A Novel Binding Hand with Closed Loop Thread Capable of Grasping Small-Diameter Objects

Abstract

This paper, proposes a novel binding hand which can grasp small diameter objects. We use a non-stretchable textile thread as a binding thread and incorporate a linear spring with a sufficiently low elasticity in the thread loop to ensure the binding operation under a linear elasticity. Additionally, the proposed mechanism includes spring that does not stretch until the thread makes contact with the object because the thread length does not extend until the contact begins. With this feature, it is possible to grasp objects with a specific tension. To confirm the grasping capabilities of the proposed binding hand, experiments of grasping objects with small diameters were performed and results showed that the proposed binding hand is able to grasp thin object with a diameter of 3 mm.