Five-Fingered Hand Device With Fluid Pressure Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional five-fingered hand devices struggle to achieve a balance between reducing size and weight while maintaining sufficient grasping force, making them unsuitable for humanoid robots that require operations similar to a human hand.
Innovation Solution
The use of driven fluid pressure cylinders within the hand body and driving fluid pressure cylinders outside the body, connected via fluid pressure transmission pipes, allows independent control of finger mechanisms, enabling efficient bending and stretching with a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If motors with relatively large driving force are adopted to obtain sufficient grasping force, then grasping force is improved, but size and weight of the motors and hand device are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces motors with fluid pressure cylinders as the drive unit. The fluid pressure cylinders use hydraulic or pneumatic pressure to generate the necessary grasping force, allowing for a more compact and lighter design compared to motors of equivalent force output. The fluid pressure transmission system enables force multiplication without proportionally increasing the size of the actuator.
2Force
If motors with relatively large driving force are adopted to obtain sufficient grasping force, then grasping force is improved, but size of the base and finger mechanisms is increased
Solution Approach 1:
Fluid pressure cylinders provide a high force-to-volume ratio, enabling the generation of sufficient grasping force within a compact form factor. The flexible hoses allow for efficient force transmission without requiring rigid mechanical linkages that would increase overall device volume.
3Volume of moving object
If small motors are used to reduce size of the hand body, then size is improved, but sufficient driving force and grasping force cannot be obtained
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid pressure transmission system allows a small driven cylinder within the hand body to receive amplified force from a larger driving cylinder located externally. The hydraulic fluid transmits pressure efficiently, enabling the small actuator to generate sufficient driving force despite its compact size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the driving cylinder from the hand body, placing it in the arm or external structure. This spatial separation allows the large driving cylinder to be positioned in a different dimension or location, eliminating the constraint of housing it within the limited space of the hand body while still providing the necessary force.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for a compact and lightweight hand device that generates a sufficiently large grasping force, enabling operations similar to a human hand, suitable for humanoid robots.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of driving fluid pressure cylinders placed outside the hand body and connected via fluid pressure transmission pipes to the driven fluid pressure cylinders, respectively, the driving fluid pressure cylinders applying working fluid pressures to the driven fluid pressure cylinders independently of each other
Data Source
AI summary
A five-fingered hand device suitably applicable to a humanoid robot is provided. The device includes a hand body (2) which has a base (4) and five finger mechanisms (5) to (9), a drive unit (3) which drives the finger mechanisms, and a control unit (36) which controls bending and stretching of the finger mechanisms. The drive unit (3) has driven fluid pressure cylinders provided inside the hand body (2) and driving fluid pressure cylinders (37) provided outside the hand body (2), the driven fluid pressure cylinders being connected to the driving fluid pressure cylinders via fluid pressure transmission pipes (45).