EP0157877B1 - Automatically controlled apparatus for the turning of pages - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/FR84/00218 Sec. 371 Date Jul. 24, 1985 Sec. 102(e) Date Jul. 24, 1985 PCT Filed Oct. 3, 1984 PCT Pub. No. WO85/01479 PCT Pub. Date Apr. 11, 1985.An automatic page turning device of the type comprising a movable element controlled by a motor of which the operation is controlled by a control member to be actuated by the user. It is characterized in that it comprises a suction tube to lift a page as well as a movable element comprised of a double acting pusher. The double acting pusher is situated directly above a document and is movably mounted in linear translation in the two opposite directions transverse to the side of the pages of a document and along which they are bound together. The suction tube and the double acting pusher are also movably mounted perpendicularly to the plane of a support structure.

Description

A large number of people, especially those who are permanently or temporarily disabled in their limbs, such as fracture victims, amputees, quadriplegics, cerebral palsy, traumatized, burn victims, focomeles, need for their work or their hobbies, consult documents whose pages must be periodically turned in one direction or the other, in order to allow reading, consultation, sorting and more generally the use of documents.

Various devices have been described previously, which use various techniques and methods in order to turn the pages. They use in particular, to turn the pages, tapes or semi-adhesive pastes to peel the pages, cams animated by circular motements, movable skids, or even cylinders animated in rotation and gripping, then rolling the sheets, articulated arms , clamp fixings of all sheets, etc.

But no device known to date allows the fair to turn the pages from right to left or from left to right, page to page or in continuous scrolling, whatever the format of the documents ("pocket" format books, newspapers , large magazines etc.), whatever the rigidity and quality of the paper or cardboard making up the sheets and whatever the thickness of the documents.

We know, for example, Patent EP-A-0 069 041 which describes a device for maneuvering pages, constituted by strips to be inserted between the pages to be turned.

So you need as many crimps as sheets (so several hundred for books of current size) and you must put them all in place before you can use the device. There is no lifting device or pusher.

Also known is patent BE-A-685,324 which describes a device for turning pages joined together of documents arranged on a support, of the type comprising, on the one hand a movable element controlled by a motor whose operation is controlled by a control member having to be actuated by a user, said element comprising two distinct but coordinated assemblies and constituted respectively by a member for lifting the pages one by one and by a double-acting push button having to be located directly above a document .

Neither the page lifting device nor the pusher can be adjusted in height because the pusher is rotary and such an adjustment could only be obtained by complex mechanisms which are to be excluded, for practical and economic reasons.

-The present invention, on the contrary, makes it possible to produce a device which alone can carry out all the movements described above, under the various conditions mentioned, at variable speed chosen by the user, and which uses the resources offered by the micro- electronics and microcomputing, using entirely new means.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a device for turning pages joined together of documents arranged on a support, of the type comprising a movable element controlled by a motor, the operation of which is controlled by a control member to be actuated by a user, said element comprising two distinct but coordinated assemblies and constituted respectively by a member for lifting the pages one by one and by a double-acting push-button having to be located directly above a document, the push-button having substantially the shape of a U with symmetrical branches, the ends of which are preferably provided with advantageously cambered pallets characterized in that the pusher is mounted movable in linear translation in two opposite directions in a direction transverse to the side of the pages of a document according to which they are joined together, when this document is placed on the support, and in that the page lifting device is t the pusher are also mounted movable perpendicular to the plane of the support which is to receive the document,

the page lifting member to act between the symmetrical branches of the pusher.

• - L'une au moins des deux branches du poussoir est montée mobile par rapport à l'autre afin de rendre ajustable leur écartement relatif, des moyens de blocages étant prévus pour immobiliser la ou les branches mobile (s) dans la position voulue.
• - L'organe mis en position active doit maintenir un bord d'une page de document soulevée à un niveau supérieur à celui qu'occupe le sommet de la partie du poussoir (4) qui doit être située à l'aplomb du document.
• - L'organe est un tube dont une extrémité est reliée à un générateur de depression tandis que l'autre extrémité dst destinée, en position active, à être placée à Proximité immédiate d'un document devant être posé sur le support.
• - L'organe est un galet à friction monté rotatif selon un axe sensiblement parallèle au côté des pages d'un document selon lequel elles sont réunies entre elles, quand ce document est posé sur le support, ce galet ayant un pourtour polyédrique tel que triangulaire.
• - Le dispositif comprend au moins un moteur destiné à mouvoir respectivement le poussoir et l'organe mobile et contrôlé par un ensemble électronique à programmes associé d'une part à des moyens devant informer l'usager sur le fonctionnement du dispositif et d'autre part à un capteur des ordres de l'usager constituant un organe de commande, le dispositif comportant avantageusement une liaison avec au moins un appareil indépendant de lui tel qu'un émetteur de signaux, un organe de commande d'un mécanisme et autres.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• - At least one of the two branches of the pusher is mounted movable relative to the other in order to make their relative spacing adjustable, blocking means being provided for immobilizing the movable branch or branches in the desired position.
• - The organ placed in the active position must maintain an edge of a document page raised to a level higher than that occupied by the top of the part of the pusher (4) which must be located directly above the document.
• - The organ is a tube, one end of which is connected to a vacuum generator while the other end is intended, in the active position, to be placed in the immediate vicinity of a document to be placed on the support.
• - The member is a friction roller mounted to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the side of the pages of a document according to which they are joined together, when this document is placed on the support, this roller having a polyhedral periphery such as triangular .
• - The device comprises at least one motor intended to respectively move the pusher and the movable member and controlled by an electronic program assembly associated on the one hand with means to inform the user on the operation of the device and on the other hand to a sensor for user orders constituting a control member, the device advantageously comprising a connection with at least one device independent of it such as a signal transmitter, a control member of a mechanism and the like.

• La figure 1 est une vue schématique en perspective d'un dispositif conforme à l'invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue schématique montrant le fonctionnement d'un tube d'aspiration constituant des moyens pour soulever une page.
• La figure 3 est une vue schématique montrant le fonctionnement d'un organe relié à un générateur de champ magnétique constituant des moyens pour soulever une page.
• La figure 4 est une vue schématique en perspective d'un mécanisme à galet rotatif triangulaire constituant des moyens pour soulever une page.
• La figure 5 est une vue schématique montrant le fonctionnement du mécanisme à galet rotatif de la figure 4.
• Les figures 6, 7 et 8 sont des vues schématiques montrant le fonctionnement d'un dispositif conforme à l'invention, dans trois phases différentes d'un cycle.

The invention will be better understood from the detailed description below made with reference to the accompanying drawing. Of course, the description and the drawing are only given by way of an indicative and nonlimiting example.

• Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a device according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the operation of a suction tube constituting means for lifting a page.
• Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the operation of a member connected to a magnetic field generator constituting means for lifting a page.
• Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a triangular rotating roller mechanism constituting means for lifting a page.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the operation of the rotary roller mechanism of FIG. 4.
• Figures 6, 7 and 8 are schematic views showing the operation of a device according to the invention, in three different phases of a cycle.

Referring to the drawing, it can be seen that a device in accordance with the invention is in the form of an apparatus comprising a tilting desk 1, the central part 2 of which constitutes a support for documents and which must be placed dev'nt l '' user according to an adjustable inclination according to the latter by means of a stand 3 pivotally mounted around lateral pivots (not visible in the drawing) and a single control button 4.

Above the support 2, in its upper part, is a transparent pusher 5 in the general shape of a U, composed of a middle part 6 by which it is fixed to a mobile eqL..page (not shown) which s 'extends horizontally into a slot 7, and two symmetrical branches 8 and 9 provided with slightly cambered paddles 10, 11, 12 and 13.

The mobile assembly is secured to a carriage placed in the apparatus and kinematically connected to a motor to transmit to the pusher 5 a linear movement either from left to right or from right to left assuming a user located opposite the desk 1.

At the center of the middle part 6 of the pusher 5, there is an element 14 for lifting the pages which can be produced in different versions, as will be explained below. This element 14 is located in the axis of the pusher 5, that is to say that the branches 8 and 9 are symmetrical with respect to it.

The element 14 for lifting the pages is mounted mobile so that it can be either in the vicinity of the pages (active position), or away from them (inactive position). In the active position, the element 14 must exert on the page to which it is close a lifting action, by any known means, so that the page is kept raised for a short time at a level slightly higher than the top of the pallets 10- 11-12-13 so that they can go under the raised page, as will be explained later.

The aim of the upward bending of the pallets is to facilitate the sliding of the pusher on the pages and to prevent snagging of the edges of pages which are not raised, whether the pusher is moved from right to left or from left to right.

The console 1 contains all the necessary mechanical, electrical and electronic elements, supplied by a current source of any desired type: batteries, battery or mains. A control member, or sensor, is provided to give the user the possibility of controlling the operation of the device. Here, provision has been made to produce the sensor in the form of a button 15 connected to the desk 1 by a wire 16. However, the sensor could be produced in a different way: keyboard, radio signal generator, remote control, humidity sensor. for saliva control (for paralyzed limbs), infrared rays, touch, Doppler radar, pneumatics etc.

On one side of console 1, there is a screen 17 and indicators 18 which should give the user information on the operation of the device: progress of a programmed cycle, display of a menu for the choice of different functions etc.

On the support 2, there is provided a rule 19 movable vertically and sliding with medium friction on the side edges 10a of the desk 1 which limit the support 2, so that the user can place it in a good position to support the document that the it is placed on the support 2 and, therefore, to prevent it from sliding. In addition to rule 19, or as a replacement, the support 2 can also be made non-slip, either by an appropriate surface treatment, or by covering it with a coating so that the document remains stationary.

The assembly of the pusher 5, of the element 14 and of the mobile assembly which carries them is mounted mobi in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the support 2, that is to say for its raising and lowering.

This mobility must be automatic because it is intended to allow the pusher 5 to remain constantly at the level of the pages of the document whereas this level varies since each page turned withdraws height from the stack on the right and adds height to the stack of left, height equal to its thickness. A simple and practical solution is to mount this sliding assembly on guides along which it slides freely.

To set up the document on the support 2, lift the 5-element pusher assembly 14, place the document under it, on the support 2, put the rule 19 in a good position so that it supports the document and lower the 5-element pusher assembly 14 so that it is in contact with the first page of the document to be turned.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the element for lifting the pages consists of a tube 20, the end 21 of which can be brought into communication with a vacuum cleaner 22 and the end 23 of which is free.

The tube 20 is pivotally mounted in order to be able to occupy either an active position shown in solid lines, follows an inactive position represented in broken lines.

When the tube 20 is placed in the active position, its end 23 is placed close to the page A to be turned and its end 21 is placed in communication with the vacuum cleaner 22, so that the vacuum which prevails at the end 23 sucks page A and maintains it at a level x slightly higher than that y of the top of the pallets 10 to 13. The pusher 5 can then, as will be explained, be moved laterally so that the pallet 12 (if it is necessary to turn page A from right to left) or palette 11 (if you have to turn page A from left to right) goes under page A.

-As soon as the pusher 5 begins its movement and that, consequently, the pallet 11 or the pallet 12 is under the raised pagd A, the tube 20 is raised in the direction of the arrow F1 until it reaches the inactive position, and in particular passing through the intermediate position shown in dotted lines, the end 21 may then be facing a solid part of the vacuum cleaner 22 and no longer facing an opening, so the suction action is neutralized at the same time as the tube 20 is raised.

During these back and forth movements, the pallets 10 and 13 slide over the document without risking catching the edge of the pages, thanks to the fact that they are arched upwards.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the element for lifting the pages consists of a member 30 connected by a wire 31 to a very high voltage generator 32 itself connected by a wire 33 to the pages B of the document or to the support 2, this assembly constituting an electrostatic charge system.

When the member 30 is put in the active position, it is brought close to the page A to be lifted and, simultaneously, the generator 32 creates positive charges in the pages B (and therefore on the page A which at this time still does part of the pitches B) and of the negative charges on the member 30. This results in an electrostatic field and an attraction of the page A by the member 30.

Here again, page A must be maintained at a level x higher than that y of palette 12.

When the pusher 5 begins its translational movement, the member 30 is put in the inactive position and the action of the generator 32 is neutralized.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, a variant is shown according to which the page lifting element can act repeatedly.

It comprises a friction roller 40 of non-circular section, that is to say polyhedral and more particularly triangular, and mounted on a rotary axis 41 parallel to the edge of the pages B along which they are joined together. The axis 41 is controlled by a motor 42 and when the roller is lowered into the active position, the motor is rotated, so that the roller rotates in the direction of the arrow F2 (FIG. 5) to drive in friction according to the arrow F3 several pages B one after the other if the motor 42 is allowed to run for a certain time. If, on the contrary, the motor 42 is stepped in step by step, it turns pages B only one by one. The user can thus, in particular, carry out a rapid leafing.

It can be seen in FIG. 4 that the motor 42 is mounted on a cradle 43 with holes 44 through which the cradle 43 is mounted to slide freely along guides 45. This assembly allows the assembly to be raised and lowered automatically, as explained above for the 5-element pusher assembly 14.

An electronic assembly is placed in the desk 1 and allows the user to choose, thanks to an appropriate sequencing, the orders which he wishes to give to the device.

• Le panneau d'affichage ou écran 17, par exemple à diodes électroluminescentes, montre à l'usager le déroulement de la séquence de programme proposé par allumage successif des diodes placées en regard des fonctions du programme : "une page de droite à gauche", "une page de gauche a droite", "pages de droite à gauche en continu", "pages de gauche a droite en continu", attente d'un ordre "stop" pour ces deux derniers cas, signal de "mise en état de veille", dans l'attente d'un nouvel ordre de départ du séquencement et enfin une diode affichant la possibilité d'utilisation en mode externe de l'appareil, ce mode externe donnant accès à une prise extérieure pour une utilisation d'un signal d'appel ou de toute autre commande du type contrôle de l'environnement (ouverture d'une porte par exemple). Le programme est contenu en mémoire morte placée près d'un microprocesseur qui gère l'ensemble, à l'intérieur du pupitre 1.

The general operation according to the invention is as follows:

• The display panel or screen 17, for example with light-emitting diodes, shows the user the progress of the program sequence proposed by successive lighting of the diodes placed opposite the program functions: "a page from right to left", "a page from left to right", "pages from right to left continuously", "pages from left to right continuously", waiting for a "stop" order for the latter two cases, "standby state" signal, pending a new order to start sequencing and finally a diode displaying the possibility of using the device in external mode, this external mode giving access to an external socket for the use of a call signal or any other command of the environmental control type (opening of a door for example). The program is contained in read-only memory placed near a microprocessor which manages the whole, inside the desk 1.

After having put the document in place as said above, and having visualized the order which he wishes to execute, the user gives a command pulse by means of the sensor 15 which can be, as said above, of any known type and not forming part of the invention.

We will now describe the cycle of movements to turn a page from right to left, the usual normal sense of reading in European countries.

• En position de départ (fig.6), le poussoir transparent 5 est situé au centre du document et maintient ainsi les pages à plat. C'est la mise en route du moteur de l'équipage mobile qui marque le début du cycle. Le poussoir 5 vient se placer vers la droite, de manière à ce que le bord de la page à tourner apparaisse entre les palettes 11 et 12 et que l'élément pour le soulèvement des pages (ici le tube 20) soit positionné au-dessus de la page A elle-même (fig. 7).

This cycle is shown in Figures 6 to 8:

• In the starting position (fig. 6), the transparent pusher 5 is located in the center of the document and thus keeps the pages flat. It is the start-up of the mobile equipment engine that marks the start of the cycle. The pusher 5 is placed to the right, so that the edge of the page to be rotated appears between the pallets 11 and 12 and the element for lifting the pages (here the tube 20) is positioned above from page A itself (fig. 7).

At this position for stopping the engine of the movable assembly, corresponding to the operation of the lifting element. Here, a motor (not shown) drives a member such as a cam which inclines the suction tube 20 towards page A; at this time, the turbine of the vacuum cleaner 22 is started, which makes it possible to produce a vacuum promoting the bonding of the page A to the tube 20; then the motor actuates the cam again, which raises the tube 20 and lifts the page.

If it is a version with an electrostatic device, the same movement is carried out from the mechanical point of view, but instead of a turbine producing a vacuum, the very high voltage generator 32 which produces a charge is put into operation. electrostatic at the end of the member 30.

Whichever version is used for the lifting element, at the end of this movement the page A is raised between the two symmetrical branches 8 and 9 of the pusher 5.

The engine of the moving assembly is actuated in the opposite direction to the previous one and, as a result, the pusher 5 is driven in the direction of the left. The page A having remained raised, the right part of the pusher 5 passes under this page, which is gradually turned by the pallet 12 thanks to the translation from right to left of the moving assembly and, therefore, of the pusher 5 (Fig. 8).

Under the action of the motor, the lifting element is retracted and page A is freely turned. The bending of the bores of the pallet 13 prevents the end of the race to the left, when returning to the right, from accidentally raising the page again in the opposite direction.

The push-button 5 is then brought back to the center of the document, in the position for waiting for a new cycle order, for maintaining the pages.

The device is immediately reusable in the same movement or in reverse. Since branches 8 and 9 as well as palettes 10-13 and 11-12 are symmetrical, the explanations given above to turn a page from right to left are valid mutatis mutandis to turn a page from left to right.

An improvement to the invention consists in using a digital display, for example with light-emitting diodes, with liquid crystals or any other known device. This digital display allows, by automatic increment, to choose in advance the number of pages that you want to turn in a given direction, without the device stopping in the meantime. The choice of the number of pages is then stopped by means of the user's sensor. When this choice has been determined, the sequencing of the program described above resumes and the user can choose to turn the pages to the right or to the left, in a predetermined number.

Claims (6)

1. An apparatus for turning over pages of documents that are joined to one another and disposed on a support, comprising a mobile element adapted to be actuated by a motor and whose functioning is monitored by a control member which is to be actuated by a user, said element including two separate yet coordinated units formed, respectively, of a member (20) for the successive seizing of the pages and of a pushing means effective in both directions (8, 9) which must be situated vertically in front of the document, with the pushing means substantially having the shape of a U with symmetric arms (8, 9) whose ends preferably have arcuate tongues, characterized in that the pushing means is disposed mobile with respect to translatory linear displacement in the two directions opposed to a transverse direction next to the sides of a document along which the same are joined to one another as the document is placed on the support (1), and in that furthermore the member for seizing the pages (20) and the pushing means (4) are disposed in mobile fashion vertically of the plane of the document support (1), with the member for seizing the pages becoming active between the symmetric arms (8, 9) of the pushing means.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the two arms (8, 9) of the pushing means is arranged in mobile fashion relative to the other one to permit adjustment for relative spacing therebetween, with blocking means being provided in order to lock the mobile arm(s) (8, 9) in the desired position.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the member (20) put into the active position must maintain an edge of a seized document page on a plane which lies above that occupied by the apex of that part of the pushing means which must be situated perpendicularly in front of the document.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the member is a hose whose end is connected to a low pressure generator (15), whilst the other end (23), in the actuated position, is intended to be placed in the immediate vicinity of a document which is to be placed on the support (1).

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the member is a friction roller (40) which is rotatably disposed along an axis extending substantially parallel to the sides of a document which are jointed to one another as the document is placed on the support (1), with the roll (40) having a polyedric, for example triangular, circumference.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the same has at least one motor intended to respectively move the pushing means and the mobile organ (20), and being controlled by means of an electronic unit with programmes to which, for one thing, means are associated which are to inform the user about the functioning of the device and, for another, a receiving member for the user instructions, forming a control member, the unit advantageouly comprising a connection with at least one device which is independent thereof, for example a signal generator, a member for actuating a mechanism and the like.

Images