High caliper papermaking belt having a reinforcing structure with elliptical deflection conduits

摘要

A papermaking belt (10) for producing a high caliper web of papermaking fibers and the paper web produced thereby. The papermaking belt comprises a reinforcing structure (32) having a continuous network region and a plurality of discrete deflection conduits (34) disposed thereon. The deflection conduits (34) are sized, shaped, and arranged to maximize fiber deflection along the periphery of the conduits. The conduits are substantially elliptical in shape having a mean width in the range of the mean fiber length to 3 times the mean fiber length. The conduits are arranged to maximize perimeter and corresponding fiber deflection per unit area.