Machine for the automated packaging of needles and attached sutures and method of utilizing the packaging machine

摘要

An automated machine for the high-speed packaging of multiple surgical needles each with an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover structure providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the needles and attached sutures. Additionally, the automated packaging machine incorporates operative mechanism adapted to wind the sutures into a peripheral channel of the tray and facilitating the attachment of the cover to the tray which contains the needles and attached wound sutures, and from which cover there is concurrently formed a separate product- identifying label as a component of the tray upon removal of the cover to gain access to the contents of the tray. The automated packaging machine also provides for a rotary turret or turntable for the high-speed sequential loading of successive forwardly indexed trays with the needles and attached sutures; the indexed advance of the needle and suture-filled tray to a suitable suture-winding station of the machine, the subsequent conveyance of the trays containing the needles and attached wound sutures to a cover-applying station of the machine to provide the suture packages, and the subsequent automated removal of the completed suture packages from the machine. Furthermore, the present invention is also directed to the provision of a novel method for the automated packaging of multiple surgical needles and attached sutures into trays and the application of covers thereto in sequential production steps through the intermediary of the automated packaging machine facilitating the high-speed output of suture packages containing multiple needles and attached sutures.