Abstract: Connector components for flexibly connecting and/or disconnecting parts herein specifically illustrated as connecting the ends of paper makers felts comprising spaced panels of concatenated crossing textile elements wherein the panels are connected at regularly spaced intervals longitudinally of the component by elements extending transversely of the panels across the gap therebetween, said components being foldable at the gap to provide substantially U-shaped loops such that the loops of two such folded components may be interengaged to receive a pintle element and said panels being adapted to be fixed to the parts to be flexibly connected.

Abstract: The method of rigidifying portions of flexible structures comprised in part or wholly of yarns comprised of man-made fibers of filaments wherein the fibers or filaments of the yarns become welded to each other, specifically to a method of welding the constituent yarns of shoelaces at the ends of the laces so as to form rigid tips of reduced cross section at the ends; to joining two or more yarns at predetermined intervals to form a compound structure; and to joining parallel or crossing portions of yarns arranged in a predetermined relation to each other to form a dimensionally stable structure, by means of sonic vibration supplemented by pressure; and to apparatus for carrying out the method.