Slit hook strips and laminates and articles containing the same.

(54) Title: STRIPS OF HOOKS AND LAMINATES WITH SLITS AND ARTICLES CONTAINING THEM.

(54) Title: SLIT HOOK STRIPS AND LAMINATES AND ARTICLES CONTAINING THE SAME.

(57) Summary

A hook strip is provided having a backrest with a first surface and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and grooves in the backrest between at least a few pairs of the adjacent rows of the hook elements. The grooves can be interrupted by a bridge region of the backrest, or the grooves can be partial grooves that penetrate the thickness of the backrest in a range of 40 to 90 percent. A fastening laminate is also provided including a carrier and the above described hook strip attached to the carrier. In some embodiments, the fastening laminate includes slits that form separate stop portions of the backrest on the carrier. An absorbent article containing the hook strip and a method of making the hook strip are also described.

(57) Abstract

A hook strip is provided having a backing with a first surface and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and projecting from the first surface of the backing; and slits in the backing between at least some pairs of adjacent rows of the hook elements. The slits may be interrupted by a bridging region of the backing, or the slits may be partial slits that penetrate the thickness of the backing in a range from 40 to 90 percent. A fastening lamínate that ineludes a carrier and the hook strip described above joined to the carrier is also provided. In some performances, the fastening lamínate ineludes slits that form separate, abutting portions of the backing on the carrier. An absorbent article containing the hook strip and a method of making the hook strip are also disclosed.

STRIPS OF HOOKS AND LAMINATES WITH SLITS AND ARTICLES THAT

THEY CONTAIN THE SAME

Background of the Invention

Hook and loop fastening systems, where the hook member typically includes a plurality of closely spaced upright projections with heads engaging the loops, and the loop member typically including a plurality of woven, nonwoven, or woven loops dotted, they are useful in providing releasable coupling in many applications. For example, hook and loop fastening systems are widely used in absorbent, disposable articles of clothing to secure such articles around a person's body. In typical configurations, the hook strap or patch over a tether tab attached to the back waist portion of a diaper or incontinence garment, for example, can be secured to a landing area of ​​the curl material over the front region of the waist, or hook strap or patch may be secured to the backing sheet (eg, non-woven backing sheet) of the diaper of the incontinence garment in the front waist region.

Hook and loop fastening systems can include at least two characteristics of coupling strength: peel strength and resistance to

REF. 238161 cut. 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 of 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 hook strip comprising slits at a rear between the rows of hook elements. The grooves can be interrupted grooves that are interrupted by backrest bridge regions, partial grooves that extend only partially through the backrest, or a combination thereof. The present disclosure also provides a fastener laminate and absorbent article comprising either the hook strip described above, or a hook strip with recesses in the back between the rows of hook elements forming separate butt strips. of the backrest on a carrier. The hook strip described herein in any of these embodiments, typically has remarkably high peel strength compared to a comparative hook strip that has no slits.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a hook strip comprising a backrest having a first surface and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the machine direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and an interrupted gap cut out through the backrest between at least a pair of adjacent rows of the hook elements, wherein the interrupted gap extends in the machine direction and is interrupted by at least one intact bridge region of the backrest; wherein any intact bridge regions of the backrest between a pair of adjacent rows of hook members have a combined machine direction length of up to fifty percent of the machine direction backrest length. In some embodiments, the first surface of the backrest is provided with partial depth cutouts in at least some of the bridge regions, where the cutouts are co-linear with the grooves interrupted but do not extend through the backrest. In some embodiments, interrupted slits cut through the backrest exist between at least three pairs of adjacent rows of hook elements, and the number of rows of hook elements between at least some of the interrupted slits varies.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a hook strip comprising a backrest having a first surface and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; an interrupted gap cut out through the backrest between at least a pair of adjacent rows of the hook elements, wherein the interrupted gap extends in the first direction and is interrupted by at least one intact bridge region of the backrest; and a trimmed partial depth in at least one intact bridge region, where the trimmed partial depth is co-linear with the interrupted gap, but does not extend through the backrest. In some embodiments, interrupted slits cut through the backrest exist between at least three pairs of adjacent rows of hook elements, and the number of rows of hook elements between at least some of the interrupted slits varies.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a hook strip comprising a backrest having a first surface and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and interrupted slits cut through the backrest between at least three adjacent pairs of rows of the hook elements, where each of the interrupted slits extends in the first direction and is interrupted by an intact bridge region of the backrest; where the number of rows of the hook elements between at least some of the interrupted slits varies.

In some embodiments of the foregoing aspects, interrupted grooves cut out through the backrest exist between at least two adjacent pairs of rows of the hook elements, wherein for any two adjacent interrupted grooves, the bridge regions are staggered in a second perpendicular direction to the first address. In some embodiments, there are up to seven rows of hook elements between any two adjacent interrupted slits, cut through the back. In some embodiments, any backrest bridge regions between a pair of adjacent rows of hook members have a combined machine direction or first direction length of up to fifteen percent of the backrest length in the direction machine or first address.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a hook strip comprising a backrest having a first surface, a thickness, and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and a cut-out partial slit in the first surface of the backrest between at least a pair of adjacent rows of the hook elements, where the partial slit extends in the first direction and penetrates the thickness of the backrest in a range of 40 to 90 per hundred. In some embodiment, cut-out partial grooves exist in the first surface of the backrest between at least three pairs of the hook elements, where the number of rows of hook elements between at least some of the partial grooves varies. In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a hook strip comprising a backrest having a first surface, a thickness, and a length in a first direction; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and cut-out partial grooves in the first surface of the backrest between at least three pairs of the adjacent rows of hook elements, where each of the partial grooves penetrates only partially through the thickness of the backrest, and where the number of rows of hook elements between at least some of the partial indentations varies. In some embodiments, the backrest can be flexed at least 90 degrees in each partial indentation at least five times without rupture. In some embodiments, at least one of the partial grooves is interrupted by at least one backrest bridge region that has no groove. In other embodiments, at least one of the partial grooves penetrates within the thickness of the backrest to a different degree into the different regions along the length of the backrest. In some embodiments, there are at most seven rows of hook elements between any two adjacent partial slits.

In some embodiments of any of the foregoing aspects, the backing is not attached to a carrier. In some embodiments, the multiple rows of hook elements are evenly spaced. In some embodiments when the hook strip is coupled with a loop material, a shear curve defined by the load versus the extent of shear generated after the hook strip is released from the loop material, has a larger area under the curve, that a comparative peeling curve, generated after peeling off a comparative hook strip from an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip except that the comparative hook strip has no interrupted slits or partial slits. In some embodiments, when the hook strip is coupled with a curl material, a load-defined peel curve versus the peel extension generated after peeling the hook strip from the curl material, has an area under the curve of detachment at half the extent of detachment, which is at least 3 0 percent of a total area under the detachment curve. In some embodiments, when the hook strip is coupled with a loop material and then released from the loop material at a release angle of 135 to 18 0 degrees, a release angle of a single row of hook elements at a distance of a peel front, is greater than a peel angle of a single row of hook elements on a comparative hook strip at the distance from the peel front, when the comparative hook strip is peeled off from an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip except that the comparative hook strip has no interrupted or partial grooves.

In yet another aspect, the present description provides a fastening laminate comprising a carrier and a hook strip according to any of the preceding aspects or modalities, wherein the backrest has a second surface opposite to the first surface, and wherein the second backrest surface is attached to a portion of the carrier.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a fastener laminate comprising a carrier; a backrest having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, a thickness, a length in a first direction, an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein the second surface of the backrest is attached to a portion of the carrier; multiple evenly spaced rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first backrest surface; and slits cut through the backrest between at least some pairs of adjacent rows of hook elements, where each of the slits extends in the first direction from the top edge to the bottom edge of the backrest, to form strips of stop separated from the backrest on the carrier; wherein at least the portion of the carrier to which the second backrest surface is attached has an elongation of up to ten percent in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a fastener laminate comprising a carrier; a backrest having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, a thickness, a length in a first direction, an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein the second surface of the backrest is attached to a portion of the carrier; multiple rows of hook elements aligned in the first direction and protruding from the first surface of the backrest; and cut-out slits in the backrest between at least three adjacent pairs of rows of the hook elements, where each of the slits extends in the first direction and forms stop portions of the backrest on either side of the slit, and wherein the number of rows of hook elements between at least some of the slits varies; wherein at least the portion of the carrier to which the second face of the backrest is attached, has up to ten percent elongation in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. In some embodiments, each of the slits is cut through the thickness of the backrest and extends from the top edge to the bottom edge of the backrest to form separate stop strips of the backrest on the carrier. In other embodiments, each of the slits is a cut-out partial slit on the first face of the backrest

<td>that penetrates</td><td>only partially</td><td>to</td><td>through</td><td>of the</td><td>thickness</td><td>of the</td>

<td>back. In</td><td>other modalities,</td><td>every</td><td>one of</td><td>the</td><td>clefts</td><td>is</td>

<td colspan="2">an interrupted cleft that</td><td>is</td><td colspan="2">cropped</td><td>through</td><td>of the</td>

<td>endorsement e</td><td>interrupted by</td><td>a</td><td>region</td><td>of</td><td>bridge</td><td>of the</td>

backrest, where the bridge region of the backrest is collinear with the gap interrupted, but is not trimmed or penetrates only a portion of the thickness of the backrest. In some embodiments, the tether laminate has a proximal end (eg, for permanent attachment to an absorbent article) and a distal end (eg, for the user to hold it), and the number of rows of hook elements between the slits, increase from the distal end to the proximal end.

In some embodiments of the above aspects of the fastener laminates, the carrier is fibrous, and the second backing surface is surface bonded to the carrier. In some embodiments, when the fastener laminate is coupled with a crimp material, a load-defined peel curve versus the peel extension generated after peeling of the hook strip from the curl material has a larger area under the curve that a comparative peel curve generated after peeling a comparative laminate of an equivalent crimp material, wherein the comparative laminate is the same as the fastening laminate, except that the comparative laminate has no indentations. In some embodiments, when the hold-up laminate is coupled with a curl material, a load-defined peel curve versus peel extent, generated after peeling the hold-down laminate from the curl material, has an area under the curve of detachment at half the extent of detachment that is at least 30 percent of a total area under the detachment curve. In some embodiments, when the fastener laminate is coupled with a loop material and then peeled from the loop material at a release angle of 135 to 180 degrees, a release angle of a single row of hook elements at a distance from the peel front, is greater than a peel angle of a single row of hook elements on a comparative hook strip at the distance from the peel front, when the comparative hook strip is peeled off from an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip, except that the comparative hook strip has no indentations. In some embodiments, there are at most seven rows of hook elements between any two adjacent slits.

In yet another aspect, 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 of the front waist region or the rear waist region comprises a fastening laminate according to any of the preceding aspects or modalities, and wherein the machine direction or the first direction of the hook strip is aligned with the longitudinal center line.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of making multiple hook strips, the method comprises forming a continuous network having a backing and multiple rows of hook elements aligned in rows in a machine direction and protruding from a first backing surface; cutting incomplete machine-direction grooves in the backrest between at least a few pairs of adjacent rows of hook members, where incomplete grooves do not divide the backrest; and trimming the full slits in the machine direction through the backrest, where the full slits divide the backrest; wherein the full slits and incomplete slits are positioned such that each of the multiple hook strips has at least one incomplete slit cut into the backrest in the machine direction. In some embodiments, incomplete grooves are interrupted grooves that are interrupted by intact bridge regions of the backrest. In some of these embodiments, for any two adjacent interrupted grooves, the bridge regions are staggered in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. In some embodiments, any bridge regions between a pair of adjacent rows have a combined machine direction length of up to fifty percent of the continuous network length in the machine direction. In some embodiments, incomplete grooves are partial grooves that penetrate the thickness of the backrest in a range of 40 to 90 percent. In some embodiments, the continuous network is not attached to a carrier network. In other embodiments, the method further comprises joining the continuous network to a carrier network. In some of these embodiments, the carrier network is a fibrous network, and lamination comprises striking hot fluid on a first surface of the fibrous network while it is moving; 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 network with the second surface of the backrest, so that the first surface of the fibrous network is fusion-bonded to the second surface of the backrest. In some embodiments, the method further comprises trimming at least one of the multiple strips at an angle to the machine direction to provide a single strip of hooks. In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing an absorbent article having at least one front waist region and one rear waist region; and placing the individual hook strip over at least one of the front waist region or the back waist region of the absorbent article. In some embodiments, the method further comprises stretching the continuous network in at least one direction to provide stretch-induced molecular orientation. In some embodiments, when the hook strip is coupled with a curl material, a load-defined peel curve versus the peel extension generated after peeling the hook strip from the curl material, has a larger area under the curve than a comparative peel curve generated after peeling off a comparative hook strip of an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip, except that the comparative hook strip has no incomplete slits. In some embodiments, when the hook strip is coupled to curl material, a load-defined peel curve versus the peel extension generated after peeling the hook strip from the curl material has an area under the peel curve. , at half the shear extension, which is at least 30 percent of a total area under the shear curve.

In some embodiments, when the hook strip is coupled with a loop material and then released from the loop material at a release angle of 135 to 18 0 degrees, a release angle of a single row of hook elements at a distance of a peel front, is greater than a peel angle of a single row of hook elements on a comparative hook strip, at the distance from the peel front, when the comparative hook strip is peeled off from an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip except that the comparative hook strip has no incomplete slits. In some embodiments, there are at most seven rows of hook elements between any two adjacent incomplete grooves in the backrest.

In some embodiments of the above aspects and embodiments, the hook members have projections that engage the curls. In some of these modes, at least a portion of each projection that engages the curls extends at a non-zero angle to the first direction (in some modes, the machine direction). In some embodiments, the backing exhibits stretch-induced molecular orientation in at least one direction (in some embodiments, the machine direction or the first direction). In other embodiments, the backing is not stretched beyond what stretching in the machine direction may occur during extrusion.

In this application, terms such as one, one, one, and 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 their endpoints and non-integer values ​​between endpoints, unless otherwise stated.

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 these modalities.

The term row refers to the hook elements aligned in a particular direction. The row or line of hook elements may be substantially straight. When an interrupted gap, a partial gap, a gap, a gap forming separate backrest stop regions, or an incomplete gap is cut between adjacent rows of hook elements, it is understood that the particular gap does not cross over a row of hook elements.

When a slit (for example, the interrupted slit, a partial slit, a slit forming separate stop regions of the backrest, or an incomplete slit) is said to extend in a particular direction, the slit is understood to be accommodated or aligned in this direction or at least predominantly in that direction. The slit can be linear. As used herein, a linear slit (eg, interrupted slit, partial slit, a slit that forms separate stop regions of the backrest, or an incomplete slit) can be defined by two points on a line between two rows of elements Hook. The groove can also be substantially linear, which means that the groove can have a slight bend or a slight oscillation. Some oscillation or curvature may result, for example, from the slit making process of a continuous network, as would be understood by a person skilled in the art. Any oscillation or curvature is such that the slit generally does not have a portion that crosses over a row of the hook elements. The slit may also have a wavy or sawtooth pattern with a small amplitude, such that the pattern generally does not cross over a row of hook elements.

A gap that is cut through or from side to side of the backrest means that the gap is cut through the entire thickness of the backrest.

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

15, or 16 rows of hook elements.

The term hook element as used herein refers to male fasteners including stems with or without coupling heads to curls having a projection. The term "curl coupling" as used herein, refers to the ability of a hook element to be mechanically coupled to a curl material. In general, hook members with curl coupling heads have a head shape that is different from the stem shape. For example, the hook element may be in the form of a mushroom (for example, with an enlarged oval or circular head relative to the stem), a hook, a palm tree, a nail, a T, or a J. The ability of hook elements to curl can be determined and defined by the use of standard woven, non-woven or knitted materials. A region of hook elements with coupling heads to curls generally provide, in combination with a curl material, at least one of a higher release force, greater dynamic cut resistance, or greater dynamic friction than a region of stems. without the heads that engage the curls. Hook elements having curl-engaging projections or curl-engaging heads do not include ribs that are precursors to hook elements (eg, elongated ribs that are profile extruded and subsequently cut to form hook elements later of the stretch in the direction of the ribs). Such ribs might be able to engage the curls before they are trimmed and stretched. Typically, hook members that have curl coupling heads have a maximum thickness dimension of up to approximately 1 (in some embodiments, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, or 0.45) millimeters.

The term machine direction (MD) as used above and below denotes the direction of a continuous, running network of the backing during the manufacture of the hookstrip. When a hook strip is cut into smaller portions from a continuous net, the machine direction corresponds to the length L of the hook strip. As used herein, the terms machine direction and longitudinal direction are typically used interchangeably. The term transverse direction (CD) as used above and below denotes the direction that is essentially perpendicular to the direction of the machine. When a hook strip is cut into smaller portions from a continuous network, a transverse direction corresponds to the width W of the hook strip.

For some embodiments, the grooves (eg, partial grooves) are said to penetrate the thickness of the backrest by a certain percentage range. The percentage penetration can be calculated as the depth of the slit divided by the thickness of the backrest, 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 in an identifiable manner 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 term "surface bonded" when referring to the bonding of fibrous materials means that some parts of the fiber surfaces of at least the portions of the fibers are melt-bonded to the second surface of the backing, such 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, the surface bonded fibers can be distinguished from embedded fibers in that at least about 65% 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 retention bond when referring to the bonding of fibrous materials means a bonded fibrous material comprising a fluff or fluff that is at least 80% of the fluff shown by the material before, or in the absence of, the process. of Union. 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 a 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 to that of the net in an unjoined area. It may be desirable in some circumstances to compare the fluffiness of the bonded fibrous web with that of a sample from the same net before being joined, for example if the entire fibrous web has the second backing surface attached to it.

The foregoing brief description of the present disclosure is not intended to describe each described embodiment or each 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:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary hook strip according to the present disclosure;

Figure IA is a cross-sectional side view, taken along the line 1AB-1AB of Figure 1, for an embodiment of a hook strip according to the present description;

Figure IB is a cross-sectional side view, taken along the line 1AB-1AB of Figure 1, for another embodiment of a hook strip according to the present description

Figure 2 is a top view of another exemplary hook strip according to the present description;

Figure 2A is a cross sectional side view taken along the line 2AB-2AB of Figure 2, for some modalities of a hook strip according to the present description;

Figure 2B is a cross sectional side view taken along the line 2AB-2AB of Figure 2, for other modalities of a hook strip according to the present description;

Figure 3 is a top view of another exemplary hook strip according to the present description;

Figure 4 is a top view of another exemplary hook strip according to the present description;

Figure 4A is a cross-sectional side view, taken along line 4A-4A of Figure

4;

Figure 5 is a top view of an exemplary fastener laminate according to the present disclosure;

Figure 5A is a cross-sectional side view, taken along the line 5A-5A of Figure

5;

Figure 6 is a top view of another exemplary fastener laminate according to the present disclosure;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an absorbent article incorporating a hook strip in accordance with the present disclosure;

Figure 7A is an exemplary cross-sectional side view taken along line 7A-7A of Figure 7;

Figure 8 is a peel-off bra curve, comparative, which is removed from a knitted terry;

FIG. 9. is a peel-off curve of a fastener laminate including a specimen of Exemplary Hook Strip 1, which is removed from a knitted loop;

FIG. 10 is a peel-off curve of a comparative, non-slit fastener laminate that is removed from a non-woven curl material;

FIG. 11 is a peel-off curve of a fastener laminate including a specimen of Exemplary Hook Strip 1, which is removed from a non-woven curl material;

Figure 11A is a peel-off curve of a fastener laminate including a specimen of Exemplary Hook Strip 2, which is removed from a non-woven curl material;

Fig. 12 is a photograph of a comparative, non-slit fastening laminate as it is peeled from a non-woven crimp material; and

Fig. 13 is a photograph of a fastener laminate including a hook strip according to the present disclosure as it is peeled from a non-woven curl material.

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. The 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.

Figure 1 illustrates a hook strip 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The hook strip 10 has a backrest 14 with multiple rows 16 of hook elements 12 protruding from a first backrest surface 14. The first backrest surface is the surface that is visible in Figure 1. The first surface may also be called the first major surface in any of the modalities described herein. The multiple rows 16 are aligned in at least a first direction; in the illustrated embodiment, the rows 16 of the hook elements 12 are aligned in the longitudinal direction L. The interrupted grooves 20a are cut into the backrest between some pairs of adjacent rows 16 of the hook elements 12. It should be generally understood that when the slits are cut between at least some pairs of the adjacent rows 16, there are at least two slits in the backrest 14. The interrupted slits 20a are linear in the same direction L as the multiple rows 16 and are they extend from the upper edge 18 towards the lower edge 28 of the backrest 14. The interrupted grooves are interrupted by intact bridge regions 22 of the backrest 14. Bridge regions 22 are regions where the backing is not trimmed from side to side, and these are co-linear with the interrupted gap 20a. In the illustrated embodiment, the interrupted grooves 20a are not evenly spaced along the rows of hook elements 12. There are three rows 16 of the hook elements 12 between some adjacent interrupted grooves 20a, and a row 16 of hook elements 12 between other adjacent interrupted slits 20a. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the bridge regions 22 are staggered in a direction W perpendicular to the direction L of the interrupted slits 20a.

A cross section taken through hook strip 10 of FIG. 1 at line ΙΑ, 1B-1A, IB, extending through interrupted slits in the slit regions, not the bridge regions, is shown in figure 1A. The interrupted grooves 20a extend through the backrest 14. The interrupted grooves 20a are made without removing material from the hook strip, but are shown out of scale in the

<td>figure IA</td><td>for</td><td colspan="2">make them easier</td><td>visible.</td><td>In</td><td>others</td>

<td>words,</td><td>the</td><td>multiple servings</td><td>of the</td><td>back</td><td> 14</td><td>on</td>

<td>any</td><td>side</td><td>of the clefts</td><td colspan="2">interrupted</td><td>20 a</td><td>is it so</td>

bumping and they are not separate.

The interrupted trimming shown in Figure 1 to leave the bridge regions can also be carried out in modalities having partial slits as shown in Figure IB. In Figure IB, the partial slits 20b are cut out on the first face of the backrest 14 (i.e. the same face from which the hook elements 12 protrude) between some pairs of adjacent rows 16 of hook elements 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the partial grooves 20b are interrupted by bridge regions 22 of the backrest 14 that are not grooved. The partial grooves 20b penetrate the thickness of the backing 14 in the range of 40 to 90 percent. Again, in this embodiment, the partial slits 20b are typically made without removing material from the hook strip, but are shown out of scale in Figure IB to make them more easily visible.

Yet another embodiment of a hook strip 10 according to the present description is illustrated in Figure 2.

In this embodiment, the two adjacent interrupted slits 20a have two rows 16 of hook elements 12 between them. Furthermore, in Figure 2, the bridge regions 22 are aligned in a direction W perpendicular to the direction of the interrupted slits 20a.

Exemplary cross sections taken through hook strip 10 of FIG. 2 at line 2A, 2B-2A, 2B, which extends through aligned bridge regions 22, are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In Figure 2A, the backing 14 in the bridge regions 22 is uncut. In Figure 2B, there are cutouts 24 at partial depth in the backrest 14 in the bridge regions. The partial depth cutouts 24 do not extend through the backrest and are co-linear with the interrupted slits 20a. The partial depth cutouts 24 can penetrate within the thickness of the backing 14 up to 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 percent.

Yet another embodiment of a hook strip 10 according to the present disclosure is illustrated in Figure 3. In this embodiment, there are interrupted slits 20a between each row 16 of hook elements 12. In Figure 3, the bridge regions 22 they are staggered in a direction W perpendicular to the direction of the interrupted slits 20a, although in other embodiments, the bridge regions 22 may be aligned. The backing 14 in the bridge regions 22 may be uncut as illustrated above in Figure 2A, or these may be trimmed as shown above in Figure 2B. The interrupted grooves 20a are cut through the backrest, but the groove pattern of Figure 3 can also be useful when using partial grooves. The partial grooves are not cut through the backrest, but penetrate the thickness of the backrest 14 in a range of 40 to 90 percent as shown in Figure IB.

An embodiment of a hook strip 10 according to the present disclosure having partial slits 20b is shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4, the hook strip 10 has a backing 14 with multiple rows 16 of hook elements 12 which they protrude from a first surface of the backrest 14. The multiple rows 16 are aligned in at least a first direction; in the illustrated embodiment, the rows 16 of the hook elements 12 are aligned in the longitudinal direction L. Partial grooves 20b are cut into the back between some pairs of adjacent rows 16 of hook elements 12. The partial slits 20b are linear in the same direction as the multiple rows 16 and, in the illustrated embodiment, are evenly spaced between the rows 16 of the hook elements 12. The number of rows 16 of the hook elements 12 between the slits Adjacent partials 20b can be modified as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3.

A cross section taken through hook strip 10 of Figure 4 at line 4A-4A is shown in Figure 4A. The partial grooves 20b are not cut through the backing 14, but penetrate the thickness of the backing 14 in a range of 40 to 90 percent. When the partial grooves 20b penetrate the thickness of the backrest 14 in a range of from 4 to 90 percent, the partial grooves allow flexing between the adjacent rows 16 of the hook elements 12, but the backrest 14 is not easily broken. In some embodiments, the partial grooves 20b penetrate the thickness of the backing 14 in the range of 50 to 90, 50 to 85, 55 to 85, 60 to 80, or 65 to 80 percent.

For any of the modalities of the hook strips illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, the multiple rows 16 of the hook elements 12 may be evenly spaced. For multiple rows 16 that are evenly spaced, the spacing (eg, the distance in the W direction) between the multiple rows 16 may differ by as much as 10, 5, 2.5, or 1 percent. Furthermore, in some embodiments, including any of the embodiments described above in connection with Figures 1 to 4, the backrest 14 has an upper edge 18 and a lower edge 28 and the interrupted grooves 20a or partial grooves 20b extend from the top edge 18 towards bottom edge 28 of the backrest.

For any of the modalities of the hook strips illustrated in Figures 1 through 4, the hook strip may be in the form of a roll, from which the hook patches are cut to a size appropriate for the desired application . In this application, the hook strip can also be a patch that has been cut to a desired size. Bridge regions 22 that interrupt interrupted slits 20a allow the hook strip to be handled as an integral unit. Similarly, because the partial grooves 20b do not extend through the backrest 14, the hook strip 10 of FIG. 4 can be handled as an integral unit. The bridge regions 22 in either the modalities containing them or the uncut portion of the backrest in the modalities having partial slits, allow the hook strips according to the present disclosure to be handled in a roll form and converted as desired. . Consequently, in some embodiments, the backrest 14 is not attached to a carrier, at least when it is initially formed. When the backing 14 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 (eg, a substrate, tether tab, tether tape, etc.). Since in some embodiments, the hook strap according to the present description can be made without being attached to a carrier, there is great flexibility in how the hook strap can be converted and subsequently attached to an article to be fastened.

<td></td><td>By</td><td>other part,</td><td>the hook strip</td><td>of</td><td>according to the</td>

<td>Present</td><td colspan="3">description can be useful in</td><td>a</td><td>laminate</td>

<td>subjection.</td><td>The</td><td>laminate</td><td>clamping can be</td><td colspan="2">a tongue of</td>

<td>restraint</td><td>than</td><td>understands</td><td>the hook strip</td><td colspan="2">described in</td>

<td>Present,</td><td>in</td><td>anyone</td><td colspan="2">of the modalities</td><td>previously</td>

mentioned, or the fastening laminate may comprise a hook strip attached to the backing sheet of an absorbent article. In some embodiments, the fastening laminate is useful for bonding the front waist region and the back waist region of an absorbent article. The fastening laminate may comprise a holder and a hook strip described herein, wherein the second surface of the hook strip (i.e., the face opposite the hook elements) is attached to the holder. The hook strip can be attached to a carrier, eg, by lamination (eg, extrusion lamination), adhesives (eg, pressure sensitive adhesives), or other bonding methods (eg, ultrasonic bonding, bonding by compression or superficial union).

The carrier can be continuous (ie, without 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, meltblown nets, and bonded carded nets), textile materials , plastic films (eg, single or multi-layer films, co-extruded films), side-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, for example, at least one layer of a nonwoven, melt blown, and at least one layer of a nonwoven, spun bonded or any other combination. suitable non-woven materials. For example, the carrier may be a yarn-bonded, melt-bonded-yarn-bonded, yarn-bonded, melt-bonded-yarn-bonded, yarn-bonded-yarn-bonded, or yarn-bonded-yarn-bonded. multilayer yarn. 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 to form 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 shell of another thermoplastic material.

Useful carriers can have any suitable 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 5mm, about 2mm, or about 1mm thick, and / or at least about 0.1, about 0.2, or about 0.5mm thick.

One or more areas of the carrier may comprise one or more elastically extensible materials, which extend in at least one direction when a force is applied, and which return approximately to their original dimension after the force is withdrawn. However, in some embodiments, 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 an elongation of up to 10 percent (in some embodiments, up to 9, 8, 7, 6, or 5 percent) in the transverse direction, in the direction perpendicular to the slits (i.e. the width direction (W)).

One embodiment of a fastener laminate 40 according to the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 5. The fastener laminate 40 comprises carrier 45 and hook strip 50. The hook strip has a backing 54 with a first surface that it has hook elements 52 protruding from it and a second surface (not shown) attached to carrier 45. In the illustrated embodiment, the hook elements 52 are in multiple rows 56, uniformly spaced, aligned in the first direction, the longitudinal direction L. The slits 20c are cut through the backrest 54 (i.e. through the thickness of the entire backrest ) between at least some pairs of adjacent rows 56 of hook elements 52.

The slits 20c are linear in the direction of the rows 56 and extend from the top edge 48 towards the bottom edge 58 of the backrest to form stop strips, separated from the backrest 54 on the carrier 45.

A cross section taken through the laminate 40 of Figure 5 on line 5A-5A is shown in Figure 5A. The slits 20c are cut through the back 54 but not the carrier 45. The slits 20c are made without removing material from the hook strip, but are shown out of scale in Figure 5A to make them more easily visible. In other words, the multiple backrest strips 54 are abutting and not separate.

Another fastening laminate 40 according to the present description, comprising the holder 45 and the hook strip 50, is illustrated in figure 6. The fastening laminate 40 may be a fastening tab (eg, on an absorbent article) with the first edge 41 which may be at the end of the fastening tab manufacturer (i.e., the end that is permanently affixed to the article absorbent, usually in the waist region) and a second opposing edge 43 which may be at the user's end of the fastening tab (ie, the end that is held by the user). In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 6, the carrier 45 is shaped such that the second edge 43 is narrower in the longitudinal direction L than the first edge 41. The shape of the hook strap 50 corresponds to the shape of the carrier 4 5 with a second edge

53 narrower in the longitudinal direction L than a first edge 51. Again, the second edge 53 of the hook strip 50 may be at the user's end of the clamping tab, and the first edge 51 may be at the end of the tab permanently attached to the item.

As the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the spacing of the interrupted slits 20a in the hook strip 50 is such that the number of rows 56 of the hook elements 52 varies between the interrupted slits 20a. It should be understood that in order for the number of rows of hook elements to vary between the interrupted grooves, there must be at least three grooves in the backrest. In fastener laminate 40, the number of rows 56 of hook elements 52 is smaller towards the second edge 53 and larger towards the first edge 51. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, there is a row 56 of the elements hook 52 between the adjacent interrupted slits 20a near the second edge 53 of the hook strip 50. As the length of hook strip 50 increases toward the first edge 51 of hook strip 50, the number of rows 56 of hook elements 52 between adjacent interrupted slits 20a increases to 2, then 3, then to 4. Although the illustrated embodiment shows the interrupted slits 20a, which could have bridge regions in the backrest 54 that are cut out or not as shown in Figures 2A or 2B, the shape of the hook strip and the configuration of the slits and the rows 56, is also applicable in the modalities containing partial grooves 20b such as those shown in figure 4, and the grooves 20c through the backrest, that are not interrupted by intact bridge regions such as those shown in Figure 5.

The custom design of the number of rows 16, 56 of the hook elements 12, 52 between the adjacent slits is useful for custom designing the peel strength of the hook strip described herein. As described below in connection with Figures 8-11, the peel force is typically the lowest, at low extension when hook and loop fasteners are peeled off. A low number of the rows of the hook elements between the grooves can therefore be very advantageous at the end of a fastening laminate where peeling is initiated. The number of rows of the hook elements between the grooves can be gradually increased towards the trailing edge of the fastener laminate, where the release force is typically higher. This custom design can be particularly advantageous, for example, in shaped fastening laminates, such as those shown in Figure 6. In the fastening laminate 40 of Figure 6, the release of the fastening laminate is initiated in the second edge 43, narrower, where there are fewer hook elements 52 to engage a loop.

The fastener laminates described herein are useful, for example, in absorbent articles. The absorbent articles according to the present description 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 front waist region or back waist region comprises the fastening laminate 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 the rear waist region, extending in an outward direction from at least one of the left longitudinal 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. In these embodiments, the first direction (in some embodiments, the machine direction) of the hook strip is generally aligned with the longitudinal centerline of the absorbent article.

Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of a specific embodiment of an absorbent article according to the present description. The absorbent article is a diaper 60 having an essentially hourglass shape. The diaper comprises an absorbent core 63 between a liquid-permeable topsheet 61, which contacts the user's skin, and an outward-facing, liquid-impermeable backsheet 62. The diaper 60 has a back waist region 65, two fastening tabs 70 accommodated at the two longitudinal edges 64a, 64b of the diaper 60. The diaper 60 may comprise an elastic material 69 along at least a portion of the side edges longitudinal 64a and 64b to provide leg sleeves. The longitudinal direction L of the absorbent article (eg, diaper 60) refers to the direction in which the article extends from the front to the rear of the wearer. Therefore, the longitudinal direction refers to the length of the absorbent article between the rear waist region 65 and the front waist region 66. The lateral direction of the absorbent article (eg, diaper 60) refers to the direction in which the article extends from the left side to the right (or vice versa) side of the wearer (i.e. from longitudinal edge 64a to edge longitudinal 64b in the embodiment of figure 7).

In Fig. 7, the fastening tabs 70 are secured through their manufacturer end 70a towards the rear waist region 65. The wearer's end 70b of the fastening tab comprises a hook strip 80 according to the present disclosure . The configuration of the hook strip 8 0 illustrated in Figure 7 is similar to that shown in Figure 2, where there are interrupted slits 20a between at least some adjacent pairs of rows of the hook elements, and where the bridge regions 22 are aligned. However, hook strip 80 may also be similar to that shown in any of Figures 1 through 6. In some embodiments, when the diaper 60 is attached to a user's body, the user ends 70b of the fastening tabs 70 can be coupled to a target area 68 that comprises the fibrous material 72 that can be accommodated on the backsheet 62 from the front waist region 66. The examples of the tapes. of curls that can be applied to target area 68 to provide an exposed fibrous material 72 are described, for example, in United States Patent No. 5,389,416 (Mody et al.) in European Patent 0,341,993 (Gorman et al. ) and in European Patent 0.539,504 (Becker et al). In other embodiments, the backsheet 62 comprises a fibrous woven or nonwoven layer which is capable of interacting with the user ends 70b of the tape tabs 70, which comprise a hook strip described herein. Examples of such backsheets 62 are described, for example, in US Patent Nos. 6,190,758 (Stopper) and 6,075,179 (McCormack et al). Advantageously, with the improved release performance of the hook strip according to the present disclosure, proper fastening between the hook strip 70 and the backsheet 62 may be possible, allowing removal of the target area 68.

An exemplary cross section of the clamping tab 70 taken through the line 7A-7A in Figure 7 is shown in Figure 7A. The fastening tab 70 has a manufacturer's end 70a to secure it to the rear waist region 65 of the diaper, and a user end 70b comprising a hook strip 80. The fastening tab 70 usually extends beyond the edges diaper lengths 64a, 64b. The manufacturer's end 70a that corresponds to the part of the fastening tab 70 that is attached or secured to the diaper 60 during the manufacture of the diaper 60. The user end is typically gripped by the user when attached to the diaper 60 by the user and it is typically not attached to the diaper during manufacturing

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7A, the fastening tab 70 comprises a carrier 75 that carries adhesive 76 towards the end of the user. Adhesive 76 attaches the second face of the backing of hook strip 80 to carrier 75 and can be used to bond carrier 75 to the rear waist region 65 of the diaper. Optional exposed adhesive 77 may be present between hook strip 10 and rear waist region 65 of the diaper. Holding tab 70 further optionally comprises release tape 79 for contacting the exposed portion of adhesive 77 when hook strip 80 is folded in the rear waist region 65 of the diaper (eg, during packaging and shipping). diaper 60). Release tape 79 may also be attached to the rear waist region 65 of the diaper, using adhesive 76. Other configurations of the release strap are also possible depending on the configuration of the attachment of the fastening tab 70 to the diaper 60. The wearer 75 at the wearer end 70b of the fastening tab 70 may exceed the length of the hookstrip. and adhesive 76, to thereby provide a finger lift.

Although the embodiment illustrated in Figure 7 is an absorbent article with attachable attaching tabs, it is considered that the hook strip described herein could be equally useful in absorbent articles with larger hook areas. For example, the ears of the absorbent article themselves comprise hooks, or the absorbent article may have two target zones of curl material along the longitudinal edges of the backsheet in a waist region and two strips of hooks which are they extend along the longitudinal edges of the absorbent article in the opposite waist region.

For the modalities comprising the bridging regions 22 (for example, the modalities such as those illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 6, and 7), the bridging regions 22 may have the same thickness than the backrest (for example, as in Figure 2A) or they can be thinner than the backrest 14. For example, the bridge region

22 it may have cutouts 24 at partial depth as described above in connection with FIG. 2B, so that the bridge region 22 is thinner than the backrest 14.

As described above, the bridge regions 22 are useful in modalities that include grooves interrupted through the backrest 14 (ie, through the full thickness of the backrest). Bridge regions 22 are also useful in modalities that include partial grooves that penetrate the thickness of the backing in a range of from 4 to 90 percent. In these modalities, the bridge regions may be uncut or may be trimmed to less than 40 percent of the thickness of the backing. For either of these modalities, various lengths of bridge regions 22 may be useful. In some embodiments, any bridge regions between a pair of adjacent rows have a combined length in the first direction of up to 50 (in some embodiments, 40, 30, 25, 20, 15, or 10 percent) of the length of the backrest in the first direction. 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 in the first direction. Minimization of the combined length of the bridge regions 22 in the first direction can be accomplished by at least one of the minimization of the length of any particular bridge region in the first direction, or the maximum elevation of the distance between laq jumper regions 22 on a hook strip. In some embodiments, the length of a bridge region in the first direction is up to 3, 2, or 1.5 mm and at least 0.25, 0.5, or 0.75 mm. In some embodiments, the number of bridge regions along the length of the hookstrip in the first direction is up to 1.5, 1.25, 1.0, 0.75, 0.60, or 0.5 per cm. The distance between bridge regions 22 in the first direction 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 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 bridge regions is at least 8 (in some embodiments, at least 10, 12, 14, 15, 16,

17, 18, 19, or 20) mm. Typically, the interrupted grooves described herein have longer groove regions and shorter bridge regions than perforations that are designed to allow easy separation of two parts of a film.

Maximizing the distance between the bridge regions on a hook strip can be achieved in some embodiments by staggering the bridge regions as shown in Figures 1, 3, and 6. For example, with reference again to Figure 6, the bridge regions 22a and 22b are substantially uniformly spaced in the first direction L, but are staggered in the second direction W, perpendicular to the first direction. Bridge regions 22a and 22b are staggered such that bridge region 22b is located substantially midway between bridge regions 22a in the first direction L. When bridge regions are staggered in this manner, the number of regions of bridge needed to craft the hook strip handle as an integral unit is minimized. In the hook strip 50 for the fastening tab laminate 40, the number of bridge regions 22a and 22b in the interrupted grooves 20a alternate between two bridge regions 22a and one bridge region 22b through the strip of hooks 50.

For any of the modalities of the hook straps, fastener laminates, or absorbent articles described herein or the methods of making the hooks, the number of slits (i.e., interrupted slits, partial slits, slits incomplete, or the indentations that form separate stop strips from the backrest) can be adjusted depending on the application requirements. In some embodiments, there are up to 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 indentations per 10 mm (i.e., interrupted indentations, partial indentations, incomplete indentations, or indentations that form strips of separate stop, backrest) across the width of the strip (i.e. in one direction

W substantially perpendicular to first direction or machine direction). As shown in the Examples below, the number of slits (i.e., interrupted slits, partial slits, incomplete slits, or slits to form separate stop strips from the backrest) in a hook strip according to the present description can affect the breakout force that can be achieved, with the area under a peel curve increasing as the number of slits across the hook strip increases.

The change in the number of the slits through the hook strip is related to the number of rows of the hook elements between any two adjacent slits, depending on the density of the hook elements on the hook strip. For a hook strip, the fastening laminate, the absorbent article, or the method according to the present description, the density of the hook elements 12 on the backrest 14 is in a range of 20 per cm² at 1000 'per cm² (in some modalities, at an interval of 20 per cm² at 500 per cm², 50 per cm² at 5 00 per cm², 60 per cm² at 400 per cm².75 per cm² at 350 per cm², or 100 per cm³ at 300 per cm²). Advantageously, since the slits are between the adjacent rows of the hook elements, the incorporation of slits within the hook strips described herein does not decrease the density of the hook elements. For any of the modalities of the hook strips, the fastener laminates, or the absorbent articles described herein or the methods of making them, the number of rows of the hook elements between any two adjacent slits (i.e. , interrupted clefts, partial clefts, incomplete clefts, or slits to form separate stop strips from the backrest) can be adjusted depending on the application requirement. In some embodiments, there are as many as 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or rows of hook elements between any two adjacent slits (i.e., interrupted slits, partial slits, incomplete indentations, or indentations to form separate stop strips from the backrest). In some embodiments, the rows of hook elements and slits alternate through the hook strip (ie, there is a slit between each row of hook elements).

Various shapes of the hook elements can be useful in practicing the present description. In some embodiments, all of the hook members have protruding curl-engaging projections. In some of these modes, at least a portion of each projection that is attached to the curls extends at a non-zero angle to the first direction (in some modes, the machine direction), which also means that at minus a portion of each projection that engages the curls extends at a non-zero angle to the interrupted slits, partial slits, slits, or incomplete slits. The non-zero angle can be in a range of 30 to 90 degrees, 50 to 90 degrees, 60 to 90_w degrees, 75 to 90 degrees, 80 to 90 degrees, or 85 to 90 degrees. The improved release performance that is observed for the hook strips Rescribed herein may be most marked when at least a portion of each of the protruding curl engaging portions extends in a direction opposite to the direction in which the strip of hooks is detached. Accordingly, in an absorbent article described herein, at least a portion of each of the protruding portions that engage the curls can be directed toward the longitudinal centerline of the absorbent article when the absorbent article is held around the body. In some embodiments, each hook element has projecting portions that engage the curls, extending in multiple directions (eg, at least two). For example, the hook element may be in the form of a mushroom, a nail, a palm tree, or a T. In some embodiments, the hook element comprises a stem with a mushroom head (eg, with an oval cap). or round).

Figure 8 illustrates a shear curve (i.e., the load in grams of force versus the shear extension in inches (mm)) of a tether tab with a comparative hook strip that is removed from a knitted curl. . The comparative hook strip is a conventional hook strip that has no grooves (i.e. interrupted grooves, partial grooves, full grooves, or incomplete grooves) on the backrest. Details of the clamping tab preparation and test method are given in the Examples below. The load at low extension is very low (for example, up to about 50 grams) and increases as the detachment progresses until the force rises near the end of the width of the hook patch.

A similar result is obtained when evaluating the detachment of a comparative hook strip against extrusion bonded curl as the curl material shown in Figure 10.

Figures 8 and 10 illustrate that for the conventional hook strip, a substantially constant increase in breakout force is required as the hook strip is removed from a loop material. The initial force required to remove the closure tab from the sanitary article is relatively low, which can affect the actual or perceived reliability of the fastener components. Also, since increasing force is required until the fastening components are completely separated, the amount of force required to separate the fastening components may not be readily apparent to the user. The user may also experience an unpleasant sensation when the hook strip is suddenly released from the curl material.

Figure 9 illustrates a peel curve (i.e., the load in grams of force versus the peel extension in inches (mm)) of a clamping tab with a hook strip according to the present disclosure which is removed from a knitted terry. The hook strip is the same size as the comparative hook strip, the results of which are shown in Figure 8, however, 7 interrupted slits were cut into the back between some rows of the hook elements. There were 2 rows of the hook elements between any two adjacent interrupted slits. Details of the clamping tab preparation and test method are given in the Examples below. The peel force is much more consistent from the beginning to the end of the peel, and is at a higher level of force compared to the peel shown in Figure 8. A similar result is obtained when evaluating the peel off of the strip. hooks according to the present description against extrusion bonded curl, such as the curl material shown in Figures 11 and HA,

For the specimen that generated the data shown in Figure 11, there were 2 rows of the hook elements between any two adjacent interrupted slits, and for the specimen that generated the data shown in 11A, there were 4 rows of the hook elements between any two interrupted indentations.

As shown in Figures 8 to HA, a peel force versus peel extension curve has an area under the curve. In some embodiments of the hook strip described herein, when the hook strip is coupled with a loop material, a load-defined peel curve versus the peel extension generated after peeling the hook strip from the hook material. curls, has a larger area under the curve than a comparative peel curve generated after peeling off a comparative hook strip of an equivalent curl material, wherein the comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip, except that the comparative hook strip has no indentations (for example, it does not have interrupted indentations, partial indentations, incomplete indentations, or complete indentations depending on the modality). In some embodiments, the area under the curve for the hook strip according to the present disclosure is at least 20, 30, 40, or 50 percent greater than the area under the curve for the comparative hook strip. A comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip described herein, except that it has no indentations. The comparative hook strip has the same dimensions (eg, height, width, and thickness), the same hook density, the same shape and dimensions of the hook head, the same hook configuration (eg, rows) , and is made of the same material as the hook strip described herein. An equivalent curl material refers to a curl material that is similar to or equal (eg, in material, in curl construction (eg, knitted, woven, or non-woven), and dimensions (eg, height , width and thickness)) that a curl material from which a hook strip according to the present disclosure is peeled off before it is subjected to peel evaluation.

It is evident from the comparison of Figures 8 to 11A, that the force required to remove a hook strip according to the present disclosure is typically, in many embodiments, more uniform throughout the length of the peel extension than for a comparative hook strip. In some embodiments, the area under the curve at one half of the shedding extension is at least 30, 35, 40, or 45 percent of the total area under the curve. In some modalities, at least 200 grams of force are achieved within the first one-quarter, one-third, or one-half of. detachment extension. In some embodiments, at least one peak in the first quarter, one-third, or one-half of the shedding extension has a value that is at least 50, 60, 70, or 75 percent of the maximum peak value. Furthermore, in some embodiments, at least at some points along the curve to one half of the maximum peel extension, the peel force required to withdraw the hook strip according to the present disclosure from a material of Curls is at least 20, 30, 40, or 50 percent higher than a peel force required to remove a comparative hook strip of an equivalent curl material. The comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip described herein, except that it has no indentations.

Improvements to a conventional hook strip to increase the area under the shear curve may have conventionally involved the use of more aggressive hooks, for example. More aggressive hooks can lead to a higher maximum load without changing the typical shape of the shear curve of the conventional hook strip that is shown in Figures 8 and 10. More aggressive hooks that provide higher maximum loads can increase damage (eg, lint production or fiber breakage), eg, to a nonwoven loop material, which can inhibit re-engagement with the loop material. In contrast, for a 5 strip of hooks according to the present disclosure, the area under the peel curve can be increased without increasing the maximum load by providing increased load to extensions up to one-half the maximum peel extension. Thus, a hook strip according to the present disclosure can advantageously provide improved release performance without causing damage to the curl material.

FIG. 12 is a photograph of a comparative, seamless hook fastener as it is peeled from a nonwoven curl material. It is notable that the stiffness of the hook strip backing comparatively affects the peel angle of the individual rows of hook elements. In contrast, Figure 13 is a photograph of a hook strip according to the present description. The hook strip of figure 13 and the comparative hook strip have the same backrest thickness and the same hook configuration, but the hook strip of figure 13 has 9 interrupted slits cut out in the backrest between the rows of the hook elements.

Approximately two rows of the hook elements existed between any two adjacent interrupted slits. The interrupted slits allow the rake angle of the individual rows of hook elements to be increased, and the individual rows of hook elements are allowed to pivot to provide an increased percentage of curl engagement. It is also possible that the ability for the rows of the hook elements between the grooves to pivot, may allow the curls to slide down further on the stem of the hook elements. In any case, it is apparent from the photographs that there is much more interaction between the hook elements and the curl material in Figure 13 than in Figure 12. In some embodiments of the hook strip described herein, when the hook strip is coupled with a loop material and then peeled from the loop material at a release angle of 135 to 180 degrees, a single row release angle of the hook elements at a distance from a detachment front is greater (in some embodiments, at least 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 degrees greater) than an angle of detachment of a single row of hook elements on a comparative hook strip at a distance from the detachment front when the comparative hook strip is detached from an equivalent loop material, wherein The comparative hook strip is the same as the hook strip except that the comparative hook strip has no indentations (for example, there are no interrupted indentations, partial indentations, incomplete indentations, or complete indentations depending on the modality). The shear angle refers to the angle between the stem of the hook element and the surface of the curl material. In some embodiments, the distance from the peel front (i.e., the point of separation between the hook strip and the curl material) is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm.

Hook strips with smaller gauge backs can flex more than the comparative hook strip shown in Figure 12, and, depending on curl material selection, the difference in detachment performance in a laboratory detachment test of 135 to 180 degrees between a hook strip according to the present description and a comparative hook strip with a thinner backing (for example, up to 50, 80, or 90 micrometers) is not as pronounced. However, typically a user who attaches a hook strip in accordance with the present disclosure and a comparative hook strip that has no indentations, may still perceive a difference notwithstanding the thickness of the backrest.

The hook strip according to the present description is typically made of a thermoplastic material. Suitable thermoplastic materials for the hook strip include polyolefin homopolymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene, copolymers of ethylene, propylene, and / or butylene; 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 polyether ether ketone; polyphenylene sulfide; and mixtures thereof. Typically, the hook strip is made from a polyolefin (eg, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, ethylene copolymers, propylene copolymers, butylene copolymers, and copolymers and mixtures of these materials).

In the hook straps described herein, the backrest and hook elements are typically integral (i.e., formed at the same time as a unit, unitary). The hook elements on a backrest can be made, for example, by feeding a thermoplastic material onto a continuously moving mold surface with cavities that have the inverse shape of the hook elements. The thermoplastic material can be passed between a clamping point formed by two rollers, or a clamping point between a die face and the surface of the roller, with at least one of the rollers having the cavities. The recesses can be in the reverse form of a hook element having a coupling head with curls, or it can be in the reverse form of a stem or partially formed hook element (for example, a precursor to a hook element ). In the methods described herein, the term hook element is understood to include the stems with the heads. 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 extrusion within the cavities. The attachment point is typically wide enough such that a consistent back 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 hook elements erected from the mold surface such as by a spacer roller. If the hook elements formed after exiting the cavities do not have the curl coupling heads, the curl coupling heads could subsequently be formed into hooks by a casing method as described in US Patent No. 5,077,870 (Melbye et al.), The disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Typically, the capping method includes deforming the tip portions of the hook elements using heat and / or pressure. Heat and pressure, if both are used, could be applied sequentially or simultaneously.

Another useful method for forming the hook elements on a backing is profile extrusion described, for example, in US Patent No. 4,894,060 (Nestegard), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Typically, in this method, a thermoplastic flux current is passed through a patterned matrix ledge (eg, cut by electron discharge machining) to form a network that has ridges down the network, butting the ridges together. , and stretching the net to form separate bumps. The flanges can form hook precursors and show the cross-sectional shape of the hook elements (eg, with coupling heads to curls) to be formed. The flanges are transversely spliced ​​at spaced locations along the flange extension, to form discrete portions of the flanges having lengths in the direction of the flanges, essentially corresponding to the length of the hook elements to be formed.

Some hook strips that may be useful precursors for the hook strip according to the present disclosure are commercially available, for example, from 3M Company, St. Paul, under the trade designations CS600 or CS-1010.

For the hook strip according to the present description in any of its various modalities, the thickness of the 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 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 embodiments, the hook elements have a maximum height (above the backrest) of up to 3mm, 1.5mm, 1mm, or 0.5mm, and in some embodiments, a minimum height of at least 0.05mm, 0.1mm, or 0.2 mm. In some embodiments, the hook elements have an aspect ratio (i.e., a height-to-width ratio at the widest point) of at least about 2: 1, 3: 1, or 4: 1.

The grooves in the backrest (for example, the interrupted grooves, the partial grooves, the grooves to form separate strips of the backrest stop, and the incomplete grooves) can be formed, for example, using rotating die cutting of a continuous network it has a backrest and hook elements formed by any of the methods previously described. The 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 empty spaces can be adjusted to allow the bridge regions to be partially cut out or not cut at all, depending on the desired modality. Partial slits can be made, for example, by adjusting the heights of the rotating die blades to make slits of the desired depth. Other trimming methods (eg laser trimming) can also be used. For interrupted or uninterrupted slits through the backrest, trimming can be performed from either the surface of the continuous network, corresponding to the first surface or the second surface of the backrest.

For partial grooves, the grooves are made in the first surface of the backrest, which is the same surface from which the hook elements protrude. When the hook elements are formed using the method described above, where a thermoplastic material is fed onto a continuously moving mold surface, with cavities having the

<td>inverse way</td><td>of</td><td>the</td><td colspan="3">hook elements with heads</td><td>of</td>

<td>coupling</td><td>to</td><td>the</td><td>curls,</td><td>the clefts</td><td colspan="2">They may be</td>

<td>made in</td><td>the</td><td>net</td><td>before</td><td>or after</td><td>take away</td><td>to</td>

<td>take a step</td><td>of</td><td colspan="2">cascaded</td><td>to form the</td><td>heads</td><td>of</td>

coupling to curls. It should be understood that the cutting methods described herein, over a continuous network, may in some cases result in grooves crossing over or cutting through a row of the hook elements. Although the rotating die, for example, can be placed to form a gap between the rows of hook elements, the variability in the netting process can cause the gap to cross over a row of hook elements and then return to its intended position.

For the modalities of hook strips described herein having partial grooves, the partial grooves can also be made using raised ridges on the roller formed with the cavities having the inverse shape of the hook elements to be formed. Or, the flange of the profiled die used in the profile extrusion method can be machined to form depressions in the backing. In these embodiments, the slits are simultaneously formed with the hook elements during the molding or extrusion process.

In modalities where there is stretch-induced molecular orientation in the backing, stretching can be carried out over a network biaxially or monoaxially, using techniques known in the art. For example, stretching can be carried out on a flat film tensioning apparatus, or monoaxial stretching can be carried out by passing the continuous network laminate in the machine direction on rollers of increasing speed. . Stretching can be carried out before or after the slits are made in the backrest.

The methods of making the multiple hook strips according to the present disclosure include forming a continuous network having a backing and multiple rows of the hook elements aligned in rows in a machine direction and protruding from a first backing surface using, for example, any of the methods described above; trimming incomplete slits (i.e. interrupted slits, partial slits, or a combination thereof) in the machine direction on the backrest between at least a few pairs of adjacent rows of hook elements, where the slits incomplete do not divide the backing; and trimming full slits in the machine direction through the backrest. Trimming of incomplete slits and trimming of full slits can be carried out sequentially or simultaneously. In some embodiments of the method described herein, incomplete slits and full slits are trimmed in the continuous net, simultaneously or sequentially, and the resulting multiple hook strips according to the present disclosure are individually wound (e.g., rolled to level) in rolls. The hook strips may optionally be subsequently attached to a carrier, if desired, otherwise converted.

In some embodiments of the method described herein for forming the multiple hook strips according to the present disclosure, the entire slits are cut in the continuous web first to provide multiple strips. The multiple strips are then attached to one carrier (eg, a network from any of the carriers described above). The multiple laminated strips can optionally be rolled up into a roll prior to partial depth trimming which is used to make incomplete grooves (i.e. interrupted or partial grooves) in the backrest without trimming the carrier. In other embodiments of the method described herein, the entire slits are first cut in the continuous web first to provide multiple strips, which can optionally be wound into individual rolls or otherwise stored.

Subsequently, the incomplete grooves can be cut into the multiple strips, eg, immediately prior to attachment to a carrier (eg, a network of any of the carriers described above).

For the embodiments of the laminate described herein, where the slits extend in the first direction from the top edge to the bottom edge of the backrest to form separate stop strips of the backrest on the carrier, the slits are typically formed by trimming rotatable or laser cut after the backrest is attached to the wearer.

In any of the embodiments where the second surface of the backing is attached to a carrier, the attachment can be accomplished using adhesives (eg, pressure sensitive adhesives). In embodiments where the interrupted grooves are worked into the backing before the second backing surface is attached to an adhesive, the viscosity of the pressure sensitive adhesive can be selected so that it does not enter through the grooves during bonding process.

In some embodiments where the carrier is a fibrous network, the bond comprises the shock of 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 it is moving; the shock of 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, such that the first surface of the fibrous web is fusion-bonded (eg, surface-bonded or bonded with a fluff or fluff retention joint) to the second surface of the backrest. The collision of the hot gaseous fluid on the first surface of the fibrous network and the collision of the hot gaseous fluid on the second surface of the backrest can be carried out sequentially or simultaneously.

Fusion bonding (eg surface bonding or fluff retention bonding) using hot gaseous fluid can be accomplished, for example, by passing a fibrous network and the continuous network comprising the backing and elements hook, through a point of attachment formed by two support rollers. The fibrous network and the continuous network comprising the backrest and the hook elements in general are fed into the clamping point from two different directions and make contact with each other at the clamping point. The support rollers can be accommodated to operate the clamping point at very low pressure (for example, less than about 27 Newtons per linear cm (Nlc) (15 pounds per linear inch (pli)), less than about 18 Nlc ( 10 pli), or less than about 9 Nlc (5 pli) compared to the pressures normally employed in laminating materials (for which a relatively high pressure is often preferred). In some embodiments, at least one of the support rollers may comprise at least one surface layer of a relatively soft material (eg, a rubber material with a hardness of less than 70 on the Shore A scale). Such a relatively soft surface scale can be achieved, for example, by using a roller with a permanently attached soft surface coating, by using a removable sleeve of soft material, or by covering the surface of the support roller with a relatively soft and elastic tape. If desired, the surface of one or both of the support rollers can be staggered across the face of the roller to thereby provide selectively rolling pressure at certain locations. The hot gaseous fluid can be struck on the two networks, for example, using a nozzle that is placed near the point of attachment. The nozzle can be configured to have a first fluid distribution outlet, and a second fluid distribution outlet that are in divergent relationship (for example, the flow paths from the first and second distribution outlets differ by at least 25 degrees ) to distribute the hot gaseous fluid to the two different networks. The fluid can be heated by an external heater before being distributed to the nozzle through a supply line. In addition to or instead of, the heating elements may be supplied within the nozzle, or additional heating (eg resistance heating or infrared heating) may be applied to the nozzle. In some embodiments, the collided hot fluid is locally captured by means of at least a first fluid capture inlet that is locally positioned with respect to the first fluid distribution outlet, and at least a second fluid capture inlet that is locally positioned with respect to the second fluid distribution outlet. Joining the continuous network to a fibrous network using this method can be advantageous, to maintain the shape of the hook elements and without damaging any of the interrupted or partial indentations of the bridge regions when the continuous network and the carrier are joined each.

Surface bonding or fluff-retaining bonding can be advantageously performed over a large area or areas (here called area bonding) in contrast to small area bonding (often called spot bonding) which is often accomplished by ultrasonic bonding or other fusion bonding processes. The large number of surface bonded fiber portions that can be randomly and / or uniformly present over the bonded area in such area bonding, can collectively provide bond strength suitable for the laminate to be handled, and to perform satisfactorily. in various end uses. In some embodiments, the area joints occupy at least about 100 square mm, at least about 400 square mm, or at least 1,000 square mm.

Additional methods and apparatus for joining a continuous network to a fibrous carrier network using the hot gaseous fluid can be found in co-pending US Patent Applications Serial Numbers 61 / 288,952 and 61 / 288,959, both filed on December 22, 2009, and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

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 are not to be construed as limiting this description in any way.

EXAMPLES

Hook strips

Control hook strips were prepared using the methods described in US Patent Nos.

United States Nos. 5,077,870 (Melbye et al.) And 6,132,660 (Kampfer). 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. The base weight of the hook strips was 191 grams per square meter (gsm) and the density of the hooks was 24 8 per cm² (1600 per inch²) arranged in a square arrangement. The total gauge of the hook strips was 525 microns (Mm) with a base film (backing) gauge of 180 pm. The shape of the cap of the hook elements was oval (270 pm in the machine direction of the hook making process and 420 pm in the cross direction of the hook making process). Exemplary Hook Strip 1 and Exemplary Hook Strip 2 were prepared using the same hook material as the control hook strips. A plurality of interrupted slits were made by extending through the thickness of the hook strip backing at machine-spaced positions of the hook making process, using a rotating cutter blade. Exemplary Hook Strip 1 had interrupted slits located between every two rows of hook elements. Exemplary Hook Strip 2 had interrupted grooves located between every four rows of hook elements. For both hook strips, the slits were 18 mm (0.71 inch) in length, and the slits were interrupted by intact bridge regions that were 1 mm (0.04 inch) in length. The bridge regions were staggered in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the interrupted grooves as shown in Figure 6. The other dimensions and characteristics of the Exemplary Hook Strips 1 and 2 (eg, · basis weight, density of hooks, overall gauge, backrest gauge, cap shape and dimensions, etc., were the same as for the control hook strip.

180 Degree Detachment Assessment

The 180 Degree Peel Evaluation was used to examine the peel characteristics when removing the Control Hook Strips and the Exemplary Hook Strips 1 and 2 from the various curl holding materials.

The hook fastening tabs were prepared for peel assessment by removing the hook materials from the non-woven carrier of the fastening tabs on size 4 diapers PAMPERS BABY DRY (Procter &amp; Gamble Company). This was accomplished by cooling the tabs by exposure to liquid nitrogen and removing the existing hook piece from the nonwoven carrier while cold, and when the nonwoven carrier had warmed up to room temperature, the hook strip pieces control and Sample Hook Strips 1 and 2 (13mm x

25.4 mm) were then placed on the diaper holding tab nonwoven carrier using two layers of a double coated adhesive tape, obtained from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN, under the trade designation SCOTCH ADHESIVE TRANFER TAPE NO. 924, leaving enough exposed adhesive (approximately 6mm) to allow the hook fastener tab to be attached to a paper guide for peel evaluation (this is the existing exposed adhesive on the nonwoven fastener tab).

Curl samples used for the evaluation of detachment by removing the curl-holding patches from commercially available baby diapers. Curl A (knitted terry) was obtained from Size 4 diapers available from Procter &amp; Gamble Company under the trade designation PAMPERS BABY DRY. Curl B (extrusion bonded curl as described in

United States Patent No. 5,256,231 (Gorman et al.) Was obtained from New Baby Size 1 diapers available from Procter &amp; Gamble Company under the trade designation PAMPERS SWADDLERS. Curl C (nonwoven curl) was obtained from size 4 baby diapers available from (Procter &amp; Gamble Company) under the trade designation LUVS.

Peel evaluations were carried out at constant temperature and humidity (23 ° C and 51% relative humidity). The curl material used for the test was securely placed on a 5.08 cm x 12.7 cm (2 inch x 5 inch) steel panel using double-coated adhesive tape. The hook holding tab, prepared as described above, was attached to a 2.54 cm x 20.3 cm (1 inch x 8 inch) paper guide using the exposed adhesive on the hook holding tab. The hooks were placed on either end of the curl material (tails off each end). This was done due to the directionality of the knitted curl material, and the other curl materials were tested in the same way. The samples were manually laminated with a 2 kg (4.5 pound) rubber roller twice (four passes, top to bottom). The curl panel was placed in the lower jaw of an INSTRON constant extension speed tensile tester and the end of the paper guide attached to the hook fastener was placed over the upper jaw (20.3 cm (8 inch) space between jaw) ). At a crosshead speed of 30.5 cm (12 inches) per minute, the peel was recorded, maintaining the peel angle at 180 degrees, until the hook strip was peeled from the loop material. The results are reported in Tables i to 3. The upper jaw traveled until the hook tab was completely detached from the loop.

Table 1 summarizes the detachment data at

180 degrees, obtained when evaluating hook strips using Curl A (knitted curl). Figure 8 illustrates the shedding curve for the Specimen of Control Example C2. Similar shear curves (not shown) were obtained for the Control Cl and C3 Example Specimens. The load at low extension is low (first half of the curve) and then increases towards the end of the hook patch (second half of the shear curve). These peel curves were found to be typical of peel curves for control hook strips that are removed from a knitted curl material. Figure 9 illustrates the peel curve for Specimen 2 of Hook Strip 1 Exemplary, a hook strip having interrupted grooves cut into the backrest between every two rows of hook elements. Similar breakout curves (not shown) were obtained for Specimens 1 and 3. Breakout force was more consistent throughout the breakout curve and was at a higher force level compared to the breakout curve shown. in figure 8. These release curves were found to be typical of the release curves for hook strips according to the present disclosure, which are removed from a knitted loop material. In the following tables, Delta Energy describes the area under the shedding curve.

Table 1

<td>Specimen</td><td>Strip Hook</td><td>Energy Delta, millijoule (mJ)</td><td>Load Maximum gram- force (gf)</td><td>Load Average (gf)</td><td>Peak Average (gf)</td>

<td>Cl</td><td>Control</td><td> 27.5</td><td> 337.9</td><td> 77.7</td><td> 169.7</td>

<td>C2</td><td>Control</td><td> 39.6</td><td> 450.1</td><td> 106.1</td><td> 172.9</td>

<td>C3</td><td>Control</td><td> 27.5</td><td> 396.9</td><td> 87.4</td><td> 130.2</td>

<td> 1</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 108.6</td><td> 706.0</td><td> 325.2</td><td> 454.1</td>

<td> 2</td><td>Ex. 1</td><td> 125.6</td><td> 922.9</td><td> 344.6</td><td> 469.5</td>

<td> 3</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 148.2</td><td> 1011.6</td><td> 416.9</td><td> 570.3</td>

Table 2 summarizes the 180 degree peel data obtained when evaluating the hook strips using Curl B (extrusion bonded curl). Figure 10 illustrates the shedding curve for the Specimen of Control Example C5. Similar peeling curves (not shown) were obtained for Specimens of Control Examples C4 and C6. The results were similar to that obtained when evaluating the control hook strip with the knitted curl material, as described above. The load at low extension is low (first half of the curve) and then increases towards the end of the hook patch (second half of the shear curve). These peel curves were found to be typical of peel curves for control hook strips that are removed from an extrusion bonded curl material. Figure 11 illustrates the peel curve for Specimen 4 of Hook Strip 1 Exemplary. Similar shear curves (not shown) were obtained for Specimens 5 and 6. The results obtained were similar to those obtained for the evaluation of the Exemplary Hook Strip 1 with the knitted curl material as described above. The peel force was more consistent throughout the peel curve, and was at a higher level of force compared to the peel curve shown in Figure 10. These peel curves were found to be typical for peel curves for hook strips according to the present disclosure, which are removed from an extrusion bonded loop material. Exemplary Hook Strip 2, a hook strip having interrupted grooves cut into the backrest between every four rows of hook elements, was used for Specimens 7-9. Figure 11A illustrates the shedding curve for Specimen 9. Similar breakout curves (not shown) were obtained for Specimens 7 and 8. While the differences between these examples and the control hook strips are not readily apparent from the tabulated data, it is evident from the comparison of the shapes of the shear curves of Figure 10 and Figure 11A that the force required to remove Hook Strip 2 Exemplary of the extrusion bonded curl, was more uniform throughout the shear extension than for the control hook strip, which suggests increased reliability of the fastener components, even when hook strips are used that have more than one or two rows of the hook elements between the interrupted slits.

Table 2

<td>Specimen</td><td>Strip Hooks</td><td>Energy Delta (mJ)</td><td>Load Maximum (gf)</td><td>Load Average (gf)</td><td>Piqo Average (gf)</td>

<td>C4</td><td>Control</td><td> 132.6</td><td> 709.1</td><td> 376.4</td><td> 429.5</td>

<td>C5</td><td>Control</td><td> 127.9</td><td> 1176.6</td><td> 373.3</td><td> 551.8</td>

<td>C6</td><td>Control</td><td> 322.4</td><td> 1916.0</td><td> 868.1</td><td> 1386.7</td>

<td> 4</td><td>Ex. 1</td><td> 322.6</td><td> 1922.2</td><td> 943.0</td><td> 1190.9</td>

<td> 5</td><td>Ex- 1</td><td> 300.3</td><td> 1868.1</td><td> 803.9</td><td> 1136.4</td>

<td> 6</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 259.2</td><td> 2017.3</td><td> 981.1</td><td> 1453.1</td>

<td> 7</td><td>Ex. two</td><td> 103.5</td><td> 699.3</td><td> 277.0</td><td> 412.8</td>

<td> 8</td><td>Ex. two</td><td> 191.1</td><td> 1556.8</td><td> 519.6</td><td> 1077.9</td>

<td> 9</td><td>Ex. two</td><td> 152.2</td><td> 1235.2</td><td> 449.5</td><td> 720.6</td>

Table 3 summarizes the 180 degree peel data when evaluating hook strips using Curl C (nonwoven bonded curl). The results obtained for Specimens C7-C9 of the Control Example were similar to those obtained when evaluating the control hook strips with the knitted curl and extrusion bonded curl materials, as described above. The low extension load is low (first half of the curve) and then increases towards the end of the hook patch (second half of the shear curve). The results obtained for Specimens of the invention 10-12 from Hook Strip 1 were similar to those obtained for Specimens 16 with the knitted terry and extrusion bonded terry materials as described above. The breakout force was more consistent throughout the breakout curve and was at a higher force level compared to the breakout curves for the control hook strips.

Table 3

<td>Specimen</td><td>Strip Hooks</td><td>Energy Delta (mJ)</td><td>Load Maximum (gf)</td><td>Load Average (gf)</td><td>Peak Average (gf)</td>

<td>C7</td><td>Control</td><td> 31.6</td><td> 312.0</td><td> 86.3</td><td> 117.3</td>

<td>C8</td><td>Control</td><td> 36.0</td><td> 279.0</td><td> 140.0</td><td> 145.3</td>

<td>C9</td><td>Control</td><td> 31.6</td><td> 355.6</td><td> 91.5</td><td> 94.5</td>

<td> 10</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 61.0</td><td> 348.6</td><td> 163.4</td><td> 213.0</td>

<td> 11</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 84.4</td><td> 535.3</td><td> 226.1</td><td> 343.5</td>

<td> 12</td><td>Ex. one</td><td> 77.0</td><td> 479.9</td><td> 230.9</td><td> 276.2</td>

This description can take various modifications and alterations without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, this description is not limited to the embodiments described above, but is to 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.