Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – With step of making mold or mold shaping – per se – Utilizing surface to be reproduced as an impression pattern
Patent
1998-11-13
2000-12-19
Silbaugh, Jan H.
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
With step of making mold or mold shaping, per se
Utilizing surface to be reproduced as an impression pattern
264317, 264319, 264323, 264DIG44, 425176, 425403, 425DIG12, 29446, 29447, 29450, B29C 6544, B29C 6502, B29C 6500
Patent
active
061623830
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of expanding the diameter of an elastic tube, and in particular to a method of expanding the diameter of an elastic tube which is adapted to be employed for enclosing the joint portion, for instance of electric wire, cable, pipe, etc.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In recent years, there has been developed, for the purpose of protecting, insulatively enclosing or repairing a joint portion of electric wire, cable, pipe, etc., a method of employing a self-shrinkable elastic tube which is capable of covering the joint portion without necessitating the application of heat in place of the conventional method of using a heat-shrinkable tube. This self-shrinkable elastic tube is made of a rubber-like elastic material and is normally supported in advance on a tubular rigid supporting body whereby the inner diameter of the elastic tube is kept in an expanded state.
In the employment of the self-shrinkable elastic tube, the self-shrinkable elastic tube is inserted over a joint portion of power cable for instance while it is kept in an expanded state as mentioned above, and then the supporting body is withdrawn from the self-shrinkable elastic tube, thereby allowing the self-shrinkable elastic tube to be shrunk diametrally, thus obtaining the joint portion which is hermetically covered by the elastic tube.
There has been conventionally proposed the following method as a means to expand the diameter of such an elastic tube.
Namely, first of all, an elongated bag-like expandable hollow body twice as long as that of the self-shrinkable elastic tube is prepared. Then, the fore half portion of this expandable hollow body is inserted into the self-shrinkable elastic tube, and then the expandable hollow body is entirely expanded by means of a pressurized air whereby diametrally expanding the self-shrinkable elastic tube. Thereafter, a supporting body disposed on the side of the rear half portion of the expandable hollow body is forcibly introduced into the fore half portion of the expandable hollow body where the self-shrinkable elastic tube is disposed. Then, the pressurized air in the expandable hollow body is withdrawn thereby allowing the expandable hollow body to shrink. As a result, a self-shrinkable elastic tube rested on the supporting body with the self-shrinkable elastic tube being kept expanded can be obtained (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication S/63-74624).
However, this conventional method is accompanied with the problem that since a bag-like expandable hollow body is rendered to be interposed between a supporting body and a self-shrinkable elastic tube in the process of resting the self-shrinkable elastic tube on the supporting body in this method, the hollow body is ultimately left strongly sandwiched between the supporting body and the self-shrinkable elastic tube. As a result, it is very difficult to remove the supporting body from the self-shrinkable elastic tube at the occasion of mounting the self-shrinkable elastic tube on the joint portion of a power cable for instance.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of expanding the diameter of a self-shrinkable elastic tube, which makes it possible to easily perform the diametral expanding operation of a self-shrinkable elastic tube.
According to this invention, there is provided a method of diametrally expanding an elastic tube, which comprises the steps of: the expansion member being provided at least at a surface thereof with a solidified layer of a low melting point material, and the distal end portion of the expansion member being tapered, a tip end of which having a diameter which is equal to or smaller than an inner diameter of the elastic tube; and elastic tube, the surface of the solidified layer being made into a low frictional surface due to a melting of the low melting point material.
According to this invention, there is also provided a method of diametrally expanding an elastic tube, which comprises the steps of: the ex
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Hane Yoshinari
Takaoka Isao
Tashiro Toyoaki
Uchida Hiroshi
Poe Michael I.
Silbaugh Jan H.
The Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd.
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