Flexible tube manufacturing equipment

Abstract

To provide a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus that is capable of continuously extruding a resin layer whose hardness gradually changes along a length direction and a soft tip at a tip, and shortening a length of the soft tip.SOLUTION: There is provided a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus, comprising: first to third extruders; a mold; and first to third valves. The mold has an inner mold that has a straight portion of a circular columnar outer shape and a convergent tapered portion provided closer to an extrusion port side than the straight portion, and an outer mold that accommodates the inner mold in a hollow portion. Inside the mold, there are provided: a first supply passage connecting the first valve and a flow passage; a second supply passage connecting the second valve and the flow passage; and a third supply passage connecting the third valve and the flow passage. Downstream side end portions of the first supply passage and the second supply passage are connected to a portion of the flow passage formed between the straight portion and the outer mold, and a downstream side end portion of the third supply passage is connected to a portion of the flow passage formed between the tapered portion and the outer mold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus for extrusion molding a flexible tube in which the outer surface of a braided wire is coated with resin. [Background technology]

[0002] In medical institutions, tubular medical devices called catheters are used to inject medicinal solutions, contrast agents, etc., into specific locations within a patient's body or to withdraw bodily fluids, etc. Because catheters are inserted into the body through curved blood vessels, etc., their distal end must be flexible enough to easily bend along the curved portion of the blood vessel without damaging the vessel. Meanwhile, the portion of the catheter that is not inserted into the body must have appropriate rigidity to facilitate catheter manipulation. Accordingly, various catheter manufacturing devices have been proposed that gradually change the hardness along their length, from a softer distal end to a harder proximal end. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a device that can manufacture flexible tubes with continuously varying hardness along their length by extruding two resins with different hardnesses at different mixing ratios onto the outer surface of a braided wire.

[0003] One catheter that can further improve safety by suppressing damage to blood vessels is one that has a tubular portion made of a more flexible resin at the tip, called a soft tip. Conventionally, the soft tip portion has generally been formed separately from the extruded flexible tube and then joined to the tip of the flexible tube by welding or the like, but an apparatus that can manufacture flexible tubes with soft tips by in-line extrusion molding is being studied (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6144862 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6916565 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Although the soft tip provided on the flexible tube only needs to be provided at a very short portion of the tip, it was difficult to shorten the soft tip with the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 2. For example, in the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 2, a resin for molding a portion whose hardness continuously changes along the length and a resin for molding the soft tip are supplied to the die via a switching valve mechanism. In this configuration, even when the switching valve mechanism switches the resin supplied to the die to the resin for the soft tip, other resins remain in the flow path within the die. Therefore, until the resin in the flow path is replaced with the resin for the soft tip, a mixture of the resin for the soft tip and the other resin is extruded, resulting in a longer soft tip portion formed at the tip.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible tube manufacturing device that can continuously extrude a resin layer whose hardness gradually changes along the length and a soft tip at the tip, and that can shorten the length of the soft tip. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] a third extruder extruding a third resin that is softer than the first and second resins; a first through hole through which a braid wire is inserted; an extrusion outlet that extrudes resin onto the surface of the braid wire passing through the first through hole; a mold having a flow path leading to the extrusion outlet; a first valve that can switch between a state in which the first extruder and the flow path of the mold are connected and a state in which the first extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked; a second valve that can switch between a state in which the second extruder and the flow path of the mold are connected and a state in which the second extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked; and a third valve that can switch between a state in which the third extruder and the flow path of the mold are connected and a state in which the third extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked. The mold is provided with a first supply channel connecting the first valve and the flow channel, a second supply channel connecting the second valve and the flow channel, and a third supply channel connecting the third valve and the flow channel. The mold has an inner mold having a straight section with a cylindrical outer shape and a tapered section provided closer to the extrusion outlet than the straight section, and an outer mold having a hollow section and accommodating the inner mold in the hollow section with a predetermined gap between the outer surface of the inner mold and the hollow section to form a flow channel. The downstream ends of the first and second supply channels are connected to a portion of the flow channel formed between the straight section and the outer mold, and the downstream end of the third supply channel is connected to a portion of the flow channel formed between the tapered section and the outer mold. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a flexible tube manufacturing device can be provided that can continuously extrude a resin layer whose hardness gradually changes along the length and a soft tip at the tip, and that can shorten the length of the soft tip. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a top view showing a schematic configuration of a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2 [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 2 [Figure 5] Enlarged view of the Z area shown in Figure 4 [Figure 6] A plan view of the first die shown in FIG. 5(a) [Figure 7] A rear view of the first die shown in FIG. [Figure 8] Cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in Figure 6 [Figure 9] Cross section taken along line IX-IX in Figure 7 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus having a configuration in which a braid (braided tube) is provided on the outer surface of an inner-layer tube, which is a resin layer, and the braid is further covered with an outer-layer tube, which is a resin layer. A catheter shaft is an example of such a flexible tube. However, a catheter shaft is merely one example of a flexible tube, and the present invention is also applicable to manufacturing apparatuses for flexible tubes for other uses, such as flexible tubes used in endoscopes. In this specification, the extruder side is referred to as the upstream side of the resin flow path, and the extrusion port side of the mold is referred to as the downstream side of the resin flow path.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a top view showing the schematic configuration of a flexible tube manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the schematic configuration of the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portion Z shown in FIG. 4.

[0012] The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 is an apparatus for extruding a flexible tube 7 using a resin, and includes a first extruder 1, a second extruder 2, a third extruder 3, a mold 4, a first valve 11, a second valve 12, and a third valve 13. The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 is fixed to a predetermined stand or the like via a pedestal. Although not shown, a supply device for supplying the braided wire 6, a cooling device for cooling the extruded flexible tube 7, a take-up device for taking up the flexible tube 7, and the like are appropriately provided on the upstream and downstream sides of the mold 4. The braided wire 6 is transported from the rear side to the front side of the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100. The braided wire 6 is formed, for example, by providing a braid (mesh tube) on an inner layer tube, and tube The flexible tube 7 has an outer layer tube provided on the surface of the braided wire 6, and the core wire of the braided wire 6 is removed after the outer layer tube is formed to obtain a catheter shaft.

[0013] The first extruder 1, the second extruder 2, and the third extruder 3 are, for example, screw extruders that can melt resin pellets and extrude them at a constant speed from an outlet at the tip. A first resin, a second resin, and a third resin, each with different hardness, are supplied to the first extruder 1, the second extruder 2, and the third extruder 3, respectively. Specifically, the first resin is the hardest resin, the second resin is softer than the first resin, and the third resin is even softer than the second resin. The molten resins extruded from the first extruder 1, the second extruder 2, and the third extruder 3 are supplied to a flow path 8 of a mold 4 via a first valve 11, a second valve 12, and a third valve 13.

[0014] The mold 4 has a through hole 21 through which the braided wire 6 is inserted, an extrusion outlet 5 through which resin is extruded onto the surface of the braided wire 6 passing through the through hole 21, and a flow path 8 connected to the extrusion outlet 5. The extrusion outlet 5 is an opening that serves as the downstream end of the flow path 8 formed in the mold 4.

[0015] As shown in Figs. 3 to 5(a), the mold 4 has an inner mold 9 and an outer mold 10. As shown in the enlarged view of Fig. 5(b), the inner mold 9 has a straight portion 14 with a cylindrical outer shape and a tapered portion 15 that is provided on the extrusion outlet 5 side of the straight portion 14. The outer mold 10 has a hollow portion, and houses the inner mold 9 in the hollow portion. When the inner mold 9 is housed in the hollow portion of the outer mold 10, a predetermined gap is formed between the outer surface of the inner mold 9 and the inner surface of the hollow portion, and this gap forms a flow path 8 that is connected to the extrusion outlet 5.

[0016] As shown in Figures 4 and 5(a), the outer mold 10 according to this embodiment includes a first divided body 31 and a second divided body 32. The first divided body 31 accommodates a portion of the inner mold 9 within a predetermined range from the tip of the tapered portion 15, and the second divided body 32 accommodates a portion of the inner mold 9 on the rear side (the left side in Figures 4 and 5(a)) of the portion accommodated in the first divided body 31.

[0017] The first divided body 31 of the outer die 10 is composed of a flat first die 41 and a second die 42 into which the first die 41 is fitted. Details of the first die 41 and the second die 42 will be described later.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5(b), the inner mold 9 according to this embodiment is composed of a tubular portion 16 including a through-hole 21 and a tubular rotating portion 17 surrounding the tubular portion 16. The tubular portion 16 is fixed to a housing 18 and is prohibited from rotating around its central axis. teeth, The rotating part 17 has a hollow portion that accommodates the tubular part 16, and at least a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the rotating part 17 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tubular part 16. The rotating part 17 is attached to a motor 19, and can rotate in accordance with the rotational force of the motor 19 while a portion of the inner peripheral surface slides against the outer peripheral surface of the tubular part 16. The rotating part 17 is a member for mixing the first resin and the second resin present in the flow path 8, and the outer peripheral surface of the rotating part 17 is provided with grooves, pins, protrusions, etc. for promoting mixing of the resins.

[0019] The first valve 11 is provided between the first extruder 1 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4. The first valve 11 is switchable between a state in which the first extruder 1 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 are connected to each other and a state in which the communication between the first extruder 1 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 is blocked. The second valve 12 is provided between the second extruder 2 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4, and is switchable between a state in which the second extruder 2 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 are connected to each other and a state in which the communication between the second extruder 2 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 is blocked. Similarly, the third valve 13 is provided between the third extruder 3 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4, and is switchable between a state in which the third extruder 3 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 are connected to each other and a state in which the communication between the third extruder 3 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4 is blocked. The first valve 11, the second valve 12, and the third valve 13 each include, for example, a cylindrical valve element rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis, a case that houses the valve element, and a drive device such as a motor that rotates the valve element. The valve element and the case are provided with multiple flow paths formed by grooves or through-holes, and the connection state of the flow paths provided in the valve element and the case changes depending on the rotational position of the valve element, allowing control between a state in which the extruder is connected to the flow path 8 and a state in which the extruder is blocked from the flow path 8. It is preferable that the first valve 11, the second valve 12, and the third valve 13 can discharge (discard) the resin supplied from the corresponding extruder to the outside when the corresponding extruder is blocked from the flow path 8. This configuration suppresses internal pressure fluctuations in the resin supplied from each extruder to the valve, thereby ensuring stable resin supply from each valve to the flow path 8 of the mold 4. The first valve 11, the second valve 12, and the third valve 13 are not particularly limited in configuration or arrangement as long as they can perform the above-mentioned resin supply control, and may be provided in locations other than those shown in Figures 1 to 4.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, a first supply path 51 connecting the first valve 11 and the flow path 8, and a second supply path 52 connecting the second valve 12 and the flow path 8 are provided inside the mold 4. Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5(a), a third supply path 53 connecting the third valve 13 and the flow path 8 is provided inside the mold 4. The relationship between the first supply path 51, the second supply path 52, and the third supply path 53 and the flow path 8 will be described later.

[0021] The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 further includes a control device 20. The control device 20 includes a computer including a CPU, memory, storage device, communication interface, etc., and is connected to the first extruder 1, the second extruder 2, the third extruder 3, the first valve 11, the second valve 12, the third valve 13, and the motor 19 via signal lines (not shown). The control device 20 controls the operation of each of these devices connected via the signal lines. The control device 20 may also control various devices arranged upstream and downstream of the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100.

[0022] Hereinafter, the first divided body 31 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0023] Fig. 6 is a plan view of the first die shown in Fig. 5(a), and Fig. 7 is a back view of the first die shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 corresponds to a view taken along line AA in Fig. 5(a), and Fig. 7 corresponds to a view taken along line BB in Fig. 5(b). Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in Fig. 6, and Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in Fig. 7.

[0024] The first divided body 31 constituting a part of the outer die 10 includes the flat first die 41 and the second die 42 that is combined with the first die 41, as described above.

[0025] The first die 41 has a flat surface 24 on one side and a flat surface 25 parallel to the flat surface 24 on the other side. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9, the first die 41 is formed with a hole 28 whose inner diameter narrows toward the second die 42, i.e., from the flat surface 24 toward the flat surface 25, through holes 30a and 30b extending parallel to the central axis of the hole 28, and grooves 33 and 34. The hole 28 constitutes a part of the hollow portion of the outer mold 10. The groove 33 is formed so as to connect a portion overlapping an opening 35 (shown by a dashed line in FIG. 6) provided in the flat surface 23 of the second divided body 32 with the openings of the through holes 30a and 30b on the flat surface 24 side. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the groove 33 is formed in a semicircular shape; however, the shape of the groove 33 is not particularly limited as long as it can connect the opening 35 of the second divided body 32 to the through holes 30a and 30b. The groove 34 is formed so as to connect the openings of the through holes 30a and 30b on the flat surface 25 side to the openings of the hole 28 on the flat surface 25 side. In the example of FIG. 7, the groove 34 has a plurality of branch portions 36a to 36d, and each of the branch portions 36a to 36d is connected to the opening of the hole 28 on the flat surface 25 side. The branch portions 36a to 36d are formed on the flat surface 25 with n-fold symmetry (four-fold symmetry in the example of FIG. 7, where n is a natural number) about the center of the hole 38. The branch portions 36a to 36d are

[0026] The second die 42 has a flat surface 26 on one side and an extrusion outlet 5 on the other side. As shown by the two-dot chain line in Figures 8 and 9, the second die 42 is formed with a hole 29 whose inner diameter narrows from the flat surface 26 toward the extrusion outlet 5. The hole 29 constitutes the tip of the hollow portion of the outer die 10 and has a shape continuous with the hole 28 formed in the first die 41.

[0027] 5(a), the front side of the second divided body 32 (the side where the extrusion port 5 is located) is provided with a flat surface 23 that is perpendicular to the central axis of the through-hole 21. As described above, the flat surface 23 is formed with the opening 35. This opening 35 is a part of the third supply path 53 that connects the third valve 13 and the flow path 8 of the mold 4.

[0028] The mold 4 is constructed by inserting the tubular portion 16 and the rotating portion 17, which will become the inner mold 9, into the hollow portion of the second divided body 32, and attaching the first die 41 and the second die 42, which constitute the first divided body 31, to the flat surfaces of the second divided body 32. The first die 41 and the second die 42 are fixed to the second divided body 32 using mounting fixtures such as bolts (not shown). With the first die 41 and the second die 42 fixed to the second divided body 32, the flat surface 23 provided on the second divided body 32 and the flat surface 24 of the first die 41 come into close contact with each other, and the flat surface 25 of the first die 41 and the flat surface 26 of the second die 42 come into close contact with each other.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 , the first die 41 is formed with a groove 33 overlapping with the opening 35 provided in the second division 32, through holes 30a and 30b connected to the groove 33, and a groove 34 connecting the through holes 30a and 30b to the hole 28. Therefore, a flow path is formed inside the first division 31, extending from the opening 35 of the second division 32 through the groove 33, the through holes 30a and 30b, and the groove 34 to the hole 28. The hole 28 constitutes a part of the hollow portion of the outer mold 30, and as shown in FIG. 5( a), the tapered portion 15 of the inner mold 9 is disposed inside the hole 28. That is, the flow path formed in the first division 31 connects the opening 35 of the second division 32 to the portion of the flow path 8 of the mold 4 formed between the tapered portion 15 and the outer mold 10, and constitutes a predetermined range from the downstream end of the third supply path 53.

[0030] As described above, in the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the downstream ends of the first supply path 51 and the second supply path 52 provided in the mold 4 are connected to a portion of the flow path 8 provided in the mold 4 that is formed between the straight portion 14 and the outer mold 10 (see FIG. 3). On the other hand, the downstream end of the third supply path 53 is connected to a portion of the flow path 8 that is formed between the tapered portion 15 and the outer mold 10.

[0031] The following describes a method for extrusion molding a flexible tube using the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100. In the following description, an example is described in which the most flexible third resin is extruded to form a soft tip, and then the second resin is extruded continuously with the soft tip, and a mixed resin of the first resin and the second resin is extruded while increasing the mixing ratio of the first resin, and finally only the first resin is extruded.

[0032] First, before extruding the third resin for the soft tip, the control device 20 shuts off the connection between the first valve 11 and the flow path 8 and the connection between the third valve 13 and the flow path 8, and connects the connection between the second valve 12 and the flow path 8. In this state, the second resin extruded from the second extruder 2 is supplied to the flow path 8, filling the inside of the flow path 8 with the second resin.

[0033] Next, the control device 20 shuts off the connection between the first valve 11 and the flow path 8 and the connection between the second valve 12 and the flow path 8, and connects the connection between the third valve 13 and the flow path 8. In this state, the third resin extruded from the third extruder 3 is supplied to the flow path 8. As described above, the downstream end of the third supply path 53 connecting the third valve 13 and the flow path 8 is connected to the portion of the flow path 8 between the tapered portion 15 and the outer mold 10, i.e., the tip portion of the flow path 8. The third resin supplied to the flow path 8 extrudes the second resin present on the extrusion outlet 5 side of the connection point between the flow path 8 and the downstream end of the third supply path 53, and then only the third resin is extruded from the extrusion outlet 5 in a tubular shape. At this time, the second resin remains in most of the flow path 8.

[0034] Next, the control device 20 shuts off the connection between the first valve 11 and the flow path 8 and the connection between the third valve 13 and the flow path 8, and connects the connection between the second valve 12 and the flow path 8. In this state, when the second resin extruded from the second extruder 2 is supplied to the flow path 8, the second resin remaining in the flow path 8 of the mold 4 is extruded in a tubular shape, continuous with the portion extruded and molded using only the third resin. Note that if the length of the portion made of the second resin that is continuous with the soft tip does not need to be very long, this step (the step of supplying the second resin to the flow path 8) may be skipped and the process may proceed to the next step (the step of supplying the first resin to the flow path 8).

[0035] Next, the control device 20 shuts off the connection between the second valve 12 and the flow path 8 and the connection between the third valve 13 and the flow path 8, and connects the connection between the first valve 11 and the flow path 8. In this state, the first resin extruded from the first extruder 1 is supplied to the flow path 8. Immediately after the valve is switched, the second resin remaining in the flow path 8 is extruded from the extrusion port 5. However, over time, the proportion of the first resin in the flow path 8 of the mold 4 increases. Therefore, a mixed resin of the first resin and the second resin is extruded from the extrusion port of the mold 4, and the mixing ratio of the first resin gradually increases. As a result, a resin layer (resin tube) with continuously increasing hardness is extruded, continuing from the soft tip. The second resin remaining in the flow path of the mold 4 and the newly supplied first resin are uniformly mixed by the rotation of the rotating part 17 of the inner mold 9.

[0036] As the supply of the first resin from the first extruder 1 continues, eventually all of the resin in the flow path 8 of the mold 4 is replaced by the first resin, and only the first resin is extruded from the extrusion port 5 of the mold 4.

[0037] By extruding the above-described resin onto the surface of the braided wire 6 inserted into the tubular portion 16 of the inner mold 9 and fed out of the extrusion port 5, a flexible tube 7 can be produced in which the surface of the braided wire 6 is continuously coated with a resin layer of gradually decreasing hardness and an even softer resin layer (soft tip) at its tip. The soft tip may be formed by extruding a third resin onto the surface of the braided wire 6, or it may be formed in a portion where there is no braided wire 6. A flexible tube with a soft tip in a portion where there is no braided wire 6 can be obtained, for example, by synchronizing the timing when the tip of the braided wire reaches the extrusion port with the timing when the third valve 13 is closed and the timing when the first valve 11 or the second valve 12 is opened.

[0038] In the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the downstream ends of the first supply path 51 and the second supply path 52 provided in the mold 4 are connected to a portion of the flow path 8 provided in the mold 4 that is formed between the straight portion 14 and the outer mold 10, while the downstream end of the third supply path 53 is connected to a portion of the flow path 8 that is formed between the tapered portion 15 and the outer mold 10, i.e., the tip of the flow path 8. By connecting the downstream end of the third supply path 53 to the tip of the flow path 8, when the resin supplied to the flow path 8 is switched from the most flexible third resin to another resin (the first resin or the second resin), very little third resin remains in the flow path 8. This makes it possible to shorten the length of the portion where the third resin and the other resin (the first resin or the second resin) are mixed and extruded after the third resin is extruded. When a portion in which the mixture ratio of the first resin to the second resin continuously changes is extruded following the extrusion of the most flexible third resin, a portion made of the third resin, a portion extruded from the mixture of the third resin and the second resin, and a portion in which the proportion of the second resin continuously decreases are formed in this order. With the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the portion extruded from the mixture of the third resin and the other resins can be shortened by devising the connection point between the third supply path 53 and the flow path 8 as described above, and therefore the soft tip portion provided at the tip (the length of the portion softer than the second resin, i.e., the total length of the portion made of the third resin and the portion extruded from the mixture of the third resin and the second resin) can be shortened.

[0039] After extrusion molding, the part made of the third resin can be cut to an appropriate length to make it extremely short (for example, a few mm). of)A flexible tube having a soft tip at its tip can be obtained. If the portion where the mixture of the third resin and the other resin is extruded is long, there is a limit to how much the length of the soft tip portion at the tip can be reduced even if the portion made of the third resin is cut. However, with the flexible tube manufacturing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, the portion where the mixture of the third resin and the other resin is extruded can be shortened, so that the length of the soft tip portion can be reduced by cutting the portion made of the third resin.

[0040] In this embodiment, the inner mold 9 is divided into a first divided body 31 that accommodates a predetermined range of the tapered portion 15 of the inner mold 9 and a second divided body 32 that accommodates the remaining portion of the inner mold 9. Outer mold 10 The first divided body 31 is composed of a first die 41 and a second die 42. The extrusion diameter (outer diameter) of the resin layer can be determined by the inner diameter of the extrusion outlet 5, but with the configuration of this embodiment, multiple second dies 42 with extrusion outlets 5 having different inner diameters can be prepared, making it easy to change the extrusion diameter.

[0041] In this embodiment, the branched portions 36a to 36d of the groove 34 formed on the flat surface 25 of the first die 41 are formed to have n-fold symmetry (n is a natural number). With this configuration, the third resin can be supplied evenly to the flow path 8 from the circumferential direction, resulting in excellent extrusion molding stability and uniformity of the outer diameter.

[0042] The above-described extrusion molding method is merely an example, and the order of extrusion of the resins may be reversed. That is, the first resin may be extruded first, and then a mixed resin of the first and second resins may be extruded while increasing the mixing ratio of the second resin. If necessary, only the second resin may be extruded, and then the third resin may be extruded continuously to form a soft chip. When the resin supplied to the flow channel 8 is switched from the first or second resin to the most flexible third resin, very little resin remains in the flow channel 8. Therefore, after the soft chip is extruded, the length of the extruded portion where the third resin is mixed with the other resin (the first or second resin) can be shortened, resulting in an extremely short soft chip.

[0043] Furthermore, the upper and lower limits of the proportion of the second resin in the mixed resin of the first resin and the second resin can be set arbitrarily within the range of 0 to 100%.

[0044] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which two through holes 30a and 30b were provided in the first die 41, but the number of through holes may be any number. Furthermore, the groove 34 provided in the flat surface 25 of the first die 41 does not have to be branched, and if it is branched, the number of branch portions is any number as long as it is two or more. When multiple branch portions are provided in the groove 34, the branch portions may be arranged n times. name However, the arrangement of the branches does not have to be rotationally symmetric. [Industrial Applicability]

[0045] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a manufacturing device for flexible tubes such as catheter shafts used in the manufacture of medical catheters and tubes used in endoscopes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1. First Extruder 2. Second Extruder 3. Third Extruder 4. Mold 5 Extrusion port 6-braid wire 7 Flexible Tube 8 Flow path 9 Inner mold 10 Outer mold 11 First Valve 12 Second Valve 13 Third Valve 14 Straight section 15 Tapered section 20 Control device 21 Through hole 23~26 flat surface 28, 29 holes 30a, 30b through hole 31 First division 32 Second division 33, 34 groove 35 Opening 41 First Die 42 Second Die 51 First Supply Route 52 Second Supply Route 53 Third Supply Route

Claims

1. A flexible tube manufacturing apparatus for extruding a flexible tube, comprising: a first extruder that extrudes a first resin; a second extruder for extruding a second resin that is more flexible than the first resin; a third extruder for extruding a third resin that is softer than the first resin and the second resin; a mold having a first through hole through which a braid wire is inserted, an extrusion port through which a resin is extruded onto a surface of the braid wire passing through the first through hole, and a flow path communicating with the extrusion port; a first valve capable of switching between a state in which the first extruder and the flow path of the mold are in communication with each other and a state in which the first extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked; a second valve capable of switching between a state in which the second extruder and the flow path of the mold are in communication with each other and a state in which the second extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked; a third valve capable of switching between a state in which the third extruder and the flow path of the mold are in communication with each other and a state in which the third extruder and the flow path of the mold are blocked; a first supply path connecting the first valve and the flow path, a second supply path connecting the second valve and the flow path, and a third supply path connecting the third valve and the flow path are provided within the mold; The mold is an inner mold having a straight portion having a cylindrical outer shape and a tapered portion provided closer to the extrusion port than the straight portion; an outer mold having a hollow portion and accommodating the inner mold in the hollow portion with a predetermined gap between the hollow portion and an outer surface of the inner mold, the gap forming the flow path; A flexible tube manufacturing apparatus, wherein the downstream ends of the first supply path and the second supply path are connected to a portion of the flow path formed between the straight portion and the outer mold, and the downstream end of the third supply path is connected to a portion of the flow path formed between the tapered portion and the outer mold.

2. The outer mold is a first divided body having the extrusion port and accommodating a portion of the inner mold that is within a predetermined range from the tip of the tapered portion; a second divided body that houses the remaining portion of the inner mold; 2. The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first divided body is formed with a portion of the third supply path extending over a predetermined range from the downstream end of the third supply path.

3. the second divided body has a first flat surface that is perpendicular to the central axis of the first through hole and that is in surface contact with the first divided body; The first divided body is a first die having, on one side thereof, a second flat surface in surface contact with the first flat surface, and on the other side thereof, a third flat surface parallel to the second flat surface; a second die having a fourth flat surface on one side thereof in surface contact with the third flat surface, and having the extrusion opening on the other side thereof; an opening that is a part of the third supply path is provided on the first flat surface of the second divided body; The first die has: a first hole portion that forms a part of the first through hole and whose diameter narrows toward the second die; a second through hole extending parallel to the central axis of the first through hole; a first groove provided on the second flat surface and connecting a portion of the first flat surface overlapping the opening and the second through hole; a second groove provided on the third flat surface and connecting the second through hole and the first hole portion; 3. The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second die is provided with a second hole portion that forms part of the first through hole, is continuous with the first hole portion, and has a diameter that narrows toward the extrusion port.

4. 4. The flexible tube manufacturing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second groove has a plurality of branch portions connected to the first hole portion, and the downstream ends of each of the branch portions are arranged in n-fold symmetry (n is a natural number) with respect to the center of the first hole portion.

5. a control device that controls the first valve, the second valve, and the third valve; A flexible tube manufacturing apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control device connects the third extruder in a state of extruding the third resin to the flow path for a predetermined time, and then blocks the connection between the third extruder and the flow path, and connects the first extruder in a state of extruding the first resin or the second extruder in a state of extruding the second resin to the flow path.

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