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:
Jul. 04, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 06, 1998
David D Demarest, Parsippany, NJ (US);
Robert A Daniele, Flemington, NJ (US);
Anthony Esteves, Somerville, NJ (US);
Michael G Hodulik, Dunellen, NJ (US);
Teresa M Shaw, Lawrenceville, NJ (US);
George Horst Reinemuth, Glen Mills, PA (US);
Richard Paul Branco, Collegeville, PA (US);
Matthew Cafone, Edgewater Park, NJ (US);
Ethicon, Inc., Somerville, NJ (US);
Abstract
A method for automatically forming armed surgical needles and for automatically packaging the same in a packaging tray, the automatic forming and packaging operating under control of a control computer, each armed surgical needle including a surgical needle having a suture receiving opening formed therein for attachment of a definite length suture material thereof. The method comprises the steps of sorting and depositing a plurality of needles on an indexing conveyor; enabling a robot gripper device to sequentially pick up the needles and place a picked needle in a precision conveyor device for automatic sequential conveyance to a first station; utilizing a first indexing device for sequentially indexing the needle from the first station to a second station to form the armed needle, the first indexing device being elevated in height; at the second station, automatically inserting a free end of a suture strand into the suture receiving opening of the needle, swaging the needle about the free end of the suture, and cutting the suture strand to a predetermined definite length to form the armed needle. The formed armed needle is then sequentially inserted into a respective single package tray indexed at a subsequent station that has been oriented in height with respect to the first indexing device in accordance with the size of the needle. At a further subsequent station the tray and parked armed needle therein is subject to at least one rapid winding operation to wind the suture around a peripheral channel of the tray.