Metcal, Inc.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Raychem Limited

Modified Polymer Components, Inc.

Electric Power Research Institute Incorporated

James M Taylor

Frank Anthony Doljack

David F Wirt

Fern Mandelbaum

Phil Pesta

Eric L Gay

Mark J Cowell

Andrew Tomlinson

David M Dickens

Larry A Walter

Peter A Barton

David Dickens

Will Dubrul

A tubular member useful as an inner liner for the working channel of a flexible endoscope has a distal portion which is specially treated to make it highly flexible and resistant to kinking or collapsing when it bends with the flexible section of the endoscope. The tubular member is also useful as a catheter device or as a component of a catheter device or catheter system. A multiplicity of external ridges on the distal portion of the tubular member reinforce the tubing wall and prevent kinking or buckling of the wall or collapsing of the inner lumen. The external ridges may be formed by convolutions of the tubing wall or by external threads which are formed on the exterior of the tubing wall within the flexible distal portion. An outer helical reinforcing coil may be added between the external ridges to further reinforce the flexible distal portion of the tubular member from kinking or collapsing. The flexible distal portion of the tubular member may be coated with a layer of a flexible polymer to fill in the spaces between the external ridges and to cover the helical reinforcing coil. Manufacturing methods for the tubular member are also disclosed.

Flexible inner liner for the working channel of an endoscope

A fast heating, highly efficient griddle with interchangeable griddle plates including magnetically permeable materials having Curie temperatures which may be the same or different to provide different cooking temperatures is provided. The plates are formed as a balanced composite structure which mitigates bending when the magnetically permeable materials are heated to their Curie temperatures. Induction coils provide sufficient energy to heat the plates to their effective Curie temperatures in the presence of loads and maintain a uniform cooking temperature across the griddle plate to within less than one inch of the plate edges. The plates may be placed in an enhanced idle condition at cooking temperature by placing a cover over the plates or region of a plate not in use. Increased efficiency is achieved due to an insulator blanket placed between the griddle plates and coils.

Rapid heating, uniform, highly efficient griddle

A basically commercially fast heat highly efficient griddle has interchangeable griddle plates including magnetically permeable materials having Curie temperatures which may be the same or different to provide different cooking temperatures, the plates being heated by induction coils providing sufficient energy to heat the plates to their effective Curie temperatures in the presence of loads and of a design to maintain a uniform cooking temperature across the griddle plate to within less than an inch of the edges of the plates. The plates may be placed in an enhanced idle condition at cooking temperature by placing a cover over the plates or region of a plate not in use. Increased efficiency is further due to an insulator blanket placed between the griddle plates and coils.

In a plastic pipe joining system a plastic sleeve is provided to extend on both sides beyond the region of contact or closest approach to one another of pipes to be joined with the sleeve being fused to both pipes, the sleeve heated to Curie temperature of high mu material excited by an externally generated high frequency magnetic field. The heater may be embedded in the sleeve and the sleeve may also be employed with end caps that extended over the sleeve, the end caps and sleeve being fused to one another and the pipes by heaters carried by the end caps or the sleeve. An external heater may also be employed which in conjuction with shaped end members provides the sleeve with beveled or tapered edges to enhance the ability of the sleeve to withstand cracking.

Pipe joining system and method

A thermal atherectomy catheter has a tip of high magnetic permeability cylindrical stem with an enlarged head at one end and an enlarged collar at the other end, a coil of wire wrapped about the stem adjacent the head and removed from said collar, a sleeve of ferromagnetic material disposed about the coil and a second sleeve of non-magnetic outer sleeve extending between and of the diameter of the head and collar to define a space between the sleeves whereby the outer sleeve to collar are maintained at a lower temperature than the head.

Thermal atherectomy device

A catheter is provided with a heated temperature self regulating tip for insertion in an artery to ablate an atherosclerotic plaque obstruction particularly in coronary and peripheral arteries. The heater is located at the distal end of the catheter and has a winding of fine wire around a ferro-magnetic core with the wire being connected via a transmission line to a high frequency constant alternating current source in the megahertz range. The catheter which may or may not employ a guide wire is inserted into and through the lumen of a vessel and guided usually with the assistance of fluoroscopy to the location of the stenosis. The heater is energized to ablate the plaque, the temperature not exceeding a desired temperature as determined by the Curie temperature of the ferromagnetic material.

An electrical system which comprises (1) a temperature-sensitive device comprising a PTC or NTC element, (2) a load in series with the temperature-sensitive device and (3) a control device in parallel with the load and the temperature-sensitive device. The control device is a device whose resistance can be changed from a high value (which may be infinite) to a low value or vice versa, by a change in the electrical or physical environment thereof, e.g. a diode, triac, thyristor, PTC device or NTC device. The system is connected to a power supply so that, under normal conditions of operation, either (a) the temperature-sensitive device has a low resistance and the control device has a high resistance, whereby the load is activated, or (b) the temperature-sensitive device has a high resistance and the control device has a low resistance, whereby the load is isolated. By an appropriate change in the power source, e.g. its size or direction, or in the physical environment of the control device, e.g. its temperature, the relative resistances of the temperature-sensitive device and the control device can be reversed, thereby isolating or activating the load. The system is particularly useful for isolating a remote load, e.g. a telephone, while retaining a continuous circuit e.g. through the legs of a telephone circuit, for example for test purposes.

Electrical systems comprising temperature-sensitive devices

Electrical devices comprising a conductive polymer element, preferably a PTC element, and at least one metal foil electrode. Preferred devices are circuit protection devices. The devices can be made by laminating the foil to the conductive polymer element under controlled conditions of time, temperature and pressure.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

James M Taylor