Inverted balloon system and inflation management system
View Patent ↗At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to a pressure management system for an earpiece comprising: a first valve, where the first valve allows air to pass from a first side of the valve to a second side more readily than from the second side to the first side an inflation channel, where the inflation channel has an outer diameter less than 5 mm; a pressure release mechanism; a pump; a stent, where the inflation channel is embedded; and a balloon, where the first valve, the inflation channel, the pressure release mechanism, the pump, and the balloon are operatively connected, where the first valve is positioned so that air from the pump passes through the first valve to inflate the balloon and where the leak rate of the air from the balloon back to the pump is less than 1% by volume per minute and where the pressure release mechanism is configured to release pressure from the balloon to the environment upon actuation, and where the pressure management system is configured to manage the inflation pressure of the balloon in an orifice.
1. A method of invert bonding of a balloon comprising: bonding a sheath balloon to a stent at a first bond location, where the sheath balloon has first surface and a second surface, where the bonding at the first bond location is between the stent and a portion of the first surface, where the first surface faces the stent and where the stent is configured to pass acoustic signals through an acoustic channel that is independent of an inflation channel of the balloon; pulling the sheath balloon from an unbounded end over the first bond to a chosen second bond location so that the first surface faces away from the stent forming an inverted bond at the first bond location; bonding the sheath at the second bond location where the bonding at the second bond location is between the stent and a portion of the second surface; and coupling the acoustic channel to at least one of a microphone or a receiver at one end of the acoustic channel.
2. The method according to claim 1 , where the first bond is bonded to maintain a bond if the sheath bonded at both ends is pressurized to less than 2 atm gauge pressure.
3. The method according to claim 2 , where the inverted bond presses down against the stent when the sheath is pressurized.