JP3167603B2 - Tray mechanism and Braille reader using the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tray mechanism for feeding cut-sheet paper into a housing and setting the paper at a predetermined position, and a Braille reading device provided with the tray mechanism. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a Braille reading apparatus which optically recognizes Braille composed of a combination of convex points and automatically converts the Braille into a character code, ink, or voice has been developed. For example, the braille reader shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 includes a light source (15) for illuminating the surface of a braille sheet (10) from an oblique direction, and a light source (15) emitted from a light source (15) inside a housing (1). Reflector (16) for reflecting the incident light as a parallel beam, and a CCD for photographing the surface of Braille paper (10)
A camera (13) and a reflection mirror (14) for turning the optical path from the CCD camera (13) to the surface of the braille paper (10) by 90 degrees are arranged.

The housing (1) is provided with a tray (11). As shown in FIG. 11, the tray (11) is pulled out from the opening (17) of the housing (1) and is placed on the tray (11). After the Braille paper (10) is placed, the tray (11) is pushed into the housing (1), whereby the Braille paper (10) on the tray (11) is set at the photographing position as shown in FIG. . Incidentally, in order to clamp the Braille paper (10) at a predetermined position on the tray (11), a magnet piece (12) has conventionally been used as shown in FIG.

An image of Braille taken by the CCD camera (13) is sent to an image recognition processing circuit provided inside the housing (1), and the Braille is decoded by known image recognition. Is output as a character code, for example.

[0005]

By the way, Braille papers vary in size. Conventionally, regardless of the paper size, the paper is positioned by aligning two orthogonal sides of the paper with reference positions on a tray. The difference in paper size was dealt with by adjusting the illumination and shooting range to the maximum paper size. Therefore, in the conventional Braille reader, the Braille paper (10)
(11) The work of setting the Braille paper (10) at the reference position and the work of clamping the Braille paper (10) with the magnet pieces (12) when setting the paper on the bracket are complicated. Of course, due to the difference in the size of the Braille paper (10), the illumination center and the shooting center for the Braille paper (10) are biased toward the paper edge, and sufficient illumination is not obtained at the opposite paper edge, Alternatively, there is a possibility that the focus of photographing is greatly deviated, causing a problem in image recognition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a tray in which the operation for clamping paper on the tray is extremely simple, and the paper can always be positioned near the center of the tray regardless of the paper size. A mechanism and a Braille reading device provided with the tray mechanism.

[0007]

The tray mechanism according to the present invention comprises: (a) a tray mechanism which is supported so as to be movable back and forth inside a housing (1) and which can be protruded and retracted from an opening (17) of the housing (1); And the paper setting surface (3
(B) a tray base (3) formed with (1), and (b) a base end on the back side of the housing is pivotally supported on the tray base (3), and is rotated in a vertical plane including the tray base moving direction. (C) a spring member that urges the rotating member (4) toward the tray base (3); and (d) the tray base ( It is connected with the rotating member (4) so as to be able to approach and separate from each other across the paper setting surface (31) of 3), and is connected to the rotating member (4) so as to clamp the paper and clamp it on the paper mounting surface (31). (E) The two clamp members (5) and (5) are interposed between the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) and the pair of clamp members (5) and (5), and are respectively moved by the same distance. An interlocking mechanism (6) for moving in the approaching / separating direction; and (f) a cam formed on an opposing portion of the housing (1) and the rotating member (4).
Cam mechanism with the movement of the tray base (3)
The rotating member (4) is rotated by the operation of the mechanism, and the tray base is rotated.
At the forward moving end of the gear (3), the tip of the rotating member (4) is
Ascends from the base (3) and moves backward in the tray base (3)
At the end, the tip of the rotating member (4) is placed on the tray base (3).
Descend.

In the above-mentioned tray mechanism, a paper insertion opening (57) is formed between the tip portions of the pair of clamp members (5) and (5), and the paper insertion port is formed between the clamp members (5) and (5). Paper storage room
(56) will be formed. When setting the paper inside the housing (1), first, the tray base (3) is pulled out from the housing (1). Accordingly, the rotating member (4) and the clamp member (5) move forward together with the tray base (3), and the opening (1) is opened.
7). In this process, the cam mechanism turns the turning member (4) upward against the spring member. Along with this, the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) also rotate in the same direction, and the paper insertion opening (57) formed between the tip portions of both clamp members (5) and (5) is lifted. . In this state, the interval between the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) is increased to be larger than the width of the sheet, and after inserting the sheet into the sheet accommodating chamber (56) from the sheet insertion opening (57), The distance between the clamp members (5) (5) is reduced. Here, the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) move inward by the same distance by the interlocking action of the interlocking mechanism (6). In this process, the paper in the paper storage chamber (56) is clamped from both sides by both clamp members (5) and (5), and is finally positioned at the center of the paper storage chamber (56).

Next, the tray base (3) is pushed into the housing (1). Along with this, the rotating member (4) and the clamp member (5) retreat together with the tray base (3), and are accommodated in the back of the opening (17). In this process, the cam mechanism rotates the rotating member (4) downward by the urging force of the spring member. Accordingly, a pair of clamp members (5)
(5) also rotates in the same direction to lower the paper in the paper storage chamber (56) onto the paper setting surface (31) of the tray base (3). In this state, the biasing force of the spring member is applied to the clamp member (5) via the rotating member (4), and the paper on the paper setting surface (31) is downward-pressed by the clamp member (5), and Installation surface (3
1) It will be clamped on top.

In a specific configuration, one or a plurality of recesses (30) extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the tray base (3) are formed on the sheet setting surface (31) of the tray base (3). Each of the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) is formed with a sheet receiving portion (52) which fits into the concave portion (30) of the tray base (3) and is to be lowered below the sheet setting surface (31). ), A paper side pressure part (50) to press the paper on the paper setting surface (31), and a paper setting surface (31).
A clamp portion (51) for lowering the upper sheet is formed.

In this configuration, the sheet receiving portions (52) and (52) of the pair of right and left clamp members (5) and (5), and the sheet side pressure portions (50) and (50).
A paper storage chamber (56) surrounded by the clamps (51) and (51) is formed. Tray base (3) to housing (1)
From the paper insertion slot (57) with the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) rotated upward.
By inserting the sheet into (56), the sheet is received by the pair of left and right sheet receiving portions (52) (52), and is held in the sheet storage chamber (56).

After the paper is inserted from the paper insertion opening (57) into the paper storage chamber (56), in the process of narrowing the interval between the pair of clamp members (5), (5), the paper in the paper storage chamber (56) is reduced. The sheet is clamped from both sides by the sheet side pressure portions (50) and (50) of the clamp members (5) and (5), and is finally positioned at the center of the sheet accommodating chamber (56). Then, place the tray base (3) on the housing (1).
The paper receiving portion (52) of the clamp member (5) is fitted into the recess (30) of the tray base (3) by pushing the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) downward. Is buried below the paper setting surface (31). Then, the paper placed on the paper placement surface (31) is subjected to downward pressure by the clamp part (51) of the clamp member (5), and
(31) Clamped on.

A Braille reading apparatus according to the present invention is a Braille reading apparatus for optically recognizing Braille on Braille paper (10) and outputting the contents thereof. ,
A light source (15) for illuminating the surface of the Braille paper (10), a camera (13) for photographing the surface of the Braille paper (10), and a tray for feeding the Braille paper (10) to the photographing position (2) is installed. Here, the tray (2) is constituted by the tray mechanism of the present invention.

In the Braille reading apparatus, a tray
(2) Load the Braille paper (10) on the top, and place the tray (2) in the housing.
By storing the sheet on the inside of (1), the sheet on the tray (2) is set at a predetermined position with its center substantially coinciding with the illumination center of the light source (15) and the photographing center of the camera (13). Will be.

[0015]

According to the tray mechanism of the present invention, the paper is clamped and released by the rotation of the clamp member in accordance with the forward and backward movement of the tray base, so that the conventional clamping work using a magnet piece or the like is unnecessary. Yes, setting of paper is extremely simple. Of course, since the sheet is positioned by the clamping pressure of the pair of clamp members, the center of the sheet can always be set to a predetermined position regardless of the sheet size. Further, according to the Braille reading apparatus according to the present invention, the center of the Braille paper on the tray is set at a predetermined position with the center substantially coincident with the illumination center and the photographing center regardless of the paper size. In addition to providing uniform illumination over the entire surface of the paper, it is possible to perform imaging with focus on the entire surface of the paper, and as a result, image recognition is performed without any trouble.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the tray pull-out direction is the front, and the tray storage direction is the rear.

As shown in FIG. 6, a tray (2) is provided inside the casing (1), and rollers (34) attached to the rear end portions of both sides of the tray (2) are respectively provided in the casing (1). A pair of rollers sandwiched between a pair of rails (18) and (18) provided on (1) and rails (33) provided on both side surfaces of the tray (2) are respectively attached to the housing (1). (19) The tray (2) is guided between the front and back by being sandwiched between (19) (see FIGS. 4 and 7 (a)). By the above guide, the tray (2) can be protruded and retracted from the opening (17) of the housing (1). As shown in FIG. 1, the tray (2) can be moved by the handle (22) formed on the lid member (21) of the tray (2). (2) can be pulled out from the opening (17) or housed inside the housing (1).

The tray (2) is, as shown in FIGS.
It comprises a tray base (3), a rotating member (4), a pair of left and right clamp members (5) (5), and an interlocking mechanism (6). The trays (3) are provided with the rails (33) and (33) on both sides thereof, and the rollers (3) are provided at rear positions of the rails (33).
4) (34) is attached. Also, the tray base (3) has a paper setting surface (3
1) is formed, and openings (32) are formed at the left and right ends of the paper setting surface (31).
(32) is opened, and a plurality of recesses (30) extending left and right between the openings (32) and (32) are formed.

The rotating member (4) is entirely composed of a tray base (3).
And a pair of left and right arms (41) (41) formed in a U-shape surrounding the paper setting surface (31). Both arms (41) (41)
A pair of left and right pins (46) and (46) project outward from the base end of the tray base, and both pins (46) and (46) are recessed on both sides of the tray base (3). 35) (35)
(4) is pivotally supported on the tray base (3). A torsion spring (7) is mounted on each pin (46). One end of the torsion spring (7) is located at the rear end of the tray base (3), and the other end is an arm of the rotating member (4). Locked to the base end of (41),
The rotating member (4) is urged to rotate clockwise. The pin (46) fitted into the U-shaped groove (35) is prevented from falling off by the pressing member (36).

On the lower surface of each arm (41), a first cam surface (42) extending linearly from the tip of the arm toward the base end of the arm.
A second portion extending linearly from the first cam surface (42) at a position lower than the first cam surface (42) from the first cam surface (42) through the step to the base end of the arm.
A cam surface (43) is formed, and a support member is provided on the housing (1).
A pair of left and right drive rollers (8) and (8) supported via (81) respectively come out of the opening (32) of the tray base (3) and come into contact with the cam surface, whereby the rotating member ( A cam mechanism for driving 4) is configured (see FIG. 7B).

A pair of left and right clamp members (5) and (5) are disposed inside the arms (41) and (41) of the rotating member (4), and are provided on both sides of the rotating member (4). The shaft (9) penetrates the opening (45) (45) and the opening (55) (55) formed at the base end of the clamp members (5) (5), and the rotating member (4)
The shaft (91) passes through the hole of the boss (44) provided on the upper surface of the arm (41) and the hole of the boss (54) provided on the upper surface of both clamp members (5). Member (5)
The movement in the approach / separation direction of (5) is guided. Each of the clamp members (5) includes a strip-shaped clamp portion (51) extending along the arm (41) of the rotating member (4), and a plurality of sheets extending downward from a side portion of the clamp portion (51). A side pressure portion (50), and a plurality of paper receiving portions (52) protruding from the lower end of each paper side pressure portion (50) toward the other clamping member (5). (52) fits into each recess (30) of the tray base (3), and can be lowered below the sheet setting surface (31).

Racks (62) and (63) are respectively provided at the base ends of the clamp members (5) and (5) so as to project toward the other clamp member (5). 63) between the rotating member (4)
The pinion (61) arranged above intervenes, and both clamp members
(5) An interlocking mechanism (6) for interlocking the approach and separation of (5) is configured.

In the tray (2), a paper storage chamber (56) for storing Braille paper (10) is formed between a pair of left and right clamp members (5) (5) as shown in FIG. Become. When loading Braille paper (10) into the paper compartment (56),
(2) Pull out from the housing (1). This allows the tray
(2) is the rail (33) of the tray base (3) as shown in FIG.
Are guided by the rollers (19) and (19) of the housing (1), and the rollers (34) of the tray base (3) are guided by the rails of the housing (1) and move in the horizontal direction.

At the start of the movement of the tray (2), FIG.
As shown in (1), the drive roller (8) is in contact with the front end of the first cam surface (42) of the rotating member (4). And tray (2)
In the first half of the moving process of the drive roller, as shown in FIG.
(8) supports the first cam surface (42) of the rotating member (4), and moves the rotating member (4) forward while keeping the horizontal posture. afterwards,
In the latter half of the movement process of the tray (2), as shown in FIG. 9, the drive roller (8) is moved from the first cam surface (42) of the rotating member (4) to the second position.
By moving to the cam surface (43), the rotating member (4) is driven counterclockwise against the rotational urging force of the torsion spring (7), and the tip of the rotating member (4) is placed on the tray. It will be lifted higher than the lid member (21) of (2).

In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the pair of right and left clamp members (5) and (5) is increased to be larger than the width of the Braille paper (10), and then the clamp members (5) and (5) as shown in FIG. 5) Insert the Braille paper (10) into the paper storage chamber (56) from the paper insertion opening (57) formed between the paper receiving portion (52) and the clamp portion (51), and insert the Braille paper ( The tip of (10) is brought into contact with the back end of the clamp member (5). Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the distance between the two clamp members (5) and (5) is reduced so that both paper side pressure portions (50) and (50)
By pressing the braille paper (10) from both sides,
Position the Braille paper (10) in the left-right direction. In this process, the two clamp members (5) and (5) move by the same distance by the interlocking action of the interlocking mechanism (6).
Regardless of the size, positioning is always performed at the center in the left-right direction.

Thereafter, the tray (2) is pushed into the housing (1) to clamp the Braille paper (10) on the tray (2), and the Braille paper (10) is placed inside the housing (1). It is transported to a predetermined position. In this process, the drive roller (8) moves from the state of contact with the second cam surface (43) of the rotating member (4) shown in FIG. 9 to the state of contact with the first cam surface (42) shown in FIG. Then, the rotating member (4) is driven clockwise by the rotational urging force of the torsion spring (7). And
Finally, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the tray (2) is a housing (1).
Is stored inside.

In the process in which the rotating member (4) is driven in the clockwise direction as described above, the clamp member (5), as shown in FIGS. Each recess of the tray base (3)
(30) and sinks below the paper setting surface (31). In this process, the Braille paper (10) received on the paper receiving portion (52) of the clamp member (5) is placed on the paper setting surface (31) of the tray base (3), and thereafter, The both sides of the sheet surface are subjected to downward pressure by the clamp portion (51) of the clamp member (5).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, the Braille paper (10) is clamped between the paper setting surface (31) of the tray base (3) and the clamp portion (51) of the clamp member (5). Then, the paper is clamped on the paper setting surface (31) by the rotational urging force of the torsion spring (7). In this state, as shown in FIG. 12, the surface of the braille paper (10) is illuminated by the light source (15) and the reflector (16), and the braille image is photographed by the CCD camera (13). The discharging of the Braille paper (10) can be performed by an operation completely opposite to the operation at the time of loading the Braille paper (10).

According to the above-described tray mechanism of the present invention, all of the paper conveyance, positioning and clamping can be manually performed for paper of various sizes, so that there is no need to drive a motor and the configuration is simplified. . Also, put the paper in the tray
(2) When the paper is loaded into the paper, a pair of clamp members (5)
It is sufficient to insert the paper obliquely to the back of (5), so that the paper can be easily loaded. Further, with the forward and backward movement of the tray base (3), the rotating member (4) and the clamp member (5) rotate, and the paper insertion opening is raised to a position higher than the lid member (21). The lid member (21) may be simply fixed to the front end of the tray base (3), and no special mechanism for opening and closing the lid member is required.

The description of the above embodiments is for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope thereof.
In addition, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a tray mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state of the tray mechanism before paper loading.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state after the tray mechanism has loaded paper.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the tray mechanism.

5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of main parts in a state where paper is clamped, and FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view along a paper installation surface of a tray base;
(b) is a sectional view along a concave portion of the tray base.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a support mechanism of a tray in a housing as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are side views showing a state where the tray is pushed into the inside of the housing, where FIG. 7A is a side view of the tray and FIG. 7B is a side view of a cam mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the cam mechanism in a process of pulling out the tray from the housing.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the cam mechanism in a state where the tray is completely pulled out of the housing.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of a tray base and a clamp member, wherein FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view in a paper loading start state, and FIG.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a Braille reading device.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing an arrangement of an optical system of the Braille reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Housing (2) Tray (3) Tray base (31) Paper setting surface (30) Recess (4) Rotating member (41) Arm (42) First cam surface (43) Second cam surface (5) ) Clamping member (51) Clamping part (52) Paper receiving part (50) Paper side pressure part (6) Interlocking mechanism (7) Torsion spring (8) Drive roller (10) Braille paper

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cut sheet is fed into a housing (1).
With a tray mechanism for setting the paper in a predetermined position,
And is supported movably back and forth inside the housing (1).
Can emerge from the opening (17), and the paper setting surface (31)
The tray base (3) formed, and the base end on the back side of the housing is pivotally supported on the tray base (3).
Can rotate in the vertical plane including the tray base moving direction
Rotating member (4), and a spring member for urging the rotating member (4) toward the tray base (3).
And setting the paper on the tray base (3) with respect to the rotating member (4).
Can be approached and separated from each other across the surface (31), and the rotating member
The paper is set on the paper by being connected to (4) so that it cannot rotate relatively.
A pair of left and right clamp members (5) to be clamped on the surface (31)
(5) and both clamps interposed between the pair of clamp members (5) and (5)
The members (5) and (5) are linked to each other, approaching and separating by the same distance.
Interlocking mechanism for moving in the direction (6)And with  Of housing (1) and rotating member (4)A cam mechanism is formed on the facing part
To move the cam mechanism as the tray base (3) moves.
Therefore, the rotation member (4) rotates, and the tray base (3) moves forward.
At the moving end, the rotating member (4) rises from the tray base (3)
At the retreat end of the tray base (3), the rotating member (4)
Falls on the tray base (3)A tray characterized by the following:
I mechanism. 2. A sheet installation surface (31) of the tray base (3) is formed with one or a plurality of recesses (30) extending in a direction orthogonal to a moving direction of the tray base (3). Each of the clamp members (5) and (5) has a paper receiving portion (52) which fits into the recess (30) of the tray base (3) and is to be lowered below the paper mounting surface (31), and a paper mounting portion. 2. The tray according to claim 1, wherein a paper side pressure portion for pressurizing the paper on the surface, and a clamp portion for lowering the paper on the paper setting surface are formed. mechanism. 3. A Braille reader for optically recognizing Braille on Braille paper (10) and outputting the contents of Braille,
Inside the housing (1), a light source (15) for illuminating the surface of the Braille paper (10) and a camera (13) for photographing the surface of the Braille paper (10) are installed. A tray (2) for feeding paper (10) to the photographing position is supported inside the housing (1) so as to be able to move back and forth, and the housing (1)
A tray base (3) having a paper setting surface (31) formed thereon, and a base end portion on the back side of the housing pivotally supported on the tray base (3). A rotating member (4) capable of rotating in a vertical plane including the tray base moving direction; a spring member for urging the rotating member (4) toward the tray base (3); and a rotating member (4). In contrast, the rotating member is capable of approaching and separating from each other across the paper setting surface (31) of the tray base (3).
A pair of right and left clamp members (5) which are connected to the sheet mounting surface (31) so as to be relatively non-rotatable with the (4) and are to clamp the sheet on the sheet setting surface (31).
(5) and an interlocking mechanism (6) interposed between the pair of clamp members (5) and (5) for interlocking the two clamp members (5) and (5) and moving them in the approaching / separating direction by the same distance respectively. And a cam mechanism is formed at an opposing portion of the housing (1) and the rotating member (4).
To move the cam mechanism as the tray base (3) moves.
Therefore, the rotation member (4) rotates, and the tray base (3) moves forward.
At the moving end, the rotating member (4) rises from the tray base (3)
At the retreat end of the tray base (3), the rotating member (4)
Is lowered onto a tray base (3) .