Patent ID: 8157834

Claim:
A surgical device, comprising: an elongate substantially hollow shaft defining an elongate axis; an end effector operably coupled to a distal end of said elongate shaft for selective pivotal and rotational travel relative thereto, said end effector having at least one actuation feature thereon that is actuatable upon application of at least one axial actuation motion thereto; an articulation actuator operably interfacing with said end effector for applying at least one axial motion thereto to cause said end effector to pivot relative to said distal end of said elongate shaft and for selectively applying at least one rotation motion thereto to cause said end effector to rotate relative to said distal end of said elongate shaft about said elongate axis; a rotational coupling, comprising: a driving coupler movably supported within a portion of said elongate substantially hollow shaft; and an idler coupler movably supported within said portion of said substantially elongate hollow shaft and rotatably coupled to said driving coupler for rotation relative thereto about said elongate axis and axial travel with said driving coupler along said actuation axis; an input actuator for applying said at least one axial actuation motion, said input actuator coupled at a distal end to the driving coupler, wherein said at least one axial actuation motion is transmitted to said driving coupler, and wherein said driving coupler transmits said at least one axial actuation motion to said idler coupler; and at least one output actuator coupled at a proximal end to said idler coupler and at a distal end to said actuation features on said end effector such that said output actuator transfers said at least one axial actuation motion from said rotational coupling to said at least one actuation feature of said end effector.