A latex balloon neck is pretreated by refreshing a region (18) of the inner surface (16) of the neck. The refreshed region extends substantially entirely around the inner circumference of the neck. The refreshing consists of cleaning the latex surface with a solvent e.g. isopropanol. The balloon neck is sealed by pressing (e.g. pinching and/or stretching) opposed areas of the refreshed surface (18) into direct contact with each other to form a latex-latex bond without requiring any additional adhesive coating. A removable protective tape (20) is placed over the refreshed region (18) to prevent the refreshed region from losing its bonding quality. An apparatus/method for preparing such balloons, and an apparatus/method for inflating and sealing the balloons (automatically) are also described.
Apparatus for preparing a latex balloon neck for sealing includes a cleaner and a refresher for cleaning and refreshing the surface of latex material at a region of the inner surface of the neck of a balloon and extending substantially around an inner circumference of the neck so that the neck can be sealed by bring opposed areas of the refreshed surface into direct contact with each other to form a latex--latex bond.
A method of packaging a plastic balloon preferably includes steps of sealing the plastic balloon within a substantially airtight package and maintaining the environment within the package in such a condition as to maintain the plastic balloon in a hydrated state that will optimize the performance characteristics of the plastic balloon when it is inflated. Antifungal and antibacterial agents are preferably also provided within the package to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria.
