A suture needle and its manufacturing processes

Claim 2

A suture needle comprising a suture (3) and a needle body (1) in which a groove (la) is extended in a substantially overall longitudinal direction of said need body, said suture being inserted into said groove and fixed therein.

Claim 3

A process for manufacturing a suture needle comprising: forming a flattened pattern (lb) of a needle body (1) from a metal plate (S) by means of punch press; forming a groove (la) by bending both sides of said flattened pattern and inserting a suture (3) into said groove; and fixing said suture in said groove by caulking both sides of said groove under pressure.

Claim 4

A process for manufacturing a suture needle comprising: forming a flattened pattern (lb) of a needle body (1) from a metal plate (S) by means of punch press; forming a groove (la) by bending both sides of said flattened pattern and inserting a suture (3) into said groove; and fixing said suture in said groove by caulking both sides of said groove under pressure.

Claim 5

A process for manufacturing a suture needle as claimed in claim 2, comprising: preparing an elongated and flattened metal plate (S) having a slightly wider width (W) than that of a needle body (1) ; forming a large number of flattened and segmented patterns (lb) each being a needle body, from said elongated and flattened metal plate by means of continuous punch press; associating a pointed end (K) of each flattened pattern integrally with a side portion of said elongated and flattened metal plate; forming a groove (la) by bending both sides of each flattened and segmented pattern and inserting said suture into said groove; fixing said suture in said groove by caulking both sides of said groove under pressure and forming a needle body; and departing said pointed end integrally associated with said side portion of said elongated and flattened metal plate from said metal body, thereby producing a finished needle body with said suture.

Claim 6

A process for manufacturing a suture needle as claimed in claim 2,comprising: transforming a metal plate (S') having a width (W') corresponding to an outer circumference of a needle body (1) into a semicircular tube by swaging means, thereby forming a semicircular groove (6) in said semicircular tube for inserting a suture (3) thereinto; providing said semicircular tube with a pointed end (5) by a further swaging means, and cutting off said semicircular tube having said pointed end so as to conform to a preferred length (L) of said needle body; and inserting said suture wholly into said semicircular groove and fixing it therein by caulking both sides of said semicircular groove under pressure, thereby producing a finished suture needle.

Claim 7

A process for manufacturing a suture needle as claimed in claim 4, in which an outer profile of said pointed end of said needle body is formed in a triangular shape by grinding means, in which case about one-third of the whole length of the needle body 1 is preferably formed in the triangular shape.