Grindless surgical needle manufacture
First Claim
1. A grindless process for manufacturing a surgical needle, comprising the steps of:
- swaging a needle blank to define a substantially tapered needle end;
pressing the tapered needle end along a plurality of surfaces to form multiple intersecting sides on the tapered needle end; and
engaging the tapered needle end with a die having at least one raised protrusion to form a recessed crease along an area of intersection of at least one pair of the intersection sides;
forming at least one cutting edge adjacent the area of intersection of the at least one pair of intersecting sides.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method for manufacturing a surgical needle devoid of a grinding process includes the steps of swaging a needle blank to define a substantially tapered or conical needle end, pressing the tapered needle to form a plurality of intersecting surfaces and forming cutting edges along the lines of intersection of the intersecting sides. The needle may be subjected to an etching process (e.g., an acid bath) to sharpen the cutting edges and/or provide a matte finish on the needle. The needle produced by the novel process is extremely sharp and durable, and exhibits an enhanced retention of sharpness relative to conventional ground needles over periods of prolonged use.
93 Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A grindless process for manufacturing a surgical needle, comprising the steps of:
-
swaging a needle blank to define a substantially tapered needle end; pressing the tapered needle end along a plurality of surfaces to form multiple intersecting sides on the tapered needle end; and engaging the tapered needle end with a die having at least one raised protrusion to form a recessed crease along an area of intersection of at least one pair of the intersection sides; forming at least one cutting edge adjacent the area of intersection of the at least one pair of intersecting sides. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A grindless process for manufacturing a surgical needle, comprising the steps of:
-
swaging a needle blank to define a substantially tapered needle end; pressing the tapered needle end along a plurality of surfaces to form multiple intersecting sides on the tapered needle end; forming cutting edges adjacent areas of intersection of the intersecting sides to define a plurality of cutting edges on the tapered needle end; and etching the tapered needle end to sharpen the cutting edges by subjecting the tapered needle end to an acid bath, including introducing a first current into the acid bath for a first predetermined time period and introducing a second current into the acid bath for a second predetermined time period. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
-
-
13. A grindless process for manufacturing a surgical needle, comprising the steps of:
-
forming a plurality of cutting edges along at least a portion of a needle blank; and subjecting at least an end portion of the needle blank to an acid bath to sharpen the cutting edges, the step of subjecting including introducing a first current into the acid bath for a first predetermined time period and introducing a second current different from the first current into the acid bath for a second predetermined time period. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
Specification