Shaft, e.g., for an electro-mechanical surgical device
AssigneeCovidien LP
InventorsMichael P. Whitman, Donald T. Malinouskas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shaft being, e.g., flexible, that includes an elongated outer sheath, at least one drive shaft disposed within the outer sheath and a ring non-rotatably mounted on the at least one rotatable drive shaft and at least one light source mounted within the shaft, such that, upon rotation of the at least one rotatable drive shaft, the ring alternately blocks and allows light from the light source to be detected. The shaft may also include a moisture sensor disposed within the outer sheath of the shaft and configured to detect moisture within the outer sheath. The shaft may include couplings that connect a distal end of the outer sheath to a surgical attachment and a proximal end of the outer sheath to a remote power console.
Claims20
A surgical instrument including a shaft having an elongated outer sheath, an anvil, and a staple/driver cutter, the surgical instrument comprising:
- a plurality of rotatable drive shafts disposed within the outer sheath, each of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts configured to rotate at a selectable speed setting and a selectable torque setting;
- and
- a quadrature ring having two tabs and two phototransistors, the two tabs mounted on at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts, the two tabs extending radially from and configured to rotate with the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts, and the two phototransitors mounted proximal to the two tabs of the quadrature ring and within the outer sheath arranged approximately 90 degrees from each other relative to an axis of the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts and a plurality of light sources mounted distal to the two tabs and within the outer sheath, wherein, upon rotation of the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts, the two tabs alternately block and allow light from each of the plurality of light sources to be detected by the two phototransitors to permit the quadrature ring to determine angular position and rotational direction of the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts based on one-quarter-revolution increments;
- wherein the angular position and rotational direction determined by the quadrature ring facilitate determination of a relative displacement of the anvil with respect to the staple/driver cutter.
A surgical instrument including a shaft having an elongated outer sheath, an anvil, and a staple/driver cutter, the surgical instrument comprising:
- a plurality of rotatable drive shafts disposed within the outer sheath, each of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts configured to rotate at a selectable speed setting and a selectable torque setting;
- a plurality of light sources mounted at a distal position within the outer sheath;
- a quadrature ring having two tabs mounted on at least one rotatable shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts, the two tabs extending radially from and configured to rotate with the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts;
- and
- at least one fiber optic cable extending along the length of the elongated outer sheath and configured to transmit light received from each of the plurality of light sources at the distal position within the outer sheath to a proximal position within the outer sheath, wherein, upon rotation of the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts, the two tabs of the quadrature ring alternately block and allow light from each of the plurality of light sources to be received and transmitted by the at least one fiber optic cable to permit the quadrature ring to determine angular position and rotational direction of the at least one rotatable drive shaft of the plurality of rotatable drive shafts based on one-quarter-revolution increments;
- wherein the angular position and rotational direction determined by the quadrature ring facilitate determination of a relative displacement of the anvil with respect to the staple/driver cutter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.