Articulation capstan tension retainment using clutch mechanism

• Main Authors: Johnson, Eric N, Fischer, Austin Michael, Saulenas, William George
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 09.07.2024
• Subjects: DIAGNOSIS; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; IDENTIFICATION; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; SURGERY

A surgical tool includes a drive housing having an elongate shaft extending therefrom and an end effector arranged at a distal end of the shaft, a drive input rotatably mounted to the drive housing and having an input shaft extending therefrom, and upper and lower capstans mounted to the input shaft. First and second drive cables are coupled to the upper and lower capstans, respectively, and extend to the end effector, and a clutch feature is arranged to mate the upper capstan to the lower capstan and is movable between an engaged position, where rotation of the input shaft in either angular direction correspondingly rotates the upper and lower capstans in the same angular direction, and a disengaged position, where the upper and lower capstans are rotatable independent of each other in at least one angular direction.