US 2006/0224249 A1Published application

Prosthetic hand having a conformal, compliant grip and opposable, functional thumb

OwnerRex Winfreyinventor

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Abstract

An anthropomorphic artificial hand having a mechanical system that allows for the digits to be compliant to pressure that tends to flex the digits, and provides for the digits to be self biasing to conform to the shape of the object being grasped. The hand comprises one to four fingers, with the fingers having up to three joints each. The hand may also comprise a thumb that can be rotated into and out of opposition of the fingers. The joints of the thumb are also self biasing to allow conformance to the object being grasped. The hand is of the voluntary closing operation, with all digits being self extending. This allows the hand to use two cables to operate if body powered (one for the fingers, one for the thumb). The hand may also be electronically powered using two channels for operating the fingers and thumb simultaneously.

Claims14

Dependent claims

An anthropomorphic prosthetic hand or robotic manipulator comprising:

(a) a base section forming the major frame, representing the carpal-carpal-metacarpal section of the human hand, onto, or into, which other components are mounted;
(b) four individual fingers attached to said frame, each having three joints allowing full, but not hyper-extension, individual movement of all joints;
(c) one thumb attached to said frame having three joints, one of which represents the metacarpal-carpal joint and allows the thumb to rotate into and out of opposition of said fingers, with all joints allowing full, but not hyper-extension, individual movement;
(d) a mounting point, which complies with any one of the standard types in use at the time of manufacture, attached to said frame, intended for the purpose of attaching said hand to the arm, or the socket of the prosthetic system allowing donning of the device by the amputee;
(e) one or more actuation system(s) mounted within said frame and extending into said digits, that causes said fingers to flex, or said thumb to rotate into opposition and flex, with one system actuating said four fingers, a separate system actuating said thumb such that said fingers and thumb can be operated separately, yet simultaneously, these actuation systems providing a passive, self biasing, conformal grip for said digits, which also provides for movement of the digits in the direction of flexure compliant to any external force without such movement causing any damage or malfunction of said digits, or actuation systems, with the power source for the actuation systems not contained within said hand;
(f) the means to provide operating power from said external source to within said frame of said hand;
(g) a system to return the digits to the extended position mounted on the hand, allowing convenient replacement when worn.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.