JPH09201363A - Needle supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically supply curved needles in the form of circular arc in a manufacturing device, etc., for suture threads equipped with needles, to the specified position one by one while they are facing in the accurate direction. SOLUTION: The arrangement according to the invention includes a screw shaft 36 and a motor 38 to rotate the shaft. A number of needles N are laid in line and fitted in thread grooves in the shaft 36, which is rotated in the condition that the rotation of each needle N is restricted by a cover, etc., 33, and thereby needles N are fed one by one in the axial direction of the shaft 36.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a needle supply device for accommodating a plurality of curved needles such as surgical needles and supplying these needles to a predetermined position in a device for manufacturing a suture with needles. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of the medical industry, it has been possible to manufacture a suture with a needle in which a surgical needle is fixed to the tip of the suture in advance and to sell it in a sterilized state. It is being appreciated. Further, as the device for manufacturing the suture with needle, a needle holding part for holding the needle in a predetermined direction, and a suture insertion device for inserting the suture into the thread insertion hole at the rear end of the held needle. It is generally known that a swaging die is provided to swage and fix the rear end of the needle with the suture inserted.

[0003]

Generally, a surgical needle or the like has a directionality by being curved in a substantially arc shape. Therefore, when manufacturing a suture thread with a needle using the above-described manufacturing apparatus, it is necessary to supply the needles to the needle holding portion one by one, and in a state of being accurately aligned in a predetermined direction. However, conventionally, a device for automatically supplying such a needle has not been developed, and the setting of the needle is currently performed manually.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a needle-like suture manufacturing apparatus or the like in which a needle curved in a substantially arc shape is
An object of the present invention is to provide a needle feeding device that can feed each book to a predetermined position in an accurate direction.

[0005]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention accommodates a plurality of needles that are curved in a substantially arc shape, and these needles are arranged one by one in a predetermined direction in a predetermined direction. A needle feeding device for feeding to a position, having a radius substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the needle, and a screw shaft having a thread groove formed on the outer peripheral surface into which the needle can be fitted, and this screw shaft. A screw shaft supporting member that rotatably supports the center axis, and needle rotation restricting means that restricts rotation of each needle that is fitted into a thread groove of the screw shaft during rotation of the screw shaft. is there.

In this device, the needles are aligned in the axial direction and fitted into the thread grooves on the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft, and the screw shaft is rotationally driven while the rotation of these needles is restricted by the needle rotation restricting means.
Each needle is sequentially transported to the screw shaft tip position at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed and the screw pitch, and is released from the screw shaft at the tip position. Therefore, each needle is sequentially supplied to the screw shaft tip position one by one in a predetermined direction.

Here, there is provided a cover for covering at least a part of each needle fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft from the outside, and a rotation regulation for abutting each needle on the inner side surface of the cover to regulate the rotation thereof. If the portion is provided, the cover can prevent the needles from falling off the screw shaft. Moreover, the rotation of each needle is regulated by coming into contact with the rotation regulating portion on the inner surface of the cover.

Further, the cover is divided into at least a first portion forming a rotation restricting portion on the needle outlet side and a second portion other than the first portion, and the first portion is rotated by the screw shaft with respect to the second portion. According to the structure which is configured to be relatively movable in the direction, and which is provided with the fixing means for fixing the first portion to the second portion at an arbitrary position within the relative movable range, the second portion is ground or the like. This second while fixing to
The position of the rotation restricting portion can be moved by the relative movement of the first portion with respect to the portion, and the position of the needle, which is brought into contact with the rotation restricting portion and whose rotation is restricted, can also be changed. The direction of the needle can be changed freely.

Further, if the cover is constructed so that it can be opened and closed so that the cover covers the screw shaft and the screw shaft is opened, each needle can be easily set on the screw shaft with the cover opened. The needle can be surely prevented from falling off by closing the cover after that.

If the screw shaft is provided with needle suction means for sucking each needle inward in the radial direction, the needle is sucked and automatically fitted into the thread groove only by bringing the needle closer to the screw shaft. become.

The needle suction means may be, for example, one that sucks air from the inside of the screw shaft. However, since the needle is generally made of a magnetic material, at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft in the circumferential direction. The needle can also be sucked by constructing a magnet.

In the above apparatus, further, screw shaft driving means for rotating the screw shaft around its central axis, needle unloading means for holding the needle released from the screw shaft and unloading it to a predetermined position, Needle detection means for detecting that the needle has reached the position immediately before being released from the screw shaft, and when the needle detection means detects the needle, the rotational drive of the screw shaft by the rotation drive means is temporarily stopped, And a drive control means for restarting the rotational drive of the screw shaft by the rotational drive means after the needle carry-out means has moved to a position where the needle detected by the needle detection means can be held. For example, the rotational drive of the screw shaft is automatically stopped immediately before the needle is released from the screw shaft, so that the needle is reliably prevented from dropping from the tip of the screw shaft. Then, after the needle unloading means moves to the position where the needle can be held, the rotational drive of the screw shaft is restarted, so that the needle released from the screw shaft is reliably delivered to the needle unloading means.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the overall construction of a needle-attached suture manufacturing apparatus equipped with the needle feeder 2 according to the present invention. In addition to the needle supply device 2, this device includes a needle transport device (needle unloading means) 4, a needle direction fine adjustment device 6, a needle pickup device 12, a turntable 14, a needle rear end position fine adjustment device 18, and a needle crimping die. 20, inspection device 22, needle ejection device 24, needle ejection table 26, and suture supply device 28
It has.

The needle conveying device 4 is provided with a rotating arm 5, and a needle holding chuck 7 is provided at the tip of the rotating arm 5, and is supplied to the upper end position of the needle supplying device 2. The needle N is grasped by the needle holding chuck 7, and is conveyed to the needle direction fine adjustment device 6 by rotating the rotating arm 5 about a vertical axis and moving up and down.

The needle N handled by this apparatus is made of a magnetic material such as stainless steel, is curved in a substantially arc shape, and has a suture insertion hole that opens in the axial direction at its rear end. Has become.

The needle direction fine adjustment device 6 includes a fine adjustment table 8
And an image recognition device 10. The fine adjustment table 8 is installed so as to be able to move to the front, rear, left and right, and turn, and the needle N is placed on the fine adjustment table 8. The image recognition device 10 is composed of a CCD or the like and recognizes an image of the needle N on the fine adjustment table 8. The fine adjustment is performed so that the recognized image and a preset target image are matched with each other. By driving the table 8,
The direction and position of the needle N are finely adjusted.

The needle pickup device 12 is provided with a needle suction portion 13 at the tip of a rotating arm, and the needle N finely adjusted on the fine adjustment table 8 is sucked by the needle suction portion 13, Turntable 1 by turning the turning arm
4 is supplied to the needle holding portion 16 above.

The turntable 14 is rotatably installed on a base, and a plurality of needle holding parts 16 are installed on the periphery of the turntable 14. Each needle holding portion 16 is configured to hold the needle N supplied by the needle pickup 12, and the needle N is finely adjusted with the needle rear end position fine adjustment device 18, the needle crimping die 20, as the turntable 14 turns. The inspection device 22 and the needle ejection device 24 are conveyed in this order.

The needle trailing end position fine adjustment device 18 pushes the trailing end of the needle N held by the needle holding part 16 that has moved to a predetermined position against the holding force of the needle holding part 16, thereby N
The rear end position is finely adjusted.

The needle crimping die 20 is a suture supply device 2
While the suture thread Y supplied from 8 is inserted in the suture thread insertion hole at the rear end of the needle N held by the needle holder 16, the rear end of the needle N is pressed from above and below to be caulked. Due to
The suture thread Y and the needle N are connected with a predetermined strength. The suture thread supply device 28 draws out the suture thread Y wound around the bobbin 30 and cuts the suture thread Y into a predetermined size, and the cut suture thread Y is held at the needle holding portion 16 at the rear end of the needle N. It is configured to be inserted into the suture insertion hole.

The inspection device 22 applies a downward tensile load to the suture thread Y connected to the needle N held by the needle holding portion 16 and inspects whether or not the strength of the connection is sufficient. is there.

The needle ejection device 24 is provided with a needle holding chuck at the tip of a rotating arm, and is a needle N held in the needle holding portion 16 (a needle N to which a suture thread Y is connected).
Is picked up and discharged to the needle discharge table 26.

Next, a specific structure of the needle supply device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The needle feeding device 2 comprises a base 32, a pair of left and right half covers 33 and 34, a screw shaft 36, and a motor (rotational driving means) 38.

The base 32 is formed in a hollow shape, and the motor 38 is installed inside the base 32 so as to face upward. Further, a through hole 31 through which the output shaft 39 of the motor 38 can be inserted is formed in the top wall of the base 32.

The screw shaft 36 has a radius approximately equal to the radius of curvature of the needle N, and has a thread groove on the outer peripheral surface having a shape into which the inner portion of the needle N can be fitted. The lower end of the shaft is connected to the motor output shaft 39 penetrating the through hole 31 in a state of being oriented vertically, and is driven to rotate about the central axis by the operation of the motor 38.

A part of the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft 36 in the circumferential direction is constituted by a magnet 40, and the magnet N is adapted to attract the needle N which is a magnetic body.

The covers 33 and 34 cover the screw shaft 36 from the left and right, and the rear end surfaces of the covers 33 and 34 (upper end surfaces in FIGS. 3A and 3B) are opened and closed via a hinge 42. Connected as possible. In addition, both covers 33,
The front end face of 34 is provided with a locked arm 43 and a locking projection 44 that can be engaged with each other, and the locked arm 43 and the locking projection 44 are engaged with both covers 33, 34 closed. As a result, the closed state is maintained.

More specifically, the inner surface of each of the covers 33, 34 has a circular arc surface 45 having a shape surrounding the screw shaft 36.
46 is formed. The radius of curvature of the circular arc surface 45 on the cover 33 side is set to be equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the screw thread on the screw shaft 36.
The arcuate surface 45 is substantially in contact with the above-mentioned thread in the state in which 3, 34 are closed. Therefore, the needle N, of which only the inner part is fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft 36, is
6 and the circular arc surface 45 cannot enter. On the other hand, the radius of curvature of the arcuate surface 46 on the cover 34 side has a radius of curvature equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the needle N fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft 36,
The needle N can enter the gap between the arc surface 46 and the screw shaft 36.

Further, in the cover 33, at one end of the arcuate surface 45, there is formed a rotation restricting recess 48 extending radially outward from the arcuate surface, and the needle N extends to the rotation restricting recess 48. The rear end is ready to enter.

It should be noted that the rotation restricting recess 48 allows the rear end of the needle N to escape into the rotation restricting recess 48 when the needle N has a length exceeding the half circumference of the screw shaft 36 as shown in the figure. This surely prevents the tip of the needle N from sticking to the arc surface 45 (that is, the tip of the needle N is housed on the arc surface 46 side).
However, if the length of the needle N is definitely shorter than the half circumference of the screw shaft 36, the rotation regulating recess 48 need not be formed.

A flange 50 is formed at the lower end of each of the covers 33 and 34, and the flange 50 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 32 by a bolt 52.

In the cover 33, a notch 54 opened forward (toward this side in FIG. 2) is formed at the upper end portion thereof, and a needle detection sensor 56 is provided in front of this notch 54. The needle detection sensor 56 has reached the position immediately before the position where the needle N fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft 36 is released from the screw shaft 36 (that is, the position of the upper end surface of the screw shaft 36). It is provided at a height position where it can detect

Further, the needle supply device 2 includes a control device (drive control means) 58 including a microcomputer or the like.
Is provided. The control device 58 is configured to control the operation of the needle transport device 4 and the motor 38 based on the detection signal of the needle detection sensor 56.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, 60 is the cover 3
4 is a notch formed on the side of the needle carrier chuck 4. The notch 60 is a notch 60 at which the needle holding chuck 7 at the tip of the rotating arm 5 of the needle transporting device 4 reaches the position (the needle holding chuck 7 is released from the screw shaft 36). This needle holding chuck 7 and the cover 34 when reaching the position where N can be held; the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2)
This is to avoid interference between and.

Next, the operation of this device will be described.

First, when using this device, the covers 33 and 34 are opened to expose the screw shaft 36 therein. Then, in the screw groove on the cover 34 side in the screw shaft 36,
The rear end of each of the plurality of needles N has a needle rotation restricting portion 48.
Insert them in a state of being arranged vertically so that they are located at almost the same position as. At this time, if the above operation is performed with the portion where the magnet 40 is provided being located on the cover 34 side,
The needle N is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 40 and automatically fitted into the thread groove, so that the work becomes very smooth.

After setting the needle N, the covers 33 and 34 are closed to engage the locked arm 43 with the locking projection 44, and the flange 50 is fixed to the base 32 by the bolt 52.

In this state, the motor 38 operates to rotate the screw shaft 36 in an appropriate direction (clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 3) so that the screw shaft 36 is fitted in the screw groove 36. The needle N tends to rotate together with the screw shaft 36.

However, the needle N fitted in the thread groove in the region below the notch 54 of the cover 33 fits the rear end of the needle N into the rotation restricting recess 48 of the cover 33 and abuts its side surface. Since it cannot rotate further, it is transferred upward at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed of the screw shaft 36 and the pitch of the screw groove. In addition, the notch 54 in the cover 33
The needle N in the region where the
However, since the rear end contacts the side surface (rotation restricting portion) 55 of the notch 54, the rotation is also restricted in this contact state. Therefore, the needle N is transferred upward even in this region.

In this way, each needle N is simultaneously moved upward, and the needle N at the uppermost stage reaches the position immediately before reaching the position where the needle N is released from the screw shaft 36 (that is, the uppermost end position of the screw shaft 36). From the needle detection sensor 56 to the controller 58
A detection signal is output to.

The control signal 58 temporarily stops the operation of the motor 38 when it receives the detection signal. Then, a command signal is output to the needle transporting device 4, the needle holding chuck 7 at the tip of the rotating arm 5 is moved to the approaching position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2, and it is confirmed that this movement is completed. The rotation drive of the screw shaft 36 by 38 is restarted. By this drive, the needle N (that is, the needle detection sensor 5
The needle N detected at 6 is released from the upper end of the screw shaft 36, and the released needle N is held by the needle holding chuck 7. By executing such control,
The disadvantage that the needle N released from the screw shaft 36 is displaced before being held by the needle holding chuck 7 is avoided, and the needle N is reliably delivered to the needle holding chuck 7.

The needle N held on the needle holding chuck 7 is carried out by the rotation of the rotating arm 5 while keeping the predetermined direction, and the suture with needle is manufactured by the device shown in FIG. Be used for.

According to such a device, when setting the needles N, only the work of previously inserting the needles N into the thread grooves of the screw shaft 36 is required, and thereafter each needle N is automatically operated. Each one will be supplied in the correct direction. Further, if such a device is prepared for each needle having a different radius of curvature, it is possible to easily deal with it by simply replacing the device.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the apparatus shown in this figure, the cover 33 shown in FIG. 1 has a main body portion (second portion) 33A in a region lower than the height region where the notch 54 is formed.
And the upper portion (first portion) 33B in the height region in which the notch 54 is formed. The upper portion 33B is formed with a through groove 62 through which a bolt (fixing means) 64 can be inserted in the vertical direction.
Is formed in an arc shape with the center axis of the screw shaft 36 as the center of curvature. Further, a screw hole (not shown) into which the tip of the bolt 64 can be screwed and inserted is provided at the upper end of the main body portion 33A. Therefore, the bolt 6
4 is inserted, the upper portion 33B is the main body portion 3
3A is relatively movable in the rotation direction of the screw shaft 36, and by tightening the bolt 64 at an arbitrary position within the relative movable range, the upper portion 33B is fixed at that position. ing.

According to such a device, the main body portion 3
By changing the relative position of the upper portion 33B with respect to 3A, it is possible to change the position of the side surface 55 of the upper portion 33B, that is, the position of the rotation restricting portion that abuts the rear end of the needle N and fixes the rear end position. , As a result, the screw shaft 3
The direction of the needle N released from 6 can be freely changed. Therefore, it is possible to finely adjust the direction of the needle N transferred from the needle supply device 2 to the needle transport device 4,
It is also possible to omit the needle direction adjusting device 6 shown in FIG. Further, when the needle N is extremely short, the side surface 55 is brought closer to the cover 34 side to narrow the width of the notch 54, so that it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the needle N falls out of the notch 54.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned one, and the following forms can be taken as an example.

(1) When the thread groove of the screw shaft 36 is relatively deep and most of the needle N is fitted in this thread groove,
When the screw shaft 36 is installed in the horizontal direction and the needle N is fitted in the upper portion of the screw groove, and the needle N is unlikely to fall off, the covers 33 and 34 can be omitted. is there. Further, even when the cover is provided, the cover does not necessarily cover the entire needle, and even if it covers a part of the needle N, it can contribute to the prevention of the falling. However, even when the cover is omitted, it is necessary to provide a means for restricting the rotation of each needle N during the rotation of the screw shaft 36.

(2) When a cover is provided, the cover 3
It can be used without opening and closing like 3 and 34. For example, both covers 33 and 34 are integrated, and screw shaft 36
Alternatively, the external fitting may be performed from above. However, the opening and closing as described above has the advantage that the work of setting the needle N on the screw shaft 36 and the subsequent work of setting the cover become easier.

(3) Even if the screw shaft 36 is provided with a suction device for sucking air from the inside to the outside of the screw shaft 36 instead of providing the magnet 40, the setting work of the needle N is performed in the same manner as above. The advantage can be obtained smoothly. However, if the magnet as described above is used, no special drive device is required, and both the initial cost and the running cost are reduced.

(4) In the present invention, the screw shaft 36 and the covers 33 and 34 may be made of any specific material. However, in order to reliably prevent the surface of the needle N from being damaged when it is transferred, a material having a hardness lower than that of the needle N (for example, synthetic resin) is used.
It is preferable to form the screw shaft 36 and the covers 33 and 34 with.

(5) In the present invention, the pitch of the thread groove in the screw shaft 36 may be smaller or larger than the diameter of the needle N. In the former case, each needle N may be intermittently fitted in the thread groove in the axial direction. In the latter case, the needles N may be tightly fitted in the thread groove in the axial direction as shown in FIG. 1, or may be fitted intermittently.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, a needle having a substantially circular arc shape is fitted in the thread groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft, and the screw shaft is rotated around its central axis while restricting the rotation of the needle. Since the needles are transferred in the axial direction of the screw shaft by rotating, the needles can be supplied one by one to a predetermined position while surely aligning the directions of the needles with a predetermined direction. This has the effect of greatly contributing to automation and labor saving of the attached suture manufacturing device.

Here, a cover for covering at least a part of each needle fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft from the outside is provided, and a rotation restriction for abutting each needle on the inner side surface of the cover to restrict the rotation thereof. According to the device provided with the portion, the cover can prevent the needles from falling off the screw shaft and realize more stable needle supply. Moreover, by using the cover also as the rotation restricting means, an increase in the number of parts can be avoided.

Further, the cover is divided into at least a first portion forming a rotation restricting portion on the needle outlet side and a second portion other than the first portion, and the first portion is rotated by the screw shaft with respect to the second portion. According to the first part with respect to the second part, the first part is fixed to the second part at any position within the relative movable range. Since the position of the rotation restricting portion and the position of the needle rotation restricted by the rotation restricting portion can be changed by the relative movement of the needle, depending on the configuration of the suture manufacturing device with needle, the length of the needle, etc. The effect that the direction of the needle supplied to the position can be freely changed is obtained.

Further, if the cover is constructed so that it can be opened and closed so that the cover covers the screw shaft and the screw shaft is opened, the work of setting the needle on the screw shaft and the work of setting the cover thereafter. It is possible to obtain the effect of making it smoother.

If needle suction means for sucking each needle radially inward is provided on the screw shaft, the work of inserting the needle into each screw groove can be facilitated and the workability can be further improved.

According to the needle suction means in which at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft in the circumferential direction is made of a magnet, a simple and low-cost structure is used without using a special driving device. The needle can be sucked to the thread groove side with.

In the above apparatus, further, screw shaft driving means for rotating the screw shaft about its central axis, needle unloading means for holding the needle released from the screw shaft and unloading it to a predetermined position, Needle detection means for detecting that the needle has reached the position immediately before being released from the screw shaft, and when the needle detection means detects the needle, the rotational drive of the screw shaft by the rotation drive means is temporarily stopped, And a drive control means for restarting the rotational drive of the screw shaft by the rotational drive means after the needle carry-out means has moved to a position where the needle detected by the needle detection means can be held. In this case, it is possible to prevent displacement of the needle when the needle is released from the screw shaft and to smoothly deliver the needle from the screw shaft to the needle unloading means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional front view of a needle feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the needle supply device.

3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a needle-attached suture manufacturing apparatus including the needle supply device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of a needle feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Needle Supply Device 4 Needle Conveying Device (Needle Unloading Means) 33, 34 Cover 33A Main Body Part (Second Part) 33B Upper Part (First Part) 36 Screw Shaft 38 Motor (Rotation Driving Means) 40 Magnet 42 Hinge 48 Rotation Regulation Recessed portion (rotation regulating portion) 56 Needle detection sensor (needle detection means) 58 Control device (drive control means) 64 Bolt (fixing means) N needles

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A needle supply device for accommodating a plurality of needles curved in a substantially arcuate shape and supplying each of these needles one by one to a predetermined position in a predetermined orientation, wherein the needle has a radius of curvature. A screw shaft having a radius approximately equal to that of the screw shaft having a thread groove formed on the outer peripheral surface into which the needle can be fitted; a screw shaft support member that rotatably supports the screw shaft around its central axis; And a needle rotation restricting means for restricting rotation of each needle fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft during rotation of the needle. 2. The needle supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for covering at least a part of each of the needles fitted in the thread groove of the screw shaft from the outside, the inner surface of the cover being in contact with the needles. A needle supply device provided with a rotation restricting portion that comes into contact with and restricts the rotation thereof. 3. The needle supply device according to claim 2, wherein the cover is divided into at least a first portion forming a rotation restricting portion on the needle outlet side and a second portion other than the first portion, and the first portion is divided into the first portion and the second portion. It is configured to be movable relative to the second portion in the rotation direction of the screw shaft, and provided with fixing means for fixing the first portion to the second portion at an arbitrary position within the relative movable range. Characteristic needle feeding device. 4. The needle supply device according to claim 2, wherein the cover is configured to be openable and closable between a state in which the cover covers the screw shaft and a state in which the screw shaft is opened. apparatus. 5. The needle supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the screw shaft is provided with needle suction means for sucking each needle inward in the radial direction. 6. The needle feeding device according to claim 5, wherein at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the screw shaft in the circumferential direction is made of a magnet. 7. The needle supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a predetermined number is provided by holding a rotation drive means for rotating the screw shaft about its central axis and a needle released from the screw shaft. The needle unloading means for unloading to the position, the needle detecting means for detecting that the needle has reached the position immediately before being released from the screw shaft, and the rotation driving means for detecting the needle by the needle detecting means. The rotational drive of the screw shaft is once stopped, and after the needle carry-out means moves to the arriving position where the needle detected by the needle detection means can be held, the rotational drive of the screw shaft by the rotational drive means is restarted. A needle supply device comprising a drive control means.