Many mounting applications involve releasably attaching an object to a base surface. One example is the mounting of a picture to a wall. A second example is the mounting of an insulation panel to a wall. Many traditional mounting procedures result in the object being permanently attached to the base surface. An object may be fastened to a wall with screws or nails. It may also be fastened to a wall with an adhesive. In both situations it is difficult to remove the object from the base surface.
Hook and loop fasteners provide a partial solution to the problem of mounting an object to a base surface when it is undesirable for the bond between the object and the base surface to be a permanent bond. The base surface may be provided with a loop fastener and the object surface may be provided with hook fastener. The object is attached to the base by engaging the hook fastener with the loop fastener. Such a bond is releasable because the hook fastener may be separated from the loop fastener by applying a removal force to the object.
Hook and loop fasteners are commonly sold under the trade name Velcro. Hook and loop fasteners consist of hook sections and loop sections. The hook sections have a plurality of miniature hooks. The loop sections have a plurality of miniature loops. The hooks and loops are adapted to be releasably attached to each other. When pressed together a hook section becomes bound to a loop section. One of the primary advantages of using a hook and loop fastener to secure two objects together is that the securing bond between the hooks and the loops is releasable. When left undisturbed the hook section and the loop section remain bound to each other. However, the bond may be broken and the objects separated from each other by pulling or peeling the hook section from the loop section.
A problem arises when the attached object is rigid. Then, the object can be pulled away from the bond to break the hook and loop bond, but it cannot be peeled away from the bond because of the rigidity of the object. It is well known that the peel strength of the hook and loop bond is much weaker than the normal removal strength of the bond. The term normal refers to the direction of the removal force. When an object can be removed from a hook and loop bond only by pulling it away, rather than by peeling it away, much more removal force is required. In fact, the removal force may be so great that the base surface or the mounted object may be damaged during the process of removal. What is needed is a device that allows a rigid object to be mounted to a base surface by a hook and loop fastener bond wherein the bond may be broken by a peeling force.