Patent ID: 7891531

Claim:
A surgical staple cartridge supporting a plurality of parallel rows of miniature generally U-shaped surgical staples, said cartridge comprising an elongated sheet metal housing comprising longitudinally extending elongated sheet metal strips each having a substantially uniform thickness less than 0.015 inch, at least two of said sheet metal strips forming parallel spaced sheet metal side walls for said housing with opposite end portions of said side walls connected together to define a space between said side walls, each of said sheet metal strips forming said side walls having a plurality of longitudinally spaced U-shaped integral sheet metal ribs of uniform wall thickness and extending laterally across said strip to define a row of longitudinally spaced pockets between said ribs, at least one of said elongated sheet metal strips being substantially flat and extending longitudinally within said space between said sheet metal side walls and closing said pockets, a plurality of said elongated sheet metal strips forming longitudinally extending internal walls positioned within said space between said sheet metal side walls, each of said internal walls forming a plurality of longitudinally spaced U-shaped integral sheet metal ribs defining a row of said pockets between said ribs, one of said surgical staples supported within each of said pockets in said side walls and said internal walls for lateral sliding movement, and a plurality of substantially flat drivers within said pockets and supported for lateral sliding movement within said pockets to eject said staples from said pockets.