Granted Patent B2

US 12,274,438 · App. 18/135,408 · Granted Apr 15, 2025

Inventors: Frederick E. Shelton, IV (Hillsboro, OH); David C. Yates (Morrow, OH); Jason L. Harris (Lebanon, OH)

Assignee: Cilag GmbH International

A61B17/0686A61B17/068A61B17/07207A61B17/1114A61B2017/00017A61B2017/00075A61B2017/00115A61B2017/00398A61B2017/0046A61B2017/00734A61B2017/07285A61B17/1626A61B2017/2927A61B90/03A61B2090/064A61B2090/067

Abstract

Claims (38)

1. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a displacement member;

a motor coupled to the displacement member to translate the displacement member in accordance with a motor velocity of the motor;

a control circuit coupled to the motor to control the motor velocity;

a position sensor coupled to the control circuit, the position sensor configured to measure the position of the displacement member and configured to measure an articulation angle of an end effector relative to a longitudinally extending shaft;

wherein the control circuit is configured to:

determine the articulation angle between the end effector and the shaft;

select a force threshold based on the articulation angle;

set the motor velocity based on the articulation angle;

determine force on the displacement member; and

adjust the motor velocity of the motor to adjust the velocity of translation of the displacement member when the force on the displacement member is greater than the force threshold.

2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine actual position of the displacement member.

3. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the motor further translates the displacement member during a firing stroke to deploy staples into tissue grasped by an end effector of the surgical instrument, and further wherein the control circuit is configured to determine an end of the firing stroke of the displacement member.

4. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to compare the force on the displacement member to the force threshold.

5. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , further comprising a timer/counter circuit coupled to the control circuit, the timer/counter circuit configured to measure elapsed time; wherein the control circuit is configured to:

set the motor velocity;

receive an initial position of the displacement member from the position sensor;

receive a reference time t 1 from the timer/counter circuit corresponding to the initial position of the displacement member; and

determine an anticipated position of the displacement member at a time t 2 based on the motor velocity.

6. The surgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein the control circuit is configured to:

receive an actual position of the displacement member at the time t 2 from the position sensor;

compare the actual position of the displacement member at the time t 2 with the anticipated position of the displacement member at the time t 2 ; and

determine the force on the displacement member based on a difference between the actual position of the displacement member at the time t 2 and the anticipated position of the displacement member at the time t 2 .

7. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to lower the motor velocity until the force on the displacement member is less than the force threshold.

8. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further to compare the articulation angle with a previous articulation angle and adjust the motor velocity based on a new articulation angle.

9. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the motor further translates the displacement member during a firing stroke to deploy staples into tissue grasped by the end effector of the surgical instrument, and further wherein the control circuit is configured to:

during the firing stroke, detect a change in the articulation angle between the end effector and the longitudinally extending shaft during a translation of the displacement member to deploy staples into the tissue;

during the firing stroke, cause the motor to adjust a velocity of the displacement member during the translation of the displacement member to deploy staples into the tissue, wherein the adjustment of the velocity of the displacement member is based on the change in the articulation angle during the translation of the displacement member to deploy staples into the tissue; and

determine if the displacement member is at an end of the firing stroke.

10. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a displacement member;

a motor coupled to the displacement member to translate the displacement member;

a control circuit coupled to the motor;

a first sensor coupled to the control circuit, the first sensor configured to measure the position of the displacement member; and

a second sensor coupled to the control circuit, the second sensor configured to measure an articulation angle of an end effector relative to a longitudinally extending shaft,

wherein the control circuit is configured to:

detect a change in the articulation angle between the end effector and the shaft; and

adjust the motor velocity of the motor when a force on the displacement member is greater than a force threshold selected based on the articulation angle.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)