Grasp assist device with shared tendon actuator assembly

摘要

A grasp assist device includes a glove with first and second tendon-driven fingers, a tendon, and a sleeve with a shared tendon actuator assembly. Tendon ends are connected to the respective first and second fingers. The actuator assembly includes a drive assembly having a drive axis and a tendon hook. The tendon hook, which defines an arcuate surface slot, is linearly translatable along the drive axis via the drive assembly, e.g., a servo motor thereof. The flexible tendon is routed through the surface slot such that the surface slot divides the flexible tendon into two portions each terminating in a respective one of the first and second ends. The drive assembly may include a ball screw and nut. An end cap of the actuator assembly may define two channels through which the respective tendon portions pass. The servo motor may be positioned off-axis with respect to the drive axis.

主权项

1. A grasp assist device comprising:
a glove having a first tendon-driven finger and a second tendon-driven finger; a flexible tendon having a looped first end and a looped second end connected to the first tendon-driven finger and the second tendon-driven finger, respectively; and a sleeve having a tendon actuator assembly, including:
a drive assembly having a drive axis; anda tendon hook defining an arcuate surface slot, wherein the tendon hook is connected to the drive assembly and is linearly translatable along the drive axis via the drive assembly to apply tension to the flexible tendon; wherein the flexible tendon is folded upon itself and routed through the arcuate surface slot, such that the arcuate surface slot divides the flexible tendon into two portions at a midpoint of the flexible tendon and acts as a sliding interface at the midpoint, with each of the two portions terminating in a respective one of the first and second looped ends, and wherein the actuator assembly tensions the two portions in a balanced manner.