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KR-20260063996-A - 3D-printed electronic prosthetic arms for upper limb amputations

KR20260063996AKR 20260063996 AKR20260063996 AKR 20260063996AKR-20260063996-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a 3D-printed electronic prosthetic hand for a person with an upper limb amputation disability, and was developed to enable custom fabrication using 3D printing to fit the user's body and to allow the execution and control of the prosthetic hand's movements through an embedded camera and sensor; It is manufactured by acquiring rendering data through the acquisition of scan information of the normal area symmetrical to the amputation site of the arm, and 3D printing; A frame comprising a forearm frame attached to a severed arm and formed from the attachment point to the wrist, a palm frame excluding fingers rotatably connected to the forearm frame, and five finger frames rotatably connected to the palm frame to form two rotatable joints each; A driving unit that enables each joint forming the above-mentioned frame to be individually controlled and operated according to an electrical signal; A surface layer having a texture similar to human skin to cover the frame and drive unit; A plurality of pressure sensing sensors mounted on the inner side between the joints of the palm frame and the finger frame of the above-mentioned frame and on the fingertips to measure applied pressure; A plurality of cameras mounted on the above frame for photographing the front upper portion including the back of the hand and the front lower portion including the palm; The present invention relates to a 3D-printed electronic prosthetic hand for an upper limb amputee, characterized by comprising a control unit that controls the driving unit based on information collected from a plurality of pressure sensing sensors and a camera based on the user's biological bio-signals.

Inventors

  • 강기준

Assignees

  • 강기준

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241031

Claims (3)

  1. It is manufactured by acquiring rendering data through the acquisition of scan information of the normal area symmetrical to the amputation site of the arm, and 3D printing; A frame (11) comprising a forearm frame attached to a severed arm and formed from the attachment point to the wrist, a palm frame excluding fingers rotatably connected to the forearm frame, and five finger frames rotatably connected to the palm frame to form two rotatable joints each; A driving unit (12) that individually controls and operates each joint forming the above frame (11) according to an electrical signal; A skin portion (13) that covers the frame (11) and the driving unit (12) by having a texture similar to human skin; A plurality of pressure sensing sensors (14) that measure pressure applied by being mounted on the inner side between the palm frame of the above-mentioned frame (11) and the joint of the finger frame and on the fingertip; A plurality of cameras (15) mounted on the above frame (11) to photograph the front upper portion including the back of the hand and the front lower portion including the palm; A 3D printed electronic prosthetic hand for an upper limb amputee, characterized by comprising a control unit (16) that controls the driving unit (12) based on information collected from a plurality of pressure sensing sensors (14) and a camera (15) based on the user's biological bio-signals .
  2. A 3D printed electronic prosthetic hand for an upper limb amputee, characterized in that, in claim 1, the wrist of the epidermal part (13) has a ring shape and is equipped with three or more elastic connecting parts (171) having elastic restoring force with the epidermal part, and a bracelet (17) equipped with a plurality of cameras (15) for photographing the front upper part including the back of the hand and the front lower part including the palm .
  3. A 3D printed electronic prosthetic hand for an upper limb amputee, characterized in that, in claim 1, a ring (18) having a ring shape and equipped with a plurality of cameras (15) along the rim is mounted on one or more parts of the epidermal portion (13) where the fingers are located .

Description

3D-printed electronic prosthetic arms for upper limb amputations The present invention relates to a 3D-printed electronic prosthetic hand for a person with an upper limb amputation disability, and more specifically, to a 3D-printed electronic prosthetic hand for a person with an upper limb amputation disability developed to enable custom fabrication using 3D printing to fit the user's body and to enable the operation and control of the prosthetic hand through an embedded camera and sensor. In cases where part of an arm is amputated due to various accidents, methods to replace the amputated arm and improve the appearance have been used for a long time and such prosthetic arms are called aesthetic arms. However, with the advancement of science and technology, there is a growing demand for so-called functional arms that can perform some function rather than simply improving the appearance. In the case of prosthetic hands with such functions, technology has evolved from driving fingers simultaneously with a single motor to controlling each finger individually to enable precise movements, and recently, the development of artificial muscles that contract by the supply of electricity has also been successful, making more diverse and accurate movements possible. A device equipped with a motor or artificial muscle for each finger to be controlled individually is called an electronic prosthetic hand, and is typically being developed so that it can be used universally in daily life, such as eating or lifting objects with a single prosthetic hand. As mentioned above, significant progress has been made in the development of technology for implementing the movement of a prosthetic hand, but technology capable of controlling the movement of the prosthetic hand through various biological signals such as the user's brainwaves, electromyography, and eye movements—similar to a real hand—to perform functions such as grasping or releasing objects can be said to lack the technology to determine signals more specifically. In other words, when a person is commanded to grasp an object, differences in movement occur depending on various conditions such as distance from the object, volume of the object, and position to grasp. While these differences are perceived as natural movements, there is a problem in that, in the case of electronic prosthetic hands using bio-signals, the conditions based on bio-signals cannot be subdivided, resulting in unnatural operation of the prosthetic hand in most cases. Therefore, there is a need for research that enables the electronic prosthetic hand to function as a cosmetic hand with an external shape as close as possible to the actual shape of the human body, while acquiring information for more movements to allow for the detailed execution of those movements. FIG. 1 is a perspective view according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the shooting range of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the distribution of pressure sensing sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram according to another embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the configuration of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and reproduce it. FIG. 1 is a perspective view according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the shooting range of a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the distribution of a pressure sensing sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein scan information of a normal part symmetrical to the left and right of the amputation part of the arm is acquired to acquire rendering data and is manufactured by 3D printing; A frame (11) comprising a forearm frame attached to a severed arm and formed from the attachment point to the wrist, a palm frame excluding fingers rotatably connected to the forearm frame, and five finger frames rotatably connected to the palm frame to form two rotatable joints each; A driving unit (12) that individually controls and operates each joint forming the above frame (11) according to an electrical signal; A skin portion (13) that covers the frame (11) and the driving unit (12) by having a texture similar to human skin; A plurality of pressure sensing sensors (14) that measure pressure applied by being mounted on the inner side between the palm frame of the above-mentioned frame (11) and the joint of the finger frame and on the fingertip; A plurality of cameras (15) mounted on the above frame (11) to photograph the front upper portion including the back of the hand and the front lower portion inclu