Methods, systems, and devices for causing end effector motion with a robotic surgical system

1. A surgical system, comprising:

a tool driver configured to releasably and replaceably engage with a surgical tool having an elongate shaft with an end effector at a distal end of the elongate shaft, the tool driver including a plurality of motors and a plurality drive disks each configured to be simultaneously driven by at least one of the motors and thereby cause a single motion of the end effector, wherein the single motion includes any one of closing jaws of the end effector, translating a cutting element along the end effector, and rotating the end effector relative to the elongate shaft.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the tool driver includes a shaft having a plurality of gears attached thereto at different axial positions along a longitudinal length of the shaft, the more than one of the drive disks being simultaneously driven being configured to cooperate to drive one of the gears and thereby cause the single motion of the end effector.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein, when the tool driver is releasably and replaceably engaged with the surgical tool, a longitudinal axis of the elongate shaft of the surgical tool is substantially coaxial with a longitudinal axis of the shaft of the tool driver.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the driving of the one of the gears causes the one of the gears to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the shaft of the tool driver.

5. The system of claim 2 , each of the drive disks includes a gear.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the drive disks includes a rotatable gear.

7. A surgical system, comprising:

a surgical tool including an elongate shaft, an end effector at a distal end of the elongate shaft, and a plurality of actuation shafts operatively coupled to the end effector and extending along the elongate shaft, each of the actuation shafts being configured to operate a function of the end effector such that the end effector has a plurality of functions; and

a tool driver configured to releasably and replaceably operatively engage the surgical tool, the tool driver including a plurality of motors and a plurality of drive disks, two of the drive disks being configured to be simultaneously driven by respective ones of the motors and thereby actuate one of the actuation shafts and cause one of the functions of the end effector.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the one of functions of the end effector includes any one of closing jaws of the end effector, articulating the end effector relative to the elongate shaft, translating a cutting element along the end effector, rotating the end effector relative to the elongate shaft, and rotating the elongate shaft and the end effector relative to a proximal housing of the surgical tool.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein different combinations of two drive disks among the plurality of drive disks being simultaneously driven by respective ones of the motors are configured to cause different ones of the functions of the end effector.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein when the two drive disks are driven the drive disks are each configured to rotate and thereby cause translation of the one of the actuation shafts to cause the one of the functions of the end effector.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the rotational movement of the drive disks are transferred to the surgical tool as rotational motion, and the surgical tool includes an actuator configured to translate the rotational motion received from the tool driver to translational motion for the one of the actuation shafts.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the rotational movement of the drive disks are transferred to the surgical tool as translational motion that causes the translation of the one of the actuation shafts.

13. The system of claim 7 , wherein each of the drive disks includes a rotatable gear.

14. The system of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of drive disks includes three or more drive disks, and the plurality of motors includes three or more motors.

15. A surgical method, comprising:

actuating a plurality of motors of a tool driver of a robotic surgical system and thereby simultaneously drive more than one of a plurality of drive disks of the tool driver, the driving of the more than one of the plurality of drive disks causing performance of a single function of an end effector of a surgical tool, the surgical tool including a proximal housing releasably and replaceably coupled to the tool driver, and the surgical tool including an elongate shaft extending distally from the proximal housing and having the end effector at a distal end thereof,

wherein the single function of the end effector includes any one of closing jaws of the end effector, translating a cutting element along the end effector, rotating the end effector relative to the elongate shaft, and rotating the elongate shaft and the end effector relative to the proximal housing.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the simultaneous driving of the more than one of the plurality of drive disks causing a disk mounted on a drive shaft of the tool driver to rotate, a longitudinal axis of the drive shaft being substantially coaxial with the elongate shaft of the surgical tool.