| 主权项 |
1. A method of forming a touch fastening material, the method comprising:
providing a lengthwise-incoherent layer of staple fibers supported directly on a bed of bristle tips of a brush, the total weight of fibers supported on the brush being less than about 40 grams per square meter, including carding staple fibers and then transferring the carded fibers onto the brush; needling the layer of staple fibers by cycling fork needles through the layer of staple fibers and into the brush, such that the needles carry loops of fibers of the layer into spaces between bristles of the brush, including penetrating the needles through the layer of fibers to a distance of between 1 and 10 millimeters into the brush with a needling density of between 40 and 320 penetrations per square centimeter; then, while the needled layer of staple fibers remains supported on the brush, with the loops of the fibers extending between bristles of the brush, fusing portions of the staple fibers by at least partially melting resin of the fibers disposed outside the brush, by applying heat and pressure to the fibers remaining outside the brush by a surface maintained in contact with the fibers while the fibers are transported by the brush; and then pulling the layer of fibers from the brush as a lengthwise-coherent touch fastening material having exposed fastening loops pulled from between the brush bristles; wherein the fibers comprise bicomponent fibers including two resins of differing softening temperatures, a plurality of the bicomponent fibers each comprising a core of resin of higher softening temperature than resin of a sheath about the core, and wherein at least partially melting resin of the fibers comprises melting the sheath; wherein the fibers have a denier of between about 1 and 20; wherein the needling and fusing is performed such that the lengthwise-coherent touch fastening material pulled from the brush has substantially the same overall width as the layer of staple fibers provided on the brush; wherein the lengthwise-incoherent layer of staple fibers is continually provided on the brush as a longitudinally continuous layer, and transported by the brush while needled and fused; wherein the brush is in the form of a conveyor belt maintained to travel along a linear path during the needling and fusing, and wherein the lengthwise-coherent touch fastening material is pulled from the brush; and wherein the lengthwise-incoherent layer of staple fibers is provided supported directly on rounded bristle tips. |
