US 8,784,710 B2 · Expandable polymer membrane and tubes, and a method of manufacturing thereof

Abstract

A method of making an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane including the steps of: providing an unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane; matting the unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane; and immediately thereafter, sintering the matted ePTFE membrane. A method for making ePTFE tubes includes the steps of: providing an unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane; wrapping the ePTFE membrane around a mandrel or form tool to form an ePTFE tube; matting the ePTFE tube; immediately thereafter, sintering the matted ePTFE tube; and removing the sintered ePTFE tube from the mandrel or form tool.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A method of making an ePTFE membrane including the steps of:

providing an unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane;
matting said unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane consisting of:
wetting said unsintered or partially sintered ePTFE membrane with a wettable liquid;
and
drying said wetted ePTFE membrane with heat, thereby removing said wettable liquid and forming a matted ePTFE membrane;
and immediately thereafter
sintering said matted ePTFE membrane,
wherein matting said unsintered or partially sintered membrane reduces the thickness of the unsintered or partially sintered membrane between 25-90%.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

12/726,707Filed 18 Mar 2010 · us provisional application

Priority

16 Jul 2009

Published

US 2011/0014459 A120 Jan 2011

Granted

22 Jul 2014

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification33 codes

B29C 55/143
Successively: firstly parallel to the direction of feed and then transversely thereto
B01D 53/228
By diffusion: characterised by specific membranes
B01D 67/002
Organic membrane manufacture: from melts
B01D 67/0027
By mechanical treatment, e.g. pore-stretching: by stretching

Expandable polymer membrane and tubes, and a method of manufacturing thereof

Life of this patent

Expandable polymer membrane and tubes, and a method of manufacturing thereof

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11