US 12,402,966 B2
End of life indicators for robotic surgical instruments
Austin Wise, Cincinnati, OH (US); John A. Hibner, Mason, OH (US); Shinnosuke Inoue, Daly City, CA (US); and Tom Remm, Cincinnati, OH (US)
Assigned to Cilag GmbH International, Zug (CH)
Filed by Cilag GmbH International, Zug (CH)
Filed on Mar. 27, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/190,489.
Prior Publication US 2024/0325100 A1, Oct. 3, 2024
Int. Cl. A61B 34/37 (2016.01); A61B 34/00 (2016.01); A61B 34/30 (2016.01)
CPC A61B 34/37 (2016.02) [A61B 34/70 (2016.02); A61B 2034/301 (2016.02); A61B 2034/305 (2016.02)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A surgical tool, comprising:
a drive housing defining an indicator aperture;
a drive input rotatably coupled to a bottom of the drive housing; and
an indicator assembly arranged within the drive housing and actuatable to provide visual indication that the surgical tool has exhausted its useful life, the indicator assembly including:
a capstan assembly operatively coupled to the drive input such that rotation of the drive input correspondingly rotates the capstan assembly;
an indicator mount secured to the drive housing; and
an indicator shaft extending from the indicator mount along a longitudinal axis coaxially aligned with the indicator aperture,
wherein the capstan assembly is rotated with the drive input to actuate the indicator assembly between a non-activated state, where the indicator shaft is recessed into the indicator aperture, and an activated state, where the indicator shaft extends out of the drive housing via the indicator aperture to provide the visual indication.