Patent ID: 7887530

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a housing; an endoscopic portion extending distally from the housing and defining a 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 including a drive motor shaft extending distally therefrom, the drive motor shaft being mechanically engaged 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 in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and being adjacent a distal portion of the endoscopic portion; and a shift sensor associated with the shift motor and arranged to determine the position of the drive gear; wherein the shift motor is configured to move the drive motor along the drive gear axis, and wherein the shift sensor is arranged to determine the longitudinal position of the drive motor.