Cover or label-applying arrangement in a machine for the automated packaging of needles and attached sutures
AssigneeEthicon, Inc.
InventorsRobert A. Daniele, Anthony Esteves
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine for the automated packaging of armed sutures or; in effect, surgical needles having sutures attached thereto and, more particularly, an arrangement and a method for applying covers to package trays in an automated machine for the highspeed individualized packaging of single or individual surgical needles each having an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the individual or single needles and attached sutures.
Claims16
A cover-applying arrangement in a machine for the automated packaging of a single needle having an attached suture to produce a suture package, wherein said machine automatically winds said suture within confines of a tray and attaches a cover to said tray so as to constitute said suture package, said machine having at least one tool nest for supporting said tray, and means for imparting a forwarding motion to said tool nest and said tray supported thereon for indexed advance to a plurality of workstations stationarily arranged proximate a path of advancing movement of said at least one tool nest;
- said cover-applying arrangement comprising:
- (a) means for applying a cover to a tray containing a surgical needle and attached suture, said tray being positioned on a support surface located on said at least one tool nest, said cover-applying means comprising means for stacking a supply of said covers;
- a rotary plate arranged beneath said cover stacking means, said rotary plate being adapted to receive an individual one of said covers from a bottom of said cover stacking means;
- means for indexing said rotary plate forwardly at predetermined angular increments;
- and motive means for engaging said cover on said rotary plate and transferring said cover for application to the tray which is mounted on the support surface of said at least one tool nest.
A cover-applying method in a machine for the automated packaging of a single needle having an attached suture to produce a suture package, wherein said machine automatically winds said suture within confines of a tray and attaches a cover to said tray so as to constitute said suture package, said machine having at least one tool nest for supporting said tray, and means for imparting a forwarding motion to said tool nest and said tray supported thereon for indexed advance to a plurality of workstations stationarily arranged proximate a path of advancing movement of said at least one tool nest;
- said cover-applying method comprising:
- (a) applying a cover to a tray containing a surgical needle and attached suture, said tray being positioned on a support surface located on said at least one tool nest, said covers being in a stack;
- a rotary plate arranged beneath said cover stack, said rotary plate being adapted to receive an individual one of said covers from a bottom of said cover stack;
- indexing said rotary plate forwardly at predetermined angular increments;
- and engaging said cover on said rotary plate and transferring said cover with motive means for application to the tray which is mounted on the support surface of said at least one tool nest.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.