Symbiosis Corporation

John Jairo Damarati

Matthew A Palmer

Charles R Slater

Matthew S Solar

Jose Luis Francese

Vincent A Turturro

Saul Gottlieb

Jaw assembly for an endoscopic instrument

An endoscopic instrument is provided with a hollow tube, first and second end effectors coupled to the hollow tube and having arms biased away from each other, a cylindrical member slidably disposed over the hollow tube, a push/pull wire extending through the tube, a handle assembly coupled to the push/pull wire and the hollow tube, and a disk segment connected to the push/pull wire and connected to the cylindrical member by a crimp in the cylindrical member. When the handle assembly is actuated, the push/pull wire moves the disk segment and hence the cylindrical member relative to the end effectors and causes the cylindrical member to ride over the arms of the end effectors, thereby forcing the end effectors closed or permitting them to open. Preferably, the disk segment has two curved sides which are coupled to the cylindrical member by crimping, and two substantially parallel sides which provide room for the arms of the end effectors so that the disk segment can move relative to the end effectors. The disk segment also includes a central bore for receiving the push/pull wire.

An end effector assembly for an endoscopic instrument includes first and second end effectors, a screw, and optionally a washer. The end effectors have arms which are biased away from each other. The screw has a threaded portion dimensioned to engage the distal end of the endoscopic instrument and a head portion with a pair of arm receiving grooves. In a presently preferred embodiment, the washer extends over the arms of the end effectors which pass through grooves in the head of the screw. In this manner, the arms of the end effectors are captured between the screw and the washer. The grooves are preferably provided with upstanding pins which engage mounting holes in the arms of the end effectors. Where the endoscopic instrument is a biopsy forceps type instrument having a long coil, the threaded portion of the screw mates naturally with the distal end of the coil, and the end effectors, which are normally biased away from each other, are closed by a cylinder which is moved over the arms of the end effectors. Where the endoscopic instrument is a laparoscopic type instrument, an inner rod of the instrument is provided with threads to receive the screw, and the end effectors are closed either by the outer tube of the instrument which is slid over the arms of the end effectors, or by pulling the inner rod into the outer tube.

Growing community of inventors

Miami, FL, United States of America

John Jairo Damarati