A molded surface fastener comprises at least one surface fastener portion and a foldable piece portion that extends from the surface fastener portion. At least a part of the foldable piece portion has flexibility. The surface fastener portion has a pair of first barrier portions and a second barrier portion. A cushion body with the molded surface fastener anchored to a prescribed position while a plurality of engaging elements are in an exposed state can be stably manufactured by way of foam molding the cushion body using the molded surface fastener.

A self-engaging fastener has a flexible base sheet and an array of discrete fastener elements projecting from a broad side of the base sheet. Each fastener element has a stem extending from the base sheet and a head at a distal end of the stem, the head overhanging the base sheet on multiple sides of the stem. The heads of the discrete fastener elements are arranged in a pattern of hexagonal groupings of fastener element heads bordering central regions void of fastener element heads, with each fastener element head spaced from edges of the array being part of three adjacent groupings. The product features a particularly high separation resistance for the area of the product covered by the heads.

A surface fastener molding apparatus includes a supporting structure and a second supporting structure for axially supporting a mold roll in a rotatable manner at a first end side and a second end side of the mold roll which is opposite to the first end side. The mold roll includes a circumferential surface in which a plurality of mold cavities for molding engaging elements of the surface fastener is provided. A first linear driving means and second linear driving means are provided which are for, respectively, advancing or retracting the first supporting structure and the second supporting structure. The degree of closeness between the extruding nozzle and the mold roll is regulatable across the first end side and the second end side of the mold roll, based on at least one activation of the first driving means and the second driving means.

A hooked retaining device (100) for defining at least a portion of a reception groove formed at the periphery of an article comprises a retaining element (10) made by injection molding. The retaining element has a first side wall (11) and a second side wall (12) that are spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction, and a base (20) connecting together said side walls (11, 12). The side walls (11, 12) and the base (20) define a retaining groove (14) that is open in a main direction (z) in order to receive a counterpart having hooks or loops. According to the invention, at least one of the side walls (11, 12) presents a plurality of hooks (30) adapted to co-operate with the counterpart, each hook (30) having at least one hooking portion oriented towards the base (20) of the retaining element (10).

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.

A molding apparatus includes a movable molding surface with molding cavities, a pressure shoe with a stationary outer surface that defines in cooperation with the molding surface a pressure zone, and a resin source configured to introduce molten resin into the pressure zone to be forced into the molding cavities by pressure in the pressure zone. The molding surface is movable with respect to the pressure shoe to introduce molding cavities to the pressure zone to be filled with resin while the outer surface of the pressure shoe and the molding surface define in between an entrance gap of decreasing width upstream of the pressure zone. The outer surface of the pressure shoe is spaced from the molding surface in the pressure zone to define a minimum gap at which the outer surface of the pressure shoe has a slope parallel to the molding surface. The pressure shoe is adapted to be held in a flexed condition against resin in the pressure zone while forcing resin into the cavities, with the outer surface of the pressure shoe curved upstream of the pressure zone.

A molded hook surface fastener having a base plate and hook engaging elements projecting from a surface of the base plate, both the base plate and the hook engaging elements being formed of a resin mixture containing polybutylene succinate (A), a modified starch having an amylose content of 45% by weight or more (B), and polyvinyl alcohol (C). The resin mixture is further characterized by having both a continuous phase and a dispersed phase, with the polybutylene succinate (A) present in the continuous phase, and the modified starch (B) and polyvinyl alcohol (C) present in the dispersed phase.

A surface fastener formed of a synthetic resin and in which a base with a 0.1 to 0.9 mm thickness and engagement element groups including engagement elements with a 0.2 to 0.8 mm protrusion height are integrally molded, and engagement element rows are composed of the plural engagement elements arranged in a row direction and each protruding independently. A cushioning member is covered with a covering member via the surface fastener. A resistance value of the surface fastener by itself as measured by a handle-o-meter method conforming to the JIS L 1096 E method is 80 to 150 g, whereas a load-deflection characteristic when a pressure is applied to an overlapping portion of the stacked surface fastener and cushioning member by a pressure plate with a 30 mm diameter approximates a similarly measured load-deflection characteristic of the cushioning member by itself.

One aspect of the present invention provides an injection molded mushroom type hook structure. The injection molded mushroom type hook structure of the present invention includes a stem portion and a substantially planar head portion formed at a top end of the stem portion, wherein the head portion includes two protrusion portions extending outwardly at two opposite sides of the head portion in a first direction, at least one extended portions extending outwardly from one side of the head portion in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the protrusions, and four connection portions that are formed at locations where the lateral sides of the two protrusion portions meet adjacent extended portion and the head portion. These structural features allow the injection molded mushroom type hook structure of the present invention to have a substantially same hook-to-loop engagement rate in each direction and an improved hook-to-loop engagement/peeling-off strength. Another aspect of the present invention provides an injection molded hook strap including the hook structure.

A fastening device has a first fastening member with a plurality of teeth and a second fastening member with a plurality of sockets which are sequentially engagable in tooth and socket pairs in an engagement direction by relative rotation of the tooth and socket. Each tooth has a first surface and a second surface fixed relative to the first surface. Each socket has a recess defined by a first wall and second wall fixed relative to the first wall. Upon engagement, the first and second surfaces of the tooth abut the respective first and second walls of the recess and prevent relative movement of the tooth in the engagement direction and a portion of the first wall of the socket closely abutting the first surface of the tooth is disposed between the tooth and a portion of the first fastening member and prevents relative separation of the tooth and socket.