Surgical stapling instrument with mechanical mechanism for limiting maximum tissue compression
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- a cartridge supporting assembly for operably supporting a staple cartridge therein, said cartridge supporting assembly being responsive to firing and retraction motions applied thereto from a firing assembly;
an anvil operably coupled to an anvil closure assembly, said anvil closure assembly configured to selectively move said anvil in a proximal direction toward said cartridge supporting assembly to enable a portion of tissue to be clamped between a cartridge supported by said cartridge supporting assembly and said anvil under a predetermined amount of compression; and
a compression limiting assembly interacting with said anvil closure assembly to prevent any further travel of said anvil in said proximal direction toward said cartridge supporting assembly when said predetermined amount of compression has been attained, such that the portion of tissue remains clamped under said predetermined amount of compression.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various forms of surgical instruments are disclosed. In various embodiments, the instrument includes a cartridge supporting assembly for operably supporting a staple cartridge therein. The cartridge supporting assembly may be responsive to firing and retraction motions applied thereto from a firing assembly. An anvil may be operably coupled to an anvil closure assembly. The anvil closure assembly may be constructed to selectively move the anvil in a proximal direction toward the cartridge supporting assembly to enable a portion of tissue to be clamped between a cartridge supported by the cartridge supporting assembly and the anvil under a predetermined amount of compression. The device may further include a compression limiting assembly that interacts with the anvil closure assembly to prevent further travel of the anvil in the proximal direction toward the cartridge supporting assembly when the predetermined amount of compression has been attained.
302 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument comprising:
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a cartridge supporting assembly for operably supporting a staple cartridge therein, said cartridge supporting assembly being responsive to firing and retraction motions applied thereto from a firing assembly; an anvil operably coupled to an anvil closure assembly, said anvil closure assembly configured to selectively move said anvil in a proximal direction toward said cartridge supporting assembly to enable a portion of tissue to be clamped between a cartridge supported by said cartridge supporting assembly and said anvil under a predetermined amount of compression; and a compression limiting assembly interacting with said anvil closure assembly to prevent any further travel of said anvil in said proximal direction toward said cartridge supporting assembly when said predetermined amount of compression has been attained, such that the portion of tissue remains clamped under said predetermined amount of compression. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A surgical instrument, comprising:
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means for operably supporting a staple cartridge therein; means for selectively applying a firing motion to a staple cartridge supported within said means for supporting; means for movably supporting an anvil relative to the staple cartridge supported in said means for supporting, said means for movably supporting being responsive to a closure motion applied thereto to move the anvil in a proximal direction toward the staple cartridge supported in the means for supporting to enable a portion of tissue to be clamped between the staple cartridge and anvil under a predetermined amount of compression; and means for applying said closure motion to said means for movably supporting, said means for applying including means for limiting any further travel of the anvil in said proximal direction when said predetermined amount of compression has been attained, such that the portion of tissue remains clamped under said predetermined amount of compression. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A circular stapling device, comprising:
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a staple drive member configured to operably support a circular staple cartridge therein; a closure shaft assembly supported for axial travel relative to said staple drive member in a proximal direction and a distal direction; an anvil attachable to said closure shaft assembly for proximal and distal travel therewith relative to the circular staple cartridge supported within said staple drive member, such that upon application of an opening motion to said closure shaft assembly, said closure shaft assembly moves said anvil in said distal direction away from the circular staple cartridge and upon application of closing motion to said closure shaft assembly, said closure shaft assembly draws said anvil in said proximal direction towards the circular staple cartridge to enable tissue to be clamped between said anvil and the circular staple cartridge under a predetermined amount of compression; and a closure assembly operably communicating with said closure shaft assembly and configured to apply said opening motion to said closure shaft assembly upon activation of said closure assembly in a first direction and to apply said closing motion to said closure shaft assembly upon activation of said closure assembly in a second direction, said closure assembly being further configured to prevent any further application of said closing motion to said closure shaft assembly when said predetermined amount of compression has been attained in the tissue clamped between said anvil and the cartridge as said closure assembly continues to be activated in said second direction. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification