NEEDLE-SUTURE ASSEMBLY AND PACKAGING SYSTEM

An automated machine for attaching a suture to a surgical needle having a suture receiving opening formed therein, and for packaging the same in a package tray comprises a first workstation including a device for sorting a plurality of needles and orienting each needle for automatic feeding to a second swaging workstation, a second workstation including a device for automatically cutting an indefinite length of suture material to a definite length and a device for automatically swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about a free end of the suture to secure the suture thereto and form a needle-suture assembly, a needle packaging station including a device for sequentially receiving at least one of the needlesuture assemblies in a package tray in synchronism with the second workstation, the needle packaging station having a device for automatically winding the depending suture portion of the needle-suture assembly into the package tray, a first indexing device for sequentially ...

NEEDLE AND SUTURE SWAGING STATION

A swaging station incorporates a drawing tower that automatically draws, cuts, and inserts an indefinite length strand of suture material within the suture receiving end of a surgical needle for swaging thereof. The suture receiving end of the surgical needle is positioned within a swaging assembly located at the top of the drawing tower that comprises a first fixed swage die and a second movable swage die forming a swage die opening for positively gripping the suture receiving end of the needle positioned therein. A first suture alignment die and a second suture alignment die are precisely registered below and adjacent the respective first and second swage dies to form a lower funnel guide that is axial with the swage die opening for positioning the tip of the suture strand therein. The lower funnel guide has an exit diameter that is larger than the diameter of the suture tip and smaller than the diameter of the suture receiving end of the needle for easy placement of the suture tip therein ...

Needle and suture swaging station

MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATED PACKAGING OF NEEDLES AND ATTACHED SUTURES AND METHOD OF UTILIZING THE PACKAGING MACHINE

An automated machine for the high-speed packaging of multiple surgical needles each with an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover structure providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the needles and attached sutures. Additionally, the automated packaging machine incorporates operative mechanism adapted to wind the sutures into a peripheral channel of the tray and facilitating the attachment of the cover to the tray which contains the needles and attached wound sutures, and from which cover there is concurrently formed a separate product-identifying label as a component of the tray upon removal of the cover to gain access to the contents of the tray. The automated packaging machine also provides for a rotary turret or turntable for the high-speed sequential loading of successive forwardly indexed trays with the needles and attached sutures; the indexed advance of the needle and suture-filled tray to a suitable suture-winding station of the machine, the subsequent conveyance of the trays containing the needles and attached wound sutures to a cover-applying station of the machine to provide the suture packages, and the subsequent automated removal of the completed suture packages from the machine. Furthermore, the present invention is also directed to the provision of a novel method for the automated packaging of multiple surgical needles and attached sutures into trays and the application of covers thereto in sequential production steps through the intermediary of the automated packaging machine facilitating the high-speed output of suture packages containing multiple needles and attached sutures.

CUTTER ASSEMBLY

A retractable cutter for cutting an indefinite length strand of suture material to a definite length while the strand is suspended under tension along a first axis, comprises a cutting blade mounted for at least reciprocal movement transverse to the first axis, from a first retracted position to a second cutting position. A support block is actuated to position the indefinite length strand for cutting thereof, and to support the strand as the cutting blade traverses the first axis as it reciprocates from the retracted position to the cutting position. The cutting blade is angled with respect to its reciprocating motion to effect a slice ratio of at least 1:1 as the blade cuts the supported suture strand at the cutting position to obtain a clean, broom-free cut.

SUTURE CUTTING SYSTEM

An apparatus for cutting an indefinite length suture strand to uniform lengths for subsequent threading and swaging to a surgical needle includes a drawing tower having at least one guide member defining a drawing axis parallel thereto. First and second gripping devices are provided to grip the indefinite length suture strand and draw it along the drawing axis; each gripping device mounted for reciprocal movement on at least one guide member. A retractable cutter for cutting the indefinite length article is also provided for cutting the strand at a start position along the drawing axis. The indefinite length suture strand is fed to the drawing axis and drawn a predetermined distance beyond the location of the retractable cutter for positioning within a suture receiving opening formed in the surgical needle, while the second gripping device reciprocates to a start position along the drawing axis. the indefinite length suture strand is then inserted within the suture receiving opening of ...

Vorrichtung zum Rundkneten einer chirurgischen Nadel und Nähfaden

MACHINE FOR THE AUTOMATED PACKAGING OF NEEDLES AND ATTACHED SUTURES AND METHOD OF UTILIZING THE PACKAGING MACHINE

PURPOSE: To raise the packaging efficiency of needles having attached sutures by providing a rotary turret on which a plurality of tool nests supporting suture trays are arranged, and processing continuously steps that the covers are applied to the trays after the suture is wound onto a peripheral channel of the tray in a period of the indexed rotation of the turret. CONSTITUTION: The packaging machine incorporates a rotary turret 12, on the surface of a dial 14 of which a plurality of tool nests 16 supporting suture trays are equally spaced. The turret 12 is rotated indexically to advance each of the tool nest 16 successively to a plurality of work stations. Then the suture attached to the needle by a needle delivering mechanism 56 is wound into a peripheral channel of the tray by a suture winding device 70 with the indexically rotating of the turret 12 in accordance with the output of a sensor 5 disposed at a suitable location. After that, a cover is attached to the tray and a product ...

Vorrichtung zum Schneiden eines Fadens mit vorbestimmter Länge

Needle and suture swaging station

Suture cutting system

Vorrichtung zum Schneiden eines Fadens mit vorbestimmter Länge

Needle-suture assembly and packaging system

Vorrichtung zum Rundkneten einer chirurgischen Nadel und Nähfaden

CUTTER ASSEMBLY

PURPOSE: To enable to cut a suture material uniformly and automatically and at high speed without getting a loose of the suture at the tip, by employing a cutter which can be drawn and cut the suture at a desired length while pulling and suspending a strand having a continuous length along a first axis. CONSTITUTION: On a set-up block, a pulling tower 20 comprising right and left rails 22, 24 is established and, among right and the left grippers 30, 32 which are movable up and down along the rails 22, 24, the gripper 32 holds one end of a suture 55 drawn out from a king spool 50. A cutter assembly 200 having a cutting blade movable back and forth is arranged at a middle of the pulling tower 20. At this moment, the cutting blade of the cutter assembly 200 is arranged at a given degree against a moving direction so as to realize a slice ration at least 1:1 when cutting the suture 55 supported at a cutting position. COPYRIGHT: (C)1996,JPO ...

SYSTEM FOR CUTTING SUTURE AND CUTTING METHOD

PURPOSE: To enable to cut automatically without causing a blooming of a suture chip by giving a structure to cut the held suture in a pulling state in an apparatus packaging the plural sutures furnished on a needle by winding into an outer groove of a tray at a high speed. CONSTITUTION: On an installing block, a pulling tower 20 comprising right and left rails 22, 24 is established, right and left grippers 30, 32 are assembled along the rails 22, 24 so as to be fluctuatable and one end of a suture 55 drawn out from a king spool 50 is held by one of the grippers 32. A cutting assembly 100 and a cutter assembly 200 are arranged at a middle of the pulling tower 20 in the up and down direction. Thus, the gripper 32 draws an unspecified length of the suture 55 over the cutting assembly 100 for a desired distance and, after inserting the suture 55 into an accepting end of the needle, the gripper 30 holds the suture to be cut at the desired length. COPYRIGHT: (C)1996,JPO ...

Cutter assembly

Suture cutting system

An apparatus for cutting an indefinite length suture strand to uniform lengths for subsequent threading and swaging to a surgical needle includes a drawing tower having at least one guide member defining a drawing axis parallel thereto. First and second gripping devices are provided to grip the indefinite length suture strand and draw it along the drawing axis; each gripping device mounted for reciprocal movement on at least one guide member. A retractable cutter for cutting the indefinite length suture strand is also provided for cutting the strand at a start position along the drawing axis. The indefinite length suture strand is fed to the drawing axis and drawn a predetermined distance beyond the location of the retractable cutter for positioning within a suture receiving opening formed in the surgical needle, while the second gripping device reciprocates to a start position along the drawing axis. The indefinite length suture strand is then inserted within the suture receiving opening ...

NEEDLE AND SUTURE ASSEMBLY, PACKAGING DEVICE AND AUTO-PACKAGING

PURPOSE: To enable automatic work for packaging surgical needles by employing a rotatable suture attaching dial and the like having plural number of multi-axis grippers automatically holding surgical needles for alloting to the plural number of treatment stations. CONSTITUTION: This device, which automatically attaches a suture to a surgical needle, comprises a sectional station 100 sectionally transferring the surgical needle to a gripper furnished on a dial 150, an automatic fiber attaching station 200 which inserts the suture into the surgical needle to cut and attach, an automatic pulling testing station 300 and a discharging station 600 around the rotatable suture attaching dial 150. At the discharging station 600, an arm-shaped surgical needle is transferred to a package tray of a rotatable suture winding/ packaging turret 50 and manufactured as a package after assembled through eight work stations 450, 470, 550,... respectively for investigating, checking, winding, paper inserting ...

NEEDLE-SUTURE MOUNTING STATION

PURPOSE: To provide a mounting station for automatically introducing suture into a surgical needle by cutting suture strand held by gripper means, making the free end of the suture strand pass through a funnel thus guiding the same to the insert hole of the needle. CONSTITUTION: Suture strand 55 is hung on pulleys 35a, 35b and a pulley 112 in the lower portion of tip treating/cutting carrier 100. Pulley 35a for the lower portion of suture passing therethrough, guide pulley 112, and right as well as left gripper 30, 32 operate to cut the suture strand. The lower portion of the gripper 32 holds the lower portion from the end portion 58 of the suture. The tip portion of suture strand 55 is positioned in the suture-insert hole of a surgical needle oriented accurately by a multiaxial gripper 155 with a mount assembly 400 at the tip portion of a drawer tower 20. The tip of the suture strand 55 heated by a tip-treating assembly 300 proceeds from the left gripper 30 to a position adjacent to a ...

Retractable cutter

Cutter assembly

Pressure and temperature relief valve

A pressure and temperature relief valve including a T-shaped casing having an inlet port with an insert member secured therein having a conical wall forming a valve seat in a chamber communicating with the inlet port and an outlet port, a valve member cooperating with the valve seat and loosely attached with a valve stem extending through another port axially aligned with the inlet port, a bias spring mounted in compression between first and second retaining cups with the first retaining cup engaging an adjustment plug in the other port and the second retaining cup engaging the valve member, and a ball and swivel lever mechanism engaging the valve stem and the adjustment plug to permit manual opening of the pressure and temperature relief valve.

Assembly and packaging method for needle and suture assemblies

An automated machine for attaching a suture to a surgical needle having a suture receiving opening formed therein, and for packaging the same in a package tray comprises a first workstation including a device for sorting a plurality of needles and orienting each needle for automatic feeding to a second swaging workstation, a second workstation including a device for automatically cutting an indefinite length of suture material to a definite length and a device for automatically swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about a free end of the suture to secure the suture thereto and form a needle-suture assembly, a needle packaging station including a device for sequentially receiving at least one of the needle-suture assemblies in a package tray in synchronism with the second workstation, the needle packaging station having a device for automatically winding the depending suture portion of the needle-suture assembly into the package tray, a first indexing device for sequentially receiving individual oriented needles fed from the first workstation and transferring each of the needles from the first workstation to the second workstation to form the needle-suture assembly thereat, the first indexing device sequentially indexing the needle-suture assemblies from the second workstation to the needle packaging station.

Needle and suture swaging method

A swaging station incorporates a drawing tower that automatically draws, cuts, and inserts an indefinite length strand of suture material within the suture receiving end of a surgical needle for swaging thereof. The suture receiving end of the surgical needle is positioned within a swaging assembly located at the top of the drawing tower that comprises a first fixed swage die and a second movable swage die forming a swage die opening for positively gripping the suture receiving end of the needle positioned therein. A first suture alignment die and a second suture alignment die are precisely registered below and adjacent the respective first and second swage dies to form a lower funnel guide that is axial with the swage die opening for positioning the tip of the suture strand therein. The lower funnel guide has an exit diameter that is larger than the diameter of the suture tip and smaller than the diameter of the suture receiving end of the needle for easy placement of the suture tip therein. Subsequently, the second movable swage die is actuated to swage the suture tip to the needle.

Aparelho para cortar um fio de sutura de comprimento indefinido em comprimentos uniformes e método para cortar um material de sutura de comprimento indefinido até um comprimento uniforme

Control knob assembly

A CONTROL KNOB ASSEMBLY IS DISCLOSED WHEREIN ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT OF THE CONTROL KNOB EFFECTS RADIAL MOVEMENT OF A COOPERATING INDICATOR. THE KNOB IS PROVIDED WITH A SPIRAL CHANNEL IN ITS UNDERSURFACE FOR RECEIVING A LEG OF THE L-SHAPED INDICATOR. THE LONGER LEG OF THE INDICATOR EXTENDS RADIALLY OUTWARD FROM THE CONTROL KNOB AXIS THROUGH A SLOT IN THE ASSEMBLY HOUSING. HOOKS INTEGRAL WITH THE HOUSING ARE ADAPTED TO GRIP A PERIPHERAL FLANGE ON THE KNOB TO RETAIN THE DIALED POSITION. AT LEAST ONE OF THE HOOKS IS PROVIDED WITH A CONVEX DIMPLE WHICH COOPERATES WITH CORRESPONDING CONCAVE DIMPLES ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF THE KNOB TO PROVIDE A "CLICK" INDICATIVE OF AN INCREMENTAL CHANGE IN THE CONTROL KNOB SETTING. THE KNOB IS FURTHER PROVIDED WITH A SPLINE OR KEYWAY ARRANGEMENT WHICH ACCOMMODATES AXIAL MOVEMENT OF THE STEM.