Patent ID: 6332891
Filing Date: 2001-12-25
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A surgical tool assembly comprising:a handpiece, said handpiece having:a base;a power producing assembly located in said base;a coupling assembly mounted to said base for releasably attaching an accessory to said handpiece so that the accessory receives power from said power producing assembly, said coupling assembly having a run state in which the accessory is attached to said coupling assembly and an accessory load state in which the accessory is removable from said coupling assembly; anda state marker attached to said coupling assembly, wherein the state of said state marker is controlled by said coupling assembly so that, when said coupling assembly undergoes a transition from the run state to the accessory load state, said state marker undergoes a state transition; anda sensing unit, said sensing unit comprising;a housing configured to be releasably secured to said base of said handpiece;a position-locating device disposed in said housing configured to produce signals used to determine the position of said sensing unit; anda handpiece state sensor fitted to said housing, said handpiece state sensor configured to monitor the state of said state marker and to produce a handpiece state signal representative of the state of said state marker.