Three-Ply Tissue Structure With Dual Surfaces for Softness and Wiping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tissue products lack differing surface textures, which limits their usefulness for both personal care and household wiping applications, as they either compromise softness or fail to provide the necessary durability and texture.
Innovation Solution
A three-ply tissue product is formed with two substantially smooth creped tissue plies and one textured through-air dried ply, providing distinct surface characteristics for soft skin contact and durable wiping applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a dense, thin middle ply is used to improve absorbency, then absorbency is improved, but softness is compromised and surface texture variety is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue product is divided into three distinct plies with different functions: two outer plies provide softness and surface smoothness, while the middle ply provides bulk and absorbency. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized for its specific function without compromising the others.
Solution Approach 2:
Different plies are assigned different local qualities: the outer plies have smooth surfaces for skin contact, while the middle ply has high bulk for absorbency. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing the dense middle ply to provide absorbency without requiring the outer surfaces to be dense, thus maintaining softness.
2Ease of manufacture
If a single surface texture is used to simplify manufacturing, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but versatility for different applications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-ply tissue product achieves multi-functionality by combining plies with different surface characteristics. The smooth outer plies enable personal care applications, while the textured middle ply enables wiping and scrubbing applications, allowing a single product to serve multiple functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a single ply with conflicting properties, the solution moves to a multi-dimensional structure with three plies. This dimensional approach allows the product to have both smooth and textured surfaces simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and application versatility.
3Strength
If a textured ply is placed at the surface to provide wiping durability, then wiping strength is improved, but skin contact softness is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The product is segmented into functional layers where the textured ply is positioned in the middle rather than at the surface. This segmentation allows the textured ply to provide wiping durability while the smooth outer plies provide skin contact softness, resolving the contradiction through spatial separation of functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the textured ply at the surface as would be intuitive for wiping applications, the invention inverts the expected arrangement by placing smooth plies at the surface and the textured ply in the middle. This inversion resolves the contradiction by allowing both surface smoothness and internal textured structure to coexist.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention provides a multi-ply tissue product having different surface characteristics on each side of the product. The multi-ply tissue product may be formed from two or more plies where one surface is formed by a substantially smooth creped ply and the other surface is formed by a textured through-air dried ply. In this manner the tissue product may be used for both personal care, which requires a soft and smooth surface, and general household wiping, which requires a rough, durable surface.