JP2001104349A - Thumb shape adjustable artificial hand - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thumb shape adjustable artificial hand of a simple and inexpensive arrangement. SOLUTION: The thumb shape adjustable artificial hand includes a plurality of fingers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 including a thumb, with the fingers 3, 4, 5, 6 other than the thumb 2 being arranged to project from the end portion of a metacarpal part 1, and the thumb 2 having thumb tips 21, 22 and a base 15 for oscillatably supporting the thumb tips and disposed on a side of the metacarpal part. The artificial hand has a supporting shaft 16 provided on the metacarpal part to extend approximately parallel to a straight line connecting the wrist part of the metacarpal part to the end portion, for rotatably supporting the base part between a side position on the side of the metacarpal part and a palm side position, and also has a thumb drive means 8 for oscillating the thumb tips in the palm side position on the side of the metacarpal part, then rotating the base part toward the side position on the side of the metacarpal part, then rotating the base part to the palm side position on the side of the metacarpal part, and then oscillating the thumb tips at the palm side position on the side of the metacarpal part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a prosthetic hand capable of changing the shape of a thumb.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a movable finger for a prosthetic hand, a movable finger of an active artificial hand is generally known, and the movable finger is a base portion of several fingers each formed in a slightly bent fixed shape. To the prosthetic hand's back and palm, forming a swingable support, and connecting their fingers to link mechanisms provided inside the metacarpus, respectively, and connecting one end to the link mechanism. Turn the control lead made of the wire to the back of the prosthesis wearer and connect the other end of the control lead to the arm on the side opposite to the prosthesis wearing side,
By moving the arm, the control lead is pulled or loosened, and the several fingers are simultaneously rocked and bent or returned by the link mechanism at their bases.

[0003]

However, while the movement of the thumb is originally different from that of the other fingers and is complicated, the movable finger of the conventional active artificial hand described above requires a plurality of fingers including the thumb. Since only a simple operation of rocking and bending back can be performed only at the positions of the bases, it is difficult to appropriately perform a thumb operation such as grasping an object. Further, in the above-mentioned conventional active artificial hand, the control lead made of a wire must be attached to the back while the artificial hand is being worn, so that the back always feels strange.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a thumb-shaped variable prosthesis which advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems. Has multiple fingers, including the thumb,
A finger other than the thumb is disposed so as to protrude from the tip of the metacarpus, and the thumb has a fingertip and a base for swingably supporting the fingertip. In the prosthesis arranged at the middle hand, the base is provided on the middle hand so as to extend substantially parallel to a straight line connecting the wrist part and the tip part of the middle hand part, and the base part is located on the side of the middle hand part Then, the base part is moved to the middle hand position by swinging the fingertip at the position of the palm side to the side of the middle hand part and the support shaft rotatably supporting between the position of the hand and the palm side position. To the side of the side of the middle part, and to rotate the base to the position of the palm to the side of the middle part, followed by the position of the palm to the side of the middle part And a thumb driving means for swinging the fingertip portion.

[0005] The thumb-shaped variable-type artificial hand of the present invention comprises a plurality of fingers including a thumb, and fingers other than the thumb are arranged so as to protrude from the tip of the metacarpal portion.
A straight line that has a fingertip and a base that swingably supports the fingertip, is disposed on the side of the metacarpus, and has a support shaft that connects the wrist and the tip of the metacarpus. The thumb is provided on the middle hand so as to extend substantially in parallel with the thumb, and supports the base of the thumb rotatably between a side position and a palm position on the side of the middle hand. The driving means swings the fingertip at a position on the palm side, on the side of the middle hand, and then rotates the base of the thumb toward the side on the side of the middle hand. Then, after rotating the base to the position of the palm on the side of the middle hand, the fingertip is swung at the position of the palm on the side of the middle hand.

Therefore, according to the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of the present invention, the rotation of the base of the thumb by the thumb driving means causes
In the state where the base of the thumb is located at the side of the middle hand side, since the base of the thumb does not protrude to the palm side, for example,
An operation in which a person spreads his / her hand and presses a flat object such as paper can be performed. In the state where the base of the thumb is located at the palm side of the middle hand side, the fingertip of the thumb is
Since the palm part of the middle part and the other finger protruding from the middle part can be swung in the opening and closing direction, if the fingertip of the thumb is opened, the fingertip of the opened thumb is opened. , And a space can be provided between the middle palm and the other finger on the palm side. For this reason, for example, by arranging the object in the space and closing the fingertip of the thumb, an operation of grasping the object can be performed. That is, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the movement of the thumb and increase the versatility of the artificial hand. In addition, since the rotation of the base of the thumb and the swing of the fingertip are performed in a series of operations by a single thumb driving means, the thumb driving means can be made compact, and the thumb drive to the prosthesis can be performed. Mounting of the means can be facilitated.

It is to be noted that the finger-shaped variable artificial hand of the present invention has a base portion in which the thumb driving means is rotated around a support axis between a side position and a palm side of the middle hand side. At the same time as the base is turned to the palm side, and the fingertip is opened in the direction in which the fingertip is opened. Thumb urging means for urging in the direction to close the part, and when the base is located between the palm side position and the side position, the fingertip urged by the thumb urging means is restrained in a closed state And a fingertip swing restraining means.

With this configuration, the thumb urging means of the thumb driving means pivots the base around the support shaft between the side position and the palm side of the middle hand side. At the same time as the base, the base is pivotally moved to the palm side, and simultaneously the fingertip is opened in the opening direction. Is biased in the closing direction. And when the fingertip swing restraining means of the thumb drive means is located between the palm side position and the side position,
The fingertip urged by the thumb urging means is restrained in a closed state.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, with a simple configuration, the base portion is swung in the direction of closing the fingertip at the palm side of the middle hand portion, and then the base portion is moved to the middle hand portion. It is turned toward the side of the side, and the base is turned to the position on the palm of the side of the metacarpus. Thus, the fingertip can be swung in the opening direction.

According to the thumb-shaped variable artificial hand of the present invention, the thumb urging means urges the wire in at least one of the opening direction and the closing direction of the fingertip, and the thumb urging means is provided on the middle hand to urge the wire. The power transmission system can be made compact, so that the power transmission system inside the prosthesis can be built in and the weight of the prosthesis can be reduced. You can also plan.

Further, the thumb-shaped variable prosthesis according to the present invention is such that the actuator includes a female screw member connected to a wire, a male screw shaft screwed to the female screw member, and a motor for rotating the male screw shaft. In this case, the wire can be displaced with a relatively long stroke along the male screw shaft, so that the movement of the base of the thumb and the fingertip thereof can be sufficiently increased.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the thumb-shaped variable prosthesis according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the thumb driving means of this embodiment when viewed from the side, viewed from the palm side of the metacarpal part. FIGS. 4 to 7 are cutaway perspective views. FIGS. 4 to 7 are perspective views showing the operation state of the thumb of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of this embodiment. It is a perspective view showing an application example.

The variable thumb-shaped prosthesis of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a middle part 1 forming a palm part, a back part and a wrist part of a prosthesis, and a lateral side of the middle part (in FIG. 1) and the tip of the middle hand 1 (FIG. 1)
Thumb 2)
It has four movable fingers as a plurality of other fingers, that is, an index finger 3, a middle finger 4, a ring finger 5, and a little finger 6.

The middle hand portion 1 here comprises a sleeve 7 having a rectangular cylindrical cross section slightly curved so as to have a center of curvature on the palm side, a part of the thumb drive means 8 and a wrist swing drive means 9. And a wrist part 10. The four fingers 3, 4, 5, and 6 other than the thumb 2 are placed between the fingertip 11, the two finger intermediate members 12, and the palm and back of the palm in the sleeve 7 of the metacarpal part 1. And a base 13 that is elastically supported and arranged on the base member. The members 11, 12, and 13 are swingably supported via a joint shaft 14 and are attached to the respective bases 13 (not shown). An electric servomotor with a built-in speed reducer pulls the ends of wires (not shown) arranged in the fingers, and drives each of the four fingers independently to make them movable.

The thumb 2 here is a thumb base 15
The thumb base 15 has two arms 15a, 1
It is a substantially L-shaped member having 5b, and one arm 15a has
A support shaft 16 penetrates substantially parallel to the other arm portion 15b, and the support shaft 16 extends substantially parallel to a straight line connecting the wrist portion 10 of the metacarpal portion 1 and the distal end portion of the sleeve 7. In addition, it is fixed to a portion where the side of the wrist portion 10 of the middle hand portion 1 and the palm side are connected. This support shaft 16 allows the base for the thumb
Numeral 15 is supported so as to be rotatable between a position on the side of the palm and a position on the side of the middle hand 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, four pulleys 17, 1 are provided on the other arm 15b of the base 15 for the thumb.
8, 19, and 20 are arranged side by side at the tip portion and the intermediate portion of the other arm portion 15b, and are rotatably supported. The base end 22 of the fingertip 21 for the thumb is swingably supported via the joint shaft 14 at the distal end of the other arm 15b.

Further, the thumb 2 has a wrist portion 10 for driving the thumb base 15 and the thumb fingertip 21 as described above.
Is provided with a thumb drive means 8 provided with a part thereof. The thumb drive means 8 includes a fingertip swing restraining means 23 and a thumb urging means 24. Here, the fingertip swing restraining means 23 is provided on a sliding plate 25 protruding from the rear end of the base end 22 of the fingertip 21 for the thumb, and on the side of the middle hand, on the side of the middle hand. A swing restricting portion 26 having an arcuate surface that slides on the sliding plate 25 and a position adjacent to the thumb 2 of the palm of the metacarpal portion 1 to allow the sliding plate 25 to be fitted. Guide groove 27
It is composed of

Also, as shown in FIG.
Is the wrist portion 10 of the middle hand portion 1 substantially parallel to the palm portion.
A male screw shaft 28 rotatably supported by the metacarpal portion 1 so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction toward the distal end of the sleeve 7 (in FIG. 3, substantially in the horizontal direction). The female screw member 29 is screwed into the female screw member 29, and the female screw member 29 is slidably in contact with the rear end face 7 a of the sleeve 7 so that the rotation with respect to the sleeve 7 is regulated. It is moved linearly along axis 28. And
A gear set is provided at one end (the left end in FIG. 3) of the male screw shaft 28.
The shaft S on which one of the gears G1 of G1 and G2 is mounted and the shaft S on which the other gear G2 is mounted is a part of the thumb drive means 8 provided on the wrist portion 10 of the metacarpal part 1 described above. is there,
It is the motor shaft of the electric servo motor 30 (not shown in FIG. 3) with a built-in speed reducer shown in FIG. Therefore, the male screw shaft 28, the female screw member 29 and the servomotor 30 constitute the actuator A in this embodiment.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a male screw shaft 28 is provided on a rear end surface (a surface facing downward in FIG. 3) 7a of the sleeve 7.
The three pulleys 31, 32, 33 are rotatably supported on the side of the sleeve so as to be substantially parallel to the male screw shaft 28, and the pulley is located at a position adjacent to the thumb 2 on the rear end face 7a of the sleeve 7. 34 is rotatably supported. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a wire W1 for swinging the thumb tip 21 in the opening direction and rotating the thumb base 15 in the palm direction is fixed at one end to the female screw member 29. Figure 3
Then, the pulley 32 is wrapped from the upper left side to the upper right side, then is wound from the lower left side of the pulley 33 to the upper left side through the right side, and then from the lower side of the pulley 34 to the left side, It is wound three times so that it can be pulled out to the upper left side, and then it can be wound three times so that it can be pulled out from the lower side in front of the pulley 19 (the lower side in FIG. 3) through the other side, and then from the upper side of the pulley 20 The wire W1 is wound once so as to pass through the other side toward the upper fingertip, and the other end of the wire W1 is attached to the thumb fingertip 21.
Is fixed to the screw member 35 of the base end portion 22 of FIG.

Similarly, here, the fingertip portion for the thumb is used.
A wire W2 for swinging the closing direction of 21 and turning the thumb base 15 in the side direction is fixed at one end to the female screw member 29. In FIG. Then, it is wound so that it can be pulled out to the lower right side, then it can be wound so that it can be pulled out from the lower left side of the pulley 32 to the right side, then it can be wound up so that it can be pulled out from the lower side of the pulley 34 to the right side through the right side, and then It is wound three times from the lower side through the other side, wound around the upper side, and further wound under the pulley 18,
The other end of the wire W2 is also fixed to the screw member 35 described above. In this embodiment, the wire W1 and the wire W2 are composed of one wire, and as a result, are integrally connected at the position of the female screw member 29.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the wrist portion 10 of the middle hand portion 1 is provided on a cylindrical holder H for attaching the prosthetic arm to the arm of a person who does not have a hand. The wrist swing drive means 9 is provided on the wrist portion 10 and has a pinion G3 on the output shaft. It has a motor 38 and a fixed gear G4 fixed to the bracket 36 and engaged with the pinion G3 of the servo motor 38. The operation of the servo motor 38 allows the prosthetic hand to swing.

In the thumb-shaped variable artificial hand of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, when the thumb fingertip 22 is open, the slide plate 25 is fitted in the guide groove 27, so that the thumb base is provided.
The rotation of 15 is restrained, and in this state the servo motor 30
Is driven, the male screw shaft 28 is rotated via the gears G1 and G2 with the rotation of the shaft S (motor shaft) shown in FIG. 3, so that the female screw member 29 screwed to this rotates rightward in FIG. When the wire W2 moves, one end of the wire W2 is pulled along with the movement and is hung on the pulleys 31, 32, 34, 17, 18 and the other end of the wire W2 fixed to the screw member 35 is pulled. . Thereby, through the state shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 4, the fingertip 21 for the thumb rotates clockwise, and
In the direction toward the palm of the hand (in FIG. 3, the direction from the front side to the back side in FIG. 3).

Therefore, when the original thumb fingertip 21 is opened, a space is left between the thumb fingertip 21 and the palm-side portion of the metacarpal portion 1 or the other fingers 3 to 6. For example, by arranging an object in the space and closing the thumb tip 21 of the thumb 2 as described above, an operation of grasping the object can be performed.

When the fingertip 21 for the thumb is completely closed, the sliding plate 25 is disengaged from the guide groove 27 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the female screw member 29 shown in FIG. Then, the wire W2 biases the thumb base 15 so as to rotate to the position on the side of the metacarpal part 1 around the support axis S,
As a result, as shown in FIGS.
Rotates from the palm side position of the metacarpal portion 1 to the side position. At this time, at the same time, the wire W2 also urges the thumb tip 21 in the closing direction, but the sliding plate 25 provided at the side portion slides against the swing regulation portion 26, Since the rotation of 15 causes the thumb 2 as a whole to rotate while the thumb fingertip 21 is kept closed.

On the other hand, when the male screw shaft 28 is rotated in a direction opposite to the above-mentioned direction by driving the servomotor 30 in a state where the thumb base 15 is located at the side of the metacarpal portion 1. Since the female screw member 29 shown in FIG. 3 moves to the left in FIG. 3, one end of the wire W1 is pulled to the left and hangs on the pulleys 32, 33, 34, 19 and 20. The other end of the wire W1 fixed to the screw member 35 is pulled. As a result, the wire W1 connects the thumb base 15 to the middle
The thumb base 15 rotates from the side position to the palm side position because the thumb is rotated to the palm side position. At this time,
At the same time, the wire W1 also urges the thumb finger portion 21 in the opening direction, but as described above, the sliding plate 25 provided on the side portion slides on the swing regulating portion 26 while sliding. Since the thumb base 15 rotates, the entire thumb 2 rotates in the opposite direction to the above while keeping the thumb fingertip 21 closed.

Therefore, according to the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment, the thumb drive means 8 rotates the thumb base 15 of the thumb 2 so that the thumb is moved to a position on the side of the middle hand 1. In the state where the base 15 is positioned, the base 15 for the thumb does not protrude toward the palm of the hand, so that, for example, an operation in which a person spreads his / her hand and presses a flat object such as paper can be performed. In a state in which the thumb base 15 is located at the side of the palm of the metacarpal part 1, the thumb tip 21 protrudes from the palm side of the metacarpal part 1 and the metacarpal part 1. Since it can be swung in the opening and closing direction with respect to the other fingers 3 to 6, if the thumb fingertip portion 21 is opened, the opened thumb fingertip portion 21
A space can be made between the palm side portion of the middle hand portion 1 and the other fingers 3 to 6. From this, for example, by arranging the object in the space and then closing the fingertip 21 for the thumb, the operation of grasping the object can be performed. For example, as shown in FIG. Can be held in the artificial hand. That is, the degree of freedom of the movement of the thumb 2 can be increased, and the versatility of the artificial hand can be increased.

In addition, since the rotation of the thumb base 15 and the swing of the thumb tip 21 are performed in a series of operations by the single thumb driving means 8, the thumb driving means 8 is made compact. Thus, the thumb drive means 8 can be easily mounted on the prosthesis, and the weight of the prosthesis can be reduced. Moreover, since the actuator A is composed of the male screw shaft 28, the female screw member 29, and the servomotor 30, the wires W1 and W2 can be displaced with a relatively long stroke along the male screw shaft 28. The movement of the base and its fingertips can be made sufficiently large.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated examples, the present invention is not limited to the above-described examples. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the fingertip swing restraining means 23 includes the sliding plate 25 and the swing restraint. Although it was composed of the part 26 and the guide groove 27,
A guide groove 27 is additionally provided in the middle part 1 near the end opposite to the end adjacent to the guide groove 27 at the tip of 26, so that the thumb fingertip 21 can be swung even at a side position. It can be movable. In the above embodiment, the thumb drive means 8 is
A fingertip swing restraining means 23 and a thumb urging means 24 are provided.For example, a mechanism for rotating the thumb base 15 and the thumb fingertip 21 in the vicinity of the rotation limit position with the rotation are provided. And a cam mechanism for oscillating. Further, in the above-described embodiment, four fingers 3 to 6 are provided in addition to the thumb 2, but the number may be smaller than this. Further, the wrist swing drive means 9 may be omitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the thumb driving means of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment, partially cut away when viewed from the side of the middle hand part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the thumb driving means of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment, partially cut away when viewed from the palm side of the middle hand part.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation state of the thumb of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operation state of the thumb of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operation state of the thumb of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an operation state of the thumb of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an application example of the thumb driving means of the thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand of this embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 Middle hand 2 Thumb 3 Index finger 4 Middle finger 5 Ring finger 6 Little finger 7 Sleeve 7a Rear end face 8 Thumb drive means 9 Wrist swing drive means 10 Wrist part 11 Fingertip part 12 Finger intermediate member 13 Base part 14 Joint axis 15 Thumb base 15a, 15b Arm 16 Support shaft 17, 18, 19, 20, 31, 32, 33, 34 Pulley 21 Fingertip for thumb 22 Base end 23 Fingertip swing restraining means 24 Thumb urging means 25 Sliding Moving plate 26 Swing regulating part 27 Guide groove 28 Male screw shaft 29 Female screw member 30, 38 Servo motor 35 Screw member 36 Bracket 37 Connecting shaft A Actuator H Holder G1, G2 Gear G3 Pinion G4 Fixed gear S Shaft W1, W2 Wire P Pen

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of fingers including a thumb (2, 3, 4,
5,6), and fingers (3,4,) other than the thumb (2)
5 and 6) are arranged so as to protrude from the distal end portion of the metacarpal portion (1), and the thumb supports the fingertip portions (21, 22) and the base portion (15) for swingably supporting the fingertip portions. A prosthetic hand arranged on the side of the metacarpal portion, provided on the metacarpal portion so as to extend substantially parallel to a straight line connecting a wrist portion and a tip portion of the metacarpal portion. A support shaft (16) that rotatably supports the base between a side position and a palm side of the middle hand side, and a palm side of the middle hand side. At the position, following the rocking of the fingertip, the base is rotated toward the side of the metacarpus, and the base is moved to the side of the metacarpus. A thumb driving means (8) for swinging the fingertip at a position on the palm side of the middle hand side, after rotating the fingertip to a position on the palm side; A thumb-shaped variable type artificial hand characterized by comprising: 2. The base for pivoting around the support shaft (16) between a position on the side of the middle hand and a position on the palm side of the middle hand part. At the same time as the base is rotated to the palm side, the fingertip is urged in the opening direction, and the base is rotated to the side position. At the same time
Thumb urging means (24) for urging the fingertip in the closing direction
And a fingertip swing restraining means for restraining the fingertip urged by the thumb urging means in a closed state when the base is located between the palm side position and the side position. (twenty three)
The artificial thumb prosthesis according to claim 1, characterized by comprising: 3. The thumb urging means (24) includes wires (W1, W2) for urging the fingertips (21, 22) in at least one of an opening direction and a closing direction, and the middle hand part (1). 3.) The thumb-shaped variable prosthetic hand according to claim 2, further comprising an actuator (A) provided on the thumb) for urging the wire. 4. The female screw member (29), to which the actuator (A) is connected with the wires (W1, W2).
The thumb shaped variable prosthesis according to claim 3, characterized by comprising: a male screw shaft (28) screwed into the female screw member; and a motor (30) for rotatingly driving the male screw shaft.