Surgical suturing instrument cartridge with needle release feature

A surgical instrument, comprising:

• a) a body having an actuator configured to be selectively manipulated by an operator;
• b) a shaft extending distally from the body;
• c) a cartridge receiving assembly projecting from a distal end portion of the shaft, wherein the cartridge receiving assembly has a transmission mechanism operatively connected to the actuator and configured to be selectively driven via selective manipulation of the actuator;
• d) a suture cartridge configured to be received within the cartridge receiving assembly, wherein the suture cartridge comprises:
• i. a cartridge body,
• ii. a needle removably positioned within the cartridge body,
• iii. a drive assembly releasably coupled to the needle and configured to engage the transmission mechanism to thereby drive the needle along a predetermined path, and
• iv. a cage movably secured to the cartridge body and configured to selectively move relative to the cartridge body from a closed position to an opened position, wherein the cage in the closed position is configured to contain the needle within the cartridge body, and wherein the cage in the opened position is configured to allow removal of the needle from the cartridge body;
• and
• e) a cage securement configured to selectively move from a first position to a second position, wherein the cage securement in the first position is configured to inhibit movement of the cage from the closed position toward the opened position, and wherein the cage securement in the second position is configured to release movement of the cage for selectively moving the cage to the opened position and removing the needle from the cartridge body during a surgical procedure,
• wherein the cage securement includes an abutment projecting from the cartridge receiving assembly toward the cage, wherein the abutment is operatively connected to the actuator, wherein the abutment is configured to be selectively moved via selective manipulation of the actuator from an engaged position to a disengaged position, wherein the abutment in the engaged position is engaged with the cage and configured to inhibit movement of the cage from the closed position toward an opened position, and wherein the abutment in the disengaged position is disengaged from the cage to release movement of the cage to the opened position.

A surgical instrument, comprising:

• a) a body having an actuator configured to be selectively manipulated by an operator;
• b) a shaft extending distally from the body;
• c) a cartridge receiving assembly projecting from a distal end portion of the shaft and configured to receive a suture cartridge, wherein the cartridge receiving assembly has a transmission mechanism operatively connected to the actuator and configured to be selectively driven via selective manipulation of the actuator;
• and
• d) a cage securement connected to and extending from the cartridge receiving assembly and configured to selectively move from a first position to a second position while connected to the cartridge receiving assembly, wherein the cage securement in the first position is configured to inhibit movement of a cage of the suture cartridge from a closed position toward an opened position, and wherein the cage securement in the second position is configured to release movement of the cage for selectively moving the cage to the opened position and removing the needle from the cartridge body during a surgical procedure,
• i. a cartridge body configured to be received by the cartridge receiving assembly,
• ii. a needle removably positioned within the cartridge body,
• iii. a drive assembly releasably coupled to the needle and configured to engage the transmission mechanism to thereby drive the needle along a predetermined path, and
• iv. a cage movably secured to the cartridge body and configured to selectively move relative to the cartridge body from a closed position to an opened position, wherein the cage in the closed position is configured to contain the needle within the cartridge body, and wherein the cage in the opened position is received within the elongate slot and configured to allow removal of the needle from the cartridge body.