Manual braille writer

• US 5,133,664 A
• Filed: 12/14/1990
• Issued: 07/28/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Turner, Joe H., Hawk, Lawrence S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RICHARD, KAREN
• Application Number:
  US07/628,306
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 434/112, 434/113, 434/114, 434/115, 81/9.2
• US Class Current: 434/115
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/003 using tactile presentation of the information, e.g. Braille displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/02 Devices for Braille writing typewriters for Braille B41J3/32

Abstract

A manual-type braille writer that provides for both writing and reading in a normal left-to-right manner. In the preferred form, this braille writer has a clip board type base, and in the preferred embodiment a guide plate assembly can be moved to, and releasable fixed at, selected vertical locations along this base. The guide plate assembly is provided with a plurality of character cells uniformly spaced along rows across the guide plate assembly as well as in uniformly spaced rows. This guide plate assembly has a lower portion to be placed under a sheet of paper positioned on the clip board base and an upper portion to be positioned on top of the sheet. This upper portion is hinged with respect to the lower portion. Each character cell is typically made up of six appropriately spaced pins extending up from the lower portion that are aligned with a rosette-shaped cutout in the upper portion. A stylus member is provided that has a distal end to be fitted into the cutout of the character cell so that a recess in the end thereof presses the writing paper over the pin associated with that recess to produce a braille dot at that location. When desired, the upper portion can be lifted up so that the text already written can be read or to determine the place for initiating writing when writing has been interrupted.

Claims

1. A manual braille writer which permits natural left-to-right writing and reading, which comprises:

a guide plate assembly having an upper layer and a lower layer to embrace a sheet of writing material therebetween upon which braille writing is to be accomplished, said guide plate assembly provided with a plurality of text character cells for writing braille text spaced in rows and columns, with said rows spaced equally apart, and with a selected number of page identification character cells at a selected position of said guide plate assembly removed from said rows, each of said text and page identification character cells formed of a selected number of pins affixed to said lower layer in an array to produce braille dots on a top surface of said writing material and by openings in said upper layer having a multiple rosette-type configuration of a corresponding number of rosettes, said rosette-type configuration oriented over said array of pins, said upper layer of said guide plate assembly being provided with raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each row of said text character cells and with further raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each column of said character cells to facilitate position orientation by a user of said device; and

stylus means for passing through said openings in said upper layer to apply pressure to at least one of said pins to form braille characters in said printing material, said stylus provided in a distal end with a cylindrical recess terminating in a substantially conical surface to receive said at least one of said pins.

2. The braille writer of claim 1 further comprising a base member having a top surface, a top edge, a bottom edge and opposite side edges, said base member supporting said guide plate assembly, said top surface having guides to orient said sheet of writing material.

3. The braille writer of claim 2 wherein said guide plate assembly has a dimension along said base member that is less than the dimension of the base member in a direction from said top edge to said bottom edge, and further comprises detent means for releasably fastening said guide plate assembly at various locations along one of said side edges of said base member.

4. The braille writer of claim 2 wherein said base member is provided with a clip means at said bottom edge to releasably hold said sheet of said writing material on said top surface of said base member.

5. The braille writer of claim 1 wherein said upper layer of said guide plate assembly is hinged with respect to said lower layer.

6. The braille writer of claim 1 wherein each of said character cells is formed of six pins affixed to said lower layer and said opening in said upper layer has six rosettes oriented over said pins.

7. The braille writer of claim 1 wherein said stylus means for passing through said opening is a stylus assembly, which comprises:

a body member having a longitudinal axis and a top and bottom end;

a handle member projecting outwardly from said body member for grasp by a user of said braille writer;

a plurality of stylus members passing axially through said body member and being slidable in said body member, each of said stylus members provided with said recess in a distal end extending from said bottom end of said body member to engage a pin of said lower layer of said guide plate, said stylus members being of sufficient number to exactly match said pins;

a stylus member extension at a further end of each of said stylus members, said stylus member extension positioned exterior said body member proximate said top end thereof and projecting outwardly and upwardly from said body member; and

a key member attached to a free end of each of said stylus member extensions, said key members operable by said user of said braille writer whereby depression of a key produces a braille dot in said writing material.

8. The braille writer of claim 7 wherein said stylus assembly has six stylus members passing through said body member when said braille character cell has a six pin array on said lower layer of said guide plate assembly.

9. A manual braille writer which permits natural left-to-right writing and reading, which comprises:

a base member for generally supporting a sheet of writing material upon which braille writing is to be accomplished, said base member having a top surface, a top edge, a bottom edge and opposite side edges;

a guide plate assembly mounted over said top surface of said base member, said guide plate assembly having an upper layer and a lower layer to embrace said sheet of writing material therebetween, said upper layer pivotally mounted with respect to said lower layer, said guide plate assembly provided with a plurality of text character cells for writing text spaced in rows and columns, with said rows spaced equally apart, and with a selected number of page identification character cells at a selected position of said guide plate assembly removed from said rows, each of said text and page identification character cells formed of six pins affixed to said lower layer in an array to produce braille dots on a top surface of said writing material and by openings in said upper layer having a multiple rosette-type configuration of six rosettes, said rosette-type configuration oriented over said array of pins, said upper layer of said guide plate assembly being provided with raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each row of said text character cells and with further raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each column of said text character cells to facilitate position orientation by a user of said device; and

a stylus provided with a distal end of a diameter to be closely received within any one of said six rosettes in said upper layer of said guide plate assembly, said distal end provided with a cylindrical recess, which terminates in a substantially conical surface, of a size to receive one of said pins of said lower layer of said guide plate assembly whereby said writing material between said upper and lower layers of said guide plate assembly is deformed by said pin and said recess so as to produce a braille dot on said upper surface of said writing material.

10. The braille writer of claim 9 wherein said guide plate assembly has a dimension along said base member that is less than the dimension of the base member in a direction from said top edge to said bottom edge, and further comprises detent means for releasably fastening said guide plate assembly at various locations along one of said side edges of said base member.

11. The braille writer of claim 9 wherein said base member is provided with a clip means at said bottom edge to releasably hold a sheet of said writing material on said top surface of said base member.

12. The braille writer of claim 9 wherein said base member is provided with:

a clip means for releasably holding said stylus when not in use by a user of said braille writer; and

attachment means for a flexible lanyard for attaching said stylus to said base member.

13. A manual braille writer which permits natural left-to-right writing and reading, which comprises:

a base member for generally supporting a sheet of writing material upon which braille writing is to be accomplished, said base member having a top surface, a top edge, a bottom edge and opposite side edges, said base member provided with guides on said top surface to orient said sheet of writing material and with a clip member proximate said bottom edge to releasably hold said sheet of writing material on said top surface;

a guide plate assembly mounted over said top surface of said base member, said guide plate assembly having an upper layer and a lower layer to embrace said sheet of writing material therebetween, said upper layer pivotally mounted with respect to said lower layer to facilitate insertion of said sheet of writing material, said guide plate assembly provided with a plurality of text character cells for writing braille text spaced in rows and columns, with said rows spaced equally apart, and with a selected number of page identification character cells at a selected position of said guide plate assembly removed from said rows, each of said text and page identification character cells formed of a selected number of pins affixed to said lower layer in an array to produce braille dots on a top surface of said writing material and by openings in said upper layer having a multiple rosette-type configuration of a corresponding number of rosettes, said rosette-type configuration oriented over said array of pins, said guide plate assembly having a dimension along said base member that is less than the dimension of the base member in a direction from said top edge to said bottom edge, said upper layer of said guide plate assembly being provided with raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each row of said text character cells and with further raised indicia adjacent at least one end of each column of said text character cells to facilitate orientation by a user of said device;

detent means for releasably fastening said guide plate assembly at various selected locations along one of said side edges of said base member; and

a stylus means provided with a distal end for passing through said openings in said upper layer of said guide plate assembly, said distal end provided with a cylindrical recess, terminating in a substantially conical surface, of a size to receive one of said pins of said lower layer of said guide plate assembly whereby said writing material between said upper and lower layers of said guide plate assembly is deformed by said pin and said recess so as to produce said braille dot on said top surface of said writing material.

14. The braille writer of claim 13 wherein each of said character cells is formed of six pins affixed to said lower layer and said opening in said upper layer has six rosettes oriented over said pins.

15. The braille writer of claim 13 wherein said stylus means for passing through said opening is a stylus assembly, which comprises:

a body member having a longitudinal axis and a top and bottom end;

a handle member projecting outwardly from said body member for grasp by a user of said braille writer;

a plurality of stylus members passing axially through said body member and being slidable in said body member, each of said stylus members provided with a recess in a distal end extending from said bottom end of said body member to engage a pin of said lower layer of said guide plate, said stylus members being of sufficient number to exactly match said pins;

a stylus member extension at a further end of each of said stylus members, said stylus member extension positioned exterior said body member proximate said top end thereof and projecting outwardly and upwardly from said body member; and

a key member attached to a free end of each of said stylus member extensions, said key members operable by said user of said braille writer whereby depression of a key produces a braille dot in said writing material.

16. A manual braille writer which permits natural left-to-right writing and reading, which comprises:

a guide plate assembly having an upper layer and a lower layer to embrace a sheet of writing material therebetween upon which braille writing is to be accomplished, said guide plate assembly provided with a plurality of character cells for writing text spaced equally along rows, with said rows spaced equally apart, each of said character cells formed of a selected number of pins affixed to said lower layer in an array to produce braille dots on a top surface of said writing material and by openings in said upper layer having a multiple rosette-type configuration of a number of rosettes corresponding to said number of pins, said rosette-type configuration oriented over said array of pins; and

stylus means for passing through said openings in said upper layer to apply pressure to at least one of said pins to form braille characters in said writing material, said stylus means comprising

a) a body member having a longitudinal axis and a top and bottom end,

b) a handle member projecting outwardly from said body member for grasping by a user of said braille writer,

c) a plurality of stylus members passing axially through and being slidable in said body member, each of said stylus member provided with a recess in a distal end extending from said bottom end of said body member to engage a pin of said lower layer of said guide plate, said stylus members being of sufficient number to exactly match said number of pins,

d) a stylus member extension at a further end of each of said stylus members, said stylus member extension positioned exterior said body member proximate said top end thereof and projecting outwardly and upwardly from said body member, and

e) a key member attached to a free end of each of said stylus member extensions, each said key member operable by said user whereby depression of a key member produces a braille dot on said writing material.