Surgical stapling instrument incorporating an uneven multistroke firing mechanism having a rotary transmission
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
- an end effector operably configured to respond to a firing motion;
a shaft attached to the end effector and including an elongate firing member coupled to the end effector for movement to longitudinally transmit the firing motion; and
a handle proximally attached to the shaft, comprising;
a cam member including a plurality of cam lobes, at least one of the cam lobes differing in shape from an adjacent cam lobe,a firing actuator repeatably moveable in a firing direction and a return direction, and operatively configured to interact with a respective cam lobe during each firing stroke, anda firing mechanism responsive to intermittent motion from the cam disk to produce the longitudinal firing motion to the end effector.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical stapling and severing instrument particularly suited to endoscopic procedures incorporates a handle that produces separate closing and firing motions to actuate an end effector. In particular, the handle produces multiple firing strokes in order to reduce the required amount of force required to fire (i.e., staple and sever) the end effector. Varying the center of rotation, circumferential length, and depth of cam lobes in a cam disk that interacts with the firing trigger via a drive wedge allows optimization. In particular, mechanical advantages during specific firing strokes mitigates increased force to fire at the end effector, enabling a more uniform tactile force at the firing trigger.
2176 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
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an end effector operably configured to respond to a firing motion; a shaft attached to the end effector and including an elongate firing member coupled to the end effector for movement to longitudinally transmit the firing motion; and a handle proximally attached to the shaft, comprising; a cam member including a plurality of cam lobes, at least one of the cam lobes differing in shape from an adjacent cam lobe, a firing actuator repeatably moveable in a firing direction and a return direction, and operatively configured to interact with a respective cam lobe during each firing stroke, and a firing mechanism responsive to intermittent motion from the cam disk to produce the longitudinal firing motion to the end effector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification