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US 5,049,219 AGranted
Method and apparatus for manufacturing surgical sponges
AssigneeDeRoyal Industries, Inc.
InventorsHerman S. Johns, Charles A. Lee
Life of this patent
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AssigneeDeRoyal Industries, Inc.
InventorsHerman S. Johns, Charles A. Lee
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus are described for the manufacture of surgical sponges defined by a sponge body with at least a segment of a string, preferably containing a material opaque to x-rays, joined to the sponge body. The apparatus provides for the manufacture of the surgical sponges in an automatic manner and continuous manner by feeding a length of the string from a string supply and an end portion of sponge from a supply of sponge in directions substantially ninety-degrees to one another to an area of intersection area where a segment of the string overlies the sponge at a selected distance from the end thereof remote to the supply of sponge. The string segment is joined to the sponge, preferably by an ultrasonic welding mechanism. The sponge end containing the joined string is then severed at a preselected location depending upon the width of sponge body desired. The cutting mechanism used to sever the sponge and the welding mechanism are moveable as a single unit to alternately place the welding mechanism over the segment of the string and cutting mechanism at the preselected location on the sponge. The sponge bodies serially connected by the string at spaced apart locations are separated into discrete surgical sponges by sequentially displacing the string-connected sponge bodies to a string and sponge cutting arrangement where the string is first cut at an edge of each sponge and then an excess of the sponge adjacent this edge of each sponge is severed.
Apparatus for fabricating surgical sponges each formed of a sponge body of a preselected width and length with at least a segment of a string attached to a surface thereof, comprising support means, web supporting means carried by said support means for supporting a supply of web of sponge body material of a length sufficient to form a plurality of sponge bodies, string supporting means for supporting a supply of string, joining means carried by the support means for joining a segment of string displaceable from the supply of string to a surface of the web of sponge adjacent to an end thereof remote to the web supply, severing means carried by the support means and adapted to sever a length of web from said supply thereof, string driving means for displacing string from the supply of string in one direction over a surface on the support means, driving means for displacing the web of sponge body material over the surface on the support means in a direction substantially perpendicular to said one direction and along a plane underlying said segment of string, drive means coupled to the joining means and the sponge severing means for alternately displacing the severing means and the joining means a selected distance in the direction substantially perpendicular to said one direction for sequentially positioning the severing means over a selected length of the web displaceable from the supply of web and the joining means over said segment of string, and means for sequentially receiving a plurality of sponge bodies serially coupled to one another by the string at longitudinally spaced apart locations.
Apparatus for fabricating surgical sponges each defined by a sponge body of a preselected width and length and with at least a segment of a string joined to a surface portion of the sponge body, comprising support means, roll supporting means carried by said support means for supporting a roll of sponge of a length sufficient to form a plurality of sponge bodies, spool supporting means carried by said support means for supporting a spool of string, displaceable carriage means carried by said support means, welding means supported by the carriage means for joining a segment of string displaceable from the spool to a surface of the sponge at a selected location adjacent to an end thereof remote to the roll supporting means, sponge shearing means carried by the carriage means at a location intermediate the welding means and the roll supporting means for shearing the sponge to form discrete sponge bodies, string driving means for displacing string from the spool of string in one direction over a surface on the carriage means, sponge driving means for displacing a selected length of sponge from the roll of sponge over a surface on the carriage means in a direction substantially perpendicular to said one direction and under a segment of string on the carriage means to position said end of the sponge a selected distance from said segment of string, drive means for displacing the carriage means in the direction substantially perpendicular to said one direction for sequentially and alternately positioning the welding means over the segment of string for joining the segment of string to the sponge and positioning the sponge shearing means at a selected position over a preselected longitudinal length of the sponge displaceable from the roll of sponge for shearing the sponge at said position to provide a sponge body of preselected width, and means for sequentially receiving a plurality of discrete sponge bodies serially coupled to one another by the string at longitudinally spaced apart locations.
A method for sequentially and continuously fabricating surgical sponges each formed of a sponge body of a preselected width and length with a string of a length of at least as great as that of the sponge body fixed to a surface of the sponge body, comprising the steps of (1) longitudinally displacing a preselected length of string from a supply of string in a one direction, (2) longitudinally displacing a selected length of sponge from a supply of sponge in a direction substantially perpendicular to said one direction to a position intersecting with and underlying a segment of said string, (3) joining the string segment to a surface of the sponge underlying the segment of string at a selected location adjacent to a longitudinal end of the sponge, (4) severing a portion of sponge corresponding to said selected length and having the string segment joined thereto from the length of sponge remaining in the supply of sponge with the severed portion of sponge providing a sponge body of the preselected width, and (5) displacing the severed sponge body with the string segment attached thereto from said position while simultaneously displacing a further preselected length of string from the supply of string in said one direction to said position, and thereafter repeating steps 2 through 5 for forming a plurality of sponge bodies serially coupled to one another by the string at longitudinally spaced apart locations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.