The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 20, 2012
Filed:
Sep. 08, 2008
Michael Sleva, Atlanta, GA (US);
James F. Schumacher, Cumming, GA (US);
Scott M. Teixeira, Cumming, GA (US);
Michael A. Kenowski, Alpharetta, GA (US);
Michael Sleva, Atlanta, GA (US);
James F. Schumacher, Cumming, GA (US);
Scott M. Teixeira, Cumming, GA (US);
Michael A. Kenowski, Alpharetta, GA (US);
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US);
Abstract
There is provided a method of making a balloon having a differential thickness. The method uses a raw tube composed of a thermoplastic polymer which is placed in an asymmetrical mold. The tube is preheated in the mold to a temperature sufficient to soften the material of the tube and inflated with a gas to generally uniformly stretch the material of the tube while allowing the tube to retract lengthwise, thus forming a balloon. The resulting completed balloon has a differential wall thickness wherein the upper region has a thickness of from about 15 to about 30 micrometers and the lower region has a thickness of from about 5 to about 15 micrometers.