Surgical stapling apparatus and method
AssigneeTyco Healthcare Group LP
InventorsFrank J. Viola, David Ivanko
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to staple-gap adjustment members for use in surgical stapling apparatus and methods. A gap adjustment member includes one or more bearing portions sharing a common rotational axis and one or more cam surface portions having a periphery with at least two different points along the periphery, with each point along the periphery having a different radius from the rotational axis. The one or more cam surface portions can have a central axis parallel to and spaced a distance from the rotational axis of the one or more bearing portions.
Claims36
A staple gap adjustment member for use in a surgical stapling apparatus having a pair of jaw structures operably coupled with one another and defining a staple gap therebetween, the gap adjustment member comprising:
- one or more bearing portions sharing a common rotational axis;
- and
- one or more cam surface portions having a substantially arcuate transverse cross-sectional profile and a periphery with at least two different points along the periphery, with each point along the periphery having a different radius from the rotational axis.
A staple gap adjustment member for use in a surgical stapling apparatus having a pair of jaw structures operably coupled with one another and defining a staple gap therebetween, the gap adjustment member comprising:
- a forward portion;
- a rearward portion, the forward and rearward portions sharing a common rotational axis;
- and
- a body portion interconnecting the forward and rearward portions, the body portion having a substantially arcuate transverse cross-section profile and a periphery with at least two different points along the periphery, with each point having a different radius from the rotational axis.
A surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- a jaw structure with a cartridge receiving portion and a jaw structure with an anvil receiving portion, the jaw structures being operably couplable to one another to provide a staple gap between a forward portion of the cartridge receiving portions, one of the jaw structures having a pair of mounting members thereon for mounting the other of the jaw structures thereon;
- and
- a staple gap adjustment member having a cam surface portion operatively disposed between the jaw structures, wherein a rotation of the gap adjustment member results in a corresponding adjustment in the size of the staple gap.
A method of adjusting a staple gap in a surgical stapling apparatus, comprising:
- providing a surgical stapling apparatus having a jaw structure with an anvil receiving portion and a jaw structure with a cartridge receiving portion, the jaw structures being operatively couplable to one another to provide a staple gap between a respective forward portion of the anvil and cartridge receiving portions, one of the jaw structures having a pair of mounting members thereon for mounting the other of the jaw structures thereon;
- positioning a gap adjustment member on the mounting members between the jaw structures to provide a desired gap between the forward portions of the anvil and cartridge receiving portions;
- and
- locking the gap adjustment member in position against the mounting members to fix the desired staple gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.