Method of making a structured surface and article therefrom.

(54) Title: METHOD OF ELABORATION OF STRUCTURED SURFACE AND ARTICLE OF THE SAME.

(54) Title: METHOD OF MAKING A STRUCTURED SURFACE AND ARTICLE THEREFROM.

(57) Summary

A method of making a structured surface is described. The method includes the provision of a thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upright elements. The upright elements include stems with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps, and each distal cap has a protruding portion that extends beyond the stem in a first direction. For at least some of the multiple rows, an implement is passed between two adjacent rows, where the implement contacts the protruding portion of at least some of the distal caps in the two adjacent rows, such that at least part of the portion protruding is turned in a second direction, different from the first direction, A structured surface that can be prepared by the method is also provided together with a fastening laminate that includes a carrier and the structured surface, and an absorbent article that includes the fastening laminate. A useful tool for carrying out the method is also provided.

(57) Abstract

A method of making a structured surface is disclosed. The method ineludes providing a thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upstanding elements. The upstanding elements inelude stems with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps, and each distal cap has an overhanging portion that extends beyond the stem in a first direction. For at least some of the multiple rows, an implement is passed between two adjacent rows, where the implement contacts the overhanging portion of at least some of the distal caps in the two adjacent rows such that at least part of the overhanging portion is turned in a second direction, different from the first direction. A structured surface that can be prepared by the method is also provided along with a fastening lamínate that ineludes a carrier and the structured surface and an absorbent article that ineludes the fastening lamínate. A tool useful for carrying out the method is also provided.

METHOD OF ELABORATION OF STRUCTURED SURFACE AND ARTICLE

OF THE SAME

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Articles with one or more structured surfaces are useful in a variety of applications (eg, abrasive discs, automotive parts assembly, and disposable absorbent articles). The articles can be provided as films showing, for example, increased surface area, mechanical holding structures, or optical properties.

Mechanical fasteners, which are also called hook-and-loop fasteners, typically include a plurality of closely spaced upright projections with curl-engaging heads, useful as hook members, and curl members typically including a plurality of woven curls, non-woven or knitted. Mechanical fasteners are useful in providing releasable coupling in many applications. For example, mechanical bras are widely used in disposable absorbent clothing items to hold such items around a person's body. In typical configurations, a hook strip or patch on a tether tab attached to the back waist portion of a diaper or garment

REF. 238162 incontinence, for example, can be attached to a landing area of ​​the curl material over the front waist region, and the hook strip or patch can be attached to the backing sheet (eg, non-woven backing sheets) of the diaper or incontinence garment in the front waist region. Mechanical bras are also useful for disposable items such as sanitary napkins. A sanitary pad typically includes a backing sheet that is intended to be placed adjacent to the wearer's panties. The backing sheet may comprise hook fastening elements for securely coupling the sanitary napkin to the panty, which is mechanically fastened with the hook fastening elements.

The hooks of mechanical restraint systems can be formed into a curved shape or these can be substantially upright stems that are deformed to include, for example, a head in the shape of a mushroom. Some modalities, which have varying degrees of versatility and complexity, are available to control the shape of the coupling heads to the curls. See, for example, United States Patent Nos. 3,192,589 (Pearson); 5,953,797 (Provost et al.); 6,132,600 (Kampfer); 6,558,602 (Melbye et al.) And 6,708,378 (Parellada et al.) And U.S. Patent Application Publication No.

2002/0124359 (Murasaki et al.).

Hook and loop fastening systems can include at least two characteristics of coupling strength: peel strength and cut resistance. The peel strength corresponds to the force required to detach the clamp members from each other by peeling one clamp member up and away from the other clamp member. The shear strength corresponds to the force required to detach the clamp members from each other by pulling at least one of the clamp members away from each other, in a plane that is parallel to the clamp members. Typically, the coupling strength of the clamping members is higher in shear than shear.

When a user wishes to separate the fastening members from hooks and curls (eg, on an absorbent article such as a diaper), the user typically detaches the fastening members to separate them. The ease with which the clamping members can be released affects the user's perception regarding the reliability of the coupling between the clamping members. For example, when a caregiver removes a diaper from a baby, if the hook strip comes off too easily from the curl landing area or diaper backing sheet, the caregiver may question how well the Holding members can keep the diaper closed when in use. And in some cases, low peel strength can result in accidental detachment of the fastening members while the diaper is being worn.

Despite progress in hook and loop fastening technology, an improvement in the reliability of the coupling between the fastening members, either actual or perceived, would be desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present description provides a useful method for easily changing the shape of the distal caps on upright elements, on a structured surface. Such distal caps can be, for example, caps attached to the curls of a mechanical fastener. The method includes passing an implement between adjacent rows of upright elements such that the implement contacts the protruding portions of at least some of the distal caps. Structured surfaces with upright elements that have unique cap shapes can be achieved by this method. Also, depending on the initial shape of the upright elements, the method can provide a structured surface with improved peel resistance, when coupled with the terry materials relative to comparable surfaces prior to treatment. The present disclosure also provides a fastener laminate and an absorbent article, comprising surfaces structured in accordance with and / or made in accordance with the present disclosure.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of making a structured surface. The method includes providing a thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upright elements, the upright elements comprising stems with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps, where each distal cap has a protruding portion extending beyond the stem in a first direction . For at least some of the multiple rows, an implement is passed between two adjacent rows, where the implement makes contact with the protruding portion of at least some of the distal caps in the two adjacent rows, such that at least part of the portion protruding is flipped in a second direction, different from the first direction.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a structured surface. The structured surface includes a thermoplastic backrest that has an x ​​direction and a y direction, and upright elements that have stems with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backrest and distal caps. Each distal cap has protruding portions extending beyond the stem on all sides, where the protruding portions extending beyond the stem on all sides are equivalent in volume, and where for at least some of the elements upright, the protruding portions extending in only one of the x direction or the y direction are turned down toward the thermoplastic backrest.

In some embodiments of the foregoing aspects, the structured surface is a mechanical fastener. Accordingly, in other respects, the present disclosure provides a holding laminate including a carrier and the structured surface according to and / or prepared according to the present disclosure, wherein the thermoplastic backing has a second surface opposite to the upright elements. , and wherein the second surface of the backrest is attached to the wearer and an absorbent article having at least one front waist region, a rear waist region, and a longitudinal centerline bisecting the front waist region and the rear waist region, wherein at least one of the front waist region and the rear waist region comprises such a fastening laminate.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a tool for shaping distal caps on upright elements on a structured surface, the tool comprises a template structured surface and multiple attachments, the template structured surface comprises a template thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upright elements in template, where the upright insole elements comprise stems with proximal ends attached to the insole thermoplastic back and distal tips, and where the multiple attachments are placed between the multiple rows of upright insole elements on the insole structured surface.

In this application, terms such as one, one, one, and are not intended to refer only to a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration purposes. The terms one, one, one, and and are used interchangeably with the term at least one. The phrases at least one of and comprise at least one of followed by a list, refers to any of the items on the list and any combination of two or more items on the list. All numerical ranges are inclusive of your endpoints and non-integer values ​​between endpoints, unless otherwise indicated.

The terms first and second are used in this description. It will be understood that, unless otherwise indicated, these terms are used in their relative sense only. In particular, in some embodiments, certain components may be present in interchangeable and / or identical multiples (eg, in pairs). For these components, the designation of first and second may be applied to the components merely as a matter of convenience in describing one or more of the modalities.

The term row refers to multiple upright elements aligned in a particular direction. The row or line of upright elements may be substantially straight. Each row contains multiple spaced upright elements, comprising stems with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps.

When an implement is said to pass between two adjacent rows of upright elements, the path of the implement may be linear (that is, defined by two points on a line between two rows of upright elements). The path may also be substantially linear, which means that the path may have a slight bend or slight oscillation. Some oscillation or curvature may result, for example, from continuous network processes as might be understood by a person skilled in the art.

Any oscillation or curvature is such that the implement path generally does not have a portion that crosses over a row of hook elements.

A cutout through the thermoplastic backrest refers to a cutout through or from side to side of the full thickness of the backrest.

The term multiple (s) refers to more than one. In some embodiments, a structured surface, fastener laminate, absorbent article, or method according to the present disclosure having multiple rows of upright elements, comprises at least 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 or 16 rows of upright elements.

The term machine direction (MD) as used above and below denotes the direction of a continuous moving network of the thermoplastic backing during the fabrication of the structured surface. When a structured surface is cut into smaller portions from a continuous network, the machine direction typically corresponds to the y direction of the structured surface. As used herein, the terms machine direction and direction y are typically used interchangeably. The term transverse direction (CD) as used above and below denotes the direction that is essentially perpendicular to the machine direction. When a structured surface is cut into smaller surfaces from a continuous network, the transverse direction corresponds to the x direction of the structured surface.

For some modalities, partial grooves or partial depth cutouts are said to penetrate the thickness of the backrest by a certain percentage range. Percentage penetration can be calculated as the depth of the slit divided by the back thickness, with the quotient multiplied by 100.

The term nonwoven when referring to a sheet or net means that it has a structure of individual fibers or threads that are intermingled, but not identifiably as in a knitted fabric. Nonwoven fabrics or nets can be formed from various processes, such as meltblowing processes, yarn bonding processes, yarn sewing processes, and bonded carded net processes.

The term elastic refers to any material that shows recovery of stretch or deformation. Similarly, the term non-elastic refers to any material that does not show recovery after stretching or deformation.

Elongation in percentage terms refers to {(the extended length - the initial length) / the initial length} multiplied by 100.

The foregoing brief description of the present disclosure is not intended to describe each embodiment or each described implementation of the present disclosure. The following description more particularly exemplifies the illustrative modalities. It should be understood, therefore, that the figures and the following description are for illustration purposes only and should not be read in a way that could unduly limit the scope of this description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The description can be more fully understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various modalities of the description, in connection with the attached figures, in which:

Figure 1A is a top view of an exemplary round distal cap on an upright member prior to contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure;

Figure IB is a side view of the upright element of Figure 1A before contact with an implement in the method of the present description;

Figure 1C is a top view of an exemplary round distal cap on an upright member after contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure;

Figure ID is a side view of the upright element of Figure 1C, after contact with an implement in the method of the present description;

Figure 2A is a top view of an exemplary oval distal cap on an upright member prior to contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure;

Figure 2B is a side view of the upright element of Figure 2A, prior to contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure;

Figure 2C is a top view of an exemplary oval distal cap on an upright member after contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure;

Figure 2D is a side view of the upright element of Figure 2C, after contact with an implement in the method of the present description;

Figure 3 is a photomicrograph of a side view of an implement passing between adjacent rows of, upright elements according to some embodiments of a method of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 is a photomicrograph of a top view of a structured surface that is contacting the multiple implements with their tips not aligned with each other;

Figure 5 is a schematic side view of an implement with a tapered tip passing between adjacent rows of upright elements according to some embodiments of a method of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 is a schematic side view of a structured surface that is brought into contact with a shim implement according to some embodiments of a method of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 is a photograph of an exemplary device, useful for practicing the method of the present description;

Figure 8A is a photomicrograph of a side view of multiple rows of upright elements before passing an implement between adjacent rows; and

Figure 8B is a photomicrograph of a side view of multiple rows of upright elements after passing an implement between adjacent rows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the description, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the Figures. Features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with other embodiments to still produce a third embodiment. This description is intended to include these and other modifications and variations.

Figures IA and 2A illustrate top views of some embodiments of an exemplary distal cap 12 on an upright member of a structured surface prior to contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure. Figures IB and 2B illustrate side views of the modalities shown in Figures IA and 2A. The upright elements have stems 10 with proximal ends attached to the thermoplastic backing 14 and distal caps 12. Stem 10 typically has a cross-sectional area that is smaller than the area of ​​distal cap 12. The portion of distal cap 12 that extends beyond stem 10 is called the protruding portion. In the illustrated embodiments, the upright elements have protruding portions on all sides of the stems 10. In some embodiments, the distal cap 12 is round as shown in Figure IA, and in some embodiments, the distal cap 12 is oval as shown in Figure 2A. Other forms of the distal cap are also possible, as described below. The upright elements can be said to be on the first surface of the backrest 14. The first surface of the backrest 14 is the upper surface shown in Figures IB and 2B. The surface to which the upright elements are attached may be called the first surface or the first major surface in any of the embodiments described herein. As shown in Figures IB and 2B, the projecting portions extend beyond stem 10 in at least a first direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the first direction is a direction generally parallel to the thermoplastic backing 14. In other embodiments of the upright elements, the direction in which the protruding portions extend may be at an angle to the thermoplastic backrest. For example, the first direction may deviate from being parallel with the thermoplastic backing by up to 5, 10, or 20 degrees.

Figures 1C and 2C illustrate the top views of some embodiments of an exemplary distal cap 12 on an erected member of a structured surface, after contact with an implement in the method of the present disclosure. Figures ID and 2D illustrate the side views of the modalities shown in Figures 1C and 2C. In the method according to the present description, when the implement makes contact with the protruding portion of at least some of the distal caps 12 as it passes between two adjacent rows of upright elements, at least part of the protruding portion 15 is turned in a second address, different from the first address. In the illustrated embodiments, the portions of the protruding portions 16 that contact the implement are turned down toward the thermoplastic backrest 14. The degree to which the protruding portions 16 are changed from their original direction may depend, for example, on the implement type and size as well as other factors described below. The angle between the second direction and the first direction, which in the illustrated embodiment is the angle at which at least part of the protruding portions 16 are turned towards the thermoplastic backing, can be in a range, for example from 5 degrees to 90 degrees, 10 degrees to 65 degrees, or 20 degrees to 60 degrees. Although in the illustrated embodiments, the distal caps 12 have protruding portions on both sides of the stems 10 that are rotated in a second direction, it is possible that the surfaces structured according to and / or made according to the present description, have parts of the protruding portions 16 rotated in a second direction only on one side of the stem 10, depending on whether or not an implement is used on both sides of the upright element.

The method according to the present description includes passing an implement between two adjacent rows of upright elements. Figure 3 is a photomicrograph of a side view of an implement 25 passing between adjacent rows of upright elements, according to some embodiments of a method of the present disclosure. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the implement 25 contacts the projecting portion of at least some of the distal caps 12 in two adjacent rows, such that at least part of the projecting portion is rotated in a second direction, different from the first direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the part of the protruding portion is rotated towards the thermoplastic backrest.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, implement 25 is a needle. The needle can be made of any suitable material (for example, metal or polymer). In the illustrated mode, the needle is made of metal. In other embodiments, the implement may be, for example, a wire (eg, rigid as a needle or more flexible as a guitar string) or a shim made of any suitable material.

Referring now to Figure 4, multiple implements 25 (needles as shown) are shown between multiple adjacent rows of elements erected on the thermoplastic backing 14. The use of multiple needles allows the distal caps 12 to be formed into multiple rows in a manner simultaneous. The multiple attachments can be self-aligning between the multiple rows of elements erected on the thermoplastic backrest 14, which can be made possible, for example, by the tapering of the needle tips and some flexibility in the needles.

Although in Figure 4 an arrangement of multiple implements 25 is shown placed between multiple rows of upright elements such that, for at least a portion of the thermoplastic backrest 14, the distal caps 12 of each row are brought into contact on each side, it is contemplated that not all rows of distal caps 12 need contact by an implement to produce useful structured surfaces. For example, an implement can be placed between every second or every third row. Also, groups of multiple implements can be used to treat multiple rows of upright elements in one section or zone, while adjacent sections or zones can remain untouched by the implements. Or different sections or zones of the elements erected on a thermoplastic backrest 14 can be contacted by implements having different sizes or shapes. Thus, the conformation of the distal caps 12 on a structured surface can be custom designed depending on the application requirements.

In Figure 4, at least some of the multiple implements 25 have different lengths or are otherwise positioned such that their tips are not aligned with each other. This is not a requirement, and in some modes, the tips of the attachments may be aligned with each other. In the illustrated embodiment, as the multiple elements are passed between the multiple rows, each distal cap 12 will be contacted only by one implement at a time, although both sides of the distal caps 12 will contact sequentially. In this embodiment, compression of the distal caps 12 by contacting both sides at the same time can be avoided, which may be advantageous for some applications.

In some modalities, including the modalities described above in which the implement is a needle, the implement is tapered. Figure 5 illustrates how an implement 35 with one. tapered tip can contact distal caps 12 on two adjacent rows of upright elements. The implement 35 makes contact with the protruding portion 16 that extends beyond the stems 10 of the upright elements. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5, the tapered portion of the implement 35 fits between two adjacent rows of upright elements to contact the distal caps 12. As illustrated, the implement 35 does not need to touch the thermoplastic backrest 14 to achieve the shaping effect.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, the implement is a 4 5A or 45B shim, which may be a metal shim, a polymer shim, or a shim made from any suitable material and in any suitable shape. If the chock is flexible, multiple chocks passed between multiple rows can self-align between the rows of upright elements. In the view shown in Figure 6, shim 45A or 45B is passed between the row of upright elements visible to the observer and a row of upright elements behind that row, which is not visible to the observer. Shim 45A is oriented in an orientation in which it is positioned perpendicular to thermoplastic backing 14, with an edge that is flat against or near thermoplastic backing 14. Shim 45B is shown in an orientation in which it is positioned at an angle to thermoplastic backing 14, with only one corner of shim 45B passing between adjacent rows of upright elements. Suitable shims that may be useful in carrying out the present disclosure include standard blade gauges, which may be tapered or may have parallel sides.

In some embodiments, including the embodiments described above, the implement does not cut through the thermoplastic backing. In some of these embodiments, the implement does not cut through the thermoplastic backing in an interrupted manner such that a gap is formed interrupted by bridge regions of the backrest. In some embodiments, the implement does not partially cut within the surface of the thermoplastic backing. As mentioned above, the implement does not even need to touch the thermoplastic backrest in some modalities.

In other embodiments, however, the implement may be a blade, (eg, a rotary cutter) that can cut through or partially cut the thermoplastic backing while forming the distal caps of the upright elements on the thermoplastic backing.

In some embodiments, the interrupted grooves are cut into the thermoplastic backing by the implement (eg, the rotary cutter) between a few pairs of adjacent rows of upright elements. The interrupted grooves are interrupted by the intact bridge regions of the backrest. Bridge regions are regions where the backrest is not trimmed from side to side, and these are collinear with the gap interrupted. The interrupted grooves can be linear in the same direction as the multiple rows. The multiple portions of the backrest on either side of the interrupted grooves are typically abutting and not separated after the rotary cutter passes between the multiple rows of upright elements. The interrupted grooves can be completely cut through the thickness of the thermoplastic backing, or these can be partially cut out on the first face of the thermoplastic backing (i.e. the same face from which the upstanding elements protrude) between a few pairs of adjacent rows of upright elements. The partial grooves can penetrate the thickness of the backrest up to 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 percent, for example in a range of 40 to 90 percent. Furthermore, the thermoplastic backing in the bridge regions may be uncut, or there may be partial depth cutouts in the thermoplastic backing in the bridge regions, which do not extend through the thickness of the backrest and are collinear with the grooves interrupted. Cuttings at partial depth can penetrate within the thickness of the backing up to 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 percent. The interrupted slits may be placed between each row of upright elements, each second row of upright elements, or in other patterns that may be uniformly spaced or non-uniformly spaced, as desired.

For any of these modalities that include bridge regions, the bridge regions may be aligned or staggered in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the interrupted slits. The bridge regions may be staggered such that a bridge region for an interrupted gap is located substantially midway between the bridge regions in an adjacent interrupted gap. When the bridge regions are staggered in this manner, the number of bridge regions required to make the structured surface handle as an integral unit is minimized.

Furthermore, for any of these modalities including bridge regions, various lengths of bridge regions may be useful. In some embodiments, any bridge regions between a pair of adjacent rows have a combined length of up to 50 (in some embodiments 40, 30, 25, 20, 15, or 10) percent of the length of the backrest. In some embodiments, to maximize the ability of the hook strip to flex, it may be desirable to minimize the combined length of the bridge regions. Minimizing the combined length of the bridge regions can be accomplished by at least one of minimizing the length of any particular bridge region or maximizing the distance between the bridge regions. In some modalities, the length of a bridge region is up to 3, 2, or 1.5 mm and at least 0.25, 0.5, or 0.75 mm. In some modalities, the number of bridge regions is up to 1.5, 1.25, 1.0, 0.75, 0.60, or 0.5 per cm. The distance between the bridge regions can be, for example, at least 0.75,

1.0, 1.25, 1.5, or 1.75 cm. Furthermore, the length of the interrupted gap or the partial gap between the bridge regions can be adjusted and is typically selected to maximize the distance between the bridge regions. In some embodiments, the length of the interrupted gap or partial gap between the bridge regions is at least 8 (in some embodiments, at least 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20) mm .

In some embodiments, the partial grooves are cut into the thermoplastic backing by the implement (eg, rotary cutter) between a few pairs of adjacent rows of upright elements. The partial grooves can be linear in the same direction as the multiple rows. The partial grooves can penetrate the thickness of the backing up to 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 percent, for example, in a range of 40 to 90 percent. When the partial grooves penetrate the thickness of the backrest in a range of 40 to 90 percent, the partial grooves allow flexing between adjacent rows of upright elements, but the backrest is not easily broken. In some embodiments, the partial grooves penetrate the thickness of the backing in a range of 50 to 90, 50 to 85, 55 to 85, 60 to 80, or 65 to 80 percent. The partial slits may be placed between each row of upright elements, each second row of upright elements, or in other patterns that may be uniformly spaced or non-uniformly spaced, as desired.

For any of the modalities in which the implement is a blade that provides interrupted grooves or partial grooves in the thermoplastic backing, the structured surface may be in the form of a roll, from which the patches are trimmed to a size appropriate for the desired application (for example for mechanical clamping). Bridge regions that interrupt interrupted grooves allow the structured surface to be managed as an integral unit. Similarly, because the partial grooves do not extend through the thermoplastic backing, the structured surface can be handled as an integral unit. The bridge regions in any of the modalities that contain them or the uncut portion of the backrest in the modalities that have partial grooves, allow the surface structured according to and / or elaborated according to the present description to be handled in roll and converted as desired.

In some embodiments, the entire grooves are cut into the thermoplastic backing (i.e., through the thickness of the full backrest) by the implement '(eg, the rotary cutter) between a few pairs of adjacent rows of upright elements. In these embodiments, the structured surface is usually attached to a carrier as part of a fastening laminate as described in more detail below. The slits may be linear in the direction of the rows and extend from the top edge to the bottom edge of the backrest, to form separate stop strips of the thermoplastic backing on the carrier. The slits can be placed between each row of upright elements, each second row of upright elements, or in other patterns that can be uniformly spaced or non-uniformly spaced, as desired.

Suitable thermoplastic materials for the backing and erect elements in the method and structured surface described herein, include polyolefin homopolymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene, ethylene, propylene and / or butylene copolymers, · ethylene-containing copolymers such as ethylene-vinyl acetate and ethylene-acrylic acid; polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene butyrate, and polyethylene naphthalate; polyamides such as poly (hexamethylene adipamide); polyurethanes; polycarbonates; poly (vinyl alcohol); ketones such as polyetheretherketone), · polyethylene sulfide; and mixtures thereof. Typically, the structural surface is made from a polyolefin (eg, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers, butylene copolymers, and copolymers and mixtures of these materials).

In the method and structured surface described herein, the thermoplastic backing and the upright elements are typically integral (i.e., formed at the same time as a unit, unitary). Stems erected on a backrest can be made, for example, by feeding a thermoplastic material onto a continuously moving mold surface, with cavities having the inverse shape of the stems. The thermoplastic material can be passed between a clamping point formed by two rollers or a clamping point between a die face and a roller face, with at least one of the rollers having the cavities. The cavities may be in the reverse form of a cascaded stem having a head that engages the curls, or it may be in the reverse form of a stem with the heads that engage the curls (for example, a precursor to a clamping element). In the methods described herein, the term stem is understood to include stems with or without heads that are attached to the curls, depending on the embodiment. The pressure provided by the clamping point forces the resin into the cavities. In some embodiments, a vacuum can be used to evacuate the cavities for easier filling of the cavities. The attachment point is typically wide enough such that a consistent backrest is formed over the cavities. The mold surface and cavities may optionally be air or water cooled prior to removal of the integrally formed backing and the upright elements from the mold surface, such as by a separator roller. If the stems formed after exiting the cavities do not have the coupling heads to the curls, the coupling heads to the curls could subsequently be formed on the hooks by a casing method as described in US Patent Nos. 5,077,870 (Melbye et al.) And 5,845,375 (Miller et al.), The disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Typically, the casing method includes deformation of the tip portions of the upright elements using heat and / or pressure. Heat and pressure, if both are used, could be applied sequentially or simultaneously.

Other suitable tooling rollers include those formed from a series of plates defining a plurality of stem-forming cavities around their periphery, such as those described, for example, in US Patent No. 4,775,310 (Fischer ). The cavities can be formed in the plates by perforation or photoprotection technology, for example. Other additional suitable tooling rollers may include wire-wrapped rollers, which are described in conjunction with their method of manufacture, for example, in US Patent No. 6,190,594 (Gorman et al.). Another exemplary method of forming a thermoplastic backing with upright elements includes the use of a flexible mold band that defines an upright stem-shaped arrangement of cavities, as described in

United States Patent No. 7,214,334 (Jens et al.).

Other useful methods of forming a thermoplastic backing with upright stems can be found in US Patent Nos. 6,287,665 (Hammer), 7,198,743 (Turna), and 6,627,133 (Turna).

Some materials that may be useful precursors for the method according to the present description and / or the structured surface according to the present description are commercially available, for example from 3M Company, St. Paul, under the commercial designations CS600 or CS- 1010.

For the method of the present description in any of its various modalities, the thickness of the thermoplastic backing can be up to approximately 400, 250, 150, 100, 75 or 50 microns, depending on the desired application. In some embodiments, the thickness of the thermoplastic backing is in the range of from 30 to about 225 microns, from about 50 to about 200 microns, or from about 100 to about 150 microns. In some modalities, the upright elements have a maximum height (above the backrest) of up to 3 mm, 1.5 mm, or 0.5 mm and, in some modalities, a minimum height of at least 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, or 0.2 mm. In some embodiments, upright elements have a ratio of dimensions (i.e., a height-to-width ratio at the widest point) of at least 2: 1, 3: 1, or 4: 1.

For any of the method modalities and / or the structured surface according to the present description, the multiple rows of upright elements can be uniformly spaced. For multiple rows that are evenly spaced, the spacing between the multiple rows can differ by as much as 10, 5, 2.5, or 1 percent.

In some embodiments of the method of making a structured surface according to the present description, the upright elements have an initial density of at least 248 per square centimeter (cm²) (1600 per square inch, in²). For example, the initial density of upright elements can be at least 394 / cm² (2500 / in²), 550 / cm² (3500 / in²), or at least approximately

787 / cm² (5000 / in²). In some modalities, the initial density of the upright elements can be up to approximately 1575 / cm² (10000 / in²) or up to about 1182 / cm² (7500 / in²). Initial densities in a range of 394 / cm² (2500 / in²) up to 1575 / cm²(10000 / in²) can be useful, for example. However, the spacing of the upright elements need not be uniform. The initial density of the stems influences the thickness of the implement that is useful for the passes between the rows of the upright elements.

Various shapes of the upright elements may be useful in practicing the present invention. The upright elements have distal caps with protruding portions that extend beyond the stem in a first direction (in some embodiments, the x direction or the transverse direction). The protruding portions of the distal caps in the methods and surfaces structured according to the present invention are typically curl-engaging. The term "curl coupling" or "curl coupling" as used herein, refers to the ability of an element erected on a structured surface described herein, to be mechanically coupled to a curl material. The coupling capacity with the curls of the upright elements can be determined and defined by using standard woven, non-woven or knitted materials. A region of erect elements with distal caps that have protruding parts that engage the curls, will generally provide, in combination with a curl material, at least one of a higher breakout force, greater dynamic cut resistance, or greater Dynamic friction than a region of stems without the heads that engage the curls. Erect elements, which have distal caps with protruding parts that engage the curls or heads that engage the curls do not include the ribs that are precursors to the hook elements (for example, elongated ribs that are profile extruded and subsequently trimmed to form hook elements after stretching in the rib direction). Such ribs may not be able to engage the curls before they are cut and stretched. Typically, upright elements that have distal caps with protruding parts that engage the curls, have a maximum thickness dimension of up to about 1 (in some modalities 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6,

0.5 or 0.45) millimeter.

In general, the upright elements with the heads that engage the hooks have a distal cap shape that is different from the stem shape. For example, the upright element may be in the form of a mushroom (for example, with an enlarged circular or oval head relative to the stem), a hook, a palm tree, a nail, a T, or a J. In some embodiments, the thermoplastic backrest has an x ​​direction and a y direction orthogonal to the x direction. In some of these modes, at least part of the protruding portion extends at a non-zero angle to the direction and (in some modes, the machine direction). The non-zero angle can be in a range of 30 to 90 degrees, 50 to 90 degrees, 60 to 90 degrees, 75 to 90 degrees, 8 0 to 90 degrees, or 8 5 to 9 0 degrees. In some embodiments, each distal cap has protruding curl-engaging elements, which extend in multiple directions (for example at least two). In some of these modalities, the distal caps have protruding portions that extend beyond the stems in the x direction and in the y direction. In some embodiments, the distal caps have protruding portions that extend beyond the stems on all sides. In some embodiments, the element erected prior to treatment with the method described herein comprises a stem with a mushroom head (for example, the distal caps are round or oval before passing the implement between the two adjacent rows). The distal cap can be angular (for example, initially square or diamond-shaped before passing the implement between the two adjacent rows). In some embodiments, the protruding portions extending beyond the stem on all sides are substantially equivalent in volume (eg, such as round or square distal caps). Substantially equivalent in volume means that the volume of the material on all sides of the stem can be equal. However, there may be some variability due to the process of making the elements upright on a backrest, as described above or as might be understood by a person having ordinary experience in the art. The volume of the material on all sides of the stem may differ, for example, by up to about 10 (in some embodiments, 5, 2.5, or 1) percent and be considered substantially equivalent in volume.

The method according to the present invention includes passing an implement between adjacent rows of upright elements. At least a portion of the implement can be placed between at least the portions of the upright elements in two adjacent rows. Consequently, appliances that are uniquely designed to touch the tops of the distal caps typically do not have any portion that is effectively between two distal caps.

In some embodiments, the implement is pulled between adjacent rows of upright elements. In such embodiments, the method typically results in protruding portions that are contacted with the implement, to be turned down toward the thermoplastic back. In other modalities, the implement is pushed between adjacent rows of upright elements. In such embodiments, the method typically results in protruding portions that are connected to the implement, to be flipped upwards away from the thermoplastic backing. In some modes, the implement is stationary and the thermoplastic backrest is pulled under the implement. Depending on whether or not the pull of the thermoplastic backrest results in more than one movement up or down against the distal caps, the protruding portions that are contacted with the implement may be turned away from the thermoplastic backrest or down toward the thermoplastic backrest. , respectively.

In addition to the specific modalities described above, the implement can be of any suitable shape, as long as it can fit between two adjacent rows of upright elements. The implement may be, for example, a wire or needle with a circular cross section), for example, such as a guitar string, or a non-circular cross section. The implement should typically be large enough (ie, with the appropriate thickness or diameter) to make contact with the protruding portions of the distal caps without pushing excessively on the stems. The maximum thickness or diameter of the implement can be the spacing between the stems, which is typically larger when it is closer to the distal cap than at the proximal end attached to the thermoplastic backing. The method according to the present description is useful with a variety of pin densities (density of the upright elements) because, for example, the diameter or thickness of the implement or tools can be selected to adjust different pin densities . Wires of various thicknesses or diameters can be selected depending on, for example, the spacing between the stems of the multiple rows, the size of the distal caps, the spacing between the distal caps, and the desired amount of deflection of the cap in the second direction (in some modalities, towards the backrest). For example, an E guitar string can be useful when the density of the upright elements is 550 / cm² (3500 / in²). For increased spacings between multiple rows, various B or G guitar strings may be helpful. Similarly, various gauges or needles of different sizes can be selected for different structured surfaces.

The implement typically has sufficient strength to keep it free of flex if it is pushed against the thermoplastic back, but advantageously has some flexibility to align between the rows without destroying the upright member. The flexibility in the implements typically allows them to remain in place between adjacent rows, even if there is some variability in row spacing across the network of the material being treated. Due to this effect, multiple implements used between the multiple rows can be considered self-aligning, which can improve the robustness and reproducibility of this method.

The implement can be held perpendicular to the thermoplastic back as it is passed between two adjacent rows, but is typically placed at an angle between 0 degrees and 90 degrees to the thermoplastic back. In some embodiments, the implement is placed at an angle of 10 degrees to 60 degrees to the thermoplastic backrest. In some embodiments, the implement is placed at an angle of 15 degrees to 45 degrees to the thermoplastic backrest. Likewise, the pressure applied to hold the implement down while the thermoplastic backrest is pulled under it, or is pulled through the upright elements, may vary. The pressure must be sufficient to keep the implement in contact with the distal caps. When multiple implements are used in the method according to the present invention, the length of the individual implements can be selected to provide the desired degree of flexibility for self-alignment and robustness of the process, without being too long to enable needles or wires are easily misaligned or cross over each other. For wires or needles of smaller diameter, this length can be advantageously shortened to provide the desired rigidity of the individual needles or wires. As shown in Figure 4 above, it is contemplated that the length of the individual needles or wires need not all be the same length. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the implement may be in the form of a wire but with an end having a different shape, useful for shaping the protruding portions of the distal caps.

In modalities where the implement is a needle (for example, a hypodermic needle), including those modalities described above and shown in Figures 3 and 4, the needle may further be useful for blowing cold air onto the thermoplastic backing, to displace any heat generated by friction of the needles with the protruding portions of the distal caps. In other embodiments, the needles can be useful for distributing a portion of pigment or adhesive, for example, for a particular end use.

In some embodiments of the method according to the present invention, the implement is a cutter blade (eg, a rotary cutter blade). In these modalities, in addition to the conformation of the distal caps, the implement provides the grooves in the thermoplastic backrest. Interrupted grooves can be made, for example, by using rotary cutter blades that have voids to form the bridge regions. The height of the blade in the voids can be adjusted to allow the bridge regions to be partially cut or not cut at all, depending on the desired mode. Partial slits can be made, for example, by adjusting the heights of the rotating die blades to make the slits to the desired depth. For interrupted or uninterrupted slits through the full thickness of the thermoplastic backing, trimming can be carried out from any surface of the continuous network, either the surface with the elements upright, or the opposite surface. Typically, however, for slits through the thickness of the thermoplastic backing, the slits are made on the same surface from which the upright members protrude. Similarly, for partial grooves, the grooves are made on the same surface from which the upright elements project. It should be understood that the rotary trimming methods described herein on a continuous network may in some cases result in crevices crossing over or trimming through a row of upright elements. Although the rotating die, for example, can be placed to form a gap between the rows of upright elements, the variability in the lattice process and stiffness of the rotating die can cause the gap to intersect over a row of standing elements and subsequently return to your intended position.

The method according to the present description in any of its modalities, can be repeated multiple times (for example, two or more times) to achieve the desired results. In such cases, the size and shape of the implements used in the first and subsequent applications of the method may be different, if desired. In addition, in some embodiments, the thermoplastic backrest has a top edge and a bottom edge, and passing the implement between two adjacent rows of upright elements can be started at the top edge and continued toward the bottom edge or any portion of the thermoplastic backrest in between. .

The method according to the present invention can provide structured surfaces with upright elements having uniquely shaped distal caps. In some embodiments, the thermoplastic backing has an x ​​direction and a y direction orthogonal to the x direction, where the distal caps have protruding portions extending beyond the stem in the x direction and in the y direction, and protruding portions extending only in one of the x direction or the y direction are they rotated in the second direction. A photomicrograph of elements erected in a precursor material prior to application of the method of the present disclosure is shown in Figure 8A, while elements erected after treatment are shown in Figure 8B. In some embodiments, the thermoplastic backrest is a net of indefinite length that has a machine direction and a transverse direction. In embodiments where the thermoplastic backrest is moved in the machine direction or the implement is moved only in the machine direction between rows of upright elements, only the protruding portions extending in the transverse direction are turned in the second direction. .

Other methods of forming the distal caps of the elements erected on a structured surface are known. For example, the passage of the upright elements through an open clamping point of a hot rubber roller and a support roller causes the protruding portions of the distal cap, which extend beyond the stem, to be pushed down toward the backup. This process is described in United States Patent No. 6,132,660 (Kampfer). However, the rubber roller may wear out, causing changes in the process. Furthermore, the process can be speed limiting and is limited as to how much the shape of the distal cap can be changed.

In contrast, the method according to the present description does not require the use of rubber, which can degrade rapidly, and is easy to perform. In addition, the size and shape of the implement can be adjusted for versatility in shaping the distal caps.

Surfaces structured according to and / or made according to the methods described herein, may have an increased peel strength, when coupled with a curl material, than a comparable structured surface that is not treated. A comparable structured surface is the same as the structured surface described herein, except that it has not been exposed to the method of the present description. The comparable structured surface has the same dimensions (eg, length, width, and thickness), the same density and height of the upright elements, the same stem dimensions, the same configuration of the upright elements (eg, row) and is made of the same material as the structured surface of the present description. As shown in the examples below, the results may depend on the curl material used and the initial shape of the distal caps; however, the release performance in general is increased using the methods described herein. In some modalities, the improvement in detachment in the machine's direction and / or direction is more pronounced.

Surfaces structured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure have distal caps, where the protruding portions extending beyond the stem on all sides are substantially equivalent in volume, and where for at least some of the upright elements the protruding portions that extend in only one of the x direction or the y direction are turned down toward the thermoplastic backing. Typically, the upright elements are lined up in rows on the thermoplastic backing. In these embodiments, the term "substantially volume equivalent" has the same meaning as described above for the parent material. The precursor material may, for example, have a round distal cap. The distal cap on the resulting structured surface of such a precursor material could have protruding portions, some turned down and some not, that are rounded. In some embodiments of the structured surface, the thermoplastic backing is a net of indefinite length having a machine direction and a transverse direction, where the y direction is the machine direction, where the x direction is the transverse direction , and where only the protruding portions extending in the transverse direction are turned downwards towards the thermoplastic backing.

In some embodiments for carrying out the method described herein, the multiple implements are placed in a tool comprising a template structured surface, wherein the template structured surface comprises a template thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upright elements in insole, the upright insole elements comprise stems with proximal ends attached to the insole thermoplastic backing and the distal tips, and where the multiple implements are placed between the multiple rows of the elements erected in template on the template structured surface. In some embodiments of this tool, the implements comprise at least one of the needles, wires, or chocks. Typically, in such tools, the implements are positioned to extend from the tool by a suitable distance to carry out the method described herein.

An embodiment of a tool for carrying out the method described herein is shown in Figure 7.

In Figure 7, a series of hypodermic needles 125 is assembled to have the desired spacing to align with a desired structured surface. The desired spacing can be achieved, for example, by placing the needles in the rows of a stem network (not shown), which may be identical to the structured surface to be treated, except that there are no distal caps. on the stems. The stem net can be attached to a rubber piece with double stick tape (not shown), and after the needles 125 are placed, a second rubber piece 105 is placed on them and the mount placed on a clamp 100. The number of needles 125 can be adjusted to apply the method to the desired width of the structured surface to be treated. By holding the apparatus by the handle 115, the method according to the present description can be applied to the manually structured surfaces. The length of the needles 125 can be adjusted as previously described. For example, needles may extend beyond rubber piece 105 by 0.5 to 5 cm, in some embodiments, 1 cm to 3 cm or 1.5 cm to 2.5 cm.

Other methods of placing implements are also possible. For example, the template structured surface may have upright rails or ridges on a thermoplastic backing. Such a structured surface can be prepared, for example, by profile extrusion (eg, using a method similar to that described in US Patent No. 4,894,060 (Nestegard). The implements can be placed between the rails or flanges. .

Advantageously, the method according to the present invention does not require that the implement, the upright elements or the thermoplastic backrest be heated. Surprisingly, the method according to the present description results in the permanent deformation of the contacted protruding portions of the distal caps, even in the absence of external heating. While external heating is not required, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to heat the implement and / or the thermoplastic backrest. In some embodiments, it may be useful to apply the method of the present disclosure while the distal caps are still hot from a capping step using heat and pressure (for example, such as that described in US Patent No. 5,077,870 (Melbye et al.) And 5,845,375 (Miller et al.)).

In some embodiments where the distal caps are heated before or while in contact with the implement, heating is typically carried out below a melting temperature of the distal caps. When the thermoplastic material used to form the erect elements is a copolymer (eg, ethylene and propylene copolymers), the distal caps may have more than one melting temperature. In these embodiments, below a distal caps melting temperature means below at least one of the temperatures. fusion. Heating of a thermoplastic network can be carried out, for example, in a hot chamber such as in an oven, or by IR radiation, or treatment with hot air can also be used. In some modes, the structured surface can be heated in a range of 40 ° C to 80 ° C (in some modes 50 ° C to 60 ° C) before being brought into contact with an implement. In modalities where the implements are needles, hot air can be introduced through the needles to heat the implement and / or the structured surface, while the distal caps are brought into contact with the implements. In other embodiments, the implements may be hot wires or hot chocks.

In some embodiments, the method according to the present description includes stretching the thermoplastic backing in at least one direction. Stretching may be most advantageous after contact of the distal caps with the implement (s). Stretching may also be performed prior to contact of the distal caps with the implement (s), but the variability of spacing between the rows may be increased as a result of the stretching.

Stretching a thermoplastic backrest with upright elements can be useful, for example, for reducing the cost of the resulting structured surface, which can be a mechanical fastener. However, there is also a potential reduction in performance as a result of the reduced number of upright elements (eg hook elements) per unit area. The method of the present disclosure may be useful, for example, to displace the potential loss in the performance of reducing the density of the upright elements, by increasing the percentage of the upright elements that can be coupled with the curl fibers and / or or by increasing the retention energy of each such coupling. Also, starting with a higher spike density (upright element density) before stretching will result in an upright element density after stretching, which can be comparable to conventional mechanical fasteners. For example, when the density of the upright elements is 550 / cm² (3500 / in²), stretching to a ratio of approximately 2: 1 results in a density of the upright elements of approximately 248 / cm²(1600 / in²), which is a conventional pin density for mechanical fasteners. Stretching a thermoplastic backing with the elements upright provides stretch-induced molecular orientation, at least on the backing.

For the modalities in which the thermoplastic backing is stretched, stretching can be carried out on a biaxial or monoaxial network, using techniques known in the art. When the thermoplastic backing is a net of indefinite length, for example, the monoaxial stretching in the machine direction can be carried out by propelling the thermoplastic net on rollers of increasing speed. The most versatile stretching method that allows simultaneous monoaxial, sequential biaxial, and biaxial stretching of a thermoplastic network employs a flat film tensioning apparatus. Such apparatus fastens the thermoplastic network using a plurality of clamps, fasteners, or other means of holding the edge of the film along the opposite edges of the thermoplastic network, in such a way that monoaxial, sequential biaxial, or biaxial stretching is obtained. Simultaneous in the desired direction, by propelling the clamping means at varying speeds along the diverging rails. Increasing the speed of the clamp in the machine direction generally results in stretching in the machine direction. Means such as diverging rails generally result in stretching in the transverse direction. Monoaxial and biaxial stretching can be accomplished, for example, by the methods and apparatuses described in United States Patent Application.

Publication No. 2005/02002205 (Petersen et al.) And the references cited therein. Flat film tensioning apparatus are commercially available, for example from Brückner Maschinenbau GmbH, Siegsdorf,

Germany.

In some embodiments, the stretch increases at least one of the length or width of the thermoplastic backing by at least 1.5 times (in some embodiments, at least 2, 2.5, or 3 times). In some embodiments, stretching increases the length and width of the thermoplastic backing by at least 1.5 times (in some embodiments, at least 2, 2.5, or 3 times). In some embodiments, the stretch increases at least one of the length or width of the thermoplastic backing up to 10 times (in some embodiments, up to 7 or 5 times). In some embodiments, stretching increases the length and width of the thermoplastic backrest up to 10 times (in some embodiments, up to 7 or 5 times).

Stretching can be adjusted to maximize desired product properties (eg, coupling with a desired curl. In some embodiments, stretching is carried out at least at the natural stretch ratio. When a thermoplastic film (eg, a thermoplastic backing as described herein) is monoaxial or biaxially stretched at a temperature below the melting point of the thermoplastic material, particularly at a temperature below the linear extraction temperature of the film, the thermoplastic film can be stretched non-uniformly, and a clear boundary is formed between the stretched and non-stretched parts. This phenomenon is called neck formation or linear stretching. However, substantially the entire thermoplastic backing is stretched evenly when it is stretched to a sufficiently high degree. The stretch ratio at which this occurs is referred to as the natural stretch ratio or natural draw ratio. The natural stretch ratio can be defined, for example, as the stretch ratio where the relative standard deviation of the local stretch ratios, measured at a variety of positions on the thermoplastic backing, is below about 15 percent. Stretching above the natural stretch ratio is understood to provide significantly more uniform properties or characteristics such as thickness, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity. For any given thermoplastic backing and given stretching conditions, the natural stretch ratio is determined by factors such as the composition of the thermoplastic resin that forms the thermoplastic backing, the morphology of the thermoplastic backing formed due to quenching conditions on the tooling roll , for example, and the temperature and speed of stretching. In addition, for biaxially stretched thermoplastic backs, the ratio of natural stretch in one direction will be affected by stretching conditions, including the ratio of final stretch in the other direction. Thus, it can be said to be a natural stretch ratio in a given direction, a fixed stretch ratio on the other side, or alternatively it can be said to be a pair of stretch ratios (one in the first direction and one in the second direction) which results in the natural stretch ratio. The term stretch ratio refers to the ratio of a linear dimension of a given portion of the thermoplastic backing after stretching to the linear direction of the same portion prior to stretching.

In some embodiments, stretching is performed at elevated temperatures. This can allow the thermoplastic backing to be more flexible for stretching. Heating can be provided, for example, by IR irradiation, hot air treatment or by performing stretching in a heat chamber. In some embodiments, heating is only applied to the second surface of the thermoplastic backing (i.e., the surface opposite the direction from which the upright elements protrude) to minimize any damage to the embedded stems that may result from heating. For example, in these embodiments, only the rollers that are in contact with the second surface of the thermoplastic backing are heated.

After stretching, the thickness of the thermoplastic backing is decreased so that the ratio of the thickness of the thermoplastic backing before stretching to the thickness of the thermoplastic backing after stretching can be, for example, from 2: 1 to 3: 1 to 10: 1, in some modalities from 5: 1 to 10: 1. The thickness of the thermoplastic backing may, for example, be in a range of 5 to 200 μη, 10 to 100 μη, or 30 to 70 μη.

After stretching, the final density of the upright elements is less than the initial density of the upright elements. In some embodiments of the method of making a structured surface according to the present disclosure, the upright elements have a final density (i.e. after stretching) of at least 20 / cm² (129 / in²), 40 / cm² (258 / in²), 60 / cm² (387 / in²) ,

75 / cm² (484 / in²), 100 / cm² (645 / in²), or 124 / cm² (800 / in²). For example, the final density of upright elements can be at least 248 / cm² (1600 / in²) or at least about 394 / cm² (2500 / in²). In some modalities, the final density of the upright elements can be up to 787 / cm²(5000 / in²), or up to about 1182 / cm² (7500 / in²). Final densities in a range of 124 / cm² (800 / in²) to

1182 / cm² (7500 / in²), 124 / cm² (800 / in²) at 787 / cm² (5000 / in²), and

124 / cm² (800 / in²) at 394 / cm² (2500 / in²) can be useful, for example. Again, the spacing of the upright elements need not be uniform.

For any one of the methods of making a structured surface or a structured surface described herein, the thermoplastic backing may be in the form of a roll, from which patches of structured surfaces (eg, patches mechanical fasteners) can be cut to size appropriate to the desired application. In this application, the thermoplastic backing can also be a patch that has been cut to a desired size. In some of these embodiments, the second surface of the thermoplastic backing (for example, the surface opposite the first surface from which the erect elements protrude) can be trimmed with an adhesive (for example, a pressure sensitive adhesive) . In such embodiments, when the thermoplastic backing is in the form of a roll, a release liner can be applied to the exposed adhesive.

In some embodiments of the method of making a structured surface described herein, the thermoplastic backing is not attached to a carrier, at least when it is initially formed. When the backing is not attached to a carrier, this may mean that the backing is not laminated (eg, extrusion-laminated), bonded, bonded (eg, ultrasonically bonded or compression bonded), or otherwise coupled to a carrier (for example, a substrate, a holding tab, a holding tape, etc.). In other embodiments, the method further comprises attaching a second surface of the thermoplastic backing (ie, the surface opposite the first surface from which the erect elements protrude) to a carrier. The thermoplastic backing can be attached to a carrier, eg, by lamination (eg, extrusion lamination), adhesives (eg, pressure sensitive adhesives), or other bonding methods (eg, ultrasonic bonding, compression or superficial union). Such joining methods can be carried out before the protruding portions of the distal caps are brought into contact with the implement, after the protruding portions of the distal caps are brought into contact with the implement, or before or after optionally stretching the backrest thermoplastic, as desired. The thermoplastic backing can be attached to a carrier during the formation of the thermoplastic backing with the stems upright. In some embodiments where the method includes dividing the thermoplastic backing before the backing is attached to a carrier with a pressure sensitive adhesive, the viscosity of the pressure sensitive adhesive can be selected so that it does not pass through the indentations during the joining process. The article resulting from the attachment of the structured surface to a carrier may be a fastening laminate, for example, a fastening tab attached to the backing sheet of an absorbent article, useful for bonding the front waist region and the region back waist of an absorbent article.

The carrier can be continuous (i.e., no holes penetrating from side to side) or discontinuous (eg, comprising perforations or pores penetrating from side to side). The carrier may comprise a variety of suitable materials including woven nets, non-woven nets (eg, spun-bonded nets, yarn-stitched nets, air-laid nets, cast blown nets, and bonded carded nets), textiles, films. plastic eg single layer or multi layer films, coextruded films, laterally laminated films, or films comprising foam layers), and combinations thereof). In some embodiments, the carrier is a fibrous material (eg, a woven, non-woven, or knitted material). In some embodiments, the carrier comprises multiple layers of nonwoven materials with, for example, at least one layer of meltblown nonwoven and at least one layer of spunbonded nonwoven, or any other suitable combination of non-woven materials. For example, the carrier may be a yarn-melt-bonded-yarn-bonded, yarn-bonded-yarn-bonded, or yarn-bonded-yarn-bonded, yarn-bonded, multilayer material. Or, the carrier may be a composite web comprising a non-woven layer and a dense film layer.

Fibrous materials that provide useful carriers can be made from natural fibers (eg, wood or cotton fibers), synthetic fibers, (eg, thermoplastic fibers), or a combination of natural and synthetic fibers. Exemplary materials for forming the thermoplastic fibers include polyolefins (eg, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers, butylene copolymers, and copolymers and blends of these polymers), polyesters, and polyamides). The fibers may also be multi-component fibers, for example, having a core of one thermoplastic material and a liner of another thermoplastic material.

Useful carriers can have any suitable basis weight or suitable thickness that is desired for a particular application. For a fibrous carrier, the basis weight may be in the range of, for example, at least about 20, 30, or 40 grams per square meter, up to about 400, 200, or 100 grams per square meter, the carrier can be up to about about 5 mm, approximately 2 mm, or approximately 1 mm thick and / or at least approximately 0.1, approximately 0.2, or approximately 0.5 mm thick.

One or more areas of the carrier may comprise one or more elastically extensible materials that extend in at least one direction, when a force is applied, and that return approximately to their original dimension after the force is withdrawn. However, in some embodiments, including those embodiments where the implement trims through the thermoplastic backrest, at least the portion of the carrier attached to the second face of the backrest is not stretchable. In some embodiments, the portion of the carrier attached to the second face of the backrest will have up to a percentage elongation of 10 (in some embodiments, up to 9, 8, 7, 6, or 5 percent) in the transverse direction, in the direction perpendicular to slits through the backrest.

The holding laminate that can be formed after bonding the thermoplastic backing to a carrier can be useful, for example, in absorbent articles. Exemplary absorbent articles have at least one frontal waist region, a posterior waist region, and a longitudinal centerline bisecting the frontal waist region and the posterior waist region, wherein at least one of the frontal waist region and the posterior waist region comprises the structured surface, made according to the method described herein. The fastening laminate may be in the form of a fastening tab that is attached to at least one of the front waist region or to the rear waist region that extends outwardly from at least one of the longitudinal left edge or the right longitudinal edge of the absorbent article. In other embodiments, the fastening laminate may be an integral ear portion of the absorbent article.

Fastening laminates for use on absorbent articles can be of any useful shape and size. A holding tab may have a manufacturer's end that is attached to the disposable absorbent article (i.e., the end that is permanently attached to the absorbent article, usually in the waist region) and a user end, which is the distal end from the coupling point (i.e. the end that is held by the user). In some embodiments, the user end may be narrower than the manufacturer end. In these and other embodiments, it may be useful to treat the upright elements differently at different positions of the clamping tab. For example, implements can be passed between each row at the user end, while multiple rows can exist between implements towards the end of the manufacturer. This tailored design can be particularly advantageous, for example, to improve peel performance at the narrowest edge, where there are fewer upright elements to engage a curl.

The holding laminate may also be useful, for example, for disposable items such as sanitary napkins. A sanitary pad typically includes a backsheet that is intended to be placed adjacent to the wearer's panties. The backsheet may comprise a thermoplastic backing with upright elements to securely attach the sanitary pad to the panty, which is mechanically coupled to the distal caps.

In some embodiments of absorbent articles according to the present disclosure (eg, diapers or other incontinence garments), the article further comprises a terry material to engage with the structured surface described herein. Curl material can be provided, for example, as the backsheet of absorbent articles, or curl patches can be provided as landing zones in either the front waist region or the back waist region. The curls can be made of any suitable material that is securely integrated with the corresponding hook fasteners. In some embodiments, the terry material is a knitted, woven, or non-woven fabric. For example, the fiber loops can protrude from a knitted, woven or non-woven backing, or they can be extrusion bonded, adhesive bonded and / or sonically bonded fiber loops. Suitable commercially available terry materials include extrusion bonded and knitted terry materials from 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. In some embodiments, the absorbent article according to the present disclosure includes an extrusion bonded loop. In some embodiments, the absorbent article according to the present disclosure includes a nonwoven loop.

In some embodiments, where the carrier is a fibrous network, the bonding involves striking hot gaseous fluid (eg, ambient air, dehumidified air, nitrogen, an inert gas, or other gas mixture) on a first surface of the fibrous network , while on the move; colliding the hot fluid on the second surface of the backrest while the continuous network is moving, where the second surface is opposite to the first surface of the backrest; and contacting the first surface of the fibrous web with the second surface of the backing, so that the first surface of the fibrous web is fusion-bonded (eg, surface-bonded or bonded with a fluff-retaining bond) to the second backrest surface. The shock of the hot gaseous fluid on the first surface of the fibrous network and the shock of the hot gaseous fluid on the second surface of the backrest can be carried out sequentially or simultaneously. The term superficially bonded when referring to the bonding of fibrous materials means that some parts of the fiber surfaces of at least portions of the fibers are melt-bonded to the second surface of the backing opposite the upright members, in such a way as to substantially preserve the original (pre-bonded) shape of the second backing surface, and to substantially preserve at least some portions of the second back surface in an exposed condition, in the surface bonded area. Quantitatively, surface bonded fibers can be distinguished from embedded fibers in that at least about 65 percent of the surface area of ​​the surface bonded fiber is visible above the second backing surface in the fiber bonded portion. Inspection from more than one angle may be necessary to visualize the entire fiber surface area. The term fluff-retaining bond when referring to the bonding of fibrous materials means a bonded fibrous material comprising a fluff that is at least 80% of the fluff exhibited by the material prior to, or in the absence of the bonding process. The fluffiness of a fibrous material as used herein is the ratio of the total volume occupied by the network (including the fibers as well as the interstitial spaces of the material that are not occupied by the fibers) to the volume occupied by the material of the single fibers. If only a portion of the fibrous web has the second backing surface attached to it, the retained fluff can be easily evaluated by comparing the fluff of the fibrous web in the bonded area with that of the net in an unjoined area. It may be desirable in some circumstances to compare the fluffiness of the bonded net with that of a sample from the same net before being bonded, for example, if the entire fibrous net has the second backing surface attached to it.

Additional methods and apparatus for attaching a continuous network to a fibrous carrier network using hot gaseous fluid can be found in the copending US Patent Applications Serial Numbers 12 / 974,536 and 12 / 974,329, both filed on December 2010, and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Selected Modalities of the Description

In a first embodiment, the present description provides a method for the elaboration of a structured surface, the method comprises:

providing a thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of upright elements, the upright elements comprise stems with proximal ends coupled to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps, where each distal cap has a protruding portion extending beyond the stem in a first direction; and for at least some of the multiple rows, passing an implement between two adjacent rows, where the implement makes contact with the protruding portion of at least some of the distal caps on two adjacent rows, such that at least part of the portion protruding is flipped in a second direction, different from the first direction.

In a second embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the first embodiment, wherein the implement does not cut through the thermoplastic backing.

In a third embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the first or second embodiment, wherein the implement is a needle, wire, or shoe.

In a fourth embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method of any of the first to third embodiments, wherein the implement is tapered.

In a fifth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any one of the first to fourth embodiments, further comprising stretching the thermoplastic backing in at least one direction.

In a sixth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the first embodiment, wherein the implement is a rotary cutter.

In a seventh embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to sixth modalities, further comprising heating at least one of the implement or upright elements.

In an eighth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to sixth modalities, wherein the method does not include heating the implement or the upright elements.

In a ninth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to sixth embodiments, wherein at least part of the protruding portion is turned in a second direction, is turned toward the thermoplastic backing.

In a tenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to ninth modalities, wherein the multiple implements are passed between the multiple rows simultaneously.

In a eleventh embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the tenth embodiment, wherein at least some of the multiple implements have different lengths or are positioned such that their tips are not aligned with each other.

In a twelfth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the tenth or eleventh embodiment, wherein the multiple implements are self-aligning between the multiple rows of the upright elements.

In a thirteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the twelfth to twelfth modalities, wherein the multiple elements are placed in a tool comprising a template structured surface, wherein the template structured surface comprises a thermoplastic backing in template with multiple rows of upright elements in template, the upright insole elements comprise stems with proximal ends coupled to the insole thermoplastic backing and distal tips, and where the multiple implements are placed between the multiple rows of the upright insole elements on the insole structured surface.

In a fourteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the thirteenth embodiment, wherein the multiple rows of the upright template elements have the same spatial configuration as the multiple rows of the upright elements on the thermoplastic backing.

In a fifteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to fourth modalities, wherein the thermoplastic backing has an x ​​direction and a y direction orthogonal to the x direction, where the distal caps have protruding portions that extend further beyond the stem in the x direction and in the y direction, and where the protruding portions extending only in one of the x direction or the y direction, they are turned in the second direction.

In a sixteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the fifteenth embodiment, wherein the distal caps are round before passing the implement between the two adjacent rows.

In a seventeenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the fifteenth embodiment method, wherein the distal caps are oval prior to passing the implement between the two adjacent rows.

In an eighteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the fifteenth or sixteenth embodiment, wherein the protruding portions θ® extend beyond the stem on all sides, and are substantially equivalent in volume.

In a nineteenth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any one of the first to eighteenth modalities, wherein the structured surface is a mechanical fastener.

In a twentieth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to nineteenth modalities, wherein the implement is placed at an angle of 15 degrees to 4-5 degrees to the thermoplastic backing.

In a twenty-first embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any of the first to twenty-second modalities, wherein the thermoplastic backing is a net of indefinite length having a machine direction and a transverse direction.

In a twenty-second embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of the twenty-first embodiment, wherein only the projecting portions extending in the transverse direction are turned in the second direction.

In a twenty-third embodiment, the present disclosure provides the method of any one of the first to twenty-second embodiments, wherein the thermoplastic backing has a second surface opposite to the upright elements, the method further comprising attaching the second backing surface to a carrier.

In a twenty-fourth embodiment, the present disclosure provides a structured surface comprising:

a thermoplastic backrest that has an x ​​direction and a y direction; and upright elements comprising stems with proximal ends coupled to the thermoplastic backing and distal caps, where each distal cap has projecting portions extending beyond the stem on all sides, where projecting portions extending beyond the stem over all sides are substantially equivalent in volume, and where for at least some of the upright elements, the protruding portions that extend in only one of the x direction or the y direction are turned down toward the thermoplastic backing.

In a twenty-fifth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the structured surface of the twenty-fourth embodiment, where for at least some of the upright elements all protruding portions are rounded.

In a twenty-sixth embodiment, the present disclosure provides the structured surface of the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth embodiment, where the upright elements are aligned in rows on the thermoplastic backing.

In a twenty-seventh embodiment, the present disclosure provides the structured surface of any of the twenty-fourth to twenty-sixth modalities, wherein the thermoplastic backing is a net of indefinite length having a machine direction and a transverse direction, where the y direction is the machine direction, where the x direction is the cross direction, and wherein only the protruding portions extending in the transverse direction are turned downwards towards the thermoplastic backing.

In a twenty-eighth embodiment, the present disclosure provides a holding laminate comprising a carrier and the structured surface of any of the twenty-fourth to twenty-seventh modalities, wherein the thermoplastic backing has a second surface opposite to the upright elements, and wherein the second backrest surface is attached to the wearer.

In a twenty-ninth embodiment, the present disclosure provides an absorbent article having at least one frontal waist region, one posterior waist region, and one longitudinal centerline bisecting the frontal waist region and the posterior waist region, wherein the minus one from the frontal region of

<td>waist or</td><td>posterior region</td><td>of</td><td>waist</td><td>comprises a</td>

<td>laminate</td><td colspan="2">holding agreement</td><td>to</td><td>twenty-eighth</td>

<td>modality.</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>In</td><td>one thirtieth</td><td colspan="2">modality,</td><td>the present</td>

Description provides a tool for shaping the distal caps on elements erected on a structured surface, the tool comprises a template structured surface and multiple implements, the template structured surface comprises a template thermoplastic backing with multiple rows of template erected elements, wherein the upright insole elements comprise stems with proximal ends coupled to the insole thermoplastic backing and distal tips, and where the multiple attachments are positioned between multiple rows of upright insole elements on the insole structured surface.

In a thirty-first embodiment, the present description provides the tool of the thirty-first embodiment, wherein the multiple implements comprise at least one of needles, wires, or chocks.

In order that this description may be more fully understood, the following examples are described. It should be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be construed as limiting that description in any way.

EXAMPLES

Hook Strips

The hook strips of the Examples

Comparatives 1-4A (available under the product name listed in Table 1 from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN) were prepared using the method described in US Patent No. 5,845,375 (Miller et al.). The polymer used to prepare the hook strips was an ethylene-propylene copolymer available from Dow Chemical Co., Midland, MI, under the trade designation C700-35N. Hook density was 248 hooks per square centimeter (1600 hooks per square inch) arranged in a square pattern and the shape of the post was tapered. In Table 1, the total gauge, base film gauge, basis weight, cap diameter in the CD direction, and the cap diameter in the MD direction, are recorded for Comparative Examples 1-4A. The cap shapes for Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were oval. The cap shapes for Comparative Examples 3, 4 and 4A were round. Comparative Example 4A was prepared from Comparative Example 4 using the procedure described in US Patent No. 6,132,660 to form hook heads with fiber coupling portions, projecting in a downward direction.

Table 1.

<td>Example</td><td>Caliber of the Movie Base (μπι)</td><td>Diameter of the Skullcap on CD (Mm)</td><td>Diameter of the Skullcap in MD (Mm)</td><td>Caliber Total (μπι)</td><td>Weight Base (gsm)</td>

<td>Comparative Example 1</td><td> 85</td><td> 420</td><td> 300</td><td> 430</td><td> 104</td>

<td>Comparative Example 2</td><td> 85</td><td> 350</td><td> 250</td><td> 470</td><td> 104</td>

<td>Comparative Example 3</td><td> 100</td><td> 350</td><td> 350</td><td> 440</td><td> 117 .</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4</td><td> 180</td><td> 350</td><td> 350</td><td> 515</td><td> 191</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 180</td><td> 350</td><td> 350</td><td> 510</td><td> 191</td>

The hook strips of Examples 1-4 were prepared from the corresponding Comparative Examples (Table 2) using the apparatus described in Figure 7. The implement portion 125 of the apparatus consisted of a 2.54 cm (1 inch) strip 44 hypodermic syringe needles (25 gauge) wide that were spaced to align with the rows (MD direction) of the hook strips). Alignment was accomplished using the 248-ear / cm stem network² (1600 spikes per square inch (ppi)) as a template for needle spacing. The needles were placed in the rows of the stem net without cap and the underside (flat) of the stem net was attached to a piece 6.35 cm (2.5 inch) by 1.27 cm (0.5 inch) by 0.16 cm ( 0.0625 inch) rubber, using double-sided tape. A second piece of rubber 105 with the same dimensions was placed on top of the needles and the resulting implement assembly was placed on a clamp 100 to provide the apparatus of Figure 7. The needles were extended at a distance of approximately 1.9 cm (0.75 inch) from the edge of the clamp. The needles were placed in alignment with the rows of the hook strip, and the apparatus was manually pulled through the hook strip such that the angle formed between the implement portion of the apparatus and the backing of the hook strip (in the direction of hand movement) was between approximately 15 to 45 degrees. The resulting change in the shape of the hooks (eg, from Figure 8A to Figure 8B) was independent of the angle employed.

Table 2

<td>Example Number</td><td>Precursor Hook Strip</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td>Comparative Example 1</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td>Comparative Example 2</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td>Comparative Example 3</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td>Comparative Example 4</td>

Test Method and Test Results

The decoupling performance characteristics of the prepared materials as examples were measured using four different test methods. All tests were conducted at constant temperature (23 ° C + / 2 ° C) and constant relative humidity (50% +/- 5% ·). All materials and equipment were balanced to these conditions for a minimum of 24 hours prior to testing. A universal constant ratio of the extension tensile test instrument equipped with a data logging computer and the required load intervals (Series 4200, 4500, or 5500 available from Instron Engineering Corporation, Canton, MA) were employed. The crosshead speed of the instrument was adjusted to 3 0.5 cm per minute. (12 inches per minute) for all tests.

Extrusion-bonded (EBL) and nonwoven curl samples were obtained by removing the curl-holding patches from commercially available baby diapers.

The EBL samples [Described in the United States Patent

States No. 5,256,231 (Gorman et al.)] Were obtained from New Baby Size 1 diapers available from Procter &amp; Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, under the trade designation PAMPERS SWADDLERS. Nonwoven curl samples were obtained from size 4 baby diapers (available from Procter &amp; Gamble Company) under the trade designation LUVS. The nylon knitted curl samples had a fabric basis weight of approximately 22 grams per square meter and were backed with a biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP, basis weight of approximately 11 grams per square meter).

In Test Method 1, the force required to detach the hook material from the curl material was measured at a 180 degree peel angle with shear engagement. The finished hook samples were prepared as a strip of 1.27 cm (0.5 inch) in the cross direction (CD) by 2.54 cm (1 inch) in the Machine Direction (MD), with the holding tape used as the material. backup. The hook sample was attached approximately in the center of a 1 inch by 8 inch paper guide, the guide was folded in half from the hook to apply a cut coupling with one end and 180 degree detachment with the other end. The finished curl element was cut to at least 7.62 cm (3 inches) CD by 5.08 cm (2 inches) MD. The hook sample was gently placed hooks down on the corresponding curl face and secured with one cycle (one cycle = one pass forward and one pass backward) of a 2.0 kg (4.5 pound) hand-held roller. Cut coupling was conducted by hanging a 500 gram mass from the finished assembly for 10 seconds. The 180 degree detachment end of the guide was attached to the lower jaw, while the curl was attached, vertically aligned to the guide, to the upper jaw of the Instron instrument, allowing a slight amount of

<td>slack.</td><td>The</td><td>materials were</td><td>oriented</td><td>of</td><td>so the</td>

<td colspan="4">detachment were conducted on the CD of</td><td>the</td><td>hooks and in</td>

<td>the CD of</td><td>the</td><td colspan="2">curls. The initial separation</td><td>of</td><td>the jaw</td>

<td>(length</td><td>of the</td><td>gauge) was</td><td>tight</td><td>to</td><td>7.62 cm (3</td>

<td>inches)</td><td>. The</td><td>instrument was</td><td>switched on</td><td>and</td><td>the jaw</td>

<td>higher</td><td colspan="2">traveled until the</td><td>shows</td><td>of</td><td>hooks was</td>

<td colspan="2">completely</td><td>detached from the</td><td colspan="3">curls sample. Were</td>

taken the measurements of the maximum load (Max Load), the average load (Avg Load) and the average peak load (Average Peak) in units of gram-force (gf) the data collected from ten replicates, each using fresh materials, they were averaged and the averaged data are reported in Tables 3-5 along with the corresponding standard deviation values ​​(StDev).

Table 3. CD Detachment with EBL as the Substrate of

Curls

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 1223</td><td> 145</td><td> 470</td><td> 41</td><td> 590</td><td> 112</td>

<td>Comparative 1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 1103</td><td> 218</td><td> 453</td><td> 58</td><td> 516</td><td> 104</td>

<td>Example Comparative 2</td><td> 734</td><td> 144</td><td> 191</td><td> 47</td><td> 206</td><td> 61</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 902</td><td> 204</td><td> 324</td><td> 92</td><td> 434</td><td> 152</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 463</td><td> 249</td><td> 124</td><td> 62</td><td> 147</td><td> 93</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 1248</td><td> 174</td><td> 449</td><td> 76</td><td> 558</td><td> 160</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 437</td><td> 216</td><td> 94</td><td> 47</td><td> 98</td><td> 76</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 1586</td><td> 144</td><td> 424</td><td> 78</td><td> 478</td><td> 269</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 1489</td><td> 349</td><td> 418</td><td> 111</td><td> 763</td><td> 532</td>

Table 4. CD Detachment with Knitted Point Curls as the Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative one</td><td> 252</td><td> 73</td><td> 88</td><td> 28</td><td> 123</td><td> 39</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 199</td><td> 34</td><td> 61</td><td> 12</td><td> 90</td><td> 19</td>

<td>Example Comparative</td><td> 112</td><td> 52</td><td> 28</td><td> 13</td><td> 49</td><td> 29</td>

<td> 2</td><td></td><td></td><td colspan="4"></td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 131</td><td> 58</td><td> 32</td><td> 13</td><td> 55</td><td> 25</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 172</td><td> 35</td><td> 53</td><td> 14</td><td> 79</td><td> 23</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 281</td><td> 178</td><td> 68</td><td> 38</td><td> 127</td><td> 76</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 241</td><td> 80</td><td> 75</td><td> 21</td><td> 127</td><td> 41</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 207</td><td> 61</td><td> 71</td><td> 20</td><td> 107</td><td> 30</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 304</td><td> 122</td><td> 72</td><td> 31</td><td> 148</td><td> 66</td>

Table 5. CD Detachment with Non-Woven Curls such as

Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 286</td><td> 75</td><td> 130</td><td> 32</td><td> 166</td><td> 46</td>

<td>Comparative one</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 129</td><td> 39</td><td> 64</td><td> 19</td><td> 79</td><td> 24</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 269</td><td> 82</td><td> 88</td><td> 35</td><td> 134</td><td> 56</td>

<td>Comparative two</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 197</td><td> 57</td><td> 93</td><td> 19</td><td> 118</td><td> 28</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 214</td><td> 49</td><td> 72</td><td> 19</td><td> 100</td><td> 27</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 180</td><td> 37</td><td> 77</td><td> 17</td><td> 102</td><td> 20</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 248</td><td> 105</td><td> 72</td><td> 24</td><td> 102</td><td> 34</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 127</td><td> 50</td><td> 50</td><td> 17</td><td> 64</td><td> 21</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 138</td><td> 46</td><td> 63</td><td> 19</td><td> 80</td><td> 25</td>

In Test Method 2, the diaper ear retaining tabs were removed from a Parents Choice size 4 diaper (available from Walmart Corporation, Bentonville, AR) and labeled to identify the mating position (located on the right side or the left side of the diaper). The hook material existing on each tether tab was removed from the non-woven carrier of the tether tab. This was accomplished by cooling the tabs through exposure to liquid nitrogen and removing the existing hook pieces from the nonwoven carrier, while cold. The nonwoven carrier was heated to room temperature and a hook strip selected from Comparative Examples 14A and Examples 1-4 (13mm by 25.4mm in size) was then placed on the nonwoven carrier of the holding tab. diaper, using two layers of double-coated tape (available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, under the trade designation SCOTCH ADHESIVE TRANFER

TAPE NO. 924). The existing curl substrate was also removed using the same liquid nitrogen procedure described above. The test curl substrate (selected from the three curl samples described above) was coupled to the diaper in the same position as the previously removed curl substrate using 3M SUPER 77 MULTIPURPOSE SPRAY ADHESIVE (available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN ). The test curl substrate was labeled to identify the left and right sides of the diaper. The area of ​​the landing zone that contained the test curl substrate was then trimmed from the diaper approximately 1.27 cm (0.5 inches) to 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) below the area of ​​the landing zone. The diaper ear holding tabs (containing the selected hook material from Comparative Examples 1-4A and Examples 1-4) were attached to the corresponding curl substrate (right or left side of the diaper) and placed with the hooks side down on curl substrate. Each hook strip was gently rubbed once in the machine direction, and then additionally secured with two cycles (one cycle = one pass forward and one pass backward) of a 454 gram (1 pound) hand roller moving in the machine direction of the hook. The time for one cycle was approximately two seconds. The landing zone was cut in the middle, producing two prepared test samples. The finger-lift portion of the hook holding tab was inserted into the upper jaw of the Instron instrument, while the curl substrate was placed into the lower jaw. The materials were oriented so that the detachment was conducted on the CD hooks and CD curls. The initial jaw clearance (caliper length) was adjusted to 2.54 - 5.1 cm (1 to 2 inches). The instrument was turned on and the upper jaw traveled until the hook sample was completely detached from the curl sample. Measurements of maximum load (Max Load), average load (Avg Load), and average peak load (Peak Avg) were taken in gram-force units (gf). Data collected from five replicates, each using fresh materials, were averaged and the averaged data are reported in Tables 6-8 along with the corresponding standard deviation values.

Table 6. CD Detachment with EBL as the Substrate of

Curls

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative one</td><td> 934</td><td> 241</td><td> 600</td><td> 147</td><td> 691</td><td> 171</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 1089</td><td> 124</td><td> 705</td><td> 103</td><td> 814</td><td> 133</td>

<td>Example Comparative two</td><td> 887</td><td> 187</td><td> 512</td><td> 138</td><td> 616</td><td> 184</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 1098</td><td> 169</td><td> 669</td><td> 43</td><td> 765</td><td> 80</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 1126</td><td> 225</td><td> 516</td><td> 103</td><td> 611</td><td> 122</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 1079</td><td> 153</td><td> 661</td><td> 104</td><td> 776</td><td> 91</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 892</td><td> 352</td><td> 294</td><td> 104</td><td> 354</td><td> 80</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 1314</td><td> 487</td><td> 604</td><td> 222</td><td> 673</td><td> 169</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 1559</td><td> 475</td><td> 671</td><td> 109</td><td> 685</td><td> 91</td>

Table 7. CD Detachment with Knitted Curl as Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative 1</td><td> 218</td><td> 89</td><td> 79</td><td> 39</td><td> 98</td><td> 57</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 237</td><td> 96</td><td> 96</td><td> 41</td><td> 121</td><td> 59</td>

<td>Example Comparative 2</td><td> 155</td><td> 79</td><td> 62</td><td> 32</td><td> 68</td><td> 40</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 183</td><td> 50</td><td> 84</td><td> 21</td><td> 99</td><td> 27</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 255</td><td> 49</td><td> 95</td><td> 19</td><td> 114</td><td> 33</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 191</td><td> 44</td><td> 44</td><td> 23</td><td> 45</td><td> 25</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 220</td><td> 118</td><td> 61</td><td> 23</td><td> 69</td><td> 29</td>

<td>Example Compare to you 4A</td><td> 270</td><td> 77</td><td> 96</td><td> 26</td><td> 126</td><td> 34</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 273</td><td> 102</td><td> 71</td><td> 21</td><td> 70</td><td> 30</td>

Table 8. CD Detachment with the Nonwoven Curl as the

Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative 1</td><td> 305</td><td> 46</td><td> 199</td><td> 39</td><td> 223</td><td> 47</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 294</td><td> 28</td><td> 168</td><td> 42</td><td> 179</td><td> 45</td>

<td>Example Comparative 2</td><td> 396</td><td> 66</td><td> 238</td><td> 54</td><td> 276</td><td> 38</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 386</td><td> 100</td><td> 148</td><td> 42</td><td> 192</td><td> 68</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 301</td><td> 55</td><td> 171</td><td> 62</td><td> 200</td><td> 66</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 412</td><td> 91</td><td> 237</td><td> 73</td><td> 254</td><td> 85</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 329</td><td> 185</td><td> 97</td><td> 71</td><td> 94</td><td> 69</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 350</td><td> 88</td><td> 172</td><td> 26</td><td> 191</td><td> 37</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 453</td><td> 83</td><td> 202</td><td> 49</td><td> 207</td><td> 65</td>

In Test Method 3, the diaper lug tabs were removed from a size 4 Parents Choice diaper (available from Walmart Corporation, Bentonville, AR) and labeled to identify the mating position (located on the right or left side). left side of the diaper). The hook material existing on each tether tab was removed from the non-woven carrier of the tether tab. This was accomplished by cooling the tabs through exposure to liquid nitrogen and stripping the existing hook parts off the nonwoven carrier while it was cold. The nonwoven carrier was heated to room temperature and a strip of hooks selected from Comparative Examples 1-4A and Examples 1-4 (13mm by 25.4mm in size) was then placed on the nonwoven tongue carrier Diaper fastening using two layers of double-coated tape (available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, under the trade designation SCOTCH ADHESIVE TRANFER TAPE NO. 924). The existing curl substrate was also removed using the same liquid nitrogen procedure described above. The test curl substrate (selected from the three curl samples described above) was coupled to the diaper in the same position as the previously removed curl substrate using 3M SUPER 77 MULTIPURPOSE SPRAY ADHESIVE (available from 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. ). The test curl substrate was labeled to identify the right or left side of the diaper. The area of ​​the landing zone containing the test curl substrate was then cut from the diaper approximately 1.3 cm (0.5 inches) to 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) below the area of ​​the landing zone. The portion of the ear clip that contains the hook material was carefully cut out of the clip and then fitted approximately in the center of a paper guide (2.54 cm x 7.62 cm (1 inch by 3 inches)). The coupling was done with a staple. The clip was placed near the top edge of the hook strip with the flat side of the clip located on the hook face. The hook strips were attached to the corresponding curl substrate (right side or left side of the diaper) and the side of the hooks placed down on the curl substrate. Each hook strip was gently rubbed once in the machine direction and then additionally secured with two cycles (one cycle = one pass forward and one pass backward) of a 454 gram (1 pound) hand roller moving in the hook machine direction. The time for one cycle was approximately two seconds. The landing zone was cut in the middle, producing two prepared test samples. The paper guide was inserted into the upper jaw of the Instron instrument while the curl substrate was placed into the lower jaw. The materials were oriented so that the detachment was conducted on the MD hooks and MD curls. The initial jaw clearance (caliper length) was adjusted to 2.54-5.1 cm (1 to 2 inches). The instrument was turned on and the upper jaw traveled until the hook sample was completely detached from the curl sample. Measurements of maximum load (Maximum Load), average load (Average Load) and average peak load (Peak Average) were taken in units of gram-force (gf). The data collected from the five replicates, each using the fresh materials, was averaged and the averaged data are reported in Tables 9-11 along with the corresponding standard deviation values ​​(StDev).

Table 9. MD Detachment with EBL as the Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 306</td><td> 150</td><td> 193</td><td> 89</td><td> 207</td><td> 92</td>

<td>Comparative 1</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 339</td><td> 79</td><td> 225</td><td> 59</td><td> 245</td><td> 69</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 84</td><td> 29</td><td> 44</td><td> 12</td><td> 47</td><td> 12</td>

<td>Comparative 2</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 178</td><td> 44</td><td> 109</td><td> 26</td><td> 117</td><td> 29</td>

<td>Example</td><td> 264</td><td> 115</td><td> 128</td><td> 58</td><td> 137</td><td> 69</td>

<td>Comparative 3</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 379</td><td> 82</td><td> 233</td><td> 43</td><td> 261</td><td> 54</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 85</td><td> 33</td><td> 36</td><td> 15</td><td> 39</td><td> 18</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 443</td><td> 170</td><td> 267</td><td> 68</td><td> 294</td><td> 79</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 316</td><td> 75</td><td> 191</td><td> 36</td><td> 206</td><td> 43</td>

Table 10. MD Detachment with Knitted Curls as Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative 1</td><td> 113</td><td> 43</td><td> 39</td><td> 29</td><td> 43</td><td> 34</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 167</td><td> 54</td><td> 60</td><td> 14</td><td> 63</td><td> 19</td>

<td>Example Comparative 2</td><td> 84</td><td> 23</td><td> 20</td><td> 3</td><td> 23</td><td> 3</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 76</td><td> 23</td><td> 17</td><td> 4</td><td> 17</td><td> 7</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 58</td><td> 21</td><td> 17</td><td> 10</td><td> 20</td><td> 11</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 68</td><td> 22</td><td> 22</td><td> 12</td><td> 23</td><td> 11</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 41</td><td> 10</td><td> 14</td><td> 8</td><td> 15</td><td> 8</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 107</td><td> 71</td><td> 35</td><td> 17</td><td> 37</td><td> 21</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 62</td><td> 22</td><td> 28</td><td> 13</td><td> 28</td><td> 15</td>

Table 11. Detachment MD with the Nonwoven Curl as the

Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Load Max. (gf)</td><td>Load Max. (StDev)</td><td>Load Avg. (gf)</td><td>Load Avg. (StDev)</td><td>Peak Avg. (gf)</td><td>Peak Avg. (StDev)</td>

<td>Example Comparative 1</td><td> 194</td><td> 39</td><td> 111</td><td> 13</td><td> 114</td><td> 14</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 168</td><td> 24</td><td> 120</td><td> 20</td><td> 125</td><td> 22</td>

<td>Example Comparative 2</td><td> 72</td><td> 14</td><td> 33</td><td> 5</td><td> 37</td><td> 5</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 124</td><td> 37</td><td> 72</td><td> 32</td><td> 74</td><td> 34</td>

<td>Example Comparative 3</td><td> 82</td><td> 22</td><td> 47</td><td> 19</td><td> 50</td><td> 19</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 202</td><td> 46</td><td> 132</td><td> 35</td><td> 140</td><td> 39</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4</td><td> 56</td><td> 18</td><td> 21</td><td> 11</td><td> 21</td><td> 11</td>

<td>Example Comparative 4A</td><td> 202</td><td> 14</td><td> 123</td><td> 23</td><td> 129</td><td> 28</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 168</td><td> 39</td><td> 99</td><td> 24</td><td> 103</td><td> 27</td>

In Test Method 4, the force required to detach a mechanical fastening system was measured after a minimum force was used to couple the hook and loop samples. A test pattern at 90 degrees of retention of a 5.1 cm (2 inch) by 12.7 cm (5 inch) steel plate^-) was inserted into the lower jaw of the Instron tensile tester. The flat 6.5 cm square (1 square inch) underside of the finished hook sample (selected from Comparative Examples 1-4A and Examples 1.4) was coupled with the double-sided tape (available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, under the trade designation SCOTCH Double Coated TAPE NO. 9579) at the bottom of a 240 gram test apparatus. The finished curl sample was coupled with the double-sided tape to completely cover one side of a 5.1 cm (2 inch) x 12.7 cm (5 inch) steel plate with the CD direction of the curl material oriented parallel to the dimension panel length. The plate containing the curl sample was inserted into the 90 degree peel pattern. The test apparatus containing the hook sample was inserted into Instron's upper jaw and slightly lowered onto the curl face taking care not to apply pressure. The initial jaw clearance (caliper length) was adjusted to 24 cm (9.5 inches). The instrument was turned on and the upper jaw traveled until the hook sample was completely detached from the curl sample. The maximum load measurement (max load) was recorded in units of gram-force (gf). The data collected from ten replicates, each using fresh materials, was averaged and the averaged data are reported in Tables 12-14 along with the corresponding standard deviation values.

Table 12. Detachment at 90 ° with EBL as the Substrate of

Curls

<td>Example</td><td>Max load.</td><td>Max load.</td>

<td>Comparative Example 1</td><td> 315</td><td> 81</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 558</td><td> 160</td>

<td>Comparative Example 2</td><td> 230</td><td> 96</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 572</td><td> 254</td>

<td>Comparative Example 3</td><td> 251</td><td> 140</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 426</td><td> 181</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4</td><td> 155</td><td> 36</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4A</td><td> 395</td><td> 201</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 399</td><td> 218</td>

Table 13. 90 ° Peel With Knitted Curl as the Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Max load.</td><td>Max load.</td>

<td>Comparative Example 1</td><td> 149</td><td> 22</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 169</td><td> 24</td>

<td>Comparative Example 2</td><td> 164</td><td> 17</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 152</td><td> 24</td>

<td>Comparative Example 3</td><td> 189</td><td> 29</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 203</td><td> 19</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4</td><td> 173</td><td> 43</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4A</td><td> 227</td><td> 35</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 234</td><td> 59</td>

Table 14. Detachment at 90 ° with the Non-Woven Curl as the

Curl Substrate

<td>Example</td><td>Max load.</td><td>Max load.</td>

<td>Comparative Example 1</td><td> 199</td><td> 57</td>

<td>Example 1</td><td> 289</td><td> 67</td>

<td>Comparative Example 2</td><td> 200</td><td> 51</td>

<td>Example 2</td><td> 207</td><td> 60</td>

<td>Comparative Example 3</td><td> 188</td><td> 54</td>

<td>Example 3</td><td> 242</td><td> 80</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4</td><td> 175</td><td> 28</td>

<td>Comparative Example 4A</td><td> 303</td><td> 65</td>

<td>Example 4</td><td> 199</td><td> 28</td>

This description can take various modifications and alterations without departing from its spirit and scope. Consequently, this description is not limited to the previously described modalities, but must be controlled by the limitations described in the following claims and any equivalents thereof. This description can be suitably practiced in the absence of any element not specifically described herein. All patents and patent applications cited above are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to put the aforementioned invention into practice is the one that is clear from the present description of the invention.