Surgical instruments with lockable articulating end effector
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsJohn C. Schuckmann, Jeffrey S. Swayze, Charles J. Scheib
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Hand-held surgical instruments that have and end effector attached to an elongate shaft are disclosed. The end effector has at least a portion that is movable in response to opening and closing motions applied thereto by a closure member. An articulation control system is provided to articulate the end effector relative to the shaft. An articulation locking system is provided to lock the end effector in a desired articulated position. The locking system interfaces with the closure member and is activated upon application of a closure motion to the end effector.
Claims20
A surgical instrument comprising:
- an elongate shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
- an end effector coupled to said elongate shaft for selective pivotal travel relative to said elongate shaft, said end effector having at least one movable portion responsive to opening and closing motions;
- a closure member interfacing with said at least one movable portion of said end effector to selectively apply said closing motion thereto;
- an articulation control system operably interfacing with said end effector to apply articulation motions thereto;
- and
- an articulation lock system interfacing with said articulation control system and said closure member, said articulation lock system configured to move from an unlocked position wherein said articulation control system applies said articulation motions to said end effector and a locked position wherein said articulation lock system prevents said articulation control system from applying said articulation motions to said end effector upon application of said closure motion by said closure member.
A surgical instrument comprising:
- an elongate shaft defining a longitudinal axis;
- an end effector coupled to said elongate shaft for selective pivotal travel relative to said elongate shaft to various articulated positions, said end effector having at least one portion movably responsive to opening and closing motions;
- a closure member interfacing with said at least one portion of said end effector to apply said closure motion thereto when said closure member is moved in a closure direction and to apply said opening motion thereto when said closure member is moved in an opening direction;
- a first elongated articulation member movably supported relative to said closure member and configured to apply a first articulation motion to said end effector when said first elongated articulation member is moved in a first actuation direction and a second articulation motion to said end effector when said first articulation member is moved in a second actuation direction;
- and
- a locking member operably interfacing with said closure member and said first elongated articulation member such that when said closure member is moved in said closing direction, said locking member lockingly engages said first elongated articulation member to prevent movement thereof in said first and second actuation directions and when said closure member is moved in said opening direction, said locking member disengages said first articulation member to enable said first articulation member to move in said first and second actuation directions.
A method of operating a surgical instrument, said method comprising:
- providing a surgical instrument having an end effector having at least a portion responsive to opening and closing motions and being articulatable about a longitudinal axis to a plurality of articulated positions in response to articulation motions;
- applying an articulation motion to the end effector to articulate the end effector to one of the articulated positions;
- and
- applying a closing motion to the end effector such that upon application of said closing motion, the end effector is retained in the articulated position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.