Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
  • B41M3/00—Printing processes to produce particular kinds of printed work, e.g. patterns
  • B41M3/16—Braille printing

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and device for forming characters in an output material and particularly to a method and device by means of which it is possible to create writing for the blind and other patterning in a new way and more graphically than before.
• Braille writing is made on a cardboard-like base, in such a way that protruding characters that feel like points are made on one side of the board by pressing on the opposite side of the board with a suitable pin. This traditional type of writing is still used in most writing for the blind.
• Finnish patent 99101 discloses a method, by means of which Braille writing is created by heating particularly a plastic-based material with a jet of hot air and using the air pressure to create a Braille character, which can be felt with a finger. The characters can also be removed with the aid of heat. Though this method is indeed clearly more highly developed than the previous one, it has still not succeeded in becoming a commercial product.
• the present invention is intended to create a method for forming Braille writing in a manner that provides not only a different method of operation, but also the possibility to make the writing more graphical than before and also to form characters and patterns other than Braille writing.
• the intention is also to create a device for applying the method.
• the invention is based on using focussed thermal radiation to heat the output material to the desired forming temperature and making the characters in the location thus heated.
• the invention is examined mainly on a schematic level, while also referring to the accompanying schematic drawings.
• Figures 1a - 1d show the operating principle of the method and device according to the invention, as a series of four figures and
• Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the arrangement of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 also shows, also on a schematic level, a device intended to implement the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 1a - 1d depicts schematically one embodiment of the invention.
• a device 1 such as an IR diode, which emits light in the infrared range, and to which electrical energy can be lead in such a way that the device emits rays of IR light, which, preferably by using a suitable means such as a lens arrangement 5, are collected into a precisely focussed, aligned beam of energy, which heats the material, such as a sheet 2, on which the character or pattern is to be formed, to such a temperature that the output material 2 becomes sufficiently plastic at the location to be formed for the following stage to be carried out.
• alignment can take place, for example, with the aid of a suitable arrangement of mirrors.
• a third alternative is to use, for example, an IR LED, which is brought so close to the output material that the natural properties of the LED make a point-like heated area in the output material.
• the LED itself may have lens properties, which allow a corresponding effect to be created without separate mirrors or lenses.
• a sheet, web, or similar of output material is located on a base 3, in which is preferably arranged, for example, a suitable vacuum acting through holes or similar, or some other manner of holding the web in place for the subsequent formation of the point or character.
• the point is formed in the output material 2, which has been brought to a plastic state, by pressing the targeted heated location in the material with a pin-like device 4.
• the vacuum referred to above then acts as a counterforce, which holds the output material in place.
• Figure 1b shows the stage of forming the character.
• Figure 1c shows how the pin-like device 4 is withdrawn to its initial position after forming the character.
• the temperature of the targeted heated location in the output material has dropped naturally, or with suitable assistance, to a point at which the formed character will no longer return to its original position, but will remain in the position into which it has been put using the pin-like device.
• Figure 1d in turn shows how, by using a certain kind of material, it is possible, thanks to the memory of the material, to return the formed location to its original shape for reuse. This takes place by simply reheating it to essentially the same temperature at which the formation was also originally carried out. The temperature can of course be different, the intention being to use the material's recovery property, no matter at what precise temperature it occurs.
• the vacuum referred to above that holds the material in place and acts as a counterforce when forming the character also assists at this stage, so that the recovery of the character or pattern is faster due to the vacuum than it would have been without using the vacuum.
• recovery can of course be carried out in order to reuse the output material, it can also be used to correct an incorrectly formed character, or to 'edit' a certain character or area. Thus, recovery can be carried out for any purpose whatever, without restriction of any kind.
• the pins 4, which perform the forming can be manufactured equipped with many different shapes of forming head.
• Figure 1 shows one traditional shape of head, i.e. a round head, by means of which a round-shaped protrusion is of course made in the material.
• oval, sharp, or obviously angular shape of the point This will make it possible to illustrate certain aspects graphically, for example, in the same way as bold or italic text is used in conventional writing.
• Points with different shapes can be formed using pins with a suitably shaped forming head, or alternatively by using pins forming a single character from several partial characters.
• Figure 1b Another significant aspect is shown schematically in Figure 1b, in which vertical arrows are used to show that it is possible to adjust the distance that the pin rises, and thus the height of the character.
• characters of varying height can be used to create graphicness can be achieved in the writing, or similar being formed.
• the characters can vary in height, for example, on only two levels, they can equally well also vary on several levels, or even steplessly.
• Figure 2 outlines a modified embodiment of the apparatus described above. This has the specific intention of demonstrating how the heating can also take place from the same side of the output material 2 as that from which the pin or similar forming the character performs its work.
• the pin 4 or similar is equipped with an optical fibre 9, through which heating energy is directed to the output material in a targeted manner.
• the head of the pin must be of a material penetrable by thermal radiation. Glass or plastic would thus be a suitable material for making the head of the pin 4.
• the glass or plastic head of the pin can, if necessary, be shaped so that it incorporates properties that gather or disperse radiation.
• a second optical fibre 8 entering the pin 4 can be for the purpose of measuring temperature, distance, or similar, for the control of the process.
• Both the optical fibres 8 and 9 can be formed of one or several individual fibres and, in fact, there can even be several such fibres/fibre groups, as required, in the pin 4, bringing or detecting IR light.
• Figure 3 shows an outline of a device for use according to the invention, without attempting any kind of exact description.
• the device could resemble a conventionally used printer, in which the output material 2 moves like the paper in a typewriter.
• the body component 6 and the device component 7 that forms the writing or characters are situated within the totality as a suitably shaped part in the front of the device.
• the arrows Y and X and used to illustrate the movements of the output material and the 'printing head' that forms the characters.
• both the output head and the output material can, of course, be moved quite freely in the desired direction and at the desired speed/in the desired steps.
• the measurements to be performed can be of at least two types: measurements of temperature and of distance. Because the temperature of the location in the output material, at which it is intended to form the character, is highly significant, the measurement of the temperature of the point to be heated precisely can be connected to take place to determine, for instance, when the material is at an optimal temperature for forming the character.
• the method and device according to the invention will open new and diverse dimensions to services for the visually impaired, allowing writing or other images to be presented in ways that are more comprehensive and detailed than those presently used. It is easy to vary either the writing being created, or the height differences within, or the details of an image. Similarly, as has already been stated above, the output material can be corrected and edited in many ways, by applying to it only the method and device according to the invention.
• the source of thermal radiation, and/or the lens, or mirror, or similar arrangement used to focus it can be used in a manner permitting adjustment, so as to always achieve the best result possible.

Landscapes

• Printing Methods (AREA)
• Forging (AREA)
• Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Dot-Matrix Printers And Others (AREA)
• Electronic Switches (AREA)
• Apparatuses And Processes For Manufacturing Resistors (AREA)
• Glass Compositions (AREA)
• Crystals, And After-Treatments Of Crystals (AREA)
• Laser Beam Printer (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8559546

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2000
  • 2000-11-22 FI FI20002555A patent/FI20002555A0/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-11-20 AU AU2002223712A patent/AU2002223712A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-11-20 DE DE60141220T patent/DE60141220D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-11-20 WO PCT/FI2001/001007 patent/WO2002042085A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-11-20 AT AT01997397T patent/ATE456461T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-11-20 EP EP01997397A patent/EP1343636B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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