SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH JAWS CONSTRAINED TO PIVOT ABOUT AN AXIS UPON CONTACT WITH A CLOSURE MEMBER THAT IS PARKED IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE PIVOT AXIS

摘要

A surgical instrument that includes an elongate shaft assembly that defines a shaft axis and includes a first jaw attached thereto. A second jaw is coupled to the first jaw for selective pivotal travel relative thereto between a fully open position and a fully closed position about a fixed jaw pivot axis that is transverse to the shaft axis and extends therethrough. The elongate shaft assembly includes a closure member that is axially movable between a starting position corresponding to the fully open position and an ending position corresponding to the fully closed position. When the closure member is in the starting position, a distal end thereof is located on a plane that is spaced distally from the jaw pivot axis a distance that measured along the shaft axis that is no more than 0.090 inches.