US Patent Issued to Cilag GmbH International on July 1 for "Interconnected joint segments forming drive tube for stapling assembly" (Ohio Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,343,013, issued on July 1, was assigned to Cilag GmbH International (Zug, Switzerland).

"Interconnected joint segments forming drive tube for stapling assembly" was invented by Frederick E. Shelton IV (Hillsboro, Ohio), Jeffrey S. Swayze (West Chester, Ohio), Jerome R. Morgan (Cincinnati), Chester O. Baxter III (Loveland, Ohio) and John L. Stammen (Cincinnati).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Surgical end effectors and fastener cartridges having firing lockout arrangements for preventing or limit a firing stroke when a cartridge has not been operably installed in the end effector or a spent cartridge has not been replaced."

The patent was f...