TWI488663B - Method for manufacturing multi-lumen tube - Google Patents

Description

Multi-lumen tube manufacturing method

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a catheter, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a multi-lumen tube.

Catheters are used for a variety of purposes, such as for connection to an instrument or to a human body. The catheter has various shapes and cavities for different purposes. Among them, medical catheters can be divided into external and in vivo. Externally used catheters are mainly used for the transport of gases and liquids. The catheter used in the body can be divided into a single lumen tube and a multi lumen tube according to the structure. The single lumen tube has only one lumen; the multilumen tube has more than two lumens, which are mostly used for surgical use.

Medical catheters usually have smooth, non-toxic, odorless, and sterilizable requirements. In particular, catheters used in the body must be free of harmful solubles. In production, current medical catheters are generally manufactured by extrusion molding.

However, the manufacturing by extrusion molding has limitations in the size of the catheter. For a small diameter (for example: 2 mm or less) or a catheter with a relatively strict wall thickness, only a single lumen can be manufactured, but for a multi-cavity. The manufacture of tubes is very difficult.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-lumen tube manufacturing method that can easily and quickly produce a multi-lumen tube that meets the requirements for small tube diameter or precision tube wall thickness.

The technical means adopted by the present invention to solve the problems of the prior art Providing a multi-lumen tube manufacturing method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of thermoplastic tubes, wherein a mandrel is placed in the thermoplastic tube, the thermoplastic tubes being juxtaposed as a cluster tube; (b) coating the cluster tube with a thermoplastic layer to form a coated cluster tube; (c) heating and simultaneously extruding the coated cluster tube to integrally shape the cluster tube covered by the thermoplastic layer into a multi-lumen tube; and (d) removing the thermoplastic layer, wherein in the step (c), the thermoplastic layer is made of a heat shrinkable material, and the coated cluster tube is simultaneously heated to make the cluster tube simultaneously Pressed by the heat shrinkage of the thermoplastic layer, or in step (c), the coated cluster is heated and simultaneously extruded by passing through a hot mold.

In an embodiment of the invention, in step (a), the thermoplastic tubes have the same or different tube diameters.

In an embodiment of the invention, in step (a), the thermoplastic tube body is a single lumen tube.

In an embodiment of the invention, in step (b), the thermoplastic layer is a tubular structure.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the step (c), when the coated cluster tube is heated and pressed at the same time by passing through the mold, the mold is a ring body, and the pore diameter of the ring body is smaller than The diameter of the bundled tube.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the step (c), when the coated cluster tube is heated and pressed at the same time by passing through the mold, the longitudinally stretched coated cluster tube is further included.

By means of the technical means adopted by the present invention, by integrating and shaping a plurality of thermoplastic tubes, it is possible to quickly and easily manufacture a multi-lumen tube that meets the requirements of small tube diameter or precision tube wall thickness. Preferably, the aperture and shape of the inner cavity of the multi-lumen tube can be further implemented by the step of setting the mandrel step Make individual adjustments. In practical applications, the multi-cavity tube manufacturing method provided by the invention can be applied to integrate and shape thermoplastic tube bodies of different materials, colors and sizes into one body, and customize the multi-lumen tube according to different requirements. Moreover, the equipment used in the manufacture does not need to be replaced and adjusted due to the difference in the number of lumens of the multi-lumen tube and the size of the lumen, which can effectively reduce the equipment cost.

The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described by the following examples and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a multi-lumen tube according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and the embodiment of the first embodiment of the present invention is made in conjunction with Figs. 3 to 7. described as follows.

First, as shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of thermoplastic tubes 1 are provided, and these thermoplastic tubes 1 are juxtaposed to each other as a cluster tube (step 101). The thermoplastic pipe body 1 is also a thermoplastic pipe body, and materials such as PVC, PP, PE, PA, TPU, TPE, PEBAX, PTFE, FEP, etc. can be used as the thermoplastic pipe body 1. Furthermore, the diameters of the respective thermoplastic tubes 1 may be the same or different from each other. However, in general, in the case where the respective thermoplastic tubes 1 are of the same diameter and the same material, the treatment effect of the subsequent steps is better. In addition, in order to manufacture a multi-lumen tube with a small diameter or a thick wall thickness, the structure of the thermoplastic tube 1 used is preferably a single lumen tube, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the thermoplastic tube Body 1 can also be a multi-lumen tube.

Next, as shown in Fig. 4, the cluster tube is covered with a thermoplastic layer 2 to form a coated cluster tube (step 102). The thermoplastic layer 2 is made of a thermoplastic material. In this embodiment, the thermoplastic layer 2 is in particular made of a heat shrinkable material which is a material which shrinks when heated to a certain temperature. In this embodiment, the thermoplastic layer 2 is a tubular structure (ie, a thermoplastic sleeve) in which the cluster tube is placed and heated. The plastic layer 2 is coated. Of course, the thermoplastic layer 2 can also be a film structure (i.e., a thermoplastic film) which is wrapped by being placed around the outer surface of the cluster tube.

Preferably, as shown in Fig. 5, a mandrel 3 may be placed in the thermoplastic pipe body 1 before the subsequent heat treatment (step 103). It is to be noted that the order of this step is not limited to this, as long as it is performed before heating. That is, the mandrel 3 may be inserted into the thermoplastic pipe body 1 when the thermoplastic pipe body 1 is provided, or may be inserted into the thermoplastic pipe body 1 after the thermoplastic layer 2 is coated with the cluster pipe 3. . Since the mandrel 3 is heated during the subsequent manufacturing process and the mandrel 3 is removed from the thermoplastic pipe 1 after heating, the mandrel 3 is preferably made of a material having a certain heat resistance and not It will react with the thermoplastic pipe body 1 or bond.

Next, in the case where the thermoplastic layer 2 is made of a heat shrinkable material, as shown in Fig. 6, heating is performed on the coated cluster tube (step 104). Specifically, the coated cluster tube is heated by hot air by the hot air blower 4 to heat-shrink the thermoplastic layer 2 made of the heat shrinkable material. At this time, since the cluster tube is heated by the hot air blower 4 and the thermoplastic layer is pressed, the thermoplastic tube body 1 is deformed and combined with each other, thereby integrating and shaping. In this step, if the mandrel 3 is provided in the previous step, the case where the inner tube of the thermoplastic tube 1 is too small or completely closed due to excessive extrusion can be avoided during heating. occur. In addition, if there is special demand, the mandrel 3 of different sizes and shapes can be selected according to the required inner cavity.

As shown in Fig. 7, after the shaping is completed, the thermoplastic layer 2 and the mandrel 3 are removed (step 105), and a multi-lumen tube 5 integrally integrated into one body can be obtained. Of course, the invention is not limited thereto, and the thermoplastic layer 2 does not have to be removed or retained (as shown in Fig. 9).

Referring to FIG. 2, it is a flow chart showing a method for manufacturing a multi-lumen tube according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and please cooperate with the third, fourth, and eighth, And Fig. 9 shows an embodiment of the second embodiment of the present invention as follows.

The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the thermoplastic layer 2a can be made of any thermoplastic material in this embodiment, and after coating the cluster tube with the thermoplastic layer 2a, the pair is coated. The tube performs hot pressing (step 104a). Specifically, the coated cluster tube is heated and pressed by passing through a mold 6 having heat. In this embodiment, the mold 6 is a metal ring body having a diameter D1 smaller than the diameter D2 of the coated cluster tube. When the clad cluster tube passes through the mold 6, it is deformed by heat, and is integrally molded by being pressed by the inner wall of the mold 6. Preferably, a tensile force F is applied during hot pressing to longitudinally stretch the coated cluster tube to speed up production. Finally, a multi-lumen tube 5a integrated into one body can be obtained.

Since the aperture size of the mold 6 is fixed, in this embodiment, there is no concern that the coated cluster tube may be over-extrused, so that the mandrel 3 can be omitted in the thermoplastic tube body 1. step. Of course, it is also feasible to increase the step of penetrating the mandrel 3 before hot pressing.

According to the multi-cavity tube manufacturing method provided by the present invention, by integrating and shaping a plurality of thermoplastic tube bodies 1 together, it is possible to quickly and easily manufacture a multi-lumen tube satisfying the requirements of small tube diameter or precision tube wall thickness. Preferably, the aperture and shape of the inner cavity of the multi-lumen tube can be further adjusted individually by the step of providing the mandrel 3. In practical applications, the multi-cavity tube manufacturing method provided by the invention can be applied to integrate and shape thermoplastic tube bodies of different materials, colors and sizes into one body, and customize the multi-lumen tube according to different requirements. Moreover, the equipment used in the manufacture does not need to be replaced and adjusted due to the difference in the number of lumens of the multi-lumen tube and the size of the lumen, which can effectively reduce the equipment cost.

It can be seen from the above embodiments that the multi-cavity tube manufacturing provided by the present invention The method has the industrial use value, so the invention has already met the requirements of the patent. The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make other various improvements according to the above description, but these changes still belong to the inventive spirit of the present invention and the following definitions. In the scope of patents.

1‧‧‧ thermoplastic tube

2‧‧‧ thermoplastic layer

2a‧‧‧ thermoplastic layer

3‧‧‧ mandrel

4‧‧‧Hot air blower

5‧‧‧Multi-lumen tube

5a‧‧‧Multi-lumen tube

6‧‧‧Mold

D1‧‧‧ aperture

D2‧‧‧ pipe diameter

1 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing a multi-lumen tube according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of manufacturing a multi-lumen tube according to a second embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram showing a cluster tube; a fourth diagram showing a schematic view of a coated cluster; a fifth diagram showing a coated cluster tube with a mandrel; and a sixth figure showing a mandrel with a mandrel Schematic diagram of a coated cluster tube in a heat treatment; FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a multi-lumen tube; FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a coated cluster tube in a hot press treatment; and FIG. 9 shows another multi-lumen tube Schematic diagram.

Claims (6)

A multi-lumen tube manufacturing method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of thermoplastic tubes, wherein a mandrel is placed in the thermoplastic tube, the thermoplastic tubes being juxtaposed as a cluster tube; (b Covering the cluster tube with a thermoplastic layer to form a coated cluster tube; (c) heating and simultaneously pressing the coated cluster tube to integrally shape the cluster tube covered by the thermoplastic layer a multi-lumen tube; and (d) removing the thermoplastic layer, wherein in step (c), the thermoplastic layer is made of a heat shrinkable material, the coated cluster tube being heated by the cluster The tube is simultaneously squeezed by the heat shrinkage of the thermoplastic layer, or in step (c), the coated cluster tube is heated and simultaneously extruded by passing through a hot mold. The multi-lumen tube manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (a), the thermoplastic tube systems have the same or different tube diameters. The multi-lumen tube manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (a), the thermoplastic tube system is a single lumen tube. The multi-cavity tube manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (b), the thermoplastic layer is a tube structure. The multi-cavity tube manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (c), when the coated cluster tube is heated and pressed at the same time by passing through the mold, the mold system is As a ring body, the pore size of the ring body is smaller than the diameter of the coated cluster tube. The multi-cavity tube manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step (c), when the coated cluster tube is heated and pressed at the same time by passing through the mold, the longitudinal direction is further included. The coated cluster tube is stretched.