Patent ID: 7364060

Claim:
A surgical stapling device comprising: a handle assembly including an approximation knob and a firing trigger; an elongated body portion extending distally from the handle assembly; a head portion including an anvil assembly and a shell assembly, the shell assembly housing a plurality of staples and the anvil assembly including an anvil head and an anvil center rod, the anvil head being pivotally secured to the anvil center rod about a pivot axis and being movable between an operative position and a tilted position; an anvil retainer assembly configured to releasably engage the anvil assembly, the anvil retainer assembly including a locking member which is movable from a first position in which the anvil head is moved to or retained in the operative position to a second position in which the anvil head is able to pivot from the operative position to the tilted position; wherein the anvil retainer assembly includes a body portion defining a longitudinal bore having an open distal end and a trocar, the trocar extending from the open distal end of the body portion and forming the locking member, the trocar being movable along the longitudinal bore between an advanced position and a retracted position, the advanced position defining the first position of the locking member and the retracted position defining the second position of the locking member; and wherein the trocar is urged to the retracted position by a trocar biasing member.