WO2023281924A1

WO2023281924A1 - Coated tube manufacturing method and coated tube manufacturing apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2023281924A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/020771
Authority: WO
Inventors: 信介平塚; 将平寺本; 愛理奈松岡; 竜也後藤
Original assignee: 株式会社グッドマン
Priority date: 2021-07-06
Filing date: 2022-05-19
Publication date: 2023-01-12
Also published as: JP7312324B2; JPWO2023281924A1

Abstract

First, a holding step for holding a tube 31 in a vertically extending direction is performed. Next, a liquid sucking step for sucking up and introducing a coating liquid 32a located in a liquid tank 12 into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 is performed by using a syringe device 13. Next, a liquid discharge step for forming a state in which the coating liquid 32a adheres in the form of a film to the inner surface of the tube 31 is performed by discharging the coating liquid 32a introduced into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 by using the syringe device 13. Next, a drying step for forming an inner coating layer 32 on the inner surface of the tube 31 is performed by drying and solidifying the adhered coating liquid 32a with a drying device 14. A coated tube is thus manufactured.

Description

Coated tube manufacturing method and coated tube manufacturing apparatus

Cross-reference to related applications

This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2021-112398 filed on July 6, 2021, and the contents thereof are incorporated herein.

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a coated tube having a coating layer formed on the inner surface of the tube.

Some medical tubes that are introduced into the body have linear members such as guide wires inserted through them. In such a tube, a coating layer may be formed on the inner surface of the tube in order to reduce the sliding resistance when the linear member is inserted. When forming a coating layer on the inner surface of the tube, the coating liquid is first introduced into the tube to adhere the coating liquid to the inner surface of the tube. After that, the adhered coating liquid is dried and solidified to form a coating layer on the inner surface of the tube.

As a method of coating the inner surface of the tube, for example, there is a method of coating by introducing the coating liquid into the tube by immersing the tube sideways in a liquid tank in which the coating liquid is stored.

In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of coating by introducing a coating liquid into the tube from the upper end of the tube held in a vertically extending direction. In the method of Patent Document 1, after a predetermined amount of coating liquid is introduced into the tube, positive pressure gas is introduced from the upper end of the tube, and the introduced gas pushes the coating liquid downward to move the tube. coating is applied to the inner surface of the

JP 2004-121618 A

By the way, in the method of coating by immersing the tube in the coating liquid in the liquid tank, when the tube is immersed in the coating liquid and the coating liquid is introduced into the tube, the air that originally existed in the tube is removed. There is a risk that it will remain inside the tube. In that case, the remaining air will remain as residual air bubbles inside the coating liquid, and there is a risk that the coating liquid will not contact the inner surface of the tube where the residual air bubbles exist, and coating will not be performed. That is, in this case, an uncoated portion may occur on the inner surface of the tube.

In addition, in the coating method of Patent Document 1, after a predetermined amount of coating liquid is introduced into the tube from the upper end of the tube, air exists below the coating liquid in the tube. Then, in this state, positive pressure gas is introduced from the upper end of the tube. Here, since the air below the coating liquid in the tube tries to move upward, when the coating liquid is pushed downward by the positive pressure gas, the flow of the coating liquid is reduced by the above air. There is a risk of confusion. In that case, it is assumed that the thickness of the coating liquid adhered to the inner surface of the tube 71 will be uneven, and as a result, as shown in FIGS. It is assumed that the thickness of 72 is uneven.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a method and apparatus for manufacturing a coated tube that can prevent uneven coating from occurring when a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube. The main purpose is to

In order to solve the above-described problems, a method for manufacturing a coated tube according to a first disclosure is a method for manufacturing a coated tube in which a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube, and the tube is held in a vertically extending direction. a liquid introducing step of introducing the coating liquid from the lower end of the tube into the held tube; and discharging the coating liquid introduced into the tube from the lower end of the tube. a liquid discharge step of forming a state in which the coating liquid is adhered to the inner surface of the tube in a film form; and drying and solidifying the adhered coating liquid to form the coating layer on the inner surface of the tube. and a drying step of forming.

According to the first disclosure, the tube is held in a vertically extending direction, and the coating liquid is introduced into the held tube from the lower end of the tube. In this case, when the coating liquid is introduced into the tube, the coating liquid is introduced into the tube while gas such as air existing in the tube is discharged from the upper end of the tube. Therefore, it is possible to prevent air bubbles from remaining in the introduced coating liquid. As a result, the coating liquid can be evenly applied to the inner surface of the tube, that is, without any uncoated portions.

In addition, since the coating liquid is discharged from the lower end of the tube without air bubbles remaining in the coating liquid, it is possible to prevent the liquid flow from being disturbed when the coating liquid is discharged. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent unevenness in the thickness of the coating liquid adhering to the inner surface of the tube in the form of a film due to the discharge of the coating liquid. Therefore, as described above, it is possible to prevent occurrence of coating unevenness in the coating layer obtained by drying the adhered coating liquid.

A method for manufacturing a coated tube according to a second disclosure is characterized in that, in the first disclosure, in the liquid discharging step, the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube while the discharge speed of the coating liquid is controlled at a predetermined speed. do.

The thickness of the coating liquid that adheres to the inner surface of the tube due to the discharge of the coating liquid is thought to depend on the rate at which the coating liquid level descends when the coating liquid is discharged. considered to be dependent. Therefore, in the second disclosure, focusing on such a point, the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube while the coating liquid discharge speed is controlled (adjusted) to a predetermined speed. In this case, the thickness of the coating liquid adhered to the inner surface of the tube can be set to a desired thickness, and the thickness of the coating layer formed on the inner surface of the tube can be set to a desired thickness.

A method for manufacturing a coated tube according to a third disclosure is characterized in that, in the first or second disclosure, in the holding step, the lower end side of the tube is placed in the coating liquid stored in the liquid tank, and the Holding a tube, the liquid introduction step is a liquid suction step of sucking the coating liquid in the liquid tank from the lower end of the tube into the tube by sucking out the gas in the tube from the upper end side of the tube. is.

According to the third disclosure, the tube is held with the lower end side of the tube immersed in the coating liquid in the liquid tank. Further, when the gas in the tube is sucked out from the upper end side of the tube in the held state, the coating liquid in the liquid tank is sucked up from the lower end of the tube and introduced into the tube. In this case, when introducing the coating liquid into the tube, the gas inside the tube can be introduced while actively discharging from the upper end of the tube. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent air bubbles from remaining in the introduced coating liquid. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness due to residual air bubbles.

A method for manufacturing a coated tube according to a fourth disclosure, in the third disclosure, comprises a connection step of connecting the upper end of the tube to a pump device, and the pump device is connected to the tube in a state of being connected by the connection step. It is possible to suck out the gas inside the tube and to send the gas into the tube. The coating liquid inside is sucked up into the tube, and in the liquid discharge step, gas is sent into the tube by the pump device, thereby moving the coating liquid in the tube downward and discharging it into the liquid tank. do.

According to the fourth disclosure, the suction of the coating liquid into the tube and the discharge of the coating liquid from the tube can be performed using the same pump device. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing apparatus. It should be noted that "connecting the upper end of the tube to the pump device" means not only connecting the upper end of the tube directly to the pump device, but also connecting the upper end of the tube to the pump device via a connection member such as a pipe. It is a meaning including the case of doing.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to the fifth disclosure is, in the fourth disclosure, wherein the pump device is a cylinder device in which a piston is inserted so as to be able to be pushed and pulled, and the cylinder device pulls the piston. By pushing the piston, the gas in the tube is sucked out, and the piston is pushed and pulled by a driving device, and the driving device is the piston. In the liquid discharge step, the driving device pushes the piston at a predetermined pushing speed, so that the tip of the piston and the liquid level of the coating liquid in the tube By sending the gas trapped between to the coating liquid side, the coating liquid is moved downward and discharged.

According to the fifth disclosure, when the piston of the cylinder device is pushed in, gas (such as air) is sent into the tube, and the coating liquid in the tube moves downward and is discharged. Specifically, the piston is pushed at a predetermined pushing speed by the driving device, and the gas trapped between the tip of the piston and the liquid surface of the coating liquid is sent to the coating liquid side, and the coating liquid moves downward and is ejected. In this case, the ejection speed of the coating liquid would depend on the speed at which the entrapped gas is delivered, which in turn depends on the plunge speed of the piston. Therefore, by controlling the pushing speed of the piston, the discharging speed of the coating liquid can be controlled with high accuracy. Thereby, the thickness of the coating liquid adhered to the inner surface of the tube can be adjusted with high accuracy, and the thickness of the coating layer formed on the inner surface of the tube can be adjusted with high accuracy.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the sixth disclosure is the fourth or fifth disclosure, wherein the pump device is connected via a pipe to a connector to which the upper end of the tube is detachably connected. The connecting step includes connecting the upper end of the tube to the connector to connect the upper end of the tube to the pump device through the pipe, and the connecting step includes connecting the upper end of the tube to the pump device through the pipe. The holding step holds the tube in a state of being suspended from the connector by connecting it to the connector.

According to the sixth disclosure, by connecting the upper end of the tube to the connector, the tube is held in a state of being suspended by the connector. In this case, since the connection and holding of the tube can be performed at once, the pre-coating work can be made more efficient.

A method of manufacturing a coated tube according to a seventh disclosure is characterized in that, in any one of the third to sixth disclosures, in the liquid discharging step, the lower end of the tube is positioned above the liquid surface of the coating liquid in the liquid tank. , the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube.

By the way, when the coating liquid is discharged from the tube while the lower end of the tube is in the coating liquid in the liquid tank, a large amount of the coating liquid adheres to the inner surface of the tube at the lower end of the tube during discharging. There is a risk of In that case, the thickness of the coating layer may increase on the lower end side of the tube. In this regard, in the seventh disclosure, the coating liquid is discharged from the tube with the lower end of the tube positioned above the liquid surface of the coating liquid in the liquid tank. It is possible to prevent a large amount of coating liquid from adhering to the lower end side of the . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the thickness of the coating layer from increasing on the lower end side of the tube.

A method for manufacturing a coated tube of an eighth disclosure is characterized in that, in the first or second disclosure, in the holding step, the tube is held in a state where the inside of the tube is open to the outside at the upper end of the tube, and The liquid introduction step is a liquid injection step of injecting the coating liquid into the tube from the lower end of the tube.

According to the eighth disclosure, the tube is held at the upper end of the tube with the interior of the tube open to the outside, and the coating liquid is injected into the tube from the lower end of the tube in this held state. In this case, the gas inside the tube can be quickly discharged from the upper end of the tube as the coating liquid is injected. Therefore, it is possible to preferably prevent air bubbles from remaining in the injected coating liquid. Thereby, it is possible to suitably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness caused by residual air bubbles.

In addition, according to the above method, the total amount of the coating liquid required when introducing the coating liquid into the tube can be reduced, and a liquid tank for storing the coating liquid can be eliminated. It is also possible to simplify the device.

A method of manufacturing a coated tube according to a ninth disclosure comprises, in the eighth disclosure, a connection step of connecting the lower end of the tube to a pump device, and the pump device is connected to the tube in a state of being connected by the connection step. It is possible to both inject the coating liquid into the tube and to suck out the coating liquid from the inside of the tube, and in the liquid injection step, the coating liquid is injected into the tube by the pump device, In the liquid discharge step, the coating liquid is sucked out from the inside of the tube by the pump device and discharged.

According to the ninth disclosure, the same pump device can be used to inject the coating liquid into the tube and to discharge the coating liquid from the tube. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing apparatus. It should be noted that "connecting the lower end of the tube to the pump device" means not only connecting the lower end of the tube directly to the pump device, but also connecting the lower end of the tube to the pump device via a connection member such as a pipe. It is a meaning including the case of doing.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the tenth disclosure is, in the ninth disclosure, the pump device is a cylinder device in which a piston is inserted into a cylinder so as to be pushed and pulled, and the cylinder device pushes the piston. By doing so, the coating liquid is injected into the tube, and the coating liquid is sucked out from the tube by pulling the piston, and the piston is pushed and pulled by a driving device. The device is capable of controlling the drawing speed of the piston, and in the liquid discharge step, the piston is drawn by the driving device at a predetermined drawing speed, thereby sucking and discharging the coating liquid from the tube. .

According to the tenth disclosure, the coating liquid in the tube is sucked out and discharged by pulling the piston of the cylinder device. Specifically, the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube by drawing the piston at a predetermined drawing speed using the driving device. In this case, it is considered that the discharge speed of the coating liquid discharged from the tube depends on the retraction speed of the piston. Therefore, by controlling the retraction speed of the piston, the discharge speed of the coating liquid can be controlled with high accuracy. Thereby, the thickness of the coating liquid adhered to the inner surface of the tube can be adjusted with high accuracy, and the thickness of the coating layer formed on the inner surface of the tube can be adjusted with high accuracy.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the eleventh disclosure is, in the first or second disclosure, wherein the coating liquid is stored in an airtight container, and the tube is placed on the upper plate of the container. A plurality of through-holes through which the tube can be inserted is formed, and in the holding step, the plurality of tubes are respectively inserted through the respective through-holes in an airtight state, and the lower end side of each tube is inserted into the coating liquid in the container. Each tube is held in a state in which it is placed inside, and the inside of each tube is opened to the outside at the upper end of each tube. By pushing up the coating liquid in the container from the lower end of each tube and introducing it into each tube, and in the liquid discharging step, the pressure in the container is reduced by the pressure adjustment device. and causing the coating liquid in each tube to flow down and be discharged into the container from the lower end of each tube.

According to the eleventh disclosure, the pressure in the container is raised by the pressure regulator, whereby the coating liquid in the container is pushed up and introduced into each tube. Further, the pressure in the container is lowered by the pressure regulator, so that the coating liquid in each tube flows down and is discharged into the container. In this case, since the coating liquid can be introduced and discharged to and from a plurality of tubes at once, the coating work can be efficiently performed.

A method for manufacturing a coated tube according to a twelfth disclosure is characterized in that, in any one of the first to eleventh disclosures, the coating layer is an inner coating layer, and the outer surface of the tube is coated with a coating liquid different from the coating liquid. An outer coating step is provided to form an outer coating layer.

Some coated tubes have a coating layer formed on the outer surface as well as the inner surface. In this case, the coating layer on the outer surface (outer coating layer) may be formed using a coating liquid different from the coating liquid forming the coating layer on the inner surface (inner coating layer). Here, in the conventional method of forming the inner coating layer by immersing the tube in the coating liquid, the outer surface of the tube is masked or the like so that the coating liquid for the inner coating does not adhere to the outer surface of the tube during immersion. may need to be covered. In that case, it is conceivable that a large amount of time and effort will be required for the coating work.

In that regard, in the twelfth disclosure, as described above, the inner coating layer is formed by introducing the coating liquid into the tube from the lower end of the tube. Therefore, when forming the inner coating layer, it is not necessary to cover the outer surface of the tube with masking or the like, and the coating work can be easily performed.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the thirteenth disclosure is, in any one of the first to twelfth disclosures, in the liquid discharging step, the discharging speed of the coating liquid is changed during discharging of the coating liquid.

According to the thirteenth disclosure, the discharge speed of the coating liquid changes while the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube, so the thickness of the coating liquid adhered to the inner surface of the tube due to discharge is changed in the length direction of the tube. can be changed in the middle of In this case, since the thickness of the coating layer formed on the inner surface of the tube can be changed in the longitudinal direction of the tube, the method of forming the coating layer can be diversified.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the 14th disclosure is, in any one of the 1st to 13th disclosures, wherein the tube is a medical tube to be introduced into the body.

Medical tubes such as catheter tubes that are introduced into the body have extremely small diameters. Therefore, when the tube is immersed in a coating liquid tank and the coating liquid is introduced into the tube, it is considered that air bubbles in the tube are particularly difficult to escape. In this regard, in the fourteenth disclosure, the first disclosure is applied when coating such a medical tube, so that it is possible to suitably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness when coating the inner surface of the medical tube. can be done.

The method for manufacturing a coated tube of the fifteenth disclosure is, in the fourteenth disclosure, wherein a linear member is inserted through the inside of the medical tube.

Some medical tubes that are introduced into the body have linear members such as guide wires and other tubes introduced inside them. In such medical tubes, a coating layer is sometimes formed on the inner surface of the tube in order to reduce the sliding resistance when introducing the linear member. In such a coated medical tube, if the thickness of the coating layer is uneven and the coating layer is uneven, the tip of the linear member becomes uneven when the linear member is introduced into the tube. It is assumed that it will get caught and the linear member cannot be successfully introduced. In this regard, in the fifteenth disclosure, since the first disclosure is applied to such a medical tube, it is possible to prevent unevenness in the thickness of the coating layer, which in turn prevents unevenness in the coating layer. can be prevented. As a result, when the linear member is introduced, the leading end does not get caught on the coating layer, and the introduction work can be performed favorably.

An apparatus for manufacturing a coated tube according to a sixteenth disclosure is an apparatus for manufacturing a coated tube in which a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube, comprising holding means for holding the tube in a vertically extending direction; liquid introducing means for introducing the coating liquid into the tube from the lower end of the tube held by means; and discharging the coating liquid introduced into the tube from the lower end of the tube, thereby Liquid discharging means for forming a state in which the coating liquid is adhered in the form of a film; drying means for forming the coating layer on the inner surface of the tube by drying and solidifying the adhered coating liquid; Prepare.

By forming a coating layer on the inner surface of the tube using the manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the sixteenth disclosure, the same effect as in the first disclosure can be obtained.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The figure which shows the whole structure of the manufacturing apparatus in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the state by which several connection tools were supported by the support base. The figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a tube with a coating. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-section of a coated tube; The figure which shows the whole structure of the manufacturing apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a tube with a coating. (a) is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a manufacturing apparatus according to a third embodiment, and (b) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a tube is inserted through an insertion hole in an upper plate portion of a container. The figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a tube with a coating. The figure which shows the whole structure of the manufacturing apparatus in other embodiment. (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a coating layer formed in a tube by the coating method of Patent Document 1, and (b) is a vertical cross-sectional view.

[First embodiment]
An embodiment embodying the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment embodies a manufacturing method for manufacturing a coated tube in which a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube. Therefore, first, the coated tube 30 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the coated tube 30. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the coated tube 30 includes a tube 31, an inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface (inner peripheral surface) of the tube 31, and an outer coating layer 32 formed on the outer surface (outer peripheral surface) of the tube 31. layer 33; The tube 31 is a medical tube that is introduced into a patient's body (for example, into a blood vessel). Specifically, the tube 31 is a catheter tube through which a guide wire G as a linear member is inserted. As the tube 31, for example, a guiding catheter, a balloon catheter, an imaging catheter, a ureteral stent, or the like can be used.

The tube 31 is formed of a resin material in the shape of a circular tube, and has a tubular hole 31a extending over the entire length in the inner side thereof. The tube holes 31a are open at both ends of the tube 31, respectively. The tube 31 is formed linearly over the entire length direction, and has a constant inner diameter and an outer diameter over the entire length direction. The inner diameter of the tube 31 is 3.0 mm or less, more specifically 2.3 mm or less. Also, the length of the tube 31 is about 100 mm to 2000 mm.

The inner coating layer 32 is formed over the entire inner surface of the tube 31 . The inner coating layer 32 is formed using a hydrophilic coating liquid 32 a and has a smaller coefficient of friction than the tube 31 . This reduces sliding resistance when the guide wire G is introduced into the tube 31 . Note that the inner coating layer 32 corresponds to the "coating layer".

The outer coating layer 33 is formed over the entire outer surface of the tube 31 . The outer coating layer 33 is formed using a hydrophilic coating liquid 33 a and has a smaller coefficient of friction than the tube 31 . This reduces sliding resistance when the tube 31 is introduced into the body. As the coating liquid 33a, a liquid different from the coating liquid 32a of the inner coating layer 32 is used.

Next, the manufacturing apparatus 10 for manufacturing the coated tube 30 will be described. A manufacturing apparatus 10 is an apparatus for forming an inner coating layer 32 on the inner surface of a tube 31 . FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a manufacturing apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of connecting tools 11 are supported by a support base 17. As shown in FIG. 1 and 2, for convenience of explanation, the tube 31 to be coated is indicated by a two-dot chain line (virtual line). The manufacturing apparatus 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a connector 11 to which the upper end of a tube 31 is connected, a liquid tank 12 in which a coating liquid 32a is stored, and a coating liquid 32a for introducing the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31. and a drying device 14 for drying the coating liquid 32a adhering to the inside of the tube 31. As shown in FIG.

The connector 11 has a connection port 15 to which the upper end of the tube 31 is detachably connected. The connection port 15 is opened downward, and the upper end of the tube 31 is inserted into the connection port 15 from below and connected. In such a connected state, the tube 31 is suspended by the connector 11 and held. Therefore, the tube 31 is held with its length direction directed vertically, more specifically, with its length direction directed vertically. In addition, the connection tool 11 corresponds to a "holding means."

The liquid tank 12 is a tank with an upper opening, and is arranged directly below the connector 11 . The lower end side of the tube 31 held by the connector 11 enters into the coating liquid 32 a stored in the liquid tank 12 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting tools 11 are attached to the support base 17 in a state in which a plurality of them are arranged side by side. As a result, in the manufacturing apparatus 10, each tube 31 can be coated in a state in which each tube 31 is connected to and held by each connector 11. As shown in FIG.

The support base 17 is supported by support rails 18 extending in the vertical direction, and is vertically movable along the support rails 18 in the supported state. Therefore, by moving the support base 17 up and down, the tube 31 held by the connector 11 can be moved up and down. Specifically, the tube 31 has a lower position where the lower end is positioned below the liquid level of the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 and an upper position where the lower end is positioned above the liquid level of the coating liquid 32a. It is possible to move between In the example of FIG. 2, the tubes 31 held by the connectors 11 of the left support 17 are positioned at the lower position, and the tubes 31 held by the connectors 11 of the right support 17 are positioned at the upper position. located in

Returning to the description of FIG. 1 , the connector 11 is connected to the syringe device 13 via the pipe 21 . The syringe device 13 has a cylindrical syringe 13a and a piston 13b inserted into the syringe 13a. The syringe 13 a is connected to the connector 11 via a pipe 21 . The piston 13b is provided so as to be able to push and pull inside the syringe 13a. A rubber gasket 19 is fixed to the tip of the piston 13b. This gasket 19 seals the gap between the tip of the piston 13b and the syringe 13a. The syringe device 13 corresponds to the "pump device" recited in claim 4 and the "cylinder device" recited in claim 5. Also, the syringe 13a corresponds to the "cylinder" described in claim 5.

When the upper end of the tube 31 is connected to the connector 11 , the upper end of the tube 31 is connected to the syringe device 13 via the connector 11 and the pipe 21 . In this case, when the piston 13b of the syringe device 13 is pulled while the lower end of the tube 31 is in the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12, the air in the tube 31 is sucked out from the upper end of the tube 31. Along with this, the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 is sucked up into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 (see FIG. 3(b)). Further, when the piston 13b of the syringe device 13 is pushed in after the coating liquid 32a is sucked up, air is sent into the tube 31 from the upper end of the tube 31, and the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31 is pushed downward accordingly. It is then discharged into the liquid tank 12 from the lower end of the tube 31 (see FIG. 3(c)). As a result, the coating liquid 32 a adheres to the inner surface of the tube 31 in the form of a film. The syringe device 13 corresponds to "liquid introduction means" and "liquid discharge means".

The piston 13b of the syringe device 13 is pushed and pulled by the driving device 23. Although not shown, the driving device 23 has a movable portion attached to the base end of the piston 13b and a driving portion such as a motor that pushes and pulls the piston 13b by driving the movable portion. . The driving device 23 can control (adjust) the speed of pushing and pulling the piston 13b. That is, the driving device 23 can control the pushing speed and the pulling speed of the piston 13b. The driving device 23 corresponds to the "driving device" described in claim 5.

A drying device 14 is connected through a pipe 25 in the middle of the pipe 21 . The drying device 14 supplies dry air into the tube 31 through the pipe 25 and the connector 11 . The dry air dries and solidifies the coating liquid 32 a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 , thereby forming the inner coating layer 32 on the inner surface of the tube 31 . Note that the drying device 14 corresponds to the "drying means".

A switching valve 26 is provided at the connecting portion of each

pipe

21 , 25 . The switching valve 26 is, for example, a three-way valve. The switching valve 26 switches the flow path leading to the connector 11 , and thus switches the flow path leading to the inside of the tube 31 . Specifically, the switching valve 26 connects the flow path leading to the connector 11 to the syringe flow path 27 leading from the syringe device 13 to the connector 11 via the pipe 21 and from the drying device 14 via the pipe 25. It is switched to a drying channel 28 leading to the implement 11 . When the syringe device 13 is used to suck air into the tube 31 or to send air into the tube 31, the flow path leading to the connector 11 is switched to the syringe flow path 27, and the drying device 14 When sending dry air into 31 , the channel leading to connector 11 is switched to drying channel 28 . In addition, in the state of being switched to the syringe channel 27, the flow of air from the syringe channel 27 to the drying device 14 side is blocked, and in the state of being switched to the drying channel 28, the drying channel 28 The flow of air from the side to the syringe device 13 side is blocked.

Next, a method for manufacturing the coated tube 30 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing the coated tube 30. FIG. 3, illustration of the driving device 23 is omitted for the sake of convenience.

First, as shown in FIG. 3( a ), a connection step is performed to connect the upper end of the tube 31 to the connector 11 . In the connection step, the upper end portion of the tube 31 is connected to the connection port 15 of the connector 11 with the length direction of the tube 31 directed in the up-down direction (vertical direction). Thereby, the tube 31 is connected to the syringe device 13 via the connector 11 and the pipe 21 . In addition, the channel leading to the connector 11 is switched to the syringe channel 27 in advance. Also, the connection step corresponds to the "connection step" described in claim 4.

In the connecting step, the upper end of the tube 31 is connected to the connecting tool 11 so that the tube 31 is held in a state of being suspended by the connecting tool 11 . In this case, the tube 31 is held in a vertically extending direction. Therefore, the connecting step also corresponds to the holding step. In the connecting step, the lower end side of the tube 31 is placed in the coating liquid 32 a in the liquid tank 12 by positioning the support base 17 that supports the connector 11 to the lower position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, by pulling the piston 13b of the syringe device 13, the air inside the tube 31 is sucked, and the coating liquid 32a inside the liquid tank 12 is pushed out from the lower end of the tube 31. A liquid sucking process is performed to suck up the liquid inside. Thereby, the coating liquid 32 a is introduced into the tube 31 . Further, in the liquid introduction process, the coating liquid 32a is sucked into the tube 31 by pulling the piston 13b at a predetermined drawing speed by the driving device 23. As shown in FIG. In this case, the predetermined drawing speed is set to a speed that does not cause the tube 31 to collapse inward.

Also, in the liquid sucking process, the coating liquid 32a is sucked up until the surface of the coating liquid 32a reaches the vicinity of the upper end of the tube 31, for example. The portion of the tube 31 above the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a is a surplus portion that is not coated, and the surplus portion is cut after the inner coating layer 32 is formed. This point also applies to the second embodiment and the third embodiment, which will be described later.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(c), by pushing in the piston 13b of the syringe device 13, air is sent into the tube 31, thereby removing the coating liquid 32a introduced into the tube 31 by the liquid sucking process. A liquid discharge step is performed in which the liquid is moved downward and discharged into the liquid tank 12 . In the liquid discharge process, the tube 31 is positioned above the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 by positioning the support base 17 that supports the connector 11 at an upper position. 31, the coating liquid 32a is discharged. By discharging the coating liquid 32 a from the inside of the tube 31 , a state is formed in which the coating liquid 32 a adheres to the inner surface of the tube 31 in the form of a film.

More specifically, in the liquid discharge process, by pushing the piston 13b at a predetermined pushing speed with the driving device 23, a gap between the tip of the piston 13b (specifically, the gasket 19) and the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31 is By sending the trapped air S to the side of the coating liquid 32a, the coating liquid 32a is moved downward and discharged. Here, when the coating liquid 32a is discharged from the inside of the tube 31 by such a method, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a (in other words, the moving speed of the coating liquid 32a) is the feeding speed of the trapped air S. It is thought that it will depend on the speed and thus the pushing speed of the piston 13b. Specifically, it is considered that the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a has a linear relationship with the pushing speed of the piston 13b. Therefore, by controlling the pushing speed of the piston 13b, it is possible to control the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a. In this embodiment, the coating liquid 32a is discharged from the tube 31 while the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a is controlled at a predetermined speed (constant speed).

More specifically, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a that adheres to the inner surface of the tube 31 in the form of a film due to the discharge of the coating liquid 32a from the inside of the tube 31 is such that the liquid level of the coating liquid 32a drops when the coating liquid 32a is discharged. It is thought that it depends on the descending speed, that is, it depends on the discharging speed (moving speed) of the coating liquid 32a. Furthermore, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 corresponds to the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed by drying the coating liquid 32a. It is thought that the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed in 1 depends on the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the relationship between the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 and the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a is used to adjust the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a so that the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 is the desired thickness. The speed is controlled to be

It should be noted that the liquid discharge process described above may be performed immediately after the liquid introduction process is performed, or may be performed after a predetermined time has passed since the liquid introduction process is performed. When the liquid discharge process is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the liquid introduction process, a liquid retention process is performed in which the coating liquid 32a introduced into the tube 31 by the liquid introduction process is retained in the tube 31 for a predetermined time. It is sandwiched between the liquid introduction process and the liquid discharge process. In this case, in the liquid holding step, the coating liquid 32a is held in the tube 31 by keeping the piston 13b stationary.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3(d), a drying process is performed to dry and solidify the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 by the liquid discharging process. In the drying step, first, the switching valve 26 switches the flow path communicating with the connector 11 from the syringe flow path 27 to the drying flow path 28 . After that, dry air is supplied from the drying device 14 into the tube 31 through the drying channel 28 . Thereby, the coating liquid 32 a in the tube 31 is dried and solidified by the supplied dry air, and the inner coating layer 32 is formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 .

The inner coating process for forming the inner coating layer 32 is composed of the above-described liquid sucking process, liquid discharging process, and drying process. After the inner coating process, the upper end of tube 31 is removed from fitting 11 .

Next, an outer coating process is performed to form an outer coating layer 33 on the outer surface of the tube 31 . Although illustration is omitted, in the outer coating step, first, the tube 31 is immersed in the coating liquid 33a for outer coating stored in the liquid bath, so that the coating liquid 33a adheres to the outer surface of the tube 31 . At this time, in order to prevent the coating liquid 33a from entering the inside of the tube 31, caps are attached to both ends of the tube 31 respectively. After that, the tube 31 is taken out from the liquid bath, and the coating liquid 33a adhering to the outer surface of the tube 31 is dried and solidified. Thereby, an outer coating layer 33 is formed on the outer surface of the tube 31 . As described above, the coated tube 30 is manufactured.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment detailed above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

The tube 31 is held in a vertically extending direction, and the coating liquid 32a is introduced into the held tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31. In this case, when the coating liquid 32 a is introduced into the tube 31 , the coating liquid 32 a is introduced into the tube 31 while the air present in the tube 31 is discharged from the upper end of the tube 31 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent air bubbles from remaining in the introduced coating liquid 32a. As a result, the coating liquid 32a can be adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 evenly, that is, without an uncoated portion.

Further, when the introduced coating liquid 32a is discharged from the lower end of the tube 31, the coating liquid 32a is discharged in a state where no bubbles remain in the coating liquid 32a. It is possible to prevent turbulence in the flow of Therefore, it is possible to prevent unevenness in the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 in the form of a film due to the discharge of the coating liquid 32a. Therefore, the inner coating layer 32 obtained by drying the attached coating liquid 32a can be prevented from being coated unevenly.

By holding the tube 31 with the lower end of the tube 31 in the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 and sucking out the air in the tube 31 from the upper end of the tube 31 in the holding state using the syringe device 13, , the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 is sucked up and introduced into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31. - 特許庁In this case, when the coating liquid 32a is introduced into the tube 31, the air in the tube 31 can be introduced while being actively discharged from the upper end of the tube 31, so that bubbles are generated in the coating liquid 32a to be introduced. Remaining can be prevented more reliably. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness due to residual air bubbles.

Since the same syringe device 13 is used to suck up the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 and to discharge the coating liquid 32a from the tube 31, the manufacturing apparatus 10 can be simplified.

By pushing the piston 13b of the syringe device 13 at a predetermined pushing speed by the driving device 23, the air S trapped between the tip of the piston 13b and the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a is sent to the coating liquid 32a side. , the coating liquid 32a is moved downward and discharged. In this case, since the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a depends on the pushing speed of the piston 13b, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a can be controlled with high accuracy by controlling the pushing speed of the piston 13b. As a result, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 can be adjusted with high accuracy, and the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 can be adjusted with high accuracy. .

By pushing the piston 13b of the syringe device 13 at a constant pushing speed with the driving device 23, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a was controlled at a constant speed. As a result, the inner coating layer 32 can be formed with a uniform thickness over the entire length of the tube 31 .

The coating liquid 32 a is discharged from the tube 31 while the lower end of the tube 31 is positioned above the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32 a in the liquid tank 12 . As a result, unlike the case where the coating liquid 32a is discharged while the lower end of the tube 31 is immersed in the coating liquid 32a, a large amount of the coating liquid 32a adheres to the lower end of the tube 31 during discharge. can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 from increasing on the lower end side of the tube 31 .

Further, when the coating liquid 32a is discharged while the lower end of the tube 31 is in the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12, the coating liquid 32a being discharged reaches the lower end of the liquid tank 12 just before the discharge is finished. Pressure is applied from the coating liquid 32a inside, and there is a risk that the liquid level drop of the coating liquid 32a will be disturbed. In that regard, the above-described configuration in which the coating liquid 32a is discharged without immersing the lower end of the tube 31 in the coating liquid 32a in the liquid tank 12 avoids such disturbance. can.

By connecting the upper end of the tube 31 to the connector 11, the tube 31 is held in a state of being suspended from the connector 11. In this case, since the connection and holding of the tube 31 can be performed at once, the pre-coating work can be made more efficient.

Since the inner surface of the tube 31 is coated by introducing the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31, the inner surface of the tube 31 and the outer surface are coated respectively. There is no need to cover the outer surface of the tube 31 with masking or the like when performing the coating. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily perform the coating work.

A medical tube to be introduced into the body was used as the tube 31 . Since the tube 31 has a very small diameter, it is considered that when the tube 31 is immersed in a coating liquid tank and the coating liquid 32a is introduced into the tube 31, air bubbles in the tube 31 are particularly difficult to escape. In this regard, in the above-described embodiment, the above-described manufacturing method is applied when coating the inner surface of the tube 31. Therefore, even when the inner surface of the tube 31 is coated, uneven coating occurs. can be suitably prevented.

Specifically, a medical tube through which the guide wire G is inserted was used as the tube 31 . In this case, by applying the above-described manufacturing method to such a tube 31, it is possible to prevent unevenness in the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31, and consequently, unevenness in the inner coating layer 32. can be prevented from occurring. Therefore, when the guide wire G is introduced into the tube 31, the leading end is not caught on the inner coating layer 32, and the introduction work can be preferably performed.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment in the manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus of the coated tube 30 . Therefore, first, the manufacturing apparatus 40 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 40 in this embodiment. In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the tube 31 to be coated is indicated by a chain double-dashed line (virtual line).

As shown in FIG. 5, the manufacturing apparatus 40 includes a holder 41 that holds the tube 31 in a vertically extending direction, a connector 42 to which the lower end of the tube 31 held by the holder 41 is connected, a tube 31 and a syringe device 43 for introducing the coating liquid 32a.

The holder 41 has a clamping portion 41a that clamps the upper end side of the tube 31 . The holder 41 holds the tube 31 in the vertical direction by holding the upper end side of the tube 31 with the holding portion 41a. Note that the holder 41 corresponds to "holding means".

The connector 42 has a connection port 42a to which the lower end of the tube 31 is detachably connected. The connection port 42a opens upward, and the lower end of the tube 31 is inserted from above into the connection port 42a for connection. Also, the connector 42 is connected to the syringe device 43 via a pipe 45 . Although illustration is omitted, both the holder 41 and the connector 42 are provided in a state of being attached to a mounting base or the like.

The syringe device 43 has the same configuration as the syringe device 13 in the first embodiment. Therefore, detailed description of the syringe device 43 is omitted here. The syringe device 43 has a syringe 43a and a piston 43b inserted into the syringe 43a. The syringe 43a is filled with the coating liquid 32a. Also, the syringe 43 a is connected to the connector 42 via a pipe 45 . A gasket 44 is fixed to the tip of the piston 43b.

The syringe device 43 corresponds to the "pump device" recited in claim 9 and the "cylinder device" recited in claim 10. Also, the syringe 43a corresponds to the "cylinder" described in claim 10.

The piston 43 b of the syringe device 43 is pushed and pulled by the driving device 47 . The driving device 47 is similar to the driving device 23 in the first embodiment, and is capable of controlling (adjusting) the pushing speed and the pulling speed of the piston 43b. The driving device 47 corresponds to the "driving device" according to claim 10.

When the lower end of the tube 31 is connected to the connector 42 , the lower end of the tube 31 is connected to the syringe device 43 via the connector 42 and the pipe 45 . When the piston 43b of the syringe device 43 is pushed in such a connected state, the coating liquid 32a in the syringe 43a is supplied into the tube 31 through the pipe 45 (see FIG. 6A). That is, in this case, the coating liquid 32 a is injected (introduced) into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 . Further, when the piston 43b of the syringe device 43 is pulled while the coating liquid 32a has been introduced into the tube 31, the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31 is sucked out from the lower end of the tube 31 and discharged (FIG. 6). (b)). The syringe device 43 corresponds to "liquid introduction means" and "liquid discharge means".

Next, the manufacturing method of the coated tube 30 will be explained using FIG. 6 in addition to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the manufacturing method of the coated tube 30. FIG. 6, the illustration of the driving device 47 is omitted for the sake of convenience.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, a holding step is performed to hold the tube 31 in a vertically extending direction. In the holding step, the tube 31 is held by pinching the upper end side of the tube 31 with the pinching portion 41 a of the holder 41 . Further, in the holding step, the tube 31 is held with the inside of the tube 31 opened to the outside at the upper end of the tube 31 . That is, in the holding step, the tube 31 is held in a state in which no member such as a pipe is connected to the upper end portion of the tube 31 .

Next, a connection step of connecting the lower end of the tube 31 to the connection port 42a of the connector 42 is performed. Thereby, the lower end of the tube 31 is connected to the syringe device 43 via the pipe 45 . The connection step corresponds to the "connection step" described in claim 9. Moreover, the connection step may be performed before the holding step, or may be performed in parallel with the holding step.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6A, a liquid injection step of injecting the coating liquid 32a filled in the syringe 43a into the tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 by pushing the piston 43b of the syringe device 43. conduct. In the liquid injection step, the driving device 47 pushes the piston 43b at a predetermined pushing speed to inject the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 . Thereby, the coating liquid 32 a is introduced into the tube 31 . In addition, in the liquid injection process, the air present in the tube 31 is discharged from the upper end of the tube 31 as the coating liquid 32a is injected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), by pulling the piston 43b of the syringe device 43, the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31 is sucked out from the lower end of the tube 31 and discharged. As a result, a state is formed in which the coating liquid 32a adheres to the inner surface of the tube 31 in the form of a film.

In the liquid discharge process, the driving device 47 pulls the piston 43b at a predetermined drawing speed, thereby sucking the coating liquid 32a out of the tube 31 and discharging it. Here, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a discharged from the tube 31 depends on the retraction speed of the piston 43b. Therefore, by controlling the retraction speed of the piston 43b, it is possible to control the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a. Therefore, in the liquid discharging process, the drawing speed of the piston 43b is controlled to a predetermined drawing speed, thereby controlling the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a to a predetermined speed (constant speed). Specifically, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a is controlled to a speed at which the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 becomes a desired thickness.

After the liquid discharge process, the tube 31 is removed from the holder 41 and the lower end of the tube 31 is removed from the connector 42 .

Next, a drying process is performed to dry and solidify the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 by the liquid discharging process. In the drying process, the coating liquid 32a is dried by flowing dry air from the upper end of the tube 31 into the tube 31 using a drying device (corresponding to drying means). Thereby, the inner coating layer 32 is formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 .

Next, an outer coating process is performed to form an outer coating layer 33 on the outer surface of the tube 31 . Since the outer coating process is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description is omitted here. As described above, the coated tube 30 is manufactured.

At the upper end of the tube 31, the inside of the tube 31 is held open to the outside. In this case, the air inside the tube 31 can be rapidly discharged from the upper end of the tube 31 as the coating liquid 32a is injected. Therefore, it is possible to preferably prevent air bubbles from remaining in the injected coating liquid 32a. Thereby, it is possible to suitably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness caused by residual air bubbles.

Moreover, according to the above method, the total amount of the coating liquid 32a required when introducing the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 can be reduced, and a liquid tank for storing the coating liquid 32a is not required. Therefore, the manufacturing equipment can be simplified.

Since the same syringe device 43 is used to inject the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 and to discharge the coating liquid 32a from the tube 31, the manufacturing device 40 can be simplified.

By pulling the piston 43b of the syringe device 43 by the driving device 47 at a predetermined drawing speed, the coating liquid 32a is discharged from the inside of the tube 31. In this case, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a discharged from the tube 31 depends on the retraction speed of the piston 43b. Therefore, by controlling the retraction speed of the piston 43b, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a can be controlled with high accuracy. can do. As a result, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 can be adjusted with high accuracy, and the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 can be adjusted with high accuracy. .

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the method and apparatus for manufacturing the coated tube 30 . Therefore, first, the manufacturing apparatus 50 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7A shows the overall configuration of the manufacturing apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the tube 31 is inserted through the insertion hole 54 of the upper plate portion 51a of the container 51. It is a vertical cross-sectional view showing. In addition, in FIG. 7, for convenience of explanation, the tube 31 to be coated is indicated by a chain double-dashed line (virtual line).

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the manufacturing apparatus 50 includes a container 51 in which the coating liquid 32a is stored, and a pressure adjusting device 52 that adjusts the pressure inside the container 51. The container 51 is an airtight closed container, and has an upper plate portion 51a that covers the inside of the container 51 from above. In the container 51, an air layer 53 is formed between the surface of the coating liquid 32a and the upper plate portion 51a.

A plurality of insertion holes 54 through which the tube 31 can be inserted are formed in the upper plate portion 51a. Each insertion hole 54 extends vertically through the upper plate portion 51 a and has a hole diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the tube 31 . In this embodiment, it is possible to collectively coat a plurality of tubes 31 in a state in which the tubes 31 are inserted through these insertion holes 54 .

As shown in FIG. 7(b), an annular groove portion 55 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 54 in the upper plate portion 51a. An annular seal member 56 is fitted in the groove portion 55 . The sealing member 56 consists of a rubber O-ring, for example. When the tube 31 is inserted through the insertion hole 54 , the outer surface of the tube 31 is in close contact with the inner peripheral portion of the seal member 56 . As a result, the sealing member 56 seals between the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 54 and the outer surface of the tube 31 , and the airtightness inside the container 51 is ensured. Further, the outer surface of the tube 31 is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the seal member 56, so that the lower portion of the tube 31 is held.

As shown in FIG. 7( a ), the pressure adjusting device 52 is connected to the container 51 via a pipe 58 , more specifically, to the upper plate portion 51 a of the container 51 . The pressure regulating device 52 supplies air into the container 51 (specifically, the air layer 53 ) through a pipe 58 to increase the pressure in the container 51 and suck out the air from the container 51 to reduce the pressure in the container 51 . It is possible to reduce the pressure. The pressure adjusting device 52 corresponds to the "liquid introduction means" and the "liquid discharge means".

Next, the manufacturing method of the coated tube 30 will be explained using FIG. 8 in addition to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the manufacturing method of the coated tube 30. FIG. For convenience, illustration of the pressure adjusting device 52 is omitted in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, a holding step is performed in which the plurality of tubes 31 are inserted into the insertion holes 54 of the container 51 and held in the vertically extending direction while the tubes 31 are inserted. In the holding step, for example, a holder (corresponding to a holding means) similar to the holder 41 in the second embodiment is used to hold the tube 31 in a vertically extending direction. Further, in the holding step, the lower end side of each tube 31 is placed in the coating liquid 32 a in the container 51 . That is, the lower end of each tube 31 is positioned below the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a. Furthermore, in the holding step, the inside of each tube 31 is opened to the outside at the upper end of each tube 31 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 8( a ), the pressure inside the container 51 (specifically, inside the air layer 53 ) is increased by the pressure adjusting device 52 , so that the coating liquid 32 a in the container 51 is moved to the lower end of each tube 31 . Then, a liquid introduction step is performed in which the liquid is introduced into each tube 31 by pushing it up. In the liquid introduction step, the pressure inside the container 51 is adjusted to a positive pressure higher than the pressure outside the container 51 . Further, in the liquid introducing step, when the coating liquid 32 a is introduced into each tube 31 , the air inside each tube 31 is introduced while being discharged from the upper end of each tube 31 .

Next, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the pressure in the container 51 is lowered by the pressure regulator 52 so that the coating liquid 32a in each tube 31 flows down from the lower end of each tube 31 into the container 51. perform a liquid discharge step for discharging to In the liquid discharging process, the pressure inside the container 51 is adjusted to a negative pressure lower than the pressure outside the container 51 . By discharging the coating liquid 32a from the inside of each tube 31 in the liquid discharging process, a state is formed in which the coating liquid 32a adheres to the inner surface of each tube 31 in the form of a film.

Further, in the liquid discharging process, the liquid inside the container 51 is adjusted so that the discharging speed when the coating liquid 32a is discharged from each tube 31 (in other words, the speed at which the coating liquid 32a flows down) becomes a predetermined (constant) discharging speed. is controlled (regulated). The discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a depends on the pressure inside the container 51, and the lower the pressure inside the container 51, the higher the discharging speed. Therefore, by controlling the pressure in the container 51, it is possible to control the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a. In this embodiment, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a is controlled to a predetermined discharging speed at which the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 becomes a desired thickness.

Next, a drying process for drying and solidifying the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of each tube 31 is performed. In the drying step, the tube 31 is removed from the insertion hole 54 of the container 51, and a drying device (corresponding to drying means) is used to flow dry air into the tube 31 to dry the coating liquid 32a. Thereby, the inner coating layer 32 is formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 .

Each tube 31 is held with the inside of each tube 31 open to the outside at the upper end of each tube 31, and the coating liquid 32a is introduced into each tube 31 from the lower end of the tube 31 in the holding state. In this case, the air present in the tube 31 can be rapidly discharged from the upper end of the tube 31 when the coating liquid 32a is introduced. Therefore, it is possible to preferably prevent air bubbles from remaining in the introduced coating liquid 32a. As a result, it is possible to suitably prevent the occurrence of coating unevenness caused by residual air bubbles, as in the above embodiments.

Each tube 31 is inserted into each insertion hole 54 formed in the upper plate portion 51a of the container 51 in an airtight state, and each tube 31 is inserted into the coating liquid 32a in the container 51 with the lower end side of each tube 31 placed in the coating liquid 32a. 31 was retained. In this holding state, the pressure in the container 51 is raised by the pressure adjusting device 52, so that the coating liquid 32a in the container 51 is pushed up and introduced into each tube 31 respectively. Also, by reducing the pressure in the container 51 by the pressure adjusting device 52 , the coating liquid 32 a in each tube 31 is made to flow down and discharged into the container 51 . In this case, since the coating liquid 32a can be introduced and discharged to and from the plurality of tubes 31 at once, the coating work can be efficiently performed.

By controlling the pressure inside the container 51, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a was controlled to a predetermined discharging speed. In this case, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 can be set to a desired thickness by discharging the coating liquid 32a, and the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 can be set to a desired thickness. It can be thick.

[Other embodiments]
The present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be implemented as follows, for example.

(1) In each of the above embodiments, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a is constant during the liquid discharge process, but the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a may be changed during discharge of the coating liquid 32a. In this case, since the thickness of the coating liquid 32a adhered to the inner surface of the tube 31 by discharging can be changed in the middle of the length direction of the tube 31, the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 can be changed to Variation in the length direction of the tube 31 is possible. Therefore, the method of forming the inner coating layer 32 can be diversified.

Here, a specific example of changing the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a during discharge will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 9, when the coating liquid 32a is discharged from the inside of the tube 31, the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a passes through the upper region 61 of the tube 31 (hereinafter referred to as the first period) and the bottom of the tube 31 The discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a is varied between the period of passing through the side region 62 (hereinafter referred to as the second period). Therefore, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a changes stepwise during the discharge of the coating liquid 32a.

Specifically, the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a is increased during the first period, and the discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a is decreased during the second period. In this case, when the piston 13b of the syringe device 13 is pushed, the pushing speed of the piston 13b is increased when the tip of the piston 13b (specifically, the gasket 19) passes through the proximal region 63 corresponding to the first period, When the tip of the piston 13b passes through the tip region 64 corresponding to the second period, the pushing speed of the piston 13b is reduced.

According to the above configuration, the thickness of the coating liquid 32a formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 due to the discharge of the coating liquid 32a is increased in the upper region 61 and decreased in the lower region 62, for example. In this case, the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 formed on the inner surface of the tube 31 can be increased in the upper region 61 and decreased in the lower region 62 .

Contrary to the above, the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 may be small in the upper region 61 and large in the lower region 62 depending on the viscosity of the coating liquid 32a. As a tendency, when the viscosity of the coating liquid 32a is relatively high, the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 is large in the upper region 61 and small in the lower region 62, as described above, and the viscosity of the coating liquid 32a is relatively high. If the target is small, the opposite result is obtained.

(2) The discharge speed of the coating liquid 32a may be changed continuously during the discharge of the coating liquid 32a. For example, it is conceivable to gradually reduce or gradually increase the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a. In that case, the inner coating layer 32 can be formed in a tapered shape so that the thickness of the inner coating layer 32 gradually increases or decreases toward one side in the length direction of the tube 31. .

In addition, when a tube having a tapered inner surface whose inner diameter changes in the length direction is used as the tube, the coating liquid 32a is added so that the inner diameter of the inner coating layer formed on the tapered inner surface is uniform. You may make it change continuously the discharge speed of .

(3) In each of the above embodiments, the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a is controlled during the liquid discharging process, but the discharging speed of the coating liquid 32a may not be controlled. For example, in the above-described first embodiment, it is conceivable to open the inside of the tube 31 at the upper end of the tube 31 during the liquid discharging process so that the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31 flows down by its own weight and is discharged. be done. In this case, the inside of the tube 31 may be opened by, for example, removing the upper end of the tube 31 from the connector 11 .

(4) In each of the embodiments described above, the tube 31 is held in a direction extending in the vertical direction during the holding process, but the tube 31 may be held in a direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction. Moreover, when the length of the tube 31 is long, the tube 31 may be held so as to extend spirally in the vertical direction. In these cases as well, the tube 31 is held in an orientation extending in the vertical direction as a whole. can be introduced into

(5) In the first embodiment, the syringe device 13 of the injection barrel type is used as the cylinder device, but other cylinder devices may be used. Also in the second embodiment, similarly, a cylinder device other than the syringe device 43 may be used.

(6) In the first embodiment, the syringe device 13 (cylinder device) is used to suck out the air from the tube 31 and to send the air into the tube 31. A pump device other than the above may be used. For example, it is conceivable to use a diaphragm-type or bellows-type pump as the pumping device. In this case also, by moving the air S trapped between the pump device and the liquid surface of the coating liquid 32a in the tube 31, the air in the tube 31 is sucked out and the air is sent into the tube 31. It is possible to do

Similarly, in the second embodiment, instead of the syringe device 43 (cylinder device), a diaphragm-type or bellows-type pump is used to inject the coating liquid 32a into the tube 31 and to Alternatively, the coating liquid 32a may be discharged from the .

(7) In each of the above embodiments, a catheter tube is used as the tube 31 (medical tube) to be coated, but a medical tube other than a catheter tube, such as a sheath introducer, may be used. Also, the tube to be coated is not limited to a medical tube, and may be other tubes such as tubes used for industrial products. Moreover, the tube to be coated is not limited to be made of resin, and may be made of metal.

Although the present disclosure has been described in accordance with the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and configurations, as well as other combinations and configurations, including single elements, more, or less, are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Manufacturing apparatus, 11... Connector, 12... Liquid tank, 13... Syringe apparatus, 14... Drying apparatus, 30... Coated tube, 31... Tube, 32... Inner coating layer, 32a... Coating liquid, 33... Outer coating Layer 40 Production device 43 Syringe device 50 Production device 51 Container 52 Pressure adjustment device.

Claims

A method for manufacturing a coated tube in which a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube,
a holding step of holding the tube in a vertically extending direction;
a liquid introducing step of introducing a coating liquid from the lower end of the tube into the held tube;
a liquid discharge step of forming a state in which the coating liquid adheres to the inner surface of the tube in the form of a film by discharging the coating liquid introduced into the inside of the tube from the lower end of the tube;
a drying step of drying and solidifying the applied coating liquid to form the coating layer on the inner surface of the tube;
A method of making a coated tube, comprising:
2. The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 1, wherein in the liquid discharging step, the coating liquid is discharged from the inside of the tube while controlling the discharging speed of the coating liquid to a predetermined speed.
In the holding step, holding the tube with the lower end side of the tube being immersed in the coating liquid stored in a liquid tank;
3. The liquid introduction step is a liquid suction step of sucking the coating liquid in the liquid tank from the lower end of the tube into the tube by sucking out the gas in the tube from the upper end side of the tube. 3. A method for producing a coated tube according to 1 or 2.
A connection step of connecting the upper end of the tube to a pump device,
The pump device is capable of both sucking out gas from the tube and feeding gas into the tube in the connected state in the connecting step,
In the liquid sucking step, the coating liquid in the liquid tank is sucked up into the tube by sucking out the gas in the tube with the pump device,
4. The coated tube according to claim 3, wherein in the liquid discharge step, the coating liquid in the tube is moved downward and discharged into the liquid tank by sending gas into the tube with the pump device. Production method.
The pump device is a cylinder device in which a piston is inserted in a cylinder so that it can be pushed and pulled,
The cylinder device sucks out gas in the tube by pulling the piston, and sends gas into the tube by pushing the piston,
The piston is pushed and pulled by a driving device,
The driving device is capable of controlling the pushing speed of the piston,
In the liquid discharge step, the piston is pushed in at a predetermined pushing speed by the driving device, thereby removing the gas trapped between the tip of the piston and the liquid surface of the coating liquid in the tube. 5. The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 4, wherein the coating liquid is moved downward and discharged by sending it to the side.
The pump device is connected via a pipe to a connector to which the upper end of the tube is detachably connected,
In the connecting step, the upper end of the tube is connected to the connecting tool to connect the upper end of the tube to the pump device through the pipe,
6. The coated tube according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the connecting step is the holding step of holding the tube in a state of being suspended from the connector by connecting the upper end of the tube to the connector. How the tube is made.
7. The liquid discharging step may discharge the coating liquid from the inside of the tube while the lower end of the tube is positioned above the liquid surface of the coating liquid in the liquid tank. 1. A method for producing a coated tube according to claim 1.
In the holding step, the tube is held in a state where the inside of the tube is open to the outside at the upper end of the tube,
3. The method of manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 1, wherein the liquid introduction step is a liquid injection step of injecting the coating liquid into the tube from the lower end of the tube.
A connection step of connecting the lower end of the tube to a pump device,
The pump device is capable of both injecting the coating liquid into the tube and sucking the coating liquid out of the tube in the connected state in the connecting step,
In the liquid injection step, the coating liquid is injected into the tube by the pump device,
9. The method of manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 8, wherein in the liquid discharging step, the coating liquid is sucked out and discharged from the inside of the tube by the pump device.
The pump device is a cylinder device in which a piston is inserted in a cylinder so that it can be pushed and pulled,
The cylinder device injects the coating liquid into the tube by pushing the piston, and sucks the coating liquid out of the tube by pulling the piston,
The piston is pushed and pulled by a driving device,
The driving device is capable of controlling the retraction speed of the piston,
10. The method of manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 9, wherein in the liquid discharging step, the coating liquid is sucked out and discharged from the inside of the tube by pulling the piston at a predetermined drawing speed with the driving device.
The coating liquid is stored in an airtight container,
The upper plate portion of the container is formed with a plurality of insertion holes through which the tube can be inserted,
In the holding step, each of the plurality of tubes is inserted into each of the insertion holes in an airtight state, and each of the tubes is held in a state in which the lower end side of each of the tubes is immersed in the coating liquid in the container. , and the inside of each tube is opened to the outside at the upper end of each tube,
In the liquid introduction step, the coating liquid in the container is pushed up from the lower end of each tube and introduced into each tube by increasing the pressure in the container by a pressure regulator,
2. In the liquid discharging step, the pressure in the container is lowered by the pressure adjusting device, so that the coating liquid in each tube flows down and is discharged from the lower end of each tube into the container. 3. The method for producing a coated tube according to 2.
the coating layer is an inner coating layer;
The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising an outer coating step of forming an outer coating layer on the outer surface of the tube with a coating liquid different from the coating liquid.
The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein in the liquid discharging step, the discharging speed of the coating liquid is changed during discharging of the coating liquid.
The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the tube is a medical tube to be introduced into the body.
The method for manufacturing a coated tube according to claim 14, wherein a linear member is inserted through the inside of the medical tube.
An apparatus for manufacturing a coated tube in which a coating layer is formed on the inner surface of the tube,
holding means for holding the tube in a vertically extending direction;
liquid introducing means for introducing a coating liquid into the tube from the lower end of the tube held by the holding means;
a liquid discharging means for forming a state in which the coating liquid adheres to the inner surface of the tube in the form of a film by discharging the coating liquid introduced into the tube from the lower end of the tube;
drying means for forming the coating layer on the inner surface of the tube by drying and solidifying the applied coating liquid;
An apparatus for manufacturing coated tubes, comprising: