the web and emboss the web may include one hard roll, such as a steel roll with embossing elements on its surface that is pressed against a rubber roll or a roll coated with a flexible material. In such cases, in order to get good quality embossments in the web, the pressure along the rolls in the nip can be very great. For example, in a setup where a steel pattern roll is pressed against a roll with a rubber cover, the pressure in the nip can be as much as about 10 kilonewtons per meter and in some cases up to about 30 kilonewtons per meter or more. Thus, in order to maintain tight tolerances along the length of the rolls, they generally need to be rather large in diameter, such as, for example greater than 30 cm or more. In a separated lamination/embossing process, the rolls can be much smaller in diameter because the rolls need not withstand the nip pressures of the combined unit. Rather, the pressures in a nip of an embossing unit that is not part of a combination lamination/embossing unit can be as low as or less than about 5 kilonewtons per meter, about 2.5 kilonewtons per meter, about 1.5 kilonewtons per meter or even less. Accordingly, rolls of much smaller diameter can be used and maintain the same or better tolerances than the large rolls of the combined unit. For example, rolls having a diameter of about 15 cm to about 20 cm have been found to be suitable for the apparatus and method of the present invention. Not only does the diameter difference reduce the cost of the rolls themselves, the equipment needed to support the rolls and the space in which the rolls are located, it reduces the area that needs to be engraved or otherwise modified to provide the embossing elements. Thus, significant cost savings can be achieved by separating the lamination apparatus and process from the embossing apparatus and process.
Further, because the lamination and embossing steps are separated, the embossing rolls 110 and 120 can be provided so as to emboss webs 225 that have been cut down in size (e.g. in the cross-machine direction). This can allow for different embossing patterns for different parts of the same laminated web. Also, due to the separation of the lamination and the embossing steps, a single converting line can easily be configured to produce different products. For example, different sets of embossing members, such as embossing rolls 110 and 120, can be provided on a single converting line and can be engaged or disengaged depending on the particular product that is to be produced. This flexibility is not generally available for converting lines wherein the lamination and the embossing take place in a single unit operation.
Yet another significant advantage to separating the embossing operation from the lamination operation is the ability to provide the multi-ply web 225 with better ply bonding characteristics. For example, in a combination lamination/embossing unit, the bonding of the web plies 210 and 220 and the embossing of the plies happens almost instantaneously. Thus, the adhesive used to bond the plies 210 and 220 may not have much time to set up and provide bond strength between the time it is applied to one or more of the plies 210 and 220 and the time the combined plies 210 and 220 are embossed and/or married to join them together. For example, in a typical combination lamination/embossing unit running at commercial line speeds, the time between when the glue is applied to one or more of the plies 210 and/or 220 and when the plies 210 and 220 are combined may be less than about 0.1 seconds. Typical adhesives used for ply bonding may not be able to set up in this short of a period of time and may allow for some slippage between the plies 210 and 220 as the plies 210 and 220 are being embossed and/or married together. Thus, it is an advantage to be able to separate the lamination step from the embossing step in the web manufacturing process. The present invention provides the ability to separate the lamination and embossing operations and thus, can provide for better ply bonding and/or more flexibility in the materials used to bond the plies 210 and 220.
For example, in typical embossing and lamination units, if an adhesive is used, the adhesive will typically be a solution of water or another solvent and solids. The solids are generally the part of the adhesive that actually provides the adhesion properties once the solvent is typically removed, for example, by evaporation. Thus, the amount or percentage of solids in the adhesive can affect the strength of the ply bonds. In general a higher percentage of solids will provide stronger and more reliable ply bonding. In typical papermaking situations, however, an embossing and laminating station will often employ an adhesive that has from about 2% to about 5% solids. These percentages are relatively low percentage of solids from an adhesive standpoint. However, such low percentages are often needed to allow the adhesive to flow as necessary through the equipment. A problem associated with low percentages of solids is that the adhesive can take a longer time to set than one with a higher percentage of solids. Thus, in a combination lamination/embossing unit, the adhesive may not have time to set while the web is still moving through the piece of equipment. Thus, the ply bonding can be weakened or the bonding sites can end up being in locations not aligned with the embossments, which is often preferred in such configurations. Further, as an adhesive increases in solids, it generally becomes more viscous. This can present process hygiene problems that can reduce line reliability and can affect the quality of the end product. Thus, with a combination lamination and embossing unit, there are problems with the ply bonding that can not easily be overcome.
When the lamination process is separated from the embossing operation, such problems can be reduced or eliminated. One way to ensure better ply bonding is to separate the embossing unit from the lamination unit in time such that the adhesive has enough time to set up prior to the embossing step. Also, however, the separation of the lamination from the embossing allows the use of adhesive mixtures with higher solids concentrates, such as for example greater than about 5%, greater than about 6%, greater than about 7%, greater than about 8%, greater than about 9% or greater than about 10% solids. (As used herein, the percentages of solids in the adhesive solution are percentages measured by weight.) This is often due to the fact that the more viscous adhesive will not present the hygiene problems that are presented when the laminating equipment and the embossing equipment are interactive with each other. For example, one of the hygiene problems that can be problematic is the build up of adhesive on the knobs or embossing elements of one of the pattern rolls. This problem can get worse with more viscous adhesives. However, if the adhesive has time to set up, as in a configuration wherein the laminator and embossing apparatus are separated, the likelihood of adhesive build up on the pattern rolls(s) is greatly reduced. Another advantage of using adhesives with higher solid contents is that less glue can be used to provide the intended ply bond strength.
The apparatus and method of the present invention allow the lamination step and the embossing step to be separated to any desired extent. Thus, for example, the lamination step and the embossing step can be separated such that at commercial line speeds (e.g. greater than about 500 to about 700 meters per minute), lamination occurs at least about 0.25 seconds prior to embossing, at least about 0.5 seconds prior to embossing, at least about 1.0 second prior to embossing or greater. In fact, due to the fact that the embossing apparatus 100 can be located anywhere on the manufacturing line, the optimum location for the apparatus 100 can be determined based on the web material being manufactured and/or the material being used to bond the web plies. Further, as noted above, the embossing apparatus 100 could be completely removed from the rest of the web manufacturing or converting process. Thus, the time between the lamination of the plies 210 and 220 of the web 225 and the embossing operation could be several seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks or even longer.
In certain embodiments, as shown, for example, in
The resulting embossed web 100 can have embossments of any shape, pattern, density and height. One advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method that is suitable for providing the web 100 with embossments with relatively high embossment heights, as compared to typical embossed webs. Accordingly, the apparatus and method of the present invention can provide embossments of any height, including, but not limited to webs with an average embossment height of at least about 650 μm. Other embodiments may have embossment having embossment heights greater than 1000 μm, greater than about 1250 μm, greater than about 1450 μm, at least about 1550 μm, at least about 1800 μm, between about 650 μm and about 1800 μm, at least about 2000 μm, at least about 3000 μm, at least about 4000 μm, between about 650 μm and about 4000 μm or any individual number within this range. The average embossment height is measured by the Embossment Height Test Method using a GFM MikroCAD optical profiler instrument, as described in the Test Method section below.
In certain embodiments, as shown, for example, in
The “rounding” of the transition region 85 typically results in a circular arc rounded transition region 85 from which a radius of curvature is easily determined as a traditional radius of the arc. The present invention, however, also contemplates transition region configurations which approximate an arc rounding by having the edge of the transition region 85 removed by one or more straight line or irregular cut lines. In such cases, the radius of curvature r is determined by measuring the radius of curvature of a circular arc that has a portion which approximates the curve of the transition region 85.
In other embodiments, at least a portion of the distal end of one or more of the embossing elements other than the transition regions 85 can be generally non-planar, including for example, generally curved. Thus, the entire surface of the embossing element spanning between the sidewalls 54 or 64 can be non-planar, for example curved. The non-planar surface can take on any shape, including, but not limited to smooth curves or curves, as described above, that are actually a number of straight line or irregular cuts to provide the non-planar surface. One example of such an embossing element is the embossing element 63 shown in
Although not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that rounding the transition regions 85 or any portion of the distal ends of the embossing elements can provide the resulting paper with embossments that are more blunt with fewer rough edges. Thus, the resulting paper may be provided with a smoother and/or softer look and feel.
It should be noted that with respect to any of the methods described herein, the number of plies is not critical and can be varied, as desired. Thus, it is within the realm of the present invention to utilize methods and equipment that provide a final web product having a single ply, two plies, three plies, four plies or any other number of plies suitable for the desired end use. In each case, it is understood that one of skill in the art would know to add or remove the equipment necessary to provide and/or combine the different number of plies. Further, it should be noted that the plies of a multi-ply web product need not be the same in make-up or other characteristics. Thus, the different plies can be made from different materials, such as from different fibers, different combinations of fibers, natural and synthetic fibers or any other combination of materials making up the base plies. Further, the resulting web 225 may include one or more plies of a cellulosic web and/or one or more plies of a web made from non-cellulose materials including polymeric materials, starch based materials and any other natural or synthetic materials suitable for forming fibrous webs. In addition, one or more of the plies may include a nonwoven web, a woven web, a scrim, a film a foil or any other generally planar sheet-like material. Further, one or more of the plies can be embossed with a pattern that is different that one or more of the other plies or can have no embossments at all.
As noted above, the apparatus 10 of the present invention may act on any deformable material. However, the device 10 is most typically used to emboss web-like structures or products that are generally planar and that have length and width dimensions that are significantly greater than the thickness of the web or product. Often, it is advantageous to use such an apparatus 10 on films, nonwoven materials, woven webs, foils, fibrous structures and the like. One suitable type of web for use with the apparatus 10 of the present invention 10 is a paper web. (As used herein, the term “paper web” refers to webs including at least some cellulosic fibers. However, it is contemplated that paper webs suitable for use with the apparatus 10 of the present invention can also include fibers including synthetic materials, natural fibers other than those including cellulose and/or man-made fibers including natural materials.)
In certain embodiments of the present invention, the method includes providing one or more plies of paper having an embossed wet burst strength and an unembossed wet burst strength. The paper web is embossed resulting in a web having a plurality of embossments with an average embossment height of at least about 650 μm. The paper web can have any desirable embossed and unenbossed wet burst strength. In certain embodiments, it may be desirable for the paper web to have an embossed wet burst strength of at least about 300 g. Further, it may be desirable for the finished product (embossed) wet burst strength to be greater than about 60%, greater than about 65%, greater than about 70%, greater that about 75%, greater than about 80% or greater 85% of the unembossed wet burst strength. In such embodiments, the ply or plies of paper produced to be the substrate of the deep-nested embossed paper product may be any type of fibrous structures described herein, such as, for example, the paper is a tissue-towel product. The unembossed wet burst strength of the incoming plies are measured using the Wet Burst Strength Test Method described below. When more than one plies of paper are embossed the wet burst strength is measured on a sample taken on samples of the individual plies placed together, face-to-face without glue, into the tester.
Although any known paper substrate may be used with the present invention, certain exemplary paper product substrates may be made according U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,609 issued Mar. 4, 1980 to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,981 issued to Carstens on Nov. 17, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,345 issued to Johnson et al. on Apr. 30, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,239 issued to Trokhan on Jul. 9, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,480 issued to Trokhan on Jul. 16, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,859 issued to Trokhan on Jan. 20, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 5,245,025 issued to Trokhan et al. on Sep. 14, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,700 issued to Trokhan on Jan. 4, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,565 issued to Rasch et al. on Jul. 12, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,289 issued to Trokhan et al. on Aug. 2, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,504 issued to Smurkowski et al. on Nov. 15, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,428 issued to Trokhan et al. on Jun. 18, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,509 issued to Trokhan et al. on Sep. 17, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,876 issued to Ayers et al. on May 13, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,052 issued to Trokhan et al. on May 13, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,194 issued to Ampulski et al. on Jun. 10, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,636 issued to Hermans et al. on May 2, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,417 issued to Wendt et al. on Jan. 25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,887 issued to Wendt et al. on May 5, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,248 issued to Wendt et al. on Sep. 30, 1997; and U.S. Patent Application 2004/0192136A1 published in the name of Guskey et al. on Sep. 30, 2004.
Paper substrates may be manufactured via wet-laid papermaking processes where the resulting web is through-air-dried or conventionally dried. Optionally, the substrate may be foreshortened by creping, by wet microcontraction or by any other means. Creping and/or wet microcontraction are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,938 issued to Neal et al. on Apr. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,085 issued to Neal et al. on Aug. 24, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,950 issued to Vinson et al. on Feb. 2, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,597 issued to Wells et al. on Apr. 3, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,756 issued to Sawdai on May 4, 1980; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,138 issued to Neal et al. on Feb. 13, 2001.
Conventionally pressed tissue paper and methods for making such paper are, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,928 issued to Barnholtz et al. on Apr. 15, 2003. One suitable tissue paper is pattern densified tissue paper which is characterized by having a relatively high-bulk field of relatively low fiber density and an array of densified zones of relatively high fiber density. The high-bulk field is alternatively characterized as a field of pillow regions. The densified zones are alternatively referred to as knuckle regions. The densified zones may be discretely spaced within the high-bulk field or may be interconnected, either fully or partially, within the high-bulk field. Processes for making pattern densified tissue webs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,746 issued to Sanford and Sisson on Jan. 31, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,576 issued to Amneus on Oct. 21, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,164 issued to Friedberg, et al. on Mar. 30, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,068 issued to Salvucci, Jr. et al. on May 21, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,025 issued to Ayers on Aug. 10, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,609 issued to on Mar. 4, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,065 issued to Trokhan on Dec. 16, 1980 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,239 issued to Trokhan on Jul. 9, 1985 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,859 issued to Trokhan on Jan. 20, 1987.
Uncompacted, nonpattern-densified tissue paper structures are also suitable for use with the present invention and are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,000 issued to Joseph L. Salvucci, Jr. and Peter N. Yiannos on May 21, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,459, issued to Henry E. Becker, Albert L. McConnell, and Richard Schutte on Jun. 17, 1980. Uncreped paper can also be subjected to the apparatus and method of the present invention. Suitable techniques for producing uncreped tissue are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,417 issued to Wendt et al. on Jan. 25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,887 issued to Wendt et al. on May 5, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,248 issued to Wendt et al. on Sep. 30, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,347 issued to Engel et al. on Mar. 30, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,636 issued to Engel et al. on Sep. 16, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,551 issued to Farrington et al. on Mar. 4, 1997 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,132 issued to Farrington et al. on Aug. 12, 1997.
Substrates suitable for use with the present invention may alternatively be manufactured via an air-laid making process. An example of one process for making such airlaid paper substrates is found in U.S. Patent Application 2004/0192136A1 filed in the name of Gusky et al. and published on Sep. 30, 2004.
The web may also or alternatively include fibers, films and/or foams that comprises a hydroxyl polymer and optionally a crosslinking system. Nonlimiting examples of suitable hydroxyl polymers include polyols, such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol derivatives, polyvinyl alcohol copolymers, starch, starch derivatives, chitosan, chitosan derivatives, cellulose derivatives such as cellulose ether and ester derivatives, gums, arabinans, galactans, proteins and various other polysaccharides and mixtures thereof. For example, the web may include a continuous and/or substantially continuous fiber comprising a starch hydroxyl polymer and a polyvinyl alcohol hydroxyl polymer produced by dry spinning and/or solvent spinning (both unlike wet spinning into a coagulating bath) a composition comprising the starch hydroxyl polymer and the polyvinyl alcohol hydroxyl polymer.
Representative examples of other substrates can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,643 issued to Curro et al. on Dec. 16, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,518 issued to Curro et al. on Sep. 2, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,069 issued to Haq et al. on Jul. 29 1986; U.S. Patent Publications 2004/0154768 A1 published to Trokhan et al. on Aug. 12, 2004; 2004/0154767 A1 published to Trokhan et al. on Aug. 12, 2004; 2003/0021952 A1 published to Zink et al. on Jan. 30, 2003; and 2003/0028165 A1 published to Curro et al. on Feb. 6, 2003.
Other optional equipment may be used and/or processes may be performed on the web during its manufacture or after it is manufactured, as desired. These processes can be performed before or after the embossing method of the present invention, as applicable. For example, in certain embodiments, it may be desirable to provide heat, moisture or steam to the web prior to the web being embossed. Exemplary suitable apparatuses and methods for providing steam to a web to be embossed are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,143 issued to Glomb et al. on Jun. 10, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,144 issued to Smith et al. on Feb. 19, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,525 issued to Richards on Jun. 13, 2000 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,590 issued to Archer on Jun. 20, 2000. However, any suitable apparatus and/or method for providing heat, moisture or steam to the web may be used, including the use of steam bars, airfoils, sprayers, steam chambers or any combination thereof.
One example of an embossed web product is shown in
The embossed web product of the present invention may be converted for sale or use into any desired form. For example, the web may be wound into rolls, folded, stacked, perforated and/or cut into individual sheets of any desired size.
Embossment Height Test Method
Embossment height is measured using an Optical 3D Measuring System MikroCAD compact for paper measurement instrument (the “GFM MikroCAD optical profiler instrument”) and ODSCAD Version 4.0 software available from GFMesstechnik GmbH, Warthestraβe E21, D14513 Teltow, Berlin, Germany. The GFM MikroCAD optical profiler instrument includes a compact optical measuring sensor based on digital micro-mirror projection, consisting of the following components:
The GFM MikroCAD optical profiler system measures the height of a sample using the digital micro-mirror pattern projection technique. The result of the analysis is a map of surface height (Z) versus X-Y displacement. The system should provide a field of view of 27×22 mm with a resolution of 21 μm. The height resolution is set to between 0.101 μm and 1.00 μm. The height range is 64,000 times the resolution. To measure a fibrous structure sample, the following steps are utilized:
“Wet Burst Strength” as used herein is a measure of the ability of a fibrous structure and/or a paper product incorporating a fibrous structure to absorb energy, when wet and subjected to deformation normal to the plane of the fibrous structure and/or paper product. Wet burst strength may be measured using a Thwing-Albert Burst Tester Cat. No. 177 equipped with a 2000 g load cell commercially available from Thwing-Albert Instrument Company, Philadelphia, Pa.
For 1-ply and 2-ply products having a sheet length (MD) of approximately 11 inches (280 mm) remove two usable units from the roll. Carefully separate the usable units at the perforations and stack them on top of each other. Cut the usable units in half in the Machine Direction to make a sample stack of four usable units thick. For usable units smaller than 11 inches (280 mm) carefully remove two strips of three usable units from the roll. Stack the strips so that the perforations and edges are coincident. Carefully remove equal portions of each of the end usable units by cutting in the cross direction so that the total length of the center unit plus the remaining portions of the two end usable units is approximately 11 inches (280 mm). Cut the sample stack in half in the machine direction to make a sample stack four usable units thick.
The samples are next oven aged. Carefully attach a small paper clip or clamp at the center of one of the narrow edges. “Fan” the other end of the sample stack to separate the towels which allows circulation of air between them. Suspend each sample stack by a clamp in a 221° F.±2° F. (105° C.±1° C.) forced draft oven for five minutes±10 seconds. After the heating period, remove the sample stack from the oven and cool for a minimum of 3 minutes before testing. Take one sample strip, holding the sample by the narrow cross machine direction edges, dipping the center of the sample into a pan filled with about 25 mm of distilled water. Leave the sample in the water four (4) (±0.5) seconds. Remove and drain for three (3) (±0.5) seconds holding the sample so the water runs off in the cross machine direction. Proceed with the test immediately after the drain step. Place the wet sample on the lower ring of a sample holding device of the Burst Tester with the outer surface of the sample facing up so that the wet part of the sample completely covers the open surface of the sample holding ring. If wrinkles are present, discard the samples and repeat with a new sample. After the sample is properly in place on the lower sample holding ring, turn the switch that lowers the upper ring on the Burst Tester. The sample to be tested is now securely gripped in the sample holding unit. Start the burst test immediately at this point by pressing the start button on the Burst Tester. A plunger will begin to rise toward the wet surface of the sample. At the point when the sample tears or ruptures, report the maximum reading. The plunger will automatically reverse and return to its original starting position. Repeat this procedure on three (3) more samples for a total of four (4) tests, i.e., four (4) replicates. Report the results as an average of the four (4) replicates, to the nearest g.
All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in relevant part, incorporated by reference herein; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the extent that any meaning or definition of the term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10950706 | Sep 2004 | US |
| Child | 11147700 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Parent | 10673659 | Sep 2003 | US |
| Child | 11147700 | Jun 2005 | US |
