Patent ID: 11957402
Assignee: COVIDIEN LP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. An electrosurgical vessel sealing instrument, comprising:
a housing;
a shaft extending from the housing;
an end effector assembly coupled to a distal end of the shaft and including a pair of first and second jaw members configured to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue;
a cam slot defined in each of the first and second jaw members;
a pair of cam members disposed within the cam slots defined by the respective first and second jaw members, the pair of cam members configured to move along a longitudinal axis defined by the shaft;
a drive rod configured to move within the shaft along the longitudinal axis to move the pair of cam members within the cam slots defined by the respective first and second jaw members, thereby moving at least one of the first or second jaw members relative to the other jaw member; and
a resilient member extending through the shaft and operably coupled to the drive rod and the pair of cam members, the resilient member configured to cooperate with the drive rod to cause the first and second jaw members to provide a closure force on tissue disposed between the jaw members upon proximal movement of the drive rod along the longitudinal axis.