US-12623376-B2 - Membrane and method for molding

US12623376B2US 12623376 B2US12623376 B2US 12623376B2US-12623376-B2

Abstract

A reusable mold membrane is provided for forming an outer mold during a process to encapsulate a target object in a substance, the mold membrane comprising: a cylindrical membrane body comprising a resiliently deformable material, wherein an inner diameter of the cylindrical membrane body is less than an outer diameter of the target object provided on an outer surface of a cylindrical carrier object, when the membrane body is in an un-deformed state; and a plurality of manipulation structures provided on an outer part of the membrane body, each of the plurality of manipulation structures configured to be manipulated by application of mechanical force to control the space within the membrane body by controlling the amount of deformation of the membrane body. There is also disclosed a method for use during a process to encapsulate a target object in a substance.

Inventors

Alistair COURTNEY

Assignees

SIEMENS HEALTHCARE LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230901
Priority Date: 20220908

Claims (17)

1 . A reusable mold membrane for forming an outer mold during a process to encapsulate a target object in a substance, the reusable mold membrane comprising: a cylindrical membrane body comprising a resiliently deformable material, the cylindrical membrane body being configured to receive the target object comprising a magnet coil for magnetic resonance imaging, wherein, when the cylindrical membrane body is in an un-deformed state, an inner diameter of the cylindrical membrane body is less than an outer diameter of the target object that is provided on an outer surface of a cylindrical carrier object; and a plurality of manipulation structures provided on an outer part of the cylindrical membrane body, wherein each of the plurality of manipulation structures is configured to be manipulated via application of mechanical force to control a space within the cylindrical membrane body by controlling an amount of deformation of the cylindrical membrane body to thereby place the cylindrical membrane body in a deformed state, and wherein the reusable mold membrane is configured to receive the target object while the cylindrical membrane body is in the deformed state, and to encapsulate the target object in the substance while the cylindrical membrane body is in the un-deformed state, wherein the cylindrical membrane body comprises a flange at a first end of the reusable mold membrane, the flange extending inwards into the cylindrical membrane body.
2 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures comprises an elongated through hole configured to receive an elongated manipulation member, and wherein applying a force to an end of the elongated manipulation member in a direction perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the cylindrical membrane body causes a portion of the cylindrical membrane body in a vicinity of a respective one of the plurality of manipulation structures to deform.
3 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures comprises: an embedded manipulation member that is embedded within the cylindrical membrane body, and wherein one or more attachment structures attached to the embedded manipulation member protrude from the cylindrical membrane body in a direction away from a central longitudinal axis of the cylindrical membrane body.
4 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 3 , wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures is configured such that applying a force to the one or more attachment structures of a respective embedded manipulation member in a direction perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis causes a portion of the cylindrical membrane body in a vicinity of a respective one of the plurality of manipulation structures to deform.
5 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , further comprising: a first seal arrangement disposed towards the first end of the reusable mold membrane, wherein the first seal arrangement is configured to form a seal against the cylindrical carrier object positioned within the cylindrical membrane body.
6 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 5 , further comprising: a second seal arrangement disposed towards a second end of the reusable mold membrane, wherein the second seal arrangement is configured to form a seal against the cylindrical carrier object positioned within the cylindrical membrane body.
7 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 5 , wherein the first seal arrangement is disposed on the flange.
8 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , further comprising: a rigid base structure connected to the flange at an innermost edge of the flange.
9 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , further comprising: a first alignment arrangement configured to engage with a second alignment arrangement such that a rotational alignment of the reusable mold membrane about a central longitudinal axis relative to the cylindrical carrier object is fixed.
10 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , further comprising: a reservoir structure disposed at a second end of the reusable mold membrane for introducing the substance for encapsulation.
11 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of manipulation structures comprises a manipulation structure fabric reinforcement molded therein.
12 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical membrane body comprises a membrane body fabric reinforcement configured to restrict an amount of deformation of the cylindrical membrane body.
13 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 1 , further comprising: a first seal arrangement comprising a channel disposed at the first end of the cylindrical membrane body, the first seal arrangement being configured to create, under application of a vacuum, a seal against the cylindrical carrier object positioned within the cylindrical membrane body.
14 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 13 , wherein the first seal arrangement is configured to cause the flange of the cylindrical membrane body to press against the cylindrical carrier under application of the vacuum to thereby form the seal.
15 . A reusable mold membrane for forming an outer mold during a process to encapsulate a target object in a substance, the reusable mold membrane comprising: a cylindrical membrane body comprising a resiliently deformable material, the cylindrical membrane body being configured to receive the target object comprising a magnet coil for magnetic resonance imaging, wherein the cylindrical membrane body comprises a flange at a first end of the reusable mold membrane; a rigid base structure connected to the flange, wherein, when the cylindrical membrane body is in an un-deformed state, an inner diameter of the cylindrical membrane body is less than an outer diameter of the target object that is provided on an outer surface of a cylindrical carrier object; and a plurality of manipulation structures provided on an outer part of the cylindrical membrane body, wherein each of the plurality of manipulation structures is configured to be manipulated via application of mechanical force to control a space within the cylindrical membrane body by controlling an amount of deformation of the cylindrical membrane body to thereby place the cylindrical membrane body in a deformed state, and wherein, the reusable mold membrane is configured to receive the target object while the cylindrical membrane body is in the deformed state, and to encapsulate the target object in the substance while the cylindrical membrane body is in the un-deformed state.
16 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 15 , further comprising: a first seal arrangement disposed towards the first end of the reusable mold membrane, wherein the first seal arrangement is configured to form a seal against the cylindrical carrier object positioned within the cylindrical membrane body.
17 . The reusable mold membrane according to claim 16 , further comprising: a second seal arrangement disposed towards a second end of the reusable mold membrane, wherein the second seal arrangement is configured to form a seal against the cylindrical carrier object positioned within the cylindrical membrane body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Europe patent application no. EP 22275124.0, filed on Sep. 8, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to a membrane for use in molding and a method for use during a process to encapsulate a target object. BACKGROUND Various techniques may be used to mold an object. In some examples, hard mold tools may be used. For example, a mold tool defining an internal space which provides the desired shape for the object to be molded may be used. In some examples, molding techniques may be used in order to coat or encapsulate a target object in a substance, such as a resin, for example. For these applications, it may be desired that the mold tool forms a tight fit around the target object. In some examples, a part of the mold tool may be made of a flexible material to achieve a tight fit. For example, the target object may be provided on a rigid surface. The rigid surface may provide a platform for the molding process. A flexible material may then be deployed to fit tightly onto and match the shape of the target object. However, a tight fit matching the shape of the target object may be difficult to achieve and/or deploying the flexible material may be labor intensive, require large amounts of time, and/or may have to be done manually. The flexible material may be difficult to extract without affecting the substance encapsulating the target object. Typically, the flexible material is discarded after the process to encapsulate. An object of the present application is to provide convenient and efficient structures and methods for molding to encapsulate a target object in a substance. SUMMARY According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided reusable mold membrane for forming an outer mold during a process to encapsulate a target object in a substance, the mold membrane comprising: a cylindrical membrane body comprising a resiliently deformable material, wherein an inner diameter of the cylindrical membrane body is less than an outer diameter of the target object provided on an outer surface of a cylindrical carrier object, when the membrane body is in an un-deformed state; and a plurality of manipulation structures provided on an outer part of the membrane body, each of the plurality of manipulation structures configured to be manipulated by application of mechanical force to control the space within the membrane body by controlling the amount of deformation of the membrane body. Optionally, one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures comprises an elongate through hole; and the elongate through hole is configured to receive an elongate manipulation member such that applying a force to an end of the elongate manipulation member, in a direction perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis, causes the membrane body in the vicinity of the respective manipulation structure to deform. Optionally, one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures comprises: an embedded manipulation member that is embedded within the membrane body; one or more attachment structures attached to the embedded manipulation member which protrude from the membrane body in a direction away from a central longitudinal axis of the membrane body. Optionally, each of the one or more of the plurality of manipulation structures comprising the embedded manipulation member is configured such that applying a force to the one or more attachment features of the respective embedded manipulation member, in a direction perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis, causes the membrane body in the vicinity of the respective manipulation structure to deform. Optionally, the mold membrane comprises a first seal arrangement provided towards a first end of the mold membrane, the first seal arrangement configured to form a seal against the carrier object positioned within the membrane body. Optionally, the mold membrane comprises a second seal arrangement provided towards a second end of the mold membrane, the second seal structure configured to form a seal against the carrier object positioned within the membrane body. Optionally, the membrane body comprises a flange towards the first end, wherein the flange extends inwards into the membrane body; and the first seal arrangement is provided on the flange. Optionally, the mold membrane comprises a rigid base structure connected to the flange towards an innermost edge of the flange. Optionally, the mold membrane comprises a first alignment arrangement configured to engage with a second alignment arrangement such that the rotational alignment of the mold membrane about the central longitudinal axis relative to the carrier object is fixed. Optionally, the mold membrane comprises a reservoir structure provided towards a second end of the mold membrane for introducing the substance for encapsul