Granted Patent B2

US 12,702,409 · App. 16/895,307 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Inventors: Frederick E. Shelton, IV (Hillsboro, OH); Sudhir B. Patel (Mason, OH); Jason L. Harris (Lebanon, OH); Sarah A. Worthington (Cincinnati, OH); Chester O. Baxter, III (Loveland, OH)

Assignee: Cilag GmbH International

A61B17/072A61B2017/00039A61B2017/00398A61B2017/07228A61B2017/07257A61B2017/07271A61B2017/07278A61B2017/07285

Abstract

Claims (33)

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.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)