Patent ID: 7879033

Claim:
An electrosurgical pencil, comprising: an elongated housing; at least one type of electrocautery end effector removably supportable within the housing and extending distally from the housing, the electrocautery end effector being connected to a source of electrosurgical energy adapted for use with multiple types of electrocautery end effectors that are configured to operate within a corresponding range setting of energy; a plurality of activation switches supported on the housing for controlling the amount of electrosurgical energy transmitted to the at least one electrocautery end effector; an intensity controller supported on the housing and configured to adjust power parameters associated with the transmitted electrosurgical energy; and a single selector independently operable from each of the plurality of activation switches and the intensity controller and supported on the housing for selecting a range setting of energy to be delivered from the source of electrosurgical energy to the at least one type of electrocautery end effector, wherein the selector is actuatable to select one of a plurality of range settings of energy corresponding to a selected one of the multiple types of electrocautery end effectors connected to the housing, wherein the selector is configured such that when the selector is pressed, the selector cycles through the plurality of range settings of energy until an appropriate range setting is achieved for the at least one type of electrocautery end effector such that the at least one type of electrocautery end effector is operable within that range setting of energy associated therewith.