STAPLE CARTRIDGE COMPRISING A STAPLE DRIVER ARRANGEMENT
First Claim
1. A surgical staple cartridge, comprising:
- a cartridge housing;
a knife channel dividing the cartridge housing into a first side and a second side;
a first row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing;
a second row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing;
a third row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing;
a plurality of first staples removably stored within the first row of staple pockets;
a plurality of second staples removably stored within the second row of staple pockets;
a plurality of third staples removably stored within the third row of staple pockets;
a first staple driver oriented to drive a first staple out of the staple pockets in the first row, a second staple out of the staple pockets in the second row, and a third staple out of the staple pockets in the third row; and
a second staple driver oriented to drive a total of four staples out of the staple pockets in the first row, the second row and the third row of staple pockets and, in cooperation with an opposing anvil, deform at least one of said four staples to a first fired height and at least one of said four staples to a second fired height, wherein the first fired height is different than the second fired height.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A staple cartridge for use with a stapling device that has an actuator that is selectively actuatable in an axial direction and an anvil portion that is selectively movable between open and closed positions is disclosed. Various embodiments of the present invention include a cartridge body that movably supports first and second staple drivers. The staple drivers each support a staple thereon and serve to drive the staples into forming contact with the anvil upon actuation by the actuator. The various embodiments of the present invention enable the final formed heights of the staples to be varied so as to apply various clamping forces and pressures to soft tissue captured within the staples. In at least one embodiment, the staples can include crowns formed thereon which can be utilized to adjust or control the clamping force and/or pressure applied by the staples.
405 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A surgical staple cartridge, comprising:
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a cartridge housing; a knife channel dividing the cartridge housing into a first side and a second side; a first row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing; a second row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing; a third row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing; a plurality of first staples removably stored within the first row of staple pockets;
a plurality of second staples removably stored within the second row of staple pockets;a plurality of third staples removably stored within the third row of staple pockets; a first staple driver oriented to drive a first staple out of the staple pockets in the first row, a second staple out of the staple pockets in the second row, and a third staple out of the staple pockets in the third row; and a second staple driver oriented to drive a total of four staples out of the staple pockets in the first row, the second row and the third row of staple pockets and, in cooperation with an opposing anvil, deform at least one of said four staples to a first fired height and at least one of said four staples to a second fired height, wherein the first fired height is different than the second fired height. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An end effector fur use with a surgical instrument, said end effector comprising:
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an anvil; a cartridge housing; a knife channel dividing said cartridge housing into a first side and a second side; a first row of staple pockets located on said first side of said cartridge housing; a second row of staple pockets located on said first side of said cartridge housing; a third row of staple pockets located on said first side of said cartridge housing; a plurality of first staples removably stored within said first row of staple pockets;
a plurality of second staples removably stored within said second row of staple pockets;a plurality of third staples removably stored within said third row of staple pockets; a staple driver arranged to drive a total of four staples, wherein said four staples comprise at least one staple from said first row, at least one staple from said second row and at least one staple from said third row and, in cooperation with said anvil, deform at least one of said four staples to a first fired height and at least one of said four staples to a second fired height, wherein said first fired height is different than said second fired height. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A surgical end effector, comprising:
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a cartridge housing; a knife channel dividing the cartridge housing into a first side and a second side; a first row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing, wherein the first row of staple pockets is adjacent the knife channel; a second row of staple pockets located on the first side of the cartridge housing, wherein the second row of staple pockets is adjacent to the first row of staple pockets, and wherein the staple pockets in the first row are staggered distally with respect to the staple pockets in the second row; a third row of staple pockets located on the third side of the cartridge housing; staples removably positioned within the staple pockets; a first staple driver arranged to drive a first staple out of the staple pockets in the first row, a second staple out of the staple pockets in the second row, and a third staple out of the staple pockets in the third row; and a second staple driver arranged to drive a total of four staples. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification