Albany International Corporation

Jeffrey Joseph Collegnon

David S Rougvie

John LaFond

John J Lafond

Bruce Stowe

Cynthia Rose Mathe

A multi-layer tissue forming fabric constructed so that the top forming surface has topographical differences measured as a plane difference between at least two top weft yarns. The plane difference&#x2014;the difference in height between the two weft yarns&#x2014;must be greater than zero. Using at least two different diameter, size, or shape weft yarns positioned at the same contour in the forming surface creates this plane difference and defines pocket areas in the forming surface of the tissue forming fabric. The pocket areas act to generate bulk, cross directional tensile, absorbency, and softness in a formed sheet of tissue, napkin, or towel paper.

Textured surface of a tissue forming fabric to generate bulk, cross directional tensile, absorbency, and softness in a sheet of paper

A papermaker's fabric, usable in a forming section of a paper machine, having a first layer formed of a first system of paired machine-direction (MD) warp yarns interwoven with a first system of cross machine-direction (CD) weft yarns and a second layer formed of a second system of MD warp yarns interwoven with a second system of CD weft yarns. The paired MD warp yarns are intrinsic to the first layer and are interwoven with the second system of CD weft yarns to bind the second layer to the first layer. The second system of MD warp yarns forms long floats, or warp-runners, on an external surface of the second layer. In this manner, a triple layer forming fabric with paired intrinsic binders and warp-runners may be produced with improved wear side abrasion resistance.

Warp-runner triple layer fabric with paired intrinsic warp binders

A papermaker's fabric, usable in the forming section of a paper machine, has three layers of cross-machine-direction (CD) wefts. The forming layer wefts are grouped into pairs. This twinning of the top-layer wefts results in non-equal spacing in the forming layer. This spacing imparts a desired non-uniformity in the web-supporting surface, thereby reducing the fabric diagonal problem. One of the top-layer wefts in each pair is vertically stacked with the middle and wear side layer wefts. The other top-layer wefts in each pair are unstacked. This alignment increases the drainage properties of the fabric. The middle layer wefts provide extra stability in the CD.

Fabric with three vertically stacked wefts with twinned forming wefts

A papermaker's fabric, usable in the forming section of a paper machine, has three layers of cross-machine-direction (CD) wefts. The forming layer wefts are grouped into pairs. This twinning of the top-layer wefts results in non-equal spacing in the forming (top) layer. This spacing imparts a desired non-uniformity in the web-supporting surface, thereby reducing diagonal fabric pattern. The forming layer wefts are vertically offset from the middle and wear side layer wefts, which are vertically stacked. This unstacked alignment reduces the caliper of the fabric and lowers the void volume. The middle layer wefts provide extra stability in the CD.

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Combined Locks, WI, United States of America

Jeffrey Joseph Collegnon