Touch Fastener Head Articulation for Adhesion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional adhesive fastener systems face challenges in achieving improved adhesion and closure effects while maintaining cost-effectiveness and reliability, particularly in ensuring detachable attachment and withstanding vibrations.
Innovation Solution
The adhesive fastener part features a head part with a conical stem part connected via a joint, allowing the head part to detachably attach to a body even when the carrier part moves, with the stem elements tapering conically to form the articulation point, enabling increased contact surface area and improved adhesion through van der Waals forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the head part is rigidly connected to the stem part to ensure high rigidity and effective counter-support, then closing forces are improved, but detachable adhesion to a body by means of the contact surface is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a rigid connection to a dynamic articulated connection between the head part and stem part. The joint part allows the stem part to pivot relative to the head part, enabling the contact surface to maintain adhesive contact with a body even when the carrier part moves axially. This dynamic capability provides detachable adhesion while preserving closing forces through the articulated mechanical linkage.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the stem part is conical with a smaller diameter at the head area to enable articulation, then detachable adhesion is improved, but the rigidity of the head plate is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a spatial differentiation in the stem part's cross-sectional properties. The stem part has a smaller diameter in the head area to enable articulation and a larger diameter in the area adjacent to the carrier part to maintain structural strength. This localized variation in geometry allows the head plate to retain sufficient rigidity for effective counter-support while the articulated connection enables detachable adhesion.
3Strength
If the contact surface area is increased to improve adhesion through van der Waals forces, then adhesion strength is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the adhesive fastener system into multiple discrete adhesive elements, each with its own head part and stem part. This segmentation allows the contact surface area to be increased by adding more elements rather than making each element more complex. The modular structure simplifies manufacturing, as each element can be produced independently and then arranged in arrays on the carrier part, achieving high adhesion strength through quantity rather than individual element complexity.
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
This configuration enhances adhesion and closure forces, allows for reliable detachment, and is cost-effective to produce, especially when vibrations occur, by utilizing a large contact surface area and van der Waals forces, and can be produced in large numbers with enhanced manufacturing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The conically tapering end of the stem part forms an articulation point with the head part, so that the contact surface of the head part enables detachable attachment to a body in the area by means of adhesion, in particular by means of van der Waals forces
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
AI summary
The invention relates to a touch fastener with a plurality of interspaced bonding elements that are arranged on a backing, each element having a head (12) that is connected to the backing by means of a stem (14). To allow the head (12) to always remain fastened to a body in the immediate vicinity, even if the backing is axially displaced over a predeterminable distance on a plane running parallel to said body, the head (12) consists of a disc with a diameter that is greater than the diameter at any point on the stem (14), the latter being conical and connected to the disc in an articulated manner by means of an articulated part (16).