Touch fastener products

• US 7,425,360 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2004
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Velcro IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Velcro Industries BV (Chartwell Industries Ltd)
• Inventors: Janzen, Daniel Lee, Line, Kevin Keith, Voigt, Paul Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMAS, ALEXANDER S
• Application Number:
  US10/791,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20050196599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,659 Days
• Field of Search: 428/99, 428/100, 428/120, 428/900, 243/06, 244/42
• US Class Current: 428/99
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 18/0076 Adaptations for being fixed to a moulded article during moulding
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/90 Magnetic feature
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/27 including readily dissociable fastener having numerous, protruding, unitary filaments randomly interlocking with, and simultaneously moving towards, mating structure [e.g., hook-loop type fastener]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/2708 Combined with diverse fastener
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24008 including fastener for attaching to external surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24017 Hook or barb
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24182 Inward from edge of web or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24628 Nonplanar uniform thickness material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249953 Composite having voids in a component [e.g., porous, cellular, etc.]

Abstract

Touch fasteners for use as mold inserts in molding seat foam buns include selvedges that deflect under pressure to engage a mold surface in face-to-face contact. Another touch fastener includes a base with an exposed thermally activatable resin surface that has a softening point low enough to be activated by the exothermic foaming reaction to adhere the fastener in the foam bun.

Claims

1. A touch fastener product for use as a mold insert, the product comprising:

a resin base having an upper face and a lower face and carrying a plurality of resin fastener elements with stems integrally molded with and extending in an array from the lower face between side edges of the base;

a magnetically attractable material secured to the base; and

a film extending across the upper face of the base and laterally beyond the side edges of the base to form lateral selvedges of a significantly lesser stiffness and thickness than the base.

2. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the base and fastener elements are formed of a single contiguous resin.

3. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a strip of a first material supporting the fastener elements, and wherein the film is formed of a second material of different composition than the first material.

4. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film is secured to the upper face of the base by an adhesive.

5. The touch fastener of claim 4 wherein the adhesive is a polyamide hot melt.

6. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film is a polyamide film.

7. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film has a softening point of between about 120 and 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film has a nominal thickness of less than about 0.005 inch.

9. The touch fastener of claim 8 wherein the film has a nominal thickness of less than about 0.010 inch.

10. The touch fastener of claim 8 wherein the film has a flexural rigidity of about 1800 mg-cm.

11. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film has a tensile stiffness of between about 1000 and about 3000 mg-cm.

12. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the nominal thickness of the base is between about 0.002 and 0.012 inch.

13. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the nominal thickness of the base is greater than a nominal thickness of the selvedges.

14. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the magnetically attractable material comprises a metal wire.

15. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the magnetically attractable material comprises a metal strip.

16. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the magnetically attractable material comprises a coating of magnetically attractable particles.

17. The tough fastener of claim 1 wherein the magnetically attractable material is encapsulated in a hot melt adhesive.

18. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein each selvedge extends beyond the base at least about 2 millimeters.

19. The touch fastener of claim 18 wherein each selvedge extends beyond the base at least about 4 millimeters.

20. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the film has a flexural rigidity of between about 1000 and 3000 mg-cm.

21. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a molded resin.

22. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the fastener elements are male fastener elements.

23. The touch fastener of claim 22 wherein the male fastener elements have loop-engagable heads molded at distal ends of the stems.

24. The touch fastener of claim 23 wherein the male fastener elements are hook-shaped.

25. The touch fastener of claim 1 wherein the fastener elements are arranged in a density of at least about 100 per square inch across the array.

26. The touch fastener of claim 1, the fastener elements having an overall height, as measured normal to the base, of less than about 0.050 inch.