Patent ID: 7648519

Claim:
A surgical instrument comprising: an instrument shaft having proximal and distal ends; a tool disposed from the distal end of the instrument shaft; a control handle coupled from the proximal end of the instrument shaft; a distal bendable member for coupling the distal end of said instrument shaft to said tool; a proximal bendable member for coupling the proximal end of said instrument shaft to said control handle; actuation means extending between said distal and proximal bendable members for coupling motion of said proximal bendable member to said distal bendable member for controlling the positioning of said tool; and a locking mechanism for fixing the position of the tool at a selected position; said locking mechanism including a ball and socket arrangement disposed about said proximal bendable member and a locking member for locking said ball and socket arrangement and having locked and unlocked states; said control handle having a proximal end and a distal end; said ball and socket arrangement including an annular member integral with the distal end of the control handle, having an outer surface for support of the locking member thereabout and having an inner surface defining a spherical shaped socket; said ball and socket arrangement further including a hollow ball member having an internal hollow chamber and an outer spherical shaped surface that mates with the spherical shaped socket; said hollow ball member supported within said socket and constructed and arranged to contact the proximal bendable member with at least a portion of the proximal bendable member disposed in the internal hollow chamber of the hollow ball member.