Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

3m Innovative Properties Company

William L Melbye

Susan K Nestegard

Leigh E Wood

Marvin D Lindseth

Dale A Bychinski

Michael R Gorman

Dennis L Becker

Ronald L Ott

Donald W Folske

Jayshree Seth

Philip Miller

John L Barry

Jeffrey R McMahon

David F Slama

Alan J Sipinen

Jason A Chesley

John A Miller

Allen L Noreen

Roland R Midgley

Donald L Plaschko

Anthony J Zoia

Dean R Crissinger

Eric G Rodgers

David E Slama

A mushroom-type hook strip for a hook-and-loop fastener has a flexible backing of thermoplastic resin and, integral with backing, an array of upstanding stems distributed across at least one face of the backing, each having a mushroom head. The stems have a molecular orientation as evidenced by a birefringence value of at least 0.001. The mushroom-type hook strip can be produced continuously by injecting resin into cavities of a cylindrical mold while evacuating and cooling the cavities so that the cooled resin becomes molecularly oriented, thus affording to the stems excellent stiffness, durability, and tensile and flexural strength.

Method for making a mushroom-type hook strip for a mechanical fastener

A mushroom-type hook strip for a hook-and-loop fastener has a flexible backing of thermoplastic resin and, is integral with backing, an array of upstanding stems distributed across at least one face of the backing, each having a mushroom head. The stems have a molecular orientation as evidenced by a birefringence value of at least 0.001. The mushroom-type hook strip can be produced continuously by injecting resin into cavities of a cylindrical mold while evacuating and cooling the cavities so that the cooled resin becomes molecularly oriented, thus affording to the stems excellent stiffness, durability, and tensile and flexural strength.

Mushroom-type hook strip for a mechanical fastener

A nonwoven fabric sheet comprising a multiplicity of generally parallel elongate strands of inelastic thermoplastic material extending in a first direction in spaced relationship, each of said strands having opposite elongate side surface portions that are spaced from and are adjacent elongate side surface portions of adjacent strands, and each of said strands also having corresponding opposite first and second elongate surface portions extending between said opposite elongate side surface portions, and a first sheet of flexible nonwoven material having spaced anchor portions bonded at first bond sites of the strands along said first elongate surface portions wherein the elongate strands thermoplastic material is oriented at least between adjacent bond sites along the length of the strands.

High strength nonwoven fabric and process for making

A closure system and method of making a closure system for a disposable article. A substantially continuous closure system web is provided. One face of the web is provided with first fastening region at terminal end portion(s) of the web. A second fastening region, engagable with the first fastening region, is provided on a second face of the web in a region adjacent the terminal end portion(s). The closure system tab elements are cut from the web and attached to a second web, used in producing the disposable article, at longitudinally spaced locations. This second web is then cut at transverse cut lines separating the closure system tab element into two functional elements. A first functional element has a fastening tab portion and the second functional element has an attachment portion, The attachment portion of one closure system tab element interacts with a fastening tab portion of an adjacent closure system tab element to form a functional closure system on a disposable article made using the second web.

Closure system for disposable absorbent article

A method of making a hook strip having J-shaped hooks that can be used as a mechanical fastener. The method includes using an initial substrate of material formed as an array of upstanding precursor stems having distal tips at their ends opposite a backing. In addition, a heat source adapted for heating and a mechanism for deforming stem tips is provided. The substrate is positioned relative to the heat source such that a portion of the upstanding stems on the array is heated. Subsequently, the substrate is moved to a position relative to the mechanism for deforming to create a hook strip of J-shaped hooks from the heated portion of the upstanding stems. In addition, an article of manufacture, made in accordance with the method, is provided which includes a hook portion of a hook-and-loop type of mechanical fastener.

J hook-type hook strip for a mechanical fastener

A closure system and method of making a closure system for a disposable article. A substantially continuous closure system web is provided. One face of the web is provided with first fastening region at terminal end portion(s) of the web. A second fastening region, engagable with the first fastening region, is provided on a second face of the web in a region adjacent the terminal end portion(s). The closure system tab elements are cut from the web and attached to a second web, used in producing the disposable article, at longitudinally spaced locations. This second web is then cut at transverse cut lines separating the closure system tab element into two functional elements. A first functional element has a fastening tab portion and the second functional element has an attachment portion. The attachment portion of one closure system tab element interacts with a fastening tab portion of an adjacent closure system tab element to form a functional closure system on a disposable article made using the second web.

Method of making a mushroom-type hook strip for a mechanical fastener

A mushroom-type hook strip that can be used in a hook-and-loop mechanical fastener. The hook strip comprises a homogeneous backing of thermoplastic resin and, integral with the backing, a high density array of hooks including stems projecting from the backing and circular disc shaped heads at the ends of the stems opposite the backing. The large number, small size, and shape of the heads on the hooks allow them to engage the fibers in conventional types of fabrics and non-woven materials that are not normally used as the loop portions of hook and loop fasteners.

An abrasive sheet article is disclosed, including a substrate having first and second major surfaces, a coated abrasive on the first major surface, and a plurality of hooking stems on the second major surface. The coated abrasive may comprise a plurality of precisely shaped composites comprising a plurality of abrasive grains dispersed in a binder. The hooking stems are adapted to hook engaging structures on an opposed surface to releasably affix the abrasive sheet member to the surface. A method for making such abrasive articles is also disclosed, including several illustrative variations of the inventive method. Also disclosed is a back-up pad for supporting such an abrasive article during abrading. The back-up pad includes a support portion, such as a polymeric backing, and an engaging portion, such as a loop material, for engaging hooking stems projecting from the abrasive article.

Abrasive articles method of making same and abrading apparatus

An elastic sheet-like composite comprising a multiplicity of elongate strands of resiliently elastic material, and one or more sheets of material bonded along its length or at sheet bonding locations to the elastic strands, some of which sheets have arcuate portions projecting from the elastic strands between those sheet bonding locations. The elastic sheet-like composite may be incorporated in disposable garments such as diapers or training pants. Also disclosed is a novel method and novel equipment for making the elastic sheet-like composite including in different combinations, sheet corrugating members, equipment for compacting the sheet along its length and an extruder that extrudes the strands onto the sheets and affords versatility in selecting characteristics of the elastic sheet-like composite to be produced without major modifications of the equipment.

Elastic sheet-like composite

A mushroom-type hook strip that can be used in a hook-and-loop mechanical fastener. The hook strip includes a homogeneous backing of thermoplastic resin and, integral with the backing, a high density array of hooks including stems projecting from the backing and circular disc shaped heads at the ends of the stems opposite the backing. The large number, small size, and shape of the heads on the hooks allow them to engage the fibers in conventional types of fabrics and non-woven materials that are not normally used as the loop portions of hook and loop fasteners.

A sheet of loop material adapted to be cut into pieces to form loop portions for fasteners of the type comprising releasably engageable hook and loop portions, or to be incorporated into items such as disposable garments or diapers or into sheets of abrasives. The sheet of loop material includes a sheet of longitudinally oriented fibers having anchor portions and arcuate portions projecting in one direction away from the anchor portions, and a layer of thermoplastic backing material extruded onto the anchor portions to bond to the anchor portions and form at least a portion of a backing for the loop material. The thermoplastic backing material can also bond the sheet of fibers to a sheet of backing material.

Growing community of inventors

Woodbury, MN, United States of America

William L Melbye