Statistical Hook And Loop Area Fasteners

Abstract

A separable hook-and-loop area fastener incorporates a loop pile sheet and a facing hook sheet presenting multiple-sawtooth hooks. The hook sheet of the fastener is formed by weaving, looping or otherwise engaging with a backing sheet a continuous plastic filament, preferably of nylon or the like, which has been permanently crimped into a zig-zagged sawtooth configuration by passing the same between a pair of oppositely sawtoothed forming rolls. The continuous plastic filament loops are preferably formed in a plurality of aligned rows so that a plurality of loops may be engaged by a common elongated knife edge and simultaneously cut. The loops preferably are large enough and the sawtooth formations small enough so that a plurality of sawteeth are provided in each loop. When cut, the zig-zag sawtooth monofilaments stand up perpendicular to the sheet support, and are provided with a plurality of hook-like formations. The loop pile sheet for engagement with the hook sheet may be conventional.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to statistical hook and loop area fasteners. Particularly it relates to such separable fasteners of the kind currently sold in the United States under the trademark "VELCRO."

2. Prior Art

Such fasteners comprise two usually all nylon sheets or tapes, one covered with a myriad of finely woven monofilaments formed in the permanent hooks, the other covered with soft nylon loops. When pressed together, they intermesh together and fasten tigntly in a random or "statistical" fashion, yet they can be readily peeled apart. These prior art fasteners, which have been commercially successful, are formed by weaving a monofilament in and out of a backing sheet, producing a plurality of upstanding loops of monofilament plastic. The loops are heated to set them into their upstanding loop shape, and the hook tapes then have their loops cut "on the bias" to form an upstanding straight portion providing no function, and a hook-like portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a nylon monofilament is crimped according to a known process back on itself to provide a succession of sawtooth hook-like portions. It s then woven or otherwise fastened into the backing sheet to provide pluralities of aligned loops having a plurality of hook-like portions therein. It is then cut essentially at the top of the loop to provide two upstanding multiple-hook-bearing portions.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve the hook portions of statistical area fasteners.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved portion of an area fastener.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hook portion of the above character providing multiple hook portions on each upstanding element.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing the hook portions of the above character.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide methods and separable fasteners of the above character which are convenient and economical to manufacture according to known processes.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations and arrangement of parts which are adapated to effect such steps, and the article which possesses the characteristics, properties and relation of elements, all as exemplified in the detailed disclosure hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, references should be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view of apparatus according to the invention for producing a crimped monofilament hook-forming element;

FIG. 2 shows the manner in which the hook-forming element fastened to a backing sheet is cut according to the invention.

FIG. 3 shows the resulting multiple-hook-bearing upstanding elements;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the way a statistical hook and loop area fastener according to the invention may be fastened together with hooks engaging loops; and

FIG. 6 illustrates the manner in which the hook-like portion may be woven into a fabric backing sheet in aligned rows for ease of multiple cutting of the aligned rows of loops.

The same reference characters refer to the same elements throughout the several views of the drawing.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a plastic monofilament 10 of nylon or the like is extruded from an extruder head 12. While it is still in its thermoplastic state, it passed through a pair of aligned, oppositely sawtoothed, forming rolls 14 and 16, which form the filament 10 into a plurality of zigzag multiple sawtooth hook-like portions 18, facing in each direction along the filament and thus being bidirectionally exposed.

Now referring to FIG. 2, the filament 10 is then woven or otherwise passed through a backing sheet 20 to form a plurality of looped portions 22, each having a plurality of, and preferably more than four, hook-like portions 18. The loop is then cut at its apex, as indicated at 24, by a cutting knife 26 in a manner comparable to that in which hooks are cut on the bias according to the prior art, except that the cutting is done, as previously mentioned, at the apex 24 of each upstanding loop 22. Because the filament 20 is elastic, it springs open to form upstanding hook-like portions 28 and 29 as shown in FIG. 3, each preferably bearing at least two hook-like portions 18 exposed for egagement with the multiple loops 30 of a loop sheet formed according to the prior art.

Thus, when a loop sheet 32 according to the prior art as shown in FIG. 4 is pressed down against a hook sheet, generally indicated at 34 and formed according to the invention, with the upstanding multi-hook elements 28 and 29 the loops are entangled and caught on the hook portions 18 of the hook elements 28 and 29 to form the unitary fastener 36 illustrated in FIG. 5.

Those skilled in the art will understand that one convenient method of manufacturing a hook tape 38 is illustrated in FIG. 6. There a plurality of monofilaments 10 are woven into the backing cloth tape 40 such that the loops 22 formed therein are aligned into row so that when an elongated knife 26 is inserted therein a plurality of loops 22 may be cut to form the completed tape indicated at the right hand portion of FIG. 6. A plurality of generally parallel knives 26 with upwardly facing cutting edges may be employed simultaneously if desired.

Summarizing, it will be seen that I have provided multiple upstanding hook-like portions on a statistical hook area fastener, by preforming the hook filaments into a plurality of hooks, weaving or otherwise affixing the hook element into a plurality of loops on a backing sheet, and cutting the loops to provide a plurality of upstanding hook elements each having a plurality of hook portions thereon.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above process, in the described product, and in the constructions set forth without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A multiple hook-bearing sheet for a statistical hook and loop area fastener comprising:

A. a backing member; and

B. a plurality of hook elements each formed of a relatively stiff shape retaining filament,

a. each said hook element having one end embedded in said backing member and the other end free, and

b. each said hook element comprising at least one zig-zag shaped hook portion comprising a relatively straight portion of said filament upstanding away from said backing member, a relatively straight return portion of said filament formed at an acute angle therewith and an upstanding relatively straight portion of said filament formed at a second acute angle with said return portion.

2. The hook elements defined in claim 1 wherein each of said hook elements comprises at least a pair of hook portions.

3. The hook elements defined in claim 1 wherein said hook elements are planar.

4. The hook elements defined in claim 1 wherein each of said hook elements comprises one leg of a U-shaped continuous hook-forming loop-embedded in said backing member, the free ends of the legs of the adjacent U-shaped elements being the matching cut ends of a continuous filament.