JP2002103269A - Simple humanoid hand - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a humanoid hand with a simple structure that is lightweight and easy to operate, and is suitable for a robot or a prosthetic hand such as a physically handicapped person. SOLUTION: The humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention has a plurality of finger mechanisms 10 rotatably connected to each other when a traction force is applied in one direction, thereby turning into a curved gripping shape. , 20, 30, 40, and a thumb mechanism 50 that rotates toward the finger mechanism when a traction force is applied in one direction.
And a finger drive mechanism 80 that applies a traction force to each finger mechanism and applies a traction force to the thumb mechanism 50 when an operation traction force is applied in one direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humanoid hand having a simple structure, which is lightweight and easy to operate, and is suitable for a robot or a prosthetic hand such as a physically handicapped person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Humanoid hands are used for robots and artificial hands, and the structure and operation of human hands are extremely complicated. It is necessary to obtain information from sensors and the like, and the control system is extremely complicated.

In particular, a humanoid hand for a prosthetic hand is, for example,
Even if only one object is grasped, multiple actuators must be operated by a complicated mechanism, and the weight must be heavy, which makes the operation of the wearer mounting it complicated and burdensome. I was

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a simple structure that is lightweight and easy to operate, and is suitable for a robot or a prosthetic hand such as a physically handicapped person. The purpose is to provide a hand.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention, when a traction force is applied in one direction, a plurality of finger plates rotatably connected to each other are turned into a curved grip shape. A plurality of finger mechanisms, a thumb mechanism that pivots toward the finger mechanism when a traction force is applied in one direction, and the traction force is applied to the plurality of respective finger mechanisms when an operation traction force is applied in one direction; A finger drive mechanism for applying the traction force to the thumb mechanism.

Further, the finger mechanism sequentially applies a rotating force to the plurality of finger plates rotatably connected to each other when the traction force is applied.

The finger drive mechanism applies traction force to the plurality of finger mechanisms through respective paths, and continues to follow the other finger mechanisms even if one of the plurality of finger mechanisms completes the gripping operation. We decided to give traction.

The thumb mechanism may rotate toward the finger mechanism with a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the tip end of the finger when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism.

Further, the finger mechanism or the thumb mechanism has a mechanism for returning to the original position when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism and the traction force is reduced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a middle finger mechanism 10 as a representative of a finger mechanism used for a simple humanoid hand according to the present invention.

The middle finger mechanism 10 constitutes a part of a palm mechanism 60 (see FIG. 3), and has one end rotatably attached to a distal end of a palm rod 61 corresponding to a metacarpal bone. 11, a finger plate 12 that is rotatably attached at one end to the other end of the finger plate 11 and corresponds to a middle phalanx;
One end is rotatably attached to the other end of the finger plate 12, and a finger plate 13 corresponding to a distal phalanx is continuously provided.

Further, the middle finger mechanism 10 has a triangular rotating plate 14 rotatably attached at the center thereof to the tip of a palm rod 61, one end rotatably attached to one end of the rotating plate 14, and the other end. Is rotatably attached to the end of the finger plate 12 on the finger plate 11 side, and one end is rotatably attached to the end of the finger plate 11 on the finger plate 12 side and the other end is the finger plate 13.
And a drive rod 16 rotatably attached to the end on the finger plate 12 side.

A driving rod 84a is rotatably attached to the other end of the rotating plate 14, and the driving rod 84a
Is pulled in the direction of arrow P1, the rotary plate 14 rotates in the direction of arrow K1, and the drive rod 15 is driven in the direction of arrow K2. By driving the drive rod 15, the finger plate 12 is driven in the direction of the arrow K3 to give a turning force, and the finger plate 11 is also given a turning force as shown by the arrow K4. Driving force is given in the direction shown.

Further, by pulling the drive rod 84a in the direction of arrow P1, the finger plate 11 and the finger plate 1 are moved.
2 and the finger plate 13 can be rotated to form the middle finger mechanism 10 into a curved shape.

The spring 17A has a center portion 17a and one end 17c attached to the finger plate 11, the other end 17b attached to the palm rod 61, and a spring force applied to the finger plate 11 in the direction opposite to the arrow K4. Is given.

The spring 17B has a center portion 17d and one end portion 17e attached to the finger plate 11, the other end portion 17f attached to the finger plate 12, and the spring force of the finger plate 12 in the direction opposite to the arrow K3. Is given.

The spring 17C has a center portion 17g and one end portion 17i attached to the finger plate 13, the other end portion 17h attached to the finger plate 12, and applies a spring force to the finger plate 13 in the direction opposite to the arrow K5. Is given.

The return mechanism 17 comprises a spring 17A, a spring 17B and a spring 17C.
When the middle finger mechanism 10 is rotated, a return force to the original position is applied.

However, the return mechanism 17 includes the spring 1
It is not limited to 7A, spring 17B and spring 17C, but may be configured by one or a plurality of springs.

FIG. 2 shows the middle finger mechanism 10 when the sphere B is gripped.
FIG. 2 (A) shows a side view at the start of gripping, FIG. 2 (B) shows a side view of a finger plate 11 in contact with and holding a sphere B at the center, and FIG. FIG. 4 shows a side view in which a sphere B is brought into contact with and gripped by a distal end portion.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the driving rod 84
When a is pulled in the direction of the arrow P1, the rotating plate 14 rotates in the direction of the arrow K1, and a driving force is applied to the finger plate 12 by the driving rod 15 and also to the finger plate 11, whereby the finger plate 11 is rotated. 11 is a finger plate 12
The rotation starts prior to the rotation of.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the finger plate 11
When the finger rotates and comes into contact with the sphere B, the rotation of the finger plate 11 stops, and the finger plates 12 and 13 continue to rotate, and the finger plate 11, the finger plate 12, and the finger plate 13 are held in a curved shape. Can be shaped.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the sphere B is brought into contact with the tip of the finger plate 11 at the start of gripping, and the finger plate 11 and the finger plate 1 are held at the tip of the finger plate 11.
2 and the finger plate 13 can be formed into a curved grip shape.

FIG. 3 shows an overall skeleton diagram of a simple humanoid hand according to the present invention, and shows a palm mechanism 60 and a middle finger mechanism 1.
0, an assembly diagram of a little finger mechanism 20, a ring finger mechanism 30, a forefinger mechanism 40, and a thumb mechanism 50 are shown.

The mechanism of the little finger mechanism 20, the ring finger mechanism 30, and the index finger mechanism 40 is the same as that of the middle finger mechanism 10 described in detail in FIG.
Since the configuration is the same as described above, detailed description is omitted.

The palm mechanism 60 includes a universal joint 6
5, 66, 67, 68, respectively, palm rods 61, 6
2, 63 and 64 are connected to the palm substrate 69. A joint rod 71 is attached between the palm rod 62 and the palm rod 63 via joints provided at both ends thereof.
3 and a palm rod 61, a joint rod 72 is attached via joints provided at both ends thereof.
A joint rod 73 is mounted between the and the palm rod 64 via joints provided at both ends thereof.

The thumb mechanism 50 has a finger rod 51, a finger rod 52, and a finger rod 53 continuously attached to a universal joint 54 provided on a palm substrate 69, and a connecting rod 57 fixed to a palm rod 64. A joint rod 55 is attached between the provided universal joint 56 and the finger rod 51, and can be rotated inward in the whole like a human thumb. When the thumb mechanism 50 rotates inward, the predetermined tilt angle θ with respect to the tip end of the finger
(Preferably around 6.5 degrees) and rotate toward the finger mechanism.

The thumb mechanism 50 includes a connecting rod 57
A spring (not shown) similar to the spring 17A shown in FIG. 1 may be attached to the universal joint 56 and the joint rod 55 to make the thumb mechanism 50 a return mechanism.

The thumb mechanism 50 has the same configuration as that of the middle finger mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 1, and may have a curved gripping shape when performing a gripping operation.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the spring joint 74. The spring joint 74 is used in place of the joint rods 71, 72, 73 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the spring joint 74 is used by inserting it into, for example, the palm rods 61, 62, 63, and is constituted by a spring. Therefore, the spring joint 74 has a simple structure and has a restoring force to the original position. can do.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a finger driving mechanism 80 according to the present invention.

The driving rod 84a can be driven in the direction of arrow P1 to drive the middle finger mechanism 10 shown in FIG. 1 to cause the middle finger mechanism 10 to perform a gripping operation. Similarly, the driving rods 83a and 83b And drive rod 8
4b also shows the little finger mechanism 20 and the ring finger mechanism 30 shown in FIG.
And the index finger mechanism 40 can perform a gripping operation.

When an operating traction force P is applied to the drive rod 81a, the link plate 81 is pulled, and the link plate 81 is driven by the link plate 82 via the drive rod 81b.
, And at the same time, a rotating plate 85 rotatably mounted on the palm substrate 69 (see FIG. 3) is supplied with rotational power in the direction indicated by the arrow P0.

The link plate 82 includes a drive rod 81b.
The link plate 83 and the link plate 84 are towed via the drive rods 82a and 82b by the pulling force. The link plate 83 pulls the drive rod 83a and the drive rod 83b in the directions of arrows P2 and P3 by the pulling force of the drive rod 82a, and at the same time, the link plate 84 drives the drive rod 84a and the drive rod 84a by the pulling force of the drive rod 82b. The rod 84b is pulled in the directions of the arrows P1 and P4, respectively.

The rotating plate 85 is provided with the driving rod 8.
The thumb mechanism 50 can be rotated inward as a whole as shown by the arrow P5 through the drive rod 85a by the turning power given in the direction shown by the arrow P0 by 1c.

Therefore, the finger driving mechanism 80 is operated by the single operation pulling force P from one direction, so that the middle finger mechanism 10 and the little finger mechanism 2
0, ring finger mechanism 30, index finger mechanism 40, and thumb mechanism 5
0 can be provided with traction on each individual path.

For example, when the sphere is gripped, the operation pulling force P is applied to the drive rod 81a, the finger drive mechanism 80 starts driving, and when the little finger mechanism 20 comes into contact with an object, the gripping operation is started, and then the ring finger mechanism 30 is also moved. As long as the operation traction force P continues to be applied to the drive rod 81a, all of the finger mechanisms contact the object and operate cooperatively until the gripping operation is completed.

Further, even if a certain finger mechanism is displaced due to a sudden event such as hitting something, and the gripping force is weakened, the finger driving mechanism 80 can work to maintain the traction force evenly and to maintain the balance. As a result, the gripping force of each finger mechanism is equalized again, and the gripping of the object is continued. After the gripping operation, the finger mechanism can be returned to the original position by the return mechanism 17.

The palm rods 61, 62, 6 shown in FIG.
3, 64, middle finger mechanism 10, little finger mechanism 20, ring finger mechanism 3
A universal joint is used for connection with each of the zero and the index finger mechanism 40, and when performing a gripping operation, each finger mechanism is bent so as to be drawn toward the center of the palm mechanism 60 to equalize the gripping force. This can be performed in the same way as when a person's hand grips an object and narrows down to the center of the hand.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of a humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the little finger mechanism 20 and the ring finger mechanism 30 come into contact with an object to be gripped, the finger mechanism 20 and the ring finger mechanism 30 operate so as to be drawn into the palm mechanism 60 (see FIG. 3) as shown by the arrow Q. As a result, not only the five-finger finger mechanism but also the palm mechanism 60 adjusts the shape of the object when gripping and comes into close contact with the object, so that an operation of making contact with a wider area becomes possible.
This is the same operation as the operation performed by a human for stable gripping, and is an important function for safely and stably gripping an object.

Further, the gripping operation is not limited to gripping a sphere, and wrapping gripping and side gripping can be easily performed.

As described above, the humanoid hand having the simple structure of the present invention easily performs an operation similar to a human hand operation.
And it can be made lightweight.

[0045]

According to the humanoid hand having a simple structure of the present invention, a plurality of finger mechanisms rotatably connected to each other when a traction force is applied in one direction turn into a curved gripping shape. And a thumb mechanism that pivots toward the finger mechanism when a traction force is applied in one direction, and applies the traction force to the plurality of finger mechanisms when the operation traction force is applied in one direction, and applies the traction force to the thumb mechanism. Since it is configured with the finger drive mechanism that provides the traction force, it is lightweight and easy to operate, and can have a simple structure suitable for a robot or a prosthetic hand such as a physically handicapped person.

Further, the finger mechanism is configured to sequentially apply a rotating force to the plurality of finger plates rotatably connected to each other when the traction force is applied, so that the gripping operation can be accurately performed with a lightweight structure. it can.

Further, the finger drive mechanism applies traction force applied to the plurality of finger mechanisms through individual paths, and continues to follow the other finger mechanisms even if one of the plurality of finger mechanisms completes the gripping operation. Since the traction force is applied, all of the finger mechanisms contact the object and can operate cooperatively until the gripping operation is completed, and the gripping operation can be accurately and reliably performed with a lightweight structure.

Further, the thumb mechanism rotates to the finger mechanism side with a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the tip end of the finger when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism, so that the light weight structure is achieved. Thus, the gripping operation can be performed accurately.

Further, since the finger mechanism or the thumb mechanism has a mechanism for returning to the original position when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism and the traction force is reduced, the finger mechanism or the thumb mechanism can perform the return operation with a simple structure. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a middle finger mechanism as a representative of a finger mechanism used for a humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of a middle finger mechanism when grasping a sphere.
2 (A) shows a side view at the start of gripping, FIG. 2 (B) shows a side view of contacting and holding a sphere at the center of the finger plate, and FIG. 2 (C) shows a side view at the tip of the finger plate. The side view which abuts and holds a sphere is shown.

FIG. 3 is an overall skeleton diagram of a humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention, and shows an assembly diagram of a palm mechanism, a middle finger mechanism, a little finger mechanism, a ring finger mechanism, a forefinger mechanism, and a thumb mechanism.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a finger drive mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation state of a humanoid hand having a simple structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of the spring joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 middle finger mechanism 11, 12, 13 finger plate 14 rotating plate 15, 16 drive rod 17 return mechanism 17A, 17B, 17C spring 20 little finger mechanism 30 ring finger mechanism 40 index finger mechanism 50 thumb mechanism 50 palm mechanism 60 palm mechanism 61, 62, 63 , 64 palm rod 69 palm substrate 80 finger drive mechanism 82a, 82b, 84a, 84b drive rod

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued from the front page (72) Inventor Shigeki Toyama 2-24-16 Nakamachi, Koganei-shi, Tokyo Inside the Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (72) Inventor Naoki Fukaya 4-17-13, Kahama, Adachi-ku, Tokyo (72) Invention Person Hiroshi Wada 3rd, 903, Mayor of Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term within Giken Co., Ltd. 3C007 DS01 ES00 ES09 EU11 EU20 3F061 AA01 BA00 BA09 BC15 BC19 4C097 AA12 BB02 BB05 CC14 CC15 CC18 MM02 MM09

Claims (5)

[Claims] A plurality of finger mechanisms rotatably connected to each other when a traction force is applied in one direction, and a plurality of finger mechanisms that turn into a curved gripping shape; A thumb mechanism that rotates to the finger mechanism side, and a finger drive mechanism that applies the traction force to the plurality of finger mechanisms and applies the traction force to the thumb mechanism when an operation traction force is applied in one direction. A simple humanoid hand characterized by the following. 2. The humanoid with a simple structure according to claim 1, wherein the finger mechanism sequentially applies a turning force to the plurality of finger plates rotatably connected to each other when the traction force is applied. hand. 3. The finger drive mechanism applies a traction force to each of the plurality of finger mechanisms on a separate path, and continues to follow the other finger mechanisms even if any of the plurality of finger mechanisms completes the gripping operation. 2. A traction force is applied.
Or a simple humanoid hand according to claim 2. 4. The thumb mechanism according to claim 1, wherein when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism, the thumb mechanism rotates toward the finger mechanism with a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the tip end of the finger. Item 2. A simple humanoid hand according to item 1. 5. The finger mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the finger mechanism or the thumb mechanism has a mechanism for returning to the original position when the traction force is applied by the finger drive mechanism and the traction force is reduced. A simple humanoid hand according to any one of the preceding claims.