Making soft fabric touch fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch fasteners struggle to achieve a balance between sufficient fastening performance and a soft surface feel, as they often compromise on softness to maintain strength.
Innovation Solution
A method of making a male touch fastener by shearing distal portions of loops on a flexible fabric, leaving some loops intact and heating the sheared ends with a linear energy source to form enlarged heads on the fibers, while maintaining a significant number of intact loops for a soft and compliant surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If loops are sheared to form headed fibers for fastening, then fastening performance is improved, but surface softness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating two distinct types of fiber structures in different locations on the fabric surface: headed fibers (from sheared and heated loops) provide fastening function in specific areas, while intact loops maintain surface softness in other areas. This spatial differentiation of structures resolves the contradiction between fastening performance and surface comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the loop population into two functional groups: some loops are sheared and heated to form headed fibers for engagement, while other loops remain intact to provide softness. This segmentation allows the fabric to simultaneously exhibit both fastening capability and surface comfort without one property compromising the other.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process creates a fastener with a soft surface touch that is capable of snagging micro-fibers for releasable fastening, using inexpensive, lightweight non-woven materials, and is performed on a continuous line to ensure efficient production and uniform head formation.
Implementation Method 1
heating the distal ends with energy supplied by a linear energy source, such that resin of the distal ends flows to form enlarged heads on the extending fibers
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods of making a male touch fastener product (20), by shearing distal portions of loops (40) extending from a side of a flexible fabric (70), leaving fibers extending from the side of the flexible fabric (70) in place of the sheared loops, the fibers extending to respective free distal ends, while leaving other loops (40) extending from the side of the fabric (70) intact, and then heating the distal ends with energy supplied by a linear energy source, such that resin of the distal ends flows to form enlarged heads (74) on the extending fibers (36), while leaving at least some of the other loops (40) intact. A male touch fastener product (20) has a flexible fabric base (70) with a broad side, and fibers extending from the broad side of the base (70). The fibers form both loops (40) of fibers, each loop (40) extending from the base (70) at two spaced-apart points, and fiber segments (36) extending from the base (70) to respective distal fiber ends spaced from the base (70). Each distal fiber end forms an enlarged head (74) of fiber resin for snagging other fibers.