Patent ID: 6913627

Claim:
A multi-fingered hand device having a palm assembly mounted on a distal end of an arm, a plurality of finger mechanisms extending from the palm assembly and each comprising a plurality of interjoint members successively connected by a plurality of finger joints, biasing means for biasing the finger mechanisms to either one of an extended position and a bent position, wire members extending from the finger mechanisms toward the palm assembly, and drive means for pulling the wire members extending from the finger mechanisms against a bias of said biasing means for bending or extending the finger mechanisms, wherein: two wire members extending respectively from at least two of said plurality of finger mechanisms have ends near the palm assembly that are integrally coupled to each other; and at least one of said plurality of finger mechanisms has a link mechanism coupled to the interjoint members thereof and operable in ganged relation to angular movement of one of the interjoint members connected to a first finger joint, which is the closest of said plurality of finger joints of said one finger mechanism to said palm assembly, for turning the interjoint members about the other joints, said wire member which extends from said one finger mechanism extends from a first interjoint member, which is the closest of said plurality of interjoint members of said one finger mechanism to the palm assembly; and said drive means comprises a pulley member around which said two wire members, which are integrally coupled to each other, are trained, and a pulley holder on which said pulley member is rotatably held, said pulley holder being mounted on said palm assembly for movement in unison with said pulley member in a direction to pull said two wire members, and said pulley holder is moved to pull the wire member extending from the two finger mechanisms for bending or extending said two finger mechanisms; said finger mechanisms comprise at least three finger mechanisms; and said drive means comprises an auxiliary pulley member rotatably held by said pulley holder, with a wire member extending from another finger mechanism than said two finger mechanisms and trained around said auxiliary pulley member, and the wire member extending from the other finger mechanism is pulled in a direction that the auxiliary pulley member moves together with the pulley holder to pull the wire member extending from said two finger mechanisms for bending or extending said two finger mechanisms and said other finger mechanism.