Patent ID: 7134587

Claim:
A surgical instrument for cutting and applying a plurality of surgical fasteners in the same direction to body tissue, the surgical instrument comprising: a frame having a proximal end and a distal end, with a handle positioned at the proximal end and an end effector positioned at the distal end; the end effector being shaped and dimensioned for supporting a selectively removable cartridge housing and an anvil, the cartridge housing and anvil being relatively movable between a first spaced apart position and a second position in close approximation with one another, and the cartridge housing includes a knife structure adapted for cutting tissue by moving between the cartridge housing and the anvil; a firing mechanism is associated with the end effector and the cartridge housing for selective actuation of the knife structure and surgical fasteners for movement in the same direction; the knife structure includes a rearwardly facing coupling member shaped and dimensioned for engaging a distal end of the firing mechanism as the cartridge housing is loaded into the end effector of the surgical instrument and wherein the firing mechanism includes an upwardly facing knife retraction hook shaped and dimensioned to engage the coupling member of the knife structure as the cartridge housing is loaded within the end effector.