JPH0257243A - Apparatus for assembling suture needle for operation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily insert operation thread through a suture needle by providing a means for inserting the leading end part of the operation thread in the aperture part of the suture needle, a means for delivering the operation thread and a means for caulking the rear end part of the suture needle in such a state that the operation thread, is inserted in the aperture part. CONSTITUTION:Operation thread S is delivered if necessary from a bobbin 4 and passed through a heater 7 to correct the bending habit of said thread. After correction, the operation thread S is delivered toward a caulking mechanism 1 while a suture needle N is positioned along with a work W so that the rear end part Na of said needle N coincides with the leading end part 3a of the first guide part 3. When the operation thread S is sent in this state by a feed roller 8, the operation thread S passes through the first guide part 3 to enter the aperture part Nb of the suture needle N. In this state, dies 1a-1d are moved in up-and-down as well as left-and-light directions to stop the rear end part Na of the suture needle N by caulking. By this method, since the operation thread S of the suture needle N is automatically mounted, work can be certainly performed in an extremely efficient manner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a surgical suture needle assembly device for automatically attaching surgical thread to a surgical suture needle.

[Prior Art] Many surgical suture needles used in surgical operations have surgical threads attached in advance. However, a wide variety of surgical suture needles are used,
In terms of dimensions, some have a diameter of 1 mm or less, and as the size increases, the surgical thread attached also becomes thinner.

Conventionally, there are various methods for attaching surgical thread to a surgical suture needle, but a vertical method as shown in FIG. 6 is preferred because it is easy to use. Conventionally, the surgical thread S was attached to the vertical suture needle N by hand, one by one, by inserting the tip of the surgical thread S into a hole Nb provided in the rear end Na of the arc-shaped suture needle N, which is called a swedge. Currently, the surgical thread S is inserted and caulked using a caulking machine. However, this manual installation requires skill and is not only inefficient, but also has the disadvantage of a high incidence of product defects. In addition, since workers use microscopes and magnifying glasses to visually observe, eye fatigue is extremely high.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide a surgical suture needle assembly device that facilitates insertion of surgical thread into the surgical suture needle when attaching the surgical thread to the surgical suture needle.

[Summary of the Invention] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to provide a device for inserting and caulking surgical thread into a hole provided at the rear end of a surgical suture needle, in which the tip of the surgical thread is crimped. means for inserting the surgical thread into the hole of the suture needle; means for feeding out the surgical thread; means for caulking the rear end of the suture needle with the surgical thread inserted into the hole; and the surgical thread. The invention is characterized in that it is provided with means for cutting diagonally.

[Embodiments of the invention] The present invention will be explained in detail based on illustrated embodiments.

In Fig. 1, ■ is a caulking mechanism for caulking the suture needle N, and the dies 1a to 1d are
(ld is not shown) is configured to move toward the center, so that the rear end Na of the suture needle N can be caulked 1F from two directions facing each other. Moreover, these dice 1a to 1d are each equipped with a micrometer 1e.
The stroke can be adjusted by ~1h. For example, the suture needle N is fixed to the workpiece W, and the suture needle N is fixed to the workpiece W.
are transported one by one by a transport mechanism 2 using, for example, a guide table, and the rear end Na provided with a hole Nb for inserting the surgical thread S is connected to the dies 1a to l of the crimping mechanism 1.
It is located between d. Further, the first guide section 3 for guiding the surgical thread S has a thin tube shape, and its distal end 3a
is arranged in such a position that it can be brought into close contact with the rear end Na of the suture needle N being conveyed, with its axis aligned, and the direction of insertion of the surgical thread S in this first guide section 3 is aligned with the rear end Na of the suture needle N being transported. It is shaped like a trumpet so that it can be easily inserted. The surgical thread S is wound around a pobbin 4, and in accordance with the order in which it is fed out, a disinfectant container 5 containing a disinfectant solution, a sponge 6 for wiping off the disinfectant solution, and a thin tube, for example, for correcting the crookedness of the surgical thread S, are provided. It passes through a shaped heater 7, is sent by a feed roller 8, and further passes through a second guide section 9 and is sent into the first guide section 3. Further, a cutting mechanism 10 such as scissors or a knife is provided between the first guide part 3 and the second guide part 9 to cut the surgical thread S diagonally to a predetermined length.

The surgical thread S is paid out from the pobin 4 as needed, and in the process it is disinfected by the disinfectant solution in the disinfection container 5, and heated at an angle of, for example, 130 to 140° by an electric heating coil.
By passing through the heater 7 heated to C, one curve is corrected. Note that the temperature of the heater 7 needs to be set according to the thickness and material of the surgical thread S. After correction by the heater 7, the surgical thread S is paid out in the direction of the crimping mechanism 1, but at this time, the suture needle N along with the workpiece W, as shown in FIG. Tip part 3
It is positioned to match a. Therefore, surgical thread S
When the surgical thread S is fed by the feed roller 8, the surgical thread S passes through the first guide part 3 and enters the hole Nb of the suture needle N. In this state, the dies 1a to 1d are moved from the vertical and horizontal directions to perform suturing. The rear end Na of the needle N is caulked by one turn as shown in FIG. The suture needle N with the surgical thread S caulked in this way is sent as it is by the transport mechanism 2 in the direction of pulling out the surgical thread S, and after moving a predetermined distance, the surgical thread S is cut by the cutting mechanism 10. Note that this cutting is performed in a diagonal direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the surgical thread S, so that the next surgical thread S can be fed into the first guide section 3 and the suture needle N can be inserted into the hole Nb. becomes easier.

By repeating such steps, the surgical thread S is automatically attached to the suture side N, so that the work can be performed extremely efficiently and reliably. In addition, by correcting one surgical thread S with the heater 7 during the feeding process of the surgical thread S, bending can be eliminated, and smooth insertion can be achieved when inserting into the first guide part 3 and the hole Nb of the suture needle. Can be done.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the first guide section 3, in which a cutting section 3b consisting of a gap is obliquely provided in the middle of the guide section 3 consisting of a long cylindrical section, and the cutting mechanism 10 is operated at this cutting section 3b. By doing so, the tip of the cut surgical thread S will not come out.
By feeding it as it is, you can ensure that the tip 3 of the guide part 3
The surgical thread 5t-i can be inserted into the hole Nb of the dowel N from a.

Further, FIG. 5 shows a positioning mechanism 11 divided into two that wraps around the distal end 3a of the first guide section 3, and the rear end Na of the suture needle N is also sandwiched between the positioning mechanism 11 and the distal end 3a. 3a and the rear end Na, thereby allowing reliable insertion of the surgical thread S. In addition, surgical thread S
When crimping after insertion, the positioning mechanism 11 is retracted from the crimping stop.

Among the above-mentioned mechanisms, the mechanism 1 related to the size and thickness of the suture needle N and surgical thread S, such as the guide section 3.9, is a mechanism of an appropriate size as the thickness of the surgical thread S changes. need to be replaced. In this case, the mechanism can be replaced as is, or only some parts within the mechanism can be replaced.

After assembling the suture needle as described above, that is, after caulking + E-fitting,
A means for inspecting whether the surgical thread S has been reliably crimped can be provided. That is, before or after the caulking is completed and the surgical thread S is cut, the surgical thread S is held down and the workpiece W is
By moving the suture needle N with a constant force, it is possible to test whether the surgical thread S is pulled out from the suture needle N or not. In this way, the tensile test was carried out, and the number of passing
It becomes possible to manage pass rates, etc.

In the embodiment, dies 1a to 1d are used to caulk from four directions at the same time, but this may be performed with a time difference in each direction.Furthermore, after caulking once using two dies, It is also possible to rotate it 90 degrees with respect to the suture needle N and swage it again from the orthogonal direction. Furthermore, you can use 3 or 5 dice and play in 3 or 5 directions at the same time.
It is also possible to operate from the direction. Note that the surgical thread S can also be fed out by jetting an air stream along the surgical thread S from an air nozzle without using the feed roller 8 as in the embodiment. Further, the two surgical threads S can be cut at the same time as the caulking or before the caulking.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the surgical suture needle assembly device according to the present invention can automate the attachment of surgical thread to the suture needle, which was conventionally done manually, and in particular By cutting diagonally, insertion into the next suturing needle becomes easier, which is a great advantage in terms of efficiency and yield.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the surgical suture needle assembly device according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the caulking part, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of how the surgical suture needle is attached to the suture needle. 4 is a sectional view of the guide section, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the positioning mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the suture needle with surgical thread attached. Symbol l is a caulking mechanism, 2 is a conveyance mechanism, 3 and 9 are guide parts,
4 is a bobbin, 5 is a disinfection container, 6 is a sponge, 7 is a heater, 8 is a feed roller, 10 is a cutting mechanism, and 11 is a positioning mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device for inserting a surgical thread into a hole provided at the rear end of a surgical suture needle and caulking the thread, comprising means for inserting the tip of the surgical thread into the hole of the suture needle; a means for feeding out the surgical thread; a means for caulking the rear end of the suture needle with the surgical thread inserted into the hole; and a means for cutting the surgical thread diagonally. Suture needle assembly device.