Tissue products having a high degree of cross machine direction stretch

Abstract

The present invention provides tissue products having increased CD stretch, which may be manufactured using a process in which the nascent web is subjected to two distinct rush transfers. The first rush transfer occurs when the web is transferred from the forming fabric to the transfer fabric, i.e., the “first position,” and the second occurs when the web is transferred from the transfer fabric to the through-air drying fabric (TAD) fabric, i.e., the “second position.” The overall speed differential between the forming fabric and the TAD fabric may be, for example, from about 10 to about 50 percent, with the amount of rush transfer being divided between the first and second position in a manner sufficient to achieve the desired CD stretch and other sheet properties.

1 . A method of making a tissue web comprising the steps of: (a) depositing an aqueous suspension of papermaking fibers onto a forming fabric traveling at a first rate of speed to form a wet web; (b) dewatering the web to a consistency of about 20 percent or greater; (c) rush transferring the dewatered web to a transfer fabric, the transfer fabric traveling at a rate of speed from about 1 to about 30 percent slower than the speed of the forming fabric; (d) rush transferring the web to a throughdrying fabric, the throughdrying fabric traveling at a rate of speed from about 1 to about 30 percent slower than the speed of the transfer fabric; and (e) throughdrying the web. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the transfer fabric is traveling at a rate of speed of about 5 to about 15 percent slower than the speed of the forming fabric. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the throughdrying fabric is traveling at a rate of speed of about 5 to about 15 percent slower than the speed of the transfer fabric. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of calendering the throughdried web. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of creping the throughdried web. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the throughdried web is uncreped. 
     
     
         7 . A method of making a multi-ply tissue product comprising the steps of: (a) depositing an aqueous suspension of papermaking fibers onto a forming fabric traveling at a first rate of speed to form a wet web; (b) dewatering the web to a consistency of about 20 percent or greater; (c) rush transferring the dewatered web to a transfer fabric, the transfer fabric traveling at a rate of speed from about 1 to about 30 percent slower than the speed of the forming fabric; (d) rush transferring the web to a throughdrying fabric, the throughdrying fabric traveling at a rate of speed from about 1 to about 30 percent slower than the speed of the transfer fabric; and (e) throughdrying the web, thereby forming a dried tissue web, (f) plying two or more of the dried tissue webs of step (e) together in a facing arrangement to form a multi-ply tissue product, the multi-ply tissue product having a CD stretch greater than about 19 percent and a CD tensile strength greater than about 700 grams per 3 inches. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the transfer fabric is traveling at a rate of speed of about 5 to about 15 percent slower than the speed of the forming fabric. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the throughdrying fabric is traveling at a rate of speed of about 5 to about 15 percent slower than the speed of the transfer fabric. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising the step of calendering the throughdried web. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising the step of creping the throughdried web. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a CD slope less than about 2200 gf. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a CD Slope from about 2000 to about 2400 gf. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a CD stretch from about 19 to about 21 percent. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a CD TEA greater than about 7.0 gf*cm/cm 2 . 
     
     
         16 . The multi-ply tissue product of  claim 9  having a CD TEA from about 7.0 gf*cm/cm2 to about 9.0 gf*cm/cm 2 . 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a tensile strength from about 700 to about 950 grams per 3 inches and a CD TEA from about 7.0 gf*cm/cm 2  to about 9.0 gf*cm/cm 2 . 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the multi-ply tissue product has a ratio of MD stretch to CD stretch of less than about 1.0.