Surgical instrument with firing lockout
AssigneeCilag GmbH International
InventorsFrederick E. Shelton, IV, Jeffrey S. Swayze, Kevin R. Doll, Eugene L. Timperman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical instrument. The surgical instrument has an end effector and a trigger in communication with the end effector. The surgical instrument also has a first sensor and an externally accessible memory device in communication with the first sensor. The first sensor has an output that represents a first condition of either the trigger or the end effector. The memory device is configured to record the output of the first sensor. In various embodiments, memory device may include an output port and/or a removable storage medium.
Claims20
A surgical instrument system, comprising:
- an end effector comprising a distal end, wherein said end effector is movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration when a closing motion is applied thereto, wherein said end effector is configured to receive a staple cartridge removably installed therein, and wherein said staple cartridge comprises a sled drivable from a proximal, unfired position toward a distal position to eject staples from said staple cartridge;
- a firing beam movable toward said distal end when a firing motion is applied thereto to drive said sled toward said distal position;
- a motor configured to generate said firing motion,
- a control circuit to determine that said staple cartridge is in a ready-to-fire configuration based on detecting that said sled is in said proximal, unfired position.
A surgical instrument system, comprising:
- an end effector comprising a distal end, wherein said end effector is movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration when a closing motion is applied thereto, wherein said end effector is configured to receive a staple cartridge removably installed therein, and wherein said staple cartridge comprises a sled drivable from a proximal, unfired position toward a distal position to eject staples from said staple cartridge;
- a firing beam movable toward said distal end when a firing motion is applied thereto to drive said sled toward said distal position;
- a motor configured to generate said firing motion;
- and
- a control circuit to determine that said staple cartridge is not in a ready-to-fire configuration based on detecting that said sled is not in said proximal, unfired position.
A surgical instrument system, comprising:
- an end effector comprising a distal end, wherein said end effector is movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration when a closing motion is applied thereto, wherein said end effector is configured to receive a staple cartridge removably installed therein, and wherein said staple cartridge comprises a sled drivable from a proximal, unfired position toward a distal position to eject staples from said staple cartridge;
- a firing beam movable toward said distal end when a firing motion is applied thereto to drive said sled toward said distal position;
- a motor configured to generate said firing motion;
- and
- a control circuit to determine that said staple cartridge is spent based on detecting that said sled is not in said proximal, unfired position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.