Knife housing designs for aligning a knife with a knife cavity

An end effector for a surgical tool, comprising:

• a knife housing having opposing distal and proximal ends and opposing left and right walls extending from the distal end toward the proximal end, the left and right walls defining a knife cavity therebetween;
• a control surface defined on at least one of the left and right walls;
• and
• a knife having opposing distal and proximal ends and being moveable distally out of the knife cavity and proximally to a fully retracted position within the knife cavity,
• wherein, when the knife is moved proximally toward the fully retracted position, the proximal end of the knife is engageable with the control surface, which causes the knife to rotate into alignment with the knife cavity.

A method of using an end effector, comprising:

• advancing a knife distally and out of a knife housing, the knife housing including:
• opposing distal and proximal ends and opposing left and right walls extending from the distal end toward the proximal end, the left and right walls defining a knife cavity therebetween;
• and
• a control surface defined on at least one of the left and right walls;
• retracting the knife proximally toward the knife housing and engaging a proximal end of the knife on the control surface;
• causing the knife to rotate into alignment with the knife cavity as the knife moves proximally and slidably engages the control surface;
• and
• receiving the knife in a fully retracted position within the knife cavity.