Patent ID: 8720964

Claim:
A mechanical finger comprising: a first phalanx pivotally connected at a proximal end to a base; at least a second phalanx pivotally connected at a proximal end to a distal end of the first phalanx; a transmission linkage between the base and the second phalanx, the transmission linkage comprising at least: a first link pivotally connected at a proximal end to the base, a second link pivotally connected at a proximal end to a distal end of the first link and pivotally connected at a distal end to the second phalanx, said phalanges and said links pivoting about parallel pivot axes, and a locking device for selectively blocking at least one joint in the transmission linkage; and a parallelogram configuration formed between the base, the first phalanx, the second phalanx, and the transmission linkage when the locking device selectively blocks the at least one joint, for the second phalanx to move in a constant orientation relative to the base when the locking device selectively blocks the at least one joint, to maintain the parallelogram configuration as the second phalanx moves.