Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Patent
1995-10-23
1998-07-07
Stemmer, Daniel
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
1563086, 156535, 446220, A63H 2710, G09F 2106
Patent
active
057762910
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to sealing balloon necks. In particular, it relates to a sealable balloon neck of latex, to a method and an apparatus for preparing such a balloon neck, and to a method and apparatus for preparing inflated balloons for release.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I refer to my published applications No. GB 2200299 and WO90/00430 which relate to techniques for sealing a balloon neck, and which also describe other conventional techniques to seal necks.
A problem with conventional techniques is that they usually involve additional parts being supplied with the balloon. For example, an adhesive-sealable balloon may include a plastics tube inserted into the open neck to enable the balloon to be inflated without interfering with the adhesive. A valve-sealable balloon necessarily includes a one-way valve fitted into the balloon neck. Such additional parts are undesirable because they add to the cost and complexity of manufacture. Also, in the case of valve-sealable balloons, it has been found that the valves from balloons used in large quantities at promotional or sporting events may be deposited in farmland once the balloons have deflated and decayed. The valves can easily be eaten by farm animals and cause internal injuries to the animals, or they can cause damage to farm machinery.
A further problem with valve-sealed balloons is that the valve adds significantly to the weight of the balloon, which reduces the balloons buoyancy. In the case of balloons filled with heliox, it has been found that a 30 cm (12 inch) size balloon is required in order to generate sufficient lift to rise when fitted with a conventional valve. Such a size of balloon requires 35% more gas for filling than would a more economical 25 cm (10 inch) size balloon, which is normally unable to rise when fitted with a valve.
Additionally, conventional techniques do not permit efficient automatic inflating and releasing of balloons on a large scale at a remote release site. Often, when a large balloon release is planned at, for example, an outdoor event, a hundred or more people will be required to inflate and seal the balloons manually. Such techniques are very time consuming and labour intensive, and this adds significantly to the cost of the balloon release.
The present invention has been devised with the above drawbacks in mind.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect, the invention provides a balloon neck of latex, wherein at least a region of the inner surface of the neck comprises a refreshed latex surface, the refreshed region extending substantially around an inner circumference of the neck, such that the neck can be sealed by bringing opposed areas of the refreshed surface into direct contact with each other to form a latex-latex bond.
The term "refreshed latex surface" is intended to include latex material whose surface is substantially clean of contaminants such as dust, dirt and, in particular, chalk and/or silicon which is often used with balloons. I have found that when two such refreshed latex surfaces are pressed into contact with each other, a direct bond is formed without the need for any additional adhesive coating. The bond may be in the form of a cold weld. The latex does not, however, seen to be susceptible to forming a bond with other types of material.
With such an arrangement, it is no longer necessary to provide additional parts to seal the balloon neck, or to assist in inflating the balloon neck prior to forming the seal.
When bringing the opposed areas of the neck into contact with each other, the neck is preferably squeezed, pinched and/or stretched such that the refreshed areas are pressed directly against each other.
It will be appreciated that in some cases, an end portion of the neck including the refreshed region may be temporarily everted so that the inner surface of the end portion faces outwardly. However, it will be understood that when the balloon is to be sealed, the everted portion of the neck would be reverted, so that the refreshed surface would be facing
REFERENCES:
patent: 3088242 (1963-05-01), Rockovits
patent: 3108396 (1963-10-01), Dorman
patent: 3589531 (1971-06-01), Povlacs
patent: 4077588 (1978-03-01), Hurst
patent: 4650059 (1987-03-01), Fries
patent: 4693695 (1987-09-01), Cheng
patent: 5061145 (1991-10-01), Genis
Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Co. (1984) p. 989.
Self Sealing Systems Limited
Stemmer Daniel
LandOfFree
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