IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,564,417
Granted Patent B2
US 12,564,417 · App. 17/854,120 · Granted Mar 3, 2026

Surgical instrument with various alignment features and method for improved disassembly and assembly

Inventors: Frederick E. Shelton, IV (Hillsboro, OH); Jacqueline C. Aronhalt (Loveland, OH); Rebecca Spatholt (Cincinnati, OH); Ellen Burkart (Cincinnati, OH); Robert N. Carranza (Milford, OH)
Assignee: Cilag GmbH International
A61B17/320092A61B34/30A61B2034/306
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,564,417
App. No.
17/854,120
Granted
Mar 3, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A surgical instrument including an end effector that may transition between a deactivated and activated configured to transmit energy to tissue, and a proximal body attached to the end effector. The proximal body includes an electrical component that may assist the end effector, a first shroud, and a second shroud capable of coupling with the first shroud to cooperatively define a hollow interior that houses the electrical component. The proximal body further includes a first restraining feature and a second restraining feature associated with the first shroud and the second shroud, respectively. The first and second restraining features may couple together to cooperatively align the first shroud and the second shroud. The first and second restraining feature may selectively disengage to allow the first shroud and the second shroud to decouple form each other and expose the electrical component within the hollow interior.

Claims (12)

1 . A surgical instrument, comprising:

(a) an end effector configured to transition between a deactivated configuration and an activated configuration, wherein the end effector is configured to transmit energy to tissue in the activated configuration; and

(b) a proximal body operably attached to the end effector, wherein the proximal body comprises:

(i) an electrical component configured to the end effector,

(ii) a shroud assembly defining a hollow interior,

(iii) a hatch door associated with the shroud assembly, wherein the hatch door is configured to selectively disassociate with the shroud assembly to expose the hollow interior, and

(iv) a locking feature configured to selectively prevent the hatch door from disassociating with the shroud assembly, wherein the locking feature comprises a metal frame window surrounding the hatch door, wherein the metal frame door is configured to accept an amount of thermal energy such that the metal frame door is configured to melt an adjacent portion of the shroud assembly to thereby allow the hatch door to disassociate with the shroud assembly.

2 . The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade.

3 . The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the end effector comprises an electrode.

4 . The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the shroud assembly comprises a first shroud and a second shroud configured to couple with the first shroud to cooperatively define the hollow interior.

5 . The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the proximal body comprises a handle.

6 . The surgical instrument of claim 5 , further comprising a shaft assembly extending between the handle and the end effector.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 24, 2023
From: SHELTON, FREDERICK E., IV; ARONHALT, JACQUELINE C.; SPATHOLT, REBECCA; BURKART, ELLEN; CARRANZA, ROBERT N.
To: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Reel/Frame 063414/0411 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240000475A1 · Jan 4, 2024
References Cited (62)
US 5374813A · Shipp · 1994 [cited by applicant]
US 7354440B2 · Truckai et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7381209B2 · Truckai et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 8319134B2 · Blomeyer · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 8663220B2 · Wiener et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8820605B2 · Shelton, IV · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 9125662B2 · Shelton, IV · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9314308B2 · Parihar et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9949785B2 · Price et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10624709B2 · Remm · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 10835307B2 · Shelton, IV et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11229471B2 · Shelton, IV et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11690642B2 · Black et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20060079874A1 · Faller et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070191713A1 · Eichmann et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080200940A1 · Eichmann et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20110300010A1 · Jarnagin · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120111591A1 · Shelton, IV et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120115005A1 · Stulen et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120116380A1 · Madan et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120292367A1 · Morgan et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130009606A1 · Smith et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20150148829A1 · Kimball · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20170000515A1 · Akagane · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20190201046A1 · Shelton, IV et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190201077A1 · Yates et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190201080A1 · Messerly et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190201091A1 · Yates et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190207857A1 · Shelton, IV et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190274717A1 · Nott et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190311802A1 · Kokubo et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20200078114A1 · Asher et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200297973A1 · Blacker et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210284406A1 · McDonald · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20230013884A1 · Yardibi et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
CN 202682045U · 2013 [cited by applicant]
CN 102909184A · 2013 [cited by applicant]
CN 105559879A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
DE 202015105781U1 · 2015 [cited by examiner]
EP 3593744A1 · 2020 [cited by examiner]
JP 2014180498A · 2014 [cited by examiner]
WO WO2012131672A4 · 2013 [cited by examiner]
WO WO2016118196A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2021059210A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,110. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,114; and. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,127. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Oct. 23, 2023, for International Application No. PCT/IB2023/056625, 14 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Aug. 30, 2023, for International Application No. PCT/IB2023/056627, 16 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Oct. 30, 2023, for International Application No. PCT/IB2023/056634, 21 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Sep. 1, 2023, for International Application No. PCT/IB2023/056636, 14 pages. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 62/611,339 entitled “Robot Assisted Surgical Platform,” filed Dec. 28, 2017. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 62/611,340 entitled “Cloud-Based Medical Analytics,” filed Dec. 28, 2017. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 62/611,341 entitled “Interactive Surgical Platform,” filed Dec. 28, 2017. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,050 entitled, “Surgical Instrument with Predetermined Separation Feature for Waste Stream Utilization and Related Methods,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,065 entitled, “Method of Reclaiming Portions of Surgical Instruments for Remanufacturing and Sustainability,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,104 entitled, “Robotic Surgical System with Removable Portion and Method of Disassembling Same,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,110 entitled, “System for Determining Disposal of Surgical Instrument and Related Methods,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,114 entitled, “Reclamation Packaging for Surgical Instrument and Related Methods,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,127 entitled, “Surgical System and Methods for Instrument Assessment and Cleaning,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,166 entitled, “Surgical Instrument with Removable Cable and Associated Couplings,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Appl. No. 17/854,641 entitled, “Surgical System and Methods of Assembly and Disassembly of Surgical Instrument,” filed Jun. 30, 2022. [cited by applicant]