Surgical system including adapter assembly with worm gear assembly
AssigneeCovidien LP
InventorDavid Nicholas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical system includes an end effector, a handle assembly that operates the end effector, and an adapter assembly that connects the end effector to the handle assembly. The adapter assembly includes an adapter housing, an outer tube, at least one gear assembly, and a worm gear assembly. The adapter housing has a proximal end portion connected to a distal end portion of the handle assembly. The outer tube extends distally from the adapter housing and supports the end effector on a distal end portion of the outer tube. The worm gear assembly is engaged with the at least one gear assembly and rotatable with the at least one gear assembly in the adapter housing to operate the end effector.
Claims20
An adapter assembly for a surgical instrument, the adapter assembly comprising:
- an adapter housing;
- an outer tube extending distally from the adapter housing and configured to support an end effector;
- and
- a cable drive assembly supported by the adapter housing and including:
- a worm gear;
- a capstan;
- and
- a first cable coupled to the capstan, the first cable axially translatable in response to rotation of the capstan and the worm gear to operate the end effector.
An end effector assembly, comprising:
- an end effector;
- an adapter assembly for selectively connecting to the end effector, the adapter assembly comprising:
- a proximal housing body;
- a distal housing body coupled to the proximal housing body;
- an outer tube extending distally from the distal housing body and supporting the end effector on a distal end portion of the outer tube;
- and
- a cable drive assembly supported between the proximal and distal housing bodies and including:
- a body portion;
- a first cable gear assembly coupled to the body portion and supporting a first cable;
- a second cable gear assembly coupled to the body portion and supporting a second cable;
- and
- a plurality of guide pulleys supported between the body portion and the distal housing body, the plurality of guide pulleys configured to guide the first cable and the second cable through the distal housing body and into the outer tube for operating the end effector.
A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- an end effector;
- an adapter assembly for selectively connecting to the end effector, the adapter assembly including:
- an adapter housing;
- an outer tube extending distally from the adapter housing and supporting the end effector on a distal end portion of the outer tube;
- and
- a drive assembly supported in the adapter housing and including:
- at least one gear assembly;
- and
- a worm gear assembly engaged with the at least one gear assembly to rotate the at least one gear assembly in the adapter housing as the worm gear assembly rotates in the adapter housing to articulate the end effector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.