ANTHONY ESTEVES
Pilots at Taurus Dr, Millstone, NJ

5937504, Aug 17, 1999

Apr 30, 1997

8/845638

Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
David D. Demarest - Parsippany NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B23P 1904

295646

A semi-automated machine for singulating individual surgical needles from an bulk supply and attaching a suture to the surgical needle is described. Each of the surgical needles has a suture receiving opening formed therein for receiving a suture. The machine includes a needle singulation station, a precise positioning station, a suture feeding station, a swage station, a pull-test station and an off-load station. A universal gripper mounted on a rotary indexing device automatically receives each individual needle in a predetermined orientation and conveys the needle for sequential processing from station to station to form the needle-suture assembly. The rotary indexing device includes two coaxial cam dials that provide rotation and reciprocation of the universal gripper, and an off-set drive is provided at two locations for laterally off setting the radial reciprocation of the universal gripper. This off set is necessary to enable the universal gripper to place and receive needles in a fixed jaw having a die opening or needle gripping opening formed therein. A swage station is provided for swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about the suture to secure said suture thereto and form therefrom a needle and suture assembly.

5918284, Jun 29, 1999

Feb 18, 1998

9/025556

John F. Blanch - Tinton Falls NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
David D. Demarest - Parsippany NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

G01N 310

73827

A semi-automated machine for singulating individual surgical needles from an bulk supply and attaching a suture to the surgical needle is described. Each of the surgical needles has a suture receiving opening formed therein for receiving a suture. The machine includes a needle singulation station, a precise positioning station, a suture feeding station, a swage station, a pull-test station and an off-load station. A universal gripper mounted on a rotary indexing device automatically receives each individual needle in a predetermined orientation and conveys the needle for sequential processing from station to station to form the needle-suture assembly. A swage station is provided for swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about the suture to secure said suture thereto and form therefrom a needle and suture assembly. The suture pull-test station tests each needle suture bond with a pre-determined pull for quality control. This pull is adjustable via a precision spring tension device.

5236083, Aug 17, 1993

Aug 5, 1992

7/926067

Martin Sobel - Flemington NJ
Stephen George - Wayne NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
Robert J. Cerwin - Pipersville PA
Marvin Alpern - Glen Ridge NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

A61B 1706

206 633

A one piece needle and suture holder is described in which a rounded channel is formed for retention of the suture. One end of the suture exits the channel toward the interior of the channel and is attached to a needle located in a needle holder in the interior of the channel. The channel is formed with an open side, to which are attached a plurality of hinged doors. After the suture is wound in the open channel, the doors are folded over the open side of the channel and are locked in place to retain the suture within the channel. In an alternative embodiment a paper cover is utilized to complete the enclosing channel. To afford ease of winding the suture the bottom of the channel is perforated for the application of a vacuum to the channel during suture winding. Also disclosed is a needle park for retaining the needle in the center of the package. In a preferred embodiment the needle park is backed by a relief flap to enable the needle to be conveniently grasped by a forceps during removal of the needle and suture.

5987848, Nov 23, 1999

Feb 6, 1998

9/020091

John F. Blanch - Tinton Falls NJ
David D. Demarest - Parsippany NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
William F. Smith - Ringoes NJ
George Horst Reinemuth - Glen Mills PA
Richard Paul Branco - Collegeville PA

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B65B 1128

53234

A machine for the automated packaging of armed sutures or; in effect, surgical needles having sutures attached thereto and, more particularly, a needle gripper and transfer arrangement in an automated machine for the high-speed individualized packaging into trays of single or individual surgical needles each having an attached suture and a detachable cover providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the individual or single needles and attached sutures. The machine includes vertically adjustable frame structure so as to adjust the elevation thereof relative to the needle transfer arrangement to facilitate the packaging of differently sized needles in a single size of packaging tray.

5695138, Dec 9, 1997

Sep 3, 1996

8/697940

Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
David Demarest - Parsippany NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B65H 5468, B65H 5456, B65H 51015

242 50

A suture winding fixture has a base plate. Fixedly mounted perpendicular to the base plate is a pivot shaft. Rotatably mounted to the pivot shaft is a cam housing frame member. A first opposed cavity in the frame member has a first cam shaft and first set of cams. A second opposed cavity Each cam shaft is rotatably mounted to the frame within the cavities. The frame also has a central cavity for receiving the pivot shaft. Fixedly mounted to the top of the pivot shaft in the central cavity is a pinion gear. The pinion gear engages a pair of opposed bevel gears, wherein each opposed bevel gear is mounted to an end of a cam shaft. Mounted to the top of the housing frame member is a package support member containing a plurality of winding pin holes. The package support member is shaped to conform to the dimensions of a suture winding tray having a top surface with a winding channel in which it is desired to load or wind a suture. Winding pins are mounted to a plurality of nested concentric cage plate members movably mounted on top of the frame.

6081981, Jul 4, 2000

Feb 6, 1998

9/019138

David D. Demarest - Parsippany NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
Michael G. Hodulik - Dunellen NJ
Teresa M. Shaw - Lawrenceville NJ
George Horst Reinemuth - Glen Mills PA
Richard Paul Branco - Collegeville PA
Matthew Cafone - Edgewater Park NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B23Q 1700

2940708

A method for automatically forming armed surgical needles and for automatically packaging the same in a packaging tray, the automatic forming and packaging operating under control of a control computer, each armed surgical needle including a surgical needle having a suture receiving opening formed therein for attachment of a definite length suture material thereof. The method comprises the steps of sorting and depositing a plurality of needles on an indexing conveyor; enabling a robot gripper device to sequentially pick up the needles and place a picked needle in a precision conveyor device for automatic sequential conveyance to a first station; utilizing a first indexing device for sequentially indexing the needle from the first station to a second station to form the armed needle, the first indexing device being elevated in height; at the second station, automatically inserting a free end of a suture strand into the suture receiving opening of the needle, swaging the needle about the free end of the suture, and cutting the suture strand to a predetermined definite length to form the armed needle. The formed armed needle is then sequentially inserted into a respective single package tray indexed at a subsequent station that has been oriented in height with respect to the first indexing device in accordance with the size of the needle. At a further subsequent station the tray and parked armed needle therein is subject to at least one rapid winding operation to wind the suture around a peripheral channel of the tray.

5983601, Nov 16, 1999

Feb 6, 1998

9/020084

John F. Blanch - Tinton Falls NJ
David D. Demarest - Parsippany NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
William F. Smith - Ringoes NJ
Michael G. Hodulik - Dunellen NJ
Teresa M. Shaw - Lawrenceville NJ
George Horst Reinemuth - Glen Mills PA
Richard Paul Branco - Collegeville PA
Matthew Cafone - Edgewater Park NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B65B 6304

53430

A machine and a method for the automated packaging of armed sutures or; in effect, surgical needles having sutures attached thereto and, more particularly, an automated machine for the high-speed individualized packaging of single or individual surgical needles each having an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the individual or single 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 single needle and attached wound suture, and which cover concurrently constitutes a product-identifying label as a component of the tray, and upon removal of the cover enables a user to gain access to the contents of the tray; in essence, the armed suture.

5964075, Oct 12, 1999

Feb 6, 1998

9/019673

Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B65B 6304

53471

A machine for the automated packaging of armed sutures or; in effect, surgical needles having sutures attached thereto and, more particularly, an arrangement and a method for applying covers to package trays in an automated machine for the highspeed individualized packaging of single or individual surgical needles each having an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the individual or single needles and attached sutures.

6205748, Mar 27, 2001

Feb 6, 1998

9/020192

Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

B65B63/04

53430

A machine for the automated packaging of armed sutures or; in effect, surgical needles having sutures attached thereto and, more particularly, a suture package unloading arrangement and package unloading method employed in an automated machine for the high-speed individualized packaging of single or individual surgical needles each having an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the individual or single needles and attached sutures.

5655652, Aug 12, 1997

Mar 28, 1996

8/623518

Martin Sobel - Flemington NJ
Robert James Cerwin - Pipersville PA
David Demarest - Morrisville PA
Anthony Esteves - Somerville NJ
Robert A. Daniele - Flemington NJ
Joseph Siernos - Whitehouse Station NJ

Ethicon, Inc. - Somerville NJ

A61B 1706

206 633

A suture package having a base, an upwardly extending wall, an inner dispensing wall, a suture channel between the walls, and a top friction plate member mounted therein. The package has a central needle park and a discharge opening in the friction plate for removing a needle and suture from the package.