Gpcp IP Holdings LLC

Georgia-pacific Consumer Products LP

Xiaolin Fan

Hung Liang Chou

Daniel H Sze

Dean J Baumgartner

Taiye Philips Oriaran

Farminder Singh Anand

Daniel Hue Ming Sze

Joseph Henry Miller

Hung-Liang Chou

Frank David Harper

Steven R Olson

Dean Joseph Baumgartner

Daniel Hue Sze

Brian J Schuh

Tianyan Xie Hartlep

Vipul Kumar

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet. The method includes compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a web having a consistency of about thirty percent to about sixty percent, creping the web under pressure in a creping nip between a transfer surface and a structuring fabric, and drying the web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet. The absorbent sheet has SAT capacities of at least about 9.5 g/g and at least about 500 g/m. A creping ratio is defined by the speed of the transfer surface relative to the speed of the structuring fabric, and the creping ratio is less than about 25%.

Methods of making fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheets

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet. The method includes compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a web having a consistency of about 30 percent to about 60 percent, creping the web under pressure in a creping nip between a transfer surface and a structuring fabric, the structuring fabric including knuckles formed on warp yarns of the structuring fabric, with the knuckles having a length in the machine direction (MD) of the absorbent sheet and a width in the cross machine direction (CD) of the absorbent sheet, wherein a planar volumetric density index of the structuring fabric multiplied by a ratio of the length of the knuckles to the width of the knuckles is at least about 43, and drying the web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet.

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet. The method includes compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a web, creping the web under pressure in a creping nip between a transfer surface and a structuring fabric, the structuring fabric including knuckles formed on warp yarns of the structuring fabric, with the knuckles being positioned along lines that are angled relative to the machine direction of the fabric. The angle of lines relative to the machine direction is between about 10&#xb0; and about 30&#xb0;. The method also includes drying the web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet.

Methods of making soft absorbent sheets and absorbent sheets made by such methods

An absorbent sheet made by a process that includes the steps of forming a nascent web from an aqueous papermaking furnish, and creping the nascent web on a multilayer belt that includes (i) a first layer made from a polymeric material having a plurality of overlapping openings, and (ii) a second layer attached to the first layer, with the nascent web being deposited onto a surface of the first layer. The absorbent sheet includes a plurality of hollow domed regions projecting from a side of the absorbent sheet.

Multilayer creping belt having connected openings, methods of making paper products using such a creping belt, and related paper products

Soft absorbent sheets, structuring fabrics for producing soft absorbent sheets, and methods of making soft absorbent sheets. The soft absorbent sheets have a plurality of domed regions or projected regions extending from a surface of the sheets, and connecting regions form a network between domed regions. The domed and projected regions include indented bars that extend across the domed and projected regions in a substantially cross machine direction of the absorbent sheets. The absorbent sheets can be formed by structuring fabrics that have long warp yarn knuckles.

Soft absorbent sheets, structuring fabrics for making soft absorbent sheets, and methods of making soft absorbent sheets

An absorbent sheet made by a process that includes the steps of forming a nascent web from an aqueous papermaking furnish, and creping the nascent web on a multilayer belt that includes (i) a first layer made from a polymeric material having a plurality of openings, and (ii) a second layer attached to the first layer, with the nascent web being deposited onto a surface of the first layer. The absorbent sheet includes a plurality of hollow domed regions projecting from a side of the absorbent sheet, with each of the hollow domed regions being shaped such that a distance from at least one first point on an edge of a hollow domed region to a second point on an edge at an opposite side of the hollow domed region is at least about 0.5 mm.

Absorbent sheet made by creping a nascent web on a multilayer belt having openings

A cellulosic sheet includes a single ply providing a first surface of the cellulosic sheet on one side and a second surface of the cellulosic sheet on a second side. The single ply has a caliper of at least about 130 mils/8 sheets, a basis weight of less than about 16 lbs/ream, and a dry machine direction/cross machine direction (MD/CD) tensile ratio of less than about 1.0.

Absorbent sheets having high absorbency and high caliper, and methods of making soft, absorbent sheets

A method of creping a cellulosic sheet and a creped web made by a creping process. The method includes preparing a nascent web from an aqueous papermaking furnish, depositing and creping the nascent web on a multilayer creping belt that includes (i) a first layer made from a polymeric material having a plurality of openings, and (ii) a second layer attached to a surface of the first layer, with the nascent web being deposited on the first layer, and applying a vacuum to the creping belt such that the nascent web is drawn into the plurality of openings, but not drawn into the second layer.

Method of creping a cellulosic sheet using a multilayer creping belt having openings to make paper products, and paper products made using a multilayer creping belt having openings

Soft absorbent sheets, structuring fabrics for producing soft absorbent sheets, and methods of making soft absorbent sheets. The soft absorbent sheets have a plurality of projected regions and connecting regions that connect the projected regions. The projected regions include folds that are curved relative to a machine direction of the absorbent sheet, with ends of the curved folds being on opposite sides of the projected regions, and with apexes of the curved folds being positioned downstream in the machine direction of the absorbent sheet. The absorbent sheets can be formed by structuring fabrics that have angled lines of warp yarn knuckles.

A process of determining features of a fabric. A representation of a portion of a surface of the fabric is formed showing locations and sizes of knuckles and pockets in the fabric surface. The representation is a print or a photograph of the fabric surface. An image is generated based on the representation. At least a portion of the image is displayed on a computer screen. The sizes and locations of the knuckles or pockets is determined. A unit cell is drawn for the portion of the fabric surface in the image. The unit cell is defined by guidelines that (i) pass through the centers of the knuckles and (ii) form shapes that surround areas of the image that correspond to where the pockets are formed between the knuckles. A fabric planar volumetric index is calculated based on properties of the unit cell formed by the guidelines.

Process of determining features of a papermaking fabric based on sizes and locations of knuckles and pockets in the fabric

An absorbent cellulosic sheet made by a method that includes forming an aqueous cellulosic web on a structuring fabric in a papermaking machine, non-compactively dewatering the cellulosic web on the structuring fabric, and drying the cellulosic web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet. A portion of the structuring fabric on which the cellulosic web is formed has an adjusted planar volumetric index of at least about 27.

An absorbent cellulosic sheet made by a method that includes forming an aqueous cellulosic web on a portion of a structuring fabric in a papermaking machine, and drying the cellulosic web to form the absorbent cellulosic sheet. The portion of the structuring fabric on which the cellulosic web is formed has a planar volumetric index of at least about 26. The absorbent cellulosic sheet has a caliper of at least about 160 mils/8 sheets and a dry machine direction (MD) to cross machine direction (CD) tensile ratio of less than about 1.0.

Growing community of inventors

Appleton, WI, United States of America

Xiaolin Fan