Intermeshable articles.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a set of articles coupled to each other, and in one aspect to articles having a structured surface on one side. The structured surface of an article of this kind can be brought into contact with itself, with another similar article or with the structured surface of a different article for a multitude of applications, such as, for example, fasteners.

There are a number of ways known to those skilled in the art to hold, couple, or connect items. For example, it has been proposed to converge the sides of a shaft or stem of the form so that the head part, which consists of, for example, a toothbrush or tool, can be attached to it, while allowing the separation and exchange of the head part, as disclosed in US-A 1,887,913 (Bell), 3,039,340 (Livermont), 3,182,345 (Smith) and 3,363,265 (Halberstadt et al.). Joins have also been used for each other, for connections in woodwork, as revealed in documents US-A 1,212,262 (Rockwell), 1,214,261 (Balbach), 1,342,979 (beitner) and 1,954,242 ( Heppenstall), and in metalwork, as disclosed in US-A 2,895,753 (Fentiman) and 3,000,658 (Sprouse). In addition, inclined or narrowed shafts have been used to interconnect the ends of leather washers, as illustrated in US-A 281,760 (Gingras). However, all of the above have used a single axis and, in some cases, either provided protruding elements along the sides or a T-end to provide additional mechanical interference to improve the joint.

In addition, different fasteners for joining articles together have been described in the art. For example, loops and hooks have been used, whereby, when the hooks contact the loops, the first locks with the last ones, as disclosed in US-A 2,717,437 (Mestra) and 3,009 .235 (Mestra). In addition, a plurality of macro-roughnesses or prutuberances have been used, which can either be brought into contact with similar macro-roughness configurations with correspondingly shaped recesses, as disclosed in US-A 2,499,898 (Anderson ), 3,192,589 (Pearson), 3,266,113 (Flangan Jr.), 3,408,705 (Kayser et al.) And 4,520,943 (Nielsen). In addition, fasteners that use a plurality of longitudinally arranged rib and groove elements, which deform and mechanically interfere with each other, are revealed, for example, in US-A 2,144,755 (Freedman) , 2,558,367 (Madsen), 2,780,261 (Svec et al.), 3,054,434 (Ausnit et al.), 3,173,184 (Ausnit), 3,198,228 (Naito) and 3,633,642 (siegel).

In addition, containers of the type commonly known as "Tupperware" containers (Tupperware is a registered trademark of Kraft Inc) and the many similar containers are disclosed, for example, in US-A 2,487,400 (Tupper), 3,335,774 ( Reed), 3,618,802 (Yates, Jr.), 3,730,382 (Heisler) and 3,817,420 (heisler). The covers of such containers are precisely sized and, when the covers are mounted, they are stretched as a result of the traction developed on the cover flanges between the inner and outer retaining edge portions to provide the mechaonic locking of the closure.

In contrast to the fastening, closing, coupling and connection forms of the prior art recognized above, the article of the present invention provides a form of adhesion of the article to itself, to another simular or structured surface article of a different article, to the less partially, because of the friction characteristics of the material of the articles to adhere. In addition, as adhesion was related to friction, no macro-deformation or mechanical interference is required.

The series of articles that can be attached to each of the present invention is set forth in detail in claim 1 that follows, and includes two members, of which each has at least one main surface and at least a part of that surface is a surface structured. The structured surface is constituted by a plurality of progressively narrowed elements. Each element has at least one inclined side relative to the plane of the member followed by a sufficient angle to form a convergence such that each element meshes with at least one corresponding element when it contacts the corresponding element and adheres to it at least partially because of the friction characteristic of the contact surfaces.

There are a multitude of potential uses for the interacoble article described above where it may be desirable to contact the structured surface of the article with itself, with another similar article or with the structured surface of a different article for fastening, closing, coupling and connection, to cite only a few.

The present invention will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numbers identify corresponding components, and:

Figure 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the inter-coupling article of the present invention;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of the article illustrated in Figure 1 showing a progression of two similar articles placed in mutual contact;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of elements of the article of the present invention represented in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a variation of the elements of the present invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments of the article of the present invention; Y

Figures 9 and 10 are plan views of alternative embodiments of the article of the present invention.

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With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, an inter-coupling article of the present invention is illustrated, generally designated by 20. The article includes a member having two main surfaces 22 and 23 and at least one of which is a structured surface 24 The structured surface includes a plurality of progressively narrowed elements 26, and each element has at least one side 28. In the illustrated article 20 the elements 26 each have two sides and are arranged side by side to form a plurality of linear ridges 30 and grooves 32.

The sides 28 of each element were inclined relative to the plane of the article in an angle sufficient to form a convergence such that each element engages or engages with at least one corresponding element of, for example, a similar article 20 ', as illustrated in figures 2, 3 and 4. Therefore, when they come into contact with each other, the elements will adhere to each other, at least partially, because of the frictional characteristics of the contact surfaces without requiring significant deformation, or mechanical interference or interlocking of the elements. However, it is believed that it may have deformation of any superficial irregularities or random micro-asperities, but only on a microscopic scale which contribute to increased adhesion the magnitude of the area of ​​real contact between the surfaces. Thus, it is preferred that the contact surfaces be optimally smooth to decrease macrodeformation and increase adhesion for some applications.

With reference to Figure 5, it has been observed that when, according to the invention, the tangent of half of the β-triangle is approximately equal to or mentor that the coefficient of friction μ of the material of the contact surfaces, the adhesion between the two articles 20 and 20 'is substantially increased. In this way, the relationship between the coefficient of friction μ and the total angle α of the articles designed by the following equations can be used:

⁽¹⁾ μ = H (2) μ = tang α (3) α = 2 arc. tang μ where β = α and the slope of the convenience = l

H

In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 1 and in greater detail in Figure 5, each slot 32 is provided with a groove 34 that separates the adjacent elements. Also, each element 26 was sized so that when the elements contact each other, they would contact each other only along the sides of the elements. This provides a cavity 36, as illustrated in Figure 4, and facilitates adhesion, the degree of which may vary depending on the convergence angle and / or the frictional forces associated with the sides of the coupling elements. The cavity 36 ensures lateral contact. Each crest 30 and channel 34 can be touched (not shown) as long as the force associated with that contact and tending to separate the members is not greater than the retention force originated on the sides 28. To facilitate the alignment of the elements 26 , each ridge may include a part that can be curved or inclined to form, for example, a chamfered portion 38 as illustrated in Figure 6.

In addition, as illustrated in Figure 7, the elements 26 'can be inclined with respect to the perpendicular axis of each element relative to the plane of the article to provide adhesion and stabilization addressability.

It should be appreciated that the present invention does not have to be limited to rows of two-sided elements arranged side by side, but may include a number of configured elements such as circular or polygonal as long as each of them has at least one lateral as, by For example, those illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 that can be used by adhesion. In Fig. 9, rows of four-sided elements 26 are arranged so that they can be coupled with the corresponding elements when contacted with them. Also, as illustrated in Figure 10, a plurality of six-sided elements 50 may be arranged adjacent to each other. Alternatively, the elements of one article can be positive elements, that is, bumps on one surface, and the elements of the other article can be negative elements, that is, cavities on a surface, so that the positive elements can be coupled or married to the negative elements to adhere to them.

The specific material used for article 20 may vary and not essential for the present invention. Thus, they can be useful ceramics, glass, polymers and metals for example. However, polymeric materials, such as acrylics, vinyl, polyethylenes and polycarbonates, commercially available may be used. Normally, the manufacturers of this product will select the best commercially available material based on its price, application and manufacturing process. In addition, materials that are biodegradable, conductive or magnetic can also be useful for special applications.

There are several ways to serially produce articles 20 of the present invention that are well known to those skilled in the art, for example, such as those illustrated in US-A 3,689,346 (Rowland), 4,244,683 (Rowland) , 4,576,850 (Martens) and in Patent Application No. GB ​​2,127,344A (Pricone et al.), The descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference. The particular manufacturing process is not essential for the present invention, and is a matter of choice based on economy and availability. At present, prototypes have been made by compression molding of methyl methacrylate (PMMA), poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) and polyethylene.

The thickness of article 20 may vary, depending on the particular application, such as a closure. Thus, article 20, for some applications, may be formed of a thin, flexible sheet or film, so that it can flex to allow separation and reposition of the article.

There are a multitude of potential uses for the

018 552 article 20 of the present invention, the most promising of which due to its ability to engage and adhere with the possibility of detachment, is as a fastener for things such as, for example, repeatedly closable bags, tapes and closures, to name a few. In addition, the structured surface of article 20 may be brought into contact with itself, with another similar article 20 or with the corresponding structured surface of a different article or element, such as a container.

As illustrated in Figure 8m, to facilitate the placement of such an article, convenient means for mounting the article, such as a liner 40 of an adhesive compound, can be placed on one side 23 of the article. The specific adhesive is not essential for the present invention and may include, for example, UV curable adhesives of the type disclosed in US 4,330,590 (Vesley), the description of which is incorporated by reference. To protect the liner 40. A protective film 42 may be attached thereto. It is preferable that the film 42 has a release surface to allow it to be subsequently detached to expose the adhesive coating so that article 20 can then be adhered to the articles. Useful films include, for example, polycarbonate, poly (methyl methacrylate), polystyrene and poly (ethylene terephthalate) biaxially oriented. In addition, paper or other nonwoven films having a suitable release liner may be used.

The objectives and advantages of the invention are further illustrated by the following examples, but the specific material referred to in these examples, as well as other conditions and details, should not be construed as unduly limiting of this invention.

Example 1

Two pieces of articles 20 coupled together, of the type illustrated in Figure 5, were tested for tensile and shear strength. Both pieces were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with 50 elements per centimeter. Example 2

Two pieces of articles 20 that could be coupled together, of the type illustrated in Figure 6, were tested for resistance to traction and shedding. Both pieces were polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with 40 elements per centimeter.

A 4.5359 kg detachment tester was used to test samples of examples 1 and 2. The results revealed that a larger traction was necessary to break the joint when pulled axially with respect to the grooves. Also, repeated repair of the grooved material did not appear to have any effect on both the tensile strength and the shedding of the material.

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