Gauntlet Tensioner with 2-Way Ratchet

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Warning: This device has not been tested or validated and may not function as described. It is being shared here for research and development purposes, but it should not be considered ready for use by the average e-NABLE volunteer without further testing and validation. The Whippletree tensioner has evolved to utilize pegs as pulleys, eliminating most of the knot-tying associated with assembling the e-NABLE hands. This design also provides an improved adaptive grip where each finger moves appropriately to grasp oddly shaped objects. When used without this ratchet mechanism, the degree to which fingers are flexed when the wrist is in its neutral position will depend on tendon length, requiring some adjustment in the system. The 2-way Ratchet Tensioner enables users to make these adjustments easily at any time during use. For example, a user can place the Raptor Reloaded Hand on a bicycle handlebar with the wrist in a comfortable position, then pull back on the tensioner handle until the fingers tighten around the handlebar. With this adjusted starting position, flexion or extension of the wrist causes further flexion or extension of the fingers in a normal way. This device addresses design concerns where 3-jointed digits require more displacement of tendon cords than do the 2-jointed digits on regular Raptor, Raptor Reloaded, and Cyborg Beast hands provided by e-NABLE. The 2-Way Ratchet Tensioner is expected to enable more people to comfortably use 3-jointed fingers like the Flexy-Hand and Falcon Hand. Small o-rings pull the ratchet pawl toward the ratchet surface; however, it will be necessary to cut away a bit of material to fit the o-rings onto the bracket. This design is an untested work in progress, created using Tinkercad. It has been made public for others to duplicate and build upon. Please provide feedback on what you learn, and give attribution to Raptor Reloaded by e-NABLE for their hand and gauntlet design. Prior Art includes the Raptor Reloaded Hand, Whippletree, and Simplified Movement Printer Sheet Stack Edge Guide US Patent No.: 7,527,259 B2.