Claims
- 1. A method for making a tubular member having a continuous and uninterrupted cured elastomeric resin coating on one of two opposed surfaces of the tubular member comprising:
forming a continuous vertically extending uninterrupted tubular layer of uncured elastomeric resin; drawing the layer of resin against one of said surfaces of the tubular member to be coated by applying suction below atmospheric pressure between the resin layer and the said one surface of the tubular member to which the resin layer is to be applied while continuously moving the tubular member relative to the continuously formed resin layer with the tubular member generally vertically oriented and in generally coaxial relationship with the tubular layer of the elastomeric resin until said one surface is coated with said uncured resin layer and said layer of uncured resin is adhered to said one surface; and curing said elastomeric resin while it is adhered to the one surface of the tubular member.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said tubular member consists of a material that is porous, comprising drawing the tubular layer of uncured elastomeric resin against the one surface to be coated by applying sub-atmospheric pressure to the surface of said tubular member opposed to the surface to be coated by the tubular layer of uncured elastomeric resin to thereby create a sub-atmospheric pressure condition across the porous material of the tubular member and between the tubular member and the uncured layer of elastomeric resin.
- 3. The method according to claim 2, including drawing said uncured elastomeric resin layer at least partly into the pores of the porous material of said tubular member during said drawing step to thereby further adhere the uncured elastomeric resin layer to the one surface of the tubular member.
- 4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, including selecting an elasticized fabric as the material forming said tubular member.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, including selected a silicone resin as said uncured elastomeric resin layer.
- 6. The method according to claim 2 or 3, including selecting an elasticized fabric material for use as the material of said tubular member.
- 7. A tubular member having a continuous and uninterrupted cured elastomeric resin layer adhered to one of the opposed surfaces of the tubular member made by the process according to any one of claims 1-6.
- 8. A composite tubular member comprising a continuous length of a tubular member formed of porous material coated on one side with a continuous uninterrupted elastomeric resin layer that extends only partly into the pores of the porous material.
- 9. A composite tubular member as claimed in claim 8, wherein the resin layer is silicone.
- 10. A composite tubular member comprising a continuous length of a tubular member formed of an elasticized porous fabric coated on one side with a continuous uninterrupted layer of cured elastomeric resin that extends only partly into the pores of the fabric.
- 11. A resin coated tubular member as claimed in claim 10, wherein said elasticized fabric is a tubular knit material.
- 12. A process for forming a length of a continuous tubular member with an uninterrupted continuous layer of elastomeric resin covering and adhered to one of two opposing sides thereof, comprising:
continuously feeding a tubular member in a generally longitudinal and vertically downward direction relative to and through a coating zone maintained at a sub-atmospheric pressure; while carrying out said feeding step, applying and adhering a continuous, uninterrupted tubular uncured elastomeric resin layer to said one side of said tubular member within said coating zone by applying sub-atmospheric pressure between said elastomeric resin layer and said one side of said tubular member; and curing said elastomeric resin while it is adhered to said one side of said tubular member.
- 13. The process as claimed in claim 12, wherein said tubular member is formed of an air permeable material having interstices, further comprising supplying sub-atmospheric pressure between said elastomeric resin layer and said one side of said tubular member by exposing the opposed side of said tubular member to said sub-atmospheric pressure and communicating the sub-atmospheric pressure to the side of the tubular member to be coated via interstices of the air permeable member.
- 14. The process as claimed in claim 12, including selecting an air permeable material having interstices as the material constituting the tubular member, and further drawing the uncured elastomeric resin layer at least partly into the interstices of the air permeable material on said one side of the tubular member by applying a sub-atmospheric pressure to the opposed side of the tubular member and communicating the sub-atmospheric pressure to the uncured elastomeric resin layer via the interstices after the uncured elastomeric resin layer has been adhered to one side of the tubular member.
- 15. The process as claimed in claim 12, 13 or 14, including the step of selecting an elasticized fabric as the material constituting the tubular member, and radially distending and longitudinally tensioning the tubular member during the curing step.
- 16. Apparatus for applying a continuous uninterrupted resin layer on one surface of a continuous tubular substrate, comprising:
a coating zone including a continuous resin casting device arranged to dispense a continuous, uninterrupted, tubular coating material layer of uncured elastomeric resin into the coating zone; said coating zone including a sub-atmospheric chamber arranged so as to provide a sub-atmospheric pressure within the chamber to which said coating material layer is subjected during operation of the apparatus; a heating zone located adjacent said coating zone, said heating zone including a heater device; and a feed mechanism arranged to engage and feed a continuous tubular substrate along a longitudinal direction of the substrate through said sub-atmospheric chamber and coating zone, and said heating zone in the recited order.
- 17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, including a vertically extending rod member;
said rod member extending centrally through said sub-atmospheric chamber, coating zone and heating zone in the recited order; said rod member arranged to support a tubular substrate to be coated along a length of said rod member extending through said sub-atmospheric chamber, coating zone and heating zone.
- 18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17, said rod member including a conduit having a section terminating in said sub-atmospheric chamber and a device for supplying sub-atmospheric pressure to said conduit.
- 19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 or 18, said rod member including a conduit having a section terminating at at least one suction orifice located at an external area of said rod between the coating zone and the heating zone.
- 20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17, 18 or 19, including longitudinally spaced friction washer elements disposed along said rod member, said washers comprising annular members each having an outside diameter related to a desired inside diameter of a tubular member to be coated, at least one of said washer elements disposed in said heater.
- 21. Apparatus as claimed in one of claim 16-20, said feed mechanism comprising drive rollers disposed and arranged to frictionally engage the tubular member and to advance the tubular member relative to and along said rod member through said coating zone and heater.
- 22. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, said resin casting device including a heating device arranged so as to provide heating energy to a resin material supplied to the casting device.
- 23. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16, said resin coating device including a cooling device arranged so as to provide cooling energy to a resin material supplied to the casting device.
- 24. A method for molding a distal end cap on an open end of a length of a pre-formed tubular sleeve member formed of an elasticized fabric with a porous tubular reinforcement matrix integrated with said end cap, comprising the steps:
providing a length of a pre-formed tubular sleeve member formed of elasticized fabric and having an open end; securing a length of a tubular reinforcement matrix element formed of interlocked fibers that are arranged so the matrix member is porous and strongly resists elongation in the sleeve longitudinal direction but is readily stretchable in transverse radial directions to an open end of the tubular sleeve member so the sleeve member and matrix element extend generally coaxially; twisting the matrix element about its central axis adjacent the open end of the sleeve member to effectively close the open end of the sleeve member by the twisted matrix element; providing a female mold having a female mold cavity dimensioned and configured to correspond with a desired outer contour of a distal end cap to be joined to the sleeve member; placing a predetermined quantity of an uncured end cap elastomeric resin in the female mold cavity; providing a male mold element dimensioned and configured to cooperate with the female mold so that, when the male mold element located in molding relationship with the female mold, a closed mold cavity defining the external contour of a distal end cap is formed; locating the portion of the matrix element extending beyond the twisted portion inside the adjacent open end of the tubular sleeve; locating the male mold element inside the matrix sleeve portion located inside the tubular sleeve; advancing the male mold element, matrix sleeve and tubular sleeve into molding relationship with the female mold so that the twisted portion of the matrix element extends within the closed mold cavity along with the uncured distal end cap resin so that the resin penetrates the porous material of the matrix element and closes the open end of the sleeve member; curing the resin in the mold cavity; and removing the molded distal end cap and reinforcement matrix from the mold cavity, wherein the former open end of the sleeve member is closed by the molded distal end cap and the reinforcement matrix is located concentrically inside the end area of the sleeve adjacent the distal end cap.
- 25. The method as claimed in claim 24, said tubular sleeve including an inner wall, and including providing the inner wall of said tubular sleeve with a continuous, uninterrupted elastomeric resin film coating before molding said distal end cap to the open end of the sleeve member.
- 26. The method as claimed in claim 24, including placing a rigid umbrella prosthetic connector element in said female mold cavity with said predetermined quantity of uncured distal end cap resin and curing the distal end cap with the connector element embedded in the distal end cap resin.
- 27. A preform for a prosthetic suspension sleeve comprising:
a tubular sleeve comprising an elasticized fabric, said tubular sleeve including an open end; a distal end cap molded on and closing the open end of the tubular sleeve; a tubular matrix reinforcement element secured coaxially to the open end of the sleeve member and having a portion embedded in the distal end cap and a portion extending coaxially within the open end area of the sleeve member.
- 28. A preform as claimed in claim 27, including a prosthetic umbrella connector element embedded in the distal end cap.
- 29. A preform as claimed in claim 27, said sleeve member having an inner wall, and including a continuous, uninterrupted cured elastomeric resin film coating on the inside wall surface of said sleeve member.
- 30. A preform as claimed in claim 29, wherein said film coating and distal end cap comprise silicone elastomer material.
- 31. A preform as claimed in claim 27, wherein said matrix reinforcement element is circular knit fabric material selected from the group consisting of glass fiber and Nylon.
- 32. A process for forming a sleeve member suitable for prosthetic applications, said sleeve members comprising a tubular elasticized fabric element having a distal end cap attached to and closing one end of the sleeve element, comprising the steps of:
placing a predetermined quantity of uncured elastomeric resin intended to form said cured elastomer layer in the interior of the closed end of the sleeve member; placing the sleeve member and uncured elastomer resin in a female molding die cavity having an interior contour corresponding to the desired outer contour of said sleeve member; placing a male mold die member having an outer contour corresponding with the desired inner contour of the sleeve member within the sleeve member and advancing the male mold die member into the sleeve member and female mold die cavity until it reaches a molding position relative to the female mold die cavity, at which position a closed die cavity between the male mold die member and the female mold die cavity is defined, said sleeve is located in the mold cavity adjacent inner walls female mold die and the uncured elastomer resin occupies the remainder of the closed die cavity, said resin having been distributed throughout the closed die cavity and against the interior of the sleeve member by movement of the male mold die member relative to the female mold die cavity and the uncured resin; said predetermined quantity of uncured elastomer resin being calculated to fill said closed die cavity; curing the elastomer resin in the closed die cavity in bonded relationship with the interior of the sleeve member; withdrawing the male mold die member, tubular sleeve member, distal end cap and cured elastomer layer from the female mold die cavity.
- 33. The process as claimed in claim 32, including securing a tubular reinforcement matrix member to the closed end of said sleeve member so that the matrix member extends loosely within the sleeve member adjacent the interior surface a of said sleeve member; said matrix member comprising interlocked fibers that are arranged so that the matrix member is porous and strongly resists elongation along the sleeve longitudinal direction but is readily stretchable in the transverse radial direction; and the step placing said predetermined quantity of uncured elastomer resin in the sleeve member includes placing said quantity within the matrix member, whereby, upon distribution of said uncured elastomer resin within the closed die cavity by the movement of the male die member, said matrix member is embedded in the uncured elastomer resin material and is integrated with the elastomer resin upon curing thereof.
- 34. The process as claimed in claim 32, including drawing said tubular sleeve member against the interior wall of the female mold die cavity during advancement of the male mold die member into the female mold die cavity by using suction of air from the area between the tubular sleeve and the female die cavity interior walls.
- 35. The process as claimed in claim 32, including covering the interior surface of said tubular sleeve member with a cured, continuous, uninterrupted elastomeric resin layer prior to placing said predetermined quantity of uncured elastomer resin in said sleeve member, whereby said cured elastomeric resin layer seals the interior surface of said elasticized fabric constituting said sleeve member prior to the placement of the sleeve member in the female molding die cavity, and whereby said uncured elastomer resin filling said die cavity is cured in bonded relationship with said continuous elastomeric resin layer.
- 36. The process as claimed in claim 32, including selecting silicone resin as the uncured elastomer resin.
- 37. The process as claimed in claim 35, including selecting silicone resins for said continuous layer of cured elastomer extending over the interior of said sleeve member and for said uncured elastomer resin placed in the interior of the closed end of the sleeve member.
- 38. A preform for a prosthetic suspension sleeve comprising:
a tubular sleeve comprising elasticized fabric; iva tubular matrix reinforcement element secured coaxially to the open end of the sleeve member, said matrix reinforcement element comprising interlocked fibers that are arranged so that the matrix reinforcement element is porous and strongly resists elongation in the sleeve longitudinal direction but is readily elastically stretchable in transverse radial directions; said tubular sleeve having an inner wall coated with an uninterrupted, continuous elastomeric layer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION
[0001] The benefit of Provisional application Ser. No. 60/189,478 filed Mar. 15, 2000 is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)(1).
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60189478 |
Mar 2000 |
US |