JP2004156668A - Silicone hose - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To firmly fix indications on the surface of a silicone hose. <P>SOLUTION: An ink 2 made from a silicone rubber based material and colors is printed on a surface 1 of the hose. Upon forming an indication portion 3 with thermo-bridge-building, silicone rubber on the surface 1 of the hose and the silicone rubber based material in the ink 2 are combined with bridge-building connection. Consequently, the ink 2 is not easily removed even though the indication portion 3 is rubbed, and the ink 2 does not elute so that the ink withstands alcohol, and oils and fats. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a food or medical silicone hose (including a silicone tube) used as a pipe of a food machine including a cup-type vending machine, a dispenser, or the like or a pipe of a medical device.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a silicone hose whose main component is formed of silicone rubber.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this kind of silicone hose, there is one having a laminated structure based on silicone rubber (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In addition, a plurality of silicone hoses are connected to a food machine or a medical device in a state where they are close to each other, and it is necessary to accurately perform piping without making a mistake.
By the way, even if ordinary solvent-based ink is printed on the surface of the silicone rubber, which is the main component of the silicone hose, the adhesiveness is poor and the solvent-based ink easily dissolves in alcohol and oils and fats, and something touches or rubs on it. Or they can be easily removed.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-141128 A (page 1, FIG. 1)
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a conventional silicone hose has poor adhesiveness even when printing with a normal solvent-based ink, and the solvent-based ink easily dissolves in alcohol or fats and oils. However, there is a problem that the product cannot be printed on the silicone hose because it may be mixed into the food being manufactured, and as a result, important information of the product such as a company name, a diameter size, a product name, and a lot number cannot be displayed.
Furthermore, since it is impossible to display each hose, when a plurality of silicone hoses are connected close to each other, there is a possibility that these hoses may be erroneously connected. In a medical setting, a patient's medical condition has suddenly changed and a medical error such as death has actually occurred.
In order to prevent such piping errors, if the identification display portion is printed with a normal solvent-based ink, there is a risk that the ink removed by contact may be mixed in and used in a medical site. There is.
[0005]
An object of the present invention described in claim 1 is to surely print a display on a hose surface.
According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the object of the invention of claim 1, even if the silicone hose H has low mechanical strength, it is prevented from being damaged by torsion and is erroneously connected even if the pipe is short. The purpose of this is to prevent the occurrence.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an ink 2 composed of a silicone rubber-based material and a pigment is printed on a hose surface 1 and thermally crosslinked to form a display portion 3. It is characterized by having done.
A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention further includes a configuration in which the display unit 3 is a line 3a extending linearly in the axial direction.
[0007]
[Action]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink 2 composed of a silicone rubber-based material and a pigment is printed on the hose surface 1 and is thermally crosslinked to form the display portion 3. The ink 2 is not easily removed even if the display portion 3 is rubbed, and the ink 2 is durable to alcohol and oils and does not elute.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, by connecting the ends of the hose so that the line 3a is straight in the axial direction, the optimum hose piping without twist can be obtained. In addition, even if the pipe is short, the line 3a extends in a straight line in the axial direction, so that it can be easily distinguished from other pipes.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a silicone hose H is formed by knitting a reinforcing yarn H2 such as a polyester or nylon knitted in a tubular shape as an intermediate layer on the outer periphery of an inner layer H1, and then laminating an outer layer H3. This shows a case where the ink 2 is printed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer layer H3, and the display section 3 extending linearly in the axial direction is printed.
[0009]
The display unit 3 prints an ink 2 made of a silicone rubber-based material such as dimethyl silicone resin and a pigment on the outer peripheral surface of the outer layer H3 of the silicone hose H, that is, the hose surface 1, and then heats the ink 2 to a predetermined temperature. And formed by thermal crosslinking for a set time.
[0010]
In the case of this embodiment, the silicone hose H immediately after molding is passed through a heating furnace (not shown) arranged in the middle of the hose molding path, and the atmosphere temperature is about 550 ° C. for about 2 minutes or more. Heating to achieve reliable thermal cross-linking, but is not limited to this. When the ambient temperature in the heating furnace is higher than about 550 ° C., the heating time can be shortened. If the ambient temperature is lower than about 550 ° C., it is necessary to lengthen the heating time.
[0011]
As a result, the silicone rubber on the hose surface 1 and the silicone rubber-based material in the ink 2 are cross-linked, and the ink 2 is not easily removed even if the display portion 3 is rubbed, and the ink 2 is resistant to alcohol and oils and fats. There is no elution.
As a result, the indication can be reliably printed on the hose surface 1.
[0012]
Further, in the case of the present embodiment, by connecting both ends of the silicone hose H to each other so that the line 3a is straight in the axial direction, an optimal hose without twist can be formed, and the piping can be shortened. Also, since the line 3a extends linearly in the axial direction, the line 3a can be easily distinguished from other pipes.
As a result, even if the silicone hose H has low mechanical strength, breakage due to torsion can be prevented, and there is no risk of erroneous piping even if the piping is short.
[0013]
In addition, although one line 3a extending linearly in the axial direction of the silicone hose H is formed as the display unit 3, the number, thickness and color of the line 3a are not limited to one type, and different lines are printed for each hose. Or, if necessary, characters such as a company name 3b or a diameter size 3c may be printed on the line 3a or at a position different from the line 3a as shown in the drawing, or the company may be replaced with the line 3a. Only characters such as the name 3b and the diameter size 3c may be printed.
[0014]
Furthermore, in the case of the illustrated example, the knitted reinforcing yarn H2 is spirally wound and woven at a predetermined angle with respect to the axial direction of the silicone hose H to knit and knit the hose. Although the rigidity of the hose against twisting is improved so that the entire hose is hardly crushed even if it is twisted, the hose is not limited to this and may be braided in parallel with the axial direction of the silicone hose H.
[0015]
On the other hand, FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
In this example, a plurality of lines 3a 'of different colors are formed linearly in the axial direction of the silicone hose H as the display section 3, and a remaining length scale 3d and a length scale 3e from the cutting start end are formed. Is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the characters such as "" and the mark 3f indicating the cutting position are printed for each unit length (for example, 1 m). This is the same as the embodiment described above.
Therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 can obtain the same operation and effect as the embodiment shown in FIG.
[0016]
In the above-described embodiment, the silicone hose H is formed by knitting, for example, a knitted reinforcing yarn H2 as an intermediate layer between the inner layer H1 and the outer layer H3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A single reinforcing thread may be wound in a spiral or lattice shape, or may have a single layer structure instead of such a laminated structure.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink 2 composed of a silicone rubber-based material and a pigment is printed on the hose surface 1 and thermally crosslinked to form the display section 3. The silicone rubber on the hose surface 1 and the silicone rubber-based material in the ink 2 are cross-linked, and the ink 2 is not easily removed even when the display portion 3 is rubbed, and the ink 2 is durable to alcohol and oils and fats. The label can be reliably printed on the hose surface 1 because it is not eluted.
Therefore, compared to the conventional inks which cannot be printed with ordinary solvent-based inks, it is possible to prevent the ink from being mixed into the food being manufactured, and to use silicone rubber-based materials and pigments in the ink which do not pose a problem in food hygiene. For example, even if the food is mistakenly mixed into the food being manufactured, the food is safe without harm and can be used with confidence in food machines.
Further, if a display portion having a different color or display is formed for each hose, identification becomes easy, piping errors can be drastically reduced, and medical errors caused by the errors can be prevented.
[0018]
The invention of claim 2 provides, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, by connecting both ends of the silicone hose H to each other so that the line 3a is straight in the axial direction, thereby providing an optimum hose without twist. Piping becomes possible, and even if the piping is short, the line 3a extends in a straight line in the axial direction, so it is easy to distinguish it from other piping. Therefore, even if the silicone hose H has low mechanical strength, damage due to torsion is prevented. It is possible to prevent erroneous piping even if the piping is short.
Therefore, the life of the silicone hose having poor torsional strength can be extended.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a silicone hose showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a silicone hose showing another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
H Silicone hose 1 Hose surface 2 Ink 3 Display 3a Line

Claims (2)

In a silicone hose whose main component is molded of silicone rubber,
A silicone hose, wherein an ink (2) comprising a silicone rubber-based material and a pigment is printed on the hose surface (1) and thermally crosslinked to form a display portion (3). The silicone hose according to claim 1, wherein the display part (3) is a line (3a) extending linearly in the axial direction.

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