# Patent

## Title
Seal plate with insulation displacement connection

## Abstract

An end effector assembly having first and second jaw members is provided where one or both of the jaw members is moveable relative to the other between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position for grasping tissue therebetween. One (or both) of the jaw members includes an inwardly-facing surface having a slot defined therein and a wire having an insulative coating. A seal plate has at least one protrusion that is configured to be disposed in the slot. The at least one protrusion of the seal plate is configured to displace the insulative coating from the wire thereby forming an electrical connection therewith when the at least one protrusion is disposed in the slot.

## Background
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/234,357, filed on Sep. 16, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.


BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to a surgical instrument with a seal plate that snaps into a jaw member and creates an insulation displacement connection between the seal plate and a RF wire.
TECHNICAL FIELD
Electrosurgical instruments, e.g., electrosurgical forceps, utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to affect hemostasis by heating tissue to coagulate and/or cauterize tissue. Certain surgical procedures require more than simply cauterizing tissue and rely on the unique combination of clamping pressure, precise electrosurgical energy control and gap distance (i.e., distance between opposing jaw members when closed about tissue) to “seal” tissue.
As can be appreciated, in order to create an effective tissue seal, different considerations are taken into account depending on the characteristics, e.g., composition, structure and/or function, of the tissue to be sealed.
SUMMARY
As used herein, the term “distal” refers to the portion that is being described which is further from a user, while the term “proximal” refers to the portion that is being described which is closer to a user.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an end effector assembly having first and second jaw members is provided. One (or both) of the jaw members is moveable relative to the other between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position for grasping tissue therebetween. One (or both) of the jaw members includes an inwardly-facing surface having a slot defined therein and a first wire having an insulative coating. One (or both) of the jaw members further includes a seal plate that has at least one protrusion that is configured to displace the insulative coating from the wire thereby forming an electrical connection therewith when the at least one protrusion is disposed in the slot.
The protrusion of the seal plate may further include a sharpened edge for facilitating removal of the insulative coating. The sharpened edge may be v-shaped, u-shaped, substantially flat shaped, rectangular shaped, or pentagon shaped. The slot may have a general polynomial shape.
In a further aspect of the invention, each of the jaw members includes an inwardly-facing surface having a slot defined therein and a wire having an insulative coating. Each jaw member is configured to receive a seal plate having at least one protrusion wherein the slot is configured to receive the protrusion. The protrusions displace the insulative coating of each wire in each of the jaw members when the protrusions of the seal plates are disposed in the slots of the respective jaw members. The wire of one jaw member and the wire of the second jaw member may have opposite polarities.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing an end effector assembly includes the step of providing first and second jaw members. At least one of the jaw members including an inwardly-facing surface having a slot defined therein and a wire having an insulative coating. The method further includes the step of disposing at least one protrusion of a seal plate within the slot to secure the seal plate atop the jaw member thereby causing the protrusion to displace the insulative coating from the wire to form an electrical connection between the seal plate and the wire.
The protrusion of the seal plate further may include a sharpened edge for facilitating removal of the insulative coating. The sharpened edge may be v-shaped, u-shaped, substantially flat shaped, rectangular shaped, or pentagon shaped. The slot may have a general polynomial shape.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the drawing figures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of an endoscopic surgical instrument configured for use in accordance with the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a front, perspective view of an open surgical instrument configured for use in accordance with the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 is a front, perspective view of one embodiment of an end effector assembly configured for use with the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 4A-4B are side views of one of the jaw members of the end effector assembly of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5A is a cross-section view along axis B-B of the jaw member of FIG. 4A;
FIGS. 5B-5D are alternative embodiments of the first end shown in FIG. 5A; and
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process for connecting a seal plate, a RF wire, and a jaw member in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As used herein, the term “distal” refers to the portion that is being described which is further from a user, while the term “proximal” refers to the portion that is being described which is closer to a user.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 1 depicts a forceps 10 for use in connection with endoscopic surgical procedures and FIG. 2 depicts an open forceps 10′ contemplated for use in connection with traditional open surgical procedures. For the purposes herein, either an endoscopic instrument, e.g., forceps 10, or an open instrument, e.g., forceps 10′, may be utilized in accordance with the present disclosure. Obviously, different electrical and mechanical connections and considerations apply to each particular type of instrument; however, the novel aspects with respect to the end effector assembly and its operating characteristics remain generally consistent with respect to both the open and endoscopic configurations.
Turning now to FIG. 1, an endoscopic forceps 10 is provided defining a longitudinal axis “X-X” and including a housing 20, a handle assembly 30, a rotating assembly 70, a trigger assembly 80, an actuator 90, and an end effector assembly 100. Forceps 10 further includes a shaft 12 having a distal end 14 configured to mechanically engage end effector assembly 100 and a proximal end 16 that mechanically engages housing 20. Housing 20 contains the internal working components of the forceps 10 which are not described herein but which may be found, for example, in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,846.
End effector assembly 100 is shown attached at a distal end 14 of shaft 12 and includes a pair of opposing jaw members 110 and 120. Jaw members 110, 120 are moveable between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position for grasping tissue therebetween. End effector assembly 100 is designed as a unilateral assembly, i.e., where jaw member 120 is fixed relative to shaft 12 and jaw member 110 is moveable about pivot 103 relative to shaft 12 and fixed jaw member 120. However, end effector assembly 100 may alternatively be configured as a bilateral assembly, i.e., where both jaw member 110 and jaw member 120 are moveable about a pivot 103 relative to one another and to shaft 12.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, forceps 10 also includes electrosurgical cable 610 that connects forceps 10 to a generator (not shown) or other suitable power source, although forceps 10 may alternatively be configured as a battery-powered instrument. Cable 610 includes a wire (or wires) (not explicitly shown) extending therethrough that has sufficient length to extend through shaft 12 in order to provide electrical energy to at least one of the jaw members 110 and 120 of end effector assembly 100. Trigger 82 of trigger assembly 80 may be selectively depressed to advance a knife (not shown) between jaw members 110, 120 to cut tissue grasped therebetween. Actuator 90, on the other hand, is selectively activatable to supply electrosurgical energy to one (or both) of jaw members 110, 120, as will be described in greater detail below.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, handle assembly 30 includes fixed handle 50 and a moveable handle 40. Fixed handle 50 is integrally associated with housing 20 and handle 40 is moveable relative to fixed handle 50. Rotating assembly 70 is rotatable in either direction about a longitudinal axis “X-X” to rotate end effector 100 about longitudinal axis “X-X.” Moveable handle 40 of handle assembly 30 is ultimately connected to a drive assembly (not shown) that, together, mechanically cooperate to impart movement of jaw members 110 and 120 between the spaced-apart position and the approximated position to grasp tissue disposed between jaw members 110, 120. As shown in FIG. 1, moveable handle 40 is initially spaced-apart from fixed handle 50 and, correspondingly, jaw members 110, 120 are in the spaced-apart position. Moveable handle 40 is depressible from this initial position to a depressed position corresponding to the approximated position of jaw members 110, 120.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an open forceps 10′ is shown including two elongated shafts 12a and 12b, each having a proximal end 16a and 16b, and a distal end 14a and 14b, respectively. Similar to forceps 10 (FIG. 1), forceps 10′ is configured for use with end effector assembly 100. More specifically, end effector assembly 100 is attached to distal ends 14a and 14b of shafts 12a and 12b, respectively. As mentioned above, end effector assembly 100 includes a pair of opposing jaw members 110 and 120 that are pivotably connected about a pivot 103. Each shaft 12a and 12b includes a handle 17a and 17b disposed at the proximal end 16a and 16b thereof. Each handle 17a and 17b defines a finger hole 18a and 18b therethrough for receiving a finger of the user. As can be appreciated, finger holes 18a and 18b facilitate movement of the shafts 12a and 12b relative to one another that, in turn, pivots jaw members 110 and 120 from an open position, wherein the jaw members 110 and 120 are disposed in spaced-apart relation relative to one another, to a closed position, wherein the jaw members 110 and 120 cooperate to grasp tissue therebetween.
A ratchet 30′ may be included for selectively locking the jaw members 110 and 120 relative to one another at various positions during pivoting. Ratchet 30′ may include graduations or other visual markings that enable the user to easily and quickly ascertain and control the amount of closure force desired between the jaw members 110 and 120.
With continued reference to FIG. 2, one of the shafts, e.g., shaft 12b, includes a proximal shaft connector 19 which is designed to connect the forceps 10′ to a source of electrosurgical energy such as an electrosurgical generator (not shown). Proximal shaft connector 19 secures an electrosurgical cable 610′ to forceps 10′ such that the user may selectively apply electrosurgical energy to jaw member 110 and/or jaw member 120 of end effector assembly 100.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, one embodiment of an end effector assembly provided in accordance with the present disclosure is shown generally identified by reference numeral 200. End effector assembly 200 may be adapted for use with either forceps 10 (FIG. 1), forceps 10′ (FIG. 2), or any other suitable surgical instrument (not shown). However, as shown, end effector assembly 200 is disposed at distal end 14 of shaft 12 of forceps 10 (FIG. 1). Similar to end effector assembly 100, end effector assembly 200 includes first and second jaw members 210, 220, respectively, pivotably coupled to one another about pivot 203 and movable between a spaced-apart position and an approximated position for grasping tissue therebetween. As shown, end effector assembly 200 defines a unilateral configuration wherein jaw member 220 is fixed and jaw member 210 is movable relative to jaw member 220 between the spaced-apart and approximated positions. However, this configuration may be reversed, or end effector assembly 200 may be configured as a bilateral configuration, e.g., where both jaw members 210, 220 are moveable.
With continued reference to FIGS. 3-5, each jaw member 210, 220 includes an outer jaw housing 212, 222 and an inwardly facing surface 214, 224, respectively. Surfaces 214, 224 of jaw members 210, 220, respectively, are formed at least partially from an electrically-insulative material. An electrically-conductive tissue sealing plate 300 is snapped or otherwise securely engaged into each surface 214, 224 such that tissue sealing plates 300 oppose one another. The tissue sealing plates 300 of jaw members 210, 220 are substantially similar and, thus, the tissue sealing plate of jaw member 210 is not shown or described herein to avoid unnecessary repetition.
FIG. 4A shows a side view of jaw member 220 along axis A-A prior to snapping the sealing plate 300 onto surface 224. Surface 224 may include first and second slots 242, 244 that are configured to receive protrusions 305, 310 protruding from sealing plate 300. Slots 242, 244 may be of any shape or size to accommodate differently shaped sealing plates 300.
Sealing plate 300 includes at least one protrusion, for example, first protrusion 305, that mates with at least a first slot 242 within surface 224. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the sealing plate 300 includes a first protrusion 305 and a second protrusion 310 that snap into slots 242, 244, respectively, within surface 224. The use of at least two protrusions 305, 310, and two slots 242, 244 reduces longitudinal or lateral movement of the sealing plate 300. In some embodiments, only one protrusion may be utilized to reduce longitudinal or lateral movement of the sealing plate 300. In other embodiments, three or more protrusions may be utilized to reduce longitudinal or lateral movement of the sealing plate 300.
A RF wire 250 is either run through jaw member 220 or connects to a wire (not shown) within shaft 12. The RF wire 250 includes an insulative coating 260 surrounding a conductor wire 255 (See FIG. 5). The RF wire 250 is ultimately connected to a generator (not shown) via either forceps 10 or 10′.
When the first protrusion 305 of the sealing plate 300 snaps into slot 242, the insulative coating 260 is removed from the RF wire 250 and an insulation displacement connection (IDC) is made between the RF wire 250 and the first protrusion 305 of the seal plate 300. The use of the IDC facilitates assembly of the sealing plate 300 atop the respective jaw member, e.g., jaw member 220, and eliminates soldering or crimping at assembly.
FIG. 4B shows the seal plate 300 snapped onto surface 224. The sealing plate 300 may be snapped onto surface 224 prior to connecting jaw member 220 to shaft 12. Alternatively, the sealing plate 300 may be connected to surface 224 after the jaw member 220 is connected to shaft 12. Alternatively, jaw member 220 may be permanently attached to shaft 12.
FIG. 5A shows a cross-section of jaw member 220 along the axis B-B of FIG. 4A. Surface 224 is shown in cross hatch and includes slot 242. Slot 242 is generally a polynomial shape and is shown with pentagon type shape; however, the shape may be u-shaped, rectangular shaped, v-shaped, or other suitable shape. The first protrusion 305 of the sealing plate 300 includes a sharpened edge 315 for facilitating removal of the insulative coating 260. The sharpened edge 315 is shown with a v-shaped cutting edge; however, the sharpened cutting edge may be shaped with a rectangular cutting edge 330 (See FIG. 5D), u-shaped cutting edge 320 (See FIG. 5B), flat cutting edge 325 (See FIG. 5C), pointed, or other suitable shape to assist in removing the insulative coating 260 from the RF wire. As the RF wire 250 is pushed into slot 242 by the first protrusion 305 of sealing plate 300, a section of the insulative coating 260 is removed from RF wire 250 to create the IDC between the conductor wire 255 and the seal plate 300. The IDC allows an electrical signal to be sent from the generator (not shown) to the seal plate 300 via RF wire 250.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process 600 for connecting a seal plate 300, a RF wire 250, and a jaw member 220 according to an embodiment of the invention. The process 600 starts at step 605, when a jaw member 220 is connected to a forceps 10 or 10′ at step 610. Next at step 620, the RF wire 250 is threaded into jaw member 220. The RF wire 250 may be a part of jaw member 220 and attached to a wire (not shown) within the shaft 12 or the wire from shaft 12 may be threaded through jaw member 220 as jaw member 220 is attached to shaft 12. Alternatively, the jaw member 220 may be permanently attached to the forceps 10 or 10′ with the RF wire 250 already part of the forceps 10, 10′ and jaw member 220 or a tube may conduct the energy through the shaft and include a wire-like element at a distal end thereof that ultimately connects to the IDC.
At step 630, the seal plate 300 is snapped into at least one slot 242, 244 within surface 224. As the seal plate 300 is snapped into place, the sharpened edge 315 of first protrusion 305 removes the insulative coating 260 is from RF wire 250 creating an insulation displacement connection (IDC) between RF wire 250 and seal plate 300 to allow an electrical signal to pass from RF wire 250 to seal plate 300. Next, at step 640, a user grasps tissue between the jaw members 210, 220. Energy is then supplied from a generator (not shown) through the RF wire 250 to seal plate 300 at step 650. The RF wire 250 may be connected to the generator before or after snapping seal plate 300 onto surface 224. The process 600 then ends at step 665 after conducting energy between jaw members 210, 220 to create a tissue seal at step 660.
From the foregoing and with reference to the various figure drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain modifications can also be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the same. While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as examples of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.

## Claims

1. A jaw member for an end effector assembly of an electrosurgical instrument, the jaw member comprising:
an inwardly-facing surface defining a slot;
a wire having an insulative coating; and
a seal plate having a protrusion configured to displace the insulative coating from the wire upon engagement therewith to form an electrical connection between the wire and the seal plate when the protrusion engages the slot.

2. The jaw member according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion includes a sharpened edge that facilitates displacement of the insulative coating.

3. The jaw member according to claim 2, wherein the sharpened edge is v-shaped, u-shaped, flat, rectangular, or pentagonal.

4. The jaw member according to claim 1, wherein the wire is disposed within the slot.

5. The jaw member according to claim 1, wherein the inwardly-facing surface defines a second slot and the seal plate includes a second protrusion, the second protrusion configured to displace the insulative coating from the wire upon engagement therewith to form an electrical connection between the wire and the seal plate when the second protrusion engages the second slot.

6. A method of manufacturing a jaw member, the method comprising:
threading a wire into an inwardly-facing surface of a jaw member; and
engaging a seal plate having a protrusion with the inwardly facing surface such that the protrusion displaces an insulative coating from the wire to form an electrical connection between the seal plate and the wire.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein threading the wire into the inwardly-facing surface includes threading the wire into a slot defined within the inwardly-facing surface.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein engaging the seal plate having the protrusion with the inwardly facing surface includes utilizing an edge of the inwardly facing surface to displace the insulative coating from the wire.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein engaging the seal plate having the protrusion with the inwardly facing surface includes snapping the seal plate to the inwardly facing surface.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein engaging the seal plate having the protrusion with the inwardly-facing surface includes disposing the protrusion within a slot defined in the inwardly-facing surface.

11. A method of manufacturing a jaw member, the method comprising:
threading a wire into an inwardly-facing surface of a jaw member; and
disposing a protrusion of a seal plate within a slot defined in the inwardly-facing surface to secure the seal plate to the jaw member such that the protrusion displaces an insulative coating from the wire to form an electrical connection between the seal plate and the wire.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein threading the wire into the inwardly-facing surface includes threading the wire into the slot.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein disposing the protrusion of the seal plate within the slot includes utilizing a sharpened edge to displace the insulative coating from the wire.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein disposing the protrusion of the seal plate within the slot includes snapping the seal plate to the inwardly-facing surface.