Shieldless hook and loop fastener

#1. Field of the Invention

#This invention relates to a fastener for securing a trim cover to a foam pad. In particular, this invention relates to a trim cover fastener that is bonded to the foam pad during the molding of the foam pad.

#2. Description of Related Art

#Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tooling member including a platen supporting a mold;

#FIG. 2 is a top view of a lower mold of the mold defining a mold trench having a plurality of ends;

#Referring to FIG. 1, a tooling member, generally indicated at 10, includes a platen 12 supporting a mold, generally shown at 14. The mold 14 includes a lower mold 16 and an upper mold 18. The lower mold 16 is fixed to the platen 12 while the upper mold 18 is movable relative to the lower mold 16. The upper mold 18 moves between a closed position in which various moldable materials, such as foam, may be injected into a mold cavity 20 and an open position (shown in FIG. 1) in which the upper mold 18 is moved away from the lower mold 16 allowing a resulting foam pad to be removed therefrom. In the closed position, the lower mold 16 and the upper mold 18 together define the mold cavity 20 for receiving such moldable materials.

#Referring to FIG. 2, the lower mold 16 includes a bottom mold surface 22, which delineates the bottom of the mold cavity 20. The bottom mold surface 22 defines mold trenches 24 extending between a plurality of ends 26. It is contemplated that any number of mold trenches 24 may be formed within the bottom mold surface 22. And although each mold trench 24 is shown having two ends 26, it is also contemplated that each mold trench 24 could have more than two ends 26. For example, the mold trench 24 may be T-shaped having three ends 26.

#Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, each one of the plurality of ends 26 of the mold trench 24 includes a stepped region, generally indicated at 28. A mold trench floor 30 extends between the stepped regions 28 at each of the plurality of ends 26 of the mold trench 24. The stepped region 28 includes a step, generally shown at 32, having a raised horizontal surface 34 and a vertical surface 36 extending between the raised horizontal surface 34 and the mold trench floor 30. The step 32 has a step depth D1 defined as the distance between the horizontal surface 34 of the step 32 and the bottom mold surface 22 of the lower mold 16 disposed adjacent the mold trench 24. The mold trench 24, meanwhile, has a trench depth D2 defined as the distance between the mold trench floor 30 and the bottom mold surface 22 of the lower mold 16 disposed adjacent the mold trench 24. The depth D1 of the step 32 is less than the depth D2 of the mold trench 24.