Direct pull surgical gripper

Inventors

Cooper, Thomas G.

Assignees

Intuitive Surgical Inc • Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc

Abstract

A surgical end effector includes a clevis and two jaws rotatably coupled to the clevis. A rocking pin in the form of a solid of revolution is pivotally supported by the clevis. The rocking pin may be pivotally supported by the clevis at the midpoint between the first and second ends. The opposite ends of the rocking pin engage the jaws to constrain the jaws to have opposite motions around the axes of rotation of the jaws. The clevis may be coupled to an elongate shaft to provide an endoscopic instrument. The first and second jaws may be electrically isolated from one another for electrocautery and the rocking pin may be formed from a non-conductive material or electrically isolated from the first and second jaws by electrically non-conductive liners. The jaws may be opened and closed by pushing and pulling on wires coupled to the jaws.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a surgical end effector that uses a clevis supporting a first jaw and a second jaw, each rotatably coupled to the clevis. A rocking pin in the form of a solid of revolution is pivotally supported by the clevis so that the first jaw and the second jaw are constrained to have opposite motions. The first end of the rocking pin pivotally engages the first jaw and the opposing second end pivotally engages the second jaw to constrain motion around respective axes of rotation.

In the claimed configuration, the rocking pin’s axis of revolution extends between the first end and the opposing second end, and the clevis pivotally supports the rocking pin between the first and second ends. The first jaw has a first axis of rotation and the second jaw has a second axis of rotation, where the constrained opposite motions are around the first axis of rotation of the first jaw and the second axis of rotation of the second jaw. Certain embodiments further position the rocking pin support by pivotally supporting the rocking pin at a midpoint along the axis of revolution.

For a minimally invasive surgical instrument form factor, the clevis is coupled to the distal end of an elongate shaft with a distal end, a proximal end, and a longitudinal axis extending between the distal end and the proximal end. The invention also includes electrical isolation features for bipolar electrocautery, where the first jaw and the second jaw are electrically isolated from each other and the rocking pin can be made of non-conductive material, optionally including electrically non-conductive liners. The instrument further includes motion transmission using a first wire and a second wire that transmit controller motions between the first and second jaws while the articulated wrist assembly is driven by those wire-guided forces.

Claims Coverage

The partial content includes two independent claims: a surgical end effector claim and a minimally invasive surgical instrument claim. Across these independent claims, the coverage centers on a clevis-supported paired jaw mechanism constrained by a rocking pin in the form of a solid of revolution, with additional optional refinements in dependent claims for support location, electrical isolation, jaw axis relationships, engagement geometry, and wire-based motion transmission.

Overall, the claim coverage protects a clevis-based end effector where a solid-of-revolution rocking pin pivotally engaged at its ends constrains two rotatable jaws to move in opposite directions about their respective axes of rotation. The minimally invasive instrument coverage adds an elongate shaft with a distal clevis-mounted end effector, and dependent claim refinement within the partial content further specifies support at a midpoint on the rocking pin’s axis, electrical isolation configurations, and wire-based controller-motion transmission between the jaws.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications