Patent ID: 11883024
Assignee: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 10:
11. A method for operating a surgical instrument, wherein said method comprises:
providing a surgical end effector that is coupled to a shaft assembly by an articulation joint, wherein the surgical end effector comprises a firing member that is movable between a starting position and an ending position through the surgical end effector by a firing drive system that comprises a series of loosely-linked firing components extending through the articulation joint, and wherein said method further comprises:
converting the series of loosely-linked firing components into a rigid series of the firing components at a location that is distal to the articulation joint to generate an axial drive motion; and
applying the axial drive motion to the firing member to drive the firing member from the starting position to the ending position.