Abstract
This paper describes the design of a rectangular-type four-finger rehabilitation robot for flexibility rehabilitation of stroke patients' fingers and other patient's paralyzed fingers. The four-finger rehabilitation robot is composed of a body and each finger rehabilitation robot instrument. The four-finger rehabilitation robot could exercise four fingers (forefinger, middle finger ring finger and little finger) of patient for their rehabilitation. The four-finger rehabilitation robot instruments move according to the trace which spread out the patient's fingers and then turn them inward for the fingers' flexibility, while at the same time performing the force control with the reference forces for fingers' safety, simultaneously. A control characteristic test of the developed rectangular-type four-finger rehabilitation robot was carried out, and the results confirmed that the robot could be used for the flexibility rehabilitation exercise for the fingers of normal person and patients.