US Patent 10231794 Surgical stapling instruments with rotatable staple deployment arrangements

A surgical instrument is disclosed. The surgical instrument comprises an actuation system for selectively generating a plurality of rotary motions, and an end effector operably coupled to the actuation system. The end effector comprises a fastener cartridge comprising a plurality of fasteners arranged in at least two spaced fastener lines, a drive shaft configured to rotate in response to the rotary motions, a plurality of fastener deploying surfaces, and an actuation member operably interfacing with the drive shaft. The actuation member is translated axially within the fastener cartridge between a starting position and an ending position when the drive shaft is rotated. The fastener deploying surfaces are rotated in response to the actuation member being translated from the starting position to the ending position. The fasteners are sequentially ejected as the actuation member is driven from the starting position to the ending position.