JP2849143B2 - Bending method of suture needle with blade - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for bending a material of a suture needle in which a cutting blade has been formed in advance.

<Prior Art> At present, as a surgical suture needle, a so-called round needle having a circular cross-sectional shape and a sharp needle tip formed at the tip, or a bladed suture needle having a polygonal cross-sectional shape and a cutting edge formed at a ridge line. Is generally used. Examples of the round needle or the suture needle with a blade include a linearly formed suture needle and a suture needle having a predetermined bent shape. These suturing needles are selected and used according to the suturing site, the suturing tissue, and the like.

Here, a brief description will be given of a manufacturing process of a suture needle with a blade having a cutting edge and having a predetermined bent shape.

First, a stainless steel material having a diameter substantially equal to the thickness of a target suture needle is cut at a predetermined length to form a material for the suture needle.

One end of the material is used as a base end, and a through hole or a blind hole for attaching a suture is formed in the base end or the base end face. When forming a through-hole at the base end of the material, the base end is plastically deformed by a press working method and a through-hole is formed at the deformed portion. When a blind hole is formed in the base end face of the material, the base end face is subjected to electric discharge machining, electron beam machining, laser machining,
A blind hole having a predetermined depth and diameter is formed by performing a process such as drilling.

Next, the original end is gripped by a chuck, and the material is formed into a polygonal shape by performing a grinding process over a predetermined range from the other end side, and a cutting edge is formed on a ridge line.

Next, a predetermined bending shape is given to the material by a plastic working method. That is, a processing method in which a material is inserted between split dies having a predetermined shape and pressed, or a material is inserted between a bending piece and a belt pressed against the bending piece to reciprocate the bending piece and the belt. Processing method (Sho 60-
The material is bent using a processing method such as that described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 18256).

Aging treatment is performed by heat-treating the material bent into a predetermined shape as described above, and further, surface treatment such as chemical polishing treatment or electrolytic polishing treatment is performed.

 A desired suture needle is manufactured through the above-described steps.

<Problem to be Solved by the Invention> In the above bending step, the surface of the press die or the bending piece has a high hardness in order to increase the durability.
However, the surface of the mold and the bending piece may have scratches, irregularities, and the like due to a large number of bending operations. When performing bending using the press die or bending top and belt,
The surface of the material is in direct contact with the surface of these molds or bending pieces or belts. For this reason, the cutting edge formed on the material comes into contact with the surface of the mold or bending piece, causing damage such as crushing or winding,
Alternatively, there is a possibility that a scratch or the like generated on the mold or the bending piece, damage due to the transfer of the unevenness, or the like may occur.

When damage such as crushing or curling of the cutting blade, or damage caused by transfer of the scratches or irregularities generated on the mold or bending piece occurs, it is extremely difficult to repair such damage. It is difficult to maintain good piercing properties.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bending method that solves the above problem.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The bending method according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is characterized in that when a predetermined bending shape is given to a raw material of a suture needle having a cutting edge by a plastic working method, An elastic member is attached to a cutting blade formed on the material of the suturing needle.

<Operation> According to the first bending method, the bending can be performed without damaging the cutting edge. That is, when an elastic member is attached to a cutting blade formed on a material of a suture needle in advance, and the material is bent by a plastic working method,
The bending mold and the material come into contact via an elastic member. Therefore,
The cutting edge does not directly contact the surface of the high-hardness bending die, and the bending die does not damage the cutting edge. Further, even when the bending mold has scratches or irregularities, the scratches or irregularities are not transferred to the material.

<Embodiment> An embodiment to which the above means is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a suture needle with a blade, and FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C).
Is an explanatory view showing a state in which an elastic member is attached to a cutting blade of a material, and FIG.
The drawings are schematic explanatory views of a bending method using a press, FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic explanatory views of a bending method using a bending piece and a belt, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a post-processing apparatus.

First, a suture needle with a blade (hereinafter referred to as a "suture needle") 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The suture needle 1 shown in the figure is configured as a so-called triangular needle. One end of the suturing needle 1 is configured as an original end surface 1a,
A blind hole 1b for attaching a suture (not shown) is formed in the original end surface 1a. The other end of the suturing needle 1 is formed as a needle tip 1c, and a cutting blade 1d having a predetermined length is formed continuously with the needle tip 1c. The length of the cutting blade 1d has different dimensions depending on the nature of the suturing needle 1. The ridge line 1e continuous with the cutting edge 1d has no function as a cutting edge,
The suturing needle 1 is formed as a ridgeline for maintaining the triangular shape.

The blind hole 1b is formed by a processing method such as drilling, electric discharge machining, electron beam machining, laser machining, and the like, and the needle tip 1c, the cutting blade 1d, the ridge line 1e, etc. are formed only by pressing and grinding or grinding. .

Further, the suturing needle 1 shown in the figure has a predetermined bent shape. This shape (bending angle, bending radius, etc.) has different values depending on the site to be sutured.

The suturing needle 1 is standardized in a size range of 0.07 mm to 1.4 mm in thickness and 5 mm to 65 mm in length, and is generally used. However, in recent years, diversification and miniaturization of surgery have been progressing, and a thinner and shorter suture needle has been required.

The suture needle 1 is formed using a material such as austenitic stainless steel, martensite stainless steel, and precipitation hardening stainless steel.

In this embodiment, the austenitic stainless steel wire is reduced to a desired diameter by cold drawing,
A material obtained by stretching a tissue into a fiber shape is used. Then, the wire is cut into a length substantially equal to the product length of the suturing needle 1 to form a linear material a, and a blind hole 1b is formed with one end of the material a as an original end surface 1a. Then, material a
After forming a triangular shape by press working, the original end face 1a side is gripped and subjected to grinding processing from the other end side, or by directly grinding the material a having a circular cross section, the needle tip 1c, the cutting blade 1d,
The ridge line 1e is formed.

For the material a in which each component is formed as described above,
Bending is performed by a method described later to give a predetermined bent shape. By subjecting the material a to heat treatment and surface treatment, the suture needle 1 can be obtained.

 Next, a method of bending the material a will be described.

In the bending method according to the present invention, when performing bending, the elastic member 2 is attached to the cutting blade 1d formed in advance on the material a, and then the material a is formed into a predetermined bending shape by applying a predetermined processing method. It is formed in.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C), the elastic members 2 are respectively attached to the cutting blades 1d formed on the material a.

In this embodiment, a triangular needle is used as the suturing needle 1, so that the cutting blade 1d is formed corresponding to each ridge line 1e. However, in a spatula-shaped needle (not shown) having a trapezoidal cross section, the cutting edges are formed at two ridges forming the long sides of the trapezoid. Therefore, in this case, the elastic member may be attached only to the cutting edges formed on the two ridge lines.

When sticking the elastic member 2 to the cutting blade 1d, the
There is no need to cover the whole of 1d, and the elastic member 2 is
What is necessary is just to stick on the surface which contacts a, 3b, the bending piece 4, or the belt 5. That is, when two of the three cutting blades 1d formed on the material a come into contact with the upper die 3b or the bending piece 4, and the other cutting blade 1d comes into contact with the lower die 3a or the belt 5, As shown in FIG. 2 (C), the elastic members 2
Should be stuck. However, it goes without saying that the elastic member 2 may be attached to each cutting edge 1d.

As the elastic member 2, a material having appropriate elasticity and appropriate thickness, such as cellophane, paper, rubber, and synthetic resin film, can be used. When the above-mentioned material is used as the elastic member 2, a cutting blade 1d formed of these materials in the material a
It is necessary to cut in accordance with the dimensions of, and to adhere to the cutting blade 1d using an adhesive as an adhesive.

It is also possible to use an adhesive tape such as a cellophane tape, a vinyl tape, a gum tape, or an adhesive paper tape as the elastic member 2. In this case, since the material has tackiness, these tapes are
It is possible to cut according to the dimension of 1d and immediately adhere to the cutting blade 1d. In this embodiment, a commercially available cellophane tape is used.

When cutting the elastic member 2 according to the length of the cutting blade 1d, the size of the elastic member 2 needs to be at least a size that can completely cover the cutting blade 1d. There may be. That is, even if the length of the elastic member 2 is cut longer than the length of the cutting blade 1d, one end of the elastic member 2 projects from the needle tip 1c of the material a, and the other end reaches the ridge line 1e of the material a. good. The width dimension of the elastic member 2 is the cutting blade formed on the material a.
Preferably, the dimension is larger than the interval of 1d.

Material a with elastic member 2 adhered to cutting blade 1d as described above
A known plastic working method can be used for the bending work for giving a predetermined bent shape to the substrate.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a press working method.

In the figure, a bending die 3 is a lower die 3a fixed to a frame of a press (not shown) and an upper die fixed to a ram of the press.
3b. These dies 3a and 3b are formed to have surface shapes corresponding to the bent shape of the suturing needle 1, respectively. That is, the surface shapes of the dies 3a and 3b are formed to have a slightly smaller radius than the desired bending radius in consideration of the springback of the material a after the press working. Also in the lower mold 3a, a groove 3a ₁ which material a may be fitted.

The molds 3a and 3b are made of carbon tool steel, high-speed tool steel, die steel, or the like, and have surfaces hardened and hardened to improve durability.

In order to bend the material a by the press having the above configuration, the molds 3a and 3b are separated from each other, and a cutting blade is provided between the molds 3a and 3b.
1d is supplied with a material a to which the elastic member 2 is adhered, and the upper die 3b is moved in the direction of the arrow a to press the material a by the dies 3a and 3b. It is possible to form in the shape having.

In the bending, the cutting edge 1d formed on the material a comes into contact with the dies 3a and 3b via the elastic member 2. That is, the bending force applied to the material a by the molds 3a and 3b acts via the elastic member 2. For this reason, the elastic member 2 serves as a cushion, and the bending force acts on the material a evenly. Therefore, the cutting edge of the material a
The force does not concentrate on 1d and acts on the cutting blade 1d, and the cutting blade 1d does not suffer damage such as crushing or winding.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a bending method using the bending piece 4 and the belt 5.

In the figure, a bending piece 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a size corresponding to a bending radius of the suturing needle 1. That is, the material a is formed with a radius in consideration of the springback of the material a after bending. The bending piece 4 can be made of a material such as carbon tool steel or high-speed tool steel. In this embodiment, high-speed steel is used, and the surface hardness is set to Rockwell C scale 65 or more.

The bending piece 4 is connected to driving means (not shown).
By this driving means, a reciprocating rotation motion of a predetermined angle is given in the directions of the arrows b and c.

As the belt 5, a material having appropriate strength and flexibility, for example, an amorphous alloy belt, a steel belt, a brass belt, a synthetic resin belt, or the like can be used. In this embodiment, a brass belt having a thickness of 0.1 mm is used.

The belt 5 regulates the winding angle with respect to the bending piece 4 by the rollers 6a and 6b, and is in pressure contact with the bending piece 4. The unused belt 5 is wound around the roll 5, and the used belt 5 is wound by the roll 8.

The press table 9 sets the pressing force of the belt 5 against the bending piece 4 to a desired value, and simultaneously performs the bending processing and the press work on the material inserted between the bending piece 4 and the belt 5. is there. Therefore, when only bending is performed on the material a, the press table 9 is not used.

The press table 9 is configured to be capable of linearly reciprocating in the directions of arrows d and e in synchronization with the reciprocating rotation of the bending piece 4 in the directions of arrows b and c.

Bending piece 4 and belt 5 of bending apparatus constructed as above
Between the cutting blade 1d and the bending member 4 in the direction of arrow b,
Is transported in the direction of the arrow b, the material a is caught between the bending top 4 and the belt 5, and
And is bent along the surface of the top 4.

In the bending process, the cutting blade 1d formed on the material a comes into contact with the bending piece 4 or the belt 5 via the elastic member 2 as shown in FIG. That is, the bending force applied to the material a by the belt 5 acts via the elastic member 2. For this reason, the elastic member 2 serves as a cushion, the force does not concentrate on the cutting edge 1d of the material a and acts on the cutting edge 1d, and the cutting edge 1d is not damaged or wound.

According to the bending method, the bending can be performed without damaging the cutting blade. That is, an elastic member is attached to a cutting blade formed in advance on a material of a suture needle, and this material is inserted between a bending piece and a belt pressed against the bending piece, and a predetermined reciprocating motion is made between the bending piece and the belt. In the case where the material of the suture needle is bent by performing the cutting, the cutting blade formed on the material and the bending piece or the belt come into contact with each other via an elastic member. Therefore, the cutting blade does not directly contact the surface of the bending piece or the belt having high hardness, and the cutting blade is not damaged by the bending mold or the belt.
Also, even if the bending mold has scratches or irregularities,
These scratches and irregularities are not transferred to the material.

The cutting edge 1d is applied to the material a that has been bent as described above.
The elastic member 2 is stuck to. Therefore, in order to perform predetermined heat treatment and surface treatment on the material a, it is necessary to separate the elastic member 2 from the material a.

Next, an example of a post-processing method for separating the material a and the elastic member 2 will be described. The post-processing method according to the present embodiment employs an adhesive for adhering the elastic member 2 to the material a, or the elastic member 2.
In the case where a sticky material such as a cellophane tape is used, when the adhesive is dissolved and the material a and the elastic member 2 are separated, the material a and the elastic member 2 are simultaneously separated and separated. It is possible to do.

In order to separate the material a and the elastic member 2 at the same time as separating them, the specific gravity of the solvent for dissolving the adhesive or the pressure-sensitive adhesive is smaller than the specific gravity of the elastic member 2, preferably the solvent This is possible by setting the specific gravity slightly smaller than the specific gravity of the elastic member 2.

In the present embodiment, the specific gravity is 8 because stainless steel is used as the material of the material a, and the liquid specific gravity is 1.
A cellophane tape having a specific gravity of 2 to 3 is used as the elastic member 2 using Freon 565.

When the solvent is accommodated in a tank and the material a to which the elastic member 2 is attached is immersed in a solvent solution, the material a and the elastic member 2
The immersion material a and the elastic member 2 do not immediately sink to the bottom of the tank but float on the surface of the liquid or in the liquid. After a short time in this state, the adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive is dissolved by the solvent and the material a
Is separated from the elastic member 2 and sinks to the bottom of the tank. When the time further elapses, the elastic member 2 sinks because the solvent penetrates into the elastic member 2.

That is, by immersing a material formed in a predetermined bent shape and having the elastic member adhered to the cutting blade in a solvent having a liquid specific gravity smaller than the specific gravity of the elastic member, the adhesive material is dissolved and the suturing needle is dissolved. And the elastic member can be separated according to the specific gravity difference.

The adhesive or adhesive does not remain on the cutting edge 1d of the material a separated as described above, and the heat treatment is immediately performed.
It is possible to carry out a surface treatment.

Next, a post-processing apparatus for performing the above-described post-processing method will be described.

 FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a post-processing device.

In the figure, a solvent 10 is contained in a tank 11 serving as a liquid container. This tank 11 has a basket 12 serving as an elastic member container.
And baskets 13 serving as material containers are arranged in upper and lower two stages.

The basket 12 is arranged on the upper stage, and by blocking the passage of the elastic member 2 from the bottom surface of the basket 12 and passing the material a,
It accommodates only the elastic member 2. For this reason, basket 12
Is smaller than the size of the elastic member 2 and the material a
A plurality of through holes having dimensions sufficiently larger than the thickness of the through hole are formed. The basket 12 can be configured by attaching a plate-shaped member having a plurality of through holes formed by machining to the bottom surface, and can also be configured by attaching a mesh having a predetermined mesh to the bottom surface. .

The basket 13 is arranged at the lower tier, and stores the material a. For this reason, a plurality of through holes having dimensions smaller than the thickness of the material a are formed on the bottom surface of the basket 13. Basket 13 is a basket
Similarly to 12, it is possible to attach and configure a plate-like member having a plurality of through holes formed by machining on the bottom surface, and it is also possible to attach a mesh having a predetermined mesh to the bottom surface. is there.

In the post-processing device configured as described above, when the material a to which the elastic members 2 are adhered while the baskets 12 and 13 are accommodated in the tank 11 accommodating the solvent 10 is immersed, the adhesive or the adhesive is dissolved by the solvent. The material a is melted and the elastic member 2 is separated.
The separated material a is settled in the solvent 10, passes through a through hole formed in the bottom surface of the basket 12, and is stored in the basket 13. The still separated elastic member 2 is settled in the solvent 10 and stored in the basket 12.

Accordingly, it is possible to separate the material a and the elastic member 2 attached to the material a, and to store them separately in the baskets 13 and 12, respectively.

<Effects of the Invention> As described in detail above, according to the bending method according to the present invention, the cutting blade formed on the material directly contacts the mold, the bending piece, and the belt when performing the predetermined bending processing. There is no, because of this, the cutting blade formed on the material is crushed and rolled up,
Alternatively, the bending can be performed without causing damage such as transfer of scratches or unevenness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a suturing needle with a blade, FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C) are explanatory views of a state in which an elastic member is stuck to a cutting blade of a material, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a bending method using a press. 4 and 5 are schematic explanatory views of a bending method using a bending piece and a belt, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a post-processing apparatus. a is a material of a suture needle, 1 is a suture needle, 1a is a base end face, 1b is a blind hole, 1c is a needle tip, 1d is a cutting blade, 1e is a ridgeline, 2 is an elastic member, 3
Is a mold, 4 is a bending piece, 5 is a belt, 10 is a solvent, 11 is a tank, and 12 and 13 are baskets.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshikazu Oguchi 743 Naka-Akutsu, Takanezawa-cho, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Pref. Matsuya Works, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-145220 (JP, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B21G 1/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elastic member is attached to a cutting blade previously formed on a material of the suture needle when a predetermined bending shape is applied to the material of the suture needle having the cutting blade by a plastic working method. Method for bending suture needles with blades.