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Polarity of hall magnet to identify cartridge type

  • US 10,016,199 B2
  • Filed: 09/05/2014
  • Issued: 07/10/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A surgical stapling system comprising:

  • an elongated shaft assembly configured to transmit actuation motions from an actuator; and

    an end effector for compressing and stapling tissue, the end effector operably coupled to the elongated shaft, the end effector comprising;

    an elongated channel;

    an anvil having a staple forming surface thereon, the anvil moveable to relative to the elongated channel between an open position and a closed position, the anvil having a magnet located at a distal end, the magnet includes a first magnetic pole and a second magnetic pole; and

    a staple cartridge removably positioned within the elongated channel, the staple cartridge comprising;

    a cartridge body supported for a confronting relationship with the anvil when the anvil is in the closed position;

    a plurality of staple drivers located within the cartridge body, wherein each one of the plurality of staple drivers supports a staple;

    a Hall effect sensor within the cartridge body at a distal end of the cartridge body, wherein the Hall effect sensor is operable to detect one of the first or second magnetic poles; and

    a microprocessor, located within the cartridge body, in communication with the Hall effect sensor;

    wherein the Hall effect sensor and the microprocessor receive power when the staple cartridge is positioned within the elongated channel, and wherein the Hall effect sensor is operable to identify a staple cartridge type based on which magnetic pole is detected, and the microprocessor is configured to encrypt the identified staple cartridge type, and the surgical stapling system is further configured to decrypt the encrypted identified staple cartridge type and determine if the identified staple cartridge type is a type of staple cartridge expected to be used in the end effector, wherein if it is not the expected type of cartridge the system is configured to disable firing of the staples.

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