Absorbent Paper Product And Method For Manufacturing Such Absorbent Paper Product Patent Application (2025)

U.S. patent application number 16/126528 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-03 for absorbent paper product and method for manufacturing such absorbent paper product. This patent application is currently assigned to SCA Hygiene Products AB. The applicant listed for this patent is SCA Hygiene Products AB. Invention is credited to Hans-Jurgen LAMB.

ABSORBENT PAPER PRODUCT AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH ABSORBENTPAPER PRODUCT

Abstract

A paper product including a fibrous web manufactured in a papermaking machine including a fabric is disclosed. The web has a firstand an opposite second side. At least one of the first and secondsides of the web has, in a pattern repeat, a number oflongitudinal, machine direction oriented compressed areas with afirst density of fibers and a number of machine direction orientedbulky areas with a second density of fibers lower than the firstdensity. The compressed areas correspond to machine directionoriented warp knuckles of warp yarns floating over weft yarns, andadjacent compressed areas, corresponding to warp knuckles ofdirectly adjacent warp yarns, overlap in the cross-machinedirection forming a continuous compressed pattern angled to themachine and cross-machine directions. A first line connects thecenters of first two directly adjacent compressed areas of thecontinuous compressed pattern at a first angle different from asecond angle of a second line connecting the centers of second twodirectly adjacent compressed areas of the continuous compressedpattern so that a line connecting the centers of all compressedareas forming the continuous compressed pattern isnon-straight.

Related U.S. Patent Documents

Claims

1-7 (canceled)

8. A method for manufacturing a paper product, comprising:providing a forming fabric or a drying fabric, the fabric having aplurality of machine direction oriented warp knuckles formed bywarp yarns of the fabric floating over weft yarns of the fabric,wherein warp knuckles of directly adjacent warp yarns overlap inthe cross-machine direction forming a continuous pattern angled tothe machine and cross-machine directions, wherein a first lineconnecting the centers of first two directly adjacent warp knucklesof the continuous pattern is angled to the machine direction at afirst angle different from a second angle of a second lineconnecting the centers of second two directly adjacent warpknuckles of the continuous pattern so that a line connecting thecenters of all warp knuckles forming the continuous pattern isnon-straight, wherein the warp knuckles form compressed areas inthe fibrous web at which the fiber density is higher than in bulkyareas of the fibrous web, wherein at least 50% of all adjacentcompressed areas have an overlap of at least three consecutive weftyarns; and forming or drying a fibrous web on the fabric.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the warp knuckles ofthe fabric forming the continuous pattern have a float length of atleast 4.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the fabric has onlyweft knuckles with a float length of less than 4.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the float length of atleast one of the first two adjacent warp knuckles or the second twoadjacent warp knuckles is the same.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the average floatlength of all warp knuckles forming the continuous pattern in apattern repeat is 4 to 8.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein at least 50 percent ofthe warp knuckles of a pattern repeat forming the continuouscompressed pattern have a float length difference of not more than25 percent of the average float length of the warp knuckles formingthe continuous compressed pattern in the pattern repeat.

14. A method of using a fabric in the manufacture of a paperproduct, comprising providing the fabric in a paper making machine,the fabric comprising a plurality of machine direction orientedwarp knuckles formed by warp yarns of the fabric floating over weftyarns of the fabric, wherein warp knuckles of directly adjacentwarp yarns overlap in the cross-machine direction forming acontinuous pattern angled to the machine and cross-machinedirections, wherein a first line connecting the centers of firsttwo directly adjacent warp knuckles of the continuous pattern isangled to the machine direction at a first angle different from asecond angle of a second line connecting the centers of second twodirectly adjacent warp knuckles of the continuous pattern so that aline connecting the centers of all warp knuckles forming thecontinuous pattern is non-straight, wherein the warp knuckles formcompressed areas in the fibrous web at which the fiber density ishigher than in other areas, and wherein at least 50% of alladjacent compressed areas have an overlap of at least threeconsecutive weft yarns.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the warp knuckles ofthe fabric forming the continuous pattern have a float length of atleast 4.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the fabric has onlyweft knuckles formed by the weft yarns of the fabric floating overthe warp yarns with a float length of less than 4.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the float length ofat least one of the first two directly adjacent warp knucklesand/or the second two directly adjacent warp knuckles is thesame.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the average floatlength of all warp knuckles forming the continuous pattern in apattern repeat is 4 to 8.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein at least 50 percentof the warp knuckles forming the continuous compressed pattern havea float length difference of not more than 25 percent of theaverage float length of the warp knuckles forming the continuouscompressed pattern in the pattern repeat.

20.-33 (canceled)

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

[0002] This application is a continuation application of co-pendingprior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/300,800, filed Sep. 30,2016, which is the National Stage Application of PCT InternationalApplication No. PCT/EP2014/056595 filed Apr. 2, 2014. The contentsof each of these applications are incorporated herein in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the manufacture of a paperproduct, particularly an absorbent paper product, such as a hygieneor wiping product. In general, the disclosure relates tostructuring a fibrous web, constituting a part of the paperproduct, by means of a fabric or wire used in the papermakingprocess (the terms "wire" and "fabric" are used synonymouslythroughout the application).

[0004] The fibrous web may be made of tissue paper or nonwoven.Fibrous webs of the same or a different material may be combined inthe final paper product.

[0005] A tissue paper is defined as a soft absorbent paper having alow basis weight. One generally selects a basis weight of 8 to 40g/m.sup.2, especially 10 to 25 g/m.sup.2 per ply. The total basisweight of multiple-ply tissue products can be equal to a maximum of120 g/m.sup.2, or to a maximum of 100 g/m.sup.2, or to a maximum of55 g/m.sup.2. Its density is typically below 0.6 g/cm.sup.3, below0.30 g/cm.sup.3, or between 0.08 and 0.20 g/cm.sup.3.

[0006] The production of tissue is distinguished from general paperproduction by its extremely low basis weight and its much highertensile energy absorption index (see DIN EN 12625-4 and DIN EN12625-5). Paper and tissue paper also differ in general with regardto the modulus of elasticity that characterizes the stress-strainproperties of these products as a material parameter.

[0007] A tissue's high tensile energy absorption index results fromthe outer or inner creping. The former is produced by compressionof the paper web adhering to a dry cylinder as a result of theaction of a crepe doctor or in the latter instance as a result of adifference in speed between two wires ("fabrics"). This causes thestill moist, plastically deformable paper web to be internallybroken up by compression and shearing, thereby rendering it morestretchable under load than a non-creped paper.

[0008] Moist tissue paper webs are usually dried by the so-calledyankee drying, the through-air drying (TAD) or the impulse dryingmethod.

[0009] The fibers contained in the tissue paper are mainlycellulosic fibers, such as pulp fibers from chemical pulp (e.g.Kraft sulfite or sulfate pulps), mechanical pulp (e.g. groundwood), thermo mechanical pulp, chemo-mechanical pulp and/orchemo-thermo mechanical pulp (CTMP). Pulps derived from bothdeciduous (hardwood) and coniferous (softwood) can be used. Thefibers may also be or include recycled fibers, which may containany or all of the above categories. The fibers can be treated withadditives--such as fillers, softeners, such as quaternary ammoniumcompounds and binders, such as conventional dry-strength agents orwet-strength agents used to facilitate the original paper making orto adjust the properties thereof. The tissue paper may also containother types of fibers, e.g. regenerated cellulosic fibers or annualplant fibers such as sisal, hemp, bast, flax, leave, grass, straw,seed, cotton or bamboo fibers, or synthetic fibers enhancing, forinstance, strength, absorption, smoothness or softness of thepaper.

[0010] If tissue paper is to be made out of pulp, the processessentially includes a forming that includes a box and a formingwire ("fabric") portion, and a drying portion (such as through-airdrying, impulse drying, drying by pressure and/or conventionaldrying on a yankee cylinder). The production process also usuallyincludes the crepe process essential for tissues and, finally,typically a monitoring and winding area.

[0011] Paper can be formed by placing the fibers, in an oriented orrandom manner, on one or between two (Twin-wire) continuouslyrevolving forming wires of a papermaking machine whilesimultaneously removing the main quantity of water of dilutionuntil dry-solids contents of usually between 12 and 40% areobtained.

[0012] Drying the formed primary fibrous web occurs in one or moresteps by mechanical and thermal means until a final dry-solidscontent of usually about 93 to 97% has been reached. In case oftissue making, this stage is followed by the crepe process whichcrucially influences the properties of the finished tissue productin conventional processes and leads to cross-machine directionwrinkles in the fibrous web. The conventional dry crepe processinvolves creping on a usually 4.0 to 6.5 m diameter dryingcylinder, the so-called yankee cylinder, by means of a crepe doctorwith the aforementioned final dry-solids content of the raw tissuepaper. Wet creping can be used as well, if lower demands are madeof the tissue quality. The creped, finally dry raw tissue paper,the so-called base tissue (in the following called "fibrous web"),is then available for further processing to the final paperproduct.

[0013] Instead of the conventional tissue making process describedabove, the use of a modified technique is possible in which animprovement in specific volume is achieved by a special kind ofdrying which leads to an improvement in the bulk softness of thetissue paper. This process, which exists in a variety of subtypes,is termed the TAD (Through-Air Drying) technique. It ischaracterized by the fact that the "primary" fibrous web thatleaves the forming and sheet making stage is pre-dried to adry-solids content of about 80% before final contact drying on theyankee cylinder by blowing hot air through the fibrous web. Thefibrous web is supported by an air-permeable fabric, wire or belt(in the following "TAD-fabric") and during its transport is guidedover the surface of an air-permeable rotating cylinder drum, theso-called TAD-cylinder.

[0014] Structuring the fabrics, be it in the forming portion or thedrying portion makes it possible to produce any pattern ofcompressed zones broken up by deformation in the moist state, alsonamed moulding, resulting in increased mean specific volumes andconsequently leading to an increase of bulk softness withoutdecisively decreasing the strength of the fibrous web.

[0015] The term non-woven (ISO 9092, DIN EN 29092) is applied to awide range of products which, in terms of their properties, arelocated between those of paper (cf. DIN 6730, May 1996) andcardboard (DIN 6730) on the one hand, and textiles on the otherhand. As regards non-woven a large number of extremely variedproduction processes are used, such as the air-laid and spun-lacedtechniques as well as wet-laid techniques. The non-woven includesmats, non-woven fabrics and finished products made thereof.Non-wovens may also be called textile-like composite materials,which represent flexible porous fabrics that are not produced bythe classic methods of weaving warp and weft or by looping. Infact, non-wovens are produced by intertwining, cohesive or adhesivebonding of fibers, or a combination thereof. The non-woven materialcan be formed of natural fibers, such as cellulose or cottonfibers, but can also include synthetic fibers, such as polyethylene(PE), polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), polyester, polyamide(PA) such as nylon or regenerated cellulose, or a mix of differentfibers. The fibers may, for example, be present in the form ofendless fibers of pre-fabricated fibers of a finite length, assynthetic fibers produced in situ, or in the form of staple fibers.The nonwovens may include mixtures of synthetic and cellulosefibrous material, e.g. natural vegetable fibers (see ISO 9092, DINEN 29092).

[0016] The fibrous web may be converted to the final paper product,such as a hygiene or wiping product in many ways, for example, byembossing, printing and/or laminating it into a multi-ply productincluding a plurality of fibrous webs, rolled or folded.

[0017] Hygiene or wiping products primarily include all kinds ofdry-creped tissue paper, wet-creped paper, TAD-paper (Through-AirDrying) and cellulose or pulp-wadding or all kinds of non-wovens,or combinations, laminates or mixtures thereof. Typical propertiesof these hygiene and wiping products include the reliability toabsorb tensile stress energy, their drapability, good textile-likeflexibility, properties which are frequently referred to as bulksoftness, a higher surface softness and a high specific volume witha perceptible thickness. A liquid absorbency as high as possibleand, depending on the application, a suitable wet and dry strengthas well as an appealable visual appearance of the outer product'ssurface are desired. These properties, among others, allow thesehygiene and wiping products to be used, for example, as cleaningwipes such as paper or non-woven wipes, windscreen cleaning wipes,industrial wipes, kitchen paper or the like; as sanitary productssuch as for example bathroom tissue, tissue paper or non-wovenhandkerchiefs, household towels, towels and the like; as cosmeticwipes such as for example facials and as serviettes or napkins,just to mention some of the products that can be used. Furthermore,the hygiene and wiping products can be dry, moist, wet, printed orpretreated in any manner. In addition, the hygiene and wipingproducts may be folded, interleaved or individually placed, stackedor rolled, connected or not, in any suitable manner.

[0018] Due to the above description, the products can be used forpersonal and household use as well as commercial and industrialuse. They are adapted to absorb fluids, remove dust, for decorativepurposes, for wrapping or even just as supporting material, as iscommon for example in medical practices or in hospitals.

[0019] To produce multi-ply tissue paper products, such ashandkerchiefs, bathroom paper, towels or household towels, anintermediate step often occurs with so-called doubling in which thebase tissue in the desired number of plies of a finished product isusually gathered on a common multi-ply mother reel. It isunderstood that (multi-ply) tissue paper products of different(multi-ply) mother reels can be further combined in subsequentconverting steps.

[0020] In the final hygiene or wiping product one or more of thefibrous webs may be combined. Thereby webs of the same material,for example tissue paper or nonwoven may be combined or webs ofdifferent materials may be combined thereby forming hybridproducts. In the latter a tissue paper may be combined with anonwoven. In addition, one ply in itself may be a hybrid in regardthat different types of fibers (tissue cellulosic fibers andnon-woven fibers) are used in one and the same ply. A hybridproduct may also be obtained in that tissue paper plies which aremanufactured by different methods (for example TAD andconventional) may be combined.

BACKGROUND ART

[0021] U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,217 A for example discloses athrough-air drying fabric having a plurality of machine directionoriented warp knuckles formed by warp yarns of the fabric andfloating over the weft yarns of the fabric. These warp knucklesform compressed areas in the fibrous web dried on such a fabricwith a machine direction orientation. Warp knuckles of directlyadjacent warp yarns overlap in a cross-machine direction, but thewarp yarns are arranged so that a line connecting the centers ofall warp knuckles is straight. Thereby the paper or moreparticularly the fibrous web receives a uniform pattern with aplurality of strictly diagonally arranged linear compressed areasin the fibrous web. This relatively uniform and strict geometricarrangement is not capable of providing the fibrous web as suchwith a unique patterning which would make the paper product clearlydistinguishable from other products. In addition, this strictuniform and linear patterning gives the fibrous web a relativelystiff appearance. A similar disclosure may also be found in WO2012/104373 A. In order to disintegrate the strict diagonalstructure of the compressed areas, the fabric disclosed in WO2012/104373 A arranges a weft knuckle between pairs of warpknuckles. However, also this kind of fabric provides a relativelyuniform and strict pattern repeat with straight linear rows ofcompressed areas, however, alternately arranged in both machine andcross-machine direction. Also this pattern is perceived asbackground pattern not providing the fibrous web with a distinctappearance. Additionally, also this kind of patterning gives thefibrous web a relatively stiff outer appearance which is perceivednegative by the consumer.

[0022] To cope with these problems, it is common to convert thefibrous web to final products such as hygiene or wiping products byuse of embossing and/or printing. It is possible to emboss or printa random pattern which imparts a distinct pattern enabling adistinction of the product from other products as well as give theproduct a bulky and soft outer appearance.

[0023] On the other hand, the converting processes add on themanufacturing costs and, therefore, increase the price of theproducts. This is particularly disadvantageous when consideringproducts of the lower price segment, such as one ply paper productsincluding only one fibrous web or ply, respectively.

[0024] In these kinds of products, it would be highly desirable toimpart a pattern to the fibrous web already during the papermakingprocess so that one may even dispense the embossing and/or printingstep to arrive at the final product.

SUMMARY

[0025] Taking the aforesaid into account, it desired to provide apaper product as well as a method for manufacturing such a paperproduct, which has a distinct pattern imparted during thepapermaking process and visually supporting the soft and bulkyproperties of the paper product. It is also desired for theprovision of such pattern with a less harmonic and less strictgeometric appearance as compared to a prior art pattern to therebyincrease the soft and absorbent perception of a user withoutimpairing the absorbency, wet strength, bulk, etc.

[0026] One disclosed aspect is the use of a fabric in thepapermaking process (in the forming or in the drying portion), beit the forming fabric or any drying fabric, particularly athrough-air drying fabric. Such fabric is formed by warp yarnsextending in the machine direction and weft yarns extending in thecross-machine direction. As used herein, the "machine direction" isthat direction in which the fabric moves during the paper makingprocess. As used herein, the "cross machine direction" is thedirection perpendicular to the machine direction. The fabric has apattern repeat. As used herein, "a pattern repeat" is a regionrepeated on the web or fabric, each region having the sameconfiguration. As used herein, the term "pattern repeat" may alsobe defined as the interval at which a pattern is duplicated orrepeated on a piece of fabric or web. A plurality of longitudinalwarp knuckles is formed in the pattern repeat by warp yarnsfloating over weft yarns, or floating over at least two of weftyarns. The warp knuckles are machine direction oriented, i.e. thelongitudinal extension of the warp knuckles is substantiallyparallel to the machine direction. As used herein, "substantially"means that the longitudinal extension of the warp knuckles isangled to the machine direction not more than 45.degree., not morethan 30.degree., not more than 20.degree., or not more than10.degree.. The same applies to the extension of the yarns itself.The warp yarns are machine direction oriented and their maximumdeviation from the machine direction may be up to 45.degree., up to30.degree., up to 20.degree., or up to 10.degree.. The same appliesto the weft yarns which are cross-machine direction oriented. Thewarp knuckles are arranged so that warp knuckles of directlyadjacent warp yarns overlap in a cross machine direction. As usedherein, the term "directly adjacent" means that no other warp yarnis disposed between the two warp yarns forming the warp knuckles asseen in a plan view. As used herein, the term "overlap" means thatadjacent warp knuckles are offset relative to each other in themachine direction. A group consisting of a plurality of thesedirectly adjacent warp knuckles forms a continuous warp knuckle(compression) pattern. The continuous warp knuckle pattern extendsdiagonally (angled) to the machine direction.

[0027] According to one embodiment, some of directly adjacent warpknuckles within said group may have a different float length in themachine direction. According to another embodiment, the floatlength may be the same, but some of directly adjacent warp knuckleswithin said group are differently displaced to each other in themachine direction. Certainly, the two aspects above may as well becombined.

[0028] In particular embodiments, a line connecting the centers ofa first pair of directly adjacent warp knuckles of said group and aline connecting the centers of another pair of warp knuckles ofdirectly adjacent warp yarns of said group is differently orientedas seen in the plan view, i.e. one line is angled to the machinedirection differently than the other line. In this context, the twopairs may be constituted by first to fourth warp knuckles but alsoby first to third warp knuckles, wherein the second warp knuckle ispart of both the first and the second pair and disposed between thefirst and the third warp knuckle as seen in the cross-machinedirection. It is as well conceivable that the line passes throughthe centers of more than two directly adjacent warp knuckleswithout changing its orientation.

[0029] In particular embodiments, the line connecting all centersof a plurality of directly adjacent warp knuckles overlapping inthe cross-machine direction is non-straight. These warp knucklesform said continuous warp knuckle (compression) pattern within thepattern repeat over part of or the entire surface of the fabric.Thereby one may achieve that the outer contour of the continuouswarp knuckle pattern is non-straight.

[0030] The warp knuckles of the fabric form compressed areas in thefibrous web during manufacture. As the compressed areas correspondto the warp knuckles, the fibrous web has a plurality oflongitudinal machine direction oriented compressed areas. Aplurality of directly adjacent compressed areas with no compressedarea between them in the cross-machine direction form a continuouscompressed pattern over part of or the entire surface of thefibrous web thereby defining a group of compressed areas. The outercontour of this compressed pattern is non-straight, or, forexample, wavy or curved. Thereby, one can give the fibrous web and,hence, the paper product a distinct patterning which makes theproduct distinguishable from other products without the need of asubsequent embossing or printing. At the same time, thisnon-straight outer contour of the compressed pattern supports theimpression of a bulky and soft paper product which is consideredadvantageous, particularly when considering hygiene and wipingproducts. The latter is particularly achieved by breaking up thestrict geometric pattern of the prior art.

[0031] A paper product according to particular embodiments includesa fibrous web manufactured in a paper making machine including afabric, particularly a forming fabric or a drying fabric, or, forexample, a through-air drying fabric. The web has a first and anopposite second side, a machine direction and a cross-machinedirection. One of the two sides comes in contact with the fabricduring the manufacturing process. The side of the fabric cominginto contact with the fibrous web is called the paper side and theside of the fibrous web which comes into contact with the fabric iscalled the fabric side. The opposite side of the fabric, which doesnot come into contact with the fibrous web, is called the wearside. The terminology "machine direction" and "cross-machinedirection", as used herein, has already been defined previously. Atleast one of the first and second sides of the web, or the fabricside, has in a pattern repeat a number of longitudinal, machinedirection oriented compressed areas with a first density of fibersand a number of machine direction oriented bulky areas with asecond density of fibers lower than the first density. Thecompressed areas may on one side of the paper, particularly on thefabric side of the paper, appear as recesses, whereas thecompressed areas on the opposite side of the paper form ridges. Tothe contrary, the bulky areas, in which the fiber density is lowerthan in the compressed areas or where the paper is less compressedin these areas, are on the fabric side of the paper constituted byridges, whereas they are constituted by recesses on the oppositeside of the paper. The compressed areas correspond to machinedirection oriented warp knuckles of warp yarns of the fabricfloating over weft yarns of the fabric as described earlier.Directly adjacent compressed areas corresponding to warp knucklesof directly adjacent warp yarns overlap in the cross-machinedirection, a group of directly adjacent compressed areas forming acontinuous compressed pattern angled to the machine andcross-machine directions. As used herein, the term "continuouscompressed pattern" means a group of directly adjacent compressedareas which are arranged in a row which diagonally extends over thesurface of the first and/or second side of the fibrous web relativeto the machine and the cross-machine directions. The continuouscompressed pattern may be limited to a pattern repeat or may extendover more than one pattern repeat or over the entire paper. In thelatter case, a continuous compressed pattern of one pattern repeatis connected to another continuous compressed pattern of anotherpattern repeat. Thereby, a continuous pattern of a plurality ofmachine direction oriented compressed areas corresponding to warpknuckles of directly adjacent warp yarns may be formed over theentire surface of the paper. According to this aspect, a first lineconnecting the center of first two directly adjacent compressedareas of the continuous compressed pattern is angled to the machinedirection at a first angle different from a second angle of asecond line connecting the center of second two directly adjacentcompressed areas of the continuous compressed pattern. Thus, a lineconnecting the centers of all compressed areas forming thecontinuous compressed pattern is non-straight. The center isdefined as that point which is situated at half length and halfwidth of each compressed area. By these measures, it is possible todisintegrate the strict straight and geometric pattern of the priorart and provide the fibrous web and, hence, the paper product witha distinct patterning enabling a consumer to distinguish the paperproduct from other products. In addition, the non-straightcontinuous compressed pattern gives the consumer the feeling of asoft and bulky paper, which is perceived advantageous, particularlywhen used as absorbent paper, particularly for wiping and hygienepurposes. At the same time, this patterning does not alter thephysical properties of the paper such as wet strength, softness,etc. In addition, because this pattern is imparted during the papermaking process rather than later converting, this pattern is alsomaintained when the paper product gets wet. To the contrary, apattern imparted to a paper by means of embossing is dissolved whenwetting the paper as the densified fibers dissolve. This does notoccur when patterning the fibrous web during the paper makingprocess that is in the wet state of the paper. Further, by means ofthis patterning, it is conceivable to even omit later embossingwithout impairing the physical and esthetic characteristics of apaper product.

[0032] In particular embodiments, the outer contour of thecontinuous compressed pattern is wavy or curved. A wavy or curvedform like a sine or arbitrary curve provides for a harmonical outerappearance which further enhances the consumer's perception of abulky and soft product.

[0033] In this connection, the line connecting the centers of allcompressed areas can have at least two turning points. The moreturning points the line has, the longer is the diagonal (to themachine and cross-machine direction) extension of the compressedpattern.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the lines connecting thecenters of all compressed areas of the continuous compressedpatterns adjacent in the cross-machine direction are non-parallelor parallel. In a certain embodiment, the lines are congruent.However, they may be arranged parallel so that the distance in thecross-machine direction between two directly adjacent lines, thatis a first group of directly adjacent warp knuckles and a secondgroup of directly adjacent warp knuckles is the same. However, inorder to increase the distinctiveness of the pattern, the twolines, which are congruent, can be non-parallel, that is thedistance in the cross-machine direction between a first line and asecond line differs along the machine direction. Or to use theprevious wording, the distance between a first group of directlyadjacent warp knuckles and a second group of directly adjacent warpknuckles differs in the machine direction.

[0035] The more lines with a different angle relative to themachine direction are provided in a single group of a plurality ofdirectly adjacent compressed areas, the lower the amplitude of theline. Thus, according to one embodiment, a third line connectingthe center of third two adjacent compressed areas of the continuouscompressed pattern is angled to the machine direction at a thirdangle different from the first and second angles. Certainly, theremay be more than three lines with different angles. In addition, itis as well conceivable that there are lines of different pairs ofdirectly adjacent compressed areas, which have the same angle aslong as there is another pair of directly adjacent compressedareas, the line of which has a different angle.

[0036] Adjacent continuous compressed patterns may be formed in thecross-machine direction and two adjacent continuous compressedpatterns may border a discontinuous bulky pattern between them.

[0037] According to one embodiment, the fibrous web is subject to acreping process as described in the introductory portion, wherebycross-machine wrinkles are formed in the fibrous web. The crossmachine wrinkles from creping are delimited by compressed areas ofadjacent continuous compressed patterns. Because the lineconnecting the centers of all compressed areas of a continuouscompressed pattern is non-straight, the wrinkles from creping aredifferent in a cross-machine direction length. This furtherdisintegrates the visual geometric strictness of the pattern on thefirst and/or second side of the fibrous web additionally improvingthe soft and bulky perception.

[0038] According to another aspect, a method for manufacturing apaper product as described above is disclosed, wherein a fibrousweb is formed on a forming fabric or dried on a drying fabric, or,for example, a through-air drying fabric, the fabric having aplurality of machine direction oriented warp knuckles formed bywarp yarns of the fabric floating over weft yarns of the fabric,wherein warp knuckles overlap in the cross-machine directionforming a continuous pattern angled to the machine andcross-machine directions of directly adjacent warp yarns. A firstline connecting the center of first two directly adjacent warpknuckles of the continuous pattern is angled to the machinedirection at a first angle different from a second angle of asecond line connecting the center of second two directly adjacentwarp knuckles of the continuous pattern so that a line connectingthe centers of all warp knuckles forming the continuous pattern isnon-straight, wherein the warp knuckles form compressed areas inthe web at which the fiber density is higher than in other areas.In order to avoid repetition, reference is made to the previouspassages.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the warp knuckles of the fabrichave a float length of at least 4, at least 5, or at least 6.Thereby, it is ensured that the warp knuckles impart a certainvisible pattern to the fibrous web in that the compressed areas ofthe fibrous web will have a length in the machine direction whichis distinct from warp knuckles formed by floating over only oneweft yarn or at most two weft yarns.

[0040] In order to give emphasis on the compressed areas formed bythe warp knuckles, the fabric can have only weft knuckles with afloat length of less than 4, less than 3, or less than 2.

[0041] As explained previously, to achieve a non-straight lineconnecting the centers of all directly adjacent warp knucklesforming a continuous compressed pattern on the fibrous web, thefloat length of the first two adjacent warp knuckles and/or thesecond two adjacent warp knuckles may be the same or different. Ifthe float length is the same and in order to obtain lines with adifferent angle, the warp knuckles are displaced differentlyrelative to each other in the machine direction. If the floatinglength is different, the center of the warp knuckles isautomatically displaced in the machine direction.

[0042] Furthermore and in order to enable a harmonic appearance ofthe paper product, the average float length of all warp knuckles ofa pattern repeat forming the continuous compressed pattern can be 4to 8, 5 to 7, or 5.5 to 6.5. Thereby, a distinct and emphasizedpattern may be achieved without the several compressed areasbecoming too non-uniform decreasing the perception of the patternas such. The float length is defined as the number of adjacent weftyarns the warp yarns pass over when forming the warp knuckles. Theaverage float length is calculated by summing up the float lengthof all warp knuckles within the pattern repeat forming thecontinuous compressed pattern divided by the number of warpknuckles within the pattern repeat forming the continuouscompressed pattern.

[0043] This is further or alternatively enhanced in that at least50 percent of the warp knuckles of a pattern repeat forming thecontinuous compressed pattern have a float length difference of notmore than 25 percent, 20 percent, or 15 percent of the averagefloat length (see above).

[0044] Another aspect relates to the use of a fabric in themanufacture of a paper product, the fabric including a plurality ofmachine direction oriented warp knuckles formed by warp yarns ofthe fabric floating over weft yarns of the fabric, wherein warpknuckles of directly adjacent warp yarns overlap in thecross-machine direction forming a continuous pattern angled to themachine and cross-machine directions. A first line connecting thecenter of first two directly adjacent warp knuckles of thecontinuous pattern is angled to the machine direction at a firstangle different from a second angle of a second line connecting thecenter of second two directly adjacent warp knuckles of thecontinuous pattern so that a line connecting the centers of allwarp knuckles forming the continuous pattern is non-straight,wherein the warp knuckles form compressed areas in the fibrous webat which the fiber density is higher than in other areas. In orderto avoid repetition, reference is made to the above passagesrelating to the paper product and the method.

[0045] According to an even further aspect, a paper productincludes a fibrous web manufactured in a paper making machineincluding a fabric, particularly a forming fabric or a dryingfabric, the fibrous web having a first and an opposite second side,a machine direction (MD) and a cross-machine direction (CD),wherein at least one of the first and second sides of the web hasin a pattern repeat, a number of longitudinal, machine directionoriented compressed areas with a first density of fibers and anumber of machine direction oriented bulky areas with a seconddensity of fibers lower than the first density, wherein thecompressed areas correspond to machine direction oriented warpknuckles (21-31) of warp yarns (10) of the fabric floating overweft yarns (11) of the fabric, and the bulky areas correspond tovalleys recessed relative to warp knuckles, wherein a continuouscompressed pattern is formed by a plurality of compressed areaswhich are arranged directly adjacent in cross-machine direction andat least a majority of them being offset relative to each other inthe machine direction, wherein the continuous compressed patternhas at least one first group of compressed areas and at least onesecond group of compressed areas, the at least one first groupbeing formed by a first number of directly adjacent compressedareas and the at least one second group being formed by a secondnumber of directly adjacent compressed areas, the second numberbeing smaller than the first number and the average offset of thecompressed areas in the at least one first group is smaller thanthe average offset of the compressed areas in the at least onesecond group. A fabric for manufacturing such a paper product, orits corresponding use, includes a first side and a second sideopposing the first side, a machine direction and a cross-machinedirection, a plurality of machine direction (warp) yarnsinterweaving with a plurality of cross-machine direction (weft)yarns to form a pattern repeat at the first side, per patternrepeat each of the warp yarns forming several MD-floats consecutivein machine direction, each MD-float being formed by passing of awarp yarn on the first side over a plurality of consecutive weftyarns, the pattern repeat includes a plurality of elevatedcompression patterns (or regions or areas) separated by a pluralityof valleys recessed relative to the compression patterns, whereineach compression pattern is formed by a plurality of MD floats(warp knuckles) which are directly adjacently arranged incross-machine direction and at least a majority of them beingoffset relative to each other in the machine direction oroverlapping in the cross machine direction, wherein at least onecompression pattern has at least one first group of warp knucklesand at least one second group of warp knuckles, the at least onefirst group being formed by a first number of directly adjacentwarp knuckles and the at least one second group being formed by asecond number of directly adjacent warp knuckles, the second numberbeing smaller than the first number and the average offset (oroverlap) of the warp knuckles in the at least one first group issmaller than the average offset (or overlap) of the warp knucklesin the at least one second group. This as well enables adisintegration of the usually strict geometric patterning and leadsto a less harmonic visual appearance with the benefit that theproduct is perceived softer and more bulky. At the same timeabsorbency, tear resistance and crepability may be maintained.

[0046] In particular embodiments, the paper product has acontinuous compressed pattern within a pattern repeat that isformed by at least 10 directly adjacent compressed areas (warpknuckles). In certain embodiments, all compressed areas which forma continuous compressed pattern are offset relative to each otherin machine direction or overlap in the cross machine direction.

[0047] According to an embodiment, each continuous compressedpattern includes at least one first and second group. In aparticular embodiment, the first and second groups are arrangedalternatingly.

[0048] The continuous compressed patterns may, in one embodiment,be adjacently arranged in machine direction and/or cross-machinedirection.

[0049] According to one aspect, each of the first groups is formedby at least four directly adjacent compressed areas, or at leastsix directly adjacent compressed areas and/or each of the secondgroups is formed by a maximum of six adjacent compressed areas, orby a maximum of four adjacent compressed areas.

[0050] According to an embodiment, the first groups are formed byfirst compressed areas and the second groups are formed by secondcompressed areas, wherein the first compressed areas have a firstlength and the second compressed areas have a second length. Thefirst length may be different to the second length. In thisinstance, the first length is larger or smaller than the secondlength.

[0051] The average offset (overlap) of the compressed areas in thefirst group may be between 0.5 and 2 and that of the compressedareas in the second group may be between 1.2 and 4. The offset oroverlap is calculated in view of the squares shown in theaccompanying drawings. If the squares at one end of the adjacentcompressed areas (warp knuckles) are aligned as seen in the crossmachine direction, there is no offset or overlap. If the squaresare for example displaced by half of their side length, the offset(overlap) is 0.5, etc. As such directly adjacent compressed areasmay overlap each other in cross machine direction by at least halfof their longitudinal length. The average offset is then calculatedby summing at all offsets between adjacent compressed areas formingthe respective group divided by the number of offsets in thegroup.

[0052] In an embodiment, at least 50% of all adjacent compressedareas have an overlap of at least three consecutive weft yarns.

[0053] In an embodiment, the contact area of the warp knucklesformed by the first groups differs from the contact area of thewarp knuckles formed by the second groups by a maximum of 30%, amaximum of 20% in regard to the total contact area of the fabric onthe first side. The contact area is defined as that area of thewarp knuckles that comes into contact with a yankee cylinder.

[0054] Further, the pattern repeat includes at least one warp yarnforming a plurality of consecutive first warp knuckles and at leastanother warp yarn forming a plurality of consecutive second warpknuckles.

[0055] In an embodiment, (see FIG. 1) the pattern repeat includes aplurality of first machine direction yarns, each of the firstmachine direction yarns forming a plurality of consecutive firstwarp knuckles and, for example, a plurality of second machinedirection yarns, each of the second machine direction yarns forminga plurality of consecutive second warp knuckles and, for example, aplurality of third machine direction yarns, each of the thirdmachine direction yarns forming at least one first and at least oneconsecutive second warp knuckle.

[0056] Consecutive warp knuckles of each of the warp yarns may beseparated by a separation area (bulky area), the separation areabeing formed by at least one float of the warp yarn on the secondside over at least a weft yarn.

[0057] The pattern repeat may include a plurality of separationareas, at least some of them being formed by one of a plain weavesequence of a warp yarn with at least three consecutive weft yarnsand a float (knuckle) of a warp yarn on the second side over atleast two consecutive weft yarns.

[0058] The separation areas of all warp yarns together contributeto form the recessed valleys (bulky areas).

[0059] In an embodiment, the continuous compressed pattern has amajor axis and a minor axis, wherein the major axis is oriented atan angle relative to the machine direction. The alignment angle canbe at least 20.degree. relative to the machine direction, or notmore than 80.degree. relative to the machine direction. In certainembodiments, all continuous compressed patterns are arranged alonga plurality of parallel rows oriented at the alignment angle. Thatis the major axis of all continuous compressed patterns isparallel. In an embodiment, valleys (bulky areas) describe aplurality of wavy lines running along parallel rows oriented at thealignment angle. Also or alternatively, the outer contour of thecontinuous compressed patterns can be wavy.

[0060] According to one embodiment, the fabric or the web has, inthe machine direction, between 1 and 10, 2 and 8, or 3 to 6continuous compressed patterns per pattern repeat.

[0061] According to an embodiment, each of the bulky areas(separation areas) has a center of the area, wherein a first centerline connecting the centers of first two directly adjacent bulkyareas is angled to the machine direction at a first separationangle and a second center line connecting the centers of a secondof two directly adjacent separation areas is angled to the machinedirection at a second separation angle different to the firstseparation angle. In a particular embodiment, a line connecting thecenters of more than five adjacent bulky areas is a wavy line.

[0062] According to one embodiment, the fabric is a single layerfabric.

[0063] Further, the first side may provide a paper contactingsurface and the second side a machine contacting surface.

[0064] According to an even further embodiment (see FIG. 1), apaper product includes a fibrous web manufactured in a paper makingmachine comprising a fabric, particularly a forming fabric or adrying fabric, the fibrous web having a first and an oppositesecond side, a machine direction (MD) and a cross-machine direction(CD), wherein at least one of the first and second sides of the webhas in a pattern repeat, a number of longitudinal, machinedirection oriented compressed areas with a first density of fibersand a number of machine direction oriented bulky areas with asecond density of fibers lower than the first density, wherein thecompressed areas correspond to machine direction oriented warpknuckles (21-31) of warp yarns (10) of the fabric floating overweft yarns (11) of the fabric, and the bulky areas correspond tovalleys recessed relative to warp knuckles, wherein a continuouscompressed pattern is formed by a plurality of compressed areaswhich are arranged directly adjacent in cross-machine direction,wherein the pattern repeat includes in the machine direction a rowof a plurality of first compressed areas and a row of a pluralityof second compressed areas, the first compressed areas of the rowbeing separated in the machine direction by first bulky separationareas, the second compressed areas of the row being separated inthe machine by second bulky separation areas, the first compressedareas having a length in the machine direction being longer thanthe length of the second compressed areas, the first bulkyseparation areas being shorter in machine direction than the secondbulky separation areas. The corresponding fabric or the fabric foruse in the manufacture of a paper product includes a first side anda second side opposing the first side, a machine direction and across-machine direction, a plurality of warp yarns interweavingwith a plurality of weft yarns to form a pattern repeat at thefirst side, per pattern repeat each of the warp yarns formingseveral warp knuckles consecutive in machine direction andseparated from each other by separation areas, each warp knucklebeing formed by passing of a warp yarn on the first side over aplurality of consecutive weft yarns, each separation area beingformed by at least one float of the warp yarn on the second sideover at least one weft yarn, wherein the pattern repeat includes aplurality of first warp yarns and a plurality of second warp yarns,the first warp yarns forming first warp knuckles separated by firstseparation areas, the second warp yarns forming second warpknuckles separated by second separation areas, the first warpknuckles have a first float length being longer in machinedirection than the float length of the second warp knuckles, thefirst separation areas being shorter in machine direction than thesecond separation areas.

[0065] In an embodiment, the first warp yarns form a plurality ofgroups of adjacently arranged first warp knuckles per patternrepeat and the second warp yarns form a plurality of groups ofadjacently arranged second warp knuckles per pattern repeat.According to an embodiment, the first groups and the second groupsare alternatingly arranged in cross machine direction and offsetrelative to each other in machine direction.

[0066] Adjacent first warp knuckles in the first groups are offsetrelative to each other in machine direction and/or adjacent secondwarp knuckles in the second groups are offset relative to eachother in machine direction. They overlap in the cross machinedirection.

[0067] In an embodiment, all of the separation areas are formed bya plain weave sequence of the warp yarn with at least threeconsecutive weft yarns.

[0068] According to one aspect, the first warp yarns form firstseparation areas, each of which being formed by a plain weavesequence with at least three consecutive weft yarns. The secondwarp yarns form second separation areas, each of which being formedby a plain weave sequence with maximum 15 consecutive weftyarns.

[0069] In an embodiment (see FIG. 3), a paper product includes afibrous web manufactured in a paper making machine including afabric, particularly a forming fabric or a drying fabric, thefibrous web having a first and an opposite second side, a machinedirection (MD) and a cross-machine direction (CD), wherein at leastone of the first and second sides of the web has in a patternrepeat, a number of longitudinal, machine direction orientedcompressed areas with a first density of fibers and a number ofmachine direction oriented bulky areas with a second density offibers lower than the first density, wherein the compressed areascorrespond to machine direction oriented warp knuckles (21-31) ofwarp yarns (10) of the fabric floating over weft yarns (11) of thefabric, and the bulky areas correspond to valleys recessed relativeto warp knuckles, wherein a continuous compressed pattern is formedby a plurality of compressed areas which are arranged directlyadjacent in cross-machine direction wherein the pattern repeatincludes in the machine direction a row of a plurality of thirdcompressed areas including, for example, alternately firstcompressed areas and second compressed areas separated by aseparation area, the first compressed areas having a first lengthin the machine direction and the second compressed areas having asecond length in the machine direction, wherein the first length issmaller than the second length.

[0070] According to an aspect, the first and second warp knucklesmay be separated by a third separation area, being formed by one ofa plain weave sequence of the third warp yarn with at least threeconsecutive weft yarns and a float of the third warp yarn on thesecond side over one weft yarn.

[0071] In view of the above, it is to be emphasized that thecompressed areas of the paper product correspond to the warpknuckles (elevated compression regions/areas) of the fabric,whereas valleys of the fabric correspond to bulky areas of thepaper product. Further, all of the features above may randomly becombined.

[0072] Further embodiments will be apparent from the dependentclaims as well as the following description of particularembodiments, which are described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0073] FIG. 1a shows a plan view of a portion of a forming fabricaccording to a first embodiment, wherein the pattern repeat hasbeen indicated by a square;

[0074] FIG. 1b shows a schematic pattern repeat in largerscale;

[0075] FIG. 2a shows a plan view of a portion of a forming fabricaccording to a second embodiment, wherein the pattern repeat hasbeen indicated by a square; and

[0076] FIG. 2b shows the schematic pattern repeat in largerscale.

DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

[0077] The fabric, a portion of which is shown in FIG. 1a in a planview may, according to an embodiment, be a through-air dryingfabric. FIG. 1a shows the paper side of the fabric. The fabric isconstituted by a plurality of parallel warp yarns 10 extendingparallel to the machine direction MD and a plurality of weft yarns11 substantially extending parallel to the cross-machine directionCD. The warp yarns 10 and the weft yarns 11 are interwoven, whereinwarp yarns 10 alternatively float over weft yarns 11 in the machinedirection and weft yarns 11 alternatively float over warp yarns 10in the cross-machine direction. The fabric shown in FIG. 1a has apattern repeat as indicated by the square 12.

[0078] The pattern repeat 12 includes a first group of warpknuckles 21 to 31. These warp knuckles 21 to 31, which float over acertain number of weft yarns 11 are formed by a plurality ofdirectly adjacent warp yarns 10 with no other warp yarn 10inbetween. Further, directly adjacent warp knuckles such as thewarp knuckles 21 and 22 overlap as seen in a cross-machinedirection CD. Furthermore, the plurality of warp knuckles 21 to 31form a row in a direction diagonal to the machine direction MD andthe cross-machine direction CD or, to put it differently, in anangle thereto.

[0079] The pattern repeat is schematically shown on the right sideof the rectangle 12, wherein each column represents one warp yarnand each line represents one weft yarn. The dark squares representthe warp yarns floating over the weft yarns and the light greysquares represent weft yarns floating over warp yarns. FIG. 1bshows this schematic representation of the pattern repeat in alarger scale.

[0080] The warp knuckle 21 has a float length of five floating overfive weft yarns 11. The warp knuckle 22 has a float length of fiveas well. The warp knuckles 23 to 28 each have a float length ofseven and the warp knuckles 29 to 31 again have a float length offive.

[0081] Connecting the center of the warp knuckles 21 and 22, whichare directly adjacent to each other and form a first pair, oneobtains a straight line 32. A second straight line 33 is defined byconnecting the center of the warp knuckle 22 and the center of thewarp knuckle 23. The warp knuckle 22 and the warp knuckle 23 form asecond pair of directly adjacent warp knuckles. It is apparent thatthe lines 32 and 33 are angled relative to each other. The line 32extends over four weft yarns, whereas the line 33 extends over onlythree weft yarns. Similar, the line 34 connecting the center of thewarp knuckle 23 and the center of the warp knuckle 24 isdifferently angled than the line 32 and the line 33, extending overonly two weft yarns. The line 34 connecting the center of the warpknuckle 24 and the center of the warp knuckle 25 extends over twoweft yarns and is, therefore, angled at the same angle as line 34,i.e. the line 34 and the line 35 are parallel to each other. Theline 36 connecting the center of the warp knuckle 25 and the warpknuckle 26 extends over four weft yarns and is, therefore, parallelto the line 32. The lines 37 and 38 connecting the warp knuckles 26and 27 and 27 as well as 28, respectively, each extend over twoweft yarns and are, therefore, parallel to the lines 34 and 35. Theline 39 connecting the center of the warp knuckle 28 and the centerof the warp knuckle 29 extends over three weft yarns and is,therefore, angled at the same angle as the line 33. The lines 40and 41 which connect the centers of the warp knuckles 29 and 30 aswell as 30 and 31, respectively, again extends over four weft yarnsand is, therefore, angled at the same angle as the lines 32 and36.

[0082] As a consequence, a line including all lines 32 to 41 is anon-straight line.

[0083] As is also visible from FIG. 1b, this configuration leads toa wavy outer contour 42 of the continuous pattern (continuous blackarea) formed by the directly adjacent warp knuckles 21 to 31.

[0084] This continuous pattern leads to a compressed area in thefibrous web manufactured by use of this fabric. Thereby, acompressed pattern, which is continuous over the entire surface ofthe fibrous web and, hence, the paper product may be achieved.Thus, the base tissue gives the product a distinct pattern withoutthe need of further embossing or printing steps. In addition, thewavy or curved outer contour breaks up the strict geometricalperception and, therefore, enhances the soft and bulky appearanceof the paper product.

[0085] At the same time and as compressed and bulky areas are stillproduced in the manufacturing process, the physical characteristicsof the paper product are not deferred.

[0086] Also visible from FIG. 1b is a second to fifth group ofdirectly adjacent warp knuckles forming a second to fifthcontinuous pattern. The line of these other groups of warp knucklesis congruent to the line constituted by connecting the lines 32 to41. Yet, as visible, these lines are not parallel in that thedistance d1 to d3 between the lines differs along the machinedirection MD. For example, the distance d3 corresponds to five warpyarns, whereas the distance d1 corresponds to three and a half warpyarns only. This further disintegrates the strict geometricalstructure and enhances the perception of a soft and bulky product.Yet, it is as well conceivable to arrange the lines betweenadjacent groups of directly adjacent warp knuckles forming adjacentcontinuous patterns or continuous compressed patterns in theproduct parallel to each other.

[0087] The warp knuckles of the groups have a float length of fiveor a float length of seven. Further and considering the light greysquares, the float length of the weft yarns is only one.

[0088] Hence, in this example, the float length of the first twoadjacent knuckles such as 21 and 22 is the same as is the floatlength of the second two adjacent warp knuckles 23 and 24. However,the float length of the warp knuckles 22 and 23 is different.

[0089] In addition, the average float length of all warp knucklesof the pattern repeat forming the continuous pattern may becalculated as follows. There are four warp knuckles having a floatlength of five and six warp knuckles having a float length ofseven. The pattern repeat is constituted by 20 warp and 20 weftyarns. This leads to an average float length of the warp knucklesconstituting the continuous pattern of 6.2 within the patternrepeat.

[0090] In addition, at least 50% of the warp knuckles of thepattern repeat have a float length difference of not more than 10%,namely more than 50% of the warp knuckles in this embodiment have afloat length of five or seven but not less.

[0091] FIG. 2a shows an alternative embodiment of a fabric. FIG. 2aas well shows the paper side of the fabric. The same referencenumerals as in FIG. 1 have been used for the same or similarelements. The pattern repeat of this fabric has 20 warp yarns 10and 18 weft yarns 11. The pattern repeat is indicated by the square12.

[0092] A group of warp knuckles 21 to 31, which are directlyadjacent to each other, forms a continuous pattern, that is a rowof warp knuckles in a direction angled to the machine direction MDand the cross-machine direction CD as in the first embodimentabove.

[0093] The warp knuckle 21 has a float length of four floating overfour weft yarns 11. The warp knuckles 22 to 26 have a float lengthof five. The warp knuckles 27 to 29 each have a float length ofseven. The warp knuckle 30 has float length of six and the warpknuckle 31 has a float length of four.

[0094] Connecting the center of the warp knuckles 21 and 22, whichare directly adjacent to each other and form a first pair, oneobtains a straight line 32. A second straight line 33 is defined byconnecting the center of the warp knuckle 22 and the center of thewarp knuckle 23. The warp knuckle 22 and the warp knuckle 23 form asecond pair of directly adjacent warp knuckles. It is apparent thatthe lines 32 and 33 are angled relative to each other. The line 32extends over two and a half weft yarns, whereas the line 33 extendsover two weft yarns. Similar, the lines 34 connecting the center ofthe warp knuckle 23, 24 and 25, respectively, and the center of thewarp knuckle 24, 25 and 26, respectively, are parallel to the line33, extending over two weft yarns. The line 37 connecting thecenter of the warp knuckle 26 and the center of the warp knuckle 27extends over three weft yarns and is, therefore, angled differentthan the line 32 and the lines 33 to 36. The lines 38, 39connecting the center of the warp knuckle 27, 28 and the warpknuckle 28, 29 extend over four weft yarns. The line 40 connectingthe warp knuckles 29 and 30 extend over three and a half weftyarns. The line 41 connecting the center of the warp knuckle 30 andthe center of the warp knuckle 31 extends over three weftyarns.

[0095] As a consequence, a line including all lines 32 to 41 is anon-straight line.

[0096] As is also visible from FIG. 2b, this configuration leads toa wavy outer contour 42 of the continuous pattern (continuous blackarea) formed by the directly adjacent warp knuckles 21 to 31 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1 above.

[0097] Also visible from FIG. 2b is a second to fifth group ofdirectly adjacent warp knuckles forming a second to fifthcontinuous pattern. Directly adjacent groups have non-congruentlines. Rather, only the lines of every second group are congruent.The lines of every second group are also parallel to each other.Yet, the lines of directly adjacent groups are disposed so that adistance (e.g. d1 and d3) between the lines differs along themachine direction MD. For example, the distance d1 corresponds toapproximately 53/4 warp yarns, whereas the distance d2 correspondsto six warp yarns. This further disintegrates the strictgeometrical structure and enhances the perception of a soft andbulky product.

[0098] The warp knuckles of the groups have a float length of four,five, six or seven, respectively. Further and considering the lightgrey squares, the float length of the weft yarns is only one.

[0099] In addition, the average float length of all warp knucklesof the pattern repeat framing the continuous compressed pattern maybe calculated as follows. There are five warp knuckles having afloat length of five, three warp knuckles having a float length ofseven, one warp knuckle having a float length of six and one warpknuckle having a float length of four. The pattern repeat isconstituted by 20 warp and 18 weft yarns. This leads to an averagefloat length of the warp knuckles constituting the continuouspattern of 5.6 within the pattern repeat.

[0100] It is evident that the two embodiments above are merely twoexamples of the present invention and are not intended to limit thescope of protection to either one of these examples. Rather, thescope of protection is defined in the following claims.

* * * * *