Female member for face fastener and method of producing the same

Abstract: The invention provides a female member for a face fastener. The female member has loops formed on a first surface of a web. The web has a heat-melt-adhering composite fiber body and is densely heat-melt-adhered together on a second surface. A female member is also provided having ridge-like webs. A method of producing the female member is also provided. A web of a heat-melt-adhering composite fiber body is entangled to form loops on the first surface of the web. After advanced heat-treatment, the second surface is heat-melt-adhered. A method of producing the female member by needling or water stream treating the web is also provided. An inexpensive female member for a fastener is produced suitable for disposable goods such as diapers, hospital clothings, underwears and the like.

Description: The present invention relates to a female member for a hook and loop fastener that is inexpensive and suitable for disposable applications and to a method of producing the same. Hook and loop fasteners are used as an engaging fitting. A female member of a hook and loop fastener has loop female elements on a surface of a knitted or woven fabric. A male member of the hook and loop fastener has hook or mushroom male elements formed on a surface of another knitted or woven fabric. The female member and the male member are attached to facing portions of a fabric. The facing portions of the fabric are fastened together by forcibly engaging the female and male members. The facing portions of the fabric are unfastened or disengaged by peeling the female and male members apart. The female loop elements comprise either multifilament or monofilament fibres made from synthetic resins such as nylon or polyester. The male hooked mushroom shaped elements have monofilament swollen heads made from materials such as nylon, polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene. The female and male members of the hook and loop fastener can be repetitively engaged and disengaged many times. Thus, hook and loop fasteners are suited for applications that require durability. However, for disposable articles, the hook and loop fasteners are used only about 5 to 10 times and then discarded. Thus, for disposable applications, hook and loop fasteners need not have the durability to withstand a large number of engagement-disengagement cycles. Furthermore, conventional female members for hook and loop fasteners are formed on knitted or woven fabric surfaces. The knitted or woven fabric yarns are loosened during use causing the female member to lose dimensional stability. Also, the female member becomes curled and difficult to use. EP-A-0171807 discloses a non-woven entangled fabric and a method for producing the same. The fabric comprises base fibres, and a layer of heat-fusible fibres on one or both sides. After entanglement of the fibres, the fabric is heat-treated to fuse the heat-fusible fibres, so that the surfaces of the fabric are reinforced thus making the fabric more resistant to wear and tear. The heat treatment is carried out by passing the fabric between a pair of rollers each at the same high temperature. However, the heat treatment will destroy any loops formed at the surface of the fabric by entangling. WO-A-9220250 discloses a multilayer female member for a hook and loop fastener, which has a complex three-layer structure. An entanglement layer, which may be a woven or non-woven fabric, is arranged to engage the hooks of a male member. A spacing layer is provided behind the entanglement layer and provides space for the hooks to occupy once engaged. A backing layer provides a foundation for the other two layers. An aim of the present invention is to provide a female member for a hook and loop fastener. The female member has loops formed on a first surface of a web having a heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body. A second surface of the web is densely heat-melt-adhered together. The invention also provides a female member for a hook and loop fastener in which the web is formed like ridges. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a method of producing the female member by entangling the heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body of the web to form loops on the first surface of the web, and, after being heat-treated in advance, the second surface is heat-melt-adhered. The present invention further provides a method of producing a female member by needling or by water stream treatment. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a female member of a hook and loop fastener which is thin, soft and easy to use. Another aim of the present invention is to provide a female member used for disposable purposes, i.e., for hospital clothing and for clothes such as diapers, underwear and the like. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method of producing a female member of a hook and loop fastener comprising forming a plurality of entangled loops on a first surface of a web which includes a heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body, and densely heat-melt-adhering a second surface of the web by heat treating the second surface of the web, characterised in that the heat treating comprises passing the web between a first roller and a second roller, the first roller having a temperature less than a temperature of the second roller, the first surface being rolled by the first roller and the second surface being rolled by the second roller, and the second surface being heat-melt-adhered by the second roller. Advantageously, the first roller is spaced apart from the second roller, and preferably the space between the first roller and the second roller is 0.3 mm. Advantageously, the plurality of entangled loops is formed by needle punching. Preferably, the needle punching is carried out at a needle density of about 20 to 150 needles/cm 2 and at a needle punching depth of about 5 to 20 mm, and preferably the needle punching is performed using a crown-barbed needle. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of entangled loops are formed by a water stream treatment. Advantageously, the water stream treatment has a pressure of about 50 to 200 kgf/cm 2 . Preferably, the water stream treatment comprises providing a conveyer net having a size of about 15 to 120 mesh, placing the web on the conveyer net, and applying the water stream treatment on a surface of the web not in contact with the conveyer net. Advantageously, the water stream is produced by using a nozzle plate having a nozzle diameter of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm and a nozzle pitch of about 0.2 to 10 mm. Preferably, the nozzle plate has the nozzle pitch of about 0.8 to 10 mm. The present invention is further directed to a female member for a hook and loop fastener comprising a web which includes a heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body, a plurality of ridges formed on a first surface of the web, and a densely heat-melt-adhered layer formed in a second surface of the web, whereby the member is made according to any one of the aforementioned methods. Advantageously, the web includes fibres having a fineness of about 0.5 to 10 deniers. Preferably, the web includes fibres having a tensile strength of greater than about 2 g/denier. Advantageously, the heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body comprises a core-sheath composite fibre. Preferably, the heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body comprises at least one of polypropylene and polyethylene. Advantageously, the female member has a weight of about 20 to 200 g/m 2 . Examples of a female member of a hook and loop fastener, and methods for producing such members, will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a web; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a female member; Figure 3 is a diagram of a process for forming female members using needle punching; Figure 4 is a diagram of a process for forming female members having loops using a water stream treatment; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a female member having ridges; Figure 6 is a diagram of a process for forming female members having ridges using the water stream treatments; and Figure 7 is a diagram of forming ridges using a water stream. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows a web 1 of a female member. The web 1 is made of heat-melt-adhering composite fibers having loops 3. The heat-melt-adhering composite fibers may be mixed with other fibers to enhance a strength of engagement of the female and male members. The fibers 2 have a fineness of about 0.5 to 10 deniers and, preferably, about 1 to 6 deniers. When the fineness is less than 0.5 deniers,the loops 3 are distorted and often fail to engage with the male member. As for the strength of the fibers 2, a tensile strength is greater than about 2 g/denier. When the tensile strength is less than 2 g/denier, the loops 3 are cut when the male member is engaged with the surface of the female member and loops 3 are pulled away. Therefore, the strength of engagement of the female and male members decreases after the fastener is engaged-disengaged repetitively. The heat-melt-adhering composite fibers may be composite fibers types such as core-sheath, bonded, separation, polyolefin, polyester or polyamide. The core-sheath composite fiber of the eccentric and concentric types are made of polypropylene and polyethylene. The web 1 of the heat-melt-adhering composite fiber body may be mixed with other fibers; may be a single layer or of a plurality of layers having different compositions and fineness; or may be overlapped on other base fabric materials such as woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, knitted fabric or mesh. Figure 2 shows a female member 6 having a first surface 4 and a second surface 5. The first surface 4 has loops 3 and the second surface 5 is heat-melt-adhered into a heat-melt-adhered layer 8. The loops 3 have a shape of substantially a loop on the surface of the webs formed by needle punching or water stream treatment. The shapes of the loops 3 include low loop, loose loop, bundle-like loop or piled loop which are entangled. The web 1 can also be laminated on a base fabric by entangling them with the second surface 5 of the web 1 by needls punching or water stream treatment. Figure 3 shows loops 3 formed by needle punching 18. The needle density is about 20 to 300 needles/cm 2 and, preferably, about 40 to 150 needles/cm 2 . The depth of needle punching is about 5 to 20 mm and, preferably, about 8 to 15 mm. Figure 4 shows loops 3 formed by a water stream treatment using a water stream 20. The nozzle plate has a nozzle diameter of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm and, preferably, about 0.08 to 0.2 mm. The nozzles have a pitch of about 0.2 to 10 mm and, preferably, about 0.4 to 10 mm. The pressure of the water stream 20 is about 10 to 300 kgf/cm 2 and, preferably, about 50 to 200 kgf/cm 2 , The water stream is applied one or more times from at least one surface of the web 1. A conveyer net 14 for treating the web 1 with the water stream 20 has a size of about 15 to 120 mesh from the standpoint of perforating the web 1 and enhancing the strength of engagement of the female and male members. Preferably, the conveyer net 14 should have a size of about 20 to 100 mesh. Figure 5 shows a ridge-like web formed by using the water stream treatment. The strength of engagement of the female and male members is enhanced even by the sides of the ridges 7. The shear strength is also increased in a direction in parallel with the ridges 7. The ridge-like web is formed using a nozzle pitch of about 0.8 to 10 mm a shown in Fig. 7. When the nozzle pitch is less than about 0.8 mm, ridge-like web is not formed. When the nozzle pitch exceeds about 10 mm, the strength of the female-male engagemant decreases. Therefore, the nozzle pitch preferably has a range of about 1 to 5 mm. When the ridge-like web is formed on the first surface 4, the web 1 of the second surface 5 must be heat-melt-adhered, as shown in Fig. 6. The second surface 5 is nearest to the conveyer net 14. Under this process, the shear strength of the female members is measured by being pulled in a direction in parallel with the ridges 7. The needle punching needles are preferred to be crown-barbed needles having a triangular or a substantially square shaped blade cross-section and three to four barbs arranged equal distant from the tip of the blade. Fork needles are preferred to form bundle-like loops which produce an increased strength of female-male engagemant. Web 1, having loops 3 formed on the first surface 4, are densely heat-melt-adhered on the second surface 5 by passing each web 1 through a pair of rollers 10 and 12 provided with a space, as shown in Figs.3, 4 and 6. The temperature of a first roller 12 of the pair of rollers 10 and 12 is higher than the temperature of a second roller 10 of the pair of rollers 10 and 12. The temperature of the first roller 12 is about 120°C to 150°C and the temperature of the second roller 10 is less than about 80°C. The first surface 4 of the web 1 contacts the lower temperature roller 10 and the second surface 5 of the web 1 contacts the higher temperature roller 12. The web 1 also may be densely heat-melt-adhered by contacting the second surface 5 with a drum heated at a high temperature, heat-treating the second surface 5 in advance with high temperature hot air or radiating the second surface 5 with infrared rays. After treating the second surface 5 with heat, the web 1 is passed through a pair of cooling rollers also having a space. The cooling rollers are maintained at a temperature less than about 80°C. Without the space, the web 1 is heat-melt-adhered on both the first and second surface 4 and 5, respectively. The space is about 0.3 mm between the rollers. The female member 6 has a weight of about 20 to 100 g/m 2 and, preferably, about 30 to 100 g/m 2 . The female member 6 has a thickness of about 0.2 to 1.5 mm and, preferably, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm. Even when the web 1 has many loops 3, the loops 3 are not loosened at portions that are cut when compared with conventional knitted fabrics. In addition, the webs exhibit good dimensional stability and can be easily handled during stitching. The female member 6 for the hook and loop fastener of the present invention prevents the loops 3 from being removed from the web 1, increases the strength of engagement of the female and male members, exhibits good dimensional stability, and further, can be formed into a tape. Moreover, the second surface 5 of the web 1 forms a smooth film that reduces the female member's thickness. Because the female member 6 is densely heat-melt-adhered on the second surface 5, the female member 6 is almost a film. Thus, for fabrics such as diapers, hospital clothing and the like, the female member 6 exhibits good heat-sealing properties. Further, the female member 6 has good dimensional stability and is soft compared with conventional female members having the structure of a knitted fabric. Conventional female members cause discomfort when applied to diapers and the like because the female members occupy large areas. In addition, the female member 6 of the present invention is easy to handle, can be produced at a low cost and is suitable for disposable goods such as diapers, hospital clothing, packaging materials and the like. The invention will be further described below by examples showing tested strength of engagement of the female and male members. The peel strength and the shear strength representing the strengths of engagement of the female and male members are tested in compliance with a method of testing the face fastener atipulated under JIS L3416. Peel strength is measured using a mushroom tape male member engaged with a test piece female member. A cylindrical roller having a smooth surface capable of applying a pressure of about 1 kgf per 1 cm of an effective width of the fastener is used to engage the female and male members together. Test pieces of a 25 mm wide male member and a 25 mm wide female member are overlapped over a length of 3 cm having an end of each of the female and male members oriented in the same direction. The male and female members are engaged together by moving the roller over the female-male members. Then, the test pieces are peeled off at a pulling rate of 20 cm/min by a tensile tester. Six maximum and six minimum values of test results for each test piece are averaged to determine the peeling strength (gf/cm) per unit width. The test results of five test pieces are averaged to determine the final test results. Shear strength is measured using test pieces of a 25 mm wide male member a 25 mm wide female member overlapped over a length of 3 cm and having a free end of the female member and a free end of the male member oriented in opposing directions. The male and female members are engaged together by moving the roller over the female and male members. The test pieces are pulled using the opposing free ends at a pulling rate of 20 cm/min by the tensile tester. A maximum shear stength value of the test piece is measured. An average value of five test pieces is used as a shear strength (kgf/cm 2 ) per unit area. Example 1 The web comprises a heat-melt-adhering core-sheath composite fiber. The core is polypropylene and the sheath is polyethylene. The core-sheath, identified as ES033, is produced by Chisso Co. The fiber has a fineness of 3 denier and a length of 64 mm. The web is needle-punched using a crown-barbed needle having a needle density of 50 needles/cm 2 and a needle punching depth of 13 mm. A punched felt is produced having a weight of 46 g/m 2 and having loops formed on a first surface of the web. The punched felt is passed through between the high-temperature roller 12 heated at 150°C and the low-temperature roller 10 heated at 80°C. The space between the rollers is 0.3 mm. The first surface 4 of the web 1 is rolled by the low temperature roller 10. The second surface 5 is rolled by the high-temperature roller 12 so that the second surface 5 is densely heat-melt-adhered. The produced female member 6 has a weight of 46.2 g/m 2 , a thickness of 0.62 mm, a peeing strength of 38.6 gf/cm, and a shear strength of 0.28 kgf/cm 2 . Example 2 The punched felt of Example 1 is heat-treated at 140°C for one minute using a hot air circulation dryer. The heated punched felt is passed between the high-temperature roller 12 and low-temperature roller 10. The second surface 5 is densely heat-melt-adhered as in Example 1. The produced female member 6 has a weight of 50.6 g/m 2 , a thickness of 0.65 mm, a peeling strength of 22.8 gf/cm and a shear strength of 0.44 kgf/cm 2 . Example 3 The web comprises a heat-melt-adhering core-sheath compsite fiber and a polypropylene fiver at mixing a weight ratio of 65% to 35%. The core is polypropylene and the sheath is polyethylene. The core-sheath, identified as ES033, is prduced by Chisso Co.. The composite fiber has a fineness of 3 denier and a length of 64 mm. The polypropylene fiber has a fineness of 2 denier and a length of 51 mm. The web is needle-punched using a crown-barbed needle having a needle density of 50 needles/cm 2 and a needle depth of 13 mm. A punched felt is produced having loops 3 formed on the first surface 4. The punched felt is then passed between a high-temperature roller 12 and a low-temperature roller 10. The second surface 5 is densely heat-melt-adhered as in Example 1. The produced female member 6 has a weight of 52.8 g/m 2 , a thickness of 0.96 mm, a peeling strength of 49.7 gf/cm and a shear stfength of 0.34 kgf/cm 2 . Example 4 A web 1 comprises a heat-melt-adhered core-sheath composite fiber. The core is polypropylene and the sheath is polyethylene. The core-sheath, identified as ES033, is produced by Chisso Co. The web 1 has fineness of 3 denier and a length of 64 mm and is placed on a netconveyer of 100 mesh and is entangled with a water stream teratment having a pressure of 50 kgf/cm 2 , nozzle diameter of 0.13 mm, and nozzle pitch of 0.6 mm. A nonwoven fabric entangled with the water stream is preduced. The nonwoven fabric is passed between a high-temperature roller 12 heated at 150°C and a lowt-emperature roller 10 heated at 50°C. The space between rollers 10 and 12 is 0.3 mm. The second surface that does not have the loops 3 contacts the high-temperature roller 12 so that the surface is densely heat-melt-adhered. The produced female member has a weight of 40.6 g/m 2 , a thickness of 0.62 mm, a peeling strength of 11.1 gf/cm, and a shear strength of 0.16 kgf/cm 2 . Example 5 A web 1 comprises a heat-melt-adhering core-sheath composite fiber. The core is polypropylene and the sheath is polyethylene. The core-sheath, identified as ES033, is produced by Chisso Co. The web 1 has a fineness of 3 denier and a length of 64 mm and is placed on a net conveyer of 50 mesh. The web 1 is entangled using the water stream treatment having a pressure of 50 kgf/cm 2 , a nozzle diameter of 0.18 mm, and a nozzle pitch of 1.2 mm. A ridge-like nonweven fabric entangled by the water stream is produced. The nonwoven fabric is passed between a high-temperature roller 12 heated at 150°C and a low-temperature roller 10 heated at 50°C. The space between rollers 10 and 12 is 0.3 mm. The second surface that does not have the ridge 7 contacts the high-temperature roller 12 so that the surface is densely heat-melt-adhered. The produced female member has a weight of 46.7 g/m 2 , athickness of 0.78 mm, a peel strength of 11.5 gf/cm, a shear strength of 0.30 kgf/cm 2 in a direction in parallel with the ridges and a shear strength of 0.19 kgf/cm 2 in a direction at right angles with the ridges. Comparative Example 1 A punched felt having the same weight and the same thickness as Exmple 1 is prepared by using a polypropylene fiber instead of using the heat-melt-adhering composite fiber of Example 1. The polypropylene fiber is heat-melt-adhered by passing the punched felt between a high-temperature roller heated to 160°C and a low-temperature roller heated to 50°C. The space between rollers is 0.3 mm. The polypropylene fiber shrinks and the loops become dense. The polypropylene fiber is so hard that the produced female member is almost unusable. Comparative Example 2 A polyethylene film is placed over a punched felt having loops formed on a first surface. The punched felt is prepared as in Example 2. The polyethylene film is placed over a second surface without the loops and is heat -melt-adhered at 120°C. The produced female member has a weight of 79.6 g/m 2 , a thickness of 0.54 mm, a peeling strength of 13.0 gf/cm and a shear strength of 0.34 kgf/cm 2 , The female member exhibited no gas permeability. While this invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments therof, it is evident that many alternatives, modification and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims

Claims: A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener comprising forming a plurality of entangled loops (3) on a first surface (4) of a web (1) which includes a heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body, and densely heat-melt-adhering a second surface (5) of the web (1) by heat treating the second surface (5) of the web (1), characterised in that the heat treating comprises passing the web (1) between a first roller (10) and a second roller (12), the first roller (10) having a temperature less than a temperature of the second roller (12), the first surface (4) being rolled by the first roller (10) and the second surface (5) being rolled by the second roller (12), and the second surface (5) being heat-melt-adhered by the second roller (12). A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 1, characterised in that the first roller (10) is spaced apart from the second roller (12). A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 2, characterised in that the space between the first roller (10) and the second roller (12) is 0.3 mm. A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to any preceding claim, characterised in that the plurality of entangled loops (3) is formed by needle punching (18). A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 4, characterised in that the needle punching (18) is carried out at a needle density of about 20 to 150 needles/cm 2 and at a needle punching depth of about 5 to 20 mm. A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 4 or claim 5, characterised in that the needle punching (18) is performed using a crown-barbed needle. A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the plurality of entangled loops (3) are formed by a water stream treatment (20). A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 7, characterised in that the water stream treatment (20) has a pressure of about 50 to 200 kgf/cm 2 . A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 7 or claim 8, characterised in that the water stream treatment (20) comprises providing a conveyer net (14) having a size of about 15 to 120 mesh, placing the web (1) on the conveyer net (14), and applying the water stream treatment (20) on a surface of the web (1) not in contact with the conveyer net (14). A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according any one of claims 7 to 9, characterised in that the water stream (20) is produced by using a nozzle plate having a nozzle diameter of about 0.05 to 0.3 mm and a nozzle pitch of about 0.2 to 10 mm. A method of producing a female member (6) of a hook and loop fastener according to claim 10, characterised in that the nozzle plate has the nozzle pitch of about 0.8 to 10 mm. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener comprising a web (1) which includes a heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body, a plurality of ridges (7) formed on a first surface (4) of the web (1), and a densely heat-melt-adhered layer (8) formed in a second surface (5) of the web (1), whereby the member is made according to any one of claims 7 to 11. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener according to claim 12, characterised in that the web (1) includes fibres having a fineness of about 0.5 to 10 deniers. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener according to claim 12 or claim 13, characterised in that the web (1) includes fibres having a tensile strength of greater than about 2 g/denier. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterised in that the heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body comprises a core-sheath composite fibre. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterised in that the heat-melt-adhering composite fibre body comprises at least one of polypropylene and polyethylene. A female member (6) for a hook and loop fastener according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterised in that the female member has a weight of about 20 to 200 g/m 2 .

Inventors: KIMURA HIDEO, TAKAHASHI KEISUKE, KIMURA, HIDEO, TAKAHASHI, KEISUKE
Applicants: JAPAN VILENE CO LTD, JAPAN VILENE COMPANY, LTD.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A44B18
IPC codes: A44B18