ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,491,045, issued on Dec. 9, was assigned to Covidien LP (Mansfield, Mass.).
"Hybrid ball joint for articulation shaft of a surgical instrument" was invented by Zachary S. Heiliger (Nederland, Colo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An articulating surgical instrument includes a housing having a shaft extending therefrom, the shaft having a proximal segment and a distal segment separated by an articulation section configured to articulate the distal segment relative to the proximal segment upon actuation thereof. The articulating section includes: a ball joint having a plurality of opposing spherical segments, each adjacent pair of spherical s...