Surgical stapler with spent cartridge sensing and lockout means

A surgical stapler comprising:

• an anvil frame elongate in a longitudinal direction and having proximal and distal ends, and a jaw portion having anvil surfaces generally adjacent said distal end and positioned in a plane generally perpendicular to said longitudinal direction,
• an elongate manually movable lever having pivot means for affording relative pivotal movement of said lever and said anvil frame between a release position with one end of said lever being spaced from said proximal end of said anvil frame and an actuation position with said lever and said anvil frame in closely spaced relationship;
• a cartridge assembly having proximal and distal ends and being mounted adjacent said anvil frame for longitudinal movement relative to said anvil frame, said cartridge assembly including, a cartridge transporting member having surfaces defining a cartridge groove generally adjacent said distal end of said cartridge assembly, said cartridge groove surfaces being adapted to releasably receive a cartridge housing containing a plurality of staples disposed in at least one row positioned in opposition to said anvil surfaces, and pusher means for pressing said staples within said cartridge housing against said anvil surfaces to engage and close the staples in tissue between the cartridge housing and the anvil surfaces, said pusher means mounted for movement relative to said cartridge housing between a pre-fired position and a fired position;
• means mounting said cartridge assembly for longitudinal movement relative to said anvil frame between a closed position with said cartridge housing and said anvil surfaces in closely spaced relationship, and an open position with said cartridge housing and said anvil surfaces spaced farther from each other than in said closed position;
• an elongate ram mounted for longitudinal movement relative to said cartridge transporting member and said anvil frame, said ram being engaging the pusher means when said cartridge housing and said anvil closed position;
• actuation means operable in a first movement to initially move said cartridge assembly from said open position to said closed position in response to movement of said lever from said release to said actuation position and operable in a second movement to subsequently move said ram distally relative to said cartridge transporting member by again moving said lever from said release to said actuation positions;
• and
• means for preventing said cartridge assembly from moving from said open to said closed positions when the stapler is loaded with a cartridge housing having a pusher means in a fired position, said preventing means including a safety aperture defining an opening in the surface of the anvil frame and a locking pin mounted in the safety aperture for movement between a first position to afford free movement of the cartridge assembly between said open position and said closed position, and a second blocking position to prevent such movement.

A surgical stapler comprising:

• a handle assembly;
• an elongated frame extending from the handle assembly and having a longitudinal axis;
• an anvil disposed at the distal end of the elongated frame and oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
• a cartridge assembly operatively associated with the elongated frame and housing a plurality of surgical staples for application to body tissue;
• an actuation mechanism actuable from the handle assembly for effecting relative movement of the cartridge assembly and the anvil between open and closed positions;
• and
• a blocking mechanism mounted to said frame for movement between a non-blocking position and a blocking position to engage the cartridge assembly and thereby prevent relative movement of the cartridge assembly and the anvil to the closed position after the staples have been fired from the cartridge.

A surgical stapler comprising:

• an elongated frame having a longitudinal axis;
• an anvil disposed at the distal end of the elongated frame and oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;
• a cartridge containing a plurality of surgical staples, the cartridge being movable toward the anvil from a proximal position to a clamping position to clamp tissue against the anvil;
• a driving mechanism for firing the staples from the cartridge in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis;
• a locking mechanism positioned in the frame, the locking mechanism movable between a non-locking position allowing movement of the cartridge to the clamping position and a locking position preventing movement of the cartridge to the clamping position, the cartridge urging the locking mechanism to the non-locking position when loaded with staples.