A surgical instrument with improved end-effector gripping force. The instrument comprises a shaft, which may be inserted into a body of a patient. The articulated end-effector is mounted on the distal extremity of the instrument shaft and comprises a plurality of links interconnected by a plurality of joints, whose movements are remotely actuated by the surgeon's hands. This remote actuation is accomplished through mechanical transmission, mainly along flexible elements, which are able to deliver motion from a set of actuation elements, placed at a proximal extremity of the shaft, to the instrument's articulated end-effector. The articulated end-effector further comprises one or more cam-and-follower mechanisms that are able to amplify the force transmitted by the flexible elements so that the actuation force at the instrument jaws is maximized and the tension on the transmission elements minimized, thus increasing the fatigue resistance and life of the instrument.

A surgical instrument that includes a surgical end effector that has a first jaw and a second jaw that is pivotally attached to the first jaw for pivotal travel between a fully open position and a fully closed position by an axially movable closure member. The instrument further includes an axially movably firing member that has at least one jaw engagement feature that is configured to apply additional closure motions to the second jaw as the axially movable firing member is moved from a proximal most position to a distalmost position within the first end effector jaw. When the closure member is in a starting position and the axially movable firing member is in the proximal most position, a distal end of the closure member is distal to a distal end of the at least one jaw engagement feature.

A method for determining the position of a rotatable jaw of an attachment relative to a non-rotatable jaw is disclosed. The method comprises assembling the attachment to a surgical robot, rotating a first rotatable driver of the robot to align the first driver with a first rotatable drive of the attachment, and rotating a second rotatable driver of the robot to align the second driver with a second rotatable drive of the attachment. The method further comprises evaluating the amount of rotation required to align the first driver with the first drive and the amount of rotation required to align the second driver with the second drive, calculating a difference between the amount of rotation of the first driver and the amount of the rotation of the second driver, and determining the position of the rotatable jaw relative to the non-rotatable jaw based on the calculated difference.

A surgical tool assembly that has a first jaw and a second jaw that is movable relative to the first jaw. A firing member assembly is configured to move distally from a starting position. The firing member assembly includes a first firing element and a second firing element that is configured to move between a locked position wherein the second firing element is in locking engagement with a lockout portion of the first jaw to prevent the firing member assembly from moving distally from the starting position upon application of a firing motion thereto and an unlocked position. The firing member assembly is configured to prevent an unlocking load from being applied to an attachment portion of the second firing element upon application of the firing motion thereto when the second firing element is in the locked position.

Surgical devices and methods are provided that utilize an end effector biased to a closed position when an actuator of the device is biased in an uncompressed configuration. End effectors according to the present disclosure can include first and second jaws that can be moved from the biased closed position to an open position by compressing the actuator from the uncompressed configuration and towards a compressed configuration. Various force assemblies and related components are provided that allow the device to achieve two end effector actuation profiles: (1) moving from a closed position and to an open position; and (2) moving from a closed position, to an open position, and back to the closed position. Various structures and methods for operating such devices during a surgical procedure are also provided.

A surgical instrument that includes a first jaw and a second jaw that is coupled to the first jaw for selective pivotal travel relative thereto between a fully open position and a fully closed position. An axially movable closure member is selectively axially movable in a closure direction to move the second jaw from the fully open position to the fully closed position and in an axial opening direction to move the second jaw from the fully closed position to the fully open position. The axially movable closure member includes a first jaw opening feature that is configured to apply a first jaw opening motion to the second jaw and a second jaw opening feature is axially spaced from the first jaw opening feature and is configured to apply a second jaw opening motion to the second jaw.

A surgical tool assembly that has a first jaw and a second jaw that is movable relative to the first jaw. A firing member assembly is configured to move distally from a starting position. The firing member assembly includes a first firing element and a second firing element that is configured to move between a locked position wherein the second firing element is in locking engagement with a lockout portion of the first jaw to prevent the firing member assembly from moving distally from the starting position upon application of a firing motion thereto and an unlocked position. The firing member assembly is configured to prevent an unlocking load from being applied to an attachment portion of the second firing element upon application of the firing motion thereto when the second firing element is in the locked position.

Surgical instruments are disclosed which comprise a firing assembly configured to apply a firing force to an end effector. The surgical instruments further comprise a firing force lockout configured to stop and/or prevent a firing stroke of the firing assembly.

A surgical staple cartridge for use with a surgical end effector that includes a lock member that is movable between a locked configuration wherein a firing member is prevented from axial travel through the surgical end effector and an unlocked configuration wherein the firing member is axially advanceable. The staple cartridge includes a cartridge body that supports a cam assembly therein that is movable between a starting position and an ending position. The cam assembly defines a central axis and includes at least one unlocking feature that is laterally offset from the central axis and is configured to engage the lock member when the cartridge body is seated within the end effector and the cam assembly is in said starting position to thereby move the lock member to the unlocked configuration.

A robotic surgical system includes a pair of movable members and a pair of jaw members. The movable members include drive and guide pins that are received within holes and slots defined by the jaw members. The jaw members are movable relative to one another in response to movement of the movable members.