Surgical instrument with blade compliant along vertical cutting edge plane

摘要

An apparatus comprises a body, a shaft, an end effector, and a firing beam. The shaft extends distally from the body. The end effector is positioned at the distal end of the shaft. The end effector comprises a first jaw and a second jaw, with the first jaw being pivotable toward the second jaw. The firing beam is operable to translate relative to the end effector to thereby drive the first jaw toward the second jaw. The firing beam includes a deformable portion operable to deform in response to a stress imposed by the end effector on the firing beam as the jaws clamp on dense or thick tissue. The deformable portion is defined in part by a cutout. A compliance restriction feature restricts deformation in the firing beam. A resilient member biases the firing beam to a non-deformed configuration.

主权项

1. An apparatus for operating on tissue, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a body; (b) a shaft extending distally from the body, wherein the shaft has a distal end; (c) an end effector positioned at the distal end of the shaft, wherein the end effector comprises:
(i) a first jaw, and(ii) a second jaw, wherein the first jaw is operable to pivot toward the second jaw; and (d) a firing beam operable to translate relative to the end effector, wherein the firing beam is operable to drive the first jaw toward the second jaw, wherein the firing beam includes a deformable portion operable to deform in response to stress imposed by the end effector on the firing beam;
wherein the deformable portion is defined in part by a cutout extending longitudinally from a distal end of the firing beam toward a proximal end of the firing beam;wherein the deformable portion comprises a resilient insert coupled with the firing beam, wherein the resilient insert extends between an upper and lower portion of the cutout.