| 主权项 |
1. A mechanical gripper adapted to automatically perform a stable pinch grasp and an encompassing grasp, the gripper comprising:
at least one mechanical finger comprising: a first phalanx that is pivotally connectable at a proximal end; a second phalanx having a contact surface for contacting a load, the second phalanx being pivotally connected at a proximal end to the distal end of the first phalanx; and a differential actuation mechanism being connected to the second phalanx, the actuation mechanism defining at least in part a stable pinch grasp region on the contact surface such as when a load is applied on the stable pinch grasp region, the actuation mechanism is adapted to allow the second phalanx to translate and allow its contact surface to maintain a constant orientation in order to automatically perform a pinch grasp, when a load is applied below the stable pinch grasp region on the second phalanx, the actuation mechanism is adapted to allow the second phalanx to pivot and automatically perform an encompassing grasp, and when a load is applied on the first phalanx, the actuation mechanism is adapted to allow the second phalanx to pivot and automatically perform an encompassing grasp, wherein the differential mechanism comprises one of: a rotatable first link, a second link pivotally mounted to the first link at a proximal end and pivotally mounted to the second phalanx at a pivot point to permit the first and the second link to form essentially a parallelogram with the first and the second phalanges, the dimensions of the first and the second links and the parallelogram being chosen to define at least in part the stable pinch grasp region; and a linear motion link pivotally mounted to the second phalanx at a pivot point to form essentially a parallelogram with the first and the second phalanges, the dimensions of the parallelogram being chosen to define at least in part the stable pinch grasp region. |
