Outer cover engagement
View Patent ↗A method for forming a hook-engageable landing zone on a fibrous surface by selecting a region of the surface to form the landing zone, by raising fibers from the surface in the selected region to form fibrous loops extending from the surface, and by anchoring the fibrous loops in the selected region to secure the loops and resist pullout during hook engagement.
1. A method of forming a hook-engageable landing zone on a fibrous surface, the method comprising:
raising fibers from the surface in a selected region to form raised fibrous loops extending from the surface, by brushing, napping or carding the selected region while leaving other areas of the surface without such raised fibers; and then
bonding the raised fibrous loops in the selected region to secure the loops to resist pullout during hook disengagement.
2. The method of claim wherein the surface comprises a broad outer surface of a garment.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the garment is a disposable diaper.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the raised fibers have an overall loft “L2” that is at least 25 percent greater than overall loft “L1”.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fibrous surface comprises a non-woven material.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the non-woven material is bonded to an underlying substrate.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the underlying substrate is a film.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selected region corresponds to visible landing zone indicia on the substrate.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface carries landing zone indicia.
10. The method of claim 6 , wherein raising the fibers comprises raising the underlying substrate in the selected region.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the underlying substrate is raised by embossing the substrate.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fibrous surface is longitudinally continuous, the method comprising sequentially raising and anchoring fibers in a series of discrete, longitudinally spaced-apart regions of the surface.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising segmenting the surface into discrete sections, each section containing at least a portion of a respective one of the selected regions.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fibrous surface is of a spun-bonded material.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein brushing, napping or carding the selected region comprises engaging and pulling fibers of the selected region with an array of male touch fastener elements.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein anchoring the raised fibers comprises embossing the selected region to form a pattern of bond areas.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pattern of bond areas are formed with an ultrasonic horn fashioned to form the pattern of bond areas.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pattern of bond areas are formed by applying pressure with an array of pins to discrete spots positioned against an energy source.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein embossing comprises activating an adhesive in the bond areas.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the bond areas comprise only about 10 to 35 percent of an overall area of the selected region of raised loops.
21. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after raising the fibers, applying a stiffening agent to the raised fibers.