Surgical instrument comprising a flex circuit

1 . A surgical instrument assembly, comprising:

a shaft;

an articulation joint;

an end effector attached to said shaft by way of said articulation joint, wherein said end effector is configured to be articulated about said articulation joint; and

a flex circuit extending through said shaft and connected to said end effector, wherein said flex circuit comprises an articulation section aligned with said articulation joint, wherein said articulation section comprises a predefined bend profile configured to stretch across said articulation joint predictably as said end effector is articulated about said articulation joint.

2 . The surgical instrument assembly of claim 1 , wherein said articulation section comprises elastic connection members configured to bias said articulation section into said predefined bend profile.

3 . A surgical instrument assembly, comprising:

a shaft;

an end effector attached to said shaft;

a flex circuit extending through said shaft, wherein said flex circuit comprises:

a flex circuit profile plane; and

a pre-curved section wherein said flex circuit is bent such that said flex circuit profile plane is aligned in a single plane throughout said pre-curved section; and

an articulation joint, wherein said pre-curved section extends across said articulation joint, and wherein said pre-curved section is positioned off-center with respect to a central shaft axis defined by said shaft.

4 . A surgical instrument, comprising:

a shaft defining a longitudinal axis;

an end effector;

an articulation joint, wherein said end effector is rotatably attached to said shaft about said articulation joint;

an articulation driver mounted to said end effector, wherein said articulation driver is translatable longitudinally to rotate said end effector about said articulation joint;

a wiring harness that comprises:

a shaft portion extending within said shaft;

an end effector portion extending within said end effector;

an anchor portion mounted to said articulation driver;

a first flexible bend extending between said shaft portion and said anchor portion; and

a second flexible bend extending between said anchor portion and said end effector portion.

5 . The surgical instrument of claim 4 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises a first biasing member configured to return said first flexible bend to an unflexed state.

6 . The surgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises a second biasing member configured to return said second flexible bend to an unflexed state.

7 . The surgical instrument of claim 4 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises a flex circuit comprised of polyimide layers.

8 . The surgical instrument of claim 7 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises metallic electrical traces on said polyimide layers.

9 . The surgical instrument of claim 8 , wherein said metallic electrical traces are comprised of metallic ink.

10 . The surgical instrument of claim 9 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises silicone regions configured to permit said wiring harness to stretch.

11 . The surgical instrument of claim 10 , wherein said metallic electrical traces extend over said silicone regions.

12 . The surgical instrument of claim 11 , wherein said metallic electrical traces follow arcuate paths across said silicone regions.

13 . The surgical instrument of claim 9 , wherein said wiring harness further comprises an aperture defined in said flex circuit and a printed circuit board positioned in said aperture, and wherein said printed circuit board is in communication with said metallic electrical traces in said flex circuit.