Heat Shrink Tubing

Abstract

An embodiment of heat-shrinkable tubing capable of providing the strength characteristics of known heat-shrinkable tubing embodiments while maintaining a low peel force for easy removal from a shaft or other solid body during extrusion and expansion manufacturing.

Claims

1. A peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing adapted to peel easily without the necessity of a perforation, cut, or score, comprised of: at least one fluorinated ethylene propylene resin; and at least one ethylene tetrafluoroethylene resin.

2. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 1, wherein said tubing features a peripheral wall selected from the group consisting of: a transparent wall, a translucent wall, and an opaque wall.

3. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 2, wherein said tubing may be customizably shrunk to a desired diameter smaller than the original diameter of said tubing.

4. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 3, wherein said tubing may exhibit elemental exposure resistance selected from the group consisting of: chemical resistance, water resistance, and ultraviolet resistance.

5. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 4, wherein said tubing exhibits a longitudinal shrinkage of 5% or less of a starting length of said tubing.

6. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 5, wherein said tubing exhibits a concentricity of at least 90%.

7. The peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing of claim 6, wherein said tubing is comprised of at least one or more additional thermoplastic resins.

8. A method of preparing and utilizing peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing, comprising: Mixing two or more thermoplastic resins into a thermoplastic resin mixture; Extruding said resin mixture into a tubing, wherein said tubing exhibits an initial inner diameter, wall thickness, and length; Inserting components into said tubing; Exposing said tubing to a desired temperature; Shrinking said tubing to adhere to said components, wherein said tubing exhibits longitudinal shrinkage of 5% or less of said initial length; and Peeling said tubing from said components without any perforations, scoring, or cutting.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 depicts a heat-shrinkable tubing embodying the principles of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 2 depicts a semi-peeled heat-shrinkable tubing embodying the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] As noted above, known heat-shrinkable tubing embodiments and materials generally require perforating, cutting, or scoring of the heat-shrunk tubing to remove the tubing from around the catheter shaft or solid body. Accordingly, this substantially limits the practical uses of known heat-shrinkable tubing embodiments and materials.

[0012] FIG. 1 depicts the differences between the known heat-shrinkable tubing embodiments and a peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing embodying the principles of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) heat-shrinkable tubing is one of the most commonly-used materials for heat-shrinkable tubing. Although FEP heat-shrinkable tubing provides exceptional quality and control throughout the heat-shrinking phase, FEP heat-shrinkable tubing must be cut, scored, or perforated in order to remove the tubing from the catheter shaft during catheter fabrication. Due to the fragility of a catheter, any cutting or scoring during removal of the heat-shrunk tubing may yield catastrophic results to catheter fabrication.

[0013] Accordingly, a peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing embodying the principles of the present invention would be widely desired and utilized to negate the issues with known heat-shrinkable tubing embodiments. In a particular embodiment, a peelable, heat-shrinkable tubing comprised of a mixture of FEP and Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) would produce a heat-shrinkable tubing with a low peel force to facilitate the desired easy removal of the tubing from a catheter or other shaft in extrusion and expansion manufacturing.

[0014] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the present invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous alternative arrangements that, while not shown or described herein, embody the principles of the present invention and thus are within the spirit and scope of the invention.