U.S. patent number 3,643,316 [Application Number 04/801,357] was granted by the patent office on 1972-02-22 for method of making separable fastening devices.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Velcro, Inc.. Invention is credited to Laurent H. Girard, Clive E. Hockmeyer, Marcel C. Quellette.
United States Patent |
3,643,316 |
Girard , et al. |
February 22, 1972 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
METHOD OF MAKING SEPARABLE FASTENING DEVICES
Abstract
A method of making separable fastening devices which have a very
large number of closely spaced hooking elements of the hook and
loop type such that pressing opposed surfaces of two fastening
members together in face-to-face relation will engage a large
number of hooks and loops; the hooking elements are formed of metal
and in preferred forms are operable at temperatures from cryogenic
temperatures to above 1,000.degree. F.
Inventors: |
Girard; Laurent H. (Bedford,
NH), Hockmeyer; Clive E. (Lowell, MA), Quellette; Marcel
C. (Manchester, NH) |
Assignee: |
American Velcro, Inc.
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
27087983 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/801,357 |
Filed: |
February 24, 1969 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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617265 |
Feb 20, 1967 |
3461513 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
148/516; 29/410;
148/530; 428/100; 24/445; 140/80; 297/DIG.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44B
18/0038 (20130101); C22C 19/07 (20130101); C22C
38/52 (20130101); C22C 19/058 (20130101); C22C
38/40 (20130101); D03D 27/00 (20130101); Y10T
24/2733 (20150115); Y10S 297/06 (20130101); Y10T
24/2775 (20150115); Y10T 29/49785 (20150115); Y10T
428/24017 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
A44B
18/00 (20060101); C22C 38/52 (20060101); D03D
27/00 (20060101); C22C 38/40 (20060101); C22C
19/07 (20060101); C22C 19/05 (20060101); B23p
017/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/410,400 ;24/21V,204
;297/DIG.6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Campbell; John F.
Assistant Examiner: Rooney; Donald P.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a division of copending application Ser. No. 617,265, filed
Feb. 20, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,461,513.
Claims
We claim:
1. In a method of making a fastening member for use in a separable
fastening device of the type comprising two members each provided
with a very large number of closely spaced interengageable hooking
elements, certain of said hooking elements comprising hooks and
certain of said hooking elements comprising loops and characterized
by the property that pressing opposed surfaces of the members
together in face-to-face relation will secure the members together
by engagement of numerous hooks with numerous loops, the
improvement comprising interlacing filaments to form a base sheet,
interlacing a supplemental metal wire into the base sheet in its
cold worked condition to form upstanding hooking elements,
subsequently heat-treating the supplemental metal wire for a time
sufficient to age the metal hooking elements to impart spring
properties to the metal and relieve its brittleness.
2. A method according to claim 1 comprising forming the base member
by tightly weaving warp and weft yarns with a supplemental metal
wire yarn of upstanding loop elements therebetween such that the
roots of the loop elements are tightly held by the warp and weft
yarns.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the warp and weft yarns
are multifilament strands of fine diameter metal wires.
4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the supplemental yarn is
woven in its cold worked condition and is subsequently heat-treated
for time sufficient to age the metal to impart spring properties to
the alloy and relieve its brittleness, and is cut to form hook
elements.
5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the hooking elements are
loops comprised of paired wires, the pair having a first wire and a
second wire softer than the first wire, and the member is
subsequently heat-treated for time sufficient to age the alloy to
impart spring properties to the first wire and relieve its
brittleness but below the temperature at which any significant
hardening of the second wire occurs.
6. A method according to claim 3 wherein the multifilament wire
strands are bound together by a volatile adhesive prior to weaving,
and the member is subsequently heated to volatilize the
adhesive.
7. A method according to claim 6 wherein a volatile lubricating
coating is applied to the bound multifilament wire strands prior to
weaving, and the temperature to which the member is subsequently
heated is sufficient to volatilize the lubricating coating.
8. A method according to claim 4 wherein the base weave is heat
shrunk tightly about the roots of the hooking elements by the
heating operation.
9. A method according to claim 5 wherein the base weave is heat
shrunk tightly about the roots of the hooking elements by the
heating operation.
10. A method according to claim 2 wherein the warp and weft yarns
are multifilament synthetic plastic strands which will not degrade
at 500.degree. F.
11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the back of the base
weave is coated with a bonding adhesive to lock the supplemental
yarn to the base weave.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of making separable fastening
devices of the type having two members each provided with a very
large number of closely spaced interengageable hooking elements
with certain of the hooking elements comprising metal hooks and
certain of the hooking elements comprising metal loops. The hooks
and loops are characterized by the property that opposed surfaces
of two can be pressed together in face-to-face relation so that a
large number of hooks will engage a large number of loops for
several cycles of repeated engagement and disengagement without
permanently deforming the hooks or loops and without substantially
crushing the loops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,717,437 and 3,083,737 and 3,154,838 disclose
various forms of separable pile fastening devices, i.e., a fastener
comprised of two separate tapes having interengageable piles which
contain loop elements and loop-engaging hook elements. The
fastening devices described in these patents are recited as
preferably being constructed from synthetic resin materials such as
polyamidelike nylon. For some applications these tapes may be
fabricated from textile material with an interwoven pile of
synthetic material.
Engageable pile fasteners have found a wide variety of uses where
ease of opening and closing is desired such as in clothing,
footwear, belts, curtains, tapestry, and also for a variety of uses
in the manned space program. However, due to the construction of
such fasteners and the polymeric materials utilized for the
interengageable pile elements, such fasteners are not adapted to
applications in which the fastener must withstand shearing or
normal stresses at very high temperatures and at cryogenic
temperatures or repeated opening and closing cycles at such
temperatures. It has generally been found that commercially
available fasteners of this type have a practical operating range
of from below about -25.degree. to about 290.degree. F. It is
accordingly the object of this invention to provide a separable
fastening device which will function at low and high temperatures
not heretofore possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly stated, the invention relates to a method of making
separable fastening devices of the type characterized in that
pressing opposed surfaces of two members together in face-to-face
relation a large number of hooks will engage a large number of
loops. The device is comprised of two members each provided with a
very large number of closely spaced engageable hooking elements,
certain of the hooking elements comprising metal hooks and certain
of the hooking elements comprising metal loops and each of the
members having a base of sheet material with the hooking elements
secured thereto in positions extending generally upright from one
surface of the base. The hooks are comprised of a hardened metal
characterized by resilient spring properties such that pressing of
opposed surfaces of the members together in face-to-face relation
wherein a large member of hooks engage a large number of loops and
upon subsequent separation of the members, the hooks have
sufficient spring to return to substantially their original form.
The loops are formed of a metal characterized by sufficient tensile
strength and spring to resist breaking, permanent deformation and
crushing after several cycles of repeated engagement and
disengagement.
The fastening device preferably has a woven construction in which
the base sheet is comprised of a ground weave of warp and weft
yarns and the hooking elements are provided by supplemental yarns.
The base sheet can be comprised of a high-temperature synthetic
strand but it is preferred for the maximum temperature range and
life of the device that the base sheet be woven from multifilament
strands of fine diameter metal wire which have high-temperature
properties complementary to those properties of the hooking
elements. The all-metal construction of the fastening devices offer
advantages in the heat treatments to which they can be subjected to
improve their properties.
The method of making separable fastening members of this type
involves forming the hooking elements of metal in a base member
preferably by a weaving operation and cutting at least some of the
hooking elements to form hooks. With the all-metal fastening
devices the multifilament metal strands are subjected to a special
precoating operation prior to weaving which is subsequently heated
to cause decomposition and vaporization, and at the same time the
hooking elements are subjected to a heat treating operation to
eliminate the brittleness which is imparted to the hooking elements
by working during weaving.
It is also characteristic of the loop elements that they be formed
with pairs of loop elements wit one element in each pair being a
softer metal than the other element so that the combined effect of
a large number of these paired element is to give ease of
engagement with hooking elements and resistance to crushing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one tape member of the fastening
device of the invention showing hooking elements extending from one
surface thereof;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of a hook element in
a fastening device of the invention;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective of paired loop
elements in a fastening device of the invention; and
FIG. 4 is a side elevation of two tape members forming a fastening
device in opposed face-to-face relationship but spaced apart.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the two preferred embodiments to be described below, both
fastening members comprising a fastening device have visually the
same construction as shown in FIGS. 1-4. They are comprised
basically of a woven base sheet 10 which has been woven from warp
and weft yarns 11 and 12 into a fabric tape construction along with
auxiliary or supplemental metal wire 14 which extends upright from
the base sheet to form upstanding hooking elements 15 of the hook
16 or loop 17 type. The loop elements are formed of paired wires 18
and 19 of different metal alloys. The underlying distinction
between the two embodiments is that the first embodiment has a base
sheet which is woven from multifilament strands of metal wire
whereas, in the second embodiment, the base sheet is formed of
multifilament strands of a high-temperature synthetic filament.
Further distinctions which will be pointed out in more detail below
are that the hooking elements in the first embodiment are firmly
locked in the base sheet by the condition in which the base sheet
is placed by a heating operation whereas the back adhesive coating
is required in the second embodiment. Also, being an all-metal
construction, the first embodiment is subjected to a heating
treatment which so improves the properties of the hooking elements
that is operable for a substantially greater number of times of
engagement and disengagement than is the second embodiment. This is
not to suggest that the fastening device of the second embodiment
is inoperable, but merely that the lifetime of the all-metal
construction is increased because it can be subjected to a heat
treatment at elevated properties.
FIRST EMBODIMENT
The warp and weft yarns are strands of 90 filaments per strand of
the fine diameter (0.0005-inch) stainless steel having the
following composition in percent by weight:
Chromium 19 Nickel 10 Carbon 0.08 max. Iron 71
In the method of making the members of the fastening device, the
fine stranded wires were bound together with a volatile adhesive
coating such as an acrylic to provide strength in the strand and
prevent breakage of the filaments during weaving. A volatile
lubricating coating, such as liquid paraffin, was applied on top of
the acrylic coating in order to prevent chafing during weaving and
sticking while on the warp spools. These warp and weft yarns were
then tightly woven with a supplemental yarn extending upright
therebetween in the form of a loop to define the hooking elements
in the fastening device with the warp and weft yarns forming a
fabric ground weave base sheet tightly woven so as to hold the
hooking elements upright and locked into the ground weave.
For the hook element, a cobalt-nickel alloy having the following
composition in percent by weight was used:
Cobalt 40 Chromium 20 Nickel 15 Molybdenum 7 Manganese 2 Beryllium
.04 Carbon .15 Iron Balance
The wire was in 47 percent reduced condition prior to weaving. It
preferably had a diameter of 0.004 inch and after being woven into
loop form, the member was subjected to a heat treatment at
980.degree. F. for 5 hours. It was brought up to the 980.degree. F.
condition over a period of 2 hours to first decompose and vaporize
the coatings contained in the ground wires and after heating for
this period of time, which is sufficient time at temperature to age
the alloy, the brittleness of the wire resulting from strain
hardening of the wire by mechanical working during the weaving
operation was relieved and its spring properties improved.
Subsequently, the hardened and aged hooking alloy was cut by
suitable cutters adjacent their ends to form hook elements.
In forming the loop elements paired wires of two distinct alloy
compositions were used as a supplemental yarn. The first wire in
the pairs, herein called the "spring wire," had the same alloy
composition as the wire used for the hook described above except
that it was used in the 22 percent reduced condition and thus the
final spring qualities were not equal to that of the hook elements.
In addition, the diameter of this spring wire was 0.00225 inch. The
second wire of the pair, called the "loop wire," had the following
metal alloy composition in percent by weight and was used in the 15
percent reduced condition.
Nickel (a) 70.0 min % Chromium 14.0-17.0 Iron 5.0-9.0 Titanium
2.25-2.75 Columbium (b) 0.70-1.20 Manganese 1.0 max. Silicon 0.5
max. Sulfur 0.01 max. Copper 0.5 max. Carbon 0.08 max. (a) contains
small amount of cobalt (b) contains small amount of tantalum
In weaving with the paired supplemental wire yarns, the paired
wires were not twisted together but rather they were laid flat in
the weaving machine so that upon forming the loops they are free to
separate from each other as shown in FIG. 3. These paired wires
were woven with the ground weave to provide a pair of upstanding
loops of spring wire and soft wire. This paired wire construction
provided the combination of properties essential to continued use
of the fastening device. The spring wire has sufficient strength
and spring to resist being crushed during handling and repeated
use, while the soft wire has sufficient softness so that it will be
displaced without springing by a hook wire when the hook wire is
pressed into the pile loops during engagement. It was found that a
pile composed of all soft wires will engage hooks well but is too
easily crushed for continued use, and the spring wires alone while
resisting crushing does not engage the hooks as readily. It has
further been found that the loop wires preferably are finer in
diameter than the hook wires and there must be many more loops per
area than hooks.
The use of the alloy composition selected from the soft wire is
particularly applicable in this combination because it is not
significantly embrittled by weaving and by using the wire in the
initially cold worked condition and further cold working the wire
during weaving and following this weaving operation with an aging
treatment at elevated temperatures so that substantial spring is
imparted to the wire and embrittlement to the extent that it will
prevent the hooks from returning to their original shape after
repeated opening and closing is removed.
By heating these fastening devices to the proper heat treating
temperature for a period of time sufficient to age the alloy and
eliminate embrittlement of the hook wire and the spring loop wire,
the fastening devices retained about 44 to 66 percent of their
initial shear and tension properties after 100 opening and closing
cycles and microscopic examination after this test showed only a
small amount of breakage and distortion of the hook and loop.
Fastening devices not heat-treated had substantially poorer
properties than those which were heat-treated.
It has further been found that this heat treatment causes an
interlocking of the roots of the hooking elements to such an extent
that with an initially tight ground weave there is no need to apply
any adhesive backing to the ground weave to retain the hooking
elements in place. It has been found that a tape member having a
length of 100 feet which was heat-treated to a temperature of
830.degree. F. for 5 hours reduced in length by about 1 1/2 inch
and it is theorized that this small but significant shrinkage is
the vehicle by which the additional interlocking around the roots
of the hooking elements is realized after being heat-treated.
These fastening devices were further tested at temperatures up to
1,050.degree. F. and they operated at this temperature for an
extended period of time and were also tested in a liquid helium
bath having a temperature of about -420.degree. F. to determine
their cryogenic properties and found the device also functioned
satisfactorily.
The weaving operation is performed substantially as described in
the prior art patents referred to above. Thus, the members are
woven on a modified narrow fabric or broad fabric loom which
operates in the same manner as a pile loom for the production of
velvet-type ribbon or terry cloth, with each of the supplemental
wires or auxiliary warp wires being formed into a loop pile during
weaving by being alternately disposed on either side of its
respective lancet by means of doupes. Preferably the lancets
broaden in cross section toward their ends to tighten the loops
into a generally circular configuration. A velvet-type pile loom of
this type is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,727.
SECOND EMBODIMENT
In a second embodiment, the same alloy composition was used for the
hook elements and the loop elements. The base sheet was formed of a
ground weave of a high temperature resistant nylon filament yarn
specifically an aromatic polyamide marketed under the trademark
Nomex by E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Delaware.
In this embodiment, fine denier warp yarns e.g., 100 denier, and
coarser denier filling yarns e.g., 200 denier, were used to provide
the tight weave required to hold the hook and loop in the base
sheet. While the hook and loop elements could sustain the elevated
temperatures described in the first embodiment, the ground weave
was limited by the synthetic material used and had an upper
elevated temperature level of about 500.degree. F. In this
embodiment, it was found necessary to apply a coating of adhesive
to the back of the ground weave and it was found that a polyimide
which was capable of substaining 500.degree. F. temperatures gave
good bonding between the hooking elements and the ground weave and
had sufficient rigidity to allow cutting and was still flexible
enough to permit rolling up as finished tape. This coating also
provided a bonding surface for subsequent adherence to
substrates.
This second embodiment falls short of the high operating
temperatures of the first embodiment but it still is operable at
temperatures up to 500.degree. F. and at cryogenic temperatures.
Because it was not possible to heat the hooking elements to the
heat-treating temperature of the hook and spring loop, the second
embodiment was not as good a fastening device from a standpoint of
extended reuse, but being operable at these middle temperatures
between the first embodiment and the presently commercially
available fastening devices, it provides a useful but limited life
fastening device.
* * * * *