Surgical stapling apparatus with load-sensitive firing mechanism
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument configured for use with an end effector capable of performing a surgical procedure, the surgical instrument comprising:
- an elongated body operably interfacing with the end effector to transfer actuation motions thereto;
a manually actuatable handle for generating said actuation motions;
an actuation shaft operably interfacing with said elongated body and said manually actuatable handle to transfer said actuation motions generated by said manually actuatable handle to said elongated body; and
a driving pawl interfacing with said manually actuatable handle, said driving pawl having a pawl body with a driving tooth thereon configured to interact with said actuation shaft such that as said manually actuatable handle is actuated, said driving tooth interacts with said actuation shaft to cause said actuation shaft to apply said actuation motions to said elongated body and when the end effector interfacing with said elongated body experiences a firing load that exceeds a predetermined magnitude of firing load, said driving tooth moves relative to said pawl body to disengage from said actuation shaft to prevent further transfer of said actuation motions to said elongated body even though said manually actuatable handle continues to be actuated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surgical stapling apparatus having an end effector capable of performing a surgical procedure. The surgical stapling apparatus may include a driving pawl that interfaces with a manually actuatable handle. The driving pawl may have a pawl body with a driving tooth thereon that is configured to interact with an actuation shaft such that, as the manually actuatable handle is actuated, the driving tooth interacts with the actuation shaft to cause the actuation shaft to apply the actuation motions to an elongated body operably coupled to the end effector. When the end effector experiences a firing load that exceeds a predetermined magnitude of firing load, the driving tooth moves relative to the pawl body to disengage from the actuation shaft to prevent further transfer of the actuation motions to the elongated body even though the manually actuatable handle continues to be actuated.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A surgical instrument configured for use with an end effector capable of performing a surgical procedure, the surgical instrument comprising:
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an elongated body operably interfacing with the end effector to transfer actuation motions thereto; a manually actuatable handle for generating said actuation motions; an actuation shaft operably interfacing with said elongated body and said manually actuatable handle to transfer said actuation motions generated by said manually actuatable handle to said elongated body; and a driving pawl interfacing with said manually actuatable handle, said driving pawl having a pawl body with a driving tooth thereon configured to interact with said actuation shaft such that as said manually actuatable handle is actuated, said driving tooth interacts with said actuation shaft to cause said actuation shaft to apply said actuation motions to said elongated body and when the end effector interfacing with said elongated body experiences a firing load that exceeds a predetermined magnitude of firing load, said driving tooth moves relative to said pawl body to disengage from said actuation shaft to prevent further transfer of said actuation motions to said elongated body even though said manually actuatable handle continues to be actuated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A surgical instrument configured for use with an end effector capable of performing a surgical procedure, the surgical instrument comprising:
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an elongated body operably interfacing with the end effector to transfer actuation motions thereto; a manually actuatable handle for generating said actuation motions; a driving pawl interfacing with said manually actuatable handle; and an actuation shaft operably interfacing with said elongated body to transfer said actuation motions thereto, said actuation shaft having a rack of teeth thereon configured for driving engagement with said driving pawl and wherein at least some of the teeth comprising the rack of teeth are configured to movably disengage said driving pawl when the end effector interfacing with said elongated body experiences a firing load that exceeds a predetermined magnitude of firing load. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
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a handle assembly; a movable handle operably supported by said handle assembly; an elongated control rod constructed to interface with a disposable loading unit; an actuation shaft operably supported by said handle assembly and interfacing with said movable handle and said elongated control rod for transferring actuation motions generated by said movable handle to said elongated control rod; a driving pawl interfacing with said movable handle, said driving pawl having a pawl body with a driving tooth thereon configured to interact with said actuation shaft such that as said movable handle is actuated, said driving tooth interacts with said actuation shaft to cause said actuation shaft to apply said actuation motions to said elongated body and when the disposable loading unit interfacing with said elongated control rod experiences a firing load that exceeds a predetermined magnitude of firing load, said driving tooth moves relative to said pawl body to disengage from said actuation shaft to prevent further transfer of said actuation motions to said elongated control rod even though said manually actuatable handle continues to be actuated. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification