Patent ID: 6419675
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
An endoscopic grasping tool surgical instrument comprising:a tubular sheath having a proximal end and a distal end; a handle mounted on the proximal end of the sheath and having a jaw actuator operable between a jaws open position and a jaws closed position; at least one pair of clamping arms having proximal ends, said arms being anchored at their proximal ends to the sheath and being disposed in opposed relation to each other partially within the sheath, each arm having a jaw protruding from the distal end of the sheath, each jaw having a distal tip and a heel proximally separated from the tip by a tissue grasping surface and each arm having a wrist proximally separated from its associated jaw by a ramp, each ramp being disposed in distally diverging relation to its counterpart ramp and each arm having a substantially straight portion proximal to its wrist, each pair of arms being movable relative to one another between an open position in which the wrists and jaws are spaced apart and a closed position in which the wrists and jaws meet; and a drive chassis disposed within the sheath and extending proximally into the handle and having a proximal end positioned adjacent the actuator so as to be driven distally as the actuator is operated from its jaws open position to its jaws closed position, the drive chassis having camming surfaces at its distal end which engage the ramps of the clamping arms so as to urge the arms together as the chassis moves distally, the arms being so configured that, as they are urged together, they meet first at their wrists, then at their distal tips and lastly at their heels.