Touch fastener products

• US 7,678,318 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2008
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• 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): Wyrozebski; Kat
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, DANIEL H.
• Application Number:
  US12/124,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20080284060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 664 Days
• Field of Search: 264/274, 264/275, 264/279, 264/299, 264/328.1
• US Class Current: 264/274
• 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 method of forming a molded foam article comprising:

providing a mold cavity having a shape corresponding to the shape of the article to be molded, wherein the mold cavity comprises a tapered trench;

providing a touch fastener comprising a base, a plurality of fastener elements extending from a lower face of a central portion of the base in an array disposed between lateral selvedges of the base;

positioning the touch fastener along the trench with the selvedges deflected from their unloaded position to extend in face-to-face contact with side walls of the tapered trench; and

delivering a foamable resin into the mold cavity to form the molded article, the deflected selvedges resisting intrusion of foamable resin into the array of fastener elements.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a lower face of the selvedges has a substantially flat surface in the unloaded position.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the selvedges are of a significantly lesser stiffness than a stiffness of the central portion of the base.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the trench has flat side walls extending at acute angles from a bottom surface of the trench.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the trench includes curved side walls, the selvedges conforming to arcuate surfaces of the trench side walls.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein in an unloaded condition, the selvedges and central portion of the base lie in a common plane, the distal edges of the selvedges being deflected out of the common plane with the fastener positioned along the trench.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the distal edges of the selvedges contacting the trench side walls with the fastener positioned along the trench.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the selvedges are disposed around all sides of the central portion of the base.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the selvedges comprise a film.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the film comprises a polyamide.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the film is adhered to the base.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the film is adhered to the base with a polyamide hot melt resin.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the film has a softening point between 120 and 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the central portion of the base has a nominal thickness of between about 0.002 and 0.012 inch.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the central portion of the base is thicker than the selvedges.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the touch fastener includes a magnetically attractable material.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the magnetically attractable material is disposed on the upper face of the central portion of the base.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the selvedges are substantially free of magnetically attractable material.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the trench overlays a magnet.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the trench is elongated, and the fastener product is in strip form.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the fastener elements are male fastener elements having stems integrally molded with a surface of the central portion of the base.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein the foamable resin comprises a polyurethane resin.

23. A method of forming a molded foam article, the method comprising:

providing a mold cavity having a shape corresponding to a desired shape of the article to be molded, the mold cavity including a tapered trench;

positioning a touch fastener in the mold cavity, the touch fastener comprising a sheet-form base comprising an upper face and a lower face, a plurality of fastener elements disposed on the lower face of the sheet-form base, and a thermally-activatable resin exposed on the upper face of the sheet-form base, such that selvedges of the touch fastener are deflected from an unloaded position to extend in face-to-face contact with side walls of the tapered trench; and

delivering a foamable resin into the mold cavity causing the resin to foam in an exothermic reaction, wherein the reaction generates sufficient heat to activate at least an outer surface of the activatable resin to adhere the touch fastener to the foam.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the foamable resin comprises a polyurethane.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the activatable resin is activated at a temperature between about 120 and 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein the activatable resin comprises a film.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the film comprises a polyamide film.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein the resin is disposed over substantially the entire upper face of the base.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein the touch fastener comprises a magnetically attractable material disposed on the upper face of the base.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the magnetically attractable material is a metal wire laterally centered over the fastener elements.

31. The method of claim 23 wherein the touch fastener comprises a material disposed on the lower face of the base, the material surrounding the plurality of fastener elements and forming a gasket between the base and a surface of the mold cavity.

32. The method of claim 23 wherein the touch fastener comprises selvedges extending laterally beyond the plurality of fastener elements.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the selvedges extend longitudinally beyond the plurality of fastener elements.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein the selvedges are integrally molded with the base.

35. The method of claim 32 wherein the selvedges comprise a film disposed on the upper surface of the base.

36. The method of claim 32 wherein the selvedges comprise a smooth surface that engages a mold surface in face-to-face contact.