Fibrous Structures and Methods for Making Same

Abstract

Fibrous structures, more particularly wet-laid fibrous structures that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: a wet-formed surface pattern that includes large cells, for example that exhibits a cell count of less than 120 cells/in1 and/or that is visually discernible to the naked eye dry and wet and/or is felt by users dry and wet and/or exhibits sufficient flexural rigidity and/or plate stiffness to feel more like a cloth than known wet-laid fibrous structures and/or feels less wet (dry-to-the-touch) after wetting than known wet-laid fibrous structures and methods for making same are provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fibrous structure comprising a surface comprising a plurality of first pillows wherein at least a portion of the plurality of first pillows are at least partially bounded by at least a portion of a second pillow different from the plurality of first pillows, wherein the portion of the second pillow exhibits a maximum width that is less than the maximum dimension of one or more of the plurality of first pillows. 
     
     
         2 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the portion of the plurality of first pillows are fully bound by the portion of the second pillow. 
     
     
         3 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the second pillow forms a continuous network pillow. 
     
     
         4 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of first pillows exhibits a cell size of at least 16 cell/in 2 . 
     
     
         5 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein at least one of the plurality of first pillows protrudes from the surface by greater than 0.025 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the plurality of first pillows are separated from the second pillow by one or more knuckles. 
     
     
         7 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 6  wherein at least a portion of the knuckle is a continuous knuckle. 
     
     
         8 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 7  wherein the portion of the plurality of first pillows are dispersed throughout the continuous knuckle. 
     
     
         9 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure comprises pulp fibers. 
     
     
         10 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 9  wherein the pulp fibers comprise wood pulp fibers. 
     
     
         11 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 9  wherein the pulp fibers comprise non-wood pulp fibers. 
     
     
         12 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure comprises water-insensitive fibers. 
     
     
         13 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure comprises synthetic fibers. 
     
     
         14 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 13  wherein the synthetic fibers comprise non-thermoplastic synthetic fibers. 
     
     
         15 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 13  wherein the synthetic fibers comprise regenerated cellulose fibers. 
     
     
         16 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 15  wherein the regenerated cellulose fibers are selected from the group consisting of: rayon fibers, viscose fibers, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 13  wherein the plurality of first pillows comprise synthetic fibers. 
     
     
         18 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure exhibits a TS7 of less than 20 dB V 2  rms as measured according to the Emtec Test Method. 
     
     
         19 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the plurality of first pillows comprise greater than 80% of their original height after wetting. 
     
     
         20 . The fibrous structure according to  claim 1  wherein the fibrous structure is dry-to-the-touch after wetting.