Apparatus and method for positioning and pressing curved surgical needles

Apparatus for positioning and pressing surgical needle blanks each having a body portion for facilitating insertion into humans or animals, which comprises:

• means for transferring a needle blank between a gripping position and a side pressing position;
• a needle gripping assembly attached to said needle transferring means, said needle gripping assembly having at least two needle blank gripping members movable between open and closed positions and means engageable with said blank gripping members for automatically moving said at least two needle blank gripping members between said open position and said closed position;
• and
• means for side pressing the body portion of the needle blank when the needle blank is transferred to said pressing position.

A method for pressing surgical needle blanks each having a body portion for facilitating insertion into humans or animals, comprising

• inserting a needle blank into a needle blank gripping member at a gripping position;
• transferring the needle blank in said gripping member between said gripping position and a pressing position;
• and
• pressing a side portion of the body portion of the needle blank with pressing dies.

Apparatus for side pressing curved surgical needle blanks each having a body port for facilitating insertion into humans or animals, which comprises:

• a needle gripper having a housing, a plurality of needle gripping fingers in a fixed longitudinal relationship with said housing and movable between open and closed positions, and a collar longitudinally movable within said housing to cause said needle gripping fingers to move between said open and closed positions;
• a needle transferring arm connected to said needle gripper and automatically movable between a gripping position and a pressing position after a needle is gripped by said needle gripper;
• and
• a plurality of dies positioned at said pressing position and movable relative to each other such that the body portions of a needle blank are impacted by said dies to side press the needle blank.