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:
Feb. 26, 2013
Filed:
Nov. 28, 2011
Reiner Hermann, Fridingen, DE;
Olaf Hegemann, Tuebingen, DE;
Theodor Lutze, Balgheim, DE;
Aesculap AG, Tuttlingen, DE;
Abstract
A surgical instrument is provided having proximal and distal end sections and a central section extending therebetween. An hollow outer shaft extends from the proximal to the distal end section. A drive element is rotatably mounted in the outer shaft and a tool is coupled to the drive element at the distal end section. The drive element comprises a flexible section arranged between the proximal and distal end sections which consists of a plurality of ring segments each of which has a first and a second end region. The first end region comprises projections which protrude in the axial direction and the second end region comprises recesses for accommodating the projections. The ring segments intermesh in an articulated manner by means of the projections and recesses. The outer shaft comprises an articulation zone which connects the distal end section and the central section together in an articulated manner.