Methods, systems, and apparatuses for manufacturing rotational spun appliances

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9827703-B2
Application number	US-201414204466-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2014
Priority date	Mar 13, 2013
Publication date	Nov 28, 2017
Grant date	Nov 28, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for manufacturing rotational spun materials. The rotational spun materials are medical appliances or other prostheses made of, constructed from, covered or coated with rotational spun materials, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for making a rotational spun appliance, the apparatus comprising:
a spinneret configured to rotate around a first axis of rotation and produce spinning fibers;
a surface configured to rotate around the first axis of rotation independently from rotation of the spinneret;
actuators mounted on the rotatable surface; and
mandrels operably connected to the actuators and configured for rotation by the actuators, wherein each of the actuators is configured to rotate at least one mandrel around its own axis of rotation, such that each mandrel's own axis of rotation is not the same as the first axis of rotation;
wherein the actuators are configured to selectively rotate the mandrels in a forward direction or a reverse direction relative to the actuators.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a support member configured to rotatably engage and support a distal end of each of the mandrels.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a proximal end of each mandrel is cantilevered by an actuator.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal axis of each of the mandrels is parallel to the surface.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the longitudinal axis of each of the mandrels extends radially from the center of the surface, such that each mandrel's axis of rotation is radially different from each other.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the longitudinal axis of each of the mandrels is oriented perpendicular to the center of the surface, such that each mandrel's axis of rotation is radially tangential to the first axis of rotation.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the actuators are configured to be pivotable to allow the mandrels to either extend radially from the center of the surface or to be oriented perpendicular to the center of the surface.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the surface is configured to be separable from the spinneret and configured for placement in a sintering oven.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mandrels are configured to be separable from the actuators and configured for placement in a sintering oven.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the surface is a disk.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a moveable slide configured to allow the rotatable surface to be moved away from the spinneret during startup and shutdown of the spinneret.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the moveable slide is configured to allow the rotatable surface and/or mandrels to either startup or slow down rotation while moved away from the spinneret.

13. An apparatus for making a rotational spun appliance, the apparatus comprising:
a hub configured to rotate around a first axis of rotation;
a mandrel operably connected to the hub and configured for rotation by the hub around its own axis of rotation that it is not the same as the first axis of rotation, such that during operation of the apparatus, the mandrel is rotated around both the first axis of rotation and its own axis of rotation; and
a spinneret separate from the hub and configured to also rotate around the first axis of rotation and produce spinning fibers; and
a housing configured to allow the hub to be rolled inside the housing during operation of the apparatus and configured to allow the hub to be rolled outside the housing when the apparatus is not in operation.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the spinneret is mounted and located in an upper portion of the housing such that the spinneret is located above the hub when the hub is rolled inside the housing.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the housing further comprises a retractable cover configured for insertion between the spinneret and the hub, wherein the retractable cover is configured for insertion between the spinneret and the hub during startup and shutdown of the apparatus.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a plurality of mandrels operably connected to the hub and each configured for rotation by the hub around its own axis of rotation, such that each mandrel's own axis of rotation is not the same as the first axis of rotation.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of mandrels' own axes of rotation lie in the same plane as each other.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the mandrel is configured to be removable from the hub.

19. An apparatus for making a rotational spun appliance, the apparatus comprising:
a spinneret configured to rotate around a first axis of rotation and produce spinning fibers;
a surface configured to rotate around the first axis of rotation independently from rotation of the spinneret;
actuators mounted on the rotatable surface; and
mandrels operably connected to the actuators and configured for rotation by the actuators, wherein each of the actuators is configured to rotate at least one mandrel around its own axis of rotation, such that each mandrel's own axis of rotation is not the same as the first axis of rotation;
further comprising a moveable slide configured to allow the rotatable surface to be moved away from the spinneret during startup and shutdown of the spinneret.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the moveable slide is configured to allow the rotatable surface and/or mandrels to either startup or slow down rotation while moved away from the spinneret.

Assignees

• Merit Medical Systems Inc

Inventors

• Hall John William
• Boyd Randal
• Neyme Dylan
• Ferguson F Mark

Classifications

• A61F2/86

  Stents in a form characterised by the wire-like elements; Stents in the form characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure · CPC title

• B29C47/026

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• A61F2/82

  Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents (stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07) · CPC title

• D01D5/0076

  characterised by the collecting device, e.g. drum, wheel, endless belt, plate or grid (D01D5/0046 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61F2240/001

  Designing or manufacturing processes · CPC title