Motorized cutting and fastening instrument having control circuit for optimizing battery usage

Abstract

A surgical cutting and fastening instrument. The instrument comprises an end effector and a shaft connected to the end effector. The shaft comprises a drive train for powering the end effector. The instrument also comprises a handle connected to the shaft. The handle comprises an electric, DC motor connected to the drive train for powering the drive train and a DC power source comprising one or more batteries. The handle also comprises a power regulator having an input connected to the DC power source and an output connected to an input of the motor. The power regulator comprises a power converter and a control circuit for controlling the power converter. The control circuit controls the voltage set point for the power converter so that voltage delivered from the power source is less than the voltage at which the power source delivers maximum power.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.