Method for Insert Molding Bendable Position-Retaining Tubing
First Claim
1. A hollow conduit which comprises:
- a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface;
an overmolded corrugated polymer between at least a portion of said ends bonded to said inner conduit about at least a portion of said exterior surface of said inner conduit; and
said overmolded polymer having at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hollow conduit, being primarily round, or having n sides wherein n is greater than or equal to three, and process for making the conduit is described herein. The hollow conduit is comprised of a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface. An overmolded corrugated polymer is bonded between at least a portion of the ends and at least a portion of the exterior surface of the inner conduit. The overmolded polymer has at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within. The flexible position retaining means within the overmolded polymer may be a metallic wire. The inner conduit may be a thermoset, and the overmolded corrugated plastic may be a thermoplastic.
80 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A hollow conduit which comprises:
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a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface;
an overmolded corrugated polymer between at least a portion of said ends bonded to said inner conduit about at least a portion of said exterior surface of said inner conduit; and
said overmolded polymer having at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A hollow n-sided conduit wherein n is greater than or equal to three which comprises:
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a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface;
an overmolded corrugated polymer between at least a portion of said ends bonded to said inner conduit about at least a portion of said exterior surface of said inner conduit; and
said overmolded polymer having at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A hollow conduit which comprises:
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a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface;
an overmolded corrugated polymer between at least a portion of said ends mechanically bonded to said inner conduit about at least a portion of said exterior surface of said inner conduit; and
said overmolded polymer having at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A hollow n-sided conduit wherein n is greater than or equal to three which comprises:
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a polymer inner conduit having a pair of opposed ends and an interior and exterior surface;
an overmolded corrugated polymer between at least a portion of said ends mechanically bonded to said inner conduit about at least a portion of said exterior surface of said inner conduit; and
said overmolded polymer having at least one flexible position retaining means at least partially embedded within. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A process which comprises:
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extruding a first polymer conduit;
cutting said conduit to a pre-determined length;
inserting said length into a split mold having a cavity defined therein;
inserting at least one flexible position retaining means into said mold;
injection molding at least one second polymer onto said plastic conduit and at least partially onto said position retaining means to form a position retaining tube;
opening said mold and removing said position retaining tube. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A process which comprises:
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extruding a first polymer conduit;
cutting said conduit to a pre-determined length;
inserting at least one flexible position retaining means into a split mold having a cavity defined therein;
injection molding at least one second polymer at least partially onto said position retaining means to form a position retaining tube;
opening said mold and removing said position retaining tube; and
positioning said position retaining tube at least partially around said length of said first polymer conduit. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification