US Patent 8250766 Safety release for direct drive of rotary knife

A rotary knife assembly includes a rotary knife with a spinning blade, a motor operable to power the rotary knife, a flexible drive cable with a proximal end drivingly connected to the knife to transmit rotational power to the blade while being flexed along the length of the cable, and a safety release drivingly connected to a distal end of the cable. The safety release is drivingly coupled to the motor and is operable to transmit rotational power from the motor to the drive cable and thereby the rotary knife. The safety release includes input and output members releasably drivingly engaged with one another. The safety release is operable to drivingly disengage the members.