The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 01, 2011
Filed:
Jun. 30, 2008
Kou-chang Liu, Appleton, WI (US);
Tom G. Shannon, Neenah, WI (US);
Peter J. Allen, Neenah, WI (US);
Geof Carlow, Neenah, WI (US);
Mike Goulet, Neenah, WI (US);
Paul Burden, Cumbria, GB;
Greg Aykens, Menasha, WI (US);
Joe Capizzi, Neenah, WI (US);
Thomas Hunt, Appleton, WI (US);
Diane Linskens, Seymour, WI (US);
Roger Wendler, Sherwood, WI (US);
John Wnek, Appleon, WI (US);
Kou-Chang Liu, Appleton, WI (US);
Tom G. Shannon, Neenah, WI (US);
Peter J. Allen, Neenah, WI (US);
Geof Carlow, Neenah, WI (US);
Mike Goulet, Neenah, WI (US);
Paul Burden, Cumbria, GB;
Greg Aykens, Menasha, WI (US);
Joe Capizzi, Neenah, WI (US);
Thomas Hunt, Appleton, WI (US);
Diane Linskens, Seymour, WI (US);
Roger Wendler, Sherwood, WI (US);
John Wnek, Appleon, WI (US);
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US);
Abstract
Tissue products are described that have been topically treated with a chemical additive, such as a softener. The softener may be, for instance, a polysiloxane. The polysiloxane is topically applied to a tissue sheet, such as a single ply sheet, so as to form a Z-directional gradient in the sheet. Particular, most of the polysiloxane remains on the surface of the tissue product as opposed to migrating to the center of the sheet. In this manner, tissue sheets are formed with improved softness at lower levels of polysiloxane and without the need for applying any surfactants to the sheet. A system for applying chemical additives to tissue sheets is also described. The system includes a chemical additive applicator, such as a meltblown die that emits the chemical additive through a plurality of orifices. In one embodiment, the system includes a device for periodically cleaning the orifices during application of the chemical additive. The cleaning device may be, for instance, a brush that traverses across the die head when desired.