JPS622128Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to a simultaneous printing device for print and Braille, and more specifically, it incorporates a Braille embossing mechanism into a typewriter, and prints print and Braille at the same time using a key shared by both. , relates to a simultaneous printing device for stamping.

Various types of Braille devices for the blind have been proposed and put into practice. However, the Braille printed by these Braille devices for the blind is
It is extremely difficult for sighted people, especially those who are not accustomed to reading Braille, to read it, and it is impossible for blind people to decipher and understand the so-called drawn ordinary print. .

Therefore, in order to facilitate written communication between blind people and sighted people, it is most desirable to have a device that prints Braille and print simultaneously or interchangeably, and various devices have been proposed to meet this purpose. I came, but
All of them had the disadvantage that they were unsuitable for use by people who were unfamiliar with Braille, and were complex and expensive, making them unsuitable for mass production.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience, the inventor of the present invention developed a device that can print type and Braille at the same time.
A patent application was filed as Publication No. 68313). However, this type of device is equipped with printing tubes in which Braille and type are arranged in correspondence with each other, and printing is performed by mechanically operating the printing tubes by performing general key operations. Therefore, for example, not only is the manufacturing cost of the printing cylinder extremely high, but also a large amount of space is required for installing the printing cylinder, and there are problems such as failures due to mechanical wear are likely to occur because there are many mechanically moving parts. Ta.

From this point of view, the inventor of the present invention has developed a product that is small, lightweight, can be manufactured at low cost, and has few failures.
As a result of various studies in order to obtain the most suitable for practical use, using not only general key operations but also Braille key operations, we succeeded in combining a dot printer with a Braille printing mechanism operated by a solenoid. Satisfactory results can be obtained by processing dot printer control signals generated by general key operations to obtain Braille operation signals, and by configuring the same printing process from Braille keys. I found out.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to incorporate a type printing device consisting of a dot printer and a Braille printing device consisting of a solenoid, and to combine them using an electronic control system to simplify the mechanical operation mechanism, thereby creating a compact and lightweight device. The present invention provides a simultaneous printing device for type and Braille that can be manufactured at low cost and has multiple functions so that key operations and Braille-specific operations can be performed easily. The layout of the keyboard has been optimized, and the keyboard used is equipped with Braille keys in addition to the regular character layout keys, allowing you to enter any text or Braille.
The aim is to improve functionality and operability.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with a type printing device and a braille printing device, and these printing devices are moved simultaneously by operating the corresponding keys to print type and braille from the front and back sides of printing paper. In a simultaneous printing device that prints at the same time, a pair of guide shafts spaced parallel to each other are provided between a pair of vertical support plates facing each other with a predetermined distance apart, and a sliding member is horizontally mounted on one of the guide shafts. Then, a dot printer is attached to this, a sliding member is suspended horizontally to the other guide shaft, a braille embossing solenoid is arranged on this so as to face the dot printer, and the head portion of the braille embossing solenoid is connected to the dot printer. Each head part is arranged in a stepped manner so that it faces a receiving part provided at the upper part of the head part of the dot printer, and the head part of the dot printer faces a receiving part provided at the lower part of the braille embossing solenoid. A driving means is provided to move the engraving solenoid and the engraving solenoid at the same time while maintaining a predetermined positional relationship with each other along the guide shaft, and by operating a predetermined key, a predetermined character and a corresponding Braille-related signal are converted into code and data is generated. It is characterized by having a keyboard for selecting characters and braille from memory as well as a braille keyboard for directly operating keys corresponding to braille.

Next, preferred embodiments of the simultaneous print and braille printing device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a base made of a rectangular metal plate, and a pair of support plates 12 and 14 are provided on a part of the base 10 in parallel with each other in the vertical direction and facing each other. To be fixed. These support plates 12 and 14 are divided into upper and lower halves by a partition plate 16, and a lower part 18 accommodates a part of the electric circuit constituting the device of the present invention, as will be described later. In the upper part 20, a Braille printing device, a type printing device, etc. are arranged. That is, in the upper part 20, a shaft 2 is attached to the front part of the middle part of the support plates 12 and 14 that are vertically installed.
2 and 24 are spaced apart from each other, and the support plate 1
Similarly, shafts 26 and 28 are provided parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other in the upper rear portions of the shafts 2 and 14. Shafts 22, 24 and axis 2
6 and 28 are both made of metal circular rods, and in particular, the shafts 22 and 24 have a sliding member 3 that horizontally suspends them.
0 and a known dot printer 32 is fixed to this sliding member 30. Meanwhile, the shaft 26,
A sliding member 34 is also attached to 28, and this sliding member 3
4, a Braille embossing solenoid 36 is fixedly arranged.
Note that the dot printer 32 and the solenoid 36 are arranged such that their head portions 38 and 40 are stepped from each other, and the dot printer 32 and the solenoid 36 are arranged so that a receiving portion 42 of the solenoid 36 is formed on the head 38 of the dot printer 32. Place them facing each other and spaced apart. Next, a support part 44 is provided below the shaft 24 at the outer middle part of the support plate 12, and the shaft 4 has a pulley 46 rotatably supported on the support part 44.
Similarly, a support portion 50 is provided below the shaft 26, and a shaft 54 for rotatably supporting the pulley 52 is fixed to the support portion 50. on the other hand,
A single support member 56 is attached to the outer side of the support plate 14 at the same position as the shafts 48 and 54, and a single rotating shaft 58 is pivoted to the support member 56 along the longitudinal direction of the support plate 14. The pulley 4 is attached to this rotating shaft 58.
Pulleys 60 and 6 correspond to pulley 6 and pulley 52, respectively.
Fix 2. Next, a stepped belt 64 is suspended between the pulleys 46 and 60 by passing through the support plates 12 and 14, and the stepped belt 66 is similarly suspended between the pulleys 52 and 62. The belt 66 is engaged with the sliding member 30 that fixes the solenoid 36, and the belt 66 is engaged with the sliding member 34 that fixes the solenoid 36. Further, a step motor 68 is fixed to the outer rear middle part of the support plate 14, a pulley 72 is pivotally supported on a drive shaft 70 of the step motor 68, and a pulley 74 fixed to the rotating shaft 58 and the pulley 72 are connected to each other. A drive belt 75 is suspended between them. Therefore, when the reversibly rotating step motor 68 is energized, its rotational force is transmitted to the rotating shaft 58 and moves the belts 64 and 66, thereby causing the dot printer 32 and the solenoid 3 to move.
6, it is easily understood that the respective heads 38 and 40 move simultaneously by the same distance while facing each other.

Next, a casing 76 for storing typing paper is placed below the narrow space provided between the head 38 of the dot printer 32 and the head 40 of the solenoid 36. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the casing 76 is made of a hollow metal material or synthetic resin material that is curved toward the front surface of the main body. Openings 78, 8 near the bottom of the opening
0 and insert the casing 7 into these openings.
Rollers 82 and 84 of different sizes and diameters are rotatably supported on support plates 12 and 14 for holding the pieces of paper inserted into the paper 6 and sequentially feeding the pieces of paper upward in accordance with the printing operation. That is, in order to rotationally drive the roller 82, a paper feed motor 86 is fixed to the middle inside of the support plate 14, and a drive shaft 87 of this motor 86 is attached.
protrudes outside of the support plate 14, and a pulley 88 is pivotally attached to the tip of the drive shaft 87, and this pulley 88 and a pulley 92 pivotally supported by one end of a shaft 90 inserted through the roller 82. Stepped belt 94
is suspended, and the other end of the shaft 90 is extended to the outside of the support 12, and a large diameter knob 96 is fitted therein,
The roller 82 is configured to be rotatable also manually. On the other hand, a shaft 98 is inserted into the roller 84, and both ends of this shaft 98 are rotatably supported by the support plates 12 and 14, respectively.In particular, this rotating shaft 98 moves forward and backward under the action of a lever member, The roller 84 is placed in close contact with the roller 82 or separated therefrom. That is, one end of the coil spring 100 is secured to the outer side of the support plate 12 on the dot printer 32 side, and the other end is secured to the shaft 98 of the roller 84.
This shaft 98 and an eccentric cam 102 disposed behind the solenoid 36 are connected by a lever member (not shown), and the eccentric cam 102
The roller 84 is brought into close contact with or separated from the roller 82 by rotating a handle 104 that is pivotally supported on the shaft.

Furthermore, a description will be added about the keyboard built into this device. The keyboard 106 is mounted on the base 10
A large number of letters are arranged on the front inclined surface part 110 of the outer casing 108 (see FIG. 2), which is detachably attached via bolts and nuts (not shown), and have the same character arrangement as a normal English typewriter. It is configured by the key 112 of. Therefore, on the surface of the key 112, numbers "1, 2...",
English letters "A, B, C..." etc. are arranged, but in particular in the present invention, the surface of these keys is marked with Braille characters corresponding to the English letters, for example, Braille "〓" corresponding to the letter "A". In addition, a Braille character "〓" corresponding to the character "B", a Braille character "〓" corresponding to the symbol "+", etc. are respectively bulged out. In addition, the bulges of these Braille characters are
For blind people who have memorized letters and symbols, it may not be necessary in some cases, so it is also possible to stick tape with Braille bulges on the keys 112 and peel it off as necessary. . An auxiliary keyboard 114 is placed on the right side of the main keyboard 106 arranged in this manner. The auxiliary keyboard 114 has Braille "〓" 116 on the upper left side, Braille "〓" 118 on the middle left side, and Braille "〓" 1 on the lower left side.
20, Braille "〓" 122 on the upper right side, Braille "〓" 124 on the middle right side, Braille "〓" 12 on the lower right side
6, a clear key 128, etc., and by combining the six types of Braille with each other, it is possible to create, for example, the symbol "√" in Braille as desired. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 130 is an on/off switch for energizing and deactivating the device of the present invention, and reference numeral 132
Reference numeral 134 is an actuation switch for arbitrarily energizing the paper feed motor 86, and a buzzer that sounds when there is no more printing space on the type paper.

Next, the functions and effects of the simultaneous printing device configured as described above will be explained with reference to the electrical circuit diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG.
When the casing 7
6, and then rotate the handle 104 in the direction of the arrow to press the roller 84 against the roller 82. If the desired key 112 on the keyboard 106 is pressed after the switch 130 is turned on and the device is activated, this signal is
After the BCD code is converted, the signal is sent to the address encoder 137, which selects a signal related to a predetermined character in the data memory 140 via a latch 138. That is, the dot printer 32 is energized and scanned to print predetermined characters on the surface of the printing paper 136. On the other hand, the signal obtained by pressing the key 112 is transmitted from the latch 138 to the data selector 148 via the comparator 146.
A signal related to Braille corresponding to the predetermined character is selected from the data memory 150, introduced into the shift register 152, and sent to the printer driver 154, which is used to drive the Braille printer, that is, the solenoid 36.
energizes and prints Braille corresponding to the character on printing paper 1.
36 is engraved on the upper row of the above characters from the back side. If one character is printed, the pulse generator 15
6 supplies a signal to the printer motor driver 158 to drive the step motor 68 to connect the dot printer 32 and the solenoid 36 to the belts 64, 6.
6 and waits for the next print signal to be supplied. Note that when the printing operation is performed for the entire line, the alarm driver 160 is energized, the buzzer 134 sounds, and the paper feed motor driver 162 is energized to drive the paper feed motor 86, thereby printing the required space. The printing paper 136 is rolled up upward. Also, if there is no more printing space on this printing paper 136, the alarm driver 16
0 is energized in the same manner as described above, and the buzzer 134 sounds. Furthermore, as mentioned above, if the desired key does not exist on the keyboard 106, for example, if it is necessary to stamp the symbol "√",
When a key corresponding to a predetermined Braille symbol is pressed on the auxiliary keyboard 114, the signal is introduced into the data memory 164 and then transferred to the data selector 14.
8 to the shift register 152, and Braille corresponding to the signal is stamped via the solenoid 36.

According to the device of the present invention, type is printed on the surface of the printing paper as described above, and Braille characters corresponding to the type are embossed from the back side of the printing paper onto the upper row of the printed type. Any sighted person can touch or visually recognize the surface of the printed paper, and information can be extremely easily transmitted from a blind person to a sighted person and from a sighted person to a blind person using a single sheet of paper. In other words, not only blind people but also sighted people can recognize Braille stamped by blind people as text, and blind people can obtain information as it is in Braille, so both sighted and blind people can use the same information without having to use separate sheets. This facilitated the transmission of information from and to blind people.

In addition, according to the device of the present invention, a type printing device and a Braille printing device are combined in an extremely compact form, and Braille can be easily imprinted by key operations for printing type. can also perform similar printing processing. Therefore, the device of the present invention has a simpler mechanical structure than conventional devices, has fewer failures, has improved processing speed through electronic control, and has a multi-functionality for handling. It has the advantage of being able to provide an extremely practical device at low cost.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially omitted sectional view of the device of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 4 shows the operation of the device of the present invention. FIG. 10... Base, 12, 14... Support plate, 16...
...Partition plate, 18...Lower section, 20...Upper section, 2
2, 24... shaft, 26, 28... shaft, 30... sliding member, 32... dot printer, 34... sliding member, 36... solenoid, 38, 40... head section, 42... receiver Part, 44...Support part, 46...
Pulley, 48... shaft, 50... support part, 52...
Pulley, 54... shaft, 56... support member, 58...
... Rotating shaft, 60, 62... Pulley, 64, 66...
... Belt, 68 ... Step motor, 70 ... Drive shaft, 72, 74 ... Pulley, 75 ... Drive belt, 76 ... Casing, 78, 80 ... Opening, 82, 84 ... Roller, 86 ... ...Paper feed motor, 87...Drive shaft, 88...Pulley, 90...
...Shaft, 92...Pulley, 34...Belt, 96...
...Knob, 98...Shaft, 100...Coil spring, 102...Eccentric cam, 104...Handle,
106...Keyboard, 108...Casing,
110...Slope portion, 112...Key, 114...
Auxiliary keyboard, 116, 118, 120, 12
2,124,126...braille, 128...clear key, 130...switch, 132...operation switch, 134...buzzer, 136...printing paper,
137... Encoder, 138... Latch, 14
0...Data memory, 142...Shift register, 144...Printer driver, 146...Comparator, 148...Data selector, 150
...Data memory, 152...Shift register,
154...Printer driver, 156...Pulse generator, 158...Printer motor driver, 160...Alarm driver, 162...Paper feed motor driver, 164...Data memory.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a simultaneous printing device that is equipped with a type printing device and a Braille printing device, and prints type and Braille characters from both sides of printing paper at the same time by moving these printing devices simultaneously by operating the corresponding keys, A pair of guide shafts spaced parallel to each other is provided between a pair of facing vertical support plates, a sliding member is placed horizontally on one guide shaft, a dot printer is attached to this, and a dot printer is attached to the other guide shaft. On the other hand, a sliding member is hung horizontally, and a braille embossing solenoid is arranged on the sliding member so as to face the dot printer, and the head of the braille embossing solenoid is opposed to a receiving part provided on the upper part of the head of the dot printer. At the same time, the heads of the dot printer are arranged in steps so as to face the receiving parts provided at the lower part of the Braille embossing solenoid, and the dot printer and the Braille embossing solenoid are aligned with each other at predetermined positions along the respective guide shafts. It is equipped with a drive means that maintains the positional relationship and moves the characters simultaneously, and converts signals related to predetermined characters and corresponding Braille characters into codes by operating a predetermined key, and directly converts them into Braille characters along with a keyboard that selects characters and Braille characters from the data memory. A simultaneous print and braille printing device that is equipped with a braille keyboard that performs the corresponding key operations.