RETAINER PANEL HAVING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURAL SURFACE

Abstract

A retainer panel having a carrier made of a thermoforming film and a structural surface that is partially directly laminated to the carrier. The thermoforming film is formed to create a three-dimensional relief structure on the carrier. The structural surface is placed on the carrier with an excess of material, to create a wavy contour with peaks and valleys. The valleys are laminated to the carrier and the peaks remain unlaminated. These unlaminated portions of the structural surface are able to deform easily to adapt to the shape of the object that is placed on the retainer panel. The laminated areas of the structural surface also provide a visually recognizable layout grid. The structural surface forms one part of a touch fastener and an object to be placed on the retainer panel carries the complementary part of the touch fastener.

Claims

1: A retainer panel comprising: a carrier that is formed from a three-dimensionally contoured thermoforming film that provides a relief structure having raised areas and relief areas; and a structural surface made of a material that has a microscopic roughness and that is affixed to the carrier by direct lamination; wherein the structural surface forms one component of two components of a touch fastener; wherein the structural surface is placed on the carrier with an excess of the material and attached to the carrier, such, that the structural surface has a wavy contour with peaks and valleys on at least a face of the structural surface that faces away from the carrier, the wavy contour providing a macroscopic roughness of the structural surface; wherein only the valleys of the wavy contour of the structural surface are laminated to the carrier; wherein the direct lamination of the structural surface to the carrier creates directly laminated areas of the structural surface and the carrier and other unlaminated areas in which the structural surface is loosely placed on the carrier; and wherein the directly laminated areas are arranged to provide a layout grid.

2: The retainer panel of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of through-holes.

3: The retainer panel of claim 1, wherein the raised areas of the relief structure are arranged to form a plurality of channels, any two adjacent areas of the raised areas forming a channel; wherein a section of a circumference of a tube is receivable in the channel; and wherein the plurality of channels includes a first plurality of channels that run parallel to each other and a second plurality of channels that run parallel to each other, the first plurality of channels intersecting the second plurality of channels.

4: The retainer panel of claim 3, wherein the any two raised areas that form a channel are spaced a first distance apart and any two parallel channels are spaced a second distance apart, the second distance being greater than the first distance.

5: The retainer panel of claim 3, wherein the first plurality of channels intersects the second plurality of channels so as to form a square grid pattern.

6: The retainer panel of claim 3, wherein raised profiles are provided in areas between the intersecting channels and are spaced apart, such, that a free space is formed the raised profiles, and wherein a section of a tube having a curved run is placeable in the free space between the raised profiles.

7: The retainer panel of claim 1, wherein the retainer panel has a four edges and wherein an overlap strip is provided under the carrier on at least one of the four edges and that is connectable with an adjacent retainer panel.

8: The retainer panel of claim 7, wherein the adjacent retainer panel is self-adhesive, thereby enabling an adhesive connection with the overlap strip.

9: The retainer panel of claim 1, wherein the carrier is self-adhesive on a surface that faces away from the structural surface.

10: The retainer panel of claim 9, wherein the carrier is self-adhesive beyond an area of the overlap strip.

11: The retainer panel of claim 1, wherein the touch fastener is a touch hook-and-loop fastener and wherein the structural surface is a two-dimensional textile that has a plurality of loops and that serves as a loop component of the touch hook-and-loop fastener.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0043] FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a first embodiment of the retainer panel according to the invention.

[0044] FIG. 2 illustrates a second embodiment of the retainer panel, with a portion of the structural surface removed to show the underlying carrier.

[0045] FIG. 3 illustrates a third embodiment of the retainer panel, with a portion of the structural surface removed to show the underlying carrier.

[0046] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional cut through a section of the retainer panel according to the invention, showing a carrier with a relief structure and wavy structural surface.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section cut through a section of the retainer panel, showing the wavy structural surface on a flat section of the carrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0049] FIGS. 1-3 illustrate three embodiments of a retainer panel 1 according to the invention, which is particularly suited to reliably secure cables or tubes, such as, for example, a heating tube laid out in a serpentine course; FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the basic structure of the retainer panel 1, which comprises a base or carrier 10 and a structural surface 11 that is directly laminated to the carrier 10.

[0050] The structural surface 11 is an element that serves as a velour, fleece component, or loop component of a touch hook-and-loop fastener. The structural surface 11 completely covers the entire surface of the carrier 10. The carrier 10 is shown in FIG. 5 as a flat element, without a relief structure. According to the invention, either an overall flat carrier 10 may be used or alternatively a carrier 10 with a relief structure. If a relief structure is used, then FIG. 5 is to be interpreted as showing merely a small section the carrier 10 that does not happen to show a three-dimensional contour.

[0051] The structural surface 11 of the retainer panel 1 according to the invention has a three-dimensional structure that increases the contact area of the structural surface 11 with the object to be held in place the retainer panel 1 beyond what is possible, if the structural surface 11 were a flat surface. This three-dimensional structure may be produced in several ways, either by created a structural surface 11 that has a three-dimensional or wavy structure or by applying an initially smooth surfaced structural surface 11 to the carrier 10 in a way that creates the desired structure. The structural surface 11 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is made of a knitted textile and, due to the texture of the material, has a roughness or contour on the carrier 10 that goes beyond any microscopic roughness, i.e., has a macroscopic roughness or wavy contour. This macroscopic waviness is produced by applying different tensions to the threads during the production process, so that the finished textile product has a three-dimensional, relief-like, crimped or wave-like structure. Such textile structures are also referred to as crushed, i.e., wrinkled. The structural surface 11 is, thus, applied to the carrier with an excess of material. A similar effect may be achieved by using a textile product that is initially a smooth, non-wavy material, such as, for example, the mentioned knitted textile, and applying it to the carrier 10 with a roller having a sufficiently defined contour that will result in a wavy surface on the structural surface 11.

[0052] The structural surface 11 is directly laminated onto the carrier 10 while the material is warm and has not yet set. The material of the structural surface 10 is actually pressed into the material of the carrier 10 and, as the material of the carrier 10 sets, the two materials become firmly bonded together. The wavy structure of the structural surface 190 has peaks 12 and valleys 14 and these valleys 14 are laminated into the carrier 10. The peaks 14, by contrast, are not only not incorporated into the carrier 10, but actually do not necessarily make contact with the carrier 10. Because of this loose placement of the peaks 14, they remain freely movable and, thus, readily deformable to some extent to accommodate a portion of the circumference of the object to the held on the retainer panel 1.

[0053] FIG. 1 illustrates a retainer panel 1 in which the carrier 10 is made of a three-dimensionally contoured thermoforming film. Ribs 2 are formed in the carrier 10, arranged in intersecting parallel layouts, so as to create squares that are evenly spaced apart. Any two parallel adjacent ribs 2 create a channel 3 between them, the channel having a depth of 1 to 2 mm and are dimensioned to accommodate a portion of the circumference of a tube that is to be placed on the retainer panel 1. As shown, the channels 3 are regularly spaced and intersect each other at 90-degree angles.

[0054] A central through-hole 4 in the form of a circular hole is provided in the middle of each of the squares formed by the ribs 2. A through-hole 4 may also be provided at the channel intersections. These through-holes 4 may differ in size.

[0055] Additional raised areas 9 may also be formed on the carrier 10. These raised areas 9 may have shapes that differ from that of the ribs 3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the raised areas 9 include raised profiles 5 and 8. Four raised profiles 5 are formed inside the squares that are defined by the four ribs 2 and are spaced a distance around the central through-hole 4. These raised profiles 5 are in the form of dots or nubs. The raised profiles 8 are formed around the central through-bores 4 inside each square.

[0056] A tube 1 is representative of an object to be held in place on the retainer panel 1 according to the invention and is very schematically represented in FIG. 1 by a dashed line. A first section of the tube 6 runs in a first section of a first channel 3 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the retaining surface 1 and a second section runs in a second channel 3 that runs in the transverse direction. In the curved section between these first and second sections, the tube 6 runs between the raised areas 5 and 8, so that the hook portion of the touch hook-and-loop fastener, which is provided on the outside of the tube 6 has the greatest possible contact area to the retaining surface 1 not only in the channels 3, but also in the curved section outside of the channels 3. These raised profiles 5 and 8 provide a relief area that is trough-like or channel-like and that is able to accommodate a curved tube 6, i.e., sides of the tube 6 make contact with these raised areas 5 and 8, either on the outside or inside of the curve, thereby achieving a larger contact area between the structural surface 11 and the tube 6 in this curved section than would be the case if the retaining surface 1 were flat in this area. In addition to the relief structure of the carrier 10, the macroscopic relief structure of the structural surface 11 further increases the contact area of tube 6 with the retaining surface 1, so that, overall, the retainer panel 1 according to the invention provides very high holding and pull-off forces, ensuring that the tube is securely held in place on the retaining surface 1.

[0057] With continued reference to FIG. 1, an overlap strip 7 is provided on two sides of the retainer panel 1, namely, along one width side and one length side. In this embodiment, a self-adhesive coating is applied to the underside of the retaining surface 1, i.e., to the side of the carrier 10 that faces away from the structural surface 11. This coating may be applied to the complete surface or in a grid pattern made of lines or dots, so that the retaining surface 1 may be affixed to a substrate as well as to an overlap strip 7 of an adjacent retaining surface 1.

[0058] Alternatively, the overlap strip 7 may be provided on the upper side of the retaining surface 1. For example, it may be formed by the structural surface 11, i.e., by the textile element that is the fleece component of the touch hook-and-loop fastener. In this case, the structural surface 11 is cut appropriately oversized so that it extends beyond the two sides of the carrier 10, i.e., the thermoforming film, as shown in FIG. 1. The underside of the overlap strip 7 is constructed such, that it can be connected to an adjacent retaining surface 1. To this end, a strip of the hook component of the touch hook-and-loop fastener, for example, is provided on the underside of the overlap strip 7, and the overlap strip 7 be pressed from above and fastened to the structural surface 11 of an adjacent retaining surface 1. Alternatively, the underside of the overlap strip 7 that is placed on top of an adjacent overlap strip 7 may be coated with an adhesive.

[0059] It is possible to manufacture the retaining surface 1 in a cost-effective way. The low three-dimensionality that is provided with the thermoformed retaining surface 1 has a positive influence on keeping production costs low. Also, the circular raised profiles 8 that are provided around the central through-holes 4 are created by providing a raised profile having initially a large, circular surface area and then stamping the appropriate circular surface portions from it, in order to create the central through-hole 4 in the center of a square along with its raised profile 8. As has been explained, the structural surface 11, which is the fleece component of the touch hook-and-loop fastener, is laminated onto the carrier 10, i.e., onto the thermoforming film, and this means that the stamping process does not cause a problem, because the laminated fleece material is firmly bonded with the thermoforming film. As a result, a precise stamp line is producible in the stamping process, because the fleece material cannot pull and yield and thereby avoid being stamped.

[0060] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the retaining surface 1 according to the invention that essentially corresponds to the embodiment of FIG. 1, except that the carrier 10 does not have the ribs 2. Instead, the raised areas 9 that create the desired relief structure of the retaining surface 1 are created exclusively by the raised profiles 5 and 8. As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, four smaller raised profiles 5 are arranged in a quadratic pattern around each central through-hole 4 with its circular raised profile 8. This configuration of five raised profiles 5 and 8 is referred to as a nub group.

[0061] In a further differentiation from the embodiment of FIG. 1, the four smaller raised profiles 5 of such a nub group in the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be spaced a greater distance from the central raised profile 8 than is shown in FIG. 1. Also, the quadratic grid pattern in which the individual nub groups are arranged relative each other may be smaller than is shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1. In any case, the result is that troughs or channels 3 run in straight lines and cross each other between the nub groups, the channels 3 having a similar width as the channels 3 shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 that are defined by the parallel ribs 2.

[0062] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment in which the four smaller raised profiles 5, which are individually formed in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and define the four corners of a square, are connected to each other to form a cross-or X-shaped raised area 9. These cross- or X-shaped raised areas 9 are also arranged in a square grid, so that, with this embodiment, too, troughs or channels 3 are formed between the raised areas 9, these channels 3 running in straight lines and intersecting each other.

[0063] Through-holes 4 may also be provided in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, as central through-holes 4, always in the center of a nub group or of a cross-shaped raised area 9, as well as, for example, as cross-shaped through-holes 4 that are always placed where two channels 3 intersect. Thus, the X-shaped raised areas 9 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 connect not only the four smaller raised profiles 5, but they also integrally form the raised profiles 8 around the central through-holes 4, which, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, are constructed as separate rings.

[0064] FIG. 4 illustrates a vertical cross-section through the retaining surface 1 according to the invention, whereby the cut runs through two raised areas 9, as well as through the intersection of two channels and, thus, through the corresponding through-hole 4. The retaining surface 1 in this area of the vertical cross-section consists of only two elements: the carrier 10, which is a three-dimensionally shaped thermoforming film and has a relief structure with raised areas 9 that define adjacent relief areas 10A. The structural surface 11 that is laminated to the carrier 10 is constructed as the fleece portion of a touch hook-and-loop fastener and has many loops. The structural surface 11 is pressed into the heated material of the carrier 10 as a way of directly laminating it to the carrier 10, so that a firm bond is made between the carrier 10 and the structural surface 11, without the use of additional materials, such as adhesive. Due to the wavy relief structure of the structural surface 11 and/or the use of a press-on tool having a profile, for example, a roller with a profile, only the relief sections 12, i.e., valleys, of the structural surface 11 are bonded to the carrier 10.

[0065] During the lamination process, the structural surface 11 is pressed onto the raised areas 9 of the relief structure of the carrier 10. The material of the structural surface 11 is suspended freely between the raised areas 9, possibly without making contact with the carrier. A highly profiled pressure pad may be used, for example, a profiled roller, to simplify the stamping process and ensure a precise stamping result when stamping out the through-holes 4 at the intersections of channels 3. Such a tool is able to press the structural surface 11 into even these deeper lying intersection areas on the carrier 10. As a result, the structural surface 11 may be laminated onto the carrier 10, even in these relief areas 10A of the carrier 10.

[0066] Independently of the relief structure of the carrier 10 shown in the FIGS. 1 to 4, the structural surface 11 itself has a relief structure or depth, so that the structural surface 11 imparts a particularly secure hold on the tube 6 that is pressed onto the retaining surface 1 or to other objects, even when a carrier 10 is used that is flat and does not have its own relief structure.

[0067] It is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention. Variations in the construction of the retainer panel with a three-dimensional structural surface may be contemplated by one skilled in the art without limiting the intended scope of the invention herein disclosed and as defined by the following claims.