Velcro Industries B.v.

Michael J Carbonneau

Mark A Clarner

Peter E Leach

Michelle M Ennis

Matthew Raimer

A touch fastener product for releasable engagement with itself or another fastener product at various engagement angles, has a sheet-form base and an array of fastener elements with stems integrally molded with and extending from a broad side of the base to a distal head overhanging the base. The fastener elements are arranged in various ordered patterns of straight rows, with the heads of the fastener elements covering the base at a desired head density. The fastener elements define a sufficient number and pattern of pockets between associated groups of adjacent stems to provide a desired bulk locking ratio when engaged with an identical pattern at a zero degree engagement angle.

Fastener element patterning

Methods of forming a releasable strap of hook and loop material and resulting products are shown. The strap has a hook side and a loop side, the hooks being formed of synthetic resin on a mold roll defining a multiplicity of hook mold cavities. A method is shown comprising providing a mold roll having at least one relatively wide hook molding region over which hook mold cavities are distributed and, preferably at least at one side, a relatively narrow region devoid of hooks, and utilizing the mold roll to form a continuous sheet of material having on one side a wide band of loop-engageable hooks and preferably an adjacent relatively narrow band devoid of hooks, providing loops on the opposite side of the material, and repeatedly cutting the material at a substantial angle to the machine direction. The cuts preferably extend across wide and narrow bands, to define a series of straps of constant pre-selected length having hook-engageable loops on one side and, on the other side, a main length portion covered with hooks and preferably at least one end portion devoid of hooks, preferably this end region stiffened by resin integral with the resin that forms the hooks. Other features shown are narrow resin-stiffened regions devoid of hooks on both sides of the hook-molding region of the mold roll, end portions of the strap devoid of hooks sized to enable grasping to pull the strap to peel the hooks from engagement with the loops, end portions of the hooks having surface portions suitable for grasping or for being written upon. The straps are preferably cut by a rotary cutter having cutting elements that form cuts or partial cuts or perforations at a substantial angle to the machine direction, e.g., cutter elements blades helically arranged to form cuts at an acute angle to the machine direction, to produce strap ends that taper to points and cutter elements arranged parallel to the axis of the rotary cutter, at a right angle to the machine direction, to produce strap end portions that are square. A mold roll is shown having at least two relatively wide hook molding regions over which hook mold cavities are distributed, and a cut is located between the molding regions to form a plurality of end-to-end straps, extending at an angle to the machine direction. Advantageous further features are shown of the process, the product and the machine used.

Growing community of inventors

Bedford, NH, United States of America

Michael J Carbonneau