An automated method of producing a medical balloon

Abstract

The present application relates to the production technology field of medical devices, in particular to an automatic production method and production equipment of a medical balloon. The production method comprises the organization of the equipment, the assembly of the mold assembly, the cleaning of the mold, the immersion of the shape agent, the immersion of the latex, and the demolding. The demolding step is completed in the demolding tank, and the water flow sprayed by the nozzle is used to impact the balloon mold with the shaped latex layer to complete the demolding. The production method is fully mechanized production, has high production efficiency, occupies few human resources, sprays water flow for rapid demolding, has high demolding efficiency and low damage rate, and the production equipment mechanism is compact and occupies small space.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical device production, in particular to an automatic production method and production equipment for medical balloons. BACKGROUND

[0002] Balloon is widely used in the medical field. The production of latex balloon is by immersing a rod-shaped mold in liquid latex, allowing the latex to adhere to the surface of the mold to form a latex film, and then drying, demolding and other processes. The traditional production of latex balloon is almost entirely completed by manual work, which is scattered in various process links, occupies many human resources and has low automation level. Chinese patent application 2022117350666 discloses a preparation method and preparation device for medical balloons, and the publication number is CN116079966A. The method includes: preparing a solution; providing a balloon mold core; immersing the balloon mold core in the solution to form a film layer of the medical balloon on the outer surface of the balloon mold core; rotating the immersed balloon mold core by a first preset angle in the vertical direction; preheating the rotated balloon mold core for a first preset time; moving the preheated balloon mold core into an oven for baking to solidify the film layer; and separating the film layer from the balloon mold core to obtain the medical balloon. This method attempts to solve the problem of uneven thickness of the film layer formed on the outer surface of the balloon mold core after immersion, but it does not solve the problems of scattered process links, low production efficiency and labor-intensive production. In particular, because the medical balloon is small in size and light in weight, both manual demolding and mechanical demolding have a high breakage rate, making it difficult to reduce waste and improve production efficiency while ensuring product quality. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to provide an automatic production method and production equipment for medical balloons with high production efficiency, low labor resource occupation, high demolding efficiency and low breakage rate.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

[0005] The automatic production method for medical balloons according to the present application is characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0006] Step one, organization of the equipment, latex dipping tank, auxiliary agent dipping tank, demolding tank, mold cleaning machine are arranged in sequence to form an equipment set, meanwhile, a slide rail with a liftable mechanical arm is arranged on the side of the equipment set, a latex drying oven and an auxiliary agent drying oven are arranged above the latex dipping tank and the auxiliary agent dipping tank respectively; the latex dipping tank is used for heating and keeping constant temperature of the latex and dipping the balloon mold into the latex, the auxiliary agent dipping tank is used for dipping the balloon mold into the auxiliary agent, the demolding tank is used for stripping the formed balloon from the balloon mold; latex is injected into the latex dipping tank and heated to keep constant temperature, auxiliary agent is injected into the auxiliary agent dipping tank;

[0007] Step two, assembly of the mold assembly, a plurality of columnar balloon molds are installed on a mold mounting plate which can be grabbed by the liftable mechanical arm, the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds is grabbed by the liftable mechanical arm and lifted to the upper dead point, the posture of the mold mounting plate is adjusted to make the balloon molds vertically downward;

[0008] Step three, cleaning of the mold, the liftable mechanical arm is moved to the upper side of the mold cleaning machine along the slide rail, the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to the lower dead point to make the balloon molds vertically inserted into the mold cleaning machine, the outer surface of the balloon molds is brushed by the brush roller in the mold cleaning machine cooperating with the jet flow, then the liftable mechanical arm is lifted to the upper dead point;

[0009] Step four, dipping of the auxiliary agent, the liftable mechanical arm is moved to the upper side of the auxiliary agent dipping tank along the slide rail, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to make the balloon molds below the mold mounting plate vertically inserted into the liquid surface of the auxiliary agent, it stays for enough time, then the liftable mechanical arm is lifted to make the lower end of the balloon molds completely separated from the liquid surface of the auxiliary agent, after the balloon molds are separated from the liquid surface of the auxiliary agent, it stays for a period of time to make no liquid drops drop from the lower end of the balloon molds, then the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon molds vertically upward, the liftable mechanical arm is lifted to the upper dead point again, the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds is sent into the auxiliary agent drying oven from the lower end to dry the auxiliary agent on the surface of the balloon molds;

[0010] Step five, dipping of the latex, after the auxiliary agent on the surface of the balloon molds is dried, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to make the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds separated from the auxiliary agent drying oven, the liftable mechanical arm is moved to the upper side of the latex dipping tank along the slide rail, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon molds vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is continuously lowered to the lower dead point to make the balloon molds vertically inserted into the liquid surface of the latex, it stays for enough time, then the liftable mechanical arm is lifted to make the lower end of the balloon molds completely separated from the liquid surface of the latex, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon molds vertically upward, the liftable mechanical arm is continuously lifted to the upper dead point, the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds is sent into the latex drying oven from the lower end to dry and shape the latex on the surface of the balloon molds;

[0011] Step six, demolding, after the latex on the balloon mold surface is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to make the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold separate from the latex drying oven, the liftable mechanical arm is moved along the slide rail to above the demolding groove, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is continuously lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding groove, the water flow sprayed by the nozzle arranged on the demolding groove obliquely impacts the shaped latex layer on the outer surface of the balloon mold, until the latex layer falls off from the surface of the balloon mold into the demolding groove, then the fallen latex layer is collected from the demolding groove, and the medical balloon is obtained after the water is drained, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is raised to the upper limit point, and the next working cycle is waited;

[0012] Step seven, repeating steps three to six until all the required medical balloons are obtained.

[0013] Through the above technical solution, the production method realizes fully mechanized production, has high automation degree, occupies few human resources, and solves the problems of low efficiency and high damage rate of manual demolding by using the water flow impact demolding method, so that the demolding efficiency is greatly improved and the damage rate is low.

[0014] Preferably, in step six, the impact point of the water flow sprayed by the nozzle is located at the junction between the upper end of the shaped latex layer and the exposed part of the balloon mold.

[0015] Through the above technical solution, more efficient demolding can be realized, and the damage rate is reduced.

[0016] Preferably, in step one, the equipment set includes a cooling water tank arranged outside the mold cleaning machine, and in step six, after the latex on the surface of the balloon mold is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to make the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold separate from the latex drying oven, the liftable mechanical arm is moved along the slide rail to above the cooling water tank, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is continuously lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted below the liquid level of the cooling water tank, and the water in the cooling water tank is used to reduce the temperature of the balloon mold; then the height of the liftable mechanical arm is raised to make the lower end of the balloon mold completely separate from the liquid level of the cooling water tank, the liftable mechanical arm is moved along the slide rail to above the demolding groove, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is lowered to the lower limit point again, the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding groove, the water flow sprayed by the nozzle arranged on the demolding groove obliquely impacts the shaped latex layer on the outer surface of the balloon mold, until the latex layer falls off from the surface of the balloon mold into the demolding groove, then the fallen latex layer is collected from the demolding groove, and the medical balloon is obtained after the water is drained, the height of the liftable mechanical arm is raised to the upper limit point, and the next working cycle is waited.

[0017] Through the technical scheme, the latex after drying and shaping can be cooled as soon as possible, which is beneficial to subsequent demolding.

[0018] The production equipment of the automatic production method of the medical balloon comprises, in sequence, a latex impregnation tank, a shape-retaining agent impregnation tank, a demolding tank and a mold cleaning machine arranged on one side of a sliding rail, a liftable mechanical arm is arranged on the sliding rail, the demolding tank comprises a demolding water tank and a mold rack arranged on the upper end of the demolding water tank, the mold rack is a horizontally arranged flat plate structure supported at the periphery of the demolding water tank, and a through hole for accommodating the balloon mold to pass through is arranged on the mold rack; a spray pipe with nozzles is arranged in the inner cavity of the demolding water tank, the spray pipe is horizontally arranged below the mold rack, a plurality of spray pipes are arranged at equal intervals, the gap between adjacent spray pipes is greater than the diameter of the balloon mold on the mold rack, and the nozzle is inclined downward; the end of the spray pipe is connected to a circulating water tank through a pressure pump, the lower end of the demolding water tank is provided with an inclined bottom plate, the lower end of the bottom plate is provided with a window, a drain tank is connected to the window, the upper end of the drain tank is provided with a drain plate, and the lower end of the drain tank is connected to the input end of a water treatment device through a pipeline.

[0019] Through the technical scheme, the balloon mold is demolded by using high-pressure water flow impact, the balloon latex layer is less damaged, the production efficiency is high, the manufacturing cost is low, the reliability is high, the degree of automation is high, and it is beneficial to mass production; the demolding water is recycled, meets the requirements of environmental protection and energy saving, and the operation cost is low.

[0020] Preferably, the liftable mechanical arm comprises a sliding block for mounting on a stand, a support connected to the sliding block through a rotating shaft, a mold rack lock is fixedly connected to the support, a mold rack is detachably mounted on the mold rack lock, the mold rack comprises a mold mounting plate, one side of the mold mounting plate is fixedly provided with a balloon mold, and the other side of the mold mounting plate is fixedly provided with a lock hook matched with the mold rack lock; the mold rack lock comprises a lock mounting plate fixedly connected to the side of the support and parallel to the axis of the rotating shaft, a lock bolt cylinder fixedly mounted on the lock mounting plate, and a lock bolt controlled by the lock bolt cylinder, the lock bolt is used for locking or releasing the lock hook; the mold mounting plate and the lock mounting plate are both rectangular plate structures, each of the four corners of the mold mounting plate is provided with a lock hook in a cylindrical structure perpendicular to the plate surface of the mold mounting plate, a lock bolt slot capable of accommodating the lock bolt is arranged on the side wall of the lock hook, lock eye holes allowing the lock hook to pass through are arranged at the four corners of the lock mounting plate and correspond to the positions of the lock hooks, a lock bolt seat is fixedly mounted on one side of the upper surface of the lock mounting plate and corresponds to the lock eye holes, and the lock bolt is slidingly mounted in the lock bolt seat and is in transmission connection with the lock bolt cylinder through a transmission rod.

[0021] Through the technical scheme, the mechanical arm is adapted to requirements of various links of medical balloon production, can perform multiple operations such as dipping, drying and cleaning, improves the automation level of medical balloon production, and reduces labor intensity.

[0022] Preferably, the latex drying box and the sizing agent drying box are both box structures provided with hot air input ports and return air ports on side walls and with entrances and exits at lower ends, the entrance and exit of the latex drying box are used for extending the dipped balloon mold into the inner cavity of the latex drying box, and the entrance and exit of the sizing agent drying box are used for extending the balloon mold dipped with the sizing agent into the inner cavity of the sizing agent drying box.

[0023] Through the technical scheme, the dipped balloon mold can be dried in the sizing agent drying box or the latex drying box as soon as possible, the moving distance is short, and the influence of the external environment is small. Compared with the prior art, the application has the beneficial effects that: full mechanized production, high production efficiency, less occupation of human resources, rapid demolding of the water jet, high demolding efficiency, low breakage rate, compact production equipment mechanism, and small occupation space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic view of a production equipment of an embodiment of the application.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic view of a production equipment of an embodiment of the application. Figure 1 It is a top view of an embodiment.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic view of a demolding groove.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a top structural schematic view of a demolding groove.

[0028] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic view of a liftable mechanical arm.

[0029] Figure 6 It is a side structural schematic view of a liftable mechanical arm.

[0030] Figure 7 It is a top structural schematic view of a liftable mechanical arm. Figure 6

[0031] Figure 8 It is a top structural schematic view of a liftable mechanical arm. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] ​With reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present application.

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 2 The automatic production method of the medical balloon comprises the following steps:

[0034] Step one, organization of equipment. The purpose of this step is to reasonably arrange and arrange various equipment used in production, so that each production link is more compact, and production efficiency is improved as much as possible and useless turnover is reduced.

[0035] The latex dipping tank 1, the auxiliary agent dipping tank 2, the demolding tank 3, and the mold cleaning machine 4 are arranged in sequence to form an equipment set, and a slide rail 6 with a liftable mechanical arm 5 is arranged on the side of the equipment set. A latex drying box 7 and an auxiliary agent drying box 8 are arranged above the latex dipping tank and the auxiliary agent dipping tank respectively; the latex dipping tank 1 is used to heat the latex and keep it at a constant temperature, and the balloon mold is dipped in the latex; the auxiliary agent dipping tank 2 is used to dip the balloon mold in the auxiliary agent; the demolding tank 3 is used to separate the formed balloon from the balloon mold; latex is injected into the latex dipping tank 1 and heated to keep it at a constant temperature, and auxiliary agent is injected into the auxiliary agent dipping tank 2; such arrangement can connect the equipment used in each production link in series through the slide rail 6, and the liftable mechanical arm 5 moves the balloon mold on the slide rail 6 back and forth during production, and cooperates with the corresponding production equipment to complete each process step of balloon production.

[0036] Step two, assemble the mold assembly. The purpose of this step is to combine multiple balloon molds to form a mold assembly, so that multiple balloon molds can be used to produce multiple balloons simultaneously during production, improving production efficiency. In addition, to avoid damage to the balloon mold by the production equipment, the balloon mold cannot be directly grabbed or clamped during each production link, and the carrier of the balloon mold must be used as the object of grabbing or clamping when moving the balloon mold. Therefore, the balloon mold needs to be installed on a carrier that is easy to grab and clamp.

[0037] A plurality of columnar balloon molds are installed on a mold mounting plate that can be grabbed by a liftable mechanical arm, the liftable mechanical arm 5 grabs the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds and raises to the upper dead point, the posture of the mold mounting plate is adjusted to make the balloon molds vertically downward; the balloon molds are rod-shaped structures, the upper end of the balloon mold can be directly welded on the lower surface of the mold mounting plate, or the balloon mold can be vertically fixedly connected on the mold mounting plate by screws. The plurality of balloon molds are arranged in a rectangular array in a longitudinal and transverse manner on the same mold mounting plate. In this way, the liftable mechanical arm 5 grabs the periphery of the mold mounting plate and does not touch the balloon molds.

[0038] Step three, cleaning the mold, the purpose of this step is to clean the surface of the balloon mold, to avoid the influence of impurities on the subsequent steps.

[0039] The liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved to the upper side of the mold cleaning machine 4 along the slide rail 6, the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to the lower dead point to make the balloon molds vertically inserted into the mold cleaning machine 4, the outer surface of the balloon mold is brushed by the brush roller in the mold cleaning machine cooperating with the jet flow, and then the liftable mechanical arm 5 is raised to the upper dead point; during cleaning, the balloon molds installed on the mold mounting plate only contact the brush roller and the washing water, the cleaning effect is good and the outer surface of the balloon mold can be avoided from being damaged by scratching and collision.

[0040] Step four, dipping the pattern agent, the purpose of this step is to uniformly coat a layer of pattern agent on the surface of the balloon mold, which helps the latex to be formed on the balloon mold.

[0041] The liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved to the upper side of the pattern agent dipping tank 2 along the slide rail 6, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to make the balloon molds below the mold mounting plate vertically inserted into the liquid surface of the pattern agent, stay for enough time, then raise the liftable mechanical arm 5 to make the lower end of the balloon mold completely separated from the liquid surface of the pattern agent, after the balloon mold is separated from the liquid surface of the pattern agent, stand for a period of time to make the lower end of the balloon mold no longer have liquid drops falling, then turn over the mold mounting plate to make the balloon mold vertically upward, raise the liftable mechanical arm 5 to the upper dead point again, and send the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds into the pattern agent drying oven 8 from the lower end to dry the pattern agent on the surface of the balloon mold; the pattern agent has good fluidity, the lower end of the balloon mold just taken out from the pattern agent may have liquid drops falling, after the liquid drops no longer fall, slightly pause and dry, the fluidity is reduced, and before drying, turning over the balloon mold can make the liquid drops gathered at the lower end of the balloon mold but not falling spread to the outer wall of the balloon mold under the action of gravity, improving the uniformity of the pattern agent layer on the outer surface of the balloon mold.

[0042] Step five, dipping the latex, the purpose of this step is to uniformly coat the latex on the surface of the balloon mold and dry to form a latex layer.

[0043] After the surface of the balloon mold is dried with the sizing agent, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to make the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold leave the sizing agent drying box 8, the liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved along the slide rail to above the latex dipping tank 1, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is continuously lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the liquid surface of the latex, stays for enough time, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is raised to make the lower end of the balloon mold completely leave the liquid surface of the latex, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically upward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is continuously raised to the upper limit point, the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold is sent into the latex drying box 7 from the lower end, and the latex on the surface of the balloon mold is dried and shaped. Since the latex has a certain flowability, when the balloon mold vertically downward is just taken out from the latex, the latex will flow downward under the gravity of the latex itself, causing the thickness of the latex at the lower end of the balloon mold to be greater than that at the upper end. The balloon mold is turned over to the vertically upward state and put into the latex drying box 7 for drying. At this time, the lower end of the balloon mold faces upward and the upper end faces downward. Before drying, the latex flows from the lower end of the balloon mold to the upper end of the balloon mold under the gravity, offsetting the defect of the greater thickness of the latex at the lower end. After drying, a more uniform and consistent latex layer is obtained.

[0044] Step six, demolding. The purpose of this step is to peel the dried latex layer from the balloon mold.

[0045] After the latex on the surface of the balloon mold is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to make the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold leave the latex drying box 7, the liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved along the slide rail to above the demolding tank 3, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is continuously lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding tank 3, and the water flow sprayed by the nozzle arranged on the demolding tank 3 obliquely impacts the latex layer on the outer surface of the balloon mold which has been shaped, until the latex layer falls from the surface of the balloon mold into the demolding tank. The impact point of the water flow sprayed by the nozzle is located at the junction of the upper end of the shaped latex layer and the exposed part of the balloon mold. The high-pressure water flow impacts an opening at the junction of the upper end of the latex layer and the balloon mold, and the water flow enters the inside of the latex layer from the opening. Finally, a water film is formed between the inner wall of the latex layer and the balloon mold, which separates the latex layer from the balloon mold and finally falls from the balloon mold. Subsequently, the fallen latex layer is collected from the demolding tank, drained of water to obtain a medical balloon, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is raised to the upper limit point, and the next working cycle is waited. The demolding efficiency of the water flow impact is high and the latex layer will not be damaged.

[0046] Step seven, repeat steps three to six above until all the required medical balloons are obtained.

[0047] As a further improvement of the production method of the present application, in step one, the set of equipment includes a cooling water tank 9 arranged outside the mold cleaning machine, in step six, after the latex of the balloon mold surface is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to separate the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold from the latex drying box 7, the liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved along the slide rail above the cooling water tank 9, the mold mounting plate is turned over to make the balloon mold vertically downward, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is continuously lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted below the liquid level of the cooling water tank 9, and the temperature of the balloon mold is lowered by the water in the cooling water tank 9; then the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is raised to completely separate the lower end of the balloon mold from the liquid level of the cooling water tank 9, the liftable mechanical arm 5 is moved along the slide rail above the demolding tank 3, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is lowered to the lower limit point, the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding tank 3, and the water flow sprayed by the nozzle arranged on the demolding tank 3 is obliquely downward to impact the latex layer on the outer surface of the balloon mold which has been shaped, until the latex layer is separated from the surface of the balloon mold and falls into the demolding tank, then the separated latex layer is collected from the demolding tank, and the medical balloon is obtained after draining the water, the height of the liftable mechanical arm 5 is raised to the upper limit point, and the next working cycle is waited. The cooling of the balloon mold by the cooling water tank 9 before demolding is beneficial to the smooth demolding in the subsequent steps.

[0048] The production equipment for the automatic production method of the medical balloon of the present application includes a latex dipping tank 1, a shaping agent dipping tank 2, a demolding tank 3, and a mold cleaning machine 4 arranged in sequence on one side of a slide rail 6, and a liftable mechanical arm 5 is arranged on the slide rail 6. A latex drying box 7 is arranged above the latex dipping tank 1, and a shaping agent drying box 8 is arranged above the shaping agent dipping tank 2.

[0049] The latex dipping tank 1 is used for heating and keeping constant temperature of the latex and dipping the balloon mold into the latex, the shaping agent dipping tank 2 is used for dipping the balloon mold into the shaping agent, the demolding tank 3 is used for stripping the shaped balloon from the balloon mold, and the mold cleaning machine 4 is used for cleaning the balloon mold after demolding; in use, the latex dipping tank 1 is injected with latex and heated to keep constant temperature, and the shaping agent dipping tank 2 is injected with the shaping agent.

[0050] The latex drying oven 7 and the sizing agent drying oven 8 are both box structures provided with hot air input ports and air return ports on the side walls and with entrances at the lower ends, the entrance of the latex drying oven 7 is used to put the balloon mold immersed in the latex into the inner cavity of the latex drying oven 7, and the entrance of the sizing agent drying oven 8 is used to put the balloon mold immersed in the sizing agent into the inner cavity of the sizing agent drying oven 8. After the balloon mold is vertically downwardly immersed in the sizing agent immersion tank 2, the balloon mold is lifted to be separated from the liquid surface of the sizing agent, at this time, the balloon mold can be sent into the sizing agent drying oven 8 for drying by being turned by 180 degrees to be vertically upwardly and being lifted to a height. Similarly, the balloon mold immersed in the latex only needs to be turned by 180 degrees to be conveniently and quickly sent into the latex drying oven 7.

[0051] As shown in Figure 3 , Figure 4 , the demolding tank 3 comprises a demolding water tank 1A and a mold rack 9A installed at the upper end of the demolding water tank 1A, the demolding water tank 1A is a rectangular water tank structure made of stainless steel plate, which is open at the upper end and drains water at the lower end. The inner cavity of the demolding water tank 1A is provided with a spraying pipe 2A provided with a nozzle 3A, and the nozzle 3A and the spraying pipe 2A are both made of stainless steel material. The mold rack 9A is a horizontally arranged flat plate structure supported at the edges of the demolding water tank 1A, and the mold rack 9A is provided with a through hole 91A for accommodating the balloon mold to pass through, which can be a round hole matched with the diameter of the balloon mold, or a long hole matched with and allowing a row of balloon molds to be put in at the same time as shown in Figure 4 . The spraying pipe 2A is horizontally arranged below the mold rack 9A, and the two ends of the spraying pipe 2A are respectively inserted and installed in the opposite two side walls of the demolding water tank 1A. A plurality of spraying pipes 2A are arranged at equal distances, and the gap between adjacent spraying pipes 2A is greater than the diameter of the balloon mold on the mold rack, and the nozzle 3A is inclined downwardly and points to the balloon mold extending below the mold rack 9A through the through hole 91A. As shown in Figure 3 , the end of the spraying pipe 2A is connected to the circulating water tank 4A through a pressure pump, and the water in the circulating water tank 4A can be pumped into the spraying pipe 2A and sprayed out from the nozzle 3A, and the high-pressure water flow sprayed out from the nozzle 3A impacts the latex film on the balloon mold which has been cooled and shaped, and washes it down to complete the demolding.

[0052] The lower end of the demolding water tank 1A is provided with an inclined bottom plate 5A, and the lower end of the bottom plate 5A is provided with a window 51A for collecting and demolding the latex balloon and the demolding water and collecting and discharging the demolding water from the window 51A. The window 51A is connected with a water draining tank 6A, and the upper end of the water draining tank 6A is provided with a water draining plate 7A allowing the demolding water to pass through and blocking the latex balloon, so as to separate the balloon and the water; the lower end of the water draining tank 6A is connected with the input end of a water treatment device 8A through a pipeline, and the output end of the water treatment device 8A is connected with the circulating water tank 4A. In this way, the demolding water can be treated and then injected into the circulating water tank 4A for subsequent demolding work.

[0053] The window 51A is arranged on the side wall of the demolding water tank 1A, the lower end of the window 51A is connected with the upper surface of the bottom plate 5A, and one side of the water draining plate 7A is connected with the bottom plate 5A. The water draining tank 6A is arranged on one side of the demolding water tank 1A, and the water draining plate 7A is directly above the water draining tank 6A without any blockage, so that the staff can collect the latex balloon after demolding and water draining from the water draining plate 7A.

[0054] In addition, the side wall of the spraying pipe 2A is fixedly provided with a nozzle seat 21A, the nozzle seat 21A is a tubular structure with an axis perpendicular to the spraying pipe 2A, the nozzle seat 21A is provided with an internal thread, and the nozzle 3A is screwed on the nozzle seat 21A.

[0055] In use, the balloon mold after being immersed in the surface to form a latex film, and then dried and cooled to shape the latex film, extends into the demolding water tank 1A through the through hole 91A on the mold frame 9A, the pressure pump pumps the water in the circulating water tank 4A into the spraying pipe 2A and sprays out from the nozzle 3A, the high-pressure water flow sprayed from the nozzle 3A impacts the balloon mold, the water flow obliquely impacts the upper end of the latex film which has been cooled and shaped, the joint part of the latex film and the balloon mold, and after opening a hole, the water flow flows into the latex film, forming a water film between the latex film and the balloon mold, and washing the latex film off the balloon mold, completing the demolding. The demolded latex balloon and water fall onto the bottom plate 5A of the demolding water tank 1A, and slide along the inclined bottom plate 5A to the window 51A, and the latex balloon is drained from the water through the water draining plate 7A, and the staff can directly collect the latex balloon from the water draining plate 7A. The water output from the water draining plate 7A is treated by the water treatment device 8A and then sent back to the circulating water tank 4A for repeated use.

[0056] As Figures 5-8As shown, the liftable mechanical arm 5 comprises a slider 1B for mounting on a stand, a support 3B connected to the slider 1B through a rotating shaft 2B, and a rotating driving mechanism mounted on the slider 1B for driving the rotating shaft 2B to rotate. The rotating driving mechanism can be a cylinder, and the extending and retracting end of the cylinder is hinged to the edge of the rotating shaft 2B. When the cylinder extends and retracts, it can drive the rotating shaft 2B to rotate by 90 degrees or 180 degrees. Alternatively, the rotating driving mechanism can be a stepping motor with a driving gear. The stepping motor cooperates with the driving gear to drive the rotating shaft 2B to rotate by any angle. A driven gear ring is arranged at the edge of the rotating shaft 2B, and the driven gear ring is engaged with the driving gear. When the stepping motor works, it drives the driven gear ring and the rotating shaft 2B to rotate through the engaged driving gear. The internal structure of such a rotating driving mechanism is a prior art, which will not be described in detail here. The support 3B is fixedly connected with a mold rack lock, and the mold rack lock is detachably mounted with a mold rack. The mold rack comprises a mold mounting plate 4B, one side of which is fixedly mounted with a balloon mold 41B, and the other side is fixedly mounted with a lock hook 42B for cooperating with the mold rack lock. The balloon mold 41B in the shape of an elongated column can be welded on the mold mounting plate 4B, or a fixing screw can be installed on the mold mounting plate 4B, and the balloon mold 41B is connected to the mold mounting plate 4B by the fixing screw. In use, the mold mounting plate 4B is connected to the mold rack lock through the lock hook 42B, and the mold mounting plate 4B is driven to rotate by the rotation of the rotating shaft 2B. The mold mounting plate 4B is lifted and lowered by the sliding movement of the slider 1B on the stand, and the stand is slid on the slide rail 6, thereby driving the mold mounting plate 4B to switch between different stations.

[0057] As shown in Figure 5 , the mold rack lock comprises a lock mounting plate 5B fixedly connected to the side of the support 3B and parallel to the axis of the rotating shaft 2B, a lock tongue cylinder 51B fixedly mounted on the lock mounting plate 5B, and a lock tongue 52B controlled by the lock tongue cylinder 51B, which is used to lock or release the lock hook 42B. When the lock tongue cylinder 51B works, it locks the lock hook 42B through the lock tongue 52B, and the mold mounting plate 4B is locked on the lock mounting plate 5B.

[0058] As shown in Figures 5-8 , the mold mounting plate 4B and the lock mounting plate 5B are both in the shape of a rectangular plate. The mold mounting plate 4B in the shape of a rectangular plate can simultaneously mount a plurality of balloon molds 41B arranged in a regular rectangular queue, and each corner of the mold mounting plate 4B is provided with a lock hook 42B in the shape of a cylindrical structure perpendicular to the plate surface of the mold mounting plate 4B. Figure 7As shown, the side wall of the lock hook 42B is provided with a lock tongue slot capable of accommodating the lock tongue 52B, and the four corners of the lock mounting plate 5B are provided with lock eye holes corresponding to the positions of the lock hooks 42B, allowing the lock hooks 42B to pass through. The upper surface of the lock mounting plate 5B is fixedly installed with a lock tongue seat 53B corresponding to one side of the lock eye hole, and the lock tongue 52B is slidingly installed in the lock tongue seat 53B and is drivingly connected with the lock tongue cylinder 51B through a transmission rod 54B. The main body of the lock tongue 52B is in a cylindrical or rectangular column structure, is horizontally installed in the lock tongue seat 53B and can slide in the horizontal direction in the lock tongue seat 53B, and the front end of the lock tongue 52B is a tongue tip matching the lock tongue slot on the lock hook 42B. When the lock tongue cylinder 51B acts, it pushes the lock tongue 52B to move towards the lock hook 42B, at which time if the lock hook 42B is in the lock eye hole of the lock mounting plate 5B, the tongue tip of the lock tongue 52B will be clamped into the lock tongue slot of the lock hook 42B, fixing the position of the lock hook 42B; conversely, if the lock tongue cylinder 51B acts to pull the lock tongue 52B back, the tongue tip of the lock tongue 52B will exit from the lock tongue slot of the lock hook 42B, and the lock hook 42B will be released.

[0059] The driving connection mode of the lock tongue cylinder 51B and the lock tongue 52B has various modes, such as Figure 4 As shown, the lock tongue cylinder 51B is installed between the two lock eye holes, the telescopic rod of the lock tongue cylinder 51B is fixedly connected with a transmission rod 54B vertically arranged on the telescopic rod, the front end of the telescopic rod of the lock tongue cylinder 51B is connected to the middle of the transmission rod 54B, and the two ends of the transmission rod 54B are each hinged with a lock tongue 52B, and the tongue tip of each lock tongue 52B corresponds to point to a lock eye hole, so that one lock tongue cylinder 51B can control two lock hooks 42B. If four lock hooks 42B need to be controlled, only two lock tongue cylinders 51B are needed.

[0060] When using, the four hooks 42B on the back of the mold mounting plate 4B with the balloon mold 41B installed are aligned with the four keyhole holes on the lock mounting plate 5B, the slider 1B is lowered, the four keyhole holes on the lock mounting plate 5B are correspondingly sleeved on the four hooks 42B of the mold mounting plate 4B, the lock tongue cylinder 51B is actuated to lock the hooks 42B, at this time the mold mounting plate 4B and the lock mounting plate 5B are connected together, the position of the balloon mold 41B can be raised or lowered through the lifting slider 1B to perform dipping, cleaning and other operations that require the balloon mold 41B to be in an upright state; the orientation of the balloon mold 41B can be changed by rotating the mold mounting plate 4B through the rotating shaft 2B to perform drying and other operations that require the balloon mold 41B to be inverted or horizontally arranged. When releasing the mold mounting plate 4B, the lock tongue cylinder 51B drives the four lock tongues 52B to simultaneously exit from the lock tongue clamping grooves of the hooks 42B, after releasing the hooks 42B, the mold mounting plate 4B can be separated from the lock mounting plate 5B, so as to separate the mounting plate 4B from the lock mounting plate 5B during conversion between different processes or to completely disassemble the mounting plate 4B for separate maintenance after work.

[0061] The structure and function of the latex dipping tank 1, the sizing agent dipping tank 2 and the mold cleaning machine 4 in the embodiment are known technologies, which will not be described in detail here. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that the present application is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and the present application can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present application. Therefore, the embodiments should be regarded as exemplary and non-limiting from any point of view, the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims rather than the above description, and therefore all changes falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims are intended to be included in the present application. Any reference signs in the claims should not be regarded as limiting the claims involved.

Claims

1. An automated production method for medical balloons, characterized in that... Includes the following steps: Step 1: Equipment organization. The latex impregnation tank (1), the sizing agent impregnation tank (2), the demolding tank (3), and the mold cleaning machine (4) are arranged in sequence to form an equipment set. At the same time, a slide rail (6) with a liftable robotic arm (5) is set on the side of the equipment set. A latex drying box (7) and a sizing agent drying box (8) are set above the latex impregnation tank (1) and the sizing agent impregnation tank (2), respectively. The latex impregnation tank (1) is used to heat the latex and maintain a constant temperature and to impregnate the balloon mold with latex. The sizing agent impregnation tank (2) is used to impregnate the balloon mold with sizing agent. The demolding tank (3) is used to peel the formed balloon from the balloon mold. Latex is injected into the latex impregnation tank (1) and heated to maintain a constant temperature. Sizing agent is injected into the sizing agent impregnation tank (2). Step 2: Assemble the mold assembly. Install multiple cylindrical balloon molds on the mold mounting plate that can be grasped by the liftable robotic arm. Use the liftable robotic arm (5) to grasp the mold mounting plate with the balloon molds and raise it to the upper stop point. Adjust the posture of the mold mounting plate so that the balloon molds are vertically downward. Step 3: Clean the mold. Move the liftable robotic arm (5) along the slide rail (6) above the mold cleaning machine (4), lower the liftable robotic arm (5) to the lower stop point so that the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the mold cleaning machine (4), use the brush roller in the mold cleaning machine in conjunction with the sprayed water flow to clean the outer surface of the balloon mold, and then raise the liftable robotic arm (5) to the upper stop point. Step 4: Impregnate with adhesive. Move the liftable robotic arm (5) along the slide rail (6) above the adhesive impregnation tank (2), lower the height of the liftable robotic arm (5) so that the balloon mold under the mold mounting plate is vertically inserted below the liquid surface of the adhesive, stay for a sufficient time, then raise the liftable robotic arm (5) so that the lower end of the balloon mold is completely removed from the liquid surface of the adhesive. After the balloon mold is removed from the liquid surface of the adhesive, let it stand for a period of time so that no more liquid drops fall from the lower end of the balloon mold. Then flip the mold mounting plate so that the balloon mold is vertically upward, raise the liftable robotic arm (5) again to the upper stop point, and send the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold from the lower end into the adhesive drying box (8) to dry the adhesive on the surface of the balloon mold. Step 5: Impregnate the latex. After the sizing agent on the surface of the balloon mold is dried, lower the height of the liftable robotic arm (5) so that the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold is removed from the sizing agent drying box (8). Move the liftable robotic arm (5) along the slide rail to the top of the latex impregnation tank (1). Flip the mold mounting plate so that the balloon mold is vertically downward. Continue to lower the height of the liftable robotic arm (5) to the lower stop point so that the balloon mold is vertically inserted below the liquid surface of the latex. Hold for a sufficient time, then raise the liftable robotic arm (5) so that the lower end of the balloon mold is completely removed from the liquid surface of the latex. Flip the mold mounting plate so that the balloon mold is vertically upward. Continue to raise the liftable robotic arm (5) to the upper stop point. Send the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold from the lower end into the latex drying box (7) to dry and shape the latex on the surface of the balloon mold. Step 6, demolding. After the latex on the surface of the balloon mold is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable robotic arm (5) is lowered so that the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold is removed from the latex drying box (7). The liftable robotic arm (5) is moved along the slide rail to the top of the demolding groove (3). The mold mounting plate is flipped so that the balloon mold is vertically downward. The height of the liftable robotic arm (5) is lowered to the lower stop point so that the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding groove (3). The water jet from the nozzle set on the demolding groove (3) is tilted downward to impact the latex layer that has been shaped on the outer surface of the balloon mold until the latex layer falls off the surface of the balloon mold into the demolding groove. Then the fallen latex layer is collected from the demolding groove, the water is drained and the medical balloon is obtained. The height of the liftable robotic arm (5) is raised to the upper stop point and the next work cycle is waited for. Step 7: Repeat steps 3 through 6 above until all the required medical balloons are obtained.

2. The automated production method of a medical balloon according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step six, the water jet from the nozzle impacts at the junction of the upper end of the shaped latex layer and the exposed part of the balloon mold.

3. An automated production method for a medical balloon according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In step one, the equipment assembly includes a cooling water tank (9) located outside the mold cleaning machine. In step six, after the latex on the surface of the balloon mold is dried and shaped, the height of the liftable robotic arm (5) is lowered so that the mold mounting plate with the balloon mold is removed from the latex drying box (7). The liftable robotic arm (5) is moved along the slide rail to the top of the cooling water tank (9). The mold mounting plate is flipped so that the balloon mold is vertically downward. The height of the liftable robotic arm (5) is lowered to the lower stop point so that the balloon mold is vertically inserted below the liquid surface of the cooling water tank (9). The water in the cooling water tank (9) is used to lower the temperature of the balloon mold. Then the liftable robotic arm (5) is raised. 5) The height of the balloon mold is such that the lower end of the balloon mold is completely removed from the liquid surface of the cooling water tank (9). The lifting robotic arm (5) is moved along the slide rail to the top of the demolding groove (3). The height of the lifting robotic arm (5) is then lowered to the lower stop point, so that the balloon mold is vertically inserted into the inner cavity of the demolding groove (3). The water jet from the nozzle set on the demolding groove (3) is tilted downward to impact the latex layer that has been shaped on the outer surface of the balloon mold until the latex layer falls off the surface of the balloon mold into the demolding groove. Then the fallen latex layer is collected from the demolding groove, the water is drained, and a medical balloon is obtained. The height of the lifting robotic arm (5) is raised to the upper stop point, and the next work cycle is waited for.

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