Articulable wrist with flexible member and pivot guides

A surgical tool, comprising:

• an elongate shaft extending from a drive housing;
• an end effector arranged at an end of the elongate shaft;
• an articulable wrist interposing the end effector and the elongate shaft and including:
• a first linkage providing a body and a pair of lobes extending from the body and laterally offset from each other;
• a pivot guide defining a central aperture and providing opposing cylindrical heads rotatably received into corresponding apertures defined in each lobe, the pivot guide further including opposing pins extending radially outward from each cylindrical head;
• a second linkage rotatably coupled to the first linkage at the opposing pins and thereby defining an articulation joint articulable about a pivot axis;
• and
• a flexible member extending through the central aperture and a central channel cooperatively defined by the first and second linkages,
• wherein the pivot guide supports an outer diameter of the flexible member at the articulation joint and thereby prevents the flexible member from flexing beyond the pivot axis during articulation.

A method of operating a surgical tool, comprising:

• positioning the surgical tool adjacent a patient for operation, the surgical tool including a drive housing, an elongate shaft that extends from the drive housing, an end effector arranged at an end of the elongate shaft, and a wrist that interposes the end effector and the elongate shaft and includes:
• a first linkage providing a body and a pair of lobes extending from the body and laterally offset from each other;
• a first pivot guide defining a central aperture and providing opposing cylindrical heads rotatably received into corresponding apertures defined in each lobe, the first pivot guide further including opposing pins extending radially outward from each cylindrical head;
• a second linkage rotatably coupled to the first linkage at the opposing pins and thereby defining a first articulation joint articulable about a first pivot axis;
• and
• a flexible member extending through the central aperture and a central channel cooperatively defined by the first and second linkages;
• articulating the wrist and simultaneously bending the flexible member within the central channel;
• and
• supporting an outer diameter of the flexible member at the first articulation joint with the first pivot guide and thereby preventing the flexible member from flexing beyond the first pivot axis during articulation.