Lateral Shearing for Balloon Catheter Air Tube Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing process of balloon catheters faces challenges in creating holes for fluid communication between the air tube and the balloon, particularly in maintaining precise depth control and avoiding material blockages, when cutting in a direction towards the center of the air tube.
Innovation Solution
The holes are formed by shearing a portion of the catheter and air tubes in a lateral direction, parallel to the bisecting plane, which avoids intersecting the inner surface and reduces the risk of material blockage, allowing for fluid communication between the air tube and the balloon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If holes are cut in a direction towards the center of the air tube, then fluid communication between the air tube and balloon is achieved, but material blockages and imprecise depth control occur
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cutting holes towards the center of the air tube (conventional approach), the patent inverts the approach by shearing holes laterally through the catheter tube wall in a direction parallel to the bisecting plane, avoiding the air tube center entirely. This inversion eliminates material blockages while maintaining fluid communication between the air tube and balloon.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from cutting holes in the traditional axial direction (towards the tube center) to creating holes through lateral shearing (parallel to the bisecting plane). This dimensional change in the cutting approach allows holes to be formed without intersecting the air tube center, preventing material blockages while achieving fluid communication.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional cutting methods are used to create holes, then fluid communication is established, but the risk of material entering the air tube increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional cutting approach by using lateral shearing instead of axial cutting. This inversion maintains ease of manufacture through a simplified single-step shearing process while simultaneously preventing material from entering the air tube, as the shearing direction is parallel to the bisecting plane and does not intersect the air tube center.
3Reliability
If holes are created by shearing in a lateral direction, then material blockage is prevented, but the manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach to hole creation, using lateral shearing instead of axial cutting. This inversion actually simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the need for precise depth control and multiple cutting steps, while effectively preventing material blockages through the geometric arrangement of the shearing direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The shearing process divides the catheter tube wall into segments, creating holes through lateral separation rather than axial cutting. This segmentation approach simplifies the manufacturing process by using a single shearing action that simultaneously creates multiple holes while preventing material from entering the air tube.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A balloon catheter is provided with a main tube and an air tube therein. The main tube is provided with a central lumen to allow the balloon catheter to travel across and be guided along a guidewire during insertion into a vasculature of a patient. The air tube is configured to transfer fluid, such as air, to a balloon for inflating and deflating the balloon. The air tube can be embedded within the inner and outer surfaces of the main tube. Holes are cut into the main tube and a portion of the air tube to expose the air tube to the environment outside of the main tube. The holes allow for fluid communication between the air tube and the balloon. The holes are cut or sheared at a direction that is lateral to the longitudinal direction of the catheter tube.