JP2012220897A - Braille device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Braille device capable of reducing dispersion of Braille positions of Braille characters and easily switchable to be the one for 6 points and the one for 8 points by replacing only a part of the Braille device.SOLUTION: An upper plate and a lower plate of the Braille device are made attachable and detachable at a hinge part, and the device is switched to the one for 6 points and the one for 8 points by replacing the upper plate. A plurality of sets of projections, each set including a plurality of hemispherical or bell-shaped projections equivalent for one Braille character, and a convex frame for holding a Braille medium with the upper plate are formed on the lower plate, and each set of the plurality of projections is surrounded by the convex frame. The upper plate is provided with a slit for inserting a tape for Braille.

Description

  The present invention relates to a Braille device used for Braille creation, and more particularly to a Braille device having the same Braille creation direction and reading direction.

  Traditionally, braille devices are writing instruments for the visually impaired, a combination of 6 dots, 2 characters horizontally and 3 characters vertically, or 8 characters, 2 characters horizontally and 4 characters vertically. Expressed by a combination of points. Hereinafter, a case where one character is expressed by a combination of six points will be described as an example.

 The braille device is provided with recesses corresponding to six points on the lower plate, and the upper plate has holes (hereinafter referred to as “guides” for passing a point-shaped convex brush with respect to the six recesses. Windows ”).

  To use this braille device, first place the braille paper in the braille device, and then press the braille paper one by one with the tip of the pen on the bottom plate through the window on the upper plate of the braille device. A dent is formed in the paper. When reading, turn over the braille paper and touch the convex point of the paper with your fingertip.

  However, this method advances from right to left when writing with a Braille tool and forms an inverted character with a dent in the point, and when reading, it turns over and reads a convex point from left to right. There is annoyance that the arrangement of points for the same character is different between writing and reading, and these must be remembered.

  For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes a braille device that forms protrusions on braille paper by arranging protrusions in place of the depressions on the lower plate and pressing the braille paper with a brush with a recess at the tip. ing. With this braille device, you can write in the same way that you read braille.

  However, the braille device of Patent Document 1 does not stabilize the braille paper, and the braille paper is more elastic than the normal paper. Therefore, in the braille device of the same literature, the positions of the points constituting one character vary. It can happen. More specifically, referring to FIG. 12, when the point adjacent to the point to be pressed with a brush is not the target to be pressed and no protrusion is formed, as shown in FIG. However, as shown in FIG. 12B, when a point adjacent to the point to be pressed by the brush is also pressed and a protrusion is already formed on the braille paper, the paper on the left side in the figure 12 is pulled more greatly, so the deformation of the braille paper is different when the brush is pressed, and the braille after writing is likely to vary in the protrusion position as shown in FIG. . In addition to this, it is difficult to fix the braille paper, and there is a high possibility that variations in the braille position will occur due to paper misalignment during writing due to unstable positioning.

  In addition, as described above, there is a case where one character is expressed by a combination of 8 points. However, according to the conventional technology, it is necessary to manufacture the upper plate and the lower plate exclusively for 6 points and 8 points. Therefore, it was necessary to purchase both depending on the application, which was not economical.

JP 2007-65604 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and in a Braille device that has the same Braille creation direction and reading direction, it is possible to align the positions of the dots and create a more beautiful Braille character. An object of the present invention is to provide a braille device that can be easily switched between 6-point and 8-point by replacing only a part of the device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a braille device according to the present invention is a braille device configured by connecting an upper plate and a lower plate by a hinge portion, and the lower plate is a plurality of characters corresponding to one character of Braille. A convex frame for sandwiching a braille medium is formed between a plurality of projections and a top plate, each of which has a hemispherical or bell-shaped projection as a set, and the plurality of projections are arranged in the convex frame for each set. It is characterized by being surrounded by.

  In the present invention, a convex frame is provided for each set of a plurality of protrusions corresponding to one character, and the braille medium is sandwiched and fixed between the convex frame and the upper plate when the braille device is used. By limiting the deformation range of the braille medium at this time, it is possible to create a beautiful braille character by reducing variations in braille position.

  Preferably, the height of the protrusion is 0.1 to 0.3 millimeters (preferably 0.2 millimeter) higher than the height of the convex frame. Thereby, the deformation of the braille medium can be effectively prevented without causing a noticeable mark on the braille medium due to the friction between the protrusion and the braille medium.

  Note that the convex frame may be formed of an elastic body, and the protrusion may have the same height as the convex frame. Accordingly, when the braille is created, the convex frame is appropriately deformed by pressing the upper plate, and thereby the height of the projection is relatively higher than that of the convex frame, so that the frictional force between the projection and the braille medium is increased. In addition, the braille medium can be stabilized by the convex frame and the protrusion.

  Further, by forming the height of the protrusion so as to be substantially the same as the upper surface of the upper plate when the upper plate is closed, when the braille medium is inserted, the braille medium is the same as the thickness of the upper plate. Since it goes out, it becomes easy to recognize the braille marking position by the tactile sensation of the finger.

  Further, the hinge portion of the Braille device according to the present invention is formed such that the upper plate and the lower plate are detachable, and the lower plate has a set of eight protrusions as one character, and the upper plate has the eight pieces. The upper plate for 8 points having a window provided for the projections of the upper plate and the window provided for only the upper six or only the lower six of the set of eight projections of the lower plate 6 There is an upper plate for dots, and the upper plate for 8 points and the upper plate for 6 points can be interchanged.

  In Braille, there are cases where one character is formed with 6 points and one character is formed with 8 points. However, in the present invention, by replacing the upper plate with the lower plate used in common, 8 points and 8 points are formed. Economical efficiency is improved because it can be switched between use and use.

  The lower side of the 6-point upper plate is preferably provided with a recess at a location corresponding to the remaining 2 projections hidden. As a result, it is possible to prevent the two points from being marked on the braille medium even when the upper plate is pressed when creating the braille.

  Also, a conical locking projection for positioning a braille medium including braille paper, braille postcards and business cards for braille is provided on the lower plate of the braille device, and the upper plate is positioned at a position corresponding to the locking projection. A locking hole may be provided. Thereby, the positions of the braille paper and the braille postcard can be easily determined.

  Furthermore, by providing slits with a width corresponding to the width of the tape for passing Braille tape as braille media at the left and right ends of the upper plate, the position of the tape is determined by the slit, and when creating Braille, Since the tape is fixed by the frame and the upper plate, even a tape with a narrow fixing range can reduce the variation in the braille position and create beautiful Braille.

  According to the present invention, the braille paper is surrounded by the convex frame and fixed between the convex frame and the upper plate, so that the position of the dots are aligned and a beautiful Braille character can be created.

  Further, by providing locking projections and slits for positioning according to the medium of the braille paper, the medium can be fixed together with the convex frame, and a beautiful braille character can be created even with a small braille medium.

It is a top view in the state where the upper board of the Braille device by the 1st embodiment of the present invention was opened. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is an AA cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the hinge part of FIG. 1, and a hinge part periphery. FIG. 5 (A) is a plan view showing a state in which the upper plate of the braille device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is closed, and FIG. 5 (B) is a front view thereof. FIG. 6 (A) is a bottom view showing a state in which the upper plate of the Braille device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is closed, and FIG. 6 (B) is a rear view thereof. FIG. 7A is a right side view of the braille device according to the first embodiment of the present invention with the upper plate closed, and FIG. 7B is a left side view thereof. It is explanatory drawing of the deformation | transformation method of the braille paper by the braille device of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the deformation | transformation method of the braille paper by the braille device of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the state which opened the upper board of the braille device by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view in the state where the upper board of the Braille device by a 3rd embodiment of the present invention was closed. It is explanatory drawing of the dispersion | variation generation | occurrence | production of the braille position by the braille device of a prior art.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, although the Example shown below is a suitable specific example in the fall prevention tool of this invention, and may have attached various technically preferable restrictions, the technical scope of this invention is the present invention especially. As long as there is no description which limits, it is not limited to these aspects. In addition, the constituent elements in the embodiments shown below can be appropriately replaced with existing constituent elements and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing constituent elements are possible. Therefore, the description of the embodiment described below does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the upper plate of the braille device 1 according to the first embodiment is opened. The braille device 1 according to the present embodiment is composed of an upper plate 2 and a lower plate 3, and a male side hinge member 21 of the upper plate 2 is fitted with a female side hinge member 31 of the lower plate 3 as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the hinge part 4 that can rotate about 180 degrees is formed, and the upper plate 2 and the lower plate 3 are connected. The upper plate 2 and the lower plate 3 are formed of a resin such as ABS or stainless steel, and a conventional technique is used for this material.

  During normal use, the hinge 4 is placed on the left side of the user, and the upper plate 2 is opened from the right to the left side. Therefore, the vertical and horizontal positional relationship shown in FIG. explain.

  On the upper plate 2, windows 22 provided in a Braille character unit are regularly arranged. Each window 22 has a part of a circumferential shape for guiding the cylindrical point bar 5, and the point bar 5 is guided by this circumferential shape of the window 22 so that a desired position can be pressed. It has become.

  In FIG. 5A and FIG. 1, a total of 80 windows 22 of 20 columns in the horizontal direction and 4 rows in the vertical direction are provided, but the number of windows is not limited thereto. Furthermore, circular locking holes 23a and 23b and slits 24a and 24b are formed in the upper plate 2.

  On the lower plate 3, bell-shaped protrusions 32 each having a hemisphere slightly elongated are arranged in a line. When the cutting is performed at the position of the protrusion 32, it is as shown in FIGS. The projection 32 has a total of 8 pieces, 2 in width and 4 in length, as one section, and each section is surrounded by a convex frame 34. The size of one protrusion is about 2 millimeters in diameter at the lower part and about 2 millimeters in height, and about several millimeters between the protrusions in the adjacent section. Each section is divided by a convex frame 34. The width of the convex frame 34 is about 1.5 millimeters in the left-right direction, about 2 millimeters in the vertical direction, and the height is about 1 millimeter. The distance between the centers of the protrusions 32 in the same section is about 3 millimeters, and the distance from the center of the protrusions 32 to the end of the convex frame 34 in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction is about 2.5 millimeters.

  The thickness of the upper plate 2 is 1 mm from the upper surface of the convex frame 34, and the height from the lower end of the protrusion 32 (that is, the upper surface of the lower plate 3) is 2 mm. Therefore, when the upper plate 2 is closed, the upper end of the protrusion 32 and the upper surface of the upper plate 2 are at the same height.

  Note that one of the features of the braille device 1 according to the present embodiment is that the upper end of the protrusion 32 and the upper surface of the upper plate 2 are substantially the same height with the upper plate 2 closed, and this relationship is maintained. However, you may make it change the dimension mentioned above according to usability.

  The lower plate 3 is further provided with conical locking projections 33a and 33b at positions corresponding to the locking holes 23a and 23b of the upper plate 2, and is locked when the upper plate 2 is closed. Braille paper is stopped between the holes 23a and 23b. The locking hole 23b on the side far from the hinge portion 4 has an elliptical shape so that the locking projection 33b can be smoothly fitted when the manufacturing error is absorbed and the upper plate 2 is closed. Further, the fixing projection 35 of the lower plate 3 is fitted in the fixing hole 25 of the upper plate 2 and prevents the rattling at the time of use together with the convex portion 36.

  In order to cover the protrusion 32, the dot 5 has a diameter obtained by adding the thickness of two braille media to the diameter of the protrusion 32. Further, by bending the tip of the bar 5 outwardly in a rounded shape, braille media such as braille paper and braille tape can be prevented from being easily broken during braille creation, and braille can be created safely.

  In the Braille device 1 having the above-described configuration, when writing Braille, a Braille sheet is inserted between the upper plate 2 and the lower plate 3, the upper plate 2 is closed, and the Braille sheet is sandwiched between the lower plate 3.

  In this state, when writing Braille, the user has a concave dotted bar 5 whose tip is loosely fitted with the protrusion 32 in one hand, and presses the Braille paper through the window 22 of the upper plate 2. At this time, the user presses the upper plate 2 in the vicinity of the marking target position with the other hand. As a result, as shown in FIGS. Since the braille paper can be strongly sandwiched between the convex frame 34 of the section including 32, the deformation range of the braille paper is limited to the section of the convex frame.

  Referring to FIG. 8, the action of the braille device 1 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 8A, friction is generated not only between the convex frame 34 but also between the protrusion 32 that is not a marking object and the braille paper, The deformation of the braille paper can be further reduced. That is, even if the adjacent point is not an object to be engraved (FIG. 8A) or an object to be engraved (FIG. 8B), the deformation range is limited as compared with the conventional case, and the deformation amount is almost right and left. Since it becomes uniform and the shift of the braille paper during writing can be prevented, beautiful braille can be created as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, since the braille medium comes out of the upper plate 2 by the thickness of the braille medium (see the Z portion in FIGS. 8A and 8B), the user touches the braille medium coming out of the window 22 with a finger. , Braille can be created while checking the marking position. Thereby, even visually impaired persons can easily and safely create Braille.

  The case where Braille paper is used as the Braille medium has been described above, but the same applies to other Braille media such as a postcard for Braille and a business card for Braille. Since these media are fixed by the locking projections 33a and 33b, the writing position can be prevented from shifting.

The ribbon-like braille tape is inserted through the holes in the left and right slits 24a, b of the upper plate 2. That is, the Braille tape is inserted from the left slit 24 a and pulled out from the right slit 24 b, and the Braille tape is sandwiched between the upper frame 2 and the convex frame 34 of the lower plate 3. Further, since the locking projections 33a and 33b can prevent the tape from being displaced in the vertical direction and can be firmly fixed, braille on the tape can be performed very easily and accurately. Thereby, also about a Braille tape, a deformation | transformation range can be restrict | limited to the division of a convex frame.
In addition, although the above demonstrated for 8 points | pieces, it is also possible to comprise by 6 points | pieces.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The Braille device 1 according to the first embodiment is formed so that the heights of the protrusions 32 and the upper surface of the upper plate 2 are the same when the upper plate 2 is closed. The hemispherical protrusion 32 is made higher than the convex frame 34 by 0.1 to 0.3 millimeter, preferably about 0.2 millimeter. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment. According to the present embodiment, although it becomes difficult for the user to capture the tactile sensation of the braille medium coming out of the upper plate 2, as shown in FIG. Friction is generated between the sheet and the effect of reducing the deformation of the braille sheet. That is, even if the adjacent point is not an object to be engraved (FIG. 9A) or an object to be engraved (FIG. 9B), the deformation range is limited as compared to the conventional case, and the deformation amount is almost right and left. Since it becomes uniform and the shift of the braille paper during writing can be prevented, beautiful braille can be created as shown in FIG.

  Since the protrusion 32 according to the present embodiment is lower in height than the protrusion according to the first embodiment, the protrusion 32 can be made smaller than the first embodiment. For example, both the lower diameter and height of the protrusion 32 according to the present embodiment can be realized with about 0.8 millimeters, and the height of the convex frame 34 can be realized with about 0.6 millimeters. This also makes it possible to reduce the braille area of one character.

(Other examples)
The above braille device 1 is based on the premise that the convex frame 34 is formed of the same material as the lower plate 3 and is integrally molded. However, the convex frame 34 is formed of an elastic body such as rubber and is attached to the lower plate 3. You may do it. In this case, the convex frame 34 has the same height as the protrusion 32.

  According to the present embodiment, when the plate 2 is pressed at the time of Braille creation, the convex frame 34 is elastically deformed and the height is lowered. Thereby, the protrusion 32 becomes relatively higher than the convex frame 34, and the frictional force of the braille paper increases. In addition, the elastic body uses what adjusted the elastic force so that it may contract about 0.2 millimeters, when a user presses with moderate force. Thereby, similarly to the other embodiment 1 described above, not only the convex frame but also the frictional force between the projection 32 that is not a marking object and the braille paper can be used to further reduce the deformation of the braille paper.

  In particular, in use, the user presses the upper plate 2 to prevent the paper from slipping. At this time, the user changes the relative height between the convex frame and the protrusion by changing the pressing force. As a result, the frictional force between the protrusion 32 and the braille paper can be adjusted.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this embodiment, the upper plate 2 can be attached to and detached from the Braille device 1 according to the first or second embodiment, and the lower plate 3 has eight points (two rows and four stages) shown in FIG. It is configured so that two types of upper plate 2 for 8 points and 6 points (two rows and three stages) are provided and can be exchanged depending on the application.
The hinge part 4 is the same as that of the first embodiment. It can be attached and detached with an appropriate force.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the upper plate for 6 points covers the lower two of the eight protrusions 32 of the lower plate. As a result, the user can configure a braille device for 6 points using the lower plate 3 for 8 points. In FIG. 10, the upper plate for six points is configured such that the lower two of the eight protrusions 32 of the lower plate are covered, but the upper two may be covered.

  Japanese has so far been expressed in six characters (two rows and three tiers), and muddy sounds and semi-voiced sounds were treated as one character. For this reason, for example, (b) yes, (b) yes, (c) if so, “da”, “de”, and “b” each required two characters. If you assign 8 points (2 rows and 4 steps) to the lower half of the left row as semi-turbid sound, and the right row as the lower row to muddy sound, and use the upper 6 points as a conventional braille arrangement, it will be “da” “de” “ Can be expressed in one-character format. According to the survey results of long sentences, about 15% of muddy sound and semi-muddy sound are included in one line, and it is possible to realize the space reduction by this amount. Further, in this case, the hinge portion 4 of the upper plate 2 and the lower plate 3 is formed so as to be detachable, and the upper plate 2 for 8 points and the upper plate 2 for 6 points covering the lowermost two points among the 8 points. By exchanging, brailles of a desired type can be created without mistaken projection positions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Braille device 2 Upper plate 3 Lower plate 4 Hinge part 5 Point bar 6 Braille medium 21 Male side hinge member 22 Window 23a, 23b Locking hole 24a, 24b Slit 25 Fixing hole 31 Female side hinge member 32 Protrusion 33a, 33b Engagement Stop projection 34 Convex frame 35 Fixing projection

Claims (5)

A braille device configured by connecting an upper plate and a lower plate at a hinge part,
The lower plate is formed with a plurality of hemispherical or bell-shaped projections corresponding to one Braille character as a set and a plurality of projections and a convex frame for sandwiching the braille medium between the upper plate. The Braille device is characterized in that a plurality of protrusions are surrounded by the convex frame for each set.   The braille device according to claim 1, wherein the height of the protrusion is formed to be substantially the same as the upper surface of the upper plate when the upper plate is closed.   The hinge portion is formed so that an upper plate and a lower plate can be attached and detached. The lower plate has a set of eight protrusions as one character, and the upper plate is provided for the eight protrusions. There is an upper plate for 8 points having a window, and an upper plate for 6 points having windows provided for only the upper 6 or only the lower 6 out of a set of 8 protrusions of the lower plate, The braille device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper plate for 8 points and the upper plate for 6 points are interchangeable.   The lower plate has a conical locking projection for positioning a braille medium including braille paper, a braille postcard and a business card for braille, and the upper plate is used for locking at a position corresponding to the locking projection. The braille device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a hole is provided.   The braille device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a slit having a width corresponding to a width of the tape for passing a braille tape is provided at a left end and a right end of the upper plate.

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