Wet-resilient webs and disposable articles made therewith

• US 6,808,790 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Issued: 10/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Incorporated (Kimberly-Clark Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Incorporated (Kimberly-Clark Corporation)
• Inventors: Kamps, Richard Joseph, Burazin, Mark Alan, Hollenberg, David Henry, Hermans, Michael Alan, Lindsay, Jeffrey Dean, Kressner, Bernhardt Edward, Chen, Fung-jou
• Primary Examiner(s): Cole, Elizabeth M.
• Application Number:
  US10/154,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20030070780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 428/153, 428/156, 442/385, 442/389, 442/412, 442/413, 162/109, 162/9, 604/375
• US Class Current: 428/153
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/15203 Properties of the article, e.g. stiffness or absorbency chemical aspects A61L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/53 characterised by the absorbing medium A61F13/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 15/60 Liquid-swellable gel-forming materials, e.g. super-absorbents
• CPC Class Codes: B31F 5/022 using a rotary tool
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 23/02 in the form of fibres or filaments not used
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 81/264 for absorbing liquids
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 11/14 Making cellulose wadding, filter or blotting paper
• CPC Class Codes: D21F 11/145 including a through-drying process
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 11/02 Chemical or chemomechanical or chemothermomechanical pulp
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 11/08 Mechanical or thermomechanical pulp
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 21/20 Wet strength agents
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24455 Paper
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24479 including variation in thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24603 Fiber containing component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24612 Composite web or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/664 Including a wood fiber containing layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/668 Separate nonwoven fabric layers comprise chemically different strand or fiber material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/693 Including a paper layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/695 Including a wood containing layer

Abstract

Paper sheets useful for tissues, paper towels, napkins, disposable absorbent products and the like can be made to exhibit a high degree of wet resiliency. This property is achieved by using a combination of high yield pulp fibers (such as bleached chemithermomechanical pulp fibers) and a wet strength agent in an uncreped throughdrying process. The resulting product, when wetted, can spring back after being crumpled in one'"'"'s hand.

Claims

1. A low-density. noncompressively-dried, three-dimensional web comprising at least about 15 dry weight percent high yield pulp fibers to which a wet strength agent has been added, said web having a density of about 0.3 grams per cubic centimeter or less, an Overall Surface Depth of about 0.2 millimeter or greater, an In-Plane Permeability of about 5×

10<sup>−

11</sup> square meters or greater and a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 6 cubic centimeters per gram or greater.

3. The web of claim 1 or 2 comprising at least about 30 dry weight percent high yield pulp fibers.

4. The web of claim 1 or 2 comprising at least about 50 dry weight percent high yield pulp fibers.

5. The web of claim 1 or 2 comprising about 100 dry weight percent high yield pulp fibers.

6. The web of claim 1 or 2 wherein the high yield pulp fibers are bleached chemithermomechanical pulp fibers.

7. The web of claim 1 or 2 comprising at least about 70 dry weight percent wood pulp fibers.

8. The web of claim 1 or 2 comprising at least about 70 dry weight percent softwood fibers.

9. The web of claim 1 or 2 wherein at least about 0.2 dry weight percent of a wet strength agent has been added.

10. The web of claim 1 or 2 wherein from about 0.1 to about 3 dry weight percent of a wet strength agent has been added.

11. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a basis weight of from about 10 to about 80 grams per square meter.

12. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a basis weight of from about 2- to about 60 grams per square meter.

13. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a density of about 0.1 gram per cubic centimeter or less.

14. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Wrinkle Recovery of about 60 percent or greater.

15. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Wrinkle Recovery of about 70 percent or greater.

16. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Wrinkle Recovery of about 80 percent or greater.

17. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a wet:

dry ratio of about 0.2 or greater.

18. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a wet:

dry ratio of about 0.5 or greater.

19. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Compression Ratio of from 0.4 to about 0.7.

20. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Springback Ratio of about 0.75 or greater.

21. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Springback Ratio of about 0.9 or greater.

22. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Springback Ratio of from about 0.8 to about 0.93.

23. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Loading Energy Ratio of about 0.7 or greater.

24. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Loading Energy Ratio of about 0.8 or greater.

25. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Loading Energy Ratio of from about 0.7 to about 0.9.

26. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 7 cubic centimeters per gram or greater.

27. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 8 cubic centimeters per gram or greater.

28. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Compressed Bulk of from about 8 to about 13 cubic centimeters.

29. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 8 cubic centimeters per gram or greater, a Wet Springback ratio of about 0.8 or greater and a Loading Energy Ratio of about 0.7 or greater.

30. The web of claim 1 or 2 wherein the fibers of the web have a water retention value of about 0.9 or greater.

31. The web of claim 1 or 2 having an In-Plane Permeability of about 5×

10<sup>−

11</sup> square meters or greater.

32. The web of claim 1 or 2 having an In-Plane Permeability of from about 5×

10<sup>−

11</sup> to about 80×

1O<sup>−

11</sup> square meters.

33. The web of claim 1 or 2 having an In-Plane Permeability of from about 8×

10−

11 to about 30×

10<sup>−

11</sup> square meters.

34. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a FIFE Test value of about 125 seconds or less.

35. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a FIFE Test value of about 75 seconds or less.

36. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Dry Wipe Residue Total Area coverage of about 2000 square millimeters or less.

37. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Dry Wipe Residue Mass Factor of about 30 or less.

38. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Wipe Residue Total Area coverage of about 1500 square millimeters or less.

39. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Wet Wipe Residue Mass Factor of about 5 or less.

40. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Mean Volume-Weighted Pore Length of about 550 microns or greater.

41. The web of claim 1 or 2 having a Thickness Variation Index of about 25 percent or less.

42. The web of claim 1 or 2 having en Overall Surface Depth of from about 0.4 to about 0.8 millimeters.

43. The web of claim 1 which has been through-air-dried.

44. An absorbent article comprising the web of claim 1 or 2.

45. A disposable diaper comprising the web of claim 1 or 2.

46. A feminine pad comprising the web of claim 1 or 2.

47. A meat and poultry pad comprising the web of claim 1 or 2.

48. A bed pad comprising the web of claim 1 or 2.

2. An uncreped through-air-dried web comprising at least about 10 dry weight percent virgin high yield pulp fibers to which a wet strength agent has been added, said web having a density of about 0.15 gram per cubic centimeter or less, a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 6 cubic centimeters per gram or greater and an Overall Surface Depth of about 0.3 millimeter or greater.

49. An absorbent article comprising a backsheet layer, a liquid permeable topsheet layer connected in a superposed relation with said backsheet layer, and a retention portion for storing liquid, said retention portion sandwiched between said topsheet layer and backsheet layer and including at least one uncreped through-air-dried sheet having a density of about 0.3 grams per cubic centimeter or less, a FIFE Test value of about 100 seconds or less, and an Overall Surface Depth of about 0.3 millimeter or greater, said sheet comprising at least about 20 dry weight percent high yield pulp fibers to which a wet strength agent has been added.

50. The absorbent article of claim 49 wherein said retention portion comprises a pair of said uncreped through-air-dried sheets with high absorbency materials disposed between said sheets.

51. The absorbent article of claim 50 further comprising a liquid acquisition/distribution layer disposed between said topsheet layer and said sheets and a support layer disposed between said sheets and said backsheet layer.

52. The absorbent article of claim 51 wherein said support layer comprises a compressed layer of wood pulp fluff.

53. The absorbent article of claim 49 wherein said sheet is folded to form an envelope and high-absorbency materials are disposed within said envelope.

54. The absorbent article of claim 49 wherein said sheet has a Wet Compressed Bulk of about 8 cubic centimeters per gram.