Patent ID: 8292158

Claim:
A surgical stapling instrument, comprising: a handle assembly including a movable handle; a firing rod disposed in mechanical cooperation with the movable handle; an endoscopic portion extending distally from the handle assembly; a loading unit being mechanically engageable with the endoscopic portion, the loading unit including a proximal body portion defining a longitudinal axis and a tool assembly; and a knife assembly movably disposed at least partially within the proximal body portion of the loading unit, the knife assembly including a proximal end positioned to engage the firing rod and having a first arm and a second arm, the first arm being biased towards the longitudinal axis via a biasing force, the biasing force being selected to allow the first arm to deflect when the firing rod is advanced, the first arm and the second arm of the knife assembly being configured to engage the firing rod as the surgical stapling instrument is being actuated.