HK1001366B - Surface fastener - Google Patents

Description

Surface fastener

Technical Field

The present invention relates to touch and close surface fasteners, and more particularly to a composite surface fastener having a plurality of male and female engaging members that cross from the front surface of a substrate.

Background

Composite surface fasteners (hereinafter composite surface fasteners) are well known, for example from US3,130,111; 4,884,988 and 5,369,852; japanese patent laid-open publication No. sho 44-5569 and japanese patent laid-open publication No. sho 49-2649 disclose a composite surface fastener in which a plurality of hook engaging elements are formed as male engaging elements each formed of a single filament, and a plurality of loop engaging elements are formed as female engaging elements each formed of a plurality of multifilaments crossing over from the front surface of a woven or knitted backing tape.

A pair of identical composite surface fasteners are detachably joined together by being pressed against each other, and therefore, the complexity involved in production management, sewing, etc. can be avoided as compared with ordinary surface fasteners each having only many female engaging members or male engaging members.

However, in the composite surface fastener, since the loop-like female engaging elements having appropriate softness and the hook-like male engaging elements having appropriate hardness are crossed, the engaging surface becomes hard and it is difficult to avoid an itchy feeling, as compared with the conventional female surface fastener element having only soft female engaging elements. For this purpose, an improved composite surface fastener is proposed, for example, in US5,369,852. In the improved composite surface fastener, the height of the hook-like or mushroom-like male engaging elements is smaller than the height of the loop-like female engaging elements formed of multifilaments, and therefore, the engaging surface is covered with the loop ends. A similar compound surface fastener is disclosed for example in UK1345607, in which the height of the mushroom-shaped male engagement element instead of the hook-shaped engagement element is less than the height of the loop-shaped female engagement element, and is of the same construction as disclosed in US5,369,852 above.

However, the engagement rate and peel strength of the general-purpose composite surface fastener are lower than those of the general-purpose common surface fastener. Particularly in the composite surface fastener disclosed in US5,369,852 and UK1345607, the engagement rate and peel strength of the composite surface fastener are lower than those of the general surface fastener because the loop-like female engaging elements have a greater height than the male engaging elements and because the female engaging elements are difficult to deform due to their shape and because the loop-like female engaging elements have a hindrance to engagement during engagement if the female engaging elements are arranged and arranged at the same density as the male engaging elements. Thus, special considerations are required regarding the arrangement and distribution of the male and female engagement members.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composite surface fastener which enables a soft touch to be obtained on the joining surface and enables the joining rate and peel strength to be improved.

According to the present invention, the above object is achieved by a surface fastener comprising: a substrate; a plurality of male and female engaging members crossing from a front surface of a substrate; and a plurality of cut piles napped from the front side of the substrate, each cut pile being formed from a multifilament yarn composed of a group of fibers.

Preferably, the cut pile height on the front surface of the substrate is at least greater than the height of the male engagement members, the substrate is a woven or knitted fabric, each female engagement member is formed from a multifilament, each male engagement member is formed from a monofilament, and the multifilaments and monofilaments of said female and male engagement members are woven or knitted in said woven or knitted fabric at the same time as said woven or knitted fabric is woven or knitted.

Generally, in surface fasteners composed of woven or knitted fabrics, a heat setting treatment is performed in order to stabilize the shape of the engaging elements on the surface. In the present invention, the cut pile is made of a material having a heat-setting temperature higher than that of the male fastener.

In the woven or knitted surface fastener described above, each of the hook fasteners as the male fastener is woven into a loop at the time of weaving, and then, cut into a loop by a cutter blade. It is preferable that cut pile is formed at the time of weaving, and therefore, the monofilament of the male engaging element and the multifilament of the cut pile are configured as double yarns woven or knitted in the backing and have the same loop shape, and then these loops are all cut simultaneously into the male engaging element and the cut pile by the cutter knife. Due in part to the different heat-set conditions, the cut multifilament yarn is discretely teased higher than the hook engagers.

Preferably, the cut pile thus formed is not directly related to the engagement, and is of a type which is more flexible than the female and male engagement members in order to provide a soft feel to the engagement surface and not to interfere with the engagement.

Further, in the present invention, the male engagement member and the female engagement member may have the same shape. In this case, the male and female engagement members may be in the shape of a hook or mushroom having an enlarged portion at the upper end of a stem.

Typically, each male engagement member may have a hook shape and each female engagement member may have a loop shape formed from a group of fibres of a multifilament. Each male engagement member may have a mushroom shape with an enlarged portion at the upper end of a rod, and each female engagement member may have a loop shape formed of a fiber group of multifilaments. Further, in the present invention, at least a part of the substrate and the male joint is molded with a thermoplastic synthetic resin.

Said female engagement members are molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin, and each of said female engagement members has a hook shape similar to each of said male engagement members.

In another form, each engagement member may be a composite engagement member that functions as a male engagement member or a female engagement member and has a hook or mushroom shape.

Drawings

FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B) are respectively partial perspective views of a semi-finished product and a finished product of a composite surface fastener according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are partial cross-sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively;

FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B) are partial cross-sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of another composite surface fastener according to a second embodiment;

fig. 4(a) and 4(B) are partial sectional views showing modifications of the second embodiment;

FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B) are partial sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of a further composite surface fastener according to a third embodiment;

FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) are partial cross-sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of still another composite surface fastener according to a fourth embodiment;

FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) are partial cross-sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of another composite surface fastener according to a fifth embodiment, in which part of a substrate sheet and a male coupling member are molded of synthetic resin;

fig. 8(a) and 8(B) are partial sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, according to a modification of the fifth embodiment; and

fig. 9 shows a manner in which a pair of composite surface fasteners according to another modification of the fifth embodiment are engaged.

Detailed Description

Various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1(a) and 1(B) are respectively partial perspective views of a semi-finished product and a finished product of a woven composite surface fastener according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2(a) and 2(B) are respectively schematic partial sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product of the same composite surface fastener. In the present embodiment and hereinafter, the substrate composed of only fibers is referred to as "substrate fabric 10".

In fig. 1(a) and 1(B) and fig. 2(a) and 2(B), the composite surface fastener 1 of the present embodiment is woven by a normal weaving machine. The composite surface fastener 1 comprises a woven base fabric 10, a plurality of first pile warp yarns 11 each forming a plurality of female engaging elements 13 described below, and a plurality of second pile warp yarns 12 each forming a plurality of male engaging elements 14 napped from the front surface of the base fabric 10. Each first pile warp yarn 11 is a multifilament and each second pile warp yarn 12 is a monofilament. The first and second pile warp yarns 11, 12 are arranged in predetermined rows on the front face of the base fabric 10 and are woven in a crosswise condition in the base fabric 10.

The fibrous material of the backing fabric 10 may be synthetic fibers, such as polyester fibers, polyamide fibers, polypropylene fibers, or ordinary semi-synthetic fibers or natural fibers. Alternatively, the material of the first and second pile warp yarns 11, 12 may be a synthetic fibre as described above. In the illustrated embodiment, each first pile warp yarn 11 forming the female engagement member 13 is a multifilament yarn made of polyamide synthetic resin, and each second pile warp yarn 12 forming the male engagement member 14 is a monofilament yarn made of polyester resin.

In addition, the first and second pile warp yarns 11, 12 may be of the same material. In a variant, the material of the first and second pile warp yarns 11, 12 may be any combination of different kinds of synthetic resins.

The above-described structure of the composite surface fastener 1 is the same as the basic structure of a general composite surface fastener woven from fibers. The composite surface fastener 1 differs from a conventional composite surface fastener in cut pile 16, each cut pile 16 being formed of a group of fibers woven in the base fabric 10 and napped from the front surface of the base fabric 10 in a substantially perpendicular state.

According to the first embodiment of fig. 1, the cut pile 16 is formed by arranging a multifilament 15 composed of a twisted set of fibers having a smaller denier as a double yarn together with the monofilament of the second pile warp 12, weaving the double yarn into the foundation fabric 10 at the same time, and then cutting the multifilament 15 and the monofilament of the second pile warp 12 as described below. In the illustrated example, the monofilaments of the second pile warp 12 and the multifilaments 15 of the cut pile 16 extend in the warp direction over three weft yarns 21a-21c, under the second weft yarn 21a, then over the second weft yarn 21b, then under the third weft yarn 21c, so that they extend in the warp direction over a single weft yarn 21d after the three weft yarns 21a-21c, crossing over the three warp yarns 17 of the ground weave and in the form of a terry loop. They then extend in the warp direction across the next three weft yarns 21a-21c, under the first weft yarn 21a, then over the second weft yarn 21b and over the third weft yarn 21c, whereupon they extend in the warp direction over the single weft yarn 21d, after being referred to as the second three weft yarns 21a-21c, in a terry loop across the three warp yarns. Due to the repetition of this weaving pattern, the monofilaments of the second pile warp 12 and the multifilaments 15 for the cut pile 16 form a plurality of loops 12a, 15a, respectively, on the front surface of the foundation fabric 10, as shown in fig. 1 (a). The basic weave formed by the three warp yarns 17 and the four weft yarns 21a-21d is a plain weave.

At the same time, the multifilaments of each first pile warp 11 form a plurality of loops 11a, serving as female engaging members 13, on the front face of the same backing fabric 10 and adjacent to the second pile warp 12 and the multifilaments 15 arranged and knitted into the ground weave. The woven structure for forming the loops 11a is the same as the woven structure for forming the male engagement members 14 and cut pile 16, except that the first pile warp 11 is shifted by one weft yarn 21 in the warp direction. As a result, the male engagement member 14 and the cut pile 16 are interlaced with the female engagement member 13 by one weft yarn in the warp direction.

The height of the loops 11a serving as the female engagement members 13 is the same as or slightly greater than the height of the loops 12a of the monofilament and the loops 15a of the multifilament 15 on the front side of the substrate sheet 10. However, if the height of the loops 11a used as the female engagement pieces 13 is set to be greater than that of the remaining loops, it is necessary to set a height less than that of the cut pile 16 after the cutting process described below. In this embodiment, between the double yarn consisting of the monofilament pile warp yarn 12 and the multifilament yarn 15 and the first pile warp yarn 11, one base weave warp yarn 17 is woven into the backing fabric 10 so as to extend alternately over and under the weft yarns 21a-21d, i.e., under every other weft yarn 21a, 21c and every other weft yarn 21b, 21 d. Since the loops 12a, 15a, 11a of the male engaging element 14, the cut pile 16, and the female engaging element 13, respectively, are simultaneously formed by weaving the base fabric 10 to weave the composite surface fastener fabric, then, the composite surface fastener 1 is heat-set to stabilize the shape of the male engaging element 14 and the shape of the female engaging element 13. At this time, it is preferable to select a material for the multifilament yarn 15 for the cut pile 16, which has a heat-setting temperature higher than that of the male engagement member 14 and the female engagement member 13.

Then, one side of the loops 12a, 15a of each of the male engagement members 14 and the cut pile 16 is cut by a cutting blade like scissors of a hairdresser, so that the loops 12a of the monofilaments form the hook-shaped male engagement members 14 having one side thereof cut, and at the same time, the bent upper ends of the loops 15a of the multifilaments constituting the cut pile 16 are elastically restored so as to have slightly bent upper ends, as shown in fig. 1 (B). At that time, the height of the cut pile 16 above the front face of the base fabric 10 is greater than the height of the male and female engagement members 14, 13, and the fiber group of each cut pile 16 is napped along the adjacent male engagement members 14.

The backing fabric 10 of the composite surface fastener 1 thus obtained is backed with a synthetic resin, and the material of this backing may be a highly adhesive synthetic resin such as polyester resin, polyamide resin and polypropylene resin, polyurethane resin, or various synthetic rubbers, which are the same as the above-mentioned fiber materials. This synthetic resin susceptor is manufactured by coating the back surface of the backing fabric 10 with a molten synthetic resin or a synthetic resin solution in which the synthetic resin is dissolved in a suitable solvent together with a filler, a surfactant and a hardening agent, and then pressing the coated surface by a suitable means so as to impregnate the liquid synthetic resin into the backing fabric, and then heating the coated surface so as to bond the bottom ends of the male and female coupling members 14, 13 and the cut pile 16 to the backing fabric 10.

The composite surface fastener 1 of the present embodiment, like a general composite surface fastener, is easily attached to a sub-composite surface fastener 1 of the same structure by pressing, and is easily peeled from the sub-composite surface fastener 1 by picking up one end of the composite surface fastener 1. Further, with the composite surface fastener 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid complexity in inventory control and sewing.

In the composite surface fastener 1 of the present embodiment, as the most remarkable feature of the present invention, in part because the face of the substrate sheet 10 on which the male and female engaging elements 14, 13 are located is covered over substantially the entire area thereof with the fibers of the cut pile 16, the upper ends of the female and male engaging elements 13, 14 are slightly protruded, and in part because the cut pile 16 is adjacent to the hook-shaped male engaging element 14, the joining surface of the composite surface fastener 1 can exhibit a soft contact, close to ordinary velvet, which remarkably eliminates the hard and itchy feeling caused by the common male engaging element. Also, since the cut pile 16 is composed of many fibers that are raised only, the male engagement members 14 will experience less reaction force when penetrating into the engagement surfaces of the secondary surface fastener than in the conventional arrangement, such as disclosed in US5,369,852, where the height of the looped female engagement members composed of multifilament yarns is slightly greater than the height of the hooked male engagement members composed of monofilament yarns. Thus, penetration of the female engagement piece into the engagement surface of the sub-surface fastener is facilitated, thereby increasing the engagement rate to increase the engagement strength.

Fig. 3(a) and 3(B) are partial sectional views of a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of a composite surface fastener made of fibers according to a second embodiment. In fig. 3(a) and 3(B), elements or components similar to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. As shown in fig. 3(a), on the front surface of the base fabric 10, when weaving for surface fastener semi-finished products, the weft direction is repeated in this order to form loops 12a, 15a, 11a for the male engaging elements 14 of the monofilaments, the cut pile 16 of the multifilaments, and the female engaging elements 13 of the multifilaments, respectively.

After the semi-finished product is heat-set as in the first embodiment, the opposite sides of the adjacent loops 12a of the cut pile 16 for monofilament and multifilament yarns and the male engagement members 14 for monofilament are cut to form the hook-shaped male engagement members 14 and the cut pile 16 of the group of fibers in the form of arc-shaped pile, which slightly protrude from the upper ends of the female and male engagement members 13, 14, as shown in fig. 3 (B).

Fig. 4(a) and 4(B) are partial sectional views showing modifications of the embodiment of fig. 3(a) and 3 (B). This modification is different from the second embodiment in the arrangement in which the loops 12a, 15a, 11a of the male engagement elements 14, the cut pile 16 and the female engagement elements 13 are repeatedly formed in a pattern different from that shown in fig. 3(a) and 3 (B).

Specifically, on the front surface of the foundation fabric 10, when the semi-finished product of fig. 4(a) for composite surface is woven, the weft direction is repeatedly formed in this order as loops 15a, 12a, 15a, 12a, 11a, 11a for multifilament cut pile 16, monofilament male engager 14, multifilament female engager 13 and multifilament female engager 13, respectively. After the semi-finished product is heat-set, the opposite sides of the two pairs of adjacent loops 15a of the male engagement members 14 for cut pile 16 and 12a and multifilaments and monofilaments are cut to form the hook-shaped male engagement member 14 and the cut pile 16 of the group of fibers having the arc-shaped pile slightly protruding from the upper ends of the female and male engagement members 13, 14, as shown in fig. 4 (B).

Fig. 5(a) and 5(B) are a semi-finished product and a finished product, respectively, of the composite surface fastener composed of fibers according to the third embodiment. The present embodiment is characterized in that the cut pile 16 is formed in a different method. Therefore, the arrangement pattern of the loops 12a of the male engagers 14 for monofilaments, the loops 15a of the cut lines 16 for multifilaments, and the loops 11a of the female engagers 13 for multifilaments is merely an illustrative example, and various modifications may be employed.

According to the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5(a), when being woven into the foundation fabric 10, a single loop 15a for cut pile 16 is formed between a pair of loops 12a, 12a adjacent in the weft direction of the male engagers 14, 14 for monofilaments and a pair of loops 11a, 11a adjacent in the weft direction of the female engagers 13, 13 for multifilaments. In addition, as shown in fig. 5(a), the loop 15a for cut pile 16 is suitably higher than the remaining loops 11a, 12 a.

With the semi-finished product thus obtained, the composite surface fastener of fig. 5(B) is made by cutting opposite sides of the loops 12a, 12a of two adjacent male engaging elements 14 of monofilament by a common method, and simultaneously cutting the upper portion of each loop 15a, 15a of cut pile 16 for multifilament along the dotted line in 5 (a). It is effective to cut the upper portion of the loop 15a for cut pile 16 in the same manner as in the conventional velvet production. The height of the cutting line is such that, as in the above-described embodiment, the cut pile 16 is slightly higher than the female and male engagement members 13, 14.

Fig. 6(a) and 6(B) show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the hook-like male engagement members 14 formed of monofilaments are constituted by mushroom-like male engagement members 18 of monofilaments, each having a generally spherical head 18B, the head 18B projecting from the upper end of a stem 18a located on the base web 10, as shown in fig. 6 (B). The mushroom-shaped male engagement member 18 may be formed by methods known in the art. That is, after the upper end of the loop 18' for the male engagement member 18 is cut by itself into two, the cut end is melted by pressing it against a heating plate having many dents on its front face or by bringing a heat source close to the cut end.

Fig. 7(a), 7(B), 8(a) and 8(B) show a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a substrate composed of fibers and synthetic resin is referred to as "substrate fabric 10". The composite surface fastener of the fifth embodiment differs from each of the foregoing embodiments in that the molded portion substrate sheet 10' and all the male engagement members 19 formed of synthetic resin hooks, in the foregoing embodiments, the entire composite surface fastener is formed of a fiber material. On the other hand, as in the previous embodiments, the substrate sheet 10', the female engagement members 13 and the remainder of the pile 16 are formed of fibres.

The composite surface fastener 1 'of the fifth embodiment is continuously produced by applying a woven or knitted pile fabric together with a molten resin to the circumferential surface of a female die wheel, the composite surface fastener 1' being constituted of elements of different materials and being manufactured by different methods, wherein the female die wheel has the same structure as a general female die wheel used for molding the surface fastener to be molded.

An example of a negative mould wheel will be briefly described below. The female die wheel has a plurality of male engagement member-forming cavities in a circumferential row and spaced at regular intervals in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the female die wheel, and an annular groove extends along and between each adjacent pair of rows of cavities. The basic structure of the die wheel can be obtained by slightly modifying the die wheel disclosed in US4,775,310, and therefore the description thereof is limited to a minimum. The die wheel is a hollow cylinder with a water-cooled jacket inside and consisting of a number of annular discs arranged one above the other along its axis and fixed in layers. The cavity row is formed by a plurality of hook-forming cavities whose bottom ends are open at circumferential edge portions of the ring-like disks of the same diameter. Annular disks are disposed in the layer between each adjacent pair of rows of hook-forming cavities and have a smaller diameter than the annular disks comprising the rows of cavities to form the channels. The female die wheel is driven to rotate by a known synchronous drive.

The injection mold is disposed opposite to the circumferential surface of the die wheel, which rotates in a forward direction, with a predetermined gap therebetween, so that the molten resin is injected in a sheet form from the orifice of the injection mold under a predetermined resin pressure. At the same time, a woven or knitted pile fabric (hereinafter referred to as a pile sheet member) is supplied from a pile fabric roll at a predetermined tension into a gap between the cavity of the injection mold and the circumferential surface of the female mold wheel, and simultaneously contacts a part of the circumferential surface of the female mold wheel. A guide roller is arranged downstream and diagonally upstream of the die wheel, i.e. on the opposite side of the die wheel to the orifice of the injection die. Downstream of the guide rollers, a vertical pair of take-up rollers is provided which rotate at a speed synchronized with the speed of rotation of the die wheel.

The ground structure of the pile sheet member used in the fifth embodiment of fig. 7(a), 7(B) is thick enough to allow the molten resin to seep through. The molten resin molded on the circumferential surface of the female die wheel in the shape of the composite surface fastener moves in an arc around approximately half of the circumferential surface of the female die wheel while being guided by the guide roller, and during this, the molten resin is cooled from the inside of the female die wheel, thereby gradually solidifying the substrate sheet 10 ' and the hook-like male engagement pieces 19 integral with the substrate sheet 10 ', wherein part of the pile sheet member is embedded in the substrate sheet 10 '. The sheet-like semifinished product for the composite surface fastener 1' formed moves around approximately half of the circumferential surface of the female die wheel as it is positively pulled through the guide roll by the take-up roll, and then, is continuously removed. As a result, the loops 15a of the cut pile 16 higher than the hooks 19 and the loops 11a having a height substantially equal to the hooks 19 are formed and alternately raised from the front surface of the substrate sheet 10', as shown in fig. 7 (a).

In the fifth embodiment of fig. 7(a), 7(B), each loop 15a for cut pile 16 is formed in the middle between each adjacent pair of hooks in the weft direction on the substrate sheet 10', and each loop 11a for female engagement member 13 is formed in the middle between each adjacent set of four hooks 19. In this arrangement of the loops 15a for cut pile 16, after the loops 15a are cut, the cut pile 16 is napped so as to project above the hooks 19, so that a soft and less itchy hand can be presented as an engaging surface as compared with other arrangements. In this embodiment, the adjacent rows of hooks 19 are in opposite directions. However, the arrangement of the loops 11a for female engagement and the loops 15a for cut pile and the orientation of the hooks 19 is in no way limited to the illustrated example.

The upper ends of the loops 15a of the cut pile 16 for the semi-finished product thus produced are cut at positions shown by broken lines in fig. 7(a), and thus, the composite surface fastener 1' of the present invention having the shape shown in fig. 7(B) is produced. In the embodiment of fig. 7(a), 7(B), after the semi-finished product is manufactured, the cut pile 16 is formed by cutting the upper ends of the loops 15a for the cut pile 16. However, the upper ends of the loops 15a for cut pile 16 may be pre-cut before the pile sheet member is introduced between the female die wheel and the nozzle.

Fig. 8(a) and 8(B) show a modification of the fifth embodiment of fig. 7(a), 7 (B). According to this modification, the hooks 19 formed in the hook row and the female engagement member 13 are arranged along the weft direction of the composite surface fastener, and the hooks 19, the cut pile 16 and the female engagement member 13 are repeatedly formed in this order.

The pile sheet member used in this modification is divided into a plurality of alternately arranged high density regions with pile and sparse regions without pile by a predetermined width. The ground weave of the pile-dense region is woven or knitted to such a high density as not to allow molten resin to permeate therethrough, while the pores of the pile-sparse region are large enough to allow molten resin to permeate easily therethrough. In addition, in the pile area, the loops 15a of the multifilament for the higher cut pile 16 are woven to be arranged in the longitudinal direction at the same pitch as that of the hook forming cavities in the circumferential surface of the female die wheel, and the loops of the multifilament for the female engaging members 13 have a smaller height in the middle between longitudinally continuous loops for the cut pile. The pile surface of the woven or knitted fabric may be finished by napping, and thus the pile surface may be soft, with the loops 11a, 15a of multifilament yarn being oriented in substantially all directions.

To mold this modified composite surface fastener 1', molten resin continuously injected from an injection mold under a predetermined resin pressure is continuously supplied into a gap formed between the injection mold and a rotating female die wheel. At the same time, the pile sheet members are also introduced into this gap along the circumferential surface of the matrix wheel, and the loops 11a, 15a are accommodated in and guided along the loop-like grooves, each groove being formed between the rows of hook-forming cavities of each adjacent pair of matrix wheels, so that part of the molten resin on one side of the hole is impregnated into the ground structure of the pile sheet members having pile areas, and part of the molten resin penetrates into the circumferential surface of the matrix wheel through the pores of the pile-free sparse areas to continuously fill the hook-forming cavities, thereby molding the hooks 19 and uniformly spreading between the pile-free sparse areas and the hook-forming cavities. As a result, the molten resin remaining in the holes of the injection mold and the expanded molten resin are integrally fused with the material of the pile sheet member to form the portion 10a of the substrate sheet 10' having a predetermined thickness.

Fig. 9 shows another modification of the fifth embodiment of fig. 7(a), 7 (B). According to this modification, a hook piece 19 molded of synthetic resin as a male engaging piece can also be used as the female engaging piece 13 ', and a pair of identical composite surface fasteners 1 ', 1 ' can be attached to and detached from each other by pressing and peeling the engaging surfaces to each other. Therefore, the loop 11a of the multifilament yarn for the female engagement member 13' having the same shape as the hook 19 may be omitted.

The male engagement members 14, 18, 19 in each of the foregoing embodiments have the highest hardness. As for the female engagement member 13 and the cut pile 16, it is preferable to select a material softer than the material of the multifilament fiber for the female engagement member 13 for the fiber of the multifilament of the cut pile 16. Factors that determine softness are exemplified by the kind of synthetic resin and the kind and amount of additives and the size of fibers in the case of the same resin material.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, in the composite surface fastener according to the present invention, in which the male and female engaging elements 13, 13 ', 14, 18, 19 are formed on the same surface of the substrate 10, 10', partly because a plurality of cut piles 16 formed of a group of fibers are provided on the composite engaging surface of the substrate sheet, and partly because the cut piles 16 are higher than the male and female engaging elements 13, 13 ', 14, 18, 19 in this manner, i.e., the entire male and female engaging elements 13, 13', 14, 18, 19 are covered with the fibers of the cut piles 16, it is possible to prevent the hard male engaging elements from coming into direct contact with the skin of the user, which occurs when in the common composite surface fastener, and therefore, the common itchy hand is eliminated, and instead, a soft hand is felt.

The engagement surfaces feel comfortable compared to a conventional composite surface fastener cut with pile higher than the male engagement members, and in addition, when the surface fasteners are pressed against each other, the male engagement members 14, 18, 19 are caused to penetrate into the secondary engagement surfaces, so as to increase the rate of engagement and improve the engagement strength. This is because the pile-like female engagement element has a large spring-back in the conventional surface fastener to prevent penetration of the female engagement element, and therefore, only the fibers in a vertical state protrude from the engagement surface in the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A surface fastener comprising:

(a) a substrate;

(b) a plurality of male and female engaging members crossing from a front surface of a substrate; and

(c) a plurality of cut piles raised from the front surface of the substrate, each cut pile being formed of a multifilament yarn composed of a group of fibers.

2. The surface fastener of claim 1 wherein said cut pile on said front surface of said substrate is at least as high as said male engagement members.

3. The surface fastener according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a woven or knitted fabric, each of said female engaging elements is formed of a multifilament, each of said male engaging elements is formed of a monofilament, and the multifilaments and monofilaments of said female and male engaging elements are woven or knitted in said woven or knitted fabric at the same time as said woven or knitted fabric is woven or knitted.

4. The surface fastener of claim 3 wherein said cut pile is formed of a material having a higher heat setting temperature than the male engagement member.

5. The surface fastener of claim 3 wherein the monofilaments of said male engaging elements and the cut multifilament yarns are configured as twinned yarns woven or knitted in said substrate by simultaneously weaving or knitting said substrate.

6. The surface fastener of claim 1 wherein said cut pile is of a material having a greater softness than said female and male engagement members.

7. The surface fastener according to claim 1, wherein each of said male engaging elements has a hook shape, and each of said female engaging elements has a loop shape formed by a fiber group of said multifilament.

8. The surface fastener of claim 1, wherein each of said male engaging members has a mushroom shape having an enlarged portion at an upper end of a stem, and each of said female engaging members has a loop shape formed by a fiber group of said multifilament.

9. The surface fastener according to claim 1, wherein at least said portion of said substrate and said male engaging member are molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin.

10. The surface fastener according to claim 1, wherein said female engaging elements are molded of thermoplastic synthetic resin, each of said female engaging elements having a hook shape similar to each of said male engaging elements.

11. The surface fastener according to claim 1, wherein each of said engaging members is a composite engaging member serving as a male engaging member or a female engaging member and having a hook shape.