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:
Jan. 26, 2016
Filed:
Jan. 25, 2013
Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US);
Paul T. Franer, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Zhifan F. Huang, Mason, OH (US);
Jerome R. Morgan, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Frederick E. Shelton, IV, Hillsboro, OH (US);
Bret W. Smith, Kings Mills, OH (US);
Richard W. Timm, Cincinnati, OH (US);
Gregory A. Trees, Loveland, OH (US);
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (US);
Abstract
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.