Velcro Industries B.v.

Leach, Peter E.

Peter E Leach

Christopher M Gallant

William J Kennedy

Samuel White Pollard

Donald L Banfield

Lawrence E Lacombe

Larry N Grogan

Carol A Watts

John Demain

Michael J Carbonneau

Matthew Raimer

Seat cushions are provided including a foam bun, including a first, generally planar central region and a second, generally non-planar region, the first and second regions being separated by an elongated trench, and, disposed in the trench, an elongated touch fastener strip having a first surface that is bonded to the bottom of the trench and a second surface that carries a plurality of fastener elements. The trench has at least a portion of its bottom surface that is inclined with respect to a plane that is generally parallel to the planar central region, allowing the touch fastener strip to be extended around a curve in the trench without buckling.

Attaching covers to seat cushions

A method of making a segmented hook and loop type fastener which accommodates molding contours. Several different methods for fabricating such a fastener are disclosed. A plurality of mold plates include a fastener forming zone, having similar arcuate edges. The fastener forming zone further comprises fastening element mold cavities intersecting these edges and one face of the mold plate, the mold cavities being arranged into a plurality of segment forming regions. Circumscribing each of the segment forming regions, is a gasket mold cavity; and between each adjacent pair of segment forming regions, is a hinge forming region. The mold plates form a cylindrical mold wheel having a circular surface formed by the arcuate edges of the mold plates such that the segment forming regions are spaced apart circumferentially around the cylindrical surface. The apparatus further comprises an extruder having a die whose surface is disposed close to the cylindrical surface.

Method for forming separable segmented fastener

A segmented hook and loop type fastener accommodates molding contours. Each segment may be surrounded by a gasket barrier, or covered, or unprotected. On the fastening face of a base member are a plurality of fastening elements, either hook-type or loop-type. Between and joining each adjacent pair of fastening segments is a flexible neck that is narrower than the fastening segment. The flexible neck region is typically flexible around two or three orthogonal axes. Each segment may have a barrier for use during an operation to incorporate the fastener into a molded body. The barrier would prevent any liquid foaming material from contacting the fastening elements if the fastener is placed in the mold with the fastening elements pressed against the wall of the mold. The cover may be enveloping or space filling. Several different types of apparatus and methods for fabricating such a fastener are also disclosed.

Segmented separable fastener

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.

Releasable strap

A fastening component of a separable fastener has some portion that is necessary for its fastening function, such as the space adjacent the fastening elements, the base to which the fastening elements are attached or a substrate that is used for another purpose, comprised of a magnetically attractive or electrically conductive porous metal containing layer. The fastening component may be the hook portion or the loop portion of a typical fastener. The fastening elements and the base may be unitary, or of different precursors. The porous metal layer may be embedded in the base portion of the fastening component, or any backing substrate, or therebetween. The porous metal layer may be fully or partially embedded. The porous metal may be an expanded, perforated, woven or non-woven structure. Rather than the magnetically attractive porous metal layer being incorporated into the fastening elements or their base, it may be incorporated into the substrate that is formed from a precursor element that is separate from the base, and that is joined to the base. The porous metal layer may also be located between the fastening elements, such as the hooks or loops, and a protective cover, part of whose function is to prevent foaming material from fouling the fastening elements. The porous metal containing layer may be wholly metal, or it may be a composite of a non-metal phase and a metal phase. Rather than using a separate substrate layer for anchoring such a fastener into a molded article being molded, a three-dimensional pattern may be embossed on the non-fastening surface of the fastener to aid in securing it to the molded article.

Touch fastener with porous metal containing layer

A fastening component for use with molded articles has a base with fastening elements upstanding therefrom and a relatively thin, protective cover attached thereto. The cover is attached to the base by thermal processes. For instance, the cover and the base can be cut into a shape by a die that substantially simultaneously cuts the shape from a larger web of both and joins the two pieces together by heat induced processes, such as welding. The shaped piece may be rectilinear or curved or any complex shape. The cover may include a pull tab at one or both ends. The pull tab is formed from the cover material itself, a piece of which is folded over on itself and cut and sealed to adjacent layers at the same time that the main shape is being cut and sealed. For some embodiments of the pull-tab, rather than heat sealing the protective cover to the base, an adhesive can be used.

Separable fastener having die-cut protective cover with pull tab and

The present invention is directed to a molded foamed automobile cushion having a deep groove and an upholstery cover secured thereto by a touch fastener having cooperating hook and loop elements carried by the cushion and cover. One element of the touch fastener is molded into a deep groove in the cushion and the other element is secured to the upholstery. The hook elements on both sides of the groove are unidirectional, when assembled, and have their concave surfaces facing in the same direction to permit easy entry of the upholstery into the groove and providing maximum resistance to removal of the upholstery from the groove.

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Royal Oak, MI, United States of America

Peter E Leach