Patent ID: 7837685

Claim:
A safe activation switching mechanism coupling an electrosurgical instrument and an electrosurgical generator comprising: a pair of high-energy contacts including a first high-energy contact and a second high-energy contact interconnecting an electrosurgical instrument and an electrosurgical generator; a pair of low-energy activation contacts including a first low-energy activation contact and a second low-energy activation contact coupled to the electrosurgical generator and configured to activate the electrosurgical generator; and an actuator having a first portion configured to engage the first high-energy contact and the second high-energy contact and a second portion configured to engage the first low-energy activation contact and the second low-energy activation contact; wherein initially engaging the first and second high-energy contacts operably connects the electrosurgical instrument to the energy source and subsequently the first and second low-energy activation contacts activate the electrosurgical generator to supply electrosurgical energy solely through the pair of high-energy contacts to eliminate arcing between the high-energy contacts.