Patent ID: 11944336
Assignee: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A

Claim 10:
11. A shaft guide for a surgical instrument including a shaft assembly that defines a shaft axis and a surgical end effector that is operably coupled to the shaft assembly by an articulation joint that facilitates articulation of the surgical end effector through a plurality of articulation planes relative to the shaft axis, wherein said shaft guide comprises:
a shaft guide body sized to span across the articulation joint, wherein said shaft guide body comprises a shaft guide proximal end and a shaft guide distal end, wherein said shaft guide proximal end comprises a proximal oval shape aligned on a proximal long axis, wherein said shaft guide distal end comprises a distal oval shape aligned on a distal long axis that is transverse to said proximal long axis;, a first passage extending through said shaft guide body from said shaft guide proximal end to said shaft guide distal end and configured to operably support a portion of a first drive shaft therethrough, wherein said first passage opens through said shaft guide proximal end on a first side of a reference plane extending through said shaft axis, wherein said first passage opens through said shaft guide distal end on the first side of the reference plane, and wherein a first central portion of said first passage passes through the reference plane at at least two locations; and
a second passage extending through said shaft guide body from said shaft guide proximal end to said shaft guide distal end and configured to operably support a portion of a second drive shaft therethrough, wherein said second passage opens through said shaft guide proximal end on a second side of the reference plane, wherein said second passage opens through said shaft guide distal end on the second side of the reference plane, and wherein a second central portion of said second passage passes through the reference plane at at least two other locations.