ES2633745B1 - Mold for manufacturing by molding of special condoms and manufacturing procedure using said mold - Google Patents

Abstract

A mold made of glass, glass or metal for the manufacture of special condoms by molding, said mold being configured as a non-straight generatrix revolution body, and a method of manufacturing special condoms by molding using said mold.

Description

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description

Mold for manufacturing by molding special condoms and manufacturing process that uses said mold.

Object

The object of the present invention is in the field of molding manufacturing technique, and it refers to a mold for continuous manufacture of special condoms by molding and to a method of manufacturing special condoms by molding using said mold.

Background of the invention

Molds and processes for the manufacture of plastic or natural materials of condoms by molding are known in the art, in which a rigid mold is used which is immersed in a bath of the appropriate material to achieve a thin thickness preservative after cooling. and generally uniform. The shapes of the condoms manufactured are generally cylindrical in their entire length and have a first closed end in the form of a spherical partial cap finished off by an area of smaller diameter also in the form of a small cap, and a second open opposite end with a reinforced edge.

These procedures generally use straight generatrix cylindrical molds with a shaped end to achieve the second closed end of the aforementioned condom.

However, when it is desired to manufacture a condom whose external surface is not cylindrical of straight generatrix but is a surface of revolution provided with locally curved areas to adapt in some way to the penis, the current procedures known in the art have the disadvantage that the plastic or natural material, in particular the latex, does not uniformly cover the rigid mold during the bath, thus giving rise to non-uniform thicknesses and weaker areas of the condom that can lead to unwanted tears. The previous drawback is aggravated when the mold to be used reproduces more precisely the shape of the penis, which must have a marked throttling zone corresponding to the area between the glans and the rest of the penis; in this case, the material is generally deposited differently in the throttle zone and the generally straight cylindrical cylindrical area of the rest of the mold. The more pronounced the shape of the throttling, the greater the difference between the thicknesses of the material deposited in the different areas of the mold, and the greater the likelihood of low thickness deposits occurring at points located in the throttling zone.

The above drawbacks are remedied by the mold and the process of the invention, the characteristics of which are claimed in the appended claims.

Description of the invention

The invention comprises a mold for manufacturing condoms by molding and a method of manufacturing condoms by molding using said mold.

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I. Mold

The mold of the invention is specially designed for the manufacture by molding of condoms whose external surface is not cylindrical of straight generatrix but is a surface of revolution with a throttling zone corresponding to the groove area of the penis. Therefore, the mold of the invention is configured as a body of revolution that presents, along its longitudinal axis of symmetry, four main areas:

- a first straight cylindrical zone with an end cylindrical projection that joins said first zone by means of an annular curved surface in agreement, the approximate length of this first zone reaching three quarters of the total mold length;

- a second annular zone of strangulation of a curved generatrix;

- a third straight cylindrical zone whose length reaches a maximum of one tenth of the length of the first zone; Y

- a fourth zone of revolution of a curved generatrix that forms the end of the mold opposite to the cylindrical end of the first mentioned zone.

The mold of the invention aims to overcome the inconvenience of low thickness deposits at points located in the throttling zone during the manufacture of special condoms by molding. For this, the inventor has carried out multiple tests with molds with varying dimensions, especially in the throttling zone, and using molding procedures varying various stages thereof.

Although variations in the stages of the molding process obviously have effects on the deposited latex thicknesses, the inventor has been able to verify that it is mainly the configuration of the second annular throttling zone and the proportions between the dimensions thereof that has a decisive effect on the technical quality of the deposit. The generatrix of the mold in this second annular zone of throttling must obviously have a continuous succession of curved lines, thus avoiding, in the first place, possible angles that would arise if straight lines were used and consequently possible areas of sudden changes of direction that would give rise to irregular deposits of molding material; said continuous succession of curved lines must, for the same reason above, avoid very tight local curvatures.

The inventor has found, on the other hand, that there are proportions between the specific curvatures of the different parts of the second annular throttling zone, that is, between the convex and concave curvatures of successive sections of the mold of the mold in the second annular zone. of strangulation. This generatrix, which is straight in the first cylindrical zone of the mold to the throttling zone, enters said zone by means of a first convex curved section that brings said generatrix closer to the axis of the mold; said first convex curved section links without continuity solution with a second concave curved section that forms the deepest area of the throttle, that is, the closest to the axis of the mold, and said second concave curved section links in turn without continuity solution with a third convex curved section, whereby the generatrix moves away in a smooth transition from the axis of the mold until it links with the straight section of the generatrix of the third cylindrical zone of the mold.

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According to the invention, the first convex curved section, the second concave curved section and the third convex curved section can have any curved path. For simplicity of construction, preferably the three curves are arcs of circumference; also for simplicity, the two convex curved sections are preferably circumferential arcs with identical radii.

According to the invention, the radii of the first convex curved section and the third convex curved section must be between a minimum of 8 mm and a maximum of 12 mm. The radius of the second concave curved section must be between a minimum of 2 mm and a maximum of 4 mm. For correct efficiency, the ratio of the radius of the first convex curved section (and also of the third convex curved section) to the radius of the second concave curved section must have a value between 3 and 5.

The mold of the invention can be made of metal, glass or glass and is preferably hollow. Other materials are also allowed that do not undergo significant dilation or contraction, and that due to the effect of heat or cooling do not suffer any deterioration of relevance.

Multiple tests carried out with molds with the indicated dimensions have shown that the mold of the invention is coated evenly during the latex bath, except in the second annular zone of throttling, thus giving rise to thicknesses that prevent unwanted breakage of condoms. In this second annular zone of throttling a kind of ring is generated in the body of the condom, thicker than the rest of the condom, whose purpose is the coupling of the condom to the glans, with the effects of:

- increase the pressure on the penis in erection to allow greater rigidity,

- generate the vacuum, to prevent the loss of the condom while the penis is in erection,

- decrease the chances of condom loss when erection is lost.

II. Mold Manufacturing Procedure

The condom manufacturing process using the mold of the invention is carried out in an automated installation, in which a plurality of molds are positioned on a continuous conveyor belt that moves in a closed loop. In its movement, the tape crosses the following areas

Zone 1: Start. Cleaning molds with soap and water, air drying.

Zone 2: Bathrooms, with the possibility of 3 bathrooms in latex

Zone 3: Semicircular, rotation with mold rotation.

Zone 4: Vulcanized.

Zone 5: Quality control.

Zone 6: Unmold.

Zone 7: Semicircular, turn to return to zone 1 start.

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The molds are placed on the belt by means of supports that facilitate the disassembly and replacement of molds, each support consisting essentially of a serrated cylindrical head provided at the opposite end to said dentate of a concentric cylindrical pin with the head, and some tabs or hook elements.

There may be a plurality of tapes, this is manufacturing chains. The number of molds for each tape depends on the total length of the circuit.

The speed of movement of the belt is a variable that, in each case, may have different values depending on the thickness that the finished condom should have, since the thickness of the baths in Zone 2 and the vulcanizing time will depend on said thickness. In Zone 4. Therefore, the total process time will depend on the number of bathrooms, in addition to the quality of the latex and the vulcanization temperature.

The cleaning that takes place in Zone 1 can be done in a soap and water bath or other cleaning compound that does not affect the latex, with the bath liquid at a temperature between 55o and 65qC. Alternatively, the cleaning of the molds can be done by direct spraying with the indicated cleaning liquid. The subsequent drying is carried out by pressurized air, preferably in a closed or semi-closed compartment.

In Zone 2, the molds are introduced in a liquid latex bath. The molds, inside the bathroom, are placed with their shafts in an upright position. In the case where they must go through additional baths in order that the condoms produced have a greater thickness, the molds are rotated 90o by interaction of the teeth of the head of the support of each mold, which is in motion with the tape, with a fixed rack segment located between every two consecutive bathrooms. In this way, the molds are upright inside the bathroom and horizontally between consecutive baths to reduce the loss of latex deposited by gravity.

At this time, all the necessary latex has already been deposited but its still semi-liquid state can result in the loss of part of the deposited material. The tape with the molds then enters the semicircular Zone 3 in which the tape makes a 180o turn. While this rotation of the tape is carried out with the molds, they are rotated around their longitudinal axis so that the latex does not accumulate in the lower part of the molds and thus help to achieve a uniform thickness of the latex deposit on them . The mechanism to achieve this rotation can be variable: for example, the sprockets of the sprocket support heads can be provided, which will engage during the 180 ° rotation of the belt with zipper segments formed in 180 ° arcs ( maximum) that are in fixed positions with respect to the movement of the belt.

In zone 4 the vulcanization of condoms is performed, whose operating parameters are a function of the quality of the latex. This operation is performed in an open linear oven, to allow the entry and exit of the molds.

In Zone 5, the quality control of condoms is performed when metal molds are used, consisting of applying electric shocks to the molds, checking if an external electrostatic detector is activated, in such a way that if activated, it indicates that the condom has Some pore and therefore is not suitable, and requires its removal. In the case where the mold is made of glass, the quality control is carried out after the demoulding, requiring in this case the unwinding of the condom for washing, drying and lubricating, before packing it. This demoulding takes place in Zone 6 immediately after:

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In Zone 6 of demolding, rotating rollers, which are fixed in the chain and do not move with the belt, make lateral contact with the molds having their longitudinal axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of the molds. The rollers rotate driven by a specific motor or by a derivation of the motor that drives the belt. These rollers have an endless linear screw configuration that, when in contact with the mold, cause the condom to wind up to facilitate the release. This demoulding is not completely completed, and therefore the condom does not come off completely, due to this function of the rotating rollers since the condom partially rolled up to the area of the mold choke ring, the winding stops due to the choke setting. For this reason, nozzles are provided in the process of the invention for injecting a pressurized air blow directed specifically at the mold throttling area to push the condom out of it completely.

Finally, the tape reaches the semicircular Zone 7, whose configuration is similar to that of Zone 3 described above, to reach Zone 1 again and start the process again.

Brief description of the drawings

The described invention will be more readily understood from the description of a preferred embodiment with the aid of the attached drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 is an elevation view of the mold of the invention; Y

- Figure la is an enlarged detail of the throttling area of the mold as indicated in Figure 1.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

Figure 1 shows an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the mold of the invention and an enlarged detail of the throttling zone of said mold. This mold is specially designed for manufacturing by condom molding whose external surface is not cylindrical of straight generatrix but is a surface of revolution with a throttling zone corresponding to the groove area of the penis.

In Fig. 1 it can be seen that, in this preferred embodiment, the mold of the invention, which is made of hollow glass and has an outer surface of revolution, has four main areas:

- a first straight cylindrical zone with an end cylindrical projection that joins said first zone by means of an annular curved surface accordingly, the length of this first zone being about 250 mm;

- a second annular zone of strangulation of a curved generatrix, whose enlarged detail is shown in Fig. la;

- a third straight cylindrical zone whose length reaches is about 20 mm; Y

- a fourth zone of revolution of a curved generatrix that forms the end of the mold opposite to the cylindrical end of the first mentioned zone.

The generatrix of the mold in the second annular zone of throttling presents a continuous succession of curved lines, avoiding possible angles that would arise if straight lines were used and possible areas of abrupt changes of direction and very tight local curvatures.

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This generatrix, which is straight in the first cylindrical zone of the mold to the throttling zone (see Fig. La), enters said throttling zone by means of a first convex curve of circumferential tracing with radius R1 which approaches said generatrix to the axis of the mold ; said convex curve links without a continuity solution with a concave curve of circumferential tracing with radius R2 that forms the deepest zone of the throttle, that is, the closest to the axis of the mold, and said concave curve links in turn without solution of continuity with a second convex curve of circumferential tracing with radius R3, whereby the generatrix moves away in a smooth transition from the axis of the mold until it links with the straight section of the generatrix of the third cylindrical zone of the mold.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the radii R1 of the first convex curve and R3 of the second convex curve are 10 mm. The radius of the concave curve is 2.2 mm.

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Once the invention has been described, as well as a preferred embodiment of the mold, it only remains to indicate that modifications can be made to it without altering the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims.

Claims (3)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty claims 1. A mold made of glass, glass or metal for the manufacture of condoms by latex bath molding, characterized in that said mold is configured as a body of revolution that has, along a longitudinal axis of symmetry, four main areas: a) a first straight cylindrical zone with an end cylindrical projection that joins said first cylindrical zone by means of an annular curved surface in agreement, the approximate length of this first zone reaching about three quarters of the total mold length; b) a second annular throttling zone in which the body of revolution constituting the mold has a curved generatrix consisting of a first convex curved section that brings said generatrix closer to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the mold, said first convex curved section linking without continuity solution with a second concave curved section that forms the deepest area of said strangulation, that is, the closest to the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the mold, and said second concave curved section linking in turn without continuity solution with a third section curved convex, so that the generatrix moves away in a smooth transition from the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the mold until it links with a straight section of generatrix of a third cylindrical area of the mold; c) a third straight cylindrical zone whose length reaches a maximum of one tenth of the length of the first straight cylindrical zone; Y d) a fourth zone in which the body of revolution constituting the mold has a curved generatrix, said fourth zone forming an end of the mold opposite the cylindrical end of the first straight cylindrical zone, wherein said first, second and third curved sections of said second annular throttling zone may have any curved path. 2. The mold of claim 1, characterized in that said first, second and third curved sections of said second annular throttle zone are circumference arcs, said circumference arcs of said first and third convex curved sections have radii having a value between a minimum of 8 mm and a maximum of 12 mm, and said circumference arc of said second curved section concave a radius having a value between a minimum of 2 mm and a maximum of 4 mm, and wherein a The relationship between the radius of each of said first and third convex curved sections with the radius of said second concave curved section has a value between 3 and 5. 3. A method of manufacturing condoms by latex bath molding in an automated installation in which a plurality of molds is positioned on a continuous conveyor belt that moves in a closed loop, characterized in that the molds are placed on the belt by means of of supports that facilitate the disassembly and replacement of molds, each support consisting, essentially, of a cylindrical serrated head provided at the opposite end to said serration of a cylindrical cylindrical stud with the head, and tabs or engagement elements, and because In its movement, the belt runs through an ordered set of areas where 5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 a) in a Zone 1 the cleaning of the molds is carried out in a soap and water bath or other cleaning compound that does not affect the latex having the bath liquid at a temperature between 55o and 65qC, or by direct spraying of the molds with the water and soap cleaning compound chosen, the molds being subsequently dried by pressurized air, preferably in a closed or semi-closed compartment; b) in a Zone 2 the molds are introduced in at least one liquid latex bath, the molds being placed inside the bath with their axes in an upright position and, when more than one bath is used, the molds are rotated 90o per interaction of the teeth of the head of the support of each mold with a fixed segment of zipper located between two consecutive baths; c) in a Zone 3 the tape with the molds describes a 180 ° rotation during which the molds are rotated with respect to their longitudinal axes with rotation of the molds. While this rotation of the belt is being carried out with the molds, these are rotated around their longitudinal axes by means of a mechanism by which cogwheels arranged in the support heads engage during the 180 ° rotation of the belt with segments of zipper formed in arcs of 180o maximum that are in fixed positions with respect to the movement of the belt; d) in a Zone 4 the vulcanizing of the condoms is performed with variable operating parameters depending on the quality of the latex, this vulcanizing being performed in an open linear oven to allow the entry and exit of the molds; e) in a Zone 5 the quality control of the condoms is performed when metal molds are used by applying electric shocks to the molds and performing an electrostatic control; f) in a Zone 6, the release of the condoms is carried out by means of fixed rotating rollers that do not move with the belt and make lateral contact with the molds having their longitudinal axes parallel to the longitudinal axes of the molds, said molds being said rollers driven by a specific motor or bypass of the motor that drives the belt, and said rollers having a configuration of endless linear screws that contact the molds causing the winding of the condoms until they reach the ring of throttling of the mold, where the winding stops, at which time fixed nozzles inject air under pressure specifically directed to the throttling area of the mold to push the condom out of it completely; g) in a Zone 7 the tape with the molds describes a 180o turn to return to Zone 1 and start the process again.