Jaw assembly for an endoscopic instrument

Abstract

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.