HAND INTENDED FOR BEING PROVIDED ON A HUMANOID ROBOT WITH IMPROVED FINGERS

• US 20160339589A1
• Filed: 01/22/2015
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SoftBank Robotics Europe SAS
• Original Assignee: Aldebaran Robotics S.A. (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: LAVILLE, Jrmy, CLERC, Vincent, MAISONNIER, Bruno
• Granted Patent: US 10,442,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0009 comprising multi-articulated fingers, e.g. resembling a human hand

Abstract

A hand intended for a humanoid robot comprises a palm and at least one finger articulated to the palm, the finger comprising at least one phalanx and an articulation linking the phalanx to the palm, the phalanx extending in a main direction. According to the invention, the articulation comprises an elastic joining piece allowing several degrees of freedom. The hand comprises motorization means for a degree of freedom in rotation out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece, the motorized degree of freedom in rotation allowing a relative movement about an axis at right angles to the main direction of the phalanx. The other degrees of freedom out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece are not motorized.

Claims

1. A hand intended for a humanoid robot, the hand comprising a palm and at least one finger articulated to the palm, the finger comprising at least one phalanx and an articulation linking the phalanx to the palm, the phalanx extending in a main direction, the articulation further comprising an elastic joining piece allowing several degrees of freedom, the hand further comprising motorization means for a degree of freedom in rotation out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece, the motorized degree of freedom in rotation allowing a relative movement about an axis at right angles to the main direction of the phalanx, in that wherein the other degrees of freedom out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece are not motorized and wherein the elastic joining piece has a neutral position defined in such a way that the motorization means allow an angular travel of the articulation comprising the elastic joining piece concerned on either side of the neutral position.

2. The hand as claimed in claim 1, the finger further comprising several consecutive phalanges, two consecutive phalanges being linked by an articulation, wherein the articulation or articulations linking two consecutive phalanges each comprise an elastic joining piece allowing several degrees of freedom between the two consecutive phalanges, wherein the hand comprises motorization means for a degree of freedom in rotation out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece linking the consecutive phalanges, the motorized degree of freedom in rotation allowing a relative movement of the two consecutive phalanges about an axis at right angles to the main directions of the two consecutive phalanges, wherein the other degrees of freedom out of the degrees of freedom made possible by the joining piece linking the consecutive phalanges are not motorized and in that each joining piece linking the consecutive phalanges has a neutral position defined in such a way that the motorization means allow an angular travel of the articulation comprising the elastic joining piece concerned on either side of the neutral position.

3. The hand as claimed in claim 2, wherein the different elastic joining pieces each have a stiffness that decreases with distance away from the palm.

4. The hand as claimed in claim 2, the motorization means further comprising an actuator common to all the articulations of the at least one finger.

5. The hand as claimed in claim 4, each phalanx further comprising a rigid armature, the motorization means further comprising a cable guided in each rigid armature, the cable passing from one phalanx to the next away from the axis of the motorized degree of freedom in rotation and the cable is being actuated by the common actuator.

6. The hand as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rigid armature is formed in two parts between which the cable is guided.

7. The hand as claimed in claim 4, the common actuator is being a dual-acting actuator.

8. The hand as claimed in claim 1, the phalanx further comprising a rigid armature and a flexible piece positioned on an inner face of the finger.

9. The hand as claimed in claim 8, the phalanx further comprising a shell positioned on an outer face of the finger and wherein the shell and the flexible piece comprise complementary forms produced so as to produce an embedment of the rigid armature, of the flexible piece and of the shell.

10. The hand as claimed in claim 8, wherein the flexible piece is formed from two parts surrounding the rigid armature.

11. The hand as claimed in claim 8, wherein the flexible pieces and the joining piece or pieces are produced by grouping them together in halves longitudinally.