The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 16, 1996
Filed:
Feb. 11, 1993
Charles R Slater, Fort Lauderdale, FL (US);
Jurgen A Kortenbach, Miami, FL (US);
Herbert Cohen, Fort Lauderdale, FL (US);
George Nunez, Miami, FL (US);
Symbiosis Corporation, Miami, FL (US);
Abstract
An endoscopic instrument has a distal assembly removable from a proximal handle. The distal assembly includes a tube carrying an end effector and a push rod coupled to the end effector and slidable through the tube. The proximal handle includes a tube sleeve for receiving the tube, an actuator and a latch for coupling the push rod to the actuator. The tube sleeve is provided with a tube lock for holding the tube securely in place and the tube is provided with a circumferential groove for engaging the lock. The latch is spring loaded, hinged, and has an inclined surface for quick coupling with the push rod. The latch also has a mechanism for uncoupling the latch from the push rod. The push rod is provided with a mating tip which engages the latch so that the actuator causes reciprocal movement of the push rod within the tube to operate the end effector. An axially movable collar on the tube sleeve is used in unlatching, and in one arrangement is also used for rotating the distal assembly.