Patent ID: 9743946
Date: 2017-08-29
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. An apparatus for operating on tissue, the apparatus comprising: (a) a body assembly; (b) a shaft assembly extending distally from the body assembly, wherein the shaft assembly comprises an acoustic waveguide operable to transmit ultrasonic vibrations, wherein the acoustic waveguide defines a longitudinal axis; (c) an ultrasonic blade in acoustic communication with the acoustic waveguide; (d) a clamp assembly, wherein the clamp assembly comprises a clamp arm pivotable toward and away from the ultrasonic blade about a pivot axis, wherein the clamp assembly further comprises a driving element, wherein the clamp arm is configured to movably actuate the driving element of the clamp assembly relative to the body assembly as the clamp arm pivots toward and away from the ultrasonic blade; and (e) a rotation feature, wherein the driving element of the clamp assembly is configured to engage the rotation feature in response to pivoting of the clamp arm toward and away from the ultrasonic blade to thereby rotatably drive the rotation feature based on pivotal positioning of the clamp arm relative to the ultrasonic blade about the pivot axis, wherein the rotation feature is operable to be rotatably driven by the driving element of the clamp assembly to rotate the ultrasonic blade relative to the clamp arm about the longitudinal axis.