JP3257882B2 - Resin tube tip processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing the end of a resin tube, and more particularly to an apparatus for processing the end of a thermoplastic resin tube into a hemispherical shape by high-frequency induction heating for manufacturing, for example, a catheter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 (b) shows an example of a resin tube used for manufacturing a catheter.

The resin tube (1) is made of a suitable thermoplastic resin such as, for example, soft vinyl chloride. tube
One end of (1) is closed and the other end is open, and the closed end is a hemispherical spherical portion (1a). Tube of Fig. 1 (b)
(1) is manufactured by processing the end of a material tube (1) having both ends open as shown in FIG. 1 (a).
A catheter is manufactured by forming a hole for liquid injection near the spherical portion (1a) of the tube (1) in FIG. 1 (b) and printing a scale on the surface.

[0004] Figure 1 with the tip processing apparatus by processing the tip of the material tube (1) of (a) to form a spherical portion (1a), the tube supporting the core rod tube outside is inserted core rod core rod drive for reciprocating, conducted mold having a tube insertion recess, the die mold heating device for heating by high-frequency induction heating, and examined shall have a mold cooling device for cooling the mold Was.

The processing of the distal end of the resin tube by such a processing apparatus is usually performed as follows.

[0006] First, a material tube having both ends opened is inserted into a core rod, a mold is heated by a heating device, and the core rod is moved by a core rod driving device. Insert into the recess of the mold. Then, the distal end of the tube is heated and deformed to conform to the shape of the concave portion, and a spherical portion is formed. When the spherical portion is formed, the heating is stopped, the mold is cooled by the cooling device, the core rod is moved by the core rod driving device, the tube is extracted from the mold, and the tube is extracted from the core rod. Then, the next material tube is inserted into the core rod, and the above operation is repeated.

[0007]

In such a tip processing apparatus as described above, the operation of extracting the tube whose end has been processed from the core rod and the operation of inserting the next tube into the core rod from which the tube has been extracted are performed manually. It takes place in the work, which takes a considerable amount of time. And since it is impossible to process while the tube is pulled out from the mandrel and the next tube is inserted, the time from the end of the tube processing to the start of the next processing is long, and the overall work efficiency is good. There was no problem.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a resin tube tip processing apparatus which requires only a short time from the end of processing of a tube to the start of processing of the next tube, and thus has high processing efficiency.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing a distal end of a resin tube, comprising: a tube supporting member provided with at least two tube mounting portions; An unheated tube supporting core rod into which a resin tube is inserted, a supporting member driving means for intermittently driving the tube supporting member to sequentially position each tube mounting portion at a predetermined processing position, and being positioned at the processing position. A mold having a tube insertion recess into which the tip of an unheated tube supported by the core rod is inserted so as to face the core rod,
Reciprocating drive means for relatively reciprocating the core rod and the die positioned at the processing position so that the distal end of the tube positioned at the processing position is inserted into the concave portion of the mold for a predetermined time, and the distal end of the tube is inserted into the concave portion. Heat the mold when inserted
To heat the tip of the tube and close it.
Mold heating means by high-frequency induction heating , and the mold heated by the heating means by the cooling fluid flowing through the mold
The tip of the clogged tube is cooled by cooling.
It is provided with a mold cooling means for disposing .

[0010]

When the core rod is positioned at the processing position, first, the mold is heated by the mold heating means. Then, the core rod and the mold are relatively moved by the reciprocating drive means, and the tip of the tube supported by the core rod is inserted into the concave part of the mold. Thereby, the distal end of the tube is heated and processed into a desired shape. When the end of the tube is processed, the heating is stopped and the mold is cooled by the mold cooling means. Then, the core rod and the mold are relatively moved, and the tube is extracted from the mold. During this time, the material tube is inserted into the core rod at the tube mounting portion at a position other than the processing position. When the processed tube is removed from the mold as described above, the tube support member is driven by the support member driving means, and the processed tube is moved to the position next to the processing position, and the next material is processed. The tube is positioned at the processing position. And at the processing position,
As described above, the processing of the distal end of the tube is performed. During this time, at a position other than the processing position, the tube whose end has been processed is extracted from the core rod, and the next material tube is inserted into the core rod as described above.

When only two tube mounting portions are provided on the tube support member, there is only one position other than the processing position. Therefore, at this one position, the processed tube is extracted and the next material tube is inserted. Is performed. When three or more tube mounting portions are provided on the tube support member, two or more positions other than the processing position are provided. In this case, the extraction of the processed tube and the insertion of the next material tube may be performed at one and the same position, or the extraction of the processed tube and the insertion of the next material tube at two different positions may be performed separately. May be performed.

In any case, while the processing of the distal end of the tube is performed at the processing position, the extraction of the processed tube and the insertion of the material tube are performed at other positions. As soon as is completed, the next tube can be moved to the processing position to perform the processing, and therefore, the time from the end of the processing to the start of the next processing is shortened.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the overall schematic structure of a resin tube tip processing apparatus. In the following description, the lower side of FIG. 2 is the front, the upper side is the rear, and the left and right when viewed from the front, that is, the left and right of FIGS.

This tip processing apparatus forms the spherical portion (1a) shown in FIG. 1 (b) by processing the tip of the material tube (1) shown in FIG. 1 (a). is there. The material tube (1) has a uniform inner and outer diameter with both ends opened. The material tube (1) is made, for example, by cutting a long tube into a certain length.

The tip processing device is a hollow rectangular parallelepiped base (10).
A pair of left and right turntables (tube support members) (11) are provided on a base (10), and a pair of front and rear dies (12) are provided between them.

The left and right turntables (11) have a symmetrical structure, and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The turntable (11) has a horizontal disk shape, and a vertical drive shaft (13) fixed to the center thereof extends through the upper wall of the base (10). A tube mounting portion (14) is provided at a position dividing the upper surface of the turntable (11) into four equal parts in the circumferential direction. A guide plate (15) extending horizontally in the radial direction is fixed to each tube mounting portion (14), and a horizontal plate-like slider (1
6) is mounted so that it can move horizontally in the radial direction. At the radial outer end of the guide plate (15), a guide block
(17) is provided. The guide block (17) has two guide holes (18) penetrating the guide block (17) in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the slider (16) at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction. The inner diameter of the guide hole (18) is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tube (1). On the radially outward surface of the slider (16), two tube supporting core rods (19) extending in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the slider (16) are provided with horizontal guide holes.
It is fixed at the same interval as (18). The core rod (19)
For example, it is made of stainless steel. As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the outer diameter of a relatively short portion at the tip of the core bar (19) is:
It is slightly larger than the other parts and slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the tube (1). The tip of the core rod (19) is formed in a hemispherical shape. The core rod (19) penetrates through the corresponding guide hole (18) of the guide block (17) with a gap, and extends radially outward from this. The tube (1) is inserted into the outside of the core rod (19). Although not shown, the slider (1
6) is urged radially inward by a suitable means such as a spring, and usually, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner end position where the core rod (19) protrudes about half from the guide block (17). Has stopped.

A turntable driving device (tube supporting member driving means) (20) using an electric motor, a bevel gear and the like is provided inside the base (10). This device (20)
The left and right turntables (11) are intermittently rotated by 90 degrees to position each of the tube mounting portions (14), that is, the core rod (19), in order at four fixed positions. Left turntable
(11) Turntable on the right, counterclockwise as viewed from above
(11) is rotated clockwise when viewed from above. The four positions are a tube handling position (A), a processing position (B), and two passage positions (C) and (D) in the order of rotation. The handling position (A) is the foremost position of the turntable (11). The machining position (B) is that the left and right turntables (11) are
This is the position closest to the left and right across (12). First
Is the rearmost position of the turntable (11). The second passage position (D) is a position where the left and right turntables (11) are farthest in the left-right direction. As will be described in detail later, at the handling position (A), the processed tube (1) is extracted and a new material tube (1) is inserted, and at the processing position (B), the spherical portion (1a) is removed. ) Is performed, and at the two passing positions (C) and (D), only the processed tube (1) passes.

The two dies (12) are mounted on a support (21) fixed to the center of the upper surface of the base (10) on a core rod (14) of each tube mounting part (14) of the turntable (11). It is fixed with the same front and rear spacing as that of 19). As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, each mold (12) has a substantially cylindrical shape extending horizontally in the left-right direction by using a suitable conductive material such as iron, nickel, stainless steel, copper alloy, or aluminum alloy. Is formed. The middle part of the length of the mold (12) is reduced in diameter in order to reduce the heat capacity.The induction coil (22) is wound around the outer circumference of the reduced diameter part, and the cooling pipe is mounted on the outer circumference of both ends.
(23) is wound. The coil (22) is formed, for example, by coating a surface of a copper pipe with a fluororesin (Teflon), and the inside of the copper pipe serves as a passage for cooling water. The cooling pipe (23) is made of, for example, stainless steel, and has an internal passage for cooling water. Mold
Tube insertion recesses (24) with circular cross-sections on both left and right end faces of (12)
Are formed. The concave portion (24) corresponds to the core bar (19) positioned at the processing position (B). The inner diameter of the concave portion (24) is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tube (1), and the bottom of the concave portion (24) is formed in a hemispherical shape corresponding to the spherical portion (1a) of the tube (1).

On the upper surface of the base (10), there are provided two frames (25) projecting above the turntable (11), respectively, and each frame (25) has a slider driving device ( Reciprocating drive means) (26) is provided.

The frame (25) directly above the turntable (11)
A moving member (28) that is moved in the left-right direction by the air cylinder (27) is provided at the portion. Most of the moving member (28) extends horizontally in the left-right direction, and the end (28a) on the mold (12) side extends obliquely upward. The moving member (28) is retracted by the air cylinder (27) so that only the mold side end (28a) protrudes from the frame (25) toward the mold (12). It can be reciprocated between the protruding position protruding to the side. A slider (16) is provided on the lower surface of the moving member (28) located just above the center of the turntable (11) when in the retreat position.
An engagement projection (29) projecting slightly downward from the upper surface of is formed integrally. When the moving member (28) is at the retracted position, the protrusion (29) is located at the center of the space formed between the inner ends of the four sliders (16) at the inner end positions, and each slider ( 16)
Slightly away from the inner edge of the At this time, the processing position (B)
The tip of the core rod (19) of the slider (16) is slightly away from the end face of the mold (12). When the moving member (28) moves to the advanced position, the projection (29) engages with the inner end of the slider (16) at the processing position (B), and the slider (16) moves together with the moving member (28). It is moved to the mold (12) side. And the moving member
When the (28) moves to the advanced position, the tip of the core rod (19) enters the concave portion (24) of the mold (12). As shown in detail in FIGS. 6 to 8, an elevating member (31) which is moved up and down by an air cylinder (30) is provided at the tip of the mold side end (28 a) of the moving member (28). On the lower surface of 31), there are provided two sets of air chucks (33) which are opened and closed by an appropriate opening / closing device (32) using an air cylinder or the like. When the moving member (28) is at the retreat position and the elevating member (31) is at the upper end position,
The chuck (33) is located at a position slightly closer to the mold (12) than the guide block (17) of the slider (16) at the processing position (B).
It is located just above the two core rods (19). Lifting member (31)
In the state where the moving member (28) is at the retreat position, the chuck (33) is moved up and down with the open state, the elevating member (31) is lowered to the lower end position, and the chuck (33) is closed. The portion of the tube (1) near the tip is gripped.

The coil (22) wound around the mold (12) is connected to a high-frequency generator (34), and these constitute a mold heating means.

The high frequency generator (34) is a nylon tube (3
It is connected to the cooling water circulation device (36) via 5), whereby the inside of the high frequency generator (34) is cooled. The cooling water circulation device (36) allows the cooling water to circulate through the cooling water passage in the coil (22) through the high frequency generator (34). The cooling pipe (23) wound around the mold (12) is connected to a cooling water circulation device (36) so that cooling water is circulated in the pipe (23). The cooling water passage in the coil (22), the cooling pipe (23), and the cooling water circulating device (36) constitute a mold cooling means.

The processing device also includes a turntable driving device (20), a slider driving device (26), a high-frequency generator (34)
Control device (37) for controlling the cooling water circulation device (36)
Is provided.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a state immediately after the turntable (11) is driven and stopped. At this time, the material rod (19) stopped at the processing position (B) is inserted and supported by the material tube (1) having both open ends, while the material tube (1) is stopped at the processing position (B). The spherical portion (1a) is formed as follows. That is, first, the chuck (33)
Is lowered to the lower end position in the open state, the chuck (33) is closed, and the tube (1) is gripped (see FIG. 7). During this time, a high-frequency current is supplied to the coil (22) by the high-frequency generator (34), and the mold (12) is heated. When the chuck (33) grips the tube (1) as described above, the moving member (28) of the slider driving device (26) moves to the advanced position. As a result, the slider positioned at the machining position (B)
(16) moves to the mold (12) side, and the tips of the two tubes (1) supported by the core rod (19) enter into the recesses (24) of the mold (12). The tip of the tube (1) inside the recess (24)
Pressed against the bottom of (24) and heated by the mold (12),
Deforms to conform to the shape of the recess (24), thereby
(1a) is formed (see FIG. 8). When the tip of the tube (1) is inserted into the concave portion (24) of the mold (12) and pressed against the bottom thereof, the tube (1) is gripped by the chuck (33). ) Is prevented from shrinking the tube (1) and the deflection of the core bar (19) is corrected. Bulb
When (1a) is formed, energization of the coil (22) is stopped, and the cooling water passage and the cooling pipe (23) of the coil (22) are kept for a certain period of time while the slider (16) is stopped. ), Cooling water is circulated to cool the mold (12) and the tip of the tube (1). When the cooling is completed, the moving member (28) returns to the retreat position. When the moving member (28) moves to the retreat position side,
The slider (16) at the processing position (B) also moves in the direction away from the mold (12) by the action of the above-mentioned spring and the like, and the moving member
When (28) returns to the retreat position, the processed tube (1) comes out of the mold (12).

When the turntable (11) is driven and stopped, the handling position (A) has two passing positions (C) after the spherical portion (1a) is formed at the processing position (B) as described above. )
The tube (1) passing through (D) is positioned. Then, while the tip is being processed at the processing position (B) as described above, the processed tube (1) is withdrawn from the core rod (19) at the handling position (A), and the core rod (19) is removed. (19)
Next, the next material tube (1) is inserted. This operation is performed manually.

When the processing of the tip ends, the turntable (11) is driven once and stops. This allows
At the processing position (B), the processed tube (1) moves to the first passage position (C), and the processed tube (1) at the first passage position (C) moves to the second passage position. Processed tubing moved to position (D) and at the second pass position (D)
(1) moves to the handling position (A), and the tube (1) inserted into the core rod (19) at the handling position (A) moves to the processing position (B). Then, in the same manner as described above, the processing of the tip is performed at the processing position (B), and the processed tube (1) is extracted and the next blank tube (1) is inserted at the processing position (A).

The above-described operation is repeated at regular intervals, whereby two turntables (11) and two turntables (11) are processed at the end of each of the two turntables (11). At that time, while the tip is being processed at the processing position (B), the processed tube (1) is extracted and the material tube (1) is inserted at the other handling position (A). Immediately after the processing at the processing position (B) is completed, the next material tube (1) can be moved to the processing position (B) to perform the processing. Therefore, the time from the end of processing to the start of the next processing is shortened, and the overall processing efficiency is improved.

The configuration of each part of the tube tip processing device is as follows.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be changed as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, one turntable (1
In (1), two tubes (1) are processed at a time, but one or three or more tubes can be processed at a time. Only one turntable (11) may be provided. In that case, the tube insertion recess need only be provided on one side of the mold. In the above embodiment,
At the handling position (A), both the extraction of the processed tube (1) and the insertion of the material tube (1) are performed, but the extraction of the processed tube (1) is performed at two passing positions (C) (D )
May be performed. In the above embodiment, the turntable (11) is provided with four tube mounting portions (14), but it is sufficient that the number is two or more. Tube mounting part is 2
When only one tube is provided, the tube mounting portion may be positioned by reciprocating motion.

[0031]

According to the tube tip processing apparatus of the present invention, as described above, the time from the end of processing to the start of the next processing can be reduced, and the overall processing efficiency can be improved. Is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an intermediate omitted vertical sectional view showing an example of a material tube processed by a tip processing apparatus of the present invention and a processed tube.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view (a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 3) of the tube tip processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway front view of the tip processing apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view showing, in an enlarged manner, a die portion of the tip processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing, in an enlarged manner, a mold part of the tip processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state before processing of a tube and a mold portion stopped at a processing position.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state in which the tube and the mold portion stopped at the processing position are being processed.

[Explanation of symbols]

(1) Resin tube (1a) Spherical part (11) Turntable (tube support member) (12) Die (14) Tube mounting part (19) Tube support core (20) Turntable drive (support member drive) Means) (22) Induction coil (23) Cooling pipe (24) Tube insertion recess (26) Slider drive (reciprocating drive) (34) High frequency generator (35) Nylon tube (36) Cooling water circulator (B) Processing position

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29D 23/00 A61M 25/00 304 B29C 33/02 B29C 57/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A tube support member provided with at least two tube mounting portions, and a non-heated tube provided protrudingly at each tube mounting portion of the tube support member and having a resin tube inserted outside. Support member driving means for intermittently driving the tube support member and the tube support member to sequentially position each tube mounting portion at a predetermined processing position; disposed so as to face the core rod positioned at the processing position A mold having a tube insertion recess into which the tip of the unheated tube supported by the core rod is inserted, such that the tip of the tube positioned at the processing position is inserted into the recess of the mold for a predetermined time. Reciprocating drive means for relatively reciprocating the core rod and the mold positioned at the processing position; heating the mold when the tip of the tube is inserted into the concave portion, thereby leading the end of the tube. For heating and closing the end
Mold heating means by high-frequency induction heating , and flowing the mold heated by the heating means through the mold
The block that has been clogged by cooling with the cooling liquid
An apparatus for processing the tip of a resin tube, comprising a mold cooling means for cooling the tip of the tube.