DE4335442A1 - Device for presenting braille - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for presenting braille and/or image-like information in the form of a braille line or page, in which a plurality of reading pins which serve to detect tactile information can be set by only one drive, the reading pins remaining independent of the drive by balls which are pushed beneath and which are held by a common element whose locking action can be controlled.

Description

The invention relates to a device for displaying Braille and / or pictorial information in a tactile form, in the latched arrangement in the vertical direction by drives reading pens that can be moved up and down by gravity protrude from a horizontal reading surface when set and are thus tactile detectable (Braille line).

It is known that braille lines for tactile output of Information that is on different media such. B. the Screen memory of a computer or a CD-ROM are available, used to blind the use of computer programs respectively Allow recording of stored information.

To make the information tactile, the method has enforced, reading pens in their vertical position by drives too move, the reading pens from a tactile reading surface protrude.

The realization of the drives was previously by electromagnetic or Piezoelectric elements made, each with a drive per reading pen was provided and thus the manufacturing costs and Energy consumption of the Braille line largely depends on the number of it Reading pens depended.

This, in the output of tactile information quickly, but very elaborate design, also because of the lack of a simple Solution, like the reading pens in their position in their set can be locked so that they are not permanently from a drive have to be lifted, enforced.  

Furthermore, it has been proposed to read the reading pens by bullets to raise that in accordance with the desired tactile information Holes of a multiply perforated, continuous endless belt are inserted, where the stroke of a reading pen through the curvature of the spherical surface or made possible by slants on the reading pens.

Disadvantages of this proposal are the small stroke of the reading pens Relationship to the distance between them and the required Magazineing of the balls, which is quite complex.

The invention has for its object to provide a device which the electronic information supplied to it in tactile detectable converts, despite many reading pens inexpensive to produce is reasonable tactile output speed Information enables and a relatively low energy consumption when Operating requires.

In particular, the invention should make it possible with little effort to assemble such a device because the assembly effort in known Solutions is extremely significant.

According to the invention the object is achieved in that a drive in time successively sets several reading pens and thus drives only in small numbers Number are required.

The drives are located on a beneath the tactile reading surface located carriage, which runs along the reading pen arrangement can move a stepper motor so that each reading pen of at least a drive is reached.  

A drive lifts one under the lower end to set a reading pen on the same ball, with the reading pen pointing upwards shifts.

So that the reading pen maintains its position when the drive drives the ball no longer lifts and assumes its passive state, is between The drive and ball are immovable in height and in relation to the Ball diameter pushed thin tongue, here the curvature of the Ball surface has a positive effect.

If a reading pen is not set, the tongue mentioned above will slide between the ball and the reading pen because the ball was not lifted. Consequently the stroke height of a reading pen corresponds to the ball diameter.

In order to reset a set reading pen, the drop under it positioned ball can be ensured by the tongue under this Ball is pulled away.

So that the falling of the ball is also ensured when the device The balls are made of vibrations or at an angle ferrous material and are converted into the desired by a magnetic field Direction, or the balls become light with the reading pens pressed down, each reading pen being provided with a spring ought to.

An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 2, is for a better understanding, the schematic side view of Fig. 1 in cross-section at the location of AA.

The tactile reading field consists of 81 fields of eight reading pens each the arrangement and dimensions of the common Braille correspond. This will output data from an existing one in the computer Screen memory favors, with a text format of 80 characters per line is assumed.

The first field should be a status field, which indicates, among other things, which screen line is currently being output.

Half-round head pins are used as reading pens 1 , which are seated in bores countersunk on both sides.

The bores are located in the reading pen receiving plate 2 , the surface of which acts as a tactile reading surface.

The cylindrical counterbores, which point towards the tactile reading surface, serve to receive the reading pen heads and to determine the position of the reading pens 1 in the non-set state, which guarantees that the lower ends of the reading pens 1 do not protrude from the reading pen receiving plate 2 .

The cylindrical counterbores in the holes on the underside of the stylus mounting plate 2 serve to accommodate the balls 3 , which are intended to hold the stylus 1 in place, and to accommodate locking sleeves 4 , which prevent the stylus 1 from falling out of the stylus mounting plate 2 .

At a short distance from the pin receiving plate 2 , a push pin receiving plate 5 is mounted below it by means of a spacer 19 , which has cylindrically countersunk holes on one side in a congruent arrangement with the holes in the reading pin receiving plate 2 .

In these holes sit push pins 6, which ensure the lifting of the balls 3 in the reading pin receiving plate. 2

The cylindrical counterbores of the holes serve to receive the locking sleeves 7 , which prevent the push pins 6 from falling out, and to receive the balls 3 when their associated reading pins 1 are in the unset state.

Under the push pin receiving plate 5 there is a carriage 8 which is movable along the push pin arrangement and, using a known stepping drive, positions the push rods 10 located thereon exactly under the push pins 6 .

Eight drives 9 are provided, it being possible for a whole character to be output in one and the same position of the carriage 8 and thus for example the "blinking" of the cursor field to be realized.

The drives 9 are electromagnetic lifting magnets, which lift a plunger 19 in the active state and pull the same back into the starting position in the passive state.

With the lifting of a plunger 10 , the push pin 6 located above it is raised until its semicircular head strikes the underside of the push pin receiving plate 5 , the upper end of the push pin 6 being flush with the surface of the push pin holding plate 5 .

The mounted over the joint pin 6 ball 3 is lifted from the push pin 6, wherein the associated reading pen 1 rises by approximately the diameter of the ball. 3

In the gap between the reading pen receiving plate 2 and the push pin receiving plate 5 , the follower tongue 11 is inserted, which at one point contains a window 12 which is the size of a drawing field.

The idler tongue 11 is guided by the carriage 8 via fixed drivers 13 , so that the window 12 is always directly above the plunger 10 and the balls 3 can be lifted or dropped.

The follower tongue 11 is flexible, as a result of which it can be guided via rollers 17 in accordance with the dimensions of the device.

In addition to the follower tongue 11, there is a closer tongue 14 in the gap mentioned above, which enables the window 12 to be closed. The closing tongue 14 is guided by a driver 15 , the electromagnetic lifting magnet 16 , which is mounted on the carriage 8 , being able to move it, and thus there is the possibility at any position of the carriage 8 to open or open the window 12 by actuating the lifting magnet 16 . close.

The setting of a reading pen 1 begins with the positioning of the carriage 8 , after which the plunger 10 must be under the push pin 6 of the associated reading pen 1 .

After the carriage 8 has come to a stop, the closing tongue 14 is withdrawn, so that the window 12 is released.

Depending on the information to be output, the drive 9 can now lift the ball 3 through the window 12 by means of the push pin 6 , the reading pin 1 being raised. The ball 3 is at its lowest point at the top of the push pin receiving plate 5 on which the closer tongue 14 slides.

In order to achieve a permanent setting of the reading pen 1 regardless of the position of the carriage 8 , the window 12 is closed, the closing tongue 14 being pushed under the ball 3 . Once this has been done, the drive 9 can assume its passive position and the carriage 8 can be repositioned.

The closer tongue 14 is located under the follower tongue 11 in order to keep the pressure angle between the closer tongue 14 and the ball surface small.

If the reading pens 1 of a drawing field are to be reset, the carriage 8 must be positioned underneath it and the window 12 must be released so that the balls 3 , which lie over the follower tongue 11 , can fall down into the push pin receiving plate 5 .

The falling of the balls 3 , which are made of steel, is supported by a magnetic field generated by permanent magnets 18 fastened to the carriage 8 , which contributes to the safe and faster operation of the device.

Furthermore, the push pins 6 are also made of steel to ensure that they themselves are pulled down and are not pressed down by the ball 3 .

It is assumed that the user read the status field first would like to have a rough orientation, for example, on which one Screen line it is on or whether it has been on that line since last reading there was a change.

For this reason, it is useful to look at the characters from the right to forego the left and instead a carriage return in order to ensure that the status field, which is is on the far left, always output first.

If you output a tactile character with 0.1 seconds, the time of the carriage return from the last to the first character with 2 seconds and the reading speed of the user assumes 3 seconds per line, the total output time for a line length of 81 characters of 10.1 seconds per line, the first character, the status field, at the latest after the duration of a carriage return, but the 81st character would only be available after another 8 seconds, which, based on the User reading speed, much to be desired.  

Therefore, the device according to the invention is in a further development For example, three fields with 8 drives each are mounted on the carriage, so that only a third of the steps are required to complete one Output screen line. The drive fields are at a distance of each 27 drawing fields to each other, whereby the total path of the car and the duration of the carriage return is also reduced to a third.

The control required for this, in the form of a memory a computer resident program and one Interface circuit can be implemented, for example, that simultaneous output of the 1st, 28th and 55th characters of the current Enable screen line.

For this implementation, the total line output time would only be about 3.4 Seconds, with the status field after in the worst case 0.7 seconds is available.

A reasonable output speed is thus available, whereby only 24 drives are required.

For comparison with Braille lines, which have one for each reading pen Require drive, it should be mentioned that these are considerably higher Manufacturing and assembly costs require tactile because of the same Reading field 648 drives are required and some of them have a complicated structure and require high-quality materials. It is possible according to the invention to control the drives in their mechanical To make dimensions largely informal, as there is enough space for Arrangement of the drives is present.

Furthermore, this invention is the construction of Braille pages (e.g. 648 * 25 reading pens) can be realized in an economically justifiable way, because the functional elements are both shaped and very simple are mounted, as well as for locking several reading pens only one Element is required.

Reference list

1 reading pen
2 reading pen holder plate
3 bullet
4 locking sleeve
5 push pin receiving plate
6 push pin
7 locking sleeve
8 cars
9 drive
10 pestles
11 follower tongue
12 windows
13 carriers (fixed)
14 closer tongue
15 carriers (movable)
16 solenoid
17 rolls
18 permanent magnet
19 spacer

Claims (6)

1.Device for displaying braille and / or pictorial information in a tactile form, in which in a latched arrangement in vertical direction by drives upwards and by gravity downward reading pens protrude from a horizontal reading surface in the set state and are thus tactile, characterized in that a drive sets several reading pens in succession. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a Ball is pushed by the drive under the lower end of the reading pen. 3. Device according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that multiple balls through a common locking device on leaving her, determining the position of the reading pens Position are prevented. 4. Device according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the effect of the locking device in one or more places can be canceled. 5. Device according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that the locking device has the shape of a tongue. 6. Device according to claim 1 to 5, characterized in that the tongue and thus the controllable in its blocking effect Make a mechanical coupling with the Positioning the drives of existing carriages are moved.