Ratchet release mechanism for hand held instruments

Claim 1

A surgical instrument for grasping and clamping tissue comprising: a handle body assembly; an elongated shaft having a proximal end and a distal end and connected to said handle body assembly at the proximal end of said shaft; an end effector having at least one moveable member located at the distal end of said shaft; an actuation member having a proximal end, said actuation member moveable toward and away from said handle body assembly and operatively connected to said end effector for actuating movement of said at least one moveable member; a locking tab on said handle body assembly and having a hole therethrough, said locking tab being moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position; a locking rod having a proximal end and a distal end, said locking rod being fixed to said actuation member at the proximal end of said actuation member, wherein at least the distal end of said locking rod is moveably engaged with said locking tab through said hole when said locking tab is in the unlocked position so as to allow movement of said actuation member towards and away from said handle body assembly, and said locking rod is fixed relative to said locking tab when said locking tab is in the locked position so as to prevent movement of said actuation member away from said handle body assembly; and a release trigger having an elongated trigger member and operably coupled to said locking tab, said release trigger moveable in and extending from said handle body assembly from a first position spaced away from said handle body to a second position adjacent to said handle body, said release trigger being biased toward the first position, and said release trigger being reciprocable when initially squeezed toward said handle body assembly from the first position to the second position and subsequently released from the second position back to the first position, wherein consecutive reciprocations of said release trigger alternates said locking tab between said locked position and said unlocked position and said release trigger has a rib extending longitudinally on said trigger member for preventing said release trigger from rotating in said handle body assembly about said trigger member.