A male touch fastener product with a resin surface and an array of spaced-apart male touch fastener elements carried on the surface. Each touch fastener element has a stem extending from the surface and a head disposed at a distal end of the stem and extending laterally from the stem to a distal edge overhanging the surface. The head, stem and surface form a contiguous mass of resin, the head. The distal edge has multiple toes extending laterally outward and varying in shape and size about the edge, with adjacent toes having facing, free-form resin surfaces defining crevices therebetween. The fastener element is particularly flexible and engages with very fine fibers.

There is provided a hook-and-loop fastener manufacturing method. Injection molding is performed to form a molded product in which a pillar group and a base plate having a surface from which the pillar group protrudes are integrated into a unified body. A tip part of the pillar group is cut to form a cut product in which a small pillar group shorter than the pillar group and the base plate are integrated into a unified body. A tip part of the small pillar group is melted to form pillar body portions which are non-melted portions and engaging portions which are melted portions and thicker than the pillar body portions from small pillars. The engaging portions are cooled to determine shapes of a plurality of engaging elements including the pillar body portions and the engaging portions.

A touch fastener product having a base sheet with a resin side surface and a male touch fastener element having a head disposed at a distal end of a resin stem and overhanging the base sheet. The head has an overall shape, as projected in a plane parallel to the base sheet, with a perimeter that defines spaced apart extremities corresponding to head sections of different engagement characteristics and disposed at different distances from a centroid of the overall shape. In one example, the head projection has a polygonal perimeter consisting of straight edges of differing lengths connected at radiused corners. In another, the perimeter comprises an unbroken series of at least three arc segments of different curvatures, with centers of the arc segments disposed at different distances from the centroid.

Arrays of male fastener elements are formed by molding preforms in cavities defined in one or more adjacent plates and shaped to mold preform arms that extend to a plate side, such as in a cross-machine direction of a continuous molding process. The preforms may be deformed to flatten their upper surfaces and lengthen the arms. Stems of preforms have molded side surfaces and each have width, measured in the longitudinal direction of the strip, that narrows with distance from the strip surface, and also narrows with distance from a parting line extending from the strip surface to the head between the arms.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing closing systems for hygiene articles, in particular diaper closing systems, wherein an attachment part (16) is fed to the rear face of a substrate part (18) comprising protruding closing elements (22) which are arranged in rows at a predefined distance from each other, and the attachment part (16) is joined to the substrate part (18) along welding points using an ultrasonic welding process, at least some of the welding points being introduced in such a way as to extend along weld seam lines (46) between adjoining rows of closing elements (22) and extend at least partially in parallel to said rows of closing elements (22).

In this molded surface fastener, plural engaging elements having a stem portion and an engaging head portion formed integrally on the stem portion are standing on the base portion, at least one pawl portion having a pawl width dimension narrower than a width dimension at a boundary between the stem portion and the engaging head portion is protruded on an outer peripheral edge part of the engaging head portion, and a back surface of pawl of the pawl portion is formed at different angles with respect to a back surface of head portion of the engaging head portion. Such a molded surface fastener of the present invention has a substantial engaging force with respect to a female surface fastener and can make a texture of its surface comfortable.

In this molded surface fastener, an engaging element includes a columnar stem portion, and micro pawl portions protruding outward from an upper end outer peripheral edge of the stem portion in a plan view of the engaging elements. A pawl width dimension of the micro pawl portions is smaller than a line segment connecting two points on the upper end outer peripheral edge of the stem portion. The micro pawl portions protrude toward a base portion. This molded surface fastener has a high peel strength and a shear strength with respect to a female surface fastener.

Embodiments related to a touch fastener and its methods of manufacture and use are disclosed. In one embodiment, the touch fastener may include a substrate with a first portion and a second portion displaceable relative to the first portion. A first fastening element may be formed in the first portion. When the first portion is displaced relative to the second portion, a force and/or moment generated by the displacement may cause the first fastening element to be deployed.

This manufacturing method of a molded surface fastener involves a primary molding step for forming a primary molded body and a secondary molding step for compressing a provisional element of the primary molded body while heating the same. A molding apparatus is provided with a mold member comprising multiple penetration holes and multiple concave portions, whereof each penetration hole communicates to at least one concave portion; in the primary molding step, the molding apparatus is used to form a primary molded body comprising a provisional element having a primary stem portion and a pawl portion is formed from the protruded portion by compressing the provisional element. By this means, it is possible to stably manufacture a molded surface fastener that has an engaging element comprising a pawl portion that projects from the outer peripheral edge of an engaging head portion.

A hot water-soluble male-type hook-and-loop fastener having a substrate and a plurality of male-type engaging elements protruding from the surface of the substrate, in which the substrate and the male-type engaging elements both contain a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin having a polymerization degree in a range of 300 to 700 and a saponification degree in a range of 80 to 99 mol %, and the substrate and the male-type engaging elements are both soluble in hot water at a water temperature of 45 to 90? C. but are not soluble in water at a water temperature of lower than 45? C.