Wrist articulation by linked tension members
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorWilliam A. Burbank
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Surgical tools include an end effector mounted to an instrument shaft for articulation relative to the instrument shaft. A surgical tool includes an instrument shaft, an intermediate member pivotally coupled to the instrument shaft, an end effector and four tension members. The end effector includes an end effector base that is pivotally coupled to the intermediate member. The end effector base includes four attachment features. Each of the four tension members interfaces with an associated one of the four attachment features. The four tension members extend distally within a lumen of the instrument shaft and are arranged in diagonally opposed pairs.
Claims22
A minimally invasive surgical tool comprising:
- an instrument shaft elongated along a longitudinal axis;
- an intermediate member pivotally coupled to the instrument shaft for rotation of the intermediate member relative to the instrument shaft;
- an end effector comprising an end effector base, wherein the end effector base is pivotally coupled to the intermediate member for rotation of the end effector base relative to the intermediate member, wherein the end effector base comprises four attachment features;
- and
- four tension members, wherein each of the four tension members interfaces with an associated one of the four attachment features, wherein the four tension members extend distally within a lumen of the instrument shaft and are arranged in a first diagonally opposed pair of the four tension members and a second diagonally opposed pair of the four tension members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.