Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kimberly-clark Corporation

Steven Alexander Engel

Stephen John Sudall

Michael John Rekoske

Theodore Edwin Farrington, Jr

David Arthur Hyland

Paul Edward Williams

Mark Alan Burazin

Bernhardt Edward Kressner

Walter Theodore Schultz

Maug Hla Win

William Dee Lloyd

Uncreped throughdried cellulosic webs having improved smoothness and stretch are produced by transferring a newly formed web from the forming fabric to a slower moving, high fiber support transfer fabric, preferably using a fixed gap or kiss transfer in which the forming fabric and the transfer fabric converge and diverge at the leading edge of the transfer shoe. The web is then transferred to a throughdrying fabric and throughdried to final dryness, producing a web having an improved softness due to increased surface smoothness.

Method for making smooth uncreped throughdried sheets

A pre-moistened wet wipe provides functional wet strength in use, yet is dispersible if flushed down the toilet so that plumbing and sewage treatment facilities do not become clogged. A particular embodiment of the wipe consists of three uncreped through-air-dried tissue plies that are attached to each other by edge embossing. The two outer plies contain a wet strength agent to provide wet poke-through resistance to two large, centrally-located unembossed regions. The center ply contains no wet strength agent to aid in dispersibility. The embossing around the edges of the wipe further degrades the strength of the wipe in the embossed areas to assist in dispersibility when the wipe is flushed.

Flushable premoistened personal wipe

Uncreped throughdried basesheets can be made with the caliper of the basesheet being independent of the basis weight of the basesheet. Multi-ply wipers and towels produced by plying together two or more of such basesheets having a relatively low basis weight can provide products with improved caliper and absorbency for a given strength level and the amount of fiber used.

Method for making uncreped throughdried towels and wipers

Uncreped throughdried towels and wipers having high strength and

Growing community of inventors

Neenah, WI, United States of America

Steven Alexander Engel