Method of potting microporous hollow fiber bundles
First Claim
1. The method of potting the ends of capillary tubing having microporous walls, which comprises impregnating the ends of said tubing with a curable, fluid sealant, curing said sealant, and thereafter transversely cutting through the sealant-impregnated ends of said tubing to expose an open bore of said tubing surrounded on its exterior by cured sealant, the improvement comprising, in combination:
- prior to impregnating said tubing ends in sealant, filling the micropores in the walls of said tubing with a liquid capable of entering said micropores, whereby air in the bore of said tubing cannot migrate outwardly through said micropores in the walls as the sealant impregnates the tubing ends.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The ends of bundles of microporous tubing may be potted in otherwise conventional manner for assembly as a diffusion device for oxygenation of blood, blood plasmapheresis, or the like. In accordance with this invention, prior to impregnating the bundle ends in sealant, the micropores of the capillary tubing are filled with a liquid capable of entering the micropores, with the result that air in the bores of the tubing cannot migrate outwardly through the micropores as the sealant impregnates the bundle ends. This, in turn, prevents the sealant from advancing into the bores of the tubing to the level occupied by the sealant outside of the bores of the tubing, so that the ends of the potted bundle may be transversely cut within the block of cured sealant to expose open bores of the tubing.
110 Citations
20 Claims
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1. The method of potting the ends of capillary tubing having microporous walls, which comprises impregnating the ends of said tubing with a curable, fluid sealant, curing said sealant, and thereafter transversely cutting through the sealant-impregnated ends of said tubing to expose an open bore of said tubing surrounded on its exterior by cured sealant, the improvement comprising, in combination:
prior to impregnating said tubing ends in sealant, filling the micropores in the walls of said tubing with a liquid capable of entering said micropores, whereby air in the bore of said tubing cannot migrate outwardly through said micropores in the walls as the sealant impregnates the tubing ends. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. The method of potting the ends of a bundle of capillary tubing having microporous walls, which comprises centrifugally impregnating the ends of said bundles with a curable, fluid sealant, curing said sealant, and thereafter transversely cutting through the sealant-impregnated ends of said bundle to expose the open bores of said tubing surrounded on their exterior by cured sealant, the improvement comprising, in combination:
prior to impregnating said bundle ends in sealant, filling the micropores in the walls of said tubing with a liquid capable of wetting the material of said tubing, whereby air in the bores of said tubing cannot migrate outwardly through said micropores in the walls as the sealant impregnates the bundle ends, said micropores being filled by dipping the bundle in said liquid and then draining said liquid from the bores of the tubing in the bundle while retaining liquid in the micropores in the walls of the tubing, and including the step, after curing said sealant, of washing said liquid from the micropores in the walls of the tubing in the bundle with a volatile solvent, and air-drying the bundle. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification