Patents Assigned to Kimberly-Clark
  • Patent number: 5411636
    Abstract: The internal bulk of a tissue web can be improved during manufacturing of the basesheet by subjecting the tissue web to differential pressure while supported on a coarse fabric at a consistency of about 30 percent or greater. The differential pressure, such as by applying vacuum suction to the underside of the coarse fabric, causes the wet web to deflect into the openings or depressions in the fabric and "pop" back, resulting in a substantial gain in thickness or internal bulk. The method is especially adapted to improve the internal bulk of wet-pressed tissue webs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1995
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark
    Inventors: Michael A. Hermans, Fung-Jou Chen, Larry L. Spiegelberg, Bernhardt E. Kressner, Janice G. Neilson
  • Patent number: 5386595
    Abstract: A garment and attachment system of the present invention include a pair of first attachment pads attached to a first waist section of a garment shell. Each first attachment pad has a primary axis directed generally toward the nearest corner of the garment shell and forming an angle of from 25 to 45 degrees with the transverse axis of the garment shell. At least one second attachment pad is attached to a second waist section of the garment shell. A pair of strap members each have forward and rearward end portions with fasteners attached thereto. The fasteners are releasably engageable with the attachment pads. In particular embodiments, the attachment pads are formed of a loop material having a predetermined loop tip orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1995
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark
    Inventors: David A. Kuen, Alan F. Schleinz
  • Patent number: 5300167
    Abstract: A method of forming a nonwoven web having delayed antimicrobial activity, in that the web does not exhibit antimicrobial activity upon its formation but develops such activity within from about three hours to about 30 days thereafter without any post-formation treatment, which method involves the steps of (1) melting a mixture consisting of a thermoplastic polyolefin, an additive, and a retardant coadditive; (2) forming fibers by extruding the resulting melt through under defined conditions of shear and throughput; (3) drawing the fibers; and (4) collecting the fibers on a moving foraminous surface as a web of entangled fibers. The additive is a defined siloxane quaternary ammonium salt having a weight average molecular weight of from about 800 to about 2,000 and a polydispersity of up to about 3.0. The additive is present in an amount of from about 0.5 to about 2.0 percent by weight, based on the amount of thermoplastic polyolefin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1994
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark
    Inventors: Ronald S. Nohr, John G. MacDonald