Circularity systems and methods for vessel sealers

A method of replacing a consumable of a surgical tool, the surgical tool including:

• an elongate shaft;
• an end effector arranged at a distal end of the elongate shaft;
• and
• a wrist interposing the distal end of the elongate shaft and the end effector, wherein the wrist includes a distal clevis having a first arm and an opposing second arm laterally offset from the first arm, each of the first arm and the second arm extending distally and defining an open-ended slot that opens distally, and the surgical tool further includes a first pulley and a second pulley operatively coupled to the end effector and rotatably mounted to the first arm and the second arm, respectively,
• wherein the method comprises:
• moving the elongate shaft proximally and thereby exposing internal portions of the wrist and the end effector;
• moving the end effector distally to separate the end effector from the wrist;
• disconnecting the end effector from proximal portions of the surgical tool;
• and
• replacing the consumable of the surgical tool after disconnecting the end effector,
• wherein moving the end effector distally comprises separating the first pulley from the first arm and the second pulley from the second arm by exiting the open-ended slots.

A method of replacing a consumable of a surgical tool, the method comprising:

• moving an elongate shaft of the surgical tool proximally and thereby exposing internal portions of a wrist of the surgical tool and an end effector of the surgical tool;
• moving the end effector distally to separate the end effector from the wrist;
• disconnecting the end effector from proximal portions of the surgical tool;
• and
• replacing the consumable of the surgical tool after disconnecting the end effector,
• wherein a distal linkage is mounted to a proximal end of the end effector, and the end effector includes an upper jaw and an opposing lower jaw, and wherein disconnecting the end effector from the proximal portions of the surgical tool comprises:
• detaching a securing band that extends about the distal linkage;
• separating two or more linkage portions of the distal linkage from the end effector;
• and
• separating the upper jaw and the lower jaw and thereby exposing a knife secured to a distal end of a drive rod.

A method of replacing a consumable of a surgical tool, wherein the method comprises:

• moving an elongate shaft of the surgical tool proximally and thereby exposing internal portions of a wrist of the surgical tool and an end effector of the surgical tool;
• moving the end effector distally to separate the end effector from the wrist;
• disconnecting the end effector from proximal portions of the surgical tool;
• and
• replacing the consumable of the surgical tool after disconnecting the end effector,
• wherein the method further comprises mounting the surgical tool to a disassembly fixture by:
• mounting a drive housing of the surgical tool to a drive housing mount of the disassembly fixture;
• and
• securing the end effector to an end effector mount of the disassembly fixture.

A method of replacing a consumable of a surgical tool, wherein the surgical tool includes

• a drive housing;
• an elongate shaft extending distally from the drive housing;
• an end effector arranged at a distal end of the elongate shaft;
• a wrist interposing the distal end of the elongate shaft and the end effector, the wrist including a distal clevis having a first arm and an opposing second arm laterally offset from each other and extending distally, each of the first arm and the second arm defining an open-ended slot that opens distally;
• and
• a first pulley and a second pulley operatively coupled to the end effector and rotatably mounted to the first arm and the second arm, respectively, wherein the method comprises:
• moving the end effector distally causing the first pulley and the second pulley to longitudinally translate out of the open-ended slots and thereby separating the first pulley and the second pulley from the first arm and the second arm, respectively;
• disconnecting the end effector from proximal portions of the surgical tool while the wrist remains intact;
• and
• replacing the consumable of the surgical tool after disconnecting the end effector from the proximal portions.