Patent ID: 7950560

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a housing; an endoscopic portion extending distally from the housing and defining a first longitudinal axis; a drive gear disposed at least partially within the housing, the drive gear rotatable about a drive gear axis extending therethrough and being selectively movable along the drive gear axis; a drive motor disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and being configured to rotate the drive gear; a shift motor disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and being configured to move the drive gear along the drive gear axis; an end effector disposed adjacent a distal portion of the endoscopic portion; and an actuator gear disposed at least partially within the housing and being disposed in mechanical cooperation with the end effector, whereby rotation of the actuator gear causes movement of at least one jaw member towards another jaw member, wherein the drive gear is movable to a position along the drive gear axis to matingly engage the actuator gear.