Patent ID: 8858571

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a housing assembly; a proximal tube segment attached to said housing assembly and protruding distally out of said housing assembly; a distal tube segment; an articulating joint assembly pivotally coupling said distal tube segment to said proximal tube segment, said articulating joint assembly comprising: a first joint member non-movably coupled to one end of one of said proximal and distal tube segments and rotatably received in a corresponding socket in another end of the other of said proximal tube segment and distal tube segment; and at least one flexible cable attached to a motor, said flexible cable having a series of worm gear teeth thereon arranged to drivingly engage a corresponding passageway formed in the first joint member or socket for retaining a portion of said first joint member in said socket and, upon selective rotation, articulate said distal tube segment relative to said proximal tube segment; and a surgical implement attached to said distal tube segment.