KR20230012160A - Automatic tip stopper forming apparatus for sutures - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically forming a suture tip stopper and, more specifically, to an apparatus for automatically forming a suture tip stopper, which fully automates a process of forming a tip stopper at one tip of a suture in which barbs have been formed, thereby increasing productivity and reducing labor costs. To achieve this, the apparatus for automatically forming a suture tip stopper comprises: a transfer member gripping and transferring a suture; a cutting unit cutting an excess part of one end part of the suture; a molding block equipped with a molding groove connected to a heater; a tip stopper forming unit provided with a gripper receiving the cut suture and inserting one end part of the suture into the molding groove; and a vision inspection unit inspecting the tip stopper of the formed suture.

Description

Suture end stopper automatic forming device {AUTOMATIC TIP STOPPER FORMING APPARATUS FOR SUTURES}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically forming an end stopper of a suture thread, and more particularly, to an end of a suture thread capable of improving productivity and reducing labor costs by completely automating an operation of making an end stopper at one end of a suture thread on which barbs have been formed. It relates to an automatic stopper molding device.

In general, when suturing using a general suture (wire, thread) in suturing surgery, the effect of suturing is halved, and there is a problem in that the skin tissue cannot be fixed, that is, held.

Therefore, instead of the surgical suture used in the conventional suture surgery, many technologies have been proposed for a suture that has barbs protruding in one direction on the outer circumferential surface of the wire so that the wire itself can be fixed and maintained while pulling the skin tissue. there is.

In this regard, the present applicant has been registered for Patent Registration No. 10-1754967 "Automated Equipment for 360-degree Barb Formation of Vertical Wire", etc. It is a device.

On the other hand, when suturing with a barbed suture, a knot is tied at the starting point of suturing and the ending point of suturing so that the suture does not come loose.

When suturing, the technique of forming a knot at the starting point and ending point of suturing requires considerable skill of the surgeon who performs the suturing, and also significantly affects the delay of the entire operation or procedure.

In particular, in suturing operations such as internal organs, a higher level of technical skill is required when forming a knot at a suturing start point and an end point as tissues and sutures slide and push each other, as well as a disadvantage in that a long operation time is required.

At this time, if a stopper is provided at the end of the suture, it is possible to proceed with suturing without tying a knot at the starting point, and tying a knot at the ending point is much easier because there is no fear that the suture will slip off the tissue due to the barbs. As a result, the development of related technologies is required.

Accordingly, the present applicant has developed semi-automatic equipment for forming a stopper at the end of a barbed suture, but it is difficult to manually and consistently control the length of the suture to uniformly match the portion where the stopper is located, resulting in a high defect rate and poor productivity. there was

In particular, since the size of the end stopper of the suture differs depending on the type and thickness of the suture, the length of the suture for forming the end stopper must be accurately adjusted according to the size of the stopper. There are many difficulties that follow.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems,

Completely complete all operations involved in forming the end stopper, from cutting the barb formed suture to the length considering the location of the end stopper, forming the end stopper, and sorting out good and defective sutures and individually discharging them. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for automatically shaping an end stopper of a suture that can be automated.

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic forming apparatus for the end stopper of the suture according to the present invention,

a conveying member that grips and conveys the suture;

a cutting unit cutting an excess portion of one end of the suture;

an end stopper forming unit having a forming block having a forming groove connected to a heater and a gripper receiving the cut suture thread and inputting one end of the suture thread into the forming groove;

and a vision inspection unit inspecting the end stopper of the molded suture.

And in the automatic forming device for the end stopper of the suture according to the present invention,

The end stopper forming unit further includes a pair of guide blocks that operate forward and backward on the top of the forming block and have a fixing groove at the front end into which the suture is inserted to fix the suture inserted into the forming groove. do.

In addition, in the automatic forming device for the end stopper of the suture according to the present invention,

The end stopper molding unit includes a cooling means for cooling the molded end stopper,

The cooling unit may include a pneumatic nozzle unit for spraying compressed air to the forming block and the guide block, respectively.

In addition, in the automatic forming device for the end stopper of the suture according to the present invention,

The heater is characterized in that it has an insertion hole into which the molding block is inserted, and after the molding block is inserted into the insertion hole and heated, the molding block is separated from the insertion hole and cooled.

The apparatus for automatically forming an end stopper of a suture according to the present invention,

All processes related to the formation of end stoppers, including supply and transfer of sutures, cutting of excess sutures considering the location of end stoppers, cooling after forming end stoppers, sorting out defective end stoppers, and individual discharge of good and defective products, are all automated to replace the existing manual work. Or, it can maximize productivity improvement and labor cost reduction compared to semi-automatic work,

When forming the end stopper, it is possible to increase the molding precision of the end stopper by safely continuously inserting the suture thread while precisely fixing the end of the suture thread outside the molding groove.

After forming the end stopper, intensive cooling of the end stopper formation site makes it easy to discharge and maintain the shape of the end stopper,

It is a molding block with a heater separation method, which shortens the cooling time and reduces the overall cycle time, which has the effect of further improving productivity.

1 is an external perspective view, a front view of a main part, and a perspective view of a main part of an apparatus for automatically forming an end stopper of a suture according to the present invention.
2 to 6 are perspective views of main parts for each process of the automatic forming apparatus for an end stopper of a suture according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a view for explaining the end stopper of the suture produced by the present invention.
8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the suture fixing means according to the present invention.

Since the present invention can have various changes and various forms, the implementation examples (or embodiments) will be described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific posting form, and it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

In each drawing, the same reference numeral, in particular, the same number of tens and ones digits, or the same reference numerals having the same tens digit, ones digit, and alphabet indicate members having the same or similar functions, and unless otherwise specified, each of the drawings Members indicated by reference numerals may be understood as members conforming to these standards.

In addition, the components in each drawing are expressed in exaggeratedly large (or thick) small (or thin) or simplified expressions in size or thickness in consideration of convenience of understanding, etc., but the scope of protection of the present invention is thereby limited. It shouldn't be.

Terms used in this specification are only used to describe a specific embodiment (aspect, aspect, aspect) (or embodiment), and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In this application, terms such as ~comprising~ or ~consisting of are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

~First~, ~Second~, etc. described in this specification will only be referred to to distinguish different components from each other, regardless of the manufacturing order, and the names in the detailed description and claims of the invention may not match.

In describing the automatic suture end stopper forming apparatus according to the present invention, if a non-rigid rough direction standard is specified with reference to FIG. , In the detailed description and claims of the invention related to other drawings, the direction is specified and described according to this standard unless otherwise specified.

Hereinafter, an apparatus for automatically forming an end stopper of a suture thread according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically forming an end stopper of a suture, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7,

a transfer member that grips and transfers the suture (S);

A cutting unit 20 for cutting the surplus portion of one end of the suture (S);

A molding block 32 having a molding groove 321 connected to the heater 31, and a gripper 33 receiving the cut suture thread S and inserting one end of the suture thread S into the molding groove 321 End stopper molding unit 30 having a;

and a vision inspection unit 40 that inspects the end stopper Sb of the suture thread S that has been molded.

The transfer member is sufficient as long as it can grip the suture (S) and transfer it to each process position, such as a gantry-type Cartesian coordinate robot.

It is preferable to use an articulated robot 10 as shown in the drawing so that each process position is radially arranged around the transfer member, so that time loss due to transfer can be reduced while designing the facility more compactly.

The articulated robot 10 is a multi-axis robot capable of individual movement for each joint, and is provided with a gripping part 11 for gripping the suture S.

Preferably, the gripper 11 is composed of a pair spaced apart at a predetermined interval based on the longitudinal direction of the suture thread S, like the gripper 33 to be described later.

At this time, the method of supplying the suture S after the molding of the barbs may be variously performed.

For example, the present applicant's registered patent No. 10-2167098, such as horizontal suture (S) barb formation automation equipment, or the above-mentioned patent registration No. 10-1754967, such as vertical suture barb formation automation equipment, etc. When the suture (S) is discharged, the articulated robot (10) may directly grasp the discharged suture (S) to form the end stopper (Sb).

Alternatively, the suture S may be automatically supplied to the articulated robot 10 by using a separate suture feeder.

In some cases, it is possible to manually supply the suture (S).

Therefore, the drawings of this specification represent an embodiment in which the suture S is supplied from the vertical suture barb forming automation equipment A, and the interpretation of the rights of the present invention should not be limited in this regard.

The transfer member, that is, the multi-joint robot 10 moves or delivers the suture S to each process position by moving the gripper 11 along preset coordinates.

The cutting unit 20 cuts an excess portion Sa at one end where the end stopper Sb of the suture S is formed so that the position or size of the end stopper Sb is constant according to the standard of the suture S. cut and remove

To this end, the cutting unit 20 includes a pair of cutting blades 21 mounted to reciprocate left and right with respect to the transferred suture thread S to cut the suture thread S.

At this time, the cutting position of the suture (S) may vary according to the position where the gripping part 11 grips the suture (S) (cutting may be performed at the top or bottom of the gripping part 11).

In addition, the cutting unit 20 includes a pneumatic nozzle 22 that removes scraps of the cut suture thread S by injecting high-pressure air from an upper portion of the cutting blade 21 .

When the cutting of the suture (S) for the excess portion (Sa) is completed in the cutting unit (20), the articulated robot (10) transfers the cut suture (S) to the position of the end stopper forming unit (30). .

The molding block 32 is provided with a molding groove 321 formed to a predetermined depth on the upper surface. The shape and depth of the molding groove 321 are not limited, and in the drawing, a triangular shaped molding groove 321 You can check.

The molding groove 321 is heated by the heater 31 to melt the end of the suture thread S introduced into the molding groove 321 so that the end stopper Sb is formed.

At this time, the heater 31 has an insertion hole into which the molding block 32 is inserted, and after the molding block 32 is inserted into the insertion hole and heated, the molding block 32 is separated from the insertion hole and cooled. do.

A heating coil 312 surrounding the insertion hole is built into the housing 311 of the heater 31 to heat the molding block 32 inserted into the insertion hole of the housing 311 to a high temperature.

In the drawing, the form in which the housing 311 moves up and down with respect to the molding block 32 is typically shown, but it is also possible for the molding block 32 to move up and down while the housing 311 is fixed.

Accordingly, after heating the molding block 32 with the housing 311 raised until the suture thread S is moved to the position for forming the end stopper Sb and waiting, molding of the end stopper Sb is completed. The housing 311 descends so that the end stopper Sb is cooled by an air cooling method for the molding block 32 and the guide block 34 to be described later,

After cooling of the end stopper (Sb) is completed, the housing 311 rises again to preheat and heat the molding block 32 during the time when the suture (S) checks for defects of the end stopper (Sb) and sorts and discharges them.

The gripper 33 reciprocates left and right to grip the suture S, and is composed of a pair spaced apart vertically to enable the insertion operation of the suture S while keeping the suture S taut in the vertical direction. do.

Also, the first gripper 331 at the top and the second gripper 332 at the bottom are mounted to be able to move up and down simultaneously and individually.

Accordingly, when the first and second grippers 331 and 332 simultaneously descend after receiving the suture S from the gripping part 11, one end of the suture S protruding downward from the second gripper 332 The part is put into the molding groove 321.

At this time, when the suture (S) is inserted, in a state where the first gripper 331 grips the suture (S),

After the second gripper 332 rises to a predetermined height, the first and second grippers 331 and 332 simultaneously descend, and when the second gripper 332 is stopped, the first gripper 331 continues to descend. (At this time, the first gripper 331 loosely grips the suture S.) method,

Alternatively, when the second gripper 332 is raised to a predetermined height and the first and second grippers 331 and 332 simultaneously descend and the first gripper 331 is stopped at a predetermined height, the second gripper 332 ) rises, then the simultaneous descent of the first and second grippers 331 and 332 is repeated, etc.

One end of the suture (S) is filled in the forming groove (321) by a predetermined length so that the end stopper (Sb) is molded.

Meanwhile, during the operation of inserting the suture thread S through the gripper 33, the thin suture thread S may escape to the outside of the forming groove 321 and not be filled.

Accordingly, the end stopper molding unit 30 operates forward and backward on the upper part of the molding block 32 and has a fixing groove 341 into which the suture thread S is inserted at the front end, and is introduced into the molding groove 321 It further includes a pair of guide blocks 34 for fixing the suture (S).

The guide block 34 is provided with a fixing groove 341 formed opposite to each other at the front end in contact with each other (it may not be symmetrical), and at this time, the inner diameter of the fixing groove 341 is slightly larger than that of the suture thread S. When the suture (S) is formed, the suture (S) passes through the fixing groove (341) and is inserted into the forming groove (321).

This guide block 34 is mounted to be able to move up and down with forward and backward operation.

Accordingly, when the suture (S) is delivered to the gripper (33), the guide block (34) moves forward to form a fixing groove (341) on the top of the molding groove (321), and then the gripper (33) descends. One end of the suture (S) is filled in the molding groove 321 through the fixing groove 341 .

At this time, before the suture (S) is lowered and inserted, the guide block 34 descends and adheres to the upper surface of the molding block 32 to seal the upper opening of the molding groove 321 excluding the fixing groove 341. , The suture (S) is inserted while completely filling the forming groove (321).

After the lowering (insertion) of the suture thread S is completed and a predetermined heat molding time elapses, a portion of the suture thread S is melted in the forming groove 321 and the end stopper Sb is molded.

In addition, the end stopper molding unit 30 includes a cooling means for cooling the molded end stopper (Sb),

The cooling means includes a pneumatic nozzle unit for spraying compressed air to the molding block 32 and the guide block 34, respectively.

The pneumatic nozzle unit consists of an upper pneumatic nozzle 35 arranged on the upper part of the guide block 34 and a lower pneumatic nozzle 36 arranged outside the molding block 32 (outside the housing 311). do.

The upper and lower pneumatic nozzles 35 ( 36) is preferably provided in a set of two each.

At this time, it is more preferable that the upper and lower pneumatic nozzles 35 and 36 are provided with adjustable angles.

Therefore, when the molding of the end stopper Sb is completed in the molding block 32, the upper and lower pneumatic nozzles 35 and 36 spray high-pressure air in a state in which the housing 311 is lowered and separated Thus, the guide block 34 and the molding block 32 are cooled for a predetermined time, and uniform cooling is performed for the end stopper Sb inside the molding groove 321.

And, while the guide block 34 retreats during the high-pressure air injection to open the molding groove 321, the direct cooling of the end stopper Sb of the suture thread S continues for a predetermined time, and then the injection of the high-pressure air ends. While the gripper 33 is raised, the end stopper Sb is discharged from the molding groove 321 and the suture thread S is transported to the transfer standby position.

When discharge is completed after molding of the distal end stopper Sb, the articulated robot 10 operates again to receive the suture S on which the distal stopper Sb has been formed from the gripper 33, and then the vision Transfer the suture (S) to the working position of the inspection unit (40).

The vision inspection unit 40 uses a camera 41, and a separate magnification lens unit may be added together with a lighting unit.

In this vision inspection unit 40, the camera 41 is installed facing downward from the upper part of the standby position of the gripping part 11,

Accordingly, when the gripping part 11 reverses and rotates after the articulated robot 10 operates, as the end stopper Sb of the suture S faces the camera 41, the end stopper Sb of the end stopper Sb According to the quality standard, the vision inspection unit 40 determines whether or not there is a defect (for example, non-molding, partial damage, bubble defect, size error), and the like.

The determined good and bad product result information is transmitted to the operation control unit of the articulated robot 10,

The operation direction of the articulated robot 10 is changed depending on the good or defective product, and after the articulated robot 10 operates to the corresponding position, the suture (S) is discharged, so that the work of sorting out the good product and the defective product is possible.

In the drawings of this specification, collection bins B for collecting good or defective products provided on both sides of the articulated robot 10 as a suture discharge unit are representatively shown, but are not limited thereto.

The present invention having this configuration supplies and transports the suture (S), cuts the surplus portion (Sb) of the suture (S), cools after forming the end stopper (Sb), and separates good and defective products after sorting out bad end stoppers (Sb) By automating all processes related to the formation of the end stopper (Sb), it is possible to maximize productivity improvement and labor cost reduction compared to existing manual or semi-automatic work. In particular, the position of the end stopper (Sb) before molding And the end stopper Sb of the suture thread S can be accurately formed in a position and size that meet the standard through a cutting operation in consideration of heat molding.

In addition, in the drawings of this specification, although the fixedly installed articulated robot 10 is representatively shown, the articulated robot 10 is movably installed on a rail and another configuration is additionally installed to form the end stopper (Sb) By moving the articulated robot 10 to work, it is possible to increase productivity by reducing work loss, which also helps to reduce initial installation costs.

Meanwhile, the fixing groove 341 of the guide block 34 has to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the suture S to fix the suture S. Due to the fine thickness of the suture S, the suture S and the fixing groove 341 ) If the difference in diameter is too small, it may be difficult to initially insert the suture (S) through the gripper (33).

Accordingly, the present invention introduces a suture fixing means for facilitating the fixation and initial insertion of the suture S for each thickness of the suture S without replacing the guide block 34 .

As shown in FIG. 8 , the suture fixing means includes a protruding hole 342 connected to the inside of the fixing groove 341, a guide groove 343 extending and connected to the inside of the protruding hole 342, and the fixing groove. A receiving groove 344 formed on one side of the 341, a fixing bar 345 inserted into the protruding hole 342 and protruding out of the fixing groove 341, and a support plate coupled to the guide groove 343 and moving forward and backward ( 346), a spring 347 that elastically supports the support plate 346 outward, and an adjustment bolt screwed into the support plate 346 while being inserted into and coupled to the guide groove 343 with the protrusion hole 342 ( 348), including

In the backward state of the guide block 34, the support plate 346 and the fixing bar 345 are drawn outward by the spring 347,

In the forward state of the guide block 34, while the support plate 346 is drawn inward by the adjusting bolt 348, a separation space is formed between the fixing bar 345 and the fixing bar 345 ) guarantees the free entry of

The pull-out stroke of the fixing bar 345 may be changed by adjusting the position of the support plate 346 with the adjusting bolt 348 according to the thickness of the suture thread S.

The support plate 346 is slidably coupled to the guide groove 343, and as the control bolt 348 is screwed together, the front and rear position of the support plate 346 can be adjusted using the control bolt 348. At this time, the support plate 346 can be adjusted. An identifier (not shown) capable of identifying the location of 346 is additionally provided on the guide block 34.

The fixing bar 345 has a cam inclined surface 345a that slopes downward to the outside on the upper surface of the distal end, and is drawn inward as the end of the suture S comes into contact with it, and at this time, the protruding hole 342 is engaged with the fixing bar 345. The withdrawal position is limited by .

The control bolt 348 has a head that can be inserted into the receiving groove 344, and when the guide blocks 34 advance each other, they are drawn into the receiving groove 344 by contact with the other guide blocks 34 and support plate ( 346) is pushed inward.

Accordingly, in a state in which the guide blocks 34 move backward and are spaced apart from each other, the elastic force of the spring 347 is transmitted to the fixing bar 345 through the support plate 346, so that the fixing bar 345 is always drawn out.

At this time, when the initial position of the support plate 346 is changed with the adjusting bolt 348 in consideration of the thickness of the suture thread S before the operation, the distance the fixing bar 345 moves by being pushed by the suture thread S, That is, the maximum pull-in Gurley may be finely set larger than the thickness of the suture (S).

And when the work is resumed, when the guide blocks 34 move forward and come into contact with each other, the support plate 346 is pushed by the inlet of the control bolt 348 and the spring 347 is compressed, and the support plate 346 and the fixing bar 345 ) A spaced space is formed between the control bolts 348.

Therefore, when the suture (S) is inserted into the fixing groove 341, the fixing bar 345 is pulled inward. At this time, the elastic force of the spring 347 is applied to the fixing bar 345 in a state where the input width is limited by the support plate 346. ) is not applied, the suture (S) is in a non-pressure contact state with the fixing bar (345) and can be fixed without pressurizing the suture (S) so that the insertion of the suture (S) is not hindered, and through this, the fixation The groove 341 may be formed to be larger than the suture (S) by a certain amount or more, so that the failure of the suture (S) to be inserted initially does not occur.

In the above description of the present invention, the automatic suture end stopper shaping apparatus has been mainly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention can be variously modified, changed, and replaced by those skilled in the art, and these modifications, changes, and replacements are the present invention should be construed as belonging to the scope of protection of

S: Suture B: Collecting bin
10: articulated robot 11: gripping part
20: cutting unit 21: cutting blade
22: pneumatic nozzle
30: end stopper forming unit 31: heater
311: housing 312: heating coil
32: molding block 321: molding groove
33: gripper 331: first gripper
332: second gripper 34: guide block
341: fixing groove 35: upper pneumatic nozzle
36: lower pneumatic nozzle
40: vision inspection unit 41: camera

Claims (4)

a conveying member that grips and conveys the suture;
a cutting unit cutting an excess portion of one end of the suture;
an end stopper forming unit having a forming block having a forming groove connected to a heater and a gripper receiving the cut suture thread and inputting one end of the suture thread into the forming groove;
An automatic suture stopper forming apparatus comprising: a vision inspection unit for inspecting the end stopper of the suture that has been molded.
According to claim 1,
The end stopper forming unit further includes a pair of guide blocks that operate forward and backward on the top of the forming block and have a fixing groove at the front end into which the suture is inserted to fix the suture inserted into the forming groove. End stopper automatic forming device of a suture to be made.
According to claim 2,
The end stopper molding unit includes a cooling means for cooling the molded end stopper,
The cooling means includes a pneumatic nozzle unit for injecting compressed air into the molding block and the guide block, respectively.
According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The heater is provided with an insertion hole into which the molding block is inserted, and after the molding block is inserted into the insertion hole and heated, the molding block is separated from the insertion hole and cooled.

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